Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-11-15
RELIGIOUS THOUGHTS.

REFORM-The number of reform soci-
cites is increasing at the rate of about one
day, and think that there is one need
ed for the prevention and suppression of
useless reform societies. These socie-
ties say they are going to save society by
reforming 1t. We must reform society by
saving it by inward regeneration instead
of outward reformation, and any other
way must fail, because 1t is contrary to
Gods method.-The Rev. John Hemphill,
Presbyterian, San Francisco.
POLITICAL COURAGE-In times like
these men need the courage of their con-
victions Party loyalty ought not to
make such gluttons of men that they
would swallow falsehood. Greed for Of
flee ought not to be so great that they
would indorse what they believe to be
wrong. Loyalty to principles rather than
to men, seeking the right instead of the
office, subordination of self to the gen.
eral good, requires a courage which Is
both manly and patriotic.-Rev. w. H.
Preston, Presbyterian, Dolestown, Pa.
IDEAL LIVES.-God has for each life
a perfectly good, great and beautiful
ideal. But between most lives and Gods
ideal for them some evils have come in
to complcate the situation. Defective
inheritance or constitutional tendency or
the baneful potency of some bad social
influence, or sickness or sorrow, or some
other hindrance stands in almost every
path, preventing to some appreciate ex-
tent human lives from being all they
were meant to be.--Rev. C. C. Hall, Pres
byterian, Brooklyn, N. Y.
GREAT OPPORTUNITIES Back of
the money question, back of the tariff
question back of all the great questions
that agitate society of today are other
questions far more reaching and far more
important Never until men are unself-
ish and gentle, never until men are what
they ought to be, will society have upon
it's statute books laws that are just and
conditions that will guarantee their en-
forcement; never until men are what
they ought to be will wealth be proper
ly distributed.--Rev. ]. H. o. Smith, Inde-
pendent, Chicago.
LOVE FOR GOD.-We should love God
above all things, because He is the SUI
preme God and because He is the author
of everything that exists, except SIM our
soul is the image of God, and this Is why
the devil hates the soul and tries to de-
stroy 1t. The enemy of the soul holds
high carnival when he takes a soul from
God The world would nave gone on
without us had we never been born, and
Ii would be impossible Off US to exist
were God to withdraw from us single
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Thorp, Roman
Catholic, Cleveland, o.
POLITICS.-Men worship the calf of
power, chased at the expense of every
principle capable of identifying truth
and manhood. There is too much of that
which Is base in political life, too little
of that which is elevating and purifying.
And 1t pervades, unhappily, the rank and
file the upper and the lower strata of
the whole ia brio which we call politics.
If there is anything in this world where
the golden rule should prevail 1t is in
| nj Mofhn6icf
Brooklyn, N. Y.
BROTHERHOOD-Ma must learn the
lesson from the lives of all the worlds
great spiritual teachers. Kusha, Zoroas-
ter Budha, Jesus, the keynote of which
was sacrifice; the sacrifice of the lower
moral self to the higher spiritual self. or
the soul In short, to recognize real
living brotherhood of man and to realize
that as the vice regent of God on earth,
each mans mission in life is to advance
the best welfare of his follow men, the
measure of each mans responsibility be-
ing the measure of his strength. his judg-
ment his intelligence and his wealth.
George NJ. Coffin, Theosophist, New York
City.
THE COMMON PEOPLE-The plain
people are the backbone Of the moral
power of the community. The best part
of human history is never written. Fam
lily life patience, endurance. quiet service,
are things which the historian never men,
tons, but these are the things which
glorify human life. The world may never
hear very much of the men and woman
who do not do anything but mind their
own business and create a little spot of
light around them; their goodness is not
self-assertive; 1t wears no label; 1t does
not advertise itself, and II seldom gets
any one to advertise 1t. But they are the
moral power of the COMMUNICATIVE ].
F. Carson Presbyterian, Brooklyn, N. Y.
THE RIGHT SPIRIIT-Those who ap-
proach religion in the proper spirit can
see 1t, and only those. Learning or men
tai acuteness has nothing to do with the
case. To be scientist one must have