Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1871-05-13
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Free Religion.
A SERMON BY PARKER PILLsBuRY
"what Instead io

BphOd i n
the former sha not be remembered, come into
mind.--Lsdtdh, LXV: n.
Eye hath not seen car heard, neither hath II en-
tered into the heart Of man. the things which God
prepared for them that lo"e him. Cor, N. o.
We shnll not all Sleep but we shall all be changed.
The last enemy that shall be destroyed IL death ~
T. Cor, Ky. 90.
Ihave strung these Bible beads together MS
our starting point hope they may be only
beads, and not a milstone about the neck of
our subject. They all differ and yet all have
an important resemblance in that they all
point TO future and better time coming The
mistake of almost all scripture Interpretation
Is that II is made to point to another life a
life so shrouded In mystery and darkness that
presthoOds, and Bible interpreters and theO-
logical institutions, most opuently endowed
and oificcred, well read in dead and living
languages, are needed to show or lead the
way to that other life.
The old Testament account of itself. to say
the least, is simple and comprehensive, in its
every precept; and especially in this, that sin
is sin, and penalty Is penalty And one Is sure
TO follow the other. And best of all is, the
statement is made SO plain, that To borrow its
own expressive words, "thc wayfaring men
though fools, need not err" about it. Under
the Mosaic and Leviical priesthood, there was
for time an endless jargOn of sacrifices and
atoncmcnts for sin, as though the blood of
slain beast and birds could take away, or IN
any manner make amends or at0ReReRt for a
thief a robbcr. liar, an extOriioner, a drunk
| ard u STAKEHOLDER or murderer. But all this
did not last a great while beyond the Penta-
teuch-was never heard of anywhere but
among the Jews, and observed most imperfect
ly among them. The prophets seem neither
to have observed them at all themselves, nor
enjoined nor taught them to the people. King
| David makes short and sweeping work of
| them, to this etfect
Hear, my people, and will speak:
am God, even thy God"
II will not reprove thee, for thy sacrifices,
or thy burnt-olferings, continually before me- !"
VI will take no bullock out of thy house.
nor he goat out of thy folds
II know all the fowls of the mountains /:
and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
| For every beast of the forest is mine, and
| the cattle upon thousand hills
"If were hungry, would not tell thee
ior the world is mine and the fullness thereof
| "Will eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the
| blood of goats ?'
And one of the fastest ofthe Hebrew preph-
cts not only denOunces all these sacritca sub
| terluges, but goes so far as TO define and dcs.
cribe just what is required instead of them
"Wherewith shall l come before the Lord
and bow myself before the Most High God
shall come before him with burnt offer
| ingsg with calves of year old?
"Will the Lord be pleased with thousands oil
rams or with ten thousands of rivers of oil i
"Shall give him my tirstborn for my
transgrrssions? the fruit OF my body for the
sin of my soul?
He hath showed thee, o man, what is
goodY and what doth the Lord require Of lhet
but TO do justly, TO love mercy and walk hum
bly, with thy God!"
Aud so of the Old Testament from Sap'ue
and Nathan, to Micah and Malachi. The
modern church has run behind all the proph
nfo a,ha L..
Itself from Moses and the patTiarchs, of whom
the prophets seem to have known but little
and cared less or cared nothing. And just as
religion, or worship was complicated and
numbered with endless machinery of form
ceremony, atonement, cxpiation, publication
holy day s,ht ly places, holy priests, high priests
hoier STILL instead ofih Simplicity and plain.
ness of the prophetic period, so now, we have
under the name of christianity, system
which is alike burdcnsome, costly, exclusive
cnslaving, aristocralic and II thousand times
more mysterious and incomprehensible than
was the terbernacle of Moses, with all its al
tars and offerings. For Moses taught one God
pure and simple, in plain, Hat contradiction tC
the multiplied uivinities of other nations
And 10 him only were the sacrifices 10 bt
made. Only His favor was TO be proptiatcd
only His wrath turned away; only His glory
personated; only His honor magnified; only
His praises sung. Thou shalt have no othe
God before me" was commandment number
one, stamped and stereoyped into stone by
the thunder power printing press on Noun
Sinai. To be sure, his worship was most re-
markable, but then it was not incomprenensi-
bic. The sacrifices and offerings were numcr-
OTIS, endless almost but then they accorded
with the spirit and practice of all nations a
Il ut time, indeed of all rude uaiiOns at the
present time, and of some nations not so rude
at least in their own estimation The favor o
| N n iG cd uvit rtftc MI off
ings everywhere, even unto this hour. Wha
bags of silver and gold were carried and lad
at the feet of his most unfortunate Infal;bil
~, the Pope, at the assembling of the latr, ant
probably last Eccumenical Council at Rome
We have heayd of the iavors of princes
and even presidents, bought with presents %
money, OF houses, of horses, carriages an(
luXures of every kind, presented too, will
most humbly "crooking the frequent hinges o
the knee, that thrift might follow fawning
All this we know, and have seen. Well, the
gods of the ancienls were only great men, il
the rude estimation of the nations. And thu
Hebrew God, his worship and worshipper
were no exception. They wished TO appeast
the anger of tbeir God They sought hi
smile, his favor, his approval, his assisanc,
in war; and always by the same means. This
interposition of a pompous, costly, lordly, ant
particularly to women, tyrannical priesthood
Was human invention in Israel, as it hat
Deen lor ages IN Egypt, IN lnGlar ana WhefeV
er an established form OF government aud pc
ligion existed. And that priesthood, with al
its titles distinctions, decorations, privileges
prcrogalivcs and honors, was what so compi
eatcd the Hebaew worship. The patriarchs
before Moses, had none of it, needed none o
it. Nor did the prophets afterwards. Eve
afterwards, through she whole prophetic pc
nod.
But the mysteries of the Christian faith ant
worship exceed all that Judea, Egypt, or In
dia knew. BY monstrous interpretations ant
interpoatloasr by adding stlbtrsctmgr multi
plying and dividing the Scripture readings
the unity of God has been disturbed; a three
fold distinction has been introduced into th
gSdhead; one-third is made to be born of
Jewish maiden impregnated by the overshad
owing power of another thiEi, without an!
human intervention. Each of these Is decar
ed equal to the other, who is styled the Fathc
or first person, the second, or incarnated one
is the son; while the third through whose in
facnce the Virgin conceived and bore the sec
0nd, or son, is named the Holy Ghost. An'
these thxee, the eatechisai says, and the creeC
confirms IT, are one God the same in sub
stance. equal in power aud glory. And the,
have lived and reigncd, selfexistant, uncuus
ed, unereated, over chaos and cosmas, and will