St. Landry democrat., 1885-01-24
THE REAL INFIDELs.
Abstract of the Sermon Preach.
ed Yesterday in tine Uni-
tartan Church.
BY REV. CHAs. A. ALLEN.
n. o. Picayune.
IAN evil heart Of unbelief. Heb. 8:l2.

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IAN evil heart of unbelef."-Heb. s:l2.
On the steep and rocky hill
around which ancient Athens was
built there once stood, long centu-
RES ago, magnificent group Of
temples. Even their ruins are the
wonder of the world. But many
wars have ragged around that rocky
hill. Persian, Roman, Goth and
Turk have in turn besieged and
ravaged it. Cannon have shattered
the beautiful columns rough mill
tary walls once hid the stately en-
ce-portico, and whole temples
disappeared in the accumulations
of wreck. But, within the present
century, all this has changed. The
ruins have been cleared away; the
rough walls torn down, and the
fragments of lovely temples have
been discovered and again put to-
gether.
Somewhat like this has been the
history Of that spiritual temple
which we call Christianity. In the
New Testament we see its primitive
lovliness. But the Cloths and
Turks Of disputations theology have
battered and shattered it till little
of its original beauty remained. In
These recent wears however. the old
controversial wars have mostly
ceased; the military walls have
been taken down, and many of the
lovely fragments of the ancient
shrine have been found and replac-
ed. Everywhere to-day, in all de-
nominations, Christian people are
trying to rebuild this spiritual tenn
ole, of which Jesus Christ is the
corner stone.
WHAT CAUSED THE RUIN.
The cause of this lamentable
wreck was the infdelity OF the
church itself.
For the new Testament speaks
ofno other infdelity than that which
makes Christian professions and
then is false to those professions.
Infdelity means unfaithfulness or
falseness. And just as real Chris
tianity is not matter of words and
opinions, but a spiritual reality, a
sweet and holy type OF character,
spirit and life that were incarnated
in Jesus, and then transmitted
through sanity lives from genera
ton to generation, so real infdelity
is practical falseness to the spirit
and life Of Christ.
II you wish to see a striking proof
of this, read the parable of the I'M
faithful servant, as it is told by two
evangelists in almost the same
words. For In the twelfth chapter
Of Luke, it is said that this man is
punished by being cast out among
the "unbelievers, while, in the Gath
chapter Of Matthew, he is said to
have been cast out among the "hy-
pocrites.' Thus the hypocrites,
and not the men who hold mistaken
opinions, are the infdels whom the
New Testament condemns. As DR..
Chalmers, the eminent Scotch Pres
byterian, long ago pointed out,
"faith" in the New Testament is a
right state of the heart and not a
right creed. "Heresy," when con-
demned in the New Testament, as
Bishop Jeremy Tayor said, means
some practical impiety" and es-
pecially the spirit of contention SO
that the real heretics are those who
try to create dissension among pro-
fessed Christians. And "unbelief,"
as the epistle to the Hebrews says,
is ian evil heart" and NOT an error
of the head.
REAL CHRISTIANITY.
Very early the Church fell into
the calamitous mistake Of fancying
that the essence and power Of Chris
tianity could be stated in any mere
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