Do Eminent Men Believe in Christianity?

1899

Two young men sat disputing one evening last June on the steps of their college dormitory. They were seniors, on the eve of graduation, and both were filled with the importance of their own views.

"I, for one," said the younger, "have no use for Christianity. It might do for savages, or even for the better class of Filipinos. If you believe in the trolley-car, you have outlived the tenets of Christ. Modern science has gone beyond them."

His companion, the son of a clergyman, had almost lost his father's faith during his college career; yet he was not absolutely convinced of its worthlessness. "A few great men still believe in Christ," he ventured, mildly: "His teachings have been the foundation of modern civilization."

"Pooh!" sneered the younger man. "Buddha paved the way for Christ, and Christ has built the foundation for a higher creed. I tell you, the men of the best intelligence in this country don't believe in Christianity."

Is this a true statement? At any rate, it is not a new one, and it demands to be answered with facts, which are the most effective arguments. The Christian Herald recently addressed letters to the leading men of the nation, asking them if they were believers in Christ. Senators, ambassadors, sailors, soldiers and business men, eminent in their respective stations, have responded. The following were some of the first to reply:

President McKinley wrote, "My belief embraces the divinity of Christ and a recognition of Christianity as the mightiest factor in the world's civilization."

Six cabinet ministers affirmed that they were firm believers in the transcendent value of Christianity. Three justices of the United States Supreme Court announced their belief in the Christian faith, Chief Justice Fuller being among the number. Every naval officer who was interrogated responded affirmatively. Admiral Sampson said, "I claim to be a friend of Christianity. I was thus brought up and thus taught to believe. I have never had occasion to change my belief." In fact, all the heroes of Santiago and Manila acknowledge allegiance to Christianity.

The army makes a remarkable showing. Miles, Shafter, Brooke, Flagler, Corbin, Sternberg, Breckinridge, Howard, and a host of other high officers explicitly declare their faith. The chief of engineers writes, "I fully believe in the divinity of the Saviour and the surpassing potency of Christianity."

The majority of the United States Senate uphold Christianity. The same may be said of the House. Senator Tillman of South Carolina thinks "he would be a fool who should deny the beneficent influence of the Christian religion." Senator Jones of Arkansas says, "I am a firm believer in the Christian religion, in the immortality of the soul and in the beneficence and wisdom of an all-wise God, and but for this belief this life, in my opinion, would not be worth living."

Marshall Field of Chicago and Mr. Wanamaker of Philadelphia are typical of the leading business men who believe in God. Nearly every university and college president is a representative for Christianity. The Chinese minister and the Russian ambassador recognize the "potency of the Christian religion as a civilizing influence." When all the answers are in, it is thought that ninety-nine hundredths of those who represent the highest intelligence and success in this country will have declared their professed belief in Christ and in the principles taught by Him.

Such testimony ought not to be overlooked by the young men who think it a sign of cleverness to boast of unbelief. It is rather the sign of a mental condition less acceptable to conceit. Science today, in common with the eminent men whose names have been given, accepts as the strongest force in the moral development of the race, the influence of the marvelous life by which the fatherhood of God has been declared to men. Here science is not agnostic. In its own deliberate way it accepts the facts of Christianity, and acknowledges its renovating power and its domination in modern civilization. — Youth's Companion.