Omaha daily bee., 1914-07-25
A Merger of Churches

of his characters say! There's a diVln-
ity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them
how We may" and II would seem that ell
history Is corToborstion OF the poets
dictum,
The religious world OF today Is beins
shaped In the direction OF larger
sweeter unanimity OF thought and feel
ing, q broader, deeper program OF pur-
pose and achievement; and u requires but
q modicum OF faith to be assured OF the
fact tina, the call to this greater brother
hood is worthy Of our sinceTest sdmira-
tlon and respect,
The shame Of chrstendom and the
standing puzzle OF heathendom Is the uGiy
and disgraceful fact that Christians are
split mp into 80 many warrinE camps, 80
many belligeront hosts which, instead OF
fighting In unison agalnst sim the COM
mon enemy Of mankind have almost from
I the beginning been wasting their energies
! fighting one another.
'rhe gospel OF the GalileRn would long
ago have been the gospel Of the world
hut for the scandalous diversions and
spiteful quarrelings OF the missionaries
among themselves.
Let Christians get together, and forget
ting the petty shibbolsths and silly non
essentials that have heretofore divided
them, march all one way in the great
campaign against the evil OF the world
II the energy which during the last
twenty centuries has been expended In
spiteful and foolish polimics between
Catholic and Protestant and between Pro-
testant and Protestant, had been directed
in the way Of promoting the simple and
very reasonable gospel Of the good man
| sN.t -
been much falrer than II is much
cleaner, happier place for people to live
in,
of course. the ugly record that these
rivalrles have made Was largely unavoid-
able, The race. like the Individual. has
, TO live and learn" and at a time when
reason was unborn and ignorant eredulity
! was in the saddle, Christians innocsntlS
enough got their religion mixed up with
the abonunabls nuisance called
: theology" ard II was that that made al
\ OF the trouble,
When the swiss patriots gave ChATlel
? the Bold that famous licking at the BATH
OF Mogsrten, he got out OF camp 30 has
b lily that he left behind him all hls treas
T. urss including the royal Jewels. gres
big clodhoppsr OF a switEer, espylng Tin
| hlUb . JtWtl hoAt oHNHeh H. ava
e the precious stones, and took the show
=. cSskot home as a present TO his wife,
'Fhis IL about on par with what IN
= Christians did, a Ions time ago witt
u religion they threw away the heart OF
d and kept the shell. They ceased TO b
= religious, and became theological.
m But theology II dead now--dead as
e door nail-and there Is no reason VIII
a Christians should not unite upon th
p thlpgs on which all sensible people AZ
"a pretty we'll agreed,
Those who are IN the habit Of heaTin
Ia the preachers do not need 10 be told ths
m they are all preaching practically th
Is same gospel-the gospel OF personal pui
- ity and brotherly love, the gospel Of hell
's fulusss for today and hope for the II
N ture.
~ Between the preaching Of Methodist an
id Baptist. Presbyterian and CongregstioT
D. alist. Unitarian and Bpiscopalian, II is in
lP possible 10 detect any essential diffsrsno
&c They all preach the beauty Of the ChTi
like life, and none OF them go so far q
20 tFifle with the intelligence and NOR
sense OF tho people by insisting upo
20 inanities and barbarisms Of the o.
" theoiogies, Montaisne remarks;
70 mo man IL free from saying sill
things; the misfortune comes in when v
endsayOr TO giye an air OF importance
~ The ministers have al last seen the for
OF Monlaigne's word. and they no Ions