Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-06-05
THE WANING or RELIGION.

s a. short time ago q New o0FlN5i shP-
Z Hist minister took occasion to point out
e that there is Il general decline Of re-
ligious interest ailouB the masses. He
called attenton4.to the evident lack OF
church attendance. lack Of deep'inter-
est, lack OF support lack OF regard for
the Sabbath, lack 81 students for the
ministry, and the spirit circumference
N and lukewarinness. He WAS especially
concerned about the Protestants He
said:
3sProtestantlsn has made little head
way among the French, Austrians,
sspaniards, Poles, Hnngarians, Russ
ans, and Greeks 1t is from these coun-
tries that most of our immigrants come.
4 The prospect is enough To give any
Protestant church heart failure. a
protestant church I'M New York haste
work harder to keep alive than church-.
II as do In other parts OF the country to
make great progress. Then add to the
a above the consideration which brings
8 most people TO America. n the early
4 days men cames here to find a religious
and political asylum. Liberty was their
/ nature and watchword Today the
vast majority are moved from consld-.
\ CREATIONS of material gain,
lii a. recent number Of The Outlook
Is two articles appear in which theawrit
ers endoavor to show the cause of this
decline and to suggest a remedy The.
burden Of Heterogeneous is that the
course of study given IN theological
selninaries is too antiauated and schol-
este to suit modern times. II Is arr
stled that a fairly educated man, with
facility of speech, a knowledge of the;
English Bible, and real interest III.
the Welfare of mankind, may be bet
Ter fitted to preach than students who
have put in three years at Greek and
4 Hebrew, and have spent a lot of time
over people who have been long
time dead What the seminares{
should do, it Is suggested, is to throw
overheard a lot Of the deadwood in their.
traditional curriculum and put their
main strength into 's,+ociology, eeonom-4
les, pedagogy, and ethics The chief
\ ainl5should beto teach 1.-THE social char
acter OF religion, and, specifically, the,
social application of CHRISTIANITY In
tain. should be .noclalized."
1t is gathered from the articles in.
il question that the writers are of the
opinion that ministers ought to be cap-
able of discussing, if not solving, the
social problems of the day in order to
asin the masses.
Ii is 10 be feared. however, that the
4 trouble Is more serious than this crit
icism seems to suppose. The success
full ministers of past ages have been
.4Hhose Who have been firmly CONVINCED
+ Of their divine call; who have been con-
seious OF having a divine message to
deliver to mankind, and who have been
determined to deliver that message
even If death was offered them as q.
reward. There can be no success in
the ministry without a divine mission
and a divine message
Then. the only successful discoursesa
are those whose central theme is the
Grucihed Savior. There is no other
IlaIne In which salvation is offered. Paul
at Athens, disputed in the synagogue
and III the market place, and gathered
around him philosophers of various
schools but they considered him u
3babbler" and many Knocked him.
Irom Athens he went to Corinth, fam
y Gus for its Venus temple, Is wealth
and luxury. He remained there 4
year and a half. preaching TO both
Jews and Gentiles. But according to
& his own statement q Cor. 2: ., when
4 he came to Corihth he Determined not
to know anything .. save Jesus
q Christ, and Him cruciiied." That was
4 the secret OF his success.
The minister of the gospel finds him
4 self in world in which seltishness is
dominant and threatening TO extermin-
y ate all spirituality; let him proclaim
Il the message of infinite love. He finds
a world in rebellion: let him proclaim
Z the massage Of reconciliation He
finds a world of sorrow and struggle.
let him proclaim the message of joS.
and peace and comfort, If he is a
messenger with a message from God.
let him be true. Let him keep him-
self free from the contasion of the
world in order that he may he able
to commune with the Invisible and APP
pear in that power. 50 shall his, min
istry be a success. no matter what his
preliminary education may have been.
There is no other way to success,
"ouT OF THE GOLDEN NEST