Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-04-11
THAT PECULIAR SPEECH.
Rev. Grafton breaches on the May
Or's Attack on Christianity.
Taking Oh irritable View of the Me-
Conochie Doctrine and Defend
ing His Faith From the
Strange Assertions.

Rev. T. W. Grafton, pastor o the
Christian church, preached from the top.
ic, docs Christianity Foster Tyranny"
last evening. taking as his text the words
of Christ:
''Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
! make you free
In commencing his discourse the
preacher quoted this passage from the
sensational address of Mayor McConochie
| in welcoming the head officers of the
Modern Woodmen to Rock Island at the
Hsrper's theatre meeting in honor of their
visit here.
Il am sorry to say, but it is fact
nevertheless, and the history of the world
will prove the truth of my assertion, that
christianity and tyranny have always
marched hand in hand down through all
the ages in al their efforts to suppress
the spreading of universal liberty and
free thought
Mr.. Grafton took charitable view of
the intent of the mayors remarks and
saiG that while they had been construed
into an attack on our churches, he did
not believe The author 30 intended it.
| Nevertheless IS understood, it is an in
justice to the cause of Christ that needs
resentment. II he had said, "Romsnism
and tyranny had marched hand in hand
down the ages" said Mr. Grafton, the
candid student of history would be CON-
PEELED to assent. But there is wide
difference between the man of sin" and
the sinless man, between medieval
christianity and either ancient or modern
christianity.
Mr.. Grafton claimed the voice of hiss
! tory would show that the Roman church
had been oppressive to true Christianity.
saying: Il grant you that Romanism be-
! came the enemy of free-thought when she
instituted the terrible requisition by
which from first to last 5000, 900 noble
lives were lost. because they dared to
think, and again when she inaugurated
! st. Bsrtholenew's day, in one terrible
night. in the city of Paris alone mum ber-
ing 90. 600 victims. Such is the voice OF
history. But, to charge that dark chap
ter of crime against Christianity is to be
willfully ignorant of the teaching of its
founder, and of the grand moral of
truth"
After this srraignment of the Roman
church Mr.. Grafton said:
Christianity has always been the friend
of liberty. 1t has been unreserved in Its
championship Of human rights. Take
| its constitution as announced in the SER
mon on the mount and the declaration of
independence is not more outspoken
against oppression. 1t proscribes not
only the open violation Of the rights of
man, but also he cherishing Of evil pas
sions which give rise to tyranny. The
citizen of the kingdom as described in
the Beslitudes can never be a tyrant
when Jesus said, Love your enemies,
bless them thai curse you. do good to
them that hate you, prav for them that
despitefully use you" He insugursted
revolution that means the ultimate over
throw of every enemy of human rights.
| The golden rule ne yer has and never can
foster tyranny.
Take the teaching of the apostles
to whom he committed his cause.
They attacked king-crsft and priest
craft when they said Eye are kings
and priests unto God" They under
mined the institution of slavery, where
they taught the common fstherheod Of
God and brotherhood of man. They
have banished the curse of polgsmY by
the pure ideal of the marriage relation
which they presented. Indeed the I'M
snsw cradle evidence of the genuineness
i OF christianity q that it should have orig
mated in such an age of tyranny and
breathed such spirit of liberty.
Then take the influence of the church
that cherishes an open bible. After
dark centuries Of oppression in which the
bible was unclaimed it again became the
possession of the people. and with the
| first ray of lighJ from its pages the strug-
gle for liberty began. In England, after
centuries of most terrible oppression
Wickliffe lighted the torch by his transls-
ton Of the gospel. Huss caught it from
the dying hand Of WicBl fife and hurled it
across the fifteenth century. Luz
ther made the morning of the sixteenth
century luminous with the light of its
truth and paved the way to the triumphs
of the nineteenth century. These cham
pions of liberty were men of christian
| faith. Nor can we forget the Pilgrim
Fathers, who caught the fire brand of
truth and planted it in our American for
ests, and by its light laying the founda-
ton of our free institutions. Have we
forgotten the influence of the pulpit and
christian patriotism on American slavery
Are we blind to the effort of the church
to break worse bondage today, the tyr
amy of alcohol. tyranny fostered not
by christianity, but by it's enemiesP No,
no, the triumph of christianity means the
downfall OF tyranny. Religious liberty,
intellectual freedom, political liberty have
always found champion in the Christ of
the gospel, in the truths proclaimed by