In securing a church building for purposes of instruction, it is best
not to mention the name of our movement. The name that we have adopted
being an old name and used by various people for various purposes has
been used upon numerous occasions by bad people for bad purposes. Even
the word politics, which, in reality, means the science and art of
government, has come to mean, in the minds of many, a mere personal
contest for gain and position. The sacred banner of Democracy has
often been dragged into these degrading brawls and the principles
designated by the banner and name lost sight of. For these reasons and
on account of the limitations of the average human judgment, it is well
in dealing with church committees to discard all political names and
to ask only for permission to speak in behalf of human brotherhood,
social improvement or methods of helping the poor. The fact that human
brotherhood can only be realized by men through the establishment of
Democratic principles need not be told the committee, but had better
be reserved for the audience. The fact that justice is a mere dream,
intangible and unreal, unless, by political action on the part of the
many, the few who profit by injustice are deprived of their privileges
(or, in other words, until the Democratic program is carried out),
makes it eminently proper that church buildings be opened to our
speakers as often as possible. Of course, when the churches of a town
are controlled by scribes and Pharisees, as they were when Paul was
a volunteer speaker some centuries ago, unless some other building
can be had, we must follow Paul's example and make our rostrum in the
open street or field; but where the church buildings are controlled
by Christians instead of gold worshippers, by sincere men who desire
justice and brotherhood and to help the poor, then, however different
our prejudices, our personal likings or our superstitions may be, we
should grasp our newly acquainted brothers by the hand and arrange with
them for meetings in the church for the examination of methods whereby
religion can be made practicable and applied to human affairs.
To the charitable who are really to be found here and there in the
village and agricultural churches, we must make plain that no amount
of teaching or preaching, applied internally or externally, can ever
benefit the poor, until organized society recognizes men's rights,
women's rights and children's rights as equal to money rights.
Buildings owned by Catholics, the different Protestant denominations,
by Jews, both reform and orthodox, and by free-thinking societies,
can all be secured for the promulgation of these moral truths, if our
workers will divest themselves of prejudices and don a tactful address.
The success of this plan lies altogether in the judgment, personality
and breadth of mind of the Volunteer who attempts the task.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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