The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1900-06-20
REV. DR.. BULLD0ZER.

SUBSTITUTED plSoCuolS . odO tuO ASIu
DDS of the Rev. Dr.. Bulldozer these
days. Atlanta and Chattanooga bott
have preachers who seem, in the
opinion of some, to 60 outside OF the
regular gospel line and attack those
who oppress the poor and denounce
high cfi:ials of their debauchery and
unseemly conduct. There may be
two extremes; the Rev. Dr.. Bulldczel
may or may not go outside the boun
Diary line of legitimate gospel preach
ing, but there is a Rev. DR.. Puppet
some where in this country who will
go thousand miles around in
thought and imagination before he
will condemn or denounce anything
that the devil approves.
Now, have few blief remarks to
make, in perfectly good humored
way. When we take up the critic OF
Rev. DR.. Build, zer and find him to
be little editor or an anonymous
scribbler who perhaps never heard a
sermon from the pulpit they are cri'-
icising, and very doubtful whether
they have heard half dozen sermons
q year for the last ten years. This
sort of critic is about as capable OF
criticising the true minister Of the
gospel as Simon Magus was to re-
ceive the power of Christ when be
thought that it was a thing that
could be bought with money. At
lanta has but one Boughton, Chatts.
nooga has but cne Monk and New
York but one Parkburst; and if We
only have one preacher in each ciy
who displeases the editors and Christ
less critics, the gospel Of Christ won't
suffer much at their hands. A
preacher gets his instruction from the
Bible and his convicti,ns from the
Divine Spirit. The Bible says to
every preacher: Il put you as a
watchman upon the tower; if you
warn my people their blood be upon
their own skirts; if you warn them
not, then the blood be upon your
skirts"
Again, the Bible tells US to rebuke
them that sin openly that others may
fear.
Iweigh the critics more than l do
the criticisms, and it is seldom in my
life that I have ever known a godly
man to criticise preacher who had
the courage of his convictions. If q
man is true to his church, prays IN
his family night and morning, at
tends upon the ordinances OF the
church, and gives one-tenth OF all he
has to God, the public will give some
weight to his criticisms, but a man
who runs with the devils gang all
the week and is seen in church only
of Sunday morning, or maybe not
half dozen Sunday mornings in a
year, his criticisms of a pulpit-a
courageous pulpit-weigh very little
with the rank and file OF humanity.
I have learned this to be true; thai
q man who is not careful about his
religious life is very choice in his
style of preachers and very part;c cala'
that the preacher shall say nothing
that will disturb conscience or dis
please the devil. remember on one
occasion I had preached a terrific
sermon denouncing sin and sinner
in unmeasured terms. A big ole
colonel walking away with his wifi
said to her: MY dear wife, l would
not have you heard such sermon
for all the world so vulgar and in
decent" She replied: why, hus
band, 1 thought it was ore Of tn
best sermons l ever heard" TO tn
pure all things are pure, and vic
versa.
We hear very much these day
about the gospel and what the gospe
is, and DIR. BulldoZer going OUT OF III
way to attack an ice company TO
grinding the poor. If the critic vii
read the Bible be will find that tn
strongest fulminations and denucla
tions uttered by the Divine Chris
were against those who extortione
on and robbed the poor, the wldo'
and the orphan, denoupcing them a
"a generation Of vipers" and asklD
them how they would "esc pe th
damnation of hell"
The smooth gospel preaching, 81
called would have saved this countr.
then we would have been mlnglln