Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1890-07-26
A PRoHIBITIoN1sT TALKS.
He Will Not Support a Man Who Be-
smirches His Priestly Robe With
Politics.

opened, the first gun has
been fired. The Issue publishes
what it calls DIR. Kelley's great
speech. l neither controvert nor
criticise its estimate of it. The Doc
tor himself clearly enough defines
the relation of the church to the Gov
eminent, when in that speech he
raises this question and answers it:
"You ask if he (God) intends to have
the church run the Government? l
answer no! thousand times no. AS
an organization the church has no
rights, as related to the Government,
but those of teaching right moral
principles and petitioning for right
laws comfortable thereto. The
church indorses no party, dominates
no candidates, but she must stand by
principles in her teaching, and her
members must vote their principles
at the ballot-box or else deny that
the Lord has bought us with his
blood" Further on he asks another
question, the answer to which is not
so satisfactory. "But ought preach
er to take part in politics? In ordina>
ry cases, no! for he has more import
ant work to do. But in our revolu.
tionary struggle the question of hui
man liberty became an issue so great
proportions that the Presbyterian and
Baptist preachers were found fore
most in propagating the principles
and foremost in the fight. When,
in the recent war, it became evident
that the country demanded every
man, the preachers were found with
the foremost" l must be permitted
to say that, to my mind, the refer
ences furnish neither parallel nor
precedent. In times of revolution,
when the foundations are being over
turned, when the land and when the
pastoral relations and work are Writ
ually destroyed, public judgment will
much more readily excuse preachers
for entering an army, when there is
nothing else left for them to do, than
for accepting a nomination for po-
litical Office when the current Of
things is not unusually disturbed;
besides, they gave up, their old pas
toral relations and charges when they
entered into the new relations.
l want to lay down my conviction:
here and now as an honest man, 6
preacher of the gospel, and a prohi'
bitionist, BY sort of universal con
census a man called of God to thu
ministry and set apart to that sacred
Office by fasting and prayer and i'm
position of hands, with the voluntary
assumption of such VOWS as the Ordi
nation service of the Methods
Church imposes, so long as he ha
freedom of choice, is bound to tina
work for which he has been conse
Grated. Let that man maintain, il
spirit and form, the sacred dignity 0
his Office and even wicked men vii
reverence and fear him, as Heroo
Antipas did John the Baptist. Blu
let him by any act of his admit tina
any other work is equally importan
to him, or let him be drawn into tn
field of political struggle, and nc
only will ne suffer in his minister's
character and influence, but tn
, whole church will suffer, and tn
loss sustained in one direction wi
be greater than the gain secured i
the other.
f 1 have not talked with MethC
dist preacher yet but felt som
doubts or misgivings as to the pre-
priety of nominating the pastor of
t church for a political Office. Their
r is a universal feeling that it is nc
l just right. These preachers will tie
us from the pulpit that when thin
: is doubtful we must avoid it to
safe, Yet many of them by thei
votes will indOrse thing of doubt
a full propriety, and thereby establish
: precedent which is likely to wor
/. untold detriment to the pastoral re
: lation and the church, and which il
e the end will hurt the cause they see
to advance. This prohibition move
ment is one of vast Importance, an
n while believe it will finally SUE
: coed, and that through prohibitio
s party, there are yet many years (
: struggle before it; and if, in the il
fancy of the party, extraordinar
IS cases are found which require pastor
e to turn away from "more importar
g work." who can assure us that IL
i growth of the party will not develC
= many still more extraordinary case