The herald., 1896-09-27
Iee9I4SSSeee4ISSSvvSeSSSsY
: THAT CROSS OF GOLD :

One Of the bravest and best sermons
preached for many . day, is that Of the
Rev. Thomas Hines. rector OF Holy
Trinity church, Manistee, Mich. in
answer to the false and stupid charges
Of blasphemy brought against William
J. Bryan. for the metaphor he used in
his great speech about the "crown Of
tkorns." Brother Hines is . patriot, a
lover Of humanity. and. above ALA man.
and his latest sermon adds new lustre
to his fame. We take great pleasure In
reproducing his magnificent sermon in
full
81 thorns. they put 1t upon His head.
And they crucified him, and parted his
garments. casting lots.-Matt. xvii,
57-s5.
The religious and secular press. preach
ers and politicians are condemning
w. ]. Bryan. the Democratic Populist-
Free Silver candidate for the presidency
because he said in his speech at the Chi
cago convention: you shall not press
down upon the brow of labor this crown
Of thorns. You shall not cruelty man
Kind upon cross of gold" Because of
this language Mr.. Bryan Is charged with
the sins of irreverence and blasphemy.
He Is accused Of mixing up sacred and
solemn things with things secular and
political. The religious world processes
TO stand aghast. and old line party poll
ticians, the paid attorneys of soulless
corporations, trusts and combines, and
editors of only party organs. which have
sold their brains and columns for gold
betrayed their trust. like Judas, for a
bribe-pretend to be shocked at the
thought. But there are certain things
which we must bear in mind.
= First, that Bryan Is a member OF the
Presbyterian church, one of the most
conservative and orthodox bodies. and
which has great reverence for the Bible
as the inspired word Of God, hence he
would not Intentionally be profane
Second, that while the Bible teaches
and / most earnestly believe. that Jesus
Christ was the son of God, yet he was
crucified, not as the son of God, but as
the Ason of man. His divine nature was
Lot crucified on Calvary, but his human
nature only. 1t was not God who died
on the cross, but only the man. Hence
that terrible and heartrending cry which
he uttered in his death agony. MY God!
Ny God! why hast thou forsaken me?"
Then that crown of thorns was placed
upon the brow of Christ and he was
nailed to the tree and crucified upon the
GROSS to death for what? You say. as
q punishment. Yes, but as a punishment
for what? You may answer for mans
sin, because it was necessary to re-
deem the world. This I deny There is
not line anywhere in the Bible which
teaches such monstrous doctrine. If
this was true, then the murderers of
Christ were only doing Gods Will; they
were the Instruments of the worlds re-
demption, and deserve a vote of thanks
from all redeemed humanity, and
great reward in the world to come. while
Judas and PLATE were saints of the
highest order whom we should love and
honor But then, what becomes of
Christ's words concerning the treachery
of Judas. ut would have been good
for that man If he had never been
born" And his prayer for his murder
ers when dying upon the cross: Father,
forgive them. for they know not what
they do What then did st. Peter
mean when he charged the Jews with
the murder of Christ. and eXhorted them
to repent for this sin in order to escape
the wrath of God and win heaven?
Christ came into the world to redeem it,
but not by death upon the cross. The
crown of thorns, the scourging, the in
suits and mockery. and death by crucl-