The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-11-05
THE REIGN OF LAW AS
APPLIED TO YOUNG MEN.

The Reverend John W. Day Of the Church
of the Messiah took for his theme 'Th.
Reign of Law" His text was James H. Il:
so speak We and so do. men that are to
be Judged by law of liberty He said. in
part:
Let US ask ourselves what We should do
with a young man who sees that so many
Christian churches choose their separat.
foundation that which In the nature of
Innings all cannot nave? Wha; would you
have the young man do? Every cnurcn
iorbids him in the very manner of its
claiming him. II one is right, all others
must BE- wrong. But on. church can
show any reason tor sole existence which
every othcr church cannot claim. The
young man in the book found no resting
place. What would you offer the young
man IN lie:
In the first place. you would tell him that
this is not a trouble invented BY cnurcnes.
You would tell him that thiS uarrowness
Is in churches because 1t was first in pco-
pie. 1t always comes from intense belief.
and wherever there is earnest sincere con-
viCtion there will always be. not only in
churches but in every association OF peo-
pie. certain amount of narrowneSs and
excusiveness. The most liberal church has
IT. No church ever got rid oi II by calling
Itself unscctariLn and banishing Creeds.
though that helps. Intolerance was not
made by nIrrow crcedS, narrow cre.da
were made by intolerance. Associations OF
people formed just because churches are too
dcgmatC have often themselves become
more doSmatiC than any church. Scientists
snow often III tlitlf Cl:iluS Ibr SfltNct not
a little Intolerance of those who follow 9th
-r paths of truth. So If your young man
expects to get rid of this trouble By reject
Ing the churches. he Will be disappointed.
II he would get rid of it. he must begin at
its source; and If the employment is just
AS difficult outside a church as In. there Is
one less reason for leaving a church to get
1t. You would tel! your young man to make
Intolerance less where he finds it-iu him
self and others--and not seek freedom out
sid. before he has made little freedom in
side.
tell your young man that. nowadays. the
eNclusiveIiess of churches is ceasing to t,.
their main characteristic. Even where II IL
maintained in theory. In practice it IS not
emphasize Just as narTownesS comes to
the churches through the persons tina. make
IL up. 40 breadth and magnanimity come
into churches from the people who belong
to them. There is. not church. except
the one whose main claim would be in
validated if it yielded to this spirit OF the
time. which does not to-day make it easier
for persons OF differing belief 10 find a
common help. which does not emphasize
the things held in common more and the
things peculiar to itself less. The hard
ness and roughness are being shaped and
suoothed more to the comfort OF the people.
Just as the flinty pebbles of the seashore
are worn and rounded into beauty by rub
bing against each other. the mixing up
of men and women of separate churches by
the necessities of modern association who
are flung hither and thither by the tides
of life. has rubbed away the sharp points
and anguarities of special opinion. This
has come about also as a direct result Of
the very sectarianism which made its life
depend on going in one direction and only
one. This process has had precisely the
opposite result. Instead of building up a
church which depends on exclusiveness. the
spirit of clannish monopoly of truth breaks
1t down. Thus the medasval church fell
apart from its own weight
SO l s6y that there is less OF the diff