The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-01-21
WHICH is HIGHLY INTERESTING
Pleasing Variety Of Religious
Menu for the Ma atives.
OUGHT TO PROVE EFFECTIVE.
Advantages Gained by Conversion
From ROmdniSm.

Signs are not lacking that within q
few months Il great Protestant mission
ary force will be at work in Cuba and
Porto Rico. The missionaries task will
be a trying one, and in order to facili-
tate the work a special sermon has been
prepared for the use of the representa-
tivcs of all the sccts. 1t is designed to
serve as the inaugural discourse in each
section visited. II is seriously doubted
whether the missionaries will make use
of the sermon now that it has been pre-
pared. However that may be, the
Catholic Mirror of Baltimore. places it
at their disposal, free of charge, and
from the columns of that journal we re-
produce the full text. as follows:
Behold, bring you tidings of great
joy. l find myself in your midst once
more as the representative of l43 differ
ent forms Of Christianity which We're
not yet in existence when your ancestors
first settled on these shores. cannot
adequately do justice to the primitive
ness and great simplicity of our creed.
In fact, it is simplicity itself. It's very
essence consists of your acceptance of a
book from which you are ut liberty to
draw any conclusions that may suggest
themselves, in conformity with the pres
cnt bent OF your minds. Yet feel it
my duty before your rorusal of it TO atl-
monislf you that two conditions are
'tr,.t ,l,,,,I
mcnL on your part of RonIanism, and,
second the retention of This book, which
we have translated into Spanish for your
benefit
"Now, as TO the book itself will have
to advise you beforehand that it,, author
ship Is seriously questioned. The greater
part of one hundred and forty-three
sccts of evangelism firmly maintain that
God is It's author, whilst quite a respect
able minority hold it to be Il mere hui
man production, and they. being far
more learned than the majority, defy
them to prove their claim to It's divine
authorship. This they have never been
able to do. Divine or human, it is a
good book, and you are invited to select
from it whatever may happen to COIN
cldc with one or the other of the l13 re-
llgious sccts that ground their belief in
1t. But must warn YOU against dwell
ing on any passage or texts that seem to
teach any of the doctrines that nre
taught by the Roman Church. Let them
pass unnoticcd, as there is n strong sus-
picion abroad that Rome injected her
doctrines into the book during the dark
ages. Should you be attracted to the
idea that the grand central figure, Jesus
Christ, is God himself. yet you lose
nothing in concluding that he is a mere
man, seeing the large numbers of our
evangelical patrons, called Unitarians
feel that He is not God, and therefore.
by implication, the idea of a trinity in
God is permissible for you to reject,
"lf you happen to run across any pas-
shgc that would appear to favor your
old doctrine of eternal torment after
TINS life, and If you have any fear of hay-
ing to undergo any such punishment, I
would suggest to you IL sect OF
their minister, satisfy you that your
views are theirs, and You can consort
with the Univcrsalists who form ,nlita
numerous band of respectable Christ
inns.
Again, yon will soon learn to apprc-
cinte our coming amongst you by the
good tidings we bring that no married
couple need continue to undergo the tor
mcnts OF a forced compani0nship, us
soon as our civil courts commence to
90 into the divorce business. This NAV
appear to you now something
nevel, but when you see your
neighbor applying to the divorce
mill you will not be long in fall
Ing into line. The religion that you were
born and raised in never tolerated a
single case of divorce for more than
eighteen and a half centuries. But the
reformcrs of the sixteenth century had
no difficulty in securing a divorce for
Henry VIII. in England. This was the
first English divorce. After this Ger
manys leading reformcrs, headed by
Luther, Melancthon and others, granted
to the Landgrave of Hessc the privilege
of keeping two wives at a time. Thus
polygamy, successive and simultaneous,
has been the order of the day, more or
less, ever since--my own country being
far in advance Of all others. 1t is
true that the Redeemer has warned
mankind not to dare put asunder what
Cod has joined together, and the old
:hurch has streEuously maintained mon
ogamy; but it will always be safe for
you in the future to holi to the contra,