Milford chronicle., 1901-09-20

1N53 !. 'YVl).D
FL ~
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15.-Most en-
Couraging to all Christian workers is
this discourse of DR.. Talmagc while de-
nying the accuracy Of statistics which
represent Sunday audiences as diminish
ing; text, Hebrews X, %, Not forsak-
ing the assembling of ourselves to-
gether"
Startling statements have been made
in many of the pulpits and in some Of
the religious newspapers. 1t is heard
over and over again that church attend
ance in America is in decadence. l deny
the statements by presenting some hard
facts. No one will dispute the fact that
there are more churches in America than
ever before, one denomination averaging
two new churches every day Of the year.
The law of demand and supply is as in
cxorabe in the kingdom of God as it is
in the world. More churches supplied
argues more church privileges demanded.
More banks, more bankers; more fac
tories, more manufacturers; more ships,
more importers; more churches, more at
tendants.
In all our cities within a few years
churches have been built large enough to
swallow up two or three of the old time
churches. i cannot understand with what
kind Of arithmetic and slate pencil man
,aTrt
sion that church attendance in America is
in decadence. Take the aggregate of the
number of people who enter the house Of
God now and compare it with the aggre-
gate Of the people who entered the house
Of God twenty-five years ago, and the
present attendance is four to one. The
facts are most eXhilarating instead of be-
ing depressing. That man who presents
the opposite statistics must have been
most unfortunate in his church acquaint-
ance.
You are not to argue adversely because
here and there a church is depleted.
Churches have their day. Sometimes
merchandise will entirely occupy a neigh
borhOOd and crowd out the churches and
families ordinarily attendant upon them.
| Sometimes a church perishes through in
ternecine strife. But there are no facts
to overthrow the statement that l have
made in regard to the increasing attend
ance upon the house of God. Now, l am
| ready to admit, as every intelligent man
will admit, that there are churches which
have been depleted, and it is high time
| that a sermon be preached for the benefit
Of young men who are just entering the
gospel ministry and for the warning Of
prosperous churches as to what are the
causes of decline in any case. If mer-
| chandise crowd out church, that cannot
| be helped, but under all other circum-
stances decadence in church attendance
is the fault either Of the church or Of the
pastor.
Use of Modern Methods.
| CO. ften cleared Of their au-
the attempt to transplant the
modes Of the past into the present. The
modes and methods Of fifty years ago are
no more appropriate for today than the
modes and methods of today will be APP
prOpliate for fifty years hence. DR.. Kirk,
DR.. McElrOy, DR.. Mason, DIR. De Witt,
DIR. Vermilyea and hundreds of other
men just as good as they were never
lacked audiences, because they were
abreast of the time in which they lived.
People will not be interested in what we
say unless we understand the spirit of
the day in which we live All the woe
begonish statistics are given by those
who are trying in our time to work with
the wOrnout machinery of the past times
Such men might just as well throw the
q furnaces out of our church Easements
and substitute the foot stoves which oul
grandmOthers used to carry with them e
meeting, and throw out our organs and
our comets and take the old fashioned
tuning fork, striking it on the knee and
then lifting it to the ear to catch the
pitch Of the hymn, and might as well
throw out our modern platforms and mod
ern pulpits and substitute the wineglas,
pulpit up which the minister used t
climb to the dizzy height of Mont Blan,
solitariness and then go in out of sight ant
, shut the door after him. When you car
5 get the great masses of the people to tax,
b passage from Albany to Buffalo in stage
coach or canalboat in preference to tn,
lightning express train which does it il
four hours, then you can get the grea
masses of the people to go to a churcl
half century behind the time.
The trouble begins away back in tn
5 theological seminaries. 1t is a sham
/ that larger provision is not made 70
! ministers of religion. for the sick an,
! the aged and the inirm who have wori
themselves out in the service of God
We have naval asylums and soldiers
8 asylums for men who fought on Ian,
and sea for our country when these mel
have become aged or crippled, and it i
5 shame that larger provision is no
made for the good soldiers of Jesu
Christ who have worn themselves out il
battling for the Lord. But lack of pro
vision in that respect makes a tendenc
- to turn our theological seminares int
hospitals for sick and aged and infu
ministers. When a man begins to z
down, they give him the title of d. d. b
way of resuscitati0n. II that fails, the
the tendency is to elect him to a Pre-
fessorate in some theological seminary
There are grand exceptions to the rul,
~ but it is often the case that the pr,
fessOrate in a theological seminary
re occupied by some minister Of the gosp
"a Who not being able to preach. is set
teach others how to preach. In MOI
cases thar one the poorest speaker
the faculty IS TIE professor OF elOcutiOl
We want more wide awake, more abb
bodied, ableminded men. more enth
siaStic men IN our theological seminars
- and in the professorates-men like Add
y son Alexander who could during Il
week teach yOung men the theory
" preaching and then on Sunday 90 in
the pulpit and with the thunder al
lightning Of Christian eloquence sho
them how. What would you think of
faculty Of unsuccessful merchants
train young merchants or n faculty
unsuccessful lawyers to train young la
yers? 1t is often the case that the
no logical seminaries cut a man and 81
I'm him and square him and mold him al
bore him and twist him until all t
lUo individual Is gone out of him and he
)eR snly a poor copy of a man who W
elected to a professorate because
"a could not preach. We want less de;
wood in the theological seminaries a
more flaming evangels. 1 declare that
man who cannot preach himself cam
teach others how to preach.
sympathies of the People.
. At meeting of the. general assem-
of the Presbyterian church of the Uni
], States a clergyman accustomed on
Sabbath to preach to an audience of
or three hundred people, in an audie
room that could hold fifteen hundred, '
appointed to preach a sermon on how
reach the masses. l am told the inc
gruity was too much for the risibilities
)rk. many Of the clergy in the audience. n
young man coming out from such
9. dwarfng influences, how can he enter