Article December 5, 1903 Issue

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with contributions from Alfred W. Wishart, Carl F. Henry, Robert F. Coyle

Let preachers reflect upon the social problems that absorb the attention of the rich and the poor to-day,—upon the rights and duties everywhere under discussion. Then let them ask themselves whether they preach the gospel of Christ so that men realize its practical application to the presentday needs. Let them meditate upon the business and political methods and ideals of men who sit in the pews. Perhaps they will discover how complete is the divorcement between the ethics of Christ and the ethics of daily life. Perhaps they will discover how little respect the world has for Christianity that becomes worldly, commercial, selfish; that does not look upon the face of the crucified Christ nor preach a vigorous and vital doctrine of sacrifice and service. Let us ask ourselves, as ministers of Christ, whether we are ourselves ready to suffer for Christ's sake and to risk place and preferment for the sake of preaching an unwelcome gospel to a church threatened by commercialism, luxury, selfishness, and formalism. Alfred W. Wishart. The Standard.

Of course undue weight must not be attached to subjective impressions, but there is no fanaticism in seeing in the widespread realization of a spiritual need some evidence that God is intending to satisfy it.

Parallel with this desire on the part of good men we have a strong impression that seldom in recent years has there been among the masses of intelligent people a deeper and more pervasive unrest and dissatisfaction with the physical interpretation of life.... The modern world is utterly weary of formulæ, however venerable. It has no welcome for the type of man that stakes the character of Jesus upon one alternative of a disputed interpretation of an Old Testament incident. But a man of gifts who could preach the real Gospel, and appeal directly to the spiritual nature of the people of to-day, might easily kindle a flame that would envelope the whole land. In a general way, these indications seems to point to the coming of the long desired revival.—The Watchman.

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