Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1894-09-14


Quaker rather roughly for some of his
religious sentiments and the Quaker
said: George, l am as thou art am
for bringing all men to the hope of
the gospel; therefore, if thou wilt not
quarrel with me about my broad brim,
j will not quarrel with thee about thy
black gown. George, give me thy
hand"
In tracing out the religion of sectar-
ianism, or bigotry, l find that great
deal of it comes from wrong education
in the home circle. There are parents
who do not think it wrong to carica-
ture and jeer the peculiar forms of re-
ligion in the world and denounce
other sects and other denominations
1t is very often the case that that kind
of education acts just opposite to what
was expected, and the children grow
up, and, after while, go and see for
themselves; and, looking in those
churches, and finding that the people
are good there, and they love God and
keep his commandments, by natural
reaction they go and join those very
of prominent ministers of the gospel
who spent their whole life lombard
ing other denominations and who
lived to see their children preach the
gospel in those very denominations.
But it is often the case that bigotry
starts in a household, and that the
subject of it never RECEIVERS. There
are tens of thousands of bigots 10
years old.
/ think sectarianism and bigotrY
also rise from too great prominence of
any one denomination in a community.
All the other denominations are
wrong, and his denomination is right
because his denomination is the most
wealthy or the most popular, or the
most influential, and it is our
church, and "our" religious organiza-
ton, and our" choir, and our" min.
lister, and the man losses his head and
wan IS other denominations to know
their places. 1t is a great deal better
in any community when the great de-
nominations of Christians are about
equal in power, marching side by side
for the worlds conquest Mere out
side prosperity mere worldly power,
is no evidence that the church Is ac-
cepta BILE to God. Better barn with
Christ in the manger than a cathedral
with magnificent harmonies rolling
through the long drawn aisle, and an
angel from heaven in the pulpit, if
there be no Christ in the chancel, and
no Christ in the robes Bigotrv is
often the child of ignorance.
You seldom find a man with large
intellect who is bigot. 1t is the man
who thinks he knows great deal,
but does not That man is always
bigot The whole tendency to educa-
ton and civiliza ton is to bring man
out of that kind of state of mind and
heart There was in the far east
great obelisk, and one side of the
obelisk was white, another side of the
obelisk was green, another side Of the
obelisk was blue, and travellers went
and looked at that obelislG bat they
did not walk around it One man
looked at one side. another at another
side, and they came home each one
looking at only one side; and they
happened TO meet, the story says and
they got into a rank quarrel about
the color of that obelisk One man
said it was white, another man said it
was green, another man said it was
blue, and when they were in the very
heat of the controversy more intel
ligent traveller came, and said, Gen
tlemen, / have seen that obelisls, and
you are all right, and you are all
wrong Why didn't you walk all
around the obelisk?"
Look out for the man who sees only
one side of a religious truth. Look
out for the man who never walks
around about these great theories of
God and eternity and the dead. He
will be bigot inevitably-the man
who only sees one side. There is no
man more to be pitied than he who
has in his head just one idea-no more.
no less More light less sectarianism.
There is nothing that will so soon kill
bigotry as sunshine-God's sunshine.
So / have set before you what l con-
slider to be the causes of bigotry. |
have set before you the origin of this
great evil What are some of the
baleful effects? First of all it cripples
investigation. You are wrong, and l
am right, and that ends it. No taste
for exploration, no spirit of investiga-
ton. From the glorious realm of
Gods truth. over which an archangel
might fly from eternity to eternity
and not reach the limit, the man shuts
himself out and dies, blind mole
under a corn shock. IL stops all in
vestigation.
While each denomination of Chris
tiaus is to present all the truths of
the Bible, it seems to me that God has
given to each determination az espAr;"l
mission to give particular emphasis
to some one doctrine; and so the Cal
whistle churches must present the
sovereignty of God, and the Arminian
churches must present mans free
agency, and the Episcopal churches
must present the impor lance of order
and solemn ceremony, and the Bap-
fist churches must present the neces-
sity of ordinances, and the Congrega-
tional church must DresenL the re