Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1891-06-15
THE BATTLE OF CREEDS.
DR.. TALMAGE GIVES A LIVELY SKETCH
OF THE HERESY HUNT

There Is an Exciting Question in Almost
Every Observation-Disclosures the Theolo-
giaus Losing Temper in the Discussion?
No 0ne Is Bettered by 1t.
BROOKLYN, June IA. DIR. Talmage
dealt in his sermon this morning with
the very timely topic, THE Battle OF
Creeds After so long and exhaustive
a discussion in clerical circles and in
the secular press, there seemed nothing
more to be said on the subject. DR..
TaImage, however, has his own way of
looking ut all subjects. and even PEG
pie who thought they knew all that
could be said on both sides received
light from the fresh and original con-
tribution which he made to the contro-
versy His text was taken from Prov
cribs XVI. II, He that passeth by and
neddleth with strife belonging not to
him is like one that taketh a dog by
the ears.
Solomon here deplores the habit of
rushing in between contestants, OF tax
ing part in the antagonisms of others,
of joining in fights which they ought to
shun They do no good to Others and
get damage for themselves. He com
pares it to the experiment of taking a
dog by the ears Nothing so initiates
the CANNES as to be clutched by the
Tugs. Take them by the back of the
neck and lift them and it does not seem
to hurt or offend; but You take the dog
by the ear and he will take you with
his teeth In all the history of ken
nels no intelligent or spirited dog will
stand that Now, says Solomon,
you go into quarrels or controversies
that are not yours and you will get lac
Grated and torn and bitten. He that
passeth by and meddleth with strife be
longing not to him is like one that
!aketh a dog by the ears.
This is a time of resounding ecclesi-
asticaI quarrel. Never within your
memory or mine has the air been so
full of missiles The Presbyterian
church has on hand a controversy so
great that it finds it prudent to post
pone its settlement for at least one
more year, hoping that something will
turn up Somebody might die or a
new general assembly may have grace
to handle the exciting questions. The
Episcopal church has cast ont some re-
calcitrants, and its digestive organs are
taxed to the utmost in trying to assimi-
late others Shall women preach?"
''Or be sent as delegates to confer
ences" are questions that have put
many of our Methodist brethren on the
anxious seat. and the waters in some
of the great tapestries are troubled
waters
Because of the controversies through
out Christendom the air is now like an
August afternoon about o'clock,
when it las been sreaning hot all day,
and clouds are gathering, and there are
lions Of thunder with grumbling voices
and flashing eyes coming forth from
their cloudy Iairs. and people are wait
ing for the full burst of the tempest
| am not much of a weather prophet,
but the clouds look to me mostly like
wind clouds 1t may be a big blow,
but | hope it will soon be over. In re-
gard to the Battle of the Creeds. | am
every day asked what | think about it.
l want to make it so plain this morn
ing what think that no one will ever
ask again.
LEAVE 1T TO THE JURYMEN.
Let those who are jurymen in the
case, l mean those in the different &c
clesiastical courts. have the questions
put directly before them, weigh and de-
eide Let the rest of us keep out. The
most damaging thing on earth is reli-
gous controversy No one ever comes
out of it as good a man as he goes in.
Some of the ministers, in all denomi-
nations. who, before the present acer
bity wei% good and kind and useful,
now seem almost swearing mad
These brethren notice always open
their violent meetings with prayer be-
fore devouring each other, thus saying
grace before meat. They have a moral
hydrophobia that makes us think they
have taken a dog by the ears. They
never read the inprecatOry Psalms of
David with such zest as since the
Briggs and Newton and MacQueary
and Bridgman and Brooks questions
got into full swing. May the rams of
the sheepfold soon have their horns
sawed off Before the controversies
are settled a good many ministers will,
through what they call liberalism, be
landed into practical infdelity, and
Others, through what they call con
servatisn, will shrink up into bigots
tight and hard as the mummies OF
Egypt which got through their contro-
versies three thousand years ago.
This trouble throughout Christen-
dom was directly inspired of Satan.
He saw that too nuch good was being
done, Recruits were being gathered
by hundreds of thousands to the Cos
pei standard. The victories for God
and the truth were too near together
Too many churches were being dedi-
Gated. Too many ministers were be-
ing ordained. Too many philanthropies
were being fostered. Too many souls
were being saved. 1t had been a dull
time in the neither world, and the ar
rivals were too few.
So Satan one day rose upon his
throne and said, rye powers of dark
ness, hear!" And all up and down the
caverns the cry was, Hear! Hearr
Satan said: There is that American
board of commissioners for foreign
missions. 1t must either be demolished
or crippled, or the first thing you know
they will have all nations brought to
God. Apollyon the Younger You go
up to Andover and get the professors to
discussing whether the heather can be
saved without the Gospel. Divert them
from the work of missions and get
them in angry convention in a room at
Young's hotel, Boston, and by the time
they adjourn the cause of foreign mis-
sions will be gloriously and magnif-
Gently injured. Diabolus the Younger!
You go up and get Union Theological
seminary of New York and the general
assembly of the Presbyterian church at
Detroit at swords points and diverted
from the work of making earnest minis
tiers of religion, and turn that old
Presbyterian church, which has been
keeping us out of customers for hun
dreds of years, into a splendid pande-
mOnium on a small scale. Abaddon
the Thirdl You go up and assault that