Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-08-12
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) RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT. 5
All sorts OF Opinions on Differ Z
) emit Subjects. 4

s All sorts OF Opinions on Differ
emit subjects. q +
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SCORES THE CHURCH CHOIR.
Rev. Frank Talmage says the sing
IT'S should be Christians, as follows:
To-day have mighty theme for my
sermon. My subject is to be church
music, or the service Of praise. Not
now the minister is to preach, but how
he people are to sing. And enter upon
his text with great anxiety. for though
the praise of q congregation is Just az
much If not more important than the
sermon and the prayers. yet as rule
The last place on earth which is ever
lie the choir loft. The easiest |
fight to start among q collection of
Christians is on the music. Many and |
many an ecclesiastical ship has gone to
pieces by humping up against the many
rocks which are piled under the organ.
when the great waves of sound will
surge up and batter and splinter 1t into
kindlings. And no flames are hotter
than those which feed upon the dried
reeds which cluster about the organ
pipes. And whenever you find
church fight over the music the trouble
is always from one or two causes. Just
as every crow thinks her own crow the
blacklist, 80 you will generally find that
either the SONS or the daughters Of some
elder or deacon or trustee or prominent
member of the church has tried to mo-
nopoiize that part of the church service.
And if you tostle those children in the
least and try to put them out and put
some one else in who can sing a little
better those parents will never forgive
you; as long as they stay In the church
they will never forgive you. And unless
Jesus Christ Himself can miraculously
change their hearts they will not only
hate YOU for all time, but for all eter-
nifty. / have known men to come into
my choir with the smell of liquor upon
their breath. have known men who
presided at organs who were out ana
out infidels. / have known quartets
after they have finished their vocal
gymnastics to sit and hirt and chatter
like a lot of magpies. have known
some singers who never came to Wor-
ship Cod but every action of their lives,
every movement of their mouths every
curl of the feathers upon their hats
seemed to say: Now, just look at me.
Follow me. Admire me. Listen to me-
| And the wonder of wonders to me is
fhow much some of our churches accom-
pltsh when the sensible leaders OF that
church allow these satanic deyotees to
bivouac among the organ pipes without
one word of protest"
LESSONS FROM LIFE OF NIGER
SOL.
Rev. Thomas B. Payne, pastor of the
westbrook Universalist church, at the
morning service Sunday, took for his
subject. "Religious Lessons from the
Life of Robert Ingersell." The text wa:
taken from Romans, 14:5: Let ever,
man be fully persuaded In his OWL
! mind"
Mr.. Payne began by saying: NO cas-,
4 task confronts the one who shall truth
fully write the history of American re
ligious thought and progress during thu
; present century. 1t began with the in
tolerance of extreme Calvanism;
closes with the widest possible libert.
in religious thought and practice. Thi
has been accomplished by much labo
and prolonged warfare on the part @
:. reliRionists and secularist. Men With
! the church labored for the emancipa
4 ton of the human intellect and health
Men outside of the church, impelled b
no religious motive, greatly aided in tn
work. The greatest of these secular OPP
ponents of all Calvanistic types o
Christianity during the present centur
was the man of whom we now speak
: Robert G. Ingersoll, g man Of larg
2 heart, sweet instincts and noble help
fitness I wish to bring briefly to you
r attention some things we should re
( member in connection with the MAI
Y lessons we should learn out of his ex
; perience, and few things the Christia
a church should lay to heart now that he
!, chief opponent is no more.
: "The first lesson we all ought to lear
from the life of this man Is this: e
4 careful how you present the Create
). and Father of men to His childrel
h Teach them to think OF Him, not g
q their worst enemy. but their deare:
o and best friend. If you can not spea
: of God to men unless you run the ris
: of destroying their belief in God. fl
a better never to mention His name at a
d to them.
"Ingersoll began to think in a da
, when God was universally portrayed ,
!, a tyrant. To him it seemed better. ar
! he was right, to believe in no God at 8
.. than such a God.
i, Another lesson is this: 1t is wol
). of warning: NO man will have rigl
in the twentieth century to devote hin
self solely to the work of religious d
o molition. There have been times in Il
past when this was justified. A thil
e error is this. 1t is one of fact. Accor
II ing to the definition of Jesus. there WI
J. more real religion In the life of Inge
IS -----