Waterbury Democrat., 1901-03-04


 ''Your question is larger than any an swer I can make without taking up hours of discussion," he said at last, speaking calmly, but with evident self control over possible fury of feeling. 1.-The church today contains some of the noblest and some of the meanest men and women. There is in the church the highest, purest, most saintly devotion to Christ and his teaching, and at the same time there are alongside of it the most awful selfshness and love of ceremony, show and hypocrisy. The scribes and Pharisees are just as much in evidence now as when they cried to Pilate: Cruelty him! Cruelty him! Long ago l came to the conclusion that the same people would nail Jesus to the cross again if he appeared. in this generation and denounced their hypcc- risy and seltiShness as he did before. At the same time he would have a great army of disciples, who would suffer martyrdom for his sake. I re- gard the church of today as occupying q peculiar position in the world of struggle between different groups of men. There is a growing feeling on the part of many churches that q great revolution in the methods and purpose is at hand and that nothing will be so radically changed in spirit and pur- pose as the church of Christ. The amount of relief for suffering that flows out of the organization we now have is no doubt enormous. Propose to any civilized community in this ntru wi altogether, and the proposition would meet with instant objection, even on the part of those who are most ready to denounce the church for it's useless ness. I am not attempting to answer your question in full, Eric. Of course if I did not believe in the church-I mean in it's possibilities of sacrifice l would not work from it as center I would get out and work from some other basis. But this is my best req son for believing in the church as a power for the worlds redemptive up lift after all else has been said"
 Andrew paused, and the rest listened thoughtfully. 'The church is the only organization Jesus ever mentioned. He especially loved it. It was not any particular form or name that he loved, but the discipleship organized in love to one another and a common Master, going forward to conquer the world for God. Aud after the trials and false representations of Christ in the church have Esd their day, after the arstocra tic churches have died and the memory of their pompS and fash ion is no more. after the coldnesS and carclessness and superficial worldliness of the church have had their time Eved out, the true church will survive the wreck of all this agonising death in life and be a universal representa- tion of the crucified Lamb of God, giv- ing it's life for the needs of q suffering and dying race. I believe i'll the holy catholic church 1 meaning the church universall in the sense that I be- lieye it contains the leaven that is necessary to leaven the whole lump. Why, even the Salvation Army never would have had an existence if it had not bes.n for the church.
 Do yeS1 mean that the church had grown so mean and useless that the army had to be organized to do what the church ought to have done?' asked Eric, with a smile.
 'No. I mean of course that the Christian men and women who organ | ized the army had their nurture and | training in the church. She was their mother. They went out from her 1 home to do a work they never could have done if they had not been trained and taught at her feet.''
 'Is not the Salvation Army as much the church as any other form of or ganization where Christian disciples |! get together in Christs name?" asked 1 Rhena.
 | "1es, think so,'' replied Andrew. | ''I mean to prove it by joining both," i said Stuart, looking at Rhena. You can't join the army without | giving up your own wishes and obey ing the orders of your superior officer" said Rhena slyly.
 Its one of the rules of the army also, I understand" added Andrew. with twinkle, that a private cannot even marry without asking the consent of the commanding officer. Isn't that so, Miss Rhena:" l five asked it and obtained it,'' said Stuart. "The commanding officer says, | Get married as soon as you recover from your present illness"
 ''She doesn't, either," said Rhena hastily. Then, as Andrew and Eric | began to laugh, she blushed and said to hide the confusion: ':We are getting away from our original question. l Stuart wants to know how to spend | his money. It seems too bad if we can't any of us tell him how.' T can tell him how to use several thousand" said Eric, who, after ex- pressing his own mind on the church l question, was once more the calm, thoughtful, even attractive, man he really was. Erie had great powers but they were not developed.
 Well, go on!' cried Stuart.
 1.-The miners need new houses in Cornishtown. What could be better way to invest $1O,OOO or $2O,OOO than 1 to put up hundred substantial houses that would really be homesY'
 What do you think of that" asked | Stuart, turning naturally to Rhena.