diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12744-8.txt | 7642 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12744-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 164569 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12744.txt | 7642 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12744.zip | bin | 0 -> 164552 bytes |
4 files changed, 15284 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/old/12744-8.txt b/old/12744-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7b91a8b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12744-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7642 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of In His Image, by William Jennings Bryan + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In His Image + +Author: William Jennings Bryan + +Release Date: June 25, 2004 [EBook #12744] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN HIS IMAGE *** + + + + +Produced by Bob Jones, Frank van Drogen and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +IN HIS IMAGE + +By + +William Jennings Bryan + + + + + +_In His Image_. James Sprunt Lectures. 12mo, cloth....$1.75 + +_Heart to Heart Appeals_. 12mo, cloth....$1.25 + +The cream of Mr. Bryan's public utterances on Prohibition, +Money, Imperialism, Trusts, Labor, Income Tax, Peace, Religion, +Pan-Americanism, etc. + +_The Prince of Peace_. 12mo, boards....60c. + +_Messages for the Times_. 12mo, boards, each....35c. + +_The First Commandment._ In simple, unaffected language, the author +enlarges upon the present-day breaches of the First Commandment. + +_The Message from Bethlehem_. A plea for the world-wide adoption of the +spirit of the Angels' song--"Good-will to Men." The context and import +of this great principle has never been more understandingly set forth. + +_The Royal Art_. A lucid exposition of Mr. Bryan's views concerning the +aims and ideals of righteous government. + +_The Making of a Man_. A faithful tracing of the main lines to be +followed if the crown of manhood is to be attained. + +_The Fruits of the Tree_. "Either for the reinvigoration of faith or +for the dissipation of doubt, this little volume is a document of +power."--_Continent_. + + + + + +In His Image + +By WILLIAM JENNINGS RYAN + +"_ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he +him_."--GEN. 1: 27. + +1922 + + + +_Dedicated to the memory of my beloved parents_ + +_SILAS LILLARD RYAN_ + +_and + +MARIAH ELIZABETH RYAN_ + +_to whom I am indebted for a Christian environment in youth, during +which they instilled into my mind and imprinted upon my heart the +religious principles which I have set forth and applied in the lectures +contained in this volume_ + + + + + +THE JAMES SPRUNT LECTURES + + +In nineteen hundred and eleven, Mr. James Sprunt of Wilmington, North +Carolina, by a gift to the Trustees of Union Theological Seminary in +Virginia, established a lectureship in the Seminary for the purpose of +enabling the institution to secure from time to time the services of +distinguished men as special lecturers on subjects connected with +various departments of Christian thought and Christian work. The +lecturers are chosen by the Faculty and a committee of the Board of +Trustees, and the lectures are published after their delivery +in accordance with a contract between the lecturer and these +representatives of the institution. The lecturers up to the present have +been: + + REV. DAVID JAMES BURRELL, D.D., LL.D. + SIR WILLIAM M. RAMSAY, D.D., LL.D. + REV. PROF. JAMES STALKER, D.D. + REV. A.F. SCHAUFFLER, D.D. + REV. HARRIS E. KIRK, D.D. + PROF. C. ALPHONSO SMITH, PH.D., LL.D. + REV. A.H. MCKINNEY, D.D. + REV. G. CAMPBELL MORGAN, D.D. + REV. PROF. J. GRESHAM MACHEN, D.D. + HON. WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN. + The tenth series is presented in this volume. + + W.W. MOORE, + _President_. + + + + +Preface + + +The invitation extended me by President Moore on behalf of Union +Theological Seminary provided the opportunity for the presentation of an +argument I had had in mind for years--an argument to the heart and mind +of the average man, especially to the young. This purpose originated in +two desires, one of which is to repay the debt of gratitude that I owe +to my revered parents for having brought into my life the Christian +principles upon which their own lives were builded. My appreciation of +the importance of this early training has grown with the years. As those +who brought me into the world, cared for me so tenderly during my early +years and so conscientiously guarded and guided me during the formative +period of my life, have passed to their reward, I know of no way +in which this appreciation can be effectively expressed, except by +transmitting these principles to others. + +The second desire is to aid those who are passing from youth to maturity +and grappling with problems incident to this critical age. Having spent +eight years away from home, in academy, college and law school, I have +reason to know the conflicts through which each individual has to pass, +especially those who have the experience incident to college life. I +never can be thankful enough for the fact that I became a member of the +Church before I left home and therefore had the benefit of the Church, +the Sunday School and Christian friends during these trying days. + +In these lectures I have had in mind two thoughts, first, the confirming +of the faith of men and women, especially the young, in a Creator, +all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving, in a Bible, as the very Word +of a Living God and in Christ as Son of God and Saviour of the world; +second, the applying of the principles of our religion to every problem +in life. My purpose is to prove, not only the fact of God, but the need +of God, the fact of the Bible and the need of the Bible, and the fact of +Christ and the need of a Saviour. + +Therefore, I have chosen "In His Image" as the title of this series of +lectures, because, in my judgment, all depends upon our conception of +our place in God's plan. The Bible tells us that God made us in His +image and placed us here to carry out a divine decree. He gave us the +Scriptures as an authoritative guide and He gave us His Son to reveal +the Father, to redeem man from sin and to furnish in His life and +teachings an inspiring example by the following of which, man may grow +in grace and in the knowledge of God. + +"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be +acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." + +W.J.B. + +_Miami, Fla._ + + + + +Contents + + +I. IN THE BEGINNING--GOD + +II. THE BIBLE + +III. WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? + +IV. THE ORIGIN OF MAN + +V. THE LARGER LIFE + +VI. THE VALUE OF THE SOUL + +VII. THREE PRICELESS GIFTS + +VIII. HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE + +IX. THE SPOKEN WORD + + + + +I + +"IN THE BEGINNING--GOD" + + +Religion is the relation between man and his Maker--the most important +relationship into which man enters. Most of the relationships of life +are voluntary; we enter into them or not as we please. Such, for +illustration, are those between business partners, between stockholders +in a corporation, between friends and between husband and wife. Some +relationships, on the other hand, are involuntary; we enter into them +because we must. Such, for illustration, are those between man and his +government, between man and society, and between man and his Maker. + +Tolstoy declares that morality is but the outward manifestation of +religion. If this be true, as I believe it is, then religion is the most +practical thing in life and the thought of God the greatest thought that +can enter the human mind or heart. Tolstoy also delivers a severe rebuke +to what he calls the "Cultured crowd"--those who think that religion, +while good enough for the ignorant (to hold in check and restrain +them), is not needed when one reaches a certain stage of intellectual +development. His reply is that religion is not superstition and does not +rest upon a vague fear of the unseen forces of nature, but does rest +upon "man's consciousness of his finiteness amid an infinite universe +and of his sinfulness." This consciousness, Tolstoy adds, man can never +outgrow. + +Evidence of the existence of an Infinite Being is to be found in +the Bible, in the facts of human consciousness, and in the physical +universe. Dr. Charles Hodge sets forth as follows the principal +arguments used to maintain the existence of a God: + + I. The _a priori_ argument which seeks to demonstrate the being of a + God from certain first principles involved in the essential laws of + human intelligence. + + II. The cosmological argument, or that one which proceeds after the + _posteriori_ fashion, from the present existence of the world as + an effect, to the necessary existence of some ultimate and eternal + first cause. + + III. The teleological argument, or that argument which, from the + evidence of design in the creation, seeks to establish the fact that + the great self-existent first cause of all things is an intelligent + and voluntary personal spirit. + + IV. The moral argument, or that argument which, from a consideration + of the phenomena of conscience in the human heart, seeks to + establish the fact that the self-existent Creator is also the + righteous moral Governor of the world. This argument includes the + consideration of the universal feeling of dependence common to + all men, which together with conscience constitutes the religious + sentiment. + + V. The historical argument, which involves: (1) The evident + providential presence of God in the history of the human race. (2) + The evidence afforded by history that the human race is not eternal, + and therefore not an infinite succession of individuals, but + created. (3) The universal consent of all men to the fact of His + existence. + + VI. The Scriptural argument, which includes: (1) The miracles and + prophecies recorded in Scripture, and confirmed by testimony, + proving the existence of a God. (2) The Bible itself, self-evidently + a work of superhuman wisdom. (3) Revelation, developing and + enlightening conscience, and relieving many of the difficulties + under which natural theism labours, and thus confirming every other + line of evidence. + +A reasonable person searches for a reason and all reasons point to a +God, all-wise, all-powerful, and all-loving. On no other theory can we +account for what we see about us. It is impossible to conceive of the +universe, illimitable in extent and seemingly measureless in time, as +being the result of chance. The reign of law, universal and eternal, +compels belief in a Law Giver. + +We need not give much time to the agnostic. If he is sincere he does not +_know_ and therefore cannot affirm, deny or advise. When I was a young +man I wrote to Colonel Ingersoll, the leading infidel of his day, and +asked his views on God and immortality. His secretary sent me a speech +which quoted Colonel Ingersoll as follows: "I do not say that there is +no God: I simply say I do not know. I do not say that there is no life +beyond the grave: I simply say I do not know!" What pleasure could any +man find in taking from a human, heart a living faith and putting in the +place of it the cold and cheerless doctrine "I do not know"? Many who +call themselves agnostics are really atheists; it is easier to profess +ignorance than to defend atheism. + +We give the atheist too much latitude; we allow him to ask all the +questions and we try to answer them. I know of no reason why the +Christian should take upon himself the difficult task of answering all +questions and give to the atheist the easy task of asking them. Any one +can ask questions, but not every question can be answered. If I am to +discuss creation with an atheist it will be on condition that we ask +questions about. He may ask the first one if he wishes, but he shall not +ask a second one until he answers my first. + +What is the first question an atheist asks a Christian? There is but one +_first_ question: Where do you begin? I answer: I begin where the Bible +begins. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." I +begin with a Creative Cause that is sufficient for anything that can +come thereafter. + +Having answered the atheist's first question, it is now my turn, and I +ask my first question of the atheist: "Where do you begin?" And then his +trouble begins. Did you ever hear an atheist explain creation? He cannot +begin with God because he denies the existence of a God. But he must +begin _somewhere_; it is just as necessary for the atheist as for the +Christian to have a beginning point for his philosophy. + +Where does the atheist begin? He usually starts with the nebular +hypothesis. And where does that begin? "In the beginning"? No. It begins +by _assuming_ that two things existed, which the theory does not try to +explain. It assumes that matter and force existed, but it does not tell +us how matter and force came into existence, where they came from, or +why they came. The theory begins: "Let us suppose that matter and force +are here," and then, according to the theory, force working on matter, +created a world. I have just as much right as the atheist to begin with +an assumption, and I would rather begin with God and reason down, than +begin with a piece of dirt and reason up. The difference between the +Christian theory and the materialistic theory is that the Christian +begins with God, while the materialist begins with dull, inanimate +matter. _I know of no theory suggested as a substitute for the Bible +theory that is as rational and as easy to believe._ + +If the atheist asks me if I can understand God, I answer that it is +not necessary that my finite mind shall _comprehend_ the Infinite Mind +before I admit that there _is_ an infinite mind, any more than it is +necessary that I shall understand the sun before I can admit that there +is a sun. We must deal with the facts about us whether we can understand +them or not. + +If the atheist tells me that I have no right to believe in God until I +can understand Him, I will take his own logic and drive him to suicide; +for, by that logic, what right has an atheist to live unless he can +understand the mystery of his own life? Does the atheist understand the +mystery of the life he lives? No; bring me the most learned atheist and +when he has gathered all the information that this earth can give, I +will have a little child lead him out and show him the grass upon the +ground, the leaves upon the trees, the birds that fly in the air, and +the fishes in the deep, and the little child will mock him and tell him, +and tell him truly, that he, the little child, knows just as much about +the mystery of life as does the most learned atheist. We have our +thoughts, our hopes, our fears, and yet we know that in a moment a +change may come over any one of us that will convert a living, breathing +human being into a mass of lifeless clay. What is it, that, having, we +live, and, having not, we are as the clod? We know as little of the +mystery of life to-day as they knew in the dawn of creation and yet +behold the civilization that man has wrought. + +And love that makes life worth living is also a mystery. Have you ever +read a scientific definition of love? You never will. Why? Because a man +does not know what love is until he gets into it, and then he is not +scientific until he gets out again. And even if we could understand the +mysterious tie that brings two hearts together from out the multitude, +and on a united life builds the home, earth's only paradise, we still +would be unable to understand that larger mystery that manifests itself +when a human heart reaches out and links itself to every other heart. + +And patriotism, also, is a mystery--intangible, invisible, and yet +eternal. Because there has been in the past such a thing as patriotism, +millions have given their lives for their country. Patriotism could +command millions of lives to-day. Our country is not lacking in +patriotism; we have as much as can be found anywhere else, and it is +of as high a quality. There ought to be more patriotism here than +elsewhere; as citizenship in the United States carries more benefits +with it than citizenship in any other land, the American citizen should +be willing to sacrifice more than any other citizen to make sure that +the blessings of our government shall descend unimpaired to children +and to children's children. The atheist knows as little about these +mysteries as the Christian does and yet he lives, he loves and he is +patriotic. + +But our case is even stronger: Everything with which man deals is full +of mystery. The very food we eat is mysterious; sometimes man-made food +becomes so mysterious that we are compelled to enact pure food laws +in order that we may know what we are eating. And God-made food is as +mysterious as man-made food, though we cannot compel Jehovah to make +known the formula. + +We encourage children to raise vegetables; a little child can learn +_how_ to raise vegetables, but no grown person understands the mystery +that is wrapped up in every vegetable that grows. Let me illustrate: I +am fond of radishes; my good wife knows it and keeps me supplied with +them when she can. I eat radishes in the morning; I eat radishes at +noon; I eat radishes at night; I eat radishes between meals; I like +radishes. I plant radish seed--put the little seed into the ground, and +go out in a few days and find a full grown radish. The top is green, +the body of the root is white and almost transparent, and around it I +sometimes find a delicate pink or red. Whose hand caught the hues of a +summer sunset and wrapped them around the radish's root down there in +the darkness in the ground? I cannot understand a radish; can you? If +one refused to eat anything until he could understand the mystery of its +growth, he would die of starvation; but mystery does not bother us in +the dining-room,--it is only in the church that mystery seems to give us +trouble. + +In travelling around the world I found that the egg is a universal form +of food. When we reached Asia the cooking was so different from ours +that the boiled egg was sometimes the only home-like thing we could find +on the table. I became so attached to the egg, that, when I returned to +the United States, for weeks I felt like taking my hat off to every hen +I met. What is more mysterious than an egg? Take a fresh egg; it is not +only good food, but an important article of merchandise. But loan a +fresh egg to a hen, after the hen has developed a well-settled tendency +to sit, and let her keep the egg under her for a week, and, as any +housewife will tell you, it loses a large part of its market value. But +be patient with the hen; let her have it for two weeks more and she will +give you back a chicken that you could not find in the egg. No one can +understand the egg, but we all like eggs. + +Water is essential to human life, and has been from the beginning, but +it is only a short time ago, relatively speaking, that we learned that +water is composed of gas. Two gases got mixed together and could not get +apart and we call the mixture water, but it was much more important that +man should have had water to drink all these years than it was to find +out that water is composed of gas. And there is one thing about water +that we do not yet understand, viz., why it differs from other things +in this, that other things continue to contract indefinitely under the +influence of cold, while water contracts until it reaches a certain +temperature and then, the rule being reversed, expands under the +influence of more intense cold? It does not make much difference whether +we ever learn _why_ this is true, but it is important to the world to +know that it is so. + +Sometimes I go into a community and find a young man who has come in +from the country and obtained a smattering of knowledge; then his head +swells and he begins to swagger around and say that an intelligent man +like himself cannot afford to have anything to do with anything that he +cannot understand. Poor boy, he will be surprised to find out how few +things he will be able to deal with if he adopts that rule. I feel like +suggesting to him that the next time he goes home to show himself off +to his parents on the farm he address himself to the first mystery +that ever came under his observation, and has not yet been solved, +notwithstanding the wonderful progress made by our agricultural +colleges. Let him find out, if he can, why it is that a black cow can +eat green grass and then give white milk with yellow butter in it? Will +the mystery disturb him? No. He will enjoy the milk and the butter +without worrying about the mystery in them. + +And so we might take any vegetable or fruit. The blush upon the peach is +in striking contrast to the serried walls of the seed within; who will +explain the mystery of the apple, the queen of the orchard, or the nut +with its meat, its shell, and its outer covering? Who taught the tomato +vine to fling its flaming many-mansioned fruit before the gaze of the +passer-by, while the potato modestly conceals its priceless gifts within +the bosom of the earth? + +I learned years ago that it is the mystery in the miracle that makes it +a stumbling block in the way of many. If you will analyze the miracle +you will find just two questions in it: _Can_ God perform a miracle? +And, would He _want_ to? The first question is easily answered. A God +who can make a world can do anything He wants to with it. We cannot deny +that God _can_ perform a miracle, without denying that God is God. But, +would God _want_ to perform a miracle? That is the question that has +given the trouble, but it has only troubled those, mark you, who are +unwilling to admit that the infinite mind of God may have reasons that +the finite mind of man does not comprehend. If, for any reason, God +desires to do so, can He not, with His infinite strength, temporarily +suspend the operation of any of His laws, as man with his feeble arm +overcomes the law of gravitation when he lifts a stone? + +If among my readers any one has been presumptuous enough to attempt to +confine the power and purpose of God by man's puny understanding, let +me persuade him to abandon this absurd position by the use of an +illustration which I once found in a watermelon. I was passing through +Columbus, Ohio, some years ago and stopped to eat in the restaurant +in the depot. My attention was called to a slice of watermelon, and I +ordered it and ate it. I was so pleased with the melon that I asked the +waiter to dry some of the seeds that I might take them home and plant +them in my garden. That night a thought came into my mind--I would use +that watermelon as an illustration. So, the next morning when I reached +Chicago, I had enough seeds weighed to learn that it would take about +five thousand watermelon seeds to weigh a pound, and I estimated that +the watermelon weighed about forty pounds. Then I applied mathematics to +the watermelon. A few weeks before some one, I knew not who, had planted +a little watermelon seed in the ground. Under the influence of sunshine +and shower that little seed had taken off its coat and gone to work; it +had gathered from somewhere two hundred thousand times its own weight, +and forced that enormous weight through a tiny stem and built a +watermelon. On the outside it had put a covering of green, within that +a rind of white and within the white a core of red, and then it had +scattered through the red core little seeds, each one capable of doing +the same work over again. What architect drew the plan? Where did that +little watermelon seed get its tremendous strength? Where did it find +its flavouring extract and its colouring matter? How did it build a +watermelon? Until you can explain a watermelon, do not be too sure that +you can set limits to the power of the Almighty, or tell just what He +would do, or how He would do it. The most learned man in the world +cannot _explain_ a watermelon, but the most ignorant man can _eat_ a +watermelon, and enjoy it. God has given us the things that we need, and +He has given us the knowledge necessary to use those things: the truth +that He has revealed to us is infinitely more important for our welfare +than it would be to understand the mysteries that He has seen fit +to conceal from us. So it is with religion. If you ask me whether I +understand everything in the Bible, I frankly answer, No. I understand +some things to-day that I did not understand ten years ago and, if I +live ten years longer, I trust that some things will be clear that are +now obscure. But there is something more important than understanding +everything in the Bible; it is this: If we will embody in our lives that +which we _do_ understand we will be kept so busy doing good that we will +not have time to worry about the things that we do _not_ understand. + +In "The Grave Digger," written by Fred Emerson Brooks, there is one +stanza which is in point here: + + "If chance could fashion but a little flower, + With perfume for each tiny thief, + And furnish it with sunshine and with shower, + Then chance would be creator, with the power + To build a world for unbelief." + +But chance cannot fashion even a little flower; chance cannot create a +single thing that grows. Every living thing bears testimony to a living +God and, if there be a God, then every human life is a part of that +God's plan. And, if this be true, then the highest duty of man, as +it should be his greatest pleasure, is to try to find out God's will +concerning himself and to do it. When Job was asked, "Canst thou by +searching find out God?" a negative answer was implied, but we can see +manifestations of God's power everywhere; in the suns and planets that, +revolving, whirl through space, held in position by forces centripetal +and centrifugal; we see it in the mountains rent asunder and upturned +by a force not only superhuman but beyond the power of man to conceive. +Captain Crawford, the poet-scout, in describing the mountains of the +West has used a phrase which often comes into my mind: "Where the hand +of God is seen." + +We see manifestation of God's power in the ebb and flow of the tides; in +the mighty "shoreless rivers of the ocean"; in the suspended water in +the clouds--billions of tons, seemingly defying the law of gravitation +while they await the command that sends them down in showers of +blessings. We behold it in the lightning's flash and the thunder's roar, +and in the invisible germ of life that contains within itself the power +to gather its nourishment from the earth and air, fulfill its mission +and propagate its kind. + +We see all about us, also, conclusive proofs of the infinite +intelligence and fathomless love of the Heavenly Father. On lofty +mountain summits He builds His mighty reservoirs and piles high the +winter snows, which, melting, furnish the water for singing brooks, for +the hidden veins, and for the springs that pour out their refreshing +flood through the smitten rocks. At His touch the same element that +furnishes ice to cool the fevered brow furnishes also the steam to +move man's commerce on sea and land. He imprisons in roaring cataracts +exhaustless energy for the service of man: He stores away in the bowels +of the earth beds of coal and rivers of oil; He studs the canyon's +frowning walls with precious metals and priceless gems; He extends His +magic wand, and the soil becomes rich with fertility; the early and +the latter rains supply the needed moisture, and the sun, with its +marvellous alchemy, transmutes base clay into golden grain. He gives us +in infinite variety the fruits of the orchard, the vegetables of the +garden and the, berries of the woods. He gives us the sturdy oak, the +fruitful nut-tree and the graceful palm. + +In compassion He makes the horse to bear our burdens and the cow to +supply the dairy; and He gives us the faithful hen. He makes the fishes +to scour the sea for food and then yield themselves up to the table; He +sends the bee forth to gather sweets for man and birds to sing his cares +away. He paints the skies with the gray of the morning and the glow of +the sunset; He sets His radiant bow in the clouds and copies its colours +in myriad flowers. He gives to the babe a mother's love, to the child a +father's care, to parents the joy of children, to brothers and sisters +the sweet association of the fireside, and He gives to all the friend. +Well may the Psalmist exclaim, "The heavens declare the glory of God; +and the firmament showeth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, +and night unto night sheweth knowledge." Surely everything that hath +breath should praise the Lord. + +It would seem that a knowledge of nature would be sufficient to convince +any unprejudiced mind that there is a designer back of the design, a +Creator back of the creation, but, for a reason which I shall treat +more fully in a future lecture, some of the scientists have become +materialistic. The doctrine of evolution has closed their hearts to +the plainest of spiritual truths and opened their minds to the wildest +guesses made in the name of science. If they find a piece of pottery +in a mound, supposed to be ancient, they will venture to estimate the +degree of civilization of the designer from the rude scratches on its +surface, and yet they cannot discern the evidences of design which +the Creator has written upon every piece of His handiwork. They can +understand how an invisible force, like gravitation, can draw all matter +down to the earth but they cannot comprehend an invisible God who draws +all spirits upward to His throne. + +The Bible's proof of God becomes increasingly necessary to meet the +agnosticism and atheism that are the outgrowth of modern mind-worship. I +shall speak of the Bible in my second lecture; I refer to it here merely +for the purpose of pointing out the harmony between the spoken word and +the evidence furnished by God's handiwork throughout the universe. The +wisdom of the Bible writers is more than human; the prophecies proclaim +a Supreme Ruler who, though inhabiting all space, deigns to speak +through the hearts and minds and tongues of His children. + +The Christ of whom the Bible tells furnishes the highest evidence of +the power, the wisdom, and the love of Jehovah. He is a living Christ, +present to-day in the increasing influence that He exerts over the hearts +of men and over the history of nations. + +We not only have God in the Bible and God in nature but we have God in +life and accessible to all. It is not necessary to spend time in trying +to comprehend God--a task too great for the finite mind; we can "taste +and see that the Lord is good." We can test His grace and prove His +presence. The negative arguments of the atheist and the indecision of +the agnostic will not disturb the faith of one who daily communes with +the Heavenly Father, and, by obedience, lays hold upon His promise. + +Belief in God is almost universal and the effect of this belief is so +vast that one is appalled at the thought of what social conditions +would be if reverence for God were erased from every heart. A sense of +responsibility to God for every thought and word and deed is the most +potent influence that acts upon the life--for one man kept in the +straight and narrow way by fear of prison walls a multitude are +restrained by those invisible walls that conscience rears about us, +walls that are stronger than the walls of stone. + +At first the fear of God--fear that sin will bring punishment--is +needed; "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." But as one +learns to appreciate the goodness of God and the plenitude of His mercy, +love takes the place of fear and obedience becomes a pleasure; "His +delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day +and night." + +The paramount need of the world to-day, as it was nineteen hundred years +ago, is a whole-hearted, whole-souled, whole-minded faith in the Living +God. A hesitating admission that there is a God is not sufficient; Man +must love with _all_ his heart, and with _all_ his soul, and with _all_ +his mind, and with _all_ his strength,--and to love he must believe. +Belief in God must be a conviction that controls every nerve and fibre +of his being and dominates every impulse and energy of his life. + +Belief in God is necessary to prayer. It is not sufficient to believe +that there is an Intelligence permeating the universe; nothing less than +a _personal_ God--a God interested in each one of His children and ready +to give at any moment the aid that is needed--nothing less than this +can lead one to communion with the Heavenly Father through prayer. +Evolutionists have attempted to retain the form of prayer while denying +that God answers prayer. They argue that prayer has a reflex action +upon the petitioner and reconciles him to his lot. This argument might +justify one in thinking prayer good enough for _others_ who believe, +but it is impossible for one to be fervent in prayer himself if he +is convinced that his pleas do not reach a prayer-hearing and a +prayer-answering God. Prayer becomes a mockery when faith is gone, just +as Christianity becomes a mere form when prayer is gone. If the words of +the Bible have any meaning at all one must believe that God "_is_, and +that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." + +Belief in God is necessary to that confidence in His providence which is +the source of the Christian's calmness in hours of trial. We soon reach +the limitations of our strength and would despair but for our confidence +in the infinite wisdom of God. David expresses this when he says, "Unto +the upright there ariseth light in the darkness. He ... shall not be +afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord" (Ps. +112). + +In my youth, my father often had me read to him Bryant's "Ode to a +Waterfowl" and it became my favourite poem. I know of no more comforting +words outside of Holy Writ than those in the last stanza: + + "He who from zone to zone, + Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight; + In the long way that I must tread alone, + Will lead my steps aright." + +Belief in God gives courage. The Christian believes that every word +spoken in behalf of truth will have its influence and that every deed +done for the right will weigh in the final account. What matters it to +the believer whether his eyes behold the victory and his voice mingles +in the shouts of triumph, or whether he dies in the midst of the +conflict! + + "Yea, tho' thou lie upon the dust, + When they who helped thee flee in fear, + Die full of hope and manly trust, + Like those who fell in battle here. + + Another hand thy sword shall wield, + Another hand the standard wave, + Till from the trumpet's mouth is pealed, + The blast of triumph o'er thy grave." + +Only those who believe attempt the seemingly impossible, and, by +attempting, prove that one, with God, can chase a thousand and two put +ten thousand to flight. I can imagine that the early Christians, who +were carried into the Coliseum to make a spectacle for spectators more +cruel than the beasts, were entreated by their doubting companions not +to endanger their lives. But, kneeling in the center of the arena, they +prayed and sang until they were devoured. How helpless they seemed, and +measured by every human rule, how hopeless was their cause! And yet +within a few decades the power which they invoked proved mightier +than the legions of the emperor and the faith in which they died was +triumphant o'er all the land. It is said that those who went to mock at +their sufferings returned asking themselves: "What is it that can enter +into the heart of man and make him die as these die?" They were greater +conquerors in their death than they could have been had they purchased +life by a surrender of their faith. + +What would have been the fate of the Church if the early Christians had +had as little faith as many of our Christians of to-day? And, if the +Christians of to-day had the faith of the martyrs, how long would it +be before the prophecy were fulfilled--"every knee shall bow and every +tongue confess"? + +Belief in God is the basis of every moral code. Morality cannot be put +on as a garment and taken off at will. It is a power within; it works +out from the heart as a spring pours forth its flood. It is not safe for +a weak Christian to associate intimately with the world because he may +be influenced by others instead of influencing others. But one need +not fear when his morality derives its energy from connection with the +Heavenly Father. Just as the water from a hose, because it comes from a +reservoir above, will cleanse a muddy pool without danger of a single +drop of pollution entering the hose, so the Christian can go into +infected areas and among those diseased by sin without fear of +contamination so long as he is prompted by a sincere desire to serve and +is filled with a heaven-born longing for souls. + +Joseph gives us a splendid illustration of strength inspired by faith. +Reason fails when one is punished for righteousness' sake; only a belief +in God can sustain one in such an hour of trial and make him enter a +dungeon rather than surrender his integrity. + +We need this belief in God in our dealings with nations as well as in +the control of our own conduct; it is necessary to the establishment of +justice. Without that belief one cannot understand how sin brings its +own punishment. Among the beasts strength is accompanied by no sense of +responsibility; only man understands--and then only when he believes in +God--that he must restrain his power and respect the rights of others. +Only man understands--and then only when he believes in God--that the +laws of the Almighty protect the innocent by bringing upon the sinner +the effects of his own sin. No nation, however great, and no group of +nations, however strong, can do wrong with impunity. The very doing of +wrong works the ruin of those who are guilty, no matter how powerless +their victims may be to protect or avenge themselves. + +Most of the crimes committed by nations are due to an attempt on the +part of those in authority to establish for nations a system of morals +totally different from that which is binding upon the individual. +Nothing but a real belief in God and confidence in the immutability of +His decrees can stay the arm of strength in individual or nation. + +Belief in God is the basis of brotherhood; we are brothers because we +are children of one God. We trace through the common parent of all +the tie that unites the offspring in one great family. The spirit of +brotherhood is impossible without faith in God, the Father, and peace, +at home and abroad, is impossible without the spirit of brotherhood. + +One must believe in God in order to be interested in the carrying out of +the Creator's plans. In the prayer which Christ suggested as a form for +His followers, interest in the coming of God's kingdom stands first. +The petition begins with adoration of the Supreme Being and in the next +sentence the heart pours out its desire in an appeal for the coming of +that day when the will of God shall be done in earth as it is done in +heaven. It is proof of the supreme importance of this attitude that this +petition comes before the request for daily bread; it comes even before +the appeal for forgiveness. How quickly the prayer would be answered if +all who utter it would rise from their knees and make the hastening of +God's kingdom the uppermost thought in their minds throughout the day! + +Finally, belief in God is necessary to belief in immortality. If there +is no God there is no hereafter. When, therefore, one drives God out of +the universe he closes the door of hope upon himself. + +A belief in immortality not only consoles the individual, but it exerts +a powerful influence in promoting justice between individuals. If one +actually thinks that man dies as the brute dies, he will yield more +easily to the temptation to do injustice to his neighbour when the +circumstances are such as to promise security from detection. But if +one really expects to meet again, and live eternally with those whom he +knows to-day, he is restrained from evil deeds by the fear of endless +remorse even when not actuated by higher motives. We do not know what +rewards are in store for us or what punishments may be reserved, but +if there were no other it would be no light punishment for one who +deliberately wrongs another to have to live forever in the company of +the person wronged and have his littleness and selfishness laid bare. + +The Creator has not left us in doubt on the subject of immortality. He +has given to every created thing a tongue that proclaims a life beyond +the grave. + +If the Father deigns to touch with divine power the cold and pulseless +heart of the buried acorn and to make it burst forth from its prison +walls, will He leave neglected in the earth the soul of man, made in +the image of his Creator? If He stoops to give to the rose-bush, whose +withered blossoms float upon the autumn breeze, the sweet assurance of +another springtime, will He refuse the words of hope to the sons of men +when the frosts of winter come? If matter, mute and inanimate, though +changed by the forces of nature into a multitude of forms, can never +die, will the imperial spirit of man suffer annihilation when it has +paid a brief visit like a royal guest to this tenement of clay? No, He +who, notwithstanding His apparent prodigality, created nothing without +a purpose, and wasted not a single atom in all His creation, has made +provision for a future life in which man's universal longing for +immortality will find its realization. I am as sure that we shall live +again as I am sure that we live to-day. + +In Cairo, I secured a few grains of wheat that had slumbered for more +than thirty centuries in an Egyptian tomb. As I looked at them this +thought came into my mind: If one of those grains had been planted +on the banks of the Nile the year after it grew, and all its lineal +descendants had been planted and replanted from that time until now, +its progeny would to-day be sufficiently numerous to feed the teeming +millions of the world. An unbroken chain of life connects the earliest +grains of wheat with the grains that we sow and reap. There is in the +grain of wheat an invisible something which has power to discard the +body that we see, and from earth and air fashion a new body so much +like the old one that we cannot tell the one from the other. If this +invisible germ of life in the grain of wheat can thus pass unimpaired +through three thousand resurrections, I shall not doubt that my soul has +power to clothe itself with a body suited to its new existence, when +this earthly frame has crumbled into dust. + + + + +II + +THE BIBLE + + +Jesus Christ not only endorsed the Old Testament as authoritative, but +bore witness to its eternal truth. "Think not," He said, "that I am come +to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to +fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot +or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" +(Matt. 5: 17, 18). + +When one's belief in God becomes the controlling passion of his life; +when he loves God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his +mind and with all his strength he is anxious to learn God's will and +ready to accept the Bible as the Word of God. All that he asks is +sufficient evidence of its inspiration. + +After so many hundreds of millions have adopted the Bible as their guide +for so many centuries, the burden of proof would seem on those who +reject it. + +The Bible is either the word of God or the work of man. Those who regard +it as a man-made book should be challenged to put their theory to the +test. If man made the Bible, he is, unless he has degenerated, able to +make as good a book to-day. + +Judged by human standards, man is far better prepared to write a Bible +now than he was when our Bible was written. The characters whose words +and deeds are recorded in the Bible were members of a single race; they +lived among the hills of Palestine in a territory scarcely larger than +one of our counties. They did not have printing presses and they lacked +the learning of the schools; they had no great libraries to consult, no +steamships to carry them around the world and make them acquainted with +the various centers of ancient civilization; they had no telegraph wires +to bring them the news from the ends of the earth and no newspapers to +spread before them each morning the doings of the day before. Science +had not unlocked Nature's door and revealed the secrets of rocks below +and stars above. From what a scantily supplied storehouse of knowledge +they had to draw, compared with the unlimited wealth of information at +man's command to-day! And yet these Bible characters grappled with +every problem that confronts mankind, from the creation of the world to +eternal life beyond the tomb. They gave us a diagram of man's existence +from the cradle to the grave and set up warning signs at every dangerous +point. + +The Bible gives us the story of the birth, the words, the works, the +crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension of Him whose coming +was foretold by prophecy, whose arrival was announced by angel voices, +singing Peace and Good-will--the story of Him who gave to the world a +code of morality superior to anything that the world had known before or +has known since. + +Let the atheists and the materialists produce a better Bible than ours, +if they can. Let them collect the best of their school to be found among +the graduates of universities--as many as they please and from every +land. Let the members of this selected group travel where they will, +consult such libraries as they like, and employ every modern means of +swift communication. Let them glean in the fields of geology, botany, +astronomy, biology, and zoology, and then roam at will wherever science +has opened a way; let them take advantage of all the progress in art and +in literature, in oratory and in history--let them use to the full every +instrumentality that is employed in modern civilization; and when they +have exhausted every source, let them embody the results of their best +intelligence in a book and offer it to the world as a substitute for +this Bible of ours. Have they the confidence that the prophets of Baal +had in their god? Will they try? If not, what excuse will they give? Has +man so fallen from his high estate, that we cannot rightfully expect as +much of him now as nineteen centuries ago? Or does the Bible come to us +from a source that is higher than man? + +But the case is even stronger. The opponents of the Bible cannot take +refuge in the plea that man is retrograding. They loudly proclaim that +man has grown and that he is growing still. They boast of a world-wide +advance and their claim is founded upon fact. In all matters except +in the "science of how to live," man has made wonderful progress. The +mastery of the mind over the forces of nature seems almost complete, so +far do we surpass the ancients in harnessing the water, the wind and the +lightning. + +For ages, the rivers plunged down the mountainsides and exhausted their +energies without any appreciable contribution to man's service; now they +are estimated as so many units of horse-power, and we find that their +fretting and foaming was merely a language which they employed to tell +us of their strength and of their willingness to work for us. And, while +falling water is becoming each a day a larger factor in burden-bearing, +water, rising in the form of steam, is revolutionizing the +transportation methods of the world. + +The wind, that first whispered its secret of strength to the flapping +sail, is now turning the wheel at the well, and our flying machines have +taken possession of the air. + +Lightning, the red demon that, from the dawn of Creation, has been +rushing down its zigzag path through the clouds, as if intent only +upon spreading death, metamorphosed into an errand-boy, brings us +illumination from the sun and carries our messages around the globe. + +Inventive genius has multiplied the power of a human arm and supplied +the masses with comforts of which the rich did not dare to dream a few +centuries ago. Science is ferreting out the hidden causes of disease and +teaching us how to prolong life. In every line, except in the line of +character-building, the world seems to have been made over, but these +marvellous changes only emphasize the fact that man, too, must be born +again, while they show how impotent are material things to touch the +soul of man and transform him into a spiritual being. Wherever the moral +standard is being lifted up--wherever life is becoming larger in the +vision that directs it and richer in its fruitage, the improvement is +traceable to the Bible and to the influence of the God and Christ of +whom the Bible tells. + +The atheist and the materialist must confess that man should be able to +produce a better book to-day than man, unaided, could have produced in +any previous age. The fact that they have tried, time and time again, +only to fail each time more hopelessly, explains why they will not--why +they cannot--accept the challenge thrown down by the Christian world to +produce a book worthy to take the Bible's place. + +They have begged to their God to answer with fire--appealed to inanimate +matter with an earnestness that is pathetic; they have employed in the +worship of blind force a faith greater than religion requires, but their +God is asleep. How long will they allow the search for strata of stone +and fragments of fossil and decaying skeletons that are strewn around +the house to absorb their thoughts to the exclusion of the architect +who planned it all? How long will the agnostic, closing his eyes to +the plainest truths, cry, "Night, night," when the sun in his meridian +splendour announces that noon is here? + +Those who reject the Bible ignore its claim to inspiration. This in +itself makes them enemies of the Book of books, because the Bible +characters profess to speak by inspiration, and what they say bears the +stamp of the supernatural. "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by +the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21). + + Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom + teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual + things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things + of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither + can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. + 2:13-14). + +Those who reject the Bible ignore the spirit that pervades it, the +atmosphere that envelopes it, the harmony of its testimonies and the +unity of its structure, despite the fact that it is the product of many +writers during many centuries. Its parts were not arranged by man, but +prearranged by the Almighty. + +Those who reject the Bible also ignore the prophecies and their +fulfillment--"History written in advance"--proof that appeals +irresistibly to the open mind. + +Those who reject the Bible even disparage the testimony which the +Saviour bore to the inspiration of the Old Testament, and yet what could +be more explicit than His words? "And beginning at Moses and all the +prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things +concerning himself" (Luke 24:27). + +As Canon Liddon says: + + "For Christians, it will be enough to know that our Lord, Jesus + Christ, set the seal of His infallible sanction on the whole of the + Old Testament. He found the Hebrew canon as we have it in our + hands to-day, and He treated it as an authority which was above + discussion. Nay, more; He went out of His way--if we may reverently + speak thus,--to sanction not a few portions of it which modern + scepticism rejects." + +Besides open enemies, the Bible has enemies who are less frank--enemies +who, while claiming to be friends of Christianity, spend their time +undermining faith in God, faith in the Bible, and faith in Christ. These +professed friends call themselves higher critics--a title which--though +explained by them as purely technical--smacks of an insufferable +egotism. They assume an air of superior intelligence and look down with +mingled pity and contempt upon what they regard as poor, credulous +humanity. The higher critic is more dangerous than the open enemy. The +atheist approaches you boldly and tries to blow out your light, but, as +you know who he is, what he is trying to do and why, you can protect +yourself. The higher critic, however, comes to you in the guise of a +friend and politely inquires: "Isn't the light too near your eyes? I +fear it will injure your sight." Then he moves the light away, a little +at a time, until it is only a speck and then--invisible. + +Some who have used the title "higher critic" have approached their +subject in a reverent spirit and laboured earnestly in the vain hope of +satisfying intellectual doubts, when the real trouble has been with the +hearts of objectors rather than with their heads. Religion is a matter +of the heart, and the impulses of the heart often seem foolish to the +mind. Faith is different from, and superior to, reason. Faith is a +spiritual extension of the vision--a moral sense that reaches out toward +the throne of God and takes hold of verities that the mind cannot grasp. +It is like "the blind leading the blind" for a higher critic, however +honest, to rely on purely intellectual methods to convey truths that are +"spiritually discerned." + +As a rule, however, the so-called higher critic is a man without +spiritual vision, without zeal for souls and without any deep interest +in the coming of God's Kingdom. He toils not in the Master's vineyard +and yet "Solomon in all his glory" never laid claim to such wisdom as he +boasts. He does not accept the Bible nor defend it; he mutilates it. He +puts the Bible on the operating table and cuts out the parts that he +thinks are "diseased." When he has finished his work the Bible is no +longer the Book of books: it is simply "a scrap of paper." + +The higher critic (I speak now of the rule and not of the exceptions) +begins his investigations with his opinion already formed. After he has +discarded the Bible because he cannot harmonize it with the doctrine +of evolution, he labours to find evidence to support his preconceived +notions. In matters of religion the higher critic is usually a +"dyspeptic." The Bible does not agree with him; he has not the spiritual +fluids in sufficient quantity to enable him to digest the miracle and +the supernatural. He is a doubter and spreads doubts. + +Dr. Franklin Johnson, in Volume 2, of "Fundamentals" says (pages 55, 56, +57): "A third fallacy of the higher critics is the doctrine concerning +the Scriptures which they teach. If a consistent hypothesis of evolution +is made the basis of our religious thinking, the Bible will be regarded +as only a product of human nature working in the field of religious +literature. It will be merely a natural book."... + +Again: "Yet another fallacy of the higher critics is found in their +teachings concerning the Biblical miracles. If the hypothesis of +evolution is applied to the Scriptures consistently, it will lead us to +deny all the miracles which they record."... + +And: "Among the higher critics who accept some of the miracles there is +a notable desire to discredit the virgin birth of our Lord, and their +treatment of this event presents a good example of the fallacies of +reasoning by means of which they would abolish many of the other +miracles." + +Professor Reeve, in a strong article in Volume 3 of "Fundamentals" +(pages 98, 99) tells us of his own excursion into the fields of +higher criticism, of his disappointment and of his glad return to the +interpretations of the Bible that are generally accepted. Speaking of +his first impressions, he says: + + "The critics seemed to have the logical things on their side. The + results at which they had arrived seemed inevitable. But upon closer + thinking, I saw that the whole movement, with its conclusion, was + the result of the adoption of the hypothesis of evolution."... + + "It became more and more obvious to me that the great movement was + entirely intellectual, an attempt in reality to intellectualize all + religious phenomena. I saw also that it was a partial and one-sided + intellectualism, with a strong bias against the fundamental tenets + of Biblical Christianity. Such a movement does not produce that + intellectual humility which belongs to the Christian mind. On the + contrary, it is responsible for a vast amount of intellectual pride, + an aristocracy of intellect with all the snobbery which usually + accompanies that term. Do they not exactly correspond to Paul's + word, 'vainly puffed up in his fleshly mind and not holding fast the + head, etc.' They have a splendid scorn for all opinions which do not + agree with theirs. Under the spell of this sublime contempt they + think they can ignore anything that does not square with their + evolutionary hypothesis. The center of gravity of their thinking is + in the theoretical, not in the religious; in reason, not in faith. + Supremely satisfied with its self-constituted authority, the mind + thinks itself competent to criticize the Bible, the thinking of all + the centuries, and even Jesus Christ Himself. The followers of this + cult have their full share of the frailties of human nature. Rarely, + if ever, can a thoroughgoing critic be an evangelist or even + evangelistic; he is educational. How is it possible for a preacher + to be a power of God, whose source of authority is his own reason + and convictions? The Bible can scarcely contain more than good + advice for such a man." + +In Volume 2 of "Fundamentals" (page 84), Sir Robert Anderson has this to +say: + + "The effect of this 'Higher Criticism' is extremely grave. For it + has dethroned the Bible in the home, and the good old practice of + 'family worship' is rapidly dying out. And great national interests + also are involved. For who can doubt that the prosperity and power + of the nations of the world are due to the influence of the Bible + upon the character and conduct? Races of men who for generations + have been taught to think for themselves in matters of the highest + moment will naturally excel in every sphere of effort or of + enterprise. And more than this, no one who is trained in the fear of + God will fail in his duty to his neighbour, but will prove himself a + good citizen. But the dethronement of the Bible leads practically + to the dethronement of God; and in Germany and America, and now in + England, the effects of this are declaring themselves in ways, and + to an extent, well fitted to cause anxiety for the future." + +The experience of Rev. Paul Kanamori, known as the "Japanese Billy +Sunday" furnishes an excellent illustration of the chilling effect of +higher criticism. He was converted when a student and, after a period of +preaching, became a professor in a theological seminary in Japan. Dr. +Robert E. Speer, in a preface to a published sermon of Mr. Kanamori, +thus describes the great evangelist's temporary retirement from the +ministry and its cause: + + "He began to read upon the most recent German theology, with + the result that he was completely swept off his feet by the + rationalistic New Theology, Higher Criticism, etc. Not long after + that he published his new views under the title, 'The present and + future of Christianity in Japan,' and retired from the ministry.... + He remained in this state of spiritual darkness for twenty years, + until the death of his wife brought him and his children into great + trouble, but after passing through these deep waters he came out + again with a clear and firm belief in the old-fashioned gospel" + ("The Three-Hour Sermon," page 8). + +Since Mr. Kanamori's return to the ministry he has been the means of +leading nearly fifty thousand Japanese to Christ--probably more than the +total number of souls brought into the Church by all the higher critics +combined. + +Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, one of the great preachers of the last +generation, thus speaks of the higher critics: + + "When I see ministers of religion finding fault with the Scriptures, + it makes me think of a fortress terrifically bombarded, and the men + on the ramparts, instead of swabbing out and loading the guns and + helping to fetch up the ammunition from the magazine, are trying + with crowbars to pry out from the wall certain blocks of stone, + because they did not come from the right quarry. Oh, men on the + ramparts, better fight back and fight down the common enemy, instead + of trying to make breaches in the wall." + +It is a deserved rebuke. The higher critics throw ink at a Book that +has withstood the assaults of materialists for centuries, and are vain +enough to think that they can blot out its vital truths. Although their +labours against the Bible have consumed years, they expect the public +to accept their conclusions at sight. If they require so much time to +formulate their indictment against Holy Writ, surely the friends of +the Bible should be allowed as much time for the inspection of the +indictment. + +The destructive higher critic is, as a rule, opposed to revivals; in +fact, it is one of the tests by which he can be distinguished from other +preachers. He calls the revival a "religious spasm." He understands +how one can have a spasm of anger and become a murderer, or a spasm of +passion and ruin a life, or a spasm of dishonesty and rob a bank, but he +cannot understand how one can be convicted of sin, and, in a spasm of +repentance, be born again. That would be a miracle, and miracles are +inconsistent with evolution. It shocks the higher critic to have the +prodigal son come back so suddenly after going away so deliberately. + +Most of the higher critics discard, because contrary to the doctrine of +evolution, the virgin birth of Jesus and His resurrection, although the +former is no more mysterious than our own birth--only different, and the +latter no more mysterious than the origin of life. The existence of God +makes both possible; and the proof is sufficient to establish both. + +If the higher critic will but come into the presence of Christ and learn +of Him he will express himself in the language of the father (whose son +had a dumb spirit), who, as recorded in Mark (9:24), "cried out and said +with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." + +If he would only mingle with humanity he might catch the spirit of the +Master; if his sympathies were broad enough to take in all of God's +people, he would be so impressed with the religious needs of sinful man +that he would hasten to break to him the "Bread of Life" instead of +offering him a stone. The Bible, _as it is_, has led millions to +repentance and, through forgiveness, into life; the Bible, as the higher +critics would make it, is impotent to save. + +Enemies of the Bible have been "blasting at the Rock of Ages" for nearly +two thousand years but in spite of attacks of open and secret foes, God +still lives, and His Book is still precious to His children. + +The Bible would be the greatest book ever written if it rested on its +literary merits alone, stripped of the reverence that inspiration +commands; but it becomes infinitely more valuable when it is accepted +as the Word of God. As a man-made book it would compel the intellectual +admiration of the world; as the audible voice of the Heavenly Father it +makes an irresistible appeal to the heart and writes its truths upon our +lives. Its heroes teach us great lessons--they were giants when they +walked by faith, but weak as we ourselves when they relied upon their +own strength. + +The Bible starts with a simple story of creation--just a few words, but +it says all that can be said. The scientists have framed hypotheses, +the philosophers have formulated theories and the speculators have +guessed--some of them have darkened "counsel by words without +knowledge"--but when the smoke of controversy rises we find that the +first sentence of Genesis, still unshaken, comprehends the entire +subject: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." No +one has been able to overthrow it, or burrow under it or go around it. + +And so when we set out in search of a foundation for statute law; we dig +down through the loose dirt, the mould of centuries, until we strike +solid rock and we find the Tables of Stone on which were written the ten +commandments. All important legislation is but an elaboration of these +few, brief sentences, and the elaborations are often obscuring instead +of clarifying. + +If we desire rules to govern our spiritual development we turn back to +the Sermon on the Mount. In our educational system it takes many books +on many subjects to prepare a mind for its work, but three chapters +of the Bible (Matthew 5, 6 and 7) applied to life, would have more +influence than all the learning of the schools in determining the +happiness of the individual and his service to society. + +If we want to understand the evils of arbitrary power, we have only to +read Samuel's warning to the children of Israel when they clamoured for +a king (1 Sam. 8: 11, 17). + +If we would form an estimate of the influence that faith can exert on +a human life, and, through it, upon a world, we follow the career of +Abraham, "the friend of God," and see how his trust in Jehovah was +rewarded. He founded a race, than which there has never been a greater, +and established the religion through which to-day hundreds of millions +worship God. + +David showed us how a shepherd lad could become the "warrior king" and +the "sweet singer of Israel," with virtues so big that, in spite of his +enormous sins, he is described as "a man after God's own heart." + +And what varied instruction we draw from the life of Moses! Hidden in +the bulrushes on the banks of the Nile by a mother who, by instinct or +by divine suggestion, previsioned a high calling for her son; found, +under Providential direction, by a daughter of Pharaoh; reared in the +environment of a palace and with the advantages of the most enlightened +court of his day; compelled to flee into the wilderness because of an +outburst of race passion; called to a great work by a Voice that +spoke to him from a bush that "burned but was not consumed"; modestly +distrusting his ability yet dauntless as the spokesman of God--dispenser +of plagues--wonder-working man! Born of an obscure family and buried in +the Land of Moab in a sepulcher which "no man knoweth," and yet between +these two humble events he rose to a higher pinnacle than any uninspired +man has ever reached--leader without comparison--lawgiver without a +peer. + +He teaches many lessons that, like all truths, can be applied in every +generation in every land. Race sympathy made it possible for him to lead +his people out of bondage--no one not of their own blood could have +done it. This lesson needs to be heeded to-day. Our part in the +evangelization of the world will be done through native teachers, +educated here or in our missions, rather than directly. The reformer, +too, finds in the hardening of Pharaoh's heart the final assurance of +success; when the "fullness of time" has come and any form of bondage is +ripe for overthrow, the taskmaster's demand for "bricks without straw" +gives the final impulse and opens the way. + +Joseph has made the world his schoolroom. He enables us to understand +the words of Solomon; "where there is no vision the people perish." He +shows how, in the hour of trial, faith can triumph over reason--how God +can lead a righteous man through a dungeon to a seat by the side of the +throne--how the dreamer can turn scoffing into reverence when he has the +corn. + +Samuel is a standing rebuke to those who think "wild oats" a necessary +crop in the lives of young men. He heard the call of God when he was a +child; was reared for the Father's work and lived a life so blameless +that the people proclaimed him just when his official career came to an +end. + +In the Proverbs of Solomon we find a rare collection of truths, +beautifully expressed; in Job we find an inexhaustible patience set to +music and an integrity that even Satan himself could not corrupt. + +The Prophets alone would immortalize the Bible--rugged characters who +dared to rebuke wickedness in high places, to reproach a nation for its +sins and to warn of the coming of the wrath of God. See Elijah on Mount +Carmel, mocking the worshippers of Baal; hear him thunder the Almighty's +sentence against a king who, coveting Naboth's vineyard, broke three +commandments to get a little piece of land. And yet Elijah fled from +wicked Jezebel and would have despaired but for the Voice that assured +him of the thousands who were still true to Israel's God--the obscure +hosts who remained loyal even when the conspicuous became faint-hearted. + +Elisha was a visible link in the chain of power. He was not ashamed to +wear the mantle of his great predecessor; he was willing to take up an +unfinished work. He bears unimpeachable testimony to the continuity of +the divine current when human conductors can be found to transmit it. It +was Elisha who drew aside the veil that concealed from his affrighted +servant the horses and chariots that, upon the mountain, await the hours +when they are needed to supplement the strength of those who fight upon +the Lord's side; it was Elisha, too, who proved to the warriors of his +day that magnanimity is more potent than violence. He conquered by +self-restraint--and "the bands of Syria came no more into the lands of +Israel." + +Daniel is another man in whom faith begat courage and for whom courage +carved a large niche in the temple of imperishable fame. The Daniel who +interpreted to the trembling Belshazzar the fateful handwriting on +the wall; who, unawed by enemies, prayed with his windows open toward +Jerusalem, and who, in the lions' den, waited in patience until Darius +hastened from a sleepless couch to call him forth and join him in +praising Israel's God--this Daniel was the same intrepid servant of the +Most High, who in his youth refused to drink wine from the king's table, +and, demanding a test, proved that water was better--a verdict that +twenty-five centuries have not disturbed. + +Passing over many characters who would seem mountainlike but for the +majestic peaks that overshadow them, let us turn to the immortal seer +who, listening heavenward, caught the words of the song that startled +the shepherds at Bethelehem and, peering through the darkness of seven +centuries, saw the light that shone from Calvary. It was Isaiah who +foretold more clearly and more fully than any one else the coming of +the Messiah, suggested the titles which He would earn, described the +sufferings which He would endure and enumerated the blessings He would +bring to mankind. In chapter nine verse six we read, "For unto us a +child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon +his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The +Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." + +In chapter fifty-three, we learn of His vicarious atonement: + + He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted + with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was + despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, + and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of + God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he + was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was + upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have + gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord + hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he + was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb + to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he + opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: + and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of + the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he + stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich + in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any + deceit in his mouth. + +In chapter two, verse four, we are told of the glad day, which we are +now trying to hasten, when swords shall be beaten into ploughshares, +and spears into pruning-hooks--when nations shall not lift up the sword +against nations or learn war any more. + +If the Old Testament is so fascinating what may we expect of the New? It +is day as compared with dawn; it is the morning light, with which Moses +and the Prophets beat back the darkness of the night, enlarged--until +we have the sun in its meridian glory. "Old things have passed away; +behold, all things are become new." + +The Old Testament gave us the law; the New Testament reveals the love +upon which the law rests. John says: "The law was given by Moses, but +grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1: 17). The Old Testament +restrained by a multitude of "Thou shalt nots"; the New Testament +awakens the monitor within and supplies a spiritual urge that makes the +individual find satisfaction in service and delight in doing good. David +soothes the dying with sweet assurance: "Though I walk through the +valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with +me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me;" Jesus inspires them with a +living hope: "I go to prepare a place for you that where I am ye may be +also." + +God is the center of gravity in the New Testament as in the Old, but the +drawing power of Jehovah became visible in Christ; the attributes of the +Father were revealed in the Son--the supreme intelligence, the limitless +power, the boundless love. Divinity surrounded itself with human +associates but spiritual enthusiasm crowded out the selfish element; +His presence purged their souls of dross. The characters of the New +Testament are about their Father's business all the time. If a Judas +is base enough to betray the Saviour, even he is so overwhelmed with +remorse that life becomes unbearable. + +We are introduced to a new group of characters, beginning with a Virgin +with a child and ending with her Son upon the cross--a galaxy of men and +women whose words and deeds have travelled into every land. One poor +widow with two mites, wisely invested, purchased more enduring fame than +any rich man was ever able to buy with all his money. Another, Tabitha, +by interpretation called Dorcas, drew forth as eloquent a tribute as was +ever paid. In the goodness of her heart she made garments for the poor, +and the recipients, exhibiting them at her death-bed, expressed their +gratitude in tears. The narrative suggests an epitaph which every +Christian can earn--and who could desire more? viz., the night is darker +because a life has gone out; the world is not so warm because a heart is +cold in death. + +In John the Baptist, we have the forerunner--"the voice crying in the +wilderness." The Apostles, chosen from among the busy multitude, carried +their habits of industry into their new calling; some turned from +catching fish to become "fishers of men," while Matthew employed the +accuracy of a collector of customs in chronicling the life of the +Master. Even the weaknesses of men were utilized: Thomas consecrated his +doubts, and John, the disciple, baptized his ambition--each giving the +Great Teacher an opportunity to use a fault for the enlightening of +future generations. The latter became the most intimate companion of the +Saviour--"the disciple whom Jesus loved" and the one who most frequently +used the word love. + +Peter and Paul stand out conspicuously among the exponents of early +Christianity. In the case of Peter, Christ brought an impulsive nature +into complete subjection and gave a steadying purpose to an emotional +follower. In Paul, we see a giant intellect aflame with a holy zeal. +Both were bold interpreters of Christ's mission and both urged upon +Christians the full gospel equipment. + +In his second Epistle, chapter one, Peter exhorts: + + And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; + and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to + temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness + brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these + things be in you, and abound, they make you that you shall neither + be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. + +In the sixth chapter of Ephesians, Paul pleads: + + Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able + to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand + therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having + on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the + preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of + faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of + the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the + Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer + and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all + perseverance and supplication for all saints. + +Peter was a rock, hewn into shape and polished by the divine hand; Paul +was a "chosen vessel" to bear the Redeemer's Name before "the Gentiles +and kings and the children of Israel." Paul was an orator with a +purpose; he was a man with a message. He was eloquent because he knew +what he was talking about and meant what he said. No wonder, for he was +called to service by a summons so distinct and unmistakable that he +turned at once from persecuting to preaching. Paul is responsible for +one of the most inspiring sentences in the Bible--"I was not disobedient +unto the heavenly vision." It was the key to his whole life. + +Love is not blind, declares Tolstoy; it sees what ought to be done and +does it. So with Paul. His eyes were open to the truth and he saw it; +he was sensitive to the needs of the Church and his epistles are filled +with wise counsel. He encouraged the worthy, admonished the erring and +strengthened the weak. Paul knew well the secret of liberality, as shown +in 2 Corinthians 8: 5. The members of the Macedonian church "first gave +their own selves"; giving was easy after that. Paul's religion could not +be shaken; read his vow as recorded in the eighth chapter of Romans: + + For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor + principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, + nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to + separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. + +His sufferings developed patience and deepened devotion. They prepared +him to appreciate love and to define it as no other mortal has done. + +His tribute to love, contained in the thirteenth chapter of 1 +Corinthians, is not approached by any other utterance on this subject. +(I use the old version with the word charity changed to love.) + + Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not + love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though + I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all + knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove + mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all + my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, + and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suffereth long, and + is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed + up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not + easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but + rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, + hopeth all things, endureth all things; Love never faileth: but + whether there be prophecies they shall fail; whether there be + tongues they shall cease; whether there be knowledge it shall vanish + away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that + which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done + away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a + child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away + childish things; For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then + face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also + I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the + greatest of these is love. + +I cannot leave the Book of Books without referring to one of the supreme +moments that it describes. The Bible is full of pictures; the painter +has found it an inexhaustible storehouse of suggestion. All the great +climaxes of sacred history speak to us from the canvas. Moses and +Pharaoh, Ruth and Naomi, Daniel at the Belshazzar Feast and in the +Lions' Den, Elijah at Mt. Carmel and before Ahab, Joseph and his +brethren, David and Goliath, Mary and the Child, Jesus, the Prodigal +Son, the Sower, the Good Samaritan, the Rich Young Man, the Wise and the +Foolish Virgins, Jesus in the Temple, Christ Entering Jerusalem, and in +the Garden of Gethsemane, and The Saviour on the Cross--these are but a +few of the word pictures that have inspired the artist's brush. + +But there is another picture, unsurpassed in thrilling power +and permanent interest, namely, that presented by the trial of +Christ--tragedy of tragedies, triumph of triumphs! + +Here, face to face, stood Pilate and Christ, the representatives of the +two opposing forces that have ever contended for dominion in the world. +Pilate was the personification of force; behind him was the Roman +government, undisputed ruler of the then known world, supported by +its invincible legions. Before Pilate stood Christ, the embodiment of +love--unarmed, alone. And force triumphed; they nailed Him to the cross, +and the mob that had assembled to witness His sufferings, mocked and +jeered and said: "He is dead." But from that day the power of Caesar +waned and the power of Christ increased. In a few centuries the Roman +government was gone and its legions forgotten, while the Apostle of Love +has become the greatest fact in history and the growing figure of all +time. + +Who will estimate the Bible's value to society? It is our only guide. It +contains milk for the young and nourishing food for every year of life's +journey; it is manna for those who travel in the wilderness; and it +provides a staff for those who are weary with age. It satisfies the +heart's longings for a knowledge of God; it gives a meaning to existence +and supplies a working plan to each human being. + +It holds up before us ideals that are within sight of the weakest and +the lowliest, and yet so high that the best and the noblest are kept +with their faces turned ever upward. It carries the call of the Saviour +to the remotest corners of the earth; on its pages are written the +assurances of the present and our hopes for the future. + + There are three verses in the first chapter of Genesis which mean + more to man than all other books outside the Bible. First; the + verse, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," + gives us the only account of the beginning of all things, including + life. Many substitutes have been proposed for this verse but none + that can be so easily understood, explained and defended. + + Second: the 24th verse gives us the only law governing the + continuity of life on earth. If life is to continue, reproduction + must be according to law or lawless. _Reproduction according to + kind_ is the basic scientific fact in the world; all the books on + science combined do not state as much that is of value to man as + this one verse--it is the foundation of family life and of all human + calculations. No living thing has ever violated this law; even man + with all his power has never been able to persuade or compel that + intangible, invisible thing that we call life to cross the line of + species. + + Third: the 26th verse--"Let us make man in our image"--gives us the + only explanation of man's presence on earth. Without revelation no + one has been able to explain the riddle of life. Man comes into the + world without his own volition; he has no choice as to the age, + nation, race, or family environment into which he shall be born. So + far as he is concerned, he comes by chance; he goes he knows not + when, and cannot insure himself for a single hour against accident, + disease or death; and yet, he is supreme above all other things. + + The 26th verse reveals a truth of inestimable value. When man + knows that he is "the child of a King," with the earth for an + inheritance--that the Creator, after bringing all other things into + existence, made him, not as other things were made, but in the + image of God, and placed him here as commander-in-chief of all that + is--when he understands that he is part of God's plan and here for a + purpose he finds himself. To do God's will becomes his highest duty + as well as his greatest pleasure and he learns that obedience links + happiness to virtue, success to righteousness, and makes it possible + for him to rise to the high plane that a loving Heavenly Father has + put within the reach of man. + + Where in all the books in all the libraries can one find as much + that affects the welfare of man as is condensed into these three + verses? + + + + +III + +WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? + + +The question, What think ye of Christ? propounded to the Pharisees by +the Saviour Himself, demands an answer from an increasing number as each +year the circle of the Gospel's influence widens. It is a question that +cannot be evaded. In every civilized land an answer is made, by word or +act, by each individual who is confronted by the facts of His life. +It is in the hope that I may be able to assist some in answering this +question that I devote this hour to the inquiry. + +Was Christ an impostor? Or was He deluded? Or was He the promised +Messiah, "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," as He declared Himself to +be? + +Few have dared to accuse Him of attempting a deliberate fraud upon the +public. Impostors sometimes kill others in carrying out their plans, or +to escape detection, but they do not offer themselves as a sacrifice +for others. Christ's whole life gives the lie to the charge that He +practiced deception. One recorded act would be sufficient to establish +His honesty of purpose. In the nineteenth chapter of Matthew we read: + + And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good + thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto + him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, + God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He + saith unto him, which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou + shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear + false witness. Honour thy father and thy mother: and Thou shalt love + thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these + things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said + unto him. If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and + give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come + and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went + away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. + +If Christ had been an adventurer or was interested only in gaining a +following He would have welcomed this young man, who was not only rich, +but, according to Luke, a ruler. And what a splendid recommendation the +young man gave himself; all of the commandments he had kept from his +youth up. How could one ambitious for worldly success afford to reject +such an applicant? But Christ would not lower the standard a hair's +breadth even to secure the support of a rich young ruler who had led +a blameless life. He demanded the _first place_ in the heart--a very +reasonable demand--and, seeing in the young man's heart the first place +occupied by love of money, He demanded the throne. The young +man, unwilling to purchase eternal life at that price, went away +sorrowing--his heart still centered on his great possessions. Of whom +but an honest person could such a story be told? + +Was Christ deceived? That is the theory set forth in a little volume +entitled "A Jewish View of Jesus" (published recently by the Macmillan +Company). The author, H.G. Emelow, pays the following high tribute to +"Jesus the Jew" (and it is the most charitable view an orthodox Jew can +hold): + + "Yet, these things apart, who can compute all that Jesus has meant + to humanity? The love He has inspired, the solace He has given, the + good He has engendered, the hope and joy He has kindled--all that is + unequalled in human history. Among the great and good that the human + race has produced, none has even approached Jesus in universality + of appeal and sway. He has become the most fascinating figure in + history. In Him is combined what is best and most enchanting and + most mysterious in Israel--the eternal people whose child He was. + The Jew cannot help glorying in what Jesus thus has meant to the + world; nor can he help hoping that Jesus may yet serve as a bond of + union between Jew and Christian, once His teaching is better known + and the bane of misunderstanding is at last removed from His words + and His ideal." + +But could honest delusion produce a character who, in "the love He has +inspired," "the solace He has given," and "the hope and joy He has +kindled" is "unequalled in human history"? Is it not impossible that +under a _delusion_ one could (as Emelow says Jesus did) become "the most +fascinating figure in history"--unapproachable in the "universality of +appeal and sway"? The world has been full of delusions: have any of them +produced a character like Christ? Tolstoy says that the words of Christ +to His friends and pupils have had a hundred thousand times more +influence over the people than all the poems, odes, elegies and elegant +epistles of the authors of that age. Lecky, the historian, says that +"the three short years of the active life of Jesus have done more +to regenerate and soften mankind than all of the disquisitions of +philosophers and all the exhortations of moralists." Could this be said +of a man labouring under a delusion as to his real character? + +What Christ _said_ and _did_ and _was_ establishes His claims. In a +conversation with Peter (Matt. 16: 16), He approved that Apostle's +answer which ascribed to Him the title of "Christ" (the Greek equivalent +for Messiah) "the Son of the living God." He not only approved of the +answer bestowing the title but + +"Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: for +flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is +in heaven." In John 10, verse 30, He declares, "I and my Father are +one"; in verse 36, same chapter, He denies that it was blasphemy to call +Himself the Son of God. In the presence of death He refused to deny the +claim (Matt. 26: 63-64). + +The deity of Christ is proven in many ways; some offering one line of +proof and some another. Some are convinced by the prophecies that found +their fulfillment in Christ; some give greatest weight to the manner of +His birth and His resurrection. Still others lay special emphasis upon +the miracles performed by Him. There is no need of comparison; all the +proofs stand together and bear joint testimony to His supernatural +character, but I find myself inclined to use the method of reasoning +adopted by Carnegie Simpson in his book entitled, "The Fact of Christ." +Those who reject Christ reject also the miraculous proofs offered in +support of His divine character, but the _fact_ of Christ cannot be +denied. Christ lived; that is admitted. He taught; we have His words. +He died upon the cross; that we know; and we can trace His blood by its +cleansing power as it flows through the centuries. Judged by His life, +His teachings, and His death, and the impression they have made upon the +human race, we conclude that He was divine and that He has justified the +titles bestowed upon Him. No other explanations can account for Him. +Born in a manger; reared in a carpenter shop; with no access to sages +living and no knowledge of the wisdom of sages dead, except as that +wisdom was recorded in the Old Testament, and yet when only about thirty +years of age He gave to the world a code of morality the like of which +the world had never known before and has not known since. He preached a +short time, gathered around Him a few disciples and was crucified; His +followers were scattered and nearly all of the conspicuous ones put to +death--and yet from this beginning His religion spread until thousands +of millions have taken His name upon them and millions have been ready +to die rather than surrender the faith that He put into their hearts. +How can you explain Christ? It is easier to believe Him to be the Christ +whose coming was foretold, the Jesus who was to save the people from +their sins--the Son of God and Saviour of the World--than to account for +Him in any other way. + +To those who try to measure Him by the rules that apply to man He is +incomprehensible; but take Him out of the man class and put Him in the +God class and you can understand Him. He also can be measured by the +work He came to perform; it was more than a man's task. No man aspiring +to be a God could have done what He did; it required a God condescending +to be a man. + +When once His divine character is admitted we have an explanation that +clears away all the perplexities. We can believe that He was conceived +of the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary. We can believe that He +opened the eyes of the blind when among men--we see Him to-day giving a +spiritual vision of life to those who have known only the flesh and the +pleasures that come through the flesh. We can believe that He wrought +miracles when upon earth--we see Him so changing hearts to-day that they +love the things they used to hate and hate the things they used to love. +We can even believe that at His touch life was called back to the body +from which it had taken its flight--we have seen Him take men who had +fallen so low that their own flesh and blood had deserted them, lift +them up, wash them and fill their hearts with a passion for service. A +Christ who can do that _now_ could have broken the bonds of the tomb. + +Volumes innumerable have been written on theological distinctions, some +of which have been made the basis of sects. The doctrine of the Trinity +has been one of the storm centers of discussion for centuries. It is not +difficult for me to believe in the Trinity when I see three distinct +entities in each human being--a physical man, a mental man and a moral +man. They are so inseparable that one cannot exist here without the +other, and yet they are so separate and distinct that one can be +developed and the others left undeveloped. Who has not seen a splendidly +developed body with an ignorant brain to think for it and a puny +spiritual life within? A weak body and an impoverished soul are +sometimes linked to a highly trained mind: and an exalted character is +sometimes found in a frail body, and even associated with a neglected +intellect. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost, three in one, present no +problem that need perplex either the learned or the unlearned. We have +the evidence of the Father on every hand; the proof of the Son's growing +influence is indisputable; the witness of the Holy Ghost is to be found +in the heart of every believer. The three act in unison. + +The fall of man is disputed by some who seem to find more satisfaction +in the belief that they have risen from the brute and, therefore, are +superior to their ancestors, than they do in the thought that man has +fallen from a higher estate. But the facts do not support the brute +theory. Even if the "missing links" could be found, it would be as +reasonable--though not so flattering to man's pride--to believe that the +monkey is a degenerate man as that man is an improved monkey. + +It has often been pointed out as evidence of man's fall that he is the +only created thing that does not live up to his possibilities. In plant +and bird and beast there is no disobedience--all fulfill the purpose of +their creation, from the flower, that puts forth its bloom as perfectly +when it "wastes its sweetness on the desert air" as when in the garden +its beauty calls forth expressions of delight, to the bird that wakes +the echoes of trackless forests with its melody. Man, only man, mocks +his Maker by prostituting to evil the powers that might lift him within +sight of the throne of God. + +If so many men and women fall _now_, in spite of light and love and all +the incentives to noble living, is it incredible that the first pair +should have fallen when the race was young? Possibility becomes +probability when we remember that the conflict that rages between the +mind and the heart is the one real conflict in every life. Reason versus +faith is the great issue to-day as in Eden. Faith says obey; reason +asks, Why? The one looks up confidingly to a Power above; the other +relies on self and rejects even the authority of Jehovah unless the +finite mind can comprehend the plan of the Infinite. + +No one will doubt the doctrine of original sin if he will study nature +and then analyze himself. In the plant, in the animal and in the +physical man, the invisible thing which we call life is the only +sustaining force; when it takes its flight, that which remains falls +back to the earth and becomes dust. And so the spiritual in man is the +only force that can give him a moral nature and preserve it from decay; +when his spiritual life departs the mind as well as the body rots. + +Some find a stumbling block in the doctrine of the Atonement. That one +should suffer for others, shocks their sense of justice, they say, and +yet that is the law of life. Each generation borrows from generations +past and pays the debt to the generations that follow. A certain +percentage of the mothers die in childbirth--evidence that they are +God's handiwork is found in the fact they so willingly enter the valley +of the shadow of death to attain to motherhood. Many a boy has been won +back to rectitude by the sorrows of a parent; we are not infrequently +healed by the stripes that fall on others. In fact, great wrongs are +seldom righted without the shedding of innocent blood--one dies and a +multitude are saved. These do not always illustrate the voluntary laying +down of life but there are enough cases of noble surrender of self for a +friend or for the public to make it easy for any one to understand how +Christ could take upon Himself the sins of the world and become man's +intercessor with the Father. Winning hearts through love expressed in +sacrifice, is that strange? On the contrary, it is the only way. It is +because the story of Jesus is a natural one that it has touched mankind. +Hearts understand each other. The heart, says Pascal, has reasons that +the mind does not understand because the heart is of an infinitely +higher character. + +The sacrificial character of Christ's death and the atoning power of His +blood are the basis of the New Testament. To discard this doctrine is to +reject the plainest teachings of the Apostles and the words of Christ +Himself. + +Peter, than whom there is no higher human authority, says (1 Peter +2:24): "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that +we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes +ye were healed." + +John, the Beloved, speaks as clearly on this subject (John 3:16-17): +"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that +whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting +life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but +that the world through him might be saved." Paul was equally emphatic; +he says (1 Cor. 2:2): "For I determined not to know anything among you, +save Jesus Christ and him crucified." And again (1 Cor. 1:30): "But +of him are ye in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us wisdom and +righteousness, and sanctification and redemption." + +But we have higher authority still--we have the words of Christ Himself. +At the last supper, with His disciples about Him, He spoke of His blood +being "shed for many for the remission of sins." + +It is the story of His sacrifice for others--of His blood shed that the +world might through Him find forgiveness--that has been understood by +the unlettered as well as by scholars and has brought millions to the +foot of the cross. Even those who have not been in position to compare +His code of morals with the teachings of others have been able to +comprehend a plan of salvation by which one died for all and all find +forgiveness in His sacrifice. It is this Gospel that has made it +possible for the forgiven sinner to go forth to begin a new life, no +longer under conviction of sin and remembering his past only as an +incentive to service. + +The presence of Judas at the Last Supper has been the cause of much +speculation throughout the centuries. The indignation of Christians +is stirred at the thought of a traitor being present on this solemn +occasion when Christ instituted one of the great sacraments of the +Church. The Saviour not only knew what Judas was about to do but +called attention to it and designated the guilty one, but there was no +appearance of the anger which would be natural in a mortal; He knew the +plan of salvation. + +But why should the betrayal have come from one of the twelve? It is not +necessary to find a satisfactory answer to all the questions that may +arise from the reading of the Bible, and the finite mind should not +be discouraged if it fails to fathom the reasons of the Infinite +Intelligence. If there are mysteries in the Bible that we cannot unravel +they are not greater than the mysteries in nature with which we must +deal whether we understand them or not. + +But I venture to suggest one _effect_, produced by the fact that one of +the twelve proved a traitor, namely, the scrutiny that it has compelled +millions of Christians to turn upon themselves. "Lord, is it I?" each +of the disciples anxiously inquired. Even Judas himself, coerced by the +action of the others, asked, "Master, is it I?" So, to-day, there is +real betrayal of the Saviour by some who take His name upon them and +before the world profess to be His followers. If Judas had been an +outsider and had sold for money the knowledge he had gained as a +looker-on his name would not have become, as the name of Judas has, a +synonym for all that is base and contemptible; and the Christian world +would have been without the benefit of that glaring act of perfidy that +has sounded its warning through nineteen centuries. Judas sold the +Saviour for money, just as many a professing Christian since then has, +for money, betrayed the Master. Who will calculate the restraint that +that one question, "Lord, is it I?" has exerted upon Christ's followers +in the hour when some great temptation has made the believer hesitate +upon the brink of sin? + +I will not attempt to enumerate all the ways in which Christ has and can +bless mankind, but the living spring has taught me one way. The spring +is the best illustration of the Christian life, just as a stagnant pool +is the best illustration of a selfish life. The pool receives but gives +forth nothing in return and, at last, becomes the center of disease and +death. There is nothing more repulsive than the stagnant pool except a +life built upon that plan. The spring, on the other hand, pours forth +constantly of that which refreshes and invigorates and asks for nothing. +There is nothing more inspiring than a living spring except the life +that it resembles. + +And why is the spring a spring? Because _it is connected with a source +that is higher than itself_. Christ brings man into such vital, living +contact with God that the goodness of God flows out to the world through +him. The frailest human being can thus become of inestimable value to +society. It is only spiritual power, received from above, that counts +largely. If we measure man in units of physical power he is not much +above the beasts; if we measure him in units of intellectual power +we soon reach his limitations, but when we measure him in units of +spiritual power his strength may be beyond human calculations. If, as +was the case in Wales, the prayer of a little girl could start a revival +that spread over that country, resulting in the conversion of thousands, +what can a life accomplish if one's heart is full of love to God and +man? + +The wisdom of Christ could not have been supplied by others; there were +none to supply it. There was no source but the inexhaustible fountain of +the Almighty from which to draw that which He gave forth "as one having +authority." "Who among His Apostles or proselytes," asks John Stuart +Mill, "was capable of inventing the sayings ascribed to Jesus or of +imagining the life and character revealed in the Gospels?" + +No person, less than divine, could have carried the message or rendered +the service He did to mankind. How, for instance, could He have +learned from His own experience or from His environment the startling +proposition that He embodied in His interpretation of The Parable of the +Sower? "The care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the +truth," and yet in that short sentence He gave an epitome of all +human history. Reforms come up from the oppressed, not down from the +oppressors--a fact which Christ explains in a word. + +He announced the divine order: "Seek ye _first_ the kingdom of God and +his righteousness." Duty to God comes _first_--all other things that are +good for us will come in due time. + +His parables stand alone in literature; they have no parallel in the +expression of great truths with beauty and simplicity through object +lessons taken from every-day life. These truths covered a wide range and +were embedded in the language of the parable because of the unbelief +of that day. They are increasingly appreciated as their practical +application to all time becomes more and more manifest. + +The parable of the Prodigal Son is the most beautiful story of its kind +ever told and is based on an experience through which nearly every +person passes, but few of whom, fortunately, carry the spirit of +rebellion to the point of leaving home. At that period which marks +the transition from youth to maturity--from dependence on others to +self-reliance--rebelliousness is likely to be exhibited to a greater or +less extent even where the parents have done everything possible for the +child. Christ takes an extreme case where the wisdom and experience of +the father were scorned; where a wilful son insisted upon learning for +himself of the things against which the father had warned him. He was of +age; parental authority could no longer be exerted for his protection. +He had his way, and as long as his money lasted he found plenty of +associates willing to help him spend it; the "boys" had what the wicked +call "a good time." Then came the sobering up, the repentance, the +humility, the return, the father's welcome, the very natural complaint +of the other son and the parental rebuke--all so lifelike and all +designed to give emphasis to the love of the Heavenly Father and the joy +in Heaven when a wanderer returns. How many souls it has awakened! The +thought has been beautifully translated into song by Rev. Robt. Lowry, +in "Where Is My Wandering Boy To-night?" which has probably touched more +hearts than any sermon delivered since the song was written in 1877. + +In passing, note the contrast between the Rich Young Man and the +Prodigal Son. The former, an exemplary youth, is lost because he put the +love of money first--we see his back as he retires into oblivion. The +latter, a reckless sinner, repentant and forgiven; we leave him at a +banquet, happy with father and friends who rejoice that one who "was +dead is alive again." + +The parable of The Talents has shamed a multitude into activity, while +the parable of The Vineyard has been an encouragement to those who have +neglected early calls to service. He used the great preservative, salt, +to illustrate the saving influence His followers would exert on society +and warned them not to lose this quality. He likened them to a city set +on a hill and to the light that illumines the entire house. + +Christ gave the world a philosophy that fits into every human need; He +sounded all the depths. In the first and third of the Beatitudes He +exalts humility--a virtue difficult to cultivate, and even to retain +after one has cultivated it. Some one has suggested that pride is +such an insidious sin that the humble sometimes become proud of their +humility. Christ sets two prizes before the humble--the poor in spirit +are to have the Kingdom of Heaven for their recompense while the meek +are to be given the earth for their inheritance. + +The mourners are to be comforted and the merciful are to obtain mercy. +Righteousness is to be the reward of those who hunger and thirst +after it, and the peacemakers are to be crowned with one of the most +honourable of appellations, the children of God. + +He devotes double space to those who are reviled and persecuted for His +sake, foreseeing the fierce opposition which His Gospel would arouse. In +the study of the Beatitudes one Sunday, I asked the members of an adult +class which they considered first in importance. Although there was +quite a wide difference in preference, the Sixth, "Blessed are the pure +in heart, for they shall see God," received the highest vote. And what +can be more important than the cleansing of the heart of all that +obstructs one's view of God? The Creator is equally near to all His +creatures--He is no respecter of persons. It is man's fault if he allows +anything to come between himself and the Heavenly Father. Surely, +nothing is more to be desired than the unclouded vision. "Thou shalt +have no other gods before me," is the first of the Commandments brought +down from Sinai and its primacy is endorsed by the Saviour: the sixth +Beatitude expresses the same supreme requirement. No false gods, not +even self--the most popular of all the false gods--must be permitted to +come between man and his Maker. + +Christ put into simple words some of the great rules for the +interpretation of life. "By their fruits ye shall know them," has become +a part of the language of the civilized world. "Do men gather grapes of +thorns, or figs of thistles?" He asks. "A good tree cannot bring forth +evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." Here a +great spiritual principle was announced. We must consider the _nature;_ +nothing less than a change in the nature can change the fruit. A bad +heart is just as sure to bring forth bad thoughts and bad deeds as the +thistle is to bring forth thorns. And so the good heart is just as sure +to yield good deeds as the grape-vine is to yield grapes or the fig-tree +is to yield figs. Look at the _tree_, therefore; the fruit will take +care of itself. + +In the Sermon on the Mount, in which He embodied such a wealth of moral +precept and spiritual counsel, He warned against investments in that +which would divert the affections from the great purpose of life. "Lay +not up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up for yourselves +treasures in heaven." "For where your treasure is, there will your heart +be also." It was the heart that He dealt with--always the heart, in +which man does his decisive thinking and out of which are "the issues of +life." + +The Master dealt with the beginnings of evil. He did not wait until the +sin had been completed or the wrong accomplished. He cut out the bad +purpose at its birth before it had time to develop. He says: + + And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from + thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should + perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if + thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for + it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and + not that thy whole body should be cast into hell (Matt. 3: 29). + +This may seem like a harsh doctrine and yet it is merely an application +to morals of a salutary principle that all understand when applied by +the surgeon. A finger is often removed in order to save the hand; a hand +is removed to save the arm; and an arm is removed to save the body. An +eye, too, is often removed to save the sight of the remaining eye. Is +eye or arm or body more important than the soul? + +Christ understood relative values in the spiritual world. He used the +material things in life to illustrate values in the realm of the ideal; +He used the things that are seen to make understandable the eternal +things that the senses cannot comprehend. + +And what called forth this powerful illustration--the sacrificing of +the right eye and the right hand to save the body? He was laying the +foundation for a great moral reform, namely, the single standard of +morality. He was attacking a great sin and, as usual, He laid the axe at +the root of the tree. He was dealing with adultery and He traced the sin +to its source. He would purge the heart of the unclean thought; He would +put a ban on the desire before it found vent in accomplishment. He +turned the thought from the body to the heart and to the soul. + +And He not only warned men against harbouring the seeds of this sin but +He rebuked them for injustice in dealing more harshly with woman than +they did with themselves. He did not condone sin; He forgave it, and +accompanied forgiveness with the injunction, "Sin no more." + +Christ dignified childhood next to womanhood. One of His most beautiful +lessons was woven about a child which He summoned from the crowd. The +child's faith was made the test--"Except ye be converted and become as +little children ye shall not enter into the kingdom." And again, "Suffer +the little children to come unto me and forbid them not: for of such is +the kingdom of heaven." + +His depth of affection--His longing for souls--is beautifully set forth +in Matthew 23: 37 when He uses the most familiar object in the animal +kingdom to express His solicitude: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that +killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how +often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen +gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" + +And yet this gentle spirit who would not break a bruised reed--who went +about doing good--was wont to blaze forth with hot indignation against +sordidness and systematized injustice. Hear His fierce denunciation of +the "scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites" who devoured widows' houses +and for a pretense made long prayers; and behold Him casting the +money-changers out of the temple because they had turned the house of +prayer into a den of thieves. + +In a startling paradox He sets forth a great truth: "Whosoever shall +save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my +sake, the same shall save it." When, before or since, has the littleness +of the self-centered been so exposed and the nobility of self-surrender +been so glorified? Wendell Phillips has given a splendid paraphrase of +this wonderful utterance. He says, "How prudently most men sink into +nameless graves, while now and then a few forget themselves into +immortality." + +But the one doctrine which more than any other distinguished His +teachings from those of uninspired instructors, is forgiveness. Time +and again He brings it forward and lays emphasis upon it. In the very +beginning of His ministry He drew a contrast between the perverted +morals of that day and the spiritual life into which He would lead them +(Matt. 5): + + Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, + and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless + them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for + them which despitefully use you and persecute you; That ye may be + the children of your Father which is in heaven, for he maketh his + sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the + just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what + reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute + your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the + publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is + in heaven is perfect. + +A little later, He embodies the thought in the Lord's Prayer--"Forgive +us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." He +follows that with a scathing arraignment of the cruel servant, who, +having been forgiven a debt almost incalculable in amount, refused to +forgive a small debt due to him. Even when in agony upon the cross the +thought of forgiveness was uppermost in the Saviour's heart and He +prayed: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!" + +He was not thinking of relief to wrong-doers when He made forgiveness a +cardinal principle in the moral code that He promulgated. It was not, +I am persuaded, to shield from just punishment one who does injury to +another, but to save the injured from the paralyzing influence of the +thirst for revenge. It is only rarely that one has an opportunity to +retaliate, but the desire for retaliation is a soul-destroying disease. +Christ would purge the heart of hatred and make love the law of life. + +Christianity has been called "The Gospel of the Second Chance"; it is +more than that. There is no limit to the chances that it offers to the +repentant. When Christ was asked whether one should forgive a brother +seven times He answered, "Seventy times seven." Christianity is the only +hope of the discouraged and the despondent. Walter Malone has put into a +poem entitled "Opportunity" the exhaustless mercy that Christ holds out +to men. I quote the concluding stanzas: + + Though deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep: + I lend my arm to all who say "I can"; + No shamefaced outcast ever sank so deep + But he might rise and be again a man! + + Dost thou behold thy lost youth all aghast? + Dost reel from righteous retribution's blow? + Then turn from blotted archives of the past, + And find the future's pages white as snow. + + Art thou a mourner? Rouse thee from thy spell; + Art thou a sinner? Sins may be forgiven. + Each morning gives thee wings to flee from hell, + Each night a star to guide thy feet to heaven. + +When the Heavenly Father reserved to Himself the right to avenge +injuries He conferred an incalculable benefit upon mankind, just as He +did when He imposed upon the organs of the body the task of keeping +us alive. Not a heart could beat, nor could the lungs expand if their +movement had been left to the voluntary act of man. But God has relieved +His creatures of concern about blood and breath that man, freed from a +labour beyond his strength, may employ his time in the service of his +Maker. And so man is relieved from the impossible task of avenging +wrongs done him that he may devote himself to the public weal. + +I shall at another time speak of some of the present-day fruits of this +doctrine taught nineteen centuries ago; I present it now as one of the +most difficult of the Christian virtues to cultivate, but one of the +most prolific in the blessings that it bestows. It contributes largely +to the securing of peace, and Christ is the Prince of Peace. + +All the world is in search of peace; every heart that ever beat has +sought for peace and many have been the methods employed to secure it. +Some have thought to purchase it with riches and they have laboured to +secure wealth, hoping to find peace when they were able to go where +they pleased and buy what they liked. Of those who have endeavoured to +purchase peace with money, the large majority have failed to secure +the money. But what has been the experience of those who have been +successful in accumulating money? They all tell the same story, viz., +that they spent the first half of their lives trying to get money from +others and the last half trying to keep others from getting their money +and that they found peace in neither half. Some have even reached the +point where they find difficulty in getting worthy institutions to +accept their money; and I know of no better indication of the ethical +awakening in this country than the increasing tendency to scrutinize the +methods of money-making. A long step in advance will have been taken +when religious, educational and charitable institutions refuse to +condone immoral methods in business and leave the possessor of +ill-gotten gains to learn the loneliness of life when one prefers money +to morals. + +Some have sought peace in social distinctions, but whether they have +been within the charmed circle and fearful lest they might fall out, or +outside and hopeful that they might get in, they have not found peace. + +Some have thought, vain thought! to find peace in political prominence; +but whether office comes by birth, as in monarchies, or by election, as +in republics, it does not bring peace. An office is conspicuous only +when few can occupy it. Only when few in a generation can hope to enjoy +an honour do we call it a _great_ honour. I am glad that our Heavenly +Father did not make the peace of the human heart to depend upon the +accumulation of wealth, or upon the securing of social or political +distinction, for in either case but few could have enjoyed it. When He +made peace the reward of a conscience void of offense toward God and +man, He put it within the reach of all. The poor can secure it as easily +as the rich, the social outcast as freely as the leader in society, and +the humblest citizen equally with those who wield political power. + +"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give +you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and +lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is +easy, and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30). + +Here is a call to _all_--to every human being. No one is beyond the +reach of Jesus' love. The yoke is the emblem of service and service +is the price of happiness. We wear many yokes in common--the yoke of +society, the yoke of government, and the yoke of custom, not to speak of +a multitude of yokes that are individual. Wherever the Gospel has been +carried there are two yokes between which a choice must be made--the +devil's yoke and the yoke of the Master. + +Let no one be deceived--if the devil would tempt the Saviour Himself, +will he not tempt you? Satan's service is alluring--it begins in +pleasure and ends in sorrow--"the dead are there!" Christ's service +begins in duty and ends in delight--"Blessed is the man who endureth +temptation." The devil's path is like a forest road at eventide; it +grows darker and darker until all is lost in the blackness of the night. +Christ's path leads from darkness into light. + +"He is risen!" What inspiration in these words! Nature proclaims a life +beyond the grave, but Christ proves it by His resurrection. Nature gives +circumstantial evidence that would seem conclusive; but Christ is the +living witness whose testimony establishes beyond controversy that the +mortal can put on immortality. He comforts those who mourn; He dispels +the gloom by making death but a narrow, star-lit strip between the +companionship of yesterday and the reunion of to-morrow. Christ not only +gives us assurance of immortality but He adds the promise of His return. +As He ascended in like manner will He come again. + +"And, lo, he goeth before you into Galilee." Yes, He is still going on +before--still leading, and His leadership will continue until time shall +be no more. + +The growth of Christianity from its beginning on the banks of the +Jordan, until to-day, when its converts are baptized in every part of +the world, is so graphically described by Dr. Charles Edward Jefferson, +in his book entitled "Things Fundamental," that I take the liberty of +giving the following extracts: + + "Christ in history! There is a fact--face it. According to the New + Testament, Jesus walked along the shores of a little sea known as + the Sea of Galilee. And there He called Peter and Andrew and James + and John and several others to be His followers, and they left all + and followed Him. After they had followed Him they revered Him, and + later on adored and worshipped Him. He left them on their faces, + each man saying, 'My Lord and my God!' All that is in the New + Testament. + + "But put the New Testament away. Time passes; history widens; an + unseen Presence walks up and down the shores of a larger sea, the + sea called the Mediterranean--and this unseen Presence calls men to + follow Him ...--another twelve--and these all followed Him and cast + themselves at His feet, saying, in the words of the earlier twelve, + 'My Lord and my God!' + + "Time passes; history advances; humanity lives its life around the + circle of a larger sea--the Atlantic Ocean. An unseen Presence walks + up and down the shores calling men to follow Him .... --another + twelve--and these leave all and follow Him. We find them on their + faces, each one saying, '_My_ Lord and my God!' + + "Time passes; history is widening; humanity is building its + civilization around a still wider sea--we call it the Pacific Ocean. + An unknown Presence moves up and down the shores calling men to + follow Him, and they are doing it. Another company of twelve is + forming. And what took place in Palestine nineteen centuries ago is + taking place again in our own day and under our own eyes." + + I conclude by calling attention to the comprehensiveness of Christ's + authority. After His crucifixion and resurrection--in His last + conference with His followers--He announces His boldest claim to + power universal and perpetual (Matt. 28): + + ... _All_ power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye + therefore, and teach _all_ nations, baptizing them in the name of + the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to + observe _all_ things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am + with you _alway_, even unto the end of the world. Amen. + +Here is a Gospel intended for _every_ human being; here is a code of +morals that is to endure for _all time;_ here is a solution for _every_ +problem that can vex a heart or perplex a world, and back of these is +_all power in Heaven and in Earth_. + +The word _all_ is used four times in a few sentences. There is nothing +in reserve. We have the final word in religion--Jesus Christ for all, +and for all time--"The same yesterday, and to-day and forever." + + + + +IV + +THE ORIGIN OF MAN + + +When the mainspring is broken a watch ceases to be useful as a +timekeeper. A handsome case may make it still an ornament and the parts +may have a market value, but it cannot serve the purpose of a watch. +There is that in each human life that corresponds to the mainspring of a +watch--that which is absolutely necessary if the life is to be what it +should be, a real life and not a mere existence. That necessary thing is +_a belief in God_. Religion is defined as the relation between God and +man, and Tolstoy has described morality as the outward expression of +this inward relationship. + +If it be true, as I believe it is, that morality is dependent upon +religion, then religion is not only the most practical thing in the +world, but the first essential. Without religion, viz., a sense of +dependence upon God and reverence for Him, one can play a part in both +the physical and the intellectual world, but he cannot live up to the +possibilities which God has placed within the reach of each human being. + +A belief in God is fundamental; upon it rest the influences that control +life. + +First, the consciousness of God's presence in the life gives one a sense +of responsibility to the Creator for every thought and word and deed. + +Second, prayer rests upon a belief in God; communion with the Creator +in the expression of gratitude and in pleas for guidance powerfully +influences man. + +Third, belief in a personal immortality rests upon faith in God; the +inward restraint that one finds in a faith that looks forward to a +future life with its rewards and punishments, makes outward restraint +less necessary. Man is weak enough in hours of temptation, even when he +is fortified by the conviction that this life is but a small arc of +an infinite circle; his power of resistance is greatly impaired if he +accepts the doctrine that conscious existence terminates with death. + +Fourth, the spirit of brotherhood rests on a belief in God. We trace our +relationship to our fellowmen through the Creator, the Common Parent of +us all. + +Fifth, belief in the Bible depends upon a belief in God. Jehovah comes +first; His word comes afterward. There can be no inspiration without a +Heavenly Father to inspire. + +Sixth, belief in God is also necessary to a belief in Christ; the Son +could not have revealed the Father to man according to any atheistic +theory. And so with all other Christian doctrines: they rest upon a +belief in God. + +If belief in God is necessary to the beliefs enumerated, then it follows +logically that anything that weakens belief in God weakens man, and, to +the extent that it impairs belief in God, reduces his power to measure +up to his opportunities and responsibilities. If there is at work in the +world to-day anything that tends to break this mainspring, it is the +duty of the moral, as well as the Christian, world to combat this +influence in every possible way. + +I believe there is such a menace to fundamental morality. The hypothesis +to which the name of Darwin has been given--the hypothesis that links +man to the lower forms of life and makes him a lineal descendant of the +brute--is obscuring God and weakening all the virtues that rest upon the +religious tie between God and man. Passing over, for the present, all +other phases of evolution and considering only that part of the system +which robs man of the dignity conferred upon him by separate creation, +when God breathed into him the breath of life and he became the first +man, I venture to call attention to the demoralizing influence exerted +by this doctrine. + +If we accept the Bible as true we have no difficulty in determining the +origin of man. In the first chapter of Genesis we read that God, after +creating all other things, said, "Let us make man in our image, after +our likeness; and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and +over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, +and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God +created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male +and female created he them." + +The materialist has always rejected the Bible account of Creation and, +during the last half century, the Darwinian doctrine has been the means +of shaking the faith of millions. It is important that man should have +a correct understanding of his line of descent. Huxley calls it the +"question of questions" for mankind. He says: "The problem which +underlies all others, and is more interesting than any other--is the +ascertainment of the place which man occupies in nature and of his +relation to the universe of things. Whence our race has come, what are +the limits of our power over nature, and of nature's power over us, to +what goal are we tending, are the problems which present themselves anew +with undiminished interest to every man born in the world." + +The materialists deny the existence of God and seek to explain man's +presence upon the earth without a creative act. They go back from man to +the animals, and from one form of life to another until they come to the +first germ of life; there they divide into two schools, some believing +that the first germ of life came from another planet, others holding +that it was the result of spontaneous generation. One school answers +the arguments advanced by the other and, as they cannot agree with each +other, I am not compelled to agree with either. + +If it were necessary to accept one of these theories I would prefer the +first; for, if we can chase the germ of life off of this planet and out +into space, we can guess the rest of the way and no one can contradict +us. But, if we accept the doctrine of spontaneous generation we will +have to spend our time explaining why spontaneous generation ceased to +act after the first germ of life was created. It is not necessary to pay +much attention to any theory that boldly eliminates God; it does not +deceive many. The mind revolts at the idea of spontaneous generation; in +all the researches of the ages no scientist has found a single instance +of life that was not begotten by life. The materialist has nothing but +imagination to build upon; he cannot hope for company or encouragement. + +But the Darwinian doctrine is more dangerous because more deceptive. It +_permits_ one to believe in a God, but puts the creative act so far away +that reverence for the Creator--even belief in Him--is likely to be +lost. + +Before commenting on the Darwinian hypothesis let me refer you to the +language of its author as it applies to man. On page 180 of "Descent of +Man" (Hurst & Company, Edition 1874), Darwin says: "Our most ancient +progenitors in the kingdom of the Vertebrata, at which we are able to +obtain an obscure glance, apparently consisted of a group of marine +animals, resembling the larvae of the existing Ascidians." Then he +suggests a line of descent leading to the monkey. And he does not even +permit us to indulge in a patriotic pride of ancestry; instead of +letting us descend from American monkeys, he connects us with the +European branch of the monkey family. + +It will be noted, first, that he begins the summary with the word +"apparently," which the Standard Dictionary defines: "as judged by +appearances, without passing upon its reality." His second sentence +(following the sentence quoted) turns upon the word "probably," which is +defined: "as far as the evidence shows, presumably, likely." His works +are full of words indicating uncertainty. The phrase "we may; well +suppose," occurs over eight hundred times in his two principal works. +(See _Herald & Presbyter_, November 22, 1914.) The eminent scientist is +guessing. + +After locating our gorilla and chimpanzee ancestors in Africa, he +concludes that "it is useless to speculate on this subject." If the +uselessness of speculation had occurred to him at the beginning of his +investigation he might have escaped responsibility for shaking the faith +of two generations by his guessing on the whole subject of biology. + +If we could divide the human race into two distinct groups we might +allow evolutionists to worship brutes as ancestors but they insist on +connecting all mankind with the jungle. We have a right to protect our +family tree. + +Having given Darwin's conclusions as to man's ancestry, I shall quote +him to prove that his hypothesis is not only groundless, but absurd and +harmful to society. It is groundless because there is not a single fact +in the universe that can be cited to prove that man is descended from +the lower animals. Darwin does not use facts; he uses conclusions drawn +from similarities. He builds upon presumptions, probabilities and +inferences, and asks the acceptance of his hypothesis "notwithstanding +the fact that connecting links have not hitherto been discovered" (page +162). He advances an hypothesis which, if true, would find support on +every foot of the earth's surface, but which, as a matter of fact, finds +support nowhere. There are myriads of living creatures about us, from +insects too small to be seen with the naked eye to the largest mammals, +and, yet, not one is in transition from one species to another; every +one is perfect. It is strange that slight similarities could make him +ignore gigantic differences. The remains of nearly one hundred species +of vertebrate life have been found in the rocks, of which more than +one-half are found living to-day, and none of the survivors show +material change. The word hypothesis is a synonym used by scientists for +the word guess; it is more dignified in sound and more imposing to the +sight, but it has the same meaning as the old-fashioned, every-day +word, guess. If Darwin had described his doctrine as a guess instead of +calling it an hypothesis, it would not have lived a year.[1] + +[Footnote 1: Dr. Etheridge, Fossiologist of the British Museum, says: +"Nine-tenths of the talk of Evolutionists is sheer nonsense, not founded +on observation and wholly unsupported by facts. This museum is full of +proofs of the utter falsity of their views." + +Prof. Beale, of King's College, London, says: "In support of all +naturalistic conjectures concerning man's origin, there is not at this +time a shadow of scientific evidence." + +Prof. Fleischmann, of Erlangen, says: "The Darwinian theory has in the +realms of Nature not a single fact to confirm it. It is not the result +of scientific research, but purely the product of the imagination." + +The January issue of "Science," 1922, contains a speech delivered at +Toronto last December by Prof. William Bateson of London before the +American Association for the Advancement of Science. He says that +science has faith in evolution but doubts as to the origin of species.] + +Probably nothing impresses Darwin more than the fact that at an early +stage the foetus of a child cannot be distinguished from the foetus of +an ape, but why should such a similarity in the beginning impress him +more than the difference at birth and the immeasurable gulf between the +two at forty? If science cannot detect a difference, _known to exist_, +between the foetus of an ape and the foetus of a child, it should +not ask us to substitute the inferences, the presumptions and the +probabilities of science for the word of God. + +Science has rendered invaluable service to society; her achievements are +innumerable--and the hypotheses of scientists should be considered with +an open mind. Their theories should be carefully examined and their +arguments fairly weighed, but the scientist cannot compel acceptance +of any argument he advances, except as, judged upon its merits, it is +convincing. Man is infinitely more than science; science, as well as +the Sabbath, was made for man. It must be remembered, also, that all +sciences are not of equal importance. Tolstoy insists that the science +of "How to Live" is more important than any other science, and is this +not true? It is better to trust in the Rock of Ages, than to know the +age of the rocks; it is better for one to know that he is close to the +Heavenly Father, than to know how far the stars in the heavens are +apart. And is it not just as important that the scientists who deal with +matter should respect the scientists who deal with spiritual things, +as that the latter should respect the former? If it be true, as Paul +declares, that "the things that are seen are temporal" while "the things +that are unseen are eternal," why should those who deal with temporal +things think themselves superior to those who deal with the things that +are eternal? Why should the Bible, which the centuries have not been +able to shake, be discarded for scientific works that have to be revised +and corrected every few years? The preference should be given to the +Bible. + +The two lines of work are parallel. There should be no conflict between +the discoverers of _real_ truths, because real truths do not conflict. +Every truth harmonizes with every other truth, but why should an +hypothesis, suggested by a scientist, be accepted as true until its +truth is established? Science should be the last to make such a demand +because science to be truly science is classified knowledge; it is +the explanation of facts. Tested by this definition, Darwinism is not +science at all; it is guesses strung together. There is more science in +the twenty-fourth verse of the first chapter of Genesis (And God said, +let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and +creeping things, and beast of the earth after his kind; and it was so.) +than in all that Darwin wrote. + +It is no light matter to impeach the veracity of the Scriptures in +order to accept, not a truth--not even a theory--but a mere hypothesis. +Professor Huxley says, "There is no fault to be found with Darwin's +method, but it is another thing whether he has fulfilled all the +conditions imposed by that method. Is it satisfactorily proved that +species may be originated by selection? That none of the phenomena +exhibited by the species are inconsistent with the origin of the species +in this way? If these questions can be answered in the affirmative, +Mr. Darwin's view steps out of the ranks of hypothesis into that of +theories; but so long as the evidence adduced falls short of enforcing +that affirmative, so long, to our minds, the new doctrine must be +content to remain among the former--an extremely valuable, and in the +highest degree probable, doctrine; indeed the only extant hypothesis +which is worth anything in a scientific point of view; but still a +hypothesis, and not a theory of species." "After much consideration," +he adds, "and assuredly with no bias against Darwin's views, it is our +clear conviction that, as the evidence now stands, it is not absolutely +proven that a group of animals, having all the characters exhibited +by species in nature, has ever been originated by selection, whether +artificial or natural." + +But Darwin is absurd as well as groundless. He announces two laws, +which, in his judgment, explain the development of man from the lowest +form of animal life, viz., natural selection and sexual selection. The +latter has been abandoned by the modern believers in evolution, but +two illustrations, taken from Darwin's "Descent of Man," will show his +unreliability as a guide to the young. On page 587 of the 1874 edition, +he tries to explain man's superior mental strength (a proposition more +difficult to defend to-day than in Darwin's time). His theory is that, +"the struggle between the males for the possession of the females" +helped to develop the male mind and that this superior strength was +transmitted by males to their male offspring. + +After having shown, to his own satisfaction, how sexual selection would +account for the (supposed) greater strength of the male mind, he turns +his attention to another question, namely, how did man become a hairless +animal? This he accounts for also by sexual selection--the females +preferred the males with the least hair (page 624). In a footnote on +page 625 he says that this view has been harshly criticized. "Hardly any +view advanced in this work," he says, "has met with so much disfavour." +A comment and a question: First, Unless the brute females were very +different from the females as we know them, they would not have agreed +in taste. Some would "probably" have preferred males with less hair, +others, "we may well suppose," would have preferred males with more +hair. Those with more hair would naturally be the stronger because +better able to resist the weather. But, second, how could the males have +strengthened their minds by fighting for the females if, at the same +time, the females were breeding the hair off by selecting the males? Or, +did the males select for three years and then allow the females to do +the selecting during leap year? + +But, worse yet, in a later edition published by L.A. Burt Company, a +"supplemental note" is added to discuss two letters which he thought +supported the idea that sexual selection transformed the hairy animal +into the hairless man. Darwin's correspondent (page 710) reports that +a mandril seemed to be proud of a bare spot. Can anything be less +scientific than trying to guess what an animal is thinking about? It +would seem that this also was a subject about which it was "useless to +speculate." + +While on this subject it may be worth while to call your attention to +other fantastic imaginings of which those are guilty who reject the +Bible and enter the field of speculation--fiction surpassing anything to +be found in the Arabian Nights. If one accepts the Scriptural account of +the creation, he can credit God with the working of miracles and with +the doing of many things that man cannot understand. The evolutionist, +however, having substituted what he imagines to be a universal law for +separate acts of creation must explain everything. The evolutionist, +not to go back farther than life just now, begins with one or a few +invisible germs of life on the planet and imagines that these invisible +germs have, by the operation of what they call "resident forces," +unaided from without, developed into all that we see to-day. They cannot +in a lifetime explain the things that have to be explained, if their +hypothesis is accepted--a useless waste of time even if explanation were +possible. + +Take the eye, for instance; believing in the Mosaic account, I believe +that God made the eyes when He made man--not only made the eyes but +carved out the caverns in the skull in which they hang. It is easy for +the believer in the Bible to explain the eyes, because he believes in a +God who can do all things and, according to the Bible, did create man as +a part of a divine plan. + +But how does the evolutionist explain the eye when he leaves God out? +Here is the only guess that I have seen--if you find any others I +shall be glad to know of them, as I am collecting the guesses of the +evolutionists. The evolutionist guesses that there was a time when eyes +were unknown--that is a necessary part of the hypothesis. And since +the eye is a universal possession among living things the evolutionist +guesses that it came into being--not by design or by act of God--but +just happened, and how did it happen? I will give you the guess--a piece +of pigment, or, as some say, a freckle appeared upon the skin of an +animal that had no eyes. This piece of pigment or freckle converged the +rays of the sun upon that spot and when the little animal felt the +heat on that spot it turned the spot to the sun to get more heat. The +increased heat irritated the skin--so the evolutionists guess, and a +nerve came there and out of the nerve came the eye! Can you beat it? But +this only accounts for one eye; there must have been another piece of +pigment or freckle soon afterward and just in the right place in order +to give the animal two eyes. + +And, according to the evolutionist, there was a time when animals had no +legs, and so the leg came by accident. How? Well, the guess is that a +little animal without legs was wiggling along on its belly one day when +it discovered a wart--it just happened so--and it was in the right place +to be used to aid it in locomotion; so, it came to depend upon the wart, +and use finally developed it into a leg. And then another wart and +another leg, at the proper time--by accident--and accidentally in the +proper place. Is it not astonishing that any person intelligent enough +to teach school would talk such tommyrot to students and look serious +while doing so? + +And yet I read only a few weeks ago, on page 124 of a little book +recently issued by a prominent New York minister, the following: + +"Man has grown up in this universe gradually developing his powers and +functions as responses to his environment. If he has _eyes_, so the +_biologists_ assure us, it is because _light waves played upon the skin_ +and eyes came out in answer; if he has _ears_ it is because the _air +waves_ were there first and the ears came out to hear. Man never yet, +_according to the evolutionist_, has developed any power save as a +reality called it into being. There would be no fins if there were no +water, no wings if there were no air, no legs if there were no land." + +You see I only called your attention to forty per cent. of the +absurdities; he speaks of eyes, ears, fins, wings and legs--five. I only +called attention to eyes and legs--two. The evolutionist guesses himself +away from God, but he only makes matters worse. How long did the +"light waves" have to play on the skin before the eyes came out? The +evolutionist is very deliberate; he is long on time. He would certainly +give the eye thousands of years, if not millions, in which to develop; +but how could he be sure that the light waves played all the time in one +place or played in the same place generation after generation until the +development was complete? And why did the light waves quit playing when +two eyes were perfected? Why did they not keep on playing until there +were eyes all over the body? Why do they not play to-day, so that we may +see eyes in process of development? And if the light waves created the +eyes, why did they not create them strong enough to bear the light? Why +did the light waves make eyes and then make eyelids to keep the light +out of the eyes? + +And so with the ears. They must have gone _in_ "to hear" instead of +_out_, and wasn't it lucky that they happened to go in on opposite sides +of the head instead of cater-cornered or at random? Is it not easier to +believe in a God who can make the eye, the ear, the fin, the wing, and +the leg, as well as the light, the sound, the air, the water and the +land? + +There is such an abundance of ludicrous material that it is hard to +resist the temptation to continue illustrations indefinitely, but a few +more will be sufficient. In order that you may be prepared to ridicule +these pseudo-scientists who come to you with guesses instead of facts, +let me give you three recent bits of evolutionary lore. + +Last November I was passing through Philadelphia and read in an +afternoon paper a report of an address delivered in that city by a +college professor employed in extension work. Here is an extract from +the paper's account of the speech: "Evidence that early men climbed +trees with their feet lies in the way we wear the heels of our +shoes--more at the outside. A baby can wiggle its big toe without +wiggling its other toes--an indication that it once used its big toe in +climbing trees." What a consolation it must be to mothers to know that +the baby is not to be blamed for wiggling the big toe without wiggling +the other toes. It cannot help it, poor little thing; it is an +inheritance from "the tree man," so the evolutionists tell us. + +And here is another extract: "We often dream of falling. Those who fell +out of the trees some fifty thousand years ago and were killed, of +course, had no descendants. So those who fell and were _not_ hurt, of +course, lived, and so we are never hurt in our dreams of falling." Of +course, if we were actually descended from the inhabitants of trees, it +would seem quite likely that we descended from those that were _not_ +killed in falling. But they must have been badly frightened if the +impression made upon their feeble minds could have lasted for fifty +thousand years and still be vivid enough to scare us. + +If the Bible said anything so idiotic as these guessers put forth in +the name of science, scientists would have a great time ridiculing the +sacred pages, but men who scoff at the recorded interpretation of +dreams by Joseph and Daniel seem to be able to swallow the amusing +interpretations offered by the Pennsylvania professor. + +A few months ago the _Sunday School Times_ quoted a professor in an +Illinois University as saying that the great day in history was the day +when a water puppy crawled up on the land and, deciding to be a land +animal, became man's progenitor. If these scientific speculators +can agree upon the day they will probably insist on our abandoning +Washington's birthday, the Fourth of July, and even Christmas, in order +to join with the whole world in celebrating "Water Puppy Day." + +Within the last few weeks the papers published a dispatch from Paris +to the effect that an "eminent scientist" announced that he had +communicated with the spirit of a dog and learned from the dog that it +was happy. Must we believe this, too? + +But is the law of "natural selection" a sufficient explanation, or a +more satisfactory explanation, than sexual selection? It is based on the +theory that where there is an advantage in any characteristic, animals +that possess this characteristic survive and propagate their kind. This, +according to Darwin's argument, leads to progress through the "survival +of the fittest." This law or principle (natural selection), so carefully +worked out by Darwin, is being given less and less weight by scientists. +Darwin himself admits that he "perhaps attributed too much to the action +of natural selection and the survival of the fittest" (page 76). John +Burroughs, the naturalist, rejects it in a recent magazine article. The +followers of Darwin are trying to retain evolution while rejecting the +arguments that led Darwin to accept it as an explanation of the varied +life on the planet. Some evolutionists reject Darwin's line of descent +and believe that man, instead of coming from the ape, branched off from +a common ancestor farther back, but "cousin" ape is as objectionable as +"grandpa" ape. + +While "survival of the fittest" may seem plausible when applied to +individuals of the same species, it affords no explanation whatever, +of the almost infinite number of creatures that have come under man's +observation. To believe that natural selection, sexual selection or any +other kind of selection can account for the countless differences we see +about us requires more faith in _chance_ than a Christian is required to +have in God. + +Is it conceivable that the hawk and the hummingbird, the spider and the +honey bee, the turkey gobbler and the mocking-bird, the butterfly and +the eagle, the ostrich and the wren, the tree toad and the elephant, +the giraffe and the kangaroo, the wolf and the lamb should all be the +descendants of a common ancestor? Yet these and all other creatures must +be blood relatives if man is next of kin to the monkey. + +If the evolutionists are correct; if it is true that all that we see is +the result of development from one or a few invisible germs of life, +then, in plants as well as in animals there must be a line of descent +connecting all the trees and vegetables and flowers with a common +ancestry. Does it not strain the imagination to the breaking point to +believe that the oak, the cedar, the pine and the palm are all the +progeny of one ancient seed and that this seed was also the ancestor +of wheat and corn, potato and tomato, onion and sugar beet, rose and +violet, orchid and daisy, mountain flower and magnolia? Is it not more +rational to believe in _God_ and explain the varieties of life in terms +of divine power than to waste our lives in ridiculous attempts to +explain the unexplainable? There is no mortification in admitting that +there are insoluble mysteries; but it is shameful to spend the time that +God has given for nobler use in vain attempts to exclude God from His +own universe and to find in chance a substitute for God's power and +wisdom and love. + +While evolution in plant life and in animal life _up to the highest form +of animal_ might, if there were proof of it, be admitted without raising +a presumption that would compel us to give a brute origin to man, why +should we admit a thing of which there is no proof? Why should we +encourage the guesses of these speculators and thus weaken our power +to protest when they attempt the leap from the monkey to man? Let the +evolutionist furnish his proof. + +Although our chief concern is in protecting man from the demoralization +involved in accepting a brute ancestry, it is better to put the +advocates of evolution upon the defensive and challenge them to produce +proof in support of their hypothesis in plant life and in the animal +world. They will be kept so busy trying to find support for their +hypothesis in the kingdoms below man that they will have little time +left to combat the Word of God in respect to man's origin. Evolution +joins issue with the Mosaic account of creation. God's law, as stated +in Genesis, is _reproduction according to kind_; evolution implies +reproduction _not_ according to kind. While the process of change +implied in evolution is covered up in endless eons of time it is +_change_ nevertheless. The Bible does not say that reproduction shall +be _nearly_ according to kind or _seemingly_ according to kind. The +statement is positive that it is _according to kind_, and that does not +leave any room for the _changes_ however gradual or imperceptible that +are necessary to support the evolutionary hypothesis. + +We see about us everywhere and always proof of the Bible law, viz., +reproduction according to kind; we find nothing in the universe to +support Darwin's doctrine of reproduction other than of kind. + +If you question the possibility of such changes as the Darwinian +doctrine supposes you are reminded that the scientific speculators have +raised the time limit. "If ten million years are not sufficient, take +twenty," they say: "If fifty million years are not enough take one or +two hundred millions." That accuracy is not essential in such guessing +may be inferred from the fact that the estimates of the time that has +elapsed since life began on the earth, vary from less than twenty-five +million years to more than three hundred million. Darwin estimated this +period at two hundred million years while Darwin's son estimated it at +fifty-seven million. + +It requires more than millions of years to account for the varieties of +life that inhabit the earth; it requires a Creator, unlimited in power, +unlimited intelligence, and unlimited love. + +But the doctrine of evolution is sometimes carried farther than that. +A short while ago Canon Barnes, of Westminster Abbey, startled his +congregation by an interpretation of evolution that ran like this: "It +now seems highly probable (probability again) that from some fundamental +stuff in the universe the electrons arose. From them came matter. +From matter, life emerged. From life came mind. From mind, spiritual +consciousness was developing. There was a time when matter, life and +mind, and the soul of man were not, but now they are. Each has arisen as +a part of the vast scheme planned by God." (An American professor in a +Christian college has recently expressed himself along substantially the +same lines.) + +But what has God been doing since the "stuff" began to develop? The +verbs used by Canon Barnes indicate an internal development unaided from +above. "Arose, came, emerged, etc.," all exclude the idea that God is +within reach or call in man's extremity. + +When I was a boy in college the materialists began with matter separated +into infinitely small particles and every particle separated from every +other particle by distance infinitely great. But now they say that it +takes 1,740 electrons to make an atom of infinite fineness. God, they +insist, has not had anything to do with this universe since 1,740 +electrons formed a chorus and sang, "We'll be an atom by and by." + +It requires measureless credulity to enable one to believe that all that +we see about us came by chance, by a series of happy-go-lucky accidents. +If only an infinite God could have formed hydrogen and oxygen and united +them in just the right proportions to produce water--the daily need of +every living thing--scattered among the flowers all the colours of the +rainbow and every variety of perfume, adjusted the mocking-bird's throat +to its musical scale, and fashioned a soul for man, why should we want +to imprison such a God in an impenetrable past? This is a living world; +why not a _living_ God upon the throne? Why not allow Him to work _now_? + +Darwin is so sure that his theory is correct that he is ready to accuse +the Creator of trying to deceive man if the theory is not sound. On page +41 he says: "To take any other view is to admit that our structure and +that of all animals about us, is a mere snare to entrap our judgment;" +as if the Almighty were in duty bound to make each species so +separate from every other that _no one_ could possibly be confused by +resemblances. There would seem to be differences enough. To put man in a +class with the chimpanzee because of any resemblances that may be found +is so unreasonable that the masses have never accepted it. + +If we see houses of different size, from one room to one hundred, we +do not say that the large houses grew out of small ones, but that the +architect that could plan one could plan all. + +But a groundless hypothesis--even an absurd one--would be unworthy of +notice if it did no harm. This hypothesis, however, does incalculable +harm. It teaches that Christianity impairs the race physically. That +was the first implication at which I revolted. It led me to review +the doctrine and reject it entirely. If hatred is the law of man's +development; that is, if man has reached his present perfection by a +cruel law under which the strong kill off the weak--then, if there is +any logic that can bind the human mind, we must turn backward toward the +brute if we dare to substitute the law of love for the law of hate. That +is the conclusion that I reached and it is the conclusion that Darwin +himself reached. On pages 149-50 he says: "With savages the weak in body +or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a +vigorous state of health. We civilized men, on the other hand, do our +utmost to check the progress of elimination. We build asylums for the +imbecile, the maimed and the sick; we institute poor laws; our medical +experts exert their utmost skill to save the lives of every one to the +last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved +thousands who from weak constitutions would have succumbed to smallpox. +Thus the weak members of civilized societies propagate their kind. No +one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that +this must be highly injurious to the race of man." + +This confession deserves analysis. First, he commends, by implication, +the savage method of eliminating the weak, while, by implication, he +condemns "civilized men" for prolonging the life of the weak. He +even blames vaccination because it has preserved thousands who might +otherwise have succumbed (for the benefit of the race?). Can you imagine +anything more brutal? And then note the low level of the argument. "No +one who has attended the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that +this must be highly injurious to the race of man." All on a brute basis. + +His hypothesis breaks down here. The minds which, according to Darwin, +are developed by natural selection and sexual selection, use their power +to suspend the law by which they have reached their high positions. +Medicine is one of the greatest of the sciences and its chief object is +to save life and strengthen the weak. That, Darwin complains, interferes +with "the survival of the fittest." If he complains of vaccination, what +would he say of the more recent discovery of remedies for typhoid fever, +yellow fever and the black plague? And what would he think of saving +weak babies by pasteurizing milk and of the efforts to find a specific +for tuberculosis and cancer? Can such a barbarous doctrine be sound? + +But Darwin's doctrine is even more destructive. His heart rebels against +the "hard reason" upon which his heartless hypothesis is built. He says: +"The aid which we feel impelled to give to the helpless is mainly the +result of the instinct of sympathy, which was originally acquired as a +part of the social instincts, but subsequently rendered in the manner +indicated, more tender and more widely diffused. Nor could we check our +sympathy even at the urging of hard reason, without deterioration in +the noblest part of our nature. The surgeon may harden himself while +performing an operation, for he knows he is acting for the good of +his patient; but if we were to intentionally neglect the weak and the +helpless, it could be only for a contingent benefit, with overwhelming +present evil. We must therefore bear the undoubted bad effects of the +weak surviving and propagating their kind." + +The moral nature which, according to Darwin, is also developed by +natural selection and sexual selection, repudiates the brutal law +to which, if his reasoning is correct, it owes its origin. Can that +doctrine be accepted as scientific when its author admits that we cannot +apply it "without deterioration in the noblest part of our nature"? On +the contrary, civilization is measured by the moral revolt against the +cruel doctrine developed by Darwin. + +Darwin rightly decided to suspend his doctrine, even at the risk of +impairing the race. But some of his followers are more hardened. A few +years ago I read a book in which the author defended the use of alcohol +on the ground that it rendered a service to society by killing off the +degenerates. And this argument was advanced by a scientist in the fall +of 1920 at a congress against alcohol. + +The language which I have quoted proves that Darwinism is directly +antagonistic to Christianity, which boasts of its eleemosynary +institutions and of the care it bestows on the weak and the helpless. +Darwin, by putting man on a brute basis and ignoring spiritual values, +attacks the very foundations of Christianity. + +Those who accept Darwin's views are in the habit of saying that it need +not lessen their reverence for God to believe that the Creator fashioned +a germ of life and endowed it with power to develop into what we see +to-day. It is true that a God who could make man as he is, could have +made him by the long-drawn-out process suggested by Darwin. To do either +would require infinite power, beyond the ability of man to comprehend. +But what is the _natural tendency_ of Darwin's doctrine? + +Will man's attitude toward Darwin's God be the same as it would be +toward the God of Moses? Will the believer in Darwin's God be as +conscious of God's presence in his daily life? Will he be as sensitive +to God's will and as anxious to find out what God wants him to do? + +Will the believer in Darwin's God be as fervent in prayer and as open to +the reception of divine suggestions? + +I shall later trace the influence of Darwinism on world peace when the +doctrine is espoused by one bold enough to carry it to its logical +conclusion, but I must now point out its natural and logical effect upon +young Christians. + +A boy is born in a Christian family; as soon as he is able to join words +together into sentences his mother teaches him to lisp the child's +prayer: "Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep; if +I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." A little +later the boy is taught the Lord's Prayer and each day he lays his +petition before the Heavenly Father: "Give us this day our daily bread"; +"Lead us not into temptation"; "Deliver us from evil"; "Forgive our +trespasses"; etc. + +He talks with God. He goes to Sunday school and learns that the Heavenly +Father is even more kind than earthly parents; he hears the preacher +tell how precious our lives are in the sight of God--how even a sparrow +cannot fall to the ground without His notice. All his faith is built +upon the Book that informs him that he is made in the image of God; that +Christ came to reveal God to man and to be man's Saviour. + +Then he goes to college and a learned professor leads him through a book +600 pages thick, largely devoted to resemblances between man and the +beasts about him. His attention is called to a point in the ear that is +like a point in the ear of the ourang, to canine teeth, to muscles like +those by which a horse moves his ears. + +He is then told that everything found in a human brain is found in +miniature in a brute brain. + +And how about morals? He is assured that the development of the moral +sense can be explained on a brute basis without any act of, or aid from, +God. (See pages 113-114.) + +No mention of religion, the only basis for morality; not a suggestion of +a sense of responsibility to God--nothing but cold, clammy materialism! +Darwinism transforms the Bible into a story book and reduces Christ to +man's level. It gives him an ape for an ancestor on His mother's side at +least and, as many evolutionists believe, on His Father's side also. + +The instructor gives the student a new family tree millions of years +long, with its roots in the water (marine animals) and then sets him +adrift, with infinite capacity for good or evil but with no light to +guide him, no compass to direct him and no chart of the sea of life! + +No wonder so large a percentage of the boys and girls who go from Sunday +schools and churches to colleges (sometimes as high as seventy-five per +cent.) never return to religious work. How can one feel God's presence +in his daily life if Darwin's reasoning is sound? This restraining +influence, more potent than any external force, is paralyzed when God +is put so far away. How can one believe in prayer if, for millions of +years, God has never touched a human life or laid His hand upon the +destiny of the human race? What mockery to petition or implore, if God +neither hears nor answers. Elijah taunted the prophets of Baal +when their god failed to answer with fire; "Cry aloud," he said, +"peradventure he sleepeth." Darwin mocks the Christians even more +cruelly; he tells us that our God has been asleep for millions of years. +Even worse, he does not affirm that Jehovah was ever awake. Nowhere does +he collect for the reader the evidences of a Creative Power and call +upon man to worship and obey God. The great scientist is, if I may +borrow a phrase, "too much absorbed in the things infinitely small to +consider the things infinitely great." Darwinism chills the spiritual +nature and quenches the fires of religious enthusiasm. If the proof in +support of Darwinism does not compel acceptance--and it does not--why +substitute it for an account of the Creation that links man directly +with the Creator and holds before him an example to be imitated? As the +eminent theologian, Charles Hodge, says: "The Scriptural doctrine (of +Creation) accounts for the spiritual nature of man, and meets all his +spiritual necessities. It gives him an object of adoration, love and +confidence. It reveals the Being on whom his indestructible sense of +responsibility terminates. The truth of this doctrine, therefore, +rests not only upon the authority of the Scriptures but on the very +constitution of our nature." + +I have spoken of what would seem to be the natural and logical effect of +the Darwin hypothesis on the minds of the young. This view is confirmed +by its _actual_ effect on Darwin himself. In his "Life and Letters," he +says: "I am much engaged, an old man, and out of health, and I cannot +spare time to answer your questions fully--nor indeed can they be +answered. Science has nothing to do with Christ, except in so far as the +habit of scientific research makes a man cautious in admitting evidence. +For myself, I do not believe that there ever has been any revelation. As +for a future life, every man must judge for himself between conflicting +vague probabilities." It will be seen that science, according to Darwin, +has nothing to do with Christ (except to discredit _revelation_ which +makes Christ's mission known to men). Darwin himself does not believe +that there has ever been _any revelation_, which, of course, excludes +Christ. It will be seen also that he has no definite views on the +_future life_--"every man," he says, "must judge for himself between +_conflicting vague probabilities_." + +It is fair to conclude that it was _his own doctrine_ that led him +astray, for in the same connection (in "Life and Letters") he says +that when aboard the _Beagle_ he was called "orthodox and was heartily +laughed at by several of the officers for quoting the Bible as an +unanswerable authority on some point of morality." In the same +connection he thus describes his change and his final attitude: "When +thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause, having an +intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve +to be called a Theist. This conclusion was strong in my mind about the +time, as far as I can remember, when I wrote the 'Origin of Species'; +and it is since that time that it has very gradually, with many +fluctuations, become weaker. But then arises the doubt: _Can_ the mind +of man, which has, as I fully believe, been developed from a mind as low +as that possessed by the lowest animals, be trusted when it draws such +grand conclusions? + +"I cannot pretend to throw the least light on such abstruse problems. +The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for +one must be content to remain an Agnostic." + +A careful reading of the above discloses the gradual transition wrought +in Darwin himself by the unsupported hypothesis which he launched upon +the world, or which he endorsed with such earnestness and industry as +to impress his name upon it He was regarded as "_orthodox_" when he was +young; he was even laughed at for quoting the Bible "_as an unanswerable +authority on some point of morality_." In the beginning he regarded +himself as a Theist and felt compelled "to look to a First Cause, having +an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man." + +This conclusion, he says, was strong in his mind when he wrote "The +Origin of Species," but he observes that since that time this conclusion +very gradually became _weaker_, and then he unconsciously brings a +telling indictment against his own hypothesis. He says, "_Can the mind +of man_ (which, according to his belief, has been _developed from a mind +as low as that possessed by the lowest animals) be trusted when it draws +such grand conclusions_?" He first links man with the animals, and then, +because of this _supposed_ connection, estimates man's mind by brute +standards. Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. How +can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things? It makes a tremendous +difference what a man thinks about his origin whether he looks up or +down. Who will say, after reading these words, that it is immaterial +what man thinks about his origin? Who will deny that the acceptance of +the Darwinian hypothesis shuts out the higher reasonings and the larger +conceptions of man? + +On the very brink of the grave, after he had extracted from his +hypothesis all the good that there was in it and all the benefit that it +could confer, he is helplessly in the dark, and "cannot pretend to throw +the least light on such abstruse problems." When he believed in God, in +the Bible, in Christ and in a future life there were no mysteries that +disturbed him, but a _guess_ with nothing in the universe to support +it swept him away from his moorings and left him in his old age in the +midst of mysteries that he thought _insoluble_. He must content himself +with _Agnosticism_. What can Darwinism ever do to compensate any one for +the destruction of faith in God, in His Word, in His Son, and of hope of +immortality? + +It would seem sufficient to quote Darwin against himself and to cite the +confessed effect of the doctrine as a sufficient reason for rejecting +it, but the situation is a very serious one and there is other evidence +that should be presented. + +James H. Leuba, a professor of Psychology in Bryn Mawr College, +Pennsylvania, wrote a book five years ago, entitled "Belief in God and +Immortality." It was published by Sherman French & Co., of Boston, and +republished by The Open Court Publishing Company of Chicago. Every +Christian preacher should procure a copy of this book and it should be +in the hands of every Christian layman who is anxious to aid in the +defense of the Bible against its enemies. Leuba has discarded belief in +a personal God and in personal immortality. He asserts that belief in a +personal God and personal immortality is declining in the United States, +and he furnishes proof, which, as long as it is unchallenged, seems +conclusive. He takes a book containing the names of fifty-five hundred +scientists--the names of practically all American scientists of +prominence, he affirms--and sends them questions. Upon the answers +received he asserts that _more than one-half_ of the prominent +scientists of the United States, those teaching Biology, Psychology, +Geology and History especially, have discarded belief in a personal God +and in personal immortality. + +This is what the doctrine of evolution is doing for those who teach our +children. They first discard the Mosaic account of man's creation, and +they do it on the ground that there are no miracles. This in itself +constitutes a practical repudiation of the Bible; the miracles of the +Old and New Testament cannot be cut out without a mutilation that is +equivalent to rejection. They reject the supernatural along with the +miracle, and with the supernatural the inspiration of the Bible and the +authority that rests upon inspiration. If these believers in evolution +are consistent and have the courage to carry their doctrine to its +logical conclusion, they reject the virgin birth of Christ and the +resurrection. They may still regard Christ as an unusual man, but they +will not make much headway in converting people to Christianity, if they +declare Jesus to be nothing more than a man and either a deliberate +impostor or a deluded enthusiast. + +The evil influence of these Materialistic, Atheistic or Agnostic +professors is disclosed by further investigation made by Leuba. He +questioned the students of nine representative colleges, and upon their +answers declares that, while only fifteen per cent. of the freshmen have +discarded the Christian religion, thirty per cent. of the juniors and +that forty to forty-five per cent, of the men _graduates_ have abandoned +the cardinal principles of the Christian faith. Can Christians be +indifferent to such statistics? Is it an immaterial thing that so +large a percentage of the young men who go from Christian homes into +institutions of learning should go out from these institutions with the +spiritual element eliminated from their lives? What shall it profit a +man if he shall gain all the learning of the schools and lose his faith +in God? + +To show how these evolutionists undermine the faith of students let me +give you an illustration that recently came to my attention: A student +in one of the largest State universities of the nation recently gave me +a printed speech delivered by the president of the university, a year +ago this month, to 3,500 students, and printed and circulated by the +Student Christian Association of the institution. The student who gave +me the speech marked the following paragraph: "And, again, religion must +not be thought of as something that is inconsistent with reasonable, +scientific thinking in regard to the nature of the universe. I go so far +as to say that, if you cannot reconcile religion with the things taught +in biology, in psychology, or in the other fields of study in this +university, then you should throw your religion away. Scientific truth +is here to stay." What about the Bible, is it not here to stay? If he +had stopped with the first sentence, his language might not have +been construed to the injury of religion, because religion is not +"inconsistent with reasonable, scientific thinking in regard to +the nature of the universe." There is nothing _unreasonable_ about +Christianity, and there is nothing _unscientific_ about Christianity. +No scientific _fact_--no _fact_ of any other kind can disturb religion, +because _facts are not in conflict with each other_. It is _guessing_ by +scientists and so-called scientists that is doing the harm. And it is +_guessing_ that is endorsed by this distinguished college president (a +D.D., too, as well as an LL.D. and a Ph.D.) when he says, "I go so far +as to say that, if you cannot reconcile religion with the things taught +in biology, in psychology, or in the other fields of study in this +university, then you should throw your religion away." What does this +mean, except that the books on biology and on other scientific subjects +used in that university are to be preferred to the Bible in case of +conflict? The student is told, "throw your religion away," if he cannot +reconcile it (the Bible, of course,) with the things taught in biology, +psychology, etc. Books on biology change constantly, likewise books +on psychology, and yet they are held before the students as better +authority than the unchanging Word of God. + +Is any other proof needed to show the irreligious influence exerted by +Darwinism applied to man? At the University of Wisconsin (so a Methodist +preacher told me) a teacher told his class that the Bible was a +collection of myths. When I brought the matter to the attention of the +President of the University, he criticized me but avoided all reference +to the professor. At Ann Arbor a professor argued with students against +religion and asserted that no thinking man could believe in God or the +Bible. At Columbia (I learned this from a Baptist preacher) a professor +began his course in geology by telling his class to throw away all that +they had learned in the Sunday school. There is a professor in Yale of +whom it is said that no one leaves his class a believer in God. (This +came from a young man who told me that his brother was being led away +from the Christian faith by this professor.) A father (a Congressman) +tells me that a daughter on her return from Wellesley told him that +nobody believed in the Bible stories now. Another father (a Congressman) +tells me of a son whose faith was undermined by this doctrine in a +Divinity School. Three preachers told me of having their interest in the +subject aroused by the return of their children from college with their +faith shaken. The Northern Baptists have recently, after a spirited +contest, secured the adoption of a Confession of Faith; it was opposed +by the evolutionists. + +In Kentucky the fight is on among the Disciples, and it is becoming +more and more acute in the Northern branches of the Methodist and +Presbyterian Churches. A young preacher, just out of a theological +seminary, who did not believe in the virgin birth of Christ, was +recently ordained in Western New York. Last April I met a young man who +was made an atheist by two teachers in a Christian college. + +These are only a few illustrations that have come under my own +observation--nearly all of them within a year. What is to be done? Are +the members of the various Christian churches willing to have the power +of the pulpit paralyzed by a false, absurd and ridiculous doctrine which +is without support in the written Word of God and without support also +in nature? Is "thus saith the Lord" to be supplanted by guesses and +speculations and assumptions? I submit three propositions for the +consideration of the Christians of the nation: + +First, the preachers who are to break the bread of life to the lay +members should believe that man has in him the breath of the Almighty, +as the Bible declares, and not the blood of the brute, as the +evolutionists affirm. He should also believe in the virgin birth of the +Saviour. + +Second, none but Christians in good standing and with a spiritual +conception of life should be allowed to teach in Christian schools. +Church schools are worse than useless if they bring students under the +influence of those who do not believe in the religion upon which the +Church and church schools are built. Atheism and Agnosticism are more +dangerous when hidden under the cloak of religion than when they are +exposed to view. + +Third, in schools supported by taxation we should have a real neutrality +wherever neutrality in religion is desired. If the Bible cannot be +defended in these schools it should not be attacked, either directly or +under the guise of philosophy or science. The neutrality which we now +have is often but a sham; it carefully excludes the Christian religion +but permits the use of the schoolrooms for the destruction of faith and +for the teaching of materialistic doctrines. + +It is not sufficient to say that _some_ believers in Darwinism retain +their belief in Christianity; some survive smallpox. As we avoid +smallpox because _many_ die of it, so we should avoid Darwinism because +it _leads many astray_. + +If it is contended that an instructor has a right to teach anything +he likes, I reply that the parents who pay the salary have a right to +decide what shall be taught. To continue the illustration used above, a +person can expose himself to the smallpox if he desires to do so, but he +has no right to communicate it to others. So a man can believe anything +he pleases but he has no right to teach it against the protest of his +employers. + +Acceptance of Darwin's doctrine tends to destroy one's belief in +immortality as taught by the Bible. If there has been no break in the +line between man and the beasts--no time when by the act of the Heavenly +Father man became "a living Soul," at what period in man's development +was he endowed with the hope of a future life? And, if the brute theory +leads to the abandonment of belief in a future life with its rewards and +punishments, what stimulus to righteous living is offered in its place? + +Darwinism leads to a denial of God. Nietzsche carried Darwinism to its +logical conclusion and it made him the most extreme of anti-Christians. +I had read extracts from his writings--enough to acquaint me with his +sweeping denial of God and of the Saviour--but not enough to make me +familiar with his philosophy. + +As the war progressed I became more and more impressed with the +conviction that the German propaganda rested upon a materialistic +foundation. I secured the writings of Nietzsche and found in them a +defense, made in advance, of all the cruelties and atrocities practiced +by the militarists of Germany. Nietzsche tried to substitute the worship +of the "Superman" for the worship of God. He not only rejected the +Creator, but he rejected all moral standards. He praised war and +eulogized hatred because it led to war. He denounced sympathy and pity +as attributes unworthy of man. He believed that the teachings of Christ +made degenerates and, logical to the end, he regarded Democracy as the +refuge of weaklings. He saw in man nothing but an animal and in that +animal the highest virtue he recognized was "The Will to Power"--a will +which should know no let or hindrance, no restraint or limitation. + +Nietzsche's philosophy would convert the world into a ferocious conflict +between beasts, each brute trampling ruthlessly on everything in his +way. In his book entitled "Joyful Wisdom," Nietzsche ascribes to +Napoleon the very same dream of power--Europe under one sovereign and +that sovereign the master of the world--that lured the Kaiser into a sea +of blood from which he emerged an exile seeking security under a foreign +flag. Nietzsche names Darwin as one of the three great men of his +century, but tries to deprive him of credit (?) for the doctrine that +bears his name by saying that Hegel made an earlier announcement of it. +Nietzsche died hopelessly insane, but his philosophy has wrought the +moral ruin of a multitude, if it is not actually responsible for +bringing upon the world its greatest war. + +His philosophy, if it is worthy the name of philosophy, is the ripened +fruit of Darwinism--and a tree is known by its fruit. + +In 1900--over twenty years ago--while an International Peace Congress +was in session in Paris the following editorial appeared in _L'Univers_: + +"The spirit of peace has fled the earth because evolution has taken +possession of it. The plea for peace in past years has been inspired by +faith in the divine nature and the divine origin of man; men were +then looked upon as children of one Father and war, therefore, was +fratricide. But now that men are looked upon as children of apes, what +matters it whether they are slaughtered or not?" + +I have given you above the words of a French writer published twenty +years ago. I have just found in a book recently published by a prominent +English writer words along the same line, only more comprehensive. The +corroding influence of Darwinism has spread as the doctrine has been +increasingly accepted. In the American preface to "The Glass of +Fashion" these words are to be found: "Darwinism not only justifies +the sensualist at the trough and Fashion at her glass; it justifies +Prussianism at the cannon's mouth and Bolshevism at the prison-door. +If Darwinism be true, if Mind is to be driven out of the universe and +accident accepted as a sufficient cause for all the majesty and glory of +physical nature, then there is no crime or violence, however abominable +in its circumstances and however cruel in its execution, which cannot be +justified by success, and no triviality, no absurdity of Fashion which +deserves a censure: more--there is no act of disinterested love and +tenderness, no deed of self-sacrifice and mercy, no aspiration after +beauty and excellence, for which a single reason can be adduced in +logic." + +To destroy the faith of Christians and lay the foundation for the +bloodiest war in history would seem enough to condemn Darwinism, but +there are still two other indictments to bring against it. First, that +it is the basis of the gigantic class struggle that is now shaking +society throughout the world. Both the capitalist and the labourer +are increasingly class conscious. Why? Because the doctrine of the +"Individual efficient for himself"--the brute doctrine of the "survival +of the fittest"--is driving men into a life-and-death struggle from +which sympathy and the spirit of brotherhood are eliminated. It is +transforming the industrial world into a slaughter-house. + +Benjamin Kidd, in a masterful work, entitled, "The Science of Power," +points out how Darwinism furnished Nietzsche with a scientific basis for +his godless system of philosophy and is demoralizing industry. + +He also quotes eminent English scientists to support the last charge in +the indictment, namely, that Darwinism robs the reformer of hope. Its +plan of operation is to improve the race by "scientific breeding" on a +purely physical basis. A few hundred years may be required--possibly a +few thousand--but what is time to one who carries eons in his quiver and +envelopes his opponents in the "Mist of Ages"? + +Kidd would substitute the "Emotion of the Ideal" for scientific breeding +and thus shorten the time necessary for the triumph of a social reform. +He counts one or two generations as sufficient. This is an enormous +advance over Darwin's doctrine, but Christ's plan is still more +encouraging. A man can be born again; the springs of life can be +cleansed instantly so that the heart loves the things that it formerly +hated and hates the things that it once loved. If this is true of _one_, +it can be true of _any number_. Thus, a nation can be born in a day if +the ideals of the people can be changed. + +Many have tried to harmonize Darwinism with the Bible, but these +efforts, while honest and sometimes even agonizing, have not been +successful. How could they be when the natural and inevitable tendency +of Darwinism is to exalt the mind at the expense of the heart, to +overestimate the reliability of the reason as compared with faith and to +impair confidence in the Bible. The mind is a machine; it has no morals. +It obeys its owner as willingly when he plots to kill as when he plans +for service. + +The Theistic evolutionist who tries to occupy a middle ground between +those who accept the Bible account of creation and those who reject God +entirely reminds one of a traveller in the mountains, who, having fallen +half-way down a steep slope, catches hold of a frail bush. It takes so +much of his strength to keep from going lower that he is useless as an +aid to others. Those who have accepted evolution in the belief that it +was not anti-Christian may well revise their conclusions in view of the +accumulating evidence of its baneful influence. + +Darwinism discredits the things that are supernatural and encourages the +worship of the intellect--an idolatry as deadly to spiritual progress as +the worship of images made by human hands. The injury that it does would +be even greater than it is but for the moral momentum acquired by the +student before he comes under the blighting influence of the doctrine. + +Many instances could be cited to show how the theory that man descended +from the brute has, when deliberately adopted, driven reverence from +the heart and made young Christians agnostics and sometimes +atheists--depriving them of the joy, and society of the service, that +come from altruistic effort inspired by religion. + +I have recently read of a pathetic case in point. In the Encyclopaedia +Americana you will find a sketch of the life of George John Romanes, +from which the following extract is taken: "Romanes, George John, +English scientist. In 1879 he was elected fellow of the Royal Society +and in 1878 published, under the pseudonym 'Physicus,' a work entitled, +'A Candid Examination of Theism,' in which he took up a somewhat defiant +atheistic position. Subsequently his views underwent considerable +change; he revised the 'Candid Examination,' and, toward the close of +his life, was engaged on 'A Candid Examination of Religion,' in which +he returned to theistic beliefs. His notes for this work were published +after his death, under the title 'Thoughts on Religion,' edited by Canon +Gore. Romanes was an ardent supporter of Darwin and the evolutionists +and in various works sought to extend evolutionary principles to mind, +both in the lower animals and in the man. He wrote very extensively on +modern biological theories." + +Let me use Romanes' own language to describe the disappointing +experiences of this intellectual "prodigal son." On page 180 of +"Thoughts on Religion" (written, as above stated, just before his death +but not published until after his demise) he says, "The views that I +entertained on this subject (Plan in Revelation) when an undergraduate +(_i.e._, the ordinary orthodox views) were abandoned in the presence of +the theory of Evolution." + +It was the doctrine of Evolution that led him astray. He attempted to +employ reason to the exclusion of faith--with the usual result. He +abandoned prayer, as he explains on pages 142 and 143: "Even the +simplest act of will in regard to religion--that of prayer--has not been +performed by me for at least a quarter of a century, simply because it +has seemed impossible to pray, as it were, hypothetically, that, much as +I have always desired to be able to pray, I cannot will the attempt. +To justify myself for what my better judgment has often seemed to be +essentially irrational, I have ever made sundry excuses." "Others have +doubtless other difficulties, but mine is chiefly, I think, that of an +undue regard to reason as against heart and will--undue, I mean, if so +it be that Christianity is true, and the conditions to faith in it have +been of divine ordination." + +In time he tired of the husks of materialism and started back to his +Father's house. It was a weary journey but as he plodded along, his +appreciation of the heart's part increased until, on pages 152 and 153, +he says, "It is a fact that we all feel the intellectual part of man to +be 'higher' than the animal, whatever our theory of his origin. It is +a fact that we all feel the moral part of man to be 'higher' than the +intellectual, whatever our theory of either may be. It is also a fact +that we all similarly feel the spiritual to be 'higher' than the moral, +whatever our theory of religion may be. It is what we understand +by man's moral, and still more his spiritual, qualities that go to +constitute character. And it is astonishing how in all walks of life it +is character that tells in the long run." + +On page 150 he answered Huxley's attack on faith. He says, "Huxley, +in 'Lay Sermons,' says that faith has been proved a 'cardinal sin' by +science. Now this is true enough of credulity, superstition, etc., and +science has done no end of good in developing our ideas of method, +evidence, etc. But this is all on the side of intellect. 'Faith' is +not touched by such facts or considerations. And what a terrible hell +science would have made of the world, if she had abolished the 'spirit +of faith,' even in human relations." + +In the days of his apostasy he "took it for granted," he says on page +164, "that Christianity was played out." When once his eyes were +reopened he vied with Paul himself in recognizing the superior quality +of love. On page 163 he quoted the eloquent lines of Bourdillon: + + The night has a thousand eyes, + And the day but one; + Yet the light of a whole world dies + With the setting sun. + + The mind has a thousand eyes, + And the heart but one; + Yet the light of a whole life dies + When love is done. + +Having quoted this noble sentiment he adds: "Love is known to be all +this. How great then, is Christianity, as being the religion of love, +and causing men to believe both in the cause of love's supremacy and the +infinity of God's love to man." + +But Romanes still clung to Evolution and, so far as his book discloses, +his mind would never allow his heart to commune with Darwin's far-away +God, whose creative power Romanes could not doubt but whose daily +presence he could not admit without abandoning his theory. + +His is a typical case, but many of the wanderers never return to the +fold; they are lost sheep. If the doctrine were demonstrated to be true +its acceptance would, of course, be obligatory, but how can one bring +himself to assent to a series of assumptions when such a course is +accompanied by such a tremendous risk of spiritual loss? + +If, as it does in so many instances, it causes the student to choose +Darwinism, with its intellectual delusions, and reject the Bible, with +the incalculable blessings that its heart-culture brings, what minister +of the Gospel or Christian professor can justify himself before the bar +of conscience if, by impairing confidence in the Word of God, he wrecks +human souls? All the intellectual satisfaction that Darwinism ever +brought to those who have accepted it will not offset the sorrow that +darkens a single life from which the brute theory of descent has shut +out the sunshine of God's presence and the companionship of Christ. +Here, too, we have the testimony of the distinguished scientist from +whom I have been quoting. In his first book--the attack on Theism--he +says: (page 29, "Thoughts on Religion") "I am not ashamed to confess +that with this virtual negation of God the universe to me has lost its +soul of loveliness; and, although from henceforth the precept to 'Work +while it is day' will doubtless gain an intensified force from the +terribly intensified meaning of the words that 'the night cometh when no +man can work,' yet when at times I think, as think at times I must, of +the appalling contrast between the hallowed glory of that creed which +once was mine, and the lonely mystery of existence as now I find it,--at +such times I shall ever feel it impossible to avoid the sharpest pang of +which my nature is susceptible." + +Romanes, during his college days, came under the influence of those +who worshipped the reason and this worship led him out into a starless +night. Have we not a right to demand something more than _guesses, +surmises,_ and _hypotheses_ before we exchange the "hallowed glory" of +the Christian creed for "the lonely mystery of existence" as Romanes +found it? Shall we at the behest of those who put the intellect +above the heart endorse an unproved doctrine of descent and share +responsibility for the wreckage of all that is spiritual in the lives of +our young people? I refuse to have any part in such responsibility. For +nearly twenty years I have gone from college to college and talked to +students. Wherever I could do so I have pointed out the demoralizing +influence of Darwinism. I have received thanks from many students who +were perplexed by the materialistic teachings of their instructors and I +have been encouraged by the approval of parents who were distressed by +the visible effects of these teachings on their children. + +As many believers in Darwinism are led to reject the Bible let me, by +way of recapitulation, contrast that doctrine with the Bible: + +Darwinism deals with nothing but life; the Bible deals with the entire +universe--with its masses of inanimate matter and with its myriads of +living things, all obedient to the will of the great Law Giver. + +Darwin concerns himself with only that part of man's existence which is +spent on earth--while the Bible's teachings cover all of life, both here +and hereafter. + +Darwin begins by assuming life upon the earth; the Bible reveals the +source of life and chronicles its creation. + +Darwin devotes nearly all his time to man's body and to the points at +which the human frame approaches in structure--though vastly different +from--the brute; the Bible emphasizes man's godlike qualities and the +virtues which reflect the goodness of the Heavenly Father. + +Darwinism ends in self-destruction. As heretofore shown, its progress is +suspended, and even defeated, by the very genius which it is supposed +to develop; the Bible invites us to enter fields of inexhaustible +opportunity wherein each achievement can be made a stepping-stone to +greater achievements still. + +Darwin's doctrine is so brutal that it shocks the moral sense--the heart +recoils from it and refuses to apply the "hard reason" upon which it +rests; the Bible points us to the path that grows brighter with the +years. + +Darwin's doctrine leads logically to war and to the worship of +Nietzsche's "Superman"; the Bible tells us of the Prince of Peace and +heralds the coming of the glad day when swords shall be beaten into +ploughshares and when nations shall learn war no more. + +Darwin's teachings drag industry down to the brute level and excite a +savage struggle for selfish advantage; the Bible presents the claims of +an universal brotherhood in which men will unite their efforts in the +spirit of friendship. + +As hope deferred maketh the heart sick, so the doctrine of Darwin +benumbs altruistic effort by prolonging indefinitely the time needed for +reforms; the Bible assures us of the triumph of every righteous cause, +reveals to the eye of faith the invisible hosts that fight on the side +of Jehovah and proclaims the swift fulfillment of God's decrees. + +Darwinism puts God far away; the Bible brings God near and establishes +the prayer-line of communication between the Heavenly Father and His +children. + +Darwinism enthrones selfishness; the Bible crowns love as the greatest +force in the world. + +Darwinism offers no reason for existence and presents no philosophy of +life; the Bible explains why man is here and gives us a code of morals +that fits into every human need. + +The great need of the world to-day is to get back to God--back to a real +belief in a living God--to a belief in God as Creator, Preserver +and loving Heavenly Father. When one believes in a personal God and +considers himself a part of God's plan he will be anxious to know God's +will and to do it, seeking direction through prayer and made obedient +through faith. + +Man was made in the Father's image; he enters upon the stage, the climax +of Jehovah's plan. He is superior to the beasts of the field, greater +than any other created thing--but a little lower than the angels. God +made him for a purpose, placed before him infinite possibilities and +revealed to him responsibilities commensurate with the possibilities. +God beckons man upward and the Bible points the way; man can obey and +travel toward perfection by the path that Christ revealed, or man can +disobey and fall to a level lower, in some respects, than that of the +brutes about him. Looking heavenward man can find inspiration in his +lineage; looking about him he is impelled to kindness by a sense of +kinship which binds him to his brothers. Mighty problems demand his +attention; a world's destiny is to be determined by him. What time +has he to waste in hunting for "missing links" or in searching for +resemblances between his forefathers and the ape? In His Image--in this +sign we conquer. + +We are not progeny of the brute; we have not been forced upward by a +blind pushing-power; neither have we tumbled upward by chance. It is a +drawing-power--not a pushing-power--that rules the world--a power which +finds its highest expression in Christ who promised: "I, if I be lifted +up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." + + + + +V + +THE LARGER LIFE + + +I have chosen this subject because I have found some young men, and even +some young women, who seem to misunderstand the invitation extended +by the Master. The call of the Gospel falls, at times, upon deaf ears +because religion is regarded as a thing that is necessary only when one +comes to prepare himself for the life beyond. In earlier times many +Christians misinterpreted the Christian religion and, withdrawing +themselves from companionship with their fellows, devoted their time +wholly to preparation of themselves for heaven. _Christ went about doing +good_. + +I present my appeal to the young to accept Christ and to enter upon the +life He prescribes, not because they may _die_ soon but because they may +_live_. They need Christ as their Saviour _now_ and they need Him +as their guide throughout life. Some complain of the Parable of the +Vineyard because the man who began work at the eleventh hour received +the same pay as those who toiled all day. Surely, those who complain +have not tasted the joys of a Christian life. No one who follows the +teachings of Christ will begrudge the reward promised to those who +repent at the last moment and are saved. The eleventh-hour Christians +are the ones to mourn because they have lost the happiness that they +would have found in service during the livelong day. + +Young people sometimes postpone becoming Christians on the ground that +they want to have a good time for a while longer. Who can be happier +than the Christian? Our religion fits into the needs of all of every +age. If there are any amusements enjoyed by the world from which members +of the church feel it a duty to abstain it is because more wholesome +amusements crowd out the objectionable ones. It ought not to be +necessary to forbid a Christian to do harmful things; he ought to avoid +them because he has no taste for them--because he finds more real +pleasure and more enduring satisfaction in the things that are innocent +and helpful. + +There is another class to which I desire to address myself to-day, +namely, those who call themselves more liberal than Christians--who look +upon our religion as narrowing in its influence. Christianity is the +broadest of creeds because it takes in everything that touches human +life, here and hereafter. The Christian life is the most comprehensive +life known; it is as deep as the heart; it is as wide as the world; and +it is as high as heaven. + +Paul, the great Apostle, tells us that Christ came to "bring life and +immortality to light"--not immortality alone, but life also, and the +word Life comes before the word Immortality. + +But we have higher authority even than Paul. Christ, in explaining His +mission, said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might +have it more abundantly." It is to the _more abundant_ life that Christ +calls us. He was the master of mathematics, yet He used only addition +and multiplication; subtraction has no place in His philosophy. + +Let me illustrate, as I see it, the gift that Christ brings to man. Let +us suppose that the people living in an agricultural section had, by +intelligent cultivation, brought from the soil all that it could yield +in material wealth. If a stranger came into the community and announced +that the people, by sinking a shaft one hundred feet deep, could find +a vein of coal, they would, if they believed the statement true, +immediately sink a shaft; and, if they found the coal, they would add +it to the wealth that they derived from the surface of the ground. They +would be grateful to the person who told them of the additional riches +which they possessed but of which they were not aware. They might not +think to thank him immediately--they might be too busy acquiring money +to express their gratitude. But after the man was dead, if not before, +they would pause long enough to erect a monument to testify to their +appreciation of the service he had rendered. + +And, to complete the illustration, suppose after the people had adjusted +themselves to the added income, another stranger appeared and assured +them that, if they would sink the shaft one hundred feet deeper, they +would find a vein of precious metals from which to draw money enough to +purchase everything everywhere that the heart could wish. They would, +if they gave credit to his statement, dig down and find gold and silver +and, with still greater joy, add this new possession to those that +they already had. Again they would be grateful. They might not express +themselves during the benefactor's life, but after a while visitors to +the community would see two monuments reared by grateful hands to those +who had brought blessings to the neighbourhood. + +This illustration presents the idea that I would impress upon you, +namely, that Christ came to _add_ to all the good things man possessed +without requiring the surrender of any good thing in exchange. Long +before the coming of Christ man had taken possession of the body and had +gathered from it all the joys that the flesh can yield. Man had also +explored the farther reaches of the mind and possessed himself of the +delights of the intellect. Christ not only brought redemption but opened +to man the vision of a spiritual world and showed him what infinite +greatness the Father has placed within the reach of one made in His +image, if he will only use the powers that he has--powers unknown to him +until revealed by the Spirit. + +Every human being is travelling every day in one direction or the +other--either upward toward the highest plane that man can reach, or +downward toward the lowest level to which man can fall; Christ gives us +a vision of our possibilities and the strength to realize them. + +If Christ had demanded something in return for the great gifts that +He came to bestow man might be justified in asking for time for +investigation. He would want to weigh the value of that which is +offered against the value of that which must be given up. To do this +intelligently would require a long period of training and ample time for +comparison. The difficulty is even greater, for it would be impossible +for one to weigh or calculate in advance the value of those things which +are spiritually discerned. He could see the body; he could comprehend +the mind; but he could not know the inestimable value of the things +that Christ offers. But how can he hesitate when Christ demands not one +single sacrifice, but gives, as the spring gives, desiring nothing in +return except appreciation which it is pleasant to manifest? + +The Saviour not only gives without reducing the other enjoyments, but +His gift increases the value of that which we have. The body without +control will exhaust itself--actually wear itself out in the very riot +of pleasure. It is only when the body is the servant of a spiritual +master that it can develop its greatest strength and prolong its vigour. + +Two illustrations suggest themselves. The use of intoxicants has wrought +disaster since man came upon the earth. Drink is not only ruinous when +used continuously and in large quantities, but it is injurious even when +used moderately. The life insurance tables show that a young man who, at +the age of twenty-one, begins the regular use of intoxicating liquors, +reduces his expectancy by more than ten per cent., or more than four +years in forty. That is the average. In proportion as the body is left +to its own control the appetite becomes destructive of the body itself +as well as of the body's value to others. Just in proportion as the body +is under spiritual control is it in position to enjoy itself and to +extend the period of enjoyment. + +Reference need hardly be made to the diseases that follow in the wake of +immorality. The wages of sin is death--death to the body, death to the +mind and death to the soul. Races have rotted and passed into oblivion +because the body was put in command of the life. Both drunkenness and +unchastity curse the generations that follow as well as the generations +that are guilty--the sins of the fathers and mothers being visited upon +the children and children's children. + +And so, too, with the mind; it would run wild but for the sovereign +soul of man. There are temptations that come through the +intellect--temptations that are as destructive as those that come +through the body. Only when the mind is guided and directed by a +spiritual conception of life is it capable of its highest and noblest +work. + +The soul is greater than the mind as it is greater than the body. Would +you have proof? Recall the days of the martyrs. What is it in man that +can take the body and hold it in the fire until the flames consume the +quivering flesh? The soul of man that can coerce the body to its death +is greater than the body itself. And the soul is likewise greater than +the mind. It can take the imperial mind of man, purge it of vanity and +egotism and infuse into it the spirit of humility and a passion for +service. The soul that can thus harness the mind and make it bear the +burdens of the World is greater than the mind itself. + +Remember, also, that the spiritual gifts which Jesus bestows are vastly +richer than all that man possessed before. Who can measure the value +of salvation--the peace that comes with sins forgiven and the joy of +constant communion with the Heavenly Father whom Christ reveals? And, +then, consider the moral code that is revolutionizing the world. I only +have time to mention a few of the fundamental teachings of Christ. + +Christ gave the world a new definition of love. Husbands had loved their +wives and wives their husbands; parents had loved their children, +and children their parents; and friend had loved friend, but Christ +proclaimed a love as boundless as the sea. + +Christ founded a religion and built a Church on love--on love, the +greatest force in the world. Love furnishes an armour which no weapon +can pierce. When physical warfare is forgotten, love will still call its +hosts to battle; the effort then will be, not to kill one another but to +excel in doing good. + +Christ has been called "_visionary"_--that is a favourite word with +those who pride themselves upon being practical. But as a matter of +fact, one of the great virtues of Christ's teachings is that they are +_practical_. He deals with the every-day things of ordinary life and in +His quiet way irons out difficulties and makes rough paths smooth. His +philosophy is easily comprehended and readily applied. His words need no +interpretation; they are the words of the people, the language of the +masses. If He were a teacher of rhetoric He would surpass all other +teachers because the art of discourse reaches its maximum in His +sentences. The learned sometimes speak over the heads of their hearers, +using words that are unusual and long-drawn-out. Jesus talked to the +multitude and they not only understood Him but "_the common people heard +him gladly."