1916
In some parts of the world the women are not even allowed to pray. Certain Hindoo congregations deny their women this privilege, and among the Ainus women can pray only in very rare cases as the deputies of their husbands. The natives of Madagascar, however, stretch a point and permit their women to intercede with the powers of evil, but prayer to their supreme being is strictly a masculine prerogative.
Showing posts with label 1916. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1916. Show all posts
Friday, April 25, 2008
Prisoner in the Castle
1916
LESSON TEXT — Acts 22.
GOLDEN TEXT — He is my refuge and my fortress. — Ps. 91:2.
Paul was rescued from the mob by the prompt action of Lysias, and was saved from scourging by revealing his Roman citizenship (21:27-22:29). Every true life, real social service, patriotism and national righteousness rest upon the value of conversion to Christ. The fundamental message of the Christian church must always be regeneration. With this message Billy Sunday is gripping the large cities, and Dr. John R. Mott is reaching the student life of the world.
I. Paul's Account of His Early Life (v. 1-5).
By his use of the Greek tongue he obtained permission to deliver this address, and by his wise use of the Jewish language he gained the attention of the excited crowd. Paul asserted his Jewish origin (Acts 21:39). Tarsus, where he was born, had a university which rivaled those of Athens and Alexandria, and Paul had probably heard its great philosophers. Paul was an educated man; he was brought up in Jerusalem from his early boyhood at the feet of Gamaliel its greatest teacher. Thus his religious training was according to the law of the fathers, and as "touching the righteousness which is of the law," he was blameless (Phil. 3:6). He was zealous for God, doing what he thought he would have him do even, when "persecuted this way," the way of forgiveness, salvation and righteousness. Jesus said, "I am the way." Paul was at this time an instrument in the hands of the rulers, carrying out their plans, but he exceeded them in his zeal for "the traditions of our fathers (Gal. 1:14). He was not at all like these Pharisees whom Christ condemned as "white sepulchers." He was not what we would term today, "a bad man."
II. Paul's Turning Point (vv. 6-21).
Paul seems to pick out three different crises in this rehearsal. (1) His interview with Christ, when he saw Jesus as he really was in his glory, a living risen Savior (1 Cor. 9:1; 15.8). He had positive proof of the resurrection from the dead. This proof convicted him of sin. He had heard Jesus call. He had asked Jesus what he would have him to do. He was ready to obey, and something was given him to do. The light which he met on that journey arrested him in his mad course. The voice gave him his directions. In obedience to the command, "Arise and go," he gained knowledge and skill. (2) He lights upon his interview with Ananias (v. 14) where he received personal help from an experienced Christian. In the darkness and conflict of those three days of loneliness the questions must have been: Could he leave rank, honor, friends? Could he enter the service of the despised one and suffer reproach, danger and death? During this conflict he must have had before him the vision of what God would have him do, and the work for which he chose him (vv. 16-18). His vision and commission constituted a strong motive for right decision. During the vision he came into the light, and confessed his faith by his baptism. As a result of those three days and his interview with Ananias he came to know God's will more fully. The next step was of course (3) his public avowal (See Acts 2:38; Heb. 10:22; Rom. 10:13; 1 Cor. 6:11). The purpose of Paul's whole life and mission was changed.
III. Paul's Dangerous Position (vv. 20-30).
The mob gave him audience until his words about the Gentiles. His declaration that God had commanded him to go upon a mission to the Gentiles was an offense to the Jews, and his words fell like a "spark upon an inflammable mass of fanaticism." They broke out into a frenzy of excitement, and made preparations to stone him. An Oriental mob is hideous beyond degree, howling, yelling, cursing, gnashing their teeth, flinging their arms, casting off their garments (v. 23), throwing dust into the air to relieve their excitement and to express their execration. It was a manifestation of their uncontrollable rage. The opposition of a mob is no proof that the person it curses is wrong.
Immediately preparations stopped. The commander was called, and, learning that Paul was a free-born Roman citizen, he had cause to be afraid that he had gone too far.
To assert Roman citizenship falsely was punishable with death.
The chief captain told Paul that with a great sum he had obtained his Roman citizenship, but Paul's reply was, "But I am Roman born."
Paul was well cared for after this, and, in order to find out why the Jews were so opposed to him, the captain summoned the Sanhedrin to meet the following day, thus unconsciously giving Paul another opportunity to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul indeed was ready to be bound, and also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
He knew how his Lord had been bound (John 18:12), and he rejoiced in the fellowship of his sufferings (Phil. 3:10) yet he claims his right as a citizen for there is no need of morbidly seeking unnecessary disgrace or pain.
LESSON TEXT — Acts 22.
GOLDEN TEXT — He is my refuge and my fortress. — Ps. 91:2.
Paul was rescued from the mob by the prompt action of Lysias, and was saved from scourging by revealing his Roman citizenship (21:27-22:29). Every true life, real social service, patriotism and national righteousness rest upon the value of conversion to Christ. The fundamental message of the Christian church must always be regeneration. With this message Billy Sunday is gripping the large cities, and Dr. John R. Mott is reaching the student life of the world.
I. Paul's Account of His Early Life (v. 1-5).
By his use of the Greek tongue he obtained permission to deliver this address, and by his wise use of the Jewish language he gained the attention of the excited crowd. Paul asserted his Jewish origin (Acts 21:39). Tarsus, where he was born, had a university which rivaled those of Athens and Alexandria, and Paul had probably heard its great philosophers. Paul was an educated man; he was brought up in Jerusalem from his early boyhood at the feet of Gamaliel its greatest teacher. Thus his religious training was according to the law of the fathers, and as "touching the righteousness which is of the law," he was blameless (Phil. 3:6). He was zealous for God, doing what he thought he would have him do even, when "persecuted this way," the way of forgiveness, salvation and righteousness. Jesus said, "I am the way." Paul was at this time an instrument in the hands of the rulers, carrying out their plans, but he exceeded them in his zeal for "the traditions of our fathers (Gal. 1:14). He was not at all like these Pharisees whom Christ condemned as "white sepulchers." He was not what we would term today, "a bad man."
II. Paul's Turning Point (vv. 6-21).
Paul seems to pick out three different crises in this rehearsal. (1) His interview with Christ, when he saw Jesus as he really was in his glory, a living risen Savior (1 Cor. 9:1; 15.8). He had positive proof of the resurrection from the dead. This proof convicted him of sin. He had heard Jesus call. He had asked Jesus what he would have him to do. He was ready to obey, and something was given him to do. The light which he met on that journey arrested him in his mad course. The voice gave him his directions. In obedience to the command, "Arise and go," he gained knowledge and skill. (2) He lights upon his interview with Ananias (v. 14) where he received personal help from an experienced Christian. In the darkness and conflict of those three days of loneliness the questions must have been: Could he leave rank, honor, friends? Could he enter the service of the despised one and suffer reproach, danger and death? During this conflict he must have had before him the vision of what God would have him do, and the work for which he chose him (vv. 16-18). His vision and commission constituted a strong motive for right decision. During the vision he came into the light, and confessed his faith by his baptism. As a result of those three days and his interview with Ananias he came to know God's will more fully. The next step was of course (3) his public avowal (See Acts 2:38; Heb. 10:22; Rom. 10:13; 1 Cor. 6:11). The purpose of Paul's whole life and mission was changed.
III. Paul's Dangerous Position (vv. 20-30).
The mob gave him audience until his words about the Gentiles. His declaration that God had commanded him to go upon a mission to the Gentiles was an offense to the Jews, and his words fell like a "spark upon an inflammable mass of fanaticism." They broke out into a frenzy of excitement, and made preparations to stone him. An Oriental mob is hideous beyond degree, howling, yelling, cursing, gnashing their teeth, flinging their arms, casting off their garments (v. 23), throwing dust into the air to relieve their excitement and to express their execration. It was a manifestation of their uncontrollable rage. The opposition of a mob is no proof that the person it curses is wrong.
Immediately preparations stopped. The commander was called, and, learning that Paul was a free-born Roman citizen, he had cause to be afraid that he had gone too far.
To assert Roman citizenship falsely was punishable with death.
The chief captain told Paul that with a great sum he had obtained his Roman citizenship, but Paul's reply was, "But I am Roman born."
Paul was well cared for after this, and, in order to find out why the Jews were so opposed to him, the captain summoned the Sanhedrin to meet the following day, thus unconsciously giving Paul another opportunity to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul indeed was ready to be bound, and also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
He knew how his Lord had been bound (John 18:12), and he rejoiced in the fellowship of his sufferings (Phil. 3:10) yet he claims his right as a citizen for there is no need of morbidly seeking unnecessary disgrace or pain.
The Future of Religion
1916
By H. Symonds, D. D.
God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. — John iv. 4.
I. If we should ask this question "What is the most characteristic and significant difference between the modern and the old way of looking at religion and Christ in particular in its varied manifestations?" I think the answer would be something like this: In the past men thought of religion as some kind of completed system and order of things. A scheme or plan completely fashioned and framed, perfect from the start, handed to men, and by one generation to be transmitted to another unchanged, unimpaired, complete.
It was of course admitted that this ideal had never been realized. From the beginning there were disputes, controversies, heresies, schisms. Nevertheless the conception of religion as a completed scheme was adhered to. The watchword was this: That is true, and that is to be regarded as orthodox and Christian which has been held "everywhere, at all times, and by every one." This conception, mark, was not only the conception of the Catholic, but also of the Protestant. The Protestant thought the Catholic had been false to the principle; that he had introduced many new things. Hence he said we must go back to the New Testament and begin all over again. The fundamental error of the reformers — an error, however, which in their time was unavoidable — was the supposition that the New Testament must contain a complete system of belief of organization of worship. Only find that, they said (and they believed with enthusiasm that it could be found), and all Christians will unite. But alas! — we know how false were these hopes. It might have been supposed that if the New Testament did contain such a scheme, then at all events the true Scriptural organization of the church would have been discoverable.
But it was not. As you know, three different forms of ministry were discovered, each defended as divine and necessary, and with equal learning and logic — the Episcopal theory, the Presbyterian theory, and the Congregational theory.
That was the old way of looking at Christ — a way which has not yet died out, although it is so perfectly clear that something is wrong with it.
