THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S 591 in politics, seeking to please and en tertain the souls th a t are hu rry ing to hell,— ra th e r th a n seeking to save some from th e doomed wreck. The a ttitu d e of th e church has changed, and th e world has lost confidence in it, and men are restlessly seeking re st in every form of devil’s device, and false systems are th riv ing everywhere. In using the term “ church,” it is to he under stood th a t we are speaking of its tendencies as a whole. T hank God, th ere are churches and preachers, tru e as steel, standing hy th e ir guns, holding fearlessly fo rth th e Word of God, pure in purpose, self-sacrificing in life, and as ready to go the stake as were th e m arty rs, and these preachers and people compose the sa lt which saves th e world from th e impending w rath of God. D O M EN Really Care for tke Church ? In a city of 600,000 people, th e w riter has spent th irte en years in finding out w hat are conditions, and w hat is the a ttitu d e of men and women tow ard the evangelical churches. F rom ten to tw enty choice, intelligent, devoted Bible Women, w ith a knowledge of God’s Word, and w ith h earts full of sympathy, have gone from day to day, from house to house, visiting homes, holding neighborhood classes, talk ing w ith mothers and daughters, seeking w ith earnest desire to be as helpful as possible to them . These women have learned th e ir life stories as only such women could learn it, and know well the a ttitu d e of homes toward the church, and some of these stories would make angels weep. F o r ten years a larg e class of young women, in number from one to two hundred, have gathered once a week. These young women come from th e offices and stores and rep resen t the average homes of th e city. The life sto ry of some of these young women as told into sympathetic ears, would astound some of these easy-going “world getting b etter every day” theologians. But these stories only reflect the a ttitu d e of th e home tow ard the church. In o rd er to feel th e pulse of business men on th is subject, the services of a practical business man were secured. He had a fine personality and a sincere love for th e souls of men. F o r more th an a year he spent each day calling upon men in th e offices and stores, conferring w ith business and professional men in a can did, practical manner, w ith reference to th e ir relation to Jesus Christ and the church. The consensus of opinion was th a t th e m ajo rity of men did no t care for th e church. Most of them used Sunday for th e ir holiday. Many had found th e m inistry of the church w ithou t in te rest to them . Many had followed th e ir wives into Christian Science, Theosophy and Spiritualism , b u t the bulk were uncon cerned, giving as th e ir reason th a t th ere were so many cults, so many denom ina tions, so little of definiteness in the preaching, th a t they were satisfied to d rift to etern ity “ doing th e best they could.” The following extracts are from “The Life of F a ith ,” an English paper: One of th e prom inent “ signs of the tim es”*—clearly p ointing to our Lord’s im m inent “appear in g ”—is the C hristlessness in o u r m odern pulpit and pew. Spiritsim , C hristian Science, U nitarian- ism , in its m ost d estru ctiv e form as E thical R eligion, and o th er cults are -openly preached, and as openly practised, today. I had th e painful experience recently, a t a B rotherhood m eeting held in one of our prom inent B ap tist churches in N o rth London, of hearing a m in ister of C hrist telling his audience th a t he cared not “a b u tto n w hat they believed—it w as th e life w hich m attered ” ; and th a t “th e m an who h u n g on yonder Cross died for an ideal for w hich you and I are too full-blooded to die” ; and th a t “ Spiritualism w as th e religion of th e soul,” &c., &c. Is th ere no t here evidence of “a falling aw ay” from “th e faith once delivered to th e sain ts” ? The present condition of the churches. T he g reat m ajority are m erely “carry in g on,” as the soldiers say, w ith th eir established or usual system s. M any preachers are denying th e tru th . „ afe
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