Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1894-09-26

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 q rank
quarrel about the color OF that obelfsk. One
man said IL was white. another man satd II
was green. another man said ii was blua-
and when they were in the very heat OF the
controversy a II re intelligent traveller cams
and said ''GeEtiemsn, L have seen that
obelisk, and yoa are all right. AMI you are
all wrong. Why didn't you walk all around
, the obelisk?"
Look out for the maa who only sees one
side of religious truth. Look odt for the
man who never walks around about these
great theories OF Col and eternity and the
cead. lie will lie bigot ineyitably-the
man more to be pitiei than he who has in
his head just ono idea-no more, no less.
More light. less sectarianism. There is moth
Ing that will go soon kill bigotry as sunshine
Gods sunshine.
30 have set before you what I consider
20 be the cause o: tisotry. have set before
you the origin OF this great evil. What are
some OF the baleful effects? First OF all, 1t
.ripp'es investigation. You are wrong and
am right, and that settlcs it. No taste for
exploration, no spirit of Investigation. from
the glorious realm OF Gods truth, over
whicn an archangel might iy from eternity
to eternity and not reach the limit, the nan
shuts himself out and dies, 4 blind mole un-
Ter cornshock. 1t stops all Investigation.
Another great damage done by the sectar-
snism and bico.ry of the church is that it
Fsgusts people from the Christian religion.
Sow, my friends, the church OF God was
never intended for a war barra,k. People
are afraid of "a riot. You go down the street
and you see an excitement and missiles fly
.nG through the air and you hear the shock
,f firearms. Do you, the peaceful and in
iustrious citizen. go through that street?
"Oh, no." you will say; '1'll so around tho
block" Now. men come and look upon this
harrow path to heaven. and sometimes see
the ecclesiastical brickhat flying every
whittier, and they say: "Well, guess I'll
lake the broad road. There Is SO much
iharpshootinS on the narrow road guess
III try the broad road! J!
Francis l so hated the Lutherans that he
said that II he thought there was one drop
ST Lutheran blood in his veins he would
ouncture them and let that drop out. Just
Is long as there Is so much hostility between
denomination and denomination, or between
,ne professed Christian and another, or be-
ween one church and another, so long men
will be disguised with the Christian religion
mi say. 'If that is religion, want none of
t.
Again, bigotry and sectaranisn do great
iarnaye in tho fact that they hinder tho
riumph OF the gospel. On, how much
wasted ammunition, how many men of
splendid intellect have given their whole lite
% controversial disputes when, II they had
given their life to something practical, they
might have been vastly useful! Suppose,
while 1 speak, there were common enemy
coming up the bay, ard all the forts around
the hrDor began to fire into each other, you
would cry out: "Sational suicide! Why
don't those forts blaze away in one direction.
and that against the common enemyf And
yet l sometimes see In the church OF the
Lord Jesus Christ n 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
stead of concentrating their energy and Civ
ing ono mighty and everlasting volley against
the navies of darkness riding up through the
bay.
What did intolerance accomplish against
the Baptist Church? II laughing scorD and
TRADE could have destroyed the church, 1t
would not have to-day disciple left. Tho
Baptists were hurled out OF Boston In olden
times. Those who sympathized with them
were imprisoned, and when a petition was
offered asking leniency IN their behalf all
the men who signed 1t were indicted. Has
intolerance stopped the Baptist Church!
The last statistics In regard to 1t showed
q, 600 churches AMI 600, 900 communicants.
Intolerance never put down anything.
In England n 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 It? We're the Jews destroyed2 Was
came prime minister of England? Who was
next II the throne? Who was higher than
the throne because he was counselor and
adviser? Dlsraeli, Jew. What were we
celebrating in all our churches as well as
svnagogues only few years ago2 The one
hundredrh birthday anniversary OF Monte
flore, the great Jewish philanthropist In
tolerance never yet put down anything.
But now, my friends, having shown you
the origin OF biGotry or sectarianism, and
having shown you the damage it does,
want briefly to show you how we are TO war
against this terrible evil, and l think we
ought to began our war by realizing our own
weakness and our imperfections. II wo
make so many mistakes in the common al
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-
licious truths just as We do? In the light OF
eternity it will be found out, think. there
was something wrong in all our creeds anu
something right in all our creeds. But s!nce
we may make mistakes in regard TO tnlhSs
of the world do not let US be SO egotist1c and
so pufreI up as to have an idea that we can
not make any mistake in regard to religious
theories And then, think, we will do
great deal to overthrow the sectarian from
our heart and the sectarianism from the
world by chiefly enlar.;inS in those things 10
which we agree rather tnan tnose IN wnica
we differ.
Perhaps might force'ully illustrate thh
truth by calling your attention TO an Incl
dent which took place about twenty yeare
ago. One Monday morning at about 2
o'clock, while her 900 passengers were sound
asleep in her berths dreaming OF home. the
steamer Atlantic crashed into Mars Head.
Five hundred souls In ten minutes landed In
eternity! Oh, what scene! ASonlzeo men
and women running up and down the gang.
way and clutching for the rigging, and the
plunge of the helpless steamer and the clap
ping OF the hands OF the merciless sea over
the drowning and the dead threw two contt'
uents into terror.
But see the bray, cuartermaster pushing
out with the lifeline until he gets tothe rocS,
and see these fishermen gathering up the
shipwrecked and taking them into the cab
ins and wrapping them in the fannels snug
and warm, and see that minister OK the gos-
pei, with three other men, getting into a
fifeboat and pushing out for the wreck. pulis
ing away across the surf and pulling away
until they saved one more man. and tnen
getting back with him to the shore. tan
those men ever forget that night, and ciu
they ever forget their companlonship IN
peril, companionship in struggle, compah.
ionship In awful catastrophe ami rescues
NeyerI Never In whatever part OF the eartn
they meet they will be friends when they
mention the story of that night when the At
i,ntic struck Mars Head. Well, my friends,
gozId ha r6aEs ntS ne od sP
iurched ami tossed in the tempest OF 6oOo
years. Out with the lifeline! do not care
what denomination carries II. Out with the
[ifeboat! do not care what denomination
rows it. Side by side, in the memory o,
common hardships, and common trials, and
common prayers, and common tears, let US
te brothers forever. We must be.
And I expect to see the day when all de-
nominations of Christians shall Join hands
around the cross OF Christ an1 ree.e tne a
MIGHTY. Maker OF heaven and earth, and
Jesus Christ, and in the communion OF
sa;pts. and In life everlasting. Amen! J.
i b, h..I est mG>ts OF sa'i'nr vesse.s
ar. ir,m 1GO t" $50 feet high and
sp.cad from 6 80" TO 10000 square