The new way of looking at Christianity is to regard it, not as a completed system of belief, worship, or organization, but rather as in the beginning the revelation of a life — the life of Christ in whom was gathered up all that was truest and best in the long preparation of the Old Testament. Behind the actual visible life of Christ was the Spirit and mind of Christ, by which one means the desires, the mo[tives of Christ; it] is this Spirit of Christ that is important. We can not imitate Him in His daily life of act, but we can seek after the motive or the Spirit in which He lived and worked. So, then, to-day we think of Christ not as having given a creed, or a government, or a system of worship, but as having lived in the world His life, and as having bequeathed to the world His Spirit.
But this Spirit comes into conflict with the spirit of the world, the spirit of what we call the natural man. It is not realized all at once; it is not even understood all at once. And so we think of Christianity as something progressively realized as the ages roll on. And as we look at so-called Christian nations, as we contemplate the selfishness, the corruption, the inequalities, the oppressions that still exist, we awake to the fact that even yet Christianity is not perfectly understood, that, e. g., what Christ meant by loving our neighbor as ourselves is not comprehended as yet by any class of society.
Again, although Christianity is primarily and fundamentally a spirit, the Spirit of Christ, yet we know that pure Spirit does not and can not be in this world. We ourselves are body and spirit. We can not express ourselves except by means of our bodies. So the Spirit of Christianity took to itself a body, and that body we call the church. Naturally those who became Christians asked many questions about Christianity. Out of those questions of necessity there came a creed. Naturally those who became Christians sought to give outward expression of their devotion to and adoration of Christ. Hence sprang up, and was gradually systematized, Christian worship. Naturally those who were Christian brethren gave outward expression to their fellowship and unity, and out of that desire sprang the organization of the church. Thus the church did not begin — no society ever did — with a system imposed upon men from without, but it began with the Spirit of Christ, and out of that Spirit came the church with its creed, worship, organization.
And these, too, developed, grew, changed with changing times and circumstances. Let me give one example, taken from that department of Christianity supposed to be least variable — the department of creed. If you asked of a young student of divinity this question, "When was the Nicene Creed composed?" he would probably say: "In the year 325, at the Council of Nicea, from which it takes its name." And yet that would be about as misleading an answer as could be given. The Nicene Creed was never composed; it grew. And it was more than three hundred years in the growing. The Council of Nicea had something to do with it, but very much less than is generally supposed. It existed almost in the form in which it left the council, before the council met, and it was further developed during fifty years subsequent to the meeting of that council.
Let me then sum up this part of our subject by saying that the old thought and conception of the New Testament was that it came into the world as completed creed, worship, and organization. The new thought of it is that it is first a spirit, but a spirit which takes to itself by degrees an outward form. It develops, it grows, it is modified here and there by changing circumstance. And is not this new conception of a development more in accord with our Savior's own teaching? The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which indeed is less than all seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becometh a tree.
II If these things are so, then you perceive at once that the subject we are considering is of very practical importance, for we may expect still further modification, growth, development. Only dead things never change. Living things are subject to continual change, the constant adaptation to an ever-changing environment. And so there is nothing we should dread as much as standing still, nothing so fatal as changelessness. The institution which can not adapt itself to new environment is doomed.
In the future, then, we may expect that less stress will be placed upon creed and upon the particular forms of worship, and a great deal more stress will be placed upon life, and especially the spirit of a man's life. In other words, religion will become more spiritual and less formal. Right opinion will count less than unselfishness. To give $100,000 for foreign missions will count less than justice and righteousness. The lust of money will be accounted a worse thing than staying away from church. And in in all respects religion will be getting back to Christ, — to that Christ who said God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth; to that Christ who said that to love our fellow man — not to exploit him — was a commandment that ranked with the love of God; to that Christ who said, "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, but do not the things that I say?"
Are we then — some of you may be asking yourselves — are we then to suppose that church worship and doctrine are going to disappear altogether? Some there are who think so. But these we may safely say are wrong. They have reacted too violently against the excessive value placed in the past upon church-going and orthodoxy. I think this point is of sufficient importance to dwell upon for a moment or two.
Did it ever occur to you that in the Old Testament church creed was almost non-existent? "Hear, O Israel the Lord our God is one Lord" sums up the Hebrew creed. But worship or ritual was everything. The details of worship were laid down with the utmost rigor. Every sacrifice had to be offered in exactly the right way, the ritual was carefully prescribed, and to vary from it was an offense scarcely thinkable. In other words, religion was cultus or ritual.
Christianity began without ritual or definite creed. But when it spread among a highly intellectual and philosophical people like the Greeks, it naturally developed doctrine or theory, and doctrine and theory hardened into dogma. In other words, religion ceased to be primarily right cultus or right ritual and became right doctrine. And we may freely admit that this was a step in advance.
But what I want you to notice is that because the religion of doctrine replaced the religion of ritual, it did not follow that ritual disappeared altogether. It still remained, and occupied a very important tho not the first place. And just so, altho I can not conceive it possible that right thinking or doctrine will ever again occupy the place it has in the past, yet it seems certain from many considerations that both doctrine and worship must have a permanent place in the Christian church. Only just as to-day we do not stigmatize because he offers extemporaneous prayer, or preaches in a black gown or a black coat, or per contra prefers a surplice and the Book of Common Prayer, so neither shall we in the future inquire too particularly into the exact opinions of any one upon predestination or original sin, or the relations of the divine and human in Christ, or the double procession of the Holy Ghost. All of them are for some of us important as well as interesting questions; but because men differ from one another about them, they will no longer stigmatize each other as heretics. We shall rather judge of soundness by Christ's test: "He that heareth these saying of mine and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man that built his house upon a rock." In one word we say this: "The religion of the spirit is the religion of liberty."
III. Our next point is this: The religion of the future, because it will be the religion of the Spirit, will seek more earnestly and more thoroughly than has ever been done before to embody itself in act and deed. They that worship God must worship Him in spirit and in reality; must translate spirit into visible good, just as you translate thought into spoken or written word. Neither the religion of cultus nor the religion of dogma is of necessity moral. Morality may be and, we may most thankfully admit, has been superadded to them, but morality is not of this essence. But morality, being conformity to the laws of man's relationship to God, his fellow man, and himself, must be of the very essence of the religion of the Spirit.
The religion of the Spirit will seek most earnestly to establish right relations between men. It will not rest satisfied with merely negatively morality, "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not commit adultery." But it will seek after positive justice, positive mercy. It will be altruistic. It will refuse to be happy while any part of the social organism is compelled to live in unsanitary conditions, is condemned to a life of ceaseless grinding toil, has no vocations that are wholesome and elevating.
The prime virtue of the religion of dogma is assent.
But the prime virtue of the religion of the Spirit is love.
We shall call no man atheist who loves his fellow man. But no matter what he professes to be, we shall regard him as atheist who does not love his fellow man. "For he that loveth not his brother man whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" The religion of the Spirit will greatly prefer a Charles Darwin to a Charles II.
The religion of the Spirit will bring to an end the long conflict between science and theology. Theology will frankly admit that science has earnestly and purely sought after truth, and endeavored to translate truth into action. But all truth is of God. Science in its reverence for law, in its faith that this is an intelligible universe, is truly and deeply religious. It is the ally, not the enemy, of the religion in spirit and truth.
The religion of the Spirit will bring to an end divisions of Christendom. We shall see that variety of worship and thought is consistent with the Unity of the Spirit. Truly it will perceive that all variety that springs out of an honest and sincere mind and heart enriches religion, adds to its strength and its beauty, just as the one energy of the universe unfolds and manifests itself in endless forms of entrancing beauty.
Two principles will underlie this new unity, this transformed catholic church. The principle of liberty, which will give variety, richness, and beauty — the centrifugal force of the spiritual world; and the spirit of love, which will bind together into one communion and fellowship all the varieties of worships and believers. Love is the centripetal force of the spiritual world.
IV. And in this religion of the Spirit, what is to be the place of worship and doctrine?
Worship! What is it? Is it the groveling of man before a Deity who longs for flattery? Is it the attempt to bribe a Deity with forms and ceremonies? The prophets Isaiah and Micah answered that question long since.
Shall we not say that it is the going out of the infinite part of ourselves in adoration and love to the infinite source of all things? Shall we not seek by worship to be purified from low thinking, and to be inspired to high thinking? Shall we not hope to gain from it an infinite desire to be holy, desires and longings which shall he translated into deeds on every day of the week? Perchance to those worshiping thus in spirit there shall be revealed, as once many hundred of years ago there was revealed to a youth, a student, the Lord, high and mighty sitting upon His throne, and they shall hear, as He heard, the seraphim crying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, the fulness of the whole earth is the glory of Jehovah! And out of that vision may there come, as there came to Isaiah, the call to live for infinite ends — to do the will of God among men on earth. Worship is no worship that does not lead to action.
And doctrine? Doctrine will continue just as worship will continue; only it will not be dogma, opinions to which men are compelled to assent, whether they understand them or not. Doctrine is the presentation of what the thinker, the student, the teacher, believes to be true; and believing it to be true and beautiful, will yet only ask men to accept so far as they themselves perceive it to be true and beautiful. We shall no more seek to compel men to be orthodox than we now compel them to worship in this way or that way, or than we seek to compel a man to love his neighbor as himself.
Christianity may have long to live in human society before it attains to its ideal; but we are not therefore of despair. This religion of Spirit and of truth, which I have so inadequately sought to set forth, is already in the world. There is no reason why we should be despond or pessimistic. Optimism is to some extent, no doubt, a matter of temperament. Yet I think the optimist can give good reason for the hope and faith that are in him — the faith that we are living in a truth-loving and liberty-loving age. And truth and liberty are of the essence of that God who is a Spirit. Looking back twenty-five years it is not difficult to detect a growing reverence for the religious side of human experience, so that the beautiful aspiration of one of the poet prophets of the nineteenth century is even now being fulfilled.
"Let knowledge grow more to more,
But more of reverence in us dwell,
That mind and heart, according
May make one music as before."
—The Fryeburg Post, Fryeburg, Maine, Sept. 12, 1916, p. 5.
Note: The phrase in brackets I supplied, since a few words were missing in the original newspaper.
By H. Symonds, D. D.
God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. — John iv. 4.
