Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1900-01-26
Has persecution ceased? Ask that

Jesus must suffer. lie thealer'SolnS'
going,card- playing, wine-drink-
ing, rounddancing Christian, and you
may escape criticism and social pres
sure. BE an up-and-down, out-and-out
follower of Christ, and wording will
wink to wording as he speaks your
name, and you will be put in many
doggerel and Snubbed by those not
worthy to blacken your Oldest shoes.
When the bridge at Ashtabula' Broke
and let down the most of the carloaa OF
passengers to instant death, Mr.. l.. i.
Bliss was seated on one side OF the aisle
ofthe car writing down Christian song
which he was composing, and on the
other side group of men were playing
cards. Whose landing place in eternity
would you prefer-that of p. =. Bliss,
the Gospel singer, or of the card play
ers?
A great complaint comes from the
theaters about the ladies' high hats, be-
cause they obstruct the view of the
stage, and lady reporter asked me
what | thought about it, and told her
that if the indecent pictures of actress
es in the show windows were accurate
pictures of what goes on in many OF the
theaters night by night then ii would
be well If the ladies' hats were mile
high, so as TO completely obstruct the
vision. If professed Christians go 10
such places during the week, no one will
ever prosecute them for their religion,
for they have none, and they are the
joke of hell. But let them live conse-
Grated and Christian life, and they will
soon run against sneering opposition.
Meet me at any depot the world over,
and with my eyes closed take me by
the hand and lead me so that my feet
will not stumble, and without my once
looking down or looking on the level
take me to some high roof or tower and
let me see the tops of the churches, and
will tell you the proportion OF SUI
cides, of arsons, of murders, of thefts.
According as the churches are numer-
Gus are the crimes few. According as
| the churches are few the crimes are nu-
merous. The most beautiful organiza-
| ton the world ever saw or ever will see
is the much-maligned church, the friend
of all good, the foe of all evil, flair as
the moon and clear as the sun" Beau
tiful in her Author, beautiful in her
mission, the heroine of the centuries,
the bride OF Christ, the queen of the
nationsi
Men may desecrate ii, as Cromwell
when he stabbed his cavalry horses in
St. paul's cathedral; or break off the
image of Christ, as did the iconoclasts
in York minister; or hurl against it au-
| gust literary antipathies, as did Glib
bon; or plot its overthrow, as do some
in every community whose pride and
hate and debauchery are reproved by
the Ten Commandments which it thun-
| ders and the sermon on themmount
which il breathes. But it will stand as
long as the earth stands, the same
unique and woodworking and
beatific and miraculous thing for which
God decreed ii. Small wits tax their
brain TO say things that will put her at
disadvantage, but many of them will
send for its coincidence when dying, and
their children will be gathered up I'M
der its benedictions after the parental
curse has been removed. Through her
! gates will march all the influences for
good that shall ever reach our world.
Take her membership as mass, not
speaking of the acknowledged eXcep-
tions, they are the noblest, grandost,
kindest, best men and women of the
ages. But for them the earth would
long ago have been burned out vol
cano. They have been the salt that has
kept the human race from putrefaction
insufferable either TO human or angelic
ofaetories.
The church of God will yet become the
arbter of nations II the world would
allow it, ii could to-day step in between
Germany and France and settle the
trouble about Alsace and Lorraine, and
between England and her antagonists
and between all the other nations that
are flying at each others throais and
command peace and disband armies and
harness for the pillow the war horses
now being hitched to ammunition wag.
ons or saddled for cavalry charge. That
time must come, or through the in.
creased facility for shooting men and
blowing up cities and whelmng hosts
10 instant death, so that we can kill O
regiment easier than we could once
kill company, and kill brigade easier
than we could once kill a regiment, The
patent offices of the world more busy
than ever in recognizing new enginery
Of destruction, the human race vii aft
err awhile go fighting with one arm, anc
hobbling with one foot, and stumbling
along with one eye, and some ingenious
inventor, inspired of the archangel Of
all mischief, will contrive a machine
that will bore a hole TO the earth's cen
ter, and some desperate nation vii
throw into that hole enough dynamite
TO blow this hulk Of a planet into frag
ments, dropping the meteoric stones or
surrounding stellar habi;ations.
But this shall not be, for whatever
let go hang onto my Bible, which tells
me that the blacksmith's shop shall YET
come TO its grandest use when the war
rior and the busbandman shall enter il
side by side, and the soldier shall throw
into its bank Of fires his sword, and be
farmer shall pick it up a plowshare, ant
the straightest spear shall be bent into
a crook at each end and then cut ID
two, and what was one spear shall bt
two pruning hooks. Down with Moloct
and up with Christ! Let no more wal
horses eat out Of the manger where
Jesus was born.
| Peace! Forever roll of the sky thu