Evening star., 1897-01-20
CHRISTIANS AS PATRIOTS
Dr.. Tuppers Address at the Endeavor Con-
vention.
The Duty of Accepting Civil OMces-
The Ballot Box and the
Sa10On-Other Topics.

greater than on the evening before, and all
present seemed to be thoroughly imbued
with the spirit of the occasion, which was
patriotic in its character.
Previous to the beginning of the regular
exercises Miss Alice G. Kimball, the or
ganist, rendered the music on the organ
of the following: Star Spangled Banner"
Yankee Doodle" Red, White and Blue"
Maryland. My Maryland" America"
Home, Home, Sweet, Sweet Home" and
Dixie
the choir and large audience sang God
Bless Our Native Land" Lord, While for
All Mankind We Pray Loyalty to
Christ" LOYAL Soldiers and MY Coun-
try. 'Tis of Thee"
The regular services were opened by
Rev. Walter H. Brooks, DID,, pastor of the
Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, who read
the twenty-fourth Psalm. DIR. Brooks also
offered the invocation.
While the offerings were being taken
Miss Elizabeth Tyler of the Church of the
Covenant sang a solo.
Christian Patriotism.
The address If the evening was by Rev.
DIR. Kerr Boyce Tupper of Philadelphia,
whose topic was 1.-The Young Christians
Duty to His Country"
THE nobler man is religiously, the
truer he will be secularly, If 1 may make
that distinction; the more devoted he is
piously, the more faithful he will be patri-
otically. Webster never uttered q truer
word than when he said: Whatever tends
to make a man good Christian tends also
to make him a good citizen" The church
Is anything: Is a good place for saving
men in the largest and broadest sense of
that big word; place to save them from sin
and save them to service; save them in
body. mind and spirit; save them to family,
church and nation.
And 1 know of no sphere of what We
call secular life where there is greater
demand for Christian precept, Christian
principle, Christian influence. than in the
realm of politics. We can never cleanse
the Aegean stables of American politics
til our best people in the church become
litical arena. Etymologically, politics
means that which concerns the well being
of a state. Webster defines it that which
has relation to the peace, safety and pros
perity Of government, the defense of its
existence. the augmentation of its strength,
the protection of it's citizens, the preserva-
ton of Its morals 1t is one of the finest
of the fine arts; it is one of the noblest Of
the noble sciences.
And yet. politics practically is not as
politics etymologically. Why? Because
those who are accounted our best states
men deliberately and unblushingly turn
their backs upon the noble spirit to which
Jesus pointed when He said, Render unto
Caesar the things that are Caesars No
one OF us Is innocent in a representative
government like ours II he step aside when
great issues are at stake and allow the
thronging multitudes of ignorance and vice
to grasp the relns Of government and drive
the car of state into danger and ruin.
Read President Peabody's baccalaureate
address on a Plea for His Respect in Poll
tics and Religion, and be impressed with
the duty of having the fresh young life of
our people poured into purifying currents
through the land. Another has well said
a re IN vi w a
man can free himself from his obligation
an American citizen; the one by banish-
ing himself from the country and swear
ing allegiance to another power; the other
by committing felony and thus becoming
stamped as unworthy of all honor.
And what Christians can do on the po-
litical arena as on the educational and
ecclesie Stical, no one can measure. There
is power enough in the 100000 ministers of
America and the 5000 churches of Amer
lea, and the 20OOO.OOO church members of
America to say to any corrupt and corrupt
ing Influence, Thus far shalt thou go and
no farther; and to say it so manfully that
the saying will amount to an execution.
Wendell Phillips declared that If the church
sweep anything away with the fringe OF
It's garments; but the trouble is the church
does not arouse itself. In its might and
power is just It's danger. Down went into
decay and death ancient Assyria, queenly
Persia, classic Greece, imperial Rome,
throl gh Indifference corruption, and
down must also go our blood bought and
blood corsecrated republic unless its con-
stituticns and institutions be founded on
truth, and its citizens do their duty to
God and hcme and native land. Oh! shall
not we present here tonight pledge to do
our duty fearlessy and intelligently in
this direction. America has cost too much
in the past, in its translation from saw
agery to civilization through baptism of
Blood America means too much at pres
ent land of priceless personal privilege,
of universal DOlitical pUualify a h
solute joyous religious freedom; Amer
lea promises too much in the future
for all the nations of the earth to allow
its citizens to be Indifferent to its highest
development and not pledge heart and soul
for the protection Of it's government and
the development Of its capacities Remem-
ber this, power measures duties, and abil-
ity imposes responsibility.
Duties Owed to the Country.
"And how these duties and responsibili-
ties rise before US in the contemplation of
our evening theme. In the first place there
is Christian duty to accept office under
three conditions: a. when competent to fill
it. ca when honorably elected to it. (3)
when acceptance Of 1t does not interfere
with relations to home and religion. One
of the saddest spectacles in land is
that of our noblest men standing aloof
from positions to which the country calls
them, and which they would so honorabiy
tian's duty in the ballot box. Voting is not
only national privilege, it is also a re-
ligious requirement. Believe me. the bal
lot at the right time and In the right place
will save the coming of the bullet at the
wrong time and in the wrong place. In the
third place. it's the Christians duty to
send forth through all the length and
breadth of our land the glorious gospel of
the blessed Christ. This alone is the solid,
substantial. satisfactory solution of all the
pulsing problems OF our palpitating age.
Evangelism is our only salvation. Right
eousness alone exalts a nation; not art
nor science. nor philosophy, nor literature
nor armies. nor navies, but the incarnation
of principle by the representatives and the
people of the nation. Let then. each
and all, do duty to country as to Christ
Let us be brave. heroic. fearless: let there
be no time serving policy. no cowardly
counsel; let us link the cause of our ma
tion with the cause of heaven and thus
seek to lift up our whole government more
and more into the image of the Divine Sow
ereignty In heaven. Our nation Is con-
frorted by many gigantic forces Of evil.
Many questions rise today for aolution. the