Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-06-15
AGAINST BIGOTRY.
REV. Dr.. TALMAoE DISCUSSES A DELI
CATE SUBJECT.
Depiores scctnrinu Differences In
Domestic CircIcs-Cnution2 Parents
MS {" Its Effects on Their CbiIJren's
Religious Prospects.

tCopyright, Louis Klopsch, 1897
WNsHLNGToN. fuhe lin this SER
mon Or. Talmugc discusses topic which
will interest domestic circles everywhere.
The text is Genesis xiii, s: Let there be
no strife, l pray thee, between me and
thee, and between my herdmcn aud thy
herdmen. Is not the whole land before
thce?'
Uncle and nephew, Abram and Lot,
both plous, both milliouaires, and with
such large focks Of bleating sheep and
lowing cattle that their hcrdmen got into
fight, perhaps about the best pasture.
or about the best water privilege, or be
cause the COW Of one got hooked by the
horns " the other. Not their poverty of
opportunity, but their wealth, was the
cause of controversy between these two
mcn. To Ahrau, the glorious old Meso.
potamian Shcik such controversy seemed
absurd. II was like two ships Quarreing
for sea room in the middle of the Attain
tic ocean. There was vast reach Of
country, cornfcds, vineyards, harveSts
and plenty of room in illimitable acreage.
"Now,' says Abram, ''let us agree to diff
FER. Here are the mountain districts,
wide reaching prospect, and there is the
plain OF Jordan, with tropical luNurianCe.
You may have either" Lot who was
not as rich as Abram and might have
been expected to take the second choice,
made the first selection, and with a mod
esty that must have made Ahram smile
said to him:
"Nou may have the rocks and tho fine
prospect; ! will take the valley of the
Jordan. with all its luXuriAncc of corn
fields, and the river TO water the ilocis,
and the genial climate. and the wealth
immeasurable." So the controversy was
forever settled, and great souled Abram
carried ont the suggestion of the text:
Let there be 40 strife, | pray thee, be-
tween me and thee. and between my herd
men and thy herdmen. Is not the whole
land before theeE'
Wealth of Religion
Well, in this the last decade of the
nineteenth century. ana in this beautiful
land, which was called America, after
Americas NeSpucius, but shou have
been called Columbia. after its discover
er Columbus. we have wealth of reli-
gious privilege and opportunity that is
positively bcWildernE -churc-c, of all
sorts of creeds. ano of all kinds of gov
eminent, and all forms of worship. and
all styles Of architecture. What opulence
Of ecclesiastical opportunity Now, while
in desUlate regions there may be only on :
church, in the opulcut districts of this
counIy there is such profuslon that
there ought to be no difficulty in making
Il selection. Ne fight about ycStments,
or between liturgical or nonliturgical add
herc;'tS, or as to hHptismal modes, or a
handful of water as compared with a
riverful. II Ahram prefers to dwell on
the heights, whore he can only get a
sprinkliug from the clouds let him CON
sent that Lot have all the Jordan in
which to mmorsc himself. Let there
be no strife pray thee. between me
and thee, and between my hcrdmon and
thy hc'dmcn. is not the whole land be-
fore thee
Especially is it fortunate when fami-
lies allow angry discussion Mt the break
fast or dinner or tea table as TO which is
the best church or denomination, one at
one cnd of the table saying he could nov
or endure the rigid doctrines of Prcshy-
tcr.anism, one at the other end RESPOND
ing that she never could stand the forms
of Episcopacy, and one at one side Of the
table saying Inc did not understand how
anybody could bear the noise i'm the
Methodist church, auo another declaring
all the Bapti~t~ aigpt>. There are hun
drcds OF fan ilice hopclcSSlv split on CO
clcsasticism. ana in the middle Of every
discussion on such subjects there is a
kindIins Of Indignation, and 1t needs
some old father Ahram to come ana put
his foot or the loaded fuse before the eX-
plosion takes place and say. Let there
be no strife, pray thee, between me and
thee and between my h"rdmcn ana thy
herrilcn Is not the whole IhHd before
thee:
Deii'"'' '""''''
! undertake. subject neyc" undertake
en- ly any other pulpit, for it i an OK
ceedingiT delicate subject, and if not
rightly handled might give serious Of
fensc, but | approach 1t without the
slightest trcridatiGn. for ! am sure |
have the diyln" direction IN the matters
l propose TO present. 1t is treinon-
dous question, asked nj! over ChrNt'n'
dom, often asked with tears and SohS
and heart breaks and involving the peace
of iamlilcS, the eternal happiness OF
many souls. In matters OF churrh at
tendance should the wife 90 with the
husband or the husband go with the
Wllrf
lrSt, remember that all the evahg'll'
cal churches have enough truth IN th'nl
to save IN" soul ard prepare MS Tor nap
pnoss on earth and IN heaven. VIII &c
with yen into any we'll selected th"olog
ical library aud viii show yon sermons
from ministers IN an d'hoNn'nn'lohs ''''
set forth man ms sinner ana CHRIST as
Ia w