Editorial October 18, 1913 Issue

Demonstrable Knowledge

Archibald McLellan

A subject which has been much discussed for years, not only in the secular press but in the religious press as well, is the alleged failure of the Christian church of today to accomplish that for which it stands and for which its various denominations were organized by those whose yearnings Godward made them dissatisfied, or rather unsatisfied, with the practical results already achieved by organized religious effort. For instance, The British Congregationalist, in a recent issue, had the following to say on this subject:—

"We have been of late discussing from every point of view the causes of the church's failure to do her full work. Why is her voice so little heeded in the life of today? There are many causes, but is not one—and that a very important one—the fact that in her voice there has been no certain sound? Ask the average Christian worker of today what he is really aiming at in those among whom he works. In his answer you will find a good deal to admire. He wants to brighten the lives of others, or save them from some particular kind of temptation, or alleviate their sufferings, or raise their ideals of life. All these are admirable things, and worthy the service of a Christian man, but they are not the real thing for which the church of Christ exists. In the days of her greatest power men had a very clear and definite word to speak to their fellow men. The creed may have been very imperfect, and mixed with much that was unchristian; but, at any rate, they believed it, and when they spoke to their fellow men it was with the strong voice of a deep conviction. The trouble today is that so many excellent people believe nothing up to the point of strong conviction. There is in their minds a general deposit of Christian sentiment which is very pleasant to see, and which leads them to take a philanthropic view of life; but there is no one thing about which they feel it is a matter of life and death that they should get their brother to believe."

Taking this statement as it stands, a possible and fair interpretation of it is that the church has become more devoted to the material than to the spiritual welfare of men; that the institutional activities of the average church have overshadowed the purely religious trend of thought and activity of its members, and that the insistent preaching and demonstration of the omnipresence and omnipotence of God which characterized early Christianity is lacking. And if we may judge by the views of many who have fallen away from the so-called orthodox churches, the Congregationalist's estimate of the cause of their lack of conviction and enthusiasm is very largely correct.

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