Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-03-07

know the bible history. the stssiAs ~
its srsat charactsrs. ~ nobis alylA IT.
indusntial IDEAS and I1oals that hevo
msNelsd our civiltsa&joa. Thru ~ Tack
% such knowledge ~ many u AiS
hearers the preachers work Il heavily
handicapped BY the nssd OF imparting
thA knowledge which. Sc q NE sulseion
10 Apply 70 the Sunday school q well
assto the pulpit North Dakota. has giv-
en- help OF which use has been prompt .
ly made. Thru its monthly dourna!.
Live Wires. reprinting and widely cir
culating the official syllabus. with
helpful notes ana Z list OF reference
books. the Sunday School Association
At Fargo Is doing a publicity work that
mas resulted In organising classes thru. :.
out the state, and in arousing keen in.
terest IN many other states."
1913 IN Asitsisus Hisessy. ai
Nineteen-thirteen was ushered out
with shrugs in some quarters a. q
year OF calamity And misfortune. but
Tor several reasons 1t has been notable
IN religious history. Tho leading events
In professionalism are. shown by Tho
Religious Rambler" In The North
American. some parts Of whose survey
we reproduce here. This aFticle will be
followed next week by quotstion Of
the annual statistical survey Of the
churches IN numerical expfession-
one furnishes the flesh, the other the
skslston. Thus .ss
The epochal events range all the
way from the smashing Of the eccleei-
astical machine In the general assem-
bly, Of the Northern Presbyterian
church and the radical reorganization
OF tho Congregational dsnomipation TO
several extraordinary missionary occa-
sions. Of which the chief ID the actual
union Of ali the home ana foreign
mission boards OF North America for
an 'every-member canvass NEXT March.
Aside from an array Of DEFINITE &C
tions Of this sort. the year just closed
has been remarkable ~ . period of
read1ustment, Of feeling around on
tho part OF the churches for Q moro
efficient service. and for new front
toward the new times. The idea OF
social service has made STEADY pro-
8ress. The spirit Of cooperation on
the part Of all religious and charitable
agencies has grown apace. Even the
have been getting together for Q COM
In discussing present tendencies in
religious life and work with leaders
and specialists in many parts OF the
land. have found them In agreement
upon the rather startling proposition
that two strong and distinctive cur
rents flow thru the life Of today. Ona
Of these Is tho markedly religious spirit
in the whole body Of the people.
Politics. social service, and litera-
ture all show . notable seriousness,
and even real spirituality. The
best selling novel Of the year has been
The Inside Of the Cup which ID
really an essay on contempOfary
christianity. OF tho output Of general
religious volumes, there has been q
surprising array. Beyond question, the
mood Of today IL fundamentally re-
ligious.
TN contrAdistinction, there 10 appar-
ent an equally clear popular current
away from the church. Church attend
ance IL on the decline. This u a
nation wide phenomenon. II Affects
rural churches and those in the greas
cities. 1t IL not uncommon Tor edi-
fees capable Of seating 1000 or 1900
persons to have less than 100 wor-
shippers at regular Sunday service.
"This is alarming to real leaders, who
perceive that the welfare Of every In
diyidual church II hound up with the
welfare Of all. Some lessor men. ip-
dividualists. are resorting to sensa-
tional methods to get audie1csss Tor
themselves, after drawing their crowds
from other churches. and needless OF
the general decline in church attend
ance SO long as they can report large
congregations.
"During the last few months thsre
has sprung into wide favor the idea OF
'go-to church Sunday This IL
really an adjunct OF the church -ad-
vertisins plan. which aims 70 keep
The avidity with which this method
has been seised shows that pastors
realize that church attendance II basic
to the life Of the organization. II
you can not get people TO church. you
simply can not do anything sase with
them. Church attendance underites al
benevolent projects.