Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-09-01
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For Sunday Reading. !
= Al Sorts Of Opinions.
4asj-s-t-ts.ss.isssssss.;;ssssii
Falling Off in Protestant Ministry.

Protestant ministry is not easy to de-
termine from current comment in the
religious press. While this matter is
being discussed in its bearing upon
American conditions, similar state of
affairs is observable in Germany OBJ
servers, it may be noted, are confined
to writer's in American journals, and 1t
is curious to see that while skepticism
is alleged as the cause in Germany OF
the falling off of candidates for the
ministry, the reasons operative in Am
erica are thought to he more mater
ialistic. The question might be clari-
fed if the Germans would turn their
attention to us and give us the benefit
Of their view of ourselves. Meantime
we learn from The Catholic Union and
Times (Buffalo) that while twenty-five
years ago there were little more than
nine students in attendance at the
Protestant theological faculties for eV-
cry 100000 Protestant Inhabitants In
the German Empire" at the end of the
last year there were only little more
than five such students to the same
number of the population. The same
pap in the following statistics. shows
how some American churches outnum-
Der their minister's: THE Baptists
have 52.919 churches and only 37,0o1
ministers; Disciples of Christ, 1903
churches and CATS ministers; Luther
ans, 1898 churches, and 1855 minis
tiers; Presbyterians, 1902 churches
and 1850 ministers; Episcopalians,
7,l46 churches and 5,109 clergymen." 1t
may be added that this paper leaves it
to The Outlook august 1S) to state
that, on the other hand, "the number
Of students of Roman Catholic theo-
-logy is not only not declining, but in
creasing proportionately with the
population The Episcopal Recorder
(Philadelphia) in attempting to explain
the situation in Germany, says:
Many may say that the falling off
is due to the openings for brilliant ca
reers constantly occurring in other d.
rections. For ourselves, we believe it
is entirely due to the decay of faith in
the German universities. The teachers
rostrum may be occupied by man of
brilliant gifts and profound learning,
but If he have no faith, his class room
is robbed ST both light and heat. When
skepticism masquerades as advanced
Christian thought, we are not sur
prised If the class-roms are empty"
The Outlook august 1S) thinks the
cause lies in another quarter. Thus:
Some see in such condition clear
proof of the blighting effect of modern
criticism, but the condition may more
reasonably be attributed to the stiff
confessionalism of the State church:
in part, at least, it is probably an IN
evitable consequence of the irrepressi-
BILE conflict between confessional or
thodoxy and scientific criticism, IN
which the vital difference between
faith and knowledge, between perman-
ent spiritual truths and their transient
historical form of expression, is often
forgotten. A cultivated British writer.
we'll acquainted with Germany, sug-
gests what is probably another factor
of TIE present decline:
! q" 7 am afraid that there is no hope
for German Professionalism till after the
social revolution has accomplished 1t
self-that u.s. until social democracy
has gained it's political end and discs
tablished the church. J. say this be-
cause the social democrats, who are
several millions strong, and the one
growing political. party in the empire,
while officially they ignore Christiani-
ty, are in reality in deadly opposition
to it, The reason is not far to seek;
they do not understand Christianity as
SUCH but see in 1t only an established
system which has for it's aim the
maintenance of the social and political
status auo--a useful police measure
for keeping the poor contented with
their lot. Today it has to be frankly
recognized that the Lutheran church,
as by law established, constitutes
moral barrier between the Teutonic
people and Christianity
The problem as 1t presents itself to
American Professionalism seems to find
it's solution, as was limited above, IN
:materialisti, considerations. The onus
may lie either with the congregation
or with the minister. That 1T lies with
the former is the view of the Rev.
Charles r. Trowbridge, who writes
concerning his denomination in Inc
Lutheran Observer philadelphia, Au-
gust 10):
$40 the mind of very many of us in
the General Synod the real reason for
the assumed scarcity of ministerial
candidates lies very, very largely with
misconceptions of the church, which,
in a vast majority of cases-as sta
stistics show:-do not give their pastors
even living support, and who ex-
press surprise at what they are pleased
to call the 'gra,sping spirit of the
pastor if he presumes to suggest that
AN increase in the salary--so often CIV
an grudgingly-would be much appre-
ciated. and is very much desired. The
inadequate support given our pastors,
who are deserving of the very best sort
of support, financial and otherwise, is
well-known matter, and young men
may we'll hesitate to enter a calling
that, tho a religious one-one with
compensations to be had in no other
calling. one than which none other is
higher and more noble in it's influence
still does not assure them of a bare
living in many cases and more often
than not permits of no possible hope
of laying aside little for the gener-
ally inevitable rainy day."
The responsibility is cast back upon
the clergy by writer in The South
western Presbyterian (New Orleans,
August 81 who scorns clerical ex-
PLANTATION that young men value their
intellectual integrity" and fear that
this integrity will be impaired by
creed subscription, with all the be-
nunbing shifts of casuistry and by the
obligation to move about fettered in
dead world of thought Such AN ex-
PLANTATION the writer call a pronounced
fiction" and charges it's inventors with