The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1896-02-06


cause of our ruin. II has said. BE
still; let %. content ourselves that ~
have no; hem sccarx-d with prssilenc-
OF swept By cyclone .s e,ia-nc~ of our
boanteous Father. wrath. Having
food and raim~ni. or not having %.
let us b. Sh-fewith content In pub
I pit. religious and plutccraiic pr..s.
the clergy have counted As enemies
Of public good all that have .trissn TO
arouse Ioen 10 oncomtng dsngers. And
+ yet discomfort - the oniy basis of di-
vine promise 81 anything better
Whether In spiritual or material
things, 10 l. the expression of \ long
ing for better conditions, TO which
[ Eternal Love calls upward every man.
u 10 tn, only tasis OF prsgr-ss. % 10
tn. worlds motive 10 that
~one far-off divine event.
To which the whole creation moye---
/ But reforms never spring from dive.
of security and Ease. They spring
I from = torn soil. the narrowed sour
oat of whose lives -nslayipg power has
not crushed the progressive spirit Of
discomfort. This l. the basis and mean
ing of labors struggle for freedom and
continued civilization. Aud II cur
0vilixatiou shall fail. it, failure vi 20 he
chargrabl. Ia -, enemies IN their
| greed and their sanity allies who cry
peace when there - no peace
Not one time or anywhere. sAys
| Dr. \ at-s, did Christ mrddi- with po-
liiics or civil government Hut W
read that John the Baptist. WHOSE mis-
sion was 10 prepare the way at the
Lord and make His paths straight. re-
buked the adultery of iierod though il
cost his head. The mission OF the min
istry of to-day Is not widely variant
from the mission Of John. and IL needs
TO be not less boldly executed. Ages
before Christ's visible appearance. lie
inspired His prophets To NEEDLE with
politics and 10 SAY that national evils
We're consequent upon national sins.
He commissioned them To acruse
kings Ia their face. though for doing
His bidding they went into the pit /:
and He forced n cowardly Jonah Ia de-
clare his message 10 \ wicked CITY
Christ was Himself the model OF indic-
nant rebuke of sin in high places; and
those who stand for him shall no,
shrink from denunciation Of san be-
cause AZ may be- "intrench.d behind
political barricades.' Was IL not in
His last public address. on very pub
lie occasion and only few days brfor.
His cruciiixion, that lie denounced the.
Scribes and Pharisees for their eNtnr-
ton and said: "le serp.nfs, We gen.r-
alton of yipers' How shall We escape
the judgment of hell:" lie may have
got hit for saying il, but lie said il y.
none the less. And certainly a minis
try which breaches against the liquor
traffic, political evil, needs only back
In a.h l..
as great as that.
Christ operated a. a mere man. But
His miracles all conferred temporal
benefits. He translated no man into
heaven, but brought back one To this
world, four days departed. His iheo-
lOgy was not more i'm thought than in
action: and while, operating as mere
man, He made no attempt To overthrow
civil government. All His actions de-
clared that, in Christian nation, His
followers should attempt i'm His spirit
and manner what lie unaided could
not do.
"Republican institutions Oh this
continent" wrote Bishop Foss i'm
1882, "are now confronted 10y two great
and growing evils, both of which re-
qulre the presence of the pulpit i'm he
political arena; the enormous and un-
blushing corruption of many of our
municipal governments and the fright
full and widening chasm between the
rich and the poor. How can il
be expected that Ioafers, whisky-guz-
Zlers and public thieves should make |
and execute just laws? The mission |
oil the gospel is TO society. to Senates |
and parliaments as well as TO indiyid- |
uals.' He quotes "a keen student of |
sns
politics is the broadcast, richest, and |
most important field of Christian en-
deavor will probably seem TO many .
startling proposition; but it is one on
the truth of which the future, not only
of republican government, but of
Christian civilization depends. Neither
OF these can be regarded as secure I'M
til it is accepted as a principal of
Christian ethics, that a man can no
more stand idly by and see public |
evils prevail and expect TO be held
guiltless, than if he were a willing wit |
ness of his brothers murder"
If the church has been reused 10
save souls, il must wake to the neces-
sity of saving bodies also. For these
are the true temples of the living God. |
1t should remember that God is not |
the God OF the dead only. He led Israel |
out of Egypt, not into Heaven, but into |
land of earthly good. Was His will |
better for Israel than for the oppressed |
of this republic! III SO. the advent. |
life and cruciiixion of Jesus was a |
cruel failure, and John sweet thought |
that God is love, blazes into a desperate |
falsehOOd. Nothing is more real. not
even the pains of a medieval hell |
than the pains OF this present life: and |
labor looks 20 Jesus for peaceful pro-
gress and freedom here. "worship
would grow with more evident reasons
for wOrshipping," if those who pro- (
fessedly stand for Christ should take 10 |
heart the Sermon on the Mount and 90 |
TO the masses with full gospel. in
GLIDING the Interests Of both body and
soul, and endeayOr to make this earth
lit prelude to Heaven, rather than q
better or worse hell from which death
releases us.
In the face, however, OF ruinous ten
tencies, the church counts itself happy
If it can save souls out OF the wreck
that is going on. II childishly paints
rOseate pictures of its progress in
wealth and numbers. yet il must ~.
sadly confessed" says one thoughtful
divine, "there are other facts lust As
solid which may well blanch the
cheeks Of the bravest. Terrific forces
Oh evil menace Christianity and even
society itself. The fostering masses
Oh vice and cri ne m our large cities.
growing in bigness and badness with
every decade: the enormous increase
81 wealth for the most part totally in
different to the claims Of poverty. and
1iier recklessly defiant of them:
political corruption in the
shadow OF hundreds OF church sleeples.
md the steady, forward march OF the
saloon power, corrnpting legislatures.
,uying courts, and debauching poIi,
lies. These and other allied forces OF
wi show the need of reforming the
ines OF Christianity, so that il shall
ace the foe. The Christian forces
must change front and look their worst