Year: 1871

The leading feature and characteristic OF
the present century is the association OF men
for the promotion Of common enterprises and
common ends. Wesee IL in commerce. business,
trade; in social, religious and benevolent un-
dertakings. Had one after another of the thir-
teen colonies of America attempted resistance
TO the tyranny of Great Britain it is easy to
conceive what the result would have been.
But under the guiding hand Of Providence the
principle of associated effort for the accom-
plishment of q grand and noble purpose re-
ceived here Its first and finest Illustration, and
1.-THE United States stands to-day the peer or
the proudest and greatest nations of the Earth.
This brilliant example In modern history and
society has been repeatedly copied in other
departments of life. But in many of them-as,
for instance, in our railroad and telegraph sys-
tems-asseciation has led to consolidation,
and this again to monopoly-a thing utterly
foreign to the true idea of union. The principle
of union as adopted by our forefathers for the
government of this country was mutual con-
cession Of rights, liberties and immunites to
certain elective power, before whom all should
be considered and treated az equals. But
had Massachusetts, insisted upon governing
South Carolina after it's Puritan fashion,
or had South Carolina tried to enforce her
peculiar notions upon Massachusetts, the
United States never would have been. When
the latter alternative was presented in 1861
the result was not only memorable but grand,
and our basis of union was shown to be not
rope of sand, but band Of iron. This is
the principle most needed in the Christian
Church to-day-associatio for common
Church purposes and aims. When the subject
of Christian union is presented two questions
naturally and involnntarily arise in the mind
What is Christian unionp and how may it be
attainedp


\ Christian union is, as we have st ated, the
\association of Christian men and of Churches
lend. Apply the federal principle to religion as
it has been applied in our governmental
theory and policy, and we cannot fail to obtain
the thing sought 1t is not that the Baptist
must become Methodist, or the Methodist an
EpscOpalian, or the Presbyterian a Quaker
If that is or is to be Christian union, then we
should pity mankind, and should have very
little faith in the good time coming which we
have been taught to look forward to. Nor
SHOULD we labor SO earnestly and so persist
emily as we do to hasten or to promote il.
But our conception of this union being some
thing better and something different, we shrink
not from pressing it upon the various Chris
tisn denominations of this land who look up to
us for guidance and instruction in these things
Personal union with Christ and personal con-
viction of His presence with His people are and
ought to be the basis of Church fellowship and
association here and everywhere. Then the
duty of the individual Christian becomes the
duty of the whole Church, and each is bound
to contribute as much as In him lies to the
edifying Of the body of Christ and the promo
tion of His cause.


No doubt good ends may have been and
still are served by the separation Of tho
Church into sections and denominations
nevertheless, great scandal and mischief have
also resulted from those divisions. The
world, while very far from inclined to look
into and examine the matter fairly, has yet
wonderfully clear perception of the superficial
infrmities and Inconsistencies of Christians
and Of Christian denominations When, there
fore. it perceives the Christian Church 50
broken up, not only by outward divisions and
visible separations but by bitterness of party
spirit and distrust, and even rancor it not
only SCOTS, but when the truth IL pressed
ito xun "a h.
questions, Which of the Christian bodies are
we to ioin9 which of them is in possession of
the truth The bonds Of denominationalism
are, with the higher earnestness Of our day,
taken into greater veneration, as Of the very
substance and essence of faith, and Pro-
testantism, while it may be affected by the
increased longing for union, shows at the
same time a growing partcularism and in
tolerance. The consequence is that we see in
many quarters, not only of our own land,
but elsewhere, less cooperation and re-
cognition Of our common faith and very
little Christian communion. The missionary
enterprise is visibly more UNCONVENTIONAL.
since even the smallest OF the sects are not
content to support the great missionary
(societes, but must have each its own, to-


transplant ii possible, the peculiarties of it's.
pwn Church organization and particularisma
among the heather.


But this principle of union, based upon a
common faith in Christ and conviction Of His
presence with His Church, having been applied
and recognized by the several Christian de-
| nominations, will inevitably lead to two
shings, namely: First recognition Of orders
by one denomination of the ministry of an
| other, and, second, cooperation Of labor and
| energy in promoting the work of the Church.
| 1t is very easy to see how far we are
| from either of those issues at present, when
the Episcopalans wholly ignore the rights and