The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-07-18
The Religious Papers to Take.

The Religious Papers to Take.
A resolution lately passed In a convention
OF Vermont COngrcgatiOnalists declared
that every Christian family ought to tako
and carefully road some religious paper.
No one who rightly appreciated the power
Of the newspaper press Tor good or for evil
would have voted against tho passage Of
that resolution, though n wiso man might
have moved an amendment, striking out tho
word Christian For every family, whether
its members arc what arc called protesting
Christians or not, whether they go To church
on Sunday or otherwise spend the day OF
rcst, ought by all means to read n religious
journal Very few households in this coun-
try are too poor to spare the cost Of such
chroncer, monitor, and educator, for In
these times there is nothing SO cheap as II
daily or n weekly paper, and very few in
deed, are willing to go without tho reading
of one or the other, no matter how biting
their poverty.
When we speak Of a religious paper, we OF
course mean one watch is really and not
merely nominally religious. There are sew
eral hundred weekly papers in the country
that bid for patronage simply ON the ground
OF their piety, and by making appeals TO
sectarian sympathics and animosites rather
than to the better sentiments which Christi
anity should nourish. Most OF these jour
nails, we are compelled to say do religion as
much harm as good, and many OF them are
its actiJf enemies. Instead OF sound
healthy robust. practical religion. they
preach sickening cant and cheap sentiment
fulf ~ In Af hal
things. They pay more attention to the
form than the substance OF religion. and
frittcr their time away In the discussion Of
petty matters. They are not to bc trusted
a. guides to right views Of current subjects,
for, Of all things, they are apt to be most
afraid of the plain, naked truth. They also
serve 10 intensity sectarian bitterness and
TO encourage a spirit Of religious intoler-
ance. Therefore the more intelligent and crit
ical men get and the wider the range Of their
thoughts and sympathes, the less they
think Of the nominally religious papers and
their perfunctory preaching Of cut-and-
dried piety.
Nothing better shows the character Of
these so-called religious papers than their
manner Of treating the great Fraud by
which HAYES got into the White House. In
defiance OF law, justice, morals. and re-
llgion, by forgery, conspiracy, bribery, aud
bargaining the man who was elected Presi-
dent by the people was cheated out OF the
Office, and the man they had rejected was
put into II. 1t was one Of the greatest
crimes ever committed against popular
government, and every rght-mnded citl-
zen rebelled against 1t In his heart. Yet
these ostentatiously religious papers sat by
and saw the Outrage done without so much
ms raising their voices against 1t. And
when it was finally perfected and its fruits
grasped By the conspirators many Of these
pious sheets fell down and worshipped sue
ccssful Fraud
They profess TO be engaged in educating
the conscience Of the country and in purify
ing its morals; but II the people had listened
to their soothing and cowardly language
they would have condoned and forgotten
the offence committed against them and
against truth and justice, and thus paved
the way to the permanent loss Of their
right TO elect their President. At time
when every voice should have been raised
in denunciation Of crime whose tenn
porary success made it the more odious and
and unstigmatized, these proiesscd guard
ians Of religion held their peace or openly
acquicsced in the infamy!
We cannot. therefore, do less than call
them false religious guides, which the peo-
pie would do well to avoid. They are not
the preachers and defenders Of a religion
which makes men honcster and better
and strengthens them for the performance
Of their public and private duties; and the
religion which does not do that is not worth
having.
Fortunately the country has journals
which are controlled by religious principles
that compel them to make war upon Fraud,
however successful and no matter how
strongly intrenchcd and these are the re-
ligious papers which every family should
take and read