| Show editorials EA THE GROWTH OF RELIGIOUS UNBELIEF 0 IN the midst of the nations of modem christendom is a widespread aud and rapidly growing dla diA disbelief belief bellef in revealed rella religion on which ucb unhappy appy 11 state of the public mind threatens to culminate in the near future in a collapse of au religious belief as corn coin as it will be terrible this impending in crisis is recognized by many of the leading minas minds min ds of the ag ageth ewh ar are aro vainly theorizing with regard to its origin and speculating as to it its ultimate results these theories es however simply touch secondary or apparent causes the originating c cause au se is 14 ignored or repudiated repudiate led by these inquiries it lies in the rejection ef of the revelations of the tee everlasting gospel by the masses of the people and in those lands landa where its principles have been the most widely proclaimed is this disbelief in or disregard of or religious obligations the most strongly dey developed eloped indeed it is but the natural and inevitable outgrowth of a refusal to accept the hordof word of the lord the rejection of divine truth originates in the iniquity of the people they love darkness rather than light because their deeds are ev iland iland lland when they have rep repelled repel ellel lei leJ the light the darkness grows more morer profound and the influence of iniquity the more powerful and ana dominating 9 the literature of all english speaking countries is surcharged with evidences of this prevailing condition of fit the public mind this ia is particularly so with so called sei sel scientific works but even many of the most recent works of fiction are dis ively nonreligious non religious they tifer entirely ignore god their heroes and her heroines olnes are strong in their humanity conquering temptation solely solety by intern internal til strength of character and triumphing over evil simply by innate personal virtue too many also of the most popular educational text books not only exert a nel neg negative ga but a positive influence against revealed religion whilst what is called natural religion by some so highly extolled is pretty much what each individual chooses to make it with some it is the worship of his fellow mans best efforts with another it is the convenient makeshift of a sounding name which tsi so eans cans anything or nothing according to time place or circumstance it is perhaps true that in the minds of some men who combine great astren strength ath of character of bf a reve reverential orential cat cast with with high scientific attainments is toba to be found ast a strong ro ng manifestation fe station of thel sentiment of worship ship but if ff you yuu search into the recesses besses of sueh such mens hearts nothing tangible nothing definite nothing that will save or exalt humanity but merely a makeshift drawn from froni per pen personal study or e experience rien some mixture perhaps perba S lmh of christian christinn rista ethics with ancient philosophy a plank of the theological wreck which will barely hold two yet there is probably an increase of church building possibly even of church going buethe but the crust of outward piety is thin and hollow and is growing thinner and hol hoi hollowed hollo lowe wc everyday every eveny day there may be a form of godliness but christendom is not at once prepared to throve aside the traditions of ages which make it the respectable and proper thing for every one to be a professor of religion on nor is is society yet set prepared to assume the unknown responsibilities which an utter repudiation of or feli feil religious ious lous teachings would entail and again amongst the various uninspired irreligious schemes of which the present century is 18 so prolific no system has yet been discovered capable of elevating the moral tone of society of promoting temperance unselfishness and thrift of developing self respect and insuring domestic virtue any better than t the he old sects however much they may have been weighted with adent adert adventitious idous matter and be smeared wilh with wi li the e harlo tries of modern babylon on A hange change thus becomes to many a simple dimple question of j jumping out of the fry frying ng pan into the fire firem farea supposing and we think the supposition posit ign a very reasonable one that this condition of religious doubt and disbelief grows until it becomes preeminently the ruling sentiment of all classes modified slightly by social position education and tradition what will bo be its probable effect on morality we answer a moral chaos for a short period it is conceivable cei vable that the restraints of public opinion fashioned under the 2 old conditions and the fearon fear of unwelcome responsibilities would hold hoid the first generation who reject revealed religion ligion alon A lon ion to a moderate standard of outward morality but it can scarcely be hoped that in the next generation the same standard however poor it be would be maintained either by the abstract idea of virtue or the positive law of the state social science cannot supply we the place of religion weak as men may have made much of it and by the side of ot true religion what does docs it give in exchange for the verities verifies veri ties of the gospel of jesus christ A gospel ot of torce lorce evolution the struggle for exl exi existence stence the survival of the ht lit test testa a gospel which teaches the englishman it is no shame to shoot zulus and the american that ohe the Ta manite is i 3 his ri rightful prey in the words of mr air roebuck roe Koe buek buck alp ALF the first business of a colonist la is to clear the country of wild beasts and the most noxious of wild beasts is the wild man what will survive of that grand truth which holds to gether the families of mankind thal thai god hath made of one blood all ail nations of men for foi to dwell bodwell on all the face of the earth blot out this idea of the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood the of god ignore the glorious act of divine self sacrifice consummated on calvary