The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-09
THE REV. MR. EWING
 DELIGHTS HEARERS
New Rector of Church of Ad- vent Breaches Initial Sermon
MADE A PRELIMINARY TALK
Thanked His Congregation for the Many kindnesses Shown Him, and Said He was Delighted to be
 With Them as Rector.

The Rev Quincy Ewing preached his first sermon as rector of the Church of the Advent yesterday morning.
 large congregation greeted the new minister and his discourse was the topic of much comment after the services. From what was heard on the outside the members of the church were delighted at MT. Ewings effort, a great many considering it one of the most forcible sermons preached from any pulpit in Birmingham, and so expressed them selves. The music by the vested choir was appropriate, the "Te Deum" with it's solos being rendered with singular sweetness and feeling.
 Prior to taking his place in the pulpit Mir Ewing advanced to the chancel steps and in few words expressed his pleas ure at being among the people of the church as their rector. "It is hard to express" he said. "my great joy at standing before you as your rector. feel that I am with a congregation and vestry who are truly animated with love toward their God, their church and all it means.'
 Continuing, MT Ewing spoke of the many kindnesses of which he had al- ready been the participant and expressed his appreciation. q am face to face" he said. with a congregatio.. with whom it will be both a joy and a blessing to mingle. I feel that this congregation is filled with practical, devout and ideal aspirations, and that I can rely on and lay claim to their cooperation and earn est friendship
 He spoke tenderly of his predecessors, of what they had done. of the high ideals of the church, and earnestly hoped that the work of the past would be the watchword of the present.
 His Sermon in Part.
 MT. Ewing's sermon in part is as fol- lows:
 When the Pharisees had heard that Jesus had put the Sadducees to silence they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer asked him a question, tempting him. and saying, Master which is the great command ment in the Law?"-Mat. 22, 34 and 30 vs. Why should question like this have "tempted Jesus or disturbed Him? To suppose that 1t actually did were to put Him on the same moral and intellectual plane as His questioner. Had He been an impostor; seeking His own glory by playing upon the stupidity or the credul- ity of men, He might have been no lit- tie ashamed, perhaps non-plused, when He was asked to name the great com mandment of the law. He might have hesitated, fearing that His answer would miss the mark, would displease the ma jority of His hearers and render Him unpopular among them. But being what He was, no impostor, but great unique Seer of the spiritual and divine, He could not have been tempted or confused at all for one moment by the lawyers question. He knew what He saw and believed; He was striving primarily not to win for Himself popular favor and applause, not to gather to himself disciples, whether he taught men truth or taught them lies, but to declare to men what He took to be saving, eternal gospel-His religion in other words, which was one with His own deeper self; and so, nothing could have been easier to Him than to answer the lawyers question. He simply need ed to express Himself to declare what was supremely real to His own highest and deepest thought.
 Ordinary Religious Teacher.
 The ordinary religious teacher, MT. Ewing declared does not like as a rule to have searching questions put to him on the subject of his religion, and is pretty apt to get confused when they are; to decline to give any answer at all, or to give one that weakens the cause it is intended to strengthen. And this is so because the ordinary religious teacher does not get down to the eternal bed- rock of religion; it is not in many cases religion that possesses him so much as religiosity; he does not clearly distinguish the shell from the kernel of what he be- lieves; probably does not distinguish be- tween them at all. One sentence from his sacred book may be to him as valu- able as any other; one article of his creed just as indispensable as any other; one syllable from the lips of prophet or lawgiver just as inspired as any other. He has no intimate close firsthand &C., quaintance with primary eternal truths which overshadow and dominate, and vitalze all others. Religiosity, unlike religion Is always on the defensive. and Is never able to defend itself The man possessed by it is always the easy vic- tim Of any sharp questioner like tbe lawyer who undertook to embarrass Jesus. Find man thoroughly pos- sesed of religiosty and you vii find one utterly opposed to giving a reason for the faith that is in him. He Is opposed to giving it, because he Is incapable of giving 1t. His trouble is that the faith which ought to be in him is too much on the outside of him. The temple of his faith,includes his soul, instead of being included by his soul
 Smart Lawyer.
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