their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Let us have a Christianity that shows in a practical way that it believes in the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, and we shall soon win the world for Christ.

We must maintain a reverent attitude toward God and sacred things. Religion must be not merely a matter of the intellect, "a usurpation of the understanding," which results in rationalism; but it must also be a matter of the heart, not to the extent, however, of objectionable mysticism, but such as gives free exercise to the emotional nature of man which is as real and essential to his being as his intellectual nature.

A religion that is merely intellectual cannot satisfy the deepest longings of the soul, but is apt to be cold and formal. It must be supplemented by that which appeals to and satisfies the heart, that which makes it warm and comforting, pulsating with the very Spirit of God.

The best theology can only be produced in a devout age. Those who seek to know the deep things of God must approach them in a reverent spirit. Jesus says: "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching."

Dr. R. W. Dale has this pertinent paragraph on this point: "The work of theological reconstruction must be done. It can only be done effectively when the religious faith and ardor of the Church are intense, and when robust genius and massive learning are united with saintly devotion. A theology which is the creation of a poor and degraded religious life will have neither stability nor grandeur. We must all become better Christians before we can hope to see great theologians.'

7. It must be Social.-It must be for all classes of society, not taking the part of class against class, but adapted to all alike. "One essential side of man's destination is displayed in each of the social circles, and the purpose of Christianity is to develop the new man' within each. It is in proportion as the Christian ideal of human nature is realized in them, that the Kingdom of God attains a social, and at the

appearance."

same time an individual appearance.' in his "Christian Ethics."

So

So says Dr. Martensen

Christianity must have a gospel for all, for rich and poor, for learned and ignorant, for king and peasant, for priest and layman. It has a message for all, and it is our duty as ministers, as prophets of God, to proclaim it. We must not take the side of capital against labor, nor of labor against capital, but we must show both classes that their meeting place is at the feet of Jesus and that His gospel alone, when lived out in daily life, will help each to do his duty toward the other, will help them to labor together in love as brothers.

In its social relations Christianity must teach that "all service is honorable and all idleness a disgrace; that to get money by whatever strategy without furnishing an equivalent is a dishonorable spoliation; that wealth is a trust, and that men are to be measured, not by what they possess, but by what use they make of it; that things are for men, not men for things, and that any civilization is wasteful which grinds up men and women to make cheap goods; that industry is not righteously organized until it is so organized that every honest and willing worker can find work, and find work so remunerative as to give him and his children an opportunity for selfdevelopment as well as for mere life." This strong and comprehensive paragraph I quote from Dr. Lyman Abbott's chapter on "The Evolution of Christian Society."

The only hope for society to-day is to be found in the gospel of Christ. If we have faith in the social and civic character of Christianity we shall have a vision with St. John of the time when "the Kingdom of the world is become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ," and it is our privilege to have part in bringing to pass this grand consummation.

We must seek to win the world to Christ by bringing Christ to the world. Christianity is missionary by nature. It was meant for the world. It stands between two personalities and has ringing in its ears two little words which it must ever heed. Back of it stands Christ, as its Lord and Master, with

His eternal command, "Go!"-"Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Before it stands the world, crying with outstretched arms, "Come!"-" Come over and help us." Even though in some instances the world does not invite Christianity, but opposes its entrance into its borders, its very worldliness, its utter need of Christ, speaks more eloquently than words could frame the call, "Come and help us."

The first group of the Christian people came near burying the gospel alive under their old ideas of narrow religion." The new wine of Christianity could never be contained by the Jewish wineskins, but in the providence of God it burst the skins and has flowed on through the centuries seeking ever to find a place in the hearts of all men.

Let us thank God that twentieth century Christianity is distinctively missionary. Christianity is a religion of service, and the missionary idea expresses the world-wide and age-long service which it is to render to humanity until it has gathered into one fold all the sheep of the great Shepherd. He Himself says, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd." So there is a missionary note in His wonderful prayer for His disciples, "Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word; that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in us; that the world may believe that Thou didst. send me."

Twentieth century Christianity is the best product of the ages. Let us live it, let us proclaim it, with gratitude to our Father in heaven, with love for our fellowmen, until it shall have accomplished that for which it was given.

READING, PA.

VI.

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT.

THE BIBLE AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.

It has become quite customary of late, in certain quarters, to call Sunday schools Bible schools. No doubt it is intended by this name to emphasize the fact that the instruction in these schools turns on the Bible. As a matter of fact the Bible, or certain portions of it, or topics taken from it, constitute the subject matter usually taught; and yet this name is too narrow. The Sunday school has a wider purpose than that of teaching the Bible. While the study of the Bible is one of the purposes which the school has in view, it must be borne in mind that it also aims at religious instruction and nurture in a wider sense. The Sunday school is one of the agencies of the Christian church for the training of the young so as to make them sincere, intelligent, devoted followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, fitted for full membership and all the offices and work of the church. There are two classes of pupils which the Sunday school tries to reach and influence. First and foremost, there are the children of church members, those who belong to the church who are in a sense within its pale and need instruction and nurture in the essence and life of Christianity. The other class consists of those who are outside of the church, young people whose parents are not active members of the church, those upon whom the church has no hold or claim as yet because they have not imbibed its life and spirit; but they are brought under the influence of Christian men and women, brought into the Sunday school and are instructed so as to lead them to discipleship and make them members of the church. So far as these are concerned, the Sunday school is a missionary agency and it is by common

consent, according to the evidence of those who have had the best opportunity for observation and experiment, one of the most effective agencies that can be used for this purpose.

Modes of education now prevalent have brought a weight of responsibility upon the Sunday school greater to-day than at any previous time in the history of the church. Other modes of training and nurture in religion have declined. Family worship has, to a great extent, passed away. The gathering of the family around the fireside on Sunday evening for the reading of the Bible and the study of the catechism is almost an impossibility under the conditions of life which prevail to-day. The development of public education and the decline of parochial schools have done away with specific religious instruction in the case of a large majority of young people who grow up to manhood and womanhood, except as such instruction is furnished by the Sunday school. It is often said that such ought not to be the case and we hear a great many lamentations that the good old days have passed away, but the question is not whether the present state of things is preferable to the old order. The present state is here and it is here, no doubt, for a reason. It is part of the development of life, a stage through which, in the nature of the case, we have to pass and as we are confronted by the fact, we must make the best of it, we must endeavor to meet it as best we can. The catechetical class in many of our churches is still called into service, but the main reliance of the church must, after all, be upon the Sunday school. It is therefore of the utmost importance that in organization, in effective working, in the subject matter to be taught, in the influence to be exerted, the Sunday school should be raised to the highest possible degree of efficiency. The future weal or woe of the church and the aggressive work of Christianity are bound up with this instrumentality.

If this statement is true, and no one will gainsay it, it follows as a matter of course that the life and spirit of any religious denomination as well as the principles of Christi