Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-09-06
Preaching Applied.

10 the Editor Of the Free Press and Times
The Minister of the Gospel usually finds
his hearers more ready to apply his teaching
to everybody else but themselves. In this
regard men are very liberal.
Last July, preached q sermon, in which
chose to apply Christian principles to the
great and solemn duties growing out Of cit
izcnShip. All said may be embraced in the
statement that Christians should Insist that
the men they vote for should be honest,
capable, and every way moral; that while
they need not demand that candidates should
be Christians, they ought to require, at
least. that they should moral. Forthwith
some cvi-minded hearer reported to the
greedy Messenger that had preached an
anti-BarlOw sermon | made no refer
cnce to Mr.. Barlow or any other man.
They made the application. did as
always have done, and always in
tend to do, while I preach at all,
viz apply Christian principles to all
human relations, of which few if any arc
more important than our relations to our
country. When | get to be too cowardly
for that. nay my tongue ceaye to the roof
Of my mouth"
Not long since preached from the text,
AN liars shall have their part in the lake
Which burneth with fire and birthstone,
and have been looking in the newspaper
referred to, for the report that have been
preaching an arti-.Ncsnngtr sermon. In
lr.- preaching for the virtues and against
oTTrc>siun, slavery, dishonesty, licentious-
nc.s, and other vices, is preaching party
politics, ! have never carried politics into
the pulpit, but do insist that Christians
should carry their religion to the ballot
box
Ono Of the tricks Of the campaign was re-
fcrrcd to in Governor Taft's second letter.
He Taintcdly rebuked the Messenger FOR
charging the opposition papers with
calling Mr.. Barlow "a gambler, rake,
con ntcrfciter, Catholic, IDfdel and Atheist"
Mr. Taft said he had not read any such
thing. The Messenger, commenting upon
the letter, said, "lf Mr. Taft has not seen
such charges he has not read o. &. Wheel
cr's letters" quote from memory. Now,
the truth is, no such charges had appeared
in any Of my letters, not one of them. | had
in the FIRE Press contcnded that Christians
should require in candidates entitled to their
support, the moral virtues. | alluded to
what everybody knows to have been true,
that Eumo- was busy with the moral char
actcr Of the men before the public as candi-
dates for nomination. | condemned the &C
cusativns. if unlounded, with rs much sever
ity as was capable Of; if true, the people
should be Influenced by them. The ground
took was (and | take it stilD that
We should satisfy ourselves az to the
moral characters Of the men asking our sup
port What was there in all this like
calling Mr.. Barlow gambler, rake, coun-
tcrIeiter, Catholic, Infdel or ATHEIST ?" No
such charge can be found in any Of q. G..
Wheeler's letters, and no one knows this
better then the Messenger did when it
pcnncd the charge against me. This is a
specimen Of the imposition practiccd upon
its readers by that paper. The St. Adams
idrphS'r, not to lie OutdOne by its rival,
is quoted by the Messenger as saying
Bradley Barlow is known to nearly every
voter (D in the District as an able, straight
forward and thoroughly honest business man.
genial, whole-souled gentleman, a man Of
strict morals and bIameless life." And yet,
Notwithstanding these "strict morals and
blsmciegs life," of which nearly every
body in the District is aware, "some Of the