The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-03-20

hNu lIbV nhNN bulh - bNsAN'~ - 49,
take the broad road There are so many |
ecclesiastical brickb bats being. thrown IN
that narrow path, and there ia go much !
sharp shooting, think | will take the
broad road" Oh my friends, that re-
ligion is not worth much which is not
tall enough to look over the fence. l
have more admiration for q Spanish bull
fight, and believe IL to be more merclinl
and honorable than the com batting OF
these carnivorons eCclesiastiCs, Francis
the First was 30 prejndiced against the
Lutherans that he said If there was a
drop of Lutheran blood in his veins he
would puncture them with knife ana
let that drop out. If men have such hos.
tility against other denominations OF
Christians they drive them from The
Cross.
So, also, Sectarianism hinders the
Churches triumph. How much wasted
energy; How many men of large intel
lect, who have given their time to alb
stract and controversial dispute, when,
II thew had devoted it in the right direc- |
ton. they would have been glorlously |
useful! Their books lie on the shelf OF
college and State libraries, sleeping the
long sleep of ages. Who cares now
which Of the Doctors of Divinity got the
victory in that thirty years war about a
particle? Suppose there were common
enemy riding up the Narrows tomorrow
morning, and our batteries here around |
New York we're to fire into each other,
YOU would cry out, National suicide! !"
And vet that very thing is often done in
the Church Of Christ While all the ma
yies of darkness have been riding up the
bav, sect has been waring with sect, and
theological belief, and there has been su-
iCide instead Of conquest. | 30 out some
summer day and l find that there are
two bee.hives quaIreling with eaCh
other l come up toward them. l do
not come near enough to get stung, but
come near enough to hear the contest
between them, The one cries out,
"That field of clover is the sweetest"-
The other cries out, "That field Of clover
is the sweetest" / say, "Stop this quar-
rel. Ifyou think that is the sweetest,
90 there; if you think that is the sweet.
est. 90 there. Iwant you to understand
that that hive is the best that gets the
most honey" see different denominai'
tions of Christians in contest with each
other, some preferring this field of evan.
gelical belief, and others that field, l
say, "Take your choice" If you like that
evangelical belief the best take it; If you
like this evangelical belief the best, take
it. but understand, Christ thinks most
of that Church which gets the most OF
the honey of Christian grace in the heart,
and the most of the honey OF Christian
grace in the life." /
How are we to war against this bigoted
feeling which fingers in the hearts OF
hundreds and thousands Of ChlistlansT
We do 30 by realization of our own in
frmities and weakness, II we make 80
many mistakes upon other things, ought
we not to be little modest in regard to
our religious belief / suppose that the
light from the eternal throne III the last
day will show us that there was some-
thing wrong in all our Creeds.
We will overthrow SeCtarianism by
dwelling chiefly upon those things on
which we agree, rather than upon those
in which we differ. Here is the great,
broad platform of the Gospel, see a
man coming up on one side of the plat
form. He says: 81 don't believe in
baby sprinkling." Must l shove him
off? Here is another man coming up
on this side. He says 81 don't believe
in the perseverance of the saints."-
Must | shove him Off Nol Do you be.
lieve in Jesus Christi Then come on
Brother now, brother forever! The Cos.
pei platform is large enough to hold all
who put their trust in my Lord Jesus
Christ
War against Sectarianism by realizing
that all denominations of Christians have
Welded benefCent institutions and no.
blemen, and therefore are to besrespect-
ed. One of the denominations gave to
the world q Robert fall and an Adoni-
ram Judson; another gave Latimer
and Melville; Another John Wesley
and the blessed Summerfeld our own
yielded John Knox and the Alexan-
ders, men of whom the world was not
worthy. All these denominations have
produced noble men and blessed ins Il
tutions, and they demand our respect
So say: Come on, ye ninety thousand
communities of the Episcopal Church,
We four hundred thousand of the Presby.
terian Church, ye nine hundred thous-
and of the Baptist Church, ye two mil
lions of the Methodist Church-Come
on! Let US march shoulder to shoulder,
for there is a world to be saYed, and God
demands that you and l help do it.
But more than all will you overcome
this evil of Sectarianism by toiling in
Christian work with men of other be-
liefs. Here are two men in hostility
Let them 60 and kneel by that dying wo.
man and comment Christ to her soul. -
If they went into that room with anti
pathies they come out with love. Men
who toll together in Christian work can
never fight in better hostility. So | am
glad when the spring time comes, and in
the great anniversaries ministers of
Christ and laymen of all denominations
gather on one platform, and talk in be-
half of the same great cause, and pray in
behalf of the same beneicent institu-
tions. Men who toll together must be
somehow, somewhere in sympathy. l
do not know thatI make this idea plain,
so l will illustrate it by something that
happened four or five years ago. On
Monday morning. at 2 o'clock, when her
nine hundred passengers were sound
asleep in their berths dreaming of home,
crash went the Atlantic into Mars Head.
Five hundred souls in ten minutes land.
ed in eternity. The rush through the
gangways of agonized men and women,
the cutching for the rigging, the plunge
of the helpless steamer, the clapping of
the hands of the merciless sea over the
drowning and the dead, threw two con.
tinents into anguish. But Isee there the
brave quartermaster striking out for the
rock with the "life line" and in another
place you see the fishermen coming out
and picking up the shipwrecked and car
rying them into cabins, and wrapping
them up in blankets snug and warm
Here puts out lifeboat, in it minister
Of oh riut mud fonp pail Dull |