The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-05-23
Gospel Assassipntian rs. Church Pro-
hibittonr- No. q.
Norfolk. May 20, 1895.
Editor OF The yirginian.

hibittonr- No. y.
Norfolk. May 90, 1896.
Editor OF The Virginian.
The citizens of the United States
should be the hsppiegt of earth's in
ha bitants. In the undimmed light OF
Bible revelations mans free agency al
most eanonizss him with the gods,
the range Of wall power rises even to
the thrones while under the suspicious
skies of civil government American lib
eGty Is glorious for Its biroadness,
Nothing can hold the spirit of man down
| II he Wills to rise, and no human inno-
walton that would unthrone fair God
dess Liberty should be tolerated. pro-
yided at the same time nothing be al
lowed to obstruct truth in Its march
along the centuries to do service to
humanity and God in the way he has
ordained. Mans true destiny Is not so
much to explore Alpine and Andean
SUBMITS and to survey the wonders of
physical geography, but to consider the
invisible truth involving human great
ness in the DEVELOPMENT of political
grandeur and to scale THE heights of the
hill of the Lord in the highest soul Gull
ture. The nursery of noble ambitions
and high incentive for development into
sublime manlineSs and supreme moral
lily should be constantly guarded by the
sires and sons of the Republic, Butt the
law of nature and that OF revealed re-
ligion are equally. the establishment of
God. Man must heed the divine in
junction, BE Still and Know That I
Am God" He is at once God of the
Church and of the State The world is
his, and he designs that his Church be
Instrumental In saving It,. And there
are certain conditions prescribed by
lin as essential In the existence of the
Church, and certain processes indi-
Gated by Him for the propagation of
the Church and the conversion of the
world. Man may not contravene his
law. All efforts to do this must prove
futile.
There are to-day claiming to be in the
Church those who say the triumph OF
the Church in subjugating the world
Is too delayed.
Some nigh cut must be taken to get
there; some strategic move employed
TO make by our mighty conquest the
hnal and complete capture of the world.
The plan Is on this wise to transfer
the base of operations from the sanctu-
airy to the forum TO throw the Church
out of It's orbit for the regulation of the
civil system, to organize n political party
to concentrate forces on the devil In the
saloon The result Is foreshadowed.
Legions of demons improve the oppor-
tunity to attack the Church on flank
ana in the rear 1t is miserable gener-
afship IN Christian warfare TO discrimin-
ate between this sin and that sin and
these and those. Points along the lines
are thus weakened and all manner of
enemies TO truth or virtue enter in.
Civil spirit and worldliness drive out
spirituality and Godiirlessl and .hen
this worst of all comes to pass: MY
household shall be called, of all na-
tions, the house of prayer, but we have
made 1t a den of thieves" In Il word
the Church may become secularzed.
Its great object, the conversion of the
world, is defeated. Its evangelizing
power and energy by the Holy Ghost
Is lost. In the Kingdom of Heaven the
Church is instituted to be the vehicle
OF the Gospel, which 'is the power of
God unto salvation" The Holy Spirit
is the element of life that constitutes
Gospel power Moreover each member
or the Church is appointed to be the
vehicle Of the Holy Ghost. Know We
not that your body Is the temple of the
Holy Ghost, which Is in you. which We
have of God?" 1t is therefore as clear
as sunshine that no human authority
can appropriate the Church. the Gospel
and the Holy Ghost to any other pur-
pose than converting souls and evan
gelizing the world. When any man or
set OF men in the name of the Church,
or on account of the same, presumes
to transfer the divine institution in
part or In the whole to the arena of
civil institutions, or political standards
or campaigns, he insults God and sins
a against the Holy Ghost. God will not
stand by the man that does 1t. The Holy
Ghost departs from the scene, and evan
gelis,ic songs and prayers and lectures
have no evangeliZlng influence what
ever. 1t is nothing less than q msera-
BILE and abominable barter of sacred and
divine things for political fortunes and
enrolments of office. Are not these the
tactics of the Church Temperance Po-
litical party?
The divine influence is in some way
sought to further the cause in which
Office, money and political partiZanry
are involved. The gift of God, the HOLY
Ghost, Will never be available in any
cause where selfish and monetary CON
siderations are conspicuously or clan
destinely involved But Peter said UNI
to him. thy money perish with thee
because thou hast thought the gift of
God may be purchased with money
Thou hast neither part nor lot In this
matter. for thy heart is not right In the
sight of Coda warning to all that
would barter in affairs of religion and
politics. The Church is the one place
which every man should enter with
no embarrassment on account of his
social sectional, sectarian or political
education, or predictions TO find rest
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