The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-05-21
gaturday Digit
TS0Hkc By Rev. F. E. DAWSON
/uAlNS Rutland, VI.
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A BLOW AT BIGOTRY
International Bible Lesson for
May 20, 'oo-(Acts IS: 1850.

The book of Acts opens in the Jew
ish city of Jerusalem and ends in
Imperial Rome. And the contents of
the book are chiefly occupied with the
story of the rise and progress of Chris
tianity from the heart of Judaism to
place in the capital of the world. At
first 1t seems to be only one form OF
Judaism. It's founder was Jew, his
disciples were Jews, and the new doc
trlnes were preached at first exclusive
ly to Jews. But when we reach the
end of the book we find that the new
faith has burst it's early limitations.
Gentiles everywhere have been gather
ed into the fold, and instead of look
ing upon a phase of Jewish religion,
we behold a faith adapted to all man.
kind.
ShipWreck Avoided.
But in order to bring about that re-
suit the church had to pass through
an experience like a ship in the break
ers on a lee shore, only escaping an
awful shipwreck through the able sea-
manship of those who were in control
OF affairs. The trouble came because
of the narrow bigotry of the Jewish
converts. When the Gentiles began
to apply for admission to church men,
bership they insisted that they must
conform to the Mosaic law and OBJ
serve the customs of the Jewish
church or they could not be saved.
One of the hardest lessons for men to
Ioor ic tn mil
to early impressions and convictions.
They become so much a part of our
mental and spiritual structure that 1t
seems like tearing down part of
ourselves to break away from these
ideas. Therefore those Jewish con-
verts, though acknowledging that the
Mosaic yoke was one which neither
their fathers nor they were able to
bear, yet inconsistertly insisted on
putting it upon the necks of the Cen
tile disciples. When they saw other
people rejoicing in the liberty where
with Christ had set them free, they
picked up that ancient yoke, and said,
"You must bear this as we do"
Against such a pernicious doctrine
he was supported by some of the lead
ers who had had their eyes opened to
the truth. In consequence the first
church council was held at Jerusalem
and it was unanimously decided that
the work of the old dispensation had
been finished; that Christ was the
end of the law for righteousness to
1>@1f ND thtt-
with their own hands these converted
| Jews steered the ship of christianity
out of the breakers never to be in dan
ger of shipwreck at that point.
Caterpillar VS.. Butterfly.
That was the death blow of bigotry
and yet the old veteran was not slain
through all the ages he has been able
to get in more or less of his work. The
remains of that narrow, self-righteous,
exclusiveness bothered the church for
generations. Paul wrote whole
epistle, Galations, to show that there
was no salvation by the works of the
law, and that Christian believers were
under no obligations to it in any par
ticular. AS we'll might new born
butterfly carry around with 1t its old
caterpillar existence, and attempt to
fly and crawl at the same time. The
Jewish Christians from force of habit
and because of affectionate veneration
for the past, for long time dragged
along their Jewish customs. But as
time wore on they dropped them one
by one, and came to Paul's standard
which he describes "as not having the
righteousness which is of the law, but
that which is through the faith OF
Christ" The butterfly does not de-
nounce and condemn the caterpillar.
The Gentle Christians did not de.
nounce Judaism, they simply had no
use for it. They were living in a new
dispensation, they were worshipping
living redeemer, they had got be.
yond the alphabet, they saw no par
ticular need of generating the scat
folding when they had the building it.
self, they did not make the mistake
of putting new wine into old bottles
or sewing on new patches to an old
garment. They had new wine, and
new garments, and new promises, and
new priesthood, their Master had de-
clared, Behold make all things new
Tyrant's Bedstead.
1t is said of an ancient tyrant that
he had an iron bedstead which he
fitted to every one of his victims by
the simple expedient of saving off the
long and stretching out the short tc
bring them into the proper length
There Is the spirit of bigotry sym
bolized. Get some peculiar idea IN
your head and then insist on stretch
ing out or saving off everybody to fl
that notion. 1t matters not what 1t is
1t may be a mode Of baptism, 1t may
be the observance of a day, 1t may be
statement of theology, 1t may be q
cl.im of infallibility, it may be form
Of ordination. All 1t needs is fanati
cism enough to insist that a certain
thing Is essential to salvation and you
have got bigot, full-hedged and con
troversial on your hands. The ole
cOlorad Rantiat nreacher cOuld dnf