THE spirit of reform is in the air. Its brooding wings rest on church, press and people. All thinking and intelligent minds contemplate this with genuine satisfaction. Not many years ago, the world would have been shocked, nay startled, to hear a man (who was a professed follower of Calvin) say boldly that he neither knew nor cared whether his ideas were Calvinistic or not, so they were Christian.
Of all in the world that is foolish and unkind, sectarianism heads the list. There are many thousand people all working for the same thing — the establishment of Truth; but, they are divided into little bands wholly or nearly antagonistic, one to the other. Thus are wasted precious moments, quibbling over some minor point that makes no difference in any way whatever — only to serve as a snare to keep the quibblers from their real Life work. These, making themselves disagreeable, play right into the hands of the enemy of peace, and, in the heat of contest, lose their own soul. This is largely due to ecclesiastical leaders who have no real claim to leadership.
Good newspapers, books and magazines have done much to unveil the eyes of the people to the fact that a man may be a rogue and still write his name with D.D. following. A man's life that won't bear inspection, is like a theory that cannot be practised,— good for nothing. We may talk forever; but, the daily life shows the model of our thought and what is governing us. Knowing this, thinking men through the press have held up these facts before the public gaze, and stimulated the reform that is being felt all over our land. Popular theology commonly teaches faith without works; but Scripture, as well as common sense, teaches that a good idea is of little value to us if it is not used to offset the ills of daily life. The command of Christ is perpetual: Cast out devils. This means action.
