Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1895-03-15


door, mo admittance. OF course entered.
got inside and found it pin factory, and
tney were making pins, very serviceable, fine
and useful pins. So the spirit o: exclusive
ness has practically written over the outside
door Of many church mo admittance ,:
| And II the stranger enter he finds practically
| written over the second door, mo admit
tance, and II he goes in over all the pew
doors seems written, ''No admittance," while
the minister stands in the pulpit, hammering
out his little niceties of belief, pounding out
tho technicalities of religion, making pins.
In the most practical. common sense way,
ana laying aside the nonessentials and the
| hard definitions of religion, 90 out on the
| God given mission, telling the people what
| they need and when and how they can get it.
| Comparatively little effort as yet has been
made to save that large class of persons in
our midst called skeptics, and he who goes
to work here will not be building upon
another mans foundation. There is a great
| Iii lltitude OF them. They are afraid of US
| and our churches, for the reason we do not
know how to treat them. One Of this class
met Christ, and hear with what tenderness
and pathos and beauty and success Christ
dealt with him; Thou shalt love the Lord
| thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul. and with all thy mind, and with all thy
| strength This is the first commandment,
and the second is like to this-namely, thou
| shalt lOvethy neighbor as thyself. There is
| no other commandment greater than this :"
| Thou hast said the truth. Tor there is one
God, and to love Him with all the heart
and all the underStan ling. and all the soul
and all the strength is more than whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices" And when
Jesus saw that he answered dscreetly He
said unto him, ''Thou art not far from the
kingdom of God" So skeptic was saved
| in one interview. But few Christian people
treat the s&eptic in that way. Instead of tax
ing hold of him with the gentle hand of love.
wa TO folyn
OF ecclesiasticism.
You would not be 50 rough on that man If
you knew by what process he had lost his
faith in Christianity. l have known men
skeptical from the fact that they grew up in
houses where religion was Overdone. Sun
day was the most awful day of the week.
They had religion driven into them with a
trip hammer. They were surfeited with
prayer meetings. They were stuffed and
choiIed with catechisms. They were often
told they were the worst boys the parents
ever knew. because they liked to ride down
hill better than to read Bunyan'S 'Pilgrims
Progress" Whenever father and mother
talked of religion, they drew down the cor
ners of their mouth and rolled up their eyes.
Ii any one thing will send boy or girl to
ruin sooner than another, that is tt. If
had such father and mother, fear should
have been an i,Edel. When I was boy in
Sunday-schOOl, at one time we had a teacher
who, when we were not attentive, struck US
over the head with a New Testament, and
there is Way Of using even the Bible so as
to make it offensive.
Others were tripped up Of s1opticism from
being SrievOusiy wrOngeI by some man who
professed to be a Christian. They hal a
partner in business who turned out to be a
hrst-clasS scOundrel, though profe35el
Christian. Many years ago they lost all faith
by what happened in an oil company which
was formed amid the petroleum excitement.
The company owned no land. or if they did
there was NJ sign of oil produced. but the
President OF the company was Presbyterian
elder, and the treasurer was an Episcopal
vestryman. and one director was a Methodist
class leader, and the other directors promi-
churches. Circulars were gotten out telling
what fabulous prospects opened before this
company. Innocent men and women
who had a little money to invest. and that
little their all, said, Il don't know anything
about this company, but 50 many good mon
are az the head Of it that it must be G. ,eIlent
and taking stock in it must be almost as
good as Joining the church"
50 they bought the stock and perhaps re-
ceived one dividend 50 as to keep them still,
but after awhile they found that the com
pany had reorganizei and had different
president and different treasurer and differ |
ent directors. Other engagements or ill
health had caused the former officers Of the
company, with many regrets. to resign. |
And all that the subscribers Of that stock had |
fully ornamented certificate. Sometimes |
that man looking over his old papers comes |
across that certificate, and it is 50 suggestive |
that he VOWS he wants none of the religion |
that the presidents and trustees and diran- |
tors OF that oil company professed. OF |
course their rejection of religion on such |
grounds was unphilosophical and unwise. [ |
am told that many OF the United States army |
desert every year, aud there are thousands |
Of court martials every year. Is that |
against Initial SkatAS
ernmen- that swore them in? And |
If soldier OF Jesus Christ desert, is that |
anything against the Christianity which |
he sWore to support and defend? How do |
you Judge of the currency of a country By |
a counterfeit bill? Oh. you must have pa
tiencs with those who.haYe been swindled by |
religious pretender5. Live in the presence Of |
others frank, honest, earnest Christian life, |
that they may be attracted to the same Say
tour upon whom your hopes depend.
Remember skepticism always has some
reason, good or bad, for existing. GOethe's |
irreligiOn started when the news came to
Germany Of the earthquake at Lisbon, Nov.
l, 1775. That $4,000 people should have |
rising of the Tagus 50 stirred his sympathtes
that he threw up his belief il the goodness of
God.
Others have gone into s'lepticism from q
natural persistence in asking the reason why.
They have been fearfuiiy stabbed Of the in
terrogation point There are 50 many things
they cannot get explained. They cannot un-
derstand the Trinity or how God can be s0v-
ereig1 and yet man free agent. Neither
can I. They say: Il don't understand why
a good God should have letsin come into the
world. Neither do [. You say: "Why was
that child started in life with such disa ivan
tages, while others have all physical and
mental eqUipment?" / cannot tell. They go
out of church on Easter morning and say:
THAT doctrine of the resurrection con-
me-" So it is to me- a mystery be-
yond unravelment understand all the pro-
casses by which men get into the dark 1
know them all. I have travelled with burning
feet that bIistered way. The first word which
most children learn to utter is: Papa" or
- Mamma - but T think the first word 7