The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1897-01-28

ana rail- fence on Ills ueiS HUI p'S
ises, and it will make him shelter his |
cattle in the winter storm, and it will
keep the old elder from working on |
Sunday afternoon in the new ground
where nobody sees him. And this
practical religion will hover over the
house. and over the barn, and over the
field, and over the orchard.
Yes, this practical religion OF which
l speak will CO, lie into the learned pro-
LESSONS. The lawyer will feel his re-
sponsibility IN defending innocence
and arraigning evil, and expounding
the law, and it will keep him from
charging for briefs he never wrote
and for pleas he never made, and for
percentages he never earned, and from
robbing widow and orphan because
they are defenseless. Yes, this prac-
teal religion will come into the ply
sicians life, and he will feel his re-
sponsibility as the conservator OF the
public health, a profession honored by
the fact that Christ Himself was a
physician. And 1t will make him
honest, and when he does not under.
stand a case he will say SO, not trying
to cover up lack Of diagnosis with
ponderous technicalities, or send the
patient to reckless drug store because
the apothecary happens to pay per-
centage on the prescriptions sent.
And this practical religion will come
to the school-teacher, making her feel
her responsibility in preparing our
youth for usefulness and for happiness
and for honor, and will keep her from
giving sly box to n dull head,
chastising him for what he can not
help, and sending encouragement all
through the after years OF life
time. This practical religion will also
| come to the newspaper men, and 1t will
help them in the gathering of the
news, and it will help them in setting
forth the best interests of society, and
it will keep them from putting the sins
of the world In larger type than its
virtues, and its mistakes than Its
achievements, and it will keep them
from misrepresenting interviews with
public men, and from starting suspi-
cions that never can be allayed; and
will make them staunch friends of the
oppressed instead of the oppressor.
Yes, this religion, this practical re-
ligion, will come and put its hand on
what is called good society, elevated
society, successful society, so that
people will have their expenditures
within their income, and they will ex-
change the hypocritical mot at home"
for the honest explanation too tired"
or "too busy to see you,' and will keep
innocent reception from becoming in
toxicated conviviality.
Yes, this practical religion will have
to come in and fix up the marriage re-
lation in America There are MEM
bers of churches who have too many
wives and others who have too many
husbands. Society needs to be expur-
gated, and washed, and fumigated,
and Christianized. We want this prao-
teal religion not only to take hold Of
what are called the lower classes, but to
take hold of what are called the higher
classes. The trouble is that people
have an idea they can do all their re-
ligion on Sunday with hymn. book and
prayer-book and liturgy, and some of
them sit in church rolling up their
eyes as though they were ready for
translation, when their Sabbath is
bounded on all sides by an in consistent
life, and while you are expecting to
come out from under their arms the
wings of an angel there come out from
their forehead the horns of beast.
: There has got to be new departure
: in religion. l do not say a new re.
} ligion. Oh, no; but the old religion
to new appliances. In our time we
have had the daguerreotype and the
ambrotype and the photographs; but II
, only new appliances of the old sun
, light. SO this glorious Gospel is just
t what we want to photograph the
: image of God on one soul and daguer
reotype it ON another soul. Not q
, new Gospel, but the old Gospel put
t to new work. In our time we have
/ had the Geographic invention anc
: the telephone invention and the cleo
| trio light invention; but they are al
children of the old electricity, an ele
t ment that the philosophers have a long
| | while known much about. So thi:
electric Gospel needs to flash it's ligh'
| on the eyes and ears and souls of men
E and to become a telephoneic medium
d to dart invitation and warning to al
t nations; an electric light to illum nj
v nate the eastern and western he uni
b spheres. Not new Gospel, but the OLE
/ Gospel doing a new work.
e In the latter part of the last centur,
Y girl in England became a kitchen
S maid in a farm house. She had man,
: styles of work and much hard work
0 Time rolled on, and she married tn
r son of weaver of Halifax. They wer
e Industrious, they saved money enougI
!, after awhile to build them
: home. On the morning of tn
: day they were to enter tina
# home the young wife arose at fou
Il o'clock, entered the front dooryarc
r knelt down, consecrated the place t
s God, and there made this solemn vow
l. 80 Lord, if Thou wilt bless me In tn
h place, the poor shall have share c
It it." Time rolled on and fortune role
;. in. Children grew up around then