SUMMER RELIGION by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 30, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 38.

SUMMER RELIGION.

By Editor

Is It Christianity?

WE take the following from the Christian Work; it speaks for itself: "It was at a summer hotel on the seashore. The guests were overwhelmingly professing Christians; it is a fact probably observable by the reader that hotels have their clienteles of distinctive character; some are peopled by a 'fast' crowd; others entertain mostly people of religious faith and life, as in the case of the hotel in question. Well, one guest in the hotel receiving several religious or 'family' papers—the terms have almost become interchangeable—concluded he could not render a better service to some of the guests than to distribute a few of the newspapers on the public table. So he quietly and unperceivedly deposited a copy each of some half a dozen or so of the leading religious weeklies. The reading-room was visited during the day at different times; and it is a fact that not a copy of any journal was taken away, and only two were seen in the hands of any guests, one remarking, as he put his paper down, 'It is astonishing how beautiful some of the illustrations are; they are well worth looking at!' and the other observing, 'Those "Camp-fire Musings" are just splendid!' Furthermore, of the 100 guests, or possibly fewer, just six, so far as could be learned, attended church, altho there are eight churches of different denominational proclivities in the town. What intensifies the situation is the further fact that, while no religious paper was taken away by any guest, a fountain pen that was inadvertently left on the table was missed, and was not recovered, altho a conspicuous 'Lost' notice was tacked upon the door of the parlor and of the reading-room. The question arises,—What becomes of religion during the holiday season?"