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THE    DISCIPLES    DIVINITY    HOUSE 


OF    THE 


UNIVERSITY   OF   CHICAGO 


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January  4,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


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UlSCiplGS  tion   Society   is   an  or- 

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-     .  .  which  churches  of  the 

SOClety  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
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regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
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"The  Training  of  Church  Members" 

IS   THE    TEXT    BOOK 
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The  Christian  Century 


CHABIES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT  L.  WILLETT,  CONTRIBUTING  EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


JANUARY  4,  1917 


Number   1 


The  Battles  of  Religion 


STRUGGLE  IS  NECESSARY  TO  LIFE. 

Whenever  an  organism  is  no  longer  struggling  and 
fighting  adverse  influences  it  has  already  begun  to  die. 
The  whole  history  of  life  is  a  history  of  struggle  and  of 
survival.  A  religion  that  tries  to  live  softly  has  abdi- 
cated the  place  it  ought  to  have  in  the  life  process.  A 
proselyting  Mormonism  has  made  more  strides  in  Ameri- 
can life  with  its  bizarre  doctrines  and  its  polygamy  than 
has  soft-living  Unitarianism,  which  has  the  backing  of 
our  leading  American  university. 

The  operation  of  this  principle  is  illustrated  in  the 
history  of  a  local  church.  In  the  early  days  the  neigh- 
bors sincerely  raise  the  question  whether  the  church  can 
live.  There  is  no  lack  of  dire  prophecy  about  the  things 
that  will  happen  to  the  enterprise.  There  is  lack  of 
money,  lack  of  habits,  lack  of  prestige,  lack  of  internal 
unity,  and  there  are  many  other  hindering  circumstances. 
These  adverse  conditions  are  often  met  with  the  most 
astonishing  sacrifices.  The  members  insist  afterwards 
that  their  happiest  days  in  the  church  were  precisely 
those  days  of  struggle. 

In  a  certain  suburb  of  Chicago  was  a  Methodist 
church  winch  had  a  seventy-five  thousand  dollar  build- 
ing. It  had  a  wealthy  clientele  who  paid  all  the  bills  of 
the  church  cheerfully.  The  church  closed  its  doors  a 
few  years  ago.  The  people  would  pay  but  they  would 
not  go  to  church.  Loyalty  was  all  expressed  in  writing 
checks.  This  church  found  that  it  could  not  live  without 
the  united  effort  of  a  Christian  group  against  the  evil  of 
the  world. 

It  is  possible  that  the  church  of  today  may  abound 
in  physical  properties  and  yet  be  poor  in  the  things  that 
are  fundamental  to  its  life. 

•     • 

It  is  easy  to  note  how  all  this  applies  to  the  Dis- 
ciples. In  the  beginning  they  were  everywhere  spoken 
against.  No  denomination  would  furnish  fellowship  for 
this  young  but  aspiring  group  of  religious  progressives. 
They  were  compelled  to  create  their  own  fellowship. 
Challenged  to  debate,  they  met  their  opponents  on  the 
platform  and  defeated  them  in  many  a  hard-earned  vic- 
tory. There  was  formed  in  the  city  of  Chicago  in  the 
forties  of  the  last  century  a  society  to  "refute  the  errors 
I  of  Campbellism."  These  were  heroic  days  for  our  peo- 
ple. They  emerged  from  this  period  of  opposition  with 
energy  and  a  tremendous  power  in  their  thrust. 

Now  the  Disciple  ministers  everywhere  sit  in  the 
union  meetings  of  the  evangelicals.  Often  they  lead. 
They  have  no  desire  to  fight  the  old  enemies.  They 
have  not  found  new  ones.  Some  of  our  fighting  energy 
has  been  used  up  recently  in  fighting  each  other.  We 
need  to  discover  the  real  enemy  and  then  we  can  close 
up  our  ranks  and  fight  shoulder  to  shoulder  like  true 
comrades. 

What  is  true  of  the  Disciples,  is  true  of  the  whole 


.Christian  world.  We  no  longer  have  the  same  definite 
consciousness  of  who  the  enemy  is,  as  did  Martin 
Luther.  It  is  said  that  Satan  appeared  to  him  in  visible 
form  and  that  the  valiant  reformer  threw  an  ink-well  at 
the  arch-deceiver.  Paul  believed  that  the  very  air  was 
full  of  spirits  good  and  evil.  He  felt  that  the  battle  of 
religion  was  not  against  flesh  and  blood  but  against 
principalities,  against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the 
darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in 
high  places.  The  little  circle  of  modern  obscurantists 
with  their  personal  devil  tearing  around  the  world  stir- 
ring up  trouble  have  a  visualization  of  the  enemy  that 
undoubtedly  increases  their  zeal  and  their  power. 

What  the  church  of  today  needs  is  a  fresh  definition 
of  the  enemy  of  human  life  and  a  new  thrust  of  the  will 
to  overcome  this  enemy. 

•     • 

The  Christian  church  of  today  must  fight  the  pagan 
enemy  against  which  she  has  stood  for  two  thousand 
years.    The  battle  has  but  begun. 

This  rollicking  paganism  would  callus  from  serving 
the  tables  of  the  Lord  to  the  carousals  of  luxury  around 
tables  of  ivory.  The  wealth  of  our  wonderful  new  age 
trickles  slowly  into  the  channels  of  charity  and  uplift. 
It  flows  like  a  mighty  flood  in  the  service  of  sin.  Ice 
cream  soda  costs  us  more  than  religion.  Chewing  gum 
makes  deeper  inroads  on  our  pocketbooks  than  does  mis- 
sions. Our  enormous  wealth  might  save  the  world  if 
it  were  consecrated.  It  threatens  to  plunge  us  into  a 
new  "Dark  Age,"  such  as  imperial  Rome  met  at  the  end 
of  her  career. 

It  is  the  same  old  paganism  which  builds  up  new 
feudal  orders  based  upon  wealth  and  privilege,  and  even 
upon  education.  Christianity  tears  down  these  fences, 
but  the  old  world  spirit  builds  them  up. 

The  secular  spirit  exalts  the  here  and  the  now.  It 
puts  men  in  bondage  to  time  and  to  sense.  The  bauble 
of  today  is  worth  more  than  the  treasure  of  tomorrow. 
It  blinds  men  to  the  deeper  satisfaction  of  the  spirit. 
The  table  of  rich  viands,  the  wine-glass,  and  every  other 
sensuous  thing  is  exalted  above  the  deeper  delights  qf 
culture  and  brotherhood  and  worship. 

The  pagan  spirit  is  at  work  on  the  battlefields  of  the 
world  today.  It  destroys  human  values  ruthlessly  in 
the  saloon.  With  reckless  hand,  it  breaks  up  the  spir- 
itual values  which  humanity  has  been  trying  to  create 
through  two  thousand  years  of  Christian  history. 

It  is  Christ  against  Sin !  This  is  the  battle  of  the 
ages  and  we  are  in  the  very  thick  of  the  battle. 

Woe  be  to  the  counsellor  who  today  reads  us  polite 
essays  that  anaesthetize  waiting  congregations?  Woe 
to  those  who  minister  to  a  spirit  of  ease  in  Zion ! 

It  is  time  for  every  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  to  take 
in  his  hand  the  sword  and  lay  about  him. 

Jesus  said,  "I  came  not  to  bring  peace,  but  a  sword." 


DITORIAL 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGIOUS  INTEREST 

PREACHERS  are  inclined  to  sing  a  doleful  song 
these  days  about  the  influence  of  mammonism  on 
religious  life  and  worship.  They  tell  the  stories 
of  small  audiences  and  depleted  prayer-meetings,  all  of 
which  is  regrettable  enough.  Not  all  of  the  signs  of  the 
times,  however,  are  of  this  sort. 

The  big  movements  sweeping  the  country  in  vari- 
ous denominations  are  an  indication  that  religious  inter- 
est is  still  powerful  enough  to  bring  about  certain 
results.  The  Men  and  Millions  Movement  of  the  Disci- 
ples has  been  followed  by  great  forward  movements  in 
other  denominations.  The  Baptists  have  their  five-year 
program.  The  Congregationalists  are  celebrating  the 
tercentennial  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  with  new 
and  worth-while  efforts  in  religion.  The  Christian 
Endeavor  movement  has  its  "Millions"  campaign  on. 
The  Methodists  and  Episcopalians  have  been  raising 
astonishing  sums  of  money  running  into  the  millions  for 
the  pensioning  of  the  aged  ministers  of  their  groups. 

All  these  things  are  signs  that  the  mammonism 
which  is  declared  to  be  of  such  danger  to  the  spiritual 
life  of  America  has  been  made  to  turn  the  wheels  of 
more  than  one  movement  looking  in  the  direction  of 
human  uplift. 

These  movements  indicate  the  efficiency  with  which 
the  church  is  learning  to  organize  herself  nationally. 
Men  of  Napoleonic  intellects  are  at  work  in  the  great 
enterprises  of  missions  and  benevolence.  Their  success, 
however,  indicates  that  America  has  not  lost  her  interest 
in  religion,  but  has  only  found  new  ways  of  expressing  it. 

All  of  these  things  are  good,  but  we  still  wait  for 
a  revival  of  interest  in  the  deeper  things  of  religion. 
Our  age  is  full  of  loose  and  inadequate  thinking  about 
the  ultimate  problems  of  religion.  It  lacks  in  devotional 
spirit.  It  does  not  possess  the  evangelistic  spirit  that 
such  a  worth-while  religion  should  have.  While  we  re- 
joice in  the  religious  interest  that  is  now  shown,  we  hope 
for  other  and  more  fundamental  kinds  of  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  Christ. 


THE  DIVISIVE  "ISMS" 

THE  public  press  reports  a  Disciple  church  in  Los 
Angeles  as  being  in  the  courts  over  the  question  of 
its  property.  A  minister  who  was  once  interested 
in  socialism  has  now  taken  a  new  view  of  how  our  world 
should  be  made  over  and  has  espoused  the  views  of  the 
late  "Pastor"  Eussell.  This  has  brought  a  split  in  the 
church  and  a  suit  in  the  courts  to  determine  the  owner- 
ship of  the  property.  The  court  will  probably  determine 
the  property  question  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  numbers 
on  either  side.  The  question  of  right  will  be  passed  up 
to  a  Higher  Court. 

This  is  but  another  example  of  the  destructive  char- 
acter of  what  Alexander  Campbell  well  called  Opinion- 
ism.  The  church  of  which  we  speak  is  not  divided  over 
Christ.  It  is  divided  over  a  group  of  man-made  interpre- 
tations of  scripture.  Faith  has  been  obscured  by  zeal 
for  man-made  doctrines. 

It  is  a  true  note  that  has  been  struck  throughout 
our  movement  that  we  are  to  find  our  unity  in  the  big 
fundamentals  of  religion.  Love  for  and  loyalty  to  Jesus 
Christ  is  so  big  and  compelling  an  interest  that  it  leaves 


no  place  for  the  quarrels  and  bickerings  of  factionalists 
who  give  their  lives  to  small  loyalties  and  superficial 
modes  of  thinking. 

Perhaps  we  all  have  in  our  thinking  divergences 
from  orthodox  modes  of  thought.  Some  of  us  are  mod- 
est enough  to  write  a  question  mark  over  opinions  dif- 
ferent from  those  commonly  held.  Others  find  a  sense 
of  certainty  about  their  peculiar  notions  that  does  not 
pertain  to  the  ideas,  held  in  common  with  others. 

The  self-appointed  leaders  of  "isms"  and  factions  in 
recent  years  have  had  a  most  unsavory  history.  Some- 
times the  same  victim  has  fallen  for  more  than  one  false 
teacher.  We  can  see  in  the  "isms"  the  working  of  an 
unquenchable  interest  in  religion.  We  could  wish  that 
this  interest  had  wiser  direction. 

PROHIBITION   AND    POLITICS 

THE  prohibition  question  has  been  taboo  among  the 
politicians  for  a  good  many  years,  but  the  time  is 
near  at  hand  when  it  will  be  the  livest  of  political 
questions.  The  territory  in  this  country  under  state  pro- 
hibition corresponds  pretty  well  to  the  territory  which 
recently  voted  for  Mr.  Wilson,  as  William  Jennings 
Bryan  points  out  in  his  speeches.  The  only  way  the 
Democratic  party  can  avoid  coming  out  for  national  pro- 
hibition" is  by  a  type  of  evasion  it  has  often  used  before 
— the  doctrine  of  state's  rights.  Should  it  stand  for 
national  prohibition,  the  Republican  party  would  be 
compelled  to  come  into  the  fold  or  else  take  the  worst 
drubbing  of  its  history,  for  it  is  now  well  known  that 
the  church  people  will  scratch  their  tickets  these  days 
on  this  issue. 

It  is  none  too  soon  for  there  to  begin  a  jockeying 
for  position  in  this  matter.  The  Republicans  may  control 
the  next  house  of  representatives.  They  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  take  some  kind  of  prohibition  initiative,  such 
as  making  the  District  of  Columbia  dry.  If  they  fail 
to  do  so,  the  public  will  be  informed  of  the  kind  of 
attitude  they  will  take  at  the  next  national  election. 

There  was  never  a  time  when  the  prohibition  forces 
needed  wise  leadership  so  much  as  now.  It  is  the  mis- 
fortune of  the  movement  that  it  is  still  so  much  divided 
by  rival  organizations  and  policies.  Almost  as  deep  as 
the  need  of  Christian  union  is  the  need  of  Temperance 
union,  a  kind  of  close  federation  of  all  the  societies  that 
are  working  for  a  saloonless  nation.  Every  true  friend 
of  the  temperance  cause  will  lend  his  influence  toward 
such  a  federation. 

The  moral  issues  are  now  to  the  fore  in  the  nation. 
We  are  thinking  about  many  problems  that  are  distinctly 
in  this  field.  Very  prominent  among  all  these  is  the 
problem  of  giving  the  coup  de  grace  to  John  Barleycorn. 

DO    CITY    MISSIONS    PAY? 

WORK  among  immigrants  in  a  great  city  may 
seem  to  some  to  move  slowly  enough,  but  when 
comparisons  are  made  it  is  seen  that  the  results 
are  of  a  very  gratifying  sort.  The  Presbyterians  organ- 
ized a  mission  among  the  Persians  of  Chicago.  They 
have  been  permitted  by  the  other  denominations  to  work 
this  field  exclusively.  At  the  end  of  twenty  years  there 
were  more  Persian  Presbyterians  in  Chicago  than  there 
were  in  Persia  at  the  end  of  fifty  years  of  missions,  al- 


January  4,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


though  Presbyterian  expenditures  in  that  country  had 
run  to  a  considerable  total.  This  is  not  to  discredit  the 
enterprise  of  carrying-  the  gospel  to  Persia,  but  it  is  to 
answer  any  who  would  regard  city  mission  work  as 
slow  and  small  in  results. 

The  reason  city  missions  have  often  shown  such 
meager  results  has  been  the  niggardliness  of  the  expen- 
ditures for  them.  In  China  a  single  mission  station  will 
have  a  whole  group  of  missionaries  conducting  the  va- 
rious types  of  work,  a  large  part  of  which  is  philan- 
thropic, though  with  a  Christian  motive.  In  city  mis- 
sions, in  days  gone  by,  a  man  of  rather  questionable  abil- 
ity has  recently  been  set  down  alone  in  a  great  racial 
group  and  expected  to  master  the  situation. 

The  Presbyterians  spend  every  year  in  Chicago  over 
$125,000  for  city  missions.  The  Disciples  spend  from 
two  to  five  thousand  dollars.  When  it  comes  to  compar- 
ing results,  it  is  clear  that  the  big  thing  brings  corre- 
spondingly more  results  than  does  the  small  thing. 

It  is  manifest  that  our  home  missionary  agencies 
find  city  missions  a  popular  note  to  be  struck  among 
the  Disciples.  They  talk  more  about  city  missions  than 
anything  else  in  their  literature.  When  it  comes  to 
spending  the  money  the  people  give  on  the  basis  of  this 
literature,  a  mere  pittance  goes  to  the  thing  that  Dis- 
ciples everywhere  are  interested  in.  This  is  just  as  ill- 
advised  as  killing  the  goose  that  lays  the  golden  egg. 

City  missions  pay  in  human  results.  They  pay  as 
a  means  of  arousing  home  mission  sentiment.  They  pay 
in  the  way  of  claiming  the  world  for  Christ.  Why  are 
our  societies  such  laggards  in  this  challenging  task? 


THE    CHURCH    AND    THE    STATE 

WHEN  Constantine  was  converted  Christianity 
became  in  a  sense  a  state  religion.  It  was  the 
beginning  of  changes  that  were  fundamental  to 
the  religion  of  Jesus.  The  Man  of  the  Divine  Life  had 
given  the  world  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  His  teach- 
ings under  the  hand  of  the  Greeks  had  evolved  the 
Nicene  creed.  Now,  they  were  to  be  still  further 
changed.  The  Kingdom  of  God  was  to  become  a  king- 
dom of  this  world,  visible  and  temporal. 

Protestantism  did  not  at  once  repudiate  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  union  of  church  and  state.  Indeed,  a  part  of 
the  success  of  the  movement  of  Martin  Luther,  as  con- 
!  trasted  with  some  previous  reformatory  movements,  was 
,in  playing  one  petty  prince  against  another.  The  new 
Lutheranism  was  quite  as  much  a  state  religion  as  was 
the  old  Roman  Catholicism. 

On  the  British  Isles  reformation  did  not  mean  a' 

•separation  of  church  and  state.    In  the  long  ago,  only  the 

Baptists  insisted  upon  such  a  separation.     It  was  the 

competing  sectarianism  of  America  that  brought  about 

an  article  in  our  constitution  guaranteeing  the  freedom 

Lof  religion  and  the  separation  of  church  and  state. 

We  now  face  the  danger  of  a  divorce  between  reli- 
gion and  citizenship  which  is  different  from  a  separation 
of  church  and  state.  The  state  needs  the  moral  idealism 
of  the  church.  There  are  many  public  questions  which 
need  a  keen  conscience.  Recently  the  mayor  of  a  cer- 
tain city  gathered  the  ministers  of  the  community  to- 
gether to  hear  a  protest  by  some  negro  citizens  against 
a  film  show,  "The  Birth  of  a  Nation."  The  mayor 
insisted  that  he  wanted  to  know  what  was  right  from 
men  who  ought  to  furnish  the  community  with  some 
of  its  standards  of  righteousness.    The  whole  conscience 


of  the  church  should  be  brought  to  the  solution  uf  our 
national  problems. 

