A Point Illustrated by E. Goodrich

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 19, 1872

A Point Illustrated.

By E. Goodrich

A COUPLE of young men, chums, rather fast young men, but such as society would denominate gentlemen, attended on the occasion of the dedication of a new church in one of our large and wealthy cities. The circumstances that gave rise to the building of the church, and connected with the dedication of the same, were somewhat as follows:—

During a political campaign, and while a certain railroad was building, involving the interests of the city, party spirit ran so high that an opulent church, composed of a large membership, became completely divided into two parts. To say that the division was purely the result of political rivalry and railroad interests, would be saying too much; for of a long time, in reality, two parties had existed in the church and the railroad interests, and the political questions only acted as fostering sores, through which the division worked its way out of the body of the church.

The one party, quite primitive in their views of religious worship, expenses, outward show, and parade, believed that the old church in which they had worshiped for years was good enough for years to come, and that they were unable to build a new one, and that they ought not to substitute instrumental and choir music for good congregational singing. Of course this embraced the less wealthy members of the church.

The other party, the wealthy ones, believed that they were fully able to buy an organ, and to build a new church, and that it was duty to keep up with the spirit and progress of the age. Almost from the first, these two parties had existed in the church. Perhaps it would be nearer the truth to say that at the first most of its members were poor, but soon some became wealthy, and, by inducing other wealthy ones to join the church, they formed a rival party, able with their means and influence to carry out their ends. It was thus that politics and railroad matters found them, and a division was the result.

It is but just to say that in effecting a division, a most amicable and satisfactory settlement of all difficulties was had; the primitive agreeing to retain and worship in the old church, while the latter party went off by themselves, with the purpose of building themselves a church, equal, if not superior, to any in the city.

The result was a splendid and costly church, with all the improvements and conveniences of the age; and, as a matter of course, it was but fitting that the church should be dedicated in a manner corresponding with itself and those who were to worship therein. Accordingly, the Rev. Mr. C—, from a distant city, was sent for, and, with other popular ministers of the city, dedicated the church. Everything was done in perfect order, the singing, the praying, the instrumental music, the oration by Dr. C—, and all the services of the occasion, so that when the time came, and the house was filled almost to overflowing with the devout, and elite, and fashionable of the city, the entire services, from the brief introductory prayer to the closing doxology, all was a complete success. And, as all earthly things have an end, so the dedication ceased, and the people returned home more than pleased—charmed with what they had seen and heard.

But the two young men, introduced in the opening of the chapter, are not to be forgotten; for, on going home to their rooms, the following conversation, or dialogue, took place:

FRANK. “I say, Dick, what do you think of that (speaking of the dedication)?”

DICK. “It beats anything I ever saw. It was perfectly superb. And indeed I believe they have got the thing just right, and I mean to get religion and join that church.”

F. “Pshaw! you are joking, Dick. We are Universalists, and what is the use of joining a church when we are all going to Heaven—those out of the church as well as those in the church.”

D. “I know we are Universalists, and are all going to Heaven; but look at the company we are keeping. We are fellowshipping everybody and everything, drunkards, and all the riffraff of the world. To use a figure, we are riding in a second-class car, when it costs but a little more to buy a first-class ticket, and then we have but little more to do than to read the news and talk politics if we choose. And see the advantage and the convenience of the thing. I, for one, mean to join that church.”

To some this may read like a burlesque; but it is not. It is but an illustration of the spirit of the age.

Many, in their zeal to advance the interests of the religion of Jesus, by making it easy for men to embrace it, have destroyed the simplicity of the gospel. This is no new thing, but an old thing; for in the earlier ages of the Christian religion, when the Pagan was the national religion, as the Christian religion was simple, having but a few forms or ceremonies; and as the Pagan religion was one of pomp and parade, and these rites and ceremonies that were calculated to awe the minds of the vulgar, in order to remove national and Pagan prejudices from the mind, and render the conversion of the heathen easy, many gaudy rites and ceremonies, designed to impress the masses, were from time to time added to the Christian religion. Copious quotations from ecclesiastical history might be given, illustrating the truth of the above; but it is useless. A single extract may suffice. Mosheim writes thus concerning the third century, under the heading, Rites and Ceremonies: “All the records of this century mention the multiplication of rites and ceremonies in the Christian church.” E. GOODRICH.