The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1898-08-04

children preach the Gospel IN these
| very denominations. But it is often the
case that bigotry starts in household
and that the subject Of it never recov-
ers There are tens Of thousands Of
b1gots ten years old.
think sectarianism and bigotry also
[ rise from too great prominence of any
one denomination in a community. All
the other denominations are wrong,
and his denomination is right because
his denomination is the most wealthy.
or the most popular, or the most influ-
entail, and it is "our" church, and
our religious organization, and "our''
cnolr, and our minister; and I the
man losses his head, and wants other
denominations to know their places. It
IS great deal better in any community
when the great denominations OF Chris
tlans are about equal in power, march
Ing side by side for the worlds con-
quest. Mere outside prosperity, mere
worldly power, is no evidence that the
church is acceptable to God. Better a
barn with Christ in the manger than
cathedral with magnificent harmonies
rolling through the long-drawn aisle,
and an angel from heaven in the pulpit.
II there be no Christ in the chancel, and
no Christ in the robes. "...,r.>
Blgotry is often the child of ignor
ance. You seldom find a man with
large intellect who is a bigot. It is
the man who thinks he knows a great
deal, but does not That man is almost
always a bigot. The whole tendency
OF education and civilization is to
bring man out Of that kind of state of
mind and heart. There was in the far
East a great obelisk, and one side of
the obel1sk was white, another side of
the obelisk was green, another side
OF the. obelisk was blue, and travellers
went and looked at that obelisk, but
they did not walk around it. One mar
looked at one side, another at another
side, and they came home each one
looking at only one side; and they hap
pened to meet, the story says, and they
got into rank quarrel about the color
OF that obelisk. One man said it was
another man said it was blue, and when
they were in the very heat Of the con-
troversy, a more intelligent traveller
| came, and said, "Gentlemen, have
| seen that obelisk and you are all right,
| and you are all wrong. Why didn't
you all walk around the obelisk?"
Look out for the man who sees only
| one side of religious truth. Look
out for the man who never walks
around about these great theories of
God and eternity and the dead. He
will be a bigot inevitably-the man
who only sees one side. There is no
man more to be pitied than he who has
in his head just one idea-no more,
no less. More light, less sectarianism.
There is nothing that will so soon xii!
bigotry as sunshine-God's sunshine.
But now, my friends, having shown
you the origin of bigotry or sectarian-
ism, and having shown you the damage
it does,~I want briefly to show you
| how we are to war against this terrible
evil, and.I think we ought to begin our
war by realizing our own weakness
and our imperfections. If we make so
many mistakes in the common affairs
| of life, is it not possible that we may
make mistakes in regard to our re-
ligiOus affairs? Shall we take a man
by the throat or by the collar because
he cannot see religious truths just as
we do? In the light of eternity it will
| be found out, think, there was some
thing wrong in all our creeds, and
something right in all our creeds, but
since we may make mistakes in regard
| to things of the world, do not let us
be 80 egotistic and so puffed up as to
have an idea that We cannot make any
| mistake in regard to religious theories.
And then I think we will do great deal
| to overthrow the sectarianism from our
heart, and the sectarianism from the
world, by chiefly enlarging in those
things in which we agree, rather than
those on which we differ.
Now, here is a great Gospel plat
form. A man comes up on this side of
| the platform and says: II don't be-
lieve in baby sprinkling." Shall I
| shove him off? Here is man coming
| up on this side of the platform, and he
says: II don't believe In the persever-
ance of the saints" Shall shove him
off? No. I will say: "Do you believe
| in the Lord Jesus as your Saviour? Do
you trust him for time and for eterni-
| ty?" He says: EYES," do you take
| Christ for time and for eternity?"
EYES," I say, Come on, brother; one
in time and one in eternity; brother
now, brother forever" Blessed be God
for Gospel platform so large that all
who receive Christ may stand on it!
think we may overthrow the Sc
we're sectarianism and bigotry in our
hearts, and in the church also, by re-
alizing that all the denominations OF
Christians have yielded noble institu
lions and noble men. There is nothing
that so stirs my soul as this thought
One denomination yielded a Robert
Hall and an Adoniram Judson; anoth-
er yielded a Latimer and Melville;
another yielded John Wesley and
summer1eld, while our own den omina-