The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-12-12
Thu, True Christian Church.

Editor V.rg.nian;
SHY our paper this morning ear
ries The report of IA discourse delivered
last night by a visiting Clergyman on
the subject. rs one Church Good
AS Another" in which reference is
made to some interchurch confer
ence OF the Protestant trnitar.ans
having excluded Jtntarians This
action IL not condemned In the dis
course referred to, FOR the speaker said
his church would have done likewise
which is the plain truth But the IL
lustration. itB ultimate application, is
faulty, and fatally so, for this reason:
While the conference referred to
would refuse the admission OF
churches which deny the divinity OF
Jesus, this clergyman's church will
not fellowship with any OF the
churches which agree with his church
on this fundamental doctrine because
Of the position assumed that his Is
THE Church." SO, while Protestants
may disagree on doctrinal points, it
Is such disagreement which nominally
separates them and not the claim that
either organization Is The Church
to the exclusion OF other churches,
while the opposing faith. as / compre-
bend 1t, forhids Christian fellowship
and eammanle4i with other churches
regardless OF their erecds, and be-
cause, per Sc. they are not The
Church,"
At the Railroad Y NJ c. AS Tues
day Club yesterday there sat around
the luncheon table IN beautiful fell
lowship. ministers and laymen, of sew
eral Protestant churches. The speak
or Of the occasion was Rev. DR..
Thomas A. Smoot, Of the Methodist
Church. who made n nice talk on the
first chapter of 81 Paurs Epistle to
the Philippians. DR. Smoot would
a SIX different ones TO read a few verses
and then he would comment on the
verse read. Among those who read
WAS Rev. Or. Wicker. of the Baptist
Church, There were also Presby
terians and ciples~-probably those
OF other faiths-and there was the
utmost harmony and genuine spirit
Of brotheriy love--and yet not one of
the company was disloyal TO his par
ticuiar church. for they All agreed
upon the great fundamental principles
Of the Fatherhood of Cod, the Som
ship of Christ: the regenerating power
or the Holy Ghost, atonement Tor sin
by the Saviour, forgiveness OF ms by
the Father through faith In tic risen
ord, who declared The III dom of
God Is within you Those Nho seek
God with their whole heart will not
be overly confused by the multiplicity
or churches, and when they have
found Him the bounds of their love
for their spiritual brethren will not
be the particular church To which they
ore attached, Loyalty to faith Is a
virtue, but all Christian people should
put Christianity in It's hroadest sense
above churcianity, and religion above
rel g!osity,- and all remembe that the
greatest Christian virtue is charity.
without which everything In any
church Ii but as sounding brass or a
ttnkling cynbal." The truly Christian
is in the true Invisible Church OF the
Ransorned. by the blood OF Jesus. and
that great and true Church is not
bound by lines Of UNCONVENTIONAL &C.
clesias st icsnl---~ Roman Catholic or
Protestant. This does not discount
the proper functions Of the visible
church. but exalts the Invisible spirit
uai lxirgdoln above its outward type
The pen OF inspiration wrote as re-
buae. or as warning. against sub
stitutipx the shadow for the sub