1901
The Rev. Cyrus T. Brady says in his book of missionary reminiscences: "I was once preaching about missions, urging the congregation to make some sacrifice for the missionary cause and indicating to them several methods by which they could follow my advice. Among other things I suggested that they refrain from purchasing any book which they very much desired and donate the money to me instead for my missionary work. I happened to have perpetrated a book myself.
"You will therefore understand my feelings when, a very bright woman in the congregation came up to me and handed me $1 with the remark, 'I had intended to buy your book and read it, Mr. Brady, but I have concluded to follow your advice and give you the money for missions instead.'
"I accepted the situation gracefully and told her I would lend her my own copy of the book to read. She smiled and thanked me, and as she did so I voiced my thought in this way, 'But after all Mrs. R., there does not seem to be any sacrifice on your part in this transaction, for you have the happy consciousness of having given the money for missions and yet have the book as well.'
" 'No sacrifice?' she replied. 'Why, have to read the book!' "
Showing posts with label sacrifices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sacrifices. Show all posts
Monday, April 7, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Mosaic Precautions
1910
No one can fail to be impressed by the careful hygienic precautions of the Mosaic period. For example, consider how animals were divided into the clean and the unclean, the reason for this being that the priests, in preparing them for sacrifice, noted the presence of parasites in the flesh or insides of certain animals which were therefore to be avoided.
Bits and Pieces
Some people treat the sermon as a table d'hote dinner, picking out the things that will not agree with them.
When the pulpit gets into poetic clouds it misses the man on the pavement.
A catalogue of vices never led any one into virtue.
Anaemia is often temporarily mistaken for virtue.
An ingrowing conscience drives many a man into sin.
No one can fail to be impressed by the careful hygienic precautions of the Mosaic period. For example, consider how animals were divided into the clean and the unclean, the reason for this being that the priests, in preparing them for sacrifice, noted the presence of parasites in the flesh or insides of certain animals which were therefore to be avoided.
Bits and Pieces
Some people treat the sermon as a table d'hote dinner, picking out the things that will not agree with them.
When the pulpit gets into poetic clouds it misses the man on the pavement.
A catalogue of vices never led any one into virtue.
Anaemia is often temporarily mistaken for virtue.
An ingrowing conscience drives many a man into sin.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Race is Getting Better
Washington, D.C., 1905
Rev. Dr. Van Schaick, Jr., Finds Consolation in Improved Conditions
"In religion there has been too much talk about 'vile worms of the dust.' We are bad enough, but as a race we are getting better," said Rev. John Van Schaick, Jr., in a sermon to his congregation of the Church of Our Father yesterday morning.
The sermon was from the text, "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice — holy, acceptable unto God — which is your reasonable service."
"In this sentence Paul gathers up the whole range of Christian duty and puts it in the mighty word sacrifice," the pastor said. "Far back in Hebrew history sacrifice meant the burning of something on an altar for the sake of atoning for sin. Rams, bullocks, goats, and doves were offered up, and it was felt that the smoke ascending to heaven bore away sin and its penalty also. Little by little came a higher conception: 'Sacrifice thou dost not desire, else would I give it,' cried David. 'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart thou wilt not despise.' 'I will have mercy and not sacrifice,' said Christ.
Thus in our day sacrifice has come to mean a giving up of the lower for the sake of the higher. In this sense it is not a hard and joyless word, it is full of light and peace. The way of sacrifice is the way along which the treasures of life may be found."
—Washington Post, May 1, 1905, p. 12.
Rev. Dr. Van Schaick, Jr., Finds Consolation in Improved Conditions
"In religion there has been too much talk about 'vile worms of the dust.' We are bad enough, but as a race we are getting better," said Rev. John Van Schaick, Jr., in a sermon to his congregation of the Church of Our Father yesterday morning.
The sermon was from the text, "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice — holy, acceptable unto God — which is your reasonable service."
"In this sentence Paul gathers up the whole range of Christian duty and puts it in the mighty word sacrifice," the pastor said. "Far back in Hebrew history sacrifice meant the burning of something on an altar for the sake of atoning for sin. Rams, bullocks, goats, and doves were offered up, and it was felt that the smoke ascending to heaven bore away sin and its penalty also. Little by little came a higher conception: 'Sacrifice thou dost not desire, else would I give it,' cried David. 'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart thou wilt not despise.' 'I will have mercy and not sacrifice,' said Christ.
Thus in our day sacrifice has come to mean a giving up of the lower for the sake of the higher. In this sense it is not a hard and joyless word, it is full of light and peace. The way of sacrifice is the way along which the treasures of life may be found."
—Washington Post, May 1, 1905, p. 12.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Tricks of the Medicine Men
1910
Secrets Are Revealed to Them In Dreams
A young Indian, who is ambitious to become a doctor, and finally a prophet, learns from his father or other members of his tribe, the name and medicinal properties of some herb, says a writer in the Denver Field and Farm. He can also, by presenting a sufficient number of ponies to a medicine man, prevail upon the doctor to impart the secret of the herbs to him. Frequently Indians allege that the secret is revealed to them in a dream, or by a bird or an animal. After procuring it, the novice is prepared to begin the practice of medicine. Success in their opinion is only possible with the aid of the Great Spirit, and in order to invoke the help of the supernatural they resort to various sacrifices.
