The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1877-06-30
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
THIS COLUMN is OPEN TO ALL.
For The Cecil Whig.
NOTES AND BEAMS.


NOTES AND BEAMS.
EDITOR CECIL WING Respected SIR
knowing that, with commendable liberal
ity, you have thrown open your columns to
the people for the free discussion of all the
vital questions of the day, | can not refrain
from calling the attention of Your readers,
through those columns, to the very remark
able doctrines set forth in an essay, pub
llShed in your last issue, written by a promi-
nent lawyer of your town, Mr.. William }.
Jones, namely: That. tchile ii is bar5arous,
inhuman and dreadful in tie extreme fer
haif cicllt=ed Wohumnsedan TurEs to murter
CIR eh Christians, ii IS commensurate, praise
tc0rthy, and in full dcc0rdaHcc ,Cith Billie
Christianity for all christendom 10 unite in u
tc"r cf ertermtnation or general massacre Of
these Turhs.
Now if this be the Christian pbiIoaophy
of the nineteenth century, | certainly have
read pages from Confucius and extracts
from writers in defense of Buddhism which
more clearly and ably set forth the funda
mental principle of Christian fifth. G..
"The universal Fatherhood of God and
the universal brotherhood of man
Personally, we are unacqnainted with
Mr.. Jones, but Judging from his views, as
set forth in his essay, we should say that.
while he appears to be a close student of
so called profane history, as written by
acoTed atheists, he totally ignores and neg
lects the Neo Testament.
The blood thirsty and avenging senti-
ments which Mr.. Jones would fain have all
christendom imbibe against these poor bar
barians | do not find warranted by one sin
gle passage in the reputed teachings of
Jesus or his immediate followers.
He was a .Tpir this ,IpSuS of Nazareth.
by descent, born as to the outward of
the seed of David, the great warrior of
Israel, the captain of armies and the leader
of hosts and yet what a clear vision He
had of the peaceable and spiritual nature
of the kingdom of Christ, the Saviour of
the world. And this kingdom is from ever
lasting unto everlasting At tie time when
Jesus was preaching in ,Judea and working
those wonderful miracles which bore wit
ness to His divinity, the Jewish nation WAS
cruelty and uniustly oppressed by the Ro
man hierarchy; but did this great leader of
/ the people, whom even His enemies declared
| taught as lone having authority and not
as the Scribes.' did He advocate armed
revolution and open rebellion Oh no, not
4 word ever fell from those blessed lips, but
/ breathed of "peace on earth and good will
to all men friends, enemies, Jews, 10
| mans, Greeks and barbarians. Behold how
| they questioned Him about these things,
! and on one occasion sought to entangle
| Him in a discussion about the tribute
money. Mark the majestic comprehensive
ness of His reply: "Render unto Caesar
therefore the things that are Caesars, but
unto God the things that are Gods"
Paul was prosecutor of all who held
different religious opinions from his own,
until he received that wonderful revelation
as he was going down to Damascus, which
revelation he received and obeyed until he
was transformed in character from the per
scouting bigot into the liberal and able min
lister of the New Testament and bearer of
the glad tdings of salvation to the Gen
! tiles
The attitude of the Christian Church. at
the present day. on the question of war, is
a most striking one, acknowledging as its
head the Prince of Peace yet wholly ignor
ing by precept and example the great prin
cipes of peace which He so emphatically
taught, and exemplified in his humble, self
denying life. We find in looking over the
leading journals of to-day. innumerable
poems and extracts from sermons, witt en-
by popular preachers, which breathe forth
the very incarnation of the spirit of blood
shed. During the late Rebellion we re-
member hearing leading minister in one
of our great cities preach rousing war ser
mon, in which he declared, in substance, and
in most the flowing rhetoric. that the soul
of the soldier who died on the battle field,
went straight to the realms of immortal
bliss. no matter achat his spiritual condition
previous to that e1enn Though little more
than a child when heard this remarkable
sermon, | never forgot it. Often have |
pondered on the incongruity of such a
doctrine; how contrary to the teaching of
the Bible and revolving to common sense?
But | am wondering from Mr.. Jones and
his essay. If one ignorant of history were
to read the article is question he would be
led to believe that the Turks were sinners
above all peoples, who inhabit the globe.
They overtax the Greek Christians and
sometimes sell them into slavery. We would
like MIR. Jones to tell us how long since the
Christian nation of America held millions
of Africans in ahject and hopeless bondage
and taxed them with a lifetime of labor
without recompense?
The Turks, according to Mr.. Jones, are
merciless in war, not even sparing women
and children, therefore deserve anuihla-
ton. The primary object of war, as we
understand it, is to main, wound, torture,
Kill! When Sheridan made that last ia
J nous raid down the gardon-like valley of
the Shenenoah, in the Christian par, which
lately convulSed this nation, he made for
his army path Of fire. Now which is
most inhuman, to murder outright the
women and children of the enemy, or to
burn up their substance and to leave them
crouching homeless beside their smoking
hearths, in danger of slow starvation.
Again, if these Turks are unconvertcd
not even death on the battle field may save
them from perdition; and does our Chris
tian friend Jones advocate war of eX-
termination which shall send millions of
these poor creatures to suffer the tOrtureS
of eternal damnation, without one single
effort being made for their salvation? Why
better a thousand times that the Greek
Christians die, according to this belief,
than the heithern Turks. We were par.
ticularly struck by the air of self-righteous
boasting which characterized the latter
part of the gentleman's essay.
Now, Mr.. Jones had no more to do with
the Influences operating through long ages,
which resulted in his being born and cdu-
Gated a Christian upon the shores of the
Elk, that the poor Turk had to do with the
entirely different train of events which
made him Mohammedan on the shores
of the Bosphorus.
If Mr.. Jones is ever saved eternally it
will be by and through the Grace of God
freely bestowed upon his benighted soul. If
the the poor Turk is saved also, it will be
by the same means applied in the same
manner. This makes us all equal, in the
sight of Him who makes US, all suppliants
at the Throne of Mercy. Where then is
Boosting? The Christian dare not say even
to the degraded Turk, " Come not near
me. am holier than thou"
JOHN SMITH.
For The Cecil Wing
JOTTINGS.