The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-12-02
REV. DIR. ABBOTT SPEAKS
ON DISC USSIoN or POLITICAL QUES-
TIONS IN THE PULPIT.

of Leonard Bacon Club, Last Night
Marquand Chapel Filled by Those Eager
to Hear the Learned Divine-Other Noted
Speakers Coming.
Before an audience which filled Mar
quand chapel in Yale theological semi
nary to overfowing last night, Rev. Ly-
man H. Abbott, pastor of Plymouth
church, Brooklyn, delivered the first of
a series of lectures under the auspices
of the Leonard Bacon club. The learn
ed gentleman was introduced by Mr..
Pierce, president of the club. He stat
ed that several weeks ago he received
a letter from one Of the members of the
seminary, among the contents Of which
was a question which suggested this
topic for his lecture. The question was,
"What is your belief and practice re-
garding the discussion of political mat
ters in the pulpit?" Rev. DR.. Abbott
then said in part:
''I shall go a long way round to get to
my topic tonight and you may then
think I am far from it. 1t Is broad
and general question and suggests GER
tain principals which are useful and
need inquiry. Christ declared in his
mission that the spirit Of the Lord was
upon Him, and that He came to preach
deliverance to the people. This is
Christ's own definition Of why he came
into the world. The spirit is upon US
for the same purpose, for the same end,
to carry on His work in the world.
He does not say He came to organize
church, nor that He was sent to
formulate amy system Of truth, but to
bring news of the gospel into the COM
munity. He did not frame a system Of
religion, philosophical form, method or
ritual. He does not say that the spirit
was upon Him to found religion.
think many believe that Jesus Christ
came into the world to found religion,
as Mohammed, Buddha or Confucius
did
II have thus far been speaking rather
generally Let us take the matter up
more in detail. Luther said: The law
is what God commands man to do,
while the gospel is what God does for
man. 1t seems to me that all those
who have God have dropped the gospel
and think only Of the law. Christ
taught all that God does for man. He
didn't argue what God is, but He did
argue that man is mortal and that we
should regard the relationship as be-
tween parent and child. But love the
goodness of God. 1t should be the first
and foremost thing of life 1t brought
glad tidings 1900 years ago, and does
to-day.
s"rhe duties which men owe to their
fellow men are just as important now
as then. Jesus Christ shadowed the
principles of social order, but He did
not formulate one. He did not give
birth to a sociological creed any more
than He did a theological creed. He de-
clared that the kingdom of God was on
earth.
'That we should do unto others as we
wish to be done by The true spirit
should be, am to consider that T
should not take any more than my
neighbor does. If we should apply this
it would turn the world upside down.
There are young men going to New
York city by the hundreds every week.
venture to say that not one in ten
thousand has the idea Of seeing what
he can do for others, but what he can
get out of New York for himself. The
fundamental notion is not Of serving
the Master, but of being served. If 1T
was reversed it would revolutionize pol
itics, social positions, etc.
mo man to-day thinks himself
wealthy The more he has the more he
wants. 1t is always safe to say that
men ought to consider themselves
wealthy. The American church is full
of FOOLS Men don't know that money
is not to accumulate, but to use. Christ
said very little of what man owes to
God. The principal way to make mem
love God is to show that God is love-
Don't try to force them to love Him.
Show them what God has done for you
and that He will do the same for them.
Teach men their direct duties to fellow
men, as a servant to her mistress as
an employe to his master, and vice ver-
sa. The greater portion of Christ's life
was pl1ilanthropic and humanitative,
and, technically speaking, not ecclesias-
teal.
"Take your New Testament and sec
Wudt IL says oUOuI Ilc LCdSI-
ings. He gave the principles Of social
order, but no fixed form. The funda-
mental spirits are sobriety, love, etc.
The mistake a minister makes as a
minister is to take part in what is call
ed politics, and most to identify himself
with one or another party. There are
a few exceptions of ministers who have
made success as politicians. Relig-
ious and political parties were formerly
so identified that minister couldn't
preach without connecting the two. Z
am an Independent in politics. I thor
oughly and hartily believe in the citi-
zens' movement of the recent campaign
in New York city and Brooklyn If I
had not been editor Of a paper it prob
ably would have been impossible for me
to keep still in the pulpit. The members
of my church had politics all day long
for six days in the week, and they
wanted something else on Sunday It
is not the business of the ministers to
frame the law or execute it. DR. Park
hurst did a splendid work in New York
city. A minister should not take part
in the conflict of the campaigns. Give
up the work of party life to others"
At the conclusion of the lecture sew
eral questions pertaining to the scrip
lures were asked of and answered by
Rev. DR.. Abbott. In this course of lee