Year: 1879

'oo oALeu' de ana MS numDuS OrSanlZa-
ton must 60 to the wall, just as oil rotten
and dishonorable organizations do. 1t is
only question of time, and his present as
saults on the State fair and st. Paul are
born of the desperation of drowning man.


STUMBLING-BLOCK


But take heed, lest by any means this liberty
IF yours become stumbling block to them
that are weak.-I CORINTHIANS, v1n:9.


The advice of the apostle Paul is too often
neglected by the protesting Christians of to-
day. They assume superior virtue, and on
that account neglect to accord to others that
courtesy and consideration that ought to be
the chief ornament of Christian life. So
it happens that, perhaps unconsciously, they
throw hindrances in the way of their weaker
brethren or those outside of the church who
might, but for these facts, have been gath
cred into the fold. Paul declared that if the
eating of meat caused his brother to offend,
he would eat no more meat while the world
stood, but the eating of meat was in itself no
ofense. Some Christians are strong in the
faith, and can commit acts that in them con-
stitute no offense, but in others would be
harmful and lead to lasting injury and per-
haps ruin. A few find it necessary to indulge
moderately in alcoholic beverages. That in
diligence is in itself harmless so far as they
are concerned, but their example may lead
the weaker among their brethren to trans
gress, and perhaps drive them to disgrace
and crime. But is this the reason that in
duces SO many professedly temperance
Christians to take their potations on the sly?
We are afraid not.


Card playing, billiards., and other sports
can be safely and consistently INDUCED in by
Christian men and women, but when par
ticipated in by others lead to gambling,
dissipation and death. It is perfectly natural
for men to think there is no harm in such
things when they see good Christians, and
sometimes even ministers of the gospel, en-
gagged in them. These find no difficulty in
keeping within proper bonds, but others have
not the same self control-the same knowl-
edge of the extent to which the pastimes may
be carried without causing offense and vio-
lating their own obligations to the church
and the creator. The descent of many a
promising man to the low level of the COM
mon gambler can be traced directly to the
example set him by his seniors in the church
indulging in harmless game of cards. The
fact that these amusements are sometimes
abused does not make them of necessity
harmful in all cases, yet care should be taken
that the seed sown-the example set--shall
not fall where there is even possibility of
harmful results. Christians ought to see to
it that they place no stumbling blocks in the
way of those that are weak.


There are other respects in which, we fear,
stumbling blocks are erected by professed
Christians that are even moro hurtful than
those to which we have alluded. Too often
it happens that elders and deacons and other
pillars of the church have too light a regard
for the truth. To accomplish purpose
they do not scruple to tell white lie and
then chuckle over the success of their de-
ception. The first result is that some weak
brother gets into the habit of telling whop-
pers, and justifes his conduct by reference
to the white lie told by the deacon. Then
the sacredness of a promise is too lightly es-
teemed. If it is inconvenient to meet an en-
gagement, business or social, the church
member does not bother himself about it,
but waits for more convenient season.
Those who pattern after him soon become
as careless as he, and frequently more so,
and it has become notorious that more than
three-fourths of the promises made, no mat
ter upon what subject are never kept. 1t
needs no argument to prove that this prac-
tice is terribly demoralizing. It impairs the
confidence of man in his brother, and gives
rise to suspicion, unjust, perhaps; leads to
therupture of social and business relations,
and is generally pernicious to the whole
structure Of society. A man, and especially
Christian, ought to take pride in filling all
his engagements with sacred fidelity. His
word once given should be as inviolable as
his bond, for then he would not only feel
that he had done his duty, but he would rise
IN the esteem of ali men whose respect is
worth having.


By pretending to be what they are not,
persons nominally Christians do more harm
than they realize. They not only lay them
selves open to the charge of hypocrisy, but
they encourage the same despicable charac-
terlstic IN those who look to them for an ex-
ample. A man who is openly immoral "a
lbertine, blasphemer and gambler-has
not half the power for evil that hypocriti-
cal church member possesses. The former
carries his character on his coat-sleeve and
repels rather than attracts. The latter is
like snake in the grass. When his real
character is discovered, as it must be some
time, the church suffers immeasurably. Far
more harm has been done to the cause of
religion by the Conants, the Hathaways, the
Angels and the Etherldges than has been
inflicted by the combined assaults of the
Voltaires, the Paines and the Ingersolls of
the century. We have more respect-and in
this but represent the true sentiments of
nine-tenths of humanity-for man who is
openly bad than for one who pretends to be
what he is not.


The clergy owe it to themselves and to the
cause they seek to advance, to insist upon
more rigid morality among church members.
They should be taught to avoid indulgence
in pleasures that might lead others astray:
they should be taught that it is as great a
sin to deceive by means of what are politely
denomlnated white lies, as it is to commit