Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1915-02-23

| 1861 %# Pastor would not
depart from his Gus
as&s2&l tom and the Bible
| I(PAST(1R RIISSFIDl rule "Speak evil of
| So 10 man. His re-
marks merely apper-
tanned to "Bily's" preaching of the Gospel
"Billy" Sunday catches the public eye
and ear by the novelty of his methods
Some go to hear him lambaste the preach
ers, and to see them smile as though it
were good joke when he tells them that
| their preaching has made the churches
cold storage places with little storage
or ikens them to the Scrihes, Pharisees,
hypocrites, of old, or tells them that they
are leading their congregations straight
down to Hell.
Others go to hear "Billy" Sunday be-
cause it is the fad. Business men and
railway managers realize that thousands
will come to town as to a circus. They
bring pressure to bear upon the poor
preachers; for "Billy'' wisely insists that
he will not come and save the citizens
from Hell If there is competition in the
business-lnsists that the churches close.
Under the pressure the preachers cannot
help themselves and SO make the best of
it, hoping that people will not take BILLY"
seriously as respects their hypocrisy. etc,
and assured that he will divide the spoils
evenly amongst the churches-not the
financial spois, but the souls for "cold
storage or to be let down to He'll.
Others attend to see "Billy's" acrobatic
feats, jumping upon a table or smashing
chair; others because invited to be of
the large choir; others to say that they
have heard "Billy" Sunday.
Amongst "Billys" virtues we should
not forget the fearless way in which he
attacks social customs and sins, the fear
lose In yvb hn tpI w
he really thinks of them and what the
masses think and the above-board man
ner in which he bargains the result of
his efforts for cold cash.
To the extent that "Billy" Sunday seeks
to defend the Bible against Higher Crit
ics to the extent that he really shows up
the coldness, Journalism, hypocrisy, of the
Laodicean Church (Revelation 3:14-1O. en-
courages righteousness of life and dis
courages drunkenness and lewdness, We
Sutely wish him Godspeed.
Some of "eiIy' Sundays Faults.
The Pastor said that if the reports that
Billy prayed to God most irreverently
and addressed the Redeemer as "Old
Pal" were true, then "Billy's" influence
on the public would lead on in the di-
rection in which the world is rapidly
movng-toward irreverence. He hoped
that Billy would become more reverent
and believes that this result would follow
n better knowledge of God. He could
scarcely reconcile with honesty "Billy's'
attempt to tie up the souls he saved, in
churches which he declared were cold
storage plants leading down to He'll.
He was pleased to note that "Billys'
last sermon in each place was usually
on the Second Coming of Christ; and that
Billy apparently recognizes the present
and last stage of the Church, typifed in
Laodicea This caused him all the more
to wonder why BILLY" would help people
into the Laodicean Church, which the
Bible styles Babylon, and declares that
God spues out of His mouth. Next Sum
day the Pastor will discuss the Second
Coming of Christ, from a somewhat diff
ferent angle from "Billy's."
The Pastor declared that his blood boils
with righteous indignation to find "Btlly's''
preaching a practical endorsement of the
-dishonoring theory that the great
mass of humanity will suffer eternal tor
ment because, born in sin, misshapen in
iniquity psalm 51:j). they failed to live
sanity lives. True, BILLY" does not eX-
plain Hell. Like most preachers he prob
ably hides his true thought on this SUBJ
ject while allowing people to think that
ne believes in He'll of eternal torture.
Mr.. Sunday and other preachers who
realize the fallacy of this great doctrine
IF DEVILS Il Timothy 4:D owe it to the
people who trust them, and make up their
to tell them the truth. More
than this, they owe it to God that this
foul stain upon His character be denounc-
ed. They owe it to themselves as men to
stand for the truth and to assist in open
ing the eyes of the poor, deluded world.
The Pastor hoped that Mr.. Sunday will
yet realize that no one can long maintain
a moral standard higher than that which
he attributes to God. The injustice and
of centuries is largely attrib-
utable to false doctrines representing
God as demon who unjustly and unlov-
ingly created our race with the intention
that nine hundred and ninety-nine out Of
every thousand would endure an eternity
Of torture. Of this as a Gospel the Pas
tor has been ashamed for forty-four years.
A better understanding of the Bible has
led him since to preach
The Not ASHAMED Gospel of Christ.
The Pastor demonstrated from Scripture
that the real Gospel, Good Tilings Of
great joy which shall be unto all people"
had been turned completely around to
mean bad tidings of great misery to all
neople-eXcept an elect handful; and that
Satan had deliberately plotted this turn
ng of Gods Word upside down, and mad
'oisted the error upon both the Church and
the heather world. with a view to turn
ing all away from God and the Bible.
The speaker also called attention to the
grave responsibility resting upon preach
Frs for perpetuaton of this slanderous
against the Divine character.
The Scriptures clearly teach, he declar-
I'd. that man was created perfect. Dis
obedience brought the death penalty upon
The race-"Dying, thou shalt die Tho
wages Of sin is death" For six thousand
years the world has undergone this sen
.ence As a basis for their recovery Jesus
He'd to save them from extinction. Their
from sin and death is Scrip
turally styled the resurrection from the
lead to be accomplished during Mes