The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1892-01-05

>0A0 w GAlADA
his request regarding the charity ball
was confined to the Cumberland Pres.
byterian church alone. That request
was not . prohibition, it was not q
bull of the Pope, it was merely q re-
quest as from one friend to another.
1.-THE tenets and practices of this
church," sad Rev. Stephens, "are
known to all, it meant a Christian
Lite ,ssumed voluntarily, it was organ.
IL ed for distinct purpose, the saving
of the people and the expOund;ng Of
Christian life Il only ask" CON
tinued the speaker, "that the bail and
the hospital bo separated and that
each Institution stand upon its own
merits. Lc.us nc. d terminate ia these
thin, a,.! T. t-~h land or tall upon
lis aRI ..,.i'. ''.,.sls was alGayS
;l,e Champ; 1 he weak ani nn!or-
tGra,r q athletes, aa' the .riy
repre-.u stiye Of uls rsliei a, earth
IS 81, REGION u. tou-at AN, OBJ.
.o.-u.'..' .raf. / ..i s'aI g u
al. IN sis a.f..r. a".. 80 nd
. trat "a Fni-. a.. been made ~
the in ca.r-e OF 'le ball. lat IL
reputable sharar,e's are t. be kept
out. Think OF it, in he name oi
charity, it is exceedingly rnkiud to
keep anyone out. This church is open
to any man or woman. This church
promises to liir up the fallen. The
church of Jesus has never been any.
thing else but the friend of the sinful
and suffering. Infidels never built a
hospital, you can't find where a hos
pital has been built by them. Hos
pitfalls are due to Christian civilz ,tion.
Christianity is the only philanthropy
which takes hold of q poor man.
Plato's teachings could not accom-
plish this. Aristotle, with all his msg.
ni6cent learning, could not do it. 1t
remained for the church of Christ
alone to take up the poor man. The
bible is the poor mans book. Europe
never heard of q hospital until che
heard Of Christ, hospitals were not
heard Of until the fourth century and
they were the direct result of Christ
ian teachings. Jerome was the first
TO erect hospital, Fabian. a Christian
woman of Rome, erected the first
hospital there. The ministry of the
poor is the ministery of God.
Charity is not all of
our religion. 1t is as much the duty
of the Christian man to keep himself
unspotted from the world as it is to
visit tie widow and the fatherless. 1t
is the duty o: the church to keep her.
self unspotted. The charity ball il a
questionable enterprise in the view Of
nine tentbs of the people. l have
nothing to say to those who are not
Christians, but when the ball room,
enters my church my voice shall be
raised in solemn protest. It is my
duty. The charity ball is question
able and this elbows an element of
weakness. IF there is any feature
that is questionable, it destroys my
strength. The ball is to be on New
Years eve, the old year received from
the hand of God, the new year to be
ushered in when you are in the giddy
whirl of the dance. How many are
willing to 90 up to God with that
record. I don't think dancing is the
objectionable sin. am not fanatic.
People say there are worse things,
possibly, l am not prepared to say
whether it is worse to lie or steal.
The question isis the ball right The
bell room dwarfs spiritual life. The
ball room makes men pygmies instead
of giants. There are Christians, who,
in the face of temptation, fatten out.
The church Of Jesus Christ wants men
who grow broader and taller under
opposition, such men as John Knox.
as Luther, as Calvin. 1t is no di-cred-
it 10 stand up for God in this test
question. No Christian can afford to
take the cast Of the world upsn him.
No Christian ought to be found spy
place where he is unwilling to be call.
ed into the presence of God. The
Christian cannot afford to ally him
self with questionable things, because
the bible says avoid the appearance Of
evil. / have never been the con.
science of any man or woman. There
is way to determine whether to 60
or not. 1t is the middle claes, the |
''mugwump" class, 1 am speaking to,
those who are undecided. Take the
bible, 60 to some quiet roou, read
the 25th psalm, 4th and 5th verses,
and before you read, ask God to
make the meaning clear, then read
the 9Th of Mathew, 18th verse and
then, if you can conscientiously do
- 80 ~o0