NOT A PROGRESSIVE RELIGION.
THE only truly progressive religion of the world is Christianity. It founds schools, builds hospitals, erects eleemosynary institutions of all sorts, and as long as the true Christ spirit exists, maintains them. Infidelity follows after, endeavors to pose as a liberal, moral instructor, but fails. This is what a Spiritualist said to the National Spiritualist Association several years ago, as recorded in the Progressive Thinker:— “In all my travels during the past year, I have not found a dozen children’s progressive lyceums or Sunday-schools. From the most reliable sources, I can only learn of less than thirty of them in the United States. This deplorable condition of things should be carefully considered by your honorable body. I can see no reason for this state of things to continue any longer. Prompt action should be taken by this convention. . . . Sinews of war are necessary, and something must be done for the children. It is a standing disgrace to Spiritualism to find so many children from Spiritualistic families in the orthodox and Unitarian Sunday-schools. I referred to this question in strong terms in my report last year, and can not but feel a deep regret that so little has been accomplished in the way of reform. Several of our most prominent platform workers are educating their children for the ministry in some church, upon money earned by their parents upon our platform, and contributed by Spiritualists.” We do not believe that conditions have improved since. They will not improve. Only Christianity is truly progressive, and that only as long as Christ abides.