One of the indications of this sad fact is a decrease in church attendance, and another is the enormous increase in the secular and godless Sunday newspapers.

Materialism and Mammonism work against spiritual religion, and the social customs which wealth brings are adverse to a spiritual life.

As one illustration of this a distinguished pastor said to me: "Forty years ago my people lived plainly, were ready for earnest Christian work, and attended our devotional meetings; now they have grown rich, our work flags, and our weekly services are almost deserted." Half-day religion is on the increase almost everywhere.
Sporting and gambling are more rife than formerly.

What is still worse, the gambling element enters more largely into transactions of trade and traffic.

Divorces have become more easy and abundant, and, as Mr.
Gladstone once said to me: "This tends to sap one of the very foundations of society," All these are deplorable evils to which none but a fool will shut his eyes and by which none but a coward will be frightened.