Blue-grass blade., 1892-02-20

uio hot hhoW thpt dil iiotiobc oh"
all the world, and every creature,
and such phrases of the Great
Commission would include the
Gentiles, 1 say if such rustics
could convert three thousand in
one day and five thousand on an
other day, surely Sweeney and his
church, assisted by all the powerful
improvement of this modern
movement" have had ample
time to gather in all the available
souls in Kentucky. Have they
done it? Have they nearly done
it? Has the success of "the move
ment" under most favorable Cir
cumstances amazed any one? In
actual operation has "the move
ment" proved all talk and bluster,
all a vanity and a vexation of
spirit, all a striving after wind?
To one accustomed to the big
counties of California, Bourbon
county, Kentucky seems mere
potato patch or a bluegrass pas
ture, but little larger in extent
than one of the perpendicular
walls of Yosemite Valley. Leav.
ing oud the rest of Kentucky. has
the highly favored "movement"
of modern schoolism conquered
that little spot? No, no, no! 1t
seems like rasping sarcasm to ask
such a question.
According to the Blue Grass
Blade the Devil not only owns and
controls the county and the
county town, but the churches
also, and the preachers seems
powerless to repel its terrific and
repeated attacks. | suppose that
they would annihilate the impu-
dent Blade if they were free
enough from practical iDfidelity,
such as the Pharisees had, to ena
BILE them to WELD "the sword OF
the Spirit as Christ, our Captain
designed his soldiers should WELD
it.
To give a slight idea of the diff
ference between fighting for In
gersoll's theoretical infdelity at
long range, and of defending ones
own practical infidelity in hand
to hand and cheek by jowl contest
let me close by quoting a few
sentences from the heather Blade.
"Bourbon has given its name
to the bottled damnation that has
carried its fame to every nook and
corner of the earth where Chris
tian fools can be found to drink
it." If there is a devil, Bourbon
county is nearer and dearer to his
heart than any other place of it:
size on earth.
eff / should take a contract tc
bore we'll so deep that the arte
sian fires of hell would spout out
l should pick for the place where
hell comes nearest the surface, an6
would rig my derrick in front O
the Christian church in Paris
Kentucky.
"Think of the moral degreda.
ton of a people who can boast, al
those of Bourbon do, that thei1
county has given the name to &
damnable drink which men have
put into their mouths to stea
their brains away and which hai
produced so many murderes, anC
shed SO much blood and so many
tears, and made such groans ant
agonies of women and helpless
wailing of children!
Miserable, ignorant, misguided
benighted peoplel You sing o
sending the gospel to the heather
Of 'Greenland's icy mountains ant
India's coral strand and yet ther,
are millions of heathen who would
spurn with contempt the fame o
which you boast"
Will parson Sweeny and the
other preachers of that country
like good shepherds, defend theil
fieeced fiocks against this bowling
wolf, and demonstrate that theil
!. progressive churches" have nc
ungodly league with the liquor
traffic, and that they are not foster
ing and Encouraging practical in
fidelity such as crucitied Jesus
My guess is that Sweeny would
rather run to and fro through tn,
earth and debate some such deel
proposition as that nine times nine
are eighty-one, or that immersion
is baytism. or that the sum of the
angles of any triangle is equal tt
two right angles. Such intellect
ual contests would not wrench anC
twist their moral makeup out o
shape half like ridding themselve:
of practical infdelity. They
ought to get dozen or two more
pipe organs, or else return tc
God with full purpose of heart
They should be ashamed to let an
avowed infidel tear around like 8
cyclone.
Now since modern schoolism
under the most advantageous cir
cumstances is such failure, anC
is but a thing for avOwed infidelity
to kick and spit on, where are the
"grace and grit and gumption'
that would have Others expert
ment with the Pharisaical thing il
they have other and higher uses
for religion than mere business
and social advantages! Where?
San Jose, California.
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