The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-04-16
A GLORIOUS MESSAGE
NOT FOR KINGS OR PLUTocRATs,
BUT FOR MEN.

BUT FOR MEN.
Christianity and Democracy According 20
Christ's TsAchings-A Sermon Preached
by Rev. Lyman Abbott At Plymouth
Church, Brooklyn-All Sons Of God.
TExr.-And there was delivered unto him the
book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had
spened the book he found the place whore II
was written The Spirit Of the Lord h upon
me, because he hath anointed me 70 preach
the gospel 10 the poof; he hath sat me 10 heal
the broken hearted, TO preach deliverance to
the captives and recovering Of sight 10 the
blind, tcAet at liberty them that are bruised.
Luke iv, IL, IS.
These words are to be taken primarily
in their superficial and literal sense
They we're 20 understood by the Jews
at the time. This was part Of their Mes.
sianio expectation. Jesus Christ has
come into the world TO preach glad IT,
dings to poor people, to those who are
cold and hungry and houseless. He has
come to tell them Of better time and to
provide for it. He has come to preach re-
lease to the captives, to put his hand on
the manacles and break them asunder
and set the oppressed Of the earth free,
and he has done IL. He has come to re-
cover sight to the blind. He did it
while he was living. Since his death
institutions for the blind have been
established wherever the cross has gone,
and if the eyes have not literally been
opened, means have been provided by
which something like substitute for
sight could be furnished. He has come
to set at liberty them that are bruised,
to heal the broken hearted, those that
are in dependency, in Encouragement,
in despair, to lift them up, to set them
free. This is a part Of his ministry. 1t
is true that in these words there ia a
deeper meaning 1t is true that Christ
dealt with man, not merely as q terres-
trial being, but as a moral and spiritual
being; that he sets him free, not mere
ly from chains, but from slavery to his
own sppetites; that he brings glad til
dings to him in his spiritual poverty as
we'll as in his earthly poverty; that he
opens the spiritual and the intellectual
as we'll as the physical vision. but he
does the first. That is part of his min
istry in the world. To tell the poor and
the shelterless that there is a good time
for them, and show them how to get it :
to open the eyes of the blind and give
them vision which before they lacked ;
to establish schools and broaden intel
hgence; to comfort those that mourn |;
to relieve those that are In slavery-this
is his mission,
In Christ's Time.
When Christ came into the world, all
political power was concentrated In the
hands of one man. Caesar was absolute
master of the Roman world. Religion
did not even pretend to serve humanity.
Its object was to serve a class. The
function Of the pagan religion was not
to make men wiser or happier or better.
1t was either to plaoate angry gods or
to buy the favoritism of powerful gods.
Education was confined to the few.
Outside of Palestine there were abso-
lutely no schools for the common peo-
pie, and in Palestine only such as were
connected with the synagogues. Wealth
was confined to the few. Nearly half
the people Of Rome were slaves. They
were themselves property. A very large
part Of the wealth of Rome was thus in
human beings. Another large proportion
Of wealth was in what men call lux
uries, In things which enervate and de-
stroy the intellectual and the spiritual
nature. And apart from that, there
were but few ways in which q man who
bad wealth could use it for the public
benefit. There were no banks, no credit
system, no railroads, no commercial
corporations, no great productive indus
tries in which one could invest his
money. He bought fiHe garments and
put them into the closet He dug hole
in the ground and buried his coin.
The history of Christianity in the first
four centuries is the history of q great
uprising of the common people. 1t was
said, as matter of derision and SOOTHING
against the Christians, that their congre-
cations were of this kind. Paul frankly
accepted it. "Not many rich, not many
wise, not many noble according to the
flesh, are called, but the poor, the out
cast, they that are as though they were
not" Hope and aspiration were kindled
in their hearts, and revolution followed.
1t was not the emperor who was first
converted-it was first the common peo-
pie, and then, because of the common
people, finally the emperor.
Power Of Democracy.
Out Of this revolution there grew q
church which, whatever you may think
Of it today, in that time was certainly
democratic. Compared with the dem
ocracy of America the Roman Catholic
church appears to us indeed oligarchio
and aristooratic, but compared with the
institutions of the time out of which 1t
grew it had all the essential qualities of
a democracy. In the first place, the
highest Offices in the church were open
to the oommonest people. The poorest
peasant in Europe might become priest,
bishop, archbishop or pope, and did be-
come pope. When, in the beginning of
the eighth century, Pope Leo III
crowned Charlemagne emperor Of Eu-
rope, it was democracy crowning i'm
perialism. The power of this church
rested on that which Is the power of
democracy-publio opinion. This church
had no soldiers of its own, no squad
rons, no armies such as would enable 1t
20 oo,oNaSa NTH la a.,,o;na % okIa.