The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-09-26

Topic--Horne missions The cry or tht l
city.-Gen. xviii. le-S5-
Most people VINO live in the country
and in small towns and have travelled
but little or none at all have the hE-
preston that cities are nothing but
cesspools OF sin and iniquity. The
newspapers are to some extent re-
sponsibIe for these false views. Al
few crimes are committed. and these
are blazoned forth; few politicians
engage in crooked work. and these
are given great headlines; a few cou.
pies apply for divorce, and prominent
places are made for these. But. after
all. how few are the criminals in
comparison to the millions in cities
who are upright and honest-how
few political raseals when placed be-
side the thousands who honorably
perform their civic dutiesi And how
few are the divorce cases when COM
pared with the thousands and thou
sands of homes where married life is
not a failurel Cities are well church
ed. and the most active. consecrated
Christians dwell in our large cities.
ne HaSlOTS VI THESE dEc
most faithful and energetic. There Is
absolutely no comparison between the
work done by q city pastor and one
whose pastorate Is in the country or
a small town. Moreover. city pastors
do not, as many suppose. preach any
thing else but the gospel. The best
gospel sermons to be heard today are
heard from city pulpits. These are
facts and need to be emphasized be-
fore we look at the other side of the
picture.
While the best people as a general
thing live in the cities, SO also do tn.
worst. The attractions to evil are
great. The opportunities to success.
fully commit sin and crime in great
populations is also evident. and henee
the criminal classes seek shelter in the
cities, and one of the great disadvan.
tages to the progress Of the gospel in
American cities today Is the large per.
centage of foreigners who have come
to them in recent years. This is es.
pecially true Of New York, Chicago
and Philadelphia. Colonies OF various
nationalities are herded together In
these great centers of population. This
increases the difficulty of making our
cities Christian.
There is one thing, however. about
city missions. The Christian people
who live in the cities consider the
work largely their own, and no ap
peals are made for money outside the
cities themselves. In the cities already
mentioned this is true and also of Pitt
burg, which is fast becoming a gre
center for foreigners Of all kinds. Tbs
cry of the city is great, but 1t has
never yet reached in our very worst
American cities what ii did In Sodou
and the cities of the plain More i'm
portant still. our great cities contain
churches and Christian workers capa
BILE and willing under God to evangei
lie the most discouraging elements Ii
our large cities especial efforts are FIRE
quently made to reach the Indifferent
and unsaved. such as the Torrey move
ment and the great simultaneous evan
gelistic meetings held under the lead
ership OF Chapman and Alexander
The various religious denominations
through their ecclesiastical bodies, la
Dor earnestly for city evangelization
Many individual churches have specia
missions and do splendid work. TIL.
outlook is most encouraging Vice ant
sin are driven from the public gaze
Life and property are defended by tn,
splendid police forces of our larger
cities. The gospel is making headwa,
into the hearts and lives of men, Le
US trust God. therefore, and go for
ward to win our cities for Christ
BIBLE READINGS.
Ps. lxxxvii. 1-6: cxxii. 10; cxxvii. :.
Jonah /, 2; Acts l, 8: vii. 1-s; Luke xix
41-44; Rom. K, IA, 10; Acts xvii, 1921
Rev. xii, 1-6.