Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1898-07-28
THE GOSPELS PROGRESS.
Sectarianism Should Have No Place
in Religion.
The Ammunition of All Christian Dcnom-
nations Should lie Directed Against
the Common Enemy and Not at
One Another-Dr. Tai
IMAGES sermon.

The text of DIR. Talmage Sunday was
Judges xii, q: Then said they unto
him. Say now shibboleth, and he said
sibboleth: for he could not frame To
pronounce it right. Then they took
him and slew him at the passages of
Jordan"
Do you notice the difference of pro-
nunciation between shibbolcth and
sibboleth? A very small and unim-
portant difference, you say. And yet
that difference was the difference be-
tween life and death for a great many
people. The Lords people, Gilead and
Ephraim, got into great fight. and
| Ephraim was worsted. and on the re-
treat came to the fords of the river
Jordan 10 cross. Order was given that
all Ephraimites coming there I've
slain. But how could il be found
out who were Ephraimitcs? They
were detected by their pronuncia-
stood for river. The Ephraim-
ties had a brogue of their own,
and when they tried To say "shih-
Dol tn" always left out the sound Of
the III" When il was asked that they
say shibboleth they said sibboleth,
aud were slain. Then they said un-
to him. Say now shibboleth, and he
said sibboleth: for he could not frame
to pronounce il right Then they took
him and slew him at the passages of
the Jordan" A very small difference.
you say, between Giiead and Ephraim,
and yet how much intolerance about
that small difference The Lords
tribes in our timely which | mean
the different denominations of Chris
tians-somctimes magnify a very small
difference. and the only difference be-
tween scores of denominations to-day
is the difference between shihholcth
and sibbolcth. The church of God
is divided into great number
of denominations Time would fail
me to tell Of the Calvinists.
and the Arminians, and the Sab
batarians, and the Baxterians, and the
Dunkers, and the shakers, and the
Quakers, and the MethodistS. and the
Baptists. and the Eniscopalians, and
the Lutherans, and the Congregation
alists and the Presbyterians. and the
| SpiritualistS, and a score of other de-
nominations of religinistS. some of
them founded by very good men, some
of them founded by very egotistic men,
some of them founded by very bad
men. But as demand for myself lib
erty of conscience, | must give that
same liberty to every other man. re-
membering that he no more differs
from me than | differ from him. ] adj
vocate the largest liberty in all re-
ligious belief and form of worship. In
art, in POLITICS, in morals and in re-
ligion let there be no gag-law, no NOV
ing of the previous q~--on. no ne. St.
cution. no intolerance.
You kra%- that the air and the water
keep pure by constant circulation, and
think there is tendency in religious
discussion TO publication and moral
health. Between the fourth and the
sixteenth centuries the church pro-
posed to make people think Alright by
prohibiting discussion, and by strong
censorship of the press, and rack, and
gibbet, and hot lead down the throat
tried to make people orthodox; but 1t
was discovered that You can not change
a mans belief by twisting off his head.
nor make a man see differently by put
ting an awl through his eyes There
is something in a mans conscience
which will hurl off the mountain that
YOU threw upon il, and. unsinCed of
the fire. cut of the flame will make red
wings on which the martyr Will mount
to glory.
In that time of which speak. be-
tween the fourth and 10th centuries,
people went from the house of God
into the most appalling iniquity. and
right along by consecrated affairs there
were tides of drunkenness and licen-
tiousness such as the world had never
heard of, and the very sewers of perdi-
ton broke loose and flooded the church
After while the printing press was
freed, and il broke the shackles of
the human mind. Then there
came large number of bad
books, and where there was
one man hostile to the Christian relig-
ion there were 20 men ready to advo-
cate it; SO have not any nervousness
/ in regard TO this battle going on be-
tween Truth and Error. The truth
will conquer just as certainly as that
Goa is stronger than the devil. Let
Error run if you only let Truth run
along with it. Urged on by skcptic's
shout and transcendenta Us spur, let
il run. Gods angels of wrath are in
hot pursuit, ami quicker than the
eagles beak clutches out of hawks
heart Gods vengeance will tear it to
pieces.
propose TO speak to you of sectari-
anism-itS origin, its evils and its
cures There ar those who would
make us think that this monster. with
horns and hoof. is religion. / shall
chase it to its hiding place and drag 1t
out of the caverns of darkness and rip
off its hide. But | want to make
distinction between bigotry and the
lawful fondness of peculiar religious
belief and forms of worship. l have
no admiration for a nothingarian.
In a world of such tremendous vici-
situde and temptation, and with a
soul that must after a while stand be-
fore a throne of insufferable right
ness, in a day when the rocking of the
mountains and the flaming of the
Heavens and the upheaval of the seas
shall be among the least of all excite
ments to give account for every
thought, word, action, preference and
dislike-that man is mad who has no
religious preference. But our early
education, our physical temperament,
our mental constitution will very
much decide.
A style of psalmody that may please
me may displease you. Some would
like TO have a minister in gown and
bands and surplice, and others prefer
to have a minister in plain citizens
apparel Some are most impressed
when little child is presented at the
altar and sprinkled of the waters of
holy benediction in the name
of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost" and 9TH
ers are more impressed when the
penitent comes up out of the river,
his garments dripping with the waters
of baptism which signifies the wash
ing away of sin. Let either have his
own way. One man likes no noise in
prayer, not a word, not a whisper.
Another man. just as good, prefers by
gesticulation and exclamation to ex-
press his devotional aspirations One
is just as good as the other. Every
fullx- r.arxnudad in, HE axv, mind