_ + +Let me recall to your minds just a few illustrations of the simplicity +of His thought and language. Take, for instance, the supreme virtue, +love, upon which He always places emphasis. Note how He weaves it into +human experience. + + "Therefore," He says (Matt. 5:23), "if thou bring thy gift to the + altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against + thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way; first be + reconciled to thy brother." + +Reconciliation is preferred to sacrifice. The gift upon the altar can +wait; but enmity between brothers must have attention at once. What +infinite woe and heartache will be prevented when this lesson is learned +and applied throughout the world. What untold blessings will be realized +when even among those who profess the name of Christ it is always +employed. A word spoken in anger has often cost a life because neither +party to the quarrel was big enough to obey the best promptings of the +heart and beg pardon. Families have been rent asunder; communities have +been divided; nations have gone to war, just because some one lacked +the spirit of the Saviour and refused the plain and easy road to +reconciliation. Well may religious rites be suspended for the moment +while love removes offense and binds together hearts that were +estranged. We know that "To err is human," and we believe that "To +forgive is divine;" to _ask_ forgiveness requires as much grace as to +forgive. + +In his first epistle (chapter 4:2) John makes a striking application of +Christ's doctrine of love: "If a man say 'I love God' and hateth his +brother, he is a liar." + +These are harsh words but the Apostle was dealing with a very serious +subject, viz., the glaring inconsistency between love of God and hatred +of a brother. + +There are many ways in which one can manifest hatred of his brother, and +it must be remembered that hatred is a sin that is proven by acts rather +than admitted. First, there is indifference--a wide-spread sin--and +it is to be found inside the church as well as outside. As love is a +positive virtue, a failure to love is a violation of obligations. A +participation in the services of the church, even communion at the +Lord's Table--does not always awaken in Christians the interest they +should feel in each other. + +If I may be permitted to illustrate my thought, allow me to call +attention to the fact that church members are sometimes compelled to pay +cut-throat rates for short-time loans when there are within the same +congregation members who are loaning at lawful rates to non-church +members. Does it not seem incredible that the money of Christians is +available for the outside world and yet not within reach of needy +brethren? It would be easy for each church to organize within its +membership a loan society and use the money supplied by the well-to-do +for the accommodation of those temporarily embarrassed. Sometimes the +chattel mortgage sharks collect one hundred per cent, or more and the +banks, which are established for the purpose of making small short-time +loans, usually collect twenty to thirty per cent. Why should a church +member be driven to these extremities when the loanable money in the +church is sufficient for all needs? Surely church membership ought to +be better security for a small amount than either a chattel or a real +estate mortgage. + +Another illustration; the fraternities are splendid organizations and +are founded on high principles, but the church might be expected to do +for its members some of the work left to fraternities. They care for the +sick and bury the dead! Is it not a reflection on the church that its +members should ever be compelled to go outside for assistance in such +emergencies? + +There are many other forms of indifference, but indifference is the +least harmful of the manifestations of the lack of brotherhood. We have +cases of positive and deliberate injury practiced against those who +stand in the relation of brothers. We have had a riot of exploitation in +this country; profiteering has been carried on on an appalling scale: +men have been thrusting their larcenous hands into the pockets of their +church brethren, as well as into the pockets of the public. + +We have also the unequal combat between the tax-eater and the taxpayer, +and we have the perennial conflict between the different groups of +taxpayers, each trying to shift the burden onto the other, not to speak +of that very considerable company who, for profit, cultivate vice as the +farmer cultivates his crops. All conscious and deliberate injustice is +proof of hatred and to such as engage in such wrong-doing the language +of John ought to come as a stinging rebuke. It would work a revolution +in society as well as in the Church if all the members proved their love +of God by fair dealing with their fellowmen. + +Christ confines Himself usually to the laying down of broad, fundamental +principles instead of supplying rules and formulae. He cleanses the +heart and then gives to life the law of love which should pervade all +human relationships, as the law of gravitation pervades the universe. +But the Master at times went from generalities into details, making the +path of duty so plain that no one can excuse himself if he strays there +form. + +An illustration is found in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 25:34-46. + + Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye + blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the + foundation of the world: + + For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye + gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: + + Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in + prison, and ye came unto me. + + Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee + an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? + + When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed + thee? + + Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? + + And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto + you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my + brethren, ye have done it unto me. + + Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, + ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his + angels: + + For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye + gave me no drink: + + I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me + not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. + + Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee + an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in + prison, and did not minister unto thee? + + Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch + as ye did it not to one of the least of these ye did it not to me. + + And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the + righteous into life eternal. + +No one should waste time in waiting for some great opportunity for +service; there are opportunities everywhere. It is impossible for man to +render any service to Jehovah Himself. There is nothing that we can do +for Him except to love Him with heart and mind and soul and strength. It +is _to the neighbour_ that we pay the debt that we owe to the Heavenly +Father; it is _through the neighbour_ that we publish to the world our +real selves. This is, like music, an universal language that all can +understand. + +Nietzsche, the atheistic philosopher, gave to one of his books the title +"Joyful Wisdom"--an absurd misnomer. That which he mistook for joy was +the delirium of an unbalanced mind. The philosophy of _Christ_ might +with propriety be called Joyful Wisdom; it leads one into the path of +happiness that is real and permanent. + +Carl Hilty, a Swiss writer, has published a book entitled "Happiness," +in which he points out that, as those have the poorest health who spend +their time travelling from one health resort to another looking for +it, so those are least happy who do nothing but hunt for pleasure. He +insists that to be happy one must have employment for the hands, the +head and the heart. The hands must be busy, the mind must be occupied, +and the heart must be satisfied. + +Christ leads His followers into happiness through this route. No one +who partakes of His spirit can be an idler. The world is full of work +awaiting labourers; the harvest is ripe. Those who try to imitate Christ +will be planning for the extension of His Kingdom and for the comfort +of God's creatures. The heart of the Christian--the center of life and +love--will find satisfaction in being in sympathetic touch with all that +is good and noble. + +I have dwelt upon this point because the worldly are in the habit of +picturing the Christian life as gloomy and forbidding. It is a libel; a +long-faced Christian is a poor Christian, if a Christian at all. "Be of +good cheer," is a Christian salutation; Christ used it repeatedly. In +Matthew 9:2 He said to the man sick of the palsy, "Son, be of good +cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." + +In Matthew 14:27 He quieted the fears of His disciples, "Be of good +cheer; it is I; be not afraid." In John 16:33 He inspired the Apostles, +"Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." + +Here we have three of the greatest sources of happiness--Forgiveness of +sins: the presence of the Saviour and triumph over the world. + +In Acts we find Him using the same words in addressing Paul and later +Paul uses them in encouraging his companions. + +Religion--real, heartfelt religion--transforms its possessor. It moulds +the disposition and disposition determines expression. No beauty doctor +can make a face as winsome as the face of one whose heart overflows with +loving kindness; just as no face specialist can impose from without such +lines of strength and intelligence as can be written upon it by the +thoughts that pass through the brain. + +The Christian life is the simple life. Charles Wagner sounded a note +that echoed around the world when, some two decades ago, he issued his +eloquent protest against the burdensome complexities of modern life. He +made a plea for the natural life in which each individual will be his +own master instead of being the servant of his possessions. Wagner's +book, though first published in Paris, had a larger circulation in the +United States than in any other nation--not because our people have +wandered farther than others into artificial social forms, but because +they are sensitive to high ideals and free to reject harmful customs. + +Social intercourse should be an expression of friendship, and friendship +is both embarrassed and obscured by vulgar display. The home should be a +place of rest, where congenial spirits can gather for communion. There +is nothing edifying or satisfying in the mere comparing of apparel. +The aim of entertainment should be to refresh the guest and stimulate +friendship; the end is defeated by a rivalry in extravagance that +awakens concern as to one's ability to return courtesies extended. The +increasing costliness of social functions not only robs entertainment +of the enjoyment that it is intended to bring, but it leads many +young couples to ruin themselves financially in an effort to keep up +appearances and pay their social debts. It is impossible to calculate +the benefit which would be brought to the social world if Christ's +spirit could pervade it and infuse into it a wholesome sincerity and +frankness. Christ put the accent on the things that are worthy and +banished the shallow pretenses upon which so much time is wasted and so +much money squandered. + +Christ gave the world a balm for that worry that is more wearing than +work. He condemned the petty vanities and irritating anxieties. He +taught a perfect trust that leads one to do his best and then leave the +result with the Heavenly Father who is ever near and always ready to +give good gifts to His children. + +In Matthew 6, we find this soothing rebuke: + + Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye + shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye + shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than + raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do + they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth + them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking + thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought + for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they + toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That + even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. + Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, + and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe + you, O ye of little faith? + +Reasoning unanswerable. He argues from the less to the greater and with +incomparable beauty woos man away from the distracting thoughts that +dissipate his strength without yielding him any advantage. The Creator +who cares for the birds will not forget man made in His image; He +who clothes the fields in the beauty of the flower and gives to the +trembling blade of grass the nourishment that it needs for its fleeting +day, will not desert man, His supreme handiwork. + +"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," is a rebuke aimed at +those who borrow trouble. Let not the past distress you--it has gone +beyond recall; let not the morrow intrude upon you--it will bring its +cargo of cares when it comes. Man lives in the present and can claim +only the moment as it passes, but Christ teaches him how to so use each +hour as to make the days that are gone an echoing delight and the days +that are yet to come a radiant hope. + +Christ has been called a sentimentalist. Let it be admitted; it is no +reproach. He is the inexhaustible source of sentiment, and sentiment +rules the world. "The dreamer lives forever; the toiler dies in a day." + +A striking illustration of the emphasis that Christ placed upon +sentiment is found in Matthew 26:7-13: + + There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious + ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. But when his + disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is + this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and + given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why + trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For + ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always. For in + that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my + burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be + preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman + hath done, be told for a memorial of her. + +Eight verses devoted to an alabaster box of ointment! This is more space +than was given to many incidents seemingly more important, and at the +very crisis of His career, too. But who will estimate the value of this +narrative? + +Judas complained that it was an inexcusable waste of money--Judas, the +thief, as Mark calls him, pretended concern about the poor. The poor +have received immeasurably more from the use made of this ointment than +they would have received had it been sold and the proceeds distributed +then. It was an expression of love, and love is the treasury box from +which the poor can always draw. That box of ointment has spread its +fragrance over nineteen hundred years. Give a man bread and he hungers +again; give him clothing and his clothing will wear out; but give him +an ideal--something to look up to through life--and it will be with him +through every waking hour lifting him to a higher plane and filling his +life with the beauty and the bounty of service. The money spent for a +loaf of bread may stay the pangs of hunger for a few brief hours, +but the same amount invested in the "bread of life" will give one an +inexhaustible feast. A drink of water refreshes for the moment; the +same amount invested in the "water of life" may make of one a spring +overflowing with blessings. + +A Bible costs a few cents and yet upon it may be built a life that is +worth millions to the human race. It was a Bible that made William Ewart +Gladstone for a generation the world's greatest Christian statesman; +it was a Bible that made José Rodrigues for a quarter of a century the +greatest moral force in Brazil. The Bible has given us great leaders in +the United States. It is the Bible that has sent missionaries throughout +the world to plant in little communities everywhere the teachings of the +greatest of sentimentalists--and, at the same time, the most practical +of philosophers. Christ has taught us the true value of those things +which touch the heart and, through the heart, move the world. + +"Suffer little children to come unto me;" Christ used the child to +admonish those older grown. The Church is following in His footsteps +when it makes the child the subject of constant thought and solicitude. +It is when we deal with the child that we get the clearest conception of +the superiority of faith over reason. The foundations of character are +laid in faith and not in reason; they are laid before the reason can be +accepted as a guide. No one who exalts reason above faith can lead a +child to God, but a child can understand the love of the Saviour and the +tender care of the Heavenly Father. For this reason the Sunday school +increases in importance. Its lessons build character; its songs echo +throughout our lives. + +The law arbitrarily fixes the age of twenty-one as the age of legal +maturity. No matter how precocious a young man be, the presumption of +law is against his intelligence until he is twenty-one. He cannot vote; +he cannot make a valid deed to a piece of land. Why? His reason is not +mature, and yet the moral principles that control his life are implanted +before he reaches that age. His ideals come into his life long before +the reason can be regarded as a safe guide. Before the reason is mature +he believes in God or has rejected God. If he lives in a Christian +community he has accepted the Bible as the Word of God or rejected it +as the work of man; if he is acquainted with Christ he has accepted or +rejected Him. A child's heart cannot remain a vacuum. It is filled with +reverence or irreverence. Those who think that the mind can remain +unbiassed until one becomes of age and then be able to render impartial +decisions, know little of human experience. Love comes first, reason +afterward; the child obeys and later learns why it should obey. Morality +rests upon religion and religion, taking hold upon the heart, exercises +a control far greater than any logic can exercise over the mind. + +Look back over your lives and see how much of real moral principle you +have added since you became of age. You can better explain your faith; +your will is more firm, your determination more deeply rooted, but what +new seed of morality has been sown since you reached the age when the +reason is presumed to be mature? + +While Christianity builds upon the affirmations of the New Testament and +the positive virtues taught by the Saviour it is loyal, as Christ was, +to the Commandments which God gave to the people through Moses. Most of +these commandments--those relative to man's duty to man--are written +unto the statutes of state and nation; they form the basis of our laws. +Those which relate to man's duty to God and which are not, therefore, +legally binding are binding on the conscience of Christians. + +The Christian Church from its earliest beginnings has enforced respect +for parents. Parental authority is not only essential to the child's +welfare during youth but it is necessary as a foundation upon which to +build respect for government and for laws. The Christian home is the +nursery of the State as well as of the Church. Loyalty to God and +loyalty to government are easily learned by those who from infancy are +taught obedience to those who have the right to instruct and direct. + +The Christian Church stands also for Sabbath observance. The right +to worship God according to the dictates of one's conscience is an +inalienable right and any attempt to interfere with the full and free +exercise of this right would and should arouse universal protest. Those +who do not worship at all have no fear of molestation, but freedom of +conscience is not interfered with by laws that provide opportunity for +rest and guarantee leisure for worship. + +Man's body needs relaxation from toil and man's mind needs leisure as +well. These needs are so obvious that they are universally admitted. +The spiritual nature requires refreshment also and this need is as +imperative as the needs of body and brain. As the spiritual man is the +dominant force in life and the measure of the individual's usefulness, +the nation cannot be less concerned about the people's spiritual growth +and welfare than about their health and intellectual strength. + +It is both natural and proper that the day which is observed religiously +by the general public should be selected as the day of rest also, +respect being shown to those who conscientiously observe another day. +Differences of opinion may exist in different localities as to what +should be permitted on the Sabbath day, but experience has supported two +propositions: first, that every citizen should be guaranteed _time_ +for rest and for worship, and, second, that every citizen should be +guaranteed the _peace_ and _quiet_ necessary for both rest and worship. + +Here, as in nearly every other issue that concerns human welfare, the +controversy is not between those who differ in opinions as to what +is right and proper but between those, on the one side, who have a +pecuniary interest in the promotion of things which are objectionable, +and those, on the other, who seek to promote the common good. In +other words, it is the old conflict between money and morals: between +selfishness and the public weal. + +While Christ was all love and all compassion and all tenderness He never +hesitated to draw the line and draw it rigidly against folly as well as +against sin. The parable of the Ten Virgins is a case in point. Five +were wise and five were foolish, the evidence of the difference being +found in the fact that five were prudent enough to supply themselves +with oil sufficient for an emergency. The other five, lacking wisdom, +took only the oil that they could carry in their lamps. When the need +came the foolish turned to the wise and said, "Give us of your oil," but +the wise refused lest they should not have enough for themselves and +the others. Were they censured? No. The parable teaches one of the most +important lessons to be learned in life, namely, that the foolish cannot +be saved from punishment. It is punishment that converts folly into +wisdom and saves the world from a race of fools. + +The parable has wide-spread application. The foolish parent cannot be +saved from the sorrow inflicted by a spoiled child; the idle cannot be +saved from hunger and want; the lazy cannot be given the rewards of the +diligent. The success that attends effort and rewards character cannot +be awarded to the undeserving without paralyzing all the incentives to +virtue and industry. Christ came not to destroy the law--either that +revealed in the Word of God or that which was written on nature--He came +to fulfill. In the brief years that He taught His disciples and the +multitude He quoted the law and illustrated it. He did not come to +relieve men of responsibility--He came to light the way--"That they +might have life and that they might have it more abundantly." + +Christ's doctrines are not limited in time or to numbers. They apply to +everybody and last for all time. Paul, in Romans 12: 20, interprets the +Master's teachings and applies them. "Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, +feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap +coals of fire on his head." How different this way of dealing from the +way the carnal man acts, and yet who can question the wisdom of the +Saviour's plan? Hatred begets hatred; retaliation invites retaliation +and the feud grows. The mountains of Kentucky have furnished numerous +illustrations of the futility of revenge. Families were arrayed against +families and sons took up inherited hatreds and died violent deaths +bequeathing the spirit of revenge to their descendants. + +We see the same false philosophy at work among nations. One war lays the +foundation for another; generation after generation is sworn to avenge +the crimes of preceding generations; and much of it is done in the name +of patriotism and glorified as if it were service to the country. + +Paul gives us the remedy and it is based upon the injunction that Jesus +gave, namely, Love your enemies. Feeding an enemy is more effective than +threats of punishment. It is a manifestation of love, and love is the +weapon for which there is no shield. The philosophy that Paul applies +to the individual is just as effective when applied to larger groups. +Nations that have been at war cannot be reconciled by the methods of +war. They can be suppressed by force but unless won by friendship there +can be no reunion. + +Paul concludes this chapter with a command "Be not overcome of evil, but +overcome evil with good." There never was a time in the world's history +when this kind of doctrine was more imperatively needed for the healing +of the wounds of the unprecedented conflict through which the world has +passed. Christ has a remedy: Let the wrongs of the past be forgiven +and forgotten; let the world be invited to build on friendship and +cooperation. Let the rivalry be in the showing of magnanimity. Who dares +to say that the plan will fail? The alternative policy has failed and +failed miserably. Why not employ the only untried remedy for the ills +which afflict civilization? + +And the gifts of the Man of Galilee are permanent; they survive the +tomb. As one nears the end of life he becomes conscious of an inner +longing to attach himself to institutions that will outlive him. His +affections having gone out to his fellows, and his heart having entwined +itself with the causes that embrace all humankind, he does not like to +drop out and be forgotten. His sympathies expand and sympathy is the +real blood of the heart, forced by the pulsations of that major organ +through all the arteries of society. Have you thought how few of each +generation are remembered after death by any one outside of a small +circle of friends? We have an hundred millions of people living in the +largest republic in history--one of the greatest nations the world has +ever known--and yet how many names will survive for a century after +those who bore the names are buried? The vanity of man is rebuked by a +visit to any old, neglected cemetery. As Bryant puts it + + "The world will laugh when thou art gone + And solemn brood of care plod on + And each one as before will chase his favourite + phantom." + +It is partly to escape this dread oblivion that men and women, blessed +with means, endow hospitals and colleges and charitable institutions. +They yearn for an immortality on earth as well as in the world beyond, +and nothing but the spiritual has promise of the life everlasting. + +If we examine our expense accounts we will be ashamed to note how large +a proportion of our money we spend on the _body_. We buy it the food +that it most enjoys, and the raiment that most adorns it; we give it +habitations of comfort and beauty, and yet the body is responsible for +most of our easily besetting sins and its aches and pains fill life with +much of its misery. We spend the first twenty years of life in an effort +to develop the body, the second twenty years of life in an effort to +keep it in a state of health and twenty more trying to preserve it from +decline, and then the threescore years have passed. And, no matter how +successful we may be in lifting the body toward physical perfection, we +have no assurance that any physical perfection can be made use of in the +world above. I believe in the resurrection of but I have not spent much +time during the later years in worrying about what particular body I +shall have over there. According to the scientists the body changes +every seven years. If that be true, I have done little more than +exchange an old body for a new one during the more than sixty years that +I have lived. I had a baby body and a boy's body, then the body of a +young man, and so on until I am now well along with my ninth body. I do +not know which one of these will be best for me in the next world, but +I know that the God who made this world and gave me an existence in +it will give me, in the land beyond, the body that will best serve me +there. + +Neither have we any assurance that the perfections of the mind survive +the day of death. We spend a great deal of time on the mind, for this is +an age of intellectual enthusiasm. My experience has not been different +from the experience of others. My mother taught me at home until I was +ten; then my parents sent me to the public school until I was fifteen; +then I spent two years in an academy preparing for college; then four +years in college and then two years in a law school. After nearly twenty +years of schooling I took part in my last "Commencement," and then I +began to learn, and have been learning ever since. I have accumulated +something of history, something of science, a bit of poetry and +philosophy, and I have read speeches without number. I have accumulated +a large amount of information on politics and politicians that I know I +shall not need in Heaven, if Heaven is half as good a place as I +expect it to be. How much of the intellectual wealth that we have so +laboriously acquired can we carry with us? We do not know. + +But we know that that which is spiritual does not die--that the heart +virtues will accompany us when we enter the future life. In the parable +of the Tares, Christ explains that, just as the tares and the wheat grow +together until the harvest, so the righteous and the unrighteous live +together in this world, but that on the day of judgment they shall be +separated. Then shall the righteous "shine forth as the sun in the +kingdom of their Father." We have no promise that the body will shine +even as a star, or that the mind will shine even as one of the planets, +but the sun in its splendour is used to illustrate the brightness with +which those will shine who are counted righteous in that day. + +I esteem it a privilege to be permitted to present the claims of the +Larger Life to which Jesus, the Christ, calls all of the children of +men. Why will one choose a life that is small and contracted, when there +is within his reach the life that is full and complete--the Larger Life? +Why will he be content with the pleasures of the body and the joys of +the mind when he can have added to them the delights of the spirit? How +can he delay acceptance of Christ's offer to ennoble that which he has, +and to add to it the things that are highest and best and most enduring? +This is the life that Christ brought to light when He came that men +might have _life_ and have it more _abundantly_. + + + + +VI + +THE VALUE OF THE SOUL + + +The fact that Christ dealt with this subject is proof conclusive that +it is important, for He never dealt with trivial things. When Christ +focused attention upon a theme it was because it was worthy of +consideration--and Christ weighed the soul. He presented the subject, +too, with surpassing force; no one will ever add to what He said. Christ +used the question to give emphasis to the thought which He presented in +regard to the soul's value. + +On one side He put the world and all that the world can contain--all the +wealth that one can accumulate, all the fame to which one can aspire, +and all the happiness that one can covet; and on the other side He +put the soul, and asked the question that has come ringing down the +centuries: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and +lose his own soul?" + +There is no compromise here--no partial statement of the matter. He +leaves us to write one term of the equation ourselves. He gives us all +the time we desire, and allows the imagination to work to the limit, and +when we have gathered together into one sum all things but the soul, He +asks--What if you gain it all--ALL--ALL, and lose the soul? What is the +profit? + +Some have thought the soul question a question of the next world only, +but it is a question of this world also; some have thought the soul +question a Sabbath-day question only, but it is a week-day question as +well; some have thought the soul question a question for the ministers +alone, but it is a question which we all must meet. Every day and every +week, every month and every year, from the time we reach the period of +accountability until we die, we--each of us--all of us, weigh the soul; +and just in proportion as we put the soul above all things else we +build character; the moment we allow the soul to become a matter of +merchandise, we start on the downward way. + +Tolstoy says that if you would investigate the career of a criminal it +is not sufficient to begin with the commission of a crime; that you must +go back to that day in his life when he deliberately trampled upon his +conscience and did that which he knew to be wrong. And so with all of +us, the turning point in the life is the day when we surrender the soul +for something that for the time being seems more desirable. + +Most of the temptations that come to us to sell the soul come in +connection with the getting of money. The Bible says, "The love of money +is the root of all evil." Or, as the Revised Version gives it, "A root +of all kinds of evil." + +Because so many of our temptations come through the love of money and +the effort to obtain it, it is worth while to consider the laws of +accumulation. We must all have money; we need food and clothing and +shelter, and money is necessary for the purchase of these things. Money +is not an evil in itself--money is, in fact, a very useful servant. It +is bad only when it becomes the master, and the love of it is hurtful +only because it can, and often does, crowd out the love of nobler +things. + +But since we must all use money and must in our active days store up +money for the days when our strength fails, let us see if we can agree +upon God's law of rewards. (See lecture on "His Government and Peace.") + +How much money can a man rightfully collect from society? Surely, there +can be no disagreement here. He cannot rightfully collect more than he +honestly earns. If a man collects more than he earns, he collects what +somebody else has earned, and we call it stealing if a man takes that +which belongs to another. Not only is a man limited in his collection of +what he honestly earns, but will an honest man _desire_ to collect more +than he earns? + +If a man cannot rightfully collect more than he honestly earns, it is +then a matter of the utmost importance to know how much money a man can +honestly earn. I venture an answer to this, namely, that a man cannot +honestly earn more than fairly measures the value of the service which +he renders to society. I cannot conceive of any way of earning money +except to give to society a service equivalent in value to the money +collected. This is a fundamental proposition and it is important that it +should be clearly understood, for if one desires to collect largely from +society he must be prepared to render a large service to society; and +our schools and colleges, our churches and all other organizations +for the improvement of man have for one of their chief objects the +enlargement of the capacity for service. + +There is an apparent exception in the case of an inheritance, but it is +not a real exception, for if the man who leaves the money has honestly +earned it, he has already given society a service of equivalent value +and, therefore, has a right to distribute it. And money received by +inheritance is either payment for service already rendered, or payment +in advance for service to be rendered. No right-minded person will +accept money, even by inheritance, without recognizing the obligation +it imposes to render a service in return. This service is not always +rendered to the one from whom this money is received, but often to +society in general. In fact, most of the blessings which we receive come +to us in such a way that we cannot distinguish the donors and must make +our return to the whole public. If one is not compelled to work for +himself he has the larger pleasure of working for the public. + +But I need not dwell upon this, because in this country more than +anywhere else in the world we appreciate the dignity of labour and +understand that it is honourable to serve. And yet there is room for +improvement, for all over our land there are, scattered here and there, +young men and young women--and even parents--who still think that it is +more respectable for a young man to spend in idleness the money some one +else has earned than to be himself a producer of wealth. As long as this +sentiment is to be found anywhere there is educational work to be done, +for public opinion will never be what it ought to be until it puts the +badge of disgrace upon the idler, no matter how rich he may be, rather +than upon the man who with brain or muscle contributes to the Nation's +wealth, the Nation's strength and the Nation's progress. + +But, as I said, the inheritance is an apparent, not an actual, +exception, and we will return to the original proposition--that one's +earnings must be measured by the service rendered. This is so vital a +proposition that I beg leave to dwell upon it a moment longer, to ask +whether it is possible to fix in dollars and cents a maximum limit to +the amount one can earn in a lifetime. + +Let us begin with one hundred thousand dollars. If we estimate a working +life at thirty-three and one-third years--and I think this is a fair +estimate--a man must earn _three_ thousand dollars per year on an +average for thirty-three and one-third years to earn one hundred +thousand dollars in a lifetime. I take it for granted that no one will +deny that it is possible for one to earn this sum by rendering a service +equal to it in value, but what shall we say of a million dollars? Can a +man earn that much? To do so he must earn _thirty_ thousand dollars a +year for thirty-three and one-third years. Is it possible for one to +render so large a service? I believe it is. Well, what shall we say +of ten millions? To earn that much one must earn on an average _three +hundred_ thousand dollars a year for thirty-three and one-third years. +Is it possible for one to render a service so large as to earn so vast +a sum? At the risk of shocking some of my radical friends I am going to +affirm that it is possible. + +But can one earn an _hundred million_? Yes, I believe that it is even +possible to serve society to such an extent as to earn a hundred million +in the span of a human life, or an average of _three million_ a year for +thirty-three and one-third years. We have one man in this country who is +said to be worth five hundred million. To earn five hundred million one +must earn on an average _fifteen_ million a year for thirty-three and +one-third years. Is this within the range of human possibility? I +believe that it is. Now, I have gone as high as any one has yet gone +in collecting, but if there is any young man here with an ambition to +render a larger service to the world, I will raise it another notch, if +necessary, to encourage him. So almost limitless are the possibilities +of service in this age that I am not willing to fix a maximum to the sum +a man can honestly and legitimately earn. + +Not only do I believe that one _can_ earn five hundred million, but I +believe that men _have_ earned it. + +In this and other countries many in public life might be mentioned, +for even in politics men have great opportunities, which, if rightly +improved, enable them to render incalculable service to their fellowmen. + +But let us go outside of politics. What shall we say of the man who gave +to the world a knowledge of the use of steam and revolutionized the +transportation of the globe? How much did he earn? And the man who +brought down lightning from the clouds and imprisoned it in a slender +wire so that it lights our homes, draws our traffic across the land and +carries our messages under the sea; what did he earn? And what of the +man who showed us how to hurl our messages thousands of miles through +space without the aid of wire? And how much did the man earn who taught +us how to wrap the human voice around a little cylinder so that it can +be laid away and echo throughout the ages? + +Take a very recent invention, the gasolene engine. It has already given +us the automobile and the flying machine, and heaven only knows what yet +may come with that gasolene engine. My first ride in an automobile was +taken in the campaign of 1896; since then something like seventeen +million automobiles have been brought into use. + +Have you thought of the value of the ice machine? In Apalachicola, +Florida, they have erected a little monument to a former citizen, Dr. +John Gorry. A statue of him will be found in the capitol at Tallahassee, +and the state of Florida has put another in the Hall of Fame at +Washington. Out of his brain came the idea that made it possible for the +world to have ice to-day without regard to the temperature outside. What +did Gorry earn when he gave the world the ice machine? + +When I first visited the Patent Office at Washington I saw a model of +the first sewing machine. On it was a card on which was written: + + "Mine are sinews superhuman, + Ribs of brass and nerves of steel; + I'm the iron needle woman, + Born to toil but not to feel." + +What did the man earn who gave the world a sewing machine? + +These are only a few of the great inventions. Let us take up another +group. To show how wide is the field of measureless endeavour, I call +attention to the work of scientists. Who will measure the value of +anesthetics in the treatment of disease and injury? What of vaccination +and the labours of Pasteur? Who will estimate the value of the service +rendered by the man who gave us a remedy for typhoid? In 1898 hundreds +died of typhoid fever in the little army that was raised for the war +with Spain--twenty-seven of my regiment died of that disease. Now we +have a remedy so complete that of the nearly a million men who reached +the battle-line in France not one died of typhoid, and only one hundred +and twenty-five of the four millions called to the colours. + +Have you tried to estimate the service rendered by Reed, who, in finding +a remedy for yellow fever, made the tropics habitable and made it +possible for the United States to add the Panama Canal to our great +achievements? + +But the field is larger still. Raikes established a Sunday school and +now we have Sunday schools all over the world; Williams organized a +Young Men's Christian Association and now there are nine thousand +associations and more than a million and a half members march under the +banners of that organization, half of them in the United States. Forty +years ago a young preacher in Portland, Maine, gathered a few young +people about him and formed a Christian Endeavour Society; now it +numbers more than four million members. That young preacher, Dr. Francis +E. Clark, is now one of the great religious leaders of the world and is +Commander-in-Chief of this militant organization which is larger than +the army that did our part in the World War. What has he earned? + +Near Rochester, New York, there is a little town that has the proud +distinction of being the birthplace of Frances Willard. There was +nothing to distinguish her from other little girls when she was in +school, but when she reached womanhood she gave her heart to a great +cause; she became president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, +probably the greatest of the organizations among women ever formed. +Under her leadership that organization brought into the schools of the +land instruction as to the effect of alcohol upon the system and +that did more than any other one thing, I think, to bring National +Prohibition. The state of Illinois has placed the statue of this great +woman in the Hall of Fame in the National Capitol; she is the first +woman to be thus honoured. What has she earned? + +And so I might continue, for the name of the world's great benefactors +is legion. And besides those whose services were of incalculable value +a multitude have earned lesser sums ranging down to a modest fortune. +Every one can earn enough to supply all needs. Every time I speak to +the students of a college, high school, or primary grade I cannot help +thinking that within the room there may be a boy or girl who will catch +a vision of great achievement and, consecrating a life of service, do a +work so valuable that all the arithmetics will not compute its worth. + +But if I could furnish you a list containing the names of all who since +time began rendered a service worth five hundred millions, one thing +would be true of every one of them; namely, that never in a single case +did the person collect the full amount earned. Those who have earned +five hundred millions have been so busy earning it that they have not +had time to collect it, and those who have collected five hundred +millions have been so busy collecting it that they have not had time +to earn it. Then, too, it must be remembered that those who render the +greatest service serve more than their own generation--some serve all +who live afterward so that it is never possible to compute what they +have earned. + +And what is more, those who render the largest service do not care to +collect the full amount earned. What could they do with the sum that +they actually earn? Or, what is more important, what would so great a +sum _do with them_? + +In that wonderful parable of the Sower, Christ speaks of the seeds that +fell and of the thorns that sprang up and choked them, and He Himself +explained what He meant by this illustration, namely: That the care of +this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the truth. If the great +benefactors of the race had been burdened with the care of big fortunes, +they could not have devoted themselves to the nobler things that gave +them a place in the affection of their people and in history. + +It seems, therefore, that while one cannot rightfully collect more than +he honestly earns, he may earn more than it would be wise for him to +collect. And that brings us to the next question: How much should one +desire to collect from society? I answer, that no matter how large a +service one may render or how much he may earn, he should not desire to +collect more than he can wisely spend. + +And how much can one wisely spend? Not as much as you might think--not +nearly as much as some have tried to spend. No matter how honestly money +may be acquired, one is not free to spend it at will. We are hedged +about by certain restrictions that we can neither remove nor ignore. God +has written certain laws in our nature--laws that no legislature can +repeal--laws that no court can declare unconstitutional, and these laws +limit us in our expenditures. + +Let us consider some of the things for which we can properly spend +money. We need food--we all need food, and we need about the same +amount; not exactly, but the difference in quantity is not great. The +range in expenditure is greater than the range in quantity, because +expenditure covers kind and quality as well as quantity. But there is a +limit even to expenditure. If a man eats too much he suffers for it. If +he squanders his money on high-priced foods, he wears his stomach out. +There is an old saying which we have all heard, viz., "The poor man is +looking for food for his stomach, while the rich man is going from one +watering place to another looking for a stomach for his food." This +is only a witty way of expressing a sober truth, namely, that one is +limited in the amount of money he can wisely spend for food. + +We need clothing--we all need clothing, and we need about the same +amount. The difference in quantity is not great. The range in +expenditure for clothing is greater than the range in quantity, because +expenditure covers style and variety as well as quantity, but there is a +limit to the amount of money one can wisely spend for clothing. If a +man has so much clothing that it takes all of his time to change his +clothes, he has more than he needs and more than he can wisely buy. + +We need homes--we all need shelter and we need about the same amount. In +fact, God was very democratic in the distribution of our needs, for +He so created us that our needs are about the same. The range of +expenditure for homes is probably wider than in the case of either food +or clothing. We are interested in the home. I never pass a little house +where two young people are starting out in life without a feeling of +sympathetic interest in that home; I never pass a house where a room is +being added without feeling interested, for I know the occupants have +planned it, and looked forward to it and waited for it; I like to see a +little house moved back and a larger house built, for I know it is the +fulfillment of a dream. I have had some of these dreams myself, and I +know how they lead us on and inspire us to larger effort and greater +endeavour, and yet there is a limit to the amount one can wisely spend +even for so good a thing as a home. + +If a man gets too big a house it becomes a burden to him, and many have +had this experience. Not infrequently a young couple start out poor and +struggle along in a little house, looking forward to the time when they +can build a big house. After a while the time arrives and they build a +big house, larger, possibly, than they intended to, and it nearly always +costs more than they thought it would, and then they struggle along the +rest of their lives looking back to the time when they lived in a little +house. + +We speak of people being _independently rich_. That is a mistake; they +are _dependency rich_. The richer a man is the more dependent he is--the +more people he depends upon to help him collect his income, and the more +people he depends upon to help him spend his income. Sometimes a couple +will start out doing their own work--the wife doing the work inside the +house and the man outside. But they prosper, and after a while they are +able to afford help; they get a girl to help the wife inside and a man +to help the husband outside; then they prosper more--and they get two +girls to help inside and two men to help outside, then three girls +inside and three men outside. Finally they have so many girls helping +inside and so many men helping outside that they cannot leave the +house--they have to stay at home and look after the establishment. + +This is not a new condition. One of the Latin poets complained of "the +cares that hover about the fretted ceilings of the rich!" It was this +condition that inspired Charles Wagner to write his little book entitled +"The Simple Life," in which he entered an eloquent protest against the +materialism which makes man the slave of his possessions; he presented +an earnest plea for the raising of the spiritual above the purely +physical. I repeat, that there is a limit to the amount a man can wisely +spend upon a home. + +I need not remind you that the rich are tempted to spend money on the +vices that destroy--money honestly earned may thus become a curse rather +than a blessing. + +But a man can give his money away. Yes, and no one who has ever tried it +will deny that more pleasure is to be derived from the giving of money +to a cause in which one's heart is interested, than can be obtained from +the expenditure of the same amount in selfish indulgence. But if one +is going to give largely he must spend a great deal of time in +investigating and in comparing the merits of the different enterprises. +I am persuaded that there is a better life than the life led by those +who spend nearly all the time accumulating beyond their needs and then +employ the last few days in giving it away. What the world needs is not +a few men of great wealth, doling out their money in anticipation of +death--what the world needs is that these men link _themselves_ in +sympathetic interest with struggling humanity and help to solve problems +of to-day, instead of creating problems for the next generation to +solve. + +But you say, a man can leave his money to his children? He can, if he +dares. A large fortune, in anticipation, has ruined more sons than it +has ever helped. If a young man has so much money coming to him that he +knows he will never have to work, the chances are that it will sap his +energy, even if it does not undermine his character, and leave him a +curse rather than a blessing to those who brought him into the world. + +And it is scarcely safer to leave the money to a daughter. For, if a +young woman has a prospective inheritance so large that, when a young +man calls upon her, she cannot tell whether he is calling upon her +or her father, it is embarrassing--especially so if she finds after +marriage that he married the wrong member of the family. And, I may add, +that the daughters of the very rich are usually hedged about by a social +environment which prevents their making the acquaintance of the best +young men. The men who, twenty-five years from now, will be the leaders +in business, in society, in government, and in the Church, are not the +pampered sons of the rich, but the young men who, with good health and +good habits, with high ideals and strong ambition, are, under the spur +of necessity, laying the foundation for future achievements, and these +young men do not have a chance to become acquainted with the daughters +of the very rich. Even if they did know them they might hesitate to +enter upon the scale of expenditure to which these daughters are +accustomed. + +I have dealt at length with these fixed limitations, although we all +know of them or ought to. The ministers tell us about these things +Sunday after Sunday, or should, and yet we find men chasing the almighty +dollar until they fall exhausted into the grave. Dr. Talmage dealt with +this subject; he said that a man who wore himself out getting money that +he did not need, would finally drop dead, and that his pastor would +tell a group of sorrowing friends that, by a mysterious dispensation of +Providence, the good man had been cut off in his prime. Dr. Talmage said +that Providence had nothing to do with it, and that the minister ought +to tell the truth about it, and say that the man had been kicked to +death by the golden calf. + +Some years ago I read a story by Tolstoy, and I did not notice until +I had completed it that the title of the story was, "What shall it +profit?" The great Russian graphically presented the very thought that +I have been trying to impress upon your minds. He told of a Russian who +had land hunger--who added farm to farm and land to land, but could +never get enough. After a while he heard of a place where land was +cheaper and he sold his land and went and bought more land. But he had +no more than settled there until he heard of another place among a +half-civilized people where land was cheaper still. He took a servant +and went into this distant country and hunted up the head man of the +tribe, who offered him all the land he could walk around in a day for a +thousand rubles--told him he could put the money down on any spot and +walk in any direction as far and as fast as he would, and that, if he +was back by sunset, he could have all the land he had encompassed during +the day. He put the money down upon the ground and started at sunrise to +get, at last, enough land. He started leisurely, but as he looked upon +the land it looked so good that he hurried a little--and then he hurried +more, and then he went faster still. Before he turned he had gone +further in that direction than he had intended, but he spurred himself +on and started on the second side. Before he turned again the sun had +crossed the meridian and he had two sides yet to cover. As the sun was +slowly sinking in the west he constantly accelerated his pace, alarmed +at last for fear he had undertaken too much and might lose it all. He +reached the starting point, however, just as the sun went down, but he +had overtaxed his strength and fell dead upon the spot. His servant dug +a grave for him; he only needed six-feet of ground then, the same that +others needed--the rest of the land was of no use to him. Thus Tolstoy +told the story of many a life--not the life of the very rich only, but +the story of every life in which the love of money is the controlling +force and in which the desire for gain shrivels the soul and leaves the +life a failure at last. + +I desire to show you how practical this subject is. If time permitted I +could take up every occupation, every avocation, every profession and +every calling, and show you that no matter which way we turn--no matter +what we do--we are always and everywhere weighing the Soul. + +In the brief time that it is proper for me to occupy, I shall apply the +thought to those departments of human activity in which the sale of a +soul affects others largely as well as the individual who makes the +bargain. + +Take the occupation in which I am engaged, journalism. It presents a +great field--a growing field; in fact, there are few fields so large. +The journalist is both a news gatherer and a moulder of thought. He +informs his readers as to what is going on, and he points out the +relation between cause and effect--interprets current history. Public +opinion is the controlling force in a republic, and the newspaper gives +to the journalist, beyond every one else, the opportunity to affect +public opinion. Others reach the readers through the courtesy of the +newspaper, but the owner of the paper has full access to his own +columns, and does not fear the blue pencil. + +The journalist occupies the position of a watchman upon a tower. He is +often able to see dangers which are not observed by the general public, +and, because he can see these dangers, he is in a position of greater +responsibility. Is he discharging the duty which superior opportunity +imposes upon him? Year by year the disclosures are bringing to light the +fact that the predatory interests are using many newspapers and even +some magazines for the defense of commercial iniquity and for the +purpose of attacking those who lift their voices against favouritism and +privilege. A financial magnate interested in the exploitation of the +public secures control of a paper; he employs business managers, +editors, and a reportorial staff. He does not act openly or in the +daylight but through a group of employees who are the visible but not +the real directors. The reporters are instructed to bring in the kind of +news that will advance the enterprises owned by the man who stands back +of the paper, and if the news brought in is not entirely satisfactory, +it is doctored in the office. The columns of the paper are filled with +matter, written not for the purpose of presenting facts as they exist, +but for the purpose of distorting facts and misleading the public. The +editorial writers, whose names are generally unknown to the public, are +told what to say and what subjects to avoid. They are instructed +to extol the merits of those who are subservient to the interests +represented by the paper, and to misrepresent and traduce those who dare +to criticize or oppose the plans of those who hide behind the paper. +Such journalists are members of a kind of "Black Hand Society"; they are +assassins, hiding in ambush and striking in the dark; and the worst of +it is that the readers have no sure way of knowing when a real change +takes place in the ownership of such a paper notwithstanding the fact +that a recent law requires publication of ownership. + +There are degrees of culpability and some are disposed to hold an +editorial writer guiltless even when they visit condemnation upon the +secret director of the paper's policy. I present to you a different--and +I believe higher--ideal of journalism. If we are going to make any +progress in morals we must abandon the idea that morals are defined by +the statutes; we must recognize that there is a wide margin between that +which the law prohibits and that which an enlightened conscience can +approve. We do not legislate against the man who uses the printed page +for the purpose of deception but, viewed from the standpoint of morals, +the man who, whether voluntarily or under instructions, writes what he +knows to be untrue or purposely misleads his readers as to the +character of a proposition upon which they have to act, is as guilty of +wrong-doing as the man who assists in any other swindling transaction. + +Another method employed to mislead the public is the publication of +editorial matter supplied by those who have an interest to serve. This +evil is even more common than secrecy as to the ownership of the paper. +In the case of the weekly papers and the smaller dailies, the proprietor +is generally known, and it is understood that the editorial pages +represent his views. His standing and character give weight to that +which appears with his endorsement. A few years ago, when a railroad +rate bill was before Congress, a number of railroads joined in an effort +to create public sentiment against the bill. Bureaus were established +for the dissemination of literature, and a number of newspapers entered +into contract to publish as editorial matter the material furnished by +these bureaus. This cannot be defended in ethics. The secret purchase of +the editorial columns is a crime against the public and a disgrace to +journalism, and yet we have frequent occasion to note this degradation +of the newspaper. A few years ago Senator Carter, of Montana, speaking +in the United States Senate, read several printed slips which were sent +out by a bankers' association to local bankers with the request that +they be inserted in the local papers as editorials, suggestion being +made that the instructions to the local bankers be removed before they +were handed to the papers. The purpose of the bankers' association was +to stimulate opposition to the postal savings bank, a policy endorsed +affirmatively by the Republican party and, conditionally, by the +Democratic party, the two platforms being supported at the polls by more +than ninety per cent, of the voters. The bankers' associations were +opposing the policy, and, in sending out its literature, they were +endeavouring to conceal the source of that literature and to make it +appear that the printed matter represented the opinion of some one in +the community. + +The journalist who would fully perform his duty must be not only +incorruptible, but ever alert, for those who are trying to misuse the +newspapers are able to deceive "the very elect." Whenever any movement +is on foot for the securing of legislation desired by the predatory +interests, or when restraining legislation is threatened, news bureaus +are established at Washington, and these news bureaus furnish to such +papers as will use them free reports, daily or weekly as the case may +be, from the national capitol--reports which purport to give general +news, but which in fact contain arguments in support of the schemes +which the bureaus are organized to advance. This ingenious method +of misleading the public is only a part of the general plan which +favour-holding and favour-seeking corporations pursue. + +Demosthenes declared that the man who refuses a bribe conquers the man +who offers it. According to this, the journalist who resists the +many temptations which come to him to surrender his ideals has the +consciousness of winning a moral victory as well as the satisfaction of +knowing that he is rendering a real service to his fellows. + +The profession for which I was trained--the law--presents another line +of temptations. The court-room is a soul's market where many barter away +their ideals in the hope of winning wealth or fame. Lawyers sometimes +boast of the number of men whose acquittal they have secured when they +knew them to be guilty, and of advantages won which they knew their +clients did not deserve. I do not understand how a lawyer can so boast, +for he is an officer of the court and, as such, is sworn to assist in +the administration of justice. When a lawyer has helped his client to +obtain all that his client is entitled to, he has done his full duty as +a lawyer, and, if he goes beyond this, he goes at his own peril. Show +me a lawyer who has spent a lifetime trying to obscure the line between +right and wrong--trying to prove that to be just which he knew to be +unjust, and I will show you a man who has grown weaker in character year +by year, and whose advice, at last, will be of no value to his clients, +for he will have lost the power to discern between right and wrong. Show +me, on the other hand, a lawyer who has spent a lifetime in the search +for truth, determined to follow where it leads, and I will show you a +man who has grown stronger in character day by day and whose advice +constantly becomes more valuably to his client, because the power to +discern the truth increases with the honest search for it. + +Not only in the court-room, but in the consultation chamber also the +lawyer sometimes yields to the temptation to turn his talents to a +sordid use. The schemes of spoliation that defy the officers of the law +are, for the most part, inaugurated and directed by legal minds. I was +speaking on this very subject in one of the great cities of the country +and at the close of the address, a prominent judge commended my +criticism and declared that most of the lawyers practicing in his court +were constantly selling their souls. + +The lawyer's position is scarcely less responsible than the position of +the journalist; if the journalists and lawyers of the country could be +brought to abstain from the practices by which the general public +is overreached, it would be an easy matter to secure the remedial +legislation necessary to protect the producing masses from the constant +spoliation to which they are now subjected by the privileged classes. + +If a man who is planning a train-robbery takes another along to hold a +horse at a convenient distance, we say that the man who holds the horse +is equally guilty with the man who robs the train; and the time will +come when public opinion will hold as equally guilty with the plunderers +of society the lawyers and journalists who assist the plunderers to +escape. + +I would not be forgiven if I failed to apply my theme to the work of the +instructor. The purpose of education is not merely to develop the mind; +it is to prepare men and women for society's work and for citizenship. +The ideals of the teacher, therefore, are of the first importance. The +pupil is apt to be as much influenced by what his teacher _is_ as by +what the teacher _says_ or _does_. The measure of a school cannot be +gathered from an inspection of the examination papers; the conception of +life which the graduate carries away must be counted in estimating the +benefits conferred. The pecuniary rewards of the teacher are usually +small when compared with the rewards of business. This may be due in +part to our failure to properly appreciate the work which the teacher +does, but it may be partially accounted for by the fact that the teacher +derives from his work a satisfaction greater than that obtained from +most other employments. + +The teacher comes into contact with the life of the student and, as +our greatest joy is derived from the consciousness of having benefited +others, the teacher rightly counts as a part of his compensation the +continuing pleasure to be found in the knowledge that he is projecting +his influence through future generations. The heart plays as large +a part as the head in the teacher's work, because the heart is an +important factor in every life and in the shaping of the destiny of the +race. I fear the plutocracy of wealth; I respect the aristocracy of +learning; but I thank God for the democracy of the heart. It is upon the +heart level that we meet; it is by the characteristics of the heart +that we best know and best remember each other. Astronomers tell us the +distance of each star from the earth, but no mathematician can calculate +the influence which a noble teacher may exert upon posterity. And yet, +even the teacher may fall from his high estate, and, forgetting his +immeasurable responsibility, yield to the temptation to estimate his +work by its pecuniary reward. Just now some of the teachers are--let +us hope, unconsciously--undermining the religious faith of students by +substituting the guesses of Darwin for the Word of God. + +Let me turn for a moment from the profession and the occupation to the +calling. I am sure I shall not be accused of departing from the truth +when I say that even those who minister to our spiritual wants and, as +our religious leaders, help to fix our standards of morality, sometimes +prove unfaithful to their trust. They are human, and the frailities of +man obscure the light which shines from within, even when that light is +a reflection from the throne of God. + +We need more Elijahs in the pulpit to-day--more men who will dare to +upbraid an Ahab and defy a Jezebel. It is possible, aye, probable, that +even now, as of old, persecutions would follow such boldness of speech, +but he who consecrates himself to religion must smite evil wherever he +finds it, although in smiting it he may risk his salary and his social +position. It is easy enough to denounce the petty thief and the +back-alley gambler; it is easy enough to condemn the friendless rogue +and the penniless wrong-doer, but what about the rich tax-dodger, the +big lawbreaker, and the corrupter of government? The soul that is warmed +by divine fire will be satisfied with nothing less than the complete +performance of duty; it must cry aloud and spare not, to the end that +the creed of the Christ may be exemplified in the life of the nation. + +We need Elijahs now to face the higher critics. Instead of allowing the +materialists to cut the supernatural out of the Bible the ministers +should demand that the unsupported guesses be cut out of school-books +dealing with science. + +Not only does the soul question present itself to individuals, but it +presents itself to groups of individuals as well. + +Let us consider the party. A political party cannot be better than its +ideal; in fact, it is good in proportion as its ideal is worthy, and its +place in history is determined by its adherence to a high purpose. The +party is made for its members, not the members for the party; and a +party is useful, therefore, only as it is a means through which one may +protect his rights, guard his interests and promote the public welfare. +The best service that a man can render his party is to raise its ideals. +He basely betrays his party's hopes and is recreant to his duty to his +party associates who seeks to barter away a noble party purpose for +temporary advantages or for the spoils of office. It would be a +reflection upon the intelligence and patriotism of the people to assert, +or even to assume, that lasting benefit could be secured for a party +by the lowering of its standards. He serves his party most loyally who +serves his country most faithfully; it is a fatal error to suppose that +a party can be permanently benefited by a betrayal of the people's +interests. + +In every act of party life and party strife we weigh the soul. That +the people have a right to have what they want in government is a +fundamental principle in free government. Corruption in government comes +from the attempt to substitute the will of a minority for the will of +the majority. Every important measure that comes up for consideration +involves justice and injustice--right and wrong--and is, therefore, a +question of conscience. As justice is the basis of a nation's strength +and gives it hope of perpetuity, and, as the seeds of decay are sown +whenever injustice enters into government, patriotism as well as +conscience leads us to analyze every public question, ascertain the +moral principle involved and then cast our influence, whether it be +great or small, on the side of justice. + +The patriot must desire the triumph of that which _is_ right above the +triumph of that which he may _think_ to be right if he is, in fact, +mistaken; and so the partizan, if he be an intelligent partizan, must be +prepared to rejoice in his party's defeat if by that defeat his country +is the gainer. One can afford to be in a minority, but he cannot afford +to be wrong; if he is in a minority and right, he will some day be in +the majority. + +The activities of politics center about the election of candidates to +office, and the official, under our system, represents both the party +to which he belongs and the whole body of his constituency. He has two +temptations to withstand; first, the temptation to substitute his +own judgment for the judgment of his constituents, and second, the +temptation to put his pecuniary interests above the interests of those +for whom he acts. According to the aristocratic idea, the representative +thinks _for_ his constituents; according to the Democratic idea, the +representative thinks _with_ his constituents. A representative has no +right to defeat the wishes of those who elect him, if he knows their +wishes. + +But a representative is not liable to knowingly misrepresent his +constituents unless he has pecuniary interests adverse to theirs. This +is the temptation to be resisted--this is the sin to be avoided. The +official who uses his position to secure a pecuniary advantage over the +public is an embezzler of power--and an embezzler of power is as guilty +of moral turpitude as the embezzler of money. There is no better motto +for the public official than that given by Solomon: "A good name is +rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than +silver and gold." There is no better rule for the public official to +follow than this--to do nothing that he would not be willing to have +printed in the newspaper next day. + +One who exercises authority conferred upon him by the suffrages of his +fellows ought to be fortified in his integrity by the consciousness of +the fact that a betrayal of his trust is hurtful to the party which +honours him and unjust to the people whom he serves, as well as +injurious to himself. Nothing that he can gain, not even the whole +world, can compensate him for the loss that he suffers in the surrender +of a high ideal of public duty. + +In conclusion, let me say that the nation, as well as the individual, +and the party, must be measured by its purpose, its ideals and its +service. "Let him who would be chiefest among you, be the servant of +all," was intended for nations as well as for citizens. Our nation is +the greatest in the world and the greatest of all time, because it is +rendering a larger service than any other nation is rendering or has +rendered. It is giving the world ideals in education, in social life, +in government, and in religion. It is the teacher of nations; it is the +world's torch-bearer. Here the people are more free than elsewhere to +"try all things and hold fast that which is good"; "to know the truth" +and to find freedom in that knowledge. No material considerations +should blind us to our nation's mission, or turn us aside from the +accomplishment of the great work which has been reserved for us. Our +fields bring forth abundantly and the products of our farms furnish food +for many in the Old World. Our mills and looms supply an increasing +export, but these are not our greatest asset. Our most fertile soil +is to be found in the minds and the hearts of our people; our most +important manufacturing plants are not our factories, with their smoking +chimneys, but our schools, our colleges and our churches, which take in +a priceless raw material and turn out the most valuable finished product +that the world has known. + +We enjoy by inheritance, or by choice, the blessings of American +citizenship; let us not be unmindful of the obligations which these +blessings impose. Let us not become so occupied in the struggle for +wealth or in the contest for honours as to repudiate the debt that we +owe to those who have gone before us and to those who bear with us the +responsibilities that rest upon the present generation. Society has +claims upon us; our country makes demands upon our time, our thought and +our purpose. We cannot shirk these duties without disgrace to ourselves +and injury to those who come after us. If one is tempted to complain of +the burdens borne by American citizens, let him compare them with the +much larger burdens imposed by despots upon their subjects. + +I challenge the doctrine, now being taught, that we must enter into +a mad rivalry with the Old World in the building of battleships--the +doctrine that the only way to preserve peace is to get ready for wars +that ought never to come! It is a barbarous, brutal, un-Christian +doctrine--the doctrine of the darkness, not the doctrine of the dawn. + +Nation after nation, when at the zenith of its power, has proclaimed +itself invincible because its army could shake the earth with its tread +and its ships could fill the seas, but these nations are dead, and we +must build upon a different foundation if we would avoid their fate. + +Carlyle, in the closing chapters of his "French Revolution," says that +thought is stronger than artillery parks and at last moulds the world +like soft clay, and then he adds that back of thought is love. Carlyle +is right. Love is the greatest power in the world. The nations that are +dead boasted that people bowed before their flag; let us not be content +until our flag represents sentiments so high and holy that the oppressed +of every land will turn their faces toward that flag and thank God that +it stands for self-government and for the rights of man. + +The enlightened conscience of our nation should proclaim as the +country's creed that "righteousness exalteth a nation" and that justice +is a nation's surest defense. If there ever was a nation it is ours--if +there ever was a time it is now--to put God's truth to a test. With an +ocean rolling on either side and a mountain range along either coast +that all the armies of the world could never climb we ought not to be +afraid to trust in "the wisdom of doing right." + +Our government, conceived in liberty and purchased with blood, can be +preserved only by constant vigilance. May we guard it as our children's +richest legacy, for what shall it profit our nation if it shall gain the +whole world and lose "the spirit that prizes liberty as the heritage of +all men in all lands everywhere"? + + + + +VII + +THREE PRICELESS GIFTS + + +The Bible differs from all other books in that it never wears out. Other +books are read and laid aside, but the Bible is a constant companion. No +matter how often we read it or how familiar we become with it, some new +truth is likely to spring out at us from its pages whenever we open +it, or some old truth will impress us as it never did before. Every +Christian can give illustrations of this. Permit me to refer briefly +to four. My first religious address, "The Prince of Peace," was the +outgrowth of a chance rereading of a passage in Isaiah. This I have +referred to in my lecture entitled "His Government and Peace." + +The argument presented in my lecture on the Bible, in which I defend +the inspiration of the Book of Books, was the outgrowth of a chance +rereading of Elijah's prayer test. I was preparing an address for the +celebration of the Tercentenary of the King James' Translation when, on +the train, I turned by chance to Elijah's challenge to the prophets of +Baal. It suggested to me what I regard as an unanswerable argument, +namely, a challenge to those who reject the Bible to put their theory to +the test and produce a book, the equal of the Bible, or admit one of two +alternatives, either that the Bible comes from a source higher than man +or that man has so degenerated that less can be expected of him now than +nineteen hundred years ago. + +In preparing a Sunday-school lesson on Abraham's faith I was so +impressed with the influence of faith on the life of the patriarch and, +through him, on the world, that I prepared a college address on "Faith," +a part of which I have reproduced in my lecture on "The Spoken Word." + +It was a chance rereading of an extract from the account of the Ten +Lepers which led me to prepare the lecture reproduced in this chapter. +The subject to which I invite your attention is as important to-day as +it was when the Master laid emphasis upon it. As He approached a certain +village ten lepers met Him; they recognized Him and cried out, "Jesus, +Master, have mercy upon us." He healed them; when they found that they +had been made whole, one of them turned back and, falling on his face at +Jesus' feet, poured forth his heart in grateful thanks. Christ, noticing +the absence of the others, inquired, "Were there not ten cleansed, but +where are the nine?" This simple question has come echoing down through +nineteen centuries, the most stinging rebuke ever uttered against the +sin of ingratitude. If the lepers had been afflicted with a disease +easily cured, they might have said, "Any one could have healed us," +but only Christ could restore them to health, and yet, when they had +received of His cleansing power, they apparently felt no sense of +obligation; at least, they expressed no gratitude. + +Some one has described ingratitude as a meaner sin than revenge--the +explanation being that revenge is repayment of evil with evil, while +ingratitude is repayment of good with evil. If you visit revenge upon +one, it is because he has injured you first and the law takes notice of +provocation. Ingratitude is lack of appreciation of a favour shown; it +is indifference to a kindness done. + +Ingratitude is so common a sin that few have occupied the pulpit for a +year without using the story of the Ten Lepers as the basis of a sermon; +and one could speak upon this theme every Sunday in the year without +being compelled to repeat himself, so infinite in number are the +illustrations. Those who speak of ingratitude usually begin with +the child. A child is born into the world the most helpless of all +creatures; for years it could not live but for the affectionate and +devoted care of parents, or of those who stand in the place of parents. +If, when it grows up, it becomes indifferent; if its heart grows cold, +and it becomes ungrateful, it arouses universal indignation. Poets and +writers of prose have exhausted all the epithets in their effort to +describe an ungrateful child. Shakespeare's words are probably those +most quoted: + + "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is + To have a thankless child." + +But it is not my purpose to speak of thankless children; I shall rather +make application of the rebuke to the line of work in which I have been +engaged. For some thirty years my time, by fate or fortune, has +been devoted largely to the study and discussion of the problems of +government, and I have had occasion to note the apathy and indifference +of citizens. I have seen reforms delayed and the suffering of the people +prolonged by lack of vigilance. Let us, therefore, consider together for +a little while some of the priceless gifts that come to us because we +live under the Stars and Stripes--gifts so valuable that they cannot be +estimated in figures or described in language--gifts which are received +and enjoyed by many without any sense of obligation, and without any +resolve to repay the debt due to society. + +These gifts are many, but we shall have time for only three. The first +is education; it is a gift rather than an acquirement. It comes into our +lives when we are too young to decide such questions for ourselves. I +sometimes meet a man who calls himself "self-made," and I always want to +cross-examine him. I would ask him when he began to make himself, and +how he laid the foundations of his greatness. As a matter of fact, we +inherit more than we ourselves can add. It means more to be born of a +race with centuries of civilization back of it than anything that we +ourselves can contribute. And, next to that which we inherit, comes that +which enters our lives through the environment of youth. In this country +the child is so surrounded by opportunities, that it enters school as +early as the law will permit. It does not _go_ to school, it is _sent_ +to school, and we are so anxious that it shall lose no time that, if +there is ever a period in the child's life when the mother is uncertain +as to its exact age, this is the time. I heard of a little boy, who, +when asked how old he was, replied, "I am five on the train, seven in +school and six at home." The child is pushed through grade after grade, +and, according to the statistics, a little more than ninety per cent, +of the children drop out of school before they are old enough to decide +educational questions for themselves. They are scarcely more than +fourteen. + +Taking the country over, a little less than one in ten of the children +who enter our graded school ever enter high school, and not quite one +in fifty enter college or university. As many who enter college do not +complete the course, I am not far from the truth when I say that only +about one young man in one hundred continues his education until he +reaches the age--twenty-one--when the law assumes that his reason is +mature. I am emphasizing these statistics in order to show that we are +indebted to others more than to ourselves for our education. That which +we do would not be done but for what others have already done. Even +those who secure an education in spite of difficulties have received +from some one the idea that makes them appreciate the value of an +education. + +When we are born we find an educational system here; we do not devise +it, it was established by a generation long since dead. When we are +ready to attend school we find a schoolhouse already built; we do not +build it, it was erected by the taxpayers, many of whom are dead. When +we are ready for instruction we find teachers prepared by others, many +of whom have passed to their reward. + +How do we feel when we complete our education? Do we count the cost to +others and think of the sacrifices they have made for our benefit? Do we +estimate the strength that education has brought to us and feel that we +should put that strength under heavier loads? We are raised by our study +to an intellectual eminence from which we can secure a clearer view of +the future; do we feel that we should be like watchmen upon the tower +and warn those less fortunate of the dangers that they do not yet +discern? We _should_, but do we? I venture to assert that more than nine +out of ten of those who receive into their lives, and profit by, the +gift of education are as ungrateful as the nine lepers of whom the Bible +tells us--they receive, they enjoy, but they give no thanks. + +But it is even worse than this; the Bible does not say that any one of +the nine lepers used for the injury of his fellows the strength that +Christ gave back to him. All that is said is that they were ungrateful; +but how about those who go out from our colleges and universities? Are +not many of these worse than ungrateful? I would not venture to use my +own language here; I will quote what others have said. + +Wendell Phillips was one of the learned men of Massachusetts and a great +orator. In his address on the "Scholar in a Republic," he said that +"The people make history while the scholars only write it." And then he +added, "part truly and part as coloured by their prejudices." + +Woodrow Wilson, while president of Princeton University, said: + + "The great voice of America does not come from seats of learning. + It comes in a murmur from the hills and woods, and the farms and + factories and the mills, rolling on and gaining volume until it + comes to us from the homes of common men. Do these murmurs echo in + the corridors of our universities? I have not heard them." + +President Roosevelt, while in the White House, presented an even +stronger indictment against some of the scholars. In a speech delivered +to law students at Harvard he declared that there was scarcely a great +conspiracy against the public welfare that did not have Harvard brains +behind it. He need not have gone to Harvard to utter this terrific +indictment against college graduates; he might have gone to Yale, or +Columbia, or Princeton, or to any other great university, or even to +smaller colleges. It would not take long to correct the abuses of which +the people complain but for the fact that back of every abuse are the +hired brains of scholars who turn against society and use for society's +harm the very strength that society has bestowed upon them. + +Let me give you an illustration in point, and so recent that one will be +sufficient: A few months ago the Supreme Court at Washington handed +down a decision overturning every argument made against the Eighteenth +Amendment and the enforcement law. Who represented the liquor traffic in +that august tribunal? Not brewery workers, employees in distilleries, or +bartenders; these could not speak for the liquor traffic in the Supreme +Court. No! Lawyers must be employed, and they were easily found--big +lawyers, scholars, who attempted to overthrow the bulwark that society +has erected for the protection of the homes of the country. + +Every reform has to be fought through the legislatures and the courts +until it is finally settled by the highest court in our land, and there, +vanquished wrong expires in the arms of learned lawyers who sell their +souls to do evil--who attempt to rend society with the very power that +our institutions of learning have conferred upon them. All of our +reforms would be led by scholars, if all scholars appreciated as they +should the gift of education. There are, of course, a multitude of noble +illustrations of scholars consecrating their learning to the service of +the people, but many scholars are indifferent to the injustice done to +the masses and some actually obstruct needed reforms--and they do it for +pay. + +My second illustration is even more important, for it deals with the +heart. I am interested in education; if I had my way every child in +all the world would be educated. God forbid that I should draw a line +through society and say that the children on one side shall be educated +and the children on the other side condemned to the night of ignorance. +I shall assume no such responsibility. I am anxious that my children +and grandchildren shall be educated, and I do not desire for a child or +grandchild of mine anything that I would not like to see every +other child enjoy. Children come into the world without their own +volition--they are here as a part of the Almighty's plan--and there is +not a child born on God's footstool that has not as much right to all +that life can give as your child or my child. Education increases +one's capacity for service and thus enlarges the reward that one can +rightfully draw from society; therefore, every one is entitled to the +advantages of education. + +There is no reason why every human being should not have _both_ a _good +heart_ and a _trained mind_; but, if I were compelled to choose between +the two, I would rather that one should have a good heart than a trained +mind. A good heart can make a dull brain useful to society, but a bad +heart cannot make a good use of any brain, however trained or brilliant. + +When we deal with the heart we must deal with religion, for religion +controls the heart; and, when we consider religion we find that the +religious environment that surrounds our young people is as favourable +as their intellectual environment. As in the case of education, lack +of appreciation may be due in part to lack of opportunity to make +comparison. If we visit Asia, where the philosophy of Confucius +controls, or where they worship Buddha, or follow Mahomet, or observe +the forms of the Hindu religion, we find that except where they have +borrowed from Christian nations, they have made no progress in fifteen +hundred years. Here, all have the advantage of Christian ideals, and +yet, according to statistics, something more than half the adult males +of the United States are not connected with any religious organization. +Some scoff at religion, and a few are outspoken enemies of the Church. +Can they be blind to the benefits conferred by our churches? Security of +life and property is not entirely due to criminal laws, to a sheriff in +each county, and to an occasional policeman. The conscience comes first; +the law comes afterward. + +Law is but the crystallization of conscience; moral sentiment must be +created before it can express itself in the form of a statute. Every +preacher and priest, therefore, whether his congregation be large or +small, who quickens the conscience of those who hear him helps the +community. Every church of every denomination, whether important or +unimportant, that helps to raise the moral standards of the land +benefits all who live under the flag, whether they acknowledge their +obligations or not. + +But lack of appreciation on the part of those outside the Church would +not disturb us so much if all the church members lived up to their +obligations. How much is it worth to one to be born again? Of what value +is it to have had the heart touched by the Saviour and so changed that +it loves the things it used to hate and hates the things it formerly +loved? Of what value is it to have one's life so transformed that, +instead of resembling a stagnant pool, it becomes like a living spring, +giving forth constantly that which refreshes and invigorates? What is it +worth to the Christian, and what is it worth to those about him, to +have his life brought by Christ into such vital living contact with the +Heavenly Father, that that life becomes the means through which the +goodness of God pours out to the world? + +But, I go a step farther and ask whether the Church as an +organization--not any one denomination, but the Church +universal--appreciates its great opportunities, its tremendous +responsibility, and the infinite power behind it. If the Church is what +we believe it to be it must be prepared to grapple with every problem, +individual and social, whether it affects only a community or involves +a state, a