The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1884-03-27

evil, all aMusementS sinful, the devil
lurked in everything except the clergy
and the Kirk. A. Wilson was obliged
to Sign contract not to write poetry
before he could be allowed to teach
school, that food must not be given to
a starving man unless lie was ortl,o-
dOx.-RutlfOrd and Gray.
And this AS late as 1867. The author
tiles of Madrid feared T. pestilence, aud
called the doctors together rs council
whether to depart from the prsctice of
the fathers and clean the strests or not,
which after mature deliberation, was
decided in the negative, saying it had
always been we'll enough in the past,
and it might he that the filth Of the
streets tempered the atmosphere to the
needs of the health Of the people. Such
was the reverence for everything old.
and such the fear of authority, that
even in matters Of ordinary health the
judgment was clouded with supersti
tion aud fear, not daring to think in
the light Of reason.
In 1910 the clergy were in supreme
authority and presented to King
James over three hundred members
IF Scotch aristocracy, whom they for
mallv accused as hrretics, and ought to
he put to death.-Buchanan and Sad
dler.
In 1913 the Bishop executed law
that '.no man should be permitted to
practice ;hysic unless he had first sat-
isfied the bishop touching his religion.'
-SpOttiswOOde's History.
Men were appointed to search streets
and houses for those who did not a.
tend church. to differ from tile clergy
was heresy, and to pass them on the
streets without salutatiOn was u crime,
their names being regarded as sacred,
and not to he used in public papers un.
less the consent Of the holy man han
previously been acknowledgements
History.
AS the clergy were sent by the AL
mighty, they were rightly termed All.
gels. and 1t WAS the duty Of the people
to listen to their minister as such.-
Durham.
Stars followed the holy men at noon
day. Spiritualism raped them to SER
vice in the morning. Gods voice was
audiOly heard in their presence, beasts
warned them of death, and men died ut
their command; thunder. earthquake,
disease, blights, crop failures, cold
winter, dry summer, were all direct
visitations of God. It was sin to
visit friend on Sunday, and even to
pay any attention to health on Sunday
was sin; to walk in the field, or to
ride, or to enjoy fine weather from
your own door was u sin; all comforts
were sinful; the great object of life was
to be in state Of constant Aff1ic-
tion.
ITO be poor, dirty and hungry. to
pass through life III misery, and leave
it with fear; to be plagued with boils
and sores, in u word to suffer constant
affection, was proof of goodness;
whatever was natural was wrong.
These self -tormenting observances are
the inevitable issue Of the. theological
spirit if it is not checked. .''-BuckIe.
But enough Of this. There is TO end
to such quotations if it were proper to
50 abuse your paper. and sickem the
reader, and no more is needed to give
authority to my FIRST chapter. Tie
trouble seems to rest in the claim OF
infallibility, since If belief is absolute,
! from divine authority, there can be no
change. hence it is right to force by
every means the acceptance of such q
faith, and the interest of the clergy has
always prompted them to seek to hold
the mind within their control, to give
permanence to the profession, to say
nothing of the conservative tendency
of theology az a profession. They have
always degraded the moral nature ol
man; they have ever taught there was
no good in him. no matter how hard
he> tries to elevate his standatd; he
Is told that he is in league with Satan,
and unless he takes u run through their
rat.hOlB, he can never see daylight in
this world or the next. Let W have
more faith in the God of heaven, let
US believe there is no mistake or failure
in the way we are conditioned,
''And for the things we see.
We1l trust the things to BE-"
Says Buckle, ''these are the results al
that accursed spirit. which. whenever
it has had the power has punished ev.
en- to death. those who dared to differ
from it, and which, now that the pow
er has passed away, still continues t0
dopmatize on the most mysterious sub.
jects, Hampers with the most sacred
principles of tho human heart, and
darkens with its inevitable supersti'
tions those sublime questions that no
one should rudely touch. because they
are for each after the manner OF biz
own soul. because they lie in that un.
known tract which separates tho flnitl
from the Infinite, and btcause they aI(