Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-10-05
FOR SUNDAY READING.
All Sorts Of Opinions.

YF0R SUNDAY READING. :
All Sorts OF Opinions. 3
sYva@eeee.ss9@eYe,@@oac
HREAsoNs FOR EMPTY CHURCHES
Connecticut Editor Secs One in the
Different Treatment OF Rich and
I Poor.
The attendance at many Oh tne
/ churches in Connecticut has fallen OIL
SO much in the last few years tnat the
subject has been one of frequent dls-
Icussion at ministers meetings ana the
icauses and remedy have been earnestly
sought by the clergymen ana thelr sup
| porters. In many churches the at
tendance at the morning service on
Sundays is fair but in the evening 1t
is painfully small. Editor Kirk who
publishes the Messenger every Satur-
day in the little town of New Canaan,
has made almost as much OF a sensa-
ton In giving the reasons why the
common people" do not attend church
as Minister Bell did in his pulpit in the
same town u couple of weeks ago. The
paper says:
why more of the common people do
not attend church is due to a great ex-
tent to the actions of leading church
officers and members regarding the
common people, when they attempt to
attend public worship. Take any
church in city or country; take any
church right here in New Canaan, and
the reception of the common people is
labout the same. The wealthy or we'll
too do visitor is received with cordiality.
The usher viii, look over the head of
the common man standing inthevesti-
bule waiting to be seated and see the
flashing jewelry or rich trappings of
the well do caller who is smilingly
ushered to prominent seat in the cen-
trail portion of the church, While the
other is waived to a seat in the rear
or poor section without a smile of
welcome or the appearance of cordial
ity.
After the service the common man is
allowed to depart without a word of
welcome or a handshake, while his bet
ter dressed brother will be surrounded
by a dozen OF the congregation and,
every attention paid to him. This is
not an overdrawn picture; it is true of
almost every church in the land; the
larger the church the more pronounced
is this reception of the common peo-!
pie
"A luxuriously furnished church edi-
flee with soft cushions and beautiful
toned organ. but with December hand
shake and mid-winter cordially on the
part of the members will not tend to
overcrowd the seating capacity of such
ia church. Many PERSONS have nc.
craving desire for religion that puts
its devotees on a plane above them,
or that does not reach down as far as
the pocketbook when real charity ap-7
peals to them.
There are various reasons why peo-i
pie do not attend church. Many more
would attend IL they were actually con-
WINGED that they were wanted for any
other reason than the financial sup
port their membership would bring the
church. The whole cause for empty
pews is not found outside the
churches"
The American Standard Revision Of
the Bible.
Is The American revision of the bible is
soon to be ISSUED with the changes pro-
posed by the American committee and
not accepted by the authoritative Eng
lish revisers. DR.. Howard Osgood, one
of the few survivors OF the original
American committee, gives an outline
of the principal variations from the
English edition in the Sunday School
Times.
The revision under King James 1911,
followed a hundred years Of repeated
revisons. That revision was an adj
mirable work of high scholarship in
Hebrew, Greek and English. But SO
great has been the change in the mean
ling and usage of words that some
TRANSACTIONS, accurate in their day, now
misrepresent the Hebrew and Greek,
as well as the English. of three hundred
years ago. Prevent then meant to go
before, meet; now it means to hinder.
Let" then signifled to hinder; now 1t
means to hinder. Lust" then, as in
German now, meant pure pleasure, de-
sire. joy: now. 1t breathes vile passion.
The revision of 1885 removed many
Of these dark and twisted words, but it
also left a large number which the AM
erican company of revisers have great
ly reduced, tho they have not been able
to get them all out Why should we be
compelled to read in the bible the
strange spellings .bewray,' "ciel."
"grisled." 'holpen," "hough,'' 'lien,"
"1narish, !" minish, "pourtray, !" ''shew,"
"sith," "strake," "strowed." ''victual,."'
and many similar? There is one word
occurring often which has one mean
ing in England, and an entirely diff
ferent meaning in our land. Corr" "
in England, is grain of all kinds, es-
pecially wheat. oats. barley, ETC., but
with us the word is never so used; 1t
means to us Indian corn and that alone.
Our statesmen are arrayed in hosen.
but there are few of them who would
know their trousers under that name.
Farmers, with us. do not speak of the
ground being chapt, or of draining a
narish, or of fraying away birds, or of
sending fellow to lay the marish low.
We. do not take our shoes to be clouted,
nor do we cast clouts to the poor. To
fine. with us, is to impose penalty. but
in the bible it means to refine: while
to impose fine is. in the bible, to
amerce.
We do not use IAN" before strong as
1900 go gr.S a "a "