The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-07-02
THAT SERMON
BEING CRITICISED LARGELY IN
NEWSPAPER AND JOURNAL.
A Baptist Publication HauIs Rev.
Edmonds and His Political Pulpit
Over Hot Goals ls-Thinks the
Sermon in Bad Taste.

over Hot COals-Thinks the
Sermon in Bad Taste.
The sermon preached by Rev. DR.. K. p.
Edmonds at the FIRST NJ. e. church last
Sunday is attracting wide attention, both
from daily newspapers and religious pub
lications. The sermon was decidedly
unique in character, and the first publi-
cation to give 1t favorable mention has
not reached this office. Many pu5lica-
tions have poked considerable good
natured fun at the proposition that every
man should have platform and faith
and stand on It, but he may be permitted
to stand with his mouth shut, but it re-
mained for the journal and Messenger,
the Central National Baptist paper, with
publication Offices at Cincinnati, Indian
apolis and Parkersbure, TO dissect the SER
mon and disintegrate the preacher The
following editorial comment appeared in
the journal and Messenger" of the date,
June 25:
"If the reports Of sermon preached
last Sunday by q Methodist minister in
Canton, Ohio, are true, the sermon was
In very bad taste. Governor Mckinley Is
a member Of this church, and was present
at the service, as was expccted. The
preacher embraced the opportunity TO put
his fingers in the political pie, to deliver
lecture on political duties and to outline
the course which 1t seemed to him public
officers should pursue. Under such cir
Cumstances words have an application
beyond their ordinary meaning and the
sermon would naturally be understood as
preached at Mckinley. Whether the
stating what he conceived to be his
views, or to present political opinions of
his own, his offense against good taste and
Christianity was equally great. The
minister should be ready to denounce sin
in high places, yet even this should be
done in a proper way; but that was not
from preaching the gospel, to preach poll.
tics. II he wished to get his political
ideas before the candidate for the presi-
dency, he took mean advantage Of his
position as minister with the candidate
in the pew. If he wished to present what
he oonceives to be the political views o.
at political meeting on week day. L
is matter for qualification to all Chris
tians of whatever political party that Mr.
Mckinley Is member of an evangelical
church, and attended services at his owr
church on Sunday. We were all pleased
with the news some years ago that on
certain historic Sunday, during Chicago
convention, while politicians were every
where looking for Garfield, he was wor
Shipping in church Of his own denomina
tion, in the city. More recently we hear
: that on the Sunday before the ST. Loui
convention, Senator Teller could not b
found for consultation, since he wa
: spending the Sabbath quietly in a prl
vate house out of the way of those VIII
were planning for the political affairs
Such men should be permitted to atten
divine service without being preached a
in distinction from other sinners.
would have been in much better taste ant
5 more in harmony with the spirit of tn
gospel If the Methodist minister in ques
tion had prepared a sermon without refer
enoe to recent political events. The fac
that he expected Mckinley to be presen
made such a course the more important
The latter should have been permitte,
to come to the house of God as an or
dinary worshipper, and to listen to a gos
pei sermon. Mckinley probably know
as much about politics as the preacher.