Nor  should  the  nation  allow  itself  to  legislate  detri- 
mentally to  the  interests  of  the  church.  A  democracy 
in  government  has  no  better  friend  than  a  democratic 
religion. 

FAITH  AND  CHURCH  WORK 

IN  FEW  enterprises  is  there  so  little  faith  as  in  the 
plans  of  some  local  churches.  Business  men,  elders 
and  deacons  who  manage  their  own  affairs  with  a 
wise  faith  in  the  development  and  success  of  their  busi- 
ness often  proceed  with  halting  caution  in  managing 
the  local  church ;  this  cripples  it  for  progress. 

It  would  not  be  well  to  trust  too  much  to  the  thing 
that  is  going  "to  turn  up"  in  the  year's  work,  but  does 
not  an  examination  of  the  records  of  any  church  show 
that  in  the  matter  of  finances  a  good  deal  of  dependence 
may  be  placed  any  year  upon  this  element  of  uncer- 
tainty? The  church  always  has  more  resources  than 
those  revealed  by  the  every-member  canvass. 

When  a  congregation  needs  a  new  building  some 
voice  is  always  raised  insisting  that  "we  should  have 
jthe  money  first."  This  man  ignores  the  palpable  fact 
that  church  buildings  are  seldom  built  that  way.  They 
are  always  adventures  of  faith.  Unless  one  can  trust 
God  and  the  people,  what  is  the  use  of  having  a  church  ? 

It  is  the  same  way  with  a  progressive  policy.  When 
an  innovation  is  proposed  someone  can  always  see 
trouble  ahead.  It  is  well  enough  to  examine  such  a 
possibility,  but  if  no  new  thing  were  ever  done  until 
all  was  clear  sailing,  the  progress  of  our  old  world 
would  be  rather  slow. 

The  congregation  in  its  own  life  needs  to  be  taught 
that  the  man  of  faith  can  remove  mountains.  There  is 
a  kind  of  spiritual  miracle  that  is  still  possible.  Over 
our  country  every  year  there  are  congregations  which 
have  accomplished  the  impossible.  These  are  the 
blessed  products  of  faith. 

The  church  needs  a  new  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  its 
own  message.  We  are  not  preaching  a  gospel  lacking  in 
merit.  We  are  not  the  expounders  of  any  new  and 
untried  "ism."  Ours  is  the  gospel  of  the  ages,  which 
has  been  shown  by  many  centuries  of  glorious  results 
to  be  a  gospel  fitted  to  the  soul  of  man.  So  long  as  we 
have  the  gospel  of  the  Divine  Christ,  we  may  plan  for 
our  churches  with  a  faith  that  falters  at  nothing. 

SOCIAL  UPLIFT  AND  SALVATION 

THE  man  who  preaches  the  social  ideals  of  Jesus  is 
sometimes  accused  of  neglecting  the  "gospel." 
Those  who  know  how  the  New  Testament  defines 
the  gospel  will  smile  at  such  an  inadequate  judgment. 
The  gospel  includes  the  whole  redemptive  program  of 
Jesus  Christ.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Jesus  looked 
upon  himself  as  coming  to  save  a  few  lost  individuals 
as  brands  from  the  burning.  He  came  to  found  a  king- 
dom. He  talked  most  about  this  ideal.  Translated  into 
a  twentieth  century  equivalent,  his  purpose  was  to 
create  a  divine  order  of  society. 

There  is  really  no  discrepancy  between  the  thing 
we  call  social  uplift  and  the  thing  we  call  salvation. 
One  looks  at  humanity  in  the  mass,  the  other  looks  at 
people  as  individuals.  Any  adequate  study  of  religion 
will  deal  with  both  these  phases. 

There  is,  of  course,  a  type  of  social  uplift  talk  which 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  4,  1917 


is  not  very  religious.  It  deals  with  the  small  details 
of  life  and  with  the  physical  and  economic  largely.  The 
man  who  would  reduce  all  our  problems  of  life  to  the 
economic  can  scarcely  claim  Christian  support  for  his 
attitude.  It  is  against  such  preaching  as  this  that  the 
churches  have  often  reacted. 

There  is,  however,  a  kind  of  preaching  of  salvation 
which  has  no  care  for  the  neighborhood  a  man  lives  in. 
Except  for  what  "Billy''  Sunday  does  against  the  sa- 
loon, his  preaching  has  but  little  in  it  for  the  community, 
though  his  preaching  reaches  a  whole  community  and 
ought  to  bear  a  community  message.  When  salvation 
deals  only  with  the  subjectivity  of  the  individual,  when 
it  is  treated  in  such  manner  as  to  leave  the  individual 
still  essentially  a  self-centered  egotist  hunting  for  a 
selfish  heaven,  this  doctrine  of  salvation  is  not  of  Christ. 
It  is  a  modern  perversion. 

Social  reform  rests  back  upon  the  individual.  Indi- 
vidual salvation  has  its  roots  in  the  Christian  commu- 
nity. The  two  ways  of  looking  at  life  and  redemption 
are  inseparable. 

■ 

THE  RURAL  CHURCH  BUILDING. 

MANY  a  rural  church  has  heard  through  the  reli- 
gious press  of  the  new  movement  in  rural  life. 
Perhaps  the  new  rural  minister  has  made  his 
appearance,  with  his  revolutionary  ideas.  But  the  old 
meeting  house  stands  there  grim  and  impossible,  for- 
bidding by  its  architecture  the  practice  of  the  kind  of 
social  life  which  our  present  ideals  demand. 

There  are  still  many  rural  church  buildings  which 
were  built  for  the  single  enterprise  of  preaching  the 
gospel.  These  plants  are  not  adequate  for  the  work  of 
the  Sunday  school.  Least  of  all  do  they  furnish  the 
young  people  a  meeting  place ;  nor  do  they  give  to  the 
community  the  other  things  that  go  with  a  live  and 
modern  church. 

In  some  cases  the  old  church  building  could  be  re- 
modeled in  such  way  as  to  furnish  some  of  the  features 
that  go  with  the  model  rural  church: 

In  other  cases  there  could  be  an  addition  built  that 
would  supplement  existing  facilities.  In  most  cases, 
probably,  the  new  life  in  the  rural  church  demands  a 
new  plant  which  may  stand  as  a  symbol  of  the  modern 
spirit  which  possesses  it. 

What  is  most  needed  now  is  a  book  of  plans  show- 
ing how  fitting  buildings  may  be  erected  and  also  indi- 
cating their  cost.  Our  Church  Extension  society  once 
performed  a  real  service  for  the  brotherhood  by  publish- 
ing a  number  of  plans  of  church  buildings.  Times  have 
changed  and  the  work  needs  to  be  done  over  again. 
There  is  a  possibility  that  the  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America  may  become  responsible 
for  a  collection  of  such  church  plans.  Were  these  gath- 
ered together,  they  would  help  in  shaping  the  church 
buildings  of  country  districts  the  country  over. 

ARE  THE  INDIANS  EVANGELIZED? 

THERE  are  about  325,000  people  in  the  United 
States  and  Alaska  who  are  classed  as  Indians. 
While  for  a  long  time  the  number  of  aborigines 
decreased,  this  has  not  been  true  in  recent  years.  The 
wise  provisions  of  the  United  States  government  have 
led  to  the  development  of  the  Indians  in  directions 
which  will  probably  guarantee  their  survival  in  Ameri- 
can life. 


A  study  of  the  religious  affiliations  of  the  Indians 
is  very  interesting.  Not  forty  per  cent  of  them  make 
a  profession  of  the  Christian  religion.  Of  these  about 
one-half  are  Roman  Catholic  and  the  other  half  have 
membership  in  Protestant  churches. 

There  are  but  few  of  the  denominations  of  any  size 
who  are  not  doing  work  among  the  Indians.  The 
Baptists  have  5,408  communicants  among  this  people. 
The  Methodists  have  5,300.  The  Northern  Presbyte- 
rians have  nearly  9,000.  The  Protestant  Episcopal 
church  has  nearly  7,000.  The  Disciples  alone  of  all  the 
great  evangelical  bodies  of  the  country  have  continued 
to  do  home  mission  work  independently  of  the  needs  of 
the  red  man. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  Indian  has  been  suffi- 
ciently provided  with  institutions  ministering  to  his 
spiritual  needs.  The  Home  Missions  Council,  on  the 
other  hand,  estimates  that  there  are  46,312  red  men  in  I 
the  United  States  who  are  not  provided  with  religious 
opportunities.  < 

In  the  northern  part  of  New  Mexico  there  are  3,000 
without  such  advantages.  In  California  north  of  Teha-  ' 
chapi  Pass  there  are  5,000.  There  are  2,000  on  Lake 
Superior  in  Minnesota.  In  Wisconsin  it  is  estimated 
that  there  are  nearly  3,000  Indians  in  three  tribes  who  do 
not  have  the  gospel. 

The  record  of  the  white  man  in  his  dealings  with 
the  Indian  is  not  a  very  good  one.  The  least  that  can 
be  done  now  is  to  share  with  the  Indian  the  opportuni- 
ties of  the  gospel  and  of  modern  education.  Can  anyone 
show  why  the  Disciples  are  absolved  from  doing  their 
proper  part  in  the  fulfillment  of  this  great  duty? 

THE    PRACTICE    OF    EXTORTION 

NOTHING  better  illustrates  the  backwardness  of 
economic  development  in  this  country  than  the 
present  speculation  in  the  necessities  of  life.  The 
prices  paid  for  coal  are  in  some  instances  increased  fifty 
per  cent  over  last  year's  prices.  The  man  who  digs  it" 
out  of  the  earth  has  a  wage  set  by  previous  contract  and 
gets  no  more  than  last  year.  The  Yailroad  hauling  the 
coal  gets  no  more,  though  perhaps  it  should.  .Who  gets 
the  fifty  per  cent?  Few  of  us  are  in  position  to  say. 
It  may  be  divided  "fifty-fifty"  between  the  mine  owner 
and  the  local  dealers'  association.  Price-kiting  is  made 
possible  by  organizations  of  mine  owners  and  of  local 
dealers  who  co-operate. 

A  journal  called  "The  Modern  Merchant  and  Gro- 
cery World"  gives  its  subscribers  the  following  advice : 
"Consumers  are  being  educated  today  by  a  variety  of 
conditions  to  pay  good  prices  for  everything  they  buy. 
The  retail  merchant  who  doesn't  take  advantage  of  that 
had  better  drop  out.  Never  again  will  he  have  such  a 
chance."  Anyone  who  knows  the  inside  of  the  food- 
selling  business  knows  that  in  considerable  measure  the 
kiting  of  prices  is  the  result  of  clever  organization  and 
not  of  the  law  of  supply  and  demand. 

Meanwhile,  various  citizens  propose  various  reme- 
dies. The  Socialist  insists  that  he  has  a  remedy  that 
would  be  effective.  Some  propose  an  organization  of  the 
consumers  which  would  use  the  boycott  as  an  effective 
weapon.  This  weapon  has  been  laid  on  the  heads  of  ] 
egg  trust  magnates  a  time  or  two  with  some  effect. 
Still  others  insist  that  the  government  should  regulate 
prices  by  law,  after  due  investigation.  In  a  few  places 
municipalities   have   started    community   stores,    which 


January  4,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


compel  the  merchants  to  ask  fair  prices.    There  is  always 
possible  the  organization  of  co-operative  stores. 

Selfishness  of  a  superlative  character  tends  to  defeat 
itself.    This  era  of  high  prices  will  have  its  aftermath. 

CALL  FOR  ARMENIA  BRINGS  RESULTS 

THE  call  for  Armenia  and  Syria,  which  was  made  the 
past  autumn,  and  continues  to  be  made,  has 
brought  some  astonishing  results.  The  Christmas 
ship  sailed  on  schedule,  with  supplies  on  board  such  as 
cannot  be  purchased  in  these  countries.  The  leading 
cereals  and  condensed  milk  for  the  babies  are  sent  in 
this  way. 

The  very  week  that  the  relief  ship  sailed  with  its 
$250,000  worth  of  supplies  there  was  a  sum  of  $410,000 
cabled  for  immediate  use;  this  sets  a  precedent  in  the 
relief  work  of  a  single  week.  In  addition  to  this,  the 
committee  has  promised  $500,000  early  in  January. 

Every  cent  of  the  money  contributed  is  sent  direct 
to  the  field,  certain  individuals  in  this  country  having 
volunteered  to  bear  the  financial  burden  of  the  admin- 1 
istration. 

The  need  in  Syria  is  appreciated  when  it  is  learned 
that  bread  sells  in  Beirut  for  thirty-five  cents  a  pound. 
All  the  food  supplies  useful  to  an  army  have  been  confis- 
cated, and  that  leaves  in  the  country  but  little  flour  or 
grain. 

It  is  reported  that  among  the  Nestorians  nearly 
every  man  is  dead  and  many  families  are  without  food, 
clothing  or  slielter.  It  is  said  that  it  will  require  five 
millions  of  dollars  to  carry  the  unfortunate  people 
through  the  winter. 

This  great  need  challenges  the  quality  of  our  Chris- 
tian civilization  in  America.  We  are  bloated  with  war 
profits  and  there  is  money  in  abundance  for  everything 
that  we  are  interested  in.  This  opportunity  of  saving 
lives  with  relative  small  expenditures  for  each  individual 
is  one  that  should  appeal  to  the  generosity  of  our  Amer- 
ican people. 

These  emergencies  are  giving  us  an  opportunity  to 
make  our  prosperity  a  blessing  to  us,  and  not  a  curse. 
The  needs  of  the  unfortunate  people  of  the  world  should 
absorb  just  so  much  of*  these  enormous  profits  as  may 
be  required  to  do  the  work  efficiently. 

RELIGIOUS  INFLUENCE  OF  READING 

LITERATURE  and  religion  are  not  far  removed 
from  one  another.  The  great  men  of  literature 
were  always  invading  the  religious  realm.  Not 
only  was  this  true  of  Shakespeare  and  Milton.  It  is 
just  as  true  of  Jack  London  and  Winston  Churchill. 
No"  man  is  able  to  put  his  soul  into  a  book  and  not  touch 
the  things  that  are  religious  in  character. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  reading  of  a  people  is 
*o  important  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  church.  The 
minister's  sermon  is  but  a  small  influence  in  shaping 
religious  opinion  when  the  daily  newspaper  and  the 
magazine  are  busy  on  the  job  all  week  long,  not  to  men- 
tion the  ubiquitous  novel. 

The  minister  may  know  but  little  about  the  world 
in  which  his  people  live.  He  may  not  take  many  maga- 
zines. Many  ministers  never  read  a  recent  work  of 
fiction.  They  are,  therefore,  preaching  to  minds  as 
foreign  to  their  own  as  if  their  ministry  were  in  Tim- 
buctoo.    The  alert  minister  knows  what  his  people  read. 


The  minister  who  is  a  leader  not  only  knows  what  they 
read,  but  he  directs  their  choice  of  reading  matter. 

The  thing  is  simply  done.  The  sermon  can  be 
illustrated  with  material  from  this  contemporaneous 
literature.  The  church  library  can  be  made  to  circulate 
the  best  things.  The  parish  paper  can  print  some  short 
and  pithy  book  reviews.  In  this  way  the  church  may 
make  the  reading  of  its  people  count  for  the  creation  of 
Christian  character  and  the  development  of  a  Christian 
outlook  on  the  world. 

In  recent  years  the  literary  tide  has  on  the  whole 
been  favorable  to  religious  progress.  Obscurantists  are 
troubled  to  rfbte  the  drift  in  that  direction.  They  do  not 
realize  that  this  tidal  wave  has  not  been  stirred  up  by 
the  few  university  trained  preachers ;  it  is  written  deeply 
into  the  contemporaneous  literature.  A  book  like 
Churchill's  "The  Inside  of  the  Cup"  indicts  the  passing 
phases  of  religion  powerfully.  The  literary  weapon  is 
one  that  the  religious  leader  must  learn  to  use. ' 

CHRISTIANITY  AND  WAR 

George  Bernard  Shaw  can  afford  to  affect  humor 
in  the  midst  of  the  awful  world  cataclysm.  He  writes 
in  satirical  verse: 

"Soldiers  abiding  in  the  field,  keeping  watch  over  their  wire  en- 

'  tanglements  by  night. 
Mars  in  excelsis. 
Christianity  nowhere. 
God  rest  you,  merry  gentlemen, 
Let  nothing  you  dismay. 
And  dogs  delight  to  bark  and  bite 
Until  next  Christmas  Day." 

Over  against  such  cruel  flippancy  are  to  be  placed 
the  more  serious  words  of  Winston  Churchill.    He  says : 

"Christ  brought  peace,  not  a  sword.  Progress  must 
be  fought  for.  And  the  best  insurance  against  war  in 
the  future  is  the  spread  of  democracy,  of  practical  Chris- 
tianity, among  the  natiqns  of  the  earth." 

With  mighty  voices  raised  on  every  hand  in  behalf 
of  the  ideas  of  our  Christ,  there  is  no  need  that  any 
Christian  should  be  ashamed  of  his  Lord.  We  have 
only  to  be  ashamed  of  our  weak  and  half-hearted  sup- 
port of  His  cause." 

«Hlltllllllllllll!ltltl]IIIIMIIIIIIIIIUIlllllllllltllltlllllllllllllllUIIIIIIIMtllllllllltllllllllllllllllllllltllllltllllllllllllllllllltllllllUlllllllllllllllllllllltlllllllllIlllIltllMll IlltllltlllU 

1  I 

|  Earth  Is  Enough  | 

|  We  men  of  earth  have  here  the  stuff 

!  Of  Paradise — we  have  enough! 

I  We  need  no  other  stones  to  build 

|  The  stairs  into  the  Unfulfilled —  | 

1  No  other  ivory  for  the  doors — 

|  No  other  marble  for  the  floors — 

f  No  other  cedar  for  the  beam  1 

I  And  dome  of  man's  immortal  dream. 

1  Here  on  the  paths  of  every-day — 

I  Here  on  the  common  human  way 

|  Is  all  the  stuff  the  gods  would  take 

To  build  a  Heaven,  to  mould  and  make 
New  Edens.     Ours  the  stuff  sublime 

I  To  build  Eternity  in  time !  [ 

I  — Edwin  Markham  f 


ii Illlllllllllllllilllllllllliuil iiiiiiiuiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiitiiiiiiilliiiiiiiilili^iiuiiiuuiiiiillllii i mi; 


iitiiiniiiiiniitiiiiuuiiuiiiuiinmnia 


Taking  Invoice 

A  Look  Backward  and  a  Prayer  for  the  New  Year 
BY  THOMAS  M.  IDEN 


HOW  much  more  of  you  is  there 
than  there  was  a  year  ago? 
How  much  more  of  personality, 
of  influence,  of  power?  What  have 
you  discovered  in  yourself  that  a  year 
g  you  did  not  know  was  there  ?  Have 
you  gained  enough  to  justify  the  out- 
lav  in  time  and  money  and  sacrifice 
and  labor?  Has  life  been  a  paying 
proposition  to  you?  If  not,  who's  to 
blame  ? 