nation, or a world. There must be _some_ intelligence large +enough to direct the world or the world will run amuck. We believe that +God is the only intelligence capable of governing the world, and God +must act through the Church or outside of it. If the Church is not big +enough to act as the mouthpiece of the Almighty--not in the sense that +the Church ought to exercise governmental authority, but its members, +seeking light from the Heavenly Father through prayer, should be able to +act wisely as citizens--if, I repeat, the Church is not big enough to +deal with the problems that confront the world, then the Church must +give way to some more competent organization. Christians have no other +alternative; they _must_ believe that the _teachings of Christ can be +successfully applied to every problem that the individual has to meet +and to every problem with which governments have to deal_. I have +in another lecture in this series called attention to Christ's +all-inclusive claim set forth in the closing verses of the last chapter +of Matthew, but I must repeat it here because it is the basis of what I +desire to say on this branch of the subject. Christ declared that _all_ +power had been given into His hands; He sent His followers out to make +disciples of _all_ nations; and He promised to be with them _always_, +even unto the end of the world. If the Church takes Christ at His word +and claims to be His representative on earth it cannot shirk its duty. + +If Christians are as grateful to God, to Christ, and to the Bible as +they should be, they will give attention to every problem that affects +the individual, the community, and the larger units of society and +government. They will consider it their duty to _carry their religion +into business and politics_ and to apply the teachings of Christ to +every subject that affects human welfare. In another lecture I call +attention to the Church's duty to reconcile capital and labour, and to +teach God's law of rewards. + +The third gift to which I would call your attention is the form of +government under which we live. Ours is a government in which the people +rule from the lowest unit to the highest office in the nation. Nearly +all of our officials are elected by popular vote, and those appointed +are appointed by officers who are elected. The tendency is everywhere +more and more toward popular government. Some people are afraid of +Democracy but a larger number of people believe that "more democracy +is the cure for such evils as have been developed under popular +government." The Christian is a citizen of the republic as well as a +member of the church and must _practice_ his religion. I have not time +to speak of our government in detail; it is rather my purpose at this +time to call attention to the gift of popular government as we find it +in the nation. + +Let us begin, then, with a presidential election. I shall not yield to +the strong temptation to describe a presidential election; suffice +to say that our campaigns begin with the election of delegates to a +National Convention (I hope they will some day begin with the nomination +of presidential candidates at primaries held by all the parties, in all +the states, on the same day). The campaigns last long enough to make the +candidates so weary that they gladly resign themselves to any result if +they can only live to election day. + +The campaigns increase in intensity week after week and expire, or +explode, in a blaze of glory the night before election, at which time +the committees of the leading parties set forth the reasons that make +each side certain of success. On election day a hush spreads over the +land and the voters wend their way to the polling places, where each +voter is permitted to register a sovereign's will. Usually by midnight +the wires flash out the name of one who is to be added to the list of +Presidents. We give him a few weeks to rest and get ready and then, on a +certain day in March and at a certain hour, he goes to the White House +door and knocks. The occupant opens the door, and with a wearied look +upon his face, and yet a smile, says, "I was expecting you just at this +moment." Then the man on the inside of the White House goes out and +becomes a private citizen again, while the man on the outside goes in, +takes the oath of office and is clothed with authority such as no other +human being, but a President, ever exercised. + +He writes an order and ships go out to sea with their big-mouthed guns; +he writes another order and the ships return. At his command armies +assemble and march and fight, and men die; at his word armies dissolve +and soldiers become citizens again. This goes on for just so many years +and months and weeks and days--for just so many hours and minutes and +seconds, and then there is another knock on the White House door and +another man comes with a new commission from the people. + +Is it not a great thing to live in a land like this where the people +can, at the polls, select one of their number and lift him to this +pinnacle of power? And is it not greater still that the people are able +to reduce a President to the ranks as well as to lift him up? When they +elevate him he is just common clay, but when they take him down from his +high place they separate him from those instrumentalities of government +which despots have employed for the enslavement of their people. + +And why is it that we live under a government resting upon the consent +of the governed, and in a land in which the people rule? Because +throughout the centuries millions of the best and the bravest have given +their lives that we might be free. Every right of which we boast is a +blood-bought right, and bought by the blood of others, not our own. +Would you not think that people who inherit such a government as this +would be grateful for the priceless gift and live up to every obligation +of citizenship? It would seem so, and yet those acquainted with politics +know that the difficult task is to get the vote out. Even in a hotly +contested presidential election we never get the full vote out. If +ninety per cent of the vote is polled we are happy; if eighty-five per +cent, is polled we are satisfied. If it is an intermediate election the +vote may be less than eighty per cent., or even seventy-five. In a +primary, which is often more important than an election, the vote +sometimes falls below fifty, or even forty per cent. + +And what excuses do men give? Often the most trivial. One man says that +he had some work to do and could not spare the time--as if any work +could be more important than voting in a Republic. Another was visiting +his wife's relatives and a family dinner made it inconvenient for him +to return in time to vote. A few years ago I met a man on the train who +told me that he had not voted for ten years. When I asked him why, he +explained that he had voted for a neighbour for a state office--he +declared that the neighbour could not have been elected without his +help--and yet when the election was over the successful candidate failed +to invite him to a dinner given to celebrate the victory. "And," he +added, "I just made up my mind that if I could be so deceived by a man +who lived next door to me I did not have sense enough to vote, and I +have not voted since." + +We are all liable to make mistakes, but a mistake at one election is no +justification for failure to vote at other elections. We must do the +best we can; and we must not be discouraged if the men elected do not do +all that we expect of them. The government is not perfect and never will +be, no matter what party is in power. When the Democrats are in power +I can prove by all the Republicans that the government is not perfect; +when the Republicans are in power I can prove by the Democrats that the +government is not perfect. Governments are administered by human beings; +we must expect honest men to make mistakes and we must not be surprised +if, occasionally, an official embezzles power and turns to his own +advantage the authority entrusted to him to use for the public good. We +should punish him and try to safeguard the people. The initiative and +referendum are valuable because they enable the people to protect +themselves from misrepresentation. + +But even if the government could be made perfect to-day it would be +imperfect to-morrow. Times change and new conditions arise that make new +laws necessary. As the remedy cannot precede the disease and cannot be +applied until the public becomes acquainted with the disease and has +time to choose the remedy, there is always something that needs to be +done. If Christians do not make it their business to understand their +government's needs and to propose laws that are necessary, others will. +Are any more worthy to be trusted than Christians? + +Even constitutions must be changed in order that our government may be +in the hands of the living rather than in the hands of the dead. Those +who wrote our Constitution were very wise men and yet the wisest thing +they did was to include a provision which enabled those who came after +them to change anything that they wrote into the Constitution. + +Jefferson thought a constitution should be brought up to date by every +generation. Nineteen changes have been made in our Constitution by +amendment since the Constitution was adopted and four of these have been +adopted within the last ten years. I venture to call attention to the +later ones for two purposes; first, to show how long it takes to amend +the Constitution and why; second, to remind you that these four great +amendments have been adopted by joint action by the two great parties. + +It required twenty-one years to secure the amendment providing for +popular election of United States Senators after the amendment was first +endorsed by the House of Representatives at Washington. For one hundred +and three years after the adoption of the Federal Constitution the +people tolerated the election of Senators by legislatures before there +was a protest that rose to the dignity of a Congressional resolution. +A Republican President, Andrew Johnson, recommended the change in a +message to Congress. Some ten years later, General Weaver, a Populist +Representative in Congress from Iowa, introduced a resolution proposing +an amendment providing for the popular election of Senators, but +no action was taken at that time. In 1902 a Democratic House of +Representatives at Washington passed a resolution, by the necessary +two-thirds vote, submitting the proposed amendment. Hon. Harry St. +George Tucker, of Virginia, was the chairman of the committee when this +resolution passed the House. A similar resolution passed the House on +five separate occasions afterward (twice when the House was Democratic +and three times when it was Republican) before it could pass the Senate. +The amendment was finally submitted by joint action of a Democratic +House and a Republican Senate and was ratified in a short time, +Democratic and Republican states vying with each other in furnishing the +necessary number. In 1913 it became my privilege, as Secretary of State, +to sign the last document necessary to make this amendment a part of the +Constitution. I have dwelt upon this contest at some length in order to +call attention to the time it took to secure the change and to the fact +that the two parties share the honour of making the change. + +It took seventeen years to secure the amendment to the Constitution +authorizing an income tax. The Income Tax Law, enacted in 1894, was +declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court, by a +majority of one, in 1895. In 1896 the fight for a constitutional +amendment was inaugurated and the amendment was ratified and became +a part of the Constitution early in 1913. This amendment, like the +amendment providing for popular election of United States Senators, +required many years, and for the same reason, viz., that the people were +not alert as they should have been, not as vigilant as they should be. +In the case of the Income Tax Amendment also, as in the case of the +other, the two parties contributed to the change in the Constitution and +share the glory together. The first amendment brought the United States +Senate nearer the people and opened the way for other reforms; the +second made it possible to apportion more equitably the burdens of the +government. + +The Income Tax Amendment was adopted just in time to enable the +government to collect the revenue needed for the recent war. During +the seventeen years covered by the struggle for this amendment the +government was impotent to tax wealth; it could draft the man but not +the pocketbook. What would have been the feeling among the people if we +had entered the late war under such a handicap? How would conscription +have been received if it applied to father, husband and son and not to +wealth also? + +And then, too, the Income Tax Amendment came just in time to answer the +last argument made in favour of the saloon. Those engaged in the liquor +traffic, after being defeated on all other points, massed behind the +proposition that the government needed the revenue from whiskey, beer, +and saloons. As soon as the government was able to collect an income tax +the friends of prohibition were able to look the liquor dealers in the +face and say, "Never again will an American boy be auctioned off to a +saloon for money to run the government; we now have other sources from +which to draw." + +The third of the amendments was also a long time in coming and was +finally brought by joint action of Democrats and Republicans. It is not +necessary to trace the growth of this reform. Suffice it to say that +the Christian churches were the dominating force behind the prohibition +movement and that the South played a very prominent part in driving out +the saloon. More than two-thirds of the Senators and members from the +Southern States voted for the submission of National Prohibition after +nearly all the Southern States had adopted prohibition by individual +act. The first four states to ratify were Southern Democratic +States--Mississippi, Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina. It is only +fair, however, to say that the West contested with the South the honour +of leading in this fight, and that the Northern States finally did +nearly as well as the Southern States in the matter of ratifying. And +it is better that the victory should be a joint one, expressing the +conscience of the nation regardless of party, than that it should be +merely a party victory. + +But the real credit for leadership belongs not to any party or to any +section, but to those whose consciences were quickened by the teachings +of the Bible. Total abstinence was naturally more prevalent among church +members than among those outside of the church, and this, of course, was +the foundation upon which prohibition rested. The arguments against the +use of liquor are the basis of the arguments in favour of prohibition. +Because liquor is harmful the saloon is intolerable. + +I venture to set forth the fundamental propositions upon which the +arguments for prohibition rested. + + First: God never made a human being who, in a normal state, needed + alcohol. + + Second: God never made a human being strong enough to begin the use + of alcohol and be sure that he would not become its victim. + + Third: God never fixed a day in a human life _after_ which it is + safe to begin the use of intoxicating liquors. + +These three propositions can be stated without limitation or mental +reservation. They apply to all who now live and to all who ever lived; +and will apply to all who may live hereafter. To these may be added +three propositions which apply especially to Christians. + +First: The Christian is a Christian because he has given himself in +pledge of service to God and to Christ. What moral right has he to take +into his body that which he knows will lessen his capacity for service +and _may_ destroy even his desire to serve? + +Second: What moral right has a Christian to spend for intoxicating +liquor money needed for the many noble and needy causes that appeal to a +Christian's heart? The Christian, repeating the language taught him by +the Master, prays to the Heavenly Father, "Thy kingdom come;" what right +has he to rise from his knees and spend for intoxicating liquor money +that he can spare to hasten the coming of God's kingdom on earth? + +Third: What right has a Christian to throw the influence of his example +on the side of a habit that has brought millions to the grave? We shall +have enough to answer for when we stand before the judgment bar of God +without having a ruined soul arise and testify that it was a Christian's +example that led him to his ruin. Paul declared that if meat made his +brother to offend he would eat no meat. What Christian can afford to say +less in regard to intoxicants? If the Christian drinks only a little +it is a small sacrifice to make for the aid of his brother; if the +Christian drinks enough to make stopping a real sacrifice he ought to +stop for his own sake, on his family's account and out of respect for +his church. + +While the harmfulness of liquor was the foundation upon which the +opposition to the saloon was built, it may be worth while to add that +popular government, by putting responsibility upon the voters, compelled +the Christian to vote against the saloon licenses. In all civilized +countries the sale of liquor is now so restricted that it cannot be +lawfully offered for sale without a license. As the license is necessary +to the existence of the saloon--as necessary as the liquor sold over the +bar--the Christian who voted for a license became as much a partner in +the business as the man who dispensed it, and he had even less excuse. +The manufacturer and the bartender could plead in extenuation that they +made money out of the business and money has led multitudes into sin. +For money many have been willing to steal; for money some have been +willing to murder; for money a few have been willing to sell their +country; for money one man was willing to betray the Saviour. The +Christian who voted for licenses had not even the poor excuse of those +who engaged in the business for mercenary reasons. As the consciences +became awakened, therefore, Christians, in increasing numbers, refused +to share responsibility for the saloon and what it did. + +Science contributed largely to the final victory. People used to say +that drinking did not hurt if one did not drink too much. But no one +could define how much "too much" was. The invisible line between "just +enough" and "too much" is like the line of the horizon--it recedes as +you approach until it is lost in the darkness of the night. + +Science proved that it is not immoderate drinking only, but +_any_ drinking that is harmful, and, therefore, that the real line is +that between not drinking and drinking. + +Science has also demonstrated, as I have shown in another lecture, that +drinking decreases one's expectancy, according to insurance tables; a +young man at twenty-one must deliberately decide to shorten his life by +more than ten per cent. if he becomes an habitual drinker. + +But, what is worse, science has shown that alcohol is a poison that runs +in the blood, so that the drinking of the father or mother may curse a +child unborn and close the door of hope upon it before its eyes have +opened to the light of day. + +Business aided us also, as large corporations increasingly discriminated +against those who drank. + +Patriotism furnished the last impulse; war threw a ghastly light upon +the evils of intemperance and upon the sordid greed of those engaged in +the liquor business. + +The reform will not turn back. Enforcement will become more strict in +this country as its benefits are more clearly shown and prohibition will +spread until the saloon will be abolished throughout the world. Although +now past sixty-one I expect to live to see the day when there will not +be an open saloon under the flag of any civilized nation. + +We are now able to prevent typhoid fever, the individual being made +immune by a treatment administered before he has been exposed to the +disease. Total abstinence resembles this preventive; no total abstainer +is in danger of alcoholism. + +But we also have a preventive for yellow fever, namely, the destroying +of the breeding place of the mosquito which carries the germ of the +disease. Prohibition resembles this preventive. The saloon was found +to be the breeding place of alcoholism and prohibition strikes at the +source of the danger. These two, total abstinence and prohibition, +will eliminate the drink evil as typhoid and yellow fever have been +eliminated. + +The fourth amendment adopted in recent years extended equal suffrage +to women. Like the three to which I have referred, it was a long time +coming and came at last by joint action of the two great parties. +A majority of both parties in both Senate and House voted for the +submission of this amendment and it required both Democratic and +Republican states to ratify it. The opposition which the amendment met +in the South was not due to lack of confidence in women, for nowhere in +the world is woman more highly estimated or more fully trusted. Such +local opposition as there was was due to the race question. Now that +woman can express herself at the polls, her influence will be felt as +much in the South as in other sections; it will throughout the United +States seal the doom of the liquor traffic. The women will stand guard +at the grave of John Barleycorn and make sure that he will never know a +resurrection morn. + +Drawing their inspiration from the Bible, even to a greater extent than +the men do, the women will hasten the triumph of every righteous cause. +They will throw their influence on the side of every moral reform. The +adoption of the single standard of morals will be made possible by +woman's advent into politics. Her ballot will make it easier to lift man +to her level in the matter of chastity and to distribute more equitably +than man has done, the punishments imposed for acts of immorality. + +Woman has come into power in politics at a time when she can aid in the +promotion of world peace by compelling the establishment of machinery +which will substitute reason for force in the settlement of +international disputes. Her first great triumph at the polls may be the +fulfilling of the prophecy, spoken more than two thousand years ago, +that swords shall be beaten into ploughshares and that nations shall +learn war no more. She will be repaid for all her patience and her +waiting if now, by her ballot, she can make it unnecessary for another +mother's son to be offered upon the altar of Mars. That this nation is +in a better position than ever before to lead the world in every good +cause is due to the gifts that have come with American citizenship, only +three of which I have had time to mention. + +Every citizen should be honest with himself, examine his own heart and +answer to his own conscience. What estimate does he place upon the +education which he has received? What value does he put upon the +religion that controls his heart? How highly does he prize the form of +government under which he lives? Let him put his own appraisement upon +these three great gifts; these sums added together will represent his +acknowledged indebtedness to society; then let him resolve to pay so +much of this incalculable debt as is within his power. + +We live in a goodly land. No king can shape our nation's destiny; not +even a President can have the final word as to what our nation is to be. +Each citizen, no matter how humble that citizen may be, can have a part. +Let us do our part; joining together, let us solve the problems with +which we have to deal, and, by so doing, bless our country and, through +it, other lands. Let us join together and raise the light of our +civilization so high that its rays, illumining every land, may lead the +world to those better things for which the world is praying. + + + + +VIII + +"HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE" + + +By way of introduction, allow me to say that I fully recognize the +difference between a _presentation_ of fundamental principles and an +_application_ of those principles to life. While an _application_ +of principles arouses greater interest it is more apt to bring out +differences of opinion and to excite controversy. But the Christian is +always open-minded because he desires to _know_ the right and to do it. +He "prove(s) all things and hold(s) fast that which is good." Therefore, +he welcomes light on every subject, from every source. It is in this +spirit that I speak to you and it is this spirit that I invoke. I speak +from conviction, formed after prayerful investigation, and am as anxious +to be informed as I am to inform. + +Some twenty years ago I turned back to the sixth verse of the ninth +chapter of Isaiah to refresh my memory on the titles bestowed on the +Messiah whose coming the prophet foretold. After reading verse six, my +eyes fell on verse seven and it impressed me as it had not on former +readings. This was probably because I had recently been giving attention +to governmental problems and had occasionally heard advanced a very +gloomy philosophy, namely, that a government, being the work of +man, must, like man, pass through certain changes that mark a human +life--that is, be born, grow strong, and then, after a period of +maturity, decline and die. It is a repulsive doctrine and my heart +rebelled against it. It offends one's patriotism, too, to be compelled +to admit that, in spite of all that can be done, our government _must +some day perish_. In verse seven we read of a government that _will not +die_: + +"Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, ... +to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even +forever." + +The fault in the philosophy to which I have referred lies in the fact +that while government is each day in control of those then living, +it really belongs to generations rather than to individuals. As one +generation passes off the stage another comes on; therefore, there is no +reason why this government should ever be weaker or worse than it is now +unless our people decline in virtue, intelligence and patriotism. It +should grow better as the people improve. + +In the verse quoted we find that the enduring government--the government +of Christ--is to rest on justice. And so, our government must rest on +justice if it is to endure. But what is justice? We are familiar with +this word but how shall it be interpreted in governmental terms? Christ +furnished the solution--He presented a scheme of Universal Brotherhood +in which justice will be possible. + +To show how important this doctrine of brotherhood is, let us consider +for a moment the alternative relationship. There are but two attitudes +that one can assume in regard to his fellowmen--the attitude of brother +and the attitude of the brute; there is no middle ground. + +This is the choice that each human being must make--a choice as distinct +and fundamental as the choice between God and Baal; and it is a choice +not unlike that. + +One may be a very weak brother or a very feeble brute, but each person +is, consciously or unconsciously, controlled by the sympathetic spirit +of brotherhood or he hunts for spoil with the savage hunger of a beast +of prey. + +I am not making a new classification; I am merely calling attention to +a classification that has come down from the beginning of history. Many +years ago I heard a man from New Zealand tell how a cannibal in that +country once supported his claim to a piece of land on the ground that +the title passed to him when he ate the former owner. I accepted this +story as a bit of humour, but it accurately describes an historic form +of title. Even among the highly civilized nations governments convey to +their subjects or citizens land secured by conquest, the lands being +taken from the conquered by the conquerors. A tramp, so the story goes, +being ordered out of a nobleman's yard, questioned the owner's title. +The latter explained that the title to the land had come down to him +in unbroken line from father to son through a period of 700 years, +beginning with an ancestor who fought for it. "Let's fight for it +again," suggested the tramp. + +To show how ancient is the distinction that I am trying to make clear, I +remind you that both the Psalmist and Solomon used the word "brutish" +in describing certain kinds of men, and one of the minor prophets calls +down wrath upon those who build a city with blood. Christ, it will be +remembered, denounced the hypocrites who devoured widows' houses and for +a pretense made long prayers. + +The devouring did not cease with that generation; it is to-day a menace +to stable government and to civilization itself. In times of peace we +have the profiteer who is guilty of practices which violate all rules +of morality even when they do not actually violate statute law. In this +"Land of the free and home of the brave," we have been compelled to +enact laws to restrain brutishness--not only laws to prevent assault, +murder, arson, the white slave traffic, etc., but also laws to restrain +men engaged in legitimate business. Pure food laws prevent the +adulteration of that which the people eat--men were willing to destroy +health and even life in order to add to their profits. Child labour laws +have become necessary to keep employers from dwarfing the bodies, minds +and souls of the young in their haste to make larger dividends. + +Usury laws are necessary to protect the borrowers from the lenders, and, +from occasional violations, we can judge what the condition would be if +the very respectable business of banking was not strictly regulated by +law. We have an anti-trust law intended to prevent the devouring +of small industries by large ones--law made necessary by injustice +nation-wide in extent. + +Congress and the legislatures of the several states are constantly +compelled to legislate against so-called "business" enterprises that are +being conducted on a brute basis--some are combinations in restraint of +trade, others are merely gambling transactions. For a generation the +agriculturists, who constitute about one-third of our entire population, +have been at the mercy of a comparatively small group of market gamblers +who, by betting, force prices up or down for their own pecuniary gain. +An anti-option law has been recently enacted after an agitation of +nearly thirty years, and also a law regulating the packers. These are +only a few illustrations; they could be multiplied without limit. They +show how unbrotherly society sometimes is even in this highly favoured +nation. + +How can Christ's teachings relieve the situation? Easily. He dealt with +fundamentals, and gave special attention to the causes of evil. He +taught, first, that man should love God--the basis of all religion; +second, He taught that man should commune with the Heavenly Father +through prayer--the basis of all worship; third, He proclaimed the +existence of a future life in which the righteous shall be rewarded and +the wicked punished. These three doctrines contribute powerfully to +morality, the basis of stable government. In another address I have +called attention to the destructive influence exerted by the doctrine of +evolution, as applied to man, and have pointed out how Darwinism +weakens faith in God, makes a mockery of prayer, undermines belief in +immortality, reduces Christ to the stature of a man, lessens the sense +of brotherhood and encourages brutishness. It is unnecessary, therefore, +to dwell upon this subject in this address. + +Christ warned against the sins into which man is sure to fall when the +heart is not wholly devoted to the service of God. He shows how evil in +the heart will manifest itself in the life. Greed is at the bottom of +most of the wrong-doing with which government has to deal. The Bible +says "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." + +It surely is responsible for unspeakable ills. The case is so plain that +human reason would seem sufficient to furnish a cure. It ought not to +be difficult to agree upon the principles that should govern legitimate +accumulations. + +There are two propositions that cover the whole ground; one is economic +and the other rests upon religion. Both are based upon the laws of God, +but one can be enforced by the government, while the other is binding on +the conscience alone. + +The divine law of rewards is self-evident. When God gave us the earth +with its fertile soil, the sunshine with its warmth and the rains with +their moisture, His voice proclaimed as clearly as if it had issued from +the skies: Go work, and in proportion to your industry and ability so +shall be your reward. This is God's law and it will prevail except where +force suspends it or cunning evades it. It is the duty of the Church to +teach, and the duty of Christians to respect, God's law of rewards. + +It is the duty of the government to give free course and full sway to +the divine law of rewards; first, by abstaining from interference with +that law; and second, by preventing interference by individuals. No +defense need be made of the righteousness of this law; just in so far +as the government can make it possible for each individual to draw from +society according to his contribution to the welfare of society it will +encourage the maximum of effort on the part of the individual and, +therefore, on the part of society as a whole. If some receive more than +their share, others will necessarily receive less than their share--the +very essence of injustice; the former will become indolent because work +is not required of them and the latter will grow desperate because +their toil is not fairly rewarded. Injustice is the greatest enemy of +government. + +But there is a sphere which the government cannot and should not +invade. The government's work ends when it has insured just rewards by +preventing unjust profits, but even a just government cannot bring about +an equal distribution of happiness. It can and should guarantee equality +before the law--that is, equality of opportunity and equal treatment at +the hand of the government--but that will not insure equal prosperity to +each or bestow on all an equal amount of enjoyment. Ability will have to +be taken into consideration, and likewise, industry, integrity and many +other factors. + +While the government can encourage all the virtues it cannot compel +them; there is a zone between that Which can be legally required and +that which is morally desirable. When the government has done all in +its power--all that it can do and all that it should do--there will be +inequalities in success, based upon inequalities in merit. There must, +therefore, be a spiritual law to govern when the statute law, based upon +economic principles, has reached its limit. + +Christ suggests such a law--the law of stewardship. We hold what we +have--no matter how justly acquired--in trust. That which is ours by +economic right and by the government's permission, is not ours to waste. +We have no more moral right to squander it foolishly than we have to +throw away our bodily strength, our mental energy or our moral worth. + +When we analyze ourselves we find that there is little of real value in +us for which we can claim sole credit. We inherit much from ancestry +and draw much from environment long before we are able to choose our +surroundings. The ideals which come to us from others will account for +nearly all that we do not derive from the past and from those among whom +we spend our youth. If one has accepted Christ, received forgiveness of +sin and been brought into living contact with the Heavenly Father, +he becomes indebted beyond the power of language to describe. Our +indebtedness if discharged at all must be paid not, as a rule, to those +who have contributed most largely to making us what we are, but by +general service to those now living and to those who succeed us. Our +debtors are as impersonal as our creditors. + +Nothing could contribute more to the security of the government than +an approximation to the divine standard of rewards, and if all then +recognized and obeyed the law of stewardship nearly all the complaint +that would still exist would be silenced by the volunteer service +rendered by the fortunate to the unfortunate. + +"The mob"--the terror of orderly government--has been described by +Victor Hugo as "the human race in misery." When the brotherhood of +Christ is established a just standard of rewards will abolish law-made +misery and private benevolence will relieve such suffering as may come +upon the members of society without their fault and in spite of all the +government can do. + +But plain as are the dangers arising from love of money, and reasonable +as seem the means of meeting them, the mad race for riches goes on all +over the world. The mind is powerless to call a halt; intellectual +processes fail--man needs a voice that can speak with authority--a voice +that must be obeyed. He needs even more--he needs to be born again. His +heart must be cleansed and his thoughts turned to higher things. It is +to such that Christ appeals when He asks: "What shall it profit a man if +he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Let man cease +to be brutish and become brotherly and he will need few restraining +statutes. + +If it is brutish to turn so-called legitimate business into grand +larceny, what shall be said of those forms of money-making that deprave +both parties to the transaction? The liquor traffic furnished the best +illustration of the power of the dollar to blind the eyes of greedy men +to the crime and misery produced by drink. The beneficiaries of this +wicked business formerly included high church officials--and does yet in +some countries--who swelled their incomes with the dividends collected +from vice; they included also highly respected brewers and distillers as +well as saloon-keepers of all degrees. The fact that the liquor traffic +manufactured criminals, ruined men and women, produced poverty, +disrupted families, lowered the standard of education, lessened +attendance upon worship and even afflicted little children before their +birth, was not sufficient to deter people from engaging in it--even +some calling themselves Christians. The handling of intoxicating drinks +continued openly until these centers of pollution were closed by an +emphatic expression of the nation's conscience. + +Now, the fight is against the bootlegger and the smuggler. The man who +peddles liquor, like the man who sells habit-forming drugs, is an outlaw +and his trade is branded as an enemy of society. The sanction given to +prohibition by the law brings to its support all who respect orderly +government and reduces the enemies of prohibition to those whose +fondness for drink, or for the profits obtainable from its illicit sale, +is sufficient to overcome conscientious scruples and a sense of civic +duty. Those who oppose prohibition now are shameless enough to become +voluntary companions of the lawless members of society, but this number +will constantly decrease as the virtue of the country asserts itself +at the polls in the election of officials who are in sympathy with the +enforcement of the law. + +The unrest which pervades the industrial world to-day also threatens the +stability of government. The members of the Capitalistic group and the +members of the Labour group are becoming more and more class-conscious; +they are solidifying as if they looked forward with a vague dread +to what they regard as an inevitable class conflict. The same plan, +Universal Brotherhood, can reconcile all class differences. Is there any +other plan? Christ died for all--the employer as well as the employee; +He is the friend of those who pay wages as well as of those who work for +wages; the children of one class are as dear to Him as the children of +the other. His creed brings man into harmony with God and then teaches +him to love his neighbour as himself. To put human rights before +property rights--the man before the dollar, is simply to put the +teachings of the Saviour into modern language and apply them to +present-day conditions. + +The whole code of morals of the Nazarene is a protest against the +attitude of antagonism between capital and labour. He pleads for +sympathy and fellowship. Every worker should give to society the maximum +of his productive power--but he cannot do this unless he is a willing +worker. Every employer should give to society the maximum of his +organizing and directing ability, but he cannot do it unless he is a +satisfied employer. What plan but the plan of Christ can fill the world +with _willing workers_ and _satisfied employers?_ Capitalism, supported +by force, cannot save civilization; neither can government by any +class assure the justice that makes for permanence in government. Only +brotherly love can make employers willing to pay fair compensation for +work done and employees anxious to give fair work for their wages. + +One of the first fruits of the spirit of brotherhood will be +investigation before strike or lockout, just as our nation has provided +for investigation before war. If these bloody conflicts cannot be +entirely abolished to-day the civilized nations should at least know +_why_ they are to shoot before they begin shooting. The world, too, +should know. War is not a private affair; it disturbs the commerce of +the world, obstructs the ocean's highways and kills innocent bystanders. +Neutral nations suffer as well as those at war. If peacefully inclined +nations cannot avoid loss and suffering _after_ war is begun, they +certainly have a right to demand information as to the nature and merits +of the dispute _before_ any nation begins to "shoot up" civilization. + +The strike and the lockout are to our industrial life what war is +between nations, and the general public stands in much the same position +as neutral nations. The number of those actually injured by a suspension +of industry is often many times as great as the total number of +employers and employees in that industry combined. + +If, for instance, ninety-five per cent, of the people are asked to +freeze while the mine owners and the mine workers (numbering possibly +five per cent.) fight out their differences, have they not a right to +demand information as to the merits of the dispute before the shivering +begins? If the home builders are asked to suspend construction while +the steel manufacturers and steel workers (but a small fraction of the +population) go to war over the terms of employment, have they not a +right to inquire why before they begin to move into tents? And so with +disputes between railroads and their employees. + +Compulsory _arbitration_ of _all_ disputes between labour and capital +is as improbable as compulsory arbitration of _all_ disputes between +nations, but the compulsory _investigation_ of all disputes (before +lockout or strike) will come as soon as the Golden Rule--an expression +of brotherhood--is adopted in industry. When each man loves his +neighbour as himself all rights will be safeguarded--the rights of +employees, the rights of employers and the rights of the public--that +important third party that furnishes the profits for the employer and +the wages for the employee. + +Ambition has been a disturbing factor in government. The ambitions of +monarchs have overthrown governments and enslaved races. In republics, +the ambitions of aspirants for office have caused revolutions and +corrupted politics. No form of government is immune to the evils that +flow from ambition, or proof against those who plot for their own +political advancement. For this evil, too, Christ has a remedy. He +changes the point of view. It seems a simple thing, but behold the +transformation! "Let him who would be chiefest among you be servant of +all." He makes service the measure of greatness. This is one of the most +important of the many great doctrines taught by the Saviour. It puts +the accent on _giving_ instead of _getting_; it measures a life by the +_outflow_ rather than by the _income_. Men had been in the habit of +estimating their greatness by the amount of service they could coerce or +buy; Christ taught them to measure their greatness by service rendered +to others. A wonderful transformation will take place in this old world +when all are animated by a desire to contribute to the public good +rather than by an ambition to absorb as much as possible from society. + +Brotherhood is easily established among those who "in honour prefer one +another"--who are willing to hold office when they are needed, but +as willing to serve under others as to command. It is impossible +to overestimate the contribution that Christ has made to enduring +government in suppressing unworthy ambition and in implanting high and +ennobling ideals. + +War may be mentioned as the fourth foe of enduring government. It is the +resultant of many forces. Love of money is probably more responsible for +modern wars than any other one cause; commercial rivalries lead nations +into injustice and unfair dealing. + +Wars are sometimes waged to extend trade--the blood of many being shed +to enrich a few. The supplying of battleships and munitions is so +profitable a business that wars are encouraged by some for the money +they bring to certain classes. Prejudices are aroused, jealousies are +stirred up and hatreds are fanned into flame. Class conflicts cause wars +and selfish ambitions have often embroiled nations; in fact, war is like +a boil, it indicates that there is poison in the blood. Christ is the +great physician whose teachings purify the blood of the body politic and +restore health. + +In dealing with the subject of war we cannot ignore another great +foundation principle of Christianity, namely, forgiveness. The war +through which the world has recently passed is not only without a +parallel in the blood and treasure it has cost, but it was a typical war +in that nearly every important war-producing cause contributed to the +fierceness of the conflict. Personal ambition, trade rivalries, the +greed of munition-makers, race hatreds and revenge--all played a part in +the awful tragedy. Thirty millions of human lives were sacrificed; three +hundred billion dollars' worth of property was destroyed; more than two +hundred billion dollars of indebtedness was added to the burden that +the world was already carrying. The paper currency of the nations was +swollen from seven billions to fifty-six and the gold reserve dwindled +from seventy per cent. to twelve. + +And, oh, the pity! nearly every great nation engaged in the war was a +Christian nation and every important branch of the Church was involved! +And this occurred nineteen hundred years after the birth of the Saviour, +at whose coming the angels sang, "on earth, peace, good-will to men." + +The world is weary of war. If blood is necessary for the remission of +sins, enough has been spilled to atone for the wrong done by all who +live upon the earth; if sorrow is necessary to repentance and reform, +enough tears have been shed to wash away all the crimes of the past. +This last plague would seem to have been sufficient to release the world +from bondage to force--if so, mankind is ready to turn over a new leaf +and set about the task of finding a way to prevent war. + +As Christ can remove the pecuniary cause of war by purging the heart of +that love of money which leads men into evil doings, the class-conflict +cause by stimulating brotherly love, and the ambition cause, by setting +up a new measure of greatness; so He can subdue hatred and silence the +cry for revenge. + +"Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord," should be a +restraint, but Christ goes farther and commands us to love our enemies. +That was the complete cure for which the world was not ready when God +made Moses His spokesman. "Thou shalt not," came first; "Thou shalt," +came later. Christ's creed compels positive helpfulness and love is the +basis of that creed. + +Love makes money-grabbing seem contemptible; love makes class prejudice +impossible; love makes selfish ambition a thing to be despised; love +converts enemies into friends. + +It may encourage us to expect Christ's teachings to bring world peace +if we consider for a moment what has already been accomplished in the +establishing of peace between individuals. Take, for instance, the +doctrine of forgiveness as applied to indebtedness. In Christ's time +debtors were not only imprisoned but members of the family could be sold +into bondage to satisfy a pecuniary obligation. In Matthew (chap. 18) +we have a picture of the cruelty which the creditor was permitted to +practice: + + Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, + which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun + to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand + talents [ten million dollars]. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, + his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and + all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell + down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and + I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with + compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same + servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants which owed + him an hundred pence [seventeen dollars]; and he laid hands on him, + and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his + fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have + patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but + went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when + his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and + came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, + after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, + I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest + not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I + had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the + tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. + +If Christ were to reappear to-day he would find imprisonment for debt +abolished throughout nearly all, if not the entire, civilized world. The +law stays the hand of the creditor, or rather withholds from him the +instruments of torture which he formerly employed. Here we have the +doctrine of forgiveness applied in a very practical form. It is based on +mercy, and yet in a larger sense it rests on justice and promotes the +welfare of society. + +But compassion has gone further; we have the exemption law which secures +to the debtor the food necessary for his family and the tools by which +he makes his living. Christ's doctrine has been applied further still; +we have the bankruptcy law which gives a new lease of life to an +insolvent debtor if his failure is without criminal fault on his +part. By turning over to his creditors all the property he has above +exemptions he can go forth from court free from all legal obligations +and begin business unembarrassed. Some who take advantage of these +provisions of the law may be indifferent to the Teacher whose loving +spirit has thus conquered the hard heart of the world, but the triumph +marks a step in human advance and suggests possible changes in other +directions as the principle is increasingly applied to daily life. + +International law still permits greater cruelty in war than accompanied +imprisonment for debt. National obligations are enforced by killing the +innocent as well as the guilty. Ports are blockaded, cities are besieged +and even bombed, and non-combatants are starved and drowned. + +As imprisonment for debt has disappeared and as duelling is giving way +to the suit at law, so war will be succeeded by courts of arbitration +and tribunals for investigation. All real progress toward peace is in +line with the teachings of the Nazarene and this progress hastens the +coming of governments that shall endure. + +With the conclusion of the World War our nation confronts such an +opportunity as never came to any other nation--such an opportunity as +never came to our nation before. We were the only great nation that +sought no selfish advantage and had no old scores to settle, no spirit +of revenge to gratify. Our contributions were made for the world's +benefit--to end war and make self-government respected everywhere. We +entered the conflict at the time when we could render the maximum of +service with a minimum of sacrifice. At the peace conference we asked +nothing for ourselves--no territorial additions, no indemnities, no +reimbursements--just world peace, universal and perpetual. That was to +be our recompense. + +It is not entirely the fault of other nations that they do not stand +exactly in the same position that we do. In many respects their +situations are different from ours. They have received from the past an +inheritance of race and national hostility; they have their commercial +ambitions; they have their military and naval groups with antiquated +standards of honour, not to speak of those who, feeding on war +contracts, feel that they have a vested interest in carnage. Besides +these hindrances to peace they lack several advantages which we enjoy +over any other nation of importance, viz., more complete information in +regard to other people, a more general sympathy with other nations and a +greater moral obligation to them. Our nation being made up of the best +blood of the nations of Europe, we learn to know the people at home +through the representatives who come here. Because of our intimate +connection with the foreign elements of our country our sympathy goes +out to all lands; and because we have received from other nations as no +other nation ever did, we are in duty bound to give as no other nation +has given. + +We have given the world a peace plan that provides for the investigation +of all disputes before a resort to arms--a plan that gives time +for passions to subside and for reason to resume her sway. We have +substituted the maxim: "Nothing is final between friends," for the +old-fashioned diplomacy based on threats and ultimatums. We have turned +from the blood-stained precedents of the past and invoked a spirit of +brotherhood for the purpose of preventing wars. These treaties contain +a provision which, though seemingly very simple, is profoundly +significant. In former times treaties ran for a certain number of years +and then lapsed unless renewed. The thirty treaties negotiated by our +nation in 1913 and 1914 with three-quarters of the world, providing for +_investigation_ of _all_ disputes before hostilities can begin, run for +five years and then, instead of lapsing, continue until one year after +one of the parties to the treaty has formally demanded its termination. +Note the difference: the old treaties gave the presumption to war--the +new treaties give the presumption to peace. As our constitution requires +a two-thirds vote for ratification of a treaty, a minority of the Senate +(as few as one-third plus one) could prevent the renewal of a treaty; +under the new plan the treaty continues indefinitely until a majority +denounce it. + +But while we have made a splendid beginning as the leader of the peace +movement in the world much remains to be done. Our nation should lead in +the crusade for disarmament; no other nation is so well qualified for +leadership in this movement so necessary for civilization. The desire +for peace, intensified by the agonies of an unprecedented war, ought to +be sufficient to bring about disarmament; it should be unnecessary +to invoke financial reasons. But national debts have increased so +enormously as to have become unbearable and the world must disarm or +face universal bankruptcy. The reaction against militarism is more +advanced, but the reaction against navalism is just as sure to come--one +cannot survive without the support of the other. Rivalry in the building +of battleships will not long be tolerated after rivalry in land forces +has been abandoned. + +The United States should be the champion of the Christian method of +preserving peace--and the world is ready for it. The devil never won +a greater victory than when he persuaded statesmen to make the absurd +experiment of trying to prevent war by getting ready for it. "Arm +yourselves," he whispered, "and you will never have to use your +weapons." How his Satanic majesty must have gloated over the gullibility +of his dupes. + +John Bright, Quaker statesman of Great Britain, pointed out the fallacy +of this policy. He called it, "Worshipping the scimitar" and predicted +that it would invite war instead of preventing it. But the din of the +munition factories drowned the voice of protest and the civilized +world--yes, the Christian world--went into a prepared war, each nation +protesting that it was drawn into the conflict against its will. + +Permanent peace cannot rest upon terrorism; friendship alone can inspire +peace, and friendship has no swagger in its gait; it does not flourish a +sword. Our nation has invited the world to a conference to consider the +limitation of armaments; if disarmament by agreement fails we should +enter upon a systematic policy of reduction ourselves and by so doing +arouse the Christians, the friends of humanity and the toilers of the +world to the criminal folly of the brute method of dealing with this +question. + +We should also join the world in creating a tribunal before which every +complaint of international injustice can be heard. If reason is to be +substituted for force the forum instituted for the consideration of +these questions must have authority to hear all issues between nations, +in order that public opinion, based upon information, may compel such +action as may be necessary to remove discord. + +It does not lessen the value of such a tribunal to withhold from it the +power to enforce its findings by the weapons of warfare. In the case of +our own nation, we have no constitutional right to transfer to another +nation authority to declare war for us, or to impair our freedom of +action when the time for action arrives. + +Then, too, the judgment that rests upon its merits alone, and is not +enforceable by war, is more apt to be fair than one that can be executed +by those who render it. A persuasive plea appeals to the reason; a +command is usually uttered in an entirely different spirit. + +There is another difference between a recommendation and a decree; if +the European nations could call our army and navy into their service +at any time they might yield to the temptation to use our resources +to advance their ambitions. As the man who carries a revolver is more +likely than an unarmed man to be drawn into a fight, so the European +nations would be more apt to engage in selfish quarrels if they carried +the fighting power of the United States in their hip pocket. For +their own good, as well as for our protection and for the saving of +civilization, it is well to require a clear and complete statement of +the reasons for the war and of the ends that the belligerents have in +view, before we mingle our blood with theirs upon the battle-field. + +Our nation is in an ideal position; it has financial power and moral +prestige; it has disinterestedness of purpose and far-reaching sympathy. +When to these qualifications for leadership independence of action is +added we can render the maximum of service to the world. + +It matters not what name is given to the cooperative body; it may be a +League of Nations or an Association of Nations or anything else. The +name is a mere form; the tribunal should be the greatest that has ever +assembled. Our delegates should be chosen by the people _directly_, as +our senators, our congressmen, our governors, and our legislators are, +and as our President virtually is. Representatives chosen to speak for +the American people on such momentous themes as will be discussed in +that body should have their commissions signed by the sovereign voters +themselves. We cannot afford to intrust the selection of these delegates +to the President or to Congress. The members of our delegation should +not be discredited by any flavour of presidential favouritism or by any +taint of Congressional log-rolling. + +Delegates, selected by popular vote in districts, would reflect the +sentiment of the entire country, and their power would be enhanced +rather than decreased if they were compelled to seek endorsement of +their views on vital questions at a referendum vote. Their authority to +cast the nation's vote for war ought to be subject to the approval of +the people, expressed at the ballot box. Those who are to furnish the +blood and take upon themselves the burden of war-debts ought to be +consulted before the solemn duties and the sacrifices of war are +required of them. + +Our nation can, by its example, teach the world the true meaning of that +democracy which was to be made safe throughout the world. The essence of +democracy is found in the right of the people to have what they want, +and experience shows that the best way to find out what the people want +is to ask them. There is more virtue in the people themselves than can +be found anywhere else; the faults of popular government result chiefly +from the embezzlement of power by representatives of the people--the +people themselves are not often at fault. But, suppose they make +mistakes occasionally: have they not a right to make _their own +mistakes_? Who has a right to make mistakes for them? + +The Saviour not only furnished a solution for all of life's problems, +individual and governmental, national and international, but He also +called His followers to the performance of the duties of citizenship: +"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things +that are God's," was the answer that Christ made to those who were +quibbling about the claims of the government under which they lived. + +The citizen is a unit of the community in which he lives and a part of +his government. Our government derives its power from the consent of the +governed; what kind of a government would we have if all Christians were +indifferent to its claims? No rule can be laid down for one citizen that +does not apply to all; each citizen, therefore, should bear his share of +the burden if he is to claim his share of the government protection. The +teachings of Christ require that we should respect the rights of others +as well as insist upon the recognition of our own rights. In fact, the +recognition of the rights of others is a higher form of patriotism than +mere insistence upon that which is due us and the spirit of brotherhood +is calculated to create just such a community of interest. Each will +find his security in the safety of all--the welfare of each being the +concern of the whole group. + +In a government like ours the Christian is compelled by conscience to +avoid sins of omission as well as sins of commission; he must not only +avoid the doing of evil, but he must not permit wrong-doing by law if +he can prevent it. In other words, the conscientious citizen must +understand the principles of his government, the methods employed by his +government and the policies that come before the government for +adoption or rejection. He is a partner in a very important business--a +stockholder in the greatest of all corporations. If the good people of +the land do not do their duty as citizens they may be sure that bad +people will use the power and instrumentalities of government for their +own advantage and for the injury of the many. + +An indifferent Christian? It is impossible. A Christian cannot be +indifferent without betraying a sacred trust. And yet every bad law, and +every bad condition that can be remedied by a good law, proclaims an +indifferent citizenship or a citizenship lacking in virtue, for popular +government is merely a reflection of the character of its active +citizenship. + +The charitable view to take of a nation's failure to have the best +government, the best laws and the best administration possible, is not +that the citizenship is lacking in virtue and good intent, but that +it is lacking in information. It is the business of the good citizen, +therefore, to encourage the spread of accurate information--the +dissemination of light--in order that those who "love darkness rather +than light because their deeds are evil" may not be able to work under +cover. No evil can stand long against a united Christian citizenship; +witness how prohibition came as soon as the churches united against the +saloon. + +Having faith in the power of truth to win its way when understood, +Christians believe in publicity and are not afraid to call every evil +before the bar of public judgment. Believing in the superhuman wisdom of +Christ, as well as in the saving power of His blood, they are bold to +apply His code of morals to every problem. His is a name that will +increasingly arouse the hosts of righteousness to irresistible attacks +on the brutishness that endangers government, society and civilization. + +I am so confident that the Christian citizenship of this country will +prove faithful to every trust and rise to the requirements of every +emergency that I venture to repeat a forecast of our nation's future, +made more than twenty years ago: + +I can conceive of a national destiny which meets the responsibilities +of to-day and measures up to the possibilities of to-morrow. Behold +a republic, resting securely upon the mountain of eternal truth--a +republic applying in practice and proclaiming to the world the +self-evident propositions that all men are created equal; that they are +endowed with inalienable rights; that governments are instituted among +men to secure these rights; and that governments derive their just +powers from the consent of the governed. Behold a republic, in which +civil and religious liberty stimulate all to earnest endeavour and in +which the law restrains every hand uplifted for a neighbour's injury--a +republic in which every citizen is a sovereign, but in which no one +cares to wear a crown. Behold a republic, standing erect, while empires +all around are bowed beneath the weight of their own armaments--a +republic whose flag is loved while other flags are only feared. Behold +a republic, increasing in population, in wealth, in strength and in +influence; solving the problems of civilization, and hastening the +coming of an universal brotherhood--a republic which shakes thrones +and dissolves aristocracies by its silent example and gives light and +inspiration to those who sit in darkness. Behold a republic, gradually +but surely becoming the supreme moral factor to the world's progress and +the accepted arbiter of the world's disputes--a republic whose history +like the path of the just--"is as the shining light that shineth more +and more unto the perfect day." + + + + +IX + +THE SPOKEN WORD + + +Some have prophesied that with the spread of the newspaper public +speaking would decline--but the prediction has not been fulfilled and +its failure is easily explained. In the first place, the written +page can never be a substitute for the message delivered orally. The +newspaper vastly multiplies the audience but they hear only the echo, +not the speech itself. One cannot write as he speaks because he lacks +the inspiration furnished by an audience. Gladstone has very happily +described the influence exerted by the audience upon the speaker, +an influence which returns to the audience stamped with his own +personality. He says that the speaker draws inspiration from the +audience in the form of mist and pours it back in a flood. It need +hardly be added that this refers to speaking without manuscript, but +reading, while always regrettable, is sometimes necessary--especially +when accuracy is more important than the immediate effect. + +In order to secure both accuracy and animation it is well to prepare the +speech in advance and then revise it after delivery. + +With increased intelligence a larger percentage of the population are +able to think upon their feet, to take part in public discussions and +to give their community and country the benefit of their conscience and +judgment. The fraternities and labour and commercial organizations have +largely aided in the development of speaking by the exchange of views at +their regular meetings. The extension of popular government naturally +increases public speaking as it brings the masses into closer relation +to the government and makes them more and more a controlling force in +politics. + +The newspapers, instead of making the stump unnecessary, often increase +the necessity for face to face communication in order that both sides +may be represented and, sometimes, in order that misrepresentations may +be exposed. + +No substitute can be found for the pulpit. Earnestness which finds +expression through the voice cannot be communicated through the printed +page. If we are thrilled by what we read it gives us only a glimpse of +the power of speech to stir the soul. If the spoken word is to continue +to play an important part in the communication of information and in the +compelling of thought it is worth while to consider some of the rules +that contribute to the effectiveness of the pulpit and the platform. + +Sometimes I receive a letter from a young man who informs me that he is +a born orator and asks what such an one should do to prepare him for his +life-work. I answer that while an orator must be born like others his +success will not depend on inheritance, neither will a favourable +environment in youth assure it. An ancestor's fame may inspire him to +effort and the associations of the fireside may stimulate, but ability +to speak effectively is an acquirement rather than a gift. + +Eloquence may be defined as the speech of one who _knows what he is +talking about_ and _means what he says_--it is _thought on fire_. One +cannot communicate information unless he possesses it. There is quite a +difference in people in this respect; we say of one that he knows more +than he can tell and, of another, that he can tell all he knows, but it +is a reflection upon a man to say that he can tell more than he knows. + +The first thing, therefore, is to know the subject. One should know his +subject so well that a question will aid rather than embarrass him. A +question from the audience annoys one only when the speaker is _unable_ +to answer it or does not _want_ to answer it. Many a speaker has +been brought into ridicule by a question that revealed his lack of +information on the subject; and a speaker has sometimes been routed by +a question that revealed something he intended to conceal. Before +discussing a subject one should go all around it and view it from every +standpoint, asking and answering all the questions likely to be put by +his opponents. Nothing strengthens a speaker more than to be able +to answer every question put to him. His argument is made much more +forcible because the question focuses attention on the particular point; +a ready answer makes a deeper impression than the speaker could make +by the use of the same language without the benefit of the question to +excite interest in the proposition. + +But knowledge is of little use to the speaker without earnestness. +Persuasive speech is from heart to heart, not from mind to mind. It is +difficult for a speaker to deceive his audience as to his own feelings; +it takes a trained actor to make an imaginary thing seem real. Nearly +two thousand years ago one of the Latin poets expressed this thought +when he said, "If you would draw tears from others' eyes, yourself the +signs of grief must show." + +If one is master of an important subject and feels that he has a message +that must be delivered he will not lack a hearing. As there are always +important subjects before the country for settlement there will always +be oratory. In order to speak eloquently on one subject a man need not +be well informed on a large number of subjects, although information on +all subjects is of value. One who can in a general way discuss a large +number of subjects may be entirely outclassed by one who knows but one +subject but knows it well and _feels_ it. + +The pulpit has developed many great orators because it furnishes the +largest subject with which one can deal. The preacher who knows the +Bible and feels that every human being needs the message that the Bible +contains cannot fail to reach the hearts of his hearers. Dr. E. Benjamin +Andrews, once the President of Brown University and later Chancellor +of Nebraska University, told me of a sermon that he heard Jasper, the +coloured preacher of Richmond, deliver late in life on an anniversary +occasion. Jasper claimed nothing for himself but attributed his long +pastorate and whatever influence he had to the fact that he preached +from only one book--the Bible. + +When I was in college I heard a visitor draw a contrast between Cicero +and Demosthenes. I am not sure that it is fair to Cicero but it brings +out an important distinction. As I recall it, the speaker said, "When +Cicero spake the people said, 'How well Cicero speaks'; when Demosthenes +spake his hearers cried, 'Let us go against Philip.'" One impressed +himself upon his audience while the other impressed his subject. It need +hardly be said that in all effective oratory the speaker succeeds in +proportion as he can make his hearers forget him in their absorption +in the subject that he presents. I may add that there is a practical +advantage in the speaker's diverting attention from himself. There is +only one of him and he would soon become monotonous if he continually +thrust himself forward; but, as subjects are innumerable, he can give +infinite variety to his speech by putting the emphasis upon the theme. + +It is better that the audience, when it breaks up, should gather into +groups and discuss what the speaker said than to go away saying, "What a +delightful speech it was," and yet not remember the things said. Whether +the statements made are true or not it does no harm to have them +challenged; if some dispute what has been said and others defend the +speaker it is certain that thought has been aroused, and thinking leads +to truth. That is why freedom of speech is so essential in a republic; +it is the only process by which truth can be separated from error and +made to stand forth in all its strength. We should, therefore, invite +discussion. + +While acquaintance with the subject and heartfelt interest in it are the +first essentials of convincing speech, there are other qualities that +greatly strengthen discourse. First among these I would put _clearness +of statement_. Jefferson declared in the Declaration of Independence +that _certain_ truths are self-evident. It is a very conservative +statement of an important fact; it could be made stronger: _all truth is +self-evident_. The best service one can render a truth, therefore, is to +state it so clearly that it can be understood. This does not mean that +every self-evident truth will be immediately accepted because there are +many things that interfere with the acceptance of truth. + +First, let us consider depth of conviction. Some people take their +convictions more seriously than others. In India I heard a missionary +speak of another person as having "no opinions--nothing but +convictions"; while one of the enemies of Gladstone described him as +being the only person he ever knew who "could improvise the convictions +of a lifetime." Depth of conviction gives great force to an individual +when he is going in the right direction, but he is difficult to change +if he is going in the wrong direction. When I visited the Hermitage for +the first time they told me of an old coloured man, formerly a slave of +Jackson's, who survived his master many years. He was, of course, an +object of interest and many questions were asked in regard to Jackson's +characteristics. One visitor inquired of him if he thought Andrew +Jackson went to heaven. He quickly responded, "If he sot his head that +way, he did." + +Prejudice also delays the spread of truth. People sometimes brace +themselves against arguments. If I may be pardoned a personal +illustration I will cite a case of political prejudice that came under +my own observation. I was speaking in a town in western Nebraska, an +out-of-the-way place that I had seldom visited. A friend heard a man +say, "Well, I never heard him and I thought I would come and see what he +has to say." And then, with a determined look upon his face he added, +"But he will not convince me." Political prejudice is not so hard to +overcome as race prejudice and race prejudice is not so deep-seated as +religious prejudice; but prejudice of any kind, whether it be personal, +political, race, or religious, seriously interferes with the progress of +truth. + +Narrowness of vision often obstructs acceptance of truth. One must be +made to feel interested in the subject before he will listen to that +which is said about it. Aristotle has suggested a means by which each +one can measure himself. "If he is interested in himself only he is +very small; if he is interested in his family he is larger; if he is +interested in his community he is larger still." Thus he grows in size +as his sympathies expand--the largest person being the one whose heart +takes in the whole world. In proportion as we can enlarge the horizon of +the hearer we can increase the number of subjects to which he will give +attention. The minister has an advantage in that he deals with the one +subject about which all mankind thinks. The soul yearns for God: it is +man's highest aspiration and his most enduring concern. When one's +heart is changed--when he is born again--he listens to, understands and +accepts arguments that he rejected before. + +Selfish interest is one of the most common obstructions to the advance +of truth. Very often this difficulty can be overcome by showing that +the party is mistaken as to the effect of the proposed measure upon his +interests. Fortunately in matters of government a large majority of the +people have interests on the same side and the real task is to make this +plain. Where there is a real opposing interest, argument is of little +use unless it can be shown that the public welfare outweighs the +personal interest--that is, that a public interest is large enough to +swallow up the interest that is private and personal. + +Whenever one refuses to admit such a self-evident truth, for instance, +as that it is wrong to steal, don't argue with him--search him; the +reason may be found in his pocket. + +Next to clearness of statement, I would put conciseness--the condensing +of much into a few words. This is a great asset to a speaker. The +moulder of public opinion does not manufacture opinion; he simply puts +it into form so that it can be remembered and repeated; just as my +father used bullet-moulds to make bullets when he was about to go +squirrel hunting. The moulds did not create the lead, they simply put +it into effective form. Jefferson was the greatest moulder of public +opinion in the early days of this country. He did not create Democratic +sentiment; he simply took the aspirations that had nestled in the +hearts of men from time immemorial and put them into appropriate and +epigrammatic language, so that the nation thought his thoughts after +him, as the world is now doing. The proverbs of Solomon are priceless +for the same reason; they are full of wisdom--wisdom so expressed that +it can be easily comprehended. + +When I was a boy my father would call me in from work a little before +noon, read to me from Proverbs and comment on the sayings of the Wise +Man. After his death (when I was twenty) I recalled his fondness for +Proverbs and read the thirty-one chapters through each month for a year. +I was increasingly impressed with their beauty and strength. I have used +many of them in speeches. The one I have most frequently used in the +advocacy of reforms reads: "A prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth +himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished." + +I have often used a story to illustrate how much can be said in a few +words. A man said to another, "Do you drink?" The man to whom the +question was addressed, replied rather indignantly, "That is my +business, sir." "Have you any other business?" asked the first man. The +story is not only valuable as an illustration of brevity but it has a +moral side; if a man drinks much he soon has no other business. + +In this connection I will speak of the words to be employed. Our use of +big words increases from infancy to the day of graduation. I think it is +safe to say that with nearly all of us the maximum is reached on the day +when we leave school. We use more big words that day than we have +ever used before or will ever use again. When we go from college into +every-day life and begin to deal with our fellowmen we drop the big words +because we are more interested in making people understand us than we +are in parading our learning. The more earnest one is the smaller the +words used. If a young man used big words to assure his sweetheart of +his affection she would never understand him, but the word love has but +one syllable, just as the words life, faith, hope, home, food, and work +are one-syllable words. Remember that nearly every audience is made up +of people who differ in the amount of book learning they have received. +If you speak only to those best educated you will speak over the heads +of those less educated. A story is told on a great scientist who made +two holes in the back fence and showed them to his wife, explaining that +the big hole was for the cat and the small hole for the kitten. "But +cannot the kitten go through the same hole as the cat?" inquired his +wife. If you use little words you can reach not only the least learned, +but the most learned as well. + +Illustration is one of the most potent forms of argument; we understand +new things by comparing them with what we know. Christ was a master of +illustrations--the master. No one of whom history tells us has ever used +the illustration as effectively as He. He took the objects of every-day +life and made them mirrors which reflected truth. His parables give us a +wide range of illustration--the Sower going forth to sow, the Wheat and +the Tares, the Prodigal Son, the Wise and Foolish Virgins--in fact, all +the illustrations that He used might be cited to prove the power of this +form of argument. + +The question has been used throughout history; at every great crisis the +orators of the day have used the question form of argument. Its strength +depends upon the completeness with which the speaker includes all of the +essentials involved in summing up the situation. The greatest question +ever presented as an argument was that in which Christ concentrated +attention upon the value of the soul. No one will ever place a higher +estimate upon the soul than Christ did when He asked, "What shall it +profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" +No greater question was ever asked, or can be asked. (See Lecture, "The +Value of the Soul.") + +Courage is the last attribute to which I shall invite your attention. +The speaker must possess moral courage, and to possess it he must have +faith. + +Faith exerts a controlling influence over our lives. If it is argued +that works are more important than faith, I reply that faith comes +first, works afterward. Until one believes, he does not act, and in +accordance with his faith, so will be his deeds. + +Abraham, called of God, went forth in faith to establish a race and a +religion. It was faith that led Columbus to discover America, and faith +again that conducted the early settlers to Jamestown, the Dutch to New +York and the Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock. Faith has led the pioneer across +deserts and through trackless forests, and faith has brought others in +his footsteps to lay in our land the foundations of a civilization the +highest that the world has known. + +I might draw an illustration from the life of each one of you. You have +faith in education, and that faith is behind your study; you have faith +in this institution, and that faith brought you here; your parents +and friends have had faith in you and have helped you to your present +position. And back of all these manifestations of faith is your faith in +God, in His Word and in His Son. We are told that without faith it +is impossible to please God, and I may add that without faith it is +impossible to meet the expectations of those who are most interested in +you. Let me present this subject under four heads: + +First--You must have faith in yourselves. Not that you should carry +confidence in yourselves to the point of displaying egotism, and yet, +egotism is not the worst possible fault. My father was wont to say that +if a man had the big head, you could whittle it down, but that if he had +the little head, there was no hope for him. If you have the big head +others will help you to reduce it, but if you have the little head, they +cannot help you. You must believe that you can do things or you will +not undertake them. Those who lack faith attempt nothing and therefore +cannot possibly succeed; those with great faith attempt the seemingly +impossible and by attempting prove what man can do. + +But you cannot have faith in yourselves unless you are conscious that +you are prepared for your work. If one is feeble in body, he cannot have +the confidence in his physical strength that the athlete has, and, as +physical strength is necessary, one is justified in devoting to exercise +and to the strengthening of the body such time as may be necessary. + +Intellectual training is also necessary, and more necessary than it used +to be. When but few had the advantages of a college education, the +lack of such advantages was not so apparent. Now when so many of the +ministers, lawyers, physicians, journalists, and even business men, are +college graduates, one cannot afford to be without the best possible +intellectual preparation. When one comes into competition with his +fellows, he soon recognizes his own intellectual superiority, equality +or inferiority as compared with others. In China they have a very +interesting bird contest. The singing lark is the most popular bird +there, and as you go along the streets of a Chinese city you see +Chinamen out airing their birds. These singing larks are entered in +contests, and the contests are decided by the birds themselves. If, for +instance, a dozen are entered, they all begin to sing lustily, but as +they sing, one after another recognizes that it is outclassed and gets +down off its perch, puts its head under its wing and will not sing any +more. At last there is just one bird left singing, and it sings with +enthusiasm as if it recognized its victory. + +So it is in all intellectual contests. Put twenty men in a room and let +them discuss any important question. At first all will take part in the +discussion, but as the discussion proceeds, one after another drops out +until finally two are left in debate, one on one side and one on the +other. The rest are content to have their ideas presented by those who +can present them best. If you are going to have faith, therefore, in +yourselves, you must be prepared to meet your competitors upon an equal +plane; if you are prepared, they will be conscious of it as well as you. + +A high purpose is also a necessary part of your preparation. You cannot +afford to put a low purpose in competition with a high one. If you go +out to work from a purely selfish standpoint, you will be ashamed +to stand in the presence of those who have higher aims and nobler +ambitions. Have faith in yourselves, but to have faith you must +be prepared for your work, and this preparation must be moral and +intellectual as well as physical. The preacher should be the boldest of +men because of the unselfish character of his work. + +Second: Have faith in mankind. The great fault of our scholarship is +that it is not sufficiently sympathetic. It holds itself aloof from the +struggling masses. It is too often cold and cynical. It is better to +trust your fellowmen and be occasionally deceived than to be distrustful +and live alone. Mankind deserves to be trusted. There is something good +in every one, and that good responds to sympathy. If you speak to the +multitude and they do not respond, do not despise them, but rather +examine what you have said. If you speak from your heart, you will +speak to their hearts, and they can tell very quickly whether you are +interested in them or simply in yourself. The heart of mankind is sound; +the sense of justice is universal. Trust it, appeal to it, do not +violate it. People differ in race characteristics, in national +traditions, in language, in ideas of government, and in forms of +religion, but at the heart they are very much alike. I fear the +plutocracy of wealth; I respect the aristocracy of learning; but I thank +God for the democracy of the heart. You must love if you would be loved. +"They loved him because he first loved them"--this is the verdict +pronounced where men have unselfishly laboured for the welfare of the +whole people. Link yourselves in sympathy with your fellowmen; mingle +with them; know them and you will trust them and they will trust you. +If you are stronger than others, bear heavier loads; if you are more +capable than others, show it by your willingness to perform a larger +service. + +Third: If you are going to accomplish anything in this country, you must +have faith in your form of government, and there is every reason why +you should have faith in it. It is the best form of government ever +conceived by the mind of man, and it is spreading throughout the world. +It is best, not because it is perfect, but because it can be made as +perfect as the people deserve to have. It is a people's government, and +it reflects the virtue and intelligence of the people. As the people +make progress in virtue and intelligence, the government ought to +approach more and more nearly to perfection. It will never, of course, +be entirely free from faults, because it must be administered by human +beings, and imperfection is to be expected in the work of human hands. + +Jefferson said a century ago that there were naturally two parties in +every country, one which drew to itself those who trusted the people, +the other which as naturally drew to itself those who distrusted the +people. That was true when Jefferson said it, and it is true to-day. +In every country there are those who are seeking to enlarge the +participation of the people in government, and that group is growing. In +every country there are those who are endeavouring to obstruct each +step toward popular government, and that group is diminishing. In this +country the tendency is constantly toward more popular government, and +every effort which has for its object the bringing of the government +into closer touch with the people is sure of ultimate triumph. + +Our form of government is good. Call it a democracy if you are a +democrat, or a republic if you are a republican, but help to make it a +government of the people, by the people, and for the people. A democracy +is wiser than an aristocracy because a democracy can draw from the +wisdom of the people, and all of the people know more than any part of +the people. A democracy is stronger than a monarchy, because, as the +historian, Bancroft, has said: "It dares to discard the implements of +terror and build its citadel in the hearts of men." And a democracy is +the most just form of government because it is built upon the doctrine +that men are created equal, that governments are instituted to protect +the inalienable rights of the people and that governments derive their +just powers from the consent of the governed. + +We know that a grain of wheat planted in the ground will, under the +influence of the sunshine and rain, send forth a blade, and then a +stalk, and then the full head, because there is behind the grain of +wheat a force irresistible and constantly at work. There is behind moral +and political truth a force equally irresistible and always operating, +and just as we may expect the harvest in due season, we may be sure of +the triumph of these eternal forces that make for man's uplifting. Have +faith in your form of government, for it rests upon a growing idea, and +if you will but attach yourself to that idea, you will grow with it. + +Fourth, the subject presents itself in another aspect. You must not only +have faith in yourselves, in humanity and in the form of government +under which we live, but if you would do a great work, you must have +faith in God. I am not a preacher; I am but a layman; yet, I am +not willing that the minister shall monopolize the blessings of +Christianity, and I do not know of any moral precept binding upon the +preacher behind the pulpit that is not binding upon the Christian and +whose acceptance would not be helpful to every one. I am not speaking +from the minister's standpoint but from the observation of every-day life +when I say that there is a wide difference between the desire to live +so that men will applaud you and the desire to live so that God will be +satisfied with you. Man needs the inner strength that comes from faith +in God and belief in His constant presence. + +Man needs faith in God, therefore, to strengthen him in his hours of +trial, and he needs it to give him courage to do the work of life. How +can one fight for a principle unless he believes in the triumph of +right? How can he believe in the triumph of the right if he does not +believe that God stands back of the truth and that God is able to bring +victory to His side? He knows not whether he is to live for the truth or +to die for it, but if he has the faith he ought to have, he is as ready +to die for it as to live for it. + +Faith will not only give you strength when you fight for righteousness, +but your faith will bring dismay to your enemies. There is power in the +presence of an honest man who does right because it is right and dares +to do the right in the face of all opposition. That is true to-day, and +has been true through all history. + +If your preparation is complete so that you are conscious of your +ability to do great things; if you have faith in your fellowmen and +become a colabourer with them in the raising of the general level of +society; if you have faith in our form of government and seek to purge +it of its imperfections so as to make it more and more acceptable to our +own people and to the oppressed of other nations; and if, in addition, +you have faith in God and in the triumph of the right, no one can set +limits to your achievements. This is the greatest of all ages in which +to live. The railroads and the telegraph wires have brought the corners +of the earth close together, and it is easier to-day for one to be +helpful to the whole world than it was a few centuries ago to be +helpful to the inhabitants of a single valley. This is the age of great +opportunity and of great responsibility. Let your faith be large, and +let this large faith inspire you to perform a large service. + +Because the preacher has consecrated himself to God's service and seeks +divine guidance from the Bible and through prayer, he is able to speak +with absolute confidence. His trust is the measure of his strength; +because he _knows_ what Christ has done for him he knows what Christ can +do for others. His own experience is the foundation of his trust in the +Gospel that he preaches. Because a miracle was wrought in his own life +he knows that the day of miracles is not past; because one heart has +been regenerated he knows that all hearts can be, and that Christ, +through His power to transform the life of each individual, can +transform a world. + +I beg you to prepare yourselves to proclaim the Word of God by voice +as well as with pen. You have a mighty message for a waiting world--a +message worthy of all your powers of heart and mind and tongue. + + + + +BIBLE STUDY + + +_P. WHITWELL WILSON Author of the "Christ We Forget_" + +The Vision We Forget + +A Layman's Reading of the Book of Revelation. $2.00 + +"Certainly this is the most entertaining treatise on the Revelation ever +written. Will make the Revelation a new book in the reading of many +Christians. It brings the Revelation down into the present day and makes +it all intensely vital and modern." + +_C.E. World_. + + +_J.J. ROSS + +The author of "The Kingdom in Mystery."_ + +Thinking Through the New Testament + +An Outline Study of Every Book In the New Testament. $1.75 + +A course of study in the books of the New Testament. Dr. Ross has +prepared a volume which can be used by the individual student as well as +by study groups. + + +_FREDERIC B. OXTOBY_ + +Making the Bible Real + +Introductory Studies in the Bible. $1.00 + +In simple, direct language, Dr. Oxtoby brings his readers into close, +intimate contact with the wonderful story of God's chosen People, their +Land, their History, their Prophets and their Literature. + + +_PHILIP MAURO Author of "The Number of Man"_ + +Bringing Back the King + +Another Volume on the Kingdom. $1.00 + +Continuing his study of the Kingdom, the author in this volume sets +forth the relation of King David with the Gospel. + + +_PHILIP MAURO_ + +Our Liberty in Christ + +A Study in Galatians. $1.25 + +An exposition of Galatians from the standpoint that its main theme is +"the Liberty wherewith Christ has made us free." Special attention is +given to the unfolding of the remarkable "allegory" in Chapter IV. + + + + +WORK AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE + + +_HUGH T. KERR_ + +Children's Gospel Story-Sermons + +A New Volume of Talks to the Young. $1.25 + +The stories are drawn from history, mythology, the daily newspapers, +biography, and fiction. They are all interesting, and the author +always makes a plain, sensible, evangelical application of them, well +calculated to help boys and girls. + +[Illustration: Children's Gospel Story-Sermons.] + + +_S.D. CHAMBERS_ + +_Author of "If I Were You_." + +To Be or Not To Be + +Brief Talks with Children and Young Folks. $1.25 + +In Mr. Chambers' new volume of "Five Minute Talks" he aims at helping +the children to right decisions--to determine whether they will, or will +not, acquire certain good and bad qualities, calculated to either make +or mar their characters and lives. A useful series, quite above the +ordinary. + + +_W. RUSSELL BOWIE_ + +_Rector St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Va. Author of "The +Children's Year," etc_. + +Sunny Windows + +and Other Sermons for Children. $1.25 + +"Every pastor has the rich opportunity of speaking to the children, and +desires to magnify this opportunity for indoctrination to the highest +degree. The advantage of this book lies in the fact that the preacher +has had unusual success in his ministry with the children in which +he has made use of all the materials here accumulated." _Christian +Advocate_. + + +_WADE O. SMITH_ + +_Author of "The Little Jets", etc._ + +"Say, Fellows!" + +Chummy Talks with Young Men about the Game of Life. $1.25 + +A volume of the famous talks from Wade Smith's Boys' Class: "Say +Fellows, the finest and biggest and most thrilling game of all is the +life game, in which our adversary is the devil. The forces of the devil +are most powerfully organized to overthrow the forces of God's Kingdom." + + + + +EVANGELISTIC WORK + + +_OZORA S. DAVIS_ + +_President, Chicago Theological Seminary_ + +Evangelistic Preaching + +With Sermon Outlines and Talks to Children and Young People. $1.50 + +"The best help on this important subject that we have ever seen. Sets +forth with skill and completeness the method of evangelism that best +appeals to the men and women of the present day."--_C.E. World_. + +[Illustration] + + +_WILLIAM E. BIEDERWOLF_ + +_Sec. The National Federated Evangelistic Committee_ + +Evangelism + +Its Justification--Operation--Value. $1.75 + +"It is a text-book and a call. Every chapter is full of value. It tells +how to give the invitation and how to conduct the after-meeting. It is a +book for every one who is interested in doing evangelistic work." + +_Herald and Presbyter_. + + +_FREDERICK L. FAGLEY_ + +_Executive Secretary Commission on Evangelism Congregation Churches_. + +Parish Evangelism + +An Outline of a Year's Program. $1.00 + +Mr. Fagley lays down a sensible, workable plan of work, including the +formalities and maintenance of an evangelistic committee, a program of +preaching, methods of personal work, deepening of the prayer-life, etc. + + +_J.W. PORTER_ + +The Assurance of Salvation + +And Other Evangelistic Sermons. $1.25 + +"Sermons of the distinctly orthodox type and suggestive in outline and +illustration. Warm the soul and stimulate the thought."--_Evangelical +Messenger_. + + +_CHARLES FORBES TAYLOR (The Boy Evangelist)_ + +The Riveter's Gang + +and Other Revival Addresses. $1.25 + +"The value of this book lies not alone in the anecdotes and sermons that +it contains, but in the illustration of how a successful evangelistic +preacher may enforce his teaching."--_Lookout_. + + + + +SELF-HELP + + +_ROGER W. BABSON_ + +_Pres. Babson's Statistical Organization_ + +Making Good in Business $1.25 + +The famous Business Expert here applies a fundamental knowledge of +business principles to daily business life. The latest work by the +author of "Fundamentals of Prosperity" is crammed with the most valuable +sort of hints and suggestions for the attainment of a successful +business career. + +[Illustration] + + +_WILLIAM GEORGE JORDAN_ _Author of "Self Control", etc._ + +The Trusteeship of Life + +A Study in the True Values of Existence $1.25 + +A new volume of Mr. Jordan's winning Essays which have called forth +the hearty praise of Henry van Dyke who said: "They are suggestive +and stimulating. His philosophy has three big little words--courage, +cheerfulness and charity." + + + + +BIOGRAPHY, etc. + + +_FREDERICK LYNCH Educational Secretary of The Church Peace Union_ + +Personal Recollections of Andrew Carnegie $1.50 + +"Happily Dr. Lynch's little volume of personal recollections of Andrew +Carnegie admirably supplements the autobiography. These two books +taken together will explain the real Carnegie to his countrymen." +_Independent_. + + +_PHILIP I. ROBERTS_ + +"Charlie" Alexander + +A Study in Personality. $1.00 + +_Dr. Edgar Whitaker Work says_. "Brief as it is, it serves its purpose +successfully. It leaves a picture of the great singer in the mind that +cannot be forgotten." + + +_DAVID GREGG, D.D._ + +A Book of Remembrance + +Selections from the writings of Dr. David Gregg. Compiled by Frank +Dilnot. $2.00 + +A book of rare stimulus and devotional charm overflowing with precious +thoughts selected from the works of the well-known preacher and +devotional writer by one well qualified for the task. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In His Image, by William Jennings Bryan + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN HIS IMAGE *** + +***** This file should be named 12744-8.txt or 12744-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/7/4/12744/ + +Produced by Bob Jones, Frank van Drogen and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/12744-8.zip b/old/12744-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e3a0c82 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12744-8.zip diff --git a/old/12744.txt b/old/12744.