The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-04
OUR MODERN IDOLATRY.
BISHOP NELSON'S DISCOURSE on
THE SUBJECT AT ST. JOHNS
CHURCH LAST NIGHT.

airy the same as of Old, Though
the Forms Have Changed-The
Worship Of the Golden Calf and
the Misuse of the Sabbath Espe-
einiIy DweIt Upon.
There was a large congregation at st.
Johns church last night 70 hear Bishop
Nelson The subject Of Bishop Nelson's
sermon was Modern Idolatry'' and the
text was from l. Corinthians. y, q.
Neither be ye idolaters. as were some Of
them; as IL is written: The people sat
down to eat and drink ard rose up to
play"
After a brief Introduction. Bishop Mel
son said that the fundamental principal
Of idolatry. forgetfulness OF God. existed
now as truly as it did in the time Of the
Israeutes who turned back 10 worship
the Egyptian Apis, and proceeded 10 an
swer the question as TO where anything
like idoiatry is to be found in this age. He
took the position that the ldolatry Of the
Israelitss was not due 70 any desire for
visual symbols Of worships. as they had
the shekinah, the cherubim the taber-
nacle and other tangible evidences Of their
faith, but to depraved desires. He said:
Between the symbol or the expression
Of any kind and the principles Of worship
there is the closest connection-the con
sisteney OF cause and effect. The outward
tokens voice the underlying principles;
outward reverence for God, his house,
his name, and whatsoever is devoted TO
him, inward piety; brazen. nude and
hideous idols. corresponding preference
for what is earthly, feshly. develish You
cannot dissociate the two in the life Of
the greater part OF mankind. No more can
you fail 10 grasp the correct conclusion
from the lives of the men and women
around US that they worship something
or some one else than God. however
various, some more attractive, others more
disgusting, the idols which they have set
up, everyone in the secret chambers OF
his heart. no longer wood and stone ig
ures to be carried about. but idols which
are with them when they rise up and when
they lie down; when they go out and when
they come In; winch sit at meat with them
and are praised in the domestic circle,
whose merits form the staple Of their
conversation and in whose favor they live
and are mighty. The men and women
whose hearts are not toward God make
them and worship them, and professed
Christians, whose hearts are not whole
with Cod follow dumbly and all too will
inely along to the sacrifices of them
selves, soul and body-yea, Of their sons
and their daughters"
Tell YOU what these idols are? Ger
tainly l can and will. But remember that
they are idols Of the heart and are very
closely bound up with your lives. To
give them up may cause wrench like
tearing apart body and soul. Men live
by them, swear by them; they are the
solace Of the great struggle and turmoil
of a busy life They pay for all your
losses. reward all your sacrifices, they
bury all uncomfortable thoughts Of the
soul, an offended God, a future account
a penalty. In their company you will not
grieve over the possible loss Of a heaven
of which you know nothing, and as for
that other place, which is not heaven
the idols never speak. OF any time worse
than the present they are as profoundly
silent as the dumb gods which accepted
the worship of the nations without so
much as a sign of recognition. much less
a word of reproof. Oh, these are the
gods which men love-gods that never re-
member anything, or II they do never
punish, nor threaten with vengeance, lay
upon them no restraint and make no con-
nict with the desires and purposes of the
heart Lock up your consciences, seal
that suggest unpleasant topics, never
allude to the future beyond next week
or next month, shut your doors on all
priests, let the churches stand open for
the delectation of the scottish company of
4 women and children whose influence Is
escaped by allowing then to whine their
1 prayers to far off God, whom they fond
/ ly imagine is in their midst once week.
/ Let us alone, we have religion enough for
/ this world; when we get to another we
! shall shape our religion according to the
/ then need.
yes, this is it. This is the tendency
I Of the service Of the multitude, toward
/ the fearful abandoned condition of
! Ephram. It is not Indifference, indiffer-
ence is a negative word. 1t is a positive
clinging to the idol of time and the set
/ Ting down of the gloom of soul-a soul
from which the spirit Of God is ban
ished and cannot even hear the last sad
1 plant over persisted greatness. He is
Joined TO his idols; let him alone"
Bishop Nelson said that a description
of the idols which men and women are
I worshipping to-day would take long
time OF the worship of mammon, he
I said that there was never time when the
/ golden calf could number more untiring
/ and devout worshippers. There can be
| no reasonable doubt he said, that this
| is the divinity which is most popular
l
that hnds it's votaries among the poor
/ as well as the rich
Bishop Nelson dwelt at length upon the
! modern idol which he denominated the
"workingman's and business mans Sun
| day" Chrst's words that the Sabbath
was made for man, he said had been lit
orally accepted and the fact that man was
made for God overlooked or forgotten.
/ He denounced this sort if idol worship as
one of the greatest evils + the day and most
injurious to the church, and urged that ii
was the duty of the individual members
Of the church 10 labor nel'sonally to bring
TO Il e eli rch hose who W re reglect 2
the house OF God. An interesting feature
was the intoning of the service by Bishop
Nelson. The fine voice of the bishop made
this portion of the service particularly at
tractive. The choral service, under the
direction of Prof. Spencer W. White, was
excellent and was much enjoyed by the
congregation.
FROM PROVIDENTIAL CAUSES,
Result of the Inquest on the Body OF