It might be said of the Christian Church to-day, that, in its attitude and in its character, as it stands before the world, it is little more exalted in the purity of its teachings, little more imbued with the true sense of Soul and the Spirit of infinite Love, than was the church at "Jerusalem, when Jesus spoke to the multitude, and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat, they bid you observe, but they say and do not, for all their works they do to be seen [applauded] by men."
The question of the hour, therefore, is not so much, "Do they practice what they teach? do they really do unto others as they would have others do unto them?" but do they do these things in compliance only with the cold, material rules of law and conduct? or are they impelled and inspired in their belief, and in their work, by that purity of heart, that humbleness of spirit, that self-sacrificing devotion, and that unselfish and unbounded Love, exemplified in the character, teachings, and examples, of the Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles during their Divine mission upon earth?
Call up the tablets of the human mind, and glance at the record made thereon touching the various sects, isms, and denominations, as they stand throughout Christendom to-day. You will there see the churches noted, judged, and classified, each according to the character of its worshippers.
