The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-10-16

4 etoctEhCd iu4cC VI DADcDOiAbh III ANt
| years. say, leaving to others the selec-
] ton of the particular locality TO be thus
| honored. want to say some things from
1 the point of Christian patriotism which
\ ought to be said, and the earlier the bet
/ ter, that we get thousands OF people talk
| ing in the right direction. and that will
make healthful public opinion. l beg
you to consider powerfully what | feel
called upon of God as an American citi-
zen, and as preacher OF righteousness to
utter.
MY first suggestion is that it is not
wise, as certainly it is not Christian, to
continue this wide and persistent attempt
of American cities to belittle and de-
preciate other cities 1t has been going
on for years, but now the spirit seems to
eliminate in this discussion as to where
the worlds fair shall be held, a style OF
discussion which has tendency TO lnJure
the success of the fair as great moral and
patriotic enterprise, after the locality has
been decided upon. There is such thing
as healthful rivalry between cities, but you
will bear me out in saying that there can
! be no good to come from the uncanny
things said about each other by New York
and Chicago, by Chicago and st. Louis, bv
st. Paul and Minneapolis, by Tacoma and
Seattle, and all through the states by
almost every two proXimate cities. All
cities, like individuals, have their vir-
tues and their vices. All our Ameri-
can cities should be our eXultatiOn.
| What churches. What public libra
ries. What asylums of mercy What
academies OF music! What mighty men
in law, and medicine, and art. and uni
versities! What women radiant and
gracious and an improvement on all the
generations OF women since Eve, What
phianthropists, who do not feel satisfied
with their own charities until they get into
the hundreds of thousands and the mil
lions, What Gods acres for the dead,
gardens of beauty and palaces of marble
for those who sleep the last sleep! Now,
stop your SANDER Of American cities. Do
you say they are the centers of crime and
political corruption? Please admit the
fact that they are. centers of intelligence
and generosity and the mightiest patrons
OF architecture and sculpture, and paint
ing, and music, and reservoirs OF religious
influence for all the continent. 1t will be
we'll for the country districts to cease talk
ing against the cities, and it will be we'll
for the city of one locality to stop talking
against the cities of other localities. New
York viii not get the worlds fair by de-
preciating Chicago. and Chicago will not
get the worlds fair by bombarding New
York.
Another suggestion concerning the
coming exposition: let not the material
istic and monetary idea overpower the
moral and religious. During that exposi-
ton, the first time in all their lives. there
will be thousands OF people from foreign
lands who will see a country without a
state religion. Let us by an increased
harmony among all denominations of re-
ligion impress other nationalities as they
come here that year with the superior adj
vantage of having all denominations equal
in the sight of government. All the rul-
ers and chief men of Europe belong to a
state religion, whatever it may be. AL
though our last two presidents have been
presbyterlans, the previous one was an
episcopalian; and the two previous meth
Odists; and going further back in that line
line of presidents we find Martin Van Bu-
rem a Dutch reformed and John Quincy
Adams a unitarian; and a mans religion
in this country is neither hindrance nor
advantage in political elevation. All
Europe needs that All the world needs
! that A mans religion is something be-
tween himself and his God. and it must
not, directly or indirectly, be interfered
with.
Furthermore, during that exposition
| Christian civilization will confront bar
| barism. We shall as a nation have a
1 greater opportunity TO make an evangeliz-
ing impression upon foreign nationalities
| than would otherwise be afforded us in a
/ quarter of a century. Let the churches OF
/ the city where the exposition is to be held
/ be open every day and prayers be offered,
/ and sermons preached and dOxologles
/ l.. H. . 4 -,
I this and that worlds convocation let us
| get a baptism of the holy ghost, so that
! the six months of that worlds fair shall
/ be fifty Pentecosts in one, and instead Of
| 5000 converted, as in the former Pente-
| cost, hundreds of thousands will
| be converted. You must remem-
/ Der that the Pentecost mentioned in
/ the bible occurred when there was no
/ printing press, no books, no Christian
/ pamphlets, no religious newspapers, and
/ vet the influence was tremendous. How
many nationalities were touched? The
! account SAYS: Parthians, and Modes, and
! Elamites,' that is, people from the eastern
countries; 'Phrygia and Pamphylla,' that
| Is, the western countries; 'Cyrene and
strangers from Rome, Cretes and Arab
ans, that is, the southern countries, but
they were all moved by the mighty spec
tacle. Instead of the sixteen or eight teen
/ tribes of people reported at that Pentecost
/ all the chief nations of Europe and Asia,
| North and South America will be repre-
scented at our worlds fair in 1892, and a
| Pentecost here and there would mean the
savation OF the round world.
"But, you say, we may have at that fair
the people of all lands and all the
machinery for gospelization, the religious
| printing-presses and the churches, but all
that would not make a Pentecost; we mus
have God. Well, you can have him.
Has He not been graciously waiting? and
nothing stands In the way but our own
| unbelief, and Incidence, and sin May
God break down the barriersl The
grandest opportunity for the evangelical
ton OF all nations since Jesus Christ died
on the cross will be the worlds exposition
of 1892. God may take us out of the
harvest field before that, bullet it be known
throughout ChristendOm that that year
between May and November, will be the
mountain of Christian advantage, the
Alpine and Himalayan hight of Oppor.
tunity, overlapping all others for saliva.
ton. Instead of the slow process of hav.
ing to send the gospel to other lands by
our own American missionaries, who have
difficult toll in acquiring the foreign
language and then must content with for
eign prejudices, what a grand thing tc
have able and influential foreigners con
verted during their visit in America anc
then have them return to their native
lands with the glorious tidings! Oh, fol
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