Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-27
Gle Decline Of preacbing.
BY SIR ROBERT ANDERSON, K. C. B.
lAuthor OF The Silence OF God. etc.).

glasses. Life in the worid-and a university
training Is the beginning OF life I'm the world
teaches men to see things as they are
The training of the theological college Ia
designed TO make them see what the COM
munion which the college represents wishes
them 10 see. And every church has glasses
OF different color
The advertisement pages of magazines re-
Gently contained a soap advertisement con-
sisting of red disc with the name of the
soap in the middle Of It. When one stared
steadily at the disc for a few seconds the
name OF the soap was so stamped on ones
eye that II appeared on the ceiling or where
ever one looked. This is the system OF the
training OF theological colleges.
An American story may come In aptly
here. An accommodation preacher tas
temporary supply" is called preached
for three successive Sundays on infant bap-
tisui. The deacons decided to interfere
some wished for strong measures; but one
OF their number, a peacelover and diplo-
matst' suggested that they should ask for
d sermon on some text which would ex-
cIude his hobby. Adam, where art thou? ''
was the text they selected. The preacher
gladly accepted IT, Nothing could be bet
yer. sunday came round; the preacher
gave out the chosen text and proceeded to
expound II. Our text" he said naturally
divides itself under four heads IN every
one must lie somewhere, t2) every one
some people are where they ought not to
be, and 90 and last. this naturally leads us
10 the subject of infant baptism" | will
nor onend the intelligence of the reader
py delaying 10 interpret my parable This
was bad case of the red disc
In the whole range of human knowledge
there Is nothing that may not be of value
10 the preacher. But there are only two
DOCKS a knowledge of which is essential 10
him. The one is of course the Rool ana
the other is the book Of human nature And
these are precisely the books which theo-
logical colleges distort or ignore Tho pihIo
indeed is read, but it Is read throuqh. the
colofeu glasses of either superstition or
Iduohd!lsm. No one to whom il is a liy-
ing DOCK, divine and yet human absolutely
divine, and yet the most human book In
the world-could be embarrassing as he
speaks about il. And no one who has a
heart nun or sympathy with his fellow
men IN their sorrows, and their Joys, their
dlsappointments and their hopes their
longings and their needs. will eyer
have an inattentive audience And such
men VIII not read battle-ground sermon
10 d confirmation class. or preach for a
month on infant baptism, They will think
long ana earnestly before they stand up to
preach, but they will think more about the
people than about dngmas and books pick
up chance companion in a railway car
rage or On the road and get him to talk
OF something about which he Is himses
thoroughly interested and he will interest
you And so it is with a preacher
In this connection. thoughts come I'D
which it is not easy TO express in a secular
newspaper. The Apostle. Paul was one OF
the worlds great thinkers, and master of
the greatest vehicle OF Thought which the
world has even knGwn-the language OF
ancient Greece. The writer of the 18th
chapter Of the First Epistle 10 the Corfntb-
lals might have taken Cornth by Storm
RI.T no tolls
! came not with eXcoIlency Of speecb m. az
wisdom, declaring unto YOU the mystery of
Cod, and he adds. My speech and NV
preaching were not in persua sive words
Of wisdom, but in demonstration of the
Spirit and Of power" He TINS laid aefSa
al! ms unriTalled powers of reasoning and
oratory, and came down to a level unon
Hhlcn any true minister OF Christ could
stand beside him. And his preaching ON
tn2t level changed heather sensuaIfsfs into
CHRISTIAN saints, And there is the same
power in the Gospel today, and like results
may be attained by the preaching of IT.
Any man Of high character and long ex-
perience may fifty speak to others about
theIF NE duties and temptations and dam
gers. But from a young fellow fresh from,
a theological college such preaching NAV
De a mere lmperunence. Not so, however
II, IKE the young Welshman who has
Surfed the prlncipality with his enthusiasm
ne mas learned the secret Of spiritual power
ms IS the sort of preaching that is want
eu' ana II II fails, the next generation OF
our people Will be hopelessly corrupted
either by superstition or by rationaiisu
ana our greatness even as a nation will ha
imperied. '' 10