The Placer herald., 1869-09-11
Political Preaching.

conceive that certain places are filter than
others for religious worship. a few prefer
mountain or the sea-shore; the many, who
worship by outward acts, seek the church.
That has been dedicated to the service OF
God, and be who ohicistes therein has baen
by certain ceremouies consecrated to admin.
eter the rites of the church, lead ito cere-
monies, aud preach the Gospel there.
When some of us were young, the feeling
most actiye within US, as we entered the
church, was that Of reverence. Tie church
seemed sacred, and the clergyman was
esteemed sort OF connecting link be-
tween us and heaven. How would the Wild
eat of US have been shocked to hear Jest
from the pulpit, or sermon upon a local
question. 1t would have been considered
PROCLAMATION Of the place. disgrace &c the
preacher, aud a ite short OF basphemy.
Have the congregations grown more gross,
earthly, aud irrelIgious, that they now toler-
ate what once would have been considered
iufsmousi Or have they who have assumed
the sacred calling, aud profess to follow Ii IN
who preached only His Gospel, degeneratedl
or do they, Ike the common herd, seek no.
torlety rather than the rewards Of their call
ing, and 10 the hope of becoming popular
at The expense OF propriety, enter into the
dirty pool Of politics" and illuminate from
The pulpit on Sundays, With all the vehem-
ence and venom that characterize the har-
sngues OF the bitterest spouler from the
stump9 Last Sunday, 3 man who would
probably feel usulted if addressed by term
short Of divine" took an audience gathered
by advertising as if it were an aucti u or a
baby show, through course of political
spouung AS violent As that of any tryo Just
nominated as constable OF Mugtown. We
have heard much of DIR. Scudder's habit of
turning his pulpit into sort Of verbal
Punch, through which to trest those who
first went to worsh p but who remained, and
subsequently, went to laugh at his j-sts. lie
may esteem it all right to turn bis church
into circus, himself the Jester, the clown,
until one can almost smell the saw dust and
hear the tnkle of the FOOLS bells. Bot we
do not. Without being religious in a acc
tartan sense, we yet entertain respect for the
minister who follows his calling in the spirit
that Christ and his Apostles exhibited. But
harlequin 10 church, q pantaloon in the
calling to the level of the lowest OF pursuits
And what better is the clergyman than the
politician, when he uses his church, his pull
pit, aud the Sabbath of the Christian as the
place and time for political harangues OF the
most violent and bitter kind, Is there not
in the whole range OF religious questions one
Of sufficient gravity to enlist The time and
intellect Of DIR. Scudder? And is his toer
ance toward those he sees fit SO ind lscrimin
alely to assaiI, in the spirit of his Great
Master In his hot TRADE, he says Of those
who will not do as he thinks they ought.
"And if he will not, then as a citizen. a nan,
a Christian, aud minister do say that he is not
worthy to live in this great, and beautiful. and
free country. He is ms-born. lie ought to have
been born among Australian sayages and bred
upon bugs aud lizards"
Suppose those Who differ with DR.. Scud-
der should relort and say: "You were
properly born in Ceylon, where you say
Ieeches are plenty, aud perhaps you lived
upon them, or they upon you, which ac-
counts for the fact that you belong to their
class. Pray, DR.. Scudder, who made you
so wise about the affairs Of this Nation,
State, and city How long has it been
since you lived here ? How long is it since
you lived here How long since you left the
jungles Of CeyIon And if our people are
90 enormous in wickedness as your Sunday
politics intimate, why do you not return to
the somuch- better.g governed Island, and
make valiant battle against the leeches
there 7" There are native-born aud natur-
allied citizens among US who think it bad
enough to have men among us too willing
to degrade our political and moral states,
without the presence Of men who take upon
themselves to degrade the calling of the
priest, and who shake the faith of many in
Christianity by their readiness to violate the
deceDcies of its teachings. Is it any won
der that infidelity is spreading-that spirit
ism is taking such deep root Denied
spiritual instruction 10 the house of God,
hearing there what thev bear from the polit>
ca hustiogs during heated political con,
test, the mind seeks elsewhere for its reig-
ious food, and falls into all sorts of errors.
Modern cergymen. political preachers" I"
have fearful account to settle with the n
ton and with God for the souls their perver.
sion Of their calling have ioundered S. +.
Call.