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3628537 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12744.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7642 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of In His Image, by William Jennings Bryan + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In His Image + +Author: William Jennings Bryan + +Release Date: June 25, 2004 [EBook #12744] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN HIS IMAGE *** + + + + +Produced by Bob Jones, Frank van Drogen and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +IN HIS IMAGE + +By + +William Jennings Bryan + + + + + +_In His Image_. James Sprunt Lectures. 12mo, cloth....$1.75 + +_Heart to Heart Appeals_. 12mo, cloth....$1.25 + +The cream of Mr. Bryan's public utterances on Prohibition, +Money, Imperialism, Trusts, Labor, Income Tax, Peace, Religion, +Pan-Americanism, etc. + +_The Prince of Peace_. 12mo, boards....60c. + +_Messages for the Times_. 12mo, boards, each....35c. + +_The First Commandment._ In simple, unaffected language, the author +enlarges upon the present-day breaches of the First Commandment. + +_The Message from Bethlehem_. A plea for the world-wide adoption of the +spirit of the Angels' song--"Good-will to Men." The context and import +of this great principle has never been more understandingly set forth. + +_The Royal Art_. A lucid exposition of Mr. Bryan's views concerning the +aims and ideals of righteous government. + +_The Making of a Man_. A faithful tracing of the main lines to be +followed if the crown of manhood is to be attained. + +_The Fruits of the Tree_. "Either for the reinvigoration of faith or +for the dissipation of doubt, this little volume is a document of +power."--_Continent_. + + + + + +In His Image + +By WILLIAM JENNINGS RYAN + +"_ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he +him_."--GEN. 1: 27. + +1922 + + + +_Dedicated to the memory of my beloved parents_ + +_SILAS LILLARD RYAN_ + +_and + +MARIAH ELIZABETH RYAN_ + +_to whom I am indebted for a Christian environment in youth, during +which they instilled into my mind and imprinted upon my heart the +religious principles which I have set forth and applied in the lectures +contained in this volume_ + + + + + +THE JAMES SPRUNT LECTURES + + +In nineteen hundred and eleven, Mr. James Sprunt of Wilmington, North +Carolina, by a gift to the Trustees of Union Theological Seminary in +Virginia, established a lectureship in the Seminary for the purpose of +enabling the institution to secure from time to time the services of +distinguished men as special lecturers on subjects connected with +various departments of Christian thought and Christian work. The +lecturers are chosen by the Faculty and a committee of the Board of +Trustees, and the lectures are published after their delivery +in accordance with a contract between the lecturer and these +representatives of the institution. The lecturers up to the present have +been: + + REV. DAVID JAMES BURRELL, D.D., LL.D. + SIR WILLIAM M. RAMSAY, D.D., LL.D. + REV. PROF. JAMES STALKER, D.D. + REV. A.F. SCHAUFFLER, D.D. + REV. HARRIS E. KIRK, D.D. + PROF. C. ALPHONSO SMITH, PH.D., LL.D. + REV. A.H. MCKINNEY, D.D. + REV. G. CAMPBELL MORGAN, D.D. + REV. PROF. J. GRESHAM MACHEN, D.D. + HON. WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN. + The tenth series is presented in this volume. + + W.W. MOORE, + _President_. + + + + +Preface + + +The invitation extended me by President Moore on behalf of Union +Theological Seminary provided the opportunity for the presentation of an +argument I had had in mind for years--an argument to the heart and mind +of the average man, especially to the young. This purpose originated in +two desires, one of which is to repay the debt of gratitude that I owe +to my revered parents for having brought into my life the Christian +principles upon which their own lives were builded. My appreciation of +the importance of this early training has grown with the years. As those +who brought me into the world, cared for me so tenderly during my early +years and so conscientiously guarded and guided me during the formative +period of my life, have passed to their reward, I know of no way +in which this appreciation can be effectively expressed, except by +transmitting these principles to others. + +The second desire is to aid those who are passing from youth to maturity +and grappling with problems incident to this critical age. Having spent +eight years away from home, in academy, college and law school, I have +reason to know the conflicts through which each individual has to pass, +especially those who have the experience incident to college life. I +never can be thankful enough for the fact that I became a member of the +Church before I left home and therefore had the benefit of the Church, +the Sunday School and Christian friends during these trying days. + +In these lectures I have had in mind two thoughts, first, the confirming +of the faith of men and women, especially the young, in a Creator, +all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving, in a Bible, as the very Word +of a Living God and in Christ as Son of God and Saviour of the world; +second, the applying of the principles of our religion to every problem +in life. My purpose is to prove, not only the fact of God, but the need +of God, the fact of the Bible and the need of the Bible, and the fact of +Christ and the need of a Saviour. + +Therefore, I have chosen "In His Image" as the title of this series of +lectures, because, in my judgment, all depends upon our conception of +our place in God's plan. The Bible tells us that God made us in His +image and placed us here to carry out a divine decree. He gave us the +Scriptures as an authoritative guide and He gave us His Son to reveal +the Father, to redeem man from sin and to furnish in His life and +teachings an inspiring example by the following of which, man may grow +in grace and in the knowledge of God. + +"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be +acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." + +W.J.B. + +_Miami, Fla._ + + + + +Contents + + +I. IN THE BEGINNING--GOD + +II. THE BIBLE + +III. WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? + +IV. THE ORIGIN OF MAN + +V. THE LARGER LIFE + +VI. THE VALUE OF THE SOUL + +VII. THREE PRICELESS GIFTS + +VIII. HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE + +IX. THE SPOKEN WORD + + + + +I + +"IN THE BEGINNING--GOD" + + +Religion is the relation between man and his Maker--the most important +relationship into which man enters. Most of the relationships of life +are voluntary; we enter into them or not as we please. Such, for +illustration, are those between business partners, between stockholders +in a corporation, between friends and between husband and wife. Some +relationships, on the other hand, are involuntary; we enter into them +because we must. Such, for illustration, are those between man and his +government, between man and society, and between man and his Maker. + +Tolstoy declares that morality is but the outward manifestation of +religion. If this be true, as I believe it is, then religion is the most +practical thing in life and the thought of God the greatest thought that +can enter the human mind or heart. Tolstoy also delivers a severe rebuke +to what he calls the "Cultured crowd"--those who think that religion, +while good enough for the ignorant (to hold in check and restrain +them), is not needed when one reaches a certain stage of intellectual +development. His reply is that religion is not superstition and does not +rest upon a vague fear of the unseen forces of nature, but does rest +upon "man's consciousness of his finiteness amid an infinite universe +and of his sinfulness." This consciousness, Tolstoy adds, man can never +outgrow. + +Evidence of the existence of an Infinite Being is to be found in +the Bible, in the facts of human consciousness, and in the physical +universe. Dr. Charles Hodge sets forth as follows the principal +arguments used to maintain the existence of a God: + + I. The _a priori_ argument which seeks to demonstrate the being of a + God from certain first principles involved in the essential laws of + human intelligence. + + II. The cosmological argument, or that one which proceeds after the + _posteriori_ fashion, from the present existence of the world as + an effect, to the necessary existence of some ultimate and eternal + first cause. + + III. The teleological argument, or that argument which, from the + evidence of design in the creation, seeks to establish the fact that + the great self-existent first cause of all things is an intelligent + and voluntary personal spirit. + + IV. The moral argument, or that argument which, from a consideration + of the phenomena of conscience in the human heart, seeks to + establish the fact that the self-existent Creator is also the + righteous moral Governor of the world. This argument includes the + consideration of the universal feeling of dependence common to + all men, which together with conscience constitutes the religious + sentiment. + + V. The historical argument, which involves: (1) The evident + providential presence of God in the history of the human race. (2) + The evidence afforded by history that the human race is not eternal, + and therefore not an infinite succession of individuals, but + created. (3) The universal consent of all men to the fact of His + existence. + + VI. The Scriptural argument, which includes: (1) The miracles and + prophecies recorded in Scripture, and confirmed by testimony, + proving the existence of a God. (2) The Bible itself, self-evidently + a work of superhuman wisdom. (3) Revelation, developing and + enlightening conscience, and relieving many of the difficulties + under which natural theism labours, and thus confirming every other + line of evidence. + +A reasonable person searches for a reason and all reasons point to a +God, all-wise, all-powerful, and all-loving. On no other theory can we +account for what we see about us. It is impossible to conceive of the +universe, illimitable in extent and seemingly measureless in time, as +being the result of chance. The reign of law, universal and eternal, +compels belief in a Law Giver. + +We need not give much time to the agnostic. If he is sincere he does not +_know_ and therefore cannot affirm, deny or advise. When I was a young +man I wrote to Colonel Ingersoll, the leading infidel of his day, and +asked his views on God and immortality. His secretary sent me a speech +which quoted Colonel Ingersoll as follows: "I do not say that there is +no God: I simply say I do not know. I do not say that there is no life +beyond the grave: I simply say I do not know!" What pleasure could any +man find in taking from a human, heart a living faith and putting in the +place of it the cold and cheerless doctrine "I do not know"? Many who +call themselves agnostics are really atheists; it is easier to profess +ignorance than to defend atheism. + +We give the atheist too much latitude; we allow him to ask all the +questions and we try to answer them. I know of no reason why the +Christian should take upon himself the difficult task of answering all +questions and give to the atheist the easy task of asking them. Any one +can ask questions, but not every question can be answered. If I am to +discuss creation with an atheist it will be on condition that we ask +questions about. He may ask the first one if he wishes, but he shall not +ask a second one until he answers my first. + +What is the first question an atheist asks a Christian? There is but one +_first_ question: Where do you begin? I answer: I begin where the Bible +begins. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." I +begin with a Creative Cause that is sufficient for anything that can +come thereafter. + +Having answered the atheist's first question, it is now my turn, and I +ask my first question of the atheist: "Where do you begin?" And then his +trouble begins. Did you ever hear an atheist explain creation? He cannot +begin with God because he denies the existence of a God. But he must +begin _somewhere_; it is just as necessary for the atheist as for the +Christian to have a beginning point for his philosophy. + +Where does the atheist begin? He usually starts with the nebular +hypothesis. And where does that begin? "In the beginning"? No. It begins +by _assuming_ that two things existed, which the theory does not try to +explain. It assumes that matter and force existed, but it does not tell +us how matter and force came into existence, where they came from, or +why they came. The theory begins: "Let us suppose that matter and force +are here," and then, according to the theory, force working on matter, +created a world. I have just as much right as the atheist to begin with +an assumption, and I would rather begin with God and reason down, than +begin with a piece of dirt and reason up. The difference between the +Christian theory and the materialistic theory is that the Christian +begins with God, while the materialist begins with dull, inanimate +matter. _I know of no theory suggested as a substitute for the Bible +theory that is as rational and as easy to believe._ + +If the atheist asks me if I can understand God, I answer that it is +not necessary that my finite mind shall _comprehend_ the Infinite Mind +before I admit that there _is_ an infinite mind, any more than it is +necessary that I shall understand the sun before I can admit that there +is a sun. We must deal with the facts about us whether we can understand +them or not. + +If the atheist tells me that I have no right to believe in God until I +can understand Him, I will take his own logic and drive him to suicide; +for, by that logic, what right has an atheist to live unless he can +understand the mystery of his own life? Does the atheist understand the +mystery of the life he lives? No; bring me the most learned atheist and +when he has gathered all the information that this earth can give, I +will have a little child lead him out and show him the grass upon the +ground, the leaves upon the trees, the birds that fly in the air, and +the fishes in the deep, and the little child will mock him and tell him, +and tell him truly, that he, the little child, knows just as much about +the mystery of life as does the most learned atheist. We have our +thoughts, our hopes, our fears, and yet we know that in a moment a +change may come over any one of us that will convert a living, breathing +human being into a mass of lifeless clay. What is it, that, having, we +live, and, having not, we are as the clod? We know as little of the +mystery of life to-day as they knew in the dawn of creation and yet +behold the civilization that man has wrought. + +And love that makes life worth living is also a mystery. Have you ever +read a scientific definition of love? You never will. Why? Because a man +does not know what love is until he gets into it, and then he is not +scientific until he gets out again. And even if we could understand the +mysterious tie that brings two hearts together from out the multitude, +and on a united life builds the home, earth's only paradise, we still +would be unable to understand that larger mystery that manifests itself +when a human heart reaches out and links itself to every other heart. + +And patriotism, also, is a mystery--intangible, invisible, and yet +eternal. Because there has been in the past such a thing as patriotism, +millions have given their lives for their country. Patriotism could +command millions of lives to-day. Our country is not lacking in +patriotism; we have as much as can be found anywhere else, and it is +of as high a quality. There ought to be more patriotism here than +elsewhere; as citizenship in the United States carries more benefits +with it than citizenship in any other land, the American citizen should +be willing to sacrifice more than any other citizen to make sure that +the blessings of our government shall descend unimpaired to children +and to children's children. The atheist knows as little about these +mysteries as the Christian does and yet he lives, he loves and he is +patriotic. + +But our case is even stronger: Everything with which man deals is full +of mystery. The very food we eat is mysterious; sometimes man-made food +becomes so mysterious that we are compelled to enact pure food laws +in order that we may know what we are eating. And God-made food is as +mysterious as man-made food, though we cannot compel Jehovah to make +known the formula. + +We encourage children to raise vegetables; a little child can learn +_how_ to raise vegetables, but no grown person understands the mystery +that is wrapped up in every vegetable that grows. Let me illustrate: I +am fond of radishes; my good wife knows it and keeps me supplied with +them when she can. I eat radishes in the morning; I eat radishes at +noon; I eat radishes at night; I eat radishes between meals; I like +radishes. I plant radish seed--put the little seed into the ground, and +go out in a few days and find a full grown radish. The top is green, +the body of the root is white and almost transparent, and around it I +sometimes find a delicate pink or red. Whose hand caught the hues of a +summer sunset and wrapped them around the radish's root down there in +the darkness in the ground? I cannot understand a radish; can you? If +one refused to eat anything until he could understand the mystery of its +growth, he would die of starvation; but mystery does not bother us in +the dining-room,--it is only in the church that mystery seems to give us +trouble. + +In travelling around the world I found that the egg is a universal form +of food. When we reached Asia the cooking was so different from ours +that the boiled egg was sometimes the only home-like thing we could find +on the table. I became so attached to the egg, that, when I returned to +the United States, for weeks I felt like taking my hat off to every hen +I met. What is more mysterious than an egg? Take a fresh egg; it is not +only good food, but an important article of merchandise. But loan a +fresh egg to a hen, after the hen has developed a well-settled tendency +to sit, and let her keep the egg under her for a week, and, as any +housewife will tell you, it loses a large part of its market value. But +be patient with the hen; let her have it for two weeks more and she will +give you back a chicken that you could not find in the egg. No one can +understand the egg, but we all like eggs. + +Water is essential to human life, and has been from the beginning, but +it is only a short time ago, relatively speaking, that we learned that +water is composed of gas. Two gases got mixed together and could not get +apart and we call the mixture water, but it was much more important that +man should have had water to drink all these years than it was to find +out that water is composed of gas. And there is one thing about water +that we do not yet understand, viz., why it differs from other things +in this, that other things continue to contract indefinitely under the +influence of cold, while water contracts until it reaches a certain +temperature and then, the rule being reversed, expands under the +influence of more intense cold? It does not make much difference whether +we ever learn _why_ this is true, but it is important to the world to +know that it is so. + +Sometimes I go into a community and find a young man who has come in +from the country and obtained a smattering of knowledge; then his head +swells and he begins to swagger around and say that an intelligent man +like himself cannot afford to have anything to do with anything that he +cannot understand. Poor boy, he will be surprised to find out how few +things he will be able to deal with if he adopts that rule. I feel like +suggesting to him that the next time he goes home to show himself off +to his parents on the farm he address himself to the first mystery +that ever came under his observation, and has not yet been solved, +notwithstanding the wonderful progress made by our agricultural +colleges. Let him find out, if he can, why it is that a black cow can +eat green grass and then give white milk with yellow butter in it? Will +the mystery disturb him? No. He will enjoy the milk and the butter +without worrying about the mystery in them. + +And so we might take any vegetable or fruit. The blush upon the peach is +in striking contrast to the serried walls of the seed within; who will +explain the mystery of the apple, the queen of the orchard, or the nut +with its meat, its shell, and its outer covering? Who taught the tomato +vine to fling its flaming many-mansioned fruit before the gaze of the +passer-by, while the potato modestly conceals its priceless gifts within +the bosom of the earth? + +I learned years ago that it is the mystery in the miracle that makes it +a stumbling block in the way of many. If you will analyze the miracle +you will find just two questions in it: _Can_ God perform a miracle? +And, would He _want_ to? The first question is easily answered. A God +who can make a world can do anything He wants to with it. We cannot deny +that God _can_ perform a miracle, without denying that God is God. But, +would God _want_ to perform a miracle? That is the question that has +given the trouble, but it has only troubled those, mark you, who are +unwilling to admit that the infinite mind of God may have reasons that +the finite mind of man does not comprehend. If, for any reason, God +desires to do so, can He not, with His infinite strength, temporarily +suspend the operation of any of His laws, as man with his feeble arm +overcomes the law of gravitation when he lifts a stone? + +If among my readers any one has been presumptuous enough to attempt to +confine the power and purpose of God by man's puny understanding, let +me persuade him to abandon this absurd position by the use of an +illustration which I once found in a watermelon. I was passing through +Columbus, Ohio, some years ago and stopped to eat in the restaurant +in the depot. My attention was called to a slice of watermelon, and I +ordered it and ate it. I was so pleased with the melon that I asked the +waiter to dry some of the seeds that I might take them home and plant +them in my garden. That night a thought came into my mind--I would use +that watermelon as an illustration. So, the next morning when I reached +Chicago, I had enough seeds weighed to learn that it would take about +five thousand watermelon seeds to weigh a pound, and I estimated that +the watermelon weighed about forty pounds. Then I applied mathematics to +the watermelon. A few weeks before some one, I knew not who, had planted +a little watermelon seed in the ground. Under the influence of sunshine +and shower that little seed had taken off its coat and gone to work; it +had gathered from somewhere two hundred thousand times its own weight, +and forced that enormous weight through a tiny stem and built a +watermelon. On the outside it had put a covering of green, within that +a rind of white and within the white a core of red, and then it had +scattered through the red core little seeds, each one capable of doing +the same work over again. What architect drew the plan? Where did that +little watermelon seed get its tremendous strength? Where did it find +its flavouring extract and its colouring matter? How did it build a +watermelon? Until you can explain a watermelon, do not be too sure that +you can set limits to the power of the Almighty, or tell just what He +would do, or how He would do it. The most learned man in the world +cannot _explain_ a watermelon, but the most ignorant man can _eat_ a +watermelon, and enjoy it. God has given us the things that we need, and +He has given us the knowledge necessary to use those things: the truth +that He has revealed to us is infinitely more important for our welfare +than it would be to understand the mysteries that He has seen fit +to conceal from us. So it is with religion. If you ask me whether I +understand everything in the Bible, I frankly answer, No. I understand +some things to-day that I did not understand ten years ago and, if I +live ten years longer, I trust that some things will be clear that are +now obscure. But there is something more important than understanding +everything in the Bible; it is this: If we will embody in our lives that +which we _do_ understand we will be kept so busy doing good that we will +not have time to worry about the things that we do _not_ understand. + +In "The Grave Digger," written by Fred Emerson Brooks, there is one +stanza which is in point here: + + "If chance could fashion but a little flower, + With perfume for each tiny thief, + And furnish it with sunshine and with shower, + Then chance would be creator, with the power + To build a world for unbelief." + +But chance cannot fashion even a little flower; chance cannot create a +single thing that grows. Every living thing bears testimony to a living +God and, if there be a God, then every human life is a part of that +God's plan. And, if this be true, then the highest duty of man, as +it should be his greatest pleasure, is to try to find out God's will +concerning himself and to do it. When Job was asked, "Canst thou by +searching find out God?" a negative answer was implied, but we can see +manifestations of God's power everywhere; in the suns and planets that, +revolving, whirl through space, held in position by forces centripetal +and centrifugal; we see it in the mountains rent asunder and upturned +by a force not only superhuman but beyond the power of man to conceive. +Captain Crawford, the poet-scout, in describing the mountains of the +West has used a phrase which often comes into my mind: "Where the hand +of God is seen." + +We see manifestation of God's power in the ebb and flow of the tides; in +the mighty "shoreless rivers of the ocean"; in the suspended water in +the clouds--billions of tons, seemingly defying the law of gravitation +while they await the command that sends them down in showers of +blessings. We behold it in the lightning's flash and the thunder's roar, +and in the invisible germ of life that contains within itself the power +to gather its nourishment from the earth and air, fulfill its mission +and propagate its kind. + +We see all about us, also, conclusive proofs of the infinite +intelligence and fathomless love of the Heavenly Father. On lofty +mountain summits He builds His mighty reservoirs and piles high the +winter snows, which, melting, furnish the water for singing brooks, for +the hidden veins, and for the springs that pour out their refreshing +flood through the smitten rocks. At His touch the same element that +furnishes ice to cool the fevered brow furnishes also the steam to +move man's commerce on sea and land. He imprisons in roaring cataracts +exhaustless energy for the service of man: He stores away in the bowels +of the earth beds of coal and rivers of oil; He studs the canyon's +frowning walls with precious metals and priceless gems; He extends His +magic wand, and the soil becomes rich with fertility; the early and +the latter rains supply the needed moisture, and the sun, with its +marvellous alchemy, transmutes base clay into golden grain. He gives us +in infinite variety the fruits of the orchard, the vegetables of the +garden and the, berries of the woods. He gives us the sturdy oak, the +fruitful nut-tree and the graceful palm. + +In compassion He makes the horse to bear our burdens and the cow to +supply the dairy; and He gives us the faithful hen. He makes the fishes +to scour the sea for food and then yield themselves up to the table; He +sends the bee forth to gather sweets for man and birds to sing his cares +away. He paints the skies with the gray of the morning and the glow of +the sunset; He sets His radiant bow in the clouds and copies its colours +in myriad flowers. He gives to the babe a mother's love, to the child a +father's care, to parents the joy of children, to brothers and sisters +the sweet association of the fireside, and He gives to all the friend. +Well may the Psalmist exclaim, "The heavens declare the glory of God; +and the firmament showeth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, +and night unto night sheweth knowledge." Surely everything that hath +breath should praise the Lord. + +It would seem that a knowledge of nature would be sufficient to convince +any unprejudiced mind that there is a designer back of the design, a +Creator back of the creation, but, for a reason which I shall treat +more fully in a future lecture, some of the scientists have become +materialistic. The doctrine of evolution has closed their hearts to +the plainest of spiritual truths and opened their minds to the wildest +guesses made in the name of science. If they find a piece of pottery +in a mound, supposed to be ancient, they will venture to estimate the +degree of civilization of the designer from the rude scratches on its +surface, and yet they cannot discern the evidences of design which +the Creator has written upon every piece of His handiwork. They can +understand how an invisible force, like gravitation, can draw all matter +down to the earth but they cannot comprehend an invisible God who draws +all spirits upward to His throne. + +The Bible's proof of God becomes increasingly necessary to meet the +agnosticism and atheism that are the outgrowth of modern mind-worship. I +shall speak of the Bible in my second lecture; I refer to it here merely +for the purpose of pointing out the harmony between the spoken word and +the evidence furnished by God's handiwork throughout the universe. The +wisdom of the Bible writers is more than human; the prophecies proclaim +a Supreme Ruler who, though inhabiting all space, deigns to speak +through the hearts and minds and tongues of His children. + +The Christ of whom the Bible tells furnishes the highest evidence of +the power, the wisdom, and the love of Jehovah. He is a living Christ, +present to-day in the increasing influence that He exerts over the hearts +of men and over the history of nations. + +We not only have God in the Bible and God in nature but we have God in +life and accessible to all. It is not necessary to spend time in trying +to comprehend God--a task too great for the finite mind; we can "taste +and see that the Lord is good." We can test His grace and prove His +presence. The negative arguments of the atheist and the indecision of +the agnostic will not disturb the faith of one who daily communes with +the Heavenly Father, and, by obedience, lays hold upon His promise. + +Belief in God is almost universal and the effect of this belief is so +vast that one is appalled at the thought of what social conditions +would be if reverence for God were erased from every heart. A sense of +responsibility to God for every thought and word and deed is the most +potent influence that acts upon the life--for one man kept in the +straight and narrow way by fear of prison walls a multitude are +restrained by those invisible walls that conscience rears about us, +walls that are stronger than the walls of stone. + +At first the fear of God--fear that sin will bring punishment--is +needed; "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." But as one +learns to appreciate the goodness of God and the plenitude of His mercy, +love takes the place of fear and obedience becomes a pleasure; "His +delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day +and night." + +The paramount need of the world to-day, as it was nineteen hundred years +ago, is a whole-hearted, whole-souled, whole-minded faith in the Living +God. A hesitating admission that there is a God is not sufficient; Man +must love with _all_ his heart, and with _all_ his soul, and with _all_ +his mind, and with _all_ his strength,--and to love he must believe. +Belief in God must be a conviction that controls every nerve and fibre +of his being and dominates every impulse and energy of his life. + +Belief in God is necessary to prayer. It is not sufficient to believe +that there is an Intelligence permeating the universe; nothing less than +a _personal_ God--a God interested in each one of His children and ready +to give at any moment the aid that is needed--nothing less than this +can lead one to communion with the Heavenly Father through prayer. +Evolutionists have attempted to retain the form of prayer while denying +that God answers prayer. They argue that prayer has a reflex action +upon the petitioner and reconciles him to his lot. This argument might +justify one in thinking prayer good enough for _others_ who believe, +but it is impossible for one to be fervent in prayer himself if he +is convinced that his pleas do not reach a prayer-hearing and a +prayer-answering God. Prayer becomes a mockery when faith is gone, just +as Christianity becomes a mere form when prayer is gone. If the words of +the Bible have any meaning at all one must believe that God "_is_, and +that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." + +Belief in God is necessary to that confidence in His providence which is +the source of the Christian's calmness in hours of trial. We soon reach +the limitations of our strength and would despair but for our confidence +in the infinite wisdom of God. David expresses this when he says, "Unto +the upright there ariseth light in the darkness. He ... shall not be +afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord" (Ps. +112). + +In my youth, my father often had me read to him Bryant's "Ode to a +Waterfowl" and it became my favourite poem. I know of no more comforting +words outside of Holy Writ than those in the last stanza: + + "He who from zone to zone, + Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight; + In the long way that I must tread alone, + Will lead my steps aright." + +Belief in God gives courage. The Christian believes that every word +spoken in behalf of truth will have its influence and that every deed +done for the right will weigh in the final account. What matters it to +the believer whether his eyes behold the victory and his voice mingles +in the shouts of triumph, or whether he dies in the midst of the +conflict! + + "Yea, tho' thou lie upon the dust, + When they who helped thee flee in fear, + Die full of hope and manly trust, + Like those who fell in battle here. + + Another hand thy sword shall wield, + Another hand the standard wave, + Till from the trumpet's mouth is pealed, + The blast of triumph o'er thy grave." + +Only those who believe attempt the seemingly impossible, and, by +attempting, prove that one, with God, can chase a thousand and two put +ten thousand to flight. I can imagine that the early Christians, who +were carried into the Coliseum to make a spectacle for spectators more +cruel than the beasts, were entreated by their doubting companions not +to endanger their lives. But, kneeling in the center of the arena, they +prayed and sang until they were devoured. How helpless they seemed, and +measured by every human rule, how hopeless was their cause! And yet +within a few decades the power which they invoked proved mightier +than the legions of the emperor and the faith in which they died was +triumphant o'er all the land. It is said that those who went to mock at +their sufferings returned asking themselves: "What is it that can enter +into the heart of man and make him die as these die?" They were greater +conquerors in their death than they could have been had they purchased +life by a surrender of their faith. + +What would have been the fate of the Church if the early Christians had +had as little faith as many of our Christians of to-day? And, if the +Christians of to-day had the faith of the martyrs, how long would it +be before the prophecy were fulfilled--"every knee shall bow and every +tongue confess"? + +Belief in God is the basis of every moral code. Morality cannot be put +on as a garment and taken off at will. It is a power within; it works +out from the heart as a spring pours forth its flood. It is not safe for +a weak Christian to associate intimately with the world because he may +be influenced by others instead of influencing others. But one need +not fear when his morality derives its energy from connection with the +Heavenly Father. Just as the water from a hose, because it comes from a +reservoir above, will cleanse a muddy pool without danger of a single +drop of pollution entering the hose, so the Christian can go into +infected areas and among those diseased by sin without fear of +contamination so long as he is prompted by a sincere desire to serve and +is filled with a heaven-born longing for souls. + +Joseph gives us a splendid illustration of strength inspired by faith. +Reason fails when one is punished for righteousness' sake; only a belief +in God can sustain one in such an hour of trial and make him enter a +dungeon rather than surrender his integrity. + +We need this belief in God in our dealings with nations as well as in +the control of our own conduct; it is necessary to the establishment of +justice. Without that belief one cannot understand how sin brings its +own punishment. Among the beasts strength is accompanied by no sense of +responsibility; only man understands--and then only when he believes in +God--that he must restrain his power and respect the rights of others. +Only man understands--and then only when he believes in God--that the +laws of the Almighty protect the innocent by bringing upon the sinner +the effects of his own sin. No nation, however great, and no group of +nations, however strong, can do wrong with impunity. The very doing of +wrong works the ruin of those who are guilty, no matter how powerless +their victims may be to protect or avenge themselves. + +Most of the crimes committed by nations are due to an attempt on the +part of those in authority to establish for nations a system of morals +totally different from that which is binding upon the individual. +Nothing but a real belief in God and confidence in the immutability of +His decrees can stay the arm of strength in individual or nation. + +Belief in God is the basis of brotherhood; we are brothers because we +are children of one God. We trace through the common parent of all +the tie that unites the offspring in one great family. The spirit of +brotherhood is impossible without faith in God, the Father, and peace, +at home and abroad, is impossible without the spirit of brotherhood. + +One must believe in God in order to be interested in the carrying out of +the Creator's plans. In the prayer which Christ suggested as a form for +His followers, interest in the coming of God's kingdom stands first. +The petition begins with adoration of the Supreme Being and in the next +sentence the heart pours out its desire in an appeal for the coming of +that day when the will of God shall be done in earth as it is done in +heaven. It is proof of the supreme importance of this attitude that this +petition comes before the request for daily bread; it comes even before +the appeal for forgiveness. How quickly the prayer would be answered if +all who utter it would rise from their knees and make the hastening of +God's kingdom the uppermost thought in their minds throughout the day! + +Finally, belief in God is necessary to belief in immortality. If there +is no God there is no hereafter. When, therefore, one drives God out of +the universe he closes the door of hope upon himself. + +A belief in immortality not only consoles the individual, but it exerts +a powerful influence in promoting justice between individuals. If one +actually thinks that man dies as the brute dies, he will yield more +easily to the temptation to do injustice to his neighbour when the +circumstances are such as to promise security from detection. But if +one really expects to meet again, and live eternally with those whom he +knows to-day, he is restrained from evil deeds by the fear of endless +remorse even when not actuated by higher motives. We do not know what +rewards are in store for us or what punishments may be reserved, but +if there were no other it would be no light punishment for one who +deliberately wrongs another to have to live forever in the company of +the person wronged and have his littleness and selfishness laid bare. + +The Creator has not left us in doubt on the subject of immortality. He +has given to every created thing a tongue that proclaims a life beyond +the grave. + +If the Father deigns to touch with divine power the cold and pulseless +heart of the buried acorn and to make it burst forth from its prison +walls, will He leave neglected in the earth the soul of man, made in +the image of his Creator? If He stoops to give to the rose-bush, whose +withered blossoms float upon the autumn breeze, the sweet assurance of +another springtime, will He refuse the words of hope to the sons of men +when the frosts of winter come? If matter, mute and inanimate, though +changed by the forces of nature into a multitude of forms, can never +die, will the imperial spirit of man suffer annihilation when it has +paid a brief visit like a royal guest to this tenement of clay? No, He +who, notwithstanding His apparent prodigality, created nothing without +a purpose, and wasted not a single atom in all His creation, has made +provision for a future life in which man's universal longing for +immortality will find its realization. I am as sure that we shall live +again as I am sure that we live to-day. + +In Cairo, I secured a few grains of wheat that had slumbered for more +than thirty centuries in an Egyptian tomb. As I looked at them this +thought came into my mind: If one of those grains had been planted +on the banks of the Nile the year after it grew, and all its lineal +descendants had been planted and replanted from that time until now, +its progeny would to-day be sufficiently numerous to feed the teeming +millions of the world. An unbroken chain of life connects the earliest +grains of wheat with the grains that we sow and reap. There is in the +grain of wheat an invisible something which has power to discard the +body that we see, and from earth and air fashion a new body so much +like the old one that we cannot tell the one from the other. If this +invisible germ of life in the grain of wheat can thus pass unimpaired +through three thousand resurrections, I shall not doubt that my soul has +power to clothe itself with a body suited to its new existence, when +this earthly frame has crumbled into dust. + + + + +II + +THE BIBLE + + +Jesus Christ not only endorsed the Old Testament as authoritative, but +bore witness to its eternal truth. "Think not," He said, "that I am come +to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to +fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot +or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" +(Matt. 5: 17, 18). + +When one's belief in God becomes the controlling passion of his life; +when he loves God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his +mind and with all his strength he is anxious to learn God's will and +ready to accept the Bible as the Word of God. All that he asks is +sufficient evidence of its inspiration. + +After so many hundreds of millions have adopted the Bible as their guide +for so many centuries, the burden of proof would seem on those who +reject it. + +The Bible is either the word of God or the work of man. Those who regard +it as a man-made book should be challenged to put their theory to the +test. If man made the Bible, he is, unless he has degenerated, able to +make as good a book to-day. + +Judged by human standards, man is far better prepared to write a Bible +now than he was when our Bible was written. The characters whose words +and deeds are recorded in the Bible were members of a single race; they +lived among the hills of Palestine in a territory scarcely larger than +one of our counties. They did not have printing presses and they lacked +the learning of the schools; they had no great libraries to consult, no +steamships to carry them around the world and make them acquainted with +the various centers of ancient civilization; they had no telegraph wires +to bring them the news from the ends of the earth and no newspapers to +spread before them each morning the doings of the day before. Science +had not unlocked Nature's door and revealed the secrets of rocks below +and stars above. From what a scantily supplied storehouse of knowledge +they had to draw, compared with the unlimited wealth of information at +man's command to-day! And yet these Bible characters grappled with +every problem that confronts mankind, from the creation of the world to +eternal life beyond the tomb. They gave us a diagram of man's existence +from the cradle to the grave and set up warning signs at every dangerous +point. + +The Bible gives us the story of the birth, the words, the works, the +crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension of Him whose coming +was foretold by prophecy, whose arrival was announced by angel voices, +singing Peace and Good-will--the story of Him who gave to the world a +code of morality superior to anything that the world had known before or +has known since. + +Let the atheists and the materialists produce a better Bible than ours, +if they can. Let them collect the best of their school to be found among +the graduates of universities--as many as they please and from every +land. Let the members of this selected group travel where they will, +consult such libraries as they like, and employ every modern means of +swift communication. Let them glean in the fields of geology, botany, +astronomy, biology, and zoology, and then roam at will wherever science +has opened a way; let them take advantage of all the progress in art and +in literature, in oratory and in history--let them use to the full every +instrumentality that is employed in modern civilization; and when they +have exhausted every source, let them embody the results of their best +intelligence in a book and offer it to the world as a substitute for +this Bible of ours. Have they the confidence that the prophets of Baal +had in their god? Will they try? If not, what excuse will they give? Has +man so fallen from his high estate, that we cannot rightfully expect as +much of him now as nineteen centuries ago? Or does the Bible come to us +from a source that is higher than man? + +But the case is even stronger. The opponents of the Bible cannot take +refuge in the plea that man is retrograding. They loudly proclaim that +man has grown and that he is growing still. They boast of a world-wide +advance and their claim is founded upon fact. In all matters except +in the "science of how to live," man has made wonderful progress. The +mastery of the mind over the forces of nature seems almost complete, so +far do we surpass the ancients in harnessing the water, the wind and the +lightning. + +For ages, the rivers plunged down the mountainsides and exhausted their +energies without any appreciable contribution to man's service; now they +are estimated as so many units of horse-power, and we find that their +fretting and foaming was merely a language which they employed to tell +us of their strength and of their willingness to work for us. And, while +falling water is becoming each a day a larger factor in burden-bearing, +water, rising in the form of steam, is revolutionizing the +transportation methods of the world. + +The wind, that first whispered its secret of strength to the flapping +sail, is now turning the wheel at the well, and our flying machines have +taken possession of the air. + +Lightning, the red demon that, from the dawn of Creation, has been +rushing down its zigzag path through the clouds, as if intent only +upon spreading death, metamorphosed into an errand-boy, brings us +illumination from the sun and carries our messages around the globe. + +Inventive genius has multiplied the power of a human arm and supplied +the masses with comforts of which the rich did not dare to dream a few +centuries ago. Science is ferreting out the hidden causes of disease and +teaching us how to prolong life. In every line, except in the line of +character-building, the world seems to have been made over, but these +marvellous changes only emphasize the fact that man, too, must be born +again, while they show how impotent are material things to touch the +soul of man and transform him into a spiritual being. Wherever the moral +standard is being lifted up--wherever life is becoming larger in the +vision that directs it and richer in its fruitage, the improvement is +traceable to the Bible and to the influence of the God and Christ of +whom the Bible tells. + +The atheist and the materialist must confess that man should be able to +produce a better book to-day than man, unaided, could have produced in +any previous age. The fact that they have tried, time and time again, +only to fail each time more hopelessly, explains why they will not--why +they cannot--accept the challenge thrown down by the Christian world to +produce a book worthy to take the Bible's place. + +They have begged to their God to answer with fire--appealed to inanimate +matter with an earnestness that is pathetic; they have employed in the +worship of blind force a faith greater than religion requires, but their +God is asleep. How long will they allow the search for strata of stone +and fragments of fossil and decaying skeletons that are strewn around +the house to absorb their thoughts to the exclusion of the architect +who planned it all? How long will the agnostic, closing his eyes to +the plainest truths, cry, "Night, night," when the sun in his meridian +splendour announces that noon is here? + +Those who reject the Bible ignore its claim to inspiration. This in +itself makes them enemies of the Book of books, because the Bible +characters profess to speak by inspiration, and what they say bears the +stamp of the supernatural. "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by +the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21). + + Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom + teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual + things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things + of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither + can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. + 2:13-14). + +Those who reject the Bible ignore the spirit that pervades it, the +atmosphere that envelopes it, the harmony of its testimonies and the +unity of its structure, despite the fact that it is the product of many +writers during many centuries. Its parts were not arranged by man, but +prearranged by the Almighty. + +Those who reject the Bible also ignore the prophecies and their +fulfillment--"History written in advance"--proof that appeals +irresistibly to the open mind. + +Those who reject the Bible even disparage the testimony which the +Saviour bore to the inspiration of the Old Testament, and yet what could +be more explicit than His words? "And beginning at Moses and all the +prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things +concerning himself" (Luke 24:27). + +As Canon Liddon says: + + "For Christians, it will be enough to know that our Lord, Jesus + Christ, set the seal of His infallible sanction on the whole of the + Old Testament. He found the Hebrew canon as we have it in our + hands to-day, and He treated it as an authority which was above + discussion. Nay, more; He went out of His way--if we may reverently + speak thus,--to sanction not a few portions of it which modern + scepticism rejects." + +Besides open enemies, the Bible has enemies who are less frank--enemies +who, while claiming to be friends of Christianity, spend their time +undermining faith in God, faith in the Bible, and faith in Christ. These +professed friends call themselves higher critics--a title which--though +explained by them as purely technical--smacks of an insufferable +egotism. They assume an air of superior intelligence and look down with +mingled pity and contempt upon what they regard as poor, credulous +humanity. The higher critic is more dangerous than the open enemy. The +atheist approaches you boldly and tries to blow out your light, but, as +you know who he is, what he is trying to do and why, you can protect +yourself. The higher critic, however, comes to you in the guise of a +friend and politely inquires: "Isn't the light too near your eyes? I +fear it will injure your sight." Then he moves the light away, a little +at a time, until it is only a speck and then--invisible. + +Some who have used the title "higher critic" have approached their +subject in a reverent spirit and laboured earnestly in the vain hope of +satisfying intellectual doubts, when the real trouble has been with the +hearts of objectors rather than with their heads. Religion is a matter +of the heart, and the impulses of the heart often seem foolish to the +mind. Faith is different from, and superior to, reason. Faith is a +spiritual extension of the vision--a moral sense that reaches out toward +the throne of God and takes hold of verities that the mind cannot grasp. +It is like "the blind leading the blind" for a higher critic, however +honest, to rely on purely intellectual methods to convey truths that are +"spiritually discerned." + +As a rule, however, the so-called higher critic is a man without +spiritual vision, without zeal for souls and without any deep interest +in the coming of God's Kingdom. He toils not in the Master's vineyard +and yet "Solomon in all his glory" never laid claim to such wisdom as he +boasts. He does not accept the Bible nor defend it; he mutilates it. He +puts the Bible on the operating table and cuts out the parts that he +thinks are "diseased." When he has finished his work the Bible is no +longer the Book of books: it is simply "a scrap of paper." + +The higher critic (I speak now of the rule and not of the exceptions) +begins his investigations with his opinion already formed. After he has +discarded the Bible because he cannot harmonize it with the doctrine +of evolution, he labours to find evidence to support his preconceived +notions. In matters of religion the higher critic is usually a +"dyspeptic." The Bible does not agree with him; he has not the spiritual +fluids in sufficient quantity to enable him to digest the miracle and +the supernatural. He is a doubter and spreads doubts. + +Dr. Franklin Johnson, in Volume 2, of "Fundamentals" says (pages 55, 56, +57): "A third fallacy of the higher critics is the doctrine concerning +the Scriptures which they teach. If a consistent hypothesis of evolution +is made the basis of our religious thinking, the Bible will be regarded +as only a product of human nature working in the field of religious +literature. It will be merely a natural book."... + +Again: "Yet another fallacy of the higher critics is found in their +teachings concerning the Biblical miracles. If the hypothesis of +evolution is applied to the Scriptures consistently, it will lead us to +deny all the miracles which they record."... + +And: "Among the higher critics who accept some of the miracles there is +a notable desire to discredit the virgin birth of our Lord, and their +treatment of this event presents a good example of the fallacies of +reasoning by means of which they would abolish many of the other +miracles." + +Professor Reeve, in a strong article in Volume 3 of "Fundamentals" +(pages 98, 99) tells us of his own excursion into the fields of +higher criticism, of his disappointment and of his glad return to the +interpretations of the Bible that are generally accepted. Speaking of +his first impressions, he says: + + "The critics seemed to have the logical things on their side. The + results at which they had arrived seemed inevitable. But upon closer + thinking, I saw that the whole movement, with its conclusion, was + the result of the adoption of the hypothesis of evolution."... + + "It became more and more obvious to me that the great movement was + entirely intellectual, an attempt in reality to intellectualize all + religious phenomena. I saw also that it was a partial and one-sided + intellectualism, with a strong bias against the fundamental tenets + of Biblical Christianity. Such a movement does not produce that + intellectual humility which belongs to the Christian mind. On the + contrary, it is responsible for a vast amount of intellectual pride, + an aristocracy of intellect with all the snobbery which usually + accompanies that term. Do they not exactly correspond to Paul's + word, 'vainly puffed up in his fleshly mind and not holding fast the + head, etc.' They have a splendid scorn for all opinions which do not + agree with theirs. Under the spell of this sublime contempt they + think they can ignore anything that does not square with their + evolutionary hypothesis. The center of gravity of their thinking is + in the theoretical, not in the religious; in reason, not in faith. + Supremely satisfied with its self-constituted authority, the mind + thinks itself competent to criticize the Bible, the thinking of all + the centuries, and even Jesus Christ Himself. The followers of this + cult have their full share of the frailties of human nature. Rarely, + if ever, can a thoroughgoing critic be an evangelist or even + evangelistic; he is educational. How is it possible for a preacher + to be a power of God, whose source of authority is his own reason + and convictions? The Bible can scarcely contain more than good + advice for such a man." + +In Volume 2 of "Fundamentals" (page 84), Sir Robert Anderson has this to +say: + + "The effect of this 'Higher Criticism' is extremely grave. For it + has dethroned the Bible in the home, and the good old practice of + 'family worship' is rapidly dying out. And great national interests + also are involved. For who can doubt that the prosperity and power + of the nations of the world are due to the influence of the Bible + upon the character and conduct? Races of men who for generations + have been taught to think for themselves in matters of the highest + moment will naturally excel in every sphere of effort or of + enterprise. And more than this, no one who is trained in the fear of + God will fail in his duty to his neighbour, but will prove himself a + good citizen. But the dethronement of the Bible leads practically + to the dethronement of God; and in Germany and America, and now in + England, the effects of this are declaring themselves in ways, and + to an extent, well fitted to cause anxiety for the future." + +The experience of Rev. Paul Kanamori, known as the "Japanese Billy +Sunday" furnishes an excellent illustration of the chilling effect of +higher criticism. He was converted when a student and, after a period of +preaching, became a professor in a theological seminary in Japan. Dr. +Robert E. Speer, in a preface to a published sermon of Mr. Kanamori, +thus describes the great evangelist's temporary retirement from the +ministry and its cause: + + "He began to read upon the most recent German theology, with + the result that he was completely swept off his feet by the + rationalistic New Theology, Higher Criticism, etc. Not long after + that he published his new views under the title, 'The present and + future of Christianity in Japan,' and retired from the ministry.... + He remained in this state of spiritual darkness for twenty years, + until the death of his wife brought him and his children into great + trouble, but after passing through these deep waters he came out + again with a clear and firm belief in the old-fashioned gospel" + ("The Three-Hour Sermon," page 8). + +Since Mr. Kanamori's return to the ministry he has been the means of +leading nearly fifty thousand Japanese to Christ--probably more than the +total number of souls brought into the Church by all the higher critics +combined. + +Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, one of the great preachers of the last +generation, thus speaks of the higher critics: + + "When I see ministers of religion finding fault with the Scriptures, + it makes me think of a fortress terrifically bombarded, and the men + on the ramparts, instead of swabbing out and loading the guns and + helping to fetch up the ammunition from the magazine, are trying + with crowbars to pry out from the wall certain blocks of stone, + because they did not come from the right quarry. Oh, men on the + ramparts, better fight back and fight down the common enemy, instead + of trying to make breaches in the wall." + +It is a deserved rebuke. The higher critics throw ink at a Book that +has withstood the assaults of materialists for centuries, and are vain +enough to think that they can blot out its vital truths. Although their +labours against the Bible have consumed years, they expect the public +to accept their conclusions at sight. If they require so much time to +formulate their indictment against Holy Writ, surely the friends of +the Bible should be allowed as much time for the inspection of the +indictment. + +The destructive higher critic is, as a rule, opposed to revivals; in +fact, it is one of the tests by which he can be distinguished from other +preachers. He calls the revival a "religious spasm." He understands +how one can have a spasm of anger and become a murderer, or a spasm of +passion and ruin a life, or a spasm of dishonesty and rob a bank, but he +cannot understand how one can be convicted of sin, and, in a spasm of +repentance, be born again. That would be a miracle, and miracles are +inconsistent with evolution. It shocks the higher critic to have the +prodigal son come back so suddenly after going away so deliberately. + +Most of the higher critics discard, because contrary to the doctrine of +evolution, the virgin birth of Jesus and His resurrection, although the +former is no more mysterious than our own birth--only different, and the +latter no more mysterious than the origin of life. The existence of God +makes both possible; and the proof is sufficient to establish both. + +If the higher critic will but come into the presence of Christ and learn +of Him he will express himself in the language of the father (whose son +had a dumb spirit), who, as recorded in Mark (9:24), "cried out and said +with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." + +If he would only mingle with humanity he might catch the spirit of the +Master; if his sympathies were broad enough to take in all of God's +people, he would be so impressed with the religious needs of sinful man +that he would hasten to break to him the "Bread of Life" instead of +offering him a stone. The Bible, _as it is_, has led millions to +repentance and, through forgiveness, into life; the Bible, as the higher +critics would make it, is impotent to save. + +Enemies of the Bible have been "blasting at the Rock of Ages" for nearly +two thousand years but in spite of attacks of open and secret foes, God +still lives, and His Book is still precious to His children. + +The Bible would be the greatest book ever written if it rested on its +literary merits alone, stripped of the reverence that inspiration +commands; but it becomes infinitely more valuable when it is accepted +as the Word of God. As a man-made book it would compel the intellectual +admiration of the world; as the audible voice of the Heavenly Father it +makes an irresistible appeal to the heart and writes its truths upon our +lives. Its heroes teach us great lessons--they were giants when they +walked by faith, but weak as we ourselves when they relied upon their +own strength. + +The Bible starts with a simple story of creation--just a few words, but +it says all that can be said. The scientists have framed hypotheses, +the philosophers have formulated theories and the speculators have +guessed--some of them have darkened "counsel by words without +knowledge"--but when the smoke of controversy rises we find that the +first sentence of Genesis, still unshaken, comprehends the entire +subject: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." No +one has been able to overthrow it, or burrow under it or go around it. + +And so when we set out in search of a foundation for statute law; we dig +down through the loose dirt, the mould of centuries, until we strike +solid rock and we find the Tables of Stone on which were written the ten +commandments. All important legislation is but an elaboration of these +few, brief sentences, and the elaborations are often obscuring instead +of clarifying. + +If we desire rules to govern our spiritual development we turn back to +the Sermon on the Mount. In our educational system it takes many books +on many subjects to prepare a mind for its work, but three chapters +of the Bible (Matthew 5, 6 and 7) applied to life, would have more +influence than all the learning of the schools in determining the +happiness of the individual and his service to society. + +If we want to understand the evils of arbitrary power, we have only to +read Samuel's warning to the children of Israel when they clamoured for +a king (1 Sam. 8: 11, 17). + +If we would form an estimate of the influence that faith can exert on +a human life, and, through it, upon a world, we follow the career of +Abraham, "the friend of God," and see how his trust in Jehovah was +rewarded. He founded a race, than which there has never been a greater, +and established the religion through which to-day hundreds of millions +worship God. + +David showed us how a shepherd lad could become the "warrior king" and +the "sweet singer of Israel," with virtues so big that, in spite of his +enormous sins, he is described as "a man after God's own heart." + +And what varied instruction we draw from the life of Moses! Hidden in +the bulrushes on the banks of the Nile by a mother who, by instinct or +by divine suggestion, previsioned a high calling for her son; found, +under Providential direction, by a daughter of Pharaoh; reared in the +environment of a palace and with the advantages of the most enlightened +court of his day; compelled to flee into the wilderness because of an +outburst of race passion; called to a great work by a Voice that +spoke to him from a bush that "burned but was not consumed"; modestly +distrusting his ability yet dauntless as the spokesman of God--dispenser +of plagues--wonder-working man! Born of an obscure family and buried in +the Land of Moab in a sepulcher which "no man knoweth," and yet between +these two humble events he rose to a higher pinnacle than any uninspired +man has ever reached--leader without comparison--lawgiver without a +peer. + +He teaches many lessons that, like all truths, can be applied in every +generation in every land. Race sympathy made it possible for him to lead +his people out of bondage--no one not of their own blood could have +done it. This lesson needs to be heeded to-day. Our part in the +evangelization of the world will be done through native teachers, +educated here or in our missions, rather than directly. The reformer, +too, finds in the hardening of Pharaoh's heart the final assurance of +success; when the "fullness of time" has come and any form of bondage is +ripe for overthrow, the taskmaster's demand for "bricks without straw" +gives the final impulse and opens the way. + +Joseph has made the world his schoolroom. He enables us to understand +the words of Solomon; "where there is no vision the people perish." He +shows how, in the hour of trial, faith can triumph over reason--how God +can lead a righteous man through a dungeon to a seat by the side of the +throne--how the dreamer can turn scoffing into reverence when he has the +corn. + +Samuel is a standing rebuke to those who think "wild oats" a necessary +crop in the lives of young men. He heard the call of God when he was a +child; was reared for the Father's work and lived a life so blameless +that the people proclaimed him just when his official career came to an +end. + +In the Proverbs of Solomon we find a rare collection of truths, +beautifully expressed; in Job we find an inexhaustible patience set to +music and an integrity that even Satan himself could not corrupt. + +The Prophets alone would immortalize the Bible--rugged characters who +dared to rebuke wickedness in high places, to reproach a nation for its +sins and to warn of the coming of the wrath of God. See Elijah on Mount +Carmel, mocking the worshippers of Baal; hear him thunder the Almighty's +sentence against a king who, coveting Naboth's vineyard, broke three +commandments to get a little piece of land. And yet Elijah fled from +wicked Jezebel and would have despaired but for the Voice that assured +him of the thousands who were still true to Israel's God--the obscure +hosts who remained loyal even when the conspicuous became faint-hearted. + +Elisha was a visible link in the chain of power. He was not ashamed to +wear the mantle of his great predecessor; he was willing to take up an +unfinished work. He bears unimpeachable testimony to the continuity of +the divine current when human conductors can be found to transmit it. It +was Elisha who drew aside the veil that concealed from his affrighted +servant the horses and chariots that, upon the mountain, await the hours +when they are needed to supplement the strength of those who fight upon +the Lord's side; it was Elisha, too, who proved to the warriors of his +day that magnanimity is more potent than violence. He conquered by +self-restraint--and "the bands of Syria came no more into the lands of +Israel." + +Daniel is another man in whom faith begat courage and for whom courage +carved a large niche in the temple of imperishable fame. The Daniel who +interpreted to the trembling Belshazzar the fateful handwriting on +the wall; who, unawed by enemies, prayed with his windows open toward +Jerusalem, and who, in the lions' den, waited in patience until Darius +hastened from a sleepless couch to call him forth and join him in +praising Israel's God--this Daniel was the same intrepid servant of the +Most High, who in his youth refused to drink wine from the king's table, +and, demanding a test, proved that water was better--a verdict that +twenty-five centuries have not disturbed. + +Passing over many characters who would seem mountainlike but for the +majestic peaks that overshadow them, let us turn to the immortal seer +who, listening heavenward, caught the words of the song that startled +the shepherds at Bethelehem and, peering through the darkness of seven +centuries, saw the light that shone from Calvary. It was Isaiah who +foretold more clearly and more fully than any one else the coming of +the Messiah, suggested the titles which He would earn, described the +sufferings which He would endure and enumerated the blessings He would +bring to mankind. In chapter nine verse six we read, "For unto us a +child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon +his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The +Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." + +In chapter fifty-three, we learn of His vicarious atonement: + + He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted + with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was + despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, + and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of + God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he + was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was + upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have + gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord + hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he + was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb + to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he + opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: + and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of + the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he + stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich + in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any + deceit in his mouth. + +In chapter two, verse four, we are told of the glad day, which we are +now trying to hasten, when swords shall be beaten into ploughshares, +and spears into pruning-hooks--when nations shall not lift up the sword +against nations or learn war any more. + +If the Old Testament is so fascinating what may we expect of the New? It +is day as compared with dawn; it is the morning light, with which Moses +and the Prophets beat back the darkness of the night, enlarged--until +we have the sun in its meridian glory. "Old things have passed away; +behold, all things are become new." + +The Old Testament gave us the law; the New Testament reveals the love +upon which the law rests. John says: "The law was given by Moses, but +grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1: 17). The Old Testament +restrained by a multitude of "Thou shalt nots"; the New Testament +awakens the monitor within and supplies a spiritual urge that makes the +individual find satisfaction in service and delight in doing good. David +soothes the dying with sweet assurance: "Though I walk through the +valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with +me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me;" Jesus inspires them with a +living hope: "I go to prepare a place for you that where I am ye may be +also." + +God is the center of gravity in the New Testament as in the Old, but the +drawing power of Jehovah became visible in Christ; the attributes of the +Father were revealed in the Son--the supreme intelligence, the limitless +power, the boundless love. Divinity surrounded itself with human +associates but spiritual enthusiasm crowded out the selfish element; +His presence purged their souls of dross. The characters of the New +Testament are about their Father's business all the time. If a Judas +is base enough to betray the Saviour, even he is so overwhelmed with +remorse that life becomes unbearable. + +We are introduced to a new group of characters, beginning with a Virgin +with a child and ending with her Son upon the cross--a galaxy of men and +women whose words and deeds have travelled into every land. One poor +widow with two mites, wisely invested, purchased more enduring fame than +any rich man was ever able to buy with all his money. Another, Tabitha, +by interpretation called Dorcas, drew forth as eloquent a tribute as was +ever paid. In the goodness of her heart she made garments for the poor, +and the recipients, exhibiting them at her death-bed, expressed their +gratitude in tears. The narrative suggests an epitaph which every +Christian can earn--and who could desire more? viz., the night is darker +because a life has gone out; the world is not so warm because a heart is +cold in death. + +In John the Baptist, we have the forerunner--"the voice crying in the +wilderness." The Apostles, chosen from among the busy multitude, carried +their habits of industry into their new calling; some turned from +catching fish to become "fishers of men," while Matthew employed the +accuracy of a collector of customs in chronicling the life of the +Master. Even the weaknesses of men were utilized: Thomas consecrated his +doubts, and John, the disciple, baptized his ambition--each giving the +Great Teacher an opportunity to use a fault for the enlightening of +future generations. The latter became the most intimate companion of the +Saviour--"the disciple whom Jesus loved" and the one who most frequently +used the word love. + +Peter and Paul stand out conspicuously among the exponents of early +Christianity. In the case of Peter, Christ brought an impulsive nature +into complete subjection and gave a steadying purpose to an emotional +follower. In Paul, we see a giant intellect aflame with a holy zeal. +Both were bold interpreters of Christ's mission and both urged upon +Christians the full gospel equipment. + +In his second Epistle, chapter one, Peter exhorts: + + And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; + and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to + temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness + brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these + things be in you, and abound, they make you that you shall neither + be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. + +In the sixth chapter of Ephesians, Paul pleads: + + Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able + to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand + therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having + on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the + preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of + faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of + the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the + Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer + and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all + perseverance and supplication for all saints. + +Peter was a rock, hewn into shape and polished by the divine hand; Paul +was a "chosen vessel" to bear the Redeemer's Name before "the Gentiles +and kings and the children of Israel." Paul was an orator with a +purpose; he was a man with a message. He was eloquent because he knew +what he was talking about and meant what he said. No wonder, for he was +called to service by a summons so distinct and unmistakable that he +turned at once from persecuting to preaching. Paul is responsible for +one of the most inspiring sentences in the Bible--"I was not disobedient +unto the heavenly vision." It was the key to his whole life. + +Love is not blind, declares Tolstoy; it sees what ought to be done and +does it. So with Paul. His eyes were open to the truth and he saw it; +he was sensitive to the needs of the Church and his epistles are filled +with wise counsel. He encouraged the worthy, admonished the erring and +strengthened the weak. Paul knew well the secret of liberality, as shown +in 2 Corinthians 8: 5. The members of the Macedonian church "first gave +their own selves"; giving was easy after that. Paul's religion could not +be shaken; read his vow as recorded in the eighth chapter of Romans: + + For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor + principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, + nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to + separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. + +His sufferings developed patience and deepened devotion. They prepared +him to appreciate love and to define it as no other mortal has done. + +His tribute to love, contained in the thirteenth chapter of 1 +Corinthians, is not approached by any other utterance on this subject. +(I use the old version with the word charity changed to love.) + + Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not + love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though + I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all + knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove + mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all + my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, + and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suffereth long, and + is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed + up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not + easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but + rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, + hopeth all things, endureth all things; Love never faileth: but + whether there be prophecies they shall fail; whether there be + tongues they shall cease; whether there be knowledge it shall vanish + away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that + which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done + away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a + child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away + childish things; For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then + face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also + I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the + greatest of these is love. + +I cannot leave the Book of Books without referring to one of the supreme +moments that it describes. The Bible is full of pictures; the painter +has found it an inexhaustible storehouse of suggestion. All the great +climaxes of sacred history speak to us from the canvas. Moses and +Pharaoh, Ruth and Naomi, Daniel at the Belshazzar Feast and in the +Lions' Den, Elijah at Mt. Carmel and before Ahab, Joseph and his +brethren, David and Goliath, Mary and the Child, Jesus, the Prodigal +Son, the Sower, the Good Samaritan, the Rich Young Man, the Wise and the +Foolish Virgins, Jesus in the Temple, Christ Entering Jerusalem, and in +the Garden of Gethsemane, and The Saviour on the Cross--these are but a +few of the word pictures that have inspired the artist's brush. + +But there is another picture, unsurpassed in thrilling power +and permanent interest, namely, that presented by the trial of +Christ--tragedy of tragedies, triumph of triumphs! + +Here, face to face, stood Pilate and Christ, the representatives of the +two opposing forces that have ever contended for dominion in the world. +Pilate was the personification of force; behind him was the Roman +government, undisputed ruler of the then known world, supported by +its invincible legions. Before Pilate stood Christ, the embodiment of +love--unarmed, alone. And force triumphed; they nailed Him to the cross, +and the mob that had assembled to witness His sufferings, mocked and +jeered and said: "He is dead." But from that day the power of Caesar +waned and the power of Christ increased. In a few centuries the Roman +government was gone and its legions forgotten, while the Apostle of Love +has become the greatest fact in history and the growing figure of all +time. + +Who will estimate the Bible's value to society? It is our only guide. It +contains milk for the young and nourishing food for every year of life's +journey; it is manna for those who travel in the wilderness; and it +provides a staff for those who are weary with age. It satisfies the +heart's longings for a knowledge of God; it gives a meaning to existence +and supplies a working plan to each human being. + +It holds up before us ideals that are within sight of the weakest and +the lowliest, and yet so high that the best and the noblest are kept +with their faces turned ever upward. It carries the call of the Saviour +to the remotest corners of the earth; on its pages are written the +assurances of the present and our hopes for the future. + + There are three verses in the first chapter of Genesis which mean + more to man than all other books outside the Bible. First; the + verse, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," + gives us the only account of the beginning of all things, including + life. Many substitutes have been proposed for this verse but none + that can be so easily understood, explained and defended. + + Second: the 24th verse gives us the only law governing the + continuity of life on earth. If life is to continue, reproduction + must be according to law or lawless. _Reproduction according to + kind_ is the basic scientific fact in the world; all the books on + science combined do not state as much that is of value to man as + this one verse--it is the foundation of family life and of all human + calculations. No living thing has ever violated this law; even man + with all his power has never been able to persuade or compel that + intangible, invisible thing that we call life to cross the line of + species. + + Third: the 26th verse--"Let us make man in our image"--gives us the + only explanation of man's presence on earth. Without revelation no + one has been able to explain the riddle of life. Man comes into the + world without his own volition; he has no choice as to the age, + nation, race, or family environment into which he shall be born. So + far as he is concerned, he comes by chance; he goes he knows not + when, and cannot insure himself for a single hour against accident, + disease or death; and yet, he is supreme above all other things. + + The 26th verse reveals a truth of inestimable value. When man + knows that he is "the child of a King," with the earth for an + inheritance--that the Creator, after bringing all other things into + existence, made him, not as other things were made, but in the + image of God, and placed him here as commander-in-chief of all that + is--when he understands that he is part of God's plan and here for a + purpose he finds himself. To do God's will becomes his highest duty + as well as his greatest pleasure and he learns that obedience links + happiness to virtue, success to righteousness, and makes it possible + for him to rise to the high plane that a loving Heavenly Father has + put within the reach of man. + + Where in all the books in all the libraries can one find as much + that affects the welfare of man as is condensed into these three + verses? + + + + +III + +WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? + + +The question, What think ye of Christ? propounded to the Pharisees by +the Saviour Himself, demands an answer from an increasing number as each +year the circle of the Gospel's influence widens. It is a question that +cannot be evaded. In every civilized land an answer is made, by word or +act, by each individual who is confronted by the facts of His life. +It is in the hope that I may be able to assist some in answering this +question that I devote this hour to the inquiry. + +Was Christ an impostor? Or was He deluded? Or was He the promised +Messiah, "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," as He declared Himself to +be? + +Few have dared to accuse Him of attempting a deliberate fraud upon the +public. Impostors sometimes kill others in carrying out their plans, or +to escape detection, but they do not offer themselves as a sacrifice +for others. Christ's whole life gives the lie to the charge that He +practiced deception. One recorded act would be sufficient to establish +His honesty of purpose. In the nineteenth chapter of Matthew we read: + + And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good + thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto + him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, + God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He + saith unto him, which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou + shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear + false witness. Honour thy father and thy mother: and Thou shalt love + thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these + things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said + unto him. If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and + give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come + and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went + away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. + +If Christ had been an adventurer or was interested only in gaining a +following He would have welcomed this young man, who was not only rich, +but, according to Luke, a ruler. And what a splendid recommendation the +young man gave himself; all of the commandments he had kept from his +youth up. How could one ambitious for worldly success afford to reject +such an applicant? But Christ would not lower the standard a hair's +breadth even to secure the support of a rich young ruler who had led +a blameless life. He demanded the _first place_ in the heart--a very +reasonable demand--and, seeing in the young man's heart the first place +occupied by love of money, He demanded the throne. The young +man, unwilling to purchase eternal life at that price, went away +sorrowing--his heart still centered on his great possessions. Of whom +but an honest person could such a story be told? + +Was Christ deceived? That is the theory set forth in a little volume +entitled "A Jewish View of Jesus" (published recently by the Macmillan +Company). The author, H.G. Emelow, pays the following high tribute to +"Jesus the Jew" (and it is the most charitable view an orthodox Jew can +hold): + + "Yet, these things apart, who can compute all that Jesus has meant + to humanity? The love He has inspired, the solace He has given, the + good He has engendered, the hope and joy He has kindled--all that is + unequalled in human history. Among the great and good that the human + race has produced, none has even approached Jesus in universality + of appeal and sway. He has become the most fascinating figure in + history. In Him is combined what is best and most enchanting and + most mysterious in Israel--the eternal people whose child He was. + The Jew cannot help glorying in what Jesus thus has meant to the + world; nor can he help hoping that Jesus may yet serve as a bond of + union between Jew and Christian, once His teaching is better known + and the bane of misunderstanding is at last removed from His words + and His ideal." + +But could honest delusion produce a character who, in "the love He has +inspired," "the solace He has given," and "the hope and joy He has +kindled" is "unequalled in human history"? Is it not impossible that +under a _delusion_ one could (as Emelow says Jesus did) become "the most +fascinating figure in history"--unapproachable in the "universality of +appeal and sway"? The world has been full of delusions: have any of them +produced a character like Christ? Tolstoy says that the words of Christ +to His friends and pupils have had a hundred thousand times more +influence over the people than all the poems, odes, elegies and elegant +epistles of the authors of that age. Lecky, the historian, says that +"the three short years of the active life of Jesus have done more +to regenerate and soften mankind than all of the disquisitions of +philosophers and all the exhortations of moralists." Could this be said +of a man labouring under a delusion as to his real character? + +What Christ _said_ and _did_ and _was_ establishes His claims. In a +conversation with Peter (Matt. 16: 16), He approved that Apostle's +answer which ascribed to Him the title of "Christ" (the Greek equivalent +for Messiah) "the Son of the living God." He not only approved of the +answer bestowing the title but + +"Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: for +flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is +in heaven." In John 10, verse 30, He declares, "I and my Father are +one"; in verse 36, same chapter, He denies that it was blasphemy to call +Himself the Son of God. In the presence of death He refused to deny the +claim (Matt. 26: 63-64). + +The deity of Christ is proven in many ways; some offering one line of +proof and some another. Some are convinced by the prophecies that found +their fulfillment in Christ; some give greatest weight to the manner of +His birth and His resurrection. Still others lay special emphasis upon +the miracles performed by Him. There is no need of comparison; all the +proofs stand together and bear joint testimony to His supernatural +character, but I find myself inclined to use the method of reasoning +adopted by Carnegie Simpson in his book entitled, "The Fact of Christ." +Those who reject Christ reject also the miraculous proofs offered in +support of His divine character, but the _fact_ of Christ cannot be +denied. Christ lived; that is admitted. He taught; we have His words. +He died upon the cross; that we know; and we can trace His blood by its +cleansing power as it flows through the centuries. Judged by His life, +His teachings, and His death, and the impression they have made upon the +human race, we conclude that He was divine and that He has justified the +titles bestowed upon Him. No other explanations can account for Him. +Born in a manger; reared in a carpenter shop; with no access to sages +living and no knowledge of the wisdom of sages dead, except as that +wisdom was recorded in the Old Testament, and yet when only about thirty +years of age He gave to the world a code of morality the like of which +the world had never known before and has not known since. He preached a +short time, gathered around Him a few disciples and was crucified; His +followers were scattered and nearly all of the conspicuous ones put to +death--and yet from this beginning His religion spread until thousands +of millions have taken His name upon them and millions have been ready +to die rather than surrender the faith that He put into their hearts. +How can you explain Christ? It is easier to believe Him to be the Christ +whose coming was foretold, the Jesus who was to save the people from +their sins--the Son of God and Saviour of the World--than to account for +Him in any other way. + +To those who try to measure Him by the rules that apply to man He is +incomprehensible; but take Him out of the man class and put Him in the +God class and you can understand Him. He also can be measured by the +work He came to perform; it was more than a man's task. No man aspiring +to be a God could have done what He did; it required a God condescending +to be a man. + +When once His divine character is admitted we have an explanation that +clears away all the perplexities. We can believe that He was conceived +of the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary. We can believe that He +opened the eyes of the blind when among men--we see Him to-day giving a +spiritual vision of life to those who have known only the flesh and the +pleasures that come through the flesh. We can believe that He wrought +miracles when upon earth--we see Him so changing hearts to-day that they +love the things they used to hate and hate the things they used to love. +We can even believe that at His touch life was called back to the body +from which it had taken its flight--we have seen Him take men who had +fallen so low that their own flesh and blood had deserted them, lift +them up, wash them and fill their hearts with a passion for service. A +Christ who can do that _now_ could have broken the bonds of the tomb. + +Volumes innumerable have been written on theological distinctions, some +of which have been made the basis of sects. The doctrine of the Trinity +has been one of the storm centers of discussion for centuries. It is not +difficult for me to believe in the Trinity when I see three distinct +entities in each human being--a physical man, a mental man and a moral +man. They are so inseparable that one cannot exist here without the +other, and yet they are so separate and distinct that one can be +developed and the others left undeveloped. Who has not seen a splendidly +developed body with an ignorant brain to think for it and a puny +spiritual life within? A weak body and an impoverished soul are +sometimes linked to a highly trained mind: and an exalted character is +sometimes found in a frail body, and even associated with a neglected +intellect. