The weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1858-1860, 1859-05-10

unto him, sit thou here in good place and
eay - the poor man, stand thou there, or cit
here under my footssool; arc ye mot then
partial in yourselves, and are become judges
Of evil thoughts r
We think it difficult to set forth the princi.
pie OF equality in the churches more clearly
than this-a principle which sweeps away
the graded pew system, on the authority OF
the Holy Spirit-or any systcm, indeed which
admits 81 . marked distinction in the house
Of God, between the rich end the poor.
This then 10 the spirit Of the Gospel, and
these are ito aims The question 10 whether
this spirit 10 manifested, aud whether this
main object of Christ is ACCOMPLISHED
whether now the poor, the people, haze
the Gospel preached to them.
There can be no dispute about the fact
The people do not throng our churches. In
the broad sense they are not popular. The
fearful consciousness Of this fact presses it
self upon the hearts Of thousands. und the
peoples paryer meetings, the preaching in
tents, and music halls and theatres, the
preaching 10 the streets, all these are SO
many efforts springing from right motives /;
so many endeavors to meet and obviate
difficulty SO widely felt, that the people and
the Gospel are not brought into contact as
they should be.
In Boston and New York the very ques-
ton which We have presented is being
earnestly discussed whether larger church
es, with seats at much lower prices than the
present. or with them entirely free, would
not meet the public want, and aid to bring
the masses to the sanctuary.
Eminent ministers and wealthy laymen
are giving their whole influence to tlis move
ment, and there is every probability that the
experiment will be made
We are willing to concede that the unwil-
lingness of the natural heart has much to do
with thcir absence from the churches, but,
as We have said before, we doubt whether it
is the most important one. We are, how
ever quite convinced that the Offering of free
seats would attract more to the church than
if we chould go out in the streets and say to
the crowds, IF you were not all 60 wicked,
you would each one be in the house of God.
You don't care to be there, and you prefer to
be elsewhere" We do not think this a per
suasive kind of logic-one calculated to fill
the empty seats.
In regard t. tho assertion that mo man
can go into pewed church and read these
distinctions with any approach to accuracy
We can only say that we have been intimately
with more than few such church
es, and in every one Of them the facts were
as we have stated If M" has resided
where human brotherhood and Christian
equality are better recognized, we rejoice in |
in his happier experience.
"But, says our friend, 1.-The church is a
voluntary society, and those who are in it
must be allowed to consult their own con
7enience and tastes in it's arrangements. rath-
han those who are without" Would it mot
,e still better if they could initiate the spirit
# their Master, 'who pleased not himself,
nd did not crafty his own tastes, nor con-
ult his own convenience, but sacrificed
hem all in order that he might win even an
and gainsaying world
We are satisfied that our Republican
,eople, jealous and sensitive as they are,
will be in great degree repealed from our
hurches, until some important changes are
made which shall bring all men more nearly
lpon an equality, in connection with wor-
hipping assemblies, and until the church
brings into clearer practical recognition her
heory of lone Brotherhood in Christ"