It  is  the  voice  within  that  is  your 
examiner.  Are  you  physically  strong- 
er than  a  year  ago  ?  Have  you  greater 
endurance?  Can  you  lift  more,  run 
faster,  jump  farther?  Are  there  more 
pounds  of  you?  Is  it  good,  healthy 
flesh  you  have  put  on?  Can  you  See 
better,  hear  more  distinctly,  get  more 
satisfaction  out  of  the  use  of  all  your 
faculties?  Have  you  better  control 
of  your  body  than  you  had  a  year  ago  ? 
Are  all  your  senses  more  responsive 
to  the  calls  you  make  upon  them  ?  Are 
vou  running  the  machinery  of  your 
physical  being  more  economically  and 
more  efficiently?  Are  your  passions 
and  your  appetites  serving  and  not 
mastering  you?  If  so,  well  and  good. 
I  congratulate  you  on  finding  your- 
self physically.     You  will  pass. 


How  about  your  mental  measure- 
ments? WTill  you  stand  up  and  be 
questioned  ?  Can  you  think  with  more 
concentration  and  to  better  purpose? 
Can  you  see  through  the  daily  perplex- 
ities and  solve  the  daily  problems  of 
life  more  sanely,  accurately  and 
quickly?  Has  your  mental  grasp  in- 
creased, your  range  of  comprehension 
widened?  Are  you  clearer  in  your 
reasoning,  more  logical  in  your  con- 
clusions, more  cautious  in  your  mental 
ventures  and  experiments?  Do  you 
understand  yourself  and  your  fellows 
better?  Have  you  acquired  a  reason- 
able degree  of  wisdom  along  with  the 
knowledge  you  have  gained  ?  Are  you 
coming  into  full  possession  of  your 
mental  powers,  so  that  they  serve  you 
honestly,  and  you  can  trust  them? 
Are  you  learning  to  think  things 
through  before  you  decide  and  act? 
Do  you  see  beyond  today's  horizon, 
consider  the  end?  Does  your  thought 
find  a  resting  place  in  the  eternal 
verities  of  God's  great  universe?  Are 
you  sufficiently  bold  and  free  in  your 
thinking,  and  yet  humble  and  teach- 
able and  tolerant  under  the  conscious- 
ness of  your  limitations  and  your  lack 
of  knowledge  and  experience?  Are 
you  finding  yourself  in  the  intellectual 
world  and  enjoying  fellowship  with  its 


great  thinkers?  Has  your  thought  of 
God  and  His  universe  enlarged  to  keep 
pace  with  your  growing  mind  ?  Is  God 
bigger  and  better  and  kinder  and  holier 
to  you  than  He  was?  If  so,  well  and 
good.  You  are  entering  into  life  in 
greater  fulness.  Mentally  you  will 
pass. 

age  3K  5|C 

But  how  about  your  heart  life,  your 
social  responsiveness,  your  moral  ob- 
ligations ?  Are  you  larger  and  broader 
in  your  sympathies?  Are  you  think- 
ing less  of  yourself  and  more  of  your 
neighbor?  Does  the  golden  rule  ap- 
peal to  you  more  strongly  than  it  did  ? 
Are  you  more  altruistic  in  your 
thought  and  life?  Is  your  sense  of 
right  and  wrong  more  keenly  devel- 
oped ?    Is  your  conscience  more  sensi- 


I 


A  HAPPY  NEW  YEAR 


1917 


F 


AREWELL  TO  YOU, 
0  FLEETING  YEAR  ! 


i 


Alone  with  Destiny  _/ou  leave  us  here; 
Faint,  on  the  threshold  of  bright  Hope 

we  stand, 
A  supplication  on  our  lips  for  Peace 

throughout  the  Land  : 

We  ma/  not  know  the  Future  s  store, 
We  have  Thy  guidahce,  Lord, 

we  need  no  more; 
0  erflow  our  hearts  with  love  for 

all  Mankind, 
Then,  in  the  New  Year  perfect  peace 

and  happiness  we  II  find. 

Farewell,  Old  Year  !  thy  waning  star 
Has  shed  her  light  of  Promise 

from  afar ; 
And  as  she  Jims  in  clouds  and 

disappears 
A  brighter  Star  of  Peace  will  shine 

Resplendent,  through  the  _7ears  ! 


i 


James  Austin  Murray 


tive?  Are  you  more  compassionate, 
more  concerned  about  duty,  more  re-  ] 
sponsive  to  the  voices  within  ?  Have  \ 
you  linked  yourself  with'  the  whole  j 
world  of  mankind  in  a  bond  of  uni-  J 
versal  brotherhood?  Do  you  love  all] 
men  ?  If  so,  well  and  good.  The  days  a 
have  brought  you  wholesome  growth.  | 
You  are  passed  on  this  test. 

*     *     * 

Are  you  more  deeply  conscious  of 
your  relationship  to,  of  your  alliance 
with,  and  your  part  in,  the  greats 
spiritual  kingdom  of  God?  Is  the 
divine  element  asserting  itself  in  you 
as  it  should?  Are  you  giving  it  con- 
trol of  your  life?  Are  you  constantly 
remembering  that  you  are  "stamped 
with  the  image  of  the  King,"  that  the 
breath  of  God  is  in  you,  that  you  are 
a  living  soul  ?  Are  you  rising  to  your 
privilege  as  a  son  of  God?  Do  you 
even  half-way  appreciate  what  it 
means  to  share  God's  nature,  to  be 
heirs  of  the  good  and  true  and  aspir- 
ing things  of  the  Father?  If  so,  God 
bless  you !  You  have  not  lost  your 
soul.  You  are  making  progress.  By 
and  by,  you  will  be  like  Him,  strong,! 
whole,  complete — perfect,  as  your 
Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.  I  wish 
for  you  the  supreme  joy  of  "going  on. 


God,  forbid  that  any  one  of  us,  v, 
view  of  what  he  may  become,  should 
be  content  with  what  he  is.  Make  us 
to'  feel  our  kinship,  yea,  our  identity, 
with  the  divine  and  the  immortal 
Help  us  in  the  quiet  and  solitude  to 
find  ourselves,  to  master  ourselves,  to 
grip  ourselves  with  the  confidence  of 
victory.  Lord,  it  is  easy  to  fight  with 
*an  army,  touching  elbows  with  out 
comrades,  moving  together  at  th 
sound  of  the  martial  music,  the  call  of 
the  captain,  the  rhythmic  tramp  of  the 
soldier  troops.  It  is  easy  to  do  the 
heroic  thing  with  the  cheering  crowd 
looking  on.  Victories  of  the  battl 
field,  the  diamond  and  the  gridiron  do 
not  come  so  hard.  But  neither  do 
they  mean  so  much  as  the  conquest  of 
self  when  alone — no  eye  seeing,  no  car 
hearing,  no  one  conscious  of  the  strug- 
gle. Everything  is  in  favor  of  t 
man  who  has  overcome  himself — t 
has  only  the  world  to  fight.  No  f> 
is  so  formidable  as  the  foe  withi; 
God,  help  us  to  find  ourselves  and, 
finding  ourselves,  to  find  Thee. 
know  that  we  need  not  seek  furth 
than  the  depths  of  our  own  hearts  t 
find  God.  Thou  art  m  us.  Rezvar* 
our  search.    Amen. 


The  Transition  in  China 

Some  Signs  of  the  New  Times  in  "Changeless  China" 
BY  ELLIOTT  I.  OSGOOD,  M.  D. 


SIXTEEN  years  ago  the  Chinese 
were  in  great  hatred  seeking  to 
chase  every  foreigner  out  of 
their  borders.  The  epithet  "foreign 
devil"  was  heard  everywhere  the 
foreigner  went  in  China.  Thousands 
of  "rice  Christians"  laid  down  their 
lives  for  their  faith  in  Christ.  The 
government  and  officials  were  as 
bitter  against  the  foreigners  as  were 
the  literati,  the  influential  class  in 
China. 

To-day  the  Chinese  look  upon 
America  jn  particular  and  other 
nations  in  general  as  friends.  They 
are  looking  to  America  and  the 
American  missionaries  to  aid  them 
in  the  transformation  of  their  coun- 
try. They  have  sent  a  commercial 
commission  to  America  to  study 
conditions  here  in  relation  to  the  de- 
velopment of  their  country  and  their 
commercial  relations  with  ours. 

THE    "IRON    HORSE" 

Not  so  many  years  ago  the  Chi- 
nese suffered  the  building  of  a  short 
strip  of  railroad  on  their  coast. 
When  they  saw  the  "iron  horse" 
start  on  his  first  journey  along  the 
line  they  feared  for  the  safety  and 
peace  of  themselves,  and  lest  the 
evil  spirits  should  bring  disaster 
upon  their  country  for  having  al- 
lowed such  an  innovation  to  be  intro- 
duced, they  bought  back  the  rail- 
road and  carted  it  off  to  Formosa. 

To-day  they  have  more  than  4,000 
miles  of  railway  constructed,  and 
would  have  had  much  more  if  the 
war  in  Europe  had  not  hindered.  Re- 
cently they  made  a  loan  from  the 
United  States  for  continuing  this 
work.  The  building  of  the  railroad 
has  aided  greatly  the  opening  of 
their  vast  undeveloped  resources. 

Ten  years  ago  they  still  had  their 


effete  educational  methods.  Chil- 
dren were  simply  memorizing  the 
classics.  There  were  no  girls' 
schools.  To-day  a  great  Chinese 
Commercial  Press  in  Shanghai  is 
turning  out  modern  school  books  by 
the  millions,  and  a  modern  curriculum 
governs  every  public  school  in  China. 
English  is  the  one  foreign  language 
being,  taught  and  all  children  reach- 
ing grammar  grades  are  expected  to 
study  it. 

America's  great  influence     / 

Ten  years  ago  the  Chinese  were 
boycotting  American  goods.  To- 
day the  American  flag  is  the  one 
foreign  flag  which  has  been  honored 
by  being  floated  over  every  walled 
city  in  China.  This  was  to  signalize 
the  fact  that  America  was  the  first 
great  power  to  recognize  the  new 
Republic. 

Ten  years  ago  China  was  an  Em- 
pire, ruled  by  a  foreign  house.  To- 
day she  is  a  great  Republic  with  the 
United  States  as  her  model.  Then 
she  had  little  that  could  be  called 
patriotism;  now  she  has  a  very  real 
national  consciousness. 

Ten  years,  ago  the  educated  peo- 
ple in  China  were  largely  atheistic 
or  agnostic,  having  learned  this  les- 
son from  Japan.  The  work  of  the 
medical  missionaries  and  their  co- 
workers during  the  revolution  and 
rebellion  has  led  these  men  to  be- 
lieve in  the  existence  of  God.  Then 
the  uneducated  were  idolaters.  To- 
day many  temples  have  been  cleaned 
of  idols  and  turned  into  schools. 
Others  have  been  allowed  to  go  into 
decay. 

BANISHING  OPIUM 

4 

In  1906  China  started  to  rid  her 
country   of  the   awful    opium    evil. 


This  was  accomplished  within  ten 
years.  No  less  than  22,000  tons  of 
opium  were  being  consumed  an- 
nually by  the  people.  She  had  the 
opposition  not  only  of  many  of  her 
own  officials,  but  also  of  the  power- 
ful British  opium  princes;  but  she 
found  a  friend  in  America.  In  seven 
years  the  deed  was  accomplished. 
Opium  is  not  now  grown  within  the 
borders  of  China  and  smokers  must 
smuggle  it  in  if  they  smoke  it  at  all. 

In  those  days  the  Chinese  sol- 
diers, besides  their  out  of  date  weap- 
ons, carried  bird  cages,  fans  and  um- 
brellas. To-day  China  has  her  own 
arsenals,  and  her  soldiers  are 
equipped  and  drilled  in  modern 
style. 

MOVIES   IN    MODERN    CHINA 

Telegraphs,  telephones,  automo- 
biles, moving  pictures,  electric  light 
plants,  modern  streets,  and  even 
aeroplanes  are  now  found  in  China. 
The  streets  of  many  cities  are  being 
cleaned  and  sanitation  is  sweeping 
away  the  filth  and  dirt  of  centuries. 
Educated  men  are  not  ashamed  to 
enroll  themselves  in  classes  study- 
ing the  Bible  and  many  are  found  on 
the  rolls  of  Christian  churches. 
Christians  are  now  holding  high  of- 
fice in  the  new  Republic.  From  the 
literati  are  coming  men  filled,  with 
the  spirit  who  are  preaching  the 
gospel  with  power  to  the  students 
of  the  modern  colleges  and  universi- 
ties. The  church  in  America  is  re- 
ceiving appeals  from  the  leaders  in 
China  to  send  out  Christian  men 
who  will  lead  in  industrial,  agricul- 
tural and  professional  development 
of  the  new  Republic. 

The  old  China  is  dead.  Long  live 
the  new  China! 

Chuchow,  China. 


"The  Family  of  Striving" 

Christian  Endeavor  in  the  Land  of  the  Congo 
BY  HERBERT  SMITH 


IN  translating  from  one  language 
to  another  many  names  and 
ideas  take  upon  themselves  new 
phases  of  meaning.  It  was  not  pos- 
sible to  translate  wholesale  the 
words  "Christian  Endeavor,"  but 
the  Congo  Christians  have  grasped 
the  spirit  of  the  idea.  The  name 
adopted  signifies  about  as  much  as 
our  own  term  in  English.  "Iboko 
ya  Mmameka":  "Iboko"  means  fam- 
ily, group,  class  and  has  also  been 


adopted  for  the  word  church.  "Mma- 
meka" is  the  participle  of  the  verb 
Meka,  to  try,  to  strive,  to  practice, 
to  examine,  to  taste.  Hence  the 
name,  "The  Family  of  Striving." 

And  that  is  what  our  family  is 
which  gathers  together  on  Friday 
nights,  a  family  of  strivers  and  try- 
ers.  Many  a  new  Christian  tries  to 
make  his  first  speech  in  that  meet- 
ing. We  try  out  new  ideas,  new 
songs   and   new   desires   for   better 


things.  We  have  also  a  Junior  En- 
deavor at  Lotumbe  and  this  keeps 
away  some  of  the  younger  members 
of  the  church  who  formerly  attend- 
ed on  Friday  night. 

GETTING  A  CHANCE  TO  SPEAK 

But  the  evening  is  well  taken  up, 
especially  at  the  time  when  the 
evangelists  and  non-residents  come 
to  attend  the  quarterly  meeting. 
Then  it  is  that  one  has  to   strive 


12                                                        THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  January  4,  1917 

mighty  hard  to  get  a  chance  to  must  talk  long,  so  away  they  go.  ful.  Then  from  the  rear  of  the 
speak.  The  resident  Christian  En-  Perhaps  an  upriver  man  gains  the  church  arises  Bombito,  my  old  fish- 
deavorers  usually  give  the  visiting  floor  first.  He  speaks  in  what  is  erman  friend.  "That's  just  it,"  he 
members  the  first  chance,  but  there  almost  another  dialect.  He  had  his  calls,  and  then  one  has  to  listen  to 
are  no  idle  moments.  Many  of  these  te eth  filed  before  his  days  of  Chris-  follow  him.  He  elides  words  and 
visitors  have  their  own  Endeavor  *lan  Endeavor  had  arrived  and  that  cuts  Qut  particles  and  his  speech  is 
meetings  in  their  little  forest  homes.  adds  to  the  difficulty  of  speaking  a  rushing  torrent.  Even  the  deaf 
Others'  are  not  so  favored  but  they  Plainly-  B"t  the  people  listen  to  him  heaf  when  Bombito  speaks.  His 
all  are  anxious  to  say  some  word  willingly  and  he  brings  a  message  points  are  usually  well  taken  and  it 
in  His  name  in  the  big  meeting  at  J  llch  the{  are  able  *?  und/rstand-  is  good  to  hear  him. 
I  ptumbe  Then'  PerhaPs  an  Ekondo  man  Formerly  our  Christian  Endeav- 
We  start  off  with  two  or  three  ?Pea£S'  ,He  ,reallyf  h^S  had  to  le"n  or  meetings  had  to  take  their  bear- 
songs  and  then  have  prayers  by  sev-  £££"&  t^/fi  %o\TL°t  one  ing  fr°m  the  Speech  °f  the  kader; 
end.  Then  the  subject  is  read  and  ™*J  ^i/n/eaning  bylnSkicS  "™  ^  «™h™  "%able  t0  ^ 
scripture  passages  given.  The  lead-  s  (  This  gives  a  new  tone  to  our  meet- 
cr.  perhaps  the  missionary,  explains  lovers  of  song  .  ings.  They  read  the  Living  Word 
the  topic  Then  the  meeting  is  Speeches  and  prayers  and  songs  f°r  themselves.  Our  "Iboko  ya 
open.  This  is  the  signal  for  the  real  intermingle.  The  native  loves  to  Mmameka"  is  a  source  of  help  and 
meeting  to  begin.  The  members  have  sing  and  he  would  think  a  meeting  inspiration.  We  hope  to  improve  it 
been  warned  previously  that  no  one  pretty  dull  if  songs  were  not  plenti-  as  we  grow  older. 

