True and Strange | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 21, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 16.

True and Strange.

It is the true attitude of the minister of Christ that Bishop Paret (Protestant Episcopal), of Maryland, indicates to his clergy: “As helping to that, I expect that you keep your sermons free from all questions of war or of national politics, and from unnecessary professions of patriotism. True patriotism does not need to be boastful. Important as these things are, they have no place in the pulpit. Our Saviour and His apostles first are our best models for preaching the Gospel. There were questions of deepest national importance then pressing upon the minds of the people, but they did not make them themes for preaching. They had something still higher to speak of—the spiritual truths of the Gospel, and its great moral principles and duties. These prevailing would bring peace and truth as their results.” But it is strange that such a criticism as the following should come from a professedly Christian paper, the Outlook: “If the bishop means, as he apparently does, that the question of peace or war is not to be discussed in the American pulpit, we wonder what questions he would think appropriate for the pulpit to discuss.” The bishop has answered the question,—“the Gospel, and its great moral principles and duties.” But this requires faith, seeing by the Word of God through anointed eyes; while it needs only the natural eye to see the thing around us. Still to the true servant of God the command is still in force, “Preach the Gospel,” “Preach the Word.”