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Show I WHAT THE CHURCHES ARE DOING. Are the Protestant churches falling in their mission? The San Francisco Chronicle answers in the affirmative and then proceeds to explain, saying: "It is not difficult to doubt the wisdom of a body of clergymen applying ap-plying to an advertising bureau for suggestions for attracting congregations congrega-tions It is easy to see that with all their brutal frankness the advertising men added nothing useful to the discussion. dis-cussion. "The facts are that the Catholic churches are well filled every Sunday and so, at the other extreme, are these of the Christian Scientists. The so-called Protestant churches have very scanty congregations except as here and there some Individual clergyman clergy-man has something to say which the people wish to hear. The fundamental fundamen-tal cause of any loss of influence of tne Protestant churches Is their Insistence In-sistence upon trivial differences among themselves. Their poverty is the result of the resulting waste of resource. 'Tt will also be noticed that in those churches which are best filled the pastors preach the gospel and not economics, or politics. They do not go to the ad. men or rack their own brains for devices to attract congre gatiens by conducting their services with the passing sensation of the day. They deal with rich and poor alike o einnnra ind Ar. . . . . u nut itatii mat cither the one class or the other is the greater or a different sinner. They preach faith in God, charm to U, hope for mankind And it is possible pos-sible to preach all these things without with-out touching upon theological questions ques-tions which in the past have been subjects of controversy, but which are not fundamental and which have leased to Interest the Protestant world. "No thoughtful person can contemplate contem-plate the waning influence of the lurches without profound sorrow Religion exercises upon mankind a eatrainlng influence for which there Ig no substitute. It Inspires to J j better dally Fife as nothing elsp CM inspire It disposes to charity or tne ri rich toward the poor and of the Pr toward the rich as nothing else over n does or ever can. The habitual at- tPlidants upon church services are I those ho impart most of what so hi- I i,v of rharacter modern civilization, pjrsesses. No other agency can tak" 1 The place of religion and the church m imparting that desire Tor public or- I der and respect for nublic authority, in default of which the world must ; Ej I drift into anarchy and bloodshed I "In the interests therefore, of civ- R I Dilation Itself, and of a nobler civ- lllrstlon than the world has yet seen I it is essential that religion maintain and Increase Its hold on men. that the, churches be supported and thar religious re-ligious teaching and inspiration! BhCUld be directed simply to the Strengthening of individual faith and the betterment of individual life And it is not merely those who attend church npou whom church influence in-fluence is exerted Tt reaches out Into In-to the whole community And the more closely the churches are united the more powerful the influence they exert. It could be wished that there1 was but one church. Since that is j impossible, we can at least hope that there may not be more than two churches. Protestants, unite" Hie Chronicle's condemnation of the methods1 of Protestant preachers is too sweeping The Protestant religion re-ligion is essentially liberal and allows al-lows or much individual latitude in foim of worship. The statement that) oi ly the ministers who hold strictlv to the Gospel and eschew economics j or politics,, hold their congregations, does not apply to all religions The services of the Mormons are more tirhfully attended than that of any religious body in the United States, and yet the speakers quite ofteu deal I with current events auu ui itual lessons from every-day affairs The loss of communicants by Prot estant organizations represents the drift of the American people away from all churches This Is to be re gretted for. as the Chronicle says, he moral influence of religion Is ?. mighty factor in upholding respect for law and order and promoting right living The Protestant churches have tried preaching nothing but the Gospel and have seen their congregations diminish: dimin-ish: they now are appealing to the daily mind activities of all men and women, and to us this new tact seems most promising as a means of draw- fl ing the great body oi the people into I ;he churches. |
