Evening star., 1909-03-14


is hungering for the reality which as yet
so many people have not seen." said Rev.
U. G. B. Pierce. pastor Of All Souls
Church, in a recent sermon. He was
talking on the multitude of creeds of
Christianity.
His text was the thirty-fifth chapter of
the Prophet Isaiah, eighth verse: AND
a highway shall be there, and 1t will be
called the way of holiness: the way
faring men though fools shall not err
therein
Nineteenth chapter of the Acts of the
Apostles. thirty-second verse: Some
therefore cried one thing, and some an
other; for the assembly was confused;
and the more part knew not wherefore
they We're come together
He said, in part:
These two apostles bring before our
attention what might almost De caileo
the irony of religious history That What
was started out and promised TO De
highway broad and wide. so straight
that it would lead In the easiest possible
way to the kingdom of holiness. ana DC
called by any other name than the way
of holiness. should turn out to be meet
ing where some should cry one thing,
and some another, and the larger part
should not know what they were come
together for.
Babel of Theologists.
1--WE refer to lines of Longfellow,
Luther, Pope, Calvin. all Of these creeds
and doctrines. But the doubt is where
Christianity may be. AS a matter of
fact this confusion Of tongues. this jar
gon of churches the babel of theolo-
gists, has been one barrier to many men
and the reality of the religious Ife IL
has seemed to them that religion was not
a method of life, way leading TO hon-
ness wherein every step ltseif maoe ns
contribution to holiness, but to sucn II
has seemed as If 1t were complicated
system with rival borders. and rival and
conflicting institutions-some crying one
thing some another, and amid the papei
most people forgetting what they hao
come together for after all.
1T is easy enough to see what con-
tributed to this confusion of the modern
mind: it is easy to see how partSanShlp
has entered into it and how the desire
| to have a large communion rather tnan a
true communion has existed; now the
habit of gauging our churches. this. that
| or another by the number OF members
rather than by the quality OF the mem
bers; how the habit of measuring sue
| cess by missionary effort. rather than Dy
| converting and transmitting power. has
made religion predicate more than all
else of politics and to some. to many
people. a mere bit Of partisanship.
Sects Outgrowth Of Idea.
"It is easy to see also in the history
and development Of religion how many
sects are simply the outgrowth OF an
idea; how there are so many Protestant
| churches indeed called protests, protests
not answering the apprehension of a
larger truth, but the protest against some
| suspected error. Are the people In the
| church cold, then, instead of warming
the members OF the church, some few OF
| the more Jealous and more ardent mem
bers will withdraw and start a new de-
nomination for themselves. If the COM
| munity is not sufficiently logical then
they will withdraw; should few or them
hold to the aristocracy. then they VIII
reorganze all the church government
Do they have forms of an invisible church.
! then they break up the one of any In
visible church which they have. and which
lis in the church which they have not.
These things are easy to see how the love
of partisanship has divided the pody OF
Christ as Paul said. into innumer-
able fragments. But the results are
even more to be regretted than these
cases. 1t is this that has made religion
| come into disrepute in many minds. These
people are naturally crying that II re-
| lisious people do not care, how much less
| can it be expected that we should stand
as arbiters and judges? So many people
| have come to the idea that religion Is a
| survival of some religion which Will hnger
a little WHILE but will gradually dlsap-
| pear. To other minds religion has no
| grounds for reality. There is no point
| which has not been to conflict and cum
fusion So religion is brought into dis
| repute.
World Is Hungering.
"While we are quarreling among our
| selves what religion may be, the world
is huneering for the reality which as yet
| so many people have not seen. Inc say
ing of Mary is still true: They have
taken away my Lord. and L know not
where they have laid Him. Men embrace
| the religious life, but they do not see 1t
| on such terms confusion and strife
of tongues and when the visible church
manifest but the men see only 10 a large
extent these conditions. We are not to be
| surprised that the average man loses his
| regard for them
"How can his life he right when the vari
GUS fbers OF religion are so many ruling
| sects-one cries one thing, and another
| another, and for the larger part seem tc
have forgotten the very mission that cale1
| them together. 1t Is long step, is II not
| from the vision of the prophet: There
shall be a highway. and it will be called
the way of holiness; the wayfaring mer
and when that way is perceived wayfar
| a long step from that to the attitude OF
so many men who say: Am wiser than
the church fatherS tHat l. SnOulu solve
the things that they cannot agree upon
| Am 7 better; have l better insight that
| should be able to decide for myself? Sc
| The man leaves the problem as hopeless
| | do not intimate such spirit. but to cal
to our mind this truth-that notwithstand-
ing all this there is an Interpretation OF
| religion which holds to the prophets
| vision, that it is a highway of holiness
| and when that way is perceived way far
ing men though fools need not eri
| therein.
There is an Interpretation of religion
| which is so rational and so simple that
the wayfaring man. though a fool, need
| not err and so that men and women need
| not come together. some crying one
| thing and some another. and none OF
/ them knowing wherefor they are gath
cred. That consists simply in the bibli-
cal statements of the prophets, and ir
the belief that religion is the life OF
Cod in the soul of man. The life OF
God in the soul of man. What doth the
| Lord require of you but to do justly. te
love mercy and to walk humbly with
| tbv God? This is the commandment
which my God commanded me to teach
| you. You shall not add unto 1T. neither
| shall l diminish from it, The Lord thy
| Cod is one Lord and thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart. and
with ali thy mind and with all thy
| strength
What Is Religion