The Church’s Political Power
An Eastern religious paper instances the fact that "there are 60,000,000 people in the United States, one-half of whom never go to church;" and then adds: "Those 30,000,000 souls comprise the bulk of the restless, uneasy class whose manner of life is hostile to our civilization." It then significantly asks: "What are we going to do about it?" This question is by no means an easy one to answer. It is one thing to tell what ought to be done, and it is quite another thing to tell what will be done. Every minister ought to preach so plainly and earnestly the duty of all men to "fear God and keep his commandments" that evil-doers would, by "the terrors of the Lord," be restrained from much of their wickedness. And professed Christians ought to live such humble and devoted lives that all men would be constrained to acknowledge that there is a reality in the Christian religion. But it is not likely that this will be done, for the reason given in 2 Tim. 3: 1-5. What a backslidden church lacks in spiritual power, she will strive to gain in political and civil power. Already large and influential associations are clamoring for constitutional amendments, and for State and national legislation, which can be appealed to coerce all whose "manner of life is hostile" not only "to our civilization," but to certain popular theological tenets.