The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-07-17

| the churches, /, requires no propAe, {,
| iore.ell what a dreadful situation wonlt
ensre as the rcsal; of their havoc. The
man who puts sgnostlSism against the
creed has nothing 20 give this word except
what would MAKE men more narrow than
iEey are. and would speedily plunge then
into conditions first of civilized paganism
a Il little later of rank barbarian. The
skeptic is no more sn apostle OF iherlh,y
than J. the anarchist an apostle OF liberty.
With great regret lt must be confessed
that there are and have been multitudcs
OF narrow minded Christians lnasmuoh
as human nature hnds II difficult 10 attain
unto libeiality, 4 is not 10 be wondered at
that SO many fall snort o. the breadth Of
our holy religion. Christians have not
only been rerseeuted, hut they have ac
tUaiiy perseouted one anothef, because OF
differences OF opinion. ony too frequently
have they iaied % recognize the com
prchensiveness of the Gospel, and they
prefer their confessions 10 the catholic
faith aud their sects 20 tue catholic
church. liz is simply impossible 20 apollo
give for them or 10 offer any argument IN
eNtenuaton OF their grievous oilenses along
this line. They have restrcttd their God
and their Bible and their creed. and
have stood up stoutly - resist the large.
mndedness of their lord But this does
not really affect the issue which We have
IN hand. Ii does not at all impair our
contentiCa that the gospel OF Christ itself
not Professionalism or puritanism or
Medievalism, but the gosael-.contalus the
hroadest doctrines. the broadest ideas OF
God and OF man and OF destiny, and the
hroadest working principle OF thought and
Of life.
Gods commandment is exceeding
broad in its practical application To mans
conditions. IL breaches Gods Fatherhood,
which Is mighty foundation TOR the in
eel. Il ...a..t tl,.ul -,
which makes the scope of moral obligation.
Gods relation 20 Us ls most assuring, and
our relation 20 Him and 90 all our broth.
ers makes the theatre of action and sets
forth the sphere of conscience. sympathy
and endeavor One OF the miseries of ir.
religion is that II dcspolls humanity OF all
this. The heart which cares not Tor the
doctrines OF Christian belief is sadly i'm.
poyerishcd and reduces this present exist
ence to small affair for II has nothing
TO say OF the higher things or Of an eternity
OF besSedness, and nothing that avals for
the enlargement of aspiration and the re-
| enforcement OF ENERGY. Christ truly dis
covered the individual. lie argued that
mans soul was more important than the
gain of the whole world lie came cx-
| prcSsly 10 lift human nature out ot its
smallness and 10 place it IN an environment
| where the sons of God rightly belong. He
revealed the model which is nothing less
| than the character of the king oi kings,
and called all the sons OF men TO a. royal
| lie; He disclosed large meaning for du-
ties and grieis, pleasures and possibilities;
| lie would have His people stand on the
| Mount of the Ascension whence they can
see the present IN It's perspective. and have
an expansive outlook for the study of them.
selves and their lives. The broadmnded
| Lord has given a broa admlnded religion for
men when they pray and work and suffer,
and He would inspire them 10 rise up
| To the Obligations and opportunities which
| wait upon them every hour ia the day.
How narrow is the average man. Mod
| ern conditions are not an unmlNed boon
to the masses, There have been many
| gains, but there have been many losses
also. Among the losses in the world as we
know IL to-day - the almost inevitable
| tendency of our way of living and our
| methods OF business to curtail the indYid-
ual IN the living of his life aud the dong
| Of his work More and more are the peo.
| pie OF the workaday world hampered and
restricted bv the demand for specialization.
1Ie individual is being called upon 10 do
| some one task and TO do II over and over
| again three hundred days in the year. all
| of winch Is equivalent 10 shutting him
within confines where he can scarcely hope
| TO develop into las best self. This effect
| is one OF the deplorab.e ills of the times.
| The rules Of Offices and factories and shops
Il
| individual who indeed learns 10 do one
| thing perfectly. but who is thus hindered
| from knowing anything else outside OF his
| daily task. Then, too the spirit of the
| business man that makes him ambitious
| and satisfied 10 become a man OF business
and thus reduce his life 10 the level of a
| mere monev-makcr, is likely 10 produce
| the same direful result. No one should
willingly become a machine. in spite Of
| the Advancement which is one of the won
ders OF the age. the people of the United
States are now face 10 face with situation
which sore,v requires a crusade in favor OF
| broadmindedncss-a crusade that VIII ex.
| hort the people, an spite OF discourage.
menis 10 the contrary, 20 ind leisure for
| considering tones and rcsorting TO occu.
| 10 their daily engagements. We must sim.
! ply make time for thought and reading and
recreation: we must rise to the glorious
| liberty of the children OF God: We must
| insist for ourselves that the most import.
art things are not meat and drink. but the
kingdom OF God and He righteousness.
We need the broadmlndedncss of Jesus.
We need His outlook. His doctrine. His
model OF thoupht and life. His symmetry
Of character. HIS proportions Of manhood.
| The Saviour Of mankind would save ne
| from pettlness and ilhberahty. lie would
have us accept Gods largest estimate OF
| ourselves. He would call us TO hfc which
viii issue at last IN the heavenly land. lie
would hll va m mind and heart and soul
with Gods commandment which is so ex.