The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-02-27 00:00:00

gorrtormbrnce.

FALSE TEACHERS.
ro at Editor.

Dear Sir —My previous letter to you I wished with-
held lest I' Worker' should write in the re/egreas
Instead of Express. Ido not now wieh to withdraw
it, havlog seen his last • but ash. gays it was the
leader In the church against whom he struck. "I
adrieleg people to patronise,' that clergyman must be
left to answer fog himself.
As to the young men against whom "Worker
advanced such innuendoes, or mope ired to do so, it
appears to me they are entitled to have a statement
from him whether he meant to bring such cha•ges or
not. "Another Worker" will doubtless (as I also wish
to) deal with the charge against him of beiog
"tinge I with the poison of Atheism ;'' but while
"Worker" does not consider my iagu into worth
answering. I have little chance of getting him to
see, much We to acknowledge what he needs to
learn. That may be briefly mailed thus :—That mix-
ing up complaint" of grievous ammo.' in his complaint"
against people constitutes an lunuenrio that such
offenose are committed by them—that to attack inn.-
omit forms of a recreation weakens and betrays the
attack which we should always carry on against that
moreatloa's debasing and criminal forma. "Worker"
appear" to me to be too much influenoed by humor'
authorities; the Bev. E. W. Pears le deed, and there
is a difficulty in criticising the dead but I would,
from remembrance of him stole I believe he was no
asoetio. "Line of 'spank= between the church and
the world r—how can that be made narrow? The
difference is not in the line, only of outward observ-
ance or abstentioa_, elm how braid would have been the
line between the Families and the follower of Christ.
The phylactery, the blue ribbon made extra double
brood and long, so as to be aggressively visible, the
abstinence from food &mill the rites of ablution were
gone through, the care not to even appear to
labour on the dabbatb, the sounding of the
trumpet before prayer in the streets, the bulky
alms, the exactly-calculated tithes—all those male •
brood, broa I •' line of separation" between their
church and the world. Were they any better for the
broad line of separation? No, and the Lord made
that "line of separation" so small that, as far as out-
ward things go, I doubt whether Bat not seem to the
Pharisee ready to vanish altogether in favour a the
weightier metmrs of the law, " judgment, mercy, and
faith." Let us remember " Worker 'is writing about
outward things, not matters of the heart, for he
Mamie "black fa-es" am among "everything wrong."
The line of separation as to outward acts—was it
then gone? /Light Christians do exactly the same as
the world? By no means; the Pharisee himself, not
only In heart, but in outward acts, bad passed the
line of esparatioa from chilies-fitness to world-foul-
nem But the Lord Jane in bringing the (Merge
errand them specifies not —"You are too fond of
trifling amosements ;" but "ye devout widows'
house'," ye allow • man to be right when he does no
more foe his father and mother; for • pretence ye make
long prayer.; they think they shall be heard for their
moth speakine. And St Paul, explained by the Bev.
Haldley Mottle, • speaking of coating off the works
of darkness, and putting on the armour of light, says
"Let us walk with decorum to those that me without ;
not in rioting and drinking bouts ; not in iniulgencee
lust ant lascivious aims, not in strife and envying."
"Worker" mart not think I take the &Wineries from
these things as righteous/wee that saves nor as the
sanctification necessary for heaven; there must indeed
be the new birth, the war with the carnal mind, which
Is enmity toG 4 and when these are brought in with
I repentance., the disciple will judge what kind of
amusements are sin to him, because not of faith,
' Neither " Worker " nor those whom amusements
(though they may be childish). I contend are not
impure, must suppose that comparative decency will
save them, nor on the other hand will the strictest
abstinence from mimicry and burnt cork, and tim
attend/loom at " Worker's " Bible claw Whet then?
The conviction that all is wrong with them until their
whole object of life is the glory of God, that the end
of the most Innocent things not devoted to the glory of
God, le dea.l2, that having lived in o o care t please
God is of Ibsen the "In deeereig of death. an i shown
by other sins visible and felt, that only the sacrifice of
Christ can bring us to peace with God, that tie is
willing, waiting, wishing, inviting us to come, and
then our coming to Him makm the surrender. This
done, questions of theatricals, burnt cork, wine-
drinking or abstinence, Bible-class or football, will be
solved by reference to Him who is always waiting to
teach what things are lawful and what things are

expedient.
It goes against one to criticise a brother like
" Worker," mistaken, narrow, and lees-useful in
cons:guenoe as I think him ; but when he brings the
charge of " being dared with the poison of Atheism "
against one who believes that religions aim is t turn
the world into a pikes of joy, I cannot forget that
'• God so loved the world that He gave tile nay.
b•Eptten Eloe, that whosoever believoth on Him
might not pwists, but have everlasting life." "G of
was in Chrht, reconciling the world unto Himself."
Death is the doom of the unreconciled—" Love,
joy, peace, lotsgsuffering, gentleness, meekness,
tensp?ranoe," the fruit of reoonaltiation. Now
the poison of Atheism" appears to me very different
from " Worker's" notioo. The Atheist sees all the
konnoe (world) striving together, and its parts egonis-
leg, suffering, dying'
, and Atheism says--" There is
no Gad, no manager for gooi, no power that seeks to
bless ; thin is noon. Who forgiveth all thine Iniquities;
who healeth all thy dies....; who mammoth thy life
from destruction; who crowneth lbw with loviegkind-
DINS and tender mercies; who satisfied thy month
with good things." No, says the Atheist, there is
nothing but the world (the korner) and tb• force of
, fate, or the fate of force, the survival of the strongest
To beteg a charge of Atheism is a fearful thing, and
" Worker' must ink scare lest he in his anger against
burnt colt, breaks the ninth oomm andment ' • and goes
against the spirit of L Corinthians 19, which teaches
the value and practice of love. Let him cut out this
mote, and with equal oonsistancy and much better
thaws of being listeeed to, he will be able to point
out to the Amateur Minstrels that their play Is but
that of children, and that undue time and thought
would be waded on It' that there are far higher
!him. to study, and strive for, and that
while "doing Christy's" may terve to relieve
the tension of the mind and body in study and
business, it is not worth much WI-devotion. And
that Itlay-acting there are the special dangers to be
against—of improperly dressed women smelt-
Vevirpaesions, and Inactive which in some plays is
loose. at when '' Worker lemtse all PieTs
th ows in an innuendo stand gambling, and manes his
argument bushels's by thsaging the wickedness of
blank how, how 3111 he expect pe..ple to listen to his
belt r leaching' If the Amateue Minstrels give th.ir
minds to amusements, t'nsy w II re qt on, thlessnes., for
" the end of thee thiugs I. death ;" that is. the beauty
of them is al over at death. Yet GA, who has gleam
no all things richly to enjoy, allows us to p'c'a • tow
fi were to heighten the way as we bend for the golden
sheaves. L 4 the Minstrels only remember that the
Bowers will not last, and that only the.sheaves can be
offered when the Ins- account comes to be made up.
"0 t•nsresi it wars sn lean its sere
. _ . _ .

F ---tc—L.;,roi iii II ar vest.—
Will be •eluilete be ore e ,
Yqure truly,
...-..