Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1900-10-10

Aum,ttance. while the minister stands
in the pulpit hammerng ont his little
niceties of belief. pounding ont the techni-
calities of religion. making pins.
In the most practical. common-sense
wav and laving aside the non-essentials
and the hard definitions of religion go out
on the God given mission. telling the peo-
ple what thev need and when and how
thev can get it.
Comparatively little effort as 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 lnrge 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:
"Thnu shalt love the ] ord thv God with
all thy heart. and with all thv 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-namelv nou shalt love thy neighbor
as thvself There is none other com
ma"dment greater than these And the
scribe said to Him, well. Master. Thou
and to love Him with all the heart, and
all the understanding. and all the son',
and all the strength. is more than whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices" And when
JESUS saw that he answered discreetly tie
said unto Him: "Thon art not Tar from
the kingdom of God" So a skeptic was
saved in one interview. But few Chris
tian people treat the skepuc in that way.
Instead of taking hold of him with the
gentle hand of love we are apt to take
him with the pinrhers of ecclesiasticism.
You would not be so rough on that man
if You knew how he lost his faith in Chris
1ianity. / have known men skeptical from
he fact that they grew up in houses where
| -eiigion is overdone. Sunday was the
most awful day in the week. They had
| religion driven into them with a 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 bows the parents
ever knew because they liked to ride down
hill better than to read Bunyan's PHI
grim's Progress"
/ Whenever father and mother talked OF
religion they drew down the corners OF
their mouth and rolled up their eyes. IT
anv one thing will send boy or girl to
ruin ,oner than another that is it 1t |
| had such a father and mother L fear i
should have been an infdel:
| The first word that Children learn is
| generally papa or mamma. L think the
| first wCrd | ever uttered was why. i
know what it is to have a hundred mid
nights pour their darkness into one hour.
Oh, skepticism is dark land! There
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 Hail a skeptic,
Robert Newton 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 scoff. | implead them by
the memory of the good old days when at
their mothers knee they said, low
and nights of scarlet fever in which she
watched you, giving you the medicine IN
just the right time, and turning your pr
low when it 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
and take the same religion.
1t was good enough for her: it is good
enough for you. Nay, l have a better plan
than that | plead by all the wounds af.3
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 ye
who are weary and heavy laden, and will
give you rest"
Again, tnere is a 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-
holi.m They take the fire to keep up
the warmth. In southern countries, like
Arabia and Spain, the blood 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 succumb. When
a 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
field of work comparatively unoccupied.
The uncared for children are in the ma
!
| grow up, if unreformed, they will outvote
your children, and they will govern your
childre-.
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 infolds 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 by putting
| their right foot in the stirrup, while the
American cavalry mount by putting their
lefe foot into the stirrup. | do not care
| how you mount your war charger is you
only get into this battle for God and get
there soon, right stirrup OF left stirrup
| or no stirrup at all The unoccupied fields
are all around us, and why should We
build on another mans foundation |
have heard of what was called the "thun-
dering legion" 1t was in l79 part of the
Roman army to which some Christians
| belonged, and their prayers, it was said,
| were answered by thunder and lightning
and hail and tempest which overthrew
an invading army and saved the empire.
And l would to God that our churches
might be so mighty IN prayer and work
that they would become a laundering le-
gion before which the forces of sin might
be routed and the gates of hell might
tremble. Launch the gospel ship for an
other voyage. Heave away now, lads,
Shake out the reefs in the foretopsaili
Come, o heavenly wind, nd fill the can
vas! Jesus aboard will assure our safety
Jesus on the sea will beckon us forward
Jesus on the shore will welcome us into
harbor.
| To a person of force and talent 1 can
| not too strongly recommend self-repres-