Dr.  Grenfell  on  Labrador 

(From  the  Boston  Transcript) 

DR.  WILFRED  T.  GREN-  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "isn't  it  inter-  Dr.  Grenfell  smiled.  "Just  as 
FELL  is  in  Boston  for  a  esting — this  rejuvenation  of  the  old  many  of  our  girls  as  our  boys  go 
few  days  on  his  way  to  at-  shipping  yards?  Just  as  along  the  to  our  graded  schools,  and  they  are 
tend  the  annual  meeting  of  the  In-  New  England  coast  the  yards  that  as  eager  for  information  as  the 
ternational  Board  of  the  General  had  fallen  into  disuse  are  wakening  boys.  Some  come  down  here  to 
Association  in  New  York.  As  soon  from  their  long  apathy,  so  the  Labra-  New  York  to  school  after  we  have 
as  the  meeting  is  over  he  returns  dor  shipyards  are  busy  once  more,  done  all  we  can  for  them  and  when 
to  take  up  his  duties  in  Labrador.  You  see,  many  of  our  Gulf  steamers  they  are  finished  with  their  various 
In  Dr\(  J^enfell's  n™  h?ok„  of  have  heren  sent  \°  Russia— in  fact,  studieSj  they  go  back  to  Labrador 
stories,  lales  of  the  Labrador,  re-  most  of  our  steel  ships  have  been  an(j  enter  jnto  the  WOrk  of  helpine 
centlv  published  by  Houghton  Mif-  requisitioned  by  the  French  and  the  others.  Among  the  older  women, 
flm  Company,  he  has  gathered  a  English  governments.  Then,  too,  however,  the  making  of  woven  mats 
series  of  short  stories,  founded  on  the  seal  fishing  has  been  depleted  js  a  flourishing-  industry  These 
fact,  that  contain  graphic  accounts  of  to  an  alarming  extent  by  steam-  mats  are  made  of  many  colored 
sWpwreck,  peril  and  adventure  among  ships,  so  that  the  fishermen  are  -es  of  flannelette,  and  when  fin- 
the  hardy  Labrador  fishermen  and  realizing  that  it  is  better  to  go  back  ished  they  are  really  beautiful  and 
their  Eskimo  neighbors  Although  a  to  the  sailing  vessels.  I  am  glad  "  look  Hke  tapestry.  The  women  em- 
great  part  of  Dr.  Grenfell  s  time  is  oc-  he  went  on  one  misses  the  sight  bod  t  ical  scenes  of  Labrador  in 
cupied  in  ministering  to  the  phys-  of  snowy  sailsand  the  smell  of  the  them;  hunting  scenes  in  some;  pic- 
lcal  needs  of  his  chosen  people,  he  sea  that  gets  into  a  wooden  ship.  tures  of  fishing-  schooners  and  ice- 
takes  a  deep  interest  and  an  active  hero-c  in  r>i-1-iprc  -*r>A  r,f  ™m-ce  +1-.^ 
™,+  \n  ;«,™e;««  +i^,v  r*««™*«,«:  educating  Labrador  women  bergs  in  others,  ana,  or  course,  the 
part  in  increasing  their  opportune  reindeer  is  a  favorite  subject.  The 
ties  for  education,  and  in  developing  "The  war  has  taken  many  of  our  demand  for  these  mats  is  steadily 
their  industries.  When  questioned  men  from  the  fisheries,  of  course,"  increasing  and  the  money  which 
on  the  latter  point,  Dr.  Grenfell  Dr.  Grenfell  continued.  "People  these  women  earn  is  very  welcome, 
said :  have  wondered  how  men  who  spend  it  makes'  just  the  difference,  for 
"Industrial  conditions  in  Labra-  their  llves  on  the  water  have  been  instance,  between  having  enough 
dor  are  far  better  than  they  have  able  to  endure  life  in  the  trenches.  miik  for  their  children,  and  some- 
been  for  some  years  past.  This  year,  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  have  stood  times,  not  having  any;  from  strug- 
to  our  surprise,  the  Labrador  her-  UP  under  it  very  well.  Last  year,  gling.  along.  wjthout  the  bare  ne- 
ring  have  returned,  and  although  when  I  visited  the  French  trenches,  cessities  cf  life,  and  being  able  to 
we  have  been  handicapped  by  the  x  heard,  on  all  sides,  tales  of  their  afford  a  little  comfort " 
difficulty  of  securing  salt  with  courage  patience  and  resourceful-  Dr  Grenfell  s  ke  enthusiastic- 
which  to  preserve  the  fish,  and  the  ness-  Y°u  see,  some  of  our  boys  „  f  h  volunteer  workers 
shortage  of  barrels  the  fishermen  who  come  up  to  the  Pratt  Institute  /  ,  T  ,  J  <  .  .7 
wiurwgc  oi  udrreib,  ine  nsnermen  <.,„„aA  ;t^„~  i^„„^  ~f  +i,„v  who  go  to  Labrador  in  the  summer, 
have  made  a  good  profit.  Next  year  are  turned  down  because  of  their  ,sf  ..  invaluable  assistance 
we  hope  to  have  plenty  of  seines  deficiency  in  mathematics  and  kin-  f™  °f  the  invaluable  assistance 
and  salt  ready  for  ^h!  Ss  Vg  sea-  dred  subjects,  but  they  are  geniuses  Jh ^  give.  He  mentioned,  also,  the 
son  J  S  with  their  hands.  Their  ingenuity  fact  that  clothing  is  always  needed 
building  many  ships  and  practical  accomplishments  have  -  for  his  people,  and  he  gave  sincere 
.  proven  invaluable  in  many  tight  P^ise  to  the  Labrador  Needle  Work 
Has  the  reviving  industry  oc-  places."  Guild,  whose  efforts  in  securing 
casioned  the  ^building  of  more  "What  has  the  'higher  education'  clothing  and  in  sewing  for  the  peo- 
wooden  ships r"  Dr.  Grenfell  was  done  for  Labrador  women?"  was  pie  of  the  north  have  been  greatly 
asked/  the  next  question.                                 .  appreciated. 


Reading  the  Bible  in  the 
Cannon's  Glare 


i  i  T  SEND  you  my  gratitude  for 
I  the  Book,  which  shall  be  my 
-*■  companion,  a  comfort  in  trouble 
and  an  inspiration  to  faith."  This 
message  is  received  from  an  officer  of 
the  Austrian  army  in  acknowledgment 
of  a  Testament  given  him  by  an  agent 
of  the  International  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  In  response  to 
Dr.  Mott's  appeal  to  the  World's  Sun- 
day School  Association,  $7,500  of  the 
funds  contributed  by  Sunday  school 
children  in  America  has  been  turned 
over  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  for  their  work  in  the 
prison  camps,  the  hospitals  and 
trenches  of  Europe. 

Another  Austrian  officer,  who  in 
civil  life  is  a  lawyer,  wrote :  "When 
the  letter  carrier  came  to  camp  last 
night  he  handed  me  a  little  package. 
Ts  that  all?'  I  asked,  somewhat  dis- 
appointed. 'I'm  sorry,  but  that's  all,' 
he  replied.  But  what  joy  when  I 
opened  the  package  and  found  that  it 


was  the  Word  of  God.  I  began  to 
read  it  in  the  glare  of  the  enemies' 
flashing  cannon." 

The  agents  of  the  International 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in 
Italy  write  of  the  remarkable  readiness 
— even  eagerness — on  the  part  of  the 
Italian  soldiers  to  read  the  Gospel. 
Colporteurs  have  been  invited  into  the 
barracks  and  hospitals  and  given  a 
free  hand.  Officers  have  taken  copies 
to  distribute.  The  eagerness  of  the 
Italian  soldiers  for  the  Word  makes 
the  present  occasion  strategic.  Be- 
tween three  and  four  million  men,  rep- 
resenting every  class  in  Italian  society, 
are  eager  to  read  the  life-giving  Word. 

Although  it  is  impossible  to  secure 
exact  information  as  to  the  number  of 
Testaments  and  Gospels  distributed  in 
the  different  European  countries  with 
the  funds  contributed  through  the 
World's  Sunday  School  Association 
by  Sunday  schools  and  individuals  of 
America,  the  following  figures  will  be 
of  interest: 


55,199  in  France. 
471,316  in  Central  Europe,  which  com- 
prise Germany,  Austria,  Ser- 
via   Roumania   and   the  Bal- 
kans. 
31,250  in  Italy. 
80,000  in  Russia. 

150,000  through  the  International  Y. 
M.  C.  A.  in  the  different  coun- 
tries. 
Altogether,  nearly  800,000  of  the 
"million  Testaments,"  which  has  been 
the  goal  of  the  World's  Association, 
have  reached  the  soldiers  of  Europe, 
but  there  is  no  need  of  stopping  with 
one  million  when  in  Italy  alone  be- 
tween three  and  four  million  soldiers 
are  calling  for  the  Book,  and  the  op- 
portunity is  as  great  or  greater  in  each 
of  the  other  countries  at  war.  Five 
cents  buys  a  copy  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment ;  a  Gospel  costs  even  less. 

[Gifts  may  be  sent  to  the  World's 
Sunday  School  Association,  216  Met- 
ropolitan Tower,  New  York  City. — 
Ed.] 


My  Lady  of  the  Slums 


A  philanthropic  New  York  woman 
was  entertaining  in  the  spacious 
grounds  of  her  suburban  residence  a 
large  number  of  East  Side  children,  as 
the  New  York  "Evening  Post"  tells 
the  story.  On  her  round  of  hospitality 
she  was  impressed  with  one  strikingly 
beautiful  little  girl.  She  could  not 
have  been  more  than  nine  years  old, 
but  her  coal-black  eyes  flashed  with  in- 
telligence. The  hostess  introduced 
herself  and  began  a  conversation. 

"Does  what  you  see  here  today 
please  you?"  she  asked. 

The  child  eyed  her  host  in  silence. 


"Talk  away,"  said  the  lady.  "Don't 
be  afraid." 

"Tell  me,"  then  said  the  child,  "how 
many  children  have  you  got?" 

Astonished  at  the  question,  the  lady 
hesitated  for  a  moment,  and  then  en- 
tered into  the  fun  of  the  situation. 

"Ten,"  she  replied. 

"Dear  me,"  answered  the  child, 
"that  is  a  very  large  family.  I  hope 
you  are  careful  and  look  after  them. 
Do  you  keep  them  all  clean  ?" 

"Well,  I  do  my  best." 

"And  is  your  husband  at  work?" 

"My  husband  does  not  do  any  kind 
of  work.    He  never  has." 


"That  is  very  dreadful,"  replied  the 
little  girl  earnestly,  "but  I  hope  you 
keep  out  of  debt." 

The  game  had  gone  too  far  for  Lady 
Bountiful's  enjoyment  of  it. 

"You  are  a  very  rude  and  im- 
pertinent child,"  she  burst  out,  "to 
speak  like  that,  and  to  me." 

The  child  became  apologetic.  "I'm 
sure  I  didn't  mean  to  be,  ma'am,"  she 
explained.  "But  mother  told  me  be- 
fore I  came  that  I  was  to  be  sure  to 
speak  to  you  like  a  lady,  and  when  any 
ladies  call  on  us  they  always  ask  us 
those  questions." 


Three  Hills 


By  Everard  Owen 


There  is  a  hill  in  England, 

Green  fields  and  a  school  I  know, 

Where  the  balls  fly  fast  in  summer, 
And  the  whispering  elm  trees  grow, 
A  little  hill,  a  dear  hill, 

And  the  playing-fields  below. 


There  is  a  hill  in  Jewry, 

Three  crosses  pierce  the  sky, 

On  the  midmost  He  is  dying 
To  save  all  those  who  die. 
A  little  hill,  a  kind  hill, 

To  soids  in  jeopardy. 


There  is  a  hill  in  Flanders,  - 
Heaped  with  a  thousand  slain, 

Where  the  shells  fly  night  and  noontide 
And  the  ghosts  that  died  in  vain. 
A  little  hill,  a  hard  hill, 

To  the  souls  that  died  in  pain. 


-The  London  Times. 


niiniiiKfl 


Social  Interpretations 


By  Alva  W.  Taylor 


wiHiiiini 


Starving  Millions  and 
Indifferent   Millionaires 

With  25.000.000  on  the  slow  and 
torturing  road  to  starvation  and 
American  wealth  increasing  at  the 
rate  of  more  than  a  billion  a  month, 
with  the  most  of  the  increase  going 
into  the  hands  of  a  comparatively 
small  percentage  of  the  American 
people,  one  wonders  why  Americans 
hesitate  at  the  demand  of  humani- 
tarians that  we  give  money  by  the 
tens  of  millions  to  save  these  starv- 
ing millions.  Henry  Ford  divided 
some  $60,000,000  of  profits  last  year, 
and  not  a  man  who  shared  the  divi- 
dends, himself  included,  would  have 
to  miss  a  single  meal  or  even  be 
conscious  of  the  loss  of  aught  if  the 
entire  sum  were  turned  over  to  the 
need  of  these  suffering  millions 
whose  torture  has  fallen  upon  them 
as  if  it  were  the  devastation  of 
earthquake  and  flood. 

The  advance  of  Standard  Oil 
stock  recently  thrust  Mr.  Rockefel- 
ler's fortune  beyond  the  billion  dol- 
lar mark.  Certainly  Mr.  Rockefel- 
ler could  not  feel  any  poorer  if  he 
gave  a  hundred  million  of  it  out- 
right to  save  the  lives  of  these  mil- 
lions. Mr.  Carnegie  has  endowed 
his  foundations  with  untold  millions 
with  which  to  build  libraries  and 
pursue  scientific  objects  and,  ulti- 
mately, through  the  rather  rarefied 
atmosphere  of  culture,  to  bring 
good  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race;  but 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race  would  sup- 
ply the  entire  deficit  in  the  natural 
course  of  its  educational  and  scien- 
tific pursuits  if  Mr.  Carnegie  were 
to  turn  a  good  hundred  millions  of 
these  endowments  over  to  saving 
the  lives  of  these  suffering  multi- 
tudes. 

When  one  looks  upon  the  un- 
speakable anguish  involved  in  this 
slow  massacre  of  the  innocents  he 
wonders  why  America's  plethoric 
millionaires  are  indifferent.  There 
is  a  Chinese  proverb  which  says  "a 
louse  on  your  own  head  is  worse 
than  a  lion  in  your  neighbor's  yard," 
and  so  it  seems  that  the  unspeaka- 
ble terrors  of  death  and  starvation 
on  the  other  side  of  the  earth  do  not 
touch  the  sympathies  of  even  ten- 
der-hearted men  who  have  it  within 
their  power  to  alleviate  the  misery. 


A  Socialist  Mayor 
for  Minneapolis 

Minneapolis  has  elected  a  Social- 
ist, Thomas  Van  Lear,  as  mayor. 
His  election  was  brought  about  by 
a  battle  with  the  street  car  corpora- 


tion, which  is  endeavoring  to  renew 
its  franchise  on  basis  of  an  inflated 
valuation.  The  newly-elected  mayor 
declares  that  this  inflation  amounts 
to  $12,000,000  and  would  fasten  a 
5-cent  carfare  upon  the  people  of 
Minneapolis  during  the  life  of  the 
franchise.  Cleveland  and  Toledo 
are  carrying  their  passengers  for  3 
cents,  and  no  city  in  the  world  is 
furnishing  as  many  carfares  per 
thousand  of  its  population  as  is 
Cleveland.  The  American  people 
are  rapidly  awakening  to  the  fact 
that  public  service  corporations  are 
essentially  monopolies  and  that  they 
were  capitalized  upon  the  basis  of 
all  the  traffic  would  bear,  and  now 
that  the  people  are  taking  control 
they  are  determined  not  to  pay  a 
large  annual  tribute  to  inflated  and 
watered  capitalizations. 

*     *     * 

A  League  to  Enforce 
Industrial  Peace 

In  the  magazine  number  of  the 
December  Survey  an  account  is 
given  of  a  proposal  for  a  league  to 
enforce  industrial  peace  made  by 
Julius  H.  Cohen,  a  representative 
of  the  Public  Service  Commission  of 
New  York  in  the  recent  traction 
strike.  Mr.  Cohen  presented  his  pro- 
posal before  the  New  York  Academy 
of  Political  Science. 

This  league  would  be  made  up  of 
employer,  employe  and  consumer; 
in  other  words,  of  the  two  parties 
to  industrial  warfare  and  the  big 
third  party,  which  has  usually  stood 
aside  and  took  the  brickbats,  the 
public.  Its  platform  would  be  a  rec- 
ognition by  all  parties  of  the  rights 
of  all  others  to  organize,  which  in 
reality  simply  means  that  employers 
who  are  already  organized  and 
whose  right  to  do  so  no  one  denies 
must  grant  the  same  right,  to  their 
employes ;  and  the  establishment  of 
legal  tribunals  representing  all  three 
of  these  parties. 

These  tribunals  would  gather  all 
information  regarding  fair  and  rea- 
sonable wages  and  working  condi- 
tions and  to  them  every  worker  and 
employer  could  appeal  for  redress 
from  arbitrary  or  oppressive  exer- 
cise of  the  other's  powers,  and  it 
would  keep  a  record  of  all  collective 
agreements.  He  would  then  have 
formed  a  sort  of  a  national  council 
which  would  operate  in  the  general 
industrial  world  in  much  the  same 
manner  that  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  does  in  the  railroad  world 
or  the  various  public  service  commis- 
sions in  regard  to  state  utilities.    This 


council,  like  the  lower  tribunals,  would 
be  composed  of  representatives  of  the 
three  interested  groups. 

* 

The  fundamental  theory  upon 
which  this  council  would  act  would 
be  an  acknowledgment  by  all  par- 
ties concerned  that  it  is  the  function 
of  the  state  to  regulate  service  and 
rates  and  to  its  judicial  powers  all 
must  turn  in  the  end  for  a  settle- 
ment of  disputes  regarding  reason- 
able working  conditions.  It  would 
follow  of  course  that  the  right  of 
redress  must  rest  not  in  the  strike 
and  the  lock-out  or  in  the  boycott 
and  the  discharging  of  men  with- 
out cause,  but  in  industrial  courts. 

"The  basis  of  the  great  industrial 
compromise,"  says  Mr.  Cohen,  "is 
that  the  trade  unionist  must  yield 
in  his  opposition  to  governmental 
regulation  of  his  organization.  The 
employer  must  yield  in  his  opposi- 
tion to  the  organization  of  trades 
unions.  The  public  must  yield  in 
its  indifference  to  the  conditions 
under  which  human  work  is  done. 
The  business  man  must  yield  in  his 
oppositi6n  to  'social  uplift'  in  indus- 
try. And  the  social  reformer  must 
yield  in  his  indifference  to  efficiency 
in  modern  production." 

Mr.  Cohen's  proposals  will  doubt- 
less be  hailed  by  leaders  in  both  the 
labor  and  capitalistic  organizations 
as  academic  and  visionary,  but 
their  author  is  no  academician,  but 
a  practical  and  judicial  representa- 
tive of  the  great  state  of  New  York 
through  its  Public  Service  Com- 
mission. 

*     *     * 

Child  Labor  Day 
January  29 

The  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America  has 
set  apart  January  29  as  Child  Labor 
Day,  to  be  observed  in  church  and 
Sunday  school  services.  The  pur- 
pose is  to  arouse  interest  in  the  en- 
forcement of  the  new  federal  law  in 
behalf  of  children  and  also  in  behalf 
of  further  legislation  in  the  states. 
The  federal  law  is  only  operative  in 
the  matter  of  goods  which  are 
manufactured  for  interstate  use. 


