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r, . I RELIGIOUS BELIEFS. THE origin of sectarianism ano ITS EVILS AND CURE. A Characteristic Sermon by Rev. Dr. Tad mage—Wrong Education In the Home Circle-Intolerance Nover Accomplished Anything—God’s Sunshine Kills Bigotry. (Copyright, 1888, by American Press Asso ciation.] WASHINGTON, July 24.—1 n bis sermon today Dr. Talmage shows what sectarian ism really is, its origin, evils and cure. The text was Judges xll, 6: “Then said they unto him, Say now shibboleth, and he said slbboleth, for he could not frame to pronounce it right. 'Then they took Nm and slew him at the passages of Jor dan.” Do you notice the difference of pronun ciation between shibboleth and slbboleth? A very small and unimportant difference, you say, and yet that difference was the difference between life and death for a great many people. The Lord’s people, Gilead and Ephraim, got into a great fight, and Ephraim was worsted, and on the re treat came to the fords of the river Jordan to cross. Order was given that all Ephralmites coming there be slain. But how oould it be found out who were Ephralmites ? They were detected by their pronunciation. Shibboleth was a word that stood for river. The Ephralmites had a brogue of their own, and when they tried to say “shibboleth” always left out the sound of the” h.” When it was asked that they say shibboleth, they said sibbo leth, and were slain. "Then said they unto him, say now shibboleth, and he said slbboleth, for he oould not frame to pro nounce it right. Then they took him and slew him at the passages of Jordan.” A very small difference, you say, between Gilead and Ephraim, and yet how much * Intolerance about that small difference. The Lord’s tribes in our time—by which I mean the different denominations of Christians—sometiijes magnify a very small difference, and the only difference between scores of denominations today is the difference between shibboleth and sib boleth. The church of God is divided into a great number of denominations. Time would fall me to tell of the Calvinists, and the Armin tans, and the Sabbatarians, and the Baxterians, apd the Dunkers, and the Shakers, and the Quakers, and the Meth odists and the Baptists, and the Episco palians, and the Lutherans, and the Con gregationalists, and the Presbyterians, and the Spiritualists and a score of other denominations of religionists, some of them founded by very good men, some of them founded by’very egotistic men, some of them founded by very bad men. But as I demand for myself liberty of con science I must give that same liberty to ev ery other man, remembering that he no more differs from me than I differ from him. I advocate the largest liberty in all religious belief and form of worship. In art, in politics, in morals and in religion let there be no gag law, no moving of the previous question, no perseeution, no in tolerance. You know that the air and the water keep pure by constant circulation, and I think there is a tendency in religious dis cussion to purification and moral health. Between the fourth and the sixteenth cen turies the church proposed to make people think aright by prohibiting discussion, and by strong censorship of the press and rack and gibbet and hot. lead down the throat tried to make people erthodeer, but it was discovered that you cannot change a man’s belief by twisting off his head, nor make a man see differently by putting an awl through his eyes. There is some thing in a man’s conscience which will hurl off the mountain that you threw up on it, and, unstoged of the fire, out of the flame will make red wings on which the martyr will mount to glory. - In that time of which Tspeak, between the fourth and sixteenth centuries, people went from the house of God into the most appalling iniquity, and right along by consecrated altars there were tides of drunkenness and licentiousness such as the world never heard es, and the very sewers of perdition broke loose and flooded the church. After awhile the printing press was freed, and it broke the shackles of the human mind. Then there came a large number of bad books, and where there was one man hostile to the Christian religion there were 20 men ready to advo cate it. So I have not any nervousness in regard to this battle going on between truth and error. The truth will conquer just as certainly as that God is stronger .than the devil. Let error run if you only let truth run along with it. Urged on by skeptic’s shout and transcendentalist’s spur, let It run. God’s angels of wrath are in hotpursuit, and quicker than eagle’s beak clutches out a hawk’s heart God’s vengeance will tear it to pieces. Phases of Sectarianispa. I propose to speak to you of sectarian ism—its origin*, its evils and its cures. There are those who would make us think that this monster with horns and hoofs is religion, r I shall chase it to its hiding place and drag it out of the caverns of darkhqss and rip off its hide. But I want to make a distinction between bigotry and the lawful fondness for peculiar religious beliefs ana forms of worship. I have no admiration for a nothingarian. In a vf'orid of such tremendous vicissi tude and temptation and with a soul that must after awhile stand before a throne of insufferable brightness, in a day when the rocking of the mountains and the flaming of the heavens and the upheaval of the seas shall be among the least of tho excitements, to give account for