The Penn's Grove record., 1894-09-14

NHAtCg diOthtI StlD vi II ODeIiSh was green,
another side of the obelisk was blue, and
travellers went and looked at tina obelisk,
but they did not walk around 1t. One man
looked at one side, another at another side,
n 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 1t was white, another man said II
was green. another man said 1t was blue.
and when they were in the very heat OF the
controversy a n re intelligent traveller came
and said ''GeLtlemen, l nave seen that
obelisk, and you are all right, and you are
all wrong. Why didn't you walk all around
the obelisk2"
Look out for the man who only sees 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 a bIgot inevitably-ths
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 moth
ing that will SO soon kill bigotry as sunshine
Gods sunshine.
So l have set before you what l consider
10 be the cause OF bigotry. i have set before
you the origin Of this great evil. What are
some OF the baleful effects? First Of all, 1t
,rlpples Investigation. You are wrong and
[ am right, and that settles IT. No taste for
exploration, no spirit of investigation. From
the glorious realm of Gods truth, over
which an %archangel might fly from eternity
10 eternity and not reach the limit, the man
shuts himself cut and dies, a blind mole un-
dera cornshock. 1t stops all investigation.
Another great damage done by the sectar-
hnism and bigotry OF the church is that 1t
iisgusts people from the Christian religion.
Now, my friends, the church Of God was
never intended for a war barraok. People
ire afraid of a riot. You go Down the street
and you see an excitement and missiles fly
ing through the air and you hear the shock
of firearms. DO you, the peaceful n in
iustrious citizen, go through tibet street?
"0h, no." you will say "I1l go around the
olock." Now, men come and look upon this
narrow path to heaven, and sometimes sec
the ecclesiastical brickbat flying every
whittier, and they say "Well, 1 guess I'll
AXE the broad road. There Is so much
Iharpshooting on the narrow road l guess
ri try the broad roadH'
Francis l so hated the Lutherans that he
Iaid that If he thought there was one drop
If Lutheran blood in his veins he would
| puncture them and let that drop out. Just
Is long as there is so much hostility between
| denomination and denomination, or between
me professed Christian and another, or be-
ween one church and another, SO long men
will be disguised with the Christian religion
md say. 'If that is religion, l want none of
t."
Again, bigotry and sectarianism do great
lamage in the fact that they hinder the
riumph OF the gospel. Oh, how much
| wasted ammunition, how many men OF
splendid intellect have given their whole life
% controversial disputes when, ii they had
| given their life to something practical, they
| might have been vastly useful! Suppose,
| while / speak, there were a common enemy
| coming up the bay, n all the forts around
| The haIbor began to fire into each other, you
would cry out National suicidel Why
| don't those forts blaze away in one direction,
and that against the common enemyY' And
yet I sometimes see In the church OF the
Lord Jesus Christ a strange thing going on
church against church, minister against
| minister, denomination against denomina-
ton, firing away into their own fort, or the
fort which ought to be on the same side, in
| stesd of concentrating their energy and Civ
ing one mighty and everlasting volley against
| the navies of darkness riding up .broughths
bay!
What did intolerance accomplish against
| the Baptist church, II laughing scorD an
| TRADE could have destroyed the church, it
would not nave to-day a disciple left. The
Baptists were hurled out of Boston in olden
times. Those who sympathized with them
were imprisoned, n when a petition was
offered asking leniency in their behalf all
lit Lutu WIN 5ikutu IL NCLo 1hAAShSNs nus
| intolerance stopped the Baptist Church?
The last statistics in regard to it showed
25,0 900 churches AM 5000, 900 communicates.
Intolerance never put down anything.
In England a law was made against the
Jew. England thrust back the Jew and
thrust down the Jew and declared that no
Jew should hold official position. What
came of 1t? We're the Jews destroyed2 Was
their religion overthrown? No! Who be-
| came prime minister of England2 Who was
| next to the throne? Who was higher than
the throne because he was counselor and
adviser? Disraeli, a Jew. What were we
celebrating in all our churches as we'll as
~synagogues only a few years ago2 The one
hundredth birthday anniversary OF Monte
fore, the great Jewish philanthropist In
tolerance never yet put down anything.
But now, my friends, having shown you
| the origin OF bigotry or s~ectarianism, and
having shown you the damage 1t does, 1
want briefly to show you how we are 10 war
against this terrible evil, and l think we
ought to began our war by realizing our own
weakness and our imperfections. Ii We
make so many mistakes in the common az
fairs of life, is it not possible that we may
| make mistakes in regard to our religious
affairs? Shall we take a man by the throat
or by the collar because he cannot see re-
ligious truths lust as we do? In the light OF
eternity it will be found out, l think, there
was something wrong in all our creeds ana
something rightin all our creeds. But since
] we may make mistakes in regard to things
OF the world do not let us be so egotistic and
SO pulled up as to have an idea that we can
| not make any mistake in regard to Sellglou:
| theories, And then, | think, we Will DO q
great deal TO overthrow the sectarlan IRON
1 our heart and the sectarianisIn from the
world by chiefly enlarging in those things Il
| which 70 agree rather tnan those IN wnion
we differ.
Perhaps I might t~orcefully illustrate THU
| truth by calling your attention TO an inci'
| dent which took place about twenty years
| ago. One Monday morning at ABOUT =
o'clock, while her 900 passengers were SOUND
| asleep In her berths dreaming OF nome. the
| steamer Atlantic crashed into Mars HEAD.
| Five hrndred souls in ten minutes landed In
| eternity oh. what a scenel Agonized men
| and women running up and down the gang
! way and clutching for the rigging, and tine
| plunge OF the helpless steamer ana the clap
| ping of the hands OF the merciless sea over
| the drowning and the dead threw two contt-
nents into terror.
But see the brave quartermaster pushins
| out with the lifeline until he gets tothe rock,
| and see these fishermen gathering up the
shipwrecked inc taking them into the CAD
fms and wrapping them in the hannels snug
and warm, and see that minister OF the gos-
| pei, with three other men, getting into a
lifeboat n pushing out for the wrecR' puli-
ing away across the surf and pulling away
until they saved n more man, and tnen
getting back with hin to the shore. Tan
those men ever forget that night, etn
they ever forget their companionship IN
peril, companionship in struggle, compan.
Ionship in 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 At
lantic struck Mars Head. Well, my friends,
our world has gone into a worse shipwreek'
SIN drove 1t on the rocks. The old ship has
lurched and tossed in the tempest OF 6OOV
years. Out with the lifeline! do not care
what denomination carries it. Out with the
lifeboat! / do not care what denomination
row It. Side by side, in the memory OF
common hardships, and common trials, and
common prayers, and common tears, let US
lie brothers forever. We must be.
And I expect to see the day when all de-
nominations of Christians shall join haseis
around the cross of Christ and reeite the
| creed 81 believe in God, the Father AL
mighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and
Jesus Christ, and In the communion Of
laints- and in life everlasting. Amen
In character, in mann,r, style, in all
things the supreme excel ce is sim