Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-10-15
The Law of Service Is Law of Growth,
Says Sunday in Sermon on Compassion

a, fact need not occasion any alarm,
think
1t doesn't prove that the church
is losing hold or that men have
abandoned the church Women
have always taken more interest in
religious organizations and they
have more time. and it seems to ap-
peal more TO their nature, perhaps,
l don't know.
Men Interested in Religion.
Now if the mere fact that the
minister sees more feathers than
he does whiskers, and more false
/ hair than he does bald heads. if that
be a sign that religion doesn't ap-
peal to the masculine proportion
of humanity, then neither does the
symphony, nor art, nor the mu
scum. For the masculine proper
ton, my friends, of listeners at a
high class musicale. or among the
visitors at an art gallery, IS even
less than it is at church. Isn't that
fact? Sure it is.
Women go daffy over pictures.
men don't much. Women listen to
music and say. "Oh. it is divine"
Man listens and says, That is
punk"
But wait minute. don't get eX-
cited. 1t is rather interesting to
note that at any public gathering.
the number Of men present is sort
Of in inverse ratio to the intelleC-
tual value Of the performance At
a vaudeville the men Outnumber
the wOmen-always
Next the question OF death and
life. The average man is more in
terested in religion than he is any
thing else in the world, and the
probabilities of life and death have
always had a fascination f<r men.
The probabilities Of life and death
are questions that the church of
God discusses to help a man
Now, the main trouble in the
church today is not in the pews.
1t is up in the pulpit There is
more Christian faith in the average
congregation today than there is in
the average preacher. I repeat it,
there is more Christian faith in the
pews today than in the pulpit
The prime essential for a man, if
/ he wants TO succeed in the minis
try, is a vital Christian faith, my
friends, II is worth more to him
than all the learning in the world
If that learning is going to knock
the Christian faith out Of him and
if a preacher honestly can't be-
lieve. then I've no quarrel with him
but. I tell you. he has no business
to stay in the pulpit and preach
pOppy-coCk and nonsense,-not a
bit,
Then, he is taking money under
false pre-enses and if a preacher
doesn't believe, 10 him l say. if he
/ is decent and honest he will not
stay in the pulpit and vomtt out
his unbelief If you don't believe
in God, don't stay in the pulpit I
will fight to the last ditch.
And so 7 think a Christian faith
!. as necessary to the preacher as
mathematics is to an engine er.
Just as necessary, all through.
Compromise Weakens Clergy.
/ think that the clergy today is
weakened by a spirit of cOmpro-
mise. They are afraid to preach
Christianity. many OF them, for
two reasons. First, they are afraid
it won't draw. if they preach it:
and. second, they don't believe i
themselves. That IS why.
I am telling you exactly the
whole thing in a nutshell. If YOU
want to know what is the matter
with our clergy today. l will tell
you what is the matter with it, and
l tell you, my friends. the ungodly
have hearty respect for the min
lister who is absolutely sincere AMI
breaches the gospel.
Oh, not politics. not socialism,
and a lot of other "isms" ami