Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1899-06-15
TALKS ON BIGOTRY.
Rev DR.. Talmage Discusses a Del
icate Subject.
Dcpiorr- Srrtnrinn Difference In the
Iiomr--t'Putions Parents ns to
Its E>iI Eject ON the
Children.
Icor,risht. 1881. by Louis klorschI


circles cNrrNwhcrc. The text j. Gcnc-
RS Nil. >; Let there Inc no strife, |
pray thee, between me and thee. ami
between my hcrdmcn aud thy hcrdmcn.
l. not the whole land before thee"
nclr aud nephew, Ahram and Lot.
both piouS, both milliunaircS. and with
such large tiocks of bIcating sheep and
lowing cattle that their hcrdmcn got
into a fight, perhaps about the best
pasture, or about the best water priv
lcgr. or because the cow of one got
hooked hy the horns of the other. Not
their poverty of opportunity. but their
wealth. Was the cause of controversy
| between these two men. To Ahram. the
glorious old McsopOtnmian Shcik. such
controversy seemed absurd. II was
like two ships quarrrliug tor SEA room
In the middle Of the Atlantic ocran.
There Was u vast reach Of country. corn
ii, Ids, vineyards. har,csts and plenty
Of room IN illimitabe acreage. Now, -
| said Ahram. ''let us agree To differ.
Here are the mountain districts. swept
10y the tonic of sea breeze and with
midc-rcaching prospect. and there is
the plain ot Jordan. with tropical lux
nriau"c. You may have either" Lot.
VIII" was not ns rich as Abram and
might have been expected tn take the
second choice, made the first selection.
and with modrstN that must have
made Abram smile. said to him:
"N"u may have the rocks and the
fine prospect: will take the valley
oi tine Jordan. with all it, luNuriancs Of
rorni"hlS. aud tn" river To- water the
tlocks. and the genial climate. and the
wealth unreasonable. 80 the CON
truNrrsy was forever settled. and great
s"ulcd Abram carrnd out the suggcs-
| tion of the text: LET there he no
| strife. ! pray thee. between me and
thee. and between my hcr,incn and thy
hcrdmen. l. not the whole land he
fore thee"
Well. in this. the last decade of the
| nineteenth century. and in this bcauti-
full land, which WAS called America.
after Anericus NrSpuciu>. but should
have been called Columbia. after It's
discoycrcr, Columbus, we have a wealth
of religious privilege and opportunity
that il positively hcwildering churches
| of all sorts of crccdS. and Of all kinds of
government. and all forms of worship.
and all styles Of architecture. What
opulencc of ecclesiastical opportunity.
Now, while in dcsolatc regions Their,
may be only one church. in the opulcnt
| districts of this country there is such Il
profusion that there ought To he no
difficulty In making n selection. No
fight about ycstments, or between liiur-
eical or nonliturSical adhercnts. or as
To baptiSimal modes, or IA handful nf
water as compared with riverful. If
Abram prefers to dwell on the heights.
where he can only get Il sprinkling
from the clouds, let him consent that
Lot have all the Jordan in which tu
immerse himself. Let there he no
strife. ! pray thee, between me and
thee. and between my herdmcn and thy
herdmen. Is not the whole land before
thee?"
Especially Is II fortunate when
f2milies allow angry discussion at the
Ereakfast or dinner or tea table ms To
which is the best church or denomina-
ton, one at one end of the table saving
he could never endure the rigid doe
trines of Presbyterianism, one at the
other end responding that she never
could stand the forms of Episcopacy.
and one ut one side of the table saying
he did not understand how anybody
| could bear the noise i'm the Methodist
!church, and another declaring all the
liaptists bigots. There are hundreds
of families hopelessly split on ecclesi-
asticism, and in the middle of every dis
| cussion on such subjects there is Il
kindling of Indignation, and il needs
some old Father Abram to come and put
his foot on the loaded fuse before the
explosion takes place and say: LET
there be no strife, pray thee, between
me and thee. and between my herdmen
and thy herdmcn. Is not the whole
land before thee?
l undertake a subject never under
taken by any other pulpit. for il is an
exceedingly delicate subject. and if not
rightly handled might give serious Of
Tense. but ] approach il without the
slightest trepidation. for | am sure
have the Divine direction in the mat
tiers | propose to present. II is ire
mendous question. asked all over
Christendom, often asked with tears
and sobs and heartbreaks and involv-
ing the peace of families, the eternal
happiness of many souls. In matters
of church attendance should the wife
go with the husband, or the husband
go with the wife?
First. remember that all the even
gelical churches have enough truth I'm
them To save the soul and prepare us for
happiness on earth and in Heaven.
will 90 with you into any well-selected
theological library. and will show Won
sermons from ministers in all denom-
nations that set forth man as sinner
and Christ as a dcliverer from sin and
sorrow. That is the whole Gospel. Get
that into your soul, and you are fitted
for the here and the hereafter. There
are differences, we admit. and some de
nominations we like better than others
But suppose three or four of us make
portant business, and one goes by the
New York Central railroad. another by
the Erie railroad, another bv the Penn
sylvania railroad, another by the Bal
timore a. Ohio railroad. One uoes this
way because the mountains are grand
err, another takes this because the ears
are more luxurious, another that be-
cause the speed is greater. another
takes the other because he has long
been accustomed to that route and all
the employees are familiar. So far as
our engagement TO meet is concerned.
il makes no difference il we only get
there. Now, any one of the innumera-
ble-cvangelical denominations. ii Won
practice its teaching, although some of
their trains run on n broad gauge and
some on a narrow gauge, will bring YOU
out at the city of New Jerusalem.
1t being evident that you will he safe
in any of the evangelical denomina-
iions. proceed To remark, first. if one
of the married couple be IA Christian
and the other not. the one n Christian
is bound to go anywhere to a church
where the unconverted companion is
willing to go. if he or she will go to
no other. You of the connubial part
nership are a Christian. You are safe
for the skies. Then il is YOUR first
duty To secure the eternal safety of
YOUR lifetime associate. Is not the ever
lasting welfare of your wife impenitent
or your husband impeniient of more