range of man's power as developed in Biology and Clairvoyance, yet that they have come from a higher source; that is, a source higher than the physical body and its mental energies; while other manifestations are of that kind which will not allow the heel of man to be seen-incidents of that kind which make us silent in awe, under the intellectual convic tion that unseen living mental intelligences see us, and our every act. What manner of men ought we then to be in all straightforwardness of thought and work? Spiritualism unravels the mystery of so called "coincidences" and "accidental discoveries," by which the best concocted schemes have been foiled, just on the verge of success. Foiled, because Invisible Eyes; watchful, energetic, subtle, and powerful, are the "Detectives" in the service of a still Higher Power. SECTION IV. CHRISTENDOM. CHRISTENDOM may be said to envelope three of the five divisions of the world-Europe; embracing Russia, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and Britain; America, North and South; and Australia, which in a few years will have its millions of people and these entire divisions have one leading Faith-that is, belief in the existence and superintending power called GOD, and the outflowing of his Spirit in combinations, called "The Trinity"-Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and that man will, after his death be re-endowed with continuous life; called "immortal life." From this primary fountain, many streams have flowed, their course being cut and directed by the energy and planning brains of man; whereby the leading principles have still flowed, but over various soils, into cisterns. made of various materials, which we may call sects; giving a tinge, a taste agreeable to many. In the midst of these millions of believers, there are millions who, for want of knowledge, stop short at the first portion of a Christian's belief, and simply believe that there is a God, who created the world, but afterwards never paid any attention to its workings-left it to itself; in effect, that, like a boy, he made the soap-bubble, drifted it off into space-that the moisture of its surface fermented itself into women and children, whales and eagles, lions and apes, hippopotami and animalculi; and that the play of colours on the surface is the refraction of light from other bubbles afloat, and that they are kept in action and avoidance of each other by their innate susceptibility, called "gravitation;" and so refined have some men been, that they have lodged the Deity as a principle in nature, in every atom of moisture-in the very dirt we tread under our feet, and wash off our persons with so much assiduity; but have extinguished Him as a Persona Spirit. These men have, by their subtilty of intellectual hair splitting, and knowledge of parts of the physical world, leaped into the chairs of state, of science, of commerce, and of literature; and with the ready tongue, and pen, have disseminated their ideas; and but for the operations of a higher, unseen Power, causing itself to be felt by the masses, and so presenting a bulwark in the face of the tide; the "land of promise" would be hidden, submerged during physical life. The truth of this picture is evident from the statement as under, so far as England is concerned; and if England, Christian England, has such a tale to tell, what must be the summing up of the statistics of other nations? Read and ponder over the following extract : "CURIOUS RELIGIOUS STATISTICS.-From the evidence (just published) taken before the Lords' Select Committee on churchrates, which sat towards the close of last session, we have culled some facts bearing on the relative position both of the Church of England and of the leading Nonconformist sects towards the population at large. According to calculations. based upon accurate data, and carefully made, there are 7,546,948 actual church-going men of the Church of England, or 42 per cent. of the gross population; and 4,466,266 nominal Churchmen, but practically of no church, or 25 per cent. of the gross population. So that the field of operation of her clergy, ministerial and missionary, is spread over 67 per cent., or 12,013,214 of the community at large. On the other hand, the chapel-going Roman Catholics in England amount to 610,786, or 31 per cent. of the whole population; the chapelgoing Baptists (six different kinds) to 457,181, or 2 per cent.; the chapel-going Independents are 1,297,861, or 7 per cent.; the chapel-going Wesleyan Methodists (seven different kinds) are 2,264,321, or 13 per cent.; and all other "Protestant" Dissenters, including in the number Jews and Mormons, are estimated at 1,286,246, or 63 per cent. The total of worshippers or bona fide Protestant Dissenters is 5,303,609, or 291 per cent. of the gross population. Again, there is an alarming picture presented of the irreligion in which large masses of the population are steeped. For example, in Southwark there are 68 per cent. of the people who attend no place of worship; in Lambeth, 60; in Sheffield, 62; in Oldham, 61; in Gateshead, 60; in Preston, 59; in Brighton, 54; in the Tower Hamlets, 53; in Finsbury, 53; in Salford, 52; in South Shields, 52; in Manchester, 51; in Bolton, 51; in Stoke, 51; in Westminster, 50; and in Coventry, 50. So that in all those places, except the two last-named cities, the odds are on the side of those who habitually absent themselves from every religious service whatever. Of 34 of the great towns of England, embracing an aggregate population of 3,993,467, 2,197,388, or 52 per cent. of the community, are wholly nonworshipping. But this is, beyond question, to some extent attributable to the want of church accommodation, for the evidence goes to show that the sitting accommodation provided by the Church of England and Nonconformists together is only 57 per cent. of the whole population, and of this 27 per cent. is furnished by the Dissenters,-12 per cent. by the Wesleyans, who alone during the last 12 months have spent about 100,000l. in chapel-building. The sum expended annually in the repairs of the fabrics and the maintenance of the church services is nearly 500,000l., of which only 250,000l. is raised by rate. There having been no ecclesiastical census before 1851, few or no reliable means exist for comparing the religious phenomena of the present day with those of half a century or a century ago; but, in answer to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rev. Dr. Hume, the incumbent of a parish, populous and poor, in Liverpool, and a witness before the committee, expressed his conviction, founded on long experience and observation, that the large masses of the population who attend no place of worship whatever are in danger of being lost not only to the Church, but to religion altogether. The population of the country, always on the increase, is becoming more and more a town population. In 1851 there were 9,000,000 living in towns of 10,000 people. and upwards, and only 8,000,000 in smaller towns, in villages, and in rural districts. Dr. Hume apprehends that at the close of the present century 70 per cent. of the gross population will be located in large towns; and, therefore, he adds, if our large towns are left to themselves, practical heathenism must inevitably outgrow Christianity." If we take the proportions from the total population of the world, we find as follows, say : 600 millions of Asiatic religions. 335 millions of Christians. 200 millions of Heathens. 1,300 millions of populations. The Bible is yearly issued by tens of thousands-by hundreds of thousands. Ministers are by thousands, every sabbath unveiling its truths; tens of thousands of lay agencies are at work in the same way, and yet the foregoing is the plain, outspoken government document of England's position in Chrisendom. Why is this? Taking the sacred books to be true (and I believe them so to be) there cannot be any error in those books. It must be, that there is some leading defect in the manifestations of its principles by its teachers. Possibly before we close this volume the cause may be found out; and if so, and the steady application of neglected energies pointed out in these books be persevered in, the Lord's Day Committee of the British Parliament in 1899 will be collecting evidence to publish in 1900 of a very different character. I am penning these thoughts as the offspring of Facts transpiring around-Facts, which if Christians would come out of their sectarian pews, and witness outside of the walls of their very worshipping-places, would carry truth into their minds, and life into their worship. Am I traducing England? Ah, no! England is the nestling-place of benevolence, rail at it who will. Where, in the wide, wide world, is there a country |
