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Show .MJJIIItlim' (OMI.lLllMl HLI.IIJ. IOt l THIS CUD.MItY. Hour public Journal are exprcaalng rurprlaeat the number of organlted rellglollabodliallllhu United Htatiw, aa rrpoitcd In the cenaua of 180). The ofllclal announcement la that thvre are one hundred and forty rellgloue bodle In tho United HUtee,exclualvcf many lndcndi nt mngrrgatlona. Probably the aurpilae woull gtrater If Hum lndeenJnt congrrga Ion" were numbered and addod to tho geutralaum. All thrao dlllerrnt tellgloua ludlca nrecoiilllctlng. They are opponvd to encli other In raacntlal polnU of doc trlnuand Impirtant riileaofdlaclpllne. What a llabel thla mvknofwhatla au hI by inllllona of people to be theChurihofChilaU 1 1 muat beevldent to thinking people that theve organlaitlona are mvroty liuman Inatltulluna. They havo no morn right to claim that Chllat orgau-lied orgau-lied them than litvo tha tarloua cor luratlona for buliica, or charitable, or educational turiioace. Tho fact glint tho tvoplo who bvloug to them lilteve In Clulit, doe not make either or all of them the Church of ChrllL To be HU Churili, an organlaatlon muat havo Urn ifficted under 111 direction or aiuctlon. Without that, whatever men may rail II, the ihurt.li cannot be C'hrlat' Church. It la prcpunleroua to auppoae thnt Chrlt la the author of thu cotifualuu, coulllct and veritable liedlam of crcud and authorities and regulation folateil ujion HI name. He la "the way the truth and the life," an I theae Jangling Jang-ling faith and ilUoordanl accle are the Invrl.tlona of men. They aro tho cauae of movtof the Infidelity na to rcllglou that la growing In the world. Chrlit1 Church muat of tieciiwltybe one. It may havu miuy brauihea, but they muat all bejolued to or rather aprlng from the one vlue or tree, aud tbttiuuathu of llli own planting or It lauoueof Ilia. A hundred aud forty differing rellgloua bodle, to aay loth ln(bf the other not recogulied, m-tk up audi a at i thing hum of Incongru oua human opluloua, aud (icraoua, and pretindrdautkorlllea, that It la really avtonUhlng any aau ivraou could Im aglne It forma the Church of the one, unchangeable and Immutable (11. Hy the by, we have often heard pub lie apcakcra declare that the inyallcal number of the Awalyraie alx liun dred au I lxty-alx-waa the number of religion of the world. Wo always doubted thla. We have nover bten able to fin I proof of lta authenticity, aud we think It la not only a mlatake but au eiaggi ration of the actual facU. TIiomi who have entertained thu Idea that thla la correct, will no doubt bu a gieatly aurprlaed with the ceiuiu re jrt aa to thu number of religion lu Hi h) country, aaaro the pijvr to which we have referred. The dlllVriucu, lioaever, will be that our frlonda will lai aatonlahed that tlio number Ueu imall. The dlvlalona that ixlat In tho ro llgloia world are aufllclently iiunier oua without being multiplied beyoud the facU,andthe proepecU for rillglou unity, ixrept on thu baala of n new revelation, are not very prumlalng. The Church uf Chrlathaa In truth Iwiiieittipngalnoneartliby tlio Ha. vlor ltlmioir. Hut for a long time to come It la not probable that more than a few, comparatively, of people calling call-ing themaelveaChrlatlana will recog nil tho fact, or even believe It poa. ble that a Church ufChrlat can lie ea-tabllahed ea-tabllahed on the tarth un lr Ihe Immediate Imme-diate authority, direction an I Inaplra-of Inaplra-of Chrlat. They will prefer to go on In their own w a) a, mike rellgloua to tult thrmaetvre, and lilro preacher a they would other aervanta, to do what liny de.Ire. 'The unity of faith" la a long way olfln Chrlileiidom, |