requiring self sa orifice from us in return extinguish the gospel hope for the individual its hope for the race and what restraining barriers does tive ism infidelity or naturalism present an t these are gospels of antagonism gos gospels aels of policy gospels of raging selfishness in every land where the english language preval prevails 1 s we have it said to use the language of prof goldwin smith that the old rules are relaxed and the old lines broken through that commercial adventurers le rs who have made fortunes by questionable means unscrupulous political intriguers intrigue rs and even brilliant courte occupy in virtue of their success a position they never occupied before this is but the beginning of the end the shadow of a shade but yet the warning of a coming deluge of ir restraint in in I 1 which each manashall man shall shail be a law un to himself his bis own passions the special pleaders plea ders his selfishness the sole judge then might will be right and the fittest thi thab that it is the the strongest will survive from this threatened catastrophe there ia is but onci ond escape for the world itis it is to turn back from its present course and accept the verifies verities veri ties of at ter day revelation which it now re leets for in that rejection lies the tho source the cause the reason and the fear of the hastening destruction naught else will deliver nothing less jess will save THE WORK US IN EUROPE WE publish with pleasure a few more items in lif regard to the of the work af of godi god in europe eurge gleaned from the tho S star staf ot of july which has st come mahand to hand elder W 0 parkison wll wil willig liR en ragingly cou from ahe the newcastle conference Two persons had re bently been baptized in district jwo two wo in thel he south clurel branch and given their names jamesfer nam esfer for fer the ordinance ordil lanee lance in new castle castie elder hugh findlay reports from G glasgow that leighty sim six members had been added addes by baptism during durin the past eight month months with excel lent prospects for an accumulates increase the articles ot of our faigh had been stereotyped for distribution trib ution by tens of or b which means moans much good had been accomplished i at a conference hoid hold held heid in glasgow june juna vary very interesting report of their lanors idom were given b N the elders and the following were bug bus su bained in the various position named elder D C G dunbar to succeed E elder eider ider lder hugh findlay as ali president delit derit ot of the glasgow conference also elders eiders thomas jack VV 0 mcgregor 1 i james low and abd janies janics houston MS fas trav traveling bling itt tho the glasgow con ference as ag presidents of brandies john C gray of bf glasgow hw how wilson of Park head bead john uri uil ull un bingham ning ham of irvine francis mar of 10 marnock george cami cam bell of galston wm hartley of george henderson oi 01 edinburgh wm win robertson bertson Bo of hamilton wm win little of haywood david cadron of lanark banark robert kobert lamont lament of falkirk Fal kirk wm win dyett of slamannon Sla mannon wm goodof benhar james elliot of loanhead Loan head on wednesday july president budge left liverpool for the continent he proposed visiting 9 conferences in denmark sw sweden en norway and germany and pro probably b the netherlands he yie was acco neco accompanied by elders moroni snow and lyman R and expected to be absent until sometime between the and of august on saturday july elder eider peder Ander andersen sen seD returning missionary left liver liverpool oo 00 for liw jiw his home in utah on the A S S arizona elder andersen arrived on a miss sion in Nov november embery 1878 he labored in norway encountering a good deal of difficulty in his ministry on account amount of the poverty and opposition of the people he ba baptized sized about thirty persons the star says rays lie he was released to return home with the company that left liverpool on july loth but was prevented doing so by circumstances soine somme wh what at peculiar JH he e was on th the e po point n t of leaving stavanger Sta vanger for hy by 11 with a party of fourteen emigrants that were going with the july company shortly prior to the time when the steamboat was expected to leave he be was arrested by the police on a charge of pre pro aching and baptizing he obtained permission to return to the boat accompanied by a couple of officers to transfer some business to another of the party mr while one of the off omm meers officers stood at the gangway waiting walting for bro andersen to appear on deck the latter lattek S by aid of one of the mates based him disguised in a sailors based jacket a t and aul large oilskin hat helas he was thenaid then hid away in another part of the vessel and thus escaped the magistrate however telegraphed to where he was on his arrival t there pere yere again arrested and thrust into prison where he remained three days in in a mit miserable erable cell he felt rather keenly when the time was sh slipping past i when it was possible e for him to ac company the emigrating saints with whom lie lle had been released to ki return home after he was taken thiren out of jail the magistrate decreed that he should report himself police station tivice twice each day that he might be known to be within reach i when wanted he succeeded in getting away awny from and reached Copen copenhagen hageni hagenl from which latter point he came to liverpool he says that the elders ha have ax many a obstacles to meet with on the norwegian r coast where he labored the officials are very bitter and the people generally degraded tied he partially maintained himself by working with his hands handl and in hi the tha same way obtained means to hire aboms tooms rooms to enable him to preach the gospel bro andersen Ah dersen says that had te he not been re Teased to return home he would not have exerted himself to elude the officers mrs but would have stayed diu div in his belland field and taken the consequences resulting from froni preaching the gospel 0 of jesus christ |
