The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1893-07-14
HOW CHRISTIANS ARE MADE.

last, Oh ono OF ne most SCnOldrly ser
mons ever preached in Great Falls. W.
refer to the sermon of the Rev. Mr.. Was
son at the Episcopal church.
To be thoroughly appreciated the en-
tire sermon should be heard or read. |,
vas given without notes, and made {
deep impression on the large congrega
ton present. The Episcopal pastor
combatted the notion that the church is
an invisible body as taught by some
t~heologions, and declared that it is a
body as distinct and tangible as any
other corporate body, and that like the
state, the secret societies, and other or
ders that have been organized for vari-
Gus purposes, the church required "A rite
Of initiation, and the mystic rite Of bap-
tism was the one selected by the founder
Of the Christian religion.
In defining what was meant by "the
church, the rcvernd gentleman did not
say that it comprises only n particular
sect, but the whole aggrega-
! tlBll VI DtblD III IlOlf55
the religion of Christ and are bap-
tiscd in his name. This he emphasized
by a repeated declaration that all per-
sons who are baptised for admission into
the Christian church, no matter as to
the form Of baptism, or the sect the be-
long to, are Christians, and all who are
n1t On In vtIcaI /. ~ pnt "a rinttnNa A.
an illustration Of this great truth he
mentioned the naturalization of foreign
born persons who desire to become citi-
zens of this republic. In this case there
is but one law which applies to all APP
plicants-the rich, the poor, they learned
and ignorant-all must be initiated in
the same way. Neither are there any
exceptions in any of the secret orders. A
man who wished to enter them must
conform to their ritua! or be rejected.
Good and bad must be in the church
as well as out Of it, ana so it was not to
be expected that all who were baptized
would be as good AS they ought to be.
IDul ullCI OllCD having Dc'u lLllIittu by
baptism nothing in their moral charac-
ter or conduct can deprive them Of their
right TO be called Christians. As in the
case Of an American who becomes a
criminal. lie may have to go to prison
or to the sCatfold for his crime, but is not
deprived OF his character as an Amnri.
can citizen, in fact his punishment
comes from overt acts committed as such
citizen.
At this point in the argument the par
able Of the wheat and the tarcs was used
to show that Christ himself expected
that good and bad people would be
mixed together IN the church and at
they would 60 on side by side until the
judgment day, when the tare5 will be
separated from IA" wheat and cast into
the fire.
There is |prp,ounI logic and consis
tency III the Christian faith, and these
not more forciblc at any point than
the initiation as thus %propoundcd by
Il i'dihC't tiColOB!uu. bdDtlS'l
helps the candidate by lis mystic
influence whether he be an infant or
has attained to years of discretion. The
soul of man naturally aspircs to a higher
plane of existence, and as sin in fact AS
well as in theology, brings the soul TO
destruction, the prayer and the effort
must ever be IL keep from sin. All that
can help man in this regard is worthy of
his highest thought and attention. and
is nothing more potent for this end
the public avOwal Of a fixed and
settled faith. We all know how a man
who joins the Masons and subscribes to
their tenets will strive through all the
Of his life to live up to the pro
he has made before his fellow
members. II this be true how much
greater must be the inspiration to good
Iess, mercy and peace, Of such as be.
;ome citizens through the ordained
ltual Of initiation Of tho great republic
If christianity, and feel the sweet inilu-
nee Of the Divine help acting EYER upon