THE CHURCHES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 218, 8 June 1908, Page 3

THE CHURCHES.

$ " RELIGION AND THE UNFIT." In an interesting address 011 "Jesus Christ and tlio mail who is down, or Religion and the Unfit," at tlio Baptist Church, Brooklyn, last night, the Rov. Arthur Dowdney pointed to tlio radical difference in the point of view of the Agnostic or Rationalistic Socialists and tlio reformer inspired by tho Christian faith. The man who Was down, according to tho former, was down because of forces over which ho, had 110 control, his environment and his heredity were to blame. Tho only hope for " tho .bottom dog" was so to alter these external forces that they should not operate to any one's detriment. The Christian religion, whilo not underestimating the power of. these forces, and while demanding of al! its adherents that they should work to remedy them, went deeper still. It aimed not only at now conditions, not chiefly at new conditions, .but at making now men. If the determinist was right, and man was only what these external forces made him, it liad no message of hope for tho individual who was crushed by them. Rationalism was a heartless, hopoless thing from tho point of view of tlio man who was down. It could' onlf say to him: "I am. sorry for you, you have 110 business to be here, and if you will only wait,a few years till I've altered the bad conditions, then you won't bo here." Meantime, while ho was trying to alter them,„the man was still crushed and hopeless. But the messago'of Jesus came to tho most hopeless, not only with pity, but with love and uplifting grace and delivering'power. In the midst of tho most cruel environment in a'l the great cities, the Christian church was constantly reaching down in the name and power of Christ, and rescuing men and women whose ancestry was pure devil. Jesus saved in spite of,all the.hindering conditions. The man, who was down was uplifted hy His grace, and in turn became an uplifter of others—and this not in isolated cases, but in hundreds and thousands of instances. The uplifting/the"'conversion of the individual in turn worked for social salvation. It made a.man a hotter workman, sober, steady, industrious, reliable.. It made him a better customer in the''world's markets in turning hiui from wasting his money on follies to spending it on useful commodities. It lifted the unfit out; of the ranks of the loafer and put a new spirit in him. Tho Christian religion was 110 mere palliative for all .conditions. It saved those who had been crushed by them.' But it'did not stop there. It set these saved ones'working to destroy the things that had 'dragged them down. It despaired of none. How different from Cotter Morrison; whom Blatchford quoted, with warm approval"The sooner," ho said, "it is perceived that bad mon will'bo bad, do what we"will,' though,'of course, they may bo made less bad, tho sooner shall wo como tO' the., conclusion that tlio welfare of society demands tho suppression df elimination cf ba<J men." Cast out tho unfit on the scrap heap of humanity !- But Jesus despaired f hone. He was ' 1 able to savo to the uttermost," and-the'record of every church endorsed the claim. . \ •

' . ' ST. JOHN'S.-.; . ' The Rev. W. Grant, of Gisborne, preached to large congregations at St. John's Church yesterday. l ' Mr. Grant, who. is likely, .to becomo very popular at St'. John's, will continue ias "supply" until Juno 28 inclusivo. NJ£W CHURCH FOR KILBIRNIE. "Tlio Roman Catholics of Kilbimie have had for somo years a valuable site for . a church in that suburb, and now, as a result, of a , week's mission conducted by the Rev. Father Lowham,-they have decided-to raise funds for the erection of a building. The proposal has been taken up with much enthusiasm, and it is probable that the worlc of 'construction'', will bo; commenced. almost' immediately. The cross .which wasl ordered from England for tho grave of.tho late Rev. R. Coffoy, in the Xa^o i rj,,pemetery, was lost at ?oa oiving to the* stranding of tho Star of Japan on her way to New' Zealand. It is understood that the responsibility for making good the loss will fall upon the English consignors.