St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-08-27

other sects and other denominations.
1t is very often the case that that-kind
Of education acts just opposite to what
was expected, and the children grow
up, and, after awhile, go and see for
themselves; and, looking in those
churches, and finding that the people
IRE good there, and they love God and
keep His commandments, by natural
reaction they go and join those very
churches. could mention the nance
Of prominent ministers of the Gospel
who spent their whole lives lombard
ing other denominations and who lived
to see their children preach the Gospel
in those very denominations. But it is
often the case that bigotry starts in n
household, and that the subject OF it
never RECEIVERS. There are tens OF thou
sands of bigots ten years old.
think sectarianism and bigotry also
rise FROM too great prominence. of any
one denomination in q 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-
''our" religious organization, and "our"
choir, and ''cur" minister; and the man
losses his head, and wants other de-
nominations to know their places. 1t
is great deal better in any communi-
ty when the great denominations OF
Christians are about equal in power,
marching side by side for the worlds
conquest. Mere outside prosperity,
mere worldly power, is no evidence
that the church is acceptable to God.
Better n barn with Christ in the man.
ger than cathedral with magnificent
harmonies rolling through the long
drawn aisle. and an angel from Heaven
in the pulpit, il there be no Christ IN
the chancel. and no Christ in the robes.
Bigotry is often the child OF igno-
rance. You seldom find n man with
large intellect who is bigot. 1t is the
man who thinks he knows a great deal,
but does not. That man is always q
bigot. The whole tendency OF educa-
ton and civilization is to bring a man
out of that kind of state Of mind and
heart. There was in the far east a
obelisk, and one side of the obelisk was
white, another side of the obelislk
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 man
looked at one side, another at another
side. aud they came home each looking
at only one side; and they happened
to meet, the story says, and they got
into a rank qu1rrcl about the color of
that obelisk. One man said it was.
white, another man said it was green.
another man said it was blue, and
when they were in the very heat of the
controversy. q more intelligent travel
er came, and said: Gentlemen, / have
seen that obelisls 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. lie will be a
bigot incvitably--the man who only
sees one side. There is no man more
to be pitied than he who has in head
just one idca-no more, no less. More
light, less sectarianism. There is
nothing that will SO soon kill bigotry
as sunshine-God's sunshine.
SO have set before you what l con-
slider to be the cause Of bigotry. /
have set before you the origin Of this
great evil. What are some Of the bale
fnl effects? First of all, it crippies in
vestigation. You are wrong and 1 am
right, and that ends it. No taste for
exploration, no spirit of investigation.
From the glorious realm OF Gods truth,
over which an archangel might fly from
eternity to eternity and not reach the
limit, the man sh uts himself out and
It stops all investigation.
While each denomination Of Chris
tians is to present all the truths of the
Bible, it seems to me that God has
given to each denomination an especial
mission to give particular emphasis to
some one doctrine; and SO the CAL
whistle churches must present the
sovereignty of God, and the Arminian
churches must present mans free
agency. and the Episcopal churches
must present the Importance of order
and solemn ceremony, and the Baptist
churches must present the necessity of
ordinances, and the Congregational
church must present the responsibility
Of the individual member, and the
Methodist church must show what holy
enthusiasm, hearty congregational
singing can accomplish. While each
denomination of Christians must set
forth all the doctrines of the Bible. l
feel it is especially incumbent upon
each denomination TO put particular
emphasis on some one doctrine.
Another great damage done by the
sectarianism and bigotry OF the church
is that it disgusts people with the
Christian religion. Now, my friends.
the church Of God was never intended
for war barrack. People are afraid
OF riot. You 60 down the street and
you see an excitement and missiles
flying through the air, and you hear
the shock of firearms. Do you, the
peaceful and industrious citizen, go
through that street. Oh, no! you will
say, I'm 20 around that block" Now,
men come and look upon this narrow
path to Heaven, and sometimes see the
ecclesiastical brick-bats flying every
WHITTIER, and they say: "Well, guess
Ill take the broad road; there is so
much sharpshooting on the narrow
road. guess Ill try the broad road!"
Francis l. so hated the Lutherans
that he said that If he thought that
there was one drop Of Lutheran blood in
his veins he would puncture them and
let that drop out. just as long as
there is so much hostility between de-
nomination and denomination, or be-
tween one professed Christian and an
other, or between one church and an
other, so long will men be Disguised
with the Christian religion, and say:
If that is religion, want none OF it."
Again, bigotry and sectarianism do
great damage in the fact that they
hinder the triumph OF the Gospel. Oh,
now much wasted ammunition! How
many men OF splendid intellect have
given their whole life to controversial
disputes, when, II they had given their
life to something practical, they might