The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-03-21
Christianity Applied to Some Of our
Social and Economic Problems.
The Coming Woman.
4 SERMON BY REV. C.. c. BROWN, ID.

4 SERMON BY REV. C.. G. BROWN, ID.
'sYea,.I beseech thee also, true yokefellow,
help these women, for they labored with me
in the gospel.n-PHn. nv: 3.
.:Labored with me in the gospel!p'
What do you suppose the women did
who labored in the gospel? They had
no mission societies. no sewing circles,
no orphan homes, not Y e any chris
tan homes to visit. What did they
do as they labored9 I am inclined to
believe they did just what Paul did.
aud We can define their work by as.
certaining his.
I am aware Of the fact that / shall
this night .ay in the face of some OF
our Southern customs and institutions;
bat because they are Southern, it does
not follow of necessity that they are cor
rect; nor. does it follow that because one
thing is good, another caBDot be bet
ter. The whole world is wbirling
along the ringing grooves of progress,
and there is no cas- why we should
decline to keep step with the multitude.
even ST it.be done at the cost of a mo-
ton that has been peculiarly ours. and
clang to principally because we have
come to believe we have a sort OF
monopoly In that direction. Old ideas
aud practices are not made correct
always by being old. There is q good
church not far away which has had but
tvo pastors iu a hundred years. and'has
had preaching on .he,frst and third Sun
dsyduring all that time. Recently when
a new pastor came, it was found
necessary to change the preaching day.
Some objected, on the grou' : that they
did not wish to violate the usage made
sacred by a huodreds years-of time.
New measures are generally opposed.
Some imagine that opposition indicates
the wisdom of caution. Sometimes it
does; but sometimes it indicates dead
ness and fossilism. Calico was i'm
prisoned for introducing new ideas
about the movements of the heavenly
bodies; the churches, in many in
stances, were torn to pieces over the
introduction of musical. instruments;
men opposed the printing press, and
said it was a means Of spreading
heresy the Chinese tore up the rails
of the 6rss railroad that was built on
their sacred soil. Because men oppose
. new measure, the thinking man need
net turn aside from it as false.
But to lay aside prejudice and
p~reeonceised notions, 80 as to be able to
pass honest judgment on all new things
that are introduced. is no easy task.
Ny way is very apt to be the right way
in my eyes, and I dislike to surrender
my darling notions which i have
nurtared so long. Still, if we are on
the side Of progress, We should give a
trial to sew plans and methods; if they
fail after testing, it is easy to let them
go. It is very easy and cheap to say,
II don't believe it can be done This
was said about the telegraph, the
telephone. the steam engine, and to say
it does net require any special amount
of mind power.
want to make a confession before
going further. am generally 10 fall
sympathy With all Southern iustitasions
and customs. For many years, I have
been perfectly orthodox CT concerning
the matter I am to discuss tonight I
have been going with the multitude,
and never before have taken time to
give these questions the thought and
study they deserved | accepted the
ready-made opiaions of others, just as
the majority Of men do but GOV,
when | come to lock into the matter for
myself. l am forced to the conclusion
that all the time I have been siding
with the minority, while I thought |
was with the majority. aud that I have
held to views that were o peculiarly
Southern than any thing else. I am
now in a happy frame of mind, and am
ready to give up everything for the
truth.
!. Womaa as size used to be IN the
Let me begin with this. and many Of
you will agree With me when I say that,
mp to the War, woman was a genuine
aristocrat 10 these Southern States. An
aristocrat is one who does nothing
because he has dothing to do. That
vas woman. She was a sort Of little
queen who ruled her servants aud had
her behests obeyed. Everything was
done for her comfort, and the head of the
house found his pleasure in supplying
her wants aud satisfying her whims.
In girlhood, she was Sent to the best
schools, no matter what the cost. She
was taught books, music and painting,
and the end in view was to prepare her
+o Al rho nlaca of oueao in Some hannv