I. If we should ask this question "What is the most characteristic and significant difference between the modern and the old way of looking at religion and Christ in particular in its varied manifestations?" I think the answer would be something like this: In the past men thought of religion as some kind of completed system and order of things. A scheme or plan completely fashioned and framed, perfect from the start, handed to men, and by one generation to be transmitted to another unchanged, unimpaired, complete.
It was of course admitted that this ideal had never been realized. From the beginning there were disputes, controversies, heresies, schisms. Nevertheless the conception of religion as a completed scheme was adhered to. The watchword was this: That is true, and that is to be regarded as orthodox and Christian which has been held "everywhere, at all times, and by every one." This conception, mark, was not only the conception of the Catholic, but also of the Protestant. The Protestant thought the Catholic had been false to the principle; that he had introduced many new things. Hence he said we must go back to the New Testament and begin all over again. The fundamental error of the reformers — an error, however, which in their time was unavoidable — was the supposition that the New Testament must contain a complete system of belief of organization of worship. Only find that, they said (and they believed with enthusiasm that it could be found), and all Christians will unite. But alas! — we know how false were these hopes. It might have been supposed that if the New Testament did contain such a scheme, then at all events the true Scriptural organization of the church would have been discoverable.
But it was not. As you know, three different forms of ministry were discovered, each defended as divine and necessary, and with equal learning and logic — the Episcopal theory, the Presbyterian theory, and the Congregational theory.
That was the old way of looking at Christ — a way which has not yet died out, although it is so perfectly clear that something is wrong with it.
The new way of looking at Christianity is to regard it, not as a completed system of belief, worship, or organization, but rather as in the beginning the revelation of a life — the life of Christ in whom was gathered up all that was truest and best in the long preparation of the Old Testament. Behind the actual visible life of Christ was the Spirit and mind of Christ, by which one means the desires, the mo[tives of Christ; it] is this Spirit of Christ that is important. We can not imitate Him in His daily life of act, but we can seek after the motive or the Spirit in which He lived and worked. So, then, to-day we think of Christ not as having given a creed, or a government, or a system of worship, but as having lived in the world His life, and as having bequeathed to the world His Spirit.
But this Spirit comes into conflict with the spirit of the world, the spirit of what we call the natural man. It is not realized all at once; it is not even understood all at once. And so we think of Christianity as something progressively realized as the ages roll on. And as we look at so-called Christian nations, as we contemplate the selfishness, the corruption, the inequalities, the oppressions that still exist, we awake to the fact that even yet Christianity is not perfectly understood, that, e. g., what Christ meant by loving our neighbor as ourselves is not comprehended as yet by any class of society.
Again, although Christianity is primarily and fundamentally a spirit, the Spirit of Christ, yet we know that pure Spirit does not and can not be in this world. We ourselves are body and spirit. We can not express ourselves except by means of our bodies. So the Spirit of Christianity took to itself a body, and that body we call the church. Naturally those who became Christians asked many questions about Christianity. Out of those questions of necessity there came a creed. Naturally those who became Christians sought to give outward expression of their devotion to and adoration of Christ. Hence sprang up, and was gradually systematized, Christian worship. Naturally those who were Christian brethren gave outward expression to their fellowship and unity, and out of that desire sprang the organization of the church. Thus the church did not begin — no society ever did — with a system imposed upon men from without, but it began with the Spirit of Christ, and out of that Spirit came the church with its creed, worship, organization.
And these, too, developed, grew, changed with changing times and circumstances. Let me give one example, taken from that department of Christianity supposed to be least variable — the department of creed. If you asked of a young student of divinity this question, "When was the Nicene Creed composed?" he would probably say: "In the year 325, at the Council of Nicea, from which it takes its name." And yet that would be about as misleading an answer as could be given. The Nicene Creed was never composed; it grew. And it was more than three hundred years in the growing. The Council of Nicea had something to do with it, but very much less than is generally supposed. It existed almost in the form in which it left the council, before the council met, and it was further developed during fifty years subsequent to the meeting of that council.
Let me then sum up this part of our subject by saying that the old thought and conception of the New Testament was that it came into the world as completed creed, worship, and organization. The new thought of it is that it is first a spirit, but a spirit which takes to itself by degrees an outward form. It develops, it grows, it is modified here and there by changing circumstance. And is not this new conception of a development more in accord with our Savior's own teaching? The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which indeed is less than all seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becometh a tree.
II If these things are so, then you perceive at once that the subject we are considering is of very practical importance, for we may expect still further modification, growth, development. Only dead things never change. Living things are subject to continual change, the constant adaptation to an ever-changing environment. And so there is nothing we should dread as much as standing still, nothing so fatal as changelessness. The institution which can not adapt itself to new environment is doomed.
In the future, then, we may expect that less stress will be placed upon creed and upon the particular forms of worship, and a great deal more stress will be placed upon life, and especially the spirit of a man's life. In other words, religion will become more spiritual and less formal. Right opinion will count less than unselfishness. To give $100,000 for foreign missions will count less than justice and righteousness. The lust of money will be accounted a worse thing than staying away from church. And in in all respects religion will be getting back to Christ, — to that Christ who said God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth; to that Christ who said that to love our fellow man — not to exploit him — was a commandment that ranked with the love of God; to that Christ who said, "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, but do not the things that I say?"
Are we then — some of you may be asking yourselves — are we then to suppose that church worship and doctrine are going to disappear altogether? Some there are who think so. But these we may safely say are wrong. They have reacted too violently against the excessive value placed in the past upon church-going and orthodoxy. I think this point is of sufficient importance to dwell upon for a moment or two.
Did it ever occur to you that in the Old Testament church creed was almost non-existent? "Hear, O Israel the Lord our God is one Lord" sums up the Hebrew creed. But worship or ritual was everything. The details of worship were laid down with the utmost rigor. Every sacrifice had to be offered in exactly the right way, the ritual was carefully prescribed, and to vary from it was an offense scarcely thinkable. In other words, religion was cultus or ritual.
Christianity began without ritual or definite creed. But when it spread among a highly intellectual and philosophical people like the Greeks, it naturally developed doctrine or theory, and doctrine and theory hardened into dogma. In other words, religion ceased to be primarily right cultus or right ritual and became right doctrine. And we may freely admit that this was a step in advance.
But what I want you to notice is that because the religion of doctrine replaced the religion of ritual, it did not follow that ritual disappeared altogether. It still remained, and occupied a very important tho not the first place. And just so, altho I can not conceive it possible that right thinking or doctrine will ever again occupy the place it has in the past, yet it seems certain from many considerations that both doctrine and worship must have a permanent place in the Christian church. Only just as to-day we do not stigmatize because he offers extemporaneous prayer, or preaches in a black gown or a black coat, or per contra prefers a surplice and the Book of Common Prayer, so neither shall we in the future inquire too particularly into the exact opinions of any one upon predestination or original sin, or the relations of the divine and human in Christ, or the double procession of the Holy Ghost. All of them are for some of us important as well as interesting questions; but because men differ from one another about them, they will no longer stigmatize each other as heretics. We shall rather judge of soundness by Christ's test: "He that heareth these saying of mine and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man that built his house upon a rock." In one word we say this: "The religion of the spirit is the religion of liberty."
III. Our next point is this: The religion of the future, because it will be the religion of the Spirit, will seek more earnestly and more thoroughly than has ever been done before to embody itself in act and deed. They that worship God must worship Him in spirit and in reality; must translate spirit into visible good, just as you translate thought into spoken or written word. Neither the religion of cultus nor the religion of dogma is of necessity moral. Morality may be and, we may most thankfully admit, has been superadded to them, but morality is not of this essence. But morality, being conformity to the laws of man's relationship to God, his fellow man, and himself, must be of the very essence of the religion of the Spirit.
The religion of the Spirit will seek most earnestly to establish right relations between men. It will not rest satisfied with merely negatively morality, "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not commit adultery." But it will seek after positive justice, positive mercy. It will be altruistic. It will refuse to be happy while any part of the social organism is compelled to live in unsanitary conditions, is condemned to a life of ceaseless grinding toil, has no vocations that are wholesome and elevating.
The prime virtue of the religion of dogma is assent.
But the prime virtue of the religion of the Spirit is love.
We shall call no man atheist who loves his fellow man. But no matter what he professes to be, we shall regard him as atheist who does not love his fellow man. "For he that loveth not his brother man whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" The religion of the Spirit will greatly prefer a Charles Darwin to a Charles II.
The religion of the Spirit will bring to an end the long conflict between science and theology. Theology will frankly admit that science has earnestly and purely sought after truth, and endeavored to translate truth into action. But all truth is of God. Science in its reverence for law, in its faith that this is an intelligible universe, is truly and deeply religious. It is the ally, not the enemy, of the religion in spirit and truth.
The religion of the Spirit will bring to an end divisions of Christendom. We shall see that variety of worship and thought is consistent with the Unity of the Spirit. Truly it will perceive that all variety that springs out of an honest and sincere mind and heart enriches religion, adds to its strength and its beauty, just as the one energy of the universe unfolds and manifests itself in endless forms of entrancing beauty.
Two principles will underlie this new unity, this transformed catholic church. The principle of liberty, which will give variety, richness, and beauty — the centrifugal force of the spiritual world; and the spirit of love, which will bind together into one communion and fellowship all the varieties of worships and believers. Love is the centripetal force of the spiritual world.
IV. And in this religion of the Spirit, what is to be the place of worship and doctrine?
Worship! What is it? Is it the groveling of man before a Deity who longs for flattery? Is it the attempt to bribe a Deity with forms and ceremonies? The prophets Isaiah and Micah answered that question long since.
Shall we not say that it is the going out of the infinite part of ourselves in adoration and love to the infinite source of all things? Shall we not seek by worship to be purified from low thinking, and to be inspired to high thinking? Shall we not hope to gain from it an infinite desire to be holy, desires and longings which shall he translated into deeds on every day of the week? Perchance to those worshiping thus in spirit there shall be revealed, as once many hundred of years ago there was revealed to a youth, a student, the Lord, high and mighty sitting upon His throne, and they shall hear, as He heard, the seraphim crying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, the fulness of the whole earth is the glory of Jehovah! And out of that vision may there come, as there came to Isaiah, the call to live for infinite ends — to do the will of God among men on earth. Worship is no worship that does not lead to action.
