Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-08-01
Bx BIS ro2 w. A. GAMBLER

some people VINO nave not tHouElC
deeply on the subject to oyerstate
what they call 1.-The overlapping and
duplication of Churches" These
persons are fond of declaring that
there are too many Churches, and
that there ought to be inaugurated
programme of mergers whereby in
most communities all the people
should be united in one organiza ton.
without regard to their religious be-
liefs. and that the united Church
should be served by the best n"ea I'll
err who could be engaged, oil other
say is a programme of economy and
Man for the conservation of the
Christian forces of the community"
This is the idea underlying that
freakish institution called 1.-The conn
munity Church" which has been set
up in few places.
A little careful reflection upon the
subject is sufficient to discover that
this whole theory of Overlapping
and duplication" has small founda-
ton in fact.
There are not too many Churches
in the United states. me number OF
slttlngs i'll all the Churches is lar be-
low the number or the people VINO
ought to attend the Churches, and the
multitude OF uncovered people is So
great that there is neeu Tor all the
Churches, and more.
The churches are not overlapping
in any bad sense, but really they are
not covering the ground fully.
Moreover, two churches do not
necessarily overlap because they
happen to be located in the same
town, or in the same rural settle
ment, unless they divide people wnv
are agreed in religious doctrine and
church policy.
Men differ in their beliefs and pref
erences for forms of church govern
ment, and they always will differ
until all think alike or cease to think
at all. Among the ancient philoso-
piers, in lands where Christianity
was utterly unknown, there were dis
lands today there are great varieties
of religious beliefs and orders.
Among the Buddhists for example
there are nearly, or quite as many
sects as there are Christian denomi-
nations of the larger size in the Unit
ed States. 1t is very erroneous to
assume that sectarian divisions have
been created by Christianity and are
! it's special reproach. Differences OF
| thought arise out of the nature OF
the human mind, and to constrain
men to seem to agree when they dc
not agree is to promote insincerity
| in profession or Indifference to con-
| victions. Denominations arise ma
| turally out of the principals of hui
| man nature, and two churches in a
| community save more than one pos
sibly could.
In every community. there is a
the teachings of John Calvin and
Augustine concerning divine sover-
eighty and human freedom, and
there are others equally sincere and
equally thoughtful, who hold con-
trary opinions on those subjects. A
church which serves one of these
classes of minds acceptably cannot
overlap church which serves ac-
ceptably the other, and a church
which served both equally we'll would
serve neither well. What is gained
by an effort to huddle all in the
same organization? If they continn-
ued to hold and utter their beliefs
there would be controversy and
strife in any common organiza ton
| into which they might be forced. If
all renowned their beliefs, nothing
would be gained in the way of in
But some one will say, eve should
have done with all creeds and unite
on essentials" Who will say au-
thoritativeIy for all. what is es-
sential and what is non-essential?
Or, will it be seriously proposed as
method for promoting .vigor or
religious life that men shall cease
to think on religious questions and
dron into an indolent indifference to
| truth or into a despairing agnos-
ticism concerning all truth?
Much of the cheap talk about
merging all. the churches into one
comes from men who have ceased
to believe anything, and who desire
| to disguise to themselves and others
their own loss of faith. Hence their
| efforts to make a union organl%atlon
| devoted to amassing the people ana
to the prosecution of various enter
Drises of humane sort. Th1s poor
kind of thing they are pleased 10 ca!l
s'nra ctical Christianity" although II
is the least practical of any and all
forms of Christianity. if indeed II can
be Justly called form or Chrls-
tianity at all. 1t proposes me I'm, I'm ,
practical thing of making al tnihk
smcb process would divest the
mind of it's sincerity, and it wouid
reduce the church of Goq 10
charity and aid society" IL Wou ,lln
destroy religion. if it were posslole
to put it into operation. ..
Fut it is not possible to put ~
into opera ton. A monotonous ul UNI
fornity of belief has never eXlsteu
in anv age, among any people' VI
under any religion.
In apostolic times there were va
rieties of Christian bodies, and there
| Iigious experience to the end OF
time. Where attempts at Uniformity
have been made by force both Chris
tian faith and Christian life have
suffered. And be it remembered
that other forces than political and
governmental forces may be en-
ployed to enforce Uniformity A
skilIfully wrought scheme of coop
Grafton and federation may be oper-
ated by astute men to constrain. con-
formity to their plans and methods,
and when such thing comes to pass
the worst form of SeCtarianiSm
arises. The bigotry of some liberals
today, who seek to disintegrate all
the churches and set up an eccle-
siastical syndicate over which they
preside and through which they seek
to disintegrate all the churches and
over which they preside and through
which they seek TO draw financial
support from the whole body of the
faithful, is the worst possible form
of sectarianism. 1t is the bigotry
of those whose narrow creed is the
creed of creedlessness. Such men
seem to be proud of believing little.
if not of believing nothing. and they
are fond of deriding honest men who
still believe something and make no
uncandid concealments of what they
believe.
+ Such bigorry of creedlessness may
!;find in an age infected with a2noSti-
cism a certain acceptability with the
thoughtless and worldly multitude.
| but it will scarcely be accepted by
! intelligent people who are able to
think and to assert their freedom Of
faith.
| Uniformity whether enforced by
| political power or by any other sort
Of pressure, has never produced the
highest type of Christian character.
| and it never can. In the United
States from the foundation of the