Year: 1879

Rev. Willis Craig, d. D., Before


the Evangelical Alliance at St.


Louis: AS a Church militant, we


need the friendship of the secular


press. The power welded by it is


incalculable. Fifty years ago no


man could have dreamed of such a


force for the molding of public


opinion.


The capital, learning, enterprise,


of the secular press are simply enor-


nous. The professed object of the


respectable portion of it is to in


crease the intelligence of the peo-


pie, to repress crime, to render aid


to good government and in every


way to promote the efficiency of the


State, and enlarge the prosperity


and happiness of the people On


these genera. lines it intersects


with the religious press. By kindly


treatment and courteous communi


cation, it may be made powerful


auxiliary in breaking the way for


the Christian religion. No infiu-


ence for good upon the secular press


can be so potent as that welded by


the thoughtful religious press, and


the circumstances are hopeful for a
great advance in that direction.
Already numbers of the leading
sheets send forth a page or more
each week covered with the sermons
of prominent ministers in the sew
eral cities. Extended reports are
given OF religious meetings. No
tices are freely made of the Sabbath
services. A number furnish re-
views of forthcoming religious
books, and in general display a |
friendly temper to the basis princi-
pies of religion. Occasionally we
find an influential journal TAX
ing positive polemic ground |
against the spirit and aims of inf |
deity, and, as a rule, the secular |
press clearly sees the harm that is
to be feared from positive irreh-
gion. The recent columns of a |
prominent Eastern daily afforded |
the following sentiments: "We be
lieve it to be susceptible of demon
stration, that the late extraordinary I
and deplorable increase of crime,
an increase more palpable every day,
crowding with its record the col
umns of the public prints, and sick
ening the soul with it's endless de
tail and novelty of horror, is largely
due to the growth OF materialism,
or what is termed infidelity, and |
that mainly in reaction from the
skeptical drift of the time lies the
path of wholesome reform. The |
fruit of unbelief among the upper
or wealthy classes is sensuallty. !
Those classes get to worship in
stead of their Maker the pleasures
of the moment. Among the poorer |
and less educated ranks of society, |
the cant and poison of living only |
for the day is even more directly |
disastrous. The rich can crafty |
their passions without, as a rule
and in the legal sense, coming in
conflict with the rights of others.
But the needy, unrestrained by any |
fear of future account, and thinking |
only to eat and drink since tomor-
row they die, drive straight on to |
crime. That this is no idle asser-
tion can be abundantly proved. A
careful survey of the murders, sui
cides, and other great felonies com
mitted in the chief cities of the
United States during the last ten
years, shows that heavy fraction
of the perpetrators were atheists or
free thinkers. These unhappy per
sons, persuaded that life is the be-
all and the end all here, imagine
that in their calculations they can
jump the world to come. A collec
tion of the letters or other papers
left by criminals when anticipating
death, shows a fearful number of |
instances, some of which many |
readers will recall, of absolute dis
belief in the existence of God, or
any reckoning for wrong done in
this life, to be eXacted in a future !
one. The strongest single blow
that we have seen given to Inger
solism was delivered by a Chicago
daily.


Let the religious press cultivate
the acquaintance of the secular, as
workers whose paths join at many
points, throw over it the influence
of we'll explicated morality, point
out the advantages to the State of
communities denominated the spirit
of Christianity, lend helping hand
to the secular press in the advance
ment of every judicious reform,
and, while not altogether sparing
yet carefully avoiding the
air and the sour strict
ures of bigotry, of which the secu-
lar press is wholly intolerant. AS
to the satanic press, if a word need
to be said it would be, let the secu-
lar and religious press make no
compromises with it, and never neg
lect it until it is driven from society
under the scorn and hatred of every
good citizen,


1t would be well, perhaps, for
this body to note few somewhat
dangerous tendencies of the reli
gious periodical press, such as


First-The desire to become pop
ular and pleasiT g rather than faith
full and instructive.


Second-To teach reformation
rather than salvation.


Third-To cultivate good man
ners and literary tastes, rather than
the spiritual life.


Fourth-To heal over controver
sizes with sin and unbelief in the in
terest of peace, rather than to probe
the wounds in the interests of life;
and, may we not add without Of
fense, to give too many costly chrO
mos!


These tendencies should be
guarded against if we wish to push
the religious press up to the limit
of its high calling.