OCR Text |
Show CHURCH MERGING. The latest movement contemplated by the different dif-ferent Protestant sects .is the formation of a church trusti . They now want to regain what,thcy lost when they cut loose from the Catholic church. Eev. Xew-ell Xew-ell I). Hjllis gives an outline of what should be done, in Everybody's Magazine. He says that "the epoch of church unity has fully come. It could no longer be delayed.- This unity so desirable has been implanted im-planted in the humau heart by the Creator when Ho revealed Himself to our first parents. It was preserved pre-served by the' patriarchal religion and sacredly guarded by the synagogue. It was transmitted by Christ, the uniting link between the old and new dispensations, to the church founded on Peter. The reformers broke loose from this unity, and have ever since multiplied almost indefinitely. But multiplicity mul-tiplicity excludes unity. To unite there must be some boud of union. " Before unity can be secured from discordant elements, i.e., the different shades of Protestant religious views, there must be authority author-ity that is divinely commissioned to say: "In this you must unite, for it is a divine truth, but in other matters you are free." - Only with such authority can one secure unity of faith, unity of discipline., unity of .the sacraments and unity of charity. Since the reformers lost this unity they have been groping in the dark, searching for what is beyond their reach, and vainly sjriving to make one out of what (their religious principle) is naturally multiple, or order out of chaos. After the first protest was made against Catholic authority, and unity, Protestantism began to unfold, aud thiVunfolding consisted in denying de-nying Catholic truths that were always held sacred. We know. what the logical consequences are todav a denial of all Christian truths or avowed infidelity infidel-ity by numerous persons whoso fathers or grandfathers grand-fathers were strict church members. This all-important question cannot be set aside or blinked at because of religious .prejudice. Like the Gentiles Avho separated from the synagogue, the farther, in j time,;protestantism is separated from the unity of the Catholic church the less" do Protestants believe of the Christian truths, and the feebler becomes their faith in divine truths and revelation itself. The supposition' that unity was lost when the reformers protested against the Church is a mistake. The unity of the Church, founded by our Divine Lord on Teter, can never be broken as long as there is a successor suc-cessor to Pefccr, .who is always the center of unity. "Where Peter is there is. the Church,", and through him the members are united in all matters of faith and discipline. . But the union required by Mr. Hillis is for economic eco-nomic purposes to savo building churches for each separate denomination. It is to be modeled on the latest up-to-date business improvements. He says: "The men who have simplified business, reorganized the banks under one management, reorganized the factory and the store and the stop, are the men now in the pews. Having leerned how to save the wastes on Saturday, they are irritated by the ecclesiastical ec-clesiastical wastes on Sunday. These business men realize that it is unnecessary, illogical, puerile and wicked to duplicate many church plants," involving in-volving enormous wastes and lessened efficiency, when one central church plant could quadruple the results at one-quarter the cost." Mr. Hillis idea may be very plausible, but is it not Utopian? How can he unite in one temple the Dowieitcs and the Lutherans, Christian Science and high church Episcopalianism, fnitarianism and Presbyterianism? They will never coalesce. Out of multiplicity you cannot get unity. s The branches, when severed from the trunk of the tree, are dead. The only possiblelray to reanimate them is uy in- grafting them on a sound trunk. The old tree tho Catholic Church which has its roots in Bethlehem, still retains its sap.: Only by uniting with its trunk can unity be secured. "In the beginning," writes Rev. X. D. Hillis, "wo are told the Christian church was 'all with one ac-eord ac-eord in oho place,' but if Peter and Paul were to come to 2s ew. York Or to Xew Orleans or to San Francisco or to Boston they would find the members mem-bers of this one church in 169 different places. Tho result of this division and denominational rivalry is a decline in the interests of the church and of the attendance upon it; a support waning to the point of extinction. But the greatest waste of nil is in the pulpit. Few ministers in small towns have a salary of more than a thousand dollars." The " writer, like the Gentiles, when they separated sep-arated from tho synagogue, the center of unity, "has eyes but he cannot see," In the cities named and throughout the entire world he will find that unity in faith for which his religious instinct so earnestly craves. It is true the archdiocese of Xew York has 289 Catholic church, Xew Orleans 199 churches, San Francisco I$0 churches and the archdiocese of Boston 221 churches, but these 859 churches of four archdioceses were built to accommodate" the increasing increas-ing number of worshippers, who were "all .with one accord in one place," listening to tho voice of Peter, Pe-ter, "commissioned to feed the lambs rd sheep." Mr. Hillis "has ears but he cannot hear." Hence-, his wail of sorrow for being severed from the center cen-ter of unity qnd ."finding the members of this One churein(;o;dirent places." Did it ever occur t0 .IHlj.!1".. intelligent, unbiased mem- --...' brr from each of the 169 places of worship were to discuss the necessity and means of securing unity, that a majority would favor joining the Catholic Cath-olic church rather than any one of the 169 different creeds? Why? Because it is impossible to get unity out of multiplicity. They will not coalesce. Without some supreme court or divine authorit there could be no adhesive quality. The only process known to get one out of 169 is the smelting process. The dreams of Rev. Xewell D. Hillis will never materialize. ma-terialize. The "great waste of the pulpit," instead of unifying, will become greater, each year multiplying, multi-plying, and there will be a corresponding demand for ministers who will have to live on a little more than a thousand dollars a year. But enough. Tho subject is all-important and is now attracting attention. at-tention. We will refer to it again. |