The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-09-10

say. 'rll go around the block" Now.
men come and look upon this narrow
path to heaven. and sometimes sec
the ecclesiastical brick bats flying
every whittier, and they say, well I
guess I'll take the broad road; there
is so much sharp-shooting on the mar
row road I guess I'll Try the broad
roadl :"
Francis L SO hated the Lutherana
that he said that if he thought there
was one drop of Lutheran blood in
his veins he would puncture them and
let that drop out just as long as
there is so much hostility between de-
nomination and denomination, or be-
tween one professed Christian and
another, or between one church and
another, SO long men will be dis
gusted with the Christian religion.
and say. If that is religion / want
none of it,
Again. bigotry and aectarianisn do
great damage in the fact that they
hinder the triumph of the gospel Oh.
how much wasted ammunitionl how
many men of splendid intellect have
given their whole life to controversial
disputes when. if they had given their
life to some thing practical they might
have been vastly useful Sup
while I speak there were a COZ.
enemy coming up the bay. and "a .ie
forts around the harbor began TO fire
into each other-you would cry out,
National suicide why don't those
forts blaze away in one direction, aud
that against the common enemy2''
And vet sometimes see in the church
of the Lord Jesus Christ a strange
thing going on: church against church.
minister against minister. denomina-
ton against denomination, firing
away into their own fort, or the fort
which ought to be on the same side.
instead of concentrating their energy
and giving one mighty and everlast-
ing volley against the navieH Of dark
ness riding up through the bayl
Perhaps / might forcefully illustrate
this truth by calling your attention
to an incident which took place about
twenty years ago One Monday morn
ing at about 2 o. clock, while her 900
passengers were sound asleep in her
berths dreaming of home, the steamer
'Atlan tic crashed into Mars Head
Five hundred souls in ten minutes
landed in eternity. Oh, what a scenel
Agcnized men and women running M
and down the gangways and clutch
ing for the rigging. and the plunge Of
the helpless steamer and the clapping
of the hands Of the merciless sea over
the drowning and the dead threw two
continents into terror But zee this
brave quartermaster pushing out with
the life line until he gets to the rock.
and see these fishermen gathering
up the shipwrecked, and taking
them in to the cabins and wrapping
them in the hannels snug and warm
and see that minister of the gospel,
with three other men, getting into a
life boat. and pushing ont for the
wreck, pulling away across the surf,
and pulling away until they saved one
more man, and then getting back with
him to the shore. Can those men ever
forget that night7 And can they ever
forget their partnership in peril
companionshipi lin struggle, companions
ship in awful catastrophe and reaaue2
Neverl Neverl 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 shipwrecx. Sin drove il on
the rocks. The old ship has lurched
and tossed in the tempests of six
thousand years Out with the. life
linei do not care what denomrHs-
ton carries it Out with the life boatl
/ do not care what denomination rows
it Side by side, in the memory OF
common hardships and common trials,
and common prayers. and common
tears, let as be brothers forever We
must be.
One army Of the living God.
To his command we bow;
Part of the host have crossed the food,
And part are crossing now
And 1 expect to see the dav when
all denominations of Christians all
join hands around the cross Of CHRIST
and reeite the creed: II believe in God
the Father Almighty Maker Of heaven
and earth. and in Jesus Christ and in
the communion of saints. and in life
everlasting. Ament'