For instance, there is the practice of ascending a butte or other elevation and lying with the face to the ground for several days without food or until they are completely exhausted. During this period they profess to have been taught some song or the Great Spirit conversed with them through a bird, wild animal or reptile. They frequently allege that wolves come to them and howl and that they understand what the animals say. While treating a patient they place tobacco in little pouches which they tie with sinew. These are painted brilliant colors and fastened to willow sticks about the size of the shaft of an arrow, but somewhat longer.
The Earliest Religion
Religion was at first purely dogmatic, an affair of the family, pure and simple. The gods were the dead ancestors, and the worship consisted of the perpetual care of the hearth fire and the graves of the departed relatives. It was the ancient belief (the most ancient, so far as we know) that the departed ancestors continued to live in or about the tomb, and that their peace and happiness depended absolutely upon the care with which their posterity looked after their worship. If the hearth fire was allowed to die down, or the tomb was neglected, or the food and drink were not faithfully taken to the tomb, their existence became a wretched one; whereas, if these things were carefully attended to, all was serene with them. There is much to show that this domestic belief obtained for a long time before the belief in God and a future life came in. — Chicago American.
Secrets Are Revealed to Them In Dreams
A young Indian, who is ambitious to become a doctor, and finally a prophet, learns from his father or other members of his tribe, the name and medicinal properties of some herb, says a writer in the Denver Field and Farm. He can also, by presenting a sufficient number of ponies to a medicine man, prevail upon the doctor to impart the secret of the herbs to him. Frequently Indians allege that the secret is revealed to them in a dream, or by a bird or an animal. After procuring it, the novice is prepared to begin the practice of medicine. Success in their opinion is only possible with the aid of the Great Spirit, and in order to invoke the help of the supernatural they resort to various sacrifices.
For instance, there is the practice of ascending a butte or other elevation and lying with the face to the ground for several days without food or until they are completely exhausted. During this period they profess to have been taught some song or the Great Spirit conversed with them through a bird, wild animal or reptile. They frequently allege that wolves come to them and howl and that they understand what the animals say. While treating a patient they place tobacco in little pouches which they tie with sinew. These are painted brilliant colors and fastened to willow sticks about the size of the shaft of an arrow, but somewhat longer.
The Earliest Religion
Religion was at first purely dogmatic, an affair of the family, pure and simple. The gods were the dead ancestors, and the worship consisted of the perpetual care of the hearth fire and the graves of the departed relatives. It was the ancient belief (the most ancient, so far as we know) that the departed ancestors continued to live in or about the tomb, and that their peace and happiness depended absolutely upon the care with which their posterity looked after their worship. If the hearth fire was allowed to die down, or the tomb was neglected, or the food and drink were not faithfully taken to the tomb, their existence became a wretched one; whereas, if these things were carefully attended to, all was serene with them. There is much to show that this domestic belief obtained for a long time before the belief in God and a future life came in. — Chicago American.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tradition of the Flood Among the Pueblo Indians
1905
The children of the Pueblo Indians have a Noah's ark of their own, and some of the animals it contains are very curious indeed — such animals, in fact, as civilized young people are not acquainted with. Among them are mountain goats, queer creatures of the cat tribe and prong-horned antelopes. All of these animals are made out of clay and baked like pottery, after which they are painted in quite an artistic and lifelike fashion.
Like most other peoples, the Pueblo Indians have a tradition of a great flood. The catastrophe occurred long ago, when they lived in the ancient land of their forefathers. One day the earth began to shake and strange rumblings grew louder and louder, until at length an opening yawned in the middle of the central square of the town. Out of the opening gushed a mighty stream of water, overwhelming the houses and flooding the valley, so that the inhabitants fled with their livestock to neighboring mountains.
Presently there rose out of the hole in the earth the head of a gigantic turtle, which towered to the very roof of the sky. Everybody was terror-stricken, but the chief man of the town — whose name ought to have been Noah — plucked up the courage to ask the great reptile what it wanted. The turtle replied that it was hungry and that its appetite could be appeased only by the sacrifice of a young man and a young woman. There was nothing to do but to obey, and so a handsome youth and a beautiful girl were delivered up to the turtle, which took them in its mouth and sank with them through the hole. Immediately all of the water flowed away and in the place where the reptile had appeared there rose up a large black rock, which, according to the myth, may be seen at this day, testifying to the truth of the story.
Unfortunately, the deluge left things in such a damp and uncomfortable condition, after destroying all of the houses and most of the portable property, that the people thought it wisest to go away. So they started on a journey northward, the whole tribe of them, and the crane, which is a sacred bird, flew ahead to pick out the driest route. At length they came to the region which their descendants now inhabit, and which is so extremely dry that the water supply is always a subject of anxiety.
The children of the Pueblo Indians have a Noah's ark of their own, and some of the animals it contains are very curious indeed — such animals, in fact, as civilized young people are not acquainted with. Among them are mountain goats, queer creatures of the cat tribe and prong-horned antelopes. All of these animals are made out of clay and baked like pottery, after which they are painted in quite an artistic and lifelike fashion.
