The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-06-15

Christianity was "a once at war with
the forces of eVil-note the episode
OF simon the Sorcerer-and at work
Tor the alienation OF spiritual desti-
tut on. In other words, religion then
meant business. Wherever the gospel
touched life it brought about results.
clsclpIeshlp meant the practice Of
Righteousness. Surely not in Antioch
could have been written such an edi-
torial as appeared in The Boston
Herald With a truthfulness which no
one den es. but which has caused the
utterance to be widely quoted in the
be filled. the revival halls may be
stormed by crowds. to whom the
formal churches make no appeal; the
name Of Christ may rise from close
packed masses whose chOruSeS shake
n walls; memories Of mother and
the Old home may bring men to their
knee in tears. a splendid ardor to
take UP the cross and foNow Him
may seize upon multitudes, as it has
Sc zee upon their predecessors at in
tervals through hundreds of bygone
years, and our cities remain the most
conspicuous mockeries of self-gov-
eminent that the world ear show
n Ups and Downs Of Pioneers.
Sheldon Jackson died a few weeks
ago; after a long life of hard fighting
to a soldiers reward 1t has been
planned by his denomination to do
him signal honor at it's General As
sembly last month, for he was the
home mission pioneer who, with Pau
line vision, helped win a half cOnti-
nent for Christian civilization. The
ups and downs of his active. stormy
life remind us that such preaching
as the Apostle Pau did was not a
comfortable career of pleasant pious-
studies have shown Paul preaching
with mighty power, and then driven
out with stonings because Of the jeal-
ousy of the Jews A>few days later
he was hailed as a God-and then
straightway STONED again. Yet he
moved him. A man who has such a
profound ambition as dominated his
life dwells too deeply to be ruff1ed by
adverse or favorable circumstances.
Real Relig on and Sectarian Doctrines.
The extension Of the early Church
created problems. So ling as the be
levers were all Of the Jewish faith
their life and practice were simplifed.
The bringing in Of the Gentiles
created complexities, and it was nee
essary to call the first council OF the
Christian Church at Jerusalem to de-
eide whether the Jewish rites were
stu incumbent upon the Gentle con-
verts. The vote vas heartily and low
ingly in favor Of liberalism. Those
men held convictions, convictions FOL
when. they WOOlO Gle, yet tley grant
ed liberty in all non-essentials tc
their brethren. Thai meets the MOOD
Of our own day, which, like the motto
I'm essentials unity; in non-essential
liberty; in all things charity
The pastor OF. the Fifth Avenue Bap-
fist church in New York city, recent,
" declared publicly that the practice
Of immersion. while he believes it t6
be Scriptural, is not a sufficient rea-
son to warrant the existence Of a sep
arate denomination. What a storm
If agitation would have been created
by such an utterance a generation
ago.. Yet today it seems scarce &c
have caused a ripple. Men are more
concerned nowadays about finding
ground on which they may stand in
common. They want to hold fast to
the vital. central truths. And ii g
man is in touch with God through
Christ he may differ from his neigh
Dor as much as he pleases in rites
and forms and in ~Observances, anc
Christianity may still present a unis
ed front to the world.
vvyYn