Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-07-30

not break, but the gate Of your hea1t
swings easily on it's hinges. Ii I assault
ed your body with weapons, you would
meet me with weapons, and it would
be sword stroke for sword stroke, and
wound for wound, and blood for blood,
but if I come and knock at the door Of
your house you open it and give me
the best seat i'll your parlOr. It l should
come at you today with an argument,
| you would answer me with an argu
ment; If with sarcasm, you would an
| sWer me with sarcasm, blow for blow,
stroke for stroke, but when I come and
knock at the door of your heart you
open it and say, Come in, my brother,
and tell me all you know about Christ
and heaven.
Listen to two or three questions: Are
you as happy as you used to be when
you believed in the truth Of the Chris
tian religion? Would you like to have
your children travel on in the road in
which you are now travelling? You had
a relative who professed to be Chris
tian and was thoroughly consistent, liv
ing and dying in the faith Of the Cos
pei Would you not like to live the
same quiet life and die the same peace
full death? I received a letter sent me
by one who has rejected the Christian
religion. It says: 81 am old enough to
know that the joys and pleasures of life
are evanescent and to realize the fact
that it must be comfortable in old age
to believe in something relative to the
future and to have faith i'll some sys-
| tenn that proposes to save. [ am free to
confess that would be happier if [
could exercise the simple and beautiful
faith that is possessed by many whom [
know. I am not willingly out of the
church or out of the faith. Ny state of
uncertainty is one of unrest. Sometimes
I doubt my Immortality and look upon
the deathbed as the closing scene, after
which there is nothing. What shall l
do that I have not done?" All, skepti-
cism is q dark and doleful land! Let
me say that this Bible is either true Or
false If it be false, we are as we'll off
as you; if it be true then which of US
is safer?
A Line Drawn.
Let mo also ask whether your trouble
has not been that you COMPOUNDED Chris
tianity with the inconsistent character
Of some who profess it. You are a law
yer. In your profession there are mean
and dishonest men. Is that anything
against the law? You are doctor.
There are unskilled and contemplate
men in your profession. Is that any
thing against medicine? You are mer-
chant. There are thieves and defrauders
in your business Is that anything
against merchandise? Behold, then, the
unfairness of charging upon Christiani-
ty the wickedness of it's disciples.
We admit some of the charges against
those who profess religion. Some of the
most gigantic swindles of the present
day have been carried on by members
of the church. There are men in the
churches who would not be trusted for
So without good collateral security.
They leave their business dishonesties
in the vestibule of the church as they
go in and sit at the communion. Hav-
ing concluded the sacrament, they get
up, wipe the wine from their lips, go
out and take up their sins where they
let off. To serve the devil is their regu-
lar work; to serve God. sort of play
spell. With Sunday sponge they ex-
pect to wipe off from their business slate
all the past weeks Inconsistencies. You
have no more right to take such mans
life as specimen of religion than you
have to take the twisted irons and split
timbers that lie on the beach at COney
Island as a specimen of an American
ship. It is time that we drew line be-
tween religion and the frailties of those
who profess it.
Hindrances to Piety.
Again, there may be some of you
who, in the attempt after a Christian
life, will have to run against powerful
passions and appetites. Perhaps it is a
disposition to anger that you have to
contend against, and perhaps, while in
a very serious mood, you hear of some
thing that makes you feel that you must
swear or die I know of a Christian
man who was once SO exasperated that
he said to mean customer, 81 cannot
swear at you myself, for I am a mem
Der Of the church, but if you will go
down stairs my partner in business will
swear at you. All your good resolu-
tions heretofore have been torn to tat
tiers by explosions of temper. Now, there
is 10 harm in getting mad if you only
get mad at sin. You need to bride and
saddle these hot breathed passions and
with them ride down injustice and
wrong. There are thousand things in
the world that we ought to be mad at.
There is no harm in getting redhot if
you only bring to the forge that which
needs hammering A man who has no
power of righteous indignation is an i'm
beetle. But be sure it is righteous in
dignation and not a petulancy that
blurs and unravels and depletes the SOUL
There is large class of persons in
midlife who have still in them appe
titles that were aroused in early man
hood at time 1uhan thnu 1orided them |