Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-07-28


ministers nf the gospel who spent their
whole lives bombarding other denomina-
tions and who lived to see their children
preach the gospel in those very denominn-
tions But it is often the case that bigotry
starts in household, and that tho subject
of it never RECEIVERS. There arc tens of
thousands of bigots 10 years old.
l think sectarianism and bigotry also
rise from too great prominence of any one
denomination III community. All the
other denominations are wrong and his
denomination is right because his dcnom-
ination is tho most wealthy or the most
popular or tho most influential, and 1t is
"our" church, and "our" religious organ
ization, and our" choir, and Our" min
lister, and tho man losses his head and
wants other denominations to know their
places. 1t Is q great deal better In any
community when the great denominations
of Christians are about equal in power,
marching sido by side for tho worlds CON
quest Mere outside prosperity nero
worldly power, Is no evidence that the
church is acceptable TO God. Better
barn with Christ in the manger than
cathedral wr:h magnificent hnrmonies
rolling through tho long drawn aislc and
all angel from heaven in tho pulpit II
there bo no Christ in the chancel and no
Christ in the robes
Bigotry and Ignorance.
Bigotry is often tho child of ignorance.
You seldom find man with large intel
lcct who is bigot. 1t is the man who
thinks he knows great deal, but docs
not That man is almost always n bigot.
Tho whole tendency of education and civ
ili2ation is to bringa man out of that kind
of state of mind and heart. There was in
the far cast great obelsk and one side
of tho obclisk was white, another side of
the obclisk was green, another side of .Ao
obelisk was blue, and travellers went and
looked at that obolisk but they did not
walk around it. One man looked at ono
side, another Mt another side, and they
came homo, each ono looking at only ono
side, and they happened to meet, the story
says, and they got into rank quarrel
about tho color of that obclisk. Ono man
said IL was white, another man said 1t was
green, another man snid 1t was blue, and
when they were in the very heat of the
controversy moro intelligent traveller
came and said: Gentlemen, | have seen
that obclisk, and you are all right, and
you are all wrong. Why didn't you all
walk around tho obcliskr'
side of religious truth. Look out for
the man who never walks around about
these great theories of God and eternity
aud tho dead. lie will DO bigot incyita
blythe man who only sees one side
There is no man more to be pitied than no
who has in his head just one idca-no
more no less More light, less sectarian-
ism. There is nothing that will so soon
kill bigotry Us sunshinc-God's sunshine.
so have set before you what | consider
TO be the causes of bigotry. | have set be-
fore you the origin Of this great evil.
What are some OF the halCful cifcctsy First
of ALL it cripplcs investigation, You arc
wrong, and | am right, and that ends it,
/ No taste for exploration, no spirit of In
/ vcstigation. From the glorious realm of
! Gods truth, over which an archangcl
might fly from eternity to eternity and not
reach tho limit the man shuts himself out
and dies, a blind mole under corn shock.
! 1t stops all investigation.
While each denomination Of Christians
Is to present all the truths of the Bible, 1t
seems To me that God has given to each
denomination an especial mission to give
particular emphasis to some one doctrine,
and so the Calyinstic churches must pre-
sent tho sovereignty of Cod and the Ar
miniun churches must present man 5 free
agency, aud the Episcopal churches must
prcsCn the importance of order and solemn
ceremony, and the Baptist churches must
present the necessity of ordinances, md
the Congregational church must present
tho responsibility of tho individual mem
Der, and the Methodist church must show
what holy enthusiasm, hearty congrega
tional singing, can accomplish. While each
denomination Of Christians must set forth
all the doctrines of the Bible, feel it il
especially incumbent upon each dcnomi
nation to put particular emphasis on some
+ ono doctrine.
Damage Done by Scctarinnism.
Another great damage done by the SEQ
tarianism and bigutry Of the church Il
that it disgusts people with the Christian
religion. Now, my friends, the church o.
God was never intended for war barrack
People are afraid of riot. You go dowI
the street, and you see an excitement ant
missiles flying through the air and yol
hear the shock of firearms. DO you, tn,
peaceful and industrious citizen, z,
through that street? Oh, mol You viii
say, IN go around the block" Now
mon come and look upon this narrow patti
to heaven, and sometimes see the ccclcsi
astcal brickbats dying every whittier, ant
they say; well guess III take the broa(
road. There is SO much sharpshooting OF
the narrow road guess I'll try the broat
road"
Francis so hated the Luthcrans that h
said that if he thought there was one drol
Of Lutheran blood in his veins he woul,
puncturo them and let that drop out. Jus
: as long as there is so much hostility be
tween denomination and denomination o
between one profossed Christian and an
other or between one church and another
so long mon will be disguised with tn
Christian religion and say IF that is rl
Iigion, / want mono OF it D
Again, bigotry and scctnrianism d
great damage in the fact that they hinde
, the triumph of the gospel. Oh, how niue
wasted ammunition How many men c
splendid intellect have given their Who'll
life to controversial disputes when, II the
had given their life to something pract
cal, they might have been vastly useful
Suppose while | speak, there were CON
mon enemy coming up the bay and all til
forts around the harbor began to fire int
each other. You Would cry out; "NationG
suicide Why don't those forts blaz
; away in ono direction and that against tn
common cnemy?" And yet sometimes sc
in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ
strange thing going on-church agnins
church, minister against minister, demon
ination against denomination, firing ava
into their own fort, or the fort whic
ought to be on the same side instead {
{ fonsecrating their encrHy and giving ont
e mighty and everlasting volley against thu
= Davios of dark ness riding IN through thl