Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1910-03-10
DOCTRINES OF CHRIST
VS.. DOCTRINES OF MEN

in Brooklyn's largest Auditorium,
the Academy of Music. which was
oyercrowded. 1t was estimated in adj
vance that this subject would draw a
larger crowd that the Tabernacle
would accommodate. The other
meetings of the day were held in the
Tabernacle. We report Pastor Rus
sells discourse from the text fore
going, as follows:
I It is difficult to please everybody.
| The duty of Christian minister is to
seek chiefly to please the Lord. sLet
the words of my mouth and the medi-
| tations of my heart, be acceptable in
thy sight, o Lord, mys strength and
my Redeemer" (Psalms xix, IA. Our
ministerial friends seem to be an
noyed because we preach the doc
trines" of Christ. In substance, their
sentiment is: Brother Russell, do you
not know that in the fashionable top
| les of our day doctrines are tabooed
by the great ministers Of all demon
| nations? Instead, as you perceive
from the newspaper announcements,
it is now quite the thing to discuss
political, scientific and sociological
doctrines. You should give the pub
lie lectures on subjects like these:
Social Democracy; Rapid Transit in
Brooklyn, from the text, MANY shall
run to and fro;" Female Suffrage;
The Boys Brigade; The Best Novel
of the Year; The Narrow Way of the
Bicycle Rider; Will the Comet Sweep
the Earth with its Tail; Can Football
Survive, etc.; or occasionally, for eff
feet, gently rake the rich on better
housings for the poor, or belabor the
Trusts for soaring prices of food.
Such topics as these. Brother Russell,
interest the Christian public in our
day. And the public constitute our
| principal congregations when we lift
/ our largest collections. The only peO-
pie who will be interested in the doc
trines you are preaching are the old
fogy, out-of-date folk, and you will
find the majority of them poor in this
worlds, riches. For PHYS sake, stop
teaching the doctrines of Christi"
| Doctrines were good enough in the
days of Jesus and Paul and Calvin
and Luther and Wesley, but the peo-
pie are not accustomed to them now
kadays
T 1 have no fault to find with my
Christian brethren in the ministry of
the various denominations. 1t is not
to me, but to the. Lord, that they
must give an account of their stew
ardship-of their grand opportuni-
|. ties for declaring the Gospel of
Christ. To their own Master they
must stand or fall. 1t is not for me
to forbid them because they follow
not with us. 1t is for each one who
/ stands as an ambassador of Christ
and of God to follow his own convic-
tions faithfully Besides, am as
sured that many of them are Loyal to
the core.
| 1t is my understanding that. as a
minister of the Gospel. should take
for my guide in this matter the in
structions Of my ordination. Like st.
Paul my ordination to preach the
Gospel was from the Lord. I must
preach the message which / believe
ell Mas given me Il Timothy ii, -.
AS His ambassador must preach
| the Word, following the example of
the Lord and the Apostles. AS they
avoided politics, SO must /. As they
avoided vain philosophy and" science
falsely so called.' so must /. As
they preached the doctrines of Christ,
so must whether men hear or for
bear. to hear I remember the words
of St. Paul to- Timothy: Preach
the Word. with all long-suf
fering and doctrine. For the time
will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine; but after their own
preferences they shall gather teach
ers to themselves; having itching
ears they shall turn away their ears
from the Truth and shall be turned
unto fables" I'll Timothy iv, 2-4).
There Is a Reason.
There must be reason why Chris
tian preachers and their hearers have
abandoned the study of the doc
trines of Christ" set forth by the
Apostles and Prophets. Is 1t not be-
cause they no longer believe those
doctrines? Is it not true that the
College and Seminary professors have
led the majority of the ministry afar
these ministers are gradually lead
into unbelief in the Bible. and that
ing their confiding focks into other
pastures green than thise which
the Great Shepherd and His appoint
ed mouthpieces, the Apostles, APP
proved? Is not the higher criticism
infidelity of the colleges gradually
penetrating even into the Sunday
Schools of our land-unde all
faith in Gods Book? But what led
tc this departure from the Word OF
God--5fnto higher criticism infidelity
and into the evolution theory, which
makes void the word of God; and I'M
Christian science. which puts pre-
MUM on falsehood; and into the
osophy and spiritualism, the decep-
lions of the fallen angels demon
ism? How comes it that all these
unscriptural theories now flourish,
whereas only a century ago Gods
Word was respected and its doc
trines were studied by Christian peg
pie of various and conflicting creeds?
The answer is that with the increas-
ing light of our day the creeds of
the past are seen to be fallacious. ir-
rafiouo1 hv o II uho 11ca THAR think