Morning journal and courier., 1884-11-17
GIVE US .LmERrY.


 The Rev. M. HI. Houghton oIamors 1 for Religions FreedOm-He Talks l About a New Church Called the | American Chureh-A Characteristic Sermon.
 Union armory was stirred to its very depths yesterday afternoon by the eloquence of the Rev. M. H. Houghton, who preached in the drill room to an audience of about 200 persons. The preachers clarion tones re- sounded throughout the building, waking the echoes in the rafters and setting the flags that remain from last winters carnivals all afuttering. MT. Houghton was in his best humor and preached thoroughly charae teristic sermon. He has lost none of his old time power. None of that originality of view and quaintness of expression, none of that depth of thought and breadth of candor which has made him famous, are wanting in the sermons which he is now delivering on Sunday afternoon to the Second regiment.
 T propose to speak to you this afternoon" said the reverend gentleman after thanking his auditors for their generous presence and speaking of the members of the regiment who were supposed to be present, " Ion the greatest question of modern times, religious freedom, or liberty of conscience, The text you will find in the thirty second verse of the eighth chapter of the gospel of John, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free Now the truth is the truth that we had lived long enough to be rid of slavery, but we are not. If you go up to the First Methodist church you will find that they build little wall around themselves and no one can get in unless 8 presented faith is acceptable to him. Why, even in the Church of the Messiah where I used to preach some of the old deacons are as close and narrow-minded as any old fogy of Presbyterian deacon. I tell you these things are all wrong, and don't you forget that. The time is coming when all men will be given religious freedom. And until every man, woman or child can say what he please and believe as he pleases without losing caste among the church members, or being looked down upon, I tell you there is no such thing as religious freedom. And men are be- ginning to feel the truth of what I say. Men in the churches are really daring to take little liberty. Even some of the good old deacons nibble off 8 corner of the creed here and there, and round it off to suit themselves. Some of the ministers in this place not considered quite sound because they are talk ing little religious freedom.
 ftBut a new church is to be formed. The last church has not sprung up yet. Yes, thank God, the new church is coming and it will be founded on the freedom of conscience And should call that church the American church. It will be run the American idea of perfect freedom to all. A man should be able to say what he wants to provided he don't interfere with every other nan's iber- ty or impede his progress.
 ''Why, I'll tell you how they do up in these churches. They let man stay out in the world till he becomes good and then they take him in. If he should happen to get bad, they fire him out into the world again and let him stay there. Then when he be- comes good they take him in again. And he can't go in at all if he should say, T don't believe in the Trinity, or in the total de- pravity of the race or if he says T never could swallow the miracles" It re- minds one of what a minister once said at a funeral of man who had lived an honest life, paid his debts and never cheated his customers, but had never joined the church or been baptized or anything of that sort. So the good man was terribly puzzled as to what to say. He couldn't send him up to heaven, because that wouldn't do at all. Nor could he send him down to hell, because the man had been goOo one. 90 aIGer scraIcnlnS ms head and thinking while he said: I don't know what to do with you so guess I'll mark you 0. o. D. and let you go.'
 "And this new church must give more freedom to it's members. We are on this perfectly gorgeous world to make the most of it. We must be as happy as we can and en- joy ourselves all we can in any pleasure that is not incompatible with our mental and moral unfolding I saw 8 report of 8 sermon preached by minister in this town in which the man said, T would rather see my daugh- ter dead than see her enjoying the social dance.' I don't know whether the preacher used that language not, but I see my friend the reporter here and he looks honest.
 ''Oh, my friends, let us throw off all these shackles that have bound us so long and be free. Let us hail with great joy the arising of new church which shall give every man that religious freedom which he ought to have and which the good book says he will have when he finds the truth. And may God soon raise up prophet who shall found sucb new church y