The Press and the Pulpit.

Manawatu Herald, 18 July 1899, Page 2

The Press and the Pulpit.

Much has been said and written lately upon the relative power of the Press and the Pulpit. To our mind there can be no fair comparison made as secular writers and ministers of the Gospel have two very different roads to travel. We acknowledge that the Minister's road is the most difficult one to travel as he can only reach the minority who travel to hear him, and the majority of which number take little trouble to harken to what is said and to remember it. The Press on the other hand has not to wait for an audience, but the papers are poured out to the four winds of heaven and are hungered after so its reading matter is greedily devoured, It is hard on Ministers to be so handicapped, as they have a noble and glorious duty to fulfill, and deserve every assistance and encouragement in the duty they have undertaken. The Press treats of matters of daily and hourly concern, the preacher of the great hereafter. To the fickle the present moment is of the most importance, but the thoughtful mu=t needs be well aware that the teachings of religion are of the first degree of consequence. It may be said " why

do not Ministers use the Press more ?" but here again a difficulty arises that the subject matter of their discourse is of too high a tone to he mixed with the miscellaneous news in the best of newspapers, and experience has proved how difficult it is to get a Church newspaper into circnlationi It unfortunately appears to be a fact that the Press and the FV.lpit must run through the world, side by side, but without thG chance of their being united, and all that the Press can do in the matter of assisting the Pulpit is by so conducting the papers that are issued so that their contents may be pure enough that they may be read by any member of tho family, and thus by the omission of unsavoury judicial reports, and of other subjects which can be imagined, raise the general tone of the much sought after reading matter of the people so that the Ministers duties will not be hampered by the Press where they cannot help. Jt would appear possible in the near future that the extemporary preacher will have his words taken down in shorthand and printed for the benefit of his congregation, it has been done in cases of certain well-known American divines, but the cost of both shorthand and printing is being so" reduced as to bring tho application of it within the reach of all churches. But even then the power of the Press will far.% overreach the power of the Pulpit so far as it concerns everyday life, as the editor writes on common lines to the members of all denominations whilst the Preacher speaks to but a portion. The Preacher, however, has possibly a greater work to perform though the responsibilities of an editor are manifold and serious.