Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1898-08-05
LIFE AND DEATH.
WHAT 4 DIFFERENCE m PRoSUS.
CATION MEANT.
'seetariaI.i-in" IL the Subject = The
Church OF God Divided Into a Great
Number of DenominRtions-The Causes
of BigotTy-Eyils ot Intolerance.


TTNr. "Ttsn said they unto him. saw.
COW Shihb0leth. AMI he said SiJbole;h;
'or h. could not frame TO pronounce. il
light. Then they took him and slew him
At the passages Of Jordan. judges xii, &.
Do YOU notice the difference Of pronun.
citation between shibb0lyth and sibboieih'
A very small and uuiMIOraut difference,
YOU saw. And vet, that difference was the
difference between life aud death for a
great many people. The Lords people
Gilrad and Ephraim, got into a great fight
and EIhrairu was worsted and on the re-
treat came 10 the fordS OF the river Jordan
10 cross. order was given that all Eph-
raimites coming there he slain. But how
could il be found out who were Fphraim-
ite-g They were detected by their pronuu-
citation. Shihboleth was word that stood
for river. The Ephraimitcs had a hrogur
of their own, and when they tried TO say
"shiuhOeth always left out the sound O'
the III" When 1t was asked that they say
shibboleth they said sibbOleth. and were
slain. Then said they unto him, say now
shibholeth; and he said sibboleth. ioT he
could not frame to pronounce il right.
Then they took him and slew him az the
passages Of Jordan" very small diner-
ance. YOU say, between Gilead and Eph-
rain, and vet how much Intolerance about
IuAL Sllhh hlAAGLNhNCE 1 lie l4OIu lTlhts
in our timely which ] mean the different
denominations of Christians-sometime
magnify very small difference, and the
only difference between scores of denomin-
ations to-day Is the difference between
shibboieth and sibb0ieth
The Church of God is divided into a great
number of denominations. Time would
fail NE TO tell of the Calvinists, and the Ar
miuiaus. and the Sabbatarians, and the
1 Il L 4. 4
Shakers, and the Quakers and the Metho-
dists, and the Baptists, and the Episcopal
ians, and the Lutherans, and the COncre-
gationalists and the presbyterians and the
Spiritualists and II score of other denOmi-
nations OF religionists, some of them found
ed by very good men, soUe OF them found
ed by very egOtistic men, some of them
founded hy very bad men. But as | de-
mand for myself liberty OF conscience, |
must give that same liberty to every other
man, remembering that he no more differs
from me than | differ from him. | advo-
cate the largest liberty in all religious be-
lief and form of worship. In art in poll
tics, in morals, and in religion let there be
no gag law, no moving OF the previous
question, no persecutiOn,nO intolerance.
You know that the air and the water
keep pure 10y constant circulation, and
think there is tendency in religious dis
cussion TO publication and moral health.
Between the fourth and the sixteenth cen
turtles the church proposed TO make people
think Alright by prohibiting discussion, and
" strong censorship of the press, and
ack, and gibbet, and hot lead down tho
throat tried to make people orthodox; but
it was discovered that you cannot change
Il mans belief by twisting of his head, nor
make man see differently by putting an
awl through his eyes. There is something
in mans conscience which will hurl of
the mountain that you threw upon it, and
un5inged Of the fire, out Of the flame will
make re | wings on which the martyr will
mount 10 glory.
In that time of which l speak. between
the fourth and sixteenth centuries, peO-
| pie went from the house of God into the
/ most appalling iniQuity, and right along
| by cOusecrated affairs there were tides of
/ drunkenness and RIGHTEOUSNESS such H.
! the world never heard of, and the very
| sewers of perditiOn broke loose and flood.
/ ed the church. After awhile the printing
! press was freed. and it broke the shacEles
of the human mind. Then there came d
large number Of bad books, and wher,
/ there was one man hostile to the Christia.
religion, there were twenty men ready tt
/ advocate it; so | have not any nervousness,
in regard TO this battle going on between
| Truth and Error. The Truth will con
| quer just as certainly as that God i,
stronger than the Devil. Let Error run Il
you only let Truth run along with it
Urged on by skeptic's shout and transcen
dentalist's spur, let it run. Gods angel,
| of wrath are in hot pursuit, and quicker
than eagles beak clutches out a hawks
heart, Gods vengeance will tear it tC
! pieces.
l propose to speak to you of sectarian
ism its origin, its evils, and its cures
There are those who would make us thinA
that this monster, with horns and hoofs
is religion. l shall chase it to its hiding
place, and drag it out of the caverns o
darkness, and rip of its hide. But wan
to make distinction between bigotry anC
the lawful fondness Tor peculiar religion!
beliefs and forms of worship. have NJ
4 admiration for Il nOthingarian.
In a world of sue. tremendous vicissi
tude and temptation, and with a soul that
must after awhile stand before throne Of
insuferable brightness in day when the
rocking of the mountains and the flaming
of the heavens ard the uPheaval ofthe sea.
shall be among the least of the excite
/ ments, to give account for every thought
word. action, preference, and dislike-that
man is mad who has no religious prefer.
en"e. But our early education, our phys
cal temperament, our mental constitution
will very much decide our form of wOr
ship.
style OF psalmody that may please m,
may displease you. Some would like tc
have minister in gown and bands and
surplice, and others prefer to have min
lister in plain citizens apparel. Some are
most impressed when little child Is pre-
scented at the altar and sprinkled of thu
waters of a holy benediction sin the nam
Of the Father, and of the Son, and of thu
Holy Ghost, and others are more impressed
when the penitent comes up out Of tn
river, his garments dripping with thu
waters Of baptism which signifies thu
washing away of sin. Let either have hi
own way. One man likes no noise II
prayer not word, not whisper. An
other man, just as good, prefers by gesttc
uIatiOn and exclamation to express his de
yotional aspirations. One is just as goo,
as the other. Every man fully persuaded
in his own mind -
George Whitefeld was going over
Quaker rather roughly for some of his re
liglOus sentiments, and the Quaker said
George, am as thou art: | am for bring
ing all men to the hope of the Gospe
therefore, il thou wilt not quarrel with IN
about my broad brim, | will not quarre
with thee about thy black gown. George
give me thy hand,
In tracing out the religion of sectarian
ism or bigotry find that a great deal of /
comes from wrong education in the HON
circle. There are parents who do not thin
it wrong to caricature and jeer the pecuIia
forms Of religion in the world, and de
nOunce other sects and other denomina
tions. l could mention the names of prom
inent ministers of the Gospel who spen
their whole lives bombarding other de
nominations and who lived to see the
children preach the Gospel in those yer
denominations. But it is often the cas-
) that bigotry starts in a household, an
that the subject OF it never recover
There are tens of thousands of bigots te
years old.
BigotrY is often the child of ignoranc,
} You seldom find a man with large intellet