Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1864-06-03
For the Journal.]
Review Of Elder j. HI. E1int's 's6aOSpel
6ernOM.v

FScHhhAOms
Mr.. JOURNAL This sO-called "Gos-
pei sermon" is charged with error, false
hood, contradiction, intidelity and big
otry. 1 now proceed to adduce the
reasons and facts forsthis charge. lst.,
1t is true, "blessed are the peacemakers,"
but its application to a state of national
war, whether civil or foreign, is errone-
Gus. l. The work of peacemaker in the
text is personal and individual Chris
tian duty, alike obligatory on men and
women. 2. Peace, in this subject, is
not the antithesis or opposite of national
war, which can only be adjusted and
peace made by the official acts of the
governments involved in the war;
Therefore, so to interpret and apply this
or any other Scripture as to require
Christians, male and female, in their
unofficial character as private citizens to
do that which, according to all history
is exclusively the work of civil govern
ments is not only erroneous, but ex-
tremely absurd, because it requires of
namely: an impOssibility! 3. Ii
| "peacemaker" in this case applies to
national war, then Napoleon of France,
and Francis Joseph of Austria, two
wOrldly-minded, ambitious, intriguing
despOts, after Strengthening thousands of
their subjects in war, met and in an hour
made peace, according to Elder Flint's
application of this text, became "peace-
makers" That is, they converted
themselves into holy Christians and be-
came entitled to all the honors of heaven,
without any moral change of motives,
morals or heart! 4. According to the
doctrines of this sermon should Jeff.
Davis, doubtless among the most guilty
men on the globe, propose peace on con-
dition that the Union be severed, his
government acknowledged, slavery re-
established, and the North organized as
a slave-catching police for the South,
and the administration should accede to
those terms of peace, then this arch
rebel would be "peacemaker," and
without any moral change convert him.
self Mt once into a saint, a "child of God,''
an heir of heaven, and Joint heir with
Jesus Christi! These are some of the
absurdities of applying this text to ma
tional war; and to deny that Elder
Flint intended such application is to
charge him with. writing nonsense.
| Second, This sermon is charged with
tulsehOod. Elder Flint says "Think
not that this God-dishOnoring scourge OF
the earth has died out and left the
world, or in any degree become reform
ed. L tell you no! The monster still
lives, enters into, and controls the popu-
lar religion Of the day." Page 5.
What is the popular religion of the
day." UnquestiOnably the Protestant
religion, as protested by the several
Protestant churches of the country
Elder Flint means tho Protestant relig.
ion of our country or his statement is
unmeaning and preposterous. Now
ligion with? Here is specimen
"Bigoted, fanatical, intolerant and pro.
scriptive" "has stolen the livery Of
heaven to serve the devil in" "that
condemns to perdition any person that
dares to call in question its favorite dog.
mas" "seeks to crush free discus.
sion, and to stop the mouths of all who
dare to think and speak contrary to its
cherished doctrines; that sets up its
; peculiar creed as Il higher law, and
claims that both church and State
should bow to its mandates and worshiI
at its shrine" "hydra-headed mon.
ster," . "fanatical, religious and &C.
cursed seed' "deluging the earth
| il blood and crime" . enough, "if il
were possible, to make dayils tlush with
shame" He charges the CLERGY" OF
the popular religion"-our Protestant
ism-with building up sectional hate, y
'arraying brother against brother
Gods vicegerents, to dictate the policy
and shape the political destinies of ma.
tons" 1.-THE groans and agony of 8
nation in ;.s death struggle, the blood OF
hundreds Of thousands Of our SOFAS snd
brothers that crimson our soil, the deer
walls of widowed mothers who press
their little ones near their hearts while
the tears Fall fast upon the cheeks OF
those little ones crying for bread-=an.
swer the question how far they have
succeeded in their base and unholy
work" Every man whose soul is no,
saturated with treason against God and
the government ntugt pronounce this
attack upon the Professionalism of the
loyal States and its ministry tissue OF
unmitigated SANDER, willful, malicious
and diabolical falsehoOd.
| The man who can charge the Protest
ant churches and ministry Of the loyal
States with being the cause Of the
war is more than mere fanatic. The
history of that cause is already writ
ten, accepted and endorsed by the ma
ton and the civilized world. The
advocdtes of siarery, ''the vilest that
ever saw the sum- and with which this
"Gospel sermon evidently sympathizes,
originated, planned and forged this val
with all its horrors upon the nation with
the avowed object of destroying the ma
| tiOnu. gyrernment, and with it our civil
and religious libertie., and Of establish
ing and extending the reign Of siavery
| and, Of necessity, with all its ignorance,
cruelty and heathensm. And the man
who attributes this war to any other
cause, if his name and productions sur
vive the work of the moth and mice and
he is considered of sufficient Importance
| to form a paragraph in history, his rec
ora viii he, shallow knave or stupid
ASS fer attempting 70 faillsify the faets OF
history"
Third. This so-caiied ''iospei ser
mon' is charged with INSTRUMENTATION.
1st., Says this pious Elder, "Men, breth-
rem, fathers: we do not propose to-day
to call up and discuss any of the politi-
cal questions that are now agitating our
country and absorbing the mental pow
ers Of statesmen and politicians, but we
propose to enter q different arena, to
labor in q different field, one, fear,
which has been too much neglected by
all. I mean the blessings of peace and
the evils of war, and the moral duty of
all men as much as them has, to labor to
attain and promote the former and avert
and support the latter" Page !,
| I have quoted and punctuated yerbat-
inn the above. Here we have contradic-
ton and nonsense. The blessings of
peace are the '.Jorner,' the evils of war
the "latter," and it is ''the moral duty of
all men" ''to labor to attain and
promote the former" - that is, the
BLESSINGS of peace" "and avert and
support the latter"-that is, to labor
both to ouert and support the evils of
war! Is it attempted to excuse this
contradictory nonsense by alleging
typographical errors? That is no fault
of mine, and, as 1 have already intima-
ted, any author or office ought to be