Omaha daily bee., 1916-02-16


church at all3 II there IL no devil and
no sin, why need Of a Savior and a Cos
pei? The Congregational church makes
much Of Founders Day" II these had
been the convictions OF the founders. there
would have been no Pilgrim Fathers. no
Plymouth Rock. no Congresationsllsm
1t Is said TO think chat the work Of the
fathers is to be torn to shreds by the
sons. The fact that such views can be
preached In churches for years without
a protest shows to what the church has
come. A man with views like that ought
TO step out not alone from the pulpit Of
one church to accept the pulpit Of an
other. but he has no place in the Chris
tian ministry at all. II there Is to be no
formal statement Of Christian doctrine
there Is absolutely nothing to preach.
And then, why should unbelief be allowed
to state its disbelief and faith not be
allowed to state its belief.
1t would be almost laughable II II were
not 20 tragic, to see churches and min
listers coufessing their failure to win men
to the Christian life and faith, calling in
a man like Billy Sunday, who stands
firmly on the old Bible ground, the old
time religion, to procure results for them.
churches, who It seems with mental
reservations Joined in the campaign in
order to get results, make the prodigous
mistake OF ascribing the success to the
methods rather than the doctrines.
So they adopt the methods and cast
away the doctrines by which the souls
were saved What, must one think OF their
sincerity when the evangelist has hardly
had time to leave town before they are
engaged in tearing at the foundation
upon which he achieved results In the
real work OF saving souls after the cam
psign the lay members Of the church have
been more active than the ministers,
many Of them. seem TO be. While the min
listers are blasting at the Rock OF Ages
the men of the churches aretrying to
get others to trust the Rock.
Or. Lowe has not attacked the doctrines
of the Bible. but he has made utterances
that have hurt the cause Of the Christian
church in its fight for separation from
the evils OF the world. He speaks on the
drama before a drama club. Imagine John
Wesley doing the same. Imagine the
founders Of Methodism in this country
doing the same. He sarcastically talks
OF the Views old-fashioned Again we
say, that IL the founders of Methodism
had had his convictions there would have
been no Methodist church. Methodism
arose as a protest against the worldliness
of the ministry and the church. The old
Mathodists went out from the world and
its pleasures. dancing, card playing and
theater going and the rest. Their devoted
Christian life bore fruit in q revival
that saved England from ruin and that
4. al M YaAx
the descendants of these mighty men OF
God are tearing down the walls which
they reared between them and the world.
The views of the Christians conduct
which DR.. Lowe holds will never produce
the results that the convictions OF those
who founded the church in which he oc-
cupies pulpit produced.
And. again. the inconsistency Of these
views with the acts and words at the
Billy Sunday tabernacle. There DR.. Lowe,
together with crowd Of ministers. after
Billy Sundays terrific arraignment of the
card-playing. dancing and theater-going
church member. took his stand on the
platform with Mr.. Sunday az a sign that
he heartily accorded with the truths pre-
scented and called upon his people to for
sake these things and to live life separ-
ate from the world. And then such utter
ances as thesel The Billy Sunday cam
paiKn was a demonstration of what tho
church. cieansed from these things, stand
ing on the ground of the old faith can
accomplish. and here that stand is 30
soon abandoned. firmly believe that the
results Of the campaign had been in
finitely greater II the ministers with full
heart had believed as Mr.. Sunday does.
And the results achieved viii soon dis
appear If this work OF tearing at the old
faith continues. I write all OF this with
sorrow in my heart, that these things
should be. God help His church.
FREDERIC e. PAMP.
Pastor Swedish Evangelical Mission
Church.