Like most other peoples, the Pueblo Indians have a tradition of a great flood. The catastrophe occurred long ago, when they lived in the ancient land of their forefathers. One day the earth began to shake and strange rumblings grew louder and louder, until at length an opening yawned in the middle of the central square of the town. Out of the opening gushed a mighty stream of water, overwhelming the houses and flooding the valley, so that the inhabitants fled with their livestock to neighboring mountains.
Presently there rose out of the hole in the earth the head of a gigantic turtle, which towered to the very roof of the sky. Everybody was terror-stricken, but the chief man of the town — whose name ought to have been Noah — plucked up the courage to ask the great reptile what it wanted. The turtle replied that it was hungry and that its appetite could be appeased only by the sacrifice of a young man and a young woman. There was nothing to do but to obey, and so a handsome youth and a beautiful girl were delivered up to the turtle, which took them in its mouth and sank with them through the hole. Immediately all of the water flowed away and in the place where the reptile had appeared there rose up a large black rock, which, according to the myth, may be seen at this day, testifying to the truth of the story.
Unfortunately, the deluge left things in such a damp and uncomfortable condition, after destroying all of the houses and most of the portable property, that the people thought it wisest to go away. So they started on a journey northward, the whole tribe of them, and the crane, which is a sacred bird, flew ahead to pick out the driest route. At length they came to the region which their descendants now inhabit, and which is so extremely dry that the water supply is always a subject of anxiety.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
No Good Deed or Sacrifice is Wasted
1895
God Will Use It
"No good deed, no genuine sacrifice, is over wasted. If there be no good in it, God will use it for His own holy purposes, and whatever of ignorance or weakness or mistake was mingled with it will drop away as the withered petals drop away when the full flower has blown." — Frederic W. Farrar.
A Deadly Sin
What makes selfishness such a deadly sin is that it is a self-deceiving sin. A thief knows that he is a thief; a liar that he has told falsehoods; but a selfish man does not know he is selfish, hence he never repents of his sin and it grows with his growth, strengthens with his strength.
The Current of Life
Keep the current of your life broad and full. To do this your thoughts must be full. Share your thoughts with others in different as well as in the same walks of life, and open your mind to share in their plans, aims, feeling, troubles and joys.
God Will Use It
"No good deed, no genuine sacrifice, is over wasted. If there be no good in it, God will use it for His own holy purposes, and whatever of ignorance or weakness or mistake was mingled with it will drop away as the withered petals drop away when the full flower has blown." — Frederic W. Farrar.
A Deadly Sin
What makes selfishness such a deadly sin is that it is a self-deceiving sin. A thief knows that he is a thief; a liar that he has told falsehoods; but a selfish man does not know he is selfish, hence he never repents of his sin and it grows with his growth, strengthens with his strength.
The Current of Life
Keep the current of your life broad and full. To do this your thoughts must be full. Share your thoughts with others in different as well as in the same walks of life, and open your mind to share in their plans, aims, feeling, troubles and joys.
The Gods are Hungry — A Reason For War
1874
Never did war, among either savage or civilized peoples, assume so sinister an aspect, as when it was carried on under the guise of religion, to furnish those human banquets which some peoples have thought it necessary to lay before their gods.
That "the gods were hungry," was the cause of wars among many ancient races, but notably so among the Mexicans. The object of wars among the Aztecs was far less territorial or personal aggrandizement, than the procuring of human victims to place before their deities.
More than two thousand of such victims, upon a moderate estimate, were annually sacrificed in the Mexican temples, and in some years more than a hundred thousand human beings are believed to have perished in this manner.
They also had a yearly sacrifice to one of their idols, in which the victim was a beautiful youth, who was worshiped as a god for a whole year before he was killed. — Scribner's Magazine.
Seraphinnis is a Russian monk who latterly founded a society to which women were admitted on condition that they cut off their hair. The beautiful appropriateness of this will be perceived when it is stated that his brother was an enterprising hair-dresser.
What wine is both food and drink? Port wine with a crust.
Never did war, among either savage or civilized peoples, assume so sinister an aspect, as when it was carried on under the guise of religion, to furnish those human banquets which some peoples have thought it necessary to lay before their gods.
That "the gods were hungry," was the cause of wars among many ancient races, but notably so among the Mexicans. The object of wars among the Aztecs was far less territorial or personal aggrandizement, than the procuring of human victims to place before their deities.
More than two thousand of such victims, upon a moderate estimate, were annually sacrificed in the Mexican temples, and in some years more than a hundred thousand human beings are believed to have perished in this manner.
They also had a yearly sacrifice to one of their idols, in which the victim was a beautiful youth, who was worshiped as a god for a whole year before he was killed. — Scribner's Magazine.
Seraphinnis is a Russian monk who latterly founded a society to which women were admitted on condition that they cut off their hair. The beautiful appropriateness of this will be perceived when it is stated that his brother was an enterprising hair-dresser.
What wine is both food and drink? Port wine with a crust.
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