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If one were to ask for the causes of that decay of conviction which has come upon so large a part of Christendom, he might discover that it lies in the cowardice which dares not make its venture, take its chance and unfurl its sail to the winds of truth. Knowledge in these modern days is like Hiawatha on those wonderful moccasins when he went "a mile at each stride." To keep pace with this spirit requires a confidence and an endurance which has not been cultivated in the churches. It is not dishonesty so much as hesitation, uncertainty, timidity, which afflicts so many. If Christendom dared, If it only dared to sail out or travel out toward the light! If it would stop this everlasting telling people about things which endanger faith. If it would only appropriate all well-established truth, and climb up on it and get a glimpse from it on to the wider world, what tremendous forces would then be turned for rather than, as now, against faith. The momentum of truth, the hunger of men for knowledge, the whole tide of intellectual expansion ought to carry forward the high interests of human trust and hope. A religion which contributes to the perfect whole of life must make this conspiracy, must harness itself to truth and run with it.—The Universalist Leader.

In a recent sermon Rev. W. S. Jones pointed out a need of our time too pressing to be neglected. After describing forms of religion that may lack the moral impulse, he said,

"The chief danger of our time lies, not in an immoral religion, but in an unspiritual morality. The various forms of religion which flourish in our day are, as a rule, moral faiths. Their adherents usually observe the commandments. Religion in its higher manifestations to-day is eminently practical. It does not neglect the needs of man's body. It is concerned about the developments of his mind. It builds and equips hospitals and schools. It is not lost in dreamy Oriental speculation. It is in the forefront of the battle for moral reform. There is no reason, therefore, why we should be particularly alarmed about the possibility of an immoral religion springing up in our day; but we cannot help being concerned about the future of society, no matter how scrupulously it observes the moral law, if it loses its grip on spiritual realities."

The Christian Register.

We need fewer religious denominations but not less doctrinal truth. Truth, whether held by an individual or a denomination, will have a propagating power in proportion to the love in which it is clothed. The persecution of heretics has been the soil out of which sects have grown. The bitterness of controversy is far more harmful than differences in belief. Other men's convictions of truth are as sacred as our own. Any union of the organized forces of Christianity is desirable that will give to any and every truth of Scripture the prominence and authority it deserves. Such a co-ordinated movement, controlled by the true spirit of Christ, could but aid in the re-emphasis of the truth which it has been thought would have to be left out in the union of denominations.—The Standard.

The true Idealist is not a dreamer in a world of realities which make his dream incredible, nor is he a refugee escaping from conditions which he cannot bear, to a more comfortable place; he is a man who is patiently and often painfully shaping his life in harmony with an inward purpose; who is mastering crude materials that he may make the vision in whose light he lives, shine before the eyes of men whose sight is less clear than his; who is doing commonplace things in a spirit which gives them the beauty of a high purpose, as the great architect redeems the meanness of the hidden stone by the splendor of the structure in which it finds its place.—The Outlook.

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The Christian Science Text-Book

November 5, 1904

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