The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-05-01
Why Go 70 Gl1llr en- 2.
SOME PI.AIN REAsOlNs


honestly than to have her sag'I am
with you in spirit when the facts
are otherwise. That expression
sounds like cant and pretense. 1. The
cant of some of those who go to
church is bad enough; the cant OF
the person who does not go. lis a
great deal worse. The difficulty is
that We cannot preach to your. spirit
unless your body brings 1t around.
Your spirit may be in church, but
not being gifted with second sight
and having no occult faculties what
.soeyeE all the minister can see is an
empty pew. K
Z IfiI should send WORT some Sum
day morning. DEAR friends / cannot
be with you in flesh, sbnt 1 am there
in spirit, as usual preacR hing to you, =
all you could see would be an empty
pulpit. 3 Your spirit rs where your
body sis.ys ..,gsz-4s,-,s.. s-s,,s,3 s,.-,s.s5
Life Isl Habit
Othhr people say, 20. church going
is a matter of habit. That, "a ali
there is to 'ft,es Many tell me that,
lust as II 1T excused everything. but
ne-tenths OF life Is a habit and
while you are about 1t, why not
form good habits? NO one would
contend, except the writer Of the
Woman's magazine article, that
church going is a bad habit.
really think she has reached that
conclusion. But you have not. So /
say, Get the habit. Cultivate it,
Il a boy got into the habit of playing
1truant, or staying away from school
and tried to make 1t all right with
mis- parents and teachers by saying:
WHY, this is only a habit" how
long do you suppose that excuse
would last?"
II q bank clerk got into the habit
Of slipping out few dollars now and
then, and trying to cover up the facts
In his hooks and. should say to the
directors when discovered, why,
gentlemen, Il am surprised that you
take this thing soyserioIsly; this is
only a habit; that is all"-would
you expect them to treat that excuse
as YOU expect the minister to treat
Worshippng Out Doors.
There are others who say: 81 10
not need the church. Why should /
shut myself up in room, when i
can worship out with Mature "
Certainly, one can worship with
Nature, out by the lake, amid the
forests, under the tranquil stars. L
think have sometimes worshipped
thus myself. But we learned that
sort of worship from the Hebrew
prophets and after the Founder of
the Cr'urchs On the other hand, not
one in thousand who stay away
from church does worship with ma
ture, 1t is a sham and pretense.
Those who make the excuse know It..
They are not foollng themselves, and
they could only fool the kind of a
minister to whom the club woman
refers in the magazine.
Good Book An Excuse.
Another objector says: 81 can sit
at home and read good book Yes,
you can do so. But you do not. In the
great majority of cases this Isl all
just that sort of hypocrisy which you
denounce when you find it in the
church. Many say Il can stand any
thing. but religious hypocrite." |
go further, ] can stand anything but
hypocritea either religious or secu-
lar. But If you could stay at home
AMI enjoy your book, you ought not
to do SO, and I win tell you why.
Let me say first, that / respect the
rights of the individual, and that !
believe in his fullest development.
The highest phase OF that develop
ment is when he recognizes mis- OBJ
legation to the society which surges
about nim.
That Is why you ought not to stay
at home and read or go out into the
fields with nature other things being
equal.
II we admit the validity of these
excuses, then we must close the
churches. They must cease. II we
admit one excuse We must admit all;
and then we must stop our preaching
and our work. If there is good rea-
son, ppep the ground VS. have dis
pnssed, why no one should come to
church Nail up the doprsl Tell the
old. story of the Gospel sho longer!
Abandon the Yarl i4y;siort of the
1iasterl Give up the dream of a
Kingdom of God -. e. az
ThesNTightiest Work.
The churchs is here forlthe might
est work In the world. 1t e not
right for one to consider simply his
Individual preferences when the In
terests of others are involved. II
one believes in the church at all, he
admits. duty in regard to Il.
II we work for merely what we
can get, and not for what we can
give, the resulting benefits are poor
and meager.
The central idea of the church
is a world idea-the lifting OF a race
to the heights of God.
This cannot be done by worship
ing put with Nature in the fields
or forests, or by reading good books
at home It can be done only BY
association. u can be, done only ~
lContlnted ON b ase -tyte1ve ~