The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1892-02-25


LIST N again cieaxiy emphA&izs tho fact |
that the Christianity Of tradition and his
tory ID one thing and the Chrsssaxnity al
tho Christ b another. The foros Of Coionel
IngcrsoliS assault 10 always found In his
attack upca historic pervcrxaons Of txus
Christianity. When he azsails narrow
ness and bigosry and superstition and
ecclesiasticism. he h on solid ground I
heartily agree with many Of the posi-
tons he has taken upon these questions,
but the Christianity Of Christ 10 ono
thing and tho historic prvsrsions Of
that ChristiAnity entirely another thing
This definition II an attempt 70 give
N the mesning Of real ChristiAniAy. AT
least, upon the surface, such would b
tho impression Of the ordinary rsadsr.
The colonel thwein displays ignorance
profound. Painful. paShstia eaoA .
blunder vitissss al that may follow
based upon such . conception His tss-
timcny, afesr snch . ds6nftioa 10 real
Chxistiantty. II absolutely w0thassA
Parts Of what he ssys may b partly DE
truth. and yet 1t is half truth that u
the farthest removed from the real
truth You may 20 accent that which
Ia true that IL may be the vefy antithesis
Of the truth
WHY ROME BURNED
The colonel here reminds me sS tho
boy who was studying history, His
teacher told him that the Emperor
Nero played the fiddle while Rome
burned" Hs went homo and told his
mother that the Emperor Nero was
playing the fiddle 30 they burned
Rome!- The language hs used was al
most identical with the language Of the
teacher. and yet the boy declared that
they burned Rome because they did not
like the tune that Nero played he al
most got it right But In almost stating
the truth he missed IL the moro COM
pletely.
And yet we must not Judge the colonel
too harshly. We cannot demand too
much Of o man who makes no profession
Of Christianity. Especially we must not
be severe in Judgment upon the failure
Of such q man to know true Christianity
when we remember the tragic blunders
of the apostles themselves. Christs own
chosen followers misunderstood him up
TO the very day Of his death. They drew
their swords and attempted to defend
him by force. He had to rebuke them
and TO explain again that his kingdom
was not Of this world; not Of force. but
Of the spirit. His leading disciples were
found wrangling over the first places in
the kingdom temporal which they sup
posed he had come to establish.
Though they lived thus In daily con-
tact with Christ, 90 far above their range
Of vision was his real mission that not
until after his death did this meaning Of
bis words begin to dawn upon their
souls. When we remember how his
own chosen misunderstood him. and his
professed followers have belied their
professions and have failed to under
stand his mission through the years OF
the past, and have committed 30 many
crimes in his sacred name. we must not
be too harsh in our judgment Of such a
man as Ingerson IL he fail to find the
secret Of the great heart of the true
Christ The failures of men through all
these ages to comprehend the height and
depth and glory of his mission only bring
out in bold relief tho sublime proportions
Of the truth that he came to teach.
What is the Christianity Of Christ,
What is the Christianity for which thil
church stands today, for which | as q
minister am striving7 do not ask wha'
has been taught in the past about Chris
tianity by theologians and expounders Of
systems Of philosophy ask what is thu
Christianity for which the living church
strives and stands in this hour Of tht
Nineteeuth century,
The Chsisttanity Of Christ u that hear
foith uhich n,anifests itself IN q life O
loue, loue to God and man. Iovs 70 Go<
through lors to md2-
, DEVILS BHllRvK.
First-We say it Is q heart fsith
with the heart man believeth." Chris
tian faith Is not feat of the iptellec
/ over a philosophic proposition. 1t Is a
, attitude Of the soul Devils believe
Belief in itself does not constitute Chris
tianity. A man may believe any system
Of theology he may select. and hav
Inething Of Christ in his heart OF lite
Theology Is Of the head Religion Is o
, the heart. Theology is a science. Re
, igion Is life Man in not merely wha
, he believes. A creed in itself has q
) necessary connection with conduct 4
, man may believe all things as an intel
lectual fact and accept nothing connect
|, ed Herewith as a. moral fact. He ma
/ accept every dogma Of the mstori
; creeds Of all the ages and yet have with
: in heart as black as hell 1ntenectua
belief plays upon the surface Of life. ]
;. does not touch the center Of mans being
! With the heart man believeth. 'Out Q
the heart are the issues Of life.'
BEHIND A HAysrAcK.
A mans professions Of creeds o.. phi
losophies may bs one thing, his actus
a character another. Profession, In fact
may or may not signify reality. Is
man a soldier and patriot He profess
!. to be a soldier he wears . uniform
|: He has epauIets On his shoulders. b
has brass buttons on bis coat, . strip
. down his pantaloons, belt with an en-
blazoned buckle strapped with his swort
|. But is he soldier? he pr9esses to
one. We can only learn whether he
: when we see him in the fight Now th
o battle is joined Across the plains the ol
= posing hosts charge upon each other wit
d deadly fury. The deld b swept wit
4 storms Of bullets, shot and she'll No
n walk over the field and you win find u
n soldiera On such an occasion. con
. mander passing over the field found
. subordinate officer crouching behind
! haystack. Turning upon him, be d
d manded. What sort Of . place 10 tn
e for SOU, SIR The reply that greet<
' him was. why, do you really thin
n the bullets can come through Tn
n man wore the full uniform Of bsttl
o. He had on an the accoutermeuts OF wa
r Sut he was as Ear removed from so
d aier a. though he hsd been thousar
v miles removed from that battlefield.
: Belief about Christian history az
fdoovua ;~ MT (hrixtiaufty Be6ef 8bOl