The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-05-26

originally came. They represent love O
ppr ropiff5ity! P nnt ib ss!f reoT%saat. ins iqIst pro i1
many shapes, certain great primary lnstinct
In man: and they I'm turn bear back a power
full Influence upon ali these things.
For example, where q man has been reason
ably well born, where he has been nationally
educated, and where he has been set forwart
upon an ordinarily prosperous path In lie, ne
finds (thou he may not know what was tlt
!. genesis or what is the development Of IT. thaI
!, the whole bent OF his life Is running TOWARD
the acquisition of property. The desire tt
gain becomes the mainspring OF ms y WI 'hi nc nc.
II Ing fruitful. 1t Is that point, more than any
other, from which, every day, his Will deter
: mines. 1t Is that clement which carries WIZ
= 1t inspiration and enthusiasm. Not that this
= is exclusive. He also has intellectual taste
he has some love for the beautiful; he has al.
. f~ectiOns which very often gather around anoui
;. 1t. and arc like vines around q cottage; ou'
' the desire to gain Is the handspring OF his
= character. Everything else Is subject 10 that
a and whatever other thing comes up and OPP.
/. poses that has to give way, No patriotisii
can control 1t for any considerable lenetn Oh
= time. An impulse OF love may dash Overt IT
;. for q moment but 1t cannot overcome tnhi
!. ccntrAl faculty which goes on for weeks ana
e months and years, and, like u Law OF nature,
: run carries everything with 1t.
= Another man has moral ambition for the or,
!, g~aniZing center of his character. In other
: words; he Is seeking to build himself up III the
sight OF his fellow men to power, to Influence
: and to estimation. Although there Is with
this q great deal of excellence, there Te,a IL nom IN.
permost in nll that he thinks or does. 1t is
the handspring OF his life.
Another man has aspiration toward beauty;
He has Il taste for things that nre elegant ana
| that are beautiful to the Imagination. HIS
whole moral nature lies in that direction, In
his opinion that Is sinful which Is discordant
to. and that Is holy which Is In harmony win
, this central sense of that which Is exquisite
| n mi fuStpfn1 There Drn other elements III Ills
character, but there IL where the pulse Ia;
there IL where the king sits. Other mel arc
organized around the center Of selL-indui.
or indirect reference TO their own ease and 10
their personal enjoyment.
Ana SO 1t Is through the whole familiar cat
egory.
Here, then. is the fact that when men are
born into life with n large range Of tremeIi-
dous, powerful faculties. which they have re.
ceIved, which urc influenced by education,
and which come under the formative inhu.
ence of the organizations OF society, they un-
dcrtake to ccntralize certain faculties OF their
nature, and organize around about them; ana
it Is here that the word OF the Gospel comes
In, and says, "Tlcre is no symmetrical char
acter, there Is no perfect freedom and theie Is
no complete enjoyment to any man who does
not organize his character round about the
cign In the soul, that Ia tho legitimate ana
righlful prince, and that Is the one quality TO
Which. II IL be strong and regnant, all the 9TH
CT IeSllnHS SuDUlll WlIllIElS, ullu H'lu Z
selves not only ovcrslanghed, but strengthcd
in their sphere, and able to make themselves
better than they could be II 1t were not for
this central element Of love.
be made to keep time. You must wind 1t up
MS u watch WAS meant to be wound up. Turn
the key back ward and you destroy the ma,
chinery. Put anything In the machinery and
you .ruin IT.. Now. there Is n way, as the hui
man sou. Is constructed, in which you can
wind 1t up so that every faculty In It will have
free play In relation to every other; but there
is only one single key by which you can SO
which tho soul carries itself in an attitude Of
sympathy and blessing toward every scnti-
cnt creature. That Is the organizing center
Of human character. SO. then, religion when
it to n man does not come saying, IRE
pcnt. and go to henvcn;'' 1t does not come
simply saying, "Obey Gods be-
cause 1t is right: what religion. as it Is set
forth In the New Testament, say when 1t
comes to men Is, "Ye are dead in trespasses
and sins. and ye must be born again." 1t
] does not come rubbing and polishing the sur
faces OF mems virtues; 1t does not dcnouncc
virtues, and it does not discourage them: but
1t says to mankind. What you need is the re-
organization of yourselves" You never can
attain to Il proper height in human existence.
range of spiritual Development, yon never
can keep step in marching with Gods host
except by q reorganization OF yourself that Is
the substitution for pride, for the love OF
praise, for the desire for gain or for power, or
for any other perversion OF the faculties OF
the soul, the great centraliZing principle OF
love, and tic Organization round that of the
whole character, and when you have lone
this you are Christs men; you have been ed
ucated In his school: and your life Will dcycl-
Op itself in every direction according to his
command and wish. That Is the New Tcstl-
ment doctrine. o have come to this doc.
trinc on one line. and come on another; and
when they come tn II II Is this: Love Is tiic
l. f,,t n n ny of tho al "A y All that (snI ron n IrnS
of u man is that he shall fulfill in every part
of his being this law OF love, acting IN the de-
sire and with thu permission of love.
