Norwich bulletin., 1917-08-20
CHINESE MISSIONARY AT
 PARK CONG. CHURCH
Rev. BrowneIl Gage Preached Before
 Union Service on Sunday.

At the union service held at Park
 church Sunday morning the minister | in charge was the Rev. Brownell 1 Gage of the Yale Mission in China l Mir. Gage took as his theme, The l Reality of Religion. selecting for his | text the first cpistle to John. the first
 and second verses: That which was | from the beginning. which we have heard. which we have seen with our eyes. which we have looked upon, and
 our hands have handled, of the Word of Life.
 (For the life was manifested. and we have seen it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was mani feSted unto us.)
 Those who listened to the sermon of
 a week ago may remember the earnest p-ea that we make the gospel our own, by our own experience. This subject
 may be approached by another path and seen from another point of view.
 We may ask ourselves first of all as
 to the reality of religion and what is
 reality Of religion.
 Through the ages men have differed
 in their desire for reality. In long pe-
 riods when peace and prosperity held
 sway and no problems arose, reality In religion seemed unnecessary. Men were content with the belief handed
 down to them from previous genera
 tions- They felt less need for the necessity of getting back to reality.
 When, in turn came periods of stress and doubt and change. they all ways brought with them the keen need of reality. In reading the gospels we are brought face to face with the vividness of this reality Life was vii tai and real to the disciples It was just true of Paul as of the disci- rles. His vision was quite a s real to him. He felt that he had seen Jesus They not only preached a gospel that fn thayr7 hut experience to those who accept the gospel They offer fellowship and light that they had experienced. How full of reality was this apostolic age. Then followed a period when reality seemed lacki&g.
 Let us attempt to define reality At first we thing of 1t as something tangible, ma terial. Our physical ills emotions of our life, live, hate, hope and despair. Our conscience while intangible, is no less real in it's ef- feet our life. Not all experiences are real however. There are such things as illusions and visages. Reality is the experience that is capable of being verified and l made an organized part of life.
 If that is reality. how much of our | religion is real This age craves real | ity. We can feel It. The attitude ] that is content to accept religion sec | OnU hand as passed down 70 us. 10 | accept the doctrines and beliefs of the | past, without question, is passing | away.
 We find this craving in the church | today. The great discoveries of sci ence have opened up a new world to | us and many of our beliefs are shat tered. We are reaching out, for reality. When we find religions that 1 are holding men today, it is because they are real and are trying to answer
  Sundays success Is so marked be- cause he is offering some thing real | and vital to his hearers.
 the qhe Tndsv Is tbe round outside outside the church, and many thinking men as well. Socialism is aseeking for reality
 On top of all, is this war. After the never be the same again. What will be the character of this new world | Will it be materialistic or spiritual? We believe that after the war there will be a re-birth of religion. Let us hope that we who went into it be- cause of ideals will not come out less idealistic. Surely we have found the gospel more real and solid founda- tion than any materia, thing can be.
 Let us ask ourselves what part of our religion is real. Let us make that test. In mission work we see reality of experience. It is related to historic faith and religion
 Must we not have faith? Through the ages there have been men who had this real experience of God and re- igion. It is an historic reality. How 10 we know that Jesus is the Son of 1ur Lord? It is a matter of faith. Yet men would not have disputed down through the ages except they had had that faith and exeprience.
 This experience can be had if any nan who will put himself in the way of it. By the study of Christ's life , md nature and it's significance he can .ain this experience. Then he has had he vital thing. The experience of . other men has not the same value to IS.
 In the age that is to come only re- igion which will stand, is the re- igion that is founded on reality. 2