THE MORAL TENDENCY OF THE WORLD.
By C. P. B.
THE Sabbath Recorder of April 4 blows hot and cold upon the question of the present moral condition and tendency of the world. Editorially it says: "It is not an unusual thing to hear men speak of the church as losing ground. 'People do not profess religion and join the church now as they used to do, while the number of infidels, free thinkers, etc., is greatly on the increase;' so these pessimists are constantly informing us." And then, after asking, "What are the facts?" concludes that "while a mere show of numbers does not always imply a sound spiritual life, a steady, general outward growth can hardly be possible without such spiritual life." On the other side of the question it publishes with approval in another department, under the heading, "What of the Future?" the following from a writer in the Examiner:— "In a little book which came to my notice recently, called, 'Dying at the Top,' written by Rev. Joseph W. Clokey, D. D., of Indiana, it is affirmed that of the 7,000,000 young men estimated to be in the United States, only 15 per cent. attend Protestant Christian services of any kind, leaving 85 per cent. who never enter the church doors. Only 5 per cent. are members of our churches—including consistent and inconsistent members—and probably only 2½ per cent. are active and godly. "These figures are astounding, and strike with the effect of almost stunning us. Our young men are doing one-half of our voting; they are doing a very large proportion of the reporting for our daily papers, and thus are practically making public opinion. The young men of to-day are also to be the fathers of to-morrow, and at the head of the homes, the business, and all the forces of society of twenty-five years from to-day. Add to this the estimate that there are more convicts among the young men to-day than there are church members, and—shall I speak it?—Ingersollism vies with the church in numbering its followers among the young men, and it surely seems time for us to be cast upon our knees in prayer, and to rise from our knees only to hasten into the most active campaign ever instituted for the rescuing of our young men—the character makers for the next twenty-five years." The Examiner writer may be a pessimist, but he gives facts and figures, and it does seem that it would be as well not to close our eyes to the existing state of affairs. The fact is that there is comparatively little vital piety in the world to-day. A profession of religion is popular, however, and as the idea has obtained to no small extent that in some way or other church-membership is a passport to Heaven, very many people prefer to have some church connection, but they are not careful to have a living connection with Christ. The Scriptures teach that in the last days many will have a form of godliness without the power, and certainly the facts are in harmony with the teaching of the Scriptures.