Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-03-15
A NEW MOVEMENT.
Continued from Page Three.)

religion We mean Christianity. When
We eXalt the power of religion we
mean Christianity. When we declare
the necessity of religion we mean
Christianity OF course we know that
| there are other religions, but they are
| outside our ordinary mental geography
and do not vitally concern our West
ern civilization We think of them as
missionary opportunity. Indeed they
| are far away on the horizon of the
| average man in the streets of the aver
| age Christian in the church. An
| Ultima Thule that has little connection
with one busy world. Yet the ethnic
| religions are not so far outside our
peculiar sphere of development as we
| think. They will modify Christianity
as Christianity will modify them. In
| deed what will be the Christianity of
| the future no man is wise enough to
predict
, But we need not go so far afield.
/ Right at home there is religion and
| Christianity. T differentiate deliber-
ately. In our families, in politics, in
business, in social and philanthropic
activities there are men of faith and
! love who are not Christians in the his
| toric and dogmatic sense which has
given definition to the term. They are
good men. noble men-some of the
| choicest spirits of the age, but they
| do not confess the creeds of Chris
tianity nor accept it's exclusive claims.
lhey believe in supreme power of
Righteousness. They love their fellow
| men, but they are not Christians. The
name of such is legion-every COM
inunity has its representatives. They
are respected, honored loved They
are religious but not Christian: j. e.: in
the essentials of belief which the
church of the ages has insisted upon
as the guaranty of heaven.
And so we come to the church. What
IS true of religion and Christianity, is
frue of religion and the church. For
1890 years religion. the Christian re-
llglon, has been identified and bound
up in one bundle with the Christian
church. No one outside the church
could be a Christian. He might be al
lowed some virtues. some moral eX-
cellencies. but he was not Christian
until baptiSed into the body of Christ
1t was left for the 10Th century to do
battle at the gate of this persistent
idea and even now the gate is hardly
shaken.
In the historic development Of relig-
ous theory the church became para =
mount. it's dogmas and discipline. the
sine qua non of religion. In harmony
With this idea there grew up the cor
rollary distinction between the sacred
and the secular. until to be really re-
liSious one must withdraw himself
from the normal interests and activ; u.
ties of life. Even now the technical
specific definition of religious in the
roman Catholic church is belonging to
the mOnastic or celebate life In that
great communion the truly religious"
must take vows of celebacy and pow
erty.
The old leaven fingers in our Ian
gnage. We Spe ak of sacred and secular
work. Preaching the Gospel is a sacred
calling: selling groceries is a secular
business. Not vet have we learned the
truth that the distinction between the
sacred and the secular is matter Of
disposition rather than of objects or
ca!ii1gs or any external mark, badge
or symbol. Sacred and secular are but
dtferNnt attitudes of soul, dispositions
OF heart. bents of mind. choices of will
| To. .tfe religious man all life is su-
premely sacred. To the secular all is
materialistic and selfish There is a
great gulf between the two with which
the distinctions of profession. craft or
trade have nothing whatever to do. By
a wrong historic emphasis we have en-
couraged cant and Hypocrisy on the
one side, deriSion and contempt on the
other. Eternally the true defferentia
ton must be one of spirit rather than
work in life. When that is understood
| men will not say: Religion is relig-
ion and business is business that
choicest maxim of the devil.
The ancient world before Christ
! made no SUCH distinction as Christian
ity has made. Among the early Greeks
ana Romans almost everything that
concerned life was conceived as relig-
ious. From the cradle to the grave life
was dominated by religious rites and
customs vigorously practiced. Games,
! dances. sports had their appropriate
religious character. Eating and drink
ing. ploughing, planting. reaping.
trading. going to war, making peace,
We're all religious acts in which was
! invoked the help of the gods, to whom
| lihations We're nourad and sacri-
fiees offered. Family life was