Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-06-12

LIT. Giadu60 q SAID LnaL II IS TOO
early to Judge definitely the results
of Rev. Mr.. Sundays work. Yet. this
must be apparent: either good can
come of evil, which is a conclusion
most men are loath to accept; or else,
that from which good proceeds must
be itself worthy. From this deduc-
ton it seems impossible to escape.
No one regrets that Rev. Mr.. Sun.
day came to Columbus.
No one regrets that DR.. GLADDEN. con
tinues to reside In Columbus. where
he is generally esteemed the first
citizen of the city.
The only regrettable thing is that
two wonderful forces moving through
a very fertile field could not continue
their beneficial operations without
coming into conflict, each destroying
some portion of the good the other
has done.
The echoes of the conflict continued
throughout the columns of the public
press for many weeks, but the last
considerable announcement was In the
nature of a letter from the pen of DR..
GLADDEN. printed in the Columbus
Evening Dispatch. and subsequently
reproduced In the Congregationalist.
In this letter DR.. GLADDEN. said:
'Tt has been said a great many times
that I had no right to oppose Mr.. Sum
day, because I had never heard him; that
my Judgment had been founded on hear
say. This is simply silly. / nave never
been in a house of prostitution or a gam
bling den, but I a a right to protest
against them. With respect to a public
teacher whose works are known and
read of all men. every man has a right
to judge. Mr.. Sundays sermons, in
stenographic reports, authorized by him
self, have been printed over and over in
hundreds of newspapers. He breaches
the same sermons everywhere. He uses
the same language everywhere. The bits
of choice English picked out and printed
in the daily press are substantially the
same everywhere. Mr.. Sunday has never
repudiated them; on the contrary he
keeps repeating them.
'To say that one has taken pains to in
form himself with respect to this teach
ing has no right to express an opinion of
Mr.. Sunday as a teacher is simply fatu-
Gus. To a public teacher, surely, the
judgment of Jesus must be applied, by
thy words thou shalt be justified and by
thy words thou shalt be condemned I
wonder If these brethren have never ex-
pressed an adverse judgment respecting
teachers whom they have never heard.
I dou IL any of them ever heard Thorn
as Paine, or Robert Ingersoll, or Mary
Baker Eddy, or the Pope. ana yet I am
sure that they would not hesitate to ex-
press their opinion concerning their
teachings.
Some of my critics accuse me of the
same intolerance as hat of which I COM
neighbors know that am not intoler-
ant. ! have never, in my thirty years in
Columbus, called in question any mans
right te speak his mind. I nave never
engaged in any controversy on religious
subjects. / have never replied to criti-
cisms on my own teaching. But when a
man comes into town and spends seven
weeks in preaching and teaching and
practicing intolerance, 1t seems to be nee
essary to raise a voice against 1t. There
Is just one thing that a tolerant mind
annot tolerate, and that is intolerance.
That ought to be plain without a diagram.
But If one is needed, here it is:
"sFor 1 am In love with love
And the sole thing / hate is hate:
For hate is the objectionable sin,
And love Is the Holy Ghost within |"
Gradually the sober minded men of
the church realized that no possible
good could come of the continued ar
gument. There was none who could
directly refute the plain statements
made by DR.. GLADDEN.. On the other
hand they were confronted with the
fact Of largely increased church MEM
bership, with church activity on the
part Of men and women, but particu-
larry men, who never had given time
or thought to anything concerning the
church or the things for which the
church stands. Through the efforts of
these lay-members conversions con
tinued to be made and ~accessions
we're made to church membership in
a amer that was highly gratifying
to the leading laborers in the Vine
yard.
With the passing of weeks and
months by tacit consent the Gladden.
Sunday controversy became a closed
incident.