People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-02-07

They listen too much to the conserv-
alive advice of the vestryman and not
enough to the radicalism of Jesus
Christ.
am interested in the preachers, be-
cause came very near being one my
self.
Now, couldn't hold a job in a
pulpit, because 1 am Populist and
still cling to the teachings of the old
fashioned agitator, Jesus of Nazareth.
Brothers, know you are in a hard
row of pulpits and surrounded with
deeply rooted stumps.
Many of you would like to say things
you don't dare to.
But Jesus wasn't afraid.
Some Of you have families to support,
and have to nurse your jobs" or
starve.
But there are thousands of people in
this country who are martyrs without
even being professors Of Christianity.
They can't even get job of work
ing for "Yonny Yonson," much less a
job of working for Jesus in fashion
able church.
Preachers are only men, with appe-
titles and passions as laboring men
have. Though ever so richly endowed
with the spirit, they are only instru-
ments of expression, and entitled to
material support only on a material
basis.
The commonest clodhopper on earth
can be a Christian-but he has to earn
a living besides feeding the spirit.
If your preaching is not for the up
lifting of all mankind materially, as
well as spiritually, you are entitled
only to spiritual support.
If you are teaching mankind that
every man is his brothers keeper,
then you are benefactor of the COM
munity, and the people and God will
provide for you.
You are entitled to support if you
earn it-but if you are preaching for
salary that is paid you by men who
deny you freedom of speech, then you
are accepting bride to betray Jesus.
Some Of you are weak and afraid to
speak out lest you hurt the feelings of
people whom you are convinced are
conscientious in their errors.
What do you fear?
What is conscience but a matter of
teaching? You should root out the old
conscience and build a new one.
You are slaves to system. Yes; but
the whole system is wrong, and your
business and Gods business is to tear
down an iniquitous system and estab-
lish the Kingdom of God on earth.
There is so much hell on earth that
some people will feel at home in hell
on the other side.
Show them the horrors of hell on
earth as well as the tortures of the
bottomless pit in the domain of dis
embodied spirits.
YOU don't like notorietY. Was there
ever man who received more notorie-
ty and abuse than Jesus Christ?
Remember how the great newspa-
.pers and politicians denounced DR..
Parkhurst of New York as a fanatic,
using all the vile epithets in the voca-
,bulary of newspaper slang and politi-
cal rot. Now they are lauding him to
the skies for his success.
But you don't know of any such cor
'ruption to combat, then in the
name of heaven it is time you
were opening your eyes. Read the
daily press with its budget of crime,
starvation, misery, suicide and sensa-
tional headlines announcing to the
greedy public the carrion on which
the minds of the nineteenth century
civilization feeds. Look in upon the
palaces and banquets of the rich, visit
the novels of the poor and oppressed.
Look into the grog shops and tene-
ments of the cities. Behold the idle
rich and the unemployed poor. See
children growing up in ignorance and
squalor-others growing up in arro-
gance and dissipation. Open your
eyes.
There is hell on earth for you to
fight.
God is busy-better help him than to
pat him on the back.
Try to bring the kingdom of God to
earth, instead of carting hell to heaven.
Bring heaven to earth and hell will
move out.
Don't try to scare people with that
old fake story about sulphur and brim-
stone. Men already in hell can't be
scared. They want to get out-show
them the way to heaven on earth.
Let the bishops discuss theology
study the sermon on the mount-preach
Christ before he was crVcifed and de-
nounce the spirit that erucifed him.
That he was crucifed is nothing
that such men as crucifed him now