% THE TORCH o f REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, !M>7. the W ay the Grows. ing spent on who wrote the Bible, Church word and all the ordinance» of \ X 7 a te r Street... M arket God’s house, had passed a whole and too little to reveal to men the year in supposed prayer and effort, Savior of lost sinners who fills the Bible. Too much apology has been Don’t tak« our word for it, but and were not able to bring in at indulged in for the Bible’s “hard harvest time a single sheaf which re,d below what Rev. J. A. Vance, they had gathered in the world’s theology,” and there has 1-een too Baltimore. eave in th e Christian white harvest fields -— such an ap little faithful warning of eternal CASH PAIO FOR ALL XiNDS OF FAT STOCK. H ID E S , PELTS. ETC. Observer of September 29th. It palling thing as this in the history hell and the need of repentance and faith and new obedience. “Go ye ak6 for itself. It >» an hone8t of God’s church seems to have made confession that the church is losing few, if any, lose a night’s rest or into all the world and preach the MEATS SOLD AT REASONABLE gospel to every creature.” It is, spend a day in fasting and suppli r..und. This preacher has racked RATES. cation that the God of Jesus C hrist while engaged in this that vve can hi. brain to try to find out why would not take his holy spirit from claim the promised presence ol Christ and his unlimited power. the church is losing power. We us. D ra k e & W e b b , But, worst of all, something most can infi'rm him in one little sen- What is the result? Havethings Oregon tence-Hell don’t scare the boys grown better while the church ha? distressing is the matter with God’s Silverton own people. 1 here is an alarming and girls any more. [J. B. W., in had another nap? The writer has difference on their part to their di not at hand the year-book of either glue Grass Blade. the Congregational or Northern vine mission. W hat is a ( hristian W H A T IS T H E M A T T E R . Presbyterian churthes, but a care for? To go to church twice on Sunday, pay the preacher well, If Christ were to strike accounts ful examination of the Assembly’s AND and, as penance for indulgence in with the church today what kind Minutes for 1896-7 reveals one of an evening of questionable amuse of a showing could we make? Less the saddest facts in the history of ment, go to the mid-week prayer- M a in S t r e e t - S ilv e r t o n , O r e . than a year ago quite a stir was our beloved Southern Presbyterian meeting? “Ye shall he witnesses created in the religious world by church. Not 407, but—L242_of—our unto me,” is the way Christ ex CARRY A COMPLETE STOCK O r 2,816 churches report not a single articles calling attention to the presses a Christian’s mission. The large number of churches which for addition on profession of faith Christian is God’s mouthpiece to School the year 1895-96 had not reported during the entire year. lost men. Through the light of As has often been pointed out, their word and life Christ reveals a single addition on profession of S u p p lie s , times of hard pressure in business himself to lost men. In the life of faith. Dr. James L. Hill, in the ibe average Christian there is not B ooks »"<i Independent of Dec. 3, 1896, show are usually times of religious awak as much earnestness aud passionate ed that there were 1,400 Congrega ening; hut w’e cannot see that it ffbrt in leading men to Christ as a S ta tio n e ry . has been such with us. We have tional churches in this country fifth-rate actor shows in playing had a year of revival in catecheti his part in a dime museum.—[Rev. D ealers in F ruits, V egetables and 1,750 Northern Presbyterian J. A. Vance, in Christian Observer. churches which for the year 1895 cal instruction, and we have jubilat and C onfectionery. 96 did not report a single addition ed with much magnificent oratory over our venerable Standards; hut The Lesson of India. by conversion. A writer in the Observer of November 25, 1896, where are the souls which Jesus Man would feed India if h»* could. showed that there were 407 church Christ sent us to turn to righteous God could feed India if he would. es of this barren kind in the South ness? It may he explained that this is Rain would have saved India. But ern Presbyterian church. These facts justly aroused no seed-sowing time, and that harvest it did not rain. What think you small stir. They indicated a de will come by and l»y. But look at must he the thought of a philosoph We can furnish the following books plorable weakness in reaching out these figures, giving the additions ic Indian, when he reads from the well bound in cloth; good print, standard for the extremely low price of after the unsaved. Mr. Moody on professions of faith d u rin g the bible of the missionary, “Behold sizes, 60 cents each, postage 10 cents. Don t wrote a burning art’cle in w hich he past four years in both branches of the fowls of the air. for they sow fail to take advantage of this oner. made these the basis for a stilling the Presbyterian church: South not, neither do they reap nor gather Origin of Specie».............. Chas. Darwin of Man............ . “ appeal for more evangelistic ern Presbyterian 1894, 14,098; 1895 into barns, yet our heavenly father Descent First Principles.......... Herbert Spencer feedeth them.” “Are not sparrows 13,598; 1896, 11,874; 1897, 10,592. preaching. Other articles appeared of Ethics.............. «old for a farthing, and one of them Data Emerson’s Essays Northern Presbyterian, 1894, 74, calling upon God’s people to take falleth not to the ground without S arto r K e sa rtu s........ .. .Thomas Carlyle 826; 1895, 67,938; 1896, 64,806; heed to thenselves and see what is the notice of your heavenly father, History French Revolution of Epictetus ri i i 1897, 57,011. are not ve of much more value than Discourses wrong. Past ami Present.......... Thomas Carlyle These figures show a steady and they?” And then he looks up at H y p a tia .............. ; « • i* ~ C ’v r ’ K ing y It was pointed out, however, by that cloud less, brazen sky, at that Autobiography of Benj. Franklin other writers that this apparently an alarming decrease for four years. burning sun, looks out over that Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World........................E. C. Creasy dreadful state of things could he What is the matter? There is barren land which needs only tain Tennyson’s Poems ‘‘explained ’. Many of these church something the matter with the to make it productive, and sees his Shellev’s Poems es, it was pointed out, were mem world. There is a growing skepti little ones, with thousands of his Longfellow'» Poems fellow villagers, slowly hut surely Pope’s Poems bers of groups; and in the other cism in the world as to the divine perishing of hunger. W hat must Milton’s Poems members of a group in which was mission of the church. W’e believe h(i his thought of a heavenly fattier Hood’» Poems Burns’ Poems on-j barren church, there were other it has been appointed by Christ for who has such a care over his crea R<d>ert Browning’s Poems Poems churches reporting conversions. A the gathering and perfecting of the tion, and yet lets them perish in so Byron’s Shakespeare’s Poems large nuudier of these barren saints in this life unto the end of cruel and heartless a manner. He Address, cannot reconcile the word with the churches, it was also stated, were ’ the world. The world is saying, in facts, and never will accept so con J O N E S ’ BOOK S T O R E , many cases, that the church is act 291 A lder S t . PORTLAND, ORE. very small. Many of them, it was trary a philosophy.—[Humanity. ing as if all the saints have been said by way of excuse lor barren ness, had contributed nothing for gathered, and effort is now being their own support! At any rate, ‘ confined to perfecting them. Not How to M a k e -------- rr*» whether explained or not, the a few goldly say that pure religion would flourish better if the ecclesi church seems to have been solaced by these “comforting remarks,” astical organizations were destroy ISJLI J, ------ ------ — ed. Such a skepticism is impious, T he G ov ern m en t n a t i o n a l i « ^ t h e and the appalling fact that one- the Money System? A plan is told by C. ELTON B LA N LH A K 1 fourth of the Congregational it is true; but it exists, and we do in his book entitled............................ churches in our land, over one- well to consider the cause of it. Something is the matter with the UNCLE S A M ’S fourth of the Northern Presbyterian pulpit- Too many sermons are be and over one-seventh of the South H O M ILIE S ON FINANCE ern Presbyterian, representing ing devoted to Higher Criticism z _ Postpaid for 25 Cents. and archaeology, and not enough thousands of professing ( hristians, All profits on this book will lie given to the Liberal University. to preaching with passionate earn It should be in the hands of every thinking person. Addrese a,I orders to thousands of church buildings, the estness the truths of sin and salva The TORCH OF REASON, S ilverton . Oregon expenditure of much money, the tion. Too much scholarship is be- enjoyment of the ministry of God s This is KINNEV PORTER GOOD BOOKS Good Times for all Time