THE ONLY REFORMING POWER.
By Editor
REV. ROBERT COYLE, D.D., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, Cal., preached December 11 on the evils which threaten our country, giving his sermon the rather sensational title of "Fiddling While Rome Burns." Among the dangers which threaten us, he places foreign immigration, the liquor traffic, mammonism, or dangers of wealth, and the influence of great cities. And they are indeed mighty evils. In discussing what is to be done to meet these evils, Dr. Coyle says, as reported by the Times:— Now we believe that the gospel is the only power that can grapple successfully with these evils. If these fires are to be put out, it must be done chiefly by the water of life. 1. The foreigner must be evangelized. He must be brought under the civilizing and uplifting influence of the gospel. He must be touched by the magic of Calvary. 2. The liquor traffic must be overthrown. Men must be saved from its curse, not by the Keeley cure, or the license cure, or any other cure of man's devising, but by the cross cure. With this we find no fault. To be consistent this is the way Dr. Coyle would cure the "evil" of which he speaks in the following words:— Many of these foreigners bring with them continental ideas of the sabbath, which is the main bulwark of our institutions. The result of all this is sadly manifest in our great cities. By "sabbath" Dr. Coyle means Sunday. But most Presbyterians declare themselves in favor of a Sunday law. Shall we take Dr. Coyle's words as above given to indicate that he is not? The power of the gospel of Christ is the only means which will intrinsically and effectually reform men. It is given for that purpose. We often wonder if the very reason why our Sunday friends depart from the gospel and seek civil law to promote and maintain Sunday observance, is not because Sunday has no more connection with the gospel than Friday or Monday? But perhaps Dr. Coyle is an exception, and does not believe in religious legislation. We hope so.