And what docs religion, us 1t Is properly or
ganiZcd and taught, demand
Or the one side, conversion OF the old revi-
val type Is very largely an index Of the way
In which religion Is taught, Many men are
instructed that they shoul become chris
tians to save their sOuls from dulnnatiun.
! This certainly is q very tremendous motive;
but IT Is not Il real disclosure Of what tho Cos
pei SAYS. II tx true we are To save ourselves
from the wrath to come, We are not to ven
turc into the great, dark, uncertain future
where we hear the thundcrings and storms
afar OF. Though we may, not measure It's
sweep, though there IS much about H. thlt we
do not know. yctor one thing we are sure;
that Ic who came from the other world de-
clarcd that the consequence OF going unre'
pentunt into the future life was such as no
zane mar should venture upon. or what are
It's attitudes and longitudrs we are not so Ger.
tain: but OF this we arc sure; that conduct
carries results into the other life. or that
there may he nc doubt. But Aiut is not held
I by the New Testament to be the only motive
In this matter. "Rcpent and be converted"
Is the cry. aye must be born again." Is the
solemn declaration. Inward reconstruction
Is urged by tile Gospel upon every human be-
As / remember. we used to hear preaching
that first aroused attention, and that then
brought OH intense seriousness. Men were.
wrought into what was termed n state or
conviction" Conviction OF sin used TO be re,
gardcd rs an indispensable prerequisite and
condition 10 the development of anything fur
ther in religion. Into that abyss OF sell.
knowledge and self:suiicring 1t was desired,
as into q bath, to plunge everybody. All per.
sons must be convicted Of sin, and the more
profound their suffering was, not only, but
The more dramatic the Incidents of 1t were,
the more thorough It. WINS supposed the work
of grace in them would be afterwards. Then,
after the struggle with their " VIII anu
against the presentations Of Cllrist's charac-
ter, 1t used to be held, and to u very large eX-
tent 1t is held ut the present time. that every
thing rational and moral In IL man was to oe
struggled against, and when this struggle was
over, and men came to Il state OF peace; 1t was
said, NOW they arc rcconcllcd TO God; they
arc born again; aud they have come into
light and Joy" The theory WINS Ina every
What Is the law Of God? Why, 1t Is the NOR
al law of the universe. Men were born sim
itMl; their cverythougllt and feeling and mo
tive was sinful, 1t was said; and on, what
| IOUlS L " trt IA n 30
hcmisplieres the realization OF my sinfulnrss!
Oh, the track Of pr1lyers that ! have sent.
dripping with tears, up 10 heaven, lies dark
; In my memory How hard | tried to find that
law which l had broken, and to which lstrore
with all my power to submit myself, that l
might have the lnburst OF everlasting light
} aud peace and rest. SO persons were put
through such crucial tests which Sprnng out
} of highly organized theology; whereas the
a. Gospel says, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God, and thy ncighbor as myself" That Is
the simple injunction rounda about which we
} are to organize.
But there Is q worse way still In the coInmu-
nifty where churches arc and where many OF
them pull and haul for membership. The
kingdom Of heaven is a net, which, when 1t is
thrown into the sea, brings to thS shore all
sorts of fishes, good, bad, and Indifferent; and
all those who join the church, and then walk
virtuously in the family, and peacefully IN
the community, and show n reasonable degree
: Of interest In religious institutions, 1t Is sup
= posed will, In the sovereignty OF God, have
their spiritual interests taken care OF, and
will be saved. That Is about what Is meant
by religion on the part OF q great many.
| There ure thousands und thousands OF men
I who arc pretty moral, who join the instltu.
2 tionS of religion. who do not break over the
, theological fences violently anywhere, and
I who are consi Tered very good Christians, II
! they have more than morality It Is regarded
\ as all the better; but that is all that Is regard
, ed as Indispensable. Notwithstanding that,
! 4 man may be mora! and join institutions OF
I religion, und yet not have dreamed what tho
central element of religion iS-the Substitu-
ton Of a true love for sclf-sccklng IN any ol
I It's torms-the reconstruction Of the whole life
= and character around about this appropriate