The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-01-31
L0AEERS IN CHURCH
Continued From Page One.)

Praying. reading the Bible. going
to church and all those things are
not acts Of devotion. They are aids
to religion" Sunday said. Actual
religion Ia in the quality of life that
these things produce within you, and
II they. don't change you. you can do
all OF them and still go to the devil"
He termed the ancient Pharisees,
whose counterparts are moving
through the church today. as Sane
timonious old scoundrels," who went
about their work with an air OF su-
per-ho1iness, "But Jesus said they
were the biggest devils outside of
he'll
Man has lost all interest in re-
ligion that spends its time and energy
in argument and word battles" Billy
exclaimed. The world is Disguised
with religion of theory"
"Hc's Got to Repent"
''ff you give man bath, cup OF
coffee, a hair cut and improve his
sanitary state" the erratic parson
went on, you think you have given
him through ticket to heaven. mo"
he yelled, as he wound up and
the audience. mo-" He's got to re-
pert, TO matter whether ne live on
a boulevard or in an alley, And I'm
not giving You an opinion of my own.
I've got the authority of God for that
statement"
your darn ritualisms" is the man
ner in which Mr.. Sunday referred to
the forms and conventions of the
church which are choking out the life
of religion today. Religion has never
been hurt by enthusiasm" ne said,
but II has been killed by your darn
ritualisms. God only can save the
! world. but he's got to have somebody
to help him. If he could have saved
it alone ne would have done so long
ago."
A fool is the man who tries to knock
any effort being made by Jesus Christ
| to feed this world. the evangelist
holds He pointed out that Jesus Of
Nazareth provided the food for hun
! gering people when he died on the
! cross But he turned over to men the
task of giving this food to those who
hunger. God alone can save the
world" he repeated. but he can't
save the world alone"
Everything else is advancing the
the church? You've got to. set away
from your miserable forms and
rituals, you church people. If you
don't you'n be so far behind they can't
and you with Spy glass"
| Better Get Busy.
I He described the man or woman
who sits with folded hands in tho
church and sings Of the Home Over
There" Heavens the place to rest"
place to work. Never mind the Home
| over There" TIN be waiting for you
all right IL you get a. move on you
down here and do something. You'd
| better sing Work for the Night Is
Coming That'H do you moro good"
I'm cussed and damned for
preaching the truth" he recalled. re-
ferring to the organizations which
have been formed to combat him be-
the sources of profitable vice. They
cuss me and damn me for preaching
the truth. but I'd rather be cussed and
talked about for preaching II, than
to preach a lot Of bunk and go to
he'll"
"Hallelujah to God." he cried, rush-
ing back across the platform. "I'il be
shouting in minute. And when you
get Presbyterian or an Episcoplian
shouting you're going sonnet"
Where Are Your Scars?
Have you got any scars to show
for the conflict. to show that you
fought for Jesus Christi" ne asked
the churchmen whom Jesus had dele
gated TO feed his Gospel to those who
hunger for II. Those boys OF yours
who are coming back have scars, have
empty sleeves. are blind and torn and
have the marks Of battle on them.
Have you any scars to show that you
fought for the Saviour :"
He could not pass without a part
ing shot at the "isms'' and what ne
termed as the bunk reiigions' OF
this country. you can take your
scientific consultations and go into a
room where a mother has lost her
child" he said. land try your doc
trine OF the survival Of the flttost.
Walk in and tell her that the child
that died was not as at a. tho child
that lived. All right, according to
that, some old blatant, hbertine Of q.
saloon keeped that Is alive 10 moro ft
to live than that child"
"Jackass nonsense" no applied to
long list OF scientific beliefs. and
asked as a trial that after the be-
saved woman had been injected full
of all these theories and "scientific
consolation" let him 60 to her and
read the Bible for half an hour and
pray with her. Tier tears will be
wiped away" he declared, because he
had tried II often before. Her house