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Show j Dr. James 1. Vance j My lR ,MMFs i. X N F I ufts a mounKiln preacher In I section where fetids were still the fashion. fash-ion. With his "breeches In his '.loots 1 he had Stepped behind the pulpit of the little mountain chimb and without with-out preliminaries announced his text from one of David's psalms, but merely mere-ly to make the vers? a point of departure de-parture soon amid: "David wai a man after Ood's heart for two reason: first, ho always went to church, sec-ondlv sec-ondlv he hated his enemies." The doctrine seemed to give complete com-plete .ai l"far tlon to the congregation With such an Idea of religion the mountain feud followed a naturally a-s a mountain brook runs out of a spring. The preacher had read his life into his i r 1 1 1 had lnudi hip : 1 1 f. ',u a litnd to his l.nul n W. hlH .1 a r. I 4 1 the doctrine to practice. He had made , Uod a feud dlvlnltv. We condemn him for writing hato Into God's heart, and prepare to send a missionary to tell him and his people peo-ple that La1d was a man after God's heart for other reasons In condemning condemn-ing him. we may be giving a verdict apainst ourselves, for this way of making' mak-ing' religion bend to business is a common com-mon practice How many of us build our practice Into our creed, and color our portrait of Ood with self-interest? It Is easy lo believe what suits us; to interpret duty by social customs and family tra-j dltlons to conclude that what pays possesses virtue; to bend religion to, business and make God an annex to Olir private plans. But salving, or even believing that' God operates according to our selfish standards of morality does not make it o. Religion, to be worth anything musti decline to bend to business. Th. preacher who says what ho Is expected expect-ed to suy would better stay dumb The,) sermon that offends nobody belongs on tho slag dump. What society needs is an oracle not' to Bay that its way is right, but to. I thunder In Its face tho fact that Its' 1 way s dead wrong, and It must gel rlfjht or face Judgment Prophets are ' not parrots. They aro the ambassa-! ambassa-! dors of the Almighty ' What aaith tGod?" |