The morning journal-courier., 1907-12-28
December 2s, 1907.
PRoTEsTANTIsM.

h preached last Sunday man Srnyth, D. D., in the E e Center Congregational Al The New Catholicism and | \ grotestantism, is one of Ik Yutterances that cannot be y 10 the comment of quick ' Judgment, but requires care f more than once and that A reflection that will secure as ( urvey of the religious field e rmon itself suggests.
 A any years Dr. snayth has been lrful and stimulating contrib theological literature and to x literature in general, but no N tion has in recent years, pos
 hdicated such clear discern N md been flied with a message
 n significance, We will not call J ermon ''yision" or 'beautiful
 as some have. There is indeed 3 Nrophetic element in it, but that
 Exception of prophet that makes E him one who has visions and dreams dreams is entirely inadequate. NThe prophet of old was a preacher Bfor his age, because he could see Farther and see deeper than others  And possessed a clearer discernment N ths tendencies, movements and aaSG of thought of his time and ' Bld therefore forecast with fair
 gree of accuracy the end toward il1ich these tendencies were converg- Is.
 pr. Srnyth is dealing in facts in the eligions field as truly as does the cientist who makes his deductions rom the material facts he has mar halled. The changes and tendencies Tin Professionalism that Dr. Smyth sees and of which he speaks are as open to all Protestant clergymen unless for , some reason the eyes of many arc holden that they cannot see; Protest
 6s Ss-il has largely accom-
 its mission and is slowly
 Eng from it's chrysalis state and
 ving on to an age in which Ter Christian triumphs and vital l
 ity Twill be attained, though under a name as broad as the catholicitv of truth, for the name "Protestantism" will then have no meaning and it sure ly will be useless to maintain organ ization for the sake of any name that has ceased to be significant. There can be no evading the fact that num- erous churches are struggling along simply for the purpose of maintain ing q particular name, or a creed, that has ceased in considerable measure to express adequately the vital religious temper of the time. For this reason much religion is withdrawing itself from our churches" as pr. Smyth has put it: ''Protestantism has lost the old authority of the church.; Protestant faith is losing mastery over the con trolling forces of modern life"
 If all this is true, and there are oth- CTS beside Dr. smyth who believe il is, then Professionalism does wisely tc turn it's failures into successes by seek. q ing to adjust it's message to the needs of the age. It must be a social adap. tati6n, secured by the methods tha M .]r rrs-zee cdshe to be called the "nev
 gelism' which proposes to make
 earth a better place for living
 the sphere in which Christianity
 } be realized. The line of differ KA between the older and newe IT it of evangelism is this: The for
 seeks to rescue men from thi
 rid, which is assumed to be neces
 rily evil, and to prepare them fo
 other world somewhere distant; tn
 ,wer evangelism seeks to attain de
 yable conditions of social righteous AA ss on this earth and to train mel
 such principles of moral and spirit tal living that they are prepared fo any world. This also is one of tn changes taking place in Protestantisn
 How soon the complete. mergenc VI of the numerous bodies of Protest antism into this new Catholicism vii Y take place is an interesting question \ How long it will take the modernis movement within the Roman churc to impress it's ideals of democracy an to bring about there a closer adapta \ ton to modern life, is another inter esting question. At any rate there ar \ great spiritual forces at work in bot branches of the Christian churc bringing better things to pass. It
 at this point that Dr. Smyth, afte recording the facts that indicate th passing of Professionalism, sees diml the rising of new religious orde preserving and harmonizing Roma absolutism and Protestant indiviC ualism. Dr snayth we'll points out tn; the growing common Christian COT science" and the conception of u unity of Christian society are a, tual spiritual forces at work.
 It may be said that the Roma