Two  ladies — each  with  her  child — 
visited  the  Chicago  Art  Museum.  As 
they  passed  the  "Winged  Victory"  the 
little  boy  exclaimed: 

"Huh !    She  'ain't  got  no  head." 
"Sh!"   the   horrified   little  girl   re- 
plied,   "That's    Art — she    don't   need 


none !' 


-Harper's  Magazine. 


tfWIHI 


llllliillillllllillll1 


The    Larger    Christian   World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


Priests  Must  Be 
Abstainers 

Archbishop  Mundelein  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church  of  Chicago 
is  proving  the  sincerity  of  his  ex- 
pressed desire  to  improve  condi- 
tions in  his  church  and  in  the  city. 
He  now  requires  of  all  new  priests 
ordained  in  his  archdiocese  that 
they  take  a  pledge  of  total  absti- 
nence from  alcoholic  liquors  for  five 
years.  His  theory  is  that  if  they 
abstain  this  long  they  will  continue 
total  abstainers  for  the  rest  of  their 
lives.  The  archbishop  has  not  for- 
mally allied  himself  with  the  Dry 
Chicago  Movement,  but  he  has 
issued  the  following'  statement, 
which  will  not  be  altogether  unsat- 
isfactory to  the  leaders  of  that 
movement: 

"It  is  not  my  custom  to  ally  myself 
with  any  movement  outside  of  the 
Church.  I  believe  I  can  do  the  most  ef- 
fective work  inside  the  Church.  But  the 
Dry  Chicago  Federation  may  be  sure 
that  I  will  not  fight  their  movement. 
No  one  with  intelligence  can  fail  to  ap- 
preciate the  ravages  done  by  the  liquor 
traffic.  I  would  be  untrue  to  my  posi- 
tion and  my  convictions  if  I  did  not  take 
a  stand  in  favor  of  total  abstinence.  Not 
only  in  my  attitude  toward  the  newly 
ordained  priests,  but  in  other  ways  I 
have  taken  measures  to  promote  the 
cause  of  temperance.  I  appreciate  the 
delicacy  of  dealing  with  those  who  have 
come  from  Europe,  bringing  with  them 
customs  observed  for  generations,  but 
at  the  same  time  the  ravages  of  the 
saloon  among  these  very  foreigners  are 
most  apparent.  In  the  matter  of  Church 
dogma  I  speak  with  authority  and  in- 
sist on  having  my  instructions  followed. 
In  such  matters  as  temperance  reform 
I  try  by  precept  and  example  to  bring 
about  right  conditions." 

Federated  Church  at 
Garrettsville,  Ohio 

The  Disciple,  Baptist  and  Congre- 
gational churches  of  the  little  town 
of  Garretsville,  Ohio,  have  voted  to 
federate.  The  Methodist  church 
declined  to  come  into  the  union.  A 
new  organization  has  been  effected 
and  the  federated  church  has  given 
a  unanimous  call  to  Rev.  W.  W. 
Tuttle  of  Geneseo,  111.,  a  recent 
graduate  of  Grinnell  and  Yale  Di- 
vinity School.  The  purpose  is  to 
carry    on    a    complete    community 


work,  with  a  public  library,  recrea- 
tion rooms  and  social  rooms. 

British  Pacifist  May 
Remain  in  America 

Rev.  Leyton  Richards,  the  well- 
known  English  pacifist,  who  has 
been  supplying  acceptably  the 
Church  of  the  Pilgrims,  Brooklyn, 
for  the  last  three  months,  sailed  on 
the  St.  Louis  of  the  American  line 
for  England  last  Saturday.  He  has 
spoken  at  a  number  of  educational 
institutions  and  his  reception  at 
Oberlin  was  particularly  cordial.  It 
is  possible  that  he  may  return  to 
this  country  for  a  longer  stay,  as 
one  or  two  prominent  churches  now 
pastorless  have  been  making  over- 
tures in  his  direction. 

Dr.  Biederwolf  Wants  to 
Make  Confession  Harder 

After  meditating  upon  the  super- 
ficiality of  a  good  deal  of  the  so- 
called  results  of  evangelistic  work, 
Dr.  Biederwolf  has  decided  that  it 
has  been  too  easy  to  make  a  confes- 
sion of  faith.  He  plans  that  in  the 
evangelism  carried  on  in  connection 
with  the  work  of  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America  there  shall  be' no  easy  card- 
signing.  Men  and  women  must 
stand  up  in  the  pews  in  the  churches 
and  give  a  vocal  confession  of  faith 
before  the  congregation.  A  plan 
of  four-year  evangelistic  effort 
throughout  the  country  conducted 
by  the  Council  and  using  profes- 
sional evangelists  was  turned  down 
by  the  Council.  The  Methodists  will 
no  longer  co-operate  with  profes- 
sional evangelists  in  any  such  whole- 
sale fashion,  depending  now  upon  a 
different  kind  of  evangelistic  method. 

Y.  M.  C.  A.  Helps 
Prisoners 

The  war  camps  of  Europe  would 
be  dreary  places  but  for  the  kindly 
ministry  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association.  The  men  in  the 
camps  are  made  busy  with  useful 
studies.  It  is  discovered  that  in  the 
circle  are  dentists  and  doctors  who 


can  be  put  to  work  to  relieve  the 
suffering  of  their  fellows.  There  fa 
also  established  a  place  of  worship, 
where  the  different  religious  faiths, 
including  Catholic  and  Orthodox, 
conduct  services  in  the  forms  to 
which    the    men    are    accustomed. 

Would  Circulate 
Panama  Reports 

It  is  believed  by  some  leading  lay- 
men of  New  York  that  it  would  do 
good  to  circulate  the  Panama  Con- 
gress reports  among  the  workers  in 
Latin  America,  and  they  are  now 
raising  funds  for  this  purpose.  The 
effort  is  in  the  hands  of  H.  W. 
Hicks,  of  the  Missionary  Education 
Movement,  who  has  offices  at  156 
Fifth  avenue, -New  York.  The  plan 
is  heartily  endorsed  by  great  reli- 
gious leaders  in  many  communities. 

San  Francisco 
Has  Problems 

The  Protestant  forces  in  San 
Francisco  are  very  weak,  as  will  be 
seen  when  it  is  noted  that  in  a  city 
of  a  half  millon  people  there  are  only 
17,000  Protestant  church  members. 
These  have  been  working  in  unor- 
ganized ways  in  the  past,  but  now  it 
is  proposed  that  a  city  federation  of 
churches  shall  be  organized.  A 
woman  has  offered  two  thousand 
dollars  toward  the  five  thousand- 
dollar  fund  which  is  necessary  to 
get  the  movement  going. 

New  Emergency 
in  Armenia 

The  Committee  for  Armenian  and 
Syrian  Relief  announces  that  a  new 
emergency  has  arisen  in  these  un- 
happy countries.  Both  cholera  and 
typhus  are  raging,  and  while  the 
former  is  of  a  mild  type,  the  typhus 
is  sudden  and  deadly  in  its  action. 
The  government  has  long  since 
confiscated  the  dr^gs  of  the  coun- 
try for  use  in  the  army  and  there  is 
great  need  of  supplies.  The  Amer- 
ican committee  is  securing  a  supply 
of  drugs  and  will  hasten  them  to 
Turkey  as  rapidly  as  may  be  pos- 
sible. 


Professor  Willett's  series  of  articles  on  THE  BIBLE  begins 
in  next  week's  issue  of  The  Christian  Century. 


16 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  4,  1917 


Preachers'  Problems 

By  Ellis  B.  Barnes  1 

ganiiiH 


T 


What  Our  Preachers  Are 
Preaching  and  Reading 

ELL  me  what  our  preachers  are 
thinking  about  and  I  care  not 
who  struck  Billy  Patterson.  Tell 
me  what  they  are  preaching  about  and 
I  care  not  whose  breakfast  food  they 
eat.  Tell  me  what  they  are  reading 
and  I  care  not  whether  they  belong  to 
■  the  Nicolaitans  or  the  Nickelodeons. 

It  is  very  important  that  the 
preacher  give  attention  to  reading, 
otherwise  the  barrel  will  soon  be  dry. 
The  character  of  his  reading  will  de- 
termine the  quality  of  his  preaching, 
and  it  will  also  determine  the  color  of 
his  mind.  Incidentally,  a  man's  books 
reveal  the  >man.  A  glance  at  his  li- 
brary or  a  fifteen-minute  conversation 
will  suffice  for  data  to  locate  him  theo- 
logically, intellectually  or  in  whatever 
field  the  soul  of  man  has  trod  or 
soared.  We  store  up  our  intellectual 
treasures  on  shelves,  we  carry  those 
treasures  on  the  tip  of  our  tongue  or 
on  the  point  of  a  pen.  The  mind  flows 
out  in  rivers  from  the  pen's  point,  and 
that  point  again,  by  some  curious 
process,  will  cause  rivers  to  flow  in. 
If  you  know  nothing,  my  friend,  of 
the  education  that  comes  from  putting 
pen  to  paper  as  a  habit,  try  it,  and 
you  will  be  surprised  how  quickly  the 
paper  or  something  else  reveals  the 
treasures  of  Egypt.  Speaking  maketh 
the  ready  man  all  right,  but  to  that 
must  be  added  the  exactness  that 
comes  from  writing,  after  the  reading 
that  maketh  full. 

The  library  in  the  home  or  the  study 
marks  the  high  tides  of  the  man's 
experiences.  No  man  is  better  than 
his  best  book,  or  bigger  than  his  big- 
gest. Never  mind  reading  the  latest 
fiction  unless  you  know  what  you  are 
doing;  a  sufficient  number  can  be 
found  to  do  that  without  your  aid. 
Read  the  great  books  as  fast,  yet  as 
deliberately  as  you  can,  remembering 
that  the  latest  fiction  may  become  the 
lasting  factor  and  you  can  get  your 
hands  on  it  latenon,  while  if  there  be 
nothing  lasting  about  it  you  don't  need 
it.  Let  the  teeth  of  age  test  the  fit- 
ness of  a  book  to  survive.  Always 
have  an  immortal  within  easy  reach 
to  spend  the  spare  moments  with  you. 
He  will  talk  if  you  have  ears  to  hear. 


HEEDING    MODERN    PROPHETS. 

It  is  a  great  thing  for  us  all  to  turn 
ourselves  loose  upon  the  world  of 
books,  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  great  men, 
•to  live  our  lives  unhampered.  The 
determination  to  do  so  demands  that 


we  preserve  our  minds  flexible,  so  as 
to  adjust  them  to  the  Providential 
changes  which  are  now  sweeping  over 
the  world.  If  light  is  ever  breaking, 
we  must  conform  the  eye  to  it.  It 
would  be  too  bad  if  we  should  miss  in 
this  year  of  grace  the  tremendous  out- 
put of  books  that  are  reshaping  the 
world;  books  that  have  in  them  the 
fire  of  prophetic  eyes,  the  thunders  of 
coming  judgments  such  as  might  be 
heard  in  the  solemn  harmonies  of 
Isaiah,  and  the  promise  of  a  new  earth 
wherein  are  set  thrones  for  justice  and 
righteousness  and  truth.  This  is  why 
we  have  asked  a  few  of  our  ministers 
to  tell  us  of  books  today.  It  is  ever 
a  device  of  the  devil  to  have  us  believe 
that  all  good  things  belong  to  the 
past,  as  it  is  one  of  his  tricks  to  try 
to  make  us  believe  that  all  the  prophets 
are  dead,  and  that  if  one  should  walk 
down  our  streets  he  would  have  all 
the  insignia  of  the  ancient  order  of  the 
prophetic  school,  so  that  we  would 
know  him.  We  can  never  know  him 
by  his  style,  though  we  can  always 
know  him  by  his  spirit.  It  is  hard  for 
us  to  believe  that  a  prophet  may  be 
walking  down  our  streets,  just  as  hard 
as  it  was  for  Jerusalem,  though  we 
have  no  trouble  in  properly  appraising 
the  prophet  when  he  is  dead.  We  ap- 
praise when  we  have  ceased  to  de- 
nounce. So>  the  great  men  are  with 
us  and  the  great  books  are  with  us,  as 
they  have  been  with  every  generation. 
On  this  very  point  of  things  that  were, 
not  are,  I  wish  to  record  a  few  sen- 
tences from  "The  Educational  Ideals 
of  the  Ministry,''  by  President  Faunce 
of  Brown  University,  being  the  Lyman 
Beecher  Lectures  for  1908,  one  of  the 
very  best  books  for  preachers  known 
to  me: 

"There  are  sincerely  devOut  men 
who  seem  to  believe  in  a  God  who  was. 
He  was  with  Moses,  they  say,  opening 
up  streams  in  the  flinty  rock ;  but  now 
men  must  dig  wells  or  build  aque- 
ducts for  themselves  if  they  want 
water.  He  was  with  Israel,  granting 
the  people  bread  from  heaven;  but 
now  if  a  man  wants  bread  let  him 
work  for  it.  He  was  with  David  and 
anointed  him  to  kingship ;  but  now  he 
anoints  nobody,  and  those  who  want 
high  office  must  secure  the  votes. 
About  the  year  100  A.  D.,  all  inspira- 
tion ceased,  and  about  200  A.  D.  all 
miracles  ceased,  and  now  in  a  world 
bereft  of  divine  voices  we  stumble 
and  grope  to  the  end.  Oh,  young 
prophets  of  the  truth,  such  an  idea  is 
the  master  falsehood  of  humanity!  It 
is  the  one  fundamental  untruth  which 
will  put  unreality  into  every  sermon 


and  impiety  into  every  prayer.  Our 
God  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come.  .  .  . 
Why  seek  we  the  living  "God  among 
the  dead  symbols?" 

Why  bury  the  living  prophet  among 
the  dead  ?  Why  not  have  in  our  men- 
tal arrangements  somewhere  the  loose- 
leaf  volume  rather  than  the  volume 
with  heavy  bindings  and  brass  clasps, 
with  finis  written  on  the  last  page? 
Why  not  tune  our  ears  to  hear  the 
living  as  well  as  the  voices  of  the 
dead?  Some  of  the  prophets  in  our 
own  pulpits  seem  to  be  speaking  out 
of  the  fulness  of  their  experiences  and 
observations  as  men  spoke  in  the  long 
ago. 

•(■  -|C  5j£ 

I  wish  all  who  read  these  lines  who 
have  a  good  sermon  or  a  good  book 
that  has  helped,  would  drop  me  a  line 
to  say  that  they  are  well,  and  enclose 
the  titles  of  both.  Send  a  list  of  from 
six  to  a  dozen  of  each.  They  will  re- 
veal the  thoughts  of  your  mind,  as 
above  indicated,  and  lighten  our  own 
path  as  if  they  were  concentrated  day- 
light. They  will  encourage  us  all  to 
be  calm  in  the  presence  of  ideas  with 
which  we  are  not  familiar.  Some 
ideas  are  too  large  for  us,  some  too 
small,  while  some  fit  us  exactly.  With 
these  ideas  in  our  hand,  as  it  were, 
we  want  to  find  our  capacity.  Above 
all,  we  want  to  study  to  be  unafraid. 
Haven't  we  all  known  a  man  here  and 
there  who  assumed  everything  in  this 
world  was  settled/and  that  to  slumber 
on,  when  men's  hearts  were  failing 
them  for  fear,  was  the  chief  end  of 
being.  To  such,  ideas  are  thunder- 
bolts, and  he  runs  to  the  cellar  to  es- 
cape the  cyclone  when  a  cloud  appears 
in  the  sky,  and  for  an  umbrella  when 
the  sun  shines  a  little  brighter  than 
usual,  to  ward  off  sunstroke.  His 
world  is  a  peaceful  brown,  never  ad- 
mitting too  much  light  or  shade.  The 
cyclones  would  be  tonics,  and  the  sun- 
light health,  if  he  only  knew  how  to 
live  his  life  sincerely  and  serenely, 
whereas  now  he  fears  because  he  lives 
in  a  world  of  sham. 

I  hope  the  laymen  will  read  these 
lists  of  sermons  and  books.  The 
series  promises  to  be  interesting.  Al- 
ready from  different  sections  of  the 
country  assurances  are  pouring  in  that 
many  laymen  are  in  a  state  of  fear  lest 
these  articles  should  be  long  delayed. 
Let  all  be  calm,  as  events  of  such  im- 
portance ,can  neither  be  halted  nor 
hurried.  We  believe  that  the  series 
will  measure  up  to  the  most  sanguine 
expectations.  We  present  only  a  few 
lists  this  week.     Others   will  follow. 

Rev.  E.  L.  Powell,  Louisville,  Ky. 

Pulpit  Themes: 

"The  Conversion  of  a  Church  Mem- 
ber" ;  "The  New  Creation" ;  "How  a 
Big  Business  Man  Found  God" ;  "The 
Sermon  on  the  Mount" ;  "James  Whit- 


January  4,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


17 


comb  Riley  and  Heaven";  "The  Place 
of  the  Sword  in  Knighthood" ;  "Look- 
ing Unto  the  Hills" ;  "The  Wrath  of 
God" ;  "Thy  Will  Be  Done  on  Earth" ; 
"What  Constitutes  a  Pure  Church"; 
"Baptists  and  Disciples,"  followed 
by  "Disciples  and  Episcopalians"  in 
a  General  Discussion  of  Christian 
Union ;  "Found  in  Christ" ;  "A  Ques- 
tion Concerning  Jesus  Addressed  to 
Lawyers" ;  "The  Spirit  of  Cheerful- 
ness." 

Rev.  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan,  Richmond, 
Va. 

Pulpit  Themes: 

"The  Other  Little  Ships";  "The 
Man  for  Whom  Jesus  Had  to  Wait" ; 
"The  By-Products  of  Life";  "The 
Spiritual  Significance  of  Socialism"; 
"The  Empty  Grave  of  Experience" ; 
"A  Living  Dead  Man." 

Books  Read  and  Recommended : 

"Crime  and  Punishment,"  Dostoi- 
effsky;  "The  Brook  Cherith,"  George 
Moore;  "The  Prophets  of  Israel," 
Robertson  Smith;  "Theism  and  Hu- 
manism," Balfour;  "The  Cross  in 
Japan,"  Hagin ;  "Social  Forces  in  Eng- 
land and  America,"  H.  G.  Wells. 

Rev.  John  M.  Alexander,  South  Bend, 
Ind. 

Pulpit  Themes: 

A  series  of  five  sermons  on  "The 
European  War  and  What  It  May 
Teach  Us";  "Spiritual  Pathfinders"; 
"The  Power  That  Changes  the  Course 
of  Human  Life";  "The  Impossibles 
Crumbling  Before  Faith" ;  "Life's 
Waste  Products." 

