The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-08-19
M

taian, the professional man The ,sb0rer
the coachman the waiter. Ne conductor.
the porter the barber. he messenger lhe
clergyman who is paid for burials aud hap
tisms the corporations fins ono craze
seems 70 leave no part oi American SO.
ciety intact. rich and poog higl and low.
alike are infected with this disease which
is sappmg all thc spiritual aud moral en-.
ergy OF the generation
The church is not the only place from,
which such men and women absent them
selves Our lectures on history and travel.
and science and art are giving up their
business because the cry has gone ipfth
that men win not attend lectures, The
literature that appeals TO people is not that
which lifts the mind and heart to higher
thoughts. but the type OF iimsy novel that
simply entertains
The Church Of Christ is no longer a eoin
Portable place in which the mrepeatant
sinner can sit Religion has become much
more OF reality 10 every man. lt fills
more sacred place 1t is not regarded in
these days as simply combination OF rites
and ceremonies. performed III special
building, but religion is known by all men
to be coordinate and co-eXtensve with life
and the man who willingly lives sintnlly
aud in disregard Of Christs standard will
not add to his degradation by playing the
hypocrte and impostor. This means that
in the minds of irreligous men there is Il
growing respect for religion and a sound
regard for the church even among those
who do not attend. | say that it is the life
which the age is calling on men TO live
that is weakening the religious life and
faith OF men. Men cannot serve God and
mamnlon is true forever. Can this evil be
overcome, and how? ! believe that it can,
and the way to overcome it IS to satisfy
men that we are living in moral and spr-
itual world in which God is present and
in which He makes His demands. Profess
sor James, OF Harvard, speaks OF the UNI
versatility of religious experience opening
up il new world which science has hitherto
scoifed at, but which must be recognized
ii we know by our own experience that
there is a realm of thought, OF love, or
conscience, of Righteousness. toward which
things our hearts yearn. We know more
than ever the laws of this department of
life, how, under God, beneticence and
growth and power are added to life by
their obedience, and how injury and weak
ness and suffering are the resultants OF
disobedience to the individual and to the
nation and the race. Men believe in these
things because they see them. Ii they do
not believe in their power as you and 4,
dear Christian friends do, 1t is because
they have been hindered by other things
from looking at them seriously enough Ii
they can be turned from the craze OF the
age, which is selhshness, they viii be able
to see and appreciate the workings OF this
real kingdom of love and Christ In our
midst. Ii the church is to help men 1T
must open its doors and heart TO such men.
1t must not refuse their admission or re-
tard them by insulting them when they
come. III man is looking for righteous
ness and anxious to govern his life accord
ing to that inspiration, the church ought
4 L,
all he is ready and willing to receive. Let
us not be afraid of our sacraments being
desecrated. Men will not come to them
unless they really want them and believe
in them. We ask too much of men about
what they believe or do not believe. The
working and living Church of Christ ~
not that which shall only have place and
a welcome for those who are fully equipped
with faith in all its sacred doctrines, but
a church which, like Christ shall draw all
men unto it and gradually, by its spiritual
love and care, nourish men into it's highest
privileges and possessions.
Ii men can believe something OF Chrlst's
revelation of God, If they can say, Lord,
! believe" il becomes then the part of
every Christian as an individual and of all
Christians as an organization to help their
unbelief until men can enter INTO the tut
ness of His message and take for their in
spiration in life. God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whose believeth on Him might not perish,
but have everlasting life" This is the
Christians message of Gods presence
among us, God loving men, inspiring and
guiding them toward His own ideal OF per-
tectness. This is the opening Of the gates
OF salvation to men, from selfishness and
into the happiness and encour-
agement of knowing that we are the sons
of God for God hath not called us to lln-
cleanness, but to holiness. When the
churches of Christ take this attitude to-
ward men and men shall learn that the
mnistration of the church is toward help
ing them out of their sins and mistakes,
rather than in a constant condemnation OF
their faults, | believe they will be found
within its walls, ready to be helped and
led toward larger knowledge of God and
His love.