The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1906-04-20
THE PULPIT.
AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY stRMoN b.
T1s REV. HOWARD MELlSH.
Subject " Repentance"

tne KEY. howard MeHsn, preached
! from the text. Prom that time Jesus
began TO preach and TO say. Repent 4"
st. Matthew iv:lT. He said:
heard one of the ablest men in
/ America. Il man who had studied the
/ popular mind carefully and observed il
mos. keenly, say not long ago. that il
he Were young again the one message
/ lie would endeavor 20 bring home 10 his
/ countrymen iS-spirit. soul. manhood
make conditions. not conditions men.
Three forces are producing the oppo-
/ site view. The first is materialsm.
| Materialism rs philosophy is discred-
! tied. Twenty-Five years ago IL received
! tremendous Importance through the
! formulation of doctrine of evolution
! by natural selection. To-day 1t is not
| taught in single university chair.
But materialism. as popular concep-
| tion Of the world, is more generally
| needed than ever before. In it God is
! identified with His universe. His name
is Force. His law is to be found not in
the Bible. but in the latest text books
on physics. Man is an animal which
| thinks. He is creature OF his en-
/ vironment When he dies he is dead
| as every other beast OF the field.
/ The second is the teaching OF some
socialists. There is socialism and there
| is Christian socialism. Christian social
! ism endeavorS 10 make place in So
| cialism for Christianity'S emphasis on
! the individual. Socialism is concerned
| with the economic and industrial reor-
| ganization Of society. As interpreted
! by some Of its eXpounders IL is telling
men that they can't he just or right or
/ pure or honest or humane under the
competitive system. To talk about eth
! ical standards so long rs men must
! compete 10 live is child'S play. The
! Sermon on the Mount is impracticable.
let man obey its precepts and he is
sure 10 be thrown 10y the current of
| life on 40 the bank as wreckage. What
! is needed 10 make men is Il different
! order of society. Such teachings such
| feeling. fer il has become more a feel
! ing than clearly articulated system.
! has weakened the sense of individual
! responsibility. | can't be pure living
| under tenement house conditions. |
can't speak the truth in modern pull
! pit or modern newspaper. therefore
l am not responsible for impurity, dis
! honesty. lying.
The third force. laying stress on con-
ditionS instead of will, and so weaken
! ing individual conscience. is Christian
! Science. At first thought this may
! seem an utterly inconsistent statement.
! Does not Christian Science lay all the
! emphasis on the individual-his atti-
! tude of mind. his thought? Not at all.
! What il emphasizes is conditions Of
! thought BY methods which rival the
methods of IIypata and the Neo-Pla-
| tonists. they cndeavor to work your
! mind mo a state where nothing cX-
! ternal TO your mind has any reality.
! Sin does not exist The suffering Of
little children in the Home Of St Giles
! the Cripple is a mere thought. The
| dishonesty Of business has no reality.
| The tragedy OF much of our tenement
! house life. with its starvation, unem-
ployment. 'warfed lives, or the sinful
! luXuriOuSnoSS of much of the Fifth
! avenue life are mere thoughts. Jesus
! on His cross was only acting part.
! Such teaching has no social mes
sage. Christian Science has pro-
! duCed some beautiful characters. "ls-
raelites i'm whom there is no guile"
! who recognize in Jesus. as did Ma
! thaniel. tile Son of Cod" brit il has
| not and cannot produce a social re-
! former TO go into a black slum and
stay there. working and dying for the
! kingdom Of God because it has no
message TO the conscience, individual
! or social.
over against these three forces which
weaken individual responsibility l
would put the one truth OF repentance.
! 1t is an old word with a long record
| The vocabulary of some nations does
not know il. And those nations have
! died. Wealth corrupted them. power
made them arrogant, and arrogancy led
! 10 national madness and ruin. They
! had voices which criticized and com
! planned. which ridicued and despaired,
! but no voice with thunder and light
| ming in its tone TO cry Repent" But
one nation developed a race OF men
whom we call prophets. They were
men who spoke for God. The word Of
! the Lord came 10 them. And they
| spoke that word TO the conscience Of
! their nation. They made men feel
guilt, they pointed ont the right way,
and they inspired men to walk in It.
| And this is repentance. In circum-
stances when other nations have dis.
! appeared. as in transportation and
| captivity. this nation was kept alive
! because OF its sense Of responsibility
| for its own deeds. past and future.
That nation in the fulness Of time
| gave birth 10 Christianity. It's imme.
| date fOrerunner was John the Baptist.
What he taught is summed up in the
one wOrd-repcnt. The rich man with
self-sufficiency the powerful man with
/ his arrogancy are TO be leveled down
| like the mountains; the poor man with
| his patience is 20 be filed up like the
valleys. Start now; for the ax is laid
I TO the root OF your tree and down you
will come IL you don't have fruit
! Share your abundance with those who
have nothing: cease 10 squandey your
! money on clothes and food when men
are naked and children are hungry.
! Stop levying unjust taxes on the poor.
Abide by the law and speak the truth.
! Take what you earn and nothing more
Jesus caught mp that message and
/ fried Repent, John had been preacr
| Ing 10 classes - the prophets had