American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-04-27

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and more remunerative Butte keep up
a rain show of morality, you of necessity
condemn in acord, what you teach by ec-
ample ? Is not yourwhole conduct, "strain-
ing at gnot and swallowing a gambling
saloon ?" Did not Christ when lie en-
tered into the temple at Jerusalem, over
throw all such Fairs and cast out both
those that bought, and those that sold, and
began to teach saying, "My house is a
house of prayer, but ye have made It
den of thievesW He said nothing about
"25 cents a chance" but havingnowhere
to lay his head he preached from the
mountain top free salvation to all. And
such conduct was never sanctioned by the
early Christians, no! necer! Paul rec
commended that they give according as
the Lord had prospered then" but do
not read that he ever recommended that
the house of God be turned into an Ice
CREAM SALOON, or that the sisters should
lose theirsleep to sell articles of vanity, to
decorate Gods house with articles ,corse
than vaaity No !-"The groves were
Gods first temples" and sooner would
they have worshipped amid the deep,
calm shades of the forest than have stoop-
ed to such acts, to purchase all the laru-
rtes of EARTH Butthe fact is, such "Beau-
tiful Temples" are just now in fashion,
and it is your pride that creates your i'm
aginary wants, and to crafty that pride
you stoop to means unbecoming apd sub
versive of the religion you profess. For
one monsnt imagine you see John the
Revelator, getting up Fair and calling
on the people to have their fortunes told,
"Only % Centsm No! He choserathcr
to tell them ciftom charge, the tolt,me Of
Ba}y1on, and the final orerl,ro,r and sor-
rooo Of all those who bought and sold in
her ''Fairs" of luxury and vanity. Or
PAUL when he entered Athens, setting up
a Post Office and writing "billetdouX" to
the Athenian soldiers, "Only ten Cents"
and all to Decorate the temple Of that God
whom ye. e.ignorantly worship. No! He
chose rather to rebuhe such folly and gave
his life sacrifice to the plain unyarnish-
ed truths of Christianity, preaching hui
mility aud self denial, obedience and 10y
Atty to the powers that be. Or imagine
you see PETER with the keys of heaven
and earth in his hand standing by the
door of the church of Auaapolis, at the
midnight hour demanding ten cents of
all who chose to enter, and after he had
got them in, dressing up the young and
fair sisters of the church, in purple and
scarlet, curling their hair and prompting
them to ask the soldiers to take chance
in some article of vanity Or luxury, "Only
25 Cents" apd all this to buy himself a
spring sofa, and marble pulpit. No.
PETER spent his nights quite differently
and you might have heard him at the mid
night hour de,,omciag all such folly and
offering all "a chance in the kingdom Of
heaven 'withoutmoney and withoutprice."
Again imagine you SCI. MARY goingaround
with her alabaster box of precious oint-
ment "Only 25 Cents o! the idea is
perfectly ridiculous, yet these ojous shep-
herds attend these festivals and sanction
them by their august presence, but lmust
confess [ never saw any Of them take a
chance" Now I beg leave to say to all
such shepherds, would you not feel more
noble worshiping in plajRer house built
by honorable means Could you not sit
more comfortably in rude scat purchased
by honorable means than upon spring
sofa purchased by the sacrifice of your
moral dignity and Christian coRsiStencyP
Would you not feel more like minister
of CHRIST, standing behind a rHde pulpit
purchased by honorable means, than you
do behind your marble structures purchas-
ed with the proceeds Of your Archery,
your Fortune telling machine" your
''lottery and dice boxes, and white mice,
to say nothing of the sacrifice Of the
modesty of the far ones of your fock.-
If We be.menof honor, do younot despise
q
such chicanery forany purpose whatever!
And as Christians, instead of spreading
those rich carpets upou your floors should
you not seek to spread the rich tidiag. of
the Gospel in heather lands, and instead
of pontiagand frescoeingthe walls of your
temples should you not seek to paint the
name of JESUS on the walls of heather
temples of idolatary, or to paint the let
tors of the alpabet upon the minds of
some of your ignorant servants.
But having seen the Fair | concluded
to attend divine services the next Sab
bath evening, in the same beautiful tenn
pie" accordingly accompanied some of
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