The Presbyterian of the South : [combining the] Southwestern Presbyterian, Central Presbyterian, Southern Presbyterian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1909-1931, January 27, 1909, Page 5, Image 5
January 27, 1909. THE PRESBYTERI
the evangelist's work. Governor Swanson spoke with
thrilling effect for the extension of a religious revival
throughout the commonwealth, as bringing the largest and
happieit result in the welfare of the people, in obedience
to law, and in that righteousness which exalteth a
people.
At Union Theological Seminary, on Friday morning,
Dr. Chapman made a most effective and moving appeal
to the students and all ministers for an evangelistic minis
try. He spoke plainly and forcibly of the need for the full
and faithful preparation for the ministry afforded by the
seminary courses in every department, in Bible study, in
systematic theology, and in church history. An evangelistic
ministry will consist first and chiefly in having an
evangelistic spirit, loving souls for Christ's sake, and in
fellowship with Christ, in always speaking the plan of
salvation, pointing to Christ on the Cross, in praying
through the sermon, preaching it first to himself, and in
having the presence of Christ at the side in all our preaching.
At the close of the address, the whole body of students
arose and came forward in a new dedication of
themselves. The hour will never be forgotten by these
young preachers of God's message, and will bear fruit for
many years HO come.
No one can tell what the results are and what they will
be of this well-organized, well-supported, and well-worked
campaign to extend the kingdom of God in this city and
throughout the state. Certainly there are awakened
churches, an encouraged and quickened ministry, a new
reliance upon essential gospel truth, centering in Christ
and him crucified, and all Christian effort will go for
wiia new zeai ana power. The sincere and public
harmony of the denominations and the unity of all
Christian ministers is a rich blessing in itself, and a
strong appeal to the world. Some are brought to Christ
now, ihe greater number at first being those who come
from church-going families, and out of Sunday schools
and B.ble classes. For months to come the churches
will be gathering some into the kingdom. Some will become
earnest workers for Christ, and some young men
will come to the Christian ministry.
MU/J. JtlUDS OF STUDY.
The advocates of recently devised methods of Bible
study, especially those called "the inductive," "the literary
and scientific," and "the new pedagogical," have
much ridiculed some of the older methods. Especially
have they made light of the old-fashioned, old-time direct
reading, memorization, and catechetical method.
But is the sum total of Biblical knowledge among
young people any greater today, for all these new
schemes, than a generation or so ago? Has the new
pedagogy, for instance, given anything better to the
world than the old-fashioned familv instrnrtinn rm
Sabbath afternoons spent in singing and reading and
helpful conversation, and mothers' reciting to the little
ones the stories of the Bible? It may be that these
simpler methods did not bring out sharply the literary
excellence of the book nor its wonderful unity of design
and purpose, but they did something better: they
brought out the book itself and let it make, as it always
did, its own impression of unity and power.
AN OF THE SOUTH. 5
A PECULIAR TERMINOLOGY.
Religiousness is of the outward life, religion, of the
heart. Religiousness is of act, religion, of principle.
Religiousness is form, religion is life. The Athenians
had plenty of religiousness, but no religion. Altars to
all the gods express religiousness, one altar alone, on
which the fire of love is burning, expresses religion.
In Roman Catholic communities the term "religion"
has a very poor meaning. It is most commonly used
to designate ordinary denominational connection.
"Changing one's religion" is equivalent to changing
one's membership from one church to another. "Giv
ing up one's religion" is often used to express a
change from the Romanist to the Protestant faith. "I
follow the Catholic religion" means that one is a member
of the Romanist church. It means nothing as to
the inner life of the professor. It was a hard speech,
to those who are not familiar with the meaning of the
language which is most common in New Orleans,
when a certain young woman who greatly admires and
looks up to one of our own pastors in that city, remarked
to some friends, "Well, I have made up my
mind that if I ever give up my religion I shall certainly
join Dr. 's church."
THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH,
The New York Post remarks that "the idea of an
'ecclesia docens' is fast disappearing from the Protestant
world, giving place to a very bustling, small
talking, social organization known as the 'institutional
church,' which is really a very complex business enterprise.
Its minister must be a man capable of doing
almost everything but preach. The church is all machinery,
and the main question is how to get up steam
enough to make it go. Everybody is working at something,
and for an outsider it Is difficult to discover what
it is all about."
There's food for thought in this criticism. It re-'
fleets the world's judgment in the case. It shows how
1 Jf * - - * * - - *
wuriuiy wise people regard the church as having departed
from her proper mission when she devotes herself
to the ends of a social organization. And having
conceived of her as forgetting her mission, is it any
wonder that the world ceases to listen to her? As
long as she is engaged in her legitimate work of proclaiming
Christ, calling men to repentance and faith,
ludis-uig iici services a matter 01 worsnip and not ot
pleasure or aestheticism, holding up the Word of God
as the rule of faith and duty, preaching the doctrine of
a sin-atoning sacrifice and of the need of the regeneration
of the natural heart, men will listen to her.
When she devotes herself to a competitive struggle in
the way of entertainment, or to an effort to be humanitarian
first and to worship God and proclaim his truth
afterwards, she is not only repudiated by the world,
but entirely "outclassed" by her rivals. No wonder
that outsiders find it "difficult to discover what it is
all about." If the church ceases to be a witnessing
body, and the instructor of her people and the world
in righteousness, her reason for being has passed. She
has no place in the world.
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