Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-01-11
Prayer and Pugnacity.

EDITOR EXPERIMENT: Having read q
recent pass at arms between twof
representative elergymen OF this city,
u lew thoughts suggest themselves;
Tor ttter-ance. II seems that "A pro-
'iaflatioh for " season of prayer"
excited the mirthfulnes, Of one of
the parties, more than n ill his VEN
GRAFTON, at which manifestation of
uhsahcIlmonHT' q" natural deprav-
ny, the o..' ,.rty was moved in
Snlnt Tia T.. region of combative-
nrss.) Ia administer grace % to the
offender N .hH form Of potion of
E,79"r, the approved panacea of the
Ihompsnnlan system. This method
nl eXorclah, by Homeopathic
dose OF hell, is doubtless quite as
agreeable, to the one possessed"
rs would have been the Apostolic
method by the laying on of hands.
FOR III this instance it must be called
the " heroic method, which NAV be
AN improvement upon the Scriptural.
lhasmnch Il, 1t was probably admin
lSicred with less riDiurr. Whom
the Lord loveth he cLrsi"Hrfh. and
he Sc""rTh every son whom he re-
ceiveth.' Let us hope 1.-The mock
or IS now prepared to pray that he
may 40 longer be tao prey of either
that cafniverous myth with hoofs
and horns or of an evangelical "bull'
equally rs ierocious if not as vora-
cions, whom it is Utter folly to at
tempt to hold by the horns! Un-
snnctliiod sinners, when they see
" how these brethren love one an
other, must not be blamed if they !
think some of 8" the Lords elect
have little need of the old Scotch
preachers prayer. Lord give us
guild conceit o oursel," but much
more of that of Burns,
90 wad some power the giGtio gle us
10 see OurScl'S as ithcrS see US,
T"ad FROM mony an error free us
And foolish notion;
What airs of dress and gait wad lac MS
ind cen dPcOtOR"
But enough of pleasantly, by way
of pointing the moral to clerical
puSilists. 1t certainly is not true
Christian spirit which either excites.
or exhibits I" bad blood" over modes
of faith or methods OF worship.
Christ would say to these praying
followers (?) when they make their
Offering of prayer and praise,
" Leave there thy gift before the
altar, and so thy way; first be recon-
cited 10 Thy brother, then come and
offer thy gift" 1t renders the eff
ficacy of prayer questionable, in the
minds of the unconverted, to see
how little of " the grace of God" is
clhibHcd by those who have been
praying for it for lifetime. "He
that saith he is in the light, and
hdteth his brother because he does
not agree with him thcologically,) is
in darkness oven till now" and
mono but the blind will follow lead
ers who make long prayers ear ets.l
Hcio, then turn around and cafS
by hard names their "brother in
Christi
The highest authority upon the
question of prayer, whose command
ments Christians profess to follow,
said: " And when thou prayest thou
stat not be as The hypocrites are, for
they love to pray standing IN the syn
dgogues, and in the corners of the
streets" &c; But thou, when thou
prayesr, enter into the closet, and
when thou hast shut thy door, pray
to thy Father which is IN secret" etc.
In conclusion we commend this in
struction to those who propose to
GO be as the hypocrites are for q
week to come. Let us pray in Sc
cret, then LOVE one another openly,
and treat all with common civility
and Christlike forbearance.
I am the friend of all,
DIR. DEAN CLARKE.