The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-11-18

-
world began swhen Martin Lutler sf the
| Diet OF Worms, called upon 10 recant.
stood close 10 his convictions and said:
convinced s, by ",s clear srsuments'
I That was the beginning OF modern his
tory. Since then space has expanded un-
~ our little earth is no longer hhle tne oen r,ns
among the countless sands OF q limitless
beach.
Time has expanded until the 5000 years
| Of Genesis have become .'aiirbered mil
ienniums." Our conception OF hfe has
changed. and In place OF a doctrine OF
| special creation we have . theory OF oe.
| velopmert leaHing up from the smsllep
| form OF iife TO lifes crown and master
/ man.
/ History has been sifted. origins have
been re.studied and the humsn race -
now concervea as b uni ana as ndvlns
passed through long ages Of development
ATHwART OLD CONCEPTIONS.
/ These conceptions lie right afwart the
| old conceptions of theology and the OLD
I Interpretations of the Bible TIE story
/ Genesis is no longer considered as his
I tory. but as myth. Special creation mas
! been consigned 20 limbo and the n'shf.
/ The old Interpretation of the Trinity hss
! disappeared before nev conceptions ot
\ God. The old doctrine Of the atonement
| has followed the same path and for me
I same reason The doctrine 81 blolicai
/ infcllibility has been forever overthrown
\ I'm the light of historic criticism and inc
1 old battiegronnns OF theological contro-
versy are deserted by the contestants
The change IN our social life has been
! as great as II has been IN an Intellectual
t life. Society has become practical, IN
drstriai material. Things are In the
saddle and ride MANKIND. The great r,:. IS.
trusts and the labor unions are open
books. In which men read the signs OF the
! times Humanity that threw on the YOKE
/ OF king and feudsl god in the Middle
/ Ages has become slave To machinery.
MANKfND's EFFORT.
Mankind Is now endeavorIng 10 free
! itself from the things of It's own creation.
The electric dynamo. the steam engine
and the gods that demand n9t 9niy our
worship. but our sweat and blood.
In the midst Of all this buzz ana war
we have not lost our sense or reusion,
God made man IN His own image ana
the image never quite becomes obscure.
We still see visions and dream dreams
The overwhelming presence OF Facts has
not quite blinded us to ideals Ihere Us
still some OF the poet and the chlld III
But with the development of modern
society humanity has found an ,opportu-
/ nifty TO exercise it's religion ana us deal
ism I'm institutions that society mas peeh
creating. The pulpits today are thunder
ing forth the Gospel Of service, IN the
name of Him who healed the phnd
eleansed the leper h.nd and proaSneS Se one 20 who @
went about doing good. 80
Very well says the man OF arairs. let
us build hospitals 20 care Tor our SICK
] et us build schools TO educate our cnll-
Lren and the foreign masses az our doors
Let us establish charity organizations Tor
our poor.
Christianity is service. says the man OF
the world Very well. let us practice IL.
Let us have our fraternal organizations.
Let us have our insurance socletes iol
the protection of our families. Lel us
have our labor bureaus for the service OF
the unemplOyed
Christianity II service. says the work
ingman, interpreting Christianity pracu-
cally I'm the spirit OF the times very
we'll. lei us have our labor unions. Let
us provide In these means OF eunca,ion'
intellectual. moral and relglous. and 70
day we have labor unions WIN s Sanoars %. NE
have In our churches. we havc not
ceased 10 be religious. but In the insu,u-
tions OF society men have found an 9ppoo,
tunity for the exercise and cultivation, OF
their moral and religious natures entirely
apart and often in direct opposition 10 the
church itself. .,a1
A new intellectual world new sociai
lie and as result OF these new insutu-
tions for ministering to the mora neens
of men. these things seem 70 me 70 Se
fundamental and characteristic Vi H,oa'
ern society In It's relation 10 the church'
THE OPINION OF SOCIETY.
=, ,his Is the condition of modern So
ciety then II is necessary In the sec.
ond place 20 seek the opinion OF
this society in relation 10 NV @
church. The general atuluoe .. w.
saving that In the first place the great
mass of men. outside the church. con-
slider the church as hostile To this new
conception OF the world and I'm the Sec
ora nlaee absolutely unable TO help the
world I'm the struggia toward higher
things. -,
In other words the church is both
ignorant and dishonest, ID Is both weak
and unnecessary,
church OF Jesus Christ much plead guilty
in a large measure 10 these charges
These charges do not apply In the same
measure TO- Roman Catholicism and TO
Professionalism. nor TO all the pranches
of the Protestant church. These same
arguments might be urged against any
institution. But they are urged against
the church I'm a specific way as they
are not urged against any other orga-
nization.
The conception. truly too we'll founded,
is that we are interested not in truth but
tradition. Men have focused their at
tention on church dogma TO the exclusion
OF human life. When some man has
broken away from accepted teaching he
has been tried for heresy, heress not TO
truth. but to tradition and he has been
houuded from the churcn
The grim necessities Of life have often
closed mems lips. " not to some truth.
at least to the whole truth and nothing
but the truth. .
DANGEROUS TEACHING
II iS dangerous i'm many pulpits for
man 20 teach the fTcts accepted by the
world OF biblical and theological scholar
ship today. " the pulpit is dishonest II
Is because II has not the courage Of Ns
convictions and for the lack OF this there
is no apology on earth or I'm heaven But
the source OF the sin too often lies
with tho pew Men are called TO pulpits
I'm the name OF Jesus Christ and i'm the
name of Protestant. Christian liberty.
and are then bound hand and foot aud
gagged by some man or set of men who
love themselves more than they do God.
aud who love their conception of truth
moro than they do truth itself Thank
C3od for the churches. and their number
increases year by year. where the man
in the pulpit l. free TO express his con-
victions in the light of Gods Holy Spirit.
The charge Of weakness is still more