The semi-weekly messenger., 1906-07-24
"MY HCKET":; SERMON BY
REV. BATTLElN GREENSBORO
Delivered View of the Great Political Agitation Existing in the
statesand Throughout the Country

Is addressed nrSt 10 the reason. and
next TO the conscience:
Now, therefore, considering all
that has been said fear the Lord. and
put away the gods which your fathe IS
served on the other side of the food
and In Egypt; and serve the Lord
And if il seems evil unto You ID
serve the Lord, chose you this dav
whom you will serve
EVIL AND GOOD ARE INVOLVED IN
EVERY GREAT ISSUE.
No man may escape the responsible
ity Of being dominated, al the moment
OF choice. at least in motive, by the
one or the other. Where the issue a.
| stake reaches beyond the individual
and affects the prosperity and haDp,-
ness Of the city, the state, or the nation
il IS the sacred duty of Il man 10
think before he acts. If it seems evil
70 yOu-yOu have the argument and
the facts now weigh them. and II
. il seem. There is no dOgmatism
here. The real thinker is ever modest
and slow TO dOgmatiZe; he knows he
cannot get all the facts in the case
and warp the judgment. But when, for
| love of truth and desire to do right, he
! has eXerted his best thou ght and reacl-
! ed conclusion, he, at least. experiences
a comfortable feeling that he has done
!; his duty TO the best of his ability
| and is in content to leave the rest with
! God.
! GOD LOVES FOR A MAN TO DO
THAT WAY,
God does not treat men like some
arrogant ecclesiastic, saying: DOn't
! read for yourself; don't think for yOur-
self; submit yourself unto the authorl-
ty Of the church''-nO but God says
Come and let us reason together
hear me and l will bow my ear to hear
you; I, even I, will consider what you
| have to say, and you and l, in the sub
! lime hush of the souls audience-cham-
! Der shall decide this matter.
Because an election between right
and wrong Gas they appear to the in
dividuaD is involved. the enlightened
conscience has its appropriate function
| to perform; so Jehovah exclaims { il
seem evil to YOU Mark you | saw
enlightened conscience A mans con-
! science may lead him into perditiOn
: but it will be Il conscience which he
! has criminally neglected to educate in
the teachings Of the word of God and
prOstituted for selfish gain to yiO-
lence to enlightened conscience now
and you must answer for it at Gods
judgment-bar hereafter!
WILL NOT COERCE CONSCIENCE.
But God himself refuses to coerce
| the human conscience it seems evil
| to the people to serve the Lord, they
are at liberty to serve the gods of the
Amorites and take the consequence, II
God will not do violence to the human
conscience, it is a dangerous and an
Ieyil thing for a man to attempt it..
Dangerous and evil for him whose con-
iscience has been thus Inundated and
ldethroned: today it yields with blush,
Ia tremOr, and a struggle; tomorrow
the blush has changed to a fainter
ired, the tremOr is scarcely perceptible,
land the struggle is but the poor blood
less ghost of a protest: the next day
| conscience sleeps, and integrity is gone
| forever! Dangerous and evil for him
/ who perpetrates the outrage.
l Listen: Woe to them that call evil
| good, and good evil; that put darkness
/ put bitterrad wadil lanin nil lilalfil
I for lighgt, and light for darkness; that
/ bitter. AS the fire devoureth the stub
r bic, and the flames consumed the chaff
50 their root shall be as rOttennesS
and their blossoms shall be as dust:
because they have cast away the law
of the Lord of Hosts and despisei The
Holy One of Israel.
i YOUR POLITICAL CREED.
| 4 do not know what your politlca
Icreed is. Standing in this place, and
tspeaking in the name of Him who an
swered the challenge for a direct de
liverance on a burning partisan issue
with his sublime Render unto Caes&,
! the thingsthat are Caesars and to God
the things that are Gods it does no.
concern me. My message today IS tC
| the individual conscience in view Of lis
lweighty obligations to God and man
That such a message is needed Only
the most densely ignorant and verdant-
| ~ unSophiSticated can doubt.
But amidst all the humiliating evi-
dences of the most widespread and
appalling corruption in the social, co-l-
mercial and political world-reachin2
from north to south and from eas.
to west-one bright and beautiful fac
| comes to me over and over: all parts
of our once dismembered country arc
hourly being bound closer and close:
together with i1dissoluble ties of Inter
est, respect and affection: | behold il
this the prophecy and potency Of .
better day-even now daybreak is X
hand
The gray'eye'd morn snules on tlse
frowning night,
| Checkering the eastern clouds with
| streaks Of light;
And f1ecked darkness like drunkard
reels
From forth days path and Titans fiery
| wheels.
In the day, whose rosy dawn greet.
American christianity, with correc-
tive for every evil and balm for every
wound, will come into its own. The
people as a rule are not bad. and for
the most part they love the morality
L u. ne.>Tsa Il