South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-07-23
BISHOP ANDERSON
SEES BIC ADVANCE
AHEA DIOR CHURCH
Big Methodist Leader is a DEM
OCrat and an 0ptimist-
Looks Like Marshall.
BY MARGARET TOBIN.

Bishop w. F. Anderson of Cincin-
natl, who visited South Bend Tuesday.
looks like Vice Pres. Marshall, and
he is a democrat.
That is as far as l can carry the
analogy. The bishops democracy,
finds it's expression in religion not
politics. l don't know for whom he
voted.
Bishop Anderson came Tuesday a
little after noon, attended two meet
ings and made two addresses, one in
the afternoon at the First eMthodist
church, another in the evening at St.
Paul's, dined at Tippecanoe place,
talked with me, of course, and left for
his home in Cincinnati Wednesday
morning.
The bishop outlined for me his
vision of the future of the church,
and it has a great future. he thinks.
He SCOTS at the notion that the church
is going 10 the dogs.
Within the next so years" said
Bishop Anderson, the church is go
ing to rise to an Importance it has
never known before. 1t is going 20
be the recognized leader OF all the
agencies of applied Christianity"
Democracy Rising Tide.
He gave me a glimpse of his vision
of demOcratiZed religion.
The age is inundated in tide of
democracy" said he, and it is rising
higher and higher The institution
that will live is the institution that
conforms to the spirit of the age.
The spirit of Christianity is at work
in the world as never before. The
world grows constantly more humane,
more tolerant, more kindly"
He doesn't believe that the church
a & a fnCtffrffnn &c Unino N no
hind in the movement
There are other agencies that are
advancing the work of democracy"
said he, and they must be recognized
as elements in the spread of Chris
tian spirit But the day is coming
when the church. will be the recog-
nized leader of them all"
The church of the future is to be a
practical church, he believes. II is
TO lay stress upon deed, not dogma.
Men and women will unite on a pro-,
gram for the practical applications of
the teachings Of Chrtst. Christian
doctrine of the future will be prac-
tical doctrine and the church will be
judged by it's results.
In the development c democratic
spirit in religion Bishop Anderson
sees the growth of church unity.
I'VE are already coming together"
he said I'VE are beginning TO en-
phasize our points of likeness more
than our points Of difference. We
cannot yet see what form church
unity will finally take"
MethOdists Are Democrats.
1t is because the Methodist church
is essentially democratic and lays spe-
cial stress on the practical side of
Christianity that it has had its phe-
nomenal growth It's future will be
greater than its past he is sure.
oh xr-f11
judge of results the bishop approves
of Billy Sunday the evangelist. He
did not give his methods the stamps of
his approval. but he gets results, he
says. and the end justifes the means.
Ii was the bishops first visit to
South Bend. Though a prominent
figure in the Methodist church he is
best known in the east, where most
of his work has been. His diocese in
cludes Ohio, Kentucky and southern
Indiana.
His annals are short and simple as
the annals of useful people usually
are. He graduated from college. he
told the name of il, a perfectly good
school. but l have forgotten.
He was the pastor IF a number of
churches in the east, several of them
in New York. Later he became sec
retary of the board OF education in
his church. He was elected bishop Of
Baltimore in 1908.
Something About the Man.
ION the first ballot" his host, Rev.
]. L. Gardner interrupted him TO say.
Then he gave me a bit of his per-
sOnal history. This is what he said:
II have a son who is studying for the
ministry. a daughter that has just
graduated, another who is going to be
married, and so On."-Which proves
that the bishop knows something
about life as well as religion.
And he is one of the two or three
most eminent divines in his church
and famous for his gift of oratory."
his host whispered TO me as / was
leaving.