And doctrine? Doctrine will continue just as worship will continue; only it will not be dogma, opinions to which men are compelled to assent, whether they understand them or not. Doctrine is the presentation of what the thinker, the student, the teacher, believes to be true; and believing it to be true and beautiful, will yet only ask men to accept so far as they themselves perceive it to be true and beautiful. We shall no more seek to compel men to be orthodox than we now compel them to worship in this way or that way, or than we seek to compel a man to love his neighbor as himself.
Christianity may have long to live in human society before it attains to its ideal; but we are not therefore of despair. This religion of Spirit and of truth, which I have so inadequately sought to set forth, is already in the world. There is no reason why we should be despond or pessimistic. Optimism is to some extent, no doubt, a matter of temperament. Yet I think the optimist can give good reason for the hope and faith that are in him — the faith that we are living in a truth-loving and liberty-loving age. And truth and liberty are of the essence of that God who is a Spirit. Looking back twenty-five years it is not difficult to detect a growing reverence for the religious side of human experience, so that the beautiful aspiration of one of the poet prophets of the nineteenth century is even now being fulfilled.
"Let knowledge grow more to more,
But more of reverence in us dwell,
That mind and heart, according
May make one music as before."
—The Fryeburg Post, Fryeburg, Maine, Sept. 12, 1916, p. 5.
Note: The phrase in brackets I supplied, since a few words were missing in the original newspaper.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Go-to-Sunday-School-Day
1916
To the People of the State of Maine:
Whereas, the Maine State Sunday School Association has called my attention to a general movement having for its object the arousing of interest in Sunday School work and increasing of Sunday School attendance, and has requested me to issue a proclamation for the purpose of advancing this movement in the State of Maine, and
Whereas, the Maine State Sunday School Association has appointed Sunday, October eighth, one thousand nine hundred and sixteen, as "Go to Sunday School Day," to be observed with appropriate exercises by Sunday schools of all denominations represented in the association:
Therefore, I, Oakley C. Curtis, Governor of Maine, do hereby proclaim Sunday, October eight, one thousand nine hundred and sixteen, as "Go to Sunday School Day," and commend to the people the observance of this day by attending Sunday School in the church of their choice.
Given under my hand and the great seal of the State of Maine, in the executive chamber at Augusta, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and sixteen, and of the State of Maine the ninety-seventh.
(L. S.) OAKLEY C. CURTIS,
By the Governor.
JOHN E. BUNKER,
Secretary of State.
To the People of the State of Maine:
Whereas, the Maine State Sunday School Association has called my attention to a general movement having for its object the arousing of interest in Sunday School work and increasing of Sunday School attendance, and has requested me to issue a proclamation for the purpose of advancing this movement in the State of Maine, and
Whereas, the Maine State Sunday School Association has appointed Sunday, October eighth, one thousand nine hundred and sixteen, as "Go to Sunday School Day," to be observed with appropriate exercises by Sunday schools of all denominations represented in the association:
Therefore, I, Oakley C. Curtis, Governor of Maine, do hereby proclaim Sunday, October eight, one thousand nine hundred and sixteen, as "Go to Sunday School Day," and commend to the people the observance of this day by attending Sunday School in the church of their choice.
Given under my hand and the great seal of the State of Maine, in the executive chamber at Augusta, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and sixteen, and of the State of Maine the ninety-seventh.
(L. S.) OAKLEY C. CURTIS,
By the Governor.
JOHN E. BUNKER,
Secretary of State.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Christ in the Souls of Men
1916
By A. B. Beresford in the Universalist Leader
Christ is in the souls of men — his ideas, motives, hopes, principles, actual spirit — is daily present, and really at work in the multifarious deeds of the world. There are hosts of business men who are transacting business just as Christ would do — honor and humanity being their watchword. Millions of fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers are making "home" and "heaven" synonymous — Christ would have done just this!
Men of the professions are doing likewise. Said a great surgeon to a colleague: "Remember that there is a man at the other end of that foot. Anyone can amputate a foot — to save one is our business as surgeons" — were not these words Christlike?
A patient recently spoke of a surgeon who operated in the spirit of Christ: "Never before have I seen so Christ-like a look upon any human countenance; he touches the scalpel as he would a sacrament; to him the human body is the temple of the living God, and his work is worship therein." Christ is present at the operating table — thus in the deeds of humans — obscure, unknown save to few — is Christ present.
By A. B. Beresford in the Universalist Leader
Christ is in the souls of men — his ideas, motives, hopes, principles, actual spirit — is daily present, and really at work in the multifarious deeds of the world. There are hosts of business men who are transacting business just as Christ would do — honor and humanity being their watchword. Millions of fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers are making "home" and "heaven" synonymous — Christ would have done just this!
Men of the professions are doing likewise. Said a great surgeon to a colleague: "Remember that there is a man at the other end of that foot. Anyone can amputate a foot — to save one is our business as surgeons" — were not these words Christlike?
A patient recently spoke of a surgeon who operated in the spirit of Christ: "Never before have I seen so Christ-like a look upon any human countenance; he touches the scalpel as he would a sacrament; to him the human body is the temple of the living God, and his work is worship therein." Christ is present at the operating table — thus in the deeds of humans — obscure, unknown save to few — is Christ present.
Lesson for October 1
1916
Plot that Failed.
LESSON TEXT — Acts 23.
GOLDEN TEXT — They shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith Jehovah, to deliver thee. — Jer. 1:19.
The stirring events of this lesson occurred in the Castle Antonia and the Sanhedrin hall, near the temple court of Jerusalem; also in Caesarea, the Roman capital of Judea, on the Mediterranean coast, in the year A. D. 57, just at the close of Paul's third missionary journey. The lesson pictures two successive days of strange adventures in which Paul was concerned, a narrow escape and the unexpected providences used in his deliverance. The day was inaugurated by Paul's magic words "I am a Roman citizen," which caused the commander, Lysias, to release him from the threatened scourging, and made him more than ordinarily careful in his treatment of Paul.
I. Before the Elders (vv. 1-12). By referring back to chapter 21, v. 13, we find the charge which really underlay all of Paul's trouble, his preaching, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul's defense is interesting. He gives us a rehearsal of his Christian life, laying emphasis upon its blamelessness and the fact that he is not an apostate Jew. The high priest speaks to silence him, but not gently. Although Paul for a moment seems to give way to his justifiable indignation, he quickly reveals his reverence for the rulers of the people. He then divides the Sanhedrin. Read carefully chapter 22:6-7, and compare with verses 17 and 18. The Sanhedrin could not explain this testimony of Paul, and were seeking to put aside the whole question. An interesting discussion would be to consider the insult to Paul. Was his indignation right and rightly expressed? Another question, the matter of Paul's apology. Just for what did he apologize? Is it ever wrong to speak evil of rulers? These were indeed days of stress and storm. Was Paul justified in dividing the Sanhedrin in order to conquer their opposition to him? Again, how God used these incidents in the furtherance of the gospel is a suggestive lesson for us all. It has been hinted that Ananias was not in his priestly garments, and therefore perhaps not readily recognized by Paul. Paul may never have seen him, as he was elected high priest after Paul had left the council. It is interesting to note that it is not said that anyone struck Paul or that Paul did not apologize for his words or deny them to be true, but only for their being spoken to the high priest. Read in this connection what Christ said to the Pharisees (Matt. 23:27). Paul apologized because he had broken the law found in Exodus 22:28. In the trial of Christ one of the officers struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, whereupon Jesus answered him, saying: "If I have spoken evil,. bear witness of the evil, but if well, why smitest thou me?" On the other hand, when Jesus was ill-treated by the common soldiers, he opened not his mouth.
II. The Plot and Deliverance (vv. 12-35). Paul's prospect was not a pleasant one. In his darkness God appeared to his faithful servant to cheer him (v. 11). Perhaps Paul was tempted to think he had made a mistake in coming to Jerusalem over the protests of his friends, but evidently the Lord heartily approved of his testimony there. A dangerous conspiracy was forming against him, but God was, as he always is, beforehand with his comfort and preparation for the crisis. We have often speculated as to what became of the forty men who entered into it (see v. 12) — whether they actually lived up to their oath. If they did, they must have died of starvation. They were determined men, willing to go any length, and fancied they were doing the will of God. There is no more dangerous man than he who fancies that he must be the judge as to who are God's friends and who are his foes, and that he is the appointed executioner of God's judgment. The plot was well laid, and seemed certain of success, but it failed miserably. (See Psalm 2:1-4; 64:1-10; Isaiah 41:10). The wicked, who leave God out of their plans, no matter how cunningly they plot, are doomed to failure (Rom. 8:31). These plotters co-operated with the priest. Ecclesiastics have often descended to the lowest villainy. Men are not murdered today, though their reputations are often blasted by unprincipled and hellishly impelled professed followers of the lowly Nazarene. Paul had friends in this city. His nephew's discovery and revelation, and the Gentile soldier, a colonel, effected his deliverance. In the boy's heart there must have been great admiration for the uncle. It would be well for teachers of boys to have them repeat in their own language this boy's story. Paul was not safe in Jerusalem. The Roman governor recognized the nature of the conspiracy, and the desperate character of the Jewish fanatics. and therefore sent him under a strong guard to Caesarea, which was reached after a journey on horseback, lasting through the night and the following day.
Plot that Failed.
LESSON TEXT — Acts 23.
GOLDEN TEXT — They shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith Jehovah, to deliver thee. — Jer. 1:19.
The stirring events of this lesson occurred in the Castle Antonia and the Sanhedrin hall, near the temple court of Jerusalem; also in Caesarea, the Roman capital of Judea, on the Mediterranean coast, in the year A. D. 57, just at the close of Paul's third missionary journey. The lesson pictures two successive days of strange adventures in which Paul was concerned, a narrow escape and the unexpected providences used in his deliverance. The day was inaugurated by Paul's magic words "I am a Roman citizen," which caused the commander, Lysias, to release him from the threatened scourging, and made him more than ordinarily careful in his treatment of Paul.
