A Book of Gems, or, Choice selections from the writings of Benjamin FranklinFranklin, Benjamin
Religion
A Book of Gems, or, Choice selections from the writings of Benjamin Franklin
Franklin, Benjamin
Churches of Christ
It is a wonderful humiliation to be compelled to admit that this
undignified, irreverent and reckless language is from the lips of a man
probably at this time attracting as much attention as any man in the
world, as a preacher, or it may be more. It is mortifying in a high
degree to be convinced that the state of the public mind is such that a
man like this is caressed, lauded and admired by the multitude.
It is no small work to enlighten the people of the world. We have
gained the right of private judgment, private interpretation of the
Scriptures, the liberty of speech and of the press; and we have the
Bible, translated into our own language, in almost every house; and
we have our system of free schools and universal education. But still
there is a premium for ignorance.
Moody with his commonplace talks, and Sankey with his songs, call
out greater crowds and have more admirers than the most profound
Bible instructor in the world. What reverence has he for the Lord,
who ordained baptism and submitted to it himself, “was baptized of
John in Jordan,” after saying, “Thus it becomes us to fulfill all
righteousness,” and over whom the heavens parted as he rose from his
baptism, and on whom the Spirit descended, and to whom the Almighty
Father said, “Thou art my Son, the beloved in whom I am well pleased?”
What appreciation has he, or what respect for our Lord’s commission,
in which he has the preaching of the gospel, the belief of it, the
repentance, the baptism and salvation all connected together, when he
talks of giving up preaching and borrowing a pail and going round the
streets baptizing every one he met? What does he know or care about
what baptism is? He may find the untaught multitudes who will gaze
at him and admire such irreverent manifestations of ignorance, want
of piety and dignity, mingled with such low slang as we find in the
language quoted above, and he may find plenty of thoughtless people who
will be pleased with such unworthy flings at things which he does not
understand, and which he perverts and misapplies. But there are many
people in this country who can not be gulled in any such style. Low
slang is not preaching Jesus nor his gospel, nor is misrepresentation
or perverting Scripture preaching Jesus.
If he has our Lord’s commission, and ever reads it, he knows or ought
to know, that the same commission has in it the preaching of the
gospel, the believing, repenting, baptism and salvation. The preaching,
believing, repentance, baptism and salvation all go together; and if
he has intelligence enough to preach at all acceptably to the Lord, he
knows that no people in this country think that baptizing is of any
value, without being preceded by the preaching of the gospel and the
faith, unless among those who profess to baptize infants. They did not
understand him to make this fling at them, or they would soon have
depleted his audience.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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