The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1914-06-08
SENIOR SERMON BY
REV. Mr.. TURNER
LAST EVENING
Glass Of lwenty-seyen Hear
BaccaIaureate Address
PLEA FOR MORAL AUTHORITY
Pastor Of 81. Peters Church Indicates
Meaning Of Guides Along tho
way OF God"

The annual baccalaureate sermon
TO the graduating class Of the Ben
nington High School was delivered
last evening at st. Peter church by
Rev. Thornton =. Turner. The service
began at 7.30. when the choir, fol
| lowed by the Senior class OF twenty
seven members. filed from the vestry.
Rev. Mr.. Turner took as his text.
ST. Matthew 22:l6. Master We know
that Thou art true and teachest the
way OF God In truth" lie said in ef-
feet:
"st. John the Baptist came. he said
| 10 prepare the "Way OF the Lord. "
| Christ called men TO forsake their
evil ways and TO walk in His way. II
| is strait and narrow. but 'leadeth un.
| TO life" The early Christians loved
to call their faith and practice, The
/ Way" Let us think OF this, The
Way OF God: our Kings Highway.
We are set upon a journey, you and
/. TO the Celestial City and the palace
| OF the King No other road leads
there than the Kings Highway. II Is
of utmost Importance that we keep to
It. We would not go astray.
Now the road is well furnished with
guide-boards; nevertheless, they are
not all helpful; some indeed contra
dict others. Some. we soon learn.
are quite untrustworthy. Let me re-
call TO you few of which you have
already learned to be wary.
Here. for example, is that sign
which claims TO point out good
shortcut by Superhciality Lane. We
have all tried 1t and found that il is
n blind alley, leading nowhere.
Then there is advice to avoid that
tiresome Hill os Diligence by taking
the easier road through the Valley Of
Sloth. We found this poor counsel.
for there we got stuck in the mire
and lost time.
| Again, after hard days journey.
the sign OF SQuanderers Inn looks
tempting. 1t is noticeable, however,
that those who there enter well-cloth-
ed, come forth later on, ragged in
! dress and worn in feature.
On another board We note gilt let
tering advising the traveller to get
out of the dry rut of duty. Its finger
points down the alluring by-path of
Shady Pleasures. Yet the people who
go there are sore wounded there,
some indeed never come back"
There is road which. venture
to think. leads off from the Highway.
II is a way which denies all authority
for morals and religion outside the
bounds of my own concepts. Work
this idea out to its end. and what do
we Observer
II appears that if you turn me
| loose To construct a line of belief and
| practice in accordance with my own
| ideas of propriety, there is no telling
| where | will end Now as a matter of
| fact life is not conducted on these
lines at all. There are, for example,
medical authorities for medical prac'
tice. A man may defy them, and ma
lures way of taking care of him will
likely be TO remove him more or less
quietly from the planet.
There is civil authority. A third
! may defy them. If he is energetic in
evidencing his defiance, he will doubt
less end in jail. That takes care of
him.
Thus In one way or another we
are taught to value and to respect au-
thority.
If it appears that there is author
| ity for medicine, science, law; why
not for religion and morality? Why
are not the experts in goodness, in
self-sacrefce? Is there any authority
within me which is equal to this?
Can any other course be the true
course of the Kings Highway?
Quite on the other side branches
off another road. II is also much trod-
den. Let famed professor explain it
| to us. He tells us of heredity, all that
is innate within us, framed into ou>
structure from our ancestry.
Now | submit that we are men
anu hol dhiihaiS, hiuSh acSS HlaChiheS'
We each of us start at different
points upon the road. TO be sure.
Some are ahead and some are badly
handicapped. Nevertheless, we do
run a race, and am still convinced
that the largest element in each
mans running. is himself But this
modern spirit lin the air which takes
no account of what you or | may
make of our rail-splitting or our