The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-03-14
MaXirnS.

rare. The few who possess these quail
tiles enjoy each others society, and are
/ ill at ease in any other society. As
Surley as these facts are facts, so surely
the best way to recover the lost apostle
lie church is to let this attraction for
The spirit of Christ and repulsion for
the spirit of the world have its free
course. If it has free course it will
form Christian society, and form 1t
rightly.
OF all sad and deplorable work, in
viting sinners to come and be worldly
minded Christians is one OF the most
piliable. They will take our invita-
tons in that way, however hard we try
to prevent it, if We work on in cheer.
full fellowship with Il worldly-minded
crowd. We must put the standard OF
piety up higher, and make the line
palmer between the spirit OF Christ
and the spirit of the world.
One class of professors seek to make
religion mere lightnimg-rod to make
them feel safe i'm goddess business and
worldly pleasure. They want to be
saved but beyond bare salvation they
wish as little of Christianity as possf-
BILE. This appears to be the largest
class that can be named.
Stolid determination to do just as
our ancestors did, and think just as
they thought, is initiating the heather.
Stolidity tends to make reforms impos-
sible.
Debaters when they do not under
stand thing, and don't want to take
the trouble to understand it, can usual
ly ridieule it. When they cannot re-
sist successful, and will not yield, they
are pretty sure to try ridicule. Given
all Indifferent and not very Intelligent
crowd, and a witty, unscrupulous
speaker, and there is scarcely q truth
i'm the universe but could he cut up and
made food for noisy merriment.
TO credit existing denominations
with all the moral good the world con-
tains, is shallow conclusion. 10 val
ue an institution correctly we must
consider not only what it is, and what
it does, but what else would occupy
the ground if it were gone. DO not
praise O vine that bears two pounds of
Indifferent grapes. Pull it up, and
plant one that will bear twenty pounds
of gool grapes.
70 he Qualified to labor in the truth
we must realize the tremendous iner-
tia of error. Expecting to convince a
man brought up IN error by one clear
statement of truth is like expecting to
start q canal boat or railroad car with
one blow of the fist. The truth is all
right, and the blow Of the fist. The
truth is all right, and the blow is all
right but not enough allowance for
Inertia has been made. Do some
steady pushing!
Corruption of religion may proceed
slowly, through long course of ages,
like the slow setting of a great Old
temples foundations; but no sunken
TEMPLE ever moves back to its proper
place again in that quiet fashion.
Both the settled foundations and the
corrupted religion must be lifted up
with mighty effort, and disagreea-
BILE tearing up of things. -.
If college professors cared nothing
about learning, and generals cared
nothing about tactics, and judges car.
ed nothing about statutes, we should
think we had fallen upon a sunken
age. What then shall we say Of an
age when eminent religionists boast of
caring nothing about doctrines ?-and
nothing about the prophecies also,
about one-third of the Bible?
Some things are best done individ-
ually, at ones own motion. The boy
who will not wash his face till all
other boys wash their faces will long
remain dirty boy. If you see your
self in a wrong position get out OF it.
The plan of reform that we need,
and must have, is plan that can be
taken up and acted upon by one indi-
vidual Christian whose heart God has
touched. Plans that require unanimi-
ty, and plans that require. majorities,
are not worth much. Man never
seems to get unanimous for leaving of
sin.
Nearly every great reform requires
great sacrifice and loss somewhere. 1t
is not surprising that people cry out
against bearing them but such cries
are selfish, and must be put one side.
1t is nat true that opposition to bon
dage must results in some other form
of bondage. 1t often does, but not al
ways. 1t is not true that opposition
to denominationalism must result in
another denomination. 1t sometimes
does, but not always. There is such
a thing as political freedom, and there
is such thing as spiritual freedom.
The world had settled down for cen
turtles in the belief that attempting to
sustain O republic must inevitably re-
suit in a despotism worse than mon
archy; yet in these last days America
proves the falsity of the worlds opin-
, ion by sustaining free republic. We
are GLAD that the men of 1776 tried
once more the institutions which had
> failed so many times previously.
Some.day Gods church will be glad
f that faithful souls tried spiritual flee.
dom once more.
More love to Christ Gn the form of
, imitation of Christi will help US love
| our brethren more. And when we
} love them weIcan tolerate them.
God helps our honest effort; we can
hardly expect him to help our lazi'
2 ness, our dilatoriness, our cowardice,
3 or our wanton unbelief.
2 Degrading coarseness does no man
! good but condescension to the lOWly
: does any man good, Therefore do not,
| in resisting improprieties, criticise lack
7 of refinement with needless severity.
r If people will behave as we'll in u wor,
= Shipping assembly as they do in theil
s own parlors at home. that Will usually
: suffice.
s Having one kind cf worship for cul-
: tured people, and another kind for un'
s cultured people, is likely to result in
= sect division. Our model to work he
e is, zone fold, and one Shepherd.
4 There is little difficulty in making
u r,,ett.;tx, f,,ol ,f tr.