The weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1858-1860, 1859-05-03
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Raared in ~ fhnily of . mechanic and
Ainaalf . laboree fse thirty years, and then
.hooeine the oonponions Of his public life
- ~ hVeek Glasses in the country, be
~ Ahe basis Of hio system on the bFoadesk
hecauno The lowest, level ofhuma0ity.
Ha thua dienifoA mankind - wearing,
.A;ll An n hur6Iese conditions, the image OF
God. and exalted The man above the artincial
e re weird The idea Of the
nohil;tv ofmankind, because allied to God,
!. rron;naae ho1h in the Hebrew economy,
"a n the Christian ocheme,-the idea that
8 ereaturs bsaring the image Of Jehovah
cannot b rendered ignoble and oontenpti-
bic by nsre Outward circumstances, and
that 10 can b truly degraded only BY ain.
To this wss added in the doctrine of Christ
and his apostles, the idea Of . common broth
erhood spSinging from . common relation
ship 70 Jesus, constituting al believers one
family of sons and daughter; 60 that the
poorest and humblest Was still child and
heir, % much to be loved and honored, and
placed upon IN equality before God with the
loftieek
Whatever social distinctions there might
bs in the world, they were mot to reappear in
the church. There the family tie, binding
ill alike to Christ was to take prscedencs OF
Ill other relations.
In Ill The arrangensnts for worship in the
Hebrew Church, thsrs was nothing, either in
the structure or management Of the Taber-
nae.s, the Temple or the Synagogue, which
favored any distinction between one class in
society and another, and wherever the spirit
Of pride appeared, it was sternly rebuked.-
And while the spirit Of Christianity would
give free scope to talent, energy, industry,
and enterprise, and allow to,each man the
reward and station due, it still insists, as
before God, these are not to be regarded,
and that Christian manhood ie something
superior to them Ill.
Through Ill the earlier history Of the
Church, THE spirit was abundantly nantes
ted. in I'll Christian assemblies. In their
places for worship, tho rich and the poor met
together, mot - rich and poor, but 40 Chris
tisns, members together Of the one family in
Christ. This Wa true, not alone when the
poverty Of Christians compelled them to meet
In private houses, or wherever place could
be secured, but, when wealth had erected and
oonsecrated the splendid edi6ce, the lofty and
the lowly still met and worshipped without
distinction or separation before God.
The Komish Church has we believe. with
few exceptions adhered to this principle
and practice through all her history, the
instances in which paws are held BY individ-
uals being - We suppose, departures from
her general rule.
We are aware that the construction Other
Church edl6ces, especially in Europe, and
the form Of her worship, present close com.
parison with our Protestant Churches. Still
10 think that in the main, it has been the
intention that the rich and the poor should,
in the oct of Christian worship, stand upon
an equality.
The time We think is not very remote when
the idea of private ownership, in an edi6ce
dedicated. to the worship of God, would have
been thought . strange thing; and even
now it appears to many an absurdity to 60
through the form Of consecrating to God,
that which 10 really the property of individ-
uala, to be transferred like any other species
of merchandise The practice originated
in the commercial spirit of our age it has
introduced into the Christian system an un.
worthy foreign element, and makes use Of
religion to foster pride, and even employs it
% means Of money speculation, the script
Of Churches circulating in the market among
stocks-its value depending upon the social
rank Of the Church and the popularity Gifts
minister.
That such . system carries into our
ohurhes and into our sabbath assemblies the
love of distinction, the money spirit of
the world, is too obvious to require any proof
and it is, We think, equally clear, that it Of
tends the self-respect Of thousands, and
perhaps touches the mere pride Of more still,
provides them with an excuse Of absence
from the sanctuary, and excites prejudice
against religion itself
1t may be true that, in spite Of all these
things, the people ought to be present in our
worshipping assemblies. We may grant
this, and still it does not relieve the church
from the responsibility of removing every
obstacle, every stumbling block, from the
path of the world The road to the City OF
Refuge is to be made plain, and kept open
and unobstructed for all
The experiment Of free seats and free
churches" has, we know, been made to some
extent among u.s. and with only partial sue
GERS; still We think it. at the least questionable
whether any Of these experiments have pre-
scented the principle Alright
Until lately, the, meeting house" in New
England, and especially in the rural dis
tricts, was the proderty of the Township
or Parish.
Individual ownership was thus wholly ex-
cluded the house was the property of the
people. But then these meeting houses, +"
instead of being free in every part to all, on
the Sabbath, were annually seated by a
Committee. And a. this Committee usually
Represented the property interests, all social
distinctions are cloeely reflected in the seat
ing OF the Congregation, and for the same
reason ~ now, the poor felt that they were
excluded from the Church, unless they would
consent to be degraded bya public recog-
milton, and - it were, show Of their power
ty. We have already, ON another occasion,
expressed the opinion that the separation Of
families has been . very serious drawback
upon the free system of the Methodists, and
yet, with this disadvantage, we believe that
free seats have contributed very largely
toward making their Church favorite with
the people
The Free Church movement,in New Tor K,
faile", a. We think, because, instead of being
Universal, it was 90 limited as to wear the
aspect Of providing Churches FOR the poor
This was mot the intention Of the movers );
still that reputation was fastened upon itand
then it failed Of course, because man did
not wish to proclaim himself &C object OF
charity, by regular attendance at such place
Of worship. IlL1t EF-J-.
When, however, the Tabernacle, with the
capacity Of seating several thousand, rented
. portion Of its seats at low prices, and then
BY contribution at each service, gave each
On opportunity Of paying what he chose for
his sabbath privileges it approached so near
IN exhibition Of the true principal as to
maintain its position for years as ths church
Of the people and the stranger
Nor do We think that the real difficulty is
70 be met, or that the actual want is to be
supplied BY mass meetings under the direc-
ton Of Christian Unions" or organizations
Of any kind outside Of the churches the m
selves, whether the meetings are held in tents
or otherwise. And here We wish to be dis
timely understood We would mot write a
word Of Encouragement in regard to mass
meetings or union meetings, whether fo1
prayer or. worship; we would not underrate
the good they have accomplished or may yel
do; still we think We see very clearly that
L. H. 1. .