The Anaconda standard., 1899-07-28
thy life and crown with glory all thy
achievements


The valley, hill and plain
| scended to enrich and adorn our civili-
| zat.on.
Man is the elimination of the pur-
| pose of the universe He is spirit
| seeking after God, hence is related 20
the unseen, as is attested by the fact
| that all around this world temples,
| synagogues and churches are built,
| whose spires, though modestly, yet SUBJ
| timely, point to the sky. Residences,
churches, schools and state houses are
| the stately habitations man builds, and
| in these he dwells and accomplishes the
great purposes of his creation. The
| whole world lis the home of man. and
| these institutions are his workshops
| where the plans of life as they came
| from God are developed Without these
institutions mans existence would be
| precarious and his stay short BY these
he becomes planted to the soil. estab-
| lished in the relations of life and moves
| forward in majestic tread to the ac-
complishment of his great mission, the
| subsection of this world in righteous
| ness. In the beginning God said let
there be light, and there was light In
the wake of this light man began to
operate and the home and the taber
| nacles were the first institutions of his
building. Until near the second cen
tury Christians We're not permitted to
erect churches and were compelled to
worship in concealed places. Diocletian
issued an edict, 305 A. D., ordering all
Christian churches to be razed to the
ground, but under Constantine they
were rebuilt and a great number of new
ones erected over the whole Roman EN-
pire. From that time the progress Of
Christianity has been marked by the
building of church houses. and such has
been the extent of the revival of this
work that several are built daily now.
In public estimation they are commun-
ity property and every citizen holds sa-
cred his interest in them, defends them
snd demands the liberty of the people
to worship in them as they may elect.
In the beginning was the word.
Thought goes before feeling, action OF
sacrifice. The word is the expression of
divine thought, therefore is the book Of
the Christian church. The bible holds
unique place in the worlds history
and literature. The bible is the text
book of the church. IL all books for or
against the bible and all books which
owe their existence directly or indirectly
to ii were destroyed Christendom
would practically be without literature.
The masterpieces of statuary sculpture,
music, poetry and architecture are
Christian. The genius of the teacher
is a Gift of God, and the founder and
Great Teacher, whose example she
should follow. Horace Bushnell sad:
No man is ever educated in due form
save as being man: that s, D creature
related to God, and having all his high
est SUBMITS of capacity unfolded by
the great thoughts and the greater sent
iments and nohler inspirations of relig-
ion. Christianity ennobles personality,
recognizes the dignity and Individuality
Of man. The international feeling Of
comfy which is challenging the adm r
alton of the world to-day Is The legiti-
mate result of the teachings of Him
whose mission was, Peace on earth and
good will to men, Not free democracy
but free Christianity in America IS The
real key to the study box of the people
and their institutions Americans be
lieve in a personal God who Jules the
destiny of individuals and na.ions in
justice and mercy. Our God is not the
unknowahle. The maker of the uni
verse and all it contains is neither
blind force nor cold abstractio7, Lll
living God whose mighty hand upholds
all worlds, yet wipes the tear from sor-
rows cheek; hose eye surveys the u!-
most limits of CT cation, yst notes the
Sparrow's fall; whose ear dri KS the
melody of rolling spheres, Yet caches
the faintest whisper from the heart If
trouble, and hears even the young raw
ems when they cry Strength by gsn-
tleness is the aim of its teaching May
this church ever be loyal to the old, VET
always new, book.
'Methodism. l do not claim thai
Methodism is the only religious body
that holds the truth, nor do / think
1t has right to the whole world in tn,
sense that it is its duty to build altar
against altar in every community in
this land, but l do claim that she has
a mission to the great mass of man
Kind, especially to the poor among
whom she has wrought most effectively.
John wesley said: The world is my
parish, meaning that wherever in the
world the Macedonian cry was heard.
there he had nation. He was a man
of extraordinary ability. as the charac-
ter and number of the people called
Methodists amply attest. Leckey saws
of him: The greatest religious leader
or the last century Do your own tn nix
ing was Wesley's charge to the people
He said: Religious liberty is the lib
erty to choose ones own religion And
every man must judge for himself, be-
cause every man must give an account
of himself to God. This is an inal ena-
Die right, inseparable from humanity.
and God never did give authority to
any man, or any number Of men, TO
deprive any child of man thereof, under
any color or pretense whatever Ours
ts religion of love, joy and peace
Methodists can believe their creed and
preach it. Methodism is an appeal to
men to forsake sin and cling to right
eousness. stem the tide of degeneracy
and introduce better mode of life. Its
chief work is to improve the moral con-
dition and establish a purer life. Tie
sum of our theology Is repentance, full
and free salvation from all sin through
faith in the atonement of Jesus
Christ and a blessed Immortality when
we have passed through this vale of
tears.
Montana. Great Montana. Fortu-
nate Montana. Happy Montana Of
all countries in the world none is more
fascinating than Montana. The Japan
ese have a saying, the meaning Of
which is: Live 10 years in a locality
and it becomes birthplace No. g. This |
may be said of Montana, and though
she is birthplace No. to the majority |
Of us, all can say we love you. The |
name of this land was not so inviting
10 years ago. There was no king IN |
Israel, and every man did that which |
was right in his own eyes The coming |
= r., Do,