Democratic messenger., 1894-09-15
on the narrow read guess I'll try the

Francis | 80 hated the Lutherans that
he said that if he thought there was one
drop of Lutheran blood i'll his veins he
would punc;ure them and let that drop
out. Just aS long rs there is so much
hostility between denomination and de-
nomination, or between one professed
Christian and another, or between ono
church and another. so long men will
be disgustcd with the Christian religion
and say. IF that is religion. want
none of it. -
Again, bigotry and scctarianisn do
great damage i'll the fact that they him
der the triumph of the gospel Oh, how
much wasted ammunition, how many
men of splendid intellect have given
their whole life TO controversial disputes
when. if they had given their life TO
been vastly useful! Suppose, while !
speak, there We're common enemy
coming up the bay. and all the forts
around the harbor began to fire into
each other. you would cry out: INA
tional suicide! Why cont those forts
blaze away i'll one direction, and that
against the common cnemy:" And yet
sometimes see in the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ strange thing going
on-church against church, minister
against minister, denomination against
denomination. firing away into their
own fort, or the fort which ought to be
OH the same side, instead of concentrat-
ing their energy and giving one mighty
and everlasting vollcy against the navies
of darkness riding up through the bay.
Dangers of Intolerance.
What did intolerance accomplish
against the Baptist church: II laughing
scorn and TRADE could have destroyed
the church, it would not have today
disciple left. The BaptiSts were hurled
out of Boston i'll ol,,cn times. Those
who sympathizcd with them We're i'm
fered asking lenicncy i'll their behalf all
the men who signed it were indicted.
Has intolerance stopped the Baptist
church? The last statistics i'll regard to
it showed 2j, 900 churches and 3,000,-
600 communicates. Intolerance never
put down anything.
In England law was made against
the Jew. England thrust back the Jew
and thrust down the Jew and declared
that no jew should hold official posi-
ton. What came of it: Were the Jews
destroyed: Was their religion over
thrown? MOL Who became prime min
lister of England: Who was mex. 70 the
throne? Who was higher than the
throne because he was counselor and
adviser? Disraeli, Jew. What We're
we celebrating i'll all our churches Us
well rs synogogucs only "a few years
ago? The one hundrcdth birthday ami
yersary of Monteforc, the great Jewish
philanthropist. Intolerance never yet
put down anything.
But now, my friends, having shown
you the origiE of bigotry or s.ctarian-
ism, and having shown you the damage
it does, l want briefly to show you how
we are to war against this terrible evil.
and think we ought To begin our war
by realizing oar own weakness and our
impcrfections. If we make so many
mistakes i'll TIE common affairs of life,
is it not possible that we may make
mistakes III regard TO our religious af
fairs? Shall we take man by the
throat or by the collar because he can
not see religious truths just rs we do:
In the light of eternity it will he found
out, l think, there was something
wrong in all our creeds and something
right i'll all our creeds. But since we
may make mistakes in regard to things
of the world 10 not let Us be so cgotis-
tic and 80 puffcd up Us to have an idea
that we cannot make any mistake in re-
gard TO religious theories. And then,
think, we will do II great deal TO over
throw the sectarianism from our heart
and the sectarianiSm from the world by
chiefly enlarging i'll those things i'll
which we differ.
brothers Forever.
Perhaps l might forcefully illustrate
this truth by calling your attention to
an incident which took place about 20
years ago. One Monday morning ut
about O'Clock, while her 800 passen-
gers were sound asleep i'll her berths
dreaming of home. the steamer Atlantic
crashed into Mars Head. Five hundred
souls in 10 minutes landed III eternity!
Oh, what scene! Agonized men and
women running up and down the gang
way and clutching for the rigging, and
the plunge of the helpless steamer and
the clapping of the hands of the merci-
less sea over the drowning and the dead
IL s.xe
But see this brave quartermastcr
pushing out with the lifeline until he
gets to the rock, and see these fishermen
gathering up the shipwrcckcd and tax
ing them into the cabins and wrapping
them in the fiannels snug and warm, and
see that minister of the gospel, with
three other men, getting into lifeboat
and pushing out for the wreck, pulling
away across thc's and pulling away
until they saved one more man, and
then getting back with him To the shore.
Can those men ever forget that night,
and can they ever forget their compan-
ionship i'll peril, companionship i'll strug-
gle, companionship i'll awful catastrophe
and rescue: Never! Never. In whatever
part of the earth they meet they will be
friends when they mention the story of
that night when the Atlantic struck
Mars Head. Well. my friends. our
world has gone into worse shipwrcck.
Sin drove it on the rocks The old ship
has lurched and tossed i'll the tempest
of 1000 years. Out with the lifeline! ]
do not care what denomination carries
it. Out with the lifeboat, do not care
what denomination rows it. Side by
side. i'll the memory .>f common hard
ships, and common t1:ls, and common
prayers, and common tears, LEI ~ Ic
brothers forever. VT must bc.
And expect to see the day wEcn al
denominations of Ch. istians shall ltin
hands around the cr,Ss of Christ and
recite the creed: Il believe i'll God. the
Father Almighty. Aai;cr Of heaven and
earth, and Jesus Christ, and i'll tie
communion of saints. and in life ever