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THE PRESBYTERI VOL. I. ATLANTA, QA This Weekpage The Country Church 4 Comparative Religion 4 The Ministers Citizenship 5 The Redeemer's Care For His Church 5 Liberal Idea of Religion 6 The Outlook of Religion in France 7 Jerusalem 8 Altar to the Unknown God 8 Ye Shall Be Witnesses Unto Me 9 Southern Student Conference 16 Concerning the Assembly's Question 16 A Vacation Worth While 17 Dr. Patton at University of North Carolina 20 i~~ j | | Editorial Notes T ie last issue of the "Christian Advocate," of Nashvill> , the "connectional organ" of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, has on its front page a fine picture of Dr. 3uyler, the Presbyterian minister who recently died. The recognition by one denomination of the men and vvoi c of another is a beautiful manifestation of the unity of ( od's people. i 'llO \ \ ACf m iticf /?/-v ->-* a n U r> ma!1 4?v, TT VOktllUIOl^l ll^dl IllLLlU^ L11C lld.ll VJll thelhead when it says: "The original idea of a conve?ion was a gathering where men or women could intely interchange opinions, and where there should be m/ich discussion and a little percussion. The present uiea of a convention seems to be a gathering in which siveral noted speakers shall harangue the body for two or three days, after which it shall adjourn." Complaint is heard, every now and then, that the church lacks leaders these days, that there are no special figures who stand at the front and are looked up to j as the guiding minds of the church. It is well that it is 1 so. Far better is it that there should be a democracy in our religious associations. The work of the church is done by the many, rather than by the few, and the distribution of the honor and reward instead of fixing them upon single men here and there tends to separate the work from ' ?-? - * 1 - duu iu ^ivc tne giory to Liocl. At a mission meeting one preacher said to another: "Where have you been lately? I haven't seen you or heard of you, nor have I once seen your name in the papers." "No," was the reply, "I've been working the corners the past year." "What do you mean?" "Well, I found there were plenty of preachers in the city and towns, but the outlying districts where they were most -- - ..tcucu were almost without them. So I left the city work and have been going from house to house, gathering people in little groups in farmhouses and schoolhouses, preaching to them and teaching them there. There seemed to be nobody to do that work so I took it up. I call that working the corners, and I guess my name hasn't been in the papers for a year." 1 AN OF THE SOUTH APRIL 14, 1909. NO. 15. One of our* exchanges discusses the question of funeral services, very rightly objecting to eulogies of the xleceased. Such addresses should be excluded. The nobler the man who lies in the coffin, the more he would object to fulsome laudation. Long funeral addresses are no less out out of place. Along with some selections of Scripture, a brief message of comfort to the bereaved (or in some cases of exhortation to be ready) is all that is needed. Brevity is gofden. On the other hand, it is possible to handle the Scriptures at a funeral service in such a way as to leave little comfort and little stimulation in piety. We have sometimes seen the pastor read from a book of texts, picked up here and there, from different parts of the t? : i-1 - : .4-1 a ^ ? ? % * t-?* i ? oiuie, wnnoui connection ana wiinout; conerence: ana at the end of the service not one of them had left any special impression upon the hearer. Should not the pastor always aim in such a service to impress some one helpful thought? Some vears atro. while snendintr a week in a town in Indiana, we took occasion to worship with each of its three churches. In not one of them did we hear a confession of sin or an expression of penitence. In one case the sermon involved the question of how to be saved: but in it there was no suggestion of the guilt of sin or the need of repentance. We found no explanation ; we simply were painfully aware of the fearful omission. In som,e of our contemporary journals, week by week, there is printed a form of prayer for use by its readers. The plan is a good one. But alas! many of these prayerforms omit all confession of sin. They contain no pe 1 ? ~ ?i 4.~ ~: liliuii iui iui gi vcuc^s, ctiivi iiu appeal lci dluuill^ uluuu. Over and over has this omission recurred till it becpmes conspicuous. Why? King Edward has issued ar. order that there shall be no more public entertainments in theatres, music halls and the like throughout England on Sunday, Christmas Day or Good Friday. Mayor McClellan, of New York City, on the day before Christmas, revoked the licenses of some five hundred moving picture shows as a result of an investigation by himself and others which had disclosed a general disregard of the fire laws and the frequent exhibition of immoral and demoralizing pictures. x* t_ ...i r_r..i i 1.. lVlcLgiail dlCb WUU die IdlLllllll LU UUly dliu UllSC1113llijr courageous can secure obedience to law, and do much for the welfare of the community, economically, socially and morally. The fact is that brave and outspoken protest against evils by citizens of character a'nd standing will drive out the men who for gain are willing to debase the morals of the people, destroy the Sabbath and sweep the youth down to destruction. t Vf*; ,