A Voice of Warning by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Aug 15, 1911

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 38, No. 32.

A Voice of Warning

By Editor

The Nashville Banner for July 24 has an abstract of an address delivered by Rev. Madison C. Peters, D.D., of New York, in which he is quoted as stating some very hard, unwelcome facts. He declares: "The old order of society is breaking up. We are in the midst of a revolution, and do not know it. Materialism is crowding out spirituality." He also declares that the future church, by which we understand the church that is truly so, must be a distinctly Christian church. "The world is sick of dry, juiceless theological phrases. The world to-day wants Christ—not merely the crucified, but the living Christ. We must preach the Bible pointedly and directly; tell the robbers of the poor that they can't escape the damnation of hell unless they repent and make restitution to those they have robbed; preach explicitly every commandment of God, regardless of consequences, with wisdom in your head and courage in your heart." It is that kind of preaching which the Signs of the Times is endeavoring to do constantly, to lift up every commandment of God, and to preach the old Gospel, which if received will bring men into harmony with the commandments.

Dr. Peters continues: "Greed has commercialized business, mammonized the church, and hypnotized the clergy. We need old-time ministers, men of convictions, men of conscience, those who are prophets, not parrots or phonographs. The old-time minister was an insurgent, a progressive." He tells us that the church is "sadly lacking in spirituality. Much of the preaching we hear to-day is no more what Christ taught than the scarecrow the farmer puts up is the farmer himself. We need to save the church of God from theological putrefaction, and to preach the Bible fearlessly and practically." And there is more along the same line, to which we add hearty "Amen."

Baptists—for that is what Mr. Peters is—ought to be a faithful Bible people, following the great principles of the Bible; but to be true to this, would lead them to the observance of all the commandments of God.