Books  Read  and  Recommended: 

"New  Wars  for  Old,"  Holmes; 
"What  the  Great  War  Is  Teaching 
Us,"  Jefferson;  "The  Living  Forces 
of  the  Gospel,"  Warneck;  "Bergson 
and- the  Modern  Spirit,"  Dobson;  (J. 
M.  A.)  "The  New  World  Religion," 
Strong;  "Practical  and  Social  Aspects 
of  Christianity,"  Robertson;  "The 
Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,"  Lake. 

Rev.  C.  M.  Chilton,  St.  Joseph,  Mo. 

Pulpit  Themes: 

"Environment";  "The  Secret  of 
Happiness";  "Then  Judas  Who  Be- 
trayed Him,  When  He  Saw";  "Some 
Reasons  Why  a  Man  Should  Be  a 
Christian"  ;  "Now  These  Things  Hap- 
pened Unto  Them  by  Way  of  Ex- 
ample" ;  "The  Second  Coming  of  Our 
Lord" ;  "The  Master." 

Books  Read  and  Recommended : 

"The  Making  of  England,"  Greene  ; 
Roosevelt's  "The  Winning  of  the 
West";  "Pan  Germanism,"  "Pan 
Americanism";  "The  Blue  Bird," 
Maeterlinck ;  "Loyalty,"  Royce ; 
"What  Is  the  Truth  About  Jesus 
Christ,"  Loof ;  "Conduct  and  the  Su- 
pernatural," Thornton;  "The  Gospel 
and  the  Church,"  Loisey ;  "The  Evolu- 
tion of  Early  Christianity,"  Case. 


H!!llll!lllllllllll!lllllll!llillllllllllllllllllllllli:"  llllllllllllllllllllllll!llllllll!llll!!lll!lllll!ll 


The  Sunday  School 


r!lll!lllllll!!!lll!!lll!!lll!!lllllllllllllll!IIIIIIIM 


What  Are  You  After? 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
By   JOHN   R.   EWERS 


Three  disciples  follow  Jesus.  He 
turns  to  them  and  bluntly  asks,  "What 
are  you  after?"  Jesus  had  a  way  of 
resolving  things  into  simple  elements. 
If  you  are  after  loaves  and  fishes  you 
are  in  the  wrong  path.     If  you  are 

looking  for  a 
snap,  you  have 
entered  the 
wrong  door.  If 
you  are  su- 
premely inter- 
ested  in  a  get- 
rich-quick 
scheme,  go  else- 
where. If  you 
are  in  search  of 
cheap  life  insur- 
ance try  some 
otheragent. 
What  do  you  want,  anyway?  If  you 
are  after  the  Great  Teacher,  I  am  He. 
If  looking  eagerly  for  the  Deliverer,  I 
am  He.  It  is  about  the  right  time  in 
the  new  year  to  seek  the  answer  to  our 
question.  Already  many  of  the  New 
Year  resolutions  have  been  forgotten 
or  broken ;  let  us  find  out  what  we  are 
after. 

President  Wilson  did  well  to  ask 
the  foreign  fighting  nations  to  define 
what  they  are  fighting  for.  If  it  be 
true  that  all  of  them  are  after  hu- 
manity— how  interesting  to  have  them 
all  say  so !  If  all  are  fighting  for  pelf 
and  power,  let  us  know  that  also.  If 
all  are  wonderfully  concerned  over 
the  integrity  and  rights  of  little  na- 
tions— like  Belgium,  or,  shall  we  say 
Greece? — then  let  us  know  that. 
"Tell  us,"  he  says,  "what  you  are 
after;  suffering  neutrals  have  a  right 
to  know." 

And  here  come  our  business  men 
home  from  the  wearisome  day.  En- 
ergies have  been  spent  wildly.  The 
very  body  and  brain  have  been  burned 
up,  like  a  sacrifice.  Such  toil  the 
world  never  saw  before.  Well,  my 
brother,  what  are  you  fighting  for?  A 
good  living?  You  have  had  that  for 
years.  Higher  social  position?  Why? 
Higher  rating  in  Dunn  and  Brad- 
street's?  Again,  why?  More  money 
for  the  wife  and  children  to  spend? 
More  money  for  missions  and  the 
church?  Life  for  you  is  a  struggle. 
Would  a  definition  of  terms  be  help- 

*The  above  article  is  based  on  the 
International  Uniform  lesson  for  Janu- 
ary 21,  "First  Disciples  of  the  Lord 
Jesus."    Scripture,  John  1:35-51. 


ful?     The  White   Christ  turns  upon 
you  and  asks,  "What  seek  ye  !" 

There  is  not  a  group,  not  a  class, 
but  should  ask  and  answer  this  ques- 
tion. What  is  the  minister  after? 
More  salary,  more  influential  mem- 
bers, more  missionary  funds?  What 
is  the  deep,  underlying  motive?  Serv- 
ice to  God?  What  is  the  Sunday 
school  teacher  after?  A  reputation  as 
a  brilliant  teacher  so  that  more  schol- 
ars may  be  attracted  to  his  or  her 
class?  Is  it  the  glory  of  men  or  of 
God?  All  of  this  leads  each  one  of 
us  to  a  deep  study  of  motives. 

There  is  a  terrible  significance  in 
Jesus'  word,  "Seek  and  ye  shall  find." 
That  is  true,  We  shall.  Your  prayer 
is  not  the  mumbling  of  your  lips ;  your 
prayer  is  your  life-passion.  It  is  what 
you  seek.  "O  God,  give  me  money,' 
is  the  real  prayer  of  many  men's 
lives. 

"O  God,  let  me  have  an  easy  time," 
is  the  prayer  of  many  a  woman.  "O 
God,  let  me  only  make  a  good  appear- 
ance," is  the  prayer  of  many  a  super- 
ficial life.  It  was  Jesus  who  dared 
pray,  "Thy  will,  not  mine,  be  done." 
It  Avas  Henry  Martyn  who  prayed, 
"Now  let  me  burn  out  for  God." 
What  we  seek  we  shall  most  certainly 
find.  Yes,  we  shall  find  money.  Yes, 
we  shall  find  ease  and  pleasure.  But 
what  of  it?     "What  seek  ye?" 

But  perhaps  it  is  real  religion  that 
we  seek !  Perhaps  we  have  experi- 
enced enough  of  worldly  success  and 
have  seen  enough  of  the  emptiness  of 
mere  earthly  things  to  long  for  the 
water  of  life.  "As  pants  the  heart 
after  the  water-brooks,  so  thirsteth 
my  soul  after  Thee,  O  God."  A  dry 
brook  means  death.  A  godless  life 
means  the  same.  Well,  if  it  is  real  re- 
ligion that  you  want  you  have  come  to 
the  right  person.  Jesus  is  the  one. 
They  went  and  abode  with  him  and 
went  away  thrilled,  convinced,  satis- 
fied. "We  have  found  Him,"  they 
cried.  "Found  who?"  "Jesus,  the 
Saviour." 

Maybe  you  have  not  found  Him  yet. 
You  have  gotten  money,  position, 
praise,  ease,  pleasure — but  you  have 
never  found  Christ.  Then  you  have 
been  wasting  your  energy  upon  sec- 
ondary goods.  "Seek  ye  the  Lord 
while  He  may  be  found.  Call  ye  upon 
Him  while  He  is  near."     "Seek  and 

YE     SHALL    FIND."       "WHAT     SEEK 

YE?" 


IS 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  4,  1917 


Mil 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


A  Remarkable  Bible 
Class 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  Bible 
class  among  the  Disciples,  and  one  of 
the  most  unusual  in  any  of  the  churches, 
is  the  Upper  Room  class  taught  by  Prof. 
T.  M.  I  den,  now  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich., 
but  in  earlier  years  at  Butler  and  other 
colleges.  During  the  past  twenty-five 
years  Professor  Iden  has  conducted  the 
work  of  this  organization,  and  during 
this  period  over  five  thousand  men  have 
been  members.  The  good  news  comes 
that  the  increase  of  membership  during 
the  past  three  months  has  surpassed  the 
record  of  any  three  months  in  the  class' 
history.  It  is  now  proposed  that  the 
class  erect  its  own  building,  to  care  for 
this  unique  work  among  college  men. 
Over  a  thousand  dollars  has  already 
been  pledged.  An  interesting  feature  of 
the  work  of  this  class  is  the  fact  that  its 
members  continue  always  to  be  mem- 
bers, unless  they  voluntarily  drop  out. 
What  a  bond  for  Christian  influence  is 
this  organization!  Its  members  are  scat- 
tered over  the  earth,  but  there  is  still 
essential  unity.  Mr.  Iden  reports  that 
this  year  one  of  the  "boys"  lost  his  life 
rescuing  a  companion  from  suffocation 
in  a  gas  trench  in  war-ridden  Europe. 
Another  was  drowned  in  the  Rio  Grande 
river,  on  the  Mexican  frontier,  whither 
he  had  gone  at  his  country's  call.  The 
article  on  another  page,  entitled  "Tak- 
ing Invoice,"  is  a  portion  of  a  message 
recently  sent  out  to  the  members  of  the 
class  by  their  teacher. 

A  "Call  to  the  Colors" 
at  Rockford,  111.,  Church 

"A  Call  to  the  Colors"  is  what  W.  B. 
Clemmer,  pastor  at  Central  church, 
Rockford,  111.,  calls  the  campaign  which 
was  launched  by  Central  church  Janu- 
ary 1,  to  extend  until  Easter,  April  8. 
"It  will  be  a  hundred  days'  effort  to 
bring  the  church  to  its  full  working 
strength  in  every  department,"  says  Mr. 
Clemmer.  Increased  attendance  will  be 
one  of  the  aims.  The  Sunday  school  has 
set  as  its  goal  a  50  per  cent  increase  and 
probably  a  like  mark  will  be  set  in  other 
departments.  A  federation  for  co-op- 
erative work  may  be  formed  among  the 
men  of  the  church.  Special  days  will  be 
slated,  culminating  in  special  meetings 
before   Easter. 

Loveland,  Colo.,  Pastor  Preaches 
to  City's  Youth 

Last  October,  J.  E.  Lynn,  of  the  Love- 
land,  Colo.,  church,  had  a  breakdown  in 
health  and  was  compelled  to  cease  work 
for  a  while.  At  this  time  he  handed  in 
his  resignation  at  Loveland,  but,  upon 
the  unanimous  and  persistent  request  of 
the  church  members,  this  did  not  go  into 
effect.  Mr.  Lynn  writes  that  under  the 
physician's  treatment  he  has  fully  recov- 
ered and  is  now  in  perfect  health.  He  is 
now  preaching  a  series  of  Sunday  even- 
ing sermons  to  the  youth  of  Loveland; 
in  addition  to  his  sermons,  talks  are 
also  being  given  by  the  public  school 
superintendent  of  Loveland,  the  city 
mayor,  the  public  librarian  and  other 
citizens.  Mr.  Lynn's  sermons  are  on 
"Seven  Deadly  Sins  to  Be  Avoided  by 
Youth."  The  other  talks  are  on  the 
following  topics:  "Our  Youth  and  the 
Beet  Field,  as  Viewed  by  the  School"; 
"Our  Youth  and  the  Beet  Field,  as 
Viewed   by    the    Factory";    "Our   Youth 


and  the  City  Streets";  "Our  Youth  and 
the  City  Library";  "Our  Youth  and  the 
Movies." 

Missouri  Young  Men  Plant 
Successful  Church 

Not  many  months  ago,  R.  Ff.  Love, 
the  pastor  at  Eldorado  Springs,  Mo., 
took  a  number  of  young  men  of  his  Sun- 
day school  and  went  to  Dederick,  a  small 
railroad  town  not  far  out,  and  there  or- 
ganized a  Sunday  school  in  a  school- 
house.  The  interest  and  enrollment 
grew.  The  latter  part  of  May  of  last 
year  J.  Will  Walters  of  Nevada,  Mo., 
went  to  Dederick  and  held  a  revival, 
using  the  Seventh  District  tent.  There 
were  98  additions  to  the  membership. 
Mr.  Walters  succeeded  in  raising  funds 
to  the  amount  of  $1,000  to  begin  the 
erection  of  a  church  home.  An  enter- 
prising citizen  who  came  into  the  church 
during  the  meeting  gave  a  tract  of 
ground  sufficiently  large  for  both  the 
church  and  a  parsonage.  The  new  con- 
gregation purchased  from  the  Eldorado 
Springs  church  an  unused  building  and 
wrecked  and  moved  it,  and  from  it  built 
a  handsome  church  house  at  a  cost  of 
about  $2,000,  not  including  the  lot  and 
donated  labor.  December  27  was  set  as 
dedication  day.  The  district  evangelist, 
J.  H.  Jones,  had  charge.  Over  $700  was 
raised  at  tbis  time,  although  only  $600 
was  required.  The  church  is  now  full- 
fledged,  and  Mr.  Jones  writes  in  high- 
est praise  of  the  leaders  in  the  new  con- 
gregation. It  is  hoped  to  make  this 
rural  church  a  real  force  for  community 
betterment. 

Disciples   and   Methodists 
Lead  in  Des  Moines 

Numerically,  the  Disciples  and  Meth- 
odists are  the  two  strongest  denomina- 
tions in  Des  Moines,  la.  The  secretary 
of  the  religious  census  bureau,  which 
recently  made  a  city-wide  enumeration 
of  the  church-going  and  non-church-go- 
ing population,  reported  that  approxi- 
mately five  thousand  cards  had  been 
filled  out  by  members  and  "friends"  of 
the  two  denominations.  The  Catholic 
church  was  found  to  rank  next,  with 
about  2,500  cards. 

Sunday   Schools   Give   to 
American   Missions 

December  proved  a  rich  harvest  month 
among  the  Sunday  schools  of  the  broth- 
erhood in  their  offerings  to  American 
missions.  New  records  were  made  by 
many  schools:  Central,  Dallas,  Tex.; 
First,  Lawrence,  Kans.;  South  Broad- 
way, Denver,  Colo.;  Central,  Indianap- 
olis, Ind.;  High  Street,  Akron,  Ohio, 
and  many  other  schools  went  far  beyond 
all  previous  records.  High  Street,  Akron, 
reached  the  $500  figure.  This  is  the  rec- 
ord offering  from  the  schools  to  Amer- 
ican missions,  with  the  exception  that 
Independence  Boulevard,  Kansas  City, 
Mo.,  made  a  like  offering  three  years  ago. 
Some  much  appreciated  offerings  came 
from  colored  schools  in.  the  southland, 
and  an  offering  from  the  school  "far- 
thest north" — that  at  Seward,  Alaska — 
inspired  enthusiasm  at  the  office  of  the 
American  Society.  But  it  is  sadly  re- 
ported that  fully  six  hundred  schools 
that  pledged  themselves  to  make  an  of- 
fering have  not  yet  reported.  Many 
other  schools  which  gave  last  year  have 
fallen  down  this  year.     At  least  $50,000 


must  be  raised  this  year,  and  the  total 
raised  to  date  is  far  from  that  figure. 
Every  school  which  has  not  done  its 
part  should  do  so,  and  send  the  offering 
to  Secretary  Hopkins  at  Carew  Build- 
ing, Cincinnati. 

A  Community  House  at 
Kentland,   Ind. 

Elvin  Daniels  is  doing  a  genuine  piece 
of  community  work  at  Kentland,  Ind., 
and  dedicated  his  community  house  on 
December  17.  It  is  a  frame  structure, 
sixty  feet  by  ninety,  and  additions  will 
be  made  later.  People  of  all  religious 
faiths  in  the  community  are  back  of  the 
work. 

Illinois  Rural  Church 
Achieves 

The  Blooming  Grove  church  is  a  rural 
church  near  Bloomington,  111.  For  three 
years  there  were  no  services.  Then  a 
Sunday  school  was  organized,  a  minis- 
ter employed  and  a  good  meeting  held 
by  C.  D.  Hougham.  The  present  minis- 
ter, J.  F.  Smith,  was  called  to  the  work 
nearly  two  years  ago.  He  has  led  the 
congregation  in  the  remodeling  of  the 
building.  The  congregation  now  has  a 
building  well  suited  to  their  work,  with 
a  splendid  basement  for  social  gather- 
ings. The  Ladies'  Aid  Society  is  a  busy 
organization. 

Woman  Evangelist  Leads  Church 
to   Victory 

One  of  the  victories  in  the  Third  Dis- 
trict, Mo.,  this  year  was  the  one  at 
Marshfield,  in  a  splendid  meeting  held 
by  Mrs.  S.  McCoy  Crank,  formerly  of 
Mt.  Vernon,  Mo.,  but  now  residing  near 
Greenfield.  Mrs.  Crank  is  the  joint 
evangelist  of  the  District  board  and  the 
State  C.  W.  B.  M.  board  for  special 
meetings'.  The  church  at  Marshfield  was 
very  much  discouraged.  They  had  a 
debt  of  about  $2,800.  The  membership 
was  disorganized.  Mrs.  Crank  raised 
about  $800  cash  to  apply  on  the  debts 
and  $500  in  pledges.  The  Sunday  school 
increased  in  attendance  and  three  new 
classes  were  added.  Membership  in  the 
C.  W.  B.  M.  increased.  There  were  five 
additions  to  the  church.  About  $300  was 
pledged  for  the  minister's  salary  and  the 
canvass  is  still  going  on.  Mrs.  Crank 
preached  thirty-six  sermons,  made  five 
other  addresses,  and  made  about  300 
calls.  The  balance  of  the  debt  is  now 
arranged  so  that  it  will  not  prove  a  se- 
rious handicap  to  the  progress  of  the 
work. 

Des  Moines  Church  Gives  Half 
Carload  to  Poor 

University  Place  church,  Des  Moines, 
led  by  C.  S.  Medbury,  had  a  genuine  giv- 
ing Christmas  in  1916.  Each  of  the 
classes  of  the  Sunday  school  brought  its 
gift,  and  these,  with  the  potatoes  col- 
lected as  admission  fees,  aggregated 
nearly  a  carload  of .  provisions  to  be 
given  to  the  deserving  poor.  The  Loyal 
Women  and  the  University  Class  of  girls 
divided  honors  for  first  prize. 