thought, word, action, preference, and dis like—that man is mad who has no re ligious preference. But our early educa tion, our physical temperament, our men tal constitution will very much decide our form of worship. A style of psalmody that may please me may displease you. Some would like to have a minister in gown and bands and surplice, and others prefer to have a min ister in plain citizen’s apparel. Some are most Impressed when a little child is pre sented at the altar and sprinkled of the waters of a holy benediction * ‘in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” and others are mose im pressed when the penitent comes up out of the river, his garments dripping with the waters of a baptism which signifies the washing away of sin. Let either have his own way. One man likes.no noise in prayer—not a word, not a whisper. An other man, just as good, prefers by gestic ulation and exclamation to express his de votional aspirations. One is just as good as the other. “ Every man fully persuaded in his own mind. ” George Whitefield was going over a Quaker rather roughly for some of his re ligious sentiments, and the Quaker said: “George, I am as thou art. I am for bringing all men to the hope of the gospel. Therefore, if thou will not quarrel with me about my broad brim, 1 will not gnaw rd with thee about thy black gown George, give me thy hand. ” In tracing out the religion of sectarian ism or bigotry I find that a great deal of it comes from wrong education in the homo circle. There are parents who do not think it wrong to caricature and jeer the peculiar forms of religion lathe world and denounce other sects and other de nominations. It is very often the case that that kind of education acts just op posite to what was expected, and the chil dren grow up and after awhile go and see for themselves, and, looking in those churches and finding that the people arc good thi re and they love God and keep his commandments, by natural reaction they go and join those very churches. 1 oould mention the names of prominent ministers of the gospel who spent their whole lives bombarding other denomina tions and who lived to see their children preach the gospel in those very denomina tions. But it isoften the case that bigotry starts in a household, and that the subject of it never recovers. There are tens of thousands of bigots 10 years old. I think sectarianism and bigotry also rise from too groat prominence of any one denomination in a community. All the other denominations are wrong and his denomination is right because his denom ination is the most wealthy or the most popular or the most influential, and it is “our” church, and “our” religious organ ization, and “our” choir, and “our” min ister, and the man tosses his head and wants other denominations to know their places, It is a great deal better in any community when the great denominations es Christians are about equal in power, marching side by ride for the worlfrs con quest. Mere outside prosperity, mere worldly power, is no evidence that the church is acceptable to God. Bettor a barn with Christ in the manger than a cathedral With magnificent harmonies rolling through the long drawn aisle and an angel from heaven in the pulpit if there bo no Chirst in the chancel and no Christ in the robes. Bigotry and Ignorance. Bigotry is often the child of ignorance. You seldom find a man with large intel lect who is a bigot. It is the man who thinks ho knows a groat deal, but dObs not. That man is almost always a bigot The whole tendency of education and civ ilization is to brings man out of that kind of state of mind and heart. There was in tho far east a great obelisk, and one side of the obelisk was white, another side of the obelisk was green, another side of the obelisk was blue, and travelers went and looked at that obelisk, but they did not walk around it. One man looked at one side, another at another side, and they came home, each one looking at only one side, and they happened to meet, the story says, and they got into a rank quarrel about the color es that obelisk. One man said it was white, another man said it was green, another man said it was blue, and when they were in the very heat of the controversy a more intelligent traveler came and said: “Gentlemen, I have seen that obelisk, and you are all right, and you are all wrong. Why didn’t you all walk around the obelisk?” Look out for the* man who sees only one side es a religious truth. Look out for the man who never walks around about these great theories of God and eternity and the dead. He will be a bigot inevita bly—the man who only sees one ride. There is no man more to be pitied than he who bos in his head just one idea—no more, no less. More light, less sectarian ism. There is nothing that •yill so soon kill bigotry as sunshine —God’s sunshine. So I have sot before you what I consider to bo the causes of bigotry. I have set be fore you tho origin of this great evil. What are some of the baleful effects? First of all, it cripples investigation. You are wrong, and I am right, and that ends it No taste for exploration, no spirit of in vestigation. From the glorious realm of God’s truth, over which an archangel might fly from eternity to eternity and not reach the limit, the man shuts himself out and dies, a blind mole under a corn shock. It stops all investigation. While each denomination of Christians is to present all the truths of the Bible, it seems to me that God has