Newspapers / The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, … / April 5, 1928, edition 1 / Page 2
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Thursday, April 5,192 S What’s Wrong With , The Church I j i By C. O. SMALL In my article of last week, li, emphasized the point that the pul* ji pit has become too often a bulletin j board on which the reform agencies j can tack any kind of placard. Blun- j der number two might be: “The pul-i pit has allowed itself unconsciously j to be a place for the dissemination • of too much propaganda.” For out-j side organizations get out pamphlets, and books and put these in the hands ; of the ministry and almost compel them to instruct the people from the church what should be done. An appeal is made to the pulpit to take part in politics, by declaring for this or that thing; it may be the making | of certain kinds of laws, or an ap- J peal for certain candidates who . will make some particular legislation. t None of this is the gospel and can never save a soul. Imagine Christ going before a law-making body to influence some legislation, or going into a synagogue to hang a crowd on the evils of divorce! You might as well imagine the great preacher. Dr. Talmage, dressed in tights do ing- a trapeze performance in Bar num and Bailey’s circus. Twice re cently, I have read of a newly ap pointed judge going- into the pulpit on the Sabbath, each time deliver ing a lecture on the liquor traffic or prohibition. I presunip the choir sang, “Come, All \ e Who Thirst.’ Here is blunder Number Three: “The church has almost forgotten how to uplift humanity by teaching men to love righteousness and have strength to leav e off unrighteous ness.” Very distinctly, do we re call that not so long ago the church had certain organizations to teach people the moral wrong of intemper ance. They made fine headway, too. Then came along some men who sneered at the idea of making peo ple better except by legislation. They jeered the church for what it was doing. Now the same people come back to the church and say that they are unable to do a thing without the aid of the church. The law in men’s hearts is worth more than all pub lished statutes. Law has never been half as effectual as we believe it has been. Both good men and bad men care but little about laws. This constant haggling about teaching the people to obey the laws has never fallen kindly on listening ears. You who know the history of Judea know • there was a time when law complete ly collapsed among the Jews; you know there was a certain great man among them, a prophet, who pro claimed God’s law as the only rem edy, and that law written upon their hearts would alone bring- a reform. Just how long the pulpit will tolerate these things, we know not, but it becomes the cat’s paw for repeated i propaganda, it will surely awake. sometime to find that while the good I man slept, thieves stole his goods. 1 Economical Transportation (Sffortless Driving 0 . o omoomness • Power and Ease of Control that make every mile a pleasure The COACH *585 The Touring *dQff •rßoaditer £* - - *595 THe 4-Door Sedan - - 0/3 The Sport Cabriolet • 003 The Imperial ~| £ Landau - I lj Utility Truck SXQ£ (Chassis Only) Light Delivery sl7? (Chassis Only) JO All Prices f. o. b. Flint, Mich. Check Chevrolet Delivered Prices They include the low* est handling and fi nancing charges available. THE ECONOMY MOTOR CO. SILER CITY, N. C. Moncure Chevrolet Co., Stout Motor Co. MONCURE, N. C. GOLDSTON, N. C. Q U ALI T Y A T LOJ CO S T These three major blunders can i be expugned at any time the church i puts the gospel head and shoulders : above outside activities. If I am ] not mistaken, our Episcopal friends: have kept themselves pretty free j < from thesp enumerated outside as- ; fairs; they have kept the house of , God with a sacredness that can help , impress even less devout people. And so I will pass to some other things too overt to b e ignored entirely. This controversy between the : Fundamentalists and Modernists has driven a wedge into our Protestant churches, and the cleaveage will con tinue to widen. Th e Catholic church since it accepts as infaliable the pre cepts of the papacy, may gain those who are among the dissatisfied ele- j ments of this controversy. But just j why organic evolution or any other I scientific discovery should be a dis turbing element in the hearts of men, j is more than I can see. To accept or reject the theory can not possibly make a scintilla of difference with the principles of Christianity. How long- man has been in the world, or how he got here is no concern of ours. Huxley, a contemporary of Darwin, said that the theory would certainly upset some things in re ligion. The inquiring mind will soon er or later com P to the truth. God has never receded because men have investigated, or science advanced. Christ invited investigation. Super stition has wrought havoc thru the ages, and the church and the world have suffered too much and too long because of it. Science has saved millions from the grave; it has fed the hungry and clothed the naked; and it has made th P few' days w r e live here a little more comfortable for us. Long ago did I determine to drive superstition from my mind as long as it was possible for me to do so. Some charge that the ministry is not strong. Perhaps this is true, but thp average congregation may be far weaker. Not every church audience has much desire to do any real ser ious thinking- for itself. Once I heard Sam Jones say that no one would use a cannon to shoot snow birds with. A real scholarly sermon might not hav p altogether an awak ening effect. However, salvation de pends not alone upon intelligence, and some of our best men do not belong to the literati. A man must feel j what he preaches, for no man can preach the gospel who does not feel the gospel. No man can teach his tory who does not feel history. Too many congregations are, per haps, looking- for “good mixers” and “go-getters,” and those who can put across an interesting Sunday night program to get the young folk out. New, when you hear such, isn’t it a plain admission that the minister is not intellectually able to make any impress upon that part of the people who do think, and upon these who ap preciate intellectual guidance. A man ; may be ever so good, yet have little < wisdom with it. Goodness is one I thing- and w'isdom another thing. 