Christian   Endeavor   Societies 
Support  Evangelists 

The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  at 
Bowling  Green,  Ohio,  has  assumed  the 
support  of  Shirai  San,  an  evangelist  at 
Akita,  Japan,  through  the  Foreign  So- 
ciety. For  a  number  of  years  the  En- 
deavor Society  at  Atlanta,  Ind.,  has  had 
a  splendid  part  in  supporting  the  or- 
phanage work  at  Damoh,  India.  It  now 
becomes  a  "Life-line,"  providing  for 
Masih  Das  at  Mungeli,  India.  The  band 
of  Endeavorers  at  Rochester,  Minn.,-  has 


January  4,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


agreed  to  support  Solomon,  No.  729,  at 
Dambh,  India.  This  is  an  advance  step 
for  this  society.  Every  society  of  the 
brotherhood  should  arrange  to  observe 
Endeavor  Day,  the  last  Sunday  in  Jan- 
uary, by  using  the  interesting  program, 
"Life  Lines  Across  the  Sea,"  sent  out 
by  the  Foreign  Society  to  all  societies 
promising  to  take  an  offering  for  the 
foreign  work.  Endeavor  Day,  the  anni- 
versary of  the  organization  of  the  move- 
ment, is  rapidly  becoming  the  "high  day" 
of  the  year  for  the  young  people. 

Tithing  League  at 
Akron,  Ohio 

A  Tithing  League  has  been  organized 
at  High  Street  church,  Akron,  Ohio,  to 
which  L.  N.  D.  Wells  ministers. 

Iowa  Church  Reports 
Progress 

The  church  at  Delta,  la.,  of  which  N. 
C.  Carpenter  is  pastor,  has  recently  spent 
,$5,000  on  improvements,  has  an  En- 
deavor society  of  over  a  hundred  mem- 
bers, and  now  supports  Mrs.  L.  B.  Kline 
in  Vigan,  Philippine  Islands,  as  its  liv- 
ing link. 

K.  F.  Nance  Tells 
of  War  Experiences 

K.  F.  Nance,  recently  returned  from 
service  with  the  Ambulance  Corps  in 
France,  gave  a  lecture  on  his  experi- 
ences in  Hutchinson,  Kans.,  church,  on 
December  15. 

W.  S.  Cook  Faces  Physical 
Breakdown 

Walter  Scott  Cook,  who  leads  at  Wil- 
kmsburg,  Pa.,  is  recuperating  in  the  Ten- 
nessee mountains.  Mr.  Cook  finds  him- 
self in  bad  physical  condition,  due  to 
his  strenuous  tasks  in  connection  with 
the  erection  of  the  fine  new  church  home 
at  Wilkinsburg. 

Purdue  Disciple  Students  to 
Have  a  Pastor 

George  W.  Watson,  pastor  of  the  rap- 
idly growing  work  at  First  church,  La- 
fayette, Ind.,  will  enjoy  the  services  of 
an  assistant  pastor.  Robert  Knight,  of 
Shreveport,  La.,  has  been  elected  to 
serve  in  this  field.  He  will  be  supported 
jointly  by  First  church  and  the  Indiana 
Missionary  Society,  and  will  give  half  of 
his  time  to  ministering  to  the  Disciple 
students  in  Purdue  University.  Mr. 
Knight  is  a  very  fine  singer. 

Evangelistic  Service  to  Be 
Held  in  Armory 

The  church  at  Clarinda,  la.,  will  give 
the  entire  month  of  January  to  a  series 
of  evangelistic  meetings  to  be  held  in 
the  local  Armory.  R.  C.  Snodgrass,  the 
pastor,  will  preach,  and  will  be  assisted 
in  the  music  by  H.  W.  Talley. 

"Get  Together  Week" 
at  Detroit  Church 

January  8-12  will  be  observed  by  East 
Grand  Boulevard  church,  Detroit,  as 
"Get  Together  Week."  W.  G.  Loucks, 
the  pastor,  reports  that  80  per  cent  of 
the  members   of  the   church   are   giving 


toward  current  expenses  and  63  per  cent 
to  missions.  Mr.  Loucks  gets  out  a 
post  card  church  publication  called  "The 
Booster." 

An  Enviable 
Record 

The  Sunday  school  at  Tioga,  Tex.,  has 
elected  Matt  Bradley  superintendent  for 
the  twenty-fifth  time. 

A  New  Building  for 
Flint,  Mich.,  Church 

The  Flint,  Mich.,  church  will  have  a 
new  building  for  its  work.  George  L. 
Snively  is  now  in  a  series  of  meetings  at 
Flint. 

Preachers'  Parliament  at 
Eugene,  Ore.,  1917 

A.  L.  Chapman,  of  Bozeman,  Mont., 
created  a  strong  impression  at  the  re- 
cent Preachers'  Parliament,  held  at  Spo- 
kane, Wash.,  with  his  paper  on  "Christ- 
tianity  the  Only  Permanent,  Effective, 
Vital  Force  in  the  World  Today."  The 
Parliament  voted  to  go  to  Eugene,  Ore., 
next  year.  The  new  president  is  E.  C. 
Sanderson   of   Eugene   Bible   University. 

A  Cooperative  Bible  Class 
in  Missouri 

The  Sunday  school  of  Linn  Knoll,  Mo., 
has  organized  a  cooperative  Bible  class, 
composed  of  the  people  of  the  commu- 
nity, regardless  of  church  lines.  This 
speaks  well  for  the  influence  in  that  com- 
munity of  H.  F.  Davis,  their  minister. 


Texas  Church 
Has  Good  Givers 

Main  Street  church,  Waxahachie,  '\  • 
has  decided  to  clear  off  a  debt  of  $7,500. 
A  third  of  this  amount  has  been  i Judged 
by  three  members  of  the  congregati 

Speaking  of 
Rural  Churches — 

Of  the  93  rural  churches  in  Oregon,  '.',', 
per  cent  have  pastors,  40  per  cent  have 
Sunday  preaching  and  25  per  cent  have 
no  preaching  at  all. 

Central  Church,  Terre  Haute, 
Cultivates  Boy  Life 

Central  church,  Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  has 
caught  the  vision  of  its  opportunity  with 
its  boy  life.  Recently,  through  the  work 
of  a  special  committee,  appointed  by  the 
official  board  of  the  church  and  the  super- 
intendent of  the  Bible  school,  a  hall  was 
rented  for  athletic  purposes.  Both  the 
girls  and  boys  of  the  school  will  have 
the  use  of  this  hall  during  the  winter 
months,  for  basket  ball  and  other  ath- 
letic games.  The  hall  is  being  rented  in 
cooperation  with  one  of  the  high  schools 
of  Terre  Haute. 

Endowment  Wanted  for 
Bethany  College  Cemetery 

It  is  proposed  to  secure  an  endowment 
of  $1,500  for  the  "College-Campbell  ceme- 
tery" at  Bethany,  W.  Va.  This  burying 
ground  was  given  to  Bethany  college  in 
the  will  of  Alexander  Campbell  in  1886. 


Christian  Endeavor  Day  Program 


Christian  Endeavor  Day,  1917,  comes 
the  last  Sunday  in  January.  The  pro- 
gram of  the  National  Board  of  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  for  the  use  of  our  socie- 
ties is  now  ready  for  distribution.  It 
is  called  "Voices  from  the  World  Field." 
It  is  the  most  important  the  board  has 
ever  issued,  and  should  be  used  by  every 
society  among  us.  The  program  is  a 
set  of  short  addresses  by  the  leaders 
of  our  organized  Missionary,  Educational 
and  Benevolent  agencies.  The_  addresses 
are  short,  crisp  and  to  the  point. 

Our  young  people  need  to  come  in 
contact  with  the  leaders  of  our  organ- 
ized work.  They  need  to  know  not  only 
the  leaders,  but  also  the  open  doors  of 
opportunity  for  our  people.  The  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  Day  program  for  1917 
presents  in  an  admirable  way  the  mis- 
sionary situation  that  confronts  us.  Not 
only  do  the  Endeavor  societies  need  what 
the  program  supplies,  but  the  whole 
church  needs  this  sort  of  education. 

The  National  Board  of  Christian  En- 
deavor hopes  that  many  of  our  churches 
will  offer  the  hour  of  the  Sunday  night 
preaching  service  to  the  young  people, 
and  thus  give  all  the  members  of  the 
church  a  chance  to  attend  the  meeting. 
It  would  seem  that  Christian  Endeavor 
has  rendered  the  cause  of  Christ  suffi- 
cient service  to  warrant  this  recognition. 
But  it  is  not  a  question  of  honoring  any- 
thing or  anybody,  but  of  educating  the 
young  people  of  the  church. 


We  are  growing  as  a  people  in  our 
interest  in  world-wide  evangelization, 
but  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  many 
of  our  young  people  know  but  little 
about  our  own  missionary,  educational 
and  benevolent  organizations.  They  do 
not  attend  our  conventions  in  large 
numbers.  The  Endeavor  Day  program 
this  year  brings  a  miniature  National 
Missionary  Convention  to  each  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  Society. 

In  addition  to  the  addresses  by  the 
leaders  of  our  various  societies,  there  is 
an  address  by  Peter  Ainslie  on  the  his- 
tory and  position  of  the  Disciples  of 
Christ.  Our  young  people  need  to  know 
the  great  principles  for  which  we  stand. 
All  these  addresses  are  to  be  committed 
to  memory  and  recited,  not  read  from 
the  program. 

The  National  Board  of  Christian  En- 
deavor is  tr}dng  to  conduct  a  systematic 
campaign  of  education  among  our  young 
people,  and  the  Endeavor  Da}-  program 
is  in  line  with  this  plan.  It  is,  in  fact, 
a  part  of  it.  "Voices  from  the  World 
Field"  is  a  well  balanced,  'full  rounded, 
square  deal  missionary  program. 

It  will  be  sent  free  of  all  cost  to  all 
societies  desiring  to  use  it,  on  condi- 
tion that  the  Endeavor  Day  offering  be 
forwarded  to  the  National  Board  of 
Christian  Endeavor.  The  last  Sunday  in 
January  is  not  far  away.  Order  the  pro- 
gram at  once.     Address: 

Claude  E.  Hill.  Nat'l  Supt., 

Station  A,  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 


An  Ideal  Course  for  Adult  and  Young  People's  Classes 
Dr.  Loa  E.  Scott's  "Life  of  Jesus' 


.♦» 


A  study  of  the  life  of  the  Master  in  52  lessons.     Bristling  with  questions,  and  requiring 
a  study  of  the  Bible  itself.     The   finest   course  yet  offered  for   adult  and  young  people's 


classes.     Price  in  lots  of  10  or  more,  40c.     Single  copy,  50c. 
Disciples  Publication  Society    .  ::  :: 


700  E.  40th  St.,  Chicago,  111. 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  4,  1917 


Father  and  Son  Banquets 
in  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Maplewood  and  Hamilton  Avenue 
Christian  church  schools  of  St.  Louis 
were  among  the  thirty  churches  to  hold 
Father  and  Son  Banquets  in  greater  St. 
Louis  on  the  evening  of  December  15. 
The  observance  of  this  special  occasion 
came  as  a  result  of  the  work  of  the  Older 
Boys'  Council  of  St.  Louis. 

A  Community  School 
Near  Lexington,  Ky. 

A  new  school  building  has  recently 
been  dedicated  in  Kentucky,  six  miles 
from  Lexington,  called  the  Russell-Cave 
school.  It  is  the  wish  of  the  people  of 
this  community  that  this  new  structure 
be  used  for  union  Bible  school  purposes. 

Disciples'  Opportunities  in 
Omaha,  Neb. 

C.  F.  Stevens  of  Beatrice,  Neb.,  church 
writes  that  he  has  recently  visited  Omaha 
and  states  that  what  impressed  him  most 
on  this  visit  was  the  fact  that  Omaha 
offers  a  great  missionary  opportunity  for 
the  Disciples.  There  is  a  population  of 
200,000.  and  the  Disciples  have  but  three 
churches.  The  Methodists  have  eighteen. 
With  such  men  as  Pastors  Cobbey,  Pe- 
ters and  Albers  at  the  head  of  the 
churches  in  Omaha,  Mr.  Stevens  sees  the 
beginning  of  greater  days  there  for  the 
cause  represented  by  them. 

Youngstown  Goes 
to  Church 

January  is  being  made  a  time  for 
church-going  at  Youngstown,  O.  The 
Protestant  churches  of  the  city  are  coop- 
erating in  a  Go-to-Church  campaign.  W. 
D.  Ryan.  L.  G.  Batman  and  W.  S.  Goode, 
of  the  Disciples  churches,  are  giving 
their  entire  support  to  the  effort.  Dur- 
ing this  month  all  the  preachers  are  con- 
sidering the  same  themes.  Each  church 
has  been  assigned  a  certain  district  for 
visitation  during  the  month. 

W.  F.  Richardson 
Banqueted 

A  dinner  in  honor  of  W.  F.  Richard- 
son, who  is  closing  his  pastorate  at  First 
church,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  was  given  by 
the  ministry  of  the  city  at  one  of  the 
local  hotels  on  December  29.  Mr.  Rich- 
ardson plans  to  rest  a  while,  then  take 
a  pastorate  within  reach  of  Kansas  City, 
where  he  is  greatly  appreciated. 

Spiritual  Revival  at 
Quincy,  111. 

More  than  500  persons  were  added  to 
the  membership  of  the  churches  of 
Quincy,  111.,  through  the  recent  union 
revival  held  by  Bob  Jones.  First  Chris- 
tian received  seventy-five  of  these.  The 
good  work  of  W.  D.  Endres  at  First 
church  is  responsible  for  the  coming  of 
many  of  the  new  members. 

Ohio  Disciple  Leaders 
Undergo  Operations 

\Y.  D.  Ryan,  of  Central  church, 
Youngstown,  Ohio,  is  again  at  work,  hav- 
ing recovered  from  his  recent  serious 
ation.  Miner  Lee  Bates,  president 
of  Hiram,  who  was  also  compelled  to 
undergo  an  operation  a  few  weeks  ago,  is 
reported   recovering. 

Progress  in  Japanese 
Missions 

L.  D.  Oliphant  of  Akita,  Japan,  writes 
that  there  was  one  baptism  at  Honji  on 
October  31,  and  that  six  baptisms  are  to 
be  reported  at  Tsurnoka  for  the  summer. 
The  November  mothers'  meeting  at  the 
kindergarten  was  a  special  patriotic 
meeting,     with    Professor     Ishikawa    as 


speaker.  Thirty-six  non-Christian  moth- 
ers were  present,  a  total  attendance  of 
49.  Each  person  present  received  a  small 
Japanese  flag  made  by  the  children. 
Early  in  November  Professor  Ishikawa 
made  an  evangelistic  trip  through  the 
Akita    district. 

Missionary  Rally  at 
Alliance,  Ohio 

A  missionary  rally  will  be  held  at  Alli- 
ance, Ohio,  church  Tuesday,  January  9, 
1917.  President  A.  McLean,  of  the  For- 
eign society,  will  be  in  charge.  Ad- 
dresses will  be  made  by  C.  P.  Hedges  of 
Africa;  W.  H.  Hanna,  Philippine  Islands, 
and  C.  F.  McCall,  Japan.  The  churches 
of  the  adjoining  counties  will  have  repre- 
sentatives. Stereopticon  pictures  taken 
on  the  fields  will  be  shown  in  the  eve- 
ning. Sessions  will  be  held  morning, 
afternoon  and  night. 


v" 


Claude  E.  Hill  Succeeds 
in  Chattanooga  Field. 

Claude  E.  Hill,  who  went  from  Valpa- 
raiso, Ind.,  to  First  church,  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.,  last  year,  is  meeting  with  great 
success.  His  audiences  are  the  largest 
in  the  city.  There  have  been  about  75 
additions  to  the  church  membership  since 
May  1.  A  meeting  will  be  held  by  Mr. 
Hill,  beginning  January  14. 

Michigan  Schools  Give 
Christmas  Gifts 

The  young  men's  and  young  women's 
classes  of  the  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  Sun- 
day school  sent  a  Christmas  donation  to 
the  Livingston,  Tenn.,  school,  which  is 
under  the  direction  of  the  C.  W.  B.  M. 
The  Circle  girls  of  /North  Woodward 
Avenue,  Detroit,  together  with  the  wom- 
an's society,  sent  a  barrel  of  good  things 
to  the  Hazel  Green  academy,  and  also 
gifts  for  the  mountain  boys  and  girls  at 
Hazel  Green. 


Detroit  Women  Support  Professor 
I  den  as  Living  Link 

Prof.  T.  M.  Iden,  of  the  Ann  Arbor 
Bible  chair,  has  been  chosen  as  the  Liv- 
ing Link  of  Detroit  Central's  Woman's 
Missionary  society.  The  chair  at  Ann 
Arbor  was  the  first  one  established  by 
the  national  board.  A  new  Bible  chair 
building  will  soon  be  erected  at  Ann 
Arbor  to  provide  more  ample  accommo- 
dations for  the  large  classes  that  now 
crowd  the  present  hall. 

Carltons  Retire  from 
Carr-Carlton  College 

President  Charles  T.  Carlton  and  his 
sisters,  Misses  Grace  and  Sallie  Joe,  have 
resigned  their  positions  at  Carr-Carlton 
college,  at  Sherman,  Texas.  Christian 
education  in  Texas  began  with  this  col- 
lege, which  was 'founded  fifty  years  ago 
at  Bonham  by  Charles  Carlton.  When 
his  children  became  old  enough  they 
joined  their  father  in  the  work  of  the 
college,  and  at  his  death  some  years  ago 
Prof.  Charles  T.  and  Misses  Grace  and 
Sallie  Joe  continued  the  work  at  Bonham 
until  about  three  years  ago,  when  Carr- 
Burdette  and  Carlton  colleges  were  con- 
solidated in  the  buildings  at  Sherman  un- 
der the  name  of  Carr-Carlton  college. 
School  was  suspended  for  the  present 
session  to  make  repairs  on  the  buildings, 
and  now  comes  the  announcement  that 
the  Carltons  have  retired. 

East  Dallas,  Texas,  Church  Raises 
Over  $2,000  for  Fowler  Homes 

There  are  few  churches  in  the  broth- 
erhood which  have  to  their  credit  such 
gifts  to  benevolence  as  East  Dallas, 
Texas,  church,  to  which  J.  G.  Slater 
ministers,  and  where  S.  J.  McFarland 
serves  as  Sunday  school  superintendent. 
A  few  weeks  ago,  at  a  staff  meeting  of 
the  minister  and  the  general  officers  and 
teachers  of  the  school,  it  was  determined 


THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST 

will  be  the  theme  of  the  International  Uni- 
form Sunday  School  lessons  for  the  first 
six  months  of  next  year.  There  is  no  other 
course  of  study  that  offers  such  an  oppor- 
tunity as  this  for  interesting  and  profitable 
work  in  adult  and  young  people's  classes. 
There  is  no  better  method  of  conducting 
Bible  class  work  than  by  the  question 
method.  This  is  the  plan  of  study  fol- 
lowed in  the  best  text  on  Christ's  life 
published — 

"THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS" 

By  Dr.  Loa  E.  Scott 

SEND  50c  FOR  A  SAMPLE  COPY  OF  THE  BOOK. 
IT  SELLS  IN  LOTS   OF    10  OR   MORE  AT  40c. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  Fortieth  Street        -       -       CHICAGO 


January  4,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


D      □              1 

OUR  COLLEGE 

EDUCATION  DAY 

"HOLDING 

PROFESSORS 

MISSIONARIES 

JANUARY  21 

1917 

THE  ROPES"        | 

|                               OF                               | 
EDUCATION 

FOR 

CHRISTIAN    | 
EDUCATION    : 

are  delving  in  the    deep,   rich 
mine  of  truth  and  bringing  forth 
the  pure  gold  of  character  for 
"Christ  and  the  Church." 

