The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1900-10-11

saw over the next door mo Admittance.'
Of course [ entered. l got inside and
found it a pin factory, and they were
making pins, very serviceabie, hne and
useful pins. So the spirit of eXclusiveness
has practically written over the outside
door of many a church, ''No Admittance.>
And if the stranger enters he finds practl-
cally writt-a over the second door. NO
Admittance," while the minister stands
in the pulpit hammering out his little
niceties of belief pounding out the technl-
calities of religion, making pins.
In the most practical common sense
way and laying aside the non-essentials
and the hard definitions of religion 60 out
on the God given mission, telling the peo-
pie what they need and when and how
they can get 1t.
Comparatively little effort ss yet has
been made to save that large class OF per-
sons in our midst called skeptics. and he
who goes to work here will not be build
ing upon another mans foundation. There
is large number of them. They are
afraid of US and our churches, for the rea-
son we do not know how to treat them.
One of this class met Christ and heard
with what tenderness and pathos and
beauty and success 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
commandment, and the second is like unto
it-namely, 1nou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. There is none other com
mandment 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 answered discreetly He
said unto Him, Thou art not far from
the kingdom of God" So a skeptic was
saved in one interview. But few Chris
tian people treat the skeptlc 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 eccesiasticism.
You would not be so rough on that man
if you knew how he lost his faith in Chris
tianity. [ have known men skeptical from
the fact that they grew up in houses where
religion as overdone. Sunday was the
most awful day in the week. They had
religion driven into them with trip ham
mer; 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 Pill
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 a father and mother fear L
should have been an inhdel.
The first word that children learn is
generally papa or mamma. L think the
first word | ever uttered was why |
know what it is to have a hundred mid
nights pour their darkness into one hour.
Il
are men who would give thousand
worlds, if they possessed them, to get
back to the placid faith of their fathers
and mothers, and it is our place to help
them, and we may help them, never
through their heads, but always through
their hearts.
These skeptics, when brought to Jesus,
will be nightly effective, far more so than
those who never examined the evidences
of Christianity. Thomas Chalmers was
once a skeptic, Robert Hall a skeptic,
Robert Newton a skeptic, Christian Evans
skeptic But when once with strong
hand they took hold of the chariot of the
gospel they rolled it on with what mo-
mentum.
If l address such men and women to-day
| throw out no scott. | implead them by
the memory of the good old days when at
their mothers knee they said, "Now l
lay me down to sleep" and by those days
and nights of scarlet fever in which she
watched you giving you the medicine in
just the right time, and turning your pill
low when 1t was hot, and with hands that
many years ago turned to dust soothed
away your pain and with voice that you
will never hear again, unless you join her
in the better country, told you to never
mind, for you would feel better by and
by, and by that dying couch where she
looked so pale and talked so slowly, catch
ing her breath between the words, and you
felt an awful loneliness coming over your
soul-by all that | beg you to come back
and take the same religion.
1t was good enough for her; it is good
enough for you. Nay have a better plan
than that. | plead by all the wounds and
tears and blood and groans and agonies
and death throes of the Son of God, who
approaches you this moment with torn
brow and lacerated hands and whipped
back and saying, Come unto Me all We
who are weary and heavy laden, and will
give you rest"
Again, there is field OF usefulness but
little touched, occupied by those who are
astray in their habits. All northern ma
tions, like those Of North American and
England and Scotland - that is, in the
colder climates-are devastated by alco-
holism. They take the fire to keep up
the warmth. In southern countries, like
ATdpld ana SPAN, lle DlOOu Is so warm
they are not tempted to fiery liquids. The
great Roman armies never drank any
thing stronger than water tinged with
vinegar, but under our northern climate
the temptation to heating stimulants is
most mighty and millions succrmb. When
mans habits go wrong, the church drops
him, the social circle drops him, good in >
fuences drop him-we all drop him. OF
all the men who get off the track but few
even get on again.
Destitute children of the street offer a
field of work comparatively unoccupied
The uncared for children are in the ma
jority in most of our cities. When they
grow up, ii unreformed, they will outvote
YOU, children, and they will govern your
children.
The whisky ring will hatch out other
whisky rings, and grog shops will kill
with their horrid stencil public sobriety
unless the church of God rises up with out
stretched arms and intolds this dying pop
ulation in her bosom.
Public schools cannot do it, Art CALLER
les cannot do it. BlackwelPs Island can
not do it. Almshouses cannot no it.
Jails cannot do it. Church Of God, wake
up to your magnificent mission! You can
do it! Get somewhere, somehow to work.
The Prussian cavalry mount hv uniting