The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-28
The Pulpit and the Strike.

Bishop WILLIAM LAWRENCE OF the
Eastern diocese Of the Episcopal Church
in Massachusetts contributes to the
Church Militant of Boston a suggestive
discussion of the use Of the pulpit to
put forth the individual opinions of the
preacher on questions Of the day"
the coal strike. for example. as if they
were of religious authority, when. actu-
ally, they are merely secular utterances,
valuable or worthless according to the
measurement Of the standard Of sound
judgment applicable to public speakers
generally.
The Bishop makes a distinction be-
tween the clergyman az a citizen and
as a teacher of religion which all the
sacred profession must carefully keep
in mind if they would preserve their
spiritual influence As citizen, says the
Bishop, he has right to speak his
mind on all questions Of citizenship
but he then speaks as citizen and not
as a preacher, and whatever he has to
say should he said in the study or on the
platform. certainly outside of the pulpit
he has no right to Use the pulpit for the
expression Of his particular views as a
citizen" When the minister enters his
pulpit he becomes the interpreter of the
Gospel and deals with spiritual and
moral issues, applying them practically
with all the intelligence in his power
1t will be answered that the coal strike,
to preaching on which the Bishop refers
specifically, raised such a moral issue,
but il was not an issue which separated
itself from the general principle Of the
Gospel of righteousness Of universal
application. 1t was only particular
human lawlessness Moreover, before the
preacher undertakes to pronounce judg-
ment he must be sure of his facts And
what were the facts of the coal strike?
The miners struck to get certain ad-
vanta9es for themselves. That was right
enough. They wanted more wages for
less labor and they had a right to
make the demand and to refuse to work
unless it was granted II their employ
ers had set out TO force them to work
on the old conditions by violent means
moral issue Of vital Importance to society
and even to religion would have been
raised. So also if the workmen used
violence to enforce their demands and
to keep other men from working an issue
distinctively in conflict with the prin-
ciple Of the Gospel arose. Now. what
happened? From the point of view of
the Gospel which side was the offender?
What is the Christian principle? 1t is
that earthly struggles are of no essen
tial importance except as means through
which to get the spiritual tuition requi-
site to gaining the salvation Of the soul
in future state. That ia the Christian
ideal and without it the Christian religion
is vain philosophy, utterly impracti-
cable in a worldly sense. 1t is to teach
all men, miners and everybody else, that
the face Of the LORD is against them
that do evil" that the heavenly reward
is for them only who -eschew evil and
do good and seek peace, and ensue it,
In obedience to these Christian pre-
cepts, Bishop LAWRENCE admonishes
the clergy that the duty Of Christian
preacher at all times. and more espe-
cially at this time Of labor strikes. is to
preach the Gospel Of personal right
eousness to the people Of his congrega-
ton and the children Of his Sunday
school,, and to develop unselfshness
and self-restraint in the character Of his
parishioners 1t Ia not to assume a
state Of facts in n special controversy
and to ignore obvious facts which con-
flict with the assumption, allying the
Christian pulpit with falsehood, but to
hold up before men the Christian ideal of
truth and justice.
If Christianity is more than debat-
able system Of social philosophy. il it ia
a religion Of supernatural authority and
efficacy Bishop LAWRENCE rightly indi-
Gates the only function proper TO it's
preachers: there il too much preaching
to humanity, too little to the individual
man; too much about labor, too little
TO inspire and comfort the laborer; too
much about the nation, too little about
the soul"