given to each denomination an especial mission to give particular emphasis to some one doctrine, and so the Calvinistic churches must pre sent the sovereignty of God, and the Ar minian churches must present man’s free agency, and the Episcopal churches must present the importance of order and solemn ceremony, and the Baptist churches must present the necessity of ordinances, and the Congregational church must present the responsibility of the individual mem ber, and the Methodist church must show what holy enthusiasm, hearty congrega tional singing, can accomplish. While each denomination of Christians must set forth all the doctrines of the Bible, I feel it is especially incumbent upon each denomi nation to put particular emphasis on some one doctrine. Damage Done by Sectarianism. Another great damage done by tho sec tarianism and bigotry of the church is that it disguets people with the Christian religion. Now, my friends, the church of God was never Intended for a war barrack. People are afraid of a riot. You go down the street, and you see an excitement and missiles flying through tho air, and you hear the shock of firearms. Do you, the peaceful and industrious citizen, go through that street? Oh, no 1 You will say, “I'lT go around the block.” Now, men come and look upon this narrow path to heaven, and sometimes sec the ecclesi astical brickbats flying every whither, and they say: “Well, I guess I'll take the broad road. There is so much sharpshooting on the narrow road I guess I’ll try the broad road!” Francis I so hated the Lutherans that he said that if he thought there was one drop of Lutheran blood in his veins he would puncture them and let that drop out. Just as long as there is so much hostility be tween denomination and denomination or between one professed Christian and an other or between one church and another, so long men will be disgusted with the Christian religion and say, “If that is re ligion, I want node of it.” Again, bigotry and sectarianism do great damage in the fact that they hinder the triumph of the gospel. Oh, how much wasted ammunition I How many men of splendid intellect have given their whole life to controversial disputes when, if they had given their life to something practi cal, they might have been vastly useful Suppose, while I speak, there were a com mon enemy coming up the bay and all the forts around the harbor began to Are into each other. You would cry out : “National suicide. Why don’t those forts blaze away in one direction and that against the common enemy?” And yet I sometimes see in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ a strange thing gqing on—church against church, mfifTSter against minister, denom ination against denomination, firing away into their own fort, or the fort which ought to be on the same side, instead of - - - consecrating their energy and giving one mighty and everlasting volley against the nuviea of darkness giulug up through the bay. I go out sometimes in the rammer, and I find two beehives, and these two hives are in a quarrel. I come near enough not to be stung, but I come just near enough to hear tho controversy, and one beehive says, “That field of clover is the sweet est,” and another beehive says, “That field of clover is the sweetest. ” I come In be tween them, and I say: “Stopthis quarrel. If you like that field of clover best, go there. If you like this field of clover best, go there. But let me tell you that that hive which gets the most honey la the best hive!” So I oome out between the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ono denomination of Christians says, “The* field of Christian doctrine is best,” and another says, “This field of Christian doc trine is the best. ” Well I say, “Go where you get the most honey. ” That is the best church which gets the most honey x>f Christian grace for the heart and the most honey of Christian usefulness for the life. Besides that, if you want to build up any denomination, you will never build it up by trying to pull some other down. Intolerance never put anything down. How much has intolerance accomplished, for instance, against the Methodist church? For long years her ministry were forbid den the pulpits of Great Britain. Why was it that so many of them preached In the fields? Simply because they oould not get in the churches. And the name of the church was given in derision and as a sar casm. The critics of the church said, “They have no order, they have no meth od in their worship,” and the critics there fore in irony called them “Methodists.” I am told that in Astor library, New York, kept as curiosities, there are 707 books and pamphlets against Methodism. Did intolerance stop that church? No. It is either first or second amid tho denomi nations of Christendom, her missionary stations in all parts of the world, hot men not only important in religious trusts, but important also in secular trusts. Church marching on, and tho more intolerance against it the faster it marched. Intolerance Avails Nothing. What did intolerance accomplish against the Baptist church? If laughing scorn and tirade could have destroyed the church, it would not have today a disciple left. The Baptista were hurled out of Boston in olden times. Those who sym pathized with them were imprisoned, and when a petition was offered asking leni ency in their behalf all the men who sign ed it were indicted. Has intolerance stop ped the Baptist church? The last statistics in regard to it showed 44,000 churches and 4,000,000 communicants. Intolerance nev er put down anything. In England a law was made against the Jew. England thrust back the Jew and thrust down the Jew, and declared that no Jew should hold official position. What came of it? Were the Jews destroyed? Was their religion overthrown? No. Who became prime minister of England? Who was next to the throne? Who was higher than the throne, because he was counselor and pdvlser? Disraeli, a Jew. What were wo celebrating in all our churches as well as synagogues only a tew years ago? The one hundredth birthday of Monteflare, the great' Jewish philanthropist.’ Intolerance never yet put down anythfbg. But now, my friends, having shown you the origin of bigotry or sectarianism and having shown you the damage it does, I want briefly to show you how wo are to war against this terrible evil, and I think we ought to begin ou> war by realizing our own weakness and oar imperfections. If we make so many mistakes in the com mon affairs of life, is it not possible that we may make mistakes in regard to our religious affairs? Shall we take a man by the throat or by the collar because he can not see religious truths just as we do? In the light of eternity it will be found out, I think, there was tomething wrong in all our creeds and something right in all our creeds, but since we may make mistakes in regard to things of the world, do not let us be so egotistic and so puffed up as to have an idea that we cannot make any mistake in regard to religious theories, and then I think we will do a great deal to overthrow the sectarianism from our heart and the sectarianism from the world by chiefly enlarging in those things in we agree rather than those on which we differ. Now, here is a great gospel platform. A man comes up on this side of the plat form and says, “I don’t believe in baby sprinkling.” Shall I shove him off? Here is a man coming up on this side of the platform, and he says, “I don’t believe in the perseverance of the saints. ” Shall I shove him off? No. I will say: “Do you believe in the Lord Jesus as your Saviour? Do you trust him for time and for eter nity?” He says, “Yes.” “Do you take Christ for time and for eternity?” “Yes.” I say, “Come on, brother! One in time and one in eternity. Brother now, broth er forever. ” Blessed bo God tor a gospel platform so large that all who receive Christ may stand on it. Noble In»titution» and Noble Men. I think we may overthrew the severe sectarianism and bigotry in our hearts and in the church also by realizing that all the denominations of Christians have yielded noble institutions and noble men. There is nothing that so stirs my soul as this thought. One denomination yielded a Robert Hall and an Adoniram Judson; another yielded a Latimer and a Melville; another yielded John Wesley and the blessed Summerfield, while our own de nomination yielded John Knox and the Alexanders—men of whom the world was not worthy. Now, I say, If we are honest ‘ and fair minded men, when we oome up In the presence of such churches and such denominations, although they may be dif ferent from our own, ws ought to admire them and we ought to love and honor them. Churches which can produce such men, and such large hearted charity, and such magnificent martyrdom ought to win our affection—at any rate our respect. So come on, ye 600,000 Episcopalians in this country, and ye 1,400,000 Presbyterians, and ye 4,000,000 Baptista, and ye 5,000,000 Methodists, come on. Shoulder to shoul der we will march for the world’s conquest, for all nations are to bo saved, and God demands that you and I help. Forward, the whole line! In the Young Men’s, Christian associations, in the Bible society, in toe Treat society, In the Foreign Mis sionary society, shoulder to shoulder all denominations. Perhaps I might forcefdßy Illustrate this (ruth by calling your attention to an incident which took place 85 years ago. One Monday morning at about 8 While her 900 passengers were sound asleep in her berths dreaming of home, the steam er Atlantic crashed into Mars' Head. Five hundred souls In ten minutes landed in eternity! Oh, what a aeene! Agonized men and women running up and down the gangways and clutching for the rig ging, and the plunge of the helpless steam er, and the clappirg of the hnwls of the merciless sea over She drowning and the drad, threw twoVntinenta into tenor, out the rook, and ate theto fishermen gathering up the shipwrecked and taking them into the cabins, and wrapping them in the flannels snug and warm, and see that minister of the gospel, with three other men, getting into a lifeboat and pushing •nt for the wreck, across tho surf, and pulling away until they saved orfe more man, and than getting back with him to toe shore. Can those men ever for get that night? And can they ever forget their companionship in peril, companion ship in struggle, companionship in awful catastrophe and rtecue? Never! Never! In Whatever part of the earth they meet, they will be friends when they mention the story of that night when toe Atlantic struck Man’ Head. Well, my friends, our world has gone into a worse shipwreck. Sin drove it on the rocks. The old ship has lurched and tossed in tho tempests of 8,000 years. Out with thtoUfe line I Ido npt care What denomination carries it. Out with the lifeboat! Ido not care what denomination rows it Side by side in the memory of common hardships and com mon trials