The New York herald., 1870-08-01
clgaaslE PAEsSY gERiAY saUaGH.

A Religious View Of the War in Europe-Ser-
mon by the Rev. David Mitchell ut Canarsio
Presbyterian Church.
AT the Canarsie Presbyterian church, No. II
Greene street. yesterday, the Rev. David Mitchell
preached a war sermon taking fol his text Matthew
", 4-'1 came not to send peace, but a swOrd.''
The meaning Of the words in the text he said, was
most strikingly rendered within the bosom of the
Church herself; for her history was history
OF passion, strife, persecution and murder.
There had been two great parties in the
Church from he very beginning-the smaller
one forcible as to principles and the larger
one strong numerically. Elijah and the priests
OF Baa represented them. One was ever protesting
against wrong, while the other was usurping and
employing brute force and at the same time layiag
claims TO inialibillty. The Church had never been
without her protesting side. At first Professionalism
resembcd mere sivery thread OF waters running
through a dry ana parched lana; but that silvery
stream had now become mighty river, swollen
volume which, rushing through
THE DEAD SEA OF TRADITION,
raised from It's lowest depths the slime and mud OF
error and swept them before 1t into the bottom Of the
sea- Since the grand Reformation that mighty river
OF Professionalism mad never lost It's depth width or vo.
lume. TO leave the figure Professionalism had succeed
ed but the end had not yet come and so there was no
peace but a sword. Since The end OF last year pa
tlence had been exhausted by the long ana dreary
Ecumenlcal Council convened by the present Pope,
whose crowning act the declaration of ilfa-
DllItY IldL UOymd pallOOK Oh Illt nature OF tllc
usurpations that made Protcstantism necessity
throughout the history OF tile Church. Those Who
proclaimed such doctrine were the worthy success
sors OF the men who held that the earth dld not
move around the sun, that the blood dd not circu-
late and who discovered--pr0bably from some mere
casting vote that the Virgin Mary was divine or
that Christ was present III the bread and wine that
had once been o0nsecrated by prestly hands.
But 10 the enlightened Protestant MIND Of the pre-
sent age such things were, OF course, absurd And
even 70 those who still clung 10 Rome, but who
were more or less under the influence OF Protestant
ism, such as many Roman Catholics in England,
Scotland and America, the course pursued at Rome
was repulsye in the extreme But was not Protest
antsm still
AT WAR WITH ERROR?
Was not every commonwealth at the present
moment battlefield on which the sword of Protest
antism was warning with the mighty guns OF Ro-
Ism ataeking peaceable and NOBLE nsiliu.
tlonsS What was was the meaning OF Kome,s
TO prevent Italy rising to its true nationality and
lreedomf Why did not spain proclaim herself an
| grandeur and nobility of the United StatesY II was
! because she was kept down by the power of Rome.
What was the significance of that dreadful riot oc-
curing in the streets OF New York the other day
| IL was simply that the misguided children Of Rome,
actuated by the very sprthat had in the nineteenth
century declared the dogma of nfall,biiity would
I interfere with peaceful ana trtlJl-lovng citi-
! zens in tine celebration of annual holiday,
and woulG strike the colors OF liberty from the masts
| OF the American snip Of independence. Aud what,
| he would ask was the meaning of the present war
movement IN EnropeG Was it a mere dynastic bat
| yer was IL ONE MdE IusIlDk 10 the last plank lOr
his own preservation from destructonS No, but il
| was the old battle between
PROTESTANT AND RoMIsH PRINCIPLES
Did not France represent the spirit OF that council
| OF Plus IX. that had declared the Papal dogma2
True the Emperor OF France not one straw for
the wranglings or decisions OF priests IN regard 10
infanbility, absolutton. penance and all the rest
ol II. That however, was not the question. The war
Of France upon Prussia was the war OF the spirit OF
! Rome against freedom and civilization. The Emperor
Of the French would be true TO his natural born in
stincts. France was ntolerant OF the spirit OF
! hberty-that spirit which would give freedom OF