"
The Elder's visit to Dan was prompted not alone by the church situation,
as he had come to look upon it in the conference with Judge Strong the
evening before, but by the old man's regard for the young minister
himself. Because of this he had said nothing to his brother official of
his purpose, wishing to make his visit something more than an official
call in the interest of the church. Nathaniel felt that alone he could
talk to Dan in a way that would have been impossible in the presence of
Judge Strong, and in this he was not mistaken.
In the months of his work in Corinth, Dan had learned to love this old
church father, whose faithfulness to the dead past and to the obsolete
doctrines of his denomination, was so large an element in his religion.
It was impossible not to recognize that, so far as the claims of his
creed would permit, Elder Jordan was a true Christian man--gentle,
tolerant, kind in all things, outside the peculiar doctrine of the
founders of his sect.
It was impossible for the minister and his Elder to see life from the
same point of view. They belonged to different ages. The younger man,
recognizing this, honored his elder brother for his fidelity to the faith
of his fathers, and saw in this very faith, a virtue to admire. But the
older man saw in Dan's broader views and neglect of the issues that
belonged to the past age, a weakness of Christian character--to be
overcome if possible, but on no ground to be tolerated, lest the very
foundation of the church be sapped.
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