The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-03-22
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL.
Pastor Brooklyn
Tabernacle.

I
tor Russell preached twice here today.
His discourse on Inferno" was deliv-
cred In Brooklyn's largest Auditorium,
the Academy of Music, which was
overcrowded. 1t was estimated in ad-
vance that this subject would draw a
larger crowd than the Tabernacle
would accommodate. The other meet
ings of the day were held In the Taber-
naele. We report Pastor Russell's dis
course from the text foregoing, as fol-
| lows
1t is difficult to please everybody.
The duty of Christian minister is to
seek chiefly to please the Lord. Let
the words Of my mouth and the medi-
tations of my heart. be acceptable in
thy sight, o Lord. my strength and my
! Redeemer" psalm xix, Ia. Our min
isterial friends seem to be annoyed be-
cause we preach the doctrines" Of
Christ. In substance, their sentimer
is: Brother Russell, Do you not know
that in the fashionable topics of our
day doctrines are tabooed by the great
ministers Of all denominations? In
stead, as you perceive from the news
paper announcements. it Is now quite
the thing to discuss political, scientific
and sociological doctrines. You should
give the public 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 effect. gently rake the rich on bet
ter housing for the poor, or beIabor the
Trusts for soaring prices of food. Such
topics as these, Brother Russell, inter
est the Christian public in our day.
And the public constitute our principal
congregations when we lift our largest
collections. The only people who will
be interested in the doctrines you are
preaching are the old fogy, out-of-date
folk, and you will End the majority of
them poor in this worlds riches. For
PHYS sake stop teaching the doctrines
of Christ"i Doctrines were good
enough in the days of Jesus and Paul
and Calvin and Luther and Wesley, but
the people are not accustomed to them
nowadays.
l 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 stewardship
of their grand opportunities for declar
ing 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 ambassa-
dor of Christ and of God to follow his
own convictions faithfully. Besides.
am assured 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 Cos
pei was from the Lord. l must preach
the message which | believe he has
given me q Timothy Ii. u. AS his
ambassador must preach the Word.
following the example of the Lord and
the Apostles. AS they avoided poll
tics. so must l. As they avoided vain
philosophy and science falsely SO
called" so must l. AS they preached
the doctrines of Christ. so must /
whether men hear or forbear to hear
l remember the words of st. Paul to
Timothy: Preach the Word,
with all long-suffering and doctrine.
For the time will come when they will
not endure sound doctrine; but after
their own preferences they shall gath
er teachers to themselves: having itch
ing ears they shall turn away their
CdlS lIOlu 1lQlu anu SIdll Dc
ed unto fables" I'll Timothy iv. "a.
There Is a Reason.
There must be a reason why Chris
tan preachers and their hearers have
abandoned the study of the Doctrines
Of Christ" set forth by the Apostles
and Prophets. Is 1t not because they
no longer believe those doctriness Is
it not true that the College and Semi
nary Professors have led the majority
Of the ministry afar into unbelief In
the Bible. and that these ministers are
gradually leading their confding fiocks
into other pastures green" than those
which the Great Shepherd and his ap-
pointed mouthpieces, the Apostles, ap-
proved? Is not the Higher Criticism
infdelity of the colleges gradually pen
etrating even into the Sunday School
Lessons and even into tie High Schools
Of our misunderstanding all faith in
Gods Book? But what led to this de-
parture from the Word of God-into
Higher Criticism inf1delity and into
the Evolution theory. which makes
void the W )rd of God: and into Chris
dian Science. which puts a premium on
falsehood; and into Theosophy and
Spiritism, the receptions of the fallen
angels-demonism? How comes it
that all these unscriptural theories
now flourish, whereas only q century
ago Gods Word was respected and its
doctrines were studied by Christian
people of various and conflicting
creeds? The answer is that with the
increasing light of our day the creeds
of the past are seen to be fallacious.
irrational. by all who use their think
ing apparatus. The leaders in the va
rious Churches discovered this in ad-
vance of their fiocks. They promptly
and reverently set their creeds on a
high shelf where the people might not
so particularly notice their flaws, but
might continue their reverence for
them, until gradually their attention
would be drawn aside and their hope
and faith transplanted to Evolutionary
soil or Theosophistic and Spiritualistic
child's play.
With the decline of Christian doc
,rines, including heart union with
Christ and an understanding of its
terms and conditions, Churchianity
came in, to take the place of Christi
anity. Today the pride of all denomi-
nations centers, not in their doctrines,
but In their institutions. The people
are no longer exhorted to hold fast to
the doctrines of Methodism, Calvin
ism, etc. but to hold fast to the Sys-
topa Thau ora M Iopnar or,anurarvoS7