Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-22
ARE OUT or FASHION
Why Sermons Are Rarely Pub
Iished Nowadays.
PRESS THE GREAT PREACHER
Mr.. Spofford Tells of the Discourses
That Have Lived.
EDWARDS AND BUSHNELL
Eminent Theologians Who Swayed
Public Thought in Their Day
Were Opposite in Methods.
EDWARDS AND BUSHNELL
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

| of sermons had gone out of fashion.
Because of a growing and healthy dislike
of formal instruction on the part of the
American people," ne replied, "and per-
haps a growing lack Of reverence for the
| learning and the opinions of the clergy.
| The people of this generation have more
respect for the opinions Of a newspaper
| than for those of the pulpit. The newspa-
| per monopolizes public attention seven days
| in the week and has six chances to eX-
! press its views to one for the preacher.
| Then again there Is distaste for homilies
and for sermonizing, and the members of
| congregation who listen to one or perhaps
| two sermons in the week from their own
pastor are not eager to buy sermons of
other pastors In addition. Very seldom
nowadays is a congregation enthusiast
tic over the deliVerance of its pastor as to
demand a second hearing or an opportunity
to read his words in print. Sometimes his
torical and anniversary discourses are
printed in pamphlet form for the preserva-
ton of the facts, but not usually for the
propagation of the opinions, and friends OF
those upon whom eulogies may have been
pronounced frequently publish the discourse
SO that those who did not have the oppor-
tunity to hear them may read what was
said.
Preachers Now Less Important.
There is also a prodigious difference in
the size of the preachers in several re-
spects" continued Mr.. Spofford In the
old days the preacher was always the great
man of the community. He was the ora
Gle; perhaps the only learned man, the only
college graduate in the parish, and was
therefore looked UP to with the reverence
that due to his cloth and the ddmlra-
ton that was due to his learning Today
our clergymen do lot exercise that 1nf1u-
ence, for obvious reasons. They are apt to
hav m in their grpgatlOnS VINO are
just as well educated as themselves and
in whose opinions and learning the public
has quite as much confidence. Therefore
the clergyman is no longer dictator IN So
cial moral, spiritual and often political
and commercial affairs as he was two hun
dred or even one hundred years ago. In
crease Mather and Cotton Mather his son,
were as absolute autocrats as any despot
that ever sat upon a throne-''the Brahm1n
caste of New England" as DR.. Holmes
said. Il Sir Oracle. When l ope my
lips let no dog bark" Shakespeare never
described more distinctive characters than
those two extraordinary men, father and
son.
days whose sermons are worth printing.
Some of them are mere pumphandles 10
pump the wisdom and the knowledge OF
their predecessors out of the reservoirs.
They could not for heaven itself get out
of the rut of the teXtual theology they
have learned in the seminary, and they
won't learn anything else, even out or the
Bible. Their sermons are Without d Spa
of human vitality or love or originality.
Moody's Sermons Most Popular.
.'Whose sermons in modern times have
had the largest circulation?' l asked
.'Moody's, of course. He had larger con-
gregations and in more places and talked
to more people than any preacher OF mod
ern times, and thus demand for MS ser
mons was created. He fired the hearts of
tic
and his personal magnetism. He preached
a practical religion and his theology was
within the comprehension of the unedu-
Gated portion of his congregations Whlle
he was speaking the hearts of his hearers
burned within them. but in cold type his
words are not SO inspiring. His sermons
do not read as we'll as they sounded and
they will not live any longer than the
great part of our current literature. There
is not enough learning and wisdom in them
| to preserve them. Their readers find them
cold.
TT is the same with all emotional preach
ers Spurgeon, the great London pulpit
orator, published fourteen ponderous vol
umes of sermons which were highly APP
preciated by those who heard them but
are frightfully dull reading Henry Ward
| Beechers sermons were published and
| widely read at the time they were delivered,
| none ever more so, and they were
| very popular because of his wonderful
| imagination and nimitable manner of
applying great truths to everyday life.
| He had an extraordinary insight into ma
| ture; he poetized everything and his
| thoughts electrified the hearts of those who
| heard him, but even his flowers are faded,
| and while his sermons will always be popu-
1 lar with sentimental people they are not
| great in comparison with those OF some OF
| the ancient divines.
| Sermons That Will Live.
| Jeremy Taylor's sermons published in
1850, are as fresh and as full of vitality
/ doll, III
London congregations. They are vivid with
truth and light and are written in splendid
English. Robert South, one of his con-
| temporaries. who preached at Westminster
| Abbey was an ideal sermonizer For close
| reasoning and eloquence, for clearness of
| thought and beauty of speech, they are
| unsurpassed by any that have been deliv-
| cred before or since his time. You will
| notice how Senator Hoar, in his autobiog
| raphy, describes the influence of the ser
| mons of Robert South upon his own mind.
| He spoke of him with the greatest admira-
| ton There was third great preacher in
| that generation. DR.. Isaac Barrow. He
| was master of Trinity College, Cambridge,
| preceded Newton as professor of mathe-
| mates there. and was afterward chaplain
| to Charles IL. His sermons are ideal of
! true eloquence and have vitality enough to
! live forever.
| 1.-The great Whitefield has never been sur
| passed in this country for fiery eloquence,
| and probably no man of his time or since
| was ever able to sway an audience he
| did, but his sermons like Moody's, do not
| read we'll as they sounded. Benjamin
| Franklin, printer he was fond of calling
| himself, published a volume of Whitefield's
| sermons, although he had never any SYM
pathy with Methodism Franklin relates
! his experience under Whtefield's preach
| ing and tells how his soul was stirred by
| Whtefield's eloquence, although I am sure
| it Will be admitted that Benjamin Frank
| lin was as well-balanced and possessed as
| much self-control as any mortal He tells
| u.s. however, that he went day to hear
| Whitefield preach. intending to drop
| Shilling into the contribution box as was
his custom. But his emotions were so
excited by Whitefield's appeal for funds
for his school in Georgia that he emptied
his pockets and put in the plate every
penny that he had with him, copper silver
| and paper Whitefield, You know died and
was buried in Newburyport, Mass
Vitality of Edwards Writings.
jonathan Edwards was perhaps the
greatest theologian, logician and metaphy-
sician that ever spoke from an American
pulpit Or any other pulpit, for that mat
ter. Although no one would think
of calling him popular preacher, several
editions of his sermons have been published,