The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-12-25

it should be the object of every man
in civilized communities, not only of
protesting church members. but of
every one who, like Abou Ben Adham,
Gloves his fellow man." to extend in
all directions the great truths of
Christ's church, till the annual recur-
renee of Christmas Day be greeted
with ringing of bells and songs of
Joy in every quarter of the globe
There are other reasons, too, for the
extension of this civilizing agent,
which appeal to those who are actu-
ated by the less exalted motive of
self-interest. An enlightened, intel
ligent man is worth more to his fell
lows than is a savage. The great
scientific and mechanical inventions,
which have so inestimably benefited
mankind, originated in Christian
countries, where the intellectual facul.
ties are of the highest order. There
are many secrets yet to be read from
the book of Nature, and it may be
she is holding them in reserve till her
Ignorant children of to day have been
taught to read, when she will unfold
her pages to their eyes.
The idea is not without illustra-
ton. The Carthagenian sailors who
first circumnavigated Africa, never
dreamed that ships would one day
cross those seas without sails and
against wind and tide. The subtle
Greek and the war-like Roman little
thought that from the barbarous
tribes which roamed the woods of
Northern Europe would arise nations
which should eclipse antiquity in the
splendor of their intellectual and
military achievement.
There are few men like Colonel
Robert G. Ingersoll and the anarch-
list, Herr Most, who deny that Christi
anity improves the condition of man
kind. They say the wandering tribes
that developed into the great nations
of Europe and America made them
selves great by their own exertions ;
that they belonged. to the great Indo-
European race, destined by nature
for sovereignty. If it is but ques-
ton of race and blood, why did the
mighty Medo-Persian Kingdom fall
into decay? Why have the once
magnificent empires of India passed
into history? They belonged to the
same family. There are in Western
and Southern Asia millions of the
Indo-European race who practice
paganism. None of them approach
enlightenment, and for the most part
they are either wild and barbarous
nomads or are held in subsection by
their Christianized cousins.
The Christian world will have it's
Christmas. Modern philosophy and
!, the higher critics may do what they
can in the way of smashing our be-
, liefs and destroying historical facts
g and systems into myths, but Christ
mas will survive the havoc. The
world may give up many things, but
it will never surrender this blessed
holiday. If Christmas were the ami
, versary of great and bloody battle.
if it were the birthday of mighty
. warrior, or patriot, or reformer, OF
humanitarian, if it were the anniver-
: sary of the exhibition of any one OF
what we call the heroic virtues, OF
. even of all of them put together, il
would have passed out of mems
, minds long ago. But because it is
; none of these, but the birthday Of
One who was not a warrior, mol
, patriot, nor statesman, nor orator,
nor poet, nor philosopher, nor hu.
manitarian, but a supernatural ex
emplar of the unheroic virtues meek.
: ness, gentleness, love and goodness
this is the secret of it's everlasting
E hold upon human affections. The