New Britain herald., 1924-01-07

movement of replacing the essentials with the non-essentials; and the far ther away fin time we get from Inc beginnings Of that movement the greater the danger of substituting shams for realities.
 "The great Christian enterprise, which had it's beginning only some nineteen hundred years ago, has at times fallen into the same errors which other religious movements have found themselves the victims of Did you realize that in this country alone there are a hundred and fifty differ ent denominations and sects, and that in China there are today so different Christian missionary societies at work? Can you not imagine the utter amazement and confusion Of the Chi nese unbelieyer when he is confront ed by 80 different brands Of what he supposes to be the same thing? Is there any wonder that the religion of Christ hasn't made more rapid head way in China and other parts of the world when we take into considera- ton these facts?
 Ut has been said by veteran Con- gregational clergyman that the Chris. tianity of today is not the Christianity which Christ taught, but that it is more a mixture of organism, Juda. ism, medievalism and Christianity 1 Perhaps that is somewhat overstatine l the case, but 1 do not think that 1 Christianity as believed and practisec 1 today is of the pure, simple unadul' ! terated variety that Jesus taught and 1 lived. We have tried to make Christianity too much a system o i doctrines and creeds. As Jesus taugh | it is not a creed but a life. Whei Jesus was walking along the sea o i Galilee and saw Peter and Andrew fishing he did not ask them to sub scribe to any particular set of doc trines. but he asked them to follow him, and he would make them fisher of men. And they left their nets ant l followed him. He did not ask then 10 believe that he was born Of a vir gin,' nor even at that time that h vas the Son of God
 Where, pray tell, in the four gos pels, which are the accounts Of tn | llie anu LtdCHlHES Dl JtHAo Adu go
 find anything about denominations, o churches or altars or creeds? 0
 where can you find that he laid spe rial emphasis upon the particular da
 which should be set aside as res
 day. What difference 10 Him did
 make whether the Sabbath happene
 to fall on the first, second, third 0
 sivth day Of the week as long as on
 day vas set apart, for as He said th
 Sabbath was made for man and nc
 man for the Sabbath and that th
 Son of Man was Lord even Of th
 Sabbath
 'It seems to me that this whol controversy which is going on in eel tain branches of the Christian churc
 is causing altogether too tnuc
 anxious concern on the part of cel tain ecclesiastics. Perhaps, howeve ft will eventually help to clear the a mosphere of certain non-essentials
 belief in Christ in ones supreme Dol and Saviour. That Is the one thin
 needful, in my estimation. After g to me Christ himself is the gre;
 miracle. but the exact manner of H birth is not the primary considers ton. It Is the effect of the influenC
 Of His spirit and teachings upon th
 lives of those who have accepted Hi as their Lord and Leader that are t1 strongest evidences of His divinity. "The question then arises: Wh;
 were the things which Jesus emphI