The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-05-13
Rev. EdsalI Discusses Real Meaning Of
Christianity at st. Johns.
An incorporation Into the Life of
Christ, a Part Of Him.
True Christian Life Does Not Consist
wholly of Being Good.
Eight Young Folks Receive Rite of Cor
firmation Last Night.
From Thursdays Daily.

Bishop s. c. Edsall confirmed eight
young people last evening at the st.
Johns Episcopal church: George M.
Stader, Mildred Olson, Lois Alleman,
Florence La Due, Grace Reynolds, Iessie
Kirk, Esther Hubbard and Blanche Nc
Bride The services were opened and in
part conducted by DIR. George Fl. Davis,
pastor of the church. Rev. w. Fl. Knowl-
ton, pastor of the Episcopal church at
st. James, was also present.
The beautiful Episcopal conirmat ton
service was carried out in every parti-
cular, the full choir adding to the i'm
pressiveness of the occasion in no small
degree.
The bishop chose for his sermon text
the following verse of the book of st.
John: 81 am the way, the truth and
the light; no man cometh unto the faith
er but by me-" In this utterance is
expressed the real meaning of Chris
tianity. 1t is an incorporation into the
life of Christ, a being made part of
Christ and joined to him completely.
Thus it is that Christianity gives the
individual power to resist temptation.
Confucius, Buddha and all other great
institutors of pagan creeds gave code
of maxims and said in effect, "That is
the way" but Christ alone said, II am
the way"
To be a part of Christ is to receive
also the hope of blessed Immortality and
the pardon of sin.
During the history of Christianity,
men have been ever more or less prone to
look on certain part of Christianity or
one certain thing that it teaches and to
ignore the rest. Thus different creeds
have sprung up, each with certain
amount of truth and certain amount of
error The truth that there is in GER
tain beliefs has thus been exaggerated
into an undue proportion, until it has
become virtually error. Other truths of
equal Importance taught by Christianity
has often been ignored.
Some have had an idea that all that
Christianity consisted in was an ac-
curate statement and belief of well-de-
| fined system of metaphysics. Luther and
Calvin made this the test of true Chris
tianity. They stood for true state
ment of Christ and Christianity. By
holding too closely to this idea and leav
ing out of account others of equal inn
portance, their religion became cold and
theoretical.
Other people have made the mistake
that all that there is to Christianity is
simply the living of a good and upright
life. They have thought that nothing
more was necessary to the practice of
Christianity. The living of good and
! upright life is certainly part of Chris
| tianity but it is not all. The man who
| thinks that it is all will get out of the
| way of prayer and the study of Gods
| word His life will become selfish and
self -centered. Loose thinking will
gradually lead to loose living. Even if a
man, who thus thinks, does not have his
own morality thus ruined, the effect
will be liable to show in the lives of
his children. The children will lack the
religious incentive to do right. The ex
ample set by the parent will be to the
detriment of the child. The absence of
strict religious observance cannot fail
to be deleterious to moral living.
People often have and still do make
the mistake that a Christian life con-
sists merely in the hearing of sermons
and the practice of the forms of the
church. This is not so serious a mis-
conception as that of the man who
thinks he can do right without the aid of
the church. The mere hearing of the
sermons and the constant contact with
the religious thought of other people will
have a constant tendency to lead such
people into right thinking. Yet there is
danger in such an attitude of mind.
A sermon that is not good will be liable
to have very bad effect on such people,
and may lead them to doubt the wisdom
of going to church at all.
Music is very proper institution in
church, yet there is danger too that
some may think that XUsic is the main
end and aim of the church's existence.
The same may be said of the official
church costumes and the Identification
of sacred forms. The social side of
church life too may be so magnifed in
the minds of some people that they i'm
agine that social intercourse is the
main end and aim of having a church.
Ladies will sometimes remark that they
"will not go to that church any more
because they didn't speak to me-
All sides of church life and all the
truths of real Christianity should be
kept before the mind of the Christian
and be observed in due proportion, and
no one idea, however essential in itself,
should be allowed to crowd out the
others.
The bishop was shown the sights about
the city yesterday by DIR. Davis. The
d;cf;nop,scbod opocf loft tho cifv for