Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-02-09
Deplores Trend OF Modern Liberal Christianity
v. B. B0NNIEIELD EXPRESSES
ORIGINAL VIEWS ON MORALITY

VN WUNHLlll
he cannot even shoot to miss one of
our most humble American citizens,
with impunity. But does our duty as
a Christian people stop there? Shall
these helpless Christian 'neighbors be
left to the cruelties and worse horrors
than those of the Chicago theatre fire,
which have been committed for ages
by the unspeakable Turk, upon the
women and children of that Inflated
country? With the apology for point
ing their guns this way, our honor, as
world power, is satisfied, and we,
too pass by on the other side as the
Levites and priests" have done for
ages. So the unspeakable Turk can
go on with his fiendish work, with no
one to say nay.
A learned Hindoo said that what
India wanted was not to be instructed
in the philosophy of Christian religion,
but India wanted to see a Christian
life. We make a great mistake when
we think that the heathens are an ig-
norant and wretched people that can
be brought out of darkness by kin
dergarten teaching of religion by the
ing heather and you will find he is
just as incisive and logical in his de-
auctions of right and wrong, as any
one. 1t is example, and the light of
Christianity, that they look for. The
Chinaman will tell you that your
christianity is no good, like the NOR
al precepts of Confucius. He said,
love all mankind; suppress evil de-
sire; protect life; do to others as you
would have others do to you'-that
your Christians made us take opium at
the mouth of big guns. Chinaman no
take whisky and spend his money in
your saloons. You Christian people
shut us out of your country, and admit
all other people who patronize saloons"
What can we say to the indictment?
The world is firing of a church
service that gives so little evidence of
power to awaken the conscience to a
betterment in material things-tiring
of a service that consists so largely in
the perfunctory bowling Of the head at
the throne of Grace once week, and
then leaving all the balance of reli
gion and morality to the most vicious
plea of the devil, that you can't" and
that you must leave all the great evils
that aff1ict humanity to worldly senti-
ment" to deal with.
l believe there is more agnosticism
and infidelity in the church than there
is out of it, and that it is the infidelity
in the church that does the harm. If
Christianity is not cunningly de-
vised fable-and it is no fable every
one has consciousness that there is
a God and Christ to save the world
from sin,-then it is faith, unselfish-
ness, love of thy neighbor, and all
that is true and good, faith that will
remove mountains of error" as is
taught by Christ The power of
faith and love is taught from Genesis
to Revelations.
If the church has not the faith that
means something, that is not dead
from non-use, that is not handicapped
by the selfishness of human nature,
when it comes to dealing with the
evils of the drink habit and the sa-
loon with its accompanying debauch-
eries-the one thing that all will agree
causes more wretchedness and break
ing up of families by divorce, than all
other causes combined.
God does not ask for prohibitory
law. If it has not this faith it might
as well close it's doors to govern the
saloon or any other evil that afflicts
humanity.
st. Paul says: 'If righteousness is
through the law, then Christ died for
naught." God demands that his
church shall be an autocracy of faith,
of Christly ideals, of good, and of good
only. An autocracy of love. Love is
the highest thing that man is capable
of, therefor, it is the essence of SUI
preme commandment. The plea that
you must control the saloon by law,
worldly sentiment, and local option, is
merely suggestion of the devil. The
church is to look to the good, the gen
uine. the truth in all things whether
spiritual or material-to desire the
good and the good only. There is no
cant" in Gods kingdom, and should
be none in the faith of the church.
The banker never learns to detect
the counterfeit by looking for it. but
if he becomes thoroughly acquainted
| with the genuine bills and their pro-
cess of production. he will be able lat
81 glance to detect che most skillfully
executed counterfeit. Likewise, the
church should look for and deal only
iii the genuine and pure things and
thoughts of Christianity.
| Inc InatneTlatlClan would never be-
come proficient in his deductions in
mathematical problems. if he looked
for anything but the eternal beauties
and truths in his mathematical prob
lens. Likewise, the church cannot
work out the problem of life, unless
it conforms to the rules and truths as
/ laid down by Christ. Would it not be
q happy thing, if we could ali shake
off the accretions of the centuries and
get back to first principles" Of church
order as set forth in the New Tes-
lament?
Oliver Wendell Holmes gives a
beautiful illustration of what correct
| livin~ would do for the human race
in his description of the con-
struction Of the parsons one
horse shay" which was so construct
ed in all its parts, that every part was
equal in soundness, to any other part
80 that it ran g hundred years anC
then all Wore out together and went
out in & puff of dust and left the par
son standing in the road. So if the
church could get humanity to live q
correct life, would it not be. as tolG
us in the proverb, I'm the way OF
righteousness is life; and in the path.
way thereof, there is no death" Their
like the parsons one-horse shay. mar
would live till he Wore out, his NOR.
tai bod. go down to dust from whence
| If nd |,