New Religions

Time was when men who fallecí of 9aoces3 in other walks of life entcred porties and securcd fame and a living by beconiing ward bosses or the relainers of men more successful thau Ihemselves. This field Las been so fully oooupied of late that there U a ilisposition to enlarge ita borders. Jnst now the starting of new religions t;imis to be a favorito industry. At tírst fíflíince it would hardly seem that there was any lack of religions or that any person would be put to serious inconvenience in finding among existiu;r religions ono that would suit him. Wilh many people indeed there has arisen an impression that too many shades of religions belief exist alreadv. Conventions havo been held with the avowed purpose of weiding into one offactive body the various sections of the Christian church. But preachers McGlynn, Pentecost, Benson and othera ilo not believe that there are roligions enough yet, and each proposes lo establish a now one. While Wie Hnnlingtons, Hursts, Dodges, and other representntives of the various existng religious denotninations of the United Stales aro trying to get Christian peoplo to agree and make their EMsanlts on the strongholds of evil as one body, these seceders from the old hui'ches will have no unión on any other terms tlian the formation of "a new ohnrch apiece. The brotherhood of man scems to be the fundamental article in the creed of tiloso otherwise creedless churches. Tliey have their catchword in coramon :ind their interpretaron of it indicates that while their founders claim to be nrioinators in the religious field. Jack Cade was before them. To Pentecost and McGlynn the brotherhood of man muans the right of the lazy and spondtlirift brother to the earnings and savings of the industrious and economical brother. Naturally the lazy, spendthrift brethren regard Pentecost and MoGlynn as prophete and their socalled new religión as the only way of salvation - to themsolves. And, just as naturallv, tho brother who works and gnves hís money for a rainy day w;ll have none of these new religions. There is another feature common to this group of new religions that strikes the outsider as a little peculiar. The prophets of the plenty for everybody at the expense of the body who worlcs and saves religión do not find the chasm bctween themselves and the enemies of all religión wide enough to nrvent their shak ng hands across it. Pentecost thinks Ingersoll, who spits on the very name of Christian, a better Christian than the preacher who luis tmiglit orthodox Christianity all h8 life. What Ingersoll thinks of Ins;orsoll has not been recorded yet One thing is certain, however, and 'liat is that the new religión industrv is being worked for all it is worth just now. That men are going to be made bettor or more helpful to themselves or Bach other by the multiplication of these creedless sects is very mnch to be loubted. But the new religión craze must have its day like the