Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-05-29
psKs.CUrIon FOR BLAsrHEuY

The religious world is certainly deficient
ia that wisdom of The serpent which it ought
to possess az well as the innocency of the
dove, or they would never at this time of the
day have recourse TO the power of the law to
punish men for wrong belief. The plan Of
striving to make men good believers by fine
aud imprisonment does not pay. Evil sc-
lions the law can deal with; in cases of be-
lief coercion is failure. When the Church
80 sbounds in good deeds aud 80 abstains
from evil ones az 10 stand like a city upon a
hill, lamp 10 room, conspicuous and
open TO all, sni in that situation shall go
arouse men TO the besuty of virtue that see.
log the good works of the Christians they
shall glorify our Father who is in Heaven"
then there will be no med TO prosecute er.
roneous belief or the expression of it. When
the Church stands forth the peculiar peo-
pie" they are required to be, the truth of re-
ligion Will be demonstrated as the truth OF an
architecrs measurements are demonstrated
when The strnclure he has raised is perfect
Prosecuting erroneous belief is, therefore,
ONhCIo 1Oi tHS VI INC
people 10 whom as committed the task of
m snifesing to the world the demonstration
OF truth. Not receiving that demonstration,
some have made erroneous calculations, be-
cause they were not supplied in living evil
denca with a correct flrnuls, go they fall
into error, aud those who have fallen
short punish them instead of correcting
themselves. The demonstration OF scripiural
truth lies in Christisu conduct. AsfAr as that
conduct fails error will prevail. Ii is, there
fore, upjust 10 the Christian 10 prosecute the
unbeiever. His duly is to ask, where has
the Church failed that men should disbs-
lieve? Such persecution, il the present at.
titude Of thought fails OF its object, aud in-
jures instead of helping The good cause. A
man was sentenced to imprisonment the
other day in London for blasphemy, and it
was projected TO prosecute Huxley, Tyndall,
Spencer, Morley ard the publisher of Mill'a
work for "hsving sown widespread unbsli.f,
| and in some csses rank atheism" Alresdy
this sort Of uncbrisian, unaui horized proceed
log is bringing its results of battling the per
secutors ard putting hem into what they
| will consider worse, ard thore they would
psrseou'e into a better position hsn before.
A decision has been made that coDfourds
these m ttsken holders up of what they sup
posa to be falling ark; that decision says
that England i, no longer exclusively a
Chsistian countIy-J,ws, who deny much
that Christianity asserts, are voters Jurors,
Legislators, judges and high officials, and
therefore the day of Christian exclusiveness
and persecution for the denial eff Christian
truth is over Well would it b, for mistaken
Christians before assuming the part of psrss-
cntors, to remember the pregnant words OF
the Rev. Robert Hale, of Leicester: "In6-
deity is vile weed growing in the infected
m arshes Of a corrupt Christianity" The
cure for unbelief is a purified Church, and
when uEbelief becomes prevalent it is for the
Church to examine herself and ask where she
has been faulty. Ga the thermometer of
trnth infideIity marks tba degrees helow z,ro