The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-11-21
The Church.

The Church.
In the midst OF all this, the church
was coming in for the share Of adj
vice and criticism which was to be
expected What could the church do?
Three courses we're open to the
church. One was to yield to the de-
mand that the church should police
the cities and see that the law was
enforced. What do people mean by
the church? They spoke of it as
though it was some ethereal abstrac-
ton that could be invoked and that
the church was some magic power
that could set all right and bring in
the millennium if it only would
The speaker very much doubted If
the church could as a church go into
| that kind of business. The men in
the church were citizens, and they
laws as citizens. Here in Iowa cer-
| tainly we had laws which made it
| possible for very few citizens in any
| city to secure the enforcement Of the
law. 1t only needed that they should
be sure of their facts. and clear
about their evidence, and they could
secure either the enforcement of the
law or the removal of delinquent Of
4 fcer. This was the proper course to
! take. and it was open to any who
! were sure of their ground 1t makes
ministers weary to have able-bodied
citizens come whining to the minister
and say, why don't you ministers
/ stop this and that?' If they want it
done, why not do it themselves? Per-
4 haps it was because as man said the
other day, it would not hurt the min
/ ister's business, and if it did. he
/ could move out of town easily. But
4 ties formed at the grave side, and in
I the sick room, and in the fellowship
/ of spiritual work were not as easily
4 broken as that. Ministers are not
called to be moral policemen. They
! have neither the time nor the strength.
J Another thing the church was
/ called upon to settle questions that
/ belonged in the realm of economics,
and were tinged with political color
+ ing. There were certain divisions OF
opinions about the rights Of property
and sundry public questions which,
/ while they had moral side yet were
distinctly in the realm OF economics.
i Which side shall the church take? II
it declares for one school of political
economy. it would naturally create
another division. We have more now
4 than we ought to have. and what
4 should we do il we had more?
The best thing for the church to do
after all was to make men, and to
make new men, and strong men. The
business of the church was to re-
mind men of God, and to tell them OF
sacred duties to their fellow men. To
insist upon a high standard of ethics.
and declare everything unchristian
that lacked the spirit of the teaching
of Iesus Men who could go out and
live righteous, clean, strong, true
lives. and who could move among their
follow men as examples of true liv-
inc would do more than all that was
restrictive. and WOul0 eSeiClse d po"
er that was better than legal compul-
sion. bookseller once hung the
portrait of a Cody minister in his
store because he said he could not
do a mean thing with that picture in
his store. 1t would be great thing
for the world. the greatest that could
come. if men should be able to say
that the men in the church carried the
restraining power of Goodness in their
lives and dealings
The truest way to maintain progress
was by the strengthening of the NOR
ais of the people. and the insistence
upon high ethical standard in priv
ate and public life This would make
the greatness of the country secure,
and increase its righteousness. The
only exaltation that becomes nation
is its assoc Of purity and uprightness