I. Before the Elders (vv. 1-12). By referring back to chapter 21, v. 13, we find the charge which really underlay all of Paul's trouble, his preaching, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul's defense is interesting. He gives us a rehearsal of his Christian life, laying emphasis upon its blamelessness and the fact that he is not an apostate Jew. The high priest speaks to silence him, but not gently. Although Paul for a moment seems to give way to his justifiable indignation, he quickly reveals his reverence for the rulers of the people. He then divides the Sanhedrin. Read carefully chapter 22:6-7, and compare with verses 17 and 18. The Sanhedrin could not explain this testimony of Paul, and were seeking to put aside the whole question. An interesting discussion would be to consider the insult to Paul. Was his indignation right and rightly expressed? Another question, the matter of Paul's apology. Just for what did he apologize? Is it ever wrong to speak evil of rulers? These were indeed days of stress and storm. Was Paul justified in dividing the Sanhedrin in order to conquer their opposition to him? Again, how God used these incidents in the furtherance of the gospel is a suggestive lesson for us all. It has been hinted that Ananias was not in his priestly garments, and therefore perhaps not readily recognized by Paul. Paul may never have seen him, as he was elected high priest after Paul had left the council. It is interesting to note that it is not said that anyone struck Paul or that Paul did not apologize for his words or deny them to be true, but only for their being spoken to the high priest. Read in this connection what Christ said to the Pharisees (Matt. 23:27). Paul apologized because he had broken the law found in Exodus 22:28. In the trial of Christ one of the officers struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, whereupon Jesus answered him, saying: "If I have spoken evil,. bear witness of the evil, but if well, why smitest thou me?" On the other hand, when Jesus was ill-treated by the common soldiers, he opened not his mouth.
II. The Plot and Deliverance (vv. 12-35). Paul's prospect was not a pleasant one. In his darkness God appeared to his faithful servant to cheer him (v. 11). Perhaps Paul was tempted to think he had made a mistake in coming to Jerusalem over the protests of his friends, but evidently the Lord heartily approved of his testimony there. A dangerous conspiracy was forming against him, but God was, as he always is, beforehand with his comfort and preparation for the crisis. We have often speculated as to what became of the forty men who entered into it (see v. 12) — whether they actually lived up to their oath. If they did, they must have died of starvation. They were determined men, willing to go any length, and fancied they were doing the will of God. There is no more dangerous man than he who fancies that he must be the judge as to who are God's friends and who are his foes, and that he is the appointed executioner of God's judgment. The plot was well laid, and seemed certain of success, but it failed miserably. (See Psalm 2:1-4; 64:1-10; Isaiah 41:10). The wicked, who leave God out of their plans, no matter how cunningly they plot, are doomed to failure (Rom. 8:31). These plotters co-operated with the priest. Ecclesiastics have often descended to the lowest villainy. Men are not murdered today, though their reputations are often blasted by unprincipled and hellishly impelled professed followers of the lowly Nazarene. Paul had friends in this city. His nephew's discovery and revelation, and the Gentile soldier, a colonel, effected his deliverance. In the boy's heart there must have been great admiration for the uncle. It would be well for teachers of boys to have them repeat in their own language this boy's story. Paul was not safe in Jerusalem. The Roman governor recognized the nature of the conspiracy, and the desperate character of the Jewish fanatics. and therefore sent him under a strong guard to Caesarea, which was reached after a journey on horseback, lasting through the night and the following day.
Three Pictures From God's Album
1916
By Rev. B. B. Sutchiffe.
TEXT — Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent towards Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. — Gen. 13:12, 13.
Someone has said that the Old Testament is God's picture gallery where he has given us in picture form the doctrines and truths he develops in the New Testament. Our text has three of these pictures, in which three classes of persons are described — Abram, Lot and the men of Sodom.
Living for Self.
Taking these in reverse order, we can see how the men of Sodom illustrate a large number of people today. They are those whose underlying principle might be termed living for self alone. They do not care for real religion, but are occupied entirely with the things of time and sense. What they will eat today or what they will wear tomorrow is to them vastly more important than how they will stand before God in the future. Their effort is concerned with this life alone, and they live and work and play as though there were no such thing as eternity and no such person as God. They come to the end like the man who told himself he could retire from business because he had much goods laid up for many years and he could now afford to enjoy the fruits of his toil and eat, drink and be merry. But he had laid up all his goods on the earth; they were not taken from him, but he was taken from them, and it is no wonder the Lord says he was a fool. The class under consideration are not necessarily bad people, for usually they are tolerant of religion, as the people of Sodom did not mind having Lot in their midst. But the religion that Lot had was not very insistent. When it would threaten to interfere with business or with pleasure it must not be heard. It was time then to laugh it out of court as a sort of fable, and when it became personal Lot was to [*]
Living for Self and God.
The second picture is that of Lot, in whom the half-and-half Christian is easily seen. This man illustrates those who seem to have, as the underlying principle of life, the idea of living for self and for God too. They attempt to serve two masters, and, failing to serve either, come to the end with nothing to show for their labor. They trust their own vision and live by sight and not by faith. Lot looked on the well-watered plain and, as far as he could see, it was the very thing he ought to have, the very thing that was best for him. But, as God saw, it was the very thing he ought not to have, the thing that was worst for him. He hazarded everything he had or hoped to have — himself, his family, his property — on what he could see with his own eyes, when he might have chosen what God could see. He trusted himself rather than God and the results were inevitable. He lost what God would have given him and he lost the enjoyment the men of Sodom had; for all the time he was there his righteous soul was vexed. He was neither out and out for self nor out and out for God. He had tried to live for God and self, he had tried to serve two masters and to get both the wealth of Sodom and the wealth of God. But he ended with awful disaster, losing his property, his testimony, his family — all that he had.
Living for God.
The last picture is that in which the "out-and-out" Christian is seen in Abram. The underlying principle of his life seems to be that he had made up his mind to serve God alone. He was far from being a perfect man. He made many mistakes and even committed some sins. But underneath he was living for God. He had learned "thou shalt have no other God before me" and his life was governed by this principle. He recognized that he could serve only one master with any hope of success and he chose to have the Lord as that one Master. What he was and had and hoped to be belonged to that Master to do with as the Master desired. Where he was to be and go depended on that Master's direction. He would not lean to his own understanding nor judge by the sight of his eyes nor walk by his own wisdom. He would gladly take the seeming second best from God, believing that whatever appearances might say, they could not tell the whole truth.
The men of Sodom lived for self alone and lost themselves and all they had; Lot lived for self and God and lost all he had of peace or power or property; Abram lived for God alone and, while he was not a perfect man, there was given to him the peace of God and power for God and possessions from God. "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve."
Note: [*] Unfortuately, missing at least one line of type here. The sense seems to be "when it became personal Lot was to" a) be ignored; or, b) keep his religion to himself.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Cheerfulness
1916
Cheerfulness is a great asset. A smile and a song are worth a great deal to a person in any calling in life. Carlyle says, "Give me the man who sings at his work." It was a thousand pities that he did not practice what he preached. The sage of Chelsea only growled at his work, and made the lives of all about him miserable. Of all the men we meet on the street, there is no face we welcome as that of the one who greets us with a smile. We cross the street to meet him and exchange greetings, while we turn the corner to avoid the man with the harsh voice and the frown.
The soldier with a buoyant spirit, who sings as he marches, is a better campaigner, and will stand more hardship, than the one who is dour and silent. Soldiers march better to the sound of martial music than they do when they have no band. The inspiring strains enable them to perform prodigies of valor. It is said the French revolution was won by a song. Some time ago, a brave Gordon Highlander played his bagpipes to encourage his comrades, when his leg was shot away.
The work we do with a song is likely to be well done. The man who enjoys preaching will be a good preacher, and the man who enjoys writing will be a successful author. We should think of this in choosing our life work. If a man is not happy in his work, he should give it up at once, and find something congenial; for the greatest excellence can only be obtained when the spirit is in accord with the labor engaged in.
In our daily battle, we need a song as much as a soldier ever did. Many a man goes to his work feeling that life is a tremendous fight, and that he is scarcely holding his own in the contest. On his way he is joined by a friend, who is full of hope and cheerfulness. The bright look, the cheery tone, and encouraging words are like wine to his jaded spirit, and cheer him as nothing else would.
Cheerfulness should mark the life of the Christian. Nothing commends Christ as readily as a happy Christian, and nothing disgraces Him as readily as a morose and a sour one. If we would have others believe in our religion, and be attracted to it, we must show that we enjoy it ourselves. — Onward.
Cheerfulness is a great asset. A smile and a song are worth a great deal to a person in any calling in life. Carlyle says, "Give me the man who sings at his work." It was a thousand pities that he did not practice what he preached. The sage of Chelsea only growled at his work, and made the lives of all about him miserable. Of all the men we meet on the street, there is no face we welcome as that of the one who greets us with a smile. We cross the street to meet him and exchange greetings, while we turn the corner to avoid the man with the harsh voice and the frown.
The soldier with a buoyant spirit, who sings as he marches, is a better campaigner, and will stand more hardship, than the one who is dour and silent. Soldiers march better to the sound of martial music than they do when they have no band. The inspiring strains enable them to perform prodigies of valor. It is said the French revolution was won by a song. Some time ago, a brave Gordon Highlander played his bagpipes to encourage his comrades, when his leg was shot away.
The work we do with a song is likely to be well done. The man who enjoys preaching will be a good preacher, and the man who enjoys writing will be a successful author. We should think of this in choosing our life work. If a man is not happy in his work, he should give it up at once, and find something congenial; for the greatest excellence can only be obtained when the spirit is in accord with the labor engaged in.
In our daily battle, we need a song as much as a soldier ever did. Many a man goes to his work feeling that life is a tremendous fight, and that he is scarcely holding his own in the contest. On his way he is joined by a friend, who is full of hope and cheerfulness. The bright look, the cheery tone, and encouraging words are like wine to his jaded spirit, and cheer him as nothing else would.
Cheerfulness should mark the life of the Christian. Nothing commends Christ as readily as a happy Christian, and nothing disgraces Him as readily as a morose and a sour one. If we would have others believe in our religion, and be attracted to it, we must show that we enjoy it ourselves. — Onward.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Too Much Ragtime In Church
1917
Sing Good Gospel Songs, Bishop Tells M. E. Preachers.
LIMA, Ohio — At the opening of the second day's session of the West Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop Thirkield spoke on "Hymnology" to 500 preachers, urging them to use the Methodist Hymnal more, with its splendid gospel songs. He said too many flippant, ragtime tunes, with frivolous wording, have crept into the church today.
—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 4.
