The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1895-12-12
THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER.
A Sensible and Conservative Article

Correspondence News and Observer
I notice in a recent number Of
the Nezvs and Observe> that the Viz
giria Conference has been, to use
slang PHRASE, "sitting down upon" the
Sunday newspaper. l do trust that
the Southern Methodist Church will
keep itself free from the SO called
"reforms" that have swept New Eng
land external observance of religion,
until the jewel of the Christly mind
has been we'll nigh lost among the rub
bish. Puritanism fingers yet in the
churches, and finds its incentive to
what it calls religious activity in the
necessity for compelling everybody else
to do and believe as it dictates. 1t is
as deceptive to the personal conscience
as it is foolish in its efforts to force
compliance with its hypocritical and
ignorant dictum.
The poor woman, who said she
would Gas soon send her boy to He'll
as to Yale College" is an example Of
the degenerated influence of Puritan
ism upon the character born of Christ.
Much war has been made upon what
is called the Sunday newspaper. i
know something OF the work in print
ing office, and l know that the work
on Sundays issue is all done on Sat-
urday and Saturday night. And where
there is no Monday morning issue, no
work is done in the Office on Sunday.
But it is said that Christians read the
Sunday paper and are unified for hear
ing the Gospel preached. The Lord
pity such weaklings! and He will !!
But how are they untitled? 1t seems
to me that reading of the sins and sor-
rows of the world would only make a
Christian the more glad to hasten to
the house of God and hear of the great
remedy-the balm of Gilead-the an
tidote for sin and death. Of course
this goes on the presumption that the
Gospel is preached and not politics
and foolishness. And if the preacher
does not or cannot present something
from the pulpit as message from God
that shall interest the nearer and bene-
fit him, then it is the preachers fault
and not the newspapers. l am free to
say that some things 60 into the news
paper on Sunday that ought to be left
out; but as general thing our news
papers are free from this fault. And
have gotten many a fine thought, both
for mobilization and preaching, from
the newspapers. AS preacher have
always endeavored to make every avail
able stream OF knowledge run into the
river that turns my mill.
Moreover, some years ago the fash
ion was set by that prince of editors,
T. B. Kingsbury, L. L. D., of the Will
mington Messenger, of publishing some
very fine Sunday reading for the Sun-
day paper. And now many daily pa
pers are following the same plan; and
even the Northern dailies, great and
wicked as some of them are, are pay
ing the premium which intelligence
offers to the religion of Jesus.
Let US stop this everlasting barking
at the world around US, and trying to
abuse and force men into being good;
and let the Gospel of love and mercy
to all men be preached and lived, and
if this does not "draw men," nothing
else will. The religion of the Christ
is not an explosive to force men to re-
ligious life, but a magnet; and deprived
of its magnetism, it is worse than use
less as a Eoise, and especially when the
noise is made by Phariseeism.
Religion does not consist in the out
ward observance of forms, of Sabbath
days, and feast days or fast days-but
in having the mind that was in Christ.
"The kingdom of Heaven is within
YOU" And if this be real, the obser-
vance of the Sabbath and all other
forms for an outward expression of the
life, will take care of themselves
They are helpful, but not essential. A
belief in Christ Jesus that rectifies the
life after His divine model is all suffi
Gent. He was love, mercy, pity,
compassion, tenderness, humble, pure
To be like Him is to be religious.
E. A. YATES.