Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1876-12-17

vsiling or popular manner OF thought
concerning the affairs of every day lie
uron tho always interesting problem of
future rewards and punishnen:s. 1t WAS
limited that as peoples became mora en-
iieh,ened and less inclined to SEVERITY
in the manner of melting out punish
rueuts for delinquencies in morals aud
attractions Of the law. q belief in The doe
trine of endless danna,ion became less
and less possible. Iu other words, orr
IDEAS of divine Justice must Ire, IN the
nature OF things. shaped by our notions
Of human justice. AS the mind be-
comes more and more strenuous FOR me'-
CIV. and the understanding finds more
and more room for the gentle prompt
ines of charity. the belief in Gods
VENGEANCE upon the souls OF sinners be-
comes weaker and weaker. IAN eye
10. Gil eye. and a tooth for tooth
hints ut Il popular estimate OF justice
compatible with a popular acceptance CT
the idea of jealous God" and re-
Ientless Supreme Father. 1t Is not al
together unreasonable to believe that hui
man beliefs will square themselves with
the condition of human enlightenment.
The wider our comprehension of nature,
the less narrow our creed. The Bible
possibly. like the Sabbath, was made for
man, and not man for the Bible; and
with the expansion OF the human mind
must come broader and clearer and
more acceptable form of teaching. The
Constitution Of the Fathers" has much
needed mendins.
We hear some complaints OF the few
ness of our church-goers. They who
have interested themselves in providing
our citizens with plentiful and inviting
accommodations FOR religious exercises,
and the excellent men Who are prepared
Ia preach 10 rs on sunday and instruct
us in the more serious concerns of this
weld and the next, lament too widely
spread indifference to religious affairs
and a too general neglect OF attendance
upon the exercises OF the house OF wor-
ship. An intelligent interest III church
matters brings compensation worth re-
sardins. The stronger the support OF
tue church. the greater the probability
O. securing such preacher as Will IN
te,es. and instruct; and if We would
securs more powerful clergy we must
take deepe, interest in the orsaniz-
alton and support Of our churches.
Moreover, the stimulant vi large and
attentive audiences is quite as necessary
10 the inspiration of the minister a. 1t Is
10 the political orator, the actor o: the
rubiic lecturer. Nobody cares to tall! or
10 uttair and exhibit excellence IN the
manner and matter Of his discourse
without he finds himself awakening an
interest and arresting the attention OF
appreciative listeners. We counsel our
fellow townsmen to exhibit an increased
interest in the work and words OF the
ministers who ais among rs. Our sun
days are worth taking into account sno
making the most Of.
Speaking of good sermons, We here
with reproduce for the ei!ticaiicn @; our
readers the following extract from & late
sermon by Henry Ward Eeecher;
For the text OF his discourse Mr..
Eeecier took the last two verses Of the
SECOND chapter of Acts And they con-
,lnned daily with one accord in the tenn
pie. and breaking bread from house to
house did eat their meat with Slsdress
aud sincleness of heart, praislDg . oG
and having favor with all the peop!a;
and the Lord added to the church daily
such as should be saved" This pas
sage. he said. he had chosen TO point
out the characteristic feature of the JOY
full. social disposition of the early Ills
cip,es. The Jewish religion, he added.
was the only one which ever recognized
10Y as an integral and important part OF
it's service The greatest and most
solemn acts OF their religious worship.
we're made up of social festivity and OF
ioy in its most significant forms of eN-
preston. 1t was. therefore, kind OF
enthusiasm of Joy which was developed
among them, and christ was DE" anu
was reared in Jewish thought and feel
ing, and The apostles were all Israelites
so that it is little singular that the
nreiudice Christmas in modern times
have against Israeli.es is prejudice
against those from whose loins every
thing that we have most elevating, beua-
tiful and joyful sprung. l have none OF
the prejudice. Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob were py ancestors. and those who
have descended from them by natural
generation are my brethren. The apos-
ties brought the same spirit into the new
faith, and although they entered upon
the organization of the new church life
under circumstances that would natu.-
ally have made men ascetic, bigoted and
bitter, nevertheless all the early ideas OF
Christianity were sweet and calm. The
earliest specimens of Christian art found
in the catacombs at Rome show no dark
or gloomy images. Subsequent philos.
ophy almost destroyed this temperament
OF Christianity. nor have we got over YET
the effect Of the stoical Greek philos-
ophy. nor Of the Manichean notions, nol
a. o,r,c. NJ tho Homan mind The idea