Sing Good Gospel Songs, Bishop Tells M. E. Preachers.
LIMA, Ohio — At the opening of the second day's session of the West Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop Thirkield spoke on "Hymnology" to 500 preachers, urging them to use the Methodist Hymnal more, with its splendid gospel songs. He said too many flippant, ragtime tunes, with frivolous wording, have crept into the church today.
—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 4.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Shoots An Accused Minister
1916
Slayer Is Man Whose Wife's Name Is Involved.
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — William Trotter, under arrest at Shady Grove, Ala., charged with killing the Rev. J. E. C. Harrison, according to Shady Grove police, has admitted that he shot Harrison.
According to reports the minister had been suspended by church officials on charges of misconduct with Mrs. Trotter, who is organist at the church.
—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 3.
Slayer Is Man Whose Wife's Name Is Involved.
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — William Trotter, under arrest at Shady Grove, Ala., charged with killing the Rev. J. E. C. Harrison, according to Shady Grove police, has admitted that he shot Harrison.
According to reports the minister had been suspended by church officials on charges of misconduct with Mrs. Trotter, who is organist at the church.
—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 3.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Worry Causes Death
Illinois, 1916
Mrs. Marie C. Mueller, 43, wife or the Rev. E. L. Mueller, pastor of the German Evangelical church at Eight and Henry street, Alton, died of apoplexy yesterday at St. Joseph's hospital, in Alton. She had been suffering from a nervous breakdown which physicians thought was brought on by overwork in the church and by worry over the opposition of the members to her husband as pastor.
Three years ago, after her husband had been pastor of the church about five years, she received an anonymous letter telling her she was the cause of the members not liking the pastor. She is said to have worried constantly over that. Ten days ago the opposition to the pastor crystallized in a petition of thirteen members requesting his resignation. Before this petition was presented to the church the pastor handed in his resignation and it was voted on, the vote being 80 to 20 in favor of the pastor remaining.
—Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville, Illinois, April 14, 1916, p. 2.
Mrs. Marie C. Mueller, 43, wife or the Rev. E. L. Mueller, pastor of the German Evangelical church at Eight and Henry street, Alton, died of apoplexy yesterday at St. Joseph's hospital, in Alton. She had been suffering from a nervous breakdown which physicians thought was brought on by overwork in the church and by worry over the opposition of the members to her husband as pastor.
Three years ago, after her husband had been pastor of the church about five years, she received an anonymous letter telling her she was the cause of the members not liking the pastor. She is said to have worried constantly over that. Ten days ago the opposition to the pastor crystallized in a petition of thirteen members requesting his resignation. Before this petition was presented to the church the pastor handed in his resignation and it was voted on, the vote being 80 to 20 in favor of the pastor remaining.
—Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville, Illinois, April 14, 1916, p. 2.
Presbytery Questions
1916
New York, April 11. — The New York Presbytery is today on record 64 to 3 that the biblical story of the virgin birth of Christ and other Bible miracles are not to be accepted too literally.
The action was taken in accepting as ministers three graduates of the Union Theological Seminary, who both orally and in writing refused to affirm the virgin birth story and singly and jointly refused to acknowledge the raising of Lazarus from the dead or the narrative of Jonah and the whale.
—Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville, IL, April 11, 1916, p. 7.
New York, April 11. — The New York Presbytery is today on record 64 to 3 that the biblical story of the virgin birth of Christ and other Bible miracles are not to be accepted too literally.
The action was taken in accepting as ministers three graduates of the Union Theological Seminary, who both orally and in writing refused to affirm the virgin birth story and singly and jointly refused to acknowledge the raising of Lazarus from the dead or the narrative of Jonah and the whale.
—Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville, IL, April 11, 1916, p. 7.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Pastor Steals a Kiss
1916
For kissing the pretty daughter of a trustee of his congregation, Rev. J. Lewis Evans, pastor of the Congregational church of Cedar Grove, New Jersey, was ordered to resign "at once" by a resolution adopted at a meeting of the standing committee and the trustees. Miss Maude Jacobus, daughter of Edward J. Jacobus, a trustee, was not at the meeting.
The kissing incident is said to have occurred while Mr. Evans was moving his household goods into the parsonage. Miss Jacobus was carrying a framed picture upstairs. Mr. Evans, who is 55, was coming down. The stairway is narrow. They met in the middle and, in squeezing past, Miss Jacobus said the pastor threw his arms about her, hugged her tightly and kissed her "right on the lips."
—Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville, IL, April 7, 1916, p. 2.
For kissing the pretty daughter of a trustee of his congregation, Rev. J. Lewis Evans, pastor of the Congregational church of Cedar Grove, New Jersey, was ordered to resign "at once" by a resolution adopted at a meeting of the standing committee and the trustees. Miss Maude Jacobus, daughter of Edward J. Jacobus, a trustee, was not at the meeting.
The kissing incident is said to have occurred while Mr. Evans was moving his household goods into the parsonage. Miss Jacobus was carrying a framed picture upstairs. Mr. Evans, who is 55, was coming down. The stairway is narrow. They met in the middle and, in squeezing past, Miss Jacobus said the pastor threw his arms about her, hugged her tightly and kissed her "right on the lips."
—Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville, IL, April 7, 1916, p. 2.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
A Heifer on Her Haunches
1918
The speaker in the evening was Dr. Leon Tucker, whose subject was "A Heifer on Her Haunches." In his address, Dr. Tucker compared wayward mankind with the heifer of the ark which was unwilling to be a sacrifice on the altar of the Lord and only by force gave itself up. Dr. Tucker emphasized the need of workers to go out "into the highways and the byways of life" in Christian teaching, and in response to a call for those who would devote their lives wholly to the work of Christ, some 150 young people pledged themselves to do so.
—Racine Journal-News, Racine, Wisconsin, Nov. 11, 1918, p. 11.
1916
A Treat Promised
Dr. Tucker to Preach at Presbyterian Church Sunday
W. Leon Tucker will be the preacher at the Presbyterian church tomorrow at both services. His subject in the morning will be "A Corrupt Leper and Two Clean Birds." His subject in the evening will be "A Heifer Upon Its Haunches." This will be the last opportunity for Tyronians to hear this wonderful Bible teacher.
—Tyrone Daily Herald, Tyrone, PA, Nov. 11, 1916, p. 2.
1917
REFORMED
Dr. W. Leon Tucker will preach to the two congregations, the Presbyterian and the Reformed, in the Presbyterian church at the morning service. In the evening he will preach to the two congregations in the Reformed church. His topic in the evening will be "A Heifer on its Haunches." This is a wonderful sermon and should be heard by everybody. The usual church offerings will be taken, at the morning service, but the offering in the evening will be for Dr. Tucker. Dr. Tucker will also give one of his lectures in the Reformed church Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock.
—Daily Gazette, Xenia, Ohio, Jan. 13, 1917, p. 3.
1921
In Lima Churches Sunday
First Baptist, High and McDonald Sts, Warren L. Steeves, minister. Morning service at 10:30, subject, "A Heifer on Her Haunches."
—Lima News, Lima, Ohio, July 9, 1921, p. 4.
Note: No mention of Dr. Tucker being there. There was a book called "A Heifer on Its Haunches and Other Sermons" by Dr. Tucker, and he published numerous other books.
The speaker in the evening was Dr. Leon Tucker, whose subject was "A Heifer on Her Haunches." In his address, Dr. Tucker compared wayward mankind with the heifer of the ark which was unwilling to be a sacrifice on the altar of the Lord and only by force gave itself up. Dr. Tucker emphasized the need of workers to go out "into the highways and the byways of life" in Christian teaching, and in response to a call for those who would devote their lives wholly to the work of Christ, some 150 young people pledged themselves to do so.
—Racine Journal-News, Racine, Wisconsin, Nov. 11, 1918, p. 11.
1916
A Treat Promised
Dr. Tucker to Preach at Presbyterian Church Sunday
W. Leon Tucker will be the preacher at the Presbyterian church tomorrow at both services. His subject in the morning will be "A Corrupt Leper and Two Clean Birds." His subject in the evening will be "A Heifer Upon Its Haunches." This will be the last opportunity for Tyronians to hear this wonderful Bible teacher.
—Tyrone Daily Herald, Tyrone, PA, Nov. 11, 1916, p. 2.
1917
REFORMED
Dr. W. Leon Tucker will preach to the two congregations, the Presbyterian and the Reformed, in the Presbyterian church at the morning service. In the evening he will preach to the two congregations in the Reformed church. His topic in the evening will be "A Heifer on its Haunches." This is a wonderful sermon and should be heard by everybody. The usual church offerings will be taken, at the morning service, but the offering in the evening will be for Dr. Tucker. Dr. Tucker will also give one of his lectures in the Reformed church Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock.
—Daily Gazette, Xenia, Ohio, Jan. 13, 1917, p. 3.
1921
In Lima Churches Sunday
First Baptist, High and McDonald Sts, Warren L. Steeves, minister. Morning service at 10:30, subject, "A Heifer on Her Haunches."
—Lima News, Lima, Ohio, July 9, 1921, p. 4.
Note: No mention of Dr. Tucker being there. There was a book called "A Heifer on Its Haunches and Other Sermons" by Dr. Tucker, and he published numerous other books.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Friends Church: "You Need Baptism of The Holy Ghost"
Ohio, 1916
Increased Attendance at Friends Church Revival
Large crowds attended the revival services at the Friends Church, Sunday. Last night it was necessary to throw open the Sunday School room. Seven persons presented their names for membership.
In his sermon in the morning the pastor spoke on the need of "Divine Equipment for Service." In part he said: God not only wants to save men from sin, but prepare them for service. It is not enough to have your sin pardoned, but you need the baptism of the Holy Ghost to give you power to do. This is the crying need of the church to-day. In the days of Finney, Edwards and the Wesleys it is claimed less than fifteen per cent of the converts backslid. In our day less than this number stand and all because we do not preach a full gospel.
In the evening his subject was "God's Estimate of the Value of a Soul." He said that no soul has ever gone so low but what Jesus goes beneath that one to lift him up. It is an abomination in the sight of Heaven for church people to talk about trash. All men are human beings, and have a soul and the soul of a poor harlot or drunkard is as precious in the eyes of Jesus Christ as that of the President or a King. When you hear a person talk about trash you may rest assured that that person is dirtier than the "trash" they talk about. The mission of Jesus is to put all men on an equality. Blind Bartimaeus had to be lifted up, while the self-righteous Zacchaeus had to come down, and the two met on the same platform.
Meetings to night at 7:30. Special prayer and inquiry meeting at 6:30. Special music at every service.
Resignation
Rev. Hugh Willard Hanna tendered his resignation as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Kenton, "for the sake of peace and harmony." His resignation caused general surprise as he was called to the pastorate in June, 1914, from Freeport, Pa.
—The Van Wert Daily Bulletin, Van Wert, Ohio, Feb. 21, 1916.
Increased Attendance at Friends Church Revival
Large crowds attended the revival services at the Friends Church, Sunday. Last night it was necessary to throw open the Sunday School room. Seven persons presented their names for membership.
In his sermon in the morning the pastor spoke on the need of "Divine Equipment for Service." In part he said: God not only wants to save men from sin, but prepare them for service. It is not enough to have your sin pardoned, but you need the baptism of the Holy Ghost to give you power to do. This is the crying need of the church to-day. In the days of Finney, Edwards and the Wesleys it is claimed less than fifteen per cent of the converts backslid. In our day less than this number stand and all because we do not preach a full gospel.
In the evening his subject was "God's Estimate of the Value of a Soul." He said that no soul has ever gone so low but what Jesus goes beneath that one to lift him up. It is an abomination in the sight of Heaven for church people to talk about trash. All men are human beings, and have a soul and the soul of a poor harlot or drunkard is as precious in the eyes of Jesus Christ as that of the President or a King. When you hear a person talk about trash you may rest assured that that person is dirtier than the "trash" they talk about. The mission of Jesus is to put all men on an equality. Blind Bartimaeus had to be lifted up, while the self-righteous Zacchaeus had to come down, and the two met on the same platform.
Meetings to night at 7:30. Special prayer and inquiry meeting at 6:30. Special music at every service.
Resignation
Rev. Hugh Willard Hanna tendered his resignation as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Kenton, "for the sake of peace and harmony." His resignation caused general surprise as he was called to the pastorate in June, 1914, from Freeport, Pa.
—The Van Wert Daily Bulletin, Van Wert, Ohio, Feb. 21, 1916.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Birthday Surprise Party for Rev. H. P. Lane
California, 1916
Rev. Henry P. Lane, pastor of the First Presbyterian church, was pleasantly surprised Monday evening at his home, when a number of the members and friends of the congregation arrived to celebrate his fifty-eighth birthday.
In order that the pastor might forget that he was growing older, most of the guests came dressed as children. This group of "grownups" made merry during the evening, playing all the children's games that could be thought of, and in which the pastor heartily took part.
As a token of deep appreciation, N. P. Smith, on behalf of those present and others not present, presented to Rev. Lane fifty-eight crisp one-dollar bills, one for each year of his life. The gift was visibly a surprise indeed, and in his acceptance Rev. Lane expressed his sincere expression of good will.
Mrs. Lane, the hostess, had arranged refreshments, which were greatly relished at the close. Among those present from out of town were Herrick Lane and wife, of Eagle Rock and Paul Lane of Catalina, both sons of Rev. Lane.
—The Van Nuys News, Van Nuys, CA, Feb. 4, 1916, p. 1.
Rev. Henry P. Lane, pastor of the First Presbyterian church, was pleasantly surprised Monday evening at his home, when a number of the members and friends of the congregation arrived to celebrate his fifty-eighth birthday.
In order that the pastor might forget that he was growing older, most of the guests came dressed as children. This group of "grownups" made merry during the evening, playing all the children's games that could be thought of, and in which the pastor heartily took part.
As a token of deep appreciation, N. P. Smith, on behalf of those present and others not present, presented to Rev. Lane fifty-eight crisp one-dollar bills, one for each year of his life. The gift was visibly a surprise indeed, and in his acceptance Rev. Lane expressed his sincere expression of good will.
Mrs. Lane, the hostess, had arranged refreshments, which were greatly relished at the close. Among those present from out of town were Herrick Lane and wife, of Eagle Rock and Paul Lane of Catalina, both sons of Rev. Lane.
—The Van Nuys News, Van Nuys, CA, Feb. 4, 1916, p. 1.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Preacher to Don Overalls, Study Social Problems
1916
DENVER, Colo., Oct. 30. — The Rev. Allan A. Tanner, prominent Denver churchman, resigned yesterday as pastor of the First Congregational church and people's tabernacle to don overalls and study economic and social problems at close range in the industrial centers of the east.
"The church," declared the Rev. Tanner, "either must get back on a human plane or get out of business."
Says Parents Should Supervise Courtships of Young Generation
AURORA, Neb., Oct. 30. — Speaking on the faults of the American people at the men's meeting of the Aurora Y. M. C. A. Sunday Judge Corcoran of York, declared that some of the worst evils in America are the divorce evil, profanity and laxity in church attendance. He insisted that the divorce evil is being accentuated by the failure of parents to properly supervise the courtships of their children.
Too often, he said, boys and girls marry without paying any attention to the true sanctity of the marriage relation. He cited instances in his own court where girls of seventeen and eighteen, with children in their arms, have been turned out on the world as widows. This, he said, would never occur if the parents would see to it that their children formed proper companionships and thoroughly understood the sacredness of the marriage relation.
Judge Corcoran said that the vice of profanity is more common in this country than in Europe. For three months, he said, he traveled in Europe without hearing profanity, But immediately upon his return to America, his ears began to tingle with profanity from the lips of Americans. He urged all men present to align themselves with some church and become active workers. The meeting was attended by a large number of men of Aurora, Marquette and Hampton.
DENVER, Colo., Oct. 30. — The Rev. Allan A. Tanner, prominent Denver churchman, resigned yesterday as pastor of the First Congregational church and people's tabernacle to don overalls and study economic and social problems at close range in the industrial centers of the east.
"The church," declared the Rev. Tanner, "either must get back on a human plane or get out of business."
Says Parents Should Supervise Courtships of Young Generation
AURORA, Neb., Oct. 30. — Speaking on the faults of the American people at the men's meeting of the Aurora Y. M. C. A. Sunday Judge Corcoran of York, declared that some of the worst evils in America are the divorce evil, profanity and laxity in church attendance. He insisted that the divorce evil is being accentuated by the failure of parents to properly supervise the courtships of their children.
Too often, he said, boys and girls marry without paying any attention to the true sanctity of the marriage relation. He cited instances in his own court where girls of seventeen and eighteen, with children in their arms, have been turned out on the world as widows. This, he said, would never occur if the parents would see to it that their children formed proper companionships and thoroughly understood the sacredness of the marriage relation.
Judge Corcoran said that the vice of profanity is more common in this country than in Europe. For three months, he said, he traveled in Europe without hearing profanity, But immediately upon his return to America, his ears began to tingle with profanity from the lips of Americans. He urged all men present to align themselves with some church and become active workers. The meeting was attended by a large number of men of Aurora, Marquette and Hampton.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Ministers Hit Ford and Bryan
Illinois, 1916
Kind of Citizenship Not Desired, Says Dr. Jenney
DEFEND UNCLE SAM
Decatur Pastors Think Force Should Be Used
Some of Decatur's leading ministers in sermons to their congregations Sunday declared that the United States is justified in its course of intervention in Mexico. They urged that Uncle Sam continue to use all the force necessary to secure a lasting peace in the country south of the Rio Grande.
Rev. C. E. Jenney, pastor of the First Presbyterian church, struck the climax when he attacked the stand of Henry Ford, who recently declared that any of his employees who joined the National Guard would be without jobs on their return. Mr. Jenney said he thought Mr. Ford's ideas should not be emulated by the people; that his kind of citizenship is not the kind of citizenship to be desired.
Rev. E. M. Antrim, pastor of the First Methodist church declared that a "Good Spanking" is what Mexico needs, and is the thing which will bring law and order out of chaos.
Rev. Frank Fox, pastor of the Congregational church, also took a rap at Bryan and Ford. "Impractical pacifists like those two men should go with their families and live on the border for a while. They would then learn by actual experience the terror of night raiding bandits."
PEACE ONLY ON RIGHTEOUS GROUNDS
The Mexican situation was discussed by Dr. T. Harley Marsh at the First Baptist church Sunday night. He used Matt. 10:34 as a text. Dr. Marsh spoke partly as follows:
"When nations come into the realm of righteousness there will be peace, but Christ says between that time and the present there is much to be hoped for, and prayed for.
"The advancement of the human race has been made largely by struggle, and peace of whatsoever description, industrial, political or social, has been purchased at the price of war. There is more talk of peace, and less peace, than the world has ever known since Jesus Christ left the earth. Some of the talk about peace has become hysterical in character. I am in favor of peace whenever peace can be obtained upon righteous grounds. Paul says, 'As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.' The world is not yet ready to enter into a perfect and universal peace. The mistake we are making in these days is that peace is a matter of treaties, of legislation.
"Christianity carries a banner of peace, but behind it is the army of omnipotent power, and the conditions of peace, as far as wrong is concerned, are unconditional surrender.
"We have no selfish motives in our relation with Mexico. There can be no peace until the last bandit gang has been run to earth, and Christianity and education have taken the place of superstition and ignorance. As long as there is any hope of a nation saving itself, it ought to have the honor and privilege of doing it, but when there is not, the laws of humanity, the laws between nations, and the laws of God declare these conditions should cease. Whatever this country does for Mexico should not be done selfishly, but to bring the blessings of national health and national sanity, and honest rule and fair dealing to her. The world will never improve upon the method of the Cross. God save us from war, if possible, but above all things, keep us true to Him, and the ideals of our Nation."
—The Daily Review, Decatur, Illinois, June 26, 1916, p. 9.
Note: Pancho Villa and revolution were a major thing in 1916. At Wikipedia there's an article on Villa. And just a comment on Henry Ford, it's amazing when you look back how radical this guy was, and usually on the wrong side from what the mainstream would be and even common sense. Getting up into World War II, all the stuff with antisemitism, etc., he didn't seem to have much sense.
Kind of Citizenship Not Desired, Says Dr. Jenney
DEFEND UNCLE SAM
Decatur Pastors Think Force Should Be Used
Some of Decatur's leading ministers in sermons to their congregations Sunday declared that the United States is justified in its course of intervention in Mexico. They urged that Uncle Sam continue to use all the force necessary to secure a lasting peace in the country south of the Rio Grande.
