The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1892-03-10

tksn Sss - tA4s 'is~ss ssfTs&a Ssaasuss kF Ia
isghs q the torch. he trt~i ats ss.ssk-
tnaashsp The fourth tsnu. bat he gcand
no gasee. Then the other haaies tried
= shos. TIE .ys aroppe1. They wuas
/ mp tn find tbs E&nse; found It nes Hat
/ they heard behind thc1n the negro l.oy !
In grea. glec laughing over sesssshsng.
They asked hi2s what was the asasrT.
BE replied; :
Amelia hghtAoasel Five tsllss awayt
yoa have besn shcoting at the light
houss."
Their game was purely imaginary.
They found ont their mistake 1t last anl
proceeded 10 hunt real gssne. .
oF SATANIC osiutS.
The troahle with the colonel Is that
he has not yei found ont hls mistake, !
and he Is siiil firing away as though hs
were doing wonders. lie sess up this
imaginary object and prSces-ds ~ do
niolssh {, When he makes such an AS
scrtioa be again proclaims tha fact that
he has ltot been to church lately. In
fact, jriging from this statement. iss
has aet been 10 church In about fifty
| years, and what Ia worse, the last ti,na
hc was at church. tifty years ago. tho
probability ID tina, he did no: uaaerStAnd
| what he heard.
The doctrine Of Total Dopravity Is ono
that Christianity Is in no sense responsi.
BILE for. Ii l. a slandcr centuries old,
but is none the less a slauder. IL l. "a
slander OF Almighty God, slandor
upon Christ and his church. Ny own
idea is that IL originated with tho devil.
do not charge tho colonel with orig.
mating this assertion. l do charge hsm
with circulating malicious slandcr.
Il seems 10 me that there came a time In
the history of the forces Of evil below
when his Satanic majesty conceived a
brilliant plan OF campaign. He said,
If can only convince tho world that
Christianity means tho abrogation Of
manhood; If can only produce the inn
preston that 10 be n Christian means to
be less man, and THAI the man who
enters the Christian life must resign all
that is beautiful snd good and worth
having in this world. then | viii sue
ceed in trapping thousands whore one
would fall otherwise. The devil should
certainly build a monument 10 tho man
who first taught this doctrine: for IL Ia
calculated 10 deceive the very elect. IL
has played wild havoc with tho church
III the past.
Thank God we are reaching the pc
riod when such sIander no longer has
force over the minds of the followers Of
Christ. They are learning now what
Christ really taught. Nobody believes
now within organic, so called orthodox
circles in such q doctrine. Whenever
you hear an old man get up and confess
that he is the greatest sinner in tho
world, and that he Is altogether wicked
and altogether evil he Is simply repeat
ing traditional theology which is not q
| part of his life, for If brother ON the
other side the church should re. up In
reply and agree with him, and declare
that he was<he biggest scoundrel in tho
church, there certainly would be n fight.
This is simply the chatter of tradition.
| 1t has no part in real Christian life.
OF ROYAL LINEAGE.
So far from Christianity teaching that
the whole human race Is by nature de
praved and that man is totally depravod,
Jesus Christ taught the very opposite,
namely, that Christianity Is intrinsically
divine, sin intrinsicafiy inhuman and un-
natural.
Open tie book Of Christianity and SEQ
| IL this Is not true. You viii find Ii shad-
owed forth in the Old Testament before
the founder of Christianity came upon
the scene. The Old Testament teaches
In the very opening chapter, in the frst
lesson God taught the infant class Of ths
human race, that God made man in his
own image. He did not make man in
| the image of the devil, but in man God
reproduced himself. Again, the Psalm
list tells us that he made him e. .littls
lower than the angels" And now tho
later Translation puts it, "a little lower
than God" echoing the first great lesson
taught in Genesis. When the prophets
of old looked out upon SHINING, erring
people their cry invariably set forth this
divine truth. The cry of their hearts
was ever the cry Of the prophet Of tears:
Return, thou backsliding Israel. Only
come back. win not chide; will for
give; will not keep anger" This APP
peal recognized the clement 70 which IL
appealed. So Jesus Christ taught, and
% did his apostles teach. Open the New
Testament and you find it upon almost
every page.
First-Christ teaches tine intrinsic di-
vinity of humanity in his doctrine of
child salvation. He teaches it with an
emphasis that marks the thought pre-
| cIninently in his ministry. His disciples
had driven the children away from the
great master. Christ turns upon them.
with anger. The Word says that "He
was moved with indignation" but tine
Greek declares that he was angry. This
word signifying anger is used only once
to describe the emotions that swept the
heart of Christ, and this was the occa-
sion. Jesus turned to his shortsighted
disciples with those immortal words
never to be forgotten, Suffer the little
children TO come unto me; forbid thea
not. for Of such is the kingdom OF heay-
en- He distinctly declared that heaven
is peopled with hosts of little children.
He distinctly declared that every child
is an incarnation Of the breath of God.
That every babe born into the world u
from the throb Of Gods heart.
Second-Jesus taught again this sub
lime truth in his attitude toward the
outside world. The proud Pharisee and
Jewish teachers would not enter the
homes of the poor and degraded. To
enter meant pollution. But the great
Galiiean Teacher went from humble
home to home, raingled with tie poor
and the outcast, and one of the ACCUSE
tions which they brought against him
was that he was the friend of publicans
and sinners. He loved man as man. He
ministered TO man as man, teaching that
man as man is worthy. The bowling
mob brings before the master trembling
woman taken In sin. They clamor for her
life. They expect now TO see this teacher
of law visit upon the offender the venge-
ance Of violated law. Bot Jesus could
see through the exterior, through out
ward clamor. he looked not at that which
was without, bat at that wslich was
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