Bisbee daily review., 1919-10-12

more mlSnty than ever DSIOJt
 The Golden Age of Popularity
 Never War
 It seems to be taken for granted by the phophets of evil concerning Christianity and by the critics and pessimists who still march and mourn within Christian lines, that there was a time when everybody went to church, when the masses thronged the sanctuaries of God and places of worship were crowded to the doors. But should like to know when that good time was. It has certainly not been within my memory, and I can remember back almost fifty years. Many men can remember back sixty or seventy years and it has certainly not been within their recollection. All of, us have read about conditions far be- yond the reach of our memories, and our readying of history certainly brings us no knowledge of a day when the churches of Christ were packed with eager worshipers and people were tumbling over one an other in their enthusiastic deter imitation to get into the Lords house.
 On the contrary we have read that in England after the Restora- ton. two and half centuries ago, inc churches were almost abandoned, that atheism and skepticism, with all their concomitants of profllgacy and immortality, were brazen and rampant throughout Great Britain We have read that at the beginning of the last century, so great was the influence of French infidenity' the colleges of America were perme- ated with it, students were nearly all rejecters of the Christian religion, Christian assemblies and conferences deplored the. lack of faith, and Oy indifference on the one hand and antagonism on the other the sanctu' aries of the Most High God were half empty and the churches oi Christ languished weak and ineffl cient in the back ground.
 In 179S the Presbyterian General Assembly sounded the tocsin of al arm in a pastoral letter to the churches, as follows: We desire tc direct your awakened attention to ward that bursting storm whicr threatens to sweep before it the re ligious principles, institutions ant morals of our people. We are filled with deep concern and awful dread We perceive with pain an' fearful apprehension a general dere lict of religious principle and prac tice among our fellow-citizens and an abounding infidelity.
 The great Chancellor Kent, borl in 1T63, says; Tn my younger day there were few professional men tha were not infidels.P Lyman Beeche in his autobiography, referring t' conditions 100 years ago. declared "The boys who dressed flax in tn barn read Tom Paine and believes him." Dr. Timothy Dwight, thel president of Yale College, gives Il the following description: "Striplings scarcely fedged suddenl, found that the light of wisdom jus begun to dawn upon the human race Religion they discovered to be vision of dd ards and nurses . a system of fraud and trick impose by priestcraft. Revelation wa found to be without authority O evidence. and moral obligation
 cobweb which might indeed entangl flies. but by which creatures stronger wing nobly disdain to b confined. . From France, Ger many and Great Britain the dregs c infidelity were vomited upon us"
 All this we have read and muc more of a similar sort. The trut is, more people in proportion to ou population go to church today an Christianity is more dominant an directive in the world of morals an has an immensely larger clientag than at any other time since tn day of Pentecost
 Turning to the realm of educatio we find that our colleges today, tai ing them all in all, are overwhelr