Barton County democrat., 1900-10-05

centuation say: Come" or they would
long ago have been in the kingdom.
Ny friends, religion is either sham
or a great reality If it be a sham, let
us disband our churches and Christian
associations. If it be a reality, then
great populations are on the way to
the bar of God untitled for the ordeal.
Comparatively little effort as yet
has been made to save that large
class of persons in our midst called
skeptics, and he who goes to work
here will not be building upon an
other mans foundation. There is
large number of them. They are
afraid of us and our churches for
the reason we do not know how to
treat them. One of this class met
Christ. And hear with what tender
ness and pathos and beauty and sue
cess Christ dealt with him: ''Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart and with all thy soul and
with all thy mind and with all thy
strength. This is the first and great
commandment, and the second is
like unto it, namely, thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. There is
none other commandment greater
than these" And the scribe said to
him: "Well, master, thou hast said
the truth, for there is one God,> and
to love Him with all the heart and all
the understanding and all the soul
and all the strength is more than
whole burnt offerings and sacrifices"
And when Jesus saw that he an
swered discreetly He said unto him:
tThou art not far from the kingdom
of God" So skeptic was saved in
one interview. But few Christian
| people treat the skeptic in that way.
Instead of taking hold of him with
the gentle hand of love, we are apt
| to take him with the pinchers of &C.
clesiasticism.
You would not be so rough on that
man if you knew how he lost his
faith in Christianity. I have known
men skeptical from the fact that
they grew up in houses where reli-
| gion was overdone. Sunday was the
most awful day in the week. They
had religion driven into them with
trip hammer. They were surfeited
with prayer meetings. They were
stuffed and choked with catechisms.
They were often told that they were
the worst boys the parents ever knew,
because they liked to ride down hill
better than to read Bunyan's "Pil-
grim's Progress" Whenever father
and mother talked of religion, they
drew down the corners of their
mouth and rolled up their eyes. II
any one thing will send a boy or
girl to ruin sooner than another,
that is it. If had such father and
,1,O
infidel.
Others were tripped up to skepti.
cism from being grievously wronged
by some man who professed to be a
Christian. They had a partner in
business who turned out to be first
class scoundrel. though professed
Christian. Many years ago they lost
all faith by what happened in an oil
company which was formed amid the
petroleum excitement. The com
pany owned no land. or if they die
there was no sign of oil produced;
but the president of the company was
Presbyterian elder. and the treas
urer was an Episcopalian vestryman
and one director was a Methodist
class leader and the other directors
porminent members of Baptist an6
Congregational churches. Circulars
were gotten out telling what fabulou.
prospects opened before this company
Innocent men and women who had {
little money to invest. and that little
their all, said: 81 do not know any
thing about this company, but Sc
many good men are at the head of il
that it must be excellent, and tax
ing stock in it must be almost a.
good as joining the church 81
they bought the stock and perhap.
received one dividend SO as to keel
them still, but after awhile they
found that the company had reor
ganized, and had a different presi
dent and different treasurer and diff
ferent directors. Other engagement!
or ill health had caused the former
officers of the company, with many re
grets, to resign. And all that tn,
subscribers of that stock had to show
for their investment was beautiful,
ornamented certificate. Sometime
that man, looking over his old papers
, comes across that certificate. and i
is so suggestive that he vows b,
wants none of the religion that tn,
president and trustees and director
!, of that oil company professed.
OF course, their rejection of religiol
on such grounds was unphilosophica
, and unwise. I am told that many o
the United States army desert ever,
: year, and there are many court-mar
, tials every year. Is that anyth;ns
, against the United States government
! that swore them in? And if soldie
, of Christ deserts, is that anythin,
: against the Christianity which b
swore to support and defend? How d
you judge of the currency of coun