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


in the Brooklyn Tabernacle, The usual
immense throng was in attendance, and
the eloquent pastors sermon, viewed in
the light of his threatened discipline"
by the Church authorities, created a
deep impression. The following is a
verbatim report;
sUBJECT-"THE DOOM OF sEcTARIANIaM'"
TExT-"Let every man be fully persua-
ded in his mind, Romans xiv:5.
There had been hot discussion upon
dietetics. There were some vegetarians
in Paul's day, who thought it was right
to eat nothing but herbs, others thought
men ought to beunlimited in their choice
of food. Between these two parties
there was a collision. Paul comes in to
decide the matter, and says: "Now, let
this quarrel stop. You men who want
to eat herbs, eat them, You men who
want to be unlimited in your choice OF
food, be unlimited in that choice. Your
own consciences must decide the matter.
Let every man be fully persuaded in his
own mind.'" That is tbe connection Of
the text and it lays down principle ap'
licable to ten thousand cases Of con-
science. The religious world is divided
into a great variety Of parties and sects
Some of them were established by good
men, and some by very egotistic men,
and some by very bad men. l have no
time to name the Calvinists, the Antino-
mians, the SoCinians, the Sabbatarians,
and Swedenborgans, and Arminians,
and Dunkers, and scores of other de-
nominations of religionists. Between
some of these there is only a difference
of words between others there is a diff
ference as wide as between truth and
error, between light and darkness, be-
tween heaven and hell. While our con-
science will not allow us to choose some
of these beliefs, we must allow to others
the liberty of conscience we demand for
ourselves, remembering that they differ
from us no more than we differ from
them. -,
| wish to advocate the very largest lib.
ertv in matters OF religious belief and
discussion. In all questions of art, and
social life, and politics, and religion, let
there be no intolerance, no moving OF
the previous question, no gag-law, no
nersecution. You know that the air and
the sea keep pure by constant circula'
ton, and there ID tendency in religious
discussion toward publication and moral
health. Between the fourth and six
teenth centuries the Church of God pro.
posed to keep down all error by prohlb-
itipg free discussion, and by the strict
censorship of the press, and by rack and
oibbet and hot lead down mems throats
to keep them orthodox; but the world
has found out that you can not change
mems beliefs by twisting off their heads,
or make them see different by putting
an awl through their eyes. There is in
every man conscience, which Will up
heave the mountain with which you try
and crush it, and unsinged by the fire, 1t
will make red wings out of the fame on
which the martyr mounted to glory, We
must let men have differences of theo-
logical belief. In those very times that
I speak of, between the fourth and six
teenth centuries, when all religious dis
cussion was prohibited, members of the
church went publicly from the house of
God to the brothel and along by conse'
Grated affairs there flowed tide of licen-
tiousness, drunkenness and abomlna'
ton, and the very sewers of perdition
broke loose, deluging the church with
their filth and rottenness. Then the
printing press came and broke their
shacklee; but it has also poured upon the
world great many pad books. After
this, and right on the heels of these foes
of Christianity, came a healthy literature
such as the world had never seen; and
where there was one man to malign
Christianity, there came twenty to de-
fend it; and in reply to the assaults upon
Christianity, were written Buffers An
alogy," "CampbelPs Dissertation on Mir
acles," Newton on the Prophecies" and
claws Theory of Religion" and scores
of other excellent works, which never
would have been written but for the as
saults of infdelity. am not afraid that
in this contest between truth and error,
truth will be worsted. l am not afraid
of error if we place close beside it the
truth Let error run; urged on by skep-
tic shout and Observation-Disclosures spur
let it run! Gods angels of wrath are in
hot pursuit, and, quicker than eagles
beak clutches out a hawks heart, Gods
vengeance will tear it to pieces. Let it
run, if you only let truth run along with
it. In this great fight between right and
wrong, the right will conquer as surely
az that God is stronger than the devil.
The Church never lost anything by gem
erosity on this subject, and we can not
have our rights of religion respected un-
less we respect the rights Of those who
differ from us.
l thank God that men do not think
alike on religious subjects. You can not
see through my eyes, nor can l hear
through your ears No man shall lord it
over our conscienCes. You may have
heard of king who had great deal of
trouble with his subjects. He was after
ward imprisoned, and to while away the
time he made watches and clocks, and
after he had made them he tried to make
them tick and strike alike. Of course
he failed. Then he said to himself, what
a very foolish king l wasl How could l
expect to make these watches tick alike,
and all my subjects think alike?
propose to speak of sectarianism-its
Avils and its cure. Men have tried to
make US believe that this monster with
horns and hoofs is religion, We shall
try to hunt it down, and drag it out of
the cavern of darkness, and rip off its
hide. Distinguish between bigotry and
lawful preference for any religious form
or belief. Ihave no faith in nothinga-
rian. Ia world of tremendous tempt
alton and vicissitude, and with a soul
capable Of gigantic joy or suffering, soul
that will have to stand before throne
Of insuferable brightness in the day
when the rocking of rnountaina and fla.