overemphasized. Certainly it has been too much identified with the abnormal. I believe that the truth in the sacramental religion which has persisted through all these ages and makes an appeal to saintly souls is that it is bearing witness to the fact that God's grace not only more widely abounds than sin but also more widely abounds than thought. How God's spirit influences man apart from his self-consciousness is one of the mysteries of life and probably can never be explained. It is well that this great truth should be borne in mind, but it is not well that the influence of God's spirit upon the unconscious mind should be identified with any rite or ceremony. "The wind bloweth where it listeth." The doctrine of baptismal regeneration witnesses to a great truth, which is that God's spirit is an essential part of the life of every human being long before the soul becomes conscious of that presence, but to assert that that influence begins at the moment when a priest sprinkles the head of the unconscious child with water which has been consecrated, turns the truth into a dreadful error. And what is true of the beginning is true all through life. God's spirit is influencing us, “preventing" us in the words of the Prayer-Book-long before we become conscious of his grace; but to say that that unconscious influence begins at the moment when the priest consecrates the bread and wine is again to obscure a divine truth by a "magic" rite.

Any church which makes dogma the sine qua non of membership is in danger of becoming a philosophical school having no message for the "man in the street." Any church which exalts sacraments till they become the exclusive means of grace is in danger of sinking back into the magic-worship against which I believe a careful study of the New Testament will show that both Paul and John uttered emphatic protest. Any church which thinks its mission is fulfilled when it has ministered to those who find themselves comfortable in its congenial surroundings

is in danger of becoming a religious club, and can make no appeal to those who are looking for the kingdom of God.

If, then, neither a philosophical school nor an esoteric society nor a religious club can do the work of Jesus, what church can do his work and save the world? It will be the church composed of the men and women and children in every denomination who are filled with the spirit of Jesus, and believe that that spirit will manifest itself more and more in the days to come; who believe that spirit cannot be confined to that body to which they are attached, or that its work is accomplished when individuals have been "converted," and thereby their salvation assured; but that the sanctification of the individual which must be the first work of the church is only preliminary to that ideal social order which will manifest itself in family, industrial, and political life, and will radiate until the nations of the world acknowledge Christ as Lord and King.

CHAPTER XVI

FELLOWSHIP

Ir may not be amiss, before finishing this study which we have called "The Crisis of the Churches," to review the path which we have followed. For it may seem as if there were a lack of unity in the treatment of the theme, though that, I hope, may be more apparent than real. In the Introduction there was an interpretation of an ancient parable—a parable which we believe has a profound significance for this day. It was suggested that the modern church, like Jonah, has received a great revelation, the revelation of God's goodness to all mankind. If that revelation be not received by the church and acted upon, it will lead to the spirit of sectarianism, which would rest satisfied with its own "gourd," indifferent to the welfare of the world. This spirit would lead to the destruction of the modern church as it led to the destruction of the church of Israel.

We then saw the attraction which the greatest of all churches has for many minds, but found that church also dominated by the spirit of sectarianism. We considered the philosophical doctrine of organic unity, and the various attempts to produce church unity, one failing because it identified the message of the church with the theory of the sacraments, which leads inevitably to magic and to sacerdotalism, the dominance of a caste. Such a church can never be the leader of democracy. We thought also of the superficial plans which seem to ignore the principles for which the various churches stand.

We then turned aside, as it may have seemed to some, to emphasize the value which we believe the Episcopal

Church has for the church of the future, and suggested that spiritual unity could be attained only by the recognition of the intrinsic value in each of the churches, which value can be interpreted only by those who have known the privilege and blessing of the particular church of which they are members. I know of no book which has so approached the subject since the appearance of Maurice's "Kingdom of God," but it cannot be denied that that illuminating book was the plea of an advocate who was convinced that the English Church not only had its own peculiar value but also provided a full recognition of the value of other churches. But much water has flowed under the bridge since the time of the great prophet Frederick Maurice. The story of the kingdom of God cannot be written by one hand, it will need the co-operation of representatives of all the churches, and the church of the future cannot be identified with any of the modern churches -neither with the great cosmopolitan imperialism of Rome nor with the constitutional comprehensiveness of the Anglican communion. But, in order that that story, when it shall have been written, shall be received by Christian men and women as the inspiration of a more glorious conception of the meaning of the "blessed company of all faithful people," it is necessary that we should realize the underlying spiritual unity which never has been broken, and cannot be broken as long as Jesus Christ is acknowledged as Lord of all.

The first effect of this conception of Christian unity would lead to fellowship, the sense of brotherhood, and the co-operation of all the disciples of Jesus for the salvation of the world and the spiritualizing of civilization. The underlying cause of the failure of the modern church to fulfil the task and mission committed to it by its Divine Master is due, I believe, to the fact that fellowship has not been the goal which it has sought to attain. It has been led to magnify the importance of mechanical unity,

forgetting that mere juxtaposition does not necessarily lead to unity, but, on the contrary, may frustrate it. This we see in those unhappy families where brethren are compelled to dwell under one roof long after they have begun to show different gifts which they are unable to develop in the atmosphere of the old homestead. The result is not unity but bickering and hatred. Only when each member has been able to establish his own home with congenial souls is there peace and joy. So only can true fellowship be attained between the different families of the common stock. But if such fellowship could be attained, it would follow that there would be a better understanding of the reason for the separations and a mutual respect which might lead to hopeful co-operation.

Fellowship is like a purifying stream fed from the hills above. But, as it descends to the plain below, there is danger lest it lose its power through spreading over the plain and so becoming a swamp. To accomplish efficient work it must be banked in. Fellowship may degenerate into mere sentimentality and so lose its force. There are two great emotions which will act as banks to the stream and conserve its power; the one is fear and the other love. The power of the former is seen in some great crisis like a shipwreck. Then the girl who had looked down with indifference or contempt on the poor third-class passenger will stretch forth her hands in hopes of his aid in the time of need. And he, in turn, who may have cursed her for her wealth and luxury, will now, when the end seems near, rescue her. Those who had held aloof from one another in the prosperous days of the summer voyage will be drawn together by the force of a common fear. So would Christian men and women be if they were to face the facts of life and consider what may be the end of our present indifference to one another. I have already spoken of the danger that confronts Protestantism in our own land by the domination of the Roman Catholic Church. But how