The Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1846-1852, 1847-12-31
miscellaneous.
From tIe Nsw York Tribune.
"The Gospel or To-day"

.pleteness, and If we take room to give
any account OF it as whole we shall
crowd out the extracts which we must
have place for. We give them. there
fore, without explanation or apology.
Mr.. Charming says:
"Fbe Church announces herself to be
The Reform Society, uniting in one all
benevolent enterprises. The Sunday
School makes the still streets of Sabbath
mornings beautiful with its brigbt-eyed
troops of youthful pilgrims to the holy
land; the Bible distributor establishes the
precious volume in every house, and
ship, and steamboat; laden colpor-
teurs toll over mountains and through
the unbroken solitudes of forest and
prairie, scattering seeds from the tree Of
life; and far away, on sandy deserts and
tangled jungles, on snowy widernesses
of the pole and coral islands Of the trop-
les. the missionary plants his altar and
calls on men of all kindreds and nations
to worship with every rising sun, the One
and Universal Source of good. Most
cheering is the sight Of this host without
number, marshalled beneath the white
banner of the Prince of Peace. But
why does the missionary die of despair,
after years of fruitless effort to purify the
desolating denominations of idolatryl Is
it not because the very ship that bore
him and his Bibles carried opium, and
rum, and muskets in its hold-because
the very flag that waves over his mission
house drips with the blood of conquest,
and the very language in which he de.
clares Gods truth is symbols TO simple
savage fraud? And why is Christendom.
which pretends 10 sanctify the heather
while sowing broadcast its own sins, thus
hypocriticall Is it not because each
Christian society, in place of being a holy
brotherhood, is congregation of worldly
Isbmae!ites, neighbors looking on neigh
bors, as they loll in the carpeted and cush-
oned pews of costly cathedrals, as rivals
in trade, in preferment, in fashionl The
minister at large bestows. his prodigal
sympathy upon the wretched, with all
aching consciousness that his humble
friend is too cold and hungry and weary
and heart.broken TO heed his spiritual
counsel; he walks home amid blocks ol
elegant mansions, where are Tapped in
eftemnating luxury the children of the
wealthy whose charities he dispenses
and a nightmare of perplexity siezes up
on him, at the thought of the hideous in.
equalities everywhere tolerated, among
the fellow.disciples of the Master who
had not where to lay his head Ay
Chistendom needs Chrislianizing at the
core.'' t
We pass abruptly TO the concluding
paragraph.
We have heard, we have declared
not as we would, but as we could--tht
Gospel of to-day.
Its first word is, Can Tabernacles o
Christendom Converge to the cae End.
Its last word is, "The End is Perfec
Society,""
And now, what saith the Spirit to thu
Churchesl
] From the unbured heaps of Ireland
famisho children, n,-from the crowds q
England's gauut and sullen operatives
from the seething faubourgs and frown
ing battloments of Paris, from the duml
almost despairing swarms of Germany
from the flood of ofemigrants which wav,
after wave overwhelms our seaboard,-
from the blasted and lenglhning slave
colfels of the outh,--from the ghostl
charnal pits of Mexico, does not rise
voice of stern remonstrance, warning us
by thousand. fold forms of gratuitous mis-
cry, that now, as aforetime, man stand
free between Providence and Fate, an,
that, if through sluggishness. stupidity
or self.will. we choose to close the pal
ace door which heaven widely opens, WI
shall be left to wailing and gnashing o
teeth in the outer darknessl
But how, above oil this din of grie
and care, sound sweetly out The welcom
intimations of duty, from the literature
the poetry, the exultant expectation &
the people, from the prayers and bene
dictions that wait upon Pope Pius,-!ror
the triumphal hymus of the First of Aug
ust in the British West lndians,-fror
the labor.saving process, the Mutual-ln
surance Companies, the cooperative so
cieties of all civilized ands,-from th'
movements of the Socialists, Communists
Associationists, in England, Germany
France America assuring us that heay
en- is waiting to unfold the glories of God
kingdom, if we are but willing! e
The Spirit encourages all who wi
: hearken with words Of ineffable promise
To the Catholic it says, "You have don
we'll to cherish the symbol Of Holy One
ness-prepare to receive the sublime re
atty; the True Church Universal is Mar
! kind united, the.earth round, in good wi
i and good works; the true Head of th
. Church is the West lover of the race"-
TO the Protestant it says, You have don
well to develop every various mode
. relation between heaven and humanit,
y but you must have learned thereby tn;
: religion is not creed, but life, even
: re-unioninin industry and pleasure, in stud
! and intercourse, as well as in prayer. {
| the active, joyful, loving children of God
To all it says, Come out from the shat
! owy catacombs of tradilionary opinion
l and rites into the warm, bright day