True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1858-02-10
PepoilfngS BY Lamp. Light.

HEARTY AND HEALTHY RELIGION. -
We make the following extracts from a
report Of sermon by Rev. HENRY WARD
BEEcHER, in the N. Y. Evening Post :
"The mind may be influenced by fear,
by emotions, by veneration, by sense
Of in6niteuess and beauty; by the sym.
pathies Of benevolence and love. Blu:
these are not alike desirable /; although
it is better to be touched by the lowest
than not at all. The earliest feeling to
wards God was that Of fear, and this is
the most universal. The fear Of God is
of'two kinds-one belongs to generous
feelings; the other is a shrinking from
something that is doubtful or TERRIBLE
This crouching, servile fear OF God, not
only debases God. but degrades the man
who acts under it; for fear; as a general
thing, never works upon the inner nature
towards goodness. but only on the outer,
towards conduct. A man who thus fears,
is like the man who should 60 to the Pc.
lar Sea, thinking to get to the equator.
He is on the wrong train, with the wong
engineer, and instead Of leading to life,
the road leads to death. There is no
gospel init
"There are many who think this SER
vile fear is sign Of grace. They are
miserable without it. This feeling of
iufcriority, this shrinking awe, is pop
ularly understood as worship. To be re-.
ligious with persons entertaining It, is
10 exercise this homage-this crouching
as slave in the presence Of his master.
This is the religion of the Romish Church
and though Protes:anism has abandoned
its forms, it has not abandoned its spirit.
"He did not ridicule this spirit in its
place, but he pronounced it as false as
anything can he. There are churches
which are built in obedience 10 this spirit,
with gloomy walls Of stone, and coffin.
colored pews; which remind one Of his
las, narrow resting place the windows
are darkeited to shut out the light Of
heaven: and those building such church.
es depend upon the deep, solemn music,
rolling heavily along the shaded and
gloomy aisles, 10 impress the mind with
a sense Of awe. '".. "..
"Awe ia precisely what it is; it is not
worship, it is awe and nothing more.--
And the man who yields to these inffu-
erces, and is impressed with the sepul-
chral gloom of the place, when be goes
out Of the church draws a long breath, I,
breathes freely once more, and thinks
himself as good a Christian as the rest.
"Such worship is always narrow
II is not to see Christ smiling and saying:
q call you friends; come unto me in every
time Of need It always sent shiver
over him 10 enter such church. There
are thousands said the speaker, who would
be shocked to hear me talk as lido abou,
it, but l cannot help it. Your God is a
jailor my God is a Father.
"One Of the greatest obstacles man
has to contend with is this spirit Of SER
vile fear. Men think in order 10 be con-
verted, they must go through the Inferno,
as Dante did; they must snuff birthstone.
He regretted that men should be SO mean
and grovelling in their thoughts, and moi
be willing 10 come 10 God as Friend
and Father.
"The reverend gentleman said that a
minister who should study TO make an
audience laugh by poor pun or joke,
was not fit to enter the pulpit. But il a
spontaneous smile arose from the audi
ence, he was not disturbed. He never
attempted to make them laugh, neither
did he try to STOP them. Laughing, he
thought. was just as good as crying, ani
a good deal better. Cheerfulness is char,
acteristic Of Christianity.
eff there were present any conscien
tous liars, in quest Of paragraph, HI
should expect to see it going the rounds
of the Conscientious religious press tina
he said people should go to laugh; bu
he called the audience 10 witness that /
would be a lie--he had said no sucl
thing."