The morning call., 1893-12-02
PRACTICAL AND UNIVERSAL.
Co-Extensive With Humanity in
Application.
1T is GOODNESS IN ACTION.
The Evils Worked i'm the Name of
Religion Are Malformations, not
Logical OutgrowtllS.

fGaDDl NJ o. Levi preached III the G62Ty-
street Temple last evening on what Is
Religion?" He said that the biographer
of the Rev. G. Whitfield wrote that on a
certain occasion the famous preacher was
about to start from Edin burgh on the mail
coach. A lady of a different denomination
stepped into the coach, and seeing the
noted divine, started up with Mortified look
and said, Are you the Rev. Mr.. Whit
field ?' II am, madam" was the reply.
We'll. sir, if you are. l cannot stay in this
COACH" well. madam" calmly said the
preacher, you are at liberty to leave il,
but before you leave / desire to ask you
one question. Surprising you die, madam,
and, as apparently you are very good. you
go to heaven; and suppoSing, madam, l
die. and by accident being bad l reach
heaven, too; when L come in will you
&C. out?"
at is an anomaly that religion which
teaches peace and good will to all should
for SO long have been the source of Ill.
FanaticiSm compelled Socrates TO drink
hemlock, forced Calico 70 recant, ordered
the massacre OF the Huguenots, lighted
the stakes at Smitbfeld, invented the
inqulSiIlon. drove the Pilgrim fathers from
their native land to this, robbed our ances-
tors OF their homes, and violated every
Vi 1H6SS, however,
are not the consequences OF religion, but
malformatiOns ana cancers developed in
certain forms of religion; thew are not
arguments againSti its beauty and loneliness,
hut accentuate the antipathy against
creeds that encourage such barbaritieS.
ut is gratifying that by advancing civil
lZatlon this anlmoslty is growing beauti-
fully less. The light Of reason has entered
the dark places and is purifying the
strOnghoids of prejudice, and the active
cause is the influence Of religion. What
is religion? Not the amount of prayers
we utter. not the professions we make, not
a payment OF the monthly fee for the
tuition Of cur children In religious belief,
nor the assessment for seats. These are
the flesh, not the spirit; the body, not the
soul; the shadow, not the substance. Re
lIglon Is the strong and earnest direction
of the emotions and desires toward an
ldeal-GOd, the absolute, the undivided
and undivisible. That alone is true re-
ligion which yields glory to God by being
useful TO his children. 1t judges kindly of
ali aud speaks no i'll. If we are told that
man Is religious we are not satisfied; we
want to know whether he is moral. good,
Just and honest. Then we conclude be is
religious. Says Shakespeare: Love thy
sely last, cherish those hearts that hate
thee; still in thy hand carry gentle peace
TO quiet envious tongues. Be just and fear
not. Let all the ends thou aimest at be
Lny G0Q S-alQ IQel III In0Q IdileSt tho
fallest blessed martyr
Religion teaches US the rational hope of
Life after death, and. like the stars, this
truth grows brighter amid the growing
gloom. Religion breatheS a higher moral
lty into society, and morality, the basis of
life, is only what religion has made it.
All religion and morality is summed up in
the two maxims, Love the Lord, thy
God and Love thy neighbor as myself
"A certain man on first seeing the sea
exclaimed, What, is this the great ocean?'
But we know it will carry US round the
world. And so with religion. Love God
and love man and you will find there is
more therein than appears on the surface.
''The old philosophers never enunciated
a complete system of morality. and there
were few followers of its noble maxims-
whereas religion brings balm to liberated
hearts, smoothes the pillow that supports
the aching head. makes suffering bearable
and death puny, guides US amid tempta-
ton; in business makes US honest in pub
lie life demands honor. in private life
purity and chastity, IN all things charity.
Religion asks help for the poor, for the
widow and orphan and for those iustitu-
tons that protect the weak against the
strong, the oppressed against the oppres-
sor. Without it society could not hold to-
gether for a single day. So long as man
asDires and the heart longs for excellence,
so long as prosperity brings temptation
ana lie is full OF suffering, and ccnsola-
ton is wanted, so long will religion be.
II do not believe that religion consists
in learning by heart our duties to God, but
rather in the practical good done to our
fellow creatures. 1t is like the sugar that
sweetens tbe whole cup-it sweeiens all
our life. | do not believe that religion
should be taken in doses once or twice IA
year, no more than l believe salt should be
so taken. Religion should be taught on
the same basis as the sciences and arts,
for daily use. Obedience is better than
sacrifice and good spirit than the fat of
rams, and we venerate man whose heart
is warm. whose hands are pure and whose
doctrine and life are coincident.
Religion teaches US to believe In God ::
TO turn from evil and learn TO do good; to
keep our tongues from speaking evil and
our lips from guile; to love the stranger as
our neighbor, remembering we were
strangers in the land of Egypt. and lastly.
1 will tell thee. o man, what is good for
thee and what God requires of thee Thou
shalt love justice aud kindness and walk
hmm hi haFn