and common prayers and com mon tears let us be brothers forever. Wo must be Ono army of tho livir.t God, >. To hisc ’.ninaiHl «« buw; Part of tho Uu*t huvo crossed the flood, And part are crossing now. And I expect to see tho day when all de nominations of Christians shall join hands around the cross of Christ and recite' tho creed: “I believe In God the Father Al mighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, and in the communion of saints, and in life everlasting. Amen.” An Ordinance. ■ -a An ordinance to prevent the spreading of diseases through the keeping and ex posing for sale of second hand and cast off clothing, to provide for the disinfection of such clothing by the Board of Health of the City of Griffin, to prescribe fees for the disinfection and the proper registry thereof, and for other purposes. , Sec. Ist Be it ordained by the Mayor and Council of the City of Griffin, that from and after the passage of this ordi nance, it shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm or corporation to keep ana expose for sale any second hand or cast off clothing within the corporate lim its of the City of Griffin, Unless the said clothing has been disinfected by the Board ofHealthoftheCtty of Griffin, and the certificate of said Board ot Health giving the number and character of the garments disinfected by them has been filed in the office of the Clerk and Treasurer of the City of Griffin; provided nothing herein contained shall be construed as depriving individual citizens of the right to sell or otherwise dispose of their, own or their family wearing apparel, unless the same is known to have been subject to conta geous diseases, in which event this ordi nance shall apply. Sec. 2nd. Be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That for eachgarment disinfected by the Board of Health of Griffin, there shall be paid in advance to said board the actual cost of disinfecting the said garments, and for the issuing of the certificate required by this ordinance the sum of twenty-five cents, and to the Clerk and Treasurer of the City of Griffin for the registry of said certificate the sum of fifty cents. Sec. 3rd. Be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That every person or persons, firm or corporation convicted of a violation of this ordinance, shall be fined and sentenced not more than one hundred dollars, or sixty days in the chain gang, either or both, in the discretion of the Judge of the Criminal Court, for each of fense. It shall be the duty of the police force to see that this ordinance is strictly enforced and report all violations the Board of Health. Sec. 4th. Be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That all ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict here with are hereby repealed. An Ordinance. Be it ordained by the Mayor and Coun cil of the City ot Griffin that from and after the passage of this Ordinance: Sec. Ist. That it shall be unlawful for any person to damage, injure, abuse or tamper with any water meter, spigot, fire plug, curb box,-or any other fixture or machinery belonging to the Water Depart ment of the Pity of Griffin; provided that a licensed plumber may use curb service box to test his work, but shall leave ser vice cock as he found it under penalty of the above section. Sec. 2nd. It shall be unlawful for any consumer to permit any person, not em ployed by them, or not a member ot their family, to use water from their fixtures. Sec. 3rd. be unlawful for any person to use water from any spigot or ’spigots other than those paid for by him. Sec. 4th. It shall be unlawful tor any person to couple pipes to spigots unless paid for as an extra outlet. Sec. sth. It shall be unlawful for any person to turn on watdt to premises or add any spigot or fixture without first obtain ing a permit from the Water Department. Sec. 3th. It shall be unlawful for any person to allow their spigots, hose or sprinkler to run between the hours of 9:00 o’clock p. m. and 6:00 o’clock a. m., for any purpose whatever, unless there is a meter on the service. Spigots and pipes must be boxed or wrapped to prevent freezing; they will not be allowed to run for that purpose. Sec. 7th. The employes of tho Water Department shall have access to the premises of any subscriber for the purpose of reading meters, examining pipes, fix tures, etc., and it shall be unlawful for any person to interfere, or prevent their doing so. Sec. Bth. Any person violating any of the provisions of the above ordinance shall be arrested and carried before the Criminal Court of Griffin and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or sentenced to work on the public works of the City of Griffin for a term not exceeding sixty days, or be im prisoned in the city prison for a term not exceeding sixty days, either or all, in the discretion of toe court. Sec. 9th. The employees of the Water Department shall have the same authority and power of regular policemen of the City of Griffin, for the purpose of enforc ing the above ordinance. Sec. 10th. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict of the above are hereby repealed. ■ : • • Don't Totarrc Spit and hawks T<mr life A»«y. To quit tobacco easily and forever, be mag netic. full of life, nerve and vigor, take No-To- Boe, Hie wonder-wo: ker, that makes weak men strong. All druggists, SOo or 81. Cute guaran teed. Booklet and sample free. 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