The centennial of the New York avenue Presbyterian church : Washington, , 1803-1903 . - may be immoral, and if the world generallyshould steal and lie and cheat, I do not know how longit would take, but in the course of several millions ofyears, society would go to pieces. Now, believe me, inthe hands of some of the ripest thinkers of the presentday, that is about all they can say for it; and to theman who says let it go to pieces, you have absolutelyno answer. Ah, my friends, Christianity has moralized thisworld, not simply because it has taught precepts, butbecause it has taught as one t
The centennial of the New York avenue Presbyterian church : Washington, , 1803-1903 . - may be immoral, and if the world generallyshould steal and lie and cheat, I do not know how longit would take, but in the course of several millions ofyears, society would go to pieces. Now, believe me, inthe hands of some of the ripest thinkers of the presentday, that is about all they can say for it; and to theman who says let it go to pieces, you have absolutelyno answer. Ah, my friends, Christianity has moralized thisworld, not simply because it has taught precepts, butbecause it has taught as one that had authority to teach,and not as the scribes. It taught this morality in con-nection with the doctrine of sin and the doctrine ofatonement, and the doctrine of God and the doctrine ofincarnation, and the doctrine of a future state, and the. Phineas D. Gurlkv, I). D. THE CENTENNIAL EXERCISES. 121 doctrine of the schism in our nature between the goodand the bad, and the doctrine of the help of the HolySpirit. It was these great theological truths in connec-tion with these great moral verities that constituted thegreat conception of the Kingdom of God, and it is thatconception which has made this world moral, not a few-scattered maxims of prudential morality. When youhave given that up, and the body of doctrines and pre-cepts which constitute it, you have absolutely nothingto stand in the way of appetite, and selfishness, andgreed. After that it is only when passion dies andvirtue itself becomes an appetite, that you can hope fora morality that will stem the tide of lawlessness. In its last analysis there is in the new Christianity acomplete surrender of supernaturalism. I do not saythat in the persons of all who profess it, or of even themost who profess it, it has come to this. I am speakingof its tendencies in its last a
Size: 1371px × 1821px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectpresbyterianchurch