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost, three in one, present no +problem that need perplex either the learned or the unlearned. We have +the evidence of the Father on every hand; the proof of the Son's growing +influence is indisputable; the witness of the Holy Ghost is to be found +in the heart of every believer. The three act in unison. + +The fall of man is disputed by some who seem to find more satisfaction +in the belief that they have risen from the brute and, therefore, are +superior to their ancestors, than they do in the thought that man has +fallen from a higher estate. But the facts do not support the brute +theory. Even if the "missing links" could be found, it would be as +reasonable--though not so flattering to man's pride--to believe that the +monkey is a degenerate man as that man is an improved monkey. + +It has often been pointed out as evidence of man's fall that he is the +only created thing that does not live up to his possibilities. In plant +and bird and beast there is no disobedience--all fulfill the purpose of +their creation, from the flower, that puts forth its bloom as perfectly +when it "wastes its sweetness on the desert air" as when in the garden +its beauty calls forth expressions of delight, to the bird that wakes +the echoes of trackless forests with its melody. Man, only man, mocks +his Maker by prostituting to evil the powers that might lift him within +sight of the throne of God. + +If so many men and women fall _now_, in spite of light and love and all +the incentives to noble living, is it incredible that the first pair +should have fallen when the race was young? Possibility becomes +probability when we remember that the conflict that rages between the +mind and the heart is the one real conflict in every life. Reason versus +faith is the great issue to-day as in Eden. Faith says obey; reason +asks, Why? The one looks up confidingly to a Power above; the other +relies on self and rejects even the authority of Jehovah unless the +finite mind can comprehend the plan of the Infinite. + +No one will doubt the doctrine of original sin if he will study nature +and then analyze himself. In the plant, in the animal and in the +physical man, the invisible thing which we call life is the only +sustaining force; when it takes its flight, that which remains falls +back to the earth and becomes dust. And so the spiritual in man is the +only force that can give him a moral nature and preserve it from decay; +when his spiritual life departs the mind as well as the body rots. + +Some find a stumbling block in the doctrine of the Atonement. That one +should suffer for others, shocks their sense of justice, they say, and +yet that is the law of life. Each generation borrows from generations +past and pays the debt to the generations that follow. A certain +percentage of the mothers die in childbirth--evidence that they are +God's handiwork is found in the fact they so willingly enter the valley +of the shadow of death to attain to motherhood. Many a boy has been won +back to rectitude by the sorrows of a parent; we are not infrequently +healed by the stripes that fall on others. In fact, great wrongs are +seldom righted without the shedding of innocent blood--one dies and a +multitude are saved. These do not always illustrate the voluntary laying +down of life but there are enough cases of noble surrender of self for a +friend or for the public to make it easy for any one to understand how +Christ could take upon Himself the sins of the world and become man's +intercessor with the Father. Winning hearts through love expressed in +sacrifice, is that strange? On the contrary, it is the only way. It is +because the story of Jesus is a natural one that it has touched mankind. +Hearts understand each other. The heart, says Pascal, has reasons that +the mind does not understand because the heart is of an infinitely +higher character. + +The sacrificial character of Christ's death and the atoning power of His +blood are the basis of the New Testament. To discard this doctrine is to +reject the plainest teachings of the Apostles and the words of Christ +Himself. + +Peter, than whom there is no higher human authority, says (1 Peter +2:24): "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that +we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes +ye were healed." + +John, the Beloved, speaks as clearly on this subject (John 3:16-17): +"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that +whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting +life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but +that the world through him might be saved." Paul was equally emphatic; +he says (1 Cor. 2:2): "For I determined not to know anything among you, +save Jesus Christ and him crucified." And again (1 Cor. 1:30): "But +of him are ye in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us wisdom and +righteousness, and sanctification and redemption." + +But we have higher authority still--we have the words of Christ Himself. +At the last supper, with His disciples about Him, He spoke of His blood +being "shed for many for the remission of sins." + +It is the story of His sacrifice for others--of His blood shed that the +world might through Him find forgiveness--that has been understood by +the unlettered as well as by scholars and has brought millions to the +foot of the cross. Even those who have not been in position to compare +His code of morals with the teachings of others have been able to +comprehend a plan of salvation by which one died for all and all find +forgiveness in His sacrifice. It is this Gospel that has made it +possible for the forgiven sinner to go forth to begin a new life, no +longer under conviction of sin and remembering his past only as an +incentive to service. + +The presence of Judas at the Last Supper has been the cause of much +speculation throughout the centuries. The indignation of Christians +is stirred at the thought of a traitor being present on this solemn +occasion when Christ instituted one of the great sacraments of the +Church. The Saviour not only knew what Judas was about to do but +called attention to it and designated the guilty one, but there was no +appearance of the anger which would be natural in a mortal; He knew the +plan of salvation. + +But why should the betrayal have come from one of the twelve? It is not +necessary to find a satisfactory answer to all the questions that may +arise from the reading of the Bible, and the finite mind should not +be discouraged if it fails to fathom the reasons of the Infinite +Intelligence. If there are mysteries in the Bible that we cannot unravel +they are not greater than the mysteries in nature with which we must +deal whether we understand them or not. + +But I venture to suggest one _effect_, produced by the fact that one of +the twelve proved a traitor, namely, the scrutiny that it has compelled +millions of Christians to turn upon themselves. "Lord, is it I?" each +of the disciples anxiously inquired. Even Judas himself, coerced by the +action of the others, asked, "Master, is it I?" So, to-day, there is +real betrayal of the Saviour by some who take His name upon them and +before the world profess to be His followers. If Judas had been an +outsider and had sold for money the knowledge he had gained as a +looker-on his name would not have become, as the name of Judas has, a +synonym for all that is base and contemptible; and the Christian world +would have been without the benefit of that glaring act of perfidy that +has sounded its warning through nineteen centuries. Judas sold the +Saviour for money, just as many a professing Christian since then has, +for money, betrayed the Master. Who will calculate the restraint that +that one question, "Lord, is it I?" has exerted upon Christ's followers +in the hour when some great temptation has made the believer hesitate +upon the brink of sin? + +I will not attempt to enumerate all the ways in which Christ has and can +bless mankind, but the living spring has taught me one way. The spring +is the best illustration of the Christian life, just as a stagnant pool +is the best illustration of a selfish life. The pool receives but gives +forth nothing in return and, at last, becomes the center of disease and +death. There is nothing more repulsive than the stagnant pool except a +life built upon that plan. The spring, on the other hand, pours forth +constantly of that which refreshes and invigorates and asks for nothing. +There is nothing more inspiring than a living spring except the life +that it resembles. + +And why is the spring a spring? Because _it is connected with a source +that is higher than itself_. Christ brings man into such vital, living +contact with God that the goodness of God flows out to the world through +him. The frailest human being can thus become of inestimable value to +society. It is only spiritual power, received from above, that counts +largely. If we measure man in units of physical power he is not much +above the beasts; if we measure him in units of intellectual power +we soon reach his limitations, but when we measure him in units of +spiritual power his strength may be beyond human calculations. If, as +was the case in Wales, the prayer of a little girl could start a revival +that spread over that country, resulting in the conversion of thousands, +what can a life accomplish if one's heart is full of love to God and +man? + +The wisdom of Christ could not have been supplied by others; there were +none to supply it. There was no source but the inexhaustible fountain of +the Almighty from which to draw that which He gave forth "as one having +authority." "Who among His Apostles or proselytes," asks John Stuart +Mill, "was capable of inventing the sayings ascribed to Jesus or of +imagining the life and character revealed in the Gospels?" + +No person, less than divine, could have carried the message or rendered +the service He did to mankind. How, for instance, could He have +learned from His own experience or from His environment the startling +proposition that He embodied in His interpretation of The Parable of the +Sower? "The care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the +truth," and yet in that short sentence He gave an epitome of all +human history. Reforms come up from the oppressed, not down from the +oppressors--a fact which Christ explains in a word. + +He announced the divine order: "Seek ye _first_ the kingdom of God and +his righteousness." Duty to God comes _first_--all other things that are +good for us will come in due time. + +His parables stand alone in literature; they have no parallel in the +expression of great truths with beauty and simplicity through object +lessons taken from every-day life. These truths covered a wide range and +were embedded in the language of the parable because of the unbelief +of that day. They are increasingly appreciated as their practical +application to all time becomes more and more manifest. + +The parable of the Prodigal Son is the most beautiful story of its kind +ever told and is based on an experience through which nearly every +person passes, but few of whom, fortunately, carry the spirit of +rebellion to the point of leaving home. At that period which marks +the transition from youth to maturity--from dependence on others to +self-reliance--rebelliousness is likely to be exhibited to a greater or +less extent even where the parents have done everything possible for the +child. Christ takes an extreme case where the wisdom and experience of +the father were scorned; where a wilful son insisted upon learning for +himself of the things against which the father had warned him. He was of +age; parental authority could no longer be exerted for his protection. +He had his way, and as long as his money lasted he found plenty of +associates willing to help him spend it; the "boys" had what the wicked +call "a good time." Then came the sobering up, the repentance, the +humility, the return, the father's welcome, the very natural complaint +of the other son and the parental rebuke--all so lifelike and all +designed to give emphasis to the love of the Heavenly Father and the joy +in Heaven when a wanderer returns. How many souls it has awakened! The +thought has been beautifully translated into song by Rev. Robt. Lowry, +in "Where Is My Wandering Boy To-night?" which has probably touched more +hearts than any sermon delivered since the song was written in 1877. + +In passing, note the contrast between the Rich Young Man and the +Prodigal Son. The former, an exemplary youth, is lost because he put the +love of money first--we see his back as he retires into oblivion. The +latter, a reckless sinner, repentant and forgiven; we leave him at a +banquet, happy with father and friends who rejoice that one who "was +dead is alive again." + +The parable of The Talents has shamed a multitude into activity, while +the parable of The Vineyard has been an encouragement to those who have +neglected early calls to service. He used the great preservative, salt, +to illustrate the saving influence His followers would exert on society +and warned them not to lose this quality. He likened them to a city set +on a hill and to the light that illumines the entire house. + +Christ gave the world a philosophy that fits into every human need; He +sounded all the depths. In the first and third of the Beatitudes He +exalts humility--a virtue difficult to cultivate, and even to retain +after one has cultivated it. Some one has suggested that pride is +such an insidious sin that the humble sometimes become proud of their +humility. Christ sets two prizes before the humble--the poor in spirit +are to have the Kingdom of Heaven for their recompense while the meek +are to be given the earth for their inheritance. + +The mourners are to be comforted and the merciful are to obtain mercy. +Righteousness is to be the reward of those who hunger and thirst +after it, and the peacemakers are to be crowned with one of the most +honourable of appellations, the children of God. + +He devotes double space to those who are reviled and persecuted for His +sake, foreseeing the fierce opposition which His Gospel would arouse. In +the study of the Beatitudes one Sunday, I asked the members of an adult +class which they considered first in importance. Although there was +quite a wide difference in preference, the Sixth, "Blessed are the pure +in heart, for they shall see God," received the highest vote. And what +can be more important than the cleansing of the heart of all that +obstructs one's view of God? The Creator is equally near to all His +creatures--He is no respecter of persons. It is man's fault if he allows +anything to come between himself and the Heavenly Father. Surely, +nothing is more to be desired than the unclouded vision. "Thou shalt +have no other gods before me," is the first of the Commandments brought +down from Sinai and its primacy is endorsed by the Saviour: the sixth +Beatitude expresses the same supreme requirement. No false gods, not +even self--the most popular of all the false gods--must be permitted to +come between man and his Maker. + +Christ put into simple words some of the great rules for the +interpretation of life. "By their fruits ye shall know them," has become +a part of the language of the civilized world. "Do men gather grapes of +thorns, or figs of thistles?" He asks. "A good tree cannot bring forth +evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." Here a +great spiritual principle was announced. We must consider the _nature;_ +nothing less than a change in the nature can change the fruit. A bad +heart is just as sure to bring forth bad thoughts and bad deeds as the +thistle is to bring forth thorns. And so the good heart is just as sure +to yield good deeds as the grape-vine is to yield grapes or the fig-tree +is to yield figs. Look at the _tree_, therefore; the fruit will take +care of itself. + +In the Sermon on the Mount, in which He embodied such a wealth of moral +precept and spiritual counsel, He warned against investments in that +which would divert the affections from the great purpose of life. "Lay +not up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up for yourselves +treasures in heaven." "For where your treasure is, there will your heart +be also." It was the heart that He dealt with--always the heart, in +which man does his decisive thinking and out of which are "the issues of +life." + +The Master dealt with the beginnings of evil. He did not wait until the +sin had been completed or the wrong accomplished. He cut out the bad +purpose at its birth before it had time to develop. He says: + + And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from + thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should + perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if + thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for + it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and + not that thy whole body should be cast into hell (Matt. 3: 29). + +This may seem like a harsh doctrine and yet it is merely an application +to morals of a salutary principle that all understand when applied by +the surgeon. A finger is often removed in order to save the hand; a hand +is removed to save the arm; and an arm is removed to save the body. An +eye, too, is often removed to save the sight of the remaining eye. Is +eye or arm or body more important than the soul? + +Christ understood relative values in the spiritual world. He used the +material things in life to illustrate values in the realm of the ideal; +He used the things that are seen to make understandable the eternal +things that the senses cannot comprehend. + +And what called forth this powerful illustration--the sacrificing of +the right eye and the right hand to save the body? He was laying the +foundation for a great moral reform, namely, the single standard of +morality. He was attacking a great sin and, as usual, He laid the axe at +the root of the tree. He was dealing with adultery and He traced the sin +to its source. He would purge the heart of the unclean thought; He would +put a ban on the desire before it found vent in accomplishment. He +turned the thought from the body to the heart and to the soul. + +And He not only warned men against harbouring the seeds of this sin but +He rebuked them for injustice in dealing more harshly with woman than +they did with themselves. He did not condone sin; He forgave it, and +accompanied forgiveness with the injunction, "Sin no more." + +Christ dignified childhood next to womanhood. One of His most beautiful +lessons was woven about a child which He summoned from the crowd. The +child's faith was made the test--"Except ye be converted and become as +little children ye shall not enter into the kingdom." And again, "Suffer +the little children to come unto me and forbid them not: for of such is +the kingdom of heaven." + +His depth of affection--His longing for souls--is beautifully set forth +in Matthew 23: 37 when He uses the most familiar object in the animal +kingdom to express His solicitude: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that +killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how +often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen +gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" + +And yet this gentle spirit who would not break a bruised reed--who went +about doing good--was wont to blaze forth with hot indignation against +sordidness and systematized injustice. Hear His fierce denunciation of +the "scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites" who devoured widows' houses +and for a pretense made long prayers; and behold Him casting the +money-changers out of the temple because they had turned the house of +prayer into a den of thieves. + +In a startling paradox He sets forth a great truth: "Whosoever shall +save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my +sake, the same shall save it." When, before or since, has the littleness +of the self-centered been so exposed and the nobility of self-surrender +been so glorified? Wendell Phillips has given a splendid paraphrase of +this wonderful utterance. He says, "How prudently most men sink into +nameless graves, while now and then a few forget themselves into +immortality." + +But the one doctrine which more than any other distinguished His +teachings from those of uninspired instructors, is forgiveness. Time +and again He brings it forward and lays emphasis upon it. In the very +beginning of His ministry He drew a contrast between the perverted +morals of that day and the spiritual life into which He would lead them +(Matt. 5): + + Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, + and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless + them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for + them which despitefully use you and persecute you; That ye may be + the children of your Father which is in heaven, for he maketh his + sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the + just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what + reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute + your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the + publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is + in heaven is perfect. + +A little later, He embodies the thought in the Lord's Prayer--"Forgive +us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." He +follows that with a scathing arraignment of the cruel servant, who, +having been forgiven a debt almost incalculable in amount, refused to +forgive a small debt due to him. Even when in agony upon the cross the +thought of forgiveness was uppermost in the Saviour's heart and He +prayed: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!" + +He was not thinking of relief to wrong-doers when He made forgiveness a +cardinal principle in the moral code that He promulgated. It was not, +I am persuaded, to shield from just punishment one who does injury to +another, but to save the injured from the paralyzing influence of the +thirst for revenge. It is only rarely that one has an opportunity to +retaliate, but the desire for retaliation is a soul-destroying disease. +Christ would purge the heart of hatred and make love the law of life. + +Christianity has been called "The Gospel of the Second Chance"; it is +more than that. There is no limit to the chances that it offers to the +repentant. When Christ was asked whether one should forgive a brother +seven times He answered, "Seventy times seven." Christianity is the only +hope of the discouraged and the despondent. Walter Malone has put into a +poem entitled "Opportunity" the exhaustless mercy that Christ holds out +to men. I quote the concluding stanzas: + + Though deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep: + I lend my arm to all who say "I can"; + No shamefaced outcast ever sank so deep + But he might rise and be again a man! + + Dost thou behold thy lost youth all aghast? + Dost reel from righteous retribution's blow? + Then turn from blotted archives of the past, + And find the future's pages white as snow. + + Art thou a mourner? Rouse thee from thy spell; + Art thou a sinner? Sins may be forgiven. + Each morning gives thee wings to flee from hell, + Each night a star to guide thy feet to heaven. + +When the Heavenly Father reserved to Himself the right to avenge +injuries He conferred an incalculable benefit upon mankind, just as He +did when He imposed upon the organs of the body the task of keeping +us alive. Not a heart could beat, nor could the lungs expand if their +movement had been left to the voluntary act of man. But God has relieved +His creatures of concern about blood and breath that man, freed from a +labour beyond his strength, may employ his time in the service of his +Maker. And so man is relieved from the impossible task of avenging +wrongs done him that he may devote himself to the public weal. + +I shall at another time speak of some of the present-day fruits of this +doctrine taught nineteen centuries ago; I present it now as one of the +most difficult of the Christian virtues to cultivate, but one of the +most prolific in the blessings that it bestows. It contributes largely +to the securing of peace, and Christ is the Prince of Peace. + +All the world is in search of peace; every heart that ever beat has +sought for peace and many have been the methods employed to secure it. +Some have thought to purchase it with riches and they have laboured to +secure wealth, hoping to find peace when they were able to go where +they pleased and buy what they liked. Of those who have endeavoured to +purchase peace with money, the large majority have failed to secure +the money. But what has been the experience of those who have been +successful in accumulating money? They all tell the same story, viz., +that they spent the first half of their lives trying to get money from +others and the last half trying to keep others from getting their money +and that they found peace in neither half. Some have even reached the +point where they find difficulty in getting worthy institutions to +accept their money; and I know of no better indication of the ethical +awakening in this country than the increasing tendency to scrutinize the +methods of money-making. A long step in advance will have been taken +when religious, educational and charitable institutions refuse to +condone immoral methods in business and leave the possessor of +ill-gotten gains to learn the loneliness of life when one prefers money +to morals. + +Some have sought peace in social distinctions, but whether they have +been within the charmed circle and fearful lest they might fall out, or +outside and hopeful that they might get in, they have not found peace. + +Some have thought, vain thought! to find peace in political prominence; +but whether office comes by birth, as in monarchies, or by election, as +in republics, it does not bring peace. An office is conspicuous only +when few can occupy it. Only when few in a generation can hope to enjoy +an honour do we call it a _great_ honour. I am glad that our Heavenly +Father did not make the peace of the human heart to depend upon the +accumulation of wealth, or upon the securing of social or political +distinction, for in either case but few could have enjoyed it. When He +made peace the reward of a conscience void of offense toward God and +man, He put it within the reach of all. The poor can secure it as easily +as the rich, the social outcast as freely as the leader in society, and +the humblest citizen equally with those who wield political power. + +"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give +you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and +lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is +easy, and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30). + +Here is a call to _all_--to every human being. No one is beyond the +reach of Jesus' love. The yoke is the emblem of service and service +is the price of happiness. We wear many yokes in common--the yoke of +society, the yoke of government, and the yoke of custom, not to speak of +a multitude of yokes that are individual. Wherever the Gospel has been +carried there are two yokes between which a choice must be made--the +devil's yoke and the yoke of the Master. + +Let no one be deceived--if the devil would tempt the Saviour Himself, +will he not tempt you? Satan's service is alluring--it begins in +pleasure and ends in sorrow--"the dead are there!" Christ's service +begins in duty and ends in delight--"Blessed is the man who endureth +temptation." The devil's path is like a forest road at eventide; it +grows darker and darker until all is lost in the blackness of the night. +Christ's path leads from darkness into light. + +"He is risen!" What inspiration in these words! Nature proclaims a life +beyond the grave, but Christ proves it by His resurrection. Nature gives +circumstantial evidence that would seem conclusive; but Christ is the +living witness whose testimony establishes beyond controversy that the +mortal can put on immortality. He comforts those who mourn; He dispels +the gloom by making death but a narrow, star-lit strip between the +companionship of yesterday and the reunion of to-morrow. Christ not only +gives us assurance of immortality but He adds the promise of His return. +As He ascended in like manner will He come again. + +"And, lo, he goeth before you into Galilee." Yes, He is still going on +before--still leading, and His leadership will continue until time shall +be no more. + +The growth of Christianity from its beginning on the banks of the +Jordan, until to-day, when its converts are baptized in every part of +the world, is so graphically described by Dr. Charles Edward Jefferson, +in his book entitled "Things Fundamental," that I take the liberty of +giving the following extracts: + + "Christ in history! There is a fact--face it. According to the New + Testament, Jesus walked along the shores of a little sea known as + the Sea of Galilee. And there He called Peter and Andrew and James + and John and several others to be His followers, and they left all + and followed Him. After they had followed Him they revered Him, and + later on adored and worshipped Him. He left them on their faces, + each man saying, 'My Lord and my God!' All that is in the New + Testament. + + "But put the New Testament away. Time passes; history widens; an + unseen Presence walks up and down the shores of a larger sea, the + sea called the Mediterranean--and this unseen Presence calls men to + follow Him ...--another twelve--and these all followed Him and cast + themselves at His feet, saying, in the words of the earlier twelve, + 'My Lord and my God!' + + "Time passes; history advances; humanity lives its life around the + circle of a larger sea--the Atlantic Ocean. An unseen Presence walks + up and down the shores calling men to follow Him .... --another + twelve--and these leave all and follow Him. We find them on their + faces, each one saying, '_My_ Lord and my God!' + + "Time passes; history is widening; humanity is building its + civilization around a still wider sea--we call it the Pacific Ocean. + An unknown Presence moves up and down the shores calling men to + follow Him, and they are doing it. Another company of twelve is + forming. And what took place in Palestine nineteen centuries ago is + taking place again in our own day and under our own eyes." + + I conclude by calling attention to the comprehensiveness of Christ's + authority. After His crucifixion and resurrection--in His last + conference with His followers--He announces His boldest claim to + power universal and perpetual (Matt. 28): + + ... _All_ power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye + therefore, and teach _all_ nations, baptizing them in the name of + the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to + observe _all_ things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am + with you _alway_, even unto the end of the world. Amen. + +Here is a Gospel intended for _every_ human being; here is a code of +morals that is to endure for _all time;_ here is a solution for _every_ +problem that can vex a heart or perplex a world, and back of these is +_all power in Heaven and in Earth_. + +The word _all_ is used four times in a few sentences. There is nothing +in reserve. We have the final word in religion--Jesus Christ for all, +and for all time--"The same yesterday, and to-day and forever." + + + + +IV + +THE ORIGIN OF MAN + + +When the mainspring is broken a watch ceases to be useful as a +timekeeper. A handsome case may make it still an ornament and the parts +may have a market value, but it cannot serve the purpose of a watch. +There is that in each human life that corresponds to the mainspring of a +watch--that which is absolutely necessary if the life is to be what it +should be, a real life and not a mere existence. That necessary thing is +_a belief in God_. Religion is defined as the relation between God and +man, and Tolstoy has described morality as the outward expression of +this inward relationship. + +If it be true, as I believe it is, that morality is dependent upon +religion, then religion is not only the most practical thing in the +world, but the first essential. Without religion, viz., a sense of +dependence upon God and reverence for Him, one can play a part in both +the physical and the intellectual world, but he cannot live up to the +possibilities which God has placed within the reach of each human being. + +A belief in God is fundamental; upon it rest the influences that control +life. + +First, the consciousness of God's presence in the life gives one a sense +of responsibility to the Creator for every thought and word and deed. + +Second, prayer rests upon a belief in God; communion with the Creator +in the expression of gratitude and in pleas for guidance powerfully +influences man. + +Third, belief in a personal immortality rests upon faith in God; the +inward restraint that one finds in a faith that looks forward to a +future life with its rewards and punishments, makes outward restraint +less necessary. Man is weak enough in hours of temptation, even when he +is fortified by the conviction that this life is but a small arc of +an infinite circle; his power of resistance is greatly impaired if he +accepts the doctrine that conscious existence terminates with death. + +Fourth, the spirit of brotherhood rests on a belief in God. We trace our +relationship to our fellowmen through the Creator, the Common Parent of +us all. + +Fifth, belief in the Bible depends upon a belief in God. Jehovah comes +first; His word comes afterward. There can be no inspiration without a +Heavenly Father to inspire. + +Sixth, belief in God is also necessary to a belief in Christ; the Son +could not have revealed the Father to man according to any atheistic +theory. And so with all other Christian doctrines: they rest upon a +belief in God. + +If belief in God is necessary to the beliefs enumerated, then it follows +logically that anything that weakens belief in God weakens man, and, to +the extent that it impairs belief in God, reduces his power to measure +up to his opportunities and responsibilities. If there is at work in the +world to-day anything that tends to break this mainspring, it is the +duty of the moral, as well as the Christian, world to combat this +influence in every possible way. + +I believe there is such a menace to fundamental morality. The hypothesis +to which the name of Darwin has been given--the hypothesis that links +man to the lower forms of life and makes him a lineal descendant of the +brute--is obscuring God and weakening all the virtues that rest upon the +religious tie between God and man. Passing over, for the present, all +other phases of evolution and considering only that part of the system +which robs man of the dignity conferred upon him by separate creation, +when God breathed into him the breath of life and he became the first +man, I venture to call attention to the demoralizing influence exerted +by this doctrine. + +If we accept the Bible as true we have no difficulty in determining the +origin of man. In the first chapter of Genesis we read that God, after +creating all other things, said, "Let us make man in our image, after +our likeness; and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and +over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, +and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God +created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male +and female created he them." + +The materialist has always rejected the Bible account of Creation and, +during the last half century, the Darwinian doctrine has been the means +of shaking the faith of millions. It is important that man should have +a correct understanding of his line of descent. Huxley calls it the +"question of questions" for mankind. He says: "The problem which +underlies all others, and is more interesting than any other--is the +ascertainment of the place which man occupies in nature and of his +relation to the universe of things. Whence our race has come, what are +the limits of our power over nature, and of nature's power over us, to +what goal are we tending, are the problems which present themselves anew +with undiminished interest to every man born in the world." + +The materialists deny the existence of God and seek to explain man's +presence upon the earth without a creative act. They go back from man to +the animals, and from one form of life to another until they come to the +first germ of life; there they divide into two schools, some believing +that the first germ of life came from another planet, others holding +that it was the result of spontaneous generation. One school answers +the arguments advanced by the other and, as they cannot agree with each +other, I am not compelled to agree with either. + +If it were necessary to accept one of these theories I would prefer the +first; for, if we can chase the germ of life off of this planet and out +into space, we can guess the rest of the way and no one can contradict +us. But, if we accept the doctrine of spontaneous generation we will +have to spend our time explaining why spontaneous generation ceased to +act after the first germ of life was created. It is not necessary to pay +much attention to any theory that boldly eliminates God; it does not +deceive many. The mind revolts at the idea of spontaneous generation; in +all the researches of the ages no scientist has found a single instance +of life that was not begotten by life. The materialist has nothing but +imagination to build upon; he cannot hope for company or encouragement. + +But the Darwinian doctrine is more dangerous because more deceptive. It +_permits_ one to believe in a God, but puts the creative act so far away +that reverence for the Creator--even belief in Him--is likely to be +lost. + +Before commenting on the Darwinian hypothesis let me refer you to the +language of its author as it applies to man. On page 180 of "Descent of +Man" (Hurst & Company, Edition 1874), Darwin says: "Our most ancient +progenitors in the kingdom of the Vertebrata, at which we are able to +obtain an obscure glance, apparently consisted of a group of marine +animals, resembling the larvae of the existing Ascidians." Then he +suggests a line of descent leading to the monkey. And he does not even +permit us to indulge in a patriotic pride of ancestry; instead of +letting us descend from American monkeys, he connects us with the +European branch of the monkey family. + +It will be noted, first, that he begins the summary with the word +"apparently," which the Standard Dictionary defines: "as judged by +appearances, without passing upon its reality." His second sentence +(following the sentence quoted) turns upon the word "probably," which is +defined: "as far as the evidence shows, presumably, likely." His works +are full of words indicating uncertainty. The phrase "we may; well +suppose," occurs over eight hundred times in his two principal works. +(See _Herald & Presbyter_, November 22, 1914.) The eminent scientist is +guessing. + +After locating our gorilla and chimpanzee ancestors in Africa, he +concludes that "it is useless to speculate on this subject." If the +uselessness of speculation had occurred to him at the beginning of his +investigation he might have escaped responsibility for shaking the faith +of two generations by his guessing on the whole subject of biology. + +If we could divide the human race into two distinct groups we might +allow evolutionists to worship brutes as ancestors but they insist on +connecting all mankind with the jungle. We have a right to protect our +family tree. + +Having given Darwin's conclusions as to man's ancestry, I shall quote +him to prove that his hypothesis is not only groundless, but absurd and +harmful to society. It is groundless because there is not a single fact +in the universe that can be cited to prove that man is descended from +the lower animals. Darwin does not use facts; he uses conclusions drawn +from similarities. He builds upon presumptions, probabilities and +inferences, and asks the acceptance of his hypothesis "notwithstanding +the fact that connecting links have not hitherto been discovered" (page +162). He advances an hypothesis which, if true, would find support on +every foot of the earth's surface, but which, as a matter of fact, finds +support nowhere. There are myriads of living creatures about us, from +insects too small to be seen with the naked eye to the largest mammals, +and, yet, not one is in transition from one species to another; every +one is perfect. It is strange that slight similarities could make him +ignore gigantic differences. The remains of nearly one hundred species +of vertebrate life have been found in the rocks, of which more than +one-half are found living to-day, and none of the survivors show +material change. The word hypothesis is a synonym used by scientists for +the word guess; it is more dignified in sound and more imposing to the +sight, but it has the same meaning as the old-fashioned, every-day +word, guess. If Darwin had described his doctrine as a guess instead of +calling it an hypothesis, it would not have lived a year.[1] + +[Footnote 1: Dr. Etheridge, Fossiologist of the British Museum, says: +"Nine-tenths of the talk of Evolutionists is sheer nonsense, not founded +on observation and wholly unsupported by facts. This museum is full of +proofs of the utter falsity of their views." + +Prof. Beale, of King's College, London, says: "In support of all +naturalistic conjectures concerning man's origin, there is not at this +time a shadow of scientific evidence." + +Prof. Fleischmann, of Erlangen, says: "The Darwinian theory has in the +realms of Nature not a single fact to confirm it. It is not the result +of scientific research, but purely the product of the imagination." + +The January issue of "Science," 1922, contains a speech delivered at +Toronto last December by Prof. William Bateson of London before the +American Association for the Advancement of Science. He says that +science has faith in evolution but doubts as to the origin of species.] + +Probably nothing impresses Darwin more than the fact that at an early +stage the foetus of a child cannot be distinguished from the foetus of +an ape, but why should such a similarity in the beginning impress him +more than the difference at birth and the immeasurable gulf between the +two at forty? If science cannot detect a difference, _known to exist_, +between the foetus of an ape and the foetus of a child, it should +not ask us to substitute the inferences, the presumptions and the +probabilities of science for the word of God. + +Science has rendered invaluable service to society; her achievements are +innumerable--and the hypotheses of scientists should be considered with +an open mind. Their theories should be carefully examined and their +arguments fairly weighed, but the scientist cannot compel acceptance +of any argument he advances, except as, judged upon its merits, it is +convincing. Man is infinitely more than science; science, as well as +the Sabbath, was made for man. It must be remembered, also, that all +sciences are not of equal importance. Tolstoy insists that the science +of "How to Live" is more important than any other science, and is this +not true? It is better to trust in the Rock of Ages, than to know the +age of the rocks; it is better for one to know that he is close to the +Heavenly Father, than to know how far the stars in the heavens are +apart. And is it not just as important that the scientists who deal with +matter should respect the scientists who deal with spiritual things, +as that the latter should respect the former? If it be true, as Paul +declares, that "the things that are seen are temporal" while "the things +that are unseen are eternal," why should those who deal with temporal +things think themselves superior to those who deal with the things that +are eternal? Why should the Bible, which the centuries have not been +able to shake, be discarded for scientific works that have to be revised +and corrected every few years? The preference should be given to the +Bible. + +The two lines of work are parallel. There should be no conflict between +the discoverers of _real_ truths, because real truths do not conflict. +Every truth harmonizes with every other truth, but why should an +hypothesis, suggested by a scientist, be accepted as true until its +truth is established? Science should be the last to make such a demand +because science to be truly science is classified knowledge; it is +the explanation of facts. Tested by this definition, Darwinism is not +science at all; it is guesses strung together. There is more science in +the twenty-fourth verse of the first chapter of Genesis (And God said, +let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and +creeping things, and beast of the earth after his kind; and it was so.) +than in all that Darwin wrote. + +It is no light matter to impeach the veracity of the Scriptures in +order to accept, not a truth--not even a theory--but a mere hypothesis. +Professor Huxley says, "There is no fault to be found with Darwin's +method, but it is another thing whether he has fulfilled all the +conditions imposed by that method. Is it satisfactorily proved that +species may be originated by selection? That none of the phenomena +exhibited by the species are inconsistent with the origin of the species +in this way? If these questions can be answered in the affirmative, +Mr. Darwin's view steps out of the ranks of hypothesis into that of +theories; but so long as the evidence adduced falls short of enforcing +that affirmative, so long, to our minds, the new doctrine must be +content to remain among the former--an extremely valuable, and in the +highest degree probable, doctrine; indeed the only extant hypothesis +which is worth anything in a scientific point of view; but still a +hypothesis, and not a theory of species." "After much consideration," +he adds, "and assuredly with no bias against Darwin's views, it is our +clear conviction that, as the evidence now stands, it is not absolutely +proven that a group of animals, having all the characters exhibited +by species in nature, has ever been originated by selection, whether +artificial or natural." + +But Darwin is absurd as well as groundless. He announces two laws, +which, in his judgment, explain the development of man from the lowest +form of animal life, viz., natural selection and sexual selection. The +latter has been abandoned by the modern believers in evolution, but +two illustrations, taken from Darwin's "Descent of Man," will show his +unreliability as a guide to the young. On page 587 of the 1874 edition, +he tries to explain man's superior mental strength (a proposition more +difficult to defend to-day than in Darwin's time). His theory is that, +"the struggle between the males for the possession of the females" +helped to develop the male mind and that this superior strength was +transmitted by males to their male offspring. + +After having shown, to his own satisfaction, how sexual selection would +account for the (supposed) greater strength of the male mind, he turns +his attention to another question, namely, how did man become a hairless +animal? This he accounts for also by sexual selection--the females +preferred the males with the least hair (page 624). In a footnote on +page 625 he says that this view has been harshly criticized. "Hardly any +view advanced in this work," he says, "has met with so much disfavour." +A comment and a question: First, Unless the brute females were very +different from the females as we know them, they would not have agreed +in taste. Some would "probably" have preferred males with less hair, +others, "we may well suppose," would have preferred males with more +hair. Those with more hair would naturally be the stronger because +better able to resist the weather. But, second, how could the males have +strengthened their minds by fighting for the females if, at the same +time, the females were breeding the hair off by selecting the males? Or, +did the males select for three years and then allow the females to do +the selecting during leap year? + +But, worse yet, in a later edition published by L.A. Burt Company, a +"supplemental note" is added to discuss two letters which he thought +supported the idea that sexual selection transformed the hairy animal +into the hairless man. Darwin's correspondent (page 710) reports that +a mandril seemed to be proud of a bare spot. Can anything be less +scientific than trying to guess what an animal is thinking about? It +would seem that this also was a subject about which it was "useless to +speculate." + +While on this subject it may be worth while to call your attention to +other fantastic imaginings of which those are guilty who reject the +Bible and enter the field of speculation--fiction surpassing anything to +be found in the Arabian Nights. If one accepts the Scriptural account of +the creation, he can credit God with the working of miracles and with +the doing of many things that man cannot understand. The evolutionist, +however, having substituted what he imagines to be a universal law for +separate acts of creation must explain everything. The evolutionist, +not to go back farther than life just now, begins with one or a few +invisible germs of life on the planet and imagines that these invisible +germs have, by the operation of what they call "resident forces," +unaided from without, developed into all that we see to-day. They cannot +in a lifetime explain the things that have to be explained, if their +hypothesis is accepted--a useless waste of time even if explanation were +possible. + +Take the eye, for instance; believing in the Mosaic account, I believe +that God made the eyes when He made man--not only made the eyes but +carved out the caverns in the skull in which they hang. It is easy for +the believer in the Bible to explain the eyes, because he believes in a +God who can do all things and, according to the Bible, did create man as +a part of a divine plan. + +But how does the evolutionist explain the eye when he leaves God out? +Here is the only guess that I have seen--if you find any others I +shall be glad to know of them, as I am collecting the guesses of the +evolutionists. The evolutionist guesses that there was a time when eyes +were unknown--that is a necessary part of the hypothesis. And since +the eye is a universal possession among living things the evolutionist +guesses that it came into being--not by design or by act of God--but +just happened, and how did it happen? I will give you the guess--a piece +of pigment, or, as some say, a freckle appeared upon the skin of an +animal that had no eyes. This piece of pigment or freckle converged the +rays of the sun upon that spot and when the little animal felt the +heat on that spot it turned the spot to the sun to get more heat. The +increased heat irritated the skin--so the evolutionists guess, and a +nerve came there and out of the nerve came the eye! Can you beat it? But +this only accounts for one eye; there must have been another piece of +pigment or freckle soon afterward and just in the right place in order +to give the animal two eyes. + +And, according to the evolutionist, there was a time when animals had no +legs, and so the leg came by accident. How? Well, the guess is that a +little animal without legs was wiggling along on its belly one day when +it discovered a wart--it just happened so--and it was in the right place +to be used to aid it in locomotion; so, it came to depend upon the wart, +and use finally developed it into a leg. And then another wart and +another leg, at the proper time--by accident--and accidentally in the +proper place. Is it not astonishing that any person intelligent enough +to teach school would talk such tommyrot to students and look serious +while doing so? + +And yet I read only a few weeks ago, on page 124 of a little book +recently issued by a prominent New York minister, the following: + +"Man has grown up in this universe gradually developing his powers and +functions as responses to his environment. If he has _eyes_, so the +_biologists_ assure us, it is because _light waves played upon the skin_ +and eyes came out in answer; if he has _ears_ it is because the _air +waves_ were there first and the ears came out to hear. Man never yet, +_according to the evolutionist_, has developed any power save as a +reality called it into being. There would be no fins if there were no +water, no wings if there were no air, no legs if there were no land." + +You see I only called your attention to forty per cent. of the +absurdities; he speaks of eyes, ears, fins, wings and legs--five. I only +called attention to eyes and legs--two. The evolutionist guesses himself +away from God, but he only makes matters worse. How long did the +"light waves" have to play on the skin before the eyes came out? The +evolutionist is very deliberate; he is long on time. He would certainly +give the eye thousands of years, if not millions, in which to develop; +but how could he be sure that the light waves played all the time in one +place or played in the same place generation after generation until the +development was complete? And why did the light waves quit playing when +two eyes were perfected? Why did they not keep on playing until there +were eyes all over the body? Why do they not play to-day, so that we may +see eyes in process of development? And if the light waves created the +eyes, why did they not create them strong enough to bear the light? Why +did the light waves make eyes and then make eyelids to keep the light +out of the eyes? + +And so with the ears. They must have gone _in_ "to hear" instead of +_out_, and wasn't it lucky that they happened to go in on opposite sides +of the head instead of cater-cornered or at random? Is it not easier to +believe in a God who can make the eye, the ear, the fin, the wing, and +the leg, as well as the light, the sound, the air, the water and the +land? + +There is such an abundance of ludicrous material that it is hard to +resist the temptation to continue illustrations indefinitely, but a few +more will be sufficient. In order that you may be prepared to ridicule +these pseudo-scientists who come to you with guesses instead of facts, +let me give you three recent bits of evolutionary lore. + +Last November I was passing through Philadelphia and read in an +afternoon paper a report of an address delivered in that city by a +college professor employed in extension work. Here is an extract from +the paper's account of the speech: "Evidence that early men climbed +trees with their feet lies in the way we wear the heels of our +shoes--more at the outside. A baby can wiggle its big toe without +wiggling its other toes--an indication that it once used its big toe in +climbing trees." What a consolation it must be to mothers to know that +the baby is not to be blamed for wiggling the big toe without wiggling +the other toes. It cannot help it, poor little thing; it is an +inheritance from "the tree man," so the evolutionists tell us. + +And here is another extract: "We often dream of falling. Those who fell +out of the trees some fifty thousand years ago and were killed, of +course, had no descendants. So those who fell and were _not_ hurt, of +course, lived, and so we are never hurt in our dreams of falling." Of +course, if we were actually descended from the inhabitants of trees, it +would seem quite likely that we descended from those that were _not_ +killed in falling. But they must have been badly frightened if the +impression made upon their feeble minds could have lasted for fifty +thousand years and still be vivid enough to scare us. + +If the Bible said anything so idiotic as these guessers put forth in +the name of science, scientists would have a great time ridiculing the +sacred pages, but men who scoff at the recorded interpretation of +dreams by Joseph and Daniel seem to be able to swallow the amusing +interpretations offered by the Pennsylvania professor. + +A few months ago the _Sunday School Times_ quoted a professor in an +Illinois University as saying that the great day in history was the day +when a water puppy crawled up on the land and, deciding to be a land +animal, became man's progenitor. If these scientific speculators +can agree upon the day they will probably insist on our abandoning +Washington's birthday, the Fourth of July, and even Christmas, in order +to join with the whole world in celebrating "Water Puppy Day." + +Within the last few weeks the papers published a dispatch from Paris +to the effect that an "eminent scientist" announced that he had +communicated with the spirit of a dog and learned from the dog that it +was happy. Must we believe this, too? + +But is the law of "natural selection" a sufficient explanation, or a +more satisfactory explanation, than sexual selection? It is based on the +theory that where there is an advantage in any characteristic, animals +that possess this characteristic survive and propagate their kind. This, +according to Darwin's argument, leads to progress through the "survival +of the fittest." This law or principle (natural selection), so carefully +worked out by Darwin, is being given less and less weight by scientists. +Darwin himself admits that he "perhaps attributed too much to the action +of natural selection and the survival of the fittest" (page 76). John +Burroughs, the naturalist, rejects it in a recent magazine article. The +followers of Darwin are trying to retain evolution while rejecting the +arguments that led Darwin to accept it as an explanation of the varied +life on the planet. Some evolutionists reject Darwin's line of descent +and believe that man, instead of coming from the ape, branched off from +a common ancestor farther back, but "cousin" ape is as objectionable as +"grandpa" ape. + +While "survival of the fittest" may seem plausible when applied to +individuals of the same species, it affords no explanation whatever, +of the almost infinite number of creatures that have come under man's +observation. To believe that natural selection, sexual selection or any +other kind of selection can account for the countless differences we see +about us requires more faith in _chance_ than a Christian is required to +have in God. + +Is it conceivable that the hawk and the hummingbird, the spider and the +honey bee, the turkey gobbler and the mocking-bird, the butterfly and +the eagle, the ostrich and the wren, the tree toad and the elephant, +the giraffe and the kangaroo, the wolf and the lamb should all be the +descendants of a common ancestor? Yet these and all other creatures must +be blood relatives if man is next of kin to the monkey. + +If the evolutionists are correct; if it is true that all that we see is +the result of development from one or a few invisible germs of life, +then, in plants as well as in animals there must be a line of descent +connecting all the trees and vegetables and flowers with a common +ancestry. Does it not strain the imagination to the breaking point to +believe that the oak, the cedar, the pine and the palm are all the +progeny of one ancient seed and that this seed was also the ancestor +of wheat and corn, potato and tomato, onion and sugar beet, rose and +violet, orchid and daisy, mountain flower and magnolia? Is it not more +rational to believe in _God_ and explain the varieties of life in terms +of divine power than to waste our lives in ridiculous attempts to +explain the unexplainable? There is no mortification in admitting that +there are insoluble mysteries; but it is shameful to spend the time that +God has given for nobler use in vain attempts to exclude God from His +own universe and to find in chance a substitute for God's power and +wisdom and love. + +While evolution in plant life and in animal life _up to the highest form +of animal_ might, if there were proof of it, be admitted without raising +a presumption that would compel us to give a brute origin to man, why +should we admit a thing of which there is no proof? Why should we +encourage the guesses of these speculators and thus weaken our power +to protest when they attempt the leap from the monkey to man? Let the +evolutionist furnish his proof. + +Although our chief concern is in protecting man from the demoralization +involved in accepting a brute ancestry, it is better to put the +advocates of evolution upon the defensive and challenge them to produce +proof in support of their hypothesis in plant life and in the animal +world. They will be kept so busy trying to find support for their +hypothesis in the kingdoms below man that they will have little time +left to combat the Word of God in respect to man's origin. Evolution +joins issue with the Mosaic account of creation. God's law, as stated +in Genesis, is _reproduction according to kind_; evolution implies +reproduction _not_ according to kind. While the process of change +implied in evolution is covered up in endless eons of time it is +_change_ nevertheless. The Bible does not say that reproduction shall +be _nearly_ according to kind or _seemingly_ according to kind. The +statement is positive that it is _according to kind_, and that does not +leave any room for the _changes_ however gradual or imperceptible that +are necessary to support the evolutionary hypothesis. + +We see about us everywhere and always proof of the Bible law, viz., +reproduction according to kind; we find nothing in the universe to +support Darwin's doctrine of reproduction other than of kind. + +If you question the possibility of such changes as the Darwinian +doctrine supposes you are reminded that the scientific speculators have +raised the time limit. "If ten million years are not sufficient, take +twenty," they say: "If fifty million years are not enough take one or +two hundred millions." That accuracy is not essential in such guessing +may be inferred from the fact that the estimates of the time that has +elapsed since life began on the earth, vary from less than twenty-five +million years to more than three hundred million. Darwin estimated this +period at two hundred million years while Darwin's son estimated it at +fifty-seven million. + +It requires more than millions of years to account for the varieties of +life that inhabit the earth; it requires a Creator, unlimited in power, +unlimited intelligence, and unlimited love. + +But the doctrine of evolution is sometimes carried farther than that. +A short while ago Canon Barnes, of Westminster Abbey, startled his +congregation by an interpretation of evolution that ran like this: "It +now seems highly probable (probability again) that from some fundamental +stuff in the universe the electrons arose. From them came matter. +From matter, life emerged. From life came mind. From mind, spiritual +consciousness was developing. There was a time when matter, life and +mind, and the soul of man were not, but now they are. Each has arisen as +a part of the vast scheme planned by God." (An American professor in a +Christian college has recently expressed himself along substantially the +same lines.) + +But what has God been doing since the "stuff" began to develop? The +verbs used by Canon Barnes indicate an internal development unaided from +above. "Arose, came, emerged, etc.," all exclude the idea that God is +within reach or call in man's extremity. + +When I was a boy in college the materialists began with matter separated +into infinitely small particles and every particle separated from every +other particle by distance infinitely great. But now they say that it +takes 1,740 electrons to make an atom of infinite fineness. God, they +insist, has not had anything to do with this universe since 1,740 +electrons formed a chorus and sang, "We'll be an atom by and by." + +It requires measureless credulity to enable one to believe that all that +we see about us came by chance, by a series of happy-go-lucky accidents. +If only an infinite God could have formed hydrogen and oxygen and united +them in just the right proportions to produce water--the daily need of +every living thing--scattered among the flowers all the colours of the +rainbow and every variety of perfume, adjusted the mocking-bird's throat +to its musical scale, and fashioned a soul for man, why should we want +to imprison such a God in an impenetrable past? This is a living world; +why not a _living_ God upon the throne? Why not allow Him to work _now_? + +Darwin is so sure that his theory is correct that he is ready to accuse +the Creator of trying to deceive man if the theory is not sound. On page +41 he says: "To take any other view is to admit that our structure and +that of all animals about us, is a mere snare to entrap our judgment;" +as if the Almighty were in duty bound to make each species so +separate from every other that _no one_ could possibly be confused by +resemblances. There would seem to be differences enough. To put man in a +class with the chimpanzee because of any resemblances that may be found +is so unreasonable that the masses have never accepted it. + +If we see houses of different size, from one room to one hundred, we +do not say that the large houses grew out of small ones, but that the +architect that could plan one could plan all. + +But a groundless hypothesis--even an absurd one--would be unworthy of +notice if it did no harm. This hypothesis, however, does incalculable +harm. It teaches that Christianity impairs the race physically. That +was the first implication at which I revolted. It led me to review +the doctrine and reject it entirely. If hatred is the law of man's +development; that is, if man has reached his present perfection by a +cruel law under which the strong kill off the weak--then, if there is +any logic that can bind the human mind, we must turn backward toward the +brute if we dare to substitute the law of love for the law of hate. That +is the conclusion that I reached and it is the conclusion that Darwin +himself reached. On pages 149-50 he says: "With savages the weak in body +or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a +vigorous state of health. We civilized men, on the other hand, do our +utmost to check the progress of elimination. We build asylums for the +imbecile, the maimed and the sick; we institute poor laws; our medical +experts exert their utmost skill to save the lives of every one to the +last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved +thousands who from weak constitutions would have succumbed to smallpox. +Thus the weak members of civilized societies propagate their kind. No +one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that +this must be highly injurious to the race of man." + +This confession deserves analysis. First, he commends, by implication, +the savage method of eliminating the weak, while, by implication, he +condemns "civilized men" for prolonging the life of the weak. He +even blames vaccination because it has preserved thousands who might +otherwise have succumbed (for the benefit of the race?). Can you imagine +anything more brutal? And then note the low level of the argument. "No +one who has attended the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that +this must be highly injurious to the race of man." All on a brute basis. + +His hypothesis breaks down here. The minds which, according to Darwin, +are developed by natural selection and sexual selection, use their power +to suspend the law by which they have reached their high positions. +Medicine is one of the greatest of the sciences and its chief object is +to save life and strengthen the weak. That, Darwin complains, interferes +with "the survival of the fittest." If he complains of vaccination, what +would he say of the more recent discovery of remedies for typhoid fever, +yellow fever and the black plague? And what would he think of saving +weak babies by pasteurizing milk and of the efforts to find a specific +for tuberculosis and cancer? Can such a barbarous doctrine be sound? + +But Darwin's doctrine is even more destructive. His heart rebels against +the "hard reason" upon which his heartless hypothesis is built. He says: +"The aid which we feel impelled to give to the helpless is mainly the +result of the instinct of sympathy, which was originally acquired as a +part of the social instincts, but subsequently rendered in the manner +indicated, more tender and more widely diffused. Nor could we check our +sympathy even at the urging of hard reason, without deterioration in +the noblest part of our nature. The surgeon may harden himself while +performing an operation, for he knows he is acting for the good of +his patient; but if we were to intentionally neglect the weak and the +helpless, it could be only for a contingent benefit, with overwhelming +present evil. We must therefore bear the undoubted bad effects of the +weak surviving and propagating their kind." + +The moral nature which, according to Darwin, is also developed by +natural selection and sexual selection, repudiates the brutal law +to which, if his reasoning is correct, it owes its origin. Can that +doctrine be accepted as scientific when its author admits that we cannot +apply it "without deterioration in the noblest part of our nature"? On +the contrary, civilization is measured by the moral revolt against the +cruel doctrine developed by Darwin. + +Darwin rightly decided to suspend his doctrine, even at the risk of +impairing the race. But some of his followers are more hardened. A few +years ago I read a book in which the author defended the use of alcohol +on the ground that it rendered a service to society by killing off the +degenerates. And this argument was advanced by a scientist in the fall +of 1920 at a congress against alcohol. + +The language which I have quoted proves that Darwinism is directly +antagonistic to Christianity, which boasts of its eleemosynary +institutions and of the care it bestows on the weak and the helpless. +Darwin, by putting man on a brute basis and ignoring spiritual values, +attacks the very foundations of Christianity. + +Those who accept Darwin's views are in the habit of saying that it need +not lessen their reverence for God to believe that the Creator fashioned +a germ of life and endowed it with power to develop into what we see +to-day. It is true that a God who could make man as he is, could have +made him by the long-drawn-out process suggested by Darwin. To do either +would require infinite power, beyond the ability of man to comprehend. +But what is the _natural tendency_ of Darwin's doctrine? + +Will man's attitude toward Darwin's God be the same as it would be +toward the God of Moses? Will the believer in Darwin's God be as +conscious of God's presence in his daily life? Will he be as sensitive +to God's will and as anxious to find out what God wants him to do? + +Will the believer in Darwin's God be as fervent in prayer and as open to +the reception of divine suggestions? + +I shall later trace the influence of Darwinism on world peace when the +doctrine is espoused by one bold enough to carry it to its logical +conclusion, but I must now point out its natural and logical effect upon +young Christians. + +A boy is born in a Christian family; as soon as he is able to join words +together into sentences his mother teaches him to lisp the child's +prayer: "Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep; if +I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." A little +later the boy is taught the Lord's Prayer and each day he lays his +petition before the Heavenly Father: "Give us this day our daily bread"; +"Lead us not into temptation"; "Deliver us from evil"; "Forgive our +trespasses"; etc. + +He talks with God. He goes to Sunday school and learns that the Heavenly +Father is even more kind than earthly parents; he hears the preacher +tell how precious our lives are in the sight of God--how even a sparrow +cannot fall to the ground without His notice. All his faith is built +upon the Book that informs him that he is made in the image of God; that +Christ came to reveal God to man and to be man's Saviour. + +Then he goes to college and a learned professor leads him through a book +600 pages thick, largely devoted to resemblances between man and the +beasts about him. His attention is called to a point in the ear that is +like a point in the ear of the ourang, to canine teeth, to muscles like +those by which a horse moves his ears. + +He is then told that everything found in a human brain is found in +miniature in a brute brain. + +And how about morals? He is assured that the development of the moral +sense can be explained on a brute basis without any act of, or aid from, +God. (See pages 113-114.) + +No mention of religion, the only basis for morality; not a suggestion of +a sense of responsibility to God--nothing but cold, clammy materialism! +Darwinism transforms the Bible into a story book and reduces Christ to +man's level. It gives him an ape for an ancestor on His mother's side at +least and, as many evolutionists believe, on His Father's side also. + +The instructor gives the student a new family tree millions of years +long, with its roots in the water (marine animals) and then sets him +adrift, with infinite capacity for good or evil but with no light to +guide him, no compass to direct him and no chart of the sea of life! + +No wonder so large a percentage of the boys and girls who go from Sunday +schools and churches to colleges (sometimes as high as seventy-five per +cent.) never return to religious work. How can one feel God's presence +in his daily life if Darwin's reasoning is sound? This restraining +influence, more potent than any external force, is paralyzed when God +is put so far away. How can one believe in prayer if, for millions of +years, God has never touched a human life or laid His hand upon the +destiny of the human race? What mockery to petition or implore, if God +neither hears nor answers. Elijah taunted the prophets of Baal +when their god failed to answer with fire; "Cry aloud," he said, +"peradventure he sleepeth." Darwin mocks the Christians even more +cruelly; he tells us that our God has been asleep for millions of years. +Even worse, he does not affirm that Jehovah was ever awake. Nowhere does +he collect for the reader the evidences of a Creative Power and call +upon man to worship and obey God. The great scientist is, if I may +borrow a phrase, "too much absorbed in the things infinitely small to +consider the things infinitely great." Darwinism chills the spiritual +nature and quenches the fires of religious enthusiasm. If the proof in +support of Darwinism does not compel acceptance--and it does not--why +substitute it for an account of the Creation that links man directly +with the Creator and holds before him an example to be imitated? As the +eminent theologian, Charles Hodge, says: "The Scriptural doctrine (of +Creation) accounts for the spiritual nature of man, and meets all his +spiritual necessities. It gives him an object of adoration, love and +confidence. It reveals the Being on whom his indestructible sense of +responsibility terminates. The truth of this doctrine, therefore, +rests not only upon the authority of the Scriptures but on the very +constitution of our nature." + +I have spoken of what would seem to be the natural and logical effect of +the Darwin hypothesis on the minds of the young. This view is confirmed +by its _actual_ effect on Darwin himself. In his "Life and Letters," he +says: "I am much engaged, an old man, and out of health, and I cannot +spare time to answer your questions fully--nor indeed can they be +answered. Science has nothing to do with Christ, except in so far as the +habit of scientific research makes a man cautious in admitting evidence. +For myself, I do not believe that there ever has been any revelation. As +for a future life, every man must judge for himself between conflicting +vague probabilities." It will be seen that science, according to Darwin, +has nothing to do with Christ (except to discredit _revelation_ which +makes Christ's mission known to men). Darwin himself does not believe +that there has ever been _any revelation_, which, of course, excludes +Christ. It will be seen also that he has no definite views on the +_future life_--"every man," he says, "must judge for himself between +_conflicting vague probabilities_." + +It is fair to conclude that it was _his own doctrine_ that led him +astray, for in the same connection (in "Life and Letters") he says +that when aboard the _Beagle_ he was called "orthodox and was heartily +laughed at by several of the officers for quoting the Bible as an +unanswerable authority on some point of morality." In the same +connection he thus describes his change and his final attitude: "When +thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause, having an +intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve +to be called a Theist. This conclusion was strong in my mind about the +time, as far as I can remember, when I wrote the 'Origin of Species'; +and it is since that time that it has very gradually, with many +fluctuations, become weaker. But then arises the doubt: _Can_ the mind +of man, which has, as I fully believe, been developed from a mind as low +as that possessed by the lowest animals, be trusted when it draws such +grand conclusions? + +"I cannot pretend to throw the least light on such abstruse problems. +The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for +one must be content to remain an Agnostic." + +A careful reading of the above discloses the gradual transition wrought +in Darwin himself by the unsupported hypothesis which he launched upon +the world, or which he endorsed with such earnestness and industry as +to impress his name upon it He was regarded as "_orthodox_" when he was +young; he was even laughed at for quoting the Bible "_as an unanswerable +authority on some point of morality_." In the beginning he regarded +himself as a Theist and felt compelled "to look to a First Cause, having +an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man." + +This conclusion, he says, was strong in his mind when he wrote "The +Origin of Species," but he observes that since that time this conclusion +very gradually became _weaker_, and then he unconsciously brings a +telling indictment against his own hypothesis. He says, "_Can the mind +of man_ (which, according to his belief, has been _developed from a mind +as low as that possessed by the lowest animals) be trusted when it draws +such grand conclusions_?" He first links man with the animals, and then, +because of this _supposed_ connection, estimates man's mind by brute +standards. Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. How +can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things? It makes a tremendous +difference what a man thinks about his origin whether he looks up or +down. Who will say, after reading these words, that it is immaterial +what man thinks about his origin? Who will deny that the acceptance of +the Darwinian hypothesis shuts out the higher reasonings and the larger +conceptions of man? + +On the very brink of the grave, after he had extracted from his +hypothesis all the good that there was in it and all the benefit that it +could confer, he is helplessly in the dark, and "cannot pretend to throw +the least light on such abstruse problems." When he believed in God, in +the Bible, in Christ and in a future life there were no mysteries that +disturbed him, but a _guess_ with nothing in the universe to support +it swept him away from his moorings and left him in his old age in the +midst of mysteries that he thought _insoluble_. He must content himself +with _Agnosticism_. What can Darwinism ever do to compensate any one for +the destruction of faith in God, in His Word, in His Son, and of hope of +immortality? + +It would seem sufficient to quote Darwin against himself and to cite the +confessed effect of the doctrine as a sufficient reason for rejecting +it, but the situation is a very serious one and there is other evidence +that should be presented. + +James H. Leuba, a professor of Psychology in Bryn Mawr College, +Pennsylvania, wrote a book five years ago, entitled "Belief in God and +Immortality." It was published by Sherman French & Co., of Boston, and +republished by The Open Court Publishing Company of Chicago. Every +Christian preacher should procure a copy of this book and it should be +in the hands of every Christian layman who is anxious to aid in the +defense of the Bible against its enemies. Leuba has discarded belief in +a personal God and in personal immortality. He asserts that belief in a +personal God and personal immortality is declining in the United States, +and he furnishes proof, which, as long as it is unchallenged, seems +conclusive. He takes a book containing the names of fifty-five hundred +scientists--the names of practically all American scientists of +prominence, he affirms--and sends them questions. Upon the answers +received he asserts that _more than one-half_ of the prominent +scientists of the United States, those teaching Biology, Psychology, +Geology and History especially, have discarded belief in a personal God +and in personal immortality. + +This is what the doctrine of evolution is doing for those who teach our +children. They first discard the Mosaic account of man's creation, and +they do it on the ground that there are no miracles. This in itself +constitutes a practical repudiation of the Bible; the miracles of the +Old and New Testament cannot be cut out without a mutilation that is +equivalent to rejection. They reject the supernatural along with the +miracle, and with the supernatural the inspiration of the Bible and the +authority that rests upon inspiration. If these believers in evolution +are consistent and have the courage to carry their doctrine to its +logical conclusion, they reject the virgin birth of Christ and the +resurrection. They may still regard Christ as an unusual man, but they +will not make much headway in converting people to Christianity, if they +declare Jesus to be nothing more than a man and either a deliberate +impostor or a deluded enthusiast. + +The evil influence of these Materialistic, Atheistic or Agnostic +professors is disclosed by further investigation made by Leuba. He +questioned the students of nine representative colleges, and upon their +answers declares that, while only fifteen per cent. of the freshmen have +discarded the Christian religion, thirty per cent. of the juniors and +that forty to forty-five per cent, of the men _graduates_ have abandoned +the cardinal principles of the Christian faith. Can Christians be +indifferent to such statistics? Is it an immaterial thing that so +large a percentage of the young men who go from Christian homes into +institutions of learning should go out from these institutions with the +spiritual element eliminated from their lives? What shall it profit a +man if he shall gain all the learning of the schools and lose his faith +in God? + +To show how these evolutionists undermine the faith of students let me +give you an illustration that recently came to my attention: A student +in one of the largest State universities of the nation recently gave me +a printed speech delivered by the president of the university, a year +ago this month, to 3,500 students, and printed and circulated by the +Student Christian Association of the institution. The student who gave +me the speech marked the following paragraph: "And, again, religion must +not be thought of as something that is inconsistent with reasonable, +scientific thinking in regard to the nature of the universe. I go so far +as to say that, if you cannot reconcile religion with the things taught +in biology, in psychology, or in the other fields of study in this +university, then you should throw your religion away. Scientific truth +is here to stay." What about the Bible, is it not here to stay? If he +had stopped with the first sentence, his language might not have +been construed to the injury of religion, because religion is not +"inconsistent with reasonable, scientific thinking in regard to +the nature of the universe." There is nothing _unreasonable_ about +Christianity, and there is nothing _unscientific_ about Christianity. +No scientific _fact_--no _fact_ of any other kind can disturb religion, +because _facts are not in conflict with each other_. It is _guessing_ by +scientists and so-called scientists that is doing the harm. And it is +_guessing_ that is endorsed by this distinguished college president (a +D.D., too, as well as an LL.D. and a Ph.D.) when he says, "I go so far +as to say that, if you cannot reconcile religion with the things taught +in biology, in psychology, or in the other fields of study in this +university, then you should throw your religion away." What does this +mean, except that the books on biology and on other scientific subjects +used in that university are to be preferred to the Bible in case of +conflict? The student is told, "throw your religion away," if he cannot +reconcile it (the Bible, of course,) with the things taught in biology, +psychology, etc. Books on biology change constantly, likewise books +on psychology, and yet they are held before the students as better +authority than the unchanging Word of God. + +Is any other proof needed to show the irreligious influence exerted by +Darwinism applied to man? At the University of Wisconsin (so a Methodist +preacher told me) a teacher told his class that the Bible was a +collection of myths. When I brought the matter to the attention of the +President of the University, he criticized me but avoided all reference +to the professor. At Ann Arbor a professor argued with students against +religion and asserted that no thinking man could believe in God or the +Bible. At Columbia (I learned this from a Baptist preacher) a professor +began his course in geology by telling his class to throw away all that +they had learned in the Sunday school. There is a professor in Yale of +whom it is said that no one leaves his class a believer in God. (This +came from a young man who told me that his brother was being led away +from the Christian faith by this professor.) A father (a Congressman) +tells me that a daughter on her return from Wellesley told him that +nobody believed in the Bible stories now. Another father (a Congressman) +tells me of a son whose faith was undermined by this doctrine in a +Divinity School. Three preachers told me of having their interest in the +subject aroused by the return of their children from college with their +faith shaken. The Northern Baptists have recently, after a spirited +contest, secured the adoption of a Confession of Faith; it was opposed +by the evolutionists. + +In Kentucky the fight is on among the Disciples, and it is becoming +more and more acute in the Northern branches of the Methodist and +Presbyterian Churches. A young preacher, just out of a theological +seminary, who did not believe in the virgin birth of Christ, was +recently ordained in Western New York. Last April I met a young man who +was made an atheist by two teachers in a Christian college. + +These are only a few illustrations that have come under my own +observation--nearly all of them within a year. What is to be done? Are +the members of the various Christian churches willing to have the power +of the pulpit paralyzed by a false, absurd and ridiculous doctrine which +is without support in the written Word of God and without support also +in nature? Is "thus saith the Lord" to be supplanted by guesses and +speculations and assumptions? I submit three propositions for the +consideration of the Christians of the nation: + +First, the preachers who are to break the bread of life to the lay +members should believe that man has in him the breath of the Almighty, +as the Bible declares, and not the blood of the brute, as the +evolutionists affirm. He should also believe in the virgin birth of the +Saviour. + +Second, none but Christians in good standing and with a spiritual +conception of life should be allowed to teach in Christian schools. +Church schools are worse than useless if they bring students under the +influence of those who do not believe in the religion upon which the +Church and church schools are built. Atheism and Agnosticism are more +dangerous when hidden under the cloak of religion than when they are +exposed to view. + +Third, in schools supported by taxation we should have a real neutrality +wherever neutrality in religion is desired. If the Bible cannot be +defended in these schools it should not be attacked, either directly or +under the guise of philosophy or science. The neutrality which we now +have is often but a sham; it carefully excludes the Christian religion +but permits the use of the schoolrooms for the destruction of faith and +for the teaching of materialistic doctrines. + +It is not sufficient to say that _some_ believers in Darwinism retain +their belief in Christianity; some survive smallpox. As we avoid +smallpox because _many_ die of it, so we should avoid Darwinism because +it _leads many astray_. + +If it is contended that an instructor has a right to teach anything +he likes, I reply that the parents who pay the salary have a right to +decide what shall be taught. To continue the illustration used above, a +person can expose himself to the smallpox if he desires to do so, but he +has no right to communicate it to others. So a man can believe anything +he pleases but he has no right to teach it against the protest of his +employers. + +Acceptance of Darwin's doctrine tends to destroy one's belief in +immortality as taught by the Bible. If there has been no break in the +line between man and the beasts--no time when by the act of the Heavenly +Father man became "a living Soul," at what period in man's development +was he endowed with the hope of a future life? And, if the brute theory +leads to the abandonment of belief in a future life with its rewards and +punishments, what stimulus to righteous living is offered in its place? + +Darwinism leads to a denial of God. Nietzsche carried Darwinism to its +logical conclusion and it made him the most extreme of anti-Christians. +I had read extracts from his writings--enough to acquaint me with his +sweeping denial of God and of the Saviour--but not enough to make me +familiar with his philosophy. + +As the war progressed I became more and more impressed with the +conviction that the German propaganda rested upon a materialistic +foundation. I secured the writings of Nietzsche and found in them a +defense, made in advance, of all the cruelties and atrocities practiced +by the militarists of Germany. Nietzsche tried to substitute the worship +of the "Superman" for the worship of God. He not only rejected the +Creator, but he rejected all moral standards. He praised war and +eulogized hatred because it led to war. He denounced sympathy and pity +as attributes unworthy of man. He believed that the teachings of Christ +made degenerates and, logical to the end, he regarded Democracy as the +refuge of weaklings. He saw in man nothing but an animal and in that +animal the highest virtue he recognized was "The Will to Power"--a will +which should know no let or hindrance, no restraint or limitation. + +Nietzsche's philosophy would convert the world into a ferocious conflict +between beasts, each brute trampling ruthlessly on everything in his +way. In his book entitled "Joyful Wisdom," Nietzsche ascribes to +Napoleon the very same dream of power--Europe under one sovereign and +that sovereign the master of the world--that lured the Kaiser into a sea +of blood from which he emerged an exile seeking security under a foreign +flag. Nietzsche names Darwin as one of the three great men of his +century, but tries to deprive him of credit (?) for the doctrine that +bears his name by saying that Hegel made an earlier announcement of it. +Nietzsche died hopelessly insane, but his philosophy has wrought the +moral ruin of a multitude, if it is not actually responsible for +bringing upon the world its greatest war. + +His philosophy, if it is worthy the name of philosophy, is the ripened +fruit of Darwinism--and a tree is known by its fruit. + +In 1900--over twenty years ago--while an International Peace Congress +was in session in Paris the following editorial appeared in _L'Univers_: + +"The spirit of peace has fled the earth because evolution has taken +possession of it. The plea for peace in past years has been inspired by +faith in the divine nature and the divine origin of man; men were +then looked upon as children of one Father and war, therefore, was +fratricide. But now that men are looked upon as children of apes, what +matters it whether they are slaughtered or not?" + +I have given you above the words of a French writer published twenty +years ago. I have just found in a book recently published by a prominent +English writer words along the same line, only more comprehensive. The +corroding influence of Darwinism has spread as the doctrine has been +increasingly accepted. In the American preface to "The Glass of +Fashion" these words are to be found: "Darwinism not only justifies +the sensualist at the trough and Fashion at her glass; it justifies +Prussianism at the cannon's mouth and Bolshevism at the prison-door. +If Darwinism be true, if Mind is to be driven out of the universe and +accident accepted as a sufficient cause for all the majesty and glory of +physical nature, then there is no crime or violence, however abominable +in its circumstances and however cruel in its execution, which cannot be +justified by success, and no triviality, no absurdity of Fashion which +deserves a censure: more--there is no act of disinterested love and +tenderness, no deed of self-sacrifice and mercy, no aspiration after +beauty and excellence, for which a single reason can be adduced in +logic." + +To destroy the faith of Christians and lay the foundation for the +bloodiest war in history would seem enough to condemn Darwinism, but +there are still two other indictments to bring against it. First, that +it is the basis of the gigantic class struggle that is now shaking +society throughout the world. Both the capitalist and the labourer +are increasingly class conscious. Why? Because the doctrine of the +"Individual efficient for himself"--the brute doctrine of the "survival +of the fittest"--is driving men into a life-and-death struggle from +which sympathy and the spirit of brotherhood are eliminated. It is +transforming the industrial world into a slaughter-house. + +Benjamin Kidd, in a masterful work, entitled, "The Science of Power," +points out how Darwinism furnished Nietzsche with a scientific basis for +his godless system of philosophy and is demoralizing industry. + +He also quotes eminent English scientists to support the last charge in +the indictment, namely, that Darwinism robs the reformer of hope. Its +plan of operation is to improve the race by "scientific breeding" on a +purely physical basis. A few hundred years may be required--possibly a +few thousand--but what is time to one who carries eons in his quiver and +envelopes his opponents in the "Mist of Ages"? + +Kidd would substitute the "Emotion of the Ideal" for scientific breeding +and thus shorten the time necessary for the triumph of a social reform. +He counts one or two generations as sufficient. This is an enormous +advance over Darwin's doctrine, but Christ's plan is still more +encouraging. A man can be born again; the springs of life can be +cleansed instantly so that the heart loves the things that it formerly +hated and hates the things that it once loved. If this is true of _one_, +it can be true of _any number_. Thus, a nation can be born in a day if +the ideals of the people can be changed. + +Many have tried to harmonize Darwinism with the Bible, but these +efforts, while honest and sometimes even agonizing, have not been +successful. How could they be when the natural and inevitable tendency +of Darwinism is to exalt the mind at the expense of the heart, to +overestimate the reliability of the reason as compared with faith and to +impair confidence in the Bible. The mind is a machine; it has no morals. +It obeys its owner as willingly when he plots to kill as when he plans +for service. + +The Theistic evolutionist who tries to occupy a middle ground between +those who accept the Bible account of creation and those who reject God +entirely reminds one of a traveller in the mountains, who, having fallen +half-way down a steep slope, catches hold of a frail bush. It takes so +much of his strength to keep from going lower that he is useless as an +aid to others. Those who have accepted evolution in the belief that it +was not anti-Christian may well revise their conclusions in view of the +accumulating evidence of its baneful influence. + +Darwinism discredits the things that are supernatural and encourages the +worship of the intellect--an idolatry as deadly to spiritual progress as +the worship of images made by human hands. The injury that it does would +be even greater than it is but for the moral momentum acquired by the +student before he comes under the blighting influence of the doctrine. + +Many instances could be cited to show how the theory that man descended +from the brute has, when deliberately adopted, driven reverence from +the heart and made young Christians agnostics and sometimes +atheists--depriving them of the joy, and society of the service, that +come from altruistic effort inspired by religion. + +I have recently read of a pathetic case in point. In the Encyclopaedia +Americana you will find a sketch of the life of George John Romanes, +from which the following extract is taken: "Romanes, George John, +English scientist. In 1879 he was elected fellow of the Royal Society +and in 1878 published, under the pseudonym 'Physicus,' a work entitled, +'A Candid Examination of Theism,' in which he took up a somewhat defiant +atheistic position. Subsequently his views underwent considerable +change; he revised the 'Candid Examination,' and, toward the close of +his life, was engaged on 'A Candid Examination of Religion,' in which +he returned to theistic beliefs. His notes for this work were published +after his death, under the title 'Thoughts on Religion,' edited by Canon +Gore. Romanes was an ardent supporter of Darwin and the evolutionists +and in various works sought to extend evolutionary principles to mind, +both in the lower animals and in the man. He wrote very extensively on +modern biological theories." + +Let me use Romanes' own language to describe the disappointing +experiences of this intellectual "prodigal son." On page 180 of +"Thoughts on Religion" (written, as above stated, just before his death +but not published until after his demise) he says, "The views that I +entertained on this subject (Plan in Revelation) when an undergraduate +(_i.e._, the ordinary orthodox views) were abandoned in the presence of +the theory of Evolution." + +It was the doctrine of Evolution that led him astray. He attempted to +employ reason to the exclusion of faith--with the usual result. He +abandoned prayer, as he explains on pages 142 and 143: "Even the +simplest act of will in regard to religion--that of prayer--has not been +performed by me for at least a quarter of a century, simply because it +has seemed impossible to pray, as it were, hypothetically, that, much as +I have always desired to be able to pray, I cannot will the attempt. +To justify myself for what my better judgment has often seemed to be +essentially irrational, I have ever made sundry excuses." "Others have +doubtless other difficulties, but mine is chiefly, I think, that of an +undue regard to reason as against heart and will--undue, I mean, if so +it be that Christianity is true, and the conditions to faith in it have +been of divine ordination." + +In time he tired of the husks of materialism and started back to his +Father's house. It was a weary journey but as he plodded along, his +appreciation of the heart's part increased until, on pages 152 and 153, +he says, "It is a fact that we all feel the intellectual part of man to +be 'higher' than the animal, whatever our theory of his origin. It is +a fact that we all feel the moral part of man to be 'higher' than the +intellectual, whatever our theory of either may be. It is also a fact +that we all similarly feel the spiritual to be 'higher' than the moral, +whatever our theory of religion may be. It is what we understand +by man's moral, and still more his spiritual, qualities that go to +constitute character. And it is astonishing how in all walks of life it +is character that tells in the long run." + +On page 150 he answered Huxley's attack on faith. He says, "Huxley, +in 'Lay Sermons,' says that faith has been proved a 'cardinal sin' by +science. Now this is true enough of credulity, superstition, etc., and +science has done no end of good in developing our ideas of method, +evidence, etc. But this is all on the side of intellect. 'Faith' is +not touched by such facts or considerations. And what a terrible hell +science would have made of the world, if she had abolished the 'spirit +of faith,' even in human relations." + +In the days of his apostasy he "took it for granted," he says on page +164, "that Christianity was played out." When once his eyes were +reopened he vied with Paul himself in recognizing the superior quality +of love. On page 163 he quoted the eloquent lines of Bourdillon: + + The night has a thousand eyes, + And the day but one; + Yet the light of a whole world dies + With the setting sun. + + The mind has a thousand eyes, + And the heart but one; + Yet the light of a whole life dies + When love is done. + +Having quoted this noble sentiment he adds: "Love is known to be all +this. How great then, is Christianity, as being the religion of love, +and causing men to believe both in the cause of love's supremacy and the +infinity of God's love to man." + +But Romanes still clung to Evolution and, so far as his book discloses, +his mind would never allow his heart to commune with Darwin's far-away +God, whose creative power Romanes could not doubt but whose daily +presence he could not admit without abandoning his theory. + +His is a typical case, but many of the wanderers never return to the +fold; they are lost sheep. If the doctrine were demonstrated to be true +its acceptance would, of course, be obligatory, but how can one bring +himself to assent to a series of assumptions when such a course is +accompanied by such a tremendous risk of spiritual loss? + +If, as it does in so many instances, it causes the student to choose +Darwinism, with its intellectual delusions, and reject the Bible, with +the incalculable blessings that its heart-culture brings, what minister +of the Gospel or Christian professor can justify himself before the bar +of conscience if, by impairing confidence in the Word of God, he wrecks +human souls? All the intellectual satisfaction that Darwinism ever +brought to those who have accepted it will not offset the sorrow that +darkens a single life from which the brute theory of descent has shut +out the sunshine of God's presence and the companionship of Christ. +Here, too, we have the testimony of the distinguished scientist from +whom I have been quoting. In his first book--the attack on Theism--he +says: (page 29, "Thoughts on Religion") "I am not ashamed to confess +that with this virtual negation of God the universe to me has lost its +soul of loveliness; and, although from henceforth the precept to 'Work +while it is day' will doubtless gain an intensified force from the +terribly intensified meaning of the words that 'the night cometh when no +man can work,' yet when at times I think, as think at times I must, of +the appalling contrast between the hallowed glory of that creed which +once was mine, and the lonely mystery of existence as now I find it,--at +such times I shall ever feel it impossible to avoid the sharpest pang of +which my nature is susceptible." + +Romanes, during his college days, came under the influence of those +who worshipped the reason and this worship led him out into a starless +night. Have we not a right to demand something more than _guesses, +surmises,_ and _hypotheses_ before we exchange the "hallowed glory" of +the Christian creed for "the lonely mystery of existence" as Romanes +found it? Shall we at the behest of those who put the intellect +above the heart endorse an unproved doctrine of descent and share +responsibility for the wreckage of all that is spiritual in the lives of +our young people? I refuse to have any part in such responsibility. For +nearly twenty years I have gone from college to college and talked to +students. Wherever I could do so I have pointed out the demoralizing +influence of Darwinism. I have received thanks from many students who +were perplexed by the materialistic teachings of their instructors and I +have been encouraged by the approval of parents who were distressed by +the visible effects of these teachings on their children. + +As many believers in Darwinism are led to reject the Bible let me, by +way of recapitulation, contrast that doctrine with the Bible: + +Darwinism deals with nothing but life; the Bible deals with the entire +universe--with its masses of inanimate matter and with its myriads of +living things, all obedient to the will of the great Law Giver. + +Darwin concerns himself with only that part of man's existence which is +spent on earth--while the Bible's teachings cover all of life, both here +and hereafter. + +Darwin begins by assuming life upon the earth; the Bible reveals the +source of life and chronicles its creation. + +Darwin devotes nearly all his time to man's body and to the points at +which the human frame approaches in structure--though vastly different +from--the brute; the Bible emphasizes man's godlike qualities and the +virtues which reflect the goodness of the Heavenly Father. + +Darwinism ends in self-destruction. As heretofore shown, its progress is +suspended, and even defeated, by the very genius which it is supposed +to develop; the Bible invites us to enter fields of inexhaustible +opportunity wherein each achievement can be made a stepping-stone to +greater achievements still. + +Darwin's doctrine is so brutal that it shocks the moral sense--the heart +recoils from it and refuses to apply the "hard reason" upon which it +rests; the Bible points us to the path that grows brighter with the +years. + +Darwin's doctrine leads logically to war and to the worship of +Nietzsche's "Superman"; the Bible tells us of the Prince of Peace and +heralds the coming of the glad day when swords shall be beaten into +ploughshares and when nations shall learn war no more. + +Darwin's teachings drag industry down to the brute level and excite a +savage struggle for selfish advantage; the Bible presents the claims of +an universal brotherhood in which men will unite their efforts in the +spirit of friendship. + +As hope deferred maketh the heart sick, so the doctrine of Darwin +benumbs altruistic effort by prolonging indefinitely the time needed for +reforms; the Bible assures us of the triumph of every righteous cause, +reveals to the eye of faith the invisible hosts that fight on the side +of Jehovah and proclaims the swift fulfillment of God's decrees. + +Darwinism puts God far away; the Bible brings God near and establishes +the prayer-line of communication between the Heavenly Father and His +children. + +Darwinism enthrones selfishness; the Bible crowns love as the greatest +force in the world. + +Darwinism offers no reason for existence and presents no philosophy of +life; the Bible explains why man is here and gives us a code of morals +that fits into every human need. + +The great need of the world to-day is to get back to God--back to a real +belief in a living God--to a belief in God as Creator, Preserver +and loving Heavenly Father. When one believes in a personal God and +considers himself a part of God's plan he will be anxious to know God's +will and to do it, seeking direction through prayer and made obedient +through faith. + +Man was made in the Father's image; he enters upon the stage, the climax +of Jehovah's plan. He is superior to the beasts of the field, greater +than any other created thing--but a little lower than the angels. God +made him for a purpose, placed before him infinite possibilities and +revealed to him responsibilities commensurate with the possibilities. +God beckons man upward and the Bible points the way; man can obey and +travel toward perfection by the path that Christ revealed, or man can +disobey and fall to a level lower, in some respects, than that of the +brutes about him. Looking heavenward man can find inspiration in his +lineage; looking about him he is impelled to kindness by a sense of +kinship which binds him to his brothers. Mighty problems demand his +attention; a world's destiny is to be determined by him. What time +has he to waste in hunting for "missing links" or in searching for +resemblances between his forefathers and the ape? In His Image--in this +sign we conquer. + +We are not progeny of the brute; we have not been forced upward by a +blind pushing-power; neither have we tumbled upward by chance. It is a +drawing-power--not a pushing-power--that rules the world--a power which +finds its highest expression in Christ who promised: "I, if I be lifted +up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." + + + + +V + +THE LARGER LIFE + + +I have chosen this subject because I have found some young men, and even +some young women, who seem to misunderstand the invitation extended +by the Master. The call of the Gospel falls, at times, upon deaf ears +because religion is regarded as a thing that is necessary only when one +comes to prepare himself for the life beyond. In earlier times many +Christians misinterpreted the Christian religion and, withdrawing +themselves from companionship with their fellows, devoted their time +wholly to preparation of themselves for heaven. _Christ went about doing +good_. + +I present my appeal to the young to accept Christ and to enter upon the +life He prescribes, not because they may _die_ soon but because they may +_live_. They need Christ as their Saviour _now_ and they need Him +as their guide throughout life. Some complain of the Parable of the +Vineyard because the man who began work at the eleventh hour received +the same pay as those who toiled all day. Surely, those who complain +have not tasted the joys of a Christian life. No one who follows the +teachings of Christ will begrudge the reward promised to those who +repent at the last moment and are saved. The eleventh-hour Christians +are the ones to mourn because they have lost the happiness that they +would have found in service during the livelong day. + +Young people sometimes postpone becoming Christians on the ground that +they want to have a good time for a while longer. Who can be happier +than the Christian? Our religion fits into the needs of all of every +age. If there are any amusements enjoyed by the world from which members +of the church feel it a duty to abstain it is because more wholesome +amusements crowd out the objectionable ones. It ought not to be +necessary to forbid a Christian to do harmful things; he ought to avoid +them because he has no taste for them--because he finds more real +pleasure and more enduring satisfaction in the things that are innocent +and helpful. + +There is another class to which I desire to address myself to-day, +namely, those who call themselves more liberal than Christians--who look +upon our religion as narrowing in its influence. Christianity is the +broadest of creeds because it takes in everything that touches human +life, here and hereafter. The Christian life is the most comprehensive +life known; it is as deep as the heart; it is as wide as the world; and +it is as high as heaven. + +Paul, the great Apostle, tells us that Christ came to "bring life and +immortality to light"--not immortality alone, but life also, and the +word Life comes before the word Immortality. + +But we have higher authority even than Paul. Christ, in explaining His +mission, said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might +have it more abundantly." It is to the _more abundant_ life that Christ +calls us. He was the master of mathematics, yet He used only addition +and multiplication; subtraction has no place in His philosophy. + +Let me illustrate, as I see it, the gift that Christ brings to man. Let +us suppose that the people living in an agricultural section had, by +intelligent cultivation, brought from the soil all that it could yield +in material wealth. If a stranger came into the community and announced +that the people, by sinking a shaft one hundred feet deep, could find +a vein of coal, they would, if they believed the statement true, +immediately sink a shaft; and, if they found the coal, they would add +it to the wealth that they derived from the surface of the ground. They +would be grateful to the person who told them of the additional riches +which they possessed but of which they were not aware. They might not +think to thank him immediately--they might be too busy acquiring money +to express their gratitude. But after the man was dead, if not before, +they would pause long enough to erect a monument to testify to their +appreciation of the service he had rendered. + +And, to complete the illustration, suppose after the people had adjusted +themselves to the added income, another stranger appeared and assured +them that, if they would sink the shaft one hundred feet deeper, they +would find a vein of precious metals from which to draw money enough to +purchase everything everywhere that the heart could wish. They would, +if they gave credit to his statement, dig down and find gold and silver +and, with still greater joy, add this new possession to those that +they already had. Again they would be grateful. They might not express +themselves during the benefactor's life, but after a while visitors to +the community would see two monuments reared by grateful hands to those +who had brought blessings to the neighbourhood. + +This illustration presents the idea that I would impress upon you, +namely, that Christ came to _add_ to all the good things man possessed +without requiring the surrender of any good thing in exchange. Long +before the coming of Christ man had taken possession of the body and had +gathered from it all the joys that the flesh can yield. Man had also +explored the farther reaches of the mind and possessed himself of the +delights of the intellect. Christ not only brought redemption but opened +to man the vision of a spiritual world and showed him what infinite +greatness the Father has placed within the reach of one made in His +image, if he will only use the powers that he has--powers unknown to him +until revealed by the Spirit. + +Every human being is travelling every day in one direction or the +other--either upward toward the highest plane that man can reach, or +downward toward the lowest level to which man can fall; Christ gives us +a vision of our possibilities and the strength to realize them. + +If Christ had demanded something in return for the great gifts that +He came to bestow man might be justified in asking for time for +investigation. He would want to weigh the value of that which is +offered against the value of that which must be given up. To do this +intelligently would require a long period of training and ample time for +comparison. The difficulty is even greater, for it would be impossible +for one to weigh or calculate in advance the value of those things which +are spiritually discerned. He could see the body; he could comprehend +the mind; but he could not know the inestimable value of the things +that Christ offers. But how can he hesitate when Christ demands not one +single sacrifice, but gives, as the spring gives, desiring nothing in +return except appreciation which it is pleasant to manifest? + +The Saviour not only gives without reducing the other enjoyments, but +His gift increases the value of that which we have. The body without +control will exhaust itself--actually wear itself out in the very riot +of pleasure. It is only when the body is the servant of a spiritual +master that it can develop its greatest strength and prolong its vigour. + +Two illustrations suggest themselves. The use of intoxicants has wrought +disaster since man came upon the earth. Drink is not only ruinous when +used continuously and in large quantities, but it is injurious even when +used moderately. The life insurance tables show that a young man who, at +the age of twenty-one, begins the regular use of intoxicating liquors, +reduces his expectancy by more than ten per cent., or more than four +years in forty. That is the average. In proportion as the body is left +to its own control the appetite becomes destructive of the body itself +as well as of the body's value to others. Just in proportion as the body +is under spiritual control is it in position to enjoy itself and to +extend the period of enjoyment. + +Reference need hardly be made to the diseases that follow in the wake of +immorality. The wages of sin is death--death to the body, death to the +mind and death to the soul. Races have rotted and passed into oblivion +because the body was put in command of the life. Both drunkenness and +unchastity curse the generations that follow as well as the generations +that are guilty--the sins of the fathers and mothers being visited upon +the children and children's children. + +And so, too, with the mind; it would run wild but for the sovereign +soul of man. There are temptations that come through the +intellect--temptations that are as destructive as those that come +through the body. Only when the mind is guided and directed by a +spiritual conception of life is it capable of its highest and noblest +work. + +The soul is greater than the mind as it is greater than the body. Would +you have proof? Recall the days of the martyrs. What is it in man that +can take the body and hold it in the fire until the flames consume the +quivering flesh? The soul of man that can coerce the body to its death +is greater than the body itself. And the soul is likewise greater than +the mind. It can take the imperial mind of man, purge it of vanity and +egotism and infuse into it the spirit of humility and a passion for +service. The soul that can thus harness the mind and make it bear the +burdens of the World is greater than the mind itself. + +Remember, also, that the spiritual gifts which Jesus bestows are vastly +richer than all that man possessed before. Who can measure the value +of salvation--the peace that comes with sins forgiven and the joy of +constant communion with the Heavenly Father whom Christ reveals? And, +then, consider the moral code that is revolutionizing the world. I only +have time to mention a few of the fundamental teachings of Christ. + +Christ gave the world a new definition of love. Husbands had loved their +wives and wives their husbands; parents had loved their children, +and children their parents; and friend had loved friend, but Christ +proclaimed a love as boundless as the sea. + +Christ founded a religion and built a Church on love--on love, the +greatest force in the world. Love furnishes an armour which no weapon +can pierce. When physical warfare is forgotten, love will still call its +hosts to battle; the effort then will be, not to kill one another but to +excel in doing good. + +Christ has been called "_visionary"_--that is a favourite word with +those who pride themselves upon being practical. But as a matter of +fact, one of the great virtues of Christ's teachings is that they are +_practical_. He deals with the every-day things of ordinary life and in +His quiet way irons out difficulties and makes rough paths smooth. His +philosophy is easily comprehended and readily applied. His words need no +interpretation; they are the words of the people, the language of the +masses. If He were a teacher of rhetoric He would surpass all other +teachers because the art of discourse reaches its maximum in His +sentences. The learned sometimes speak over the heads of their hearers, +using words that are unusual and long-drawn-out. Jesus talked to the +multitude and they not only understood Him but "_the common people heard +him gladly."_ + +Let me recall to your minds just a few illustrations of the simplicity +of His thought and language. Take, for instance, the supreme virtue, +love, upon which He always places emphasis. Note how He weaves it into +human experience. + + "Therefore," He says (Matt. 5:23), "if thou bring thy gift to the + altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against + thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way; first be + reconciled to thy brother." + +Reconciliation is preferred to sacrifice. The gift upon the altar can +wait; but enmity between brothers must have attention at once. What +infinite woe and heartache will be prevented when this lesson is learned +and applied throughout the world. What untold blessings will be realized +when even among those who profess the name of Christ it is always +employed. A word spoken in anger has often cost a life because neither +party to the quarrel was big enough to obey the best promptings of the +heart and beg pardon. Families have been rent asunder; communities have +been divided; nations have gone to war, just because some one lacked +the spirit of the Saviour and refused the plain and easy road to +reconciliation. Well may religious rites be suspended for the moment +while love removes offense and binds together hearts that were +estranged. We know that "To err is human," and we believe that "To +forgive is divine;" to _ask_ forgiveness requires as much grace as to +forgive. + +In his first epistle (chapter 4:2) John makes a striking application of +Christ's doctrine of love: "If a man say 'I love God' and hateth his +brother, he is a liar." + +These are harsh words but the Apostle was dealing with a very serious +subject, viz., the glaring inconsistency between love of God and hatred +of a brother. + +There are many ways in which one can manifest hatred of his brother, and +it must be remembered that hatred is a sin that is proven by acts rather +than admitted. First, there is indifference--a wide-spread sin--and +it is to be found inside the church as well as outside. As love is a +positive virtue, a failure to love is a violation of obligations. A +participation in the services of the church, even communion at the +Lord's Table--does not always awaken in Christians the interest they +should feel in each other. + +If I may be permitted to illustrate my thought, allow me to call +attention to the fact that church members are sometimes compelled to pay +cut-throat rates for short-time loans when there are within the same +congregation members who are loaning at lawful rates to non-church +members. Does it not seem incredible that the money of Christians is +available for the outside world and yet not within reach of needy +brethren? It would be easy for each church to organize within its +membership a loan society and use the money supplied by the well-to-do +for the accommodation of those temporarily embarrassed. Sometimes the +chattel mortgage sharks collect one hundred per cent, or more and the +banks, which are established for the purpose of making small short-time +loans, usually collect twenty to thirty per cent. Why should a church +member be driven to these extremities when the loanable money in the +church is sufficient for all needs? Surely church membership ought to +be better security for a small amount than either a chattel or a real +estate mortgage. + +Another illustration; the fraternities are splendid organizations and +are founded on high principles, but the church might be expected to do +for its members some of the work left to fraternities. They care for the +sick and bury the dead! Is it not a reflection on the church that its +members should ever be compelled to go outside for assistance in such +emergencies? + +There are many other forms of indifference, but indifference is the +least harmful of the manifestations of the lack of brotherhood. We have +cases of positive and deliberate injury practiced against those who +stand in the relation of brothers. We have had a riot of exploitation in +this country; profiteering has been carried on on an appalling scale: +men have been thrusting their larcenous hands into the pockets of their +church brethren, as well as into the pockets of the public. + +We have also the unequal combat between the tax-eater and the taxpayer, +and we have the perennial conflict between the different groups of +taxpayers, each trying to shift the burden onto the other, not to speak +of that very considerable company who, for profit, cultivate vice as the +farmer cultivates his crops. All conscious and deliberate injustice is +proof of hatred and to such as engage in such wrong-doing the language +of John ought to come as a stinging rebuke. It would work a revolution +in society as well as in the Church if all the members proved their love +of God by fair dealing with their fellowmen. + +Christ confines Himself usually to the laying down of broad, fundamental +principles instead of supplying rules and formulae. He cleanses the +heart and then gives to life the law of love which should pervade all +human relationships, as the law of gravitation pervades the universe. +But the Master at times went from generalities into details, making the +path of duty so plain that no one can excuse himself if he strays there +form. + +An illustration is found in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 25:34-46. + + Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye + blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the + foundation of the world: + + For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye + gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: + + Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in + prison, and ye came unto me. + + Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee + an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? + + When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed + thee? + + Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? + + And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto + you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my + brethren, ye have done it unto me. + + Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, + ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his + angels: + + For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye + gave me no drink: + + I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me + not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. + + Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee + an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in + prison, and did not minister unto thee? + + Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch + as ye did it not to one of the least of these ye did it not to me. + + And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the + righteous into life eternal. + +No one should waste time in waiting for some great opportunity for +service; there are opportunities everywhere. It is impossible for man to +render any service to Jehovah Himself. There is nothing that we can do +for Him except to love Him with heart and mind and soul and strength. It +is _to the neighbour_ that we pay the debt that we owe to the Heavenly +Father; it is _through the neighbour_ that we publish to the world our +real selves. This is, like music, an universal language that all can +understand. + +Nietzsche, the atheistic philosopher, gave to one of his books the title +"Joyful Wisdom"--an absurd misnomer. That which he mistook for joy was +the delirium of an unbalanced mind. The philosophy of _Christ_ might +with propriety be called Joyful Wisdom; it leads one into the path of +happiness that is real and permanent. + +Carl Hilty, a Swiss writer, has published a book entitled "Happiness," +in which he points out that, as those have the poorest health who spend +their time travelling from one health resort to another looking for +it, so those are least happy who do nothing but hunt for pleasure. He +insists that to be happy one must have employment for the hands, the +head and the heart. The hands must be busy, the mind must be occupied, +and the heart must be satisfied. + +Christ leads His followers into happiness through this route. No one +who partakes of His spirit can be an idler. The world is full of work +awaiting labourers; the harvest is ripe. Those who try to imitate Christ +will be planning for the extension of His Kingdom and for the comfort +of God's creatures. The heart of the Christian--the center of life and +love--will find satisfaction in being in sympathetic touch with all that +is good and noble. + +I have dwelt upon this point because the worldly are in the habit of +picturing the Christian life as gloomy and forbidding. It is a libel; a +long-faced Christian is a poor Christian, if a Christian at all. "Be of +good cheer," is a Christian salutation; Christ used it repeatedly. In +Matthew 9:2 He said to the man sick of the palsy, "Son, be of good +cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." + +In Matthew 14:27 He quieted the fears of His disciples, "Be of good +cheer; it is I; be not afraid." In John 16:33 He inspired the Apostles, +"Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." + +Here we have three of the greatest sources of happiness--Forgiveness of +sins: the presence of the Saviour and triumph over the world. + +In Acts we find Him using the same words in addressing Paul and later +Paul uses them in encouraging his companions. + +Religion--real, heartfelt religion--transforms its possessor. It moulds +the disposition and disposition determines expression. No beauty doctor +can make a face as winsome as the face of one whose heart overflows with +loving kindness; just as no face specialist can impose from without such +lines of strength and intelligence as can be written upon it by the +thoughts that pass through the brain. + +The Christian life is the simple life. Charles Wagner sounded a note +that echoed around the world when, some two decades ago, he issued his +eloquent protest against the burdensome complexities of modern life. He +made a plea for the natural life in which each individual will be his +own master instead of being the servant of his possessions. Wagner's +book, though first published in Paris, had a larger circulation in the +United States than in any other nation--not because our people have +wandered farther than others into artificial social forms, but because +they are sensitive to high ideals and free to reject harmful customs. + +Social intercourse should be an expression of friendship, and friendship +is both embarrassed and obscured by vulgar display. The home should be a +place of rest, where congenial spirits can gather for communion. There +is nothing edifying or satisfying in the mere comparing of apparel. +The aim of entertainment should be to refresh the guest and stimulate +friendship; the end is defeated by a rivalry in extravagance that +awakens concern as to one's ability to return courtesies extended. The +increasing costliness of social functions not only robs entertainment +of the enjoyment that it is intended to bring, but it leads many +young couples to ruin themselves financially in an effort to keep up +appearances and pay their social debts. It is impossible to calculate +the benefit which would be brought to the social world if Christ's +spirit could pervade it and infuse into it a wholesome sincerity and +frankness. Christ put the accent on the things that are worthy and +banished the shallow pretenses upon which so much time is wasted and so +much money squandered. + +Christ gave the world a balm for that worry that is more wearing than +work. He condemned the petty vanities and irritating anxieties. He +taught a perfect trust that leads one to do his best and then leave the +result with the Heavenly Father who is ever near and always ready to +give good gifts to His children. + +In Matthew 6, we find this soothing rebuke: + + Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye + shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye + shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than + raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do + they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth + them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking + thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought + for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they + toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That + even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. + Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, + and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe + you, O ye of little faith? + +Reasoning unanswerable. He argues from the less to the greater and with +incomparable beauty woos man away from the distracting thoughts that +dissipate his strength without yielding him any advantage. The Creator +who cares for the birds will not forget man made in His image; He +who clothes the fields in the beauty of the flower and gives to the +trembling blade of grass the nourishment that it needs for its fleeting +day, will not desert man, His supreme handiwork. + +"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," is a rebuke aimed at +those who borrow trouble. Let not the past distress you--it has gone +beyond recall; let not the morrow intrude upon you--it will bring its +cargo of cares when it comes. Man lives in the present and can claim +only the moment as it passes, but Christ teaches him how to so use each +hour as to make the days that are gone an echoing delight and the days +that are yet to come a radiant hope. + +Christ has been called a sentimentalist. Let it be admitted; it is no +reproach. He is the inexhaustible source of sentiment, and sentiment +rules the world. "The dreamer lives forever; the toiler dies in a day." + +A striking illustration of the emphasis that Christ placed upon +sentiment is found in Matthew 26:7-13: + + There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious + ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. But when his + disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is + this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and + given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why + trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For + ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always. For in + that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my + burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be + preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman + hath done, be told for a memorial of her. + +Eight verses devoted to an alabaster box of ointment! This is more space +than was given to many incidents seemingly more important, and at the +very crisis of His career, too. But who will estimate the value of this +narrative? + +Judas complained that it was an inexcusable waste of money--Judas, the +thief, as Mark calls him, pretended concern about the poor. The poor +have received immeasurably more from the use made of this ointment than +they would have received had it been sold and the proceeds distributed +then. It was an expression of love, and love is the treasury box from +which the poor can always draw. That box of ointment has spread its +fragrance over nineteen hundred years. Give a man bread and he hungers +again; give him clothing and his clothing will wear out; but give him +an ideal--something to look up to through life--and it will be with him +through every waking hour lifting him to a higher plane and filling his +life with the beauty and the bounty of service. The money spent for a +loaf of bread may stay the pangs of hunger for a few brief hours, +but the same amount invested in the "bread of life" will give one an +inexhaustible feast. A drink of water refreshes for the moment; the +same amount invested in the "water of life" may make of one a spring +overflowing with blessings. + +A Bible costs a few cents and yet upon it may be built a life that is +worth millions to the human race. It was a Bible that made William Ewart +Gladstone for a generation the world's greatest Christian statesman; +it was a Bible that made Jose Rodrigues for a quarter of a century the +greatest moral force in Brazil. The Bible has given us great leaders in +the United States. It is the Bible that has sent missionaries throughout +the world to plant in little communities everywhere the teachings of the +greatest of sentimentalists--and, at the same time, the most practical +of philosophers. Christ has taught us the true value of those things +which touch the heart and, through the heart, move the world. + +"Suffer little children to come unto me;" Christ used the child to +admonish those older grown. The Church is following in His footsteps +when it makes the child the subject of constant thought and solicitude. +It is when we deal with the child that we get the clearest conception of +the superiority of faith over reason. The foundations of character are +laid in faith and not in reason; they are laid before the reason can be +accepted as a guide. No one who exalts reason above faith can lead a +child to God, but a child can understand the love of the Saviour and the +tender care of the Heavenly Father. For this reason the Sunday school +increases in importance. Its lessons build character; its songs echo +throughout our lives. + +The law arbitrarily fixes the age of twenty-one as the age of legal +maturity. No matter how precocious a young man be, the presumption of +law is against his intelligence until he is twenty-one. He cannot vote; +he cannot make a valid deed to a piece of land. Why? His reason is not +mature, and yet the moral principles that control his life are implanted +before he reaches that age. His ideals come into his life long before +the reason can be regarded as a safe guide. Before the reason is mature +he believes in God or has rejected God. If he lives in a Christian +community he has accepted the Bible as the Word of God or rejected it +as the work of man; if he is acquainted with Christ he has accepted or +rejected Him. A child's heart cannot remain a vacuum. It is filled with +reverence or irreverence. Those who think that the mind can remain +unbiassed until one becomes of age and then be able to render impartial +decisions, know little of human experience. Love comes first, reason +afterward; the child obeys and later learns why it should obey. Morality +rests upon religion and religion, taking hold upon the heart, exercises +a control far greater than any logic can exercise over the mind. + +Look back over your lives and see how much of real moral principle you +have added since you became of age. You can better explain your faith; +your will is more firm, your determination more deeply rooted, but what +new seed of morality has been sown since you reached the age when the +reason is presumed to be mature? + +While Christianity builds upon the affirmations of the New Testament and +the positive virtues taught by the Saviour it is loyal, as Christ was, +to the Commandments which God gave to the people through Moses. Most of +these commandments--those relative to man's duty to man--are written +unto the statutes of state and nation; they form the basis of our laws. +Those which relate to man's duty to God and which are not, therefore, +legally binding are binding on the conscience of Christians. + +The Christian Church from its earliest beginnings has enforced respect +for parents. Parental authority is not only essential to the child's +welfare during youth but it is necessary as a foundation upon which to +build respect for government and for laws. The Christian home is the +nursery of the State as well as of the Church. Loyalty to God and +loyalty to government are easily learned by those who from infancy are +taught obedience to those who have the right to instruct and direct. + +The Christian Church stands also for Sabbath observance. The right +to worship God according to the dictates of one's conscience is an +inalienable right and any attempt to interfere with the full and free +exercise of this right would and should arouse universal protest. Those +who do not worship at all have no fear of molestation, but freedom of +conscience is not interfered with by laws that provide opportunity for +rest and guarantee leisure for worship. + +Man's body needs relaxation from toil and man's mind needs leisure as +well. These needs are so obvious that they are universally admitted. +The spiritual nature requires refreshment also and this need is as +imperative as the needs of body and brain. As the spiritual man is the +dominant force in life and the measure of the individual's usefulness, +the nation cannot be less concerned about the people's spiritual growth +and welfare than about their health and intellectual strength. + +It is both natural and proper that the day which is observed religiously +by the general public should be selected as the day of rest also, +respect being shown to those who conscientiously observe another day. +Differences of opinion may exist in different localities as to what +should be permitted on the Sabbath day, but experience has supported two +propositions: first, that every citizen should be guaranteed _time_ +for rest and for worship, and, second, that every citizen should be +guaranteed the _peace_ and _quiet_ necessary for both rest and worship. + +Here, as in nearly every other issue that concerns human welfare, the +controversy is not between those who differ in opinions as to what +is right and proper but between those, on the one side, who have a +pecuniary interest in the promotion of things which are objectionable, +and those, on the other, who seek to promote the common good. In +other words, it is the old conflict between money and morals: between +selfishness and the public weal. + +While Christ was all love and all compassion and all tenderness He never +hesitated to draw the line and draw it rigidly against folly as well as +against sin. The parable of the Ten Virgins is a case in point. Five +were wise and five were foolish, the evidence of the difference being +found in the fact that five were prudent enough to supply themselves +with oil sufficient for an emergency. The other five, lacking wisdom, +took only the oil that they could carry in their lamps. When the need +came the foolish turned to the wise and said, "Give us of your oil," but +the wise refused lest they should not have enough for themselves and +the others. Were they censured? No. The parable teaches one of the most +important lessons to be learned in life, namely, that the foolish cannot +be saved from punishment. It is punishment that converts folly into +wisdom and saves the world from a race of fools. + +The parable has wide-spread application. The foolish parent cannot be +saved from the sorrow inflicted by a spoiled child; the idle cannot be +saved from hunger and want; the lazy cannot be given the rewards of the +diligent. The success that attends effort and rewards character cannot +be awarded to the undeserving without paralyzing all the incentives to +virtue and industry. Christ came not to destroy the law--either that +revealed in the Word of God or that which was written on nature--He came +to fulfill. In the brief years that He taught His disciples and the +multitude He quoted the law and illustrated it. He did not come to +relieve men of responsibility--He came to light the way--"That they +might have life and that they might have it more abundantly." + +Christ's doctrines are not limited in time or to numbers. They apply to +everybody and last for all time. Paul, in Romans 12: 20, interprets the +Master's teachings and applies them. "Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, +feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap +coals of fire on his head." How different this way of dealing from the +way the carnal man acts, and yet who can question the wisdom of the +Saviour's plan? Hatred begets hatred; retaliation invites retaliation +and the feud grows. The mountains of Kentucky have furnished numerous +illustrations of the futility of revenge. Families were arrayed against +families and sons took up inherited hatreds and died violent deaths +bequeathing the spirit of revenge to their descendants. + +We see the same false philosophy at work among nations. One war lays the +foundation for another; generation after generation is sworn to avenge +the crimes of preceding generations; and much of it is done in the name +of patriotism and glorified as if it were service to the country. + +Paul gives us the remedy and it is based upon the injunction that Jesus +gave, namely, Love your enemies. Feeding an enemy is more effective than +threats of punishment. It is a manifestation of love, and love is the +weapon for which there is no shield. The philosophy that Paul applies +to the individual is just as effective when applied to larger groups. +Nations that have been at war cannot be reconciled by the methods of +war. They can be suppressed by force but unless won by friendship there +can be no reunion. + +Paul concludes this chapter with a command "Be not overcome of evil, but +overcome evil with good." There never was a time in the world's history +when this kind of doctrine was more imperatively needed for the healing +of the wounds of the unprecedented conflict through which the world has +passed. Christ has a remedy: Let the wrongs of the past be forgiven +and forgotten; let the world be invited to build on friendship and +cooperation. Let the rivalry be in the showing of magnanimity. Who dares +to say that the plan will fail? The alternative policy has failed and +failed miserably. Why not employ the only untried remedy for the ills +which afflict civilization? + +And the gifts of the Man of Galilee are permanent; they survive the +tomb. As one nears the end of life he becomes conscious of an inner +longing to attach himself to institutions that will outlive him. His +affections having gone out to his fellows, and his heart having entwined +itself with the causes that embrace all humankind, he does not like to +drop out and be forgotten. His sympathies expand and sympathy is the +real blood of the heart, forced by the pulsations of that major organ +through all the arteries of society. Have you thought how few of each +generation are remembered after death by any one outside of a small +circle of friends? We have an hundred millions of people living in the +largest republic in history--one of the greatest nations the world has +ever known--and yet how many names will survive for a century after +those who bore the names are buried? The vanity of man is rebuked by a +visit to any old, neglected cemetery. As Bryant puts it + + "The world will laugh when thou art gone + And solemn brood of care plod on + And each one as before will chase his favourite + phantom." + +It is partly to escape this dread oblivion that men and women, blessed +with means, endow hospitals and colleges and charitable institutions. +They yearn for an immortality on earth as well as in the world beyond, +and nothing but the spiritual has promise of the life everlasting. + +If we examine our expense accounts we will be ashamed to note how large +a proportion of our money we spend on the _body_. We buy it the food +that it most enjoys, and the raiment that most adorns it; we give it +habitations of comfort and beauty, and yet the body is responsible for +most of our easily besetting sins and its aches and pains fill life with +much of its misery. We spend the first twenty years of life in an effort +to develop the body, the second twenty years of life in an effort to +keep it in a state of health and twenty more trying to preserve it from +decline, and then the threescore years have passed. And, no matter how +successful we may be in lifting the body toward physical perfection, we +have no assurance that any physical perfection can be made use of in the +world above. I believe in the resurrection of but I have not spent much +time during the later years in worrying about what particular body I +shall have over there. According to the scientists the body changes +every seven years. If that be true, I have done little more than +exchange an old body for a new one during the more than sixty years that +I have lived. I had a baby body and a boy's body, then the body of a +young man, and so on until I am now well along with my ninth body. I do +not know which one of these will be best for me in the next world, but +I know that the God who made this world and gave me an existence in +it will give me, in the land beyond, the body that will best serve me +there. + +Neither have we any assurance that the perfections of the mind survive +the day of death. We spend a great deal of time on the mind, for this is +an age of intellectual enthusiasm. My experience has not been different +from the experience of others. My mother taught me at home until I was +ten; then my parents sent me to the public school until I was fifteen; +then I spent two years in an academy preparing for college; then four +years in college and then two years in a law school. After nearly twenty +years of schooling I took part in my last "Commencement," and then I +began to learn, and have been learning ever since. I have accumulated +something of history, something of science, a bit of poetry and +philosophy, and I have read speeches without number. I have accumulated +a large amount of information on politics and politicians that I know I +shall not need in Heaven, if Heaven is half as good a place as I +expect it to be. How much of the intellectual wealth that we have so +laboriously acquired can we carry with us? We do not know. + +But we know that that which is spiritual does not die--that the heart +virtues will accompany us when we enter the future life. In the parable +of the Tares, Christ explains that, just as the tares and the wheat grow +together until the harvest, so the righteous and the unrighteous live +together in this world, but that on the day of judgment they shall be +separated. Then shall the righteous "shine forth as the sun in the +kingdom of their Father." We have no promise that the body will shine +even as a star, or that the mind will shine even as one of the planets, +but the sun in its splendour is used to illustrate the brightness with +which those will shine who are counted righteous in that day. + +I esteem it a privilege to be permitted to present the claims of the +Larger Life to which Jesus, the Christ, calls all of the children of +men. Why will one choose a life that is small and contracted, when there +is within his reach the life that is full and complete--the Larger Life? +Why will he be content with the pleasures of the body and the joys of +the mind when he can have added to them the delights of the spirit? How +can he delay acceptance of Christ's offer to ennoble that which he has, +and to add to it the things that are highest and best and most enduring? +This is the life that Christ brought to light when He came that men +might have _life_ and have it more _abundantly_. + + + + +VI + +THE VALUE OF THE SOUL + + +The fact that Christ dealt with this subject is proof conclusive that +it is important, for He never dealt with trivial things. When Christ +focused attention upon a theme it was because it was worthy of +consideration--and Christ weighed the soul. He presented the subject, +too, with surpassing force; no one will ever add to what He said. Christ +used the question to give emphasis to the thought which He presented in +regard to the soul's value. + +On one side He put the world and all that the world can contain--all the +wealth that one can accumulate, all the fame to which one can aspire, +and all the happiness that one can covet; and on the other side He +put the soul, and asked the question that has come ringing down the +centuries: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and +lose his own soul?" + +There is no compromise here--no partial statement of the matter. He +leaves us to write one term of the equation ourselves. He gives us all +the time we desire, and allows the imagination to work to the limit, and +when we have gathered together into one sum all things but the soul, He +asks--What if you gain it all--ALL--ALL, and lose the soul? What is the +profit? + +Some have thought the soul question a question of the next world only, +but it is a question of this world also; some have thought the soul +question a Sabbath-day question only, but it is a week-day question as +well; some have thought the soul question a question for the ministers +alone, but it is a question which we all must meet. Every day and every +week, every month and every year, from the time we reach the period of +accountability until we die, we--each of us--all of us, weigh the soul; +and just in proportion as we put the soul above all things else we +build character; the moment we allow the soul to become a matter of +merchandise, we start on the downward way. + +Tolstoy says that if you would investigate the career of a criminal it +is not sufficient to begin with the commission of a crime; that you must +go back to that day in his life when he deliberately trampled upon his +conscience and did that which he knew to be wrong. And so with all of +us, the turning point in the life is the day when we surrender the soul +for something that for the time being seems more desirable. + +Most of the temptations that come to us to sell the soul come in +connection with the getting of money. The Bible says, "The love of money +is the root of all evil." Or, as the Revised Version gives it, "A root +of all kinds of evil." + +Because so many of our temptations come through the love of money and +the effort to obtain it, it is worth while to consider the laws of +accumulation. We must all have money; we need food and clothing and +shelter, and money is necessary for the purchase of these things. Money +is not an evil in itself--money is, in fact, a very useful servant. It +is bad only when it becomes the master, and the love of it is hurtful +only because it can, and often does, crowd out the love of nobler +things. + +But since we must all use money and must in our active days store up +money for the days when our strength fails, let us see if we can agree +upon God's law of rewards. (See lecture on "His Government and Peace.") + +How much money can a man rightfully collect from society? Surely, there +can be no disagreement here. He cannot rightfully collect more than he +honestly earns. If a man collects more than he earns, he collects what +somebody else has earned, and we call it stealing if a man takes that +which belongs to another. Not only is a man limited in his collection of +what he honestly earns, but will an honest man _desire_ to collect more +than he earns? + +If a man cannot rightfully collect more than he honestly earns, it is +then a matter of the utmost importance to know how much money a man can +honestly earn. I venture an answer to this, namely, that a man cannot +honestly earn more than fairly measures the value of the service which +he renders to society. I cannot conceive of any way of earning money +except to give to society a service equivalent in value to the money +collected. This is a fundamental proposition and it is important that it +should be clearly understood, for if one desires to collect largely from +society he must be prepared to render a large service to society; and +our schools and colleges, our churches and all other organizations +for the improvement of man have for one of their chief objects the +enlargement of the capacity for service. + +There is an apparent exception in the case of an inheritance, but it is +not a real exception, for if the man who leaves the money has honestly +earned it, he has already given society a service of equivalent value +and, therefore, has a right to distribute it. And money received by +inheritance is either payment for service already rendered, or payment +in advance for service to be rendered. No right-minded person will +accept money, even by inheritance, without recognizing the obligation +it imposes to render a service in return. This service is not always +rendered to the one from whom this money is received, but often to +society in general. In fact, most of the blessings which we receive come +to us in such a way that we cannot distinguish the donors and must make +our return to the whole public. If one is not compelled to work for +himself he has the larger pleasure of working for the public. + +But I need not dwell upon this, because in this country more than +anywhere else in the world we appreciate the dignity of labour and +understand that it is honourable to serve. And yet there is room for +improvement, for all over our land there are, scattered here and there, +young men and young women--and even parents--who still think that it is +more respectable for a young man to spend in idleness the money some one +else has earned than to be himself a producer of wealth. As long as this +sentiment is to be found anywhere there is educational work to be done, +for public opinion will never be what it ought to be until it puts the +badge of disgrace upon the idler, no matter how rich he may be, rather +than upon the man who with brain or muscle contributes to the Nation's +wealth, the Nation's strength and the Nation's progress. + +But, as I said, the inheritance is an apparent, not an actual, +exception, and we will return to the original proposition--that one's +earnings must be measured by the service rendered. This is so vital a +proposition that I beg leave to dwell upon it a moment longer, to ask +whether it is possible to fix in dollars and cents a maximum limit to +the amount one can earn in a lifetime. + +Let us begin with one hundred thousand dollars. If we estimate a working +life at thirty-three and one-third years--and I think this is a fair +estimate--a man must earn _three_ thousand dollars per year on an +average for thirty-three and one-third years to earn one hundred +thousand dollars in a lifetime. I take it for granted that no one will +deny that it is possible for one to earn this sum by rendering a service +equal to it in value, but what shall we say of a million dollars? Can a +man earn that much? To do so he must earn _thirty_ thousand dollars a +year for thirty-three and one-third years. Is it possible for one to +render so large a service? I believe it is. Well, what shall we say +of ten millions? To earn that much one must earn on an average _three +hundred_ thousand dollars a year for thirty-three and one-third years. +Is it possible for one to render a service so large as to earn so vast +a sum? At the risk of shocking some of my radical friends I am going to +affirm that it is possible. + +But can one earn an _hundred million_? Yes, I believe that it is even +possible to serve society to such an extent as to earn a hundred million +in the span of a human life, or an average of _three million_ a year for +thirty-three and one-third years. We have one man in this country who is +said to be worth five hundred million. To earn five hundred million one +must earn on an average _fifteen_ million a year for thirty-three and +one-third years. Is this within the range of human possibility? I +believe that it is. Now, I have gone as high as any one has yet gone +in collecting, but if there is any young man here with an ambition to +render a larger service to the world, I will raise it another notch, if +necessary, to encourage him. So almost limitless are the possibilities +of service in this age that I am not willing to fix a maximum to the sum +a man can honestly and legitimately earn. + +Not only do I believe that one _can_ earn five hundred million, but I +believe that men _have_ earned it. + +In this and other countries many in public life might be mentioned, +for even in politics men have great opportunities, which, if rightly +improved, enable them to render incalculable service to their fellowmen. + +But let us go outside of politics. What shall we say of the man who gave +to the world a knowledge of the use of steam and revolutionized the +transportation of the globe? How much did he earn? And the man who +brought down lightning from the clouds and imprisoned it in a slender +wire so that it lights our homes, draws our traffic across the land and +carries our messages under the sea; what did he earn? And what of the +man who showed us how to hurl our messages thousands of miles through +space without the aid of wire? And how much did the man earn who taught +us how to wrap the human voice around a little cylinder so that it can +be laid away and echo throughout the ages? + +Take a very recent invention, the gasolene engine. It has already given +us the automobile and the flying machine, and heaven only knows what yet +may come with that gasolene engine. My first ride in an automobile was +taken in the campaign of 1896; since then something like seventeen +million automobiles have been brought into use. + +Have you thought of the value of the ice machine? In Apalachicola, +Florida, they have erected a little monument to a former citizen, Dr. +John Gorry. A statue of him will be found in the capitol at Tallahassee, +and the state of Florida has put another in the Hall of Fame at +Washington. Out of his brain came the idea that made it possible for the +world to have ice to-day without regard to the temperature outside. What +did Gorry earn when he gave the world the ice machine? + +When I first visited the Patent Office at Washington I saw a model of +the first sewing machine. On it was a card on which was written: + + "Mine are sinews superhuman, + Ribs of brass and nerves of steel; + I'm the iron needle woman, + Born to toil but not to feel." + +What did the man earn who gave the world a sewing machine? + +These are only a few of the great inventions. Let us take up another +group. To show how wide is the field of measureless endeavour, I call +attention to the work of scientists. Who will measure the value of +anesthetics in the treatment of disease and injury? What of vaccination +and the labours of Pasteur? Who will estimate the value of the service +rendered by the man who gave us a remedy for typhoid? In 1898 hundreds +died of typhoid fever in the little army that was raised for the war +with Spain--twenty-seven of my regiment died of that disease. Now we +have a remedy so complete that of the nearly a million men who reached +the battle-line in France not one died of typhoid, and only one hundred +and twenty-five of the four millions called to the colours. + +Have you tried to estimate the service rendered by Reed, who, in finding +a remedy for yellow fever, made the tropics habitable and made it +possible for the United States to add the Panama Canal to our great +achievements? + +But the field is larger still. Raikes established a Sunday school and +now we have Sunday schools all over the world; Williams organized a +Young Men's Christian Association and now there are nine thousand +associations and more than a million and a half members march under the +banners of that organization, half of them in the United States. Forty +years ago a young preacher in Portland, Maine, gathered a few young +people about him and formed a Christian Endeavour Society; now it +numbers more than four million members. That young preacher, Dr. Francis +E. Clark, is now one of the great religious leaders of the world and is +Commander-in-Chief of this militant organization which is larger than +the army that did our part in the World War. What has he earned? + +Near Rochester, New York, there is a little town that has the proud +distinction of being the birthplace of Frances Willard. There was +nothing to distinguish her from other little girls when she was in +school, but when she reached womanhood she gave her heart to a great +cause; she became president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, +probably the greatest of the organizations among women ever formed. +Under her leadership that organization brought into the schools of the +land instruction as to the effect of alcohol upon the system and +that did more than any other one thing, I think, to bring National +Prohibition. The state of Illinois has placed the statue of this great +woman in the Hall of Fame in the National Capitol; she is the first +woman to be thus honoured. What has she earned? + +And so I might continue, for the name of the world's great benefactors +is legion. And besides those whose services were of incalculable value +a multitude have earned lesser sums ranging down to a modest fortune. +Every one can earn enough to supply all needs. Every time I speak to +the students of a college, high school, or primary grade I cannot help +thinking that within the room there may be a boy or girl who will catch +a vision of great achievement and, consecrating a life of service, do a +work so valuable that all the arithmetics will not compute its worth. + +But if I could furnish you a list containing the names of all who since +time began rendered a service worth five hundred millions, one thing +would be true of every one of them; namely, that never in a single case +did the person collect the full amount earned. Those who have earned +five hundred millions have been so busy earning it that they have not +had time to collect it, and those who have collected five hundred +millions have been so busy collecting it that they have not had time +to earn it. Then, too, it must be remembered that those who render the +greatest service serve more than their own generation--some serve all +who live afterward so that it is never possible to compute what they +have earned. + +And what is more, those who render the largest service do not care to +collect the full amount earned. What could they do with the sum that +they actually earn? Or, what is more important, what would so great a +sum _do with them_? + +In that wonderful parable of the Sower, Christ speaks of the seeds that +fell and of the thorns that sprang up and choked them, and He Himself +explained what He meant by this illustration, namely: That the care of +this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the truth. If the great +benefactors of the race had been burdened with the care of big fortunes, +they could not have devoted themselves to the nobler things that gave +them a place in the affection of their people and in history. + +It seems, therefore, that while one cannot rightfully collect more than +he honestly earns, he may earn more than it would be wise for him to +collect. And that brings us to the next question: How much should one +desire to collect from society? I answer, that no matter how large a +service one may render or how much he may earn, he should not desire to +collect more than he can wisely spend. + +And how much can one wisely spend? Not as much as you might think--not +nearly as much as some have tried to spend. No matter how honestly money +may be acquired, one is not free to spend it at will. We are hedged +about by certain restrictions that we can neither remove nor ignore. God +has written certain laws in our nature--laws that no legislature can +repeal--laws that no court can declare unconstitutional, and these laws +limit us in our expenditures. + +Let us consider some of the things for which we can properly spend +money. We need food--we all need food, and we need about the same +amount; not exactly, but the difference in quantity is not great. The +range in expenditure is greater than the range in quantity, because +expenditure covers kind and quality as well as quantity. But there is a +limit even to expenditure. If a man eats too much he suffers for it. If +he squanders his money on high-priced foods, he wears his stomach out. +There is an old saying which we have all heard, viz., "The poor man is +looking for food for his stomach, while the rich man is going from one +watering place to another looking for a stomach for his food." This +is only a witty way of expressing a sober truth, namely, that one is +limited in the amount of money he can wisely spend for food. + +We need clothing--we all need clothing, and we need about the same +amount. The difference in quantity is not great. The range in +expenditure for clothing is greater than the range in quantity, because +expenditure covers style and variety as well as quantity, but there is a +limit to the amount of money one can wisely spend for clothing. If a +man has so much clothing that it takes all of his time to change his +clothes, he has more than he needs and more than he can wisely buy. + +We need homes--we all need shelter and we need about the same amount. In +fact, God was very democratic in the distribution of our needs, for +He so created us that our needs are about the same. The range of +expenditure for homes is probably wider than in the case of either food +or clothing. We are interested in the home. I never pass a little house +where two young people are starting out in life without a feeling of +sympathetic interest in that home; I never pass a house where a room is +being added without feeling interested, for I know the occupants have +planned it, and looked forward to it and waited for it; I like to see a +little house moved back and a larger house built, for I know it is the +fulfillment of a dream. I have had some of these dreams myself, and I +know how they lead us on and inspire us to larger effort and greater +endeavour, and yet there is a limit to the amount one can wisely spend +even for so good a thing as a home. + +If a man gets too big a house it becomes a burden to him, and many have +had this experience. Not infrequently a young couple start out poor and +struggle along in a little house, looking forward to the time when they +can build a big house. After a while the time arrives and they build a +big house, larger, possibly, than they intended to, and it nearly always +costs more than they thought it would, and then they struggle along the +rest of their lives looking back to the time when they lived in a little +house. + +We speak of people being _independently rich_. That is a mistake; they +are _dependency rich_. The richer a man is the more dependent he is--the +more people he depends upon to help him collect his income, and the more +people he depends upon to help him spend his income. Sometimes a couple +will start out doing their own work--the wife doing the work inside the +house and the man outside. But they prosper, and after a while they are +able to afford help; they get a girl to help the wife inside and a man +to help the husband outside; then they prosper more--and they get two +girls to help inside and two men to help outside, then three girls +inside and three men outside. Finally they have so many girls helping +inside and so many men helping outside that they cannot leave the +house--they have to stay at home and look after the establishment. + +This is not a new condition. One of the Latin poets complained of "the +cares that hover about the fretted ceilings of the rich!" It was this +condition that inspired Charles Wagner to write his little book entitled +"The Simple Life," in which he entered an eloquent protest against the +materialism which makes man the slave of his possessions; he presented +an earnest plea for the raising of the spiritual above the purely +physical. I repeat, that there is a limit to the amount a man can wisely +spend upon a home. + +I need not remind you that the rich are tempted to spend money on the +vices that destroy--money honestly earned may thus become a curse rather +than a blessing. + +But a man can give his money away. Yes, and no one who has ever tried it +will deny that more pleasure is to be derived from the giving of money +to a cause in which one's heart is interested, than can be obtained from +the expenditure of the same amount in selfish indulgence. But if one +is going to give largely he must spend a great deal of time in +investigating and in comparing the merits of the different enterprises. +I am persuaded that there is a better life than the life led by those +who spend nearly all the time accumulating beyond their needs and then +employ the last few days in giving it away. What the world needs is not +a few men of great wealth, doling out their money in anticipation of +death--what the world needs is that these men link _themselves_ in +sympathetic interest with struggling humanity and help to solve problems +of to-day, instead of creating problems for the next generation to +solve. + +But you say, a man can leave his money to his children? He can, if he +dares. A large fortune, in anticipation, has ruined more sons than it +has ever helped. If a young man has so much money coming to him that he +knows he will never have to work, the chances are that it will sap his +energy, even if it does not undermine his character, and leave him a +curse rather than a blessing to those who brought him into the world. + +And it is scarcely safer to leave the money to a daughter. For, if a +young woman has a prospective inheritance so large that, when a young +man calls upon her, she cannot tell whether he is calling upon her +or her father, it is embarrassing--especially so if she finds after +marriage that he married the wrong member of the family. And, I may add, +that the daughters of the very rich are usually hedged about by a social +environment which prevents their making the acquaintance of the best +young men. The men who, twenty-five years from now, will be the leaders +in business, in society, in government, and in the Church, are not the +pampered sons of the rich, but the young men who, with good health and +good habits, with high ideals and strong ambition, are, under the spur +of necessity, laying the foundation for future achievements, and these +young men do not have a chance to become acquainted with the daughters +of the very rich. Even if they did know them they might hesitate to +enter upon the scale of expenditure to which these daughters are +accustomed. + +I have dealt at length with these fixed limitations, although we all +know of them or ought to. The ministers tell us about these things +Sunday after Sunday, or should, and yet we find men chasing the almighty +dollar until they fall exhausted into the grave. Dr. Talmage dealt with +this subject; he said that a man who wore himself out getting money that +he did not need, would finally drop dead, and that his pastor would +tell a group of sorrowing friends that, by a mysterious dispensation of +Providence, the good man had been cut off in his prime. Dr. Talmage said +that Providence had nothing to do with it, and that the minister ought +to tell the truth about it, and say that the man had been kicked to +death by the golden calf. + +Some years ago I read a story by Tolstoy, and I did not notice until +I had completed it that the title of the story was, "What shall it +profit?" The great Russian graphically presented the very thought that +I have been trying to impress upon your minds. He told of a Russian who +had land hunger--who added farm to farm and land to land, but could +never get enough. After a while he heard of a place where land was +cheaper and he sold his land and went and bought more land. But he had +no more than settled there until he heard of another place among a +half-civilized people where land was cheaper still. He took a servant +and went into this distant country and hunted up the head man of the +tribe, who offered him all the land he could walk around in a day for a +thousand rubles--told him he could put the money down on any spot and +walk in any direction as far and as fast as he would, and that, if he +was back by sunset, he could have all the land he had encompassed during +the day. He put the money down upon the ground and started at sunrise to +get, at last, enough land. He started leisurely, but as he looked upon +the land it looked so good that he hurried a little--and then he hurried +more, and then he went faster still. Before he turned he had gone +further in that direction than he had intended, but he spurred himself +on and started on the second side. Before he turned again the sun had +crossed the meridian and he had two sides yet to cover. As the sun was +slowly sinking in the west he constantly accelerated his pace, alarmed +at last for fear he had undertaken too much and might lose it all. He +reached the starting point, however, just as the sun went down, but he +had overtaxed his strength and fell dead upon the spot. His servant dug +a grave for him; he only needed six-feet of ground then, the same that +others needed--the rest of the land was of no use to him. Thus Tolstoy +told the story of many a life--not the life of the very rich only, but +the story of every life in which the love of money is the controlling +force and in which the desire for gain shrivels the soul and leaves the +life a failure at last. + +I desire to show you how practical this subject is. If time permitted I +could take up every occupation, every avocation, every profession and +every calling, and show you that no matter which way we turn--no matter +what we do--we are always and everywhere weighing the Soul. + +In the brief time that it is proper for me to occupy, I shall apply the +thought to those departments of human activity in which the sale of a +soul affects others largely as well as the individual who makes the +bargain. + +Take the occupation in which I am engaged, journalism. It presents a +great field--a growing field; in fact, there are few fields so large. +The journalist is both a news gatherer and a moulder of thought. He +informs his readers as to what is going on, and he points out the +relation between cause and effect--interprets current history. Public +opinion is the controlling force in a republic, and the newspaper gives +to the journalist, beyond every one else, the opportunity to affect +public opinion. Others reach the readers through the courtesy of the +newspaper, but the owner of the paper has full access to his own +columns, and does not fear the blue pencil. + +The journalist occupies the position of a watchman upon a tower. He is +often able to see dangers which are not observed by the general public, +and, because he can see these dangers, he is in a position of greater +responsibility. Is he discharging the duty which superior opportunity +imposes upon him? Year by year the disclosures are bringing to light the +fact that the predatory interests are using many newspapers and even +some magazines for the defense of commercial iniquity and for the +purpose of attacking those who lift their voices against favouritism and +privilege. A financial magnate interested in the exploitation of the +public secures control of a paper; he employs business managers, +editors, and a reportorial staff. He does not act openly or in the +daylight but through a group of employees who are the visible but not +the real directors. The reporters are instructed to bring in the kind of +news that will advance the enterprises owned by the man who stands back +of the paper, and if the news brought in is not entirely satisfactory, +it is doctored in the office. The columns of the paper are filled with +matter, written not for the purpose of presenting facts as they exist, +but for the purpose of distorting facts and misleading the public. The +editorial writers, whose names are generally unknown to the public, are +told what to say and what subjects to avoid. They are instructed +to extol the merits of those who are subservient to the interests +represented by the paper, and to misrepresent and traduce those who dare +to criticize or oppose the plans of those who hide behind the paper. +Such journalists are members of a kind of "Black Hand Society"; they are +assassins, hiding in ambush and striking in the dark; and the worst of +it is that the readers have no sure way of knowing when a real change +takes place in the ownership of such a paper notwithstanding the fact +that a recent law requires publication of ownership. + +There are degrees of culpability and some are disposed to hold an +editorial writer guiltless even when they visit condemnation upon the +secret director of the paper's policy. I present to you a different--and +I believe higher--ideal of journalism. If we are going to make any +progress in morals we must abandon the idea that morals are defined by +the statutes; we must recognize that there is a wide margin between that +which the law prohibits and that which an enlightened conscience can +approve. We do not legislate against the man who uses the printed page +for the purpose of deception but, viewed from the standpoint of morals, +the man who, whether voluntarily or under instructions, writes what he +knows to be untrue or purposely misleads his readers as to the +character of a proposition upon which they have to act, is as guilty of +wrong-doing as the man who assists in any other swindling transaction. + +Another method employed to mislead the public is the publication of +editorial matter supplied by those who have an interest to serve. This +evil is even more common than secrecy as to the ownership of the paper. +In the case of the weekly papers and the smaller dailies, the proprietor +is generally known, and it is understood that the editorial pages +represent his views. His standing and character give weight to that +which appears with his endorsement. A few years ago, when a railroad +rate bill was before Congress, a number of railroads joined in an effort +to create public sentiment against the bill. Bureaus were established +for the dissemination of literature, and a number of newspapers entered +into contract to publish as editorial matter the material furnished by +these bureaus. This cannot be defended in ethics. The secret purchase of +the editorial columns is a crime against the public and a disgrace to +journalism, and yet we have frequent occasion to note this degradation +of the newspaper. A few years ago Senator Carter, of Montana, speaking +in the United States Senate, read several printed slips which were sent +out by a bankers' association to local bankers with the request that +they be inserted in the local papers as editorials, suggestion being +made that the instructions to the local bankers be removed before they +were handed to the papers. The purpose of the bankers' association was +to stimulate opposition to the postal savings bank, a policy endorsed +affirmatively by the Republican party and, conditionally, by the +Democratic party, the two platforms being supported at the polls by more +than ninety per cent, of the voters. The bankers' associations were +opposing the policy, and, in sending out its literature, they were +endeavouring to conceal the source of that literature and to make it +appear that the printed matter represented the opinion of some one in +the community. + +The journalist who would fully perform his duty must be not only +incorruptible, but ever alert, for those who are trying to misuse the +newspapers are able to deceive "the very elect." Whenever any movement +is on foot for the securing of legislation desired by the predatory +interests, or when restraining legislation is threatened, news bureaus +are established at Washington, and these news bureaus furnish to such +papers as will use them free reports, daily or weekly as the case may +be, from the national capitol--reports which purport to give general +news, but which in fact contain arguments in support of the schemes +which the bureaus are organized to advance. This ingenious method +of misleading the public is only a part of the general plan which +favour-holding and favour-seeking corporations pursue. + +Demosthenes declared that the man who refuses a bribe conquers the man +who offers it. According to this, the journalist who resists the +many temptations which come to him to surrender his ideals has the +consciousness of winning a moral victory as well as the satisfaction of +knowing that he is rendering a real service to his fellows. + +The profession for which I was trained--the law--presents another line +of temptations. The court-room is a soul's market where many barter away +their ideals in the hope of winning wealth or fame. Lawyers sometimes +boast of the number of men whose acquittal they have secured when they +knew them to be guilty, and of advantages won which they knew their +clients did not deserve. I do not understand how a lawyer can so boast, +for he is an officer of the court and, as such, is sworn to assist in +the administration of justice. When a lawyer has helped his client to +obtain all that his client is entitled to, he has done his full duty as +a lawyer, and, if he goes beyond this, he goes at his own peril. Show +me a lawyer who has spent a lifetime trying to obscure the line between +right and wrong--trying to prove that to be just which he knew to be +unjust, and I will show you a man who has grown weaker in character year +by year, and whose advice, at last, will be of no value to his clients, +for he will have lost the power to discern between right and wrong. Show +me, on the other hand, a lawyer who has spent a lifetime in the search +for truth, determined to follow where it leads, and I will show you a +man who has grown stronger in character day by day and whose advice +constantly becomes more valuably to his client, because the power to +discern the truth increases with the honest search for it. + +Not only in the court-room, but in the consultation chamber also the +lawyer sometimes yields to the temptation to turn his talents to a +sordid use. The schemes of spoliation that defy the officers of the law +are, for the most part, inaugurated and directed by legal minds. I was +speaking on this very subject in one of the great cities of the country +and at the close of the address, a prominent judge commended my +criticism and declared that most of the lawyers practicing in his court +were constantly selling their souls. + +The lawyer's position is scarcely less responsible than the position of +the journalist; if the journalists and lawyers of the country could be +brought to abstain from the practices by which the general public +is overreached, it would be an easy matter to secure the remedial +legislation necessary to protect the producing masses from the constant +spoliation to which they are now subjected by the privileged classes. + +If a man who is planning a train-robbery takes another along to hold a +horse at a convenient distance, we say that the man who holds the horse +is equally guilty with the man who robs the train; and the time will +come when public opinion will hold as equally guilty with the plunderers +of society the lawyers and journalists who assist the plunderers to +escape. + +I would not be forgiven if I failed to apply my theme to the work of the +instructor. The purpose of education is not merely to develop the mind; +it is to prepare men and women for society's work and for citizenship. +The ideals of the teacher, therefore, are of the first importance. The +pupil is apt to be as much influenced by what his teacher _is_ as by +what the teacher _says_ or _does_. The measure of a school cannot be +gathered from an inspection of the examination papers; the conception of +life which the graduate carries away must be counted in estimating the +benefits conferred. The pecuniary rewards of the teacher are usually +small when compared with the rewards of business. This may be due in +part to our failure to properly appreciate the work which the teacher +does, but it may be partially accounted for by the fact that the teacher +derives from his work a satisfaction greater than that obtained from +most other employments. + +The teacher comes into contact with the life of the student and, as +our greatest joy is derived from the consciousness of having benefited +others, the teacher rightly counts as a part of his compensation the +continuing pleasure to be found in the knowledge that he is projecting +his influence through future generations. The heart plays as large +a part as the head in the teacher's work, because the heart is an +important factor in every life and in the shaping of the destiny of the +race. I fear the plutocracy of wealth; I respect the aristocracy of +learning; but I thank God for the democracy of the heart. It is upon the +heart level that we meet; it is by the characteristics of the heart +that we best know and best remember each other. Astronomers tell us the +distance of each star from the earth, but no mathematician can calculate +the influence which a noble teacher may exert upon posterity. And yet, +even the teacher may fall from his high estate, and, forgetting his +immeasurable responsibility, yield to the temptation to estimate his +work by its pecuniary reward. Just now some of the teachers are--let +us hope, unconsciously--undermining the religious faith of students by +substituting the guesses of Darwin for the Word of God. + +Let me turn for a moment from the profession and the occupation to the +calling. I am sure I shall not be accused of departing from the truth +when I say that even those who minister to our spiritual wants and, as +our religious leaders, help to fix our standards of morality, sometimes +prove unfaithful to their trust. They are human, and the frailities of +man obscure the light which shines from within, even when that light is +a reflection from the throne of God. + +We need more Elijahs in the pulpit to-day--more men who will dare to +upbraid an Ahab and defy a Jezebel. It is possible, aye, probable, that +even now, as of old, persecutions would follow such boldness of speech, +but he who consecrates himself to religion must smite evil wherever he +finds it, although in smiting it he may risk his salary and his social +position. It is easy enough to denounce the petty thief and the +back-alley gambler; it is easy enough to condemn the friendless rogue +and the penniless wrong-doer, but what about the rich tax-dodger, the +big lawbreaker, and the corrupter of government? The soul that is warmed +by divine fire will be satisfied with nothing less than the complete +performance of duty; it must cry aloud and spare not, to the end that +the creed of the Christ may be exemplified in the life of the nation. + +We need Elijahs now to face the higher critics. Instead of allowing the +materialists to cut the supernatural out of the Bible the ministers +should demand that the unsupported guesses be cut out of school-books +dealing with science. + +Not only does the soul question present itself to individuals, but it +presents itself to groups of individuals as well. + +Let us consider the party. A political party cannot be better than its +ideal; in fact, it is good in proportion as its ideal is worthy, and its +place in history is determined by its adherence to a high purpose. The +party is made for its members, not the members for the party; and a +party is useful, therefore, only as it is a means through which one may +protect his rights, guard his interests and promote the public welfare. +The best service that a man can render his party is to raise its ideals. +He basely betrays his party's hopes and is recreant to his duty to his +party associates who seeks to barter away a noble party purpose for +temporary advantages or for the spoils of office. It would be a +reflection upon the intelligence and patriotism of the people to assert, +or even to assume, that lasting benefit could be secured for a party +by the lowering of its standards. He serves his party most loyally who +serves his country most faithfully; it is a fatal error to suppose that +a party can be permanently benefited by a betrayal of the people's +interests. + +In every act of party life and party strife we weigh the soul. That +the people have a right to have what they want in government is a +fundamental principle in free government. Corruption in government comes +from the attempt to substitute the will of a minority for the will of +the majority. Every important measure that comes up for consideration +involves justice and injustice--right and wrong--and is, therefore, a +question of conscience. As justice is the basis of a nation's strength +and gives it hope of perpetuity, and, as the seeds of decay are sown +whenever injustice enters into government, patriotism as well as +conscience leads us to analyze every public question, ascertain the +moral principle involved and then cast our influence, whether it be +great or small, on the side of justice. + +The patriot must desire the triumph of that which _is_ right above the +triumph of that which he may _think_ to be right if he is, in fact, +mistaken; and so the partizan, if he be an intelligent partizan, must be +prepared to rejoice in his party's defeat if by that defeat his country +is the gainer. One can afford to be in a minority, but he cannot afford +to be wrong; if he is in a minority and right, he will some day be in +the majority. + +The activities of politics center about the election of candidates to +office, and the official, under our system, represents both the party +to which he belongs and the whole body of his constituency. He has two +temptations to withstand; first, the temptation to substitute his +own judgment for the judgment of his constituents, and second, the +temptation to put his pecuniary interests above the interests of those +for whom he acts. According to the aristocratic idea, the representative +thinks _for_ his constituents; according to the Democratic idea, the +representative thinks _with_ his constituents. A representative has no +right to defeat the wishes of those who elect him, if he knows their +wishes. + +But a representative is not liable to knowingly misrepresent his +constituents unless he has pecuniary interests adverse to theirs. This +is the temptation to be resisted--this is the sin to be avoided. The +official who uses his position to secure a pecuniary advantage over the +public is an embezzler of power--and an embezzler of power is as guilty +of moral turpitude as the embezzler of money. There is no better motto +for the public official than that given by Solomon: "A good name is +rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than +silver and gold." There is no better rule for the public official to +follow than this--to do nothing that he would not be willing to have +printed in the newspaper next day. + +One who exercises authority conferred upon him by the suffrages of his +fellows ought to be fortified in his integrity by the consciousness of +the fact that a betrayal of his trust is hurtful to the party which +honours him and unjust to the people whom he serves, as well as +injurious to himself. Nothing that he can gain, not even the whole +world, can compensate him for the loss that he suffers in the surrender +of a high ideal of public duty. + +In conclusion, let me say that the nation, as well as the individual, +and the party, must be measured by its purpose, its ideals and its +service. "Let him who would be chiefest among you, be the servant of +all," was intended for nations as well as for citizens. Our nation is +the greatest in the world and the greatest of all time, because it is +rendering a larger service than any other nation is rendering or has +rendered. It is giving the world ideals in education, in social life, +in government, and in religion. It is the teacher of nations; it is the +world's torch-bearer. Here the people are more free than elsewhere to +"try all things and hold fast that which is good"; "to know the truth" +and to find freedom in that knowledge. No material considerations +should blind us to our nation's mission, or turn us aside from the +accomplishment of the great work which has been reserved for us. Our +fields bring forth abundantly and the products of our farms furnish food +for many in the Old World. Our mills and looms supply an increasing +export, but these are not our greatest asset. Our most fertile soil +is to be found in the minds and the hearts of our people; our most +important manufacturing plants are not our factories, with their smoking +chimneys, but our schools, our colleges and our churches, which take in +a priceless raw material and turn out the most valuable finished product +that the world has known. + +We enjoy by inheritance, or by choice, the blessings of American +citizenship; let us not be unmindful of the obligations which these +blessings impose. Let us not become so occupied in the struggle for +wealth or in the contest for honours as to repudiate the debt that we +owe to those who have gone before us and to those who bear with us the +responsibilities that rest upon the present generation. Society has +claims upon us; our country makes demands upon our time, our thought and +our purpose. We cannot shirk these duties without disgrace to ourselves +and injury to those who come after us. If one is tempted to complain of +the burdens borne by American citizens, let him compare them with the +much larger burdens imposed by despots upon their subjects. + +I challenge the doctrine, now being taught, that we must enter into +a mad rivalry with the Old World in the building of battleships--the +doctrine that the only way to preserve peace is to get ready for wars +that ought never to come! It is a barbarous, brutal, un-Christian +doctrine--the doctrine of the darkness, not the doctrine of the dawn. + +Nation after nation, when at the zenith of its power, has proclaimed +itself invincible because its army could shake the earth with its tread +and its ships could fill the seas, but these nations are dead, and we +must build upon a different foundation if we would avoid their fate. + +Carlyle, in the closing chapters of his "French Revolution," says that +thought is stronger than artillery parks and at last moulds the world +like soft clay, and then he adds that back of thought is love. Carlyle +is right. Love is the greatest power in the world. The nations that are +dead boasted that people bowed before their flag; let us not be content +until our flag represents sentiments so high and holy that the oppressed +of every land will turn their faces toward that flag and thank God that +it stands for self-government and for the rights of man. + +The enlightened conscience of our nation should proclaim as the +country's creed that "righteousness exalteth a nation" and that justice +is a nation's surest defense. If there ever was a nation it is ours--if +there ever was a time it is now--to put God's truth to a test. With an +ocean rolling on either side and a mountain range along either coast +that all the armies of the world could never climb we ought not to be +afraid to trust in "the wisdom of doing right." + +Our government, conceived in liberty and purchased with blood, can be +preserved only by constant vigilance. May we guard it as our children's +richest legacy, for what shall it profit our nation if it shall gain the +whole world and lose "the spirit that prizes liberty as the heritage of +all men in all lands everywhere"? + + + + +VII + +THREE PRICELESS GIFTS + + +The Bible differs from all other books in that it never wears out. Other +books are read and laid aside, but the Bible is a constant companion. No +matter how often we read it or how familiar we become with it, some new +truth is likely to spring out at us from its pages whenever we open +it, or some old truth will impress us as it never did before. Every +Christian can give illustrations of this. Permit me to refer briefly +to four. My first religious address, "The Prince of Peace," was the +outgrowth of a chance rereading of a passage in Isaiah. This I have +referred to in my lecture entitled "His Government and Peace." + +The argument presented in my lecture on the Bible, in which I defend +the inspiration of the Book of Books, was the outgrowth of a chance +rereading of Elijah's prayer test. I was preparing an address for the +celebration of the Tercentenary of the King James' Translation when, on +the train, I turned by chance to Elijah's challenge to the prophets of +Baal. It suggested to me what I regard as an unanswerable argument, +namely, a challenge to those who reject the Bible to put their theory to +the test and produce a book, the equal of the Bible, or admit one of two +alternatives, either that the Bible comes from a source higher than man +or that man has so degenerated that less can be expected of him now than +nineteen hundred years ago. + +In preparing a Sunday-school lesson on Abraham's faith I was so +impressed with the influence of faith on the life of the patriarch and, +through him, on the world, that I prepared a college address on "Faith," +a part of which I have reproduced in my lecture on "The Spoken Word." + +It was a chance rereading of an extract from the account of the Ten +Lepers which led me to prepare the lecture reproduced in this chapter. +The subject to which I invite your attention is as important to-day as +it was when the Master laid emphasis upon it. As He approached a certain +village ten lepers met Him; they recognized Him and cried out, "Jesus, +Master, have mercy upon us." He healed them; when they found that they +had been made whole, one of them turned back and, falling on his face at +Jesus' feet, poured forth his heart in grateful thanks. Christ, noticing +the absence of the others, inquired, "Were there not ten cleansed, but +where are the nine?" This simple question has come echoing down through +nineteen centuries, the most stinging rebuke ever uttered against the +sin of ingratitude. If the lepers had been afflicted with a disease +easily cured, they might have said, "Any one could have healed us," +but only Christ could restore them to health, and yet, when they had +received of His cleansing power, they apparently felt no sense of +obligation; at least, they expressed no gratitude. + +Some one has described ingratitude as a meaner sin than revenge--the +explanation being that revenge is repayment of evil with evil, while +ingratitude is repayment of good with evil. If you visit revenge upon +one, it is because he has injured you first and the law takes notice of +provocation. Ingratitude is lack of appreciation of a favour shown; it +is indifference to a kindness done. + +Ingratitude is so common a sin that few have occupied the pulpit for a +year without using the story of the Ten Lepers as the basis of a sermon; +and one could speak upon this theme every Sunday in the year without +being compelled to repeat himself, so infinite in number are the +illustrations. Those who speak of ingratitude usually begin with +the child. A child is born into the world the most helpless of all +creatures; for years it could not live but for the affectionate and +devoted care of parents, or of those who stand in the place of parents. +If, when it grows up, it becomes indifferent; if its heart grows cold, +and it becomes ungrateful, it arouses universal indignation. Poets and +writers of prose have exhausted all the epithets in their effort to +describe an ungrateful child. Shakespeare's words are probably those +most quoted: + + "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is + To have a thankless child." + +But it is not my purpose to speak of thankless children; I shall rather +make application of the rebuke to the line of work in which I have been +engaged. For some thirty years my time, by fate or fortune, has +been devoted largely to the study and discussion of the problems of +government, and I have had occasion to note the apathy and indifference +of citizens. I have seen reforms delayed and the suffering of the people +prolonged by lack of vigilance. Let us, therefore, consider together for +a little while some of the priceless gifts that come to us because we +live under the Stars and Stripes--gifts so valuable that they cannot be +estimated in figures or described in language--gifts which are received +and enjoyed by many without any sense of obligation, and without any +resolve to repay the debt due to society. + +These gifts are many, but we shall have time for only three. The first +is education; it is a gift rather than an acquirement. It comes into our +lives when we are too young to decide such questions for ourselves. I +sometimes meet a man who calls himself "self-made," and I always want to +cross-examine him. I would ask him when he began to make himself, and +how he laid the foundations of his greatness. As a matter of fact, we +inherit more than we ourselves can add. It means more to be born of a +race with centuries of civilization back of it than anything that we +ourselves can contribute. And, next to that which we inherit, comes that +which enters our lives through the environment of youth. In this country +the child is so surrounded by opportunities, that it enters school as +early as the law will permit. It does not _go_ to school, it is _sent_ +to school, and we are so anxious that it shall lose no time that, if +there is ever a period in the child's life when the mother is uncertain +as to its exact age, this is the time. I heard of a little boy, who, +when asked how old he was, replied, "I am five on the train, seven in +school and six at home." The child is pushed through grade after grade, +and, according to the statistics, a little more than ninety per cent, +of the children drop out of school before they are old enough to decide +educational questions for themselves. They are scarcely more than +fourteen. + +Taking the country over, a little less than one in ten of the children +who enter our graded school ever enter high school, and not quite one +in fifty enter college or university. As many who enter college do not +complete the course, I am not far from the truth when I say that only +about one young man in one hundred continues his education until he +reaches the age--twenty-one--when the law assumes that his reason is +mature. I am emphasizing these statistics in order to show that we are +indebted to others more than to ourselves for our education. That which +we do would not be done but for what others have already done. Even +those who secure an education in spite of difficulties have received +from some one the idea that makes them appreciate the value of an +education. + +When we are born we find an educational system here; we do not devise +it, it was established by a generation long since dead. When we are +ready to attend school we find a schoolhouse already built; we do not +build it, it was erected by the taxpayers, many of whom are dead. When +we are ready for instruction we find teachers prepared by others, many +of whom have passed to their reward. + +How do we feel when we complete our education? Do we count the cost to +others and think of the sacrifices they have made for our benefit? Do we +estimate the strength that education has brought to us and feel that we +should put that strength under heavier loads? We are raised by our study +to an intellectual eminence from which we can secure a clearer view of +the future; do we feel that we should be like watchmen upon the tower +and warn those less fortunate of the dangers that they do not yet +discern? We _should_, but do we? I venture to assert that more than nine +out of ten of those who receive into their lives, and profit by, the +gift of education are as ungrateful as the nine lepers of whom the Bible +tells us--they receive, they enjoy, but they give no thanks. + +But it is even worse than this; the Bible does not say that any one of +the nine lepers used for the injury of his fellows the strength that +Christ gave back to him. All that is said is that they were ungrateful; +but how about those who go out from our colleges and universities? Are +not many of these worse than ungrateful? I would not venture to use my +own language here; I will quote what others have said. + +Wendell Phillips was one of the learned men of Massachusetts and a great +orator. In his address on the "Scholar in a Republic," he said that +"The people make history while the scholars only write it." And then he +added, "part truly and part as coloured by their prejudices." + +Woodrow Wilson, while president of Princeton University, said: + + "The great voice of America does not come from seats of learning. + It comes in a murmur from the hills and woods, and the farms and + factories and the mills, rolling on and gaining volume until it + comes to us from the homes of common men. Do these murmurs echo in + the corridors of our universities? I have not heard them." + +President Roosevelt, while in the White House, presented an even +stronger indictment against some of the scholars. In a speech delivered +to law students at Harvard he declared that there was scarcely a great +conspiracy against the public welfare that did not have Harvard brains +behind it. He need not have gone to Harvard to utter this terrific +indictment against college graduates; he might have gone to Yale, or +Columbia, or Princeton, or to any other great university, or even to +smaller colleges. It would not take long to correct the abuses of which +the people complain but for the fact that back of every abuse are the +hired brains of scholars who turn against society and use for society's +harm the very strength that society has bestowed upon them. + +Let me give you an illustration in point, and so recent that one will be +sufficient: A few months ago the Supreme Court at Washington handed +down a decision overturning every argument made against the Eighteenth +Amendment and the enforcement law. Who represented the liquor traffic in +that august tribunal? Not brewery workers, employees in distilleries, or +bartenders; these could not speak for the liquor traffic in the Supreme +Court. No! Lawyers must be employed, and they were easily found--big +lawyers, scholars, who attempted to overthrow the bulwark that society +has erected for the protection of the homes of the country. + +Every reform has to be fought through the legislatures and the courts +until it is finally settled by the highest court in our land, and there, +vanquished wrong expires in the arms of learned lawyers who sell their +souls to do evil--who attempt to rend society with the very power that +our institutions of learning have conferred upon them. All of our +reforms would be led by scholars, if all scholars appreciated as they +should the gift of education. There are, of course, a multitude of noble +illustrations of scholars consecrating their learning to the service of +the people, but many scholars are indifferent to the injustice done to +the masses and some actually obstruct needed reforms--and they do it for +pay. + +My second illustration is even more important, for it deals with the +heart. I am interested in education; if I had my way every child in +all the world would be educated. God forbid that I should draw a line +through society and say that the children on one side shall be educated +and the children on the other side condemned to the night of ignorance. +I shall assume no such responsibility. I am anxious that my children +and grandchildren shall be educated, and I do not desire for a child or +grandchild of mine anything that I would not like to see every +other child enjoy. Children come into the world without their own +volition--they are here as a part of the Almighty's plan--and there is +not a child born on God's footstool that has not as much right to all +that life can give as your child or my child. Education increases +one's capacity for service and thus enlarges the reward that one can +rightfully draw from society; therefore, every one is entitled to the +advantages of education. + +There is no reason why every human being should not have _both_ a _good +heart_ and a _trained mind_; but, if I were compelled to choose between +the two, I would rather that one should have a good heart than a trained +mind. A good heart can make a dull brain useful to society, but a bad +heart cannot make a good use of any brain, however trained or brilliant. + +When we deal with the heart we must deal with religion, for religion +controls the heart; and, when we consider religion we find that the +religious environment that surrounds our young people is as favourable +as their intellectual environment. As in the case of education, lack +of appreciation may be due in part to lack of opportunity to make +comparison. If we visit Asia, where the philosophy of Confucius +controls, or where they worship Buddha, or follow Mahomet, or observe +the forms of the Hindu religion, we find that except where they have +borrowed from Christian nations, they have made no progress in fifteen +hundred years. Here, all have the advantage of Christian ideals, and +yet, according to statistics, something more than half the adult males +of the United States are not connected with any religious organization. +Some scoff at religion, and a few are outspoken enemies of the Church. +Can they be blind to the benefits conferred by our churches? Security of +life and property is not entirely due to criminal laws, to a sheriff in +each county, and to an occasional policeman. The conscience comes first; +the law comes afterward. + +Law is but the crystallization of conscience; moral sentiment must be +created before it can express itself in the form of a statute. Every +preacher and priest, therefore, whether his congregation be large or +small, who quickens the conscience of those who hear him helps the +community. Every church of every denomination, whether important or +unimportant, that helps to raise the moral standards of the land +benefits all who live under the flag, whether they acknowledge their +obligations or not. + +But lack of appreciation on the part of those outside the Church would +not disturb us so much if all the church members lived up to their +obligations. How much is it worth to one to be born again? Of what value +is it to have had the heart touched by the Saviour and so changed that +it loves the things it used to hate and hates the things it formerly +loved? Of what value is it to have one's life so transformed that, +instead of resembling a stagnant pool, it becomes like a living spring, +giving forth constantly that which refreshes and invigorates? What is it +worth to the Christian, and what is it worth to those about him, to +have his life brought by Christ into such vital living contact with the +Heavenly Father, that that life becomes the means through which the +goodness of God pours out to the world? + +But, I go a step farther and ask whether the Church as an +organization--not any one denomination, but the Church +universal--appreciates its great opportunities, its tremendous +responsibility, and the infinite power behind it. If the Church is what +we believe it to be it must be prepared to grapple with every problem, +individual and social, whether it affects only a community or involves +a state, a nation, or a world. There must be _some_ intelligence large +enough to direct the world or the world will run amuck. We believe that +God is the only intelligence capable of governing the world, and God +must act through the Church or outside of it. If the Church is not big +enough to act as the mouthpiece of the Almighty--not in the sense that +the Church ought to exercise governmental authority, but its members, +seeking light from the Heavenly Father through prayer, should be able to +act wisely as citizens--if, I repeat, the Church is not big enough to +deal with the problems that confront the world, then the Church must +give way to some more competent organization. Christians have no other +alternative; they _must_ believe that the _teachings of Christ can be +successfully applied to every problem that the individual has to meet +and to every problem with which governments have to deal_. I have +in another lecture in this series called attention to Christ's +all-inclusive claim set forth in the closing verses of the last chapter +of Matthew, but I must repeat it here because it is the basis of what I +desire to say on this branch of the subject. Christ declared that _all_ +power had been given into His hands; He sent His followers out to make +disciples of _all_ nations; and He promised to be with them _always_, +even unto the end of the world. If the Church takes Christ at His word +and claims to be His representative on earth it cannot shirk its duty. + +If Christians are as grateful to God, to Christ, and to the Bible as +they should be, they will give attention to every problem that affects +the individual, the community, and the larger units of society and +government. They will consider it their duty to _carry their religion +into business and politics_ and to apply the teachings of Christ to +every subject that affects human welfare. In another lecture I call +attention to the Church's duty to reconcile capital and labour, and to +teach God's law of rewards. + +The third gift to which I would call your attention is the form of +government under which we live. Ours is a government in which the people +rule from the lowest unit to the highest office in the nation. Nearly +all of our officials are elected by popular vote, and those appointed +are appointed by officers who are elected. The tendency is everywhere +more and more toward popular government. Some people are afraid of +Democracy but a larger number of people believe that "more democracy +is the cure for such evils as have been developed under popular +government." The Christian is a citizen of the republic as well as a +member of the church and must _practice_ his religion. I have not time +to speak of our government in detail; it is rather my purpose at this +time to call attention to the gift of popular government as we find it +in the nation. + +Let us begin, then, with a presidential election. I shall not yield to +the strong temptation to describe a presidential election; suffice +to say that our campaigns begin with the election of delegates to a +National Convention (I hope they will some day begin with the nomination +of presidential candidates at primaries held by all the parties, in all +the states, on the same day). The campaigns last long enough to make the +candidates so weary that they gladly resign themselves to any result if +they can only live to election day. + +The campaigns increase in intensity week after week and expire, or +explode, in a blaze of glory the night before election, at which time +the committees of the leading parties set forth the reasons that make +each side certain of success. On election day a hush spreads over the +land and the voters wend their way to the polling places, where each +voter is permitted to register a sovereign's will. Usually by midnight +the wires flash out the name of one who is to be added to the list of +Presidents. We give him a few weeks to rest and get ready and then, on a +certain day in March and at a certain hour, he goes to the White House +door and knocks. The occupant opens the door, and with a wearied look +upon his face, and yet a smile, says, "I was expecting you just at this +moment." Then the man on the inside of the White House goes out and +becomes a private citizen again, while the man on the outside goes in, +takes the oath of office and is clothed with authority such as no other +human being, but a President, ever exercised. + +He writes an order and ships go out to sea with their big-mouthed guns; +he writes another order and the ships return. At his command armies +assemble and march and fight, and men die; at his word armies dissolve +and soldiers become citizens again. This goes on for just so many years +and months and weeks and days--for just so many hours and minutes and +seconds, and then there is another knock on the White House door and +another man comes with a new commission from the people. + +Is it not a great thing to live in a land like this where the people +can, at the polls, select one of their number and lift him to this +pinnacle of power? And is it not greater still that the people are able +to reduce a President to the ranks as well as to lift him up? When they +elevate him he is just common clay, but when they take him down from his +high place they separate him from those instrumentalities of government +which despots have employed for the enslavement of their people. + +And why is it that we live under a government resting upon the consent +of the governed, and in a land in which the people rule? Because +throughout the centuries millions of the best and the bravest have given +their lives that we might be free. Every right of which we boast is a +blood-bought right, and bought by the blood of others, not our own. +Would you not think that people who inherit such a government as this +would be grateful for the priceless gift and live up to every obligation +of citizenship? It would seem so, and yet those acquainted with politics +know that the difficult task is to get the vote out. Even in a hotly +contested presidential election we never get the full vote out. If +ninety per cent of the vote is polled we are happy; if eighty-five per +cent, is polled we are satisfied. If it is an intermediate election the +vote may be less than eighty per cent., or even seventy-five. In a +primary, which is often more important than an election, the vote +sometimes falls below fifty, or even forty per cent. + +And what excuses do men give? Often the most trivial. One man says that +he had some work to do and could not spare the time--as if any work +could be more important than voting in a Republic. Another was visiting +his wife's relatives and a family dinner made it inconvenient for him +to return in time to vote. A few years ago I met a man on the train who +told me that he had not voted for ten years. When I asked him why, he +explained that he had voted for a neighbour for a state office--he +declared that the neighbour could not have been elected without his +help--and yet when the election was over the successful candidate failed +to invite him to a dinner given to celebrate the victory. "And," he +added, "I just made up my mind that if I could be so deceived by a man +who lived next door to me I did not have sense enough to vote, and I +have not voted since." + +We are all liable to make mistakes, but a mistake at one election is no +justification for failure to vote at other elections. We must do the +best we can; and we must not be discouraged if the men elected do not do +all that we expect of them. The government is not perfect and never will +be, no matter what party is in power. When the Democrats are in power +I can prove by all the Republicans that the government is not perfect; +when the Republicans are in power I can prove by the Democrats that the +government is not perfect. Governments are administered by human beings; +we must expect honest men to make mistakes and we must not be surprised +if, occasionally, an official embezzles power and turns to his own +advantage the authority entrusted to him to use for the public good. We +should punish him and try to safeguard the people. The initiative and +referendum are valuable because they enable the people to protect +themselves from misrepresentation. + +But even if the government could be made perfect to-day it would be +imperfect to-morrow. Times change and new conditions arise that make new +laws necessary. As the remedy cannot precede the disease and cannot be +applied until the public becomes acquainted with the disease and has +time to choose the remedy, there is always something that needs to be +done. If Christians do not make it their business to understand their +government's needs and to propose laws that are necessary, others will. +Are any more worthy to be trusted than Christians? + +Even constitutions must be changed in order that our government may be +in the hands of the living rather than in the hands of the dead. Those +who wrote our Constitution were very wise men and yet the wisest thing +they did was to include a provision which enabled those who came after +them to change anything that they wrote into the Constitution. + +Jefferson thought a constitution should be brought up to date by every +generation. Nineteen changes have been made in our Constitution by +amendment since the Constitution was adopted and four of these have been +adopted within the last ten years. I venture to call attention to the +later ones for two purposes; first, to show how long it takes to amend +the Constitution and why; second, to remind you that these four great +amendments have been adopted by joint action by the two great parties. + +It required twenty-one years to secure the amendment providing for +popular election of United States Senators after the amendment was first +endorsed by the House of Representatives at Washington. For one hundred +and three years after the adoption of the Federal Constitution the +people tolerated the election of Senators by legislatures before there +was a protest that rose to the dignity of a Congressional resolution. +A Republican President, Andrew Johnson, recommended the change in a +message to Congress. Some ten years later, General Weaver, a Populist +Representative in Congress from Iowa, introduced a resolution proposing +an amendment providing for the popular election of Senators, but +no action was taken at that time. In 1902 a Democratic House of +Representatives at Washington passed a resolution, by the necessary +two-thirds vote, submitting the proposed amendment. Hon. Harry St. +George Tucker, of Virginia, was the chairman of the committee when this +resolution passed the House. A similar resolution passed the House on +five separate occasions afterward (twice when the House was Democratic +and three times when it was Republican) before it could pass the Senate. +The amendment was finally submitted by joint action of a Democratic +House and a Republican Senate and was ratified in a short time, +Democratic and Republican states vying with each other in furnishing the +necessary number. In 1913 it became my privilege, as Secretary of State, +to sign the last document necessary to make this amendment a part of the +Constitution. I have dwelt upon this contest at some length in order to +call attention to the time it took to secure the change and to the fact +that the two parties share the honour of making the change. + +It took seventeen years to secure the amendment to the Constitution +authorizing an income tax. The Income Tax Law, enacted in 1894, was +declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court, by a +majority of one, in 1895. In 1896 the fight for a constitutional +amendment was inaugurated and the amendment was ratified and became +a part of the Constitution early in 1913. This amendment, like the +amendment providing for popular election of United States Senators, +required many years, and for the same reason, viz., that the people were +not alert as they should have been, not as vigilant as they should be. +In the case of the Income Tax Amendment also, as in the case of the +other, the two parties contributed to the change in the Constitution and +share the glory together. The first amendment brought the United States +Senate nearer the people and opened the way for other reforms; the +second made it possible to apportion more equitably the burdens of the +government. + +The Income Tax Amendment was adopted just in time to enable the +government to collect the revenue needed for the recent war. During +the seventeen years covered by the struggle for this amendment the +government was impotent to tax wealth; it could draft the man but not +the pocketbook. What would have been the feeling among the people if we +had entered the late war under such a handicap? How would conscription +have been received if it applied to father, husband and son and not to +wealth also? + +And then, too, the Income Tax Amendment came just in time to answer the +last argument made in favour of the saloon. Those engaged in the liquor +traffic, after being defeated on all other points, massed behind the +proposition that the government needed the revenue from whiskey, beer, +and saloons. As soon as the government was able to collect an income tax +the friends of prohibition were able to look the liquor dealers in the +face and say, "Never again will an American boy be auctioned off to a +saloon for money to run the government; we now have other sources from +which to draw." + +The third of the amendments was also a long time in coming and was +finally brought by joint action of Democrats and Republicans. It is not +necessary to trace the growth of this reform. Suffice it to say that +the Christian churches were the dominating force behind the prohibition +movement and that the South played a very prominent part in driving out +the saloon. More than two-thirds of the Senators and members from the +Southern States voted for the submission of National Prohibition after +nearly all the Southern States had adopted prohibition by individual +act. The first four states to ratify were Southern Democratic +States--Mississippi, Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina. It is only +fair, however, to say that the West contested with the South the honour +of leading in this fight, and that the Northern States finally did +nearly as well as the Southern States in the matter of ratifying. And +it is better that the victory should be a joint one, expressing the +conscience of the nation regardless of party, than that it should be +merely a party victory. + +But the real credit for leadership belongs not to any party or to any +section, but to those whose consciences were quickened by the teachings +of the Bible. Total abstinence was naturally more prevalent among church +members than among those outside of the church, and this, of course, was +the foundation upon which prohibition rested. The arguments against the +use of liquor are the basis of the arguments in favour of prohibition. +Because liquor is harmful the saloon is intolerable. + +I venture to set forth the fundamental propositions upon which the +arguments for prohibition rested. + + First: God never made a human being who, in a normal state, needed + alcohol. + + Second: God never made a human being strong enough to begin the use + of alcohol and be sure that he would not become its victim. + + Third: God never fixed a day in a human life _after_ which it is + safe to begin the use of intoxicating liquors. + +These three propositions can be stated without limitation or mental +reservation. They apply to all who now live and to all who ever lived; +and will apply to all who may live hereafter. To these may be added +three propositions which apply especially to Christians. + +First: The Christian is a Christian because he has given himself in +pledge of service to God and to Christ. What moral right has he to take +into his body that which he knows will lessen his capacity for service +and _may_ destroy even his desire to serve? + +Second: What moral right has a Christian to spend for intoxicating +liquor money needed for the many noble and needy causes that appeal to a +Christian's heart? The Christian, repeating the language taught him by +the Master, prays to the Heavenly Father, "Thy kingdom come;" what right +has he to rise from his knees and spend for intoxicating liquor money +that he can spare to hasten the coming of God's kingdom on earth? + +Third: What right has a Christian to throw the influence of his example +on the side of a habit that has brought millions to the grave? We shall +have enough to answer for when we stand before the judgment bar of God +without having a ruined soul arise and testify that it was a Christian's +example that led him to his ruin. Paul declared that if meat made his +brother to offend he would eat no meat. What Christian can afford to say +less in regard to intoxicants? If the Christian drinks only a little +it is a small sacrifice to make for the aid of his brother; if the +Christian drinks enough to make stopping a real sacrifice he ought to +stop for his own sake, on his family's account and out of respect for +his church. + +While the harmfulness of liquor was the foundation upon which the +opposition to the saloon was built, it may be worth while to add that +popular government, by putting responsibility upon the voters, compelled +the Christian to vote against the saloon licenses. In all civilized +countries the sale of liquor is now so restricted that it cannot be +lawfully offered for sale without a license. As the license is necessary +to the existence of the saloon--as necessary as the liquor sold over the +bar--the Christian who voted for a license became as much a partner in +the business as the man who dispensed it, and he had even less excuse. +The manufacturer and the bartender could plead in extenuation that they +made money out of the business and money has led multitudes into sin. +For money many have been willing to steal; for money some have been +willing to murder; for money a few have been willing to sell their +country; for money one man was willing to betray the Saviour. The +Christian who voted for licenses had not even the poor excuse of those +who engaged in the business for mercenary reasons. As the consciences +became awakened, therefore, Christians, in increasing numbers, refused +to share responsibility for the saloon and what it did. + +Science contributed largely to the final victory. People used to say +that drinking did not hurt if one did not drink too much. But no one +could define how much "too much" was. The invisible line between "just +enough" and "too much" is like the line of the horizon--it recedes as +you approach until it is lost in the darkness of the night. + +Science proved that it is not immoderate drinking only, but +_any_ drinking that is harmful, and, therefore, that the real line is +that between not drinking and drinking. + +Science has also demonstrated, as I have shown in another lecture, that +drinking decreases one's expectancy, according to insurance tables; a +young man at twenty-one must deliberately decide to shorten his life by +more than ten per cent. if he becomes an habitual drinker. + +But, what is worse, science has shown that alcohol is a poison that runs +in the blood, so that the drinking of the father or mother may curse a +child unborn and close the door of hope upon it before its eyes have +opened to the light of day. + +Business aided us also, as large corporations increasingly discriminated +against those who drank. + +Patriotism furnished the last impulse; war threw a ghastly light upon +the evils of intemperance and upon the sordid greed of those engaged in +the liquor business. + +The reform will not turn back. Enforcement will become more strict in +this country as its benefits are more clearly shown and prohibition will +spread until the saloon will be abolished throughout the world. Although +now past sixty-one I expect to live to see the day when there will not +be an open saloon under the flag of any civilized nation. + +We are now able to prevent typhoid fever, the individual being made +immune by a treatment administered before he has been exposed to the +disease. Total abstinence resembles this preventive; no total abstainer +is in danger of alcoholism. + +But we also have a preventive for yellow fever, namely, the destroying +of the breeding place of the mosquito which carries the germ of the +disease. Prohibition resembles this preventive. The saloon was found +to be the breeding place of alcoholism and prohibition strikes at the +source of the danger. These two, total abstinence and prohibition, +will eliminate the drink evil as typhoid and yellow fever have been +eliminated. + +The fourth amendment adopted in recent years extended equal suffrage +to women. Like the three to which I have referred, it was a long time +coming and came at last by joint action of the two great parties. +A majority of both parties in both Senate and House voted for the +submission of this amendment and it required both Democratic and +Republican states to ratify it. The opposition which the amendment met +in the South was not due to lack of confidence in women, for nowhere in +the world is woman more highly estimated or more fully trusted. Such +local opposition as there was was due to the race question. Now that +woman can express herself at the polls, her influence will be felt as +much in the South as in other sections; it will throughout the United +States seal the doom of the liquor traffic. The women will stand guard +at the grave of John Barleycorn and make sure that he will never know a +resurrection morn. + +Drawing their inspiration from the Bible, even to a greater extent than +the men do, the women will hasten the triumph of every righteous cause. +They will throw their influence on the side of every moral reform. The +adoption of the single standard of morals will be made possible by +woman's advent into politics. Her ballot will make it easier to lift man +to her level in the matter of chastity and to distribute more equitably +than man has done, the punishments imposed for acts of immorality. + +Woman has come into power in politics at a time when she can aid in the +promotion of world peace by compelling the establishment of machinery +which will substitute reason for force in the settlement of +international disputes. Her first great triumph at the polls may be the +fulfilling of the prophecy, spoken more than two thousand years ago, +that swords shall be beaten into ploughshares and that nations shall +learn war no more. She will be repaid for all her patience and her +waiting if now, by her ballot, she can make it unnecessary for another +mother's son to be offered upon the altar of Mars. That this nation is +in a better position than ever before to lead the world in every good +cause is due to the gifts that have come with American citizenship, only +three of which I have had time to mention. + +Every citizen should be honest with himself, examine his own heart and +answer to his own conscience. What estimate does he place upon the +education which he has received? What value does he put upon the +religion that controls his heart? How highly does he prize the form of +government under which he lives? Let him put his own appraisement upon +these three great gifts; these sums added together will represent his +acknowledged indebtedness to society; then let him resolve to pay so +much of this incalculable debt as is within his power. + +We live in a goodly land. No king can shape our nation's destiny; not +even a President can have the final word as to what our nation is to be. +Each citizen, no matter how humble that citizen may be, can have a part. +Let us do our part; joining together, let us solve the problems with +which we have to deal, and, by so doing, bless our country and, through +it, other lands. Let us join together and raise the light of our +civilization so high that its rays, illumining every land, may lead the +world to those better things for which the world is praying. + + + + +VIII + +"HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE" + + +By way of introduction, allow me to say that I fully recognize the +difference between a _presentation_ of fundamental principles and an +_application_ of those principles to life. While an _application_ +of principles arouses greater interest it is more apt to bring out +differences of opinion and to excite controversy. But the Christian is +always open-minded because he desires to _know_ the right and to do it. +He "prove(s) all things and hold(s) fast that which is good." Therefore, +he welcomes light on every subject, from every source. It is in this +spirit that I speak to you and it is this spirit that I invoke. I speak +from conviction, formed after prayerful investigation, and am as anxious +to be informed as I am to inform. + +Some twenty years ago I turned back to the sixth verse of the ninth +chapter of Isaiah to refresh my memory on the titles bestowed on the +Messiah whose coming the prophet foretold. After reading verse six, my +eyes fell on verse seven and it impressed me as it had not on former +readings. This was probably because I had recently been giving attention +to governmental problems and had occasionally heard advanced a very +gloomy philosophy, namely, that a government, being the work of +man, must, like man, pass through certain changes that mark a human +life--that is, be born, grow strong, and then, after a period of +maturity, decline and die. It is a repulsive doctrine and my heart +rebelled against it. It offends one's patriotism, too, to be compelled +to admit that, in spite of all that can be done, our government _must +some day perish_. In verse seven we read of a government that _will not +die_: + +"Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, ... +to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even +forever." + +The fault in the philosophy to which I have referred lies in the fact +that while government is each day in control of those then living, +it really belongs to generations rather than to individuals. As one +generation passes off the stage another comes on; therefore, there is no +reason why this government should ever be weaker or worse than it is now +unless our people decline in virtue, intelligence and patriotism. It +should grow better as the people improve. + +In the verse quoted we find that the enduring government--the government +of Christ--is to rest on justice. And so, our government must rest on +justice if it is to endure. But what is justice? We are familiar with +this word but how shall it be interpreted in governmental terms? Christ +furnished the solution--He presented a scheme of Universal Brotherhood +in which justice will be possible. + +To show how important this doctrine of brotherhood is, let us consider +for a moment the alternative relationship. There are but two attitudes +that one can assume in regard to his fellowmen--the attitude of brother +and the attitude of the brute; there is no middle ground. + +This is the choice that each human being must make--a choice as distinct +and fundamental as the choice between God and Baal; and it is a choice +not unlike that. + +One may be a very weak brother or a very feeble brute, but each person +is, consciously or unconsciously, controlled by the sympathetic spirit +of brotherhood or he hunts for spoil with the savage hunger of a beast +of prey. + +I am not making a new classification; I am merely calling attention to +a classification that has come down from the beginning of history. Many +years ago I heard a man from New Zealand tell how a cannibal in that +country once supported his claim to a piece of land on the ground that +the title passed to him when he ate the former owner. I accepted this +story as a bit of humour, but it accurately describes an historic form +of title. Even among the highly civilized nations governments convey to +their subjects or citizens land secured by conquest, the lands being +taken from the conquered by the conquerors. A tramp, so the story goes, +being ordered out of a nobleman's yard, questioned the owner's title. +The latter explained that the title to the land had come down to him +in unbroken line from father to son through a period of 700 years, +beginning with an ancestor who fought for it. "Let's fight for it +again," suggested the tramp. + +To show how ancient is the distinction that I am trying to make clear, I +remind you that both the Psalmist and Solomon used the word "brutish" +in describing certain kinds of men, and one of the minor prophets calls +down wrath upon those who build a city with blood. Christ, it will be +remembered, denounced the hypocrites who devoured widows' houses and for +a pretense made long prayers. + +The devouring did not cease with that generation; it is to-day a menace +to stable government and to civilization itself. In times of peace we +have the profiteer who is guilty of practices which violate all rules +of morality even when they do not actually violate statute law. In this +"Land of the free and home of the brave," we have been compelled to +enact laws to restrain brutishness--not only laws to prevent assault, +murder, arson, the white slave traffic, etc., but also laws to restrain +men engaged in legitimate business. Pure food laws prevent the +adulteration of that which the people eat--men were willing to destroy +health and even life in order to add to their profits. Child labour laws +have become necessary to keep employers from dwarfing the bodies, minds +and souls of the young in their haste to make larger dividends. + +Usury laws are necessary to protect the borrowers from the lenders, and, +from occasional violations, we can judge what the condition would be if +the very respectable business of banking was not strictly regulated by +law. We have an anti-trust law intended to prevent the devouring +of small industries by large ones--law made necessary by injustice +nation-wide in extent. + +Congress and the legislatures of the several states are constantly +compelled to legislate against so-called "business" enterprises that are +being conducted on a brute basis--some are combinations in restraint of +trade, others are merely gambling transactions. For a generation the +agriculturists, who constitute about one-third of our entire population, +have been at the mercy of a comparatively small group of market gamblers +who, by betting, force prices up or down for their own pecuniary gain. +An anti-option law has been recently enacted after an agitation of +nearly thirty years, and also a law regulating the packers. These are +only a few illustrations; they could be multiplied without limit. They +show how unbrotherly society sometimes is even in this highly favoured +nation. + +How can Christ's teachings relieve the situation? Easily. He dealt with +fundamentals, and gave special attention to the causes of evil. He +taught, first, that man should love God--the basis of all religion; +second, He taught that man should commune with the Heavenly Father +through prayer--the basis of all worship; third, He proclaimed the +existence of a future life in which the righteous shall be rewarded and +the wicked punished. These three doctrines contribute powerfully to +morality, the basis of stable government. In another address I have +called attention to the destructive influence exerted by the doctrine of +evolution, as applied to man, and have pointed out how Darwinism +weakens faith in God, makes a mockery of prayer, undermines belief in +immortality, reduces Christ to the stature of a man, lessens the sense +of brotherhood and encourages brutishness. It is unnecessary, therefore, +to dwell upon this subject in this address. + +Christ warned against the sins into which man is sure to fall when the +heart is not wholly devoted to the service of God. He shows how evil in +the heart will manifest itself in the life. Greed is at the bottom of +most of the wrong-doing with which government has to deal. The Bible +says "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." + +It surely is responsible for unspeakable ills. The case is so plain that +human reason would seem sufficient to furnish a cure. It ought not to +be difficult to agree upon the principles that should govern legitimate +accumulations. + +There are two propositions that cover the whole ground; one is economic +and the other rests upon religion. Both are based upon the laws of God, +but one can be enforced by the government, while the other is binding on +the conscience alone. + +The divine law of rewards is self-evident. When God gave us the earth +with its fertile soil, the sunshine with its warmth and the rains with +their moisture, His voice proclaimed as clearly as if it had issued from +the skies: Go work, and in proportion to your industry and ability so +shall be your reward. This is God's law and it will prevail except where +force suspends it or cunning evades it. It is the duty of the Church to +teach, and the duty of Christians to respect, God's law of rewards. + +It is the duty of the government to give free course and full sway to +the divine law of rewards; first, by abstaining from interference with +that law; and second, by preventing interference by individuals. No +defense need be made of the righteousness of this law; just in so far +as the government can make it possible for each individual to draw from +society according to his contribution to the welfare of society it will +encourage the maximum of effort on the part of the individual and, +therefore, on the part of society as a whole. If some receive more than +their share, others will necessarily receive less than their share--the +very essence of injustice; the former will become indolent because work +is not required of them and the latter will grow desperate because +their toil is not fairly rewarded. Injustice is the greatest enemy of +government. + +But there is a sphere which the government cannot and should not +invade. The government's work ends when it has insured just rewards by +preventing unjust profits, but even a just government cannot bring about +an equal distribution of happiness. It can and should guarantee equality +before the law--that is, equality of opportunity and equal treatment at +the hand of the government--but that will not insure equal prosperity to +each or bestow on all an equal amount of enjoyment. Ability will have to +be taken into consideration, and likewise, industry, integrity and many +other factors. + +While the government can encourage all the virtues it cannot compel +them; there is a zone between that Which can be legally required and +that which is morally desirable. When the government has done all in +its power--all that it can do and all that it should do--there will be +inequalities in success, based upon inequalities in merit. There must, +therefore, be a spiritual law to govern when the statute law, based upon +economic principles, has reached its limit. + +Christ suggests such a law--the law of stewardship. We hold what we +have--no matter how justly acquired--in trust. That which is ours by +economic right and by the government's permission, is not ours to waste. +We have no more moral right to squander it foolishly than we have to +throw away our bodily strength, our mental energy or our moral worth. + +When we analyze ourselves we find that there is little of real value in +us for which we can claim sole credit. We inherit much from ancestry +and draw much from environment long before we are able to choose our +surroundings. The ideals which come to us from others will account for +nearly all that we do not derive from the past and from those among whom +we spend our youth. If one has accepted Christ, received forgiveness of +sin and been brought into living contact with the Heavenly Father, +he becomes indebted beyond the power of language to describe. Our +indebtedness if discharged at all must be paid not, as a rule, to those +who have contributed most largely to making us what we are, but by +general service to those now living and to those who succeed us. Our +debtors are as impersonal as our creditors. + +Nothing could contribute more to the security of the government than +an approximation to the divine standard of rewards, and if all then +recognized and obeyed the law of stewardship nearly all the complaint +that would still exist would be silenced by the volunteer service +rendered by the fortunate to the unfortunate. + +"The mob"--the terror of orderly government--has been described by +Victor Hugo as "the human race in misery." When the brotherhood of +Christ is established a just standard of rewards will abolish law-made +misery and private benevolence will relieve such suffering as may come +upon the members of society without their fault and in spite of all the +government can do. + +But plain as are the dangers arising from love of money, and reasonable +as seem the means of meeting them, the mad race for riches goes on all +over the world. The mind is powerless to call a halt; intellectual +processes fail--man needs a voice that can speak with authority--a voice +that must be obeyed. He needs even more--he needs to be born again. His +heart must be cleansed and his thoughts turned to higher things. It is +to such that Christ appeals when He asks: "What shall it profit a man if +he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Let man cease +to be brutish and become brotherly and he will need few restraining +statutes. + +If it is brutish to turn so-called legitimate business into grand +larceny, what shall be said of those forms of money-making that deprave +both parties to the transaction? The liquor traffic furnished the best +illustration of the power of the dollar to blind the eyes of greedy men +to the crime and misery produced by drink. The beneficiaries of this +wicked business formerly included high church officials--and does yet in +some countries--who swelled their incomes with the dividends collected +from vice; they included also highly respected brewers and distillers as +well as saloon-keepers of all degrees. The fact that the liquor traffic +manufactured criminals, ruined men and women, produced poverty, +disrupted families, lowered the standard of education, lessened +attendance upon worship and even afflicted little children before their +birth, was not sufficient to deter people from engaging in it--even +some calling themselves Christians. The handling of intoxicating drinks +continued openly until these centers of pollution were closed by an +emphatic expression of the nation's conscience. + +Now, the fight is against the bootlegger and the smuggler. The man who +peddles liquor, like the man who sells habit-forming drugs, is an outlaw +and his trade is branded as an enemy of society. The sanction given to +prohibition by the law brings to its support all who respect orderly +government and reduces the enemies of prohibition to those whose +fondness for drink, or for the profits obtainable from its illicit sale, +is sufficient to overcome conscientious scruples and a sense of civic +duty. Those who oppose prohibition now are shameless enough to become +voluntary companions of the lawless members of society, but this number +will constantly decrease as the virtue of the country asserts itself +at the polls in the election of officials who are in sympathy with the +enforcement of the law. + +The unrest which pervades the industrial world to-day also threatens the +stability of government. The members of the Capitalistic group and the +members of the Labour group are becoming more and more class-conscious; +they are solidifying as if they looked forward with a vague dread +to what they regard as an inevitable class conflict. The same plan, +Universal Brotherhood, can reconcile all class differences. Is there any +other plan? Christ died for all--the employer as well as the employee; +He is the friend of those who pay wages as well as of those who work for +wages; the children of one class are as dear to Him as the children of +the other. His creed brings man into harmony with God and then teaches +him to love his neighbour as himself. To put human rights before +property rights--the man before the dollar, is simply to put the +teachings of the Saviour into modern language and apply them to +present-day conditions. + +The whole code of morals of the Nazarene is a protest against the +attitude of antagonism between capital and labour. He pleads for +sympathy and fellowship. Every worker should give to society the maximum +of his productive power--but he cannot do this unless he is a willing +worker. Every employer should give to society the maximum of his +organizing and directing ability, but he cannot do it unless he is a +satisfied employer. What plan but the plan of Christ can fill the world +with _willing workers_ and _satisfied employers?_ Capitalism, supported +by force, cannot save civilization; neither can government by any +class assure the justice that makes for permanence in government. Only +brotherly love can make employers willing to pay fair compensation for +work done and employees anxious to give fair work for their wages. + +One of the first fruits of the spirit of brotherhood will be +investigation before strike or lockout, just as our nation has provided +for investigation before war. If these bloody conflicts cannot be +entirely abolished to-day the civilized nations should at least know +_why_ they are to shoot before they begin shooting. The world, too, +should know. War is not a private affair; it disturbs the commerce of +the world, obstructs the ocean's highways and kills innocent bystanders. +Neutral nations suffer as well as those at war. If peacefully inclined +nations cannot avoid loss and suffering _after_ war is begun, they +certainly have a right to demand information as to the nature and merits +of the dispute _before_ any nation begins to "shoot up" civilization. + +The strike and the lockout are to our industrial life what war is +between nations, and the general public stands in much the same position +as neutral nations. The number of those actually injured by a suspension +of industry is often many times as great as the total number of +employers and employees in that industry combined. + +If, for instance, ninety-five per cent, of the people are asked to +freeze while the mine owners and the mine workers (numbering possibly +five per cent.) fight out their differences, have they not a right to +demand information as to the merits of the dispute before the shivering +begins? If the home builders are asked to suspend construction while +the steel manufacturers and steel workers (but a small fraction of the +population) go to war over the terms of employment, have they not a +right to inquire why before they begin to move into tents? And so with +disputes between railroads and their employees. + +Compulsory _arbitration_ of _all_ disputes between labour and capital +is as improbable as compulsory arbitration of _all_ disputes between +nations, but the compulsory _investigation_ of all disputes (before +lockout or strike) will come as soon as the Golden Rule--an expression +of brotherhood--is adopted in industry. When each man loves his +neighbour as himself all rights will be safeguarded--the rights of +employees, the rights of employers and the rights of the public--that +important third party that furnishes the profits for the employer and +the wages for the employee. + +Ambition has been a disturbing factor in government. The ambitions of +monarchs have overthrown governments and enslaved races. In republics, +the ambitions of aspirants for office have caused revolutions and +corrupted politics. No form of government is immune to the evils that +flow from ambition, or proof against those who plot for their own +political advancement. For this evil, too, Christ has a remedy. He +changes the point of view. It seems a simple thing, but behold the +transformation! "Let him who would be chiefest among you be servant of +all." He makes service the measure of greatness. This is one of the most +important of the many great doctrines taught by the Saviour. It puts +the accent on _giving_ instead of _getting_; it measures a life by the +_outflow_ rather than by the _income_. Men had been in the habit of +estimating their greatness by the amount of service they could coerce or +buy; Christ taught them to measure their greatness by service rendered +to others. A wonderful transformation will take place in this old world +when all are animated by a desire to contribute to the public good +rather than by an ambition to absorb as much as possible from society. + +Brotherhood is easily established among those who "in honour prefer one +another"--who are willing to hold office when they are needed, but +as willing to serve under others as to command. It is impossible +to overestimate the contribution that Christ has made to enduring +government in suppressing unworthy ambition and in implanting high and +ennobling ideals. + +War may be mentioned as the fourth foe of enduring government. It is the +resultant of many forces. Love of money is probably more responsible for +modern wars than any other one cause; commercial rivalries lead nations +into injustice and unfair dealing. + +Wars are sometimes waged to extend trade--the blood of many being shed +to enrich a few. The supplying of battleships and munitions is so +profitable a business that wars are encouraged by some for the money +they bring to certain classes. Prejudices are aroused, jealousies are +stirred up and hatreds are fanned into flame. Class conflicts cause wars +and selfish ambitions have often embroiled nations; in fact, war is like +a boil, it indicates that there is poison in the blood. Christ is the +great physician whose teachings purify the blood of the body politic and +restore health. + +In dealing with the subject of war we cannot ignore another great +foundation principle of Christianity, namely, forgiveness. The war +through which the world has recently passed is not only without a +parallel in the blood and treasure it has cost, but it was a typical war +in that nearly every important war-producing cause contributed to the +fierceness of the conflict. Personal ambition, trade rivalries, the +greed of munition-makers, race hatreds and revenge--all played a part in +the awful tragedy. Thirty millions of human lives were sacrificed; three +hundred billion dollars' worth of property was destroyed; more than two +hundred billion dollars of indebtedness was added to the burden that +the world was already carrying. The paper currency of the nations was +swollen from seven billions to fifty-six and the gold reserve dwindled +from seventy per cent. to twelve. + +And, oh, the pity! nearly every great nation engaged in the war was a +Christian nation and every important branch of the Church was involved! +And this occurred nineteen hundred years after the birth of the Saviour, +at whose coming the angels sang, "on earth, peace, good-will to men." + +The world is weary of war. If blood is necessary for the remission of +sins, enough has been spilled to atone for the wrong done by all who +live upon the earth; if sorrow is necessary to repentance and reform, +enough tears have been shed to wash away all the crimes of the past. +This last plague would seem to have been sufficient to release the world +from bondage to force--if so, mankind is ready to turn over a new leaf +and set about the task of finding a way to prevent war. + +As Christ can remove the pecuniary cause of war by purging the heart of +that love of money which leads men into evil doings, the class-conflict +cause by stimulating brotherly love, and the ambition cause, by setting +up a new measure of greatness; so He can subdue hatred and silence the +cry for revenge. + +"Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord," should be a +restraint, but Christ goes farther and commands us to love our enemies. +That was the complete cure for which the world was not ready when God +made Moses His spokesman. "Thou shalt not," came first; "Thou shalt," +came later. Christ's creed compels positive helpfulness and love is the +basis of that creed. + +Love makes money-grabbing seem contemptible; love makes class prejudice +impossible; love makes selfish ambition a thing to be despised; love +converts enemies into friends. + +It may encourage us to expect Christ's teachings to bring world peace +if we consider for a moment what has already been accomplished in the +establishing of peace between individuals. Take, for instance, the +doctrine of forgiveness as applied to indebtedness. In Christ's time +debtors were not only imprisoned but members of the family could be sold +into bondage to satisfy a pecuniary obligation. In Matthew (chap. 18) +we have a picture of the cruelty which the creditor was permitted to +practice: + + Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, + which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun + to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand + talents [ten million dollars]. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, + his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and + all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell + down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and + I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with + compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same + servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants which owed + him an hundred pence [seventeen dollars]; and he laid hands on him, + and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his + fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have + patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but + went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when + his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and + came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, + after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, + I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest + not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I + had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the + tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. + +If Christ were to reappear to-day he would find imprisonment for debt +abolished throughout nearly all, if not the entire, civilized world. The +law stays the hand of the creditor, or rather withholds from him the +instruments of torture which he formerly employed. Here we have the +doctrine of forgiveness applied in a very practical form. It is based on +mercy, and yet in a larger sense it rests on justice and promotes the +welfare of society. + +But compassion has gone further; we have the exemption law which secures +to the debtor the food necessary for his family and the tools by which +he makes his living. Christ's doctrine has been applied further still; +we have the bankruptcy law which gives a new lease of life to an +insolvent debtor if his failure is without criminal fault on his +part. By turning over to his creditors all the property he has above +exemptions he can go forth from court free from all legal obligations +and begin business unembarrassed. Some who take advantage of these +provisions of the law may be indifferent to the Teacher whose loving +spirit has thus conquered the hard heart of the world, but the triumph +marks a step in human advance and suggests possible changes in other +directions as the principle is increasingly applied to daily life. + +International law still permits greater cruelty in war than accompanied +imprisonment for debt. National obligations are enforced by killing the +innocent as well as the guilty. Ports are blockaded, cities are besieged +and even bombed, and non-combatants are starved and drowned. + +As imprisonment for debt has disappeared and as duelling is giving way +to the suit at law, so war will be succeeded by courts of arbitration +and tribunals for investigation. All real progress toward peace is in +line with the teachings of the Nazarene and this progress hastens the +coming of governments that shall endure. + +With the conclusion of the World War our nation confronts such an +opportunity as never came to any other nation--such an opportunity as +never came to our nation before. We were the only great nation that +sought no selfish advantage and had no old scores to settle, no spirit +of revenge to gratify. Our contributions were made for the world's +benefit--to end war and make self-government respected everywhere. We +entered the conflict at the time when we could render the maximum of +service with a minimum of sacrifice. At the peace conference we asked +nothing for ourselves--no territorial additions, no indemnities, no +reimbursements--just world peace, universal and perpetual. That was to +be our recompense. + +It is not entirely the fault of other nations that they do not stand +exactly in the same position that we do. In many respects their +situations are different from ours. They have received from the past an +inheritance of race and national hostility; they have their commercial +ambitions; they have their military and naval groups with antiquated +standards of honour, not to speak of those who, feeding on war +contracts, feel that they have a vested interest in carnage. Besides +these hindrances to peace they lack several advantages which we enjoy +over any other nation of importance, viz., more complete information in +regard to other people, a more general sympathy with other nations and a +greater moral obligation to them. Our nation being made up of the best +blood of the nations of Europe, we learn to know the people at home +through the representatives who come here. Because of our intimate +connection with the foreign elements of our country our sympathy goes +out to all lands; and because we have received from other nations as no +other nation ever did, we are in duty bound to give as no other nation +has given. + +We have given the world a peace plan that provides for the investigation +of all disputes before a resort to arms--a plan that gives time +for passions to subside and for reason to resume her sway. We have +substituted the maxim: "Nothing is final between friends," for the +old-fashioned diplomacy based on threats and ultimatums. We have turned +from the blood-stained precedents of the past and invoked a spirit of +brotherhood for the purpose of preventing wars. These treaties contain +a provision which, though seemingly very simple, is profoundly +significant. In former times treaties ran for a certain number of years +and then lapsed unless renewed. The thirty treaties negotiated by our +nation in 1913 and 1914 with three-quarters of the world, providing for +_investigation_ of _all_ disputes before hostilities can begin, run for +five years and then, instead of lapsing, continue until one year after +one of the parties to the treaty has formally demanded its termination. +Note the difference: the old treaties gave the presumption to war--the +new treaties give the presumption to peace. As our constitution requires +a two-thirds vote for ratification of a treaty, a minority of the Senate +(as few as one-third plus one) could prevent the renewal of a treaty; +under the new plan the treaty continues indefinitely until a majority +denounce it. + +But while we have made a splendid beginning as the leader of the peace +movement in the world much remains to be done. Our nation should lead in +the crusade for disarmament; no other nation is so well qualified for +leadership in this movement so necessary for civilization. The desire +for peace, intensified by the agonies of an unprecedented war, ought to +be sufficient to bring about disarmament; it should be unnecessary +to invoke financial reasons. But national debts have increased so +enormously as to have become unbearable and the world must disarm or +face universal bankruptcy. The reaction against militarism is more +advanced, but the reaction against navalism is just as sure to come--one +cannot survive without the support of the other. Rivalry in the building +of battleships will not long be tolerated after rivalry in land forces +has been abandoned. + +The United States should be the champion of the Christian method of +preserving peace--and the world is ready for it. The devil never won +a greater victory than when he persuaded statesmen to make the absurd +experiment of trying to prevent war by getting ready for it. "Arm +yourselves," he whispered, "and you will never have to use your +weapons." How his Satanic majesty must have gloated over the gullibility +of his dupes. + +John Bright, Quaker statesman of Great Britain, pointed out the fallacy +of this policy. He called it, "Worshipping the scimitar" and predicted +that it would invite war instead of preventing it. But the din of the +munition factories drowned the voice of protest and the civilized +world--yes, the Christian world--went into a prepared war, each nation +protesting that it was drawn into the conflict against its will. + +Permanent peace cannot rest upon terrorism; friendship alone can inspire +peace, and friendship has no swagger in its gait; it does not flourish a +sword. Our nation has invited the world to a conference to consider the +limitation of armaments; if disarmament by agreement fails we should +enter upon a systematic policy of reduction ourselves and by so doing +arouse the Christians, the friends of humanity and the toilers of the +world to the criminal folly of the brute method of dealing with this +question. + +We should also join the world in creating a tribunal before which every +complaint of international injustice can be heard. If reason is to be +substituted for force the forum instituted for the consideration of +these questions must have authority to hear all issues between nations, +in order that public opinion, based upon information, may compel such +action as may be necessary to remove discord. + +It does not lessen the value of such a tribunal to withhold from it the +power to enforce its findings by the weapons of warfare. In the case of +our own nation, we have no constitutional right to transfer to another +nation authority to declare war for us, or to impair our freedom of +action when the time for action arrives. + +Then, too, the judgment that rests upon its merits alone, and is not +enforceable by war, is more apt to be fair than one that can be executed +by those who render it. A persuasive plea appeals to the reason; a +command is usually uttered in an entirely different spirit. + +There is another difference between a recommendation and a decree; if +the European nations could call our army and navy into their service +at any time they might yield to the temptation to use our resources +to advance their ambitions. As the man who carries a revolver is more +likely than an unarmed man to be drawn into a fight, so the European +nations would be more apt to engage in selfish quarrels if they carried +the fighting power of the United States in their hip pocket. For +their own good, as well as for our protection and for the saving of +civilization, it is well to require a clear and complete statement of +the reasons for the war and of the ends that the belligerents have in +view, before we mingle our blood with theirs upon the battle-field. + +Our nation is in an ideal position; it has financial power and moral +prestige; it has disinterestedness of purpose and far-reaching sympathy. +When to these qualifications for leadership independence of action is +added we can render the maximum of service to the world. + +It matters not what name is given to the cooperative body; it may be a +League of Nations or an Association of Nations or anything else. The +name is a mere form; the tribunal should be the greatest that has ever +assembled. Our delegates should be chosen by the people _directly_, as +our senators, our congressmen, our governors, and our legislators are, +and as our President virtually is. Representatives chosen to speak for +the American people on such momentous themes as will be discussed in +that body should have their commissions signed by the sovereign voters +themselves. We cannot afford to intrust the selection of these delegates +to the President or to Congress. The members of our delegation should +not be discredited by any flavour of presidential favouritism or by any +taint of Congressional log-rolling. + +Delegates, selected by popular vote in districts, would reflect the +sentiment of the entire country, and their power would be enhanced +rather than decreased if they were compelled to seek endorsement of +their views on vital questions at a referendum vote. Their authority to +cast the nation's vote for war ought to be subject to the approval of +the people, expressed at the ballot box. Those who are to furnish the +blood and take upon themselves the burden of war-debts ought to be +consulted before the solemn duties and the sacrifices of war are +required of them. + +Our nation can, by its example, teach the world the true meaning of that +democracy which was to be made safe throughout the world. The essence of +democracy is found in the right of the people to have what they want, +and experience shows that the best way to find out what the people want +is to ask them. There is more virtue in the people themselves than can +be found anywhere else; the faults of popular government result chiefly +from the embezzlement of power by representatives of the people--the +people themselves are not often at fault. But, suppose they make +mistakes occasionally: have they not a right to make _their own +mistakes_? Who has a right to make mistakes for them? + +The Saviour not only furnished a solution for all of life's problems, +individual and governmental, national and international, but He also +called His followers to the performance of the duties of citizenship: +"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things +that are God's," was the answer that Christ made to those who were +quibbling about the claims of the government under which they lived. + +The citizen is a unit of the community in which he lives and a part of +his government. Our government derives its power from the consent of the +governed; what kind of a government would we have if all Christians were +indifferent to its claims? No rule can be laid down for one citizen that +does not apply to all; each citizen, therefore, should bear his share of +the burden if he is to claim his share of the government protection. The +teachings of Christ require that we should respect the rights of others +as well as insist upon the recognition of our own rights. In fact, the +recognition of the rights of others is a higher form of patriotism than +mere insistence upon that which is due us and the spirit of brotherhood +is calculated to create just such a community of interest. Each will +find his security in the safety of all--the welfare of each being the +concern of the whole group. + +In a government like ours the Christian is compelled by conscience to +avoid sins of omission as well as sins of commission; he must not only +avoid the doing of evil, but he must not permit wrong-doing by law if +he can prevent it. In other words, the conscientious citizen must +understand the principles of his government, the methods employed by his +government and the policies that come before the government for +adoption or rejection. He is a partner in a very important business--a +stockholder in the greatest of all corporations. If the good people of +the land do not do their duty as citizens they may be sure that bad +people will use the power and instrumentalities of government for their +own advantage and for the injury of the many. + +An indifferent Christian? It is impossible. A Christian cannot be +indifferent without betraying a sacred trust. And yet every bad law, and +every bad condition that can be remedied by a good law, proclaims an +indifferent citizenship or a citizenship lacking in virtue, for popular +government is merely a reflection of the character of its active +citizenship. + +The charitable view to take of a nation's failure to have the best +government, the best laws and the best administration possible, is not +that the citizenship is lacking in virtue and good intent, but that +it is lacking in information. It is the business of the good citizen, +therefore, to encourage the spread of accurate information--the +dissemination of light--in order that those who "love darkness rather +than light because their deeds are evil" may not be able to work under +cover. No evil can stand long against a united Christian citizenship; +witness how prohibition came as soon as the churches united against the +saloon. + +Having faith in the power of truth to win its way when understood, +Christians believe in publicity and are not afraid to call every evil +before the bar of public judgment. Believing in the superhuman wisdom of +Christ, as well as in the saving power of His blood, they are bold to +apply His code of morals to every problem. His is a name that will +increasingly arouse the hosts of righteousness to irresistible attacks +on the brutishness that endangers government, society and civilization. + +I am so confident that the Christian citizenship of this country will +prove faithful to every trust and rise to the requirements of every +emergency that I venture to repeat a forecast of our nation's future, +made more than twenty years ago: + +I can conceive of a national destiny which meets the responsibilities +of to-day and measures up to the possibilities of to-morrow. Behold +a republic, resting securely upon the mountain of eternal truth--a +republic applying in practice and proclaiming to the world the +self-evident propositions that all men are created equal; that they are +endowed with inalienable rights; that governments are instituted among +men to secure these rights; and that governments derive their just +powers from the consent of the governed. Behold a republic, in which +civil and religious liberty stimulate all to earnest endeavour and in +which the law restrains every hand uplifted for a neighbour's injury--a +republic in which every citizen is a sovereign, but in which no one +cares to wear a crown. Behold a republic, standing erect, while empires +all around are bowed beneath the weight of their own armaments--a +republic whose flag is loved while other flags are only feared. Behold +a republic, increasing in population, in wealth, in strength and in +influence; solving the problems of civilization, and hastening the +coming of an universal brotherhood--a republic which shakes thrones +and dissolves aristocracies by its silent example and gives light and +inspiration to those who sit in darkness. Behold a republic, gradually +but surely becoming the supreme moral factor to the world's progress and +the accepted arbiter of the world's disputes--a republic whose history +like the path of the just--"is as the shining light that shineth more +and more unto the perfect day." + + + + +IX + +THE SPOKEN WORD + + +Some have prophesied that with the spread of the newspaper public +speaking would decline--but the prediction has not been fulfilled and +its failure is easily explained. In the first place, the written +page can never be a substitute for the message delivered orally. The +newspaper vastly multiplies the audience but they hear only the echo, +not the speech itself. One cannot write as he speaks because he lacks +the inspiration furnished by an audience. Gladstone has very happily +described the influence exerted by the audience upon the speaker, +an influence which returns to the audience stamped with his own +personality. He says that the speaker draws inspiration from the +audience in the form of mist and pours it back in a flood. It need +hardly be added that this refers to speaking without manuscript, but +reading, while always regrettable, is sometimes necessary--especially +when accuracy is more important than the immediate effect. + +In order to secure both accuracy and animation it is well to prepare the +speech in advance and then revise it after delivery. + +With increased intelligence a larger percentage of the population are +able to think upon their feet, to take part in public discussions and +to give their community and country the benefit of their conscience and +judgment. The fraternities and labour and commercial organizations have +largely aided in the development of speaking by the exchange of views at +their regular meetings. The extension of popular government naturally +increases public speaking as it brings the masses into closer relation +to the government and makes them more and more a controlling force in +politics. + +The newspapers, instead of making the stump unnecessary, often increase +the necessity for face to face communication in order that both sides +may be represented and, sometimes, in order that misrepresentations may +be exposed. + +No substitute can be found for the pulpit. Earnestness which finds +expression through the voice cannot be communicated through the printed +page. If we are thrilled by what we read it gives us only a glimpse of +the power of speech to stir the soul. If the spoken word is to continue +to play an important part in the communication of information and in the +compelling of thought it is worth while to consider some of the rules +that contribute to the effectiveness of the pulpit and the platform. + +Sometimes I receive a letter from a young man who informs me that he is +a born orator and asks what such an one should do to prepare him for his +life-work. I answer that while an orator must be born like others his +success will not depend on inheritance, neither will a favourable +environment in youth assure it. An ancestor's fame may inspire him to +effort and the associations of the fireside may stimulate, but ability +to speak effectively is an acquirement rather than a gift. + +Eloquence may be defined as the speech of one who _knows what he is +talking about_ and _means what he says_--it is _thought on fire_. One +cannot communicate information unless he possesses it. There is quite a +difference in people in this respect; we say of one that he knows more +than he can tell and, of another, that he can tell all he knows, but it +is a reflection upon a man to say that he can tell more than he knows. + +The first thing, therefore, is to know the subject. One should know his +subject so well that a question will aid rather than embarrass him. A +question from the audience annoys one only when the speaker is _unable_ +to answer it or does not _want_ to answer it. Many a speaker has +been brought into ridicule by a question that revealed his lack of +information on the subject; and a speaker has sometimes been routed by +a question that revealed something he intended to conceal. Before +discussing a subject one should go all around it and view it from every +standpoint, asking and answering all the questions likely to be put by +his opponents. Nothing strengthens a speaker more than to be able +to answer every question put to him. His argument is made much more +forcible because the question focuses attention on the particular point; +a ready answer makes a deeper impression than the speaker could make +by the use of the same language without the benefit of the question to +excite interest in the proposition. + +But knowledge is of little use to the speaker without earnestness. +Persuasive speech is from heart to heart, not from mind to mind. It is +difficult for a speaker to deceive his audience as to his own feelings; +it takes a trained actor to make an imaginary thing seem real. Nearly +two thousand years ago one of the Latin poets expressed this thought +when he said, "If you would draw tears from others' eyes, yourself the +signs of grief must show." + +If one is master of an important subject and feels that he has a message +that must be delivered he will not lack a hearing. As there are always +important subjects before the country for settlement there will always +be oratory. In order to speak eloquently on one subject a man need not +be well informed on a large number of subjects, although information on +all subjects is of value. One who can in a general way discuss a large +number of subjects may be entirely outclassed by one who knows but one +subject but knows it well and _feels_ it. + +The pulpit has developed many great orators because it furnishes the +largest subject with which one can deal. The preacher who knows the +Bible and feels that every human being needs the message that the Bible +contains cannot fail to reach the hearts of his hearers. Dr. E. Benjamin +Andrews, once the President of Brown University and later Chancellor +of Nebraska University, told me of a sermon that he heard Jasper, the +coloured preacher of Richmond, deliver late in life on an anniversary +occasion. Jasper claimed nothing for himself but attributed his long +pastorate and whatever influence he had to the fact that he preached +from only one book--the Bible. + +When I was in college I heard a visitor draw a contrast between Cicero +and Demosthenes. I am not sure that it is fair to Cicero but it brings +out an important distinction. As I recall it, the speaker said, "When +Cicero spake the people said, 'How well Cicero speaks'; when Demosthenes +spake his hearers cried, 'Let us go against Philip.'" One impressed +himself upon his audience while the other impressed his subject. It need +hardly be said that in all effective oratory the speaker succeeds in +proportion as he can make his hearers forget him in their absorption +in the subject that he presents. I may add that there is a practical +advantage in the speaker's diverting attention from himself. There is +only one of him and he would soon become monotonous if he continually +thrust himself forward; but, as subjects are innumerable, he can give +infinite variety to his speech by putting the emphasis upon the theme. + +It is better that the audience, when it breaks up, should gather into +groups and discuss what the speaker said than to go away saying, "What a +delightful speech it was," and yet not remember the things said. Whether +the statements made are true or not it does no harm to have them +challenged; if some dispute what has been said and others defend the +speaker it is certain that thought has been aroused, and thinking leads +to truth. That is why freedom of speech is so essential in a republic; +it is the only process by which truth can be separated from error and +made to stand forth in all its strength. We should, therefore, invite +discussion. + +While acquaintance with the subject and heartfelt interest in it are the +first essentials of convincing speech, there are other qualities that +greatly strengthen discourse. First among these I would put _clearness +of statement_. Jefferson declared in the Declaration of Independence +that _certain_ truths are self-evident. It is a very conservative +statement of an important fact; it could be made stronger: _all truth is +self-evident_. The best service one can render a truth, therefore, is to +state it so clearly that it can be understood. This does not mean that +every self-evident truth will be immediately accepted because there are +many things that interfere with the acceptance of truth. + +First, let us consider depth of conviction. Some people take their +convictions more seriously than others. In India I heard a missionary +speak of another person as having "no opinions--nothing but +convictions"; while one of the enemies of Gladstone described him as +being the only person he ever knew who "could improvise the convictions +of a lifetime." Depth of conviction gives great force to an individual +when he is going in the right direction, but he is difficult to change +if he is going in the wrong direction. When I visited the Hermitage for +the first time they told me of an old coloured man, formerly a slave of +Jackson's, who survived his master many years. He was, of course, an +object of interest and many questions were asked in regard to Jackson's +characteristics. One visitor inquired of him if he thought Andrew +Jackson went to heaven. He quickly responded, "If he sot his head that +way, he did." + +Prejudice also delays the spread of truth. People sometimes brace +themselves against arguments. If I may be pardoned a personal +illustration I will cite a case of political prejudice that came under +my own observation. I was speaking in a town in western Nebraska, an +out-of-the-way place that I had seldom visited. A friend heard a man +say, "Well, I never heard him and I thought I would come and see what he +has to say." And then, with a determined look upon his face he added, +"But he will not convince me." Political prejudice is not so hard to +overcome as race prejudice and race prejudice is not so deep-seated as +religious prejudice; but prejudice of any kind, whether it be personal, +political, race, or religious, seriously interferes with the progress of +truth. + +Narrowness of vision often obstructs acceptance of truth. One must be +made to feel interested in the subject before he will listen to that +which is said about it. Aristotle has suggested a means by which each +one can measure himself. "If he is interested in himself only he is +very small; if he is interested in his family he is larger; if he is +interested in his community he is larger still." Thus he grows in size +as his sympathies expand--the largest person being the one whose heart +takes in the whole world. In proportion as we can enlarge the horizon of +the hearer we can increase the number of subjects to which he will give +attention. The minister has an advantage in that he deals with the one +subject about which all mankind thinks. The soul yearns for God: it is +man's highest aspiration and his most enduring concern. When one's +heart is changed--when he is born again--he listens to, understands and +accepts arguments that he rejected before. + +Selfish interest is one of the most common obstructions to the advance +of truth. Very often this difficulty can be overcome by showing that +the party is mistaken as to the effect of the proposed measure upon his +interests. Fortunately in matters of government a large majority of the +people have interests on the same side and the real task is to make this +plain. Where there is a real opposing interest, argument is of little +use unless it can be shown that the public welfare outweighs the +personal interest--that is, that a public interest is large enough to +swallow up the interest that is private and personal. + +Whenever one refuses to admit such a self-evident truth, for instance, +as that it is wrong to steal, don't argue with him--search him; the +reason may be found in his pocket. + +Next to clearness of statement, I would put conciseness--the condensing +of much into a few words. This is a great asset to a speaker. The +moulder of public opinion does not manufacture opinion; he simply puts +it into form so that it can be remembered and repeated; just as my +father used bullet-moulds to make bullets when he was about to go +squirrel hunting. The moulds did not create the lead, they simply put +it into effective form. Jefferson was the greatest moulder of public +opinion in the early days of this country. He did not create Democratic +sentiment; he simply took the aspirations that had nestled in the +hearts of men from time immemorial and put them into appropriate and +epigrammatic language, so that the nation thought his thoughts after +him, as the world is now doing. The proverbs of Solomon are priceless +for the same reason; they are full of wisdom--wisdom so expressed that +it can be easily comprehended. + +When I was a boy my father would call me in from work a little before +noon, read to me from Proverbs and comment on the sayings of the Wise +Man. After his death (when I was twenty) I recalled his fondness for +Proverbs and read the thirty-one chapters through each month for a year. +I was increasingly impressed with their beauty and strength. I have used +many of them in speeches. The one I have most frequently used in the +advocacy of reforms reads: "A prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth +himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished." + +I have often used a story to illustrate how much can be said in a few +words. A man said to another, "Do you drink?" The man to whom the +question was addressed, replied rather indignantly, "That is my +business, sir." "Have you any other business?" asked the first man. The +story is not only valuable as an illustration of brevity but it has a +moral side; if a man drinks much he soon has no other business. + +In this connection I will speak of the words to be employed. Our use of +big words increases from infancy to the day of graduation. I think it is +safe to say that with nearly all of us the maximum is reached on the day +when we leave school. We use more big words that day than we have +ever used before or will ever use again. When we go from college into +every-day life and begin to deal with our fellowmen we drop the big words +because we are more interested in making people understand us than we +are in parading our learning. The more earnest one is the smaller the +words used. If a young man used big words to assure his sweetheart of +his affection she would never understand him, but the word love has but +one syllable, just as the words life, faith, hope, home, food, and work +are one-syllable words. Remember that nearly every audience is made up +of people who differ in the amount of book learning they have received. +If you speak only to those best educated you will speak over the heads +of those less educated. A story is told on a great scientist who made +two holes in the back fence and showed them to his wife, explaining that +the big hole was for the cat and the small hole for the kitten. "But +cannot the kitten go through the same hole as the cat?" inquired his +wife. If you use little words you can reach not only the least learned, +but the most learned as well. + +Illustration is one of the most potent forms of argument; we understand +new things by comparing them with what we know. Christ was a master of +illustrations--the master. No one of whom history tells us has ever used +the illustration as effectively as He. He took the objects of every-day +life and made them mirrors which reflected truth. His parables give us a +wide range of illustration--the Sower going forth to sow, the Wheat and +the Tares, the Prodigal Son, the Wise and Foolish Virgins--in fact, all +the illustrations that He used might be cited to prove the power of this +form of argument. + +The question has been used throughout history; at every great crisis the +orators of the day have used the question form of argument. Its strength +depends upon the completeness with which the speaker includes all of the +essentials involved in summing up the situation. The greatest question +ever presented as an argument was that in which Christ concentrated +attention upon the value of the soul. No one will ever place a higher +estimate upon the soul than Christ did when He asked, "What shall it +profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" +No greater question was ever asked, or can be asked. (See Lecture, "The +Value of the Soul.") + +Courage is the last attribute to which I shall invite your attention. +The speaker must possess moral courage, and to possess it he must have +faith. + +Faith exerts a controlling influence over our lives. If it is argued +that works are more important than faith, I reply that faith comes +first, works afterward. Until one believes, he does not act, and in +accordance with his faith, so will be his deeds. + +Abraham, called of God, went forth in faith to establish a race and a +religion. It was faith that led Columbus to discover America, and faith +again that conducted the early settlers to Jamestown, the Dutch to New +York and the Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock. Faith has led the pioneer across +deserts and through trackless forests, and faith has brought others in +his footsteps to lay in our land the foundations of a civilization the +highest that the world has known. + +I might draw an illustration from the life of each one of you. You have +faith in education, and that faith is behind your study; you have faith +in this institution, and that faith brought you here; your parents +and friends have had faith in you and have helped you to your present +position. And back of all these manifestations of faith is your faith in +God, in His Word and in His Son. We are told that without faith it +is impossible to please God, and I may add that without faith it is +impossible to meet the expectations of those who are most interested in +you. Let me present this subject under four heads: + +First--You must have faith in yourselves. Not that you should carry +confidence in yourselves to the point of displaying egotism, and yet, +egotism is not the worst possible fault. My father was wont to say that +if a man had the big head, you could whittle it down, but that if he had +the little head, there was no hope for him. If you have the big head +others will help you to reduce it, but if you have the little head, they +cannot help you. You must believe that you can do things or you will +not undertake them. Those who lack faith attempt nothing and therefore +cannot possibly succeed; those with great faith attempt the seemingly +impossible and by attempting prove what man can do. + +But you cannot have faith in yourselves unless you are conscious that +you are prepared for your work. If one is feeble in body, he cannot have +the confidence in his physical strength that the athlete has, and, as +physical strength is necessary, one is justified in devoting to exercise +and to the strengthening of the body such time as may be necessary. + +Intellectual training is also necessary, and more necessary than it used +to be. When but few had the advantages of a college education, the +lack of such advantages was not so apparent. Now when so many of the +ministers, lawyers, physicians, journalists, and even business men, are +college graduates, one cannot afford to be without the best possible +intellectual preparation. When one comes into competition with his +fellows, he soon recognizes his own intellectual superiority, equality +or inferiority as compared with others. In China they have a very +interesting bird contest. The singing lark is the most popular bird +there, and as you go along the streets of a Chinese city you see +Chinamen out airing their birds. These singing larks are entered in +contests, and the contests are decided by the birds themselves. If, for +instance, a dozen are entered, they all begin to sing lustily, but as +they sing, one after another recognizes that it is outclassed and gets +down off its perch, puts its head under its wing and will not sing any +more. At last there is just one bird left singing, and it sings with +enthusiasm as if it recognized its victory. + +So it is in all intellectual contests. Put twenty men in a room and let +them discuss any important question. At first all will take part in the +discussion, but as the discussion proceeds, one after another drops out +until finally two are left in debate, one on one side and one on the +other. The rest are content to have their ideas presented by those who +can present them best. If you are going to have faith, therefore, in +yourselves, you must be prepared to meet your competitors upon an equal +plane; if you are prepared, they will be conscious of it as well as you. + +A high purpose is also a necessary part of your preparation. You cannot +afford to put a low purpose in competition with a high one. If you go +out to work from a purely selfish standpoint, you will be ashamed +to stand in the presence of those who have higher aims and nobler +ambitions. Have faith in yourselves, but to have faith you must +be prepared for your work, and this preparation must be moral and +intellectual as well as physical. The preacher should be the boldest of +men because of the unselfish character of his work. + +Second: Have faith in mankind. The great fault of our scholarship is +that it is not sufficiently sympathetic. It holds itself aloof from the +struggling masses. It is too often cold and cynical. It is better to +trust your fellowmen and be occasionally deceived than to be distrustful +and live alone. Mankind deserves to be trusted. There is something good +in every one, and that good responds to sympathy. If you speak to the +multitude and they do not respond, do not despise them, but rather +examine what you have said. If you speak from your heart, you will +speak to their hearts, and they can tell very quickly whether you are +interested in them or simply in yourself. The heart of mankind is sound; +the sense of justice is universal. Trust it, appeal to it, do not +violate it. People differ in race characteristics, in national +traditions, in language, in ideas of government, and in forms of +religion, but at the heart they are very much alike. I fear the +plutocracy of wealth; I respect the aristocracy of learning; but I thank +God for the democracy of the heart. You must love if you would be loved. +"They loved him because he first loved them"--this is the verdict +pronounced where men have unselfishly laboured for the welfare of the +whole people. Link yourselves in sympathy with your fellowmen; mingle +with them; know them and you will trust them and they will trust you. +If you are stronger than others, bear heavier loads; if you are more +capable than others, show it by your willingness to perform a larger +service. + +Third: If you are going to accomplish anything in this country, you must +have faith in your form of government, and there is every reason why +you should have faith in it. It is the best form of government ever +conceived by the mind of man, and it is spreading throughout the world. +It is best, not because it is perfect, but because it can be made as +perfect as the people deserve to have. It is a people's government, and +it reflects the virtue and intelligence of the people. As the people +make progress in virtue and intelligence, the government ought to +approach more and more nearly to perfection. It will never, of course, +be entirely free from faults, because it must be administered by human +beings, and imperfection is to be expected in the work of human hands. + +Jefferson said a century ago that there were naturally two parties in +every country, one which drew to itself those who trusted the people, +the other which as naturally drew to itself those who distrusted the +people. That was true when Jefferson said it, and it is true to-day. +In every country there are those who are seeking to enlarge the +participation of the people in government, and that group is growing. In +every country there are those who are endeavouring to obstruct each +step toward popular government, and that group is diminishing. In this +country the tendency is constantly toward more popular government, and +every effort which has for its object the bringing of the government +into closer touch with the people is sure of ultimate triumph. + +Our form of government is good. Call it a democracy if you are a +democrat, or a republic if you are a republican, but help to make it a +government of the people, by the people, and for the people. A democracy +is wiser than an aristocracy because a democracy can draw from the +wisdom of the people, and all of the people know more than any part of +the people. A democracy is stronger than a monarchy, because, as the +historian, Bancroft, has said: "It dares to discard the implements of +terror and build its citadel in the hearts of men." And a democracy is +the most just form of government because it is built upon the doctrine +that men are created equal, that governments are instituted to protect +the inalienable rights of the people and that governments derive their +just powers from the consent of the governed. + +We know that a grain of wheat planted in the ground will, under the +influence of the sunshine and rain, send forth a blade, and then a +stalk, and then the full head, because there is behind the grain of +wheat a force irresistible and constantly at work. There is behind moral +and political truth a force equally irresistible and always operating, +and just as we may expect the harvest in due season, we may be sure of +the triumph of these eternal forces that make for man's uplifting. Have +faith in your form of government, for it rests upon a growing idea, and +if you will but attach yourself to that idea, you will grow with it. + +Fourth, the subject presents itself in another aspect. You must not only +have faith in yourselves, in humanity and in the form of government +under which we live, but if you would do a great work, you must have +faith in God. I am not a preacher; I am but a layman; yet, I am +not willing that the minister shall monopolize the blessings of +Christianity, and I do not know of any moral precept binding upon the +preacher behind the pulpit that is not binding upon the Christian and +whose acceptance would not be helpful to every one. I am not speaking +from the minister's standpoint but from the observation of every-day life +when I say that there is a wide difference between the desire to live +so that men will applaud you and the desire to live so that God will be +satisfied with you. Man needs the inner strength that comes from faith +in God and belief in His constant presence. + +Man needs faith in God, therefore, to strengthen him in his hours of +trial, and he needs it to give him courage to do the work of life. How +can one fight for a principle unless he believes in the triumph of +right? How can he believe in the triumph of the right if he does not +believe that God stands back of the truth and that God is able to bring +victory to His side? He knows not whether he is to live for the truth or +to die for it, but if he has the faith he ought to have, he is as ready +to die for it as to live for it. + +Faith will not only give you strength when you fight for righteousness, +but your faith will bring dismay to your enemies. There is power in the +presence of an honest man who does right because it is right and dares +to do the right in the face of all opposition. That is true to-day, and +has been true through all history. + +If your preparation is complete so that you are conscious of your +ability to do great things; if you have faith in your fellowmen and +become a colabourer with them in the raising of the general level of +society; if you have faith in our form of government and seek to purge +it of its imperfections so as to make it more and more acceptable to our +own people and to the oppressed of other nations; and if, in addition, +you have faith in God and in the triumph of the right, no one can set +limits to your achievements. This is the greatest of all ages in which +to live. The railroads and the telegraph wires have brought the corners +of the earth close together, and it is easier to-day for one to be +helpful to the whole world than it was a few centuries ago to be +helpful to the inhabitants of a single valley. This is the age of great +opportunity and of great responsibility. Let your faith be large, and +let this large faith inspire you to perform a large service. + +Because the preacher has consecrated himself to God's service and seeks +divine guidance from the Bible and through prayer, he is able to speak +with absolute confidence. His trust is the measure of his strength; +because he _knows_ what Christ has done for him he knows what Christ can +do for others. His own experience is the foundation of his trust in the +Gospel that he preaches. Because a miracle was wrought in his own life +he knows that the day of miracles is not past; because one heart has +been regenerated he knows that all hearts can be, and that Christ, +through His power to transform the life of each individual, can +transform a world. + +I beg you to prepare yourselves to proclaim the Word of God by voice +as well as with pen. You have a mighty message for a waiting world--a +message worthy of all your powers of heart and mind and tongue. + + + + +BIBLE STUDY + + +_P. WHITWELL WILSON Author of the "Christ We Forget_" + +The Vision We Forget + +A Layman's Reading of the Book of Revelation. $2.00 + +"Certainly this is the most entertaining treatise on the Revelation ever +written. Will make the Revelation a new book in the reading of many +Christians. It brings the Revelation down into the present day and makes +it all intensely vital and modern." + +_C.E. World_. + + +_J.J. ROSS + +The author of "The Kingdom in Mystery."_ + +Thinking Through the New Testament + +An Outline Study of Every Book In the New Testament. $1.75 + +A course of study in the books of the New Testament. Dr. Ross has +prepared a volume which can be used by the individual student as well as +by study groups. + + +_FREDERIC B. OXTOBY_ + +Making the Bible Real + +Introductory Studies in the Bible. $1.00 + +In simple, direct language, Dr. Oxtoby brings his readers into close, +intimate contact with the wonderful story of God's chosen People, their +Land, their History, their Prophets and their Literature. + + +_PHILIP MAURO Author of "The Number of Man"_ + +Bringing Back the King + +Another Volume on the Kingdom. $1.00 + +Continuing his study of the Kingdom, the author in this volume sets +forth the relation of King David with the Gospel. + + +_PHILIP MAURO_ + +Our Liberty in Christ + +A Study in Galatians. $1.25 + +An exposition of Galatians from the standpoint that its main theme is +"the Liberty wherewith Christ has made us free." Special attention is +given to the unfolding of the remarkable "allegory" in Chapter IV. + + + + +WORK AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE + + +_HUGH T. KERR_ + +Children's Gospel Story-Sermons + +A New Volume of Talks to the Young. $1.25 + +The stories are drawn from history, mythology, the daily newspapers, +biography, and fiction. They are all interesting, and the author +always makes a plain, sensible, evangelical application of them, well +calculated to help boys and girls. + +[Illustration: Children's Gospel Story-Sermons.] + + +_S.D. CHAMBERS_ + +_Author of "If I Were You_." + +To Be or Not To Be + +Brief Talks with Children and Young Folks. $1.25 + +In Mr. Chambers' new volume of "Five Minute Talks" he aims at helping +the children to right decisions--to determine whether they will, or will +not, acquire certain good and bad qualities, calculated to either make +or mar their characters and lives. A useful series, quite above the +ordinary. + + +_W. RUSSELL BOWIE_ + +_Rector St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Va. Author of "The +Children's Year," etc_. + +Sunny Windows + +and Other Sermons for Children. $1.25 + +"Every pastor has the rich opportunity of speaking to the children, and +desires to magnify this opportunity for indoctrination to the highest +degree. The advantage of this book lies in the fact that the preacher +has had unusual success in his ministry with the children in which +he has made use of all the materials here accumulated." _Christian +Advocate_. + + +_WADE O. SMITH_ + +_Author of "The Little Jets", etc._ + +"Say, Fellows!" + +Chummy Talks with Young Men about the Game of Life. $1.25 + +A volume of the famous talks from Wade Smith's Boys' Class: "Say +Fellows, the finest and biggest and most thrilling game of all is the +life game, in which our adversary is the devil. The forces of the devil +are most powerfully organized to overthrow the forces of God's Kingdom." + + + + +EVANGELISTIC WORK + + +_OZORA S. DAVIS_ + +_President, Chicago Theological Seminary_ + +Evangelistic Preaching + +With Sermon Outlines and Talks to Children and Young People. $1.50 + +"The best help on this important subject that we have ever seen. Sets +forth with skill and completeness the method of evangelism that best +appeals to the men and women of the present day."--_C.E. World_. + +[Illustration] + + +_WILLIAM E. BIEDERWOLF_ + +_Sec. The National Federated Evangelistic Committee_ + +Evangelism + +Its Justification--Operation--Value. $1.75 + +"It is a text-book and a call. Every chapter is full of value. It tells +how to give the invitation and how to conduct the after-meeting. It is a +book for every one who is interested in doing evangelistic work." + +_Herald and Presbyter_. + + +_FREDERICK L. FAGLEY_ + +_Executive Secretary Commission on Evangelism Congregation Churches_. + +Parish Evangelism + +An Outline of a Year's Program. $1.00 + +Mr. Fagley lays down a sensible, workable plan of work, including the +formalities and maintenance of an evangelistic committee, a program of +preaching, methods of personal work, deepening of the prayer-life, etc. + + +_J.W. PORTER_ + +The Assurance of Salvation + +And Other Evangelistic Sermons. $1.25 + +"Sermons of the distinctly orthodox type and suggestive in outline and +illustration. Warm the soul and stimulate the thought."--_Evangelical +Messenger_. + + +_CHARLES FORBES TAYLOR (The Boy Evangelist)_ + +The Riveter's Gang + +and Other Revival Addresses. $1.25 + +"The value of this book lies not alone in the anecdotes and sermons that +it contains, but in the illustration of how a successful evangelistic +preacher may enforce his teaching."--_Lookout_. + + + + +SELF-HELP + + +_ROGER W. BABSON_ + +_Pres. Babson's Statistical Organization_ + +Making Good in Business $1.25 + +The famous Business Expert here applies a fundamental knowledge of +business principles to daily business life. The latest work by the +author of "Fundamentals of Prosperity" is crammed with the most valuable +sort of hints and suggestions for the attainment of a successful +business career. + +[Illustration] + + +_WILLIAM GEORGE JORDAN_ _Author of "Self Control", etc._ + +The Trusteeship of Life + +A Study in the True Values of Existence $1.25 + +A new volume of Mr. Jordan's winning Essays which have called forth +the hearty praise of Henry van Dyke who said: "They are suggestive +and stimulating. His philosophy has three big little words--courage, +cheerfulness and charity." + + + + +BIOGRAPHY, etc. + + +_FREDERICK LYNCH Educational Secretary of The Church Peace Union_ + +Personal Recollections of Andrew Carnegie $1.50 + +"Happily Dr. Lynch's little volume of personal recollections of Andrew +Carnegie admirably supplements the autobiography. These two books +taken together will explain the real Carnegie to his countrymen." +_Independent_. + + +_PHILIP I. ROBERTS_ + +"Charlie" Alexander + +A Study in Personality. $1.00 + +_Dr. Edgar Whitaker Work says_. "Brief as it is, it serves its purpose +successfully. It leaves a picture of the great singer in the mind that +cannot be forgotten." + + +_DAVID GREGG, D.D._ + +A Book of Remembrance + +Selections from the writings of Dr. David Gregg. Compiled by Frank +Dilnot. $2.00 + +A book of rare stimulus and devotional charm overflowing with precious +thoughts selected from the works of the well-known preacher and +devotional writer by one well qualified for the task. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In His Image, by William Jennings Bryan + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN HIS IMAGE *** + +***** This file should be named 12744.txt or 12744.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/7/4/12744/ + +Produced by Bob Jones, Frank van Drogen and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/12744.zip b/old/12744.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8c40d39 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12744.zip |