The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-10-28
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY THE
REV. A. 8. KlNSoLvlNc.
Subject: "ThS Debt 20 Caesar and to
aod"-We Must Not Permit the
"Hugs Mundane Machine" TO Run
ever eur Souls.


Goa"-yvs Must Not Permit the
"Eugs Mundane Machine" TO Run
ever eur souls.
SOUTHAMPTON, T.. T,--Dr. A. B. Kinsol-
wing, rector Of Christ Church. Clinton.
street, Brooklyn, preached mere Sunday
morning in st. Andrews Dune Church.
His subject was "Our Debt to Caesar and
Our Debt to God" His text was chosen
frem st. Matthew xxii:2l. Render there
fore unto Caesar the things which are
Caesars; and units God the things which
are Gods" DIR. kinsolying said
Were ever words more palpably last and
fair? Could any statement be more calmly
self-evidepcing? Could any dsentangle-
ment OF the provinces oil God and Caesar
be more distinct or any declara ton OF our
respective duty be more lucid? Men have
always been confusing these two thugs
their debt to Caesar and then debt to God
mixing up in some clumsy fashion the one
with the other. fancyng that when they
have discharged one they have done the
ether also, finding the one to conflict with
the other through some misunderstanding
OF the dignity and weight of the respective
obligations.
And not enly ia private life, but in the
history OF peoples and States what confu-
sion. what laundering has there been.
Look how the cruel Roman empire tried
through years to crush out the Lire of the
Christian martyrs for simply doing their
duty TO God. and then in turn, when the
empire had been conquered by che church
and the papacy was seated upon its throne
and had erected its palatal Vatican amid
the ruins of the old order, see how the
haughay earthly embodiment of the heav
emily autocracy sought to bring low and
make suhservient the things OF Caesar!
You are familiar doubtless, with the way
the saying was brought about. A party of
young Pharisees old hacks mad recent
ly retired in confusion-had Joined with
some llerodlans or Jewish nationalist to
put to Jesus a catch question to ensnare
Him. Master" said they with feigned
earnestness, 1--WE know that Thou art true,
and teachest the way of God In truth,
neither carest Thou for any man, for Thou
regardest not the person of men Iell us,
therefore: What thinkest Thou? Is it
lawful to nay this distasteful Roman poll
tax or noI
If He had answered "Yes" He would
have been at once discred!ted as the Mes
Stalking Of Israel, Ii no it would
have been treason and rebellion against
Rome So instead of falling into the trap
set for Him, with a complete, a divine
grasp of the whole situation, He declares a
principle which is the key to this whole
compleXity in life wherever it may possibly
occur. why tempst lie, We hypocrtes?
Show Me the tribute money. Whose image
is this stamped on your current coin?
Caesars. Very well. Then what is Gaze
sars give back to Caesar, and what is
Gods to God"
The impression it produced at the mo-
ment was profound when they had
heard these words they marveed and left
Him and went their way" He had lifted
the whole controversy out of the imme-
diate and passing circumstances into the
region of largest and widest craftsmanship.
and all the centuries of human history that
have rolled by since have not exhausted its
wisdom.
Render therefore unto Caesar the things
that are Caesars" Not a great deal Of
time, | take it, needs to be spent in en-
forcing this behest. It marks the sanity,
the wholesomeness Of Christ's religion. Ii
is no star-gazng cult. The charge against
it of inveterate other werldlness is a libel.
Christianity has always taught man to do
nobly, patiently, herocally his full duty TO
the State, to rulers, to society. We are part
of a social system which has already taken
shape We are in debt to it in many ways.
eve pass its coins freely; we enjoy its en-
dowments" Its image and superscrlption
are on us: We belong of right to our age;
our era Of civilization, our nation, State,
city, community. All that is around us is
but the provdential setting and environ
ment of our lives. 1t is never perfect.
There is, and for great while to come is
likely to be a vast deal that is faulty about
it. But we have no charter from Christ to
be hopelessly sour in our attributes toward
it. We are to trust, you and |, the upward
growth, the slow and painful evolution Of
human civilization. We are to believe that
at the heart of the movement there are
deep-hidden, interior principles which, in
cooperation with those special and power
full incentives which God brings to bear
from above, are steadily bringing the king
dom of Caesar to some better fultllment
of itself. So then, even when we see
things in the nation, the municipality, the
neighborhood, go wrong; even when we
see tyranny and corruption and abuses, we
are not permitted to turn away in despair
and disgust. We have no right to stand
aloof as if our hands would be contamin-
ated by any contact with it. Our duty is
to go bravely in and try to discharge our
duty to the civil and secular powers, re-
specting the moral worth of the things of
Caesar, and confidently trusting truth and
God and humanity for the dawning of the
brighter day. We are set as Christians
not to build dazzling visible churclsAo
God upon the ruins of the dynasties Se
governments of earth, as was dreamed by
the medieval popes and doctors, No, but
rather is our book to infuse into organized
human society the healthful spirit of the
kingdom of Jesus Christ, and meanwhile
as Christ's +Toids here clearly teach us, to
keep the two spheres distinct
And on the same principle precisely
think our Lord would have us deal with
entire honesty with the facts Of science
To presume to use religious authority to
deny the ascertained and verified conclu
sions of genuine science--as was done,
for instance, in the case of Calico, and has
often been urged since, is to break Christ
command. Natural science must proceed
along its own distinct and 'eparate lines