St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1861-04-18
Work, Words, War.
Ntitor St. Cloud Democrat:

~S' v" . 'Ane, WV young 8eutAemen were
rival candidates for the hand of an accom-.
plished young lady, and An heirsss. The
prize was deemed worth fighting for, and 50 q
challenge was given and accepted. The Sec
onds were chosen, and arrangements made,
up to the matter Of selecting weapons. This
being left to the one who was known to be un-
skilled in the use Of firearms, was somewhat
perplexing matter. But after due elaboration
he was asked his decision, and answered, to
the great chagrin Of his antagonist, "goose
quilts" If the present age has advantages
superior to former ones it is chiefly in this
That every man land woman too) has a rig bit
to think and speak and write and print what
soever he may see fit. Speaking and printing
takes the place Of fighting, or is rather anoth-
- mode mode Of fighting, none the less re al
Tor not being with confused noise and gar
ments rolled in blood.
Working, also in the sublimest sense of that
word. in this age Of books an journals, lies in
the same direction. Says one OF the most noted
mon Of our day, "Wrting is to ME the work of
slave. 1t is delight, joy, rapture to
talk out ones thoughts in words that fash upon
the mind at the instant when they are re-
CURED: but it is poor drudgery to sit still
and groan for thoughts aud words without sue
ceeding t. obtain them. Well may man 3
hooks be called his works; for were every
mind constituted as mine, it would be werl
indeed to produce q quarto volume, Moth
ing but sense Of duty has impelled me to
this work Of writing books" This is paper
age. The world is literally cursed with news
papers. There are ten thousand retailers of
great mems thoughts, who are hawking their
wares at the corner Of every street and gain
ing meagre subsistence by sensation ma
chinery. and yet the true worker. the real war;
r'or "2d the mighty conqueror, is yesterday
10 day and forever he who writes and speaks
md publishes fitly.spoken words. All other
work is inferior, all other fighting looks to IN
incomplete conquest. 'By thy words thou
shalt be justified; or by thy words thou shalt
be condemned The true and sublime ideal
OF man is an incarnate word. It was when
the Word become flesh and dwelt among men,
that man beheld the glory Of him in whose
image he was created.
illogical tenets which have been a subject of
recent discussion among the readers Of the
St. Cloud DEMOCRAT. "The only way men,
toned in scripture by which faith is to be
made manifest TO others is by works. 1t is not
by professions. Not by saying Lord, Lord
but by doing the will Of my Father which is
in Heaven" Again, sin matters pertaining
10 this world o sensible man keeps oil his
most s,crcd feelings to himself" Ergo, we
might far better be deaf and dumb so far rs
feelings and sensations are concerned; so far
~ delights and sorrows in the divine life ore
concerned, than have tongues to speak and ears
to hear. 'The new life, the life of after re-
generation, is hid with Christ in God;" ergo,
We must be ever silent about matter so So
cred True, St. Paul said great deal about
his feelings He talked much of his sorrows
and his joys, and though we have no account
ef his making wry faces, yet his traducers de-
clared his speech was contemplate and when
he said, 20 wretchcd man that I am, who
shall deliver me from the body Of this DEATH"
We may we'll suppose his face might have indi.
Gated his sincerity. But Paul was an excep-
ton. He was not, like the three thousand of
the peatecost, converted in q revival, moreo-
YER he was an old bachelor, and not capable Of
judging so well as others. Let those who be-
lieve that Paul was caught up to the third
heaven and taught Of God and was every way
qualified to be standard Of ultimate appeal in
all he has left on record, sift our new theolo-
gy, and see to what it would lead us.
'1f kleroz had been called upon for srords,
we have no doubt they could and would have
furnished whole battalions. But it was SOL
ders and provisions that were wanted."-
Aye! yo who would come up to the help of
the Lord. 1t is not 1vords, but weapons
Sharps rifles perchance-which you should
furnish yourselves with, and turn out to help
Deborah fight the battles of your country.
But hold We are talking of Christianity
and not Judaism. We may appeal to Meroz
and Deborah, to their hcroism or their cowar-
dice to find their types; but not analogies.-
When We trace analogles, and see not the hid
den meaning of those ancient battles of the
warrior. we come under the condemnation of
him VINO said, my kingdom is not Of the
AL.H
our incarnate God looked around upon his
hearers, being angry because Of the hardness
Of their hearts. Or that when Peter said, not
understanding his Lords meaning, when he
referred to the time between his departure
from earth and tho descent ofthe Holy Spirit,
telling them to take the sword, "Lord here
are two swords" he said it is enough.
Our new theology in one paragraph glori-
fies the church, and in another declares that
nineteen-twentieths Of its professions are hol-
low pretention, pharasaic, self seeking, nam
by pambyism. 1T is all false assumption,
that it requires humility to acknowledge the
Savior at this day" Let the author Of this
sentence fix the charge of falsehood on him to
whom it belongs Who has intimated that 1t
REQUIRES humility to acknowledge the Savior !?
But acknowledging the Savior and following
him may not he always one and the same. If
following the Savior does not require the same
humility now as At the beginning, let us have
q new set Of religious teachers. no! we
want no better endorsement Of this than ms
same theology we are reviewing. Let it an
swer itself: 'The most hippant seeker after
moments notoriety the most pompoue preten-
der who patronizes the church by his presence
can say that Il am not ashamed of Jesus) as
easily as any of them, i. e. there humble, true
christians who say So" Our new theology
must assume the undisguised type of Parker
ism which treats humility and all its cognate
virtues as mere sham It must throw out
that word from its vocabulary, or the ghost of
what it attempts to destroy will not down ut
its bidding.
It is not humiliating to own Christ in this
day in profession. But it is humiliating to
live in Christ and cherish his spirit, in oil