The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1894-09-19

INC other denominations, and who lived to
see their children preach the gospel in those
very denominations. But 1t is often the case
that bigotry starts in a household, Rnd that
the subject of 1t never RECEIVERS. There are
tens of thousands of bigots ten years old.
I think sectarianism and bigotry also
rise from too great prominence OF any one
denomination in a community. All the otner
denominations are wrong. and his denomi-
nation is right because his denomination is
the most wealthy, or the most popular, or
the most influential, and 1t is sour" churcn:
and "our" religious organization, and "our
choir, and "our" minister, and the man
losses his head and wants other denomna-
lions to know their places.
1t is great deal better in any community
when the great denominations OF Christians
are about equal in power, marching side DY
side for the worlds conquest. Mere OUTSIDE
prosperity, mere worldly power, IS no evil
dence that the church is acceptable to GOD.
Better q barn with Christ in the manger
than a cathedral with magnificent harmo-
MES rolling through the long drawn aisle
and an angel from heaven in the pulpit II
there be no Christ in the chancel and no
Christ in the robes.
Bigotry is often the child OF ignorance.
You seldom find man with large 1ntellect
who is bigot It is the man who thinks he
is almost always bigot. The whole ten
dency of education and civilization 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 ofthe obelisk was green,
another side of the obelisk was blue, and
travellers went and looked at that obelisk,
but they did not walk around it. One man
looked at one side, another at another side,
Nd nnh "a
only one side, and they happened to meet,
the story says, and they got into rank
quarrel about the color OF that obel1sk. One
man said it was white, another man said 1t
was green, another man said 1t was blue.
and when they were in the very heat of the
controversy a more intelligent traveller came
and said: ''Gentlemen, I have seen that
obelisk, 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 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 1neyitably--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 moth
ing thar will so soon kill b1gotry as sunshine
Gods sunshine.
So have set before you what consider
to be the cause of bigotry. have set before
you the origin of this great evil. What are
some of the baleful effects2 First OF all, 1t
cripples investigation. You are wrong and
I 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
to eternity and not reach the limit, the man
shuts himself out and dies, blind mole I'M
der a cornshock. 1t stops all investigation.
Another great damage done by the sectar-
ianism and bigotrY of the church is that it
disgusts people from the Christian religion.
Now, my friends, the church of God was
never intended for war barra3k. People
are afraid of riot. You go down the street
and you see an excitement and missiles hy-
ing through the air and you hear the shock
of firearms. Do you, the peaceful and in
dustrious citizen, go through that street?
ooh, no" you will say; "Ill go around the
block" Now, men come and look upon this
narrow path to heaven, and sometimes see
the ecclesiastical brickbat flying every
whittier, and they say "Well, l guess I'll
take the broad road. There is so much
sharpshooting on the narrow road guess
IN try the broad road W
Francis | so hated the Lutherans that he
said that if he thought there was one drop
of Lutheran blood in his veins he would
puncture them and let that drop out. Just
as long as there is so much hostility between
and denomination, or between
one protested Christian and another, or be-
tween one church and another, so long men
will be disguised with the Christian religion
and say, eff that is religion, I want none of
It,"
Again, bigotry and sectarianism do great
damage in the fact that they hinder the
triumph of the gospel. Oh, how much
wasted ammunition, how many men OF
splendid intellect have given their whole life
to controversial disputes when, If they had
given their life to something practical, they
might have been vastly useful! Suppose,
while l speak, there were a common enemy
coming up the bay, and all the forts around
the harbor began to fire into each other, you
would cry out "National suicide! Why
don't those forts blaze away in one direction,
and that against the common enemy" And
vet 1 sometimes see in the church OF the
Lord Jesus Christ strange thing going on
church against church, minister against
minister, denomination against denomlna-
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 one mighty and everlasting volley against
the navies of darkness riding up through the
bay
What did intolerance accomplish against
the Baptist Church? II laughing scorn and
TRADE could have destroyed the church, it
would not have to-day disciple left. The
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 it were indicted. Has
intolerance stopped the Baptist Church?
The last statistics in regard to 1t showed
%, coo churches AMI 5000, 900 communicates.
Intolerance never put down anything.
In England 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? Were the Jews destroyed? Was