The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-12-16

SoREoATIoN IN THE 7ENEFicENT
| is hostile criticism. and the church comes
humanity injustice ifwe took Coleridge
literally. or IL we supposed that hostile
criticism had no function.
CONSTITUTES A REVELATION.
On the contrary, II oft-times constitutes
a revelation. a revelation OF the man who
makes It. a peculiar revelation, a. reye-
lation OF his belief in just that which he
condemns. Plato In his Republic points
10 extreme wickedness as Sign OF the
vitality and power OF the soul"
Criticism Is usually psrabolic. The
man who criticises is laying alongside
of that which In, that which ought TO be
dain Of the church are unconsciously Civ
ing testimony TO their own belief that
there ought TO be an institution doing
the work which theschurch processes to
do. yet oft-tlmes does not. What IL ac-
tually condemned IL not the church, out
an institution that processes to be
This Is the frst concrete fact we learn
from mems thinking. We can learn
second fact from practice. II man
town out West, as many men have done
and are doing; one OF the hrst insltu,
would be s'Chnstian church; dn .,rc,,,, ,,.,.
ness and selfish basis. That he should
desire II on such a basis is I'm itself
eulogy. for he knows only too we'll that
succeed apart from an atmosphere
where respect for property and life
II insured and morality and righteousness
are at least welcomed II not practiced. He
knows that the church IL the surest guar
antee and the irmest msint Amer OF these
privileges There Ia not business man In
this city who would not regal the with
druwal OF public worship in our churches
an = calamity more blighting than the
most infectious disease. In twenty-fonr
hours this city would become bye
word and Kissing among the cities OF
the world.
CONCRETE EXPRESSIONS.
These are commonplace but they are al
the same time concrete expressions OF
mems thought and mems action and that
which is an expression OF thought and
action In also an expression OF belief We
may safely affirm therefore that the
great ma jority OF men believe there ought
to be such an institution as a church.
But this may be only opinion. II may be
a belief that grows out Of custom and is
not founded on fact. We must probe
deeper. We must look 10 the past and en-
deavor 70 discover our obligation 10 tha
which has been. We must face the pres
ent, with all its problems and needs and
endeavor to discover the place. II any,
!
TO the future and question the source
OF our hope for the individual and society.
As We grow In wisdom we grow In hu-
millty. The more we think the more con-
sclous We become OF how small and in
significant we are. Colossal conceit is
never troubled with lonesomeness because
Il Is always accompanied by robust ig-
norance. One OF the conditions that the
universe imposes upon the conceited man,
n he IL 10 remain SO, r. the condition
that he shall not think. No one OF expert
ence can question that some men obey
this Law TO the letter.
our thought drives us to that peculiar
feeling OF littleness known as dependence.
The one object that approaches independ-
ence I'm this world is balloon. II affords
a close analogy TO the man who continual
ly boasts his Independence. Both are fll-
"a With a material lighter than air.
SAYS an English writer on ethics, s.
Alexander AT every step and turn man
| is dependent upon othersssnd acquires his
knowledge and character from them.
"As he derives from his parents his ply
steal existence 40 he learns from them
goodness: and as life advances and he ex-
tends his social relations from the home
10 the civic life he is moulded continually
by the institutions and customs OF socie-
/ ty Take an ordinary Englishman and
/ how much Of his action could you account
1 for supposing the institutions OF England
were annihilated. Transplant him TO an
other soil and he would be different or
ganisn.'
VIGOROUS SELF CULTURE.
So dependent is the individual on the
| conditions OF society that the most rigor-
Gus arts OF self culture must be employed
/ IL man is not 10 be an automaton made by
/ the society i'm which he Is born. When our
/ eyes first open we behold institutions that
/ the past has created, that men before US
have lived for. bled for. died for. All
things our baby fingers clutch are stained
with the blood OF sacrifice and the tears
! Of wounded hearts. We come into n holy
world mothers sacrifice has sanctlflcd
! the home. The faith we are taught Was
born on a cruel cross. The books we rend
= have been made with n price. Men have
died on far of battlehelds and been bur
\ led In unnamed graves that on our play
/ ground we might breathe the AIR of lib
\ erty. Every institution Of society has been
/ reared upward by the living on the bodies
7 Of the dead.
Whether this would bring us laughter
/ OF tears. let us remember that n has cost
I something that ~ has cost the past
/ something and TO that past we are indcht-
ed for this present and for the hope the
future Offers us.
! Read the history OF that past with your
/ eyes not with your preiudices and you
] will see running through ~ from the first
\ century 20 the twentieth the history %
the Christian church. Too plain ere It's Of