1 Goodness and intelligence are not t Day after day it becomes knuckles. The clutch is vel more apparent that the un- vety smooth in action and rivaled popularity of the the gear-shift lever responds Bigger and Better Chevrolet to the lightest touch. Accel is due to its basic elements eration is swift and certain, of superiority. while big non-locking four- And the greatest factor of all wheel , brak f assure perfect is the effortless driving it pro . ntr °, l , under ever V co " di ' vides. It steers with the «on of h.ghway and traffic. weight of the hand for the worm and gear steering mechanism is fitted with ball bear ings throughout . . . even at the front axle You'll never know what a great car it is until you sit at the wheel and drive! So come in today for a demonstration! Bigger Better always handmaidens. The word a “good mixer” is flubdubbery, pure and simple. Wouldn’t it be* funny, indede, to hear Paul spoken of as a “go-getter?” Some charge that we do not see beautfiul and dignified services in many of our churches. There is an element of truth here. The music may be a little jazzy. That is too often true. Often have I heard many fine quotations from literature and poetry to illustrate some fine ideal. Is this passing away too? They may npt be the gospel, but they do stand for an ideal. And isn’t Christianity an ideal? Not long ago, I heard a minister attempt, with utter failure, to producp some things from literature. Another I heard deflect long- enough to berate some candidates for the presidency. This is rather repellent to people who know. Perhaps, another dose of poison which the church swallowed uncon sciously, was the acceptance of large gifts and donations from men of predatory wealth. No man can atone for his robbery of this by hiding it under the dom e of God’s temple. Well, can w'e recall how the good Dr. Gadsen refused to accept the gifts of Rockefeller, and how he war ned the church by saying that such money would sometim P prove a cat aclysm of ruin to the church. Now, nothing is refused, no matter where it comes from. Some tobacco mag nate, who has reaped his millions from the honest sweat of those who labored in penury, may donatp his millions to churches, hospitals, or schools, but the very structures them selves will cry aloud for judgment. The mills of the gods grind slow but they grind sure and fine. Again, this mad rush for finer churches is a mad race indeed. This thing of outdoing- the other person is a hectic strife. The peoples’ minds are turned from righteousness to the competitive side, whilp spirituality takes care of itself as best it can. Let the stranger go into a town or community, and the people point out to him with equal pride their church es, saving- come and se P what beau tiful churches we have; but, do they ever say, “Come, anti see how good we are.” There may be just about as much resemblancp between many a church and the manager of Bethle hem as there is between a French peasant’s cottage and Notre Dame Cathedral. Generally speaking, when men are rich, God’s kingdom is poor; when men are poor, God’s kingdom is rich. The man of Galilee made his parsonage right up among the poor and distressed; h p talked with them; he ate with them. The poor man will be mighty slow to walk down carpeted aisles on Sunday morning, when all the week he walks on bare boards and sits on a stool. How nice it would b P to build the parsonage up among the workers in the factor ies or the mines! While Daniel Web ster was Secretary of state, he was encouraged to attend the church of the elite in Washington, but refused by saying, “Let me go out yonder to that little .church where I can THE CHATHAM RECORD hear about Daniel Webster the sin ner, instead of Daniel Webster, the statesman.” The world today stands aghast! Ic is a glorious time to live for men who think, and never was thinging in more demand. The first Age of Expression has passed away. The Second Age of Expression has come; not, however to expression of all, If you smoke for pleasure > * ~J2LjjL» —Camels lead the way. The win : ning answer is “i LIKE ’EM.” i. The cigarette best-liked by so many smokers, it leads by billions © 19211, R. J. Reynolds Toba<««» Company, Winston-Salem. N. G. “Electricity- • Builder of the Modern Home” >*• - says J. A. O. Preus, Former Governor of Minnesota “The spirit , the history and the evolution of our constitution has been and always will remain, that the Government is not to do for you what you are able to do for yourself.**** The Government has not brought forth our electrical improve ments; private initiative has brought them, and more of these improvements have come to our country than to any other." aj w w a constitution on the principle that must not attempt what the individuai can do {^ est for himself, America has 1 risen to unimagined heights of I achievement and prosperity. Here 6% of the population of the world enjoys a wealth which nearly equals the wealth of all the rest of the world combined. If the American working man %. *eems to receive wages out of all proportion to those received by laborers in Europe, it is because with electric power at hand he can produce from three to twenty times as much in a single work ing day as the European laborer can. The electrification of Amer . ican industries and homes has added so much to our capacity to get things done without the loss of time and effort, that bet ter wages and better living be came an inevitable result. ~ * v? For the electric and power q ar o L IN. A Powes 1 ** Com«tany for the masses sweep on just as the crowd goes on. There once lived in Holland a man who wrote a little book called Imitation of Christ; it was translated into ail languages; it reformed the clergy and the church, but the reform did not last. The first age of expression had come. The crowd heedlessly swept on. In a while all Europe was array- industry this growth in electrifi cation and prosperity has pre sented problems of staggering proportions. With both earnings and service standards prescribed by governmental regulation the power companies have had to provide for a demand which has doubled every five years. And it takes from 5 to 10 years to plan, build and equip a large steam generating plant. Without the vision and enter prise of individual initiative, the power companies could never have met such demands as these. The incentive to extraordinary effort, the confidence of users and the investing public, depend on the operation of those princi ples on which all American busi ness enterprise is built. Freedom of individual initiative has given us the highest type of electric light and powei service known. To defend this principle is tc in sure the future of electrical de velopment. / , ed against itself. had gone wrong, and thereby hangs a tale. A new model automobile causes a iot of excitement these days but just wait until the airplane industry, ten years from now announces a new model and all the people will be up in the air. PAGE TWO
The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, N.C.)
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April 5, 1928, edition 1
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