The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1903-10-22

II part upon strength of conviction.
To-day the pendulum has swung to the
other extreme. We are in a day when
mischievous moral malaria steals subtly
| is drunk with marerialis.l. the south wind
blows softly, and multitudes are enervated
by its soothing touch. Some would seem
to think that in this day the towers of a
| lofty Christian life and character and of
the great splendid structure of the king
dom of God are going to leap up in the
| night like ,Ionah's eourd; that we are
| going to wake up some fine morning to
find the building miraculously finished,
without our endeavor. to the rret-stone
Understand me, the heart of the church
still beats strong and true, but great
masses of nominal Christians are in %
tus-eating atmosphere, listless, idle, unac-
complishing.
liberation is long advance from intoi
erance, but liberation easily becomes in
difference, and both are utterly made
tween bodies of Chrst's followers. Toler
ate? Endure? Be Indifferent? Shame on
those who would thus cruelty the Christ
atresh! Like a mighty army moves the
church of God" shoulder to shoulder
heart beat answering to heart beat steps
| swinging in time to the martial music of
the church militant and the church trium-
~
| church of God" No regimental sacrifice
OF conviction, but above the fac Of the
| regiment, the flag Of the army above the
| standard Of the denomination, the white
hammer of the Captain of the host, the
Commander of the armies of the faithful
the King, omnipotent and eternal! Not
intolerance. not liberation, not indiffer
ence, but fellowship. is the rallying cry,
and we NAV believe that it finds a sympa-
thetic chord in every heart of this great
company.
good BEGINNING has been made. Fed
Grafton is fellowship put into practice
Federation of churches and of Christian
workers has ceased to he dream. 1t is
far from uncommon to-day. in single COM
munlties, in counties. in States. Let me
| indicate very few of the lines which have
been suggested ard actually followed in
this federated work. A religious census OF
given community, resulting in a religious
directory, showing church and Sunday
school membership and attendance; Chris
tian citizenship efforts. including those
AGAINST the legalized saloon. and against
the desecration and humiliation of the
| day OF rest, buiwark of our national life
row thrown down and trampled in the
| dust-our brethren under other national
| flags are not free from the bitterness of
| this assault; a common rallying for the
| preservation or the securing of an idea.
| public school system; where it can be done
wise direction of UNCONVENTIONAL enter
prses in the way of the founding of new
| churches, thus tending to economy of eff
! fort and wiso stewardship of resource, but
| chiefly. chiefly. cooperation in the vital
| invaluable work of the church universal in
| evangelization. this above everything else
the Joining hands of those who believe
| that the world is lost without Jesus Christ
| in harmonious and loving fellowship of
action for the worlds salvation. In all of
these endeavors we may work together.
| our hearts beating as one in our common
| love and loyalty to our common Lord.
| Let me suggest two thoughts which may
strengthen us in our fellowship.
First-The enemies of Christ and His
followers are neither dead nor sleeping.
/ Luther said, AS representation of the
picture of the present condition of the
| church let him paint a young woman in a
wilderness. or in some desert place. and
| round about her let him fioLre lions, whose
eyes are glaring upon her and whose
| mouths are open to devour her substance
and her beauty" That is the natural con-
| dition of the church When the church
alive. and is fulfliing her destiny, she will
| find about her, as of old. men more cruel
| than ravenous beasts. The gospel means
hattie. It is rightly on the offensive. not
| the defensive. The gospel divides, when
! It is manifested in disciple whose en-
| hodving of the gosrel is strong enough to
divide anytime The bloc. viii bear al
| most unrarked the edge Of an axe han
died by the feeble fnrers of an infant. but
| the axe goes cleaving through the wood
| when the edge comes down under the
| sweeping mower of a strong mans arm.
True, multitudes of nominal Christians
live. on most amiable terms with the
| world. and know next to nothing of any
| trihulation or opposition occasioned by
their profession o. Christi, nifty But that
| IS not because there is anv real alteration
! in the consequences of close union with
| Jesus. It. is because their unto is so very
slight and superficial. The world loves its
| own. and what can it find to hate IN the
shoals of people whose religion is confined
to their TONGUES mostly and has nothing to
| do with their hvesY 1t mas not ceased to
be a hard thing to be real and thorough
Christian
To be sure. opposition finds different
foes to-day than in some other days. You
know to what lengths 1t has gone. The
Inquisition. the massacre of St. Bartholo-
new. the reign Of Philip Ii. of Spain, the
Netherlands. the fires of Smithfeld. these
are not so far in the nast that mists of
oblivion have shronded them. But let
lis understand. nv fellow Christians. that
the world and the flesh and the devil are
against Christian building and Christian
living still. Just as they always were.
] do not believe in people looking for
trouble, searching for some one who will
| consent to prosecute them but I have an
idea that the sting of Smith6eld fires and
the wrenching of Torauemada's rack. if
those experiences could be repeated. might
correct some vagaries of modern theology.
The laundering summons of the enemy
at the door might be a wholesome anti
dote for some conditions in our churches
of to-day There is something in the call
to battle, battle for cause which is
righteous and supremacy worthy, which
stirs the deepest and the best in u.s. Is
it true that there is to-day little of the
heroic in religion to appeal to men? Alas
for us if that be SO.
The statement comes from some of our
theological seminaries that there is some
dearth of candidates for the ministry.
Why? Why is it that the ministry does
rot appeal to every stalwart, able earnest.
unselfsh Christian man in his college days?
It does to some. A part Of the product
of our seminaries to-day was never sur
passed. But why does not the claim of
this great vocation press upon every such
an one until it is soberiy settled one way
or the other? It is not because young