Religious Notes by Editor

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 26, 1883

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 9, No. 17.

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Religious Notes.

By Editor

—The American Bible Society distributed 25,250 Bibles and Testaments in France last year.

—Rev. E. P. Hammond reports 800 conversions as the result of his evangelistic trip to the Bermudas.

—The Universalists have in the United States 711 churches, 707 ministers, and 35,790 communicants.

—The Mennonites in this country now number 410 churches or organizations, 250 ministers, and about 50,000 communicants.

—An Episcopal school of divinity is to be established in Colorado for instructing young men in practical work for Western fields.

—The Congregational ministers of Chicago have resolved to refuse to marry those who have been divorced for other than Scriptural reasons.

—Bishop Whipple administered the rite of confirmation to 247 Indians during his recent visits to the Chippewa Mission, where there are now eight churches.

—A writer in the Christian Instructor speaks of the increasing number of rich men in Congress, and says they may be included, principally, under two classes—Those whose wealth has given them office, and those whose office has given them wealth.

—The Independent thinks a minister has no right to use King James' Version, or any other than the Revised Version in the pulpit. Regarding the Revised Version as the more correct version, it says that "one who uses in worship the Old, does, to the extent of the differences between the two, disguise and conceal the Bible from his congregation."

—Dr. Lyman Abbott says: "There is no Scriptural authority for the opinion, which is rarely openly maintained but is often tacitly assumed, that the example of the apostles is binding upon us. It is their teaching, not their example, which is authoritative." And again: "It is astonishing how strong a hold traditionalism has upon the church." It is indeed.

—The Christian Union, in answer to a question, says: "There is no need of believing that Christ went to the pinnacle of the temple in bodily person; but the narrative implies, and no philosophy can disprove, that there was a real transfer of his spiritual personality thither." Ah, indeed; but can the C. U. give us any light as to what his bodily person was doing in the meantime?

—The Presbyterian says that a "priest" of the Church of England preached a sermon lately from the text, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ," and defended the use of the crucifix as an aid to devotion. The Bishop of the diocese chanced to be present, and before the audience was dismissed rose and made a public and earnest protest against the bold perversion of the text.

—After a long preamble on the importance of the Sabbath, and the unchanging nature of the fourth commandment, the M. E. Conference at Lancaster, Pa., adopted the following: "Resolved, That we will preach a sermon on the observance of Sabbath during the year." These men show a just appreciation of the task which they have undertaken. We don't wonder that they limited themselves to one sermon a year in trying to harmonize Sunday-keeping with the perpetuity of the fourth commandment. We should plead for an extention of time.

—The Rev. Dr. Scudder recently said in Chicago that the lack of personal effort on the part of Christians for the salvation of souls, the deputing of nearly all such work in these latter days to the pastors and missionaries of the churches, while the members feel no responsibility beyond that of filling their pews on Sunday, listening with pleasure to the delightful sermons and fine music, and attending one prayer-meeting during the week, if perfectly convenient, was the greatest evil in our churches to-day, and until Christians were willing to speak to, and pray and labor for sinners, we should see no great ingatherings of souls.

—Rev. W. E. Merriman, pastor of the Somerville (Mass.), Congregational Church, has prepared the following as his confession of faith, which has been recommended to the church for adoption, by a committe that was appointed to examine it: "I believe that Christ shall come again in glory; that he shall raise the dead, and judge the world in righteousness, according to his gospel; that then the wicked shall be punished with eternal destruction from his presence, and the righteous received into his glorious eternal kingdom." We hope soon to see these honest souls that are seeking for light, come out into the full light of truth.

—The Christian Statesman emphatically denies that the proposed Religious Amendment to the Constitution, which it so persistently advocates, has any likeness to a union of church and State, yet it gives room in its columns for expressions of which the following is a specimen: "We long for the day when Christians throughout our land shall seize the political power within their reach and energetically wield it according to Christian principles." Students of the prophecies know too well what that means. The same writer very frankly says: "Christ gave us no specific rules to guide us in the performance of political duty." Very true. But he did say, "My kingdom is not of, this world." His kingdom will not be advanced by the votes of politicians.