The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1879-12-11

his creed was wrong everything else
counted for nothing. Martyrs have
been put to death, not because they
were derelict in life, but because they
had gone astray in their creed. All
the horrors of the ancient inquisition
were the result of this theory. Serve
tus, and Huss, and others suffered only
because they outgrew the dogmas of
the Church. And innocent children,
because they could not repeat the
words of the catechism, were dragged
to the fire the same as the vilest GRIM
inals; and sanity women, with hearts
as pure as the light of day, were drag
ged over hot plowshares just as crimi-
mails Of the darkest dye, because they
refused to submit to the Intervention
of priests, and dared to take the mat
ter of salvation in their own hands.
There is no other way of saliva
ton known to the Church; it was
all creed, creed, creed. The man who
could repeat the prayers Of the
prayer book, though his hands were
covered with human gore, was re-
ceived into the Church, and was con-
sidered safe; while the man who could
not was cast out, no matter though
his prayers were spiritual and his life
unblameable in other respects.
The world has not quite outgrown
all this yet. We go back in history
and read Of these sickening horrors,
and ask ourselves, "How could men
be so fanatical? How could really
conscientious believers in the religion
of peace and good will do such things?"
And we come back to our own days
and in our own days and in our own
persons to repeat the same story. Yes,
we do. Not with thumbscrews and
whips; not with faggots or in dun
geons, but with instruments as cruel
and inhuman. Let any man in any
church to-day dare question the dog
mas of his sect or the usages Of his
denomination, and what a clamor
breaks out over him; what an outcry
of passion, and hatred, and vitupera-
ton is indulged in by his late breth-
rem! He may not have failed in piety,
but he has failed in the matter of
creed, and henceforth woe be unto
him. It is the same old spirit revived,
"Crucify Him, cruelty Him." Stop
moment just here. Why was this cry
raised? 1t was not that he had done
wrong. They could all tes-
tify that he had done nothing but
good to His fellow men. 1t was SIM
ply that He had dared question the
of their traditions. Many
man has to follow the footsteps of his
Master in just this particular to-day.
How often, when one thinks he can
not accept the orthodox. doctrines of
the Church, and says so, his friends
turn to him a cold shoulder. Why?
What evil has he done? Has he
wronged or defrauded anybody? No.
dare sayea word against his
good character. But then he is dan
gerous man. Dangerous! how? Is
be passionate, vicious or immoral? O,
no; but he has strange notions about
the Bible. And so they unchurch a
oonfessedly good man because he en-
5ertains what they conceive to be fall
acious views, as if any one of us had
IN infallible standard of truth When
one feels called upon to go out of that
denomination in which he was born
md baptized, how often do we treat
1im like castaway? Why? Is he
lot Just as good Christian as before,
accepts the Bible just as devoutly, and
Keeps his life just as pure? 0, yes;
)ut he is an unsafe man; he is
When one of the Bish-
,ps Of that great Church which always
pells its name with a big G., and for
which ] have a profound reverence,
elt himself called upon to come out
rom its fold instantly, all the ecclesi-
4stical pens were pointed at him, and
IL the ecclesiastical press became in
famed with wrath, and council is
allied to sit in judgment speedily be-
ore re succeeds in engrafting any
lew truth on the old stock. And at !
nee they uttered a pompous docu-
nent declaring his convictions to be
ontumacious and blasphemous. Why? |
What evil thing has he done? Has
lie broken the moral law, or any di-
inc law, that the Church should sit |
Ipon him in Judgment, or cast him
ut? Nobody dare say word against
i'm. He is one of the most honored
nd worthy prelates in the land; but
e has dared to think for himself, and
las thus brought down upon his head
he ecclesiastical bull. In claiming
ersonal liberty he has laid himself to
e called schismatic. Would to God
We had a thousand such schismatics
n our churches as this good Bishop
'ummins.
We need to exercise a larger liberty,
nd a better charity. We need to
MEASURE men by what they are, not so
1uch by what they profess. There
re still too many of US hidebound in
ur faith. A man may be infexibly
onest and upright in all his ways;
ut we want to know what his creed
, before we take him to our hearts
f a brother in the Church takes a
tep outside the creed, he takes it at
is peril.
The practical side of religion has
cen almost entirely ignored. We
ave laid such stress on the value of a
light faith and creed, that men have
ONE to look upon everything outside
f this as secondary. lie man is
ound in the faith, regular and ortho-
OK, if he holds the opinions of his
athers invulnerable, he is tolerably
afe, no matter what his life. | do not
yish to be understood as saying that
light creed is nothing. have no
with the sentiment that it
oes not matter what a man believes
his life is right. There is grain
f truth in it, for the devil never doses
he world without using some truth.
lie is a good homeopathist, and knows
.ow to sugar coat his error with a lit
lie truth. The truth is, there are
nany men whose lives are better then
I