ARE  YOU  HOLDING 
THE  ROPES? 

BOARD  OF  EDUCATION 

OF  THE 
DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST 

70  LAYMAN  AVE. 
INDIANAPOLIS 

□      D 

0 

Paraphrased  from  William  Carey 

4k 

INDIANA 

to  designate  Sunday,  December  17,  as 
Record  Day  at  the  school.  It  was 
planned  to  make  cash  contributions  to 
the  Fowler  Orphans'  home,  especially  for 
the  work  of  the  girls'  dormitory.  Here  is 
the  remarkable  report  submitted  by  the 
superintendent  for  the  day:  Beginners' 
department,  162  present,  $44.83;  primary 
department,  133  present,  $68.56;  junior 
department,  144  present,  $50;  intermedi- 
ate department,  101  present,  $39.71;  senior 
department,  228,  $136.22.  Adult  depart- 
ment: Berean  class,  210  present,  $76.01; 
ladies'  class,  75  present,  $52;  men's  class, 
260  present,  $1,299.66.  Other  offerings: 
Ladies'  aid,  $250;  officers,  $250;  total, 
1,313  persons,  $2,266.99. 

*     *     * 

— The  Commercial  Tribune  of  Cincin- 
nati   gave     the     Evanston     (Cincinnati) 
church  a  three-column  write-up  in  a  re- 
cent Sunday  addition. 


iirmunnif  A  Church  Home  for  You. 

NEW  ill RK  Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
ilk ii   i  uiiix  U2  Wegt  81gt  gt ^  N>  y 


— A.  McLean  will  lead  in  a  missionary 
rally  at  Osceola,  la.,  on  January  24. 

— Edgar  Price,  minister  at  Council 
Bluffs,  Iowa,  reports  that  59  persons  were 
added  to  the  membership  of  the  church 
there  by  the  evangelistic  services  led  by 
A.  G.  A.  Buxton,  who  recently  came  to 
the  Disciples  from  the  Episcopalian 
church. 

— On  the  occasion  of  the  eighth  anni- 
versary of  the  ministry  of  C.  B.  Rey- 
nolds at  Alliance,  Ohio,  the  Loyal  Wom- 
en's class  gave  evidence  of  their  good- 
will by  presenting  their  pastor  with  a 
bouquet  of  American  Beauty  roses — a 
rose  for  each  year  of  his  service. 

— Anyone  interested  in  the  rather  re- 
markable "Ozark  Plan"— "the  whole 
church  supporting  the  whole  missionary 
program" — should  write  for  a  copy  of 
the  leaflet  explaining  the  plan,  which  may 
be  had  for  5  cents  from  J.  H.  Jones,  927 
South  Jefferson  street,  Springfield,  Mo. 
This  plan  was  described  in  a  recent  issue 
of  the  "Century,"  and  is  well  worth  con- 
sidering. The  leaflet  also  contains  the 
addresses  given  by  C.  C.  Garrigues  of 
Joplin,  Mo.,  at  the  county  conventions  of 
the  Third  District  of  Missouri. 

— East  End  church,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  has 
planned  a  Father  and  Son  Banquet  for 
January  5. 

— Willis  Stovall,  a  ministerial  student 
at    Texas    Christian    university,    has    re- 


turned to  his  missionary  station  among 
the   Indians  at   Manigotogan,   Canada. 

— J.  T.  McKissick  of  Harriman,  Tenn., 
has  been  called  back  to  Texas.  He  will 
minister  to  the  church  at  Midland. 

— There  are  forty-three  tithers  in  the 
congregation  at  Marshall,  Texas.  The 
salaries  of  these  persons  average  $100 
per  month.  G.  F.  Bradford  ministers 
at  Marshall. 

— A  great  gathering  of  state  and  na- 
tional secretaries  is  planned  to  be  held  at 
St.  Louis,  Mich.,  early  this  month.  The 
church  at  St.  Louis  has  called  T.  H. 
Rella  as  its  pastor. 

— Compton  Heights  church,  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  has  adopted  the  unified  program  for 
Sunday  school  and  church. 

— O.  W.  Stewart,  the  Flying  Squadron 
man,  was  the  principal  speaker  at  a  pro- 
hibition mass  meeting  held  at  University 
Place  church,  Champaign,  111. 

— The  pastors  of  four  churches  of 
Hartford  City*.:  Ind.,  recently  exchanged 
pulpits,  M.  W.  Yocum,  of  the  Disciples 
work,  preaching  at  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  Union  prayer  services  are 
being  held  by  these  churches,  and  the 
good-will  between  the  congregations  is 
very  gratifying. 

— G.  D.  Serrill,  of  Waterloo,  Iowa, 
church,  recently  addressed  the  local  Min- 
isterial association  on  the  topic,  "The 
Church  and  the  Changing  Order." 

— The  Drury  College  Bible  School  Bul- 
letin for  December  presents  the  holiday 
greetings  of  Dean  W.  J.  Lhamon,  who 
reports  a  good  year  at  this  school,  which 
is  doing  a  notable  service  for  southern 
Missouri.  Every  Sunday  school  of  the 
Third  district  should  contribute  annually 
to  this  good  work. 

— The  death  is  reported  of  A.  M.  Cham- 
berlain, one  of  Cotner  university's  first 
teachers,  at  his  home  in  Miami,  Fla. 
Heart  trouble  was  the  cause  of  his  de- 
mise. 

— Herbert  Yeuell  gave  two  lectures  at 
Liberal,  Kan.,  shortly  before  Christmas. 
Mr.  Yeuell  is  kindly  remembered  at  Lib- 
eral, having  held  a  series  of  meetings 
there  three  years  ago. 

— H.  H.  Peters  has  published  a  very 
valuable  booklet  containing  an  article  by 
Mr.  Peters  on  "Teaching  the  Essential 
Element  in  Religion." 

—As  one  result  of  the  every  member 
canvass    at    First    church,    Joplin,    Mo., 


where  C.  C.  Garrigues  ministers  a  gain 
of  60  per  cent  was  recorded  for  the 
cause  of  world-wide  missions.  Over  500 
families  were  visited  during  the  cam- 
paign. 

— G.  L.  Zerby,  recently  of  Donovan, 
111.,  a  graduate  of  Eureka,  will  begin 
his  new  work  at  St.  Joseph,  111.,  next 
Sunday. 

— The  church  at  Washington,  Iowa, 
will  hold  evangelistic  services  next  week. 
These  will  be  le.d  by  J.  N.  Crutcher  of 
Kansas  City. 

— J.  W.  Underwood,  of  Central  church, 
Anderson,  Ind.,  recently  delivered  an  ad- 
dress at  a  meeting  of  the  local  Y.  M.  C. 
A.,  his  theme  being  "The  Call  of  the 
Hour." 

— A  Christmas  pageant  was  the  big 
feature  at  Irving  Park  church,  Chicago, 
on  Christmas  Eve. 

— L.  R.  Hotaling  has  resigned  from 
the  work  at  Ridgefarm,  111. 

— The  fortieth  anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  First  church,  Hagerstown, 
Md.,  was  observed  on  December  17,  the 
pastor,  G.  B.  Townsend,  preaching  on  "A 
Voice  from  the  Past." 

— The  church  at  Sapulpa,  Okla.,  is 
planning  to  erect  a  new  $50,000  building. 

— The  $40,000  building  at  Newton, 
Kan.,  was  successfully  dedicated  late  in 
December. 

— J.  W.  Leonard,  pastor  at  Fostoria, 
Ohio,  reports  that  the  Sunday  school 
there  raised  $250  on  December  24  as  the 
last  installment  on  a  church  debt  of  sev- 
eral years'  standing. 

— E.  S.  Bledsoe,  who  leads  at  Temple, 
Texas,  First  church,  reports  a  most  suc- 
cessful White  Gift  service  there  on 
Christmas  Eve. 

—J.  H.  Monk  of  Fort  Worth,  Texas, 
has  been  called  by  the  church  at  Winslow 
as  its  pastor. 

— W.  R.  Warren  spoke  in  the  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  churches  on  December  17  in 
behalf  of  ministerial  relief. 

— George  W.  Kemper,  of  Hanover 
Avenue  church,  Richmond,  Va.,  has  been 
elected  president  of  the  Alinisterial  Union 
of  Richmond. 

— Miss  Hazel  Lewis,  national  ele- 
mentary secretary  of  the  A.  C.  M.  S. 
Bible  school  department,  will  speak  at 
the  Payne  Avenue  church,  North  Tona- 
wanda,    N.   Y.,    on   January    13    and    14. 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  4,  1917 


This  church  has  recently  been  remodel- 
ing its  building  with  a  view  to  more  effi- 
cient Sunday  school  work. 

— The  Disciples  ministers  of  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  gave  a  farewell  banquet  to  C.  A. 
Cole,  who  is  leaving  Compton  Heights 
church,  St.  Louis,  to  assume  the  work 
at  Glendale,  Cal. 


NATIONAL    BENEVOLENT    ASSO- 
CIATION NOTES 

A  new  heating  plant  has  been  in- 
stalled in  the  Northwestern  Chritfian 
Home  for  the  Aged,  at  a  cost  of  appiel^ 
matelv  $4,000.  This  Home  is  crow^MI 
to  the  limit.  This  Home  is  providing 
for  some  of  the  great  souls  of  the  broth- 
erhood. It  is  worthy  of  a  more  gener- 
ous support.  There  is  great  need  of 
canned  fruit.  We  appeal  to  the  churches 
of  the  Northwest  to  supply  this  need. 

Mrs.  J.  C.  B.  Stivers  came  to  the  res- 
cue in  the  hour  of  need  in  the  Cleveland 
Christian  Home.  When  the  matron  re- 
signed suddenly,  she  left  her  own  home 
and  took  charge  of  the  Orphanage  for 
several  weeks,  until  a  matron  could  be 
secured.  She  devoted  her  time  to  a  gen- 
eral improvement  of  the  Home.  She 
has  just  turned  the  reins  over  to  Mrs. 
Jennie  Russell,  an  experienced  manager 
of  homes  for  children. 

A  group  of  the  choice  women  of  At- 
lanta recently  gave  a  high-grade  moving 
picture  theater  party  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Southern   Christian   Home. 

The  Juliette  Fowler  Home  has  just 
completed  the  installation  of  a  hospital 
department,  consisting  of  two  wards, 
with  diet  kitchen  and  toilet  accommo- 
dations. This  equipment  enables  the 
management  to  isolate  the  children  when 
sick  and  to  give  them  the  best  of  care. 
It  cost  something  over  a  thousand  dol- 
lars. 

The  repairs  at  Valparaiso,  which  have 
been  going  on  for  some  time,  are  now 
completed.  Our  little  hospital  has  been 
thoroughly  made  over.  It  is,  indeed,  a 
new  institution.  It  is  now  prepared  to 
do  the  best  kind  of  hospital  work.  The 
cost  was  over  $3,000. 

The  children  of  the  Christian  Orphans' 
Home  are  singing  the  praises  of  W.  A. 
Morrison,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Strawn  and  Mrs. 
W.  T.  Henson.  The  reason  for  this  song 
of  thanksgiving  is  the  receipt  from  the 
brethren  of  Randolph  County,  Mo.,  of 
a  car  loaded  with  the  choicest  and  best 
products  of  garden  and  farm.  If  there 
was  any  good  thing  that  was  left  out  of 
this  generous  donation,  we  haven't  dis- 
covered it.  In  addition  to  the  carload 
of  supplies,  more  than  one  hundred  dol- 
lars in  cash  has  been  received. 

The  association  is  greatly  indebted  to 
E.  B.  Bagby  of  Washington,  D.  C,  for 
the  splendid  service  recently  rendered  at 
the  state  convention  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Christian  Missionary  Society.  In 
response  to  his  appeal,  an  offering  of 
$70.65  came  to  us. 

Fred  Kline,  the  association's  Illinois 
representative,  in  company  with  Mrs. 
Lowell  McPherson  and  State  Secretary 
Brady,  has  just  completed  a  six  weeks' 
"uplift"  campaign  among  the  churches 
of  New  York  state.  The  Havens  Home 
*t  East  Aurora,  the  association's  New 
fork  institution,  is  experiencing  some 
of  fhe  benefits. 

Within  the  last  month  the  association 
has  received  nine  annuity  gifts,  totaling 
seven  thousand  dollars.  This  is  a  third 
of  the  amount  of  all  of  last  year. 

The  association  has  a  family  of  ap- 
proximately six  hundred;  to  be  exact,  580. 


This  family  ranges  all  the  way  from  the 
tiniest  baby  to  the  dearest  old  grand- 
mother. It  is  made  up  of  widows,  or- 
phans, half  orphans  and  homeless,  help- 
less, aged,  indigent  disciples  of  Christ. 
It  takes  a  goodly  sum  to  sustain  this 
family.  Brother,  Sister,  are  you  having 
a  part  in  it?  If  you  are,  you  are  laying 
up  for  yourselves  the  richest  treasure  in 
Heaven. 

Jas.  H.  Mohorter, 

Secretary. 


The  church  at  Waukegan,  111.,  is  re- 
joicing over  the  clearing  of  a  debt  of 
$1,000  on  its  building,  which  has  been 
standing  for  many  years.  This  was  made 
possible  through  a  provisional  offer,  the 
church  to  raise  the  balance.  The  an- 
nouncement of  this  offer  was  made  two 
weeks  ago  in  the  morning.  In  the  even- 
ing a  little  group  of  the  members  came 
together  and  the  $300  required  was  soon 
raised  in  cash  and  pledges.  On  that 
evening,  after  the  church  session,  the 
treasurer  and  chairman  of  the  finance 
committee  got  into  a  car  and  motored 
over  to  inform  the  gentleman  who  had 
made  the  offer  that  the  balance  required 
was  raised.  He  at  once  gave  his  check 
for  the  $700  and  an  additional  $100.  W. 
C.  Macdougall  is  leading  this  congrega- 
tion to  genuine  success.  A  number  of 
accessions  to  the  church  membership  are 
reported  during  recent  weeks. 


FOREIGN    MISSION    MESSAGES 

Frank  V.  Stipp,  Laoag,  P.  I.:  "The 
work  is  doing  fairly  well,  except  that 
the  people  are  in  the  midst  of  a. famine 
of  considerable  severity,  and  a  good 
many  of  the  brethren  are  thinking  less 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  right- 
eousness than  they  are  of  where  the 
next  meal  is  cpming  from.  _  But  we  will 
have  our  rice  harvest  in  six  weeks  and 
it  promises  to  be  a  good  one.  Mrs. 
Stipp  has  gone  to  spend  two  weeks  in 
the  Girls'  School  at  Vigan." 

Dr.  L.  B.  Kline,  Vigan,  P.  I.,  reports 
154  surgical  operations,  51  major  and 
103  minor;  41  in-patients,  542  visiting 
nurse  calls,  593  institutional  days,  56 
laboratory  examinations,  2,096  persons 
treated  in  a  month. 


The  Peerless  Communion  Service 


Patented 

Aug.  io.  mo 


Send  for  our  complete  circular 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  St.  Chicago,  111. 


AN  IMPORTANT  EVENT 

We  refer  to  the  annual  offering  for 
Foreign  missions,  March  4.  It  is  an 
event  of  growing  importance  in  our 
churches.     It  is  a  glad  day. 

The  reports  of  last  year  have  been  so 
cordially  and  enthusiastically  received 
that  we  feel  nerved  to  go  forward.  Words 
of  congratulation  and  encouragement 
come  from  every  part  of  the  country,  and 
even  from  lands  beyond  the  seas.  Friends 
seem  to  be  in  a  most  favorable  attitude 
for  another  year's  advance.  These  are 
good  times.  The  churches  are  better 
trained  and  it  does  not  seem  a  difficult 
task  to  reach  $600,000 — the  amount  sug- 
gested by  the  Des  Moines  convention. 

Last  year  the  churches  reached  the 
highest  mark  in  their  history  when  they 
gave,  as  churches,  $153,530,  a  gain  of 
$21,600  over  the  previous  year. 

If  the  churches  give  $200,000  or  more 
this  year,  it  is  almost  certain  the  $600,000 
will  be  reached.  What  another  splendid 
victory  that  would  be!      » 

S.  J.  COREY,  Secretary. 


Acme  S.  S.  Register  Board 


REGISTER  °- 

ATTENDANCE  a  OFFERING 


NUMBER     flffl 
ON  THE  ROLL, 


587 


ftlTENDANCE  fill  "7  *7  £ 
'    -T&-DAY       II  O  (b 


■ATTENDANCE  A 
YEARAGOTO-DAY 


lipc  Tj 


OFFERING  '  111  QOA 
•TO-DAY  v  1 1904 


-  OFFERING  A 
(YEARAGOTO-DAY 


650 


A  practical  and  inexpensive  board 
with  which  comparative'  records  may 
be  made.  Is  of  ash.  Size,  30  inches  high, 
21  inches  wide,  3-4  inch  thick.  The  fol- 
lowing cards  and  figures  make  up  the 
outfit:  Register  of  Attendance  and 
Collection,  Register  of  Attendance  and 
Offering,  Number  on  the  Roll,  Atten- 
dance Today,  Attendance  a  Year  Ago 
Today,  '  Collection  Today,  Offering  To- 
day, Collection  a  Year  Ago  Today, 
Offering  a  Year  Ago  Today,  Collection 
Last  Sunday,  Offering  Last  Sunday, 
Attendance  Last  Sunday,  Hymns, 
Record  Collection,  Record  Offering, 
Record  Attendance,  Psalm.  Also  six  ' 
each,  of  figures  1  to  0,  inclusive.  Let- 
ters and  figures  are  white  on  black 
background,  3  5-8  inches  high. 
*  Price,  $3.00.  Delivery  Extra. 
DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY, 
700  East  40th  St.        :        Chicago,  III 


THE  TWO  BEST  LESSON  COMMENTARIES 

FOR    1917 

TARBEIX'S  GUIDE 

$1.15  Plus  10c  Postage 