Rev. C. E. Jenney, pastor of the First Presbyterian church, struck the climax when he attacked the stand of Henry Ford, who recently declared that any of his employees who joined the National Guard would be without jobs on their return. Mr. Jenney said he thought Mr. Ford's ideas should not be emulated by the people; that his kind of citizenship is not the kind of citizenship to be desired.
Rev. E. M. Antrim, pastor of the First Methodist church declared that a "Good Spanking" is what Mexico needs, and is the thing which will bring law and order out of chaos.
Rev. Frank Fox, pastor of the Congregational church, also took a rap at Bryan and Ford. "Impractical pacifists like those two men should go with their families and live on the border for a while. They would then learn by actual experience the terror of night raiding bandits."
PEACE ONLY ON RIGHTEOUS GROUNDS
The Mexican situation was discussed by Dr. T. Harley Marsh at the First Baptist church Sunday night. He used Matt. 10:34 as a text. Dr. Marsh spoke partly as follows:
"When nations come into the realm of righteousness there will be peace, but Christ says between that time and the present there is much to be hoped for, and prayed for.
"The advancement of the human race has been made largely by struggle, and peace of whatsoever description, industrial, political or social, has been purchased at the price of war. There is more talk of peace, and less peace, than the world has ever known since Jesus Christ left the earth. Some of the talk about peace has become hysterical in character. I am in favor of peace whenever peace can be obtained upon righteous grounds. Paul says, 'As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.' The world is not yet ready to enter into a perfect and universal peace. The mistake we are making in these days is that peace is a matter of treaties, of legislation.
"Christianity carries a banner of peace, but behind it is the army of omnipotent power, and the conditions of peace, as far as wrong is concerned, are unconditional surrender.
"We have no selfish motives in our relation with Mexico. There can be no peace until the last bandit gang has been run to earth, and Christianity and education have taken the place of superstition and ignorance. As long as there is any hope of a nation saving itself, it ought to have the honor and privilege of doing it, but when there is not, the laws of humanity, the laws between nations, and the laws of God declare these conditions should cease. Whatever this country does for Mexico should not be done selfishly, but to bring the blessings of national health and national sanity, and honest rule and fair dealing to her. The world will never improve upon the method of the Cross. God save us from war, if possible, but above all things, keep us true to Him, and the ideals of our Nation."
—The Daily Review, Decatur, Illinois, June 26, 1916, p. 9.
Note: Pancho Villa and revolution were a major thing in 1916. At Wikipedia there's an article on Villa. And just a comment on Henry Ford, it's amazing when you look back how radical this guy was, and usually on the wrong side from what the mainstream would be and even common sense. Getting up into World War II, all the stuff with antisemitism, etc., he didn't seem to have much sense.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Counting the Cost (Luke 14:25-35)
1916
By G. H. Morrison
The fact is, that in all the highest courage there is the element of quiet calculation. The truest heroism always counts the cost. The bravery of passions is not a shining virtue. I think that any ordinary man could storm a rampart, if he were a soldier. They tell us there is a wild forgetfulness of self in that last rush that would fire the blood and thrill the most timid. The test of courage is the long night march, under the fire of invisible guns; it is the sentry duty in the darkness, when the shadows and silence might shatter the strongest nerve; I think that the man that deliberately faces that, who goes through it quietly because it is his duty is just as worthy of the Victoria Cross as the man who has won it in some more splendid moment.
Do not forget that when Jesus says, "Count the Cost," he is really sounding the note of the heroic. He does not want any one on false pretenses. He will not issue any lying prospectus. He comes to you and says, You are a thinking man, with powers that will take eternity to ripen, look life in the face. Look death in the face. Sum it all up, measure the value of things. And if you do that quietly and earnestly, with sincere prayer to God to enlighten you, my claims, Christ means, shall tower above all others.
I have been struck too, in studying the Scriptures, to note how the great men there learned how to count the cost. They were not suddenly dragged into the service. There was no unthinking and unreasoning excitement. God gave to every one of them a time of silence before their high endeavor. It was as if He had laid down His hand upon them and said, "My child, go apart for a little, and count the cost." Moses was for forty days alone. Paul, touched by the finger of Lord whom he had persecuted, took counsel of no flesh, but departed into the loneliness of Arabia. Moses, Elijah, Paul — yes, even Simon Peter going out into the night — were learning the deep lesson of our parable.
And whenever I read of the temptations of Jesus and how the spirit of God drove him apart, and how Satan came and showed him all the kingdoms, and taught him a less costly way to sovereignty than by the sweat of Gethsemane and the water and the blood of Calvary — whenever I read that and recall how he stood fast, I feel that our Savior has counted the cost himself. We shall never understand the calm persistence of the glorious company of martyrs and of saints until we go back to that quiet hour at the beginning when they faced every difficulty, weighed every cross, forecast the future, looked at life whole, and then, having counted the cost, like reasonable men, took up their stand upon the side of God. — Western Recorder.
By G. H. Morrison
The fact is, that in all the highest courage there is the element of quiet calculation. The truest heroism always counts the cost. The bravery of passions is not a shining virtue. I think that any ordinary man could storm a rampart, if he were a soldier. They tell us there is a wild forgetfulness of self in that last rush that would fire the blood and thrill the most timid. The test of courage is the long night march, under the fire of invisible guns; it is the sentry duty in the darkness, when the shadows and silence might shatter the strongest nerve; I think that the man that deliberately faces that, who goes through it quietly because it is his duty is just as worthy of the Victoria Cross as the man who has won it in some more splendid moment.
Do not forget that when Jesus says, "Count the Cost," he is really sounding the note of the heroic. He does not want any one on false pretenses. He will not issue any lying prospectus. He comes to you and says, You are a thinking man, with powers that will take eternity to ripen, look life in the face. Look death in the face. Sum it all up, measure the value of things. And if you do that quietly and earnestly, with sincere prayer to God to enlighten you, my claims, Christ means, shall tower above all others.
I have been struck too, in studying the Scriptures, to note how the great men there learned how to count the cost. They were not suddenly dragged into the service. There was no unthinking and unreasoning excitement. God gave to every one of them a time of silence before their high endeavor. It was as if He had laid down His hand upon them and said, "My child, go apart for a little, and count the cost." Moses was for forty days alone. Paul, touched by the finger of Lord whom he had persecuted, took counsel of no flesh, but departed into the loneliness of Arabia. Moses, Elijah, Paul — yes, even Simon Peter going out into the night — were learning the deep lesson of our parable.
And whenever I read of the temptations of Jesus and how the spirit of God drove him apart, and how Satan came and showed him all the kingdoms, and taught him a less costly way to sovereignty than by the sweat of Gethsemane and the water and the blood of Calvary — whenever I read that and recall how he stood fast, I feel that our Savior has counted the cost himself. We shall never understand the calm persistence of the glorious company of martyrs and of saints until we go back to that quiet hour at the beginning when they faced every difficulty, weighed every cross, forecast the future, looked at life whole, and then, having counted the cost, like reasonable men, took up their stand upon the side of God. — Western Recorder.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Once Rigid Rules for Sabbath-Keeping at Harvard
1916
OLD TIME SUNDAY LAWS.
Rigid Rules For Harvard Students Two Centuries Ago.
In "The Story of Harvard" Mr. Arthur Stanwood Pier gives an account of the strict regulations formerly set down for the guidance of the Harvard undergraduates by the president and the fellows of the corporation. The old laws, intended to enforce upon the undergraduates a more religious and studious life, would be considered repressive and tyrannical today.
"All the scholars shall at sunset in the evening preceding the Lord's day retire to their chambers and not unnecessarily leave them, and all disorder on said evening shall be punished as violations of the Sabbath are. * * * And whosoever shall profane said day — the Sabbath — by unnecessary business or visiting, walking in the commons or in the streets or fields, in the town of Cambridge, or by any sort of diversion before sunset, or that in the evening of the Lord's day shall behave himself disorderly or in any way unbecoming the season, shall be fined not exceeding 10 shillings.
"That students may furnish themselves with useful learning, they shall keep in their respective chambers and diligently follow their studies, except half an hour at breakfast, at dinner for from 12 to 2 and after evening prayers till after 9 of the clock. To that end the tutors shall frequently visit their chambers after 9 o'clock in the evening and at other studying times, to quicken them to their business."
It does not seem that under such a system of vigilance and visitation the students could fall into very dissolute ways. But a few years later George Whitefield, the famous evangelist who so stirred up New England, visited Harvard college and expressed his displeasure at the dissipated habits of the young men. He declared conditions at Oxford were no worse, a charge so damaging that it greatly disturbed and incensed the college authorities.
OLD TIME SUNDAY LAWS.
Rigid Rules For Harvard Students Two Centuries Ago.
In "The Story of Harvard" Mr. Arthur Stanwood Pier gives an account of the strict regulations formerly set down for the guidance of the Harvard undergraduates by the president and the fellows of the corporation. The old laws, intended to enforce upon the undergraduates a more religious and studious life, would be considered repressive and tyrannical today.
"All the scholars shall at sunset in the evening preceding the Lord's day retire to their chambers and not unnecessarily leave them, and all disorder on said evening shall be punished as violations of the Sabbath are. * * * And whosoever shall profane said day — the Sabbath — by unnecessary business or visiting, walking in the commons or in the streets or fields, in the town of Cambridge, or by any sort of diversion before sunset, or that in the evening of the Lord's day shall behave himself disorderly or in any way unbecoming the season, shall be fined not exceeding 10 shillings.
"That students may furnish themselves with useful learning, they shall keep in their respective chambers and diligently follow their studies, except half an hour at breakfast, at dinner for from 12 to 2 and after evening prayers till after 9 of the clock. To that end the tutors shall frequently visit their chambers after 9 o'clock in the evening and at other studying times, to quicken them to their business."
It does not seem that under such a system of vigilance and visitation the students could fall into very dissolute ways. But a few years later George Whitefield, the famous evangelist who so stirred up New England, visited Harvard college and expressed his displeasure at the dissipated habits of the young men. He declared conditions at Oxford were no worse, a charge so damaging that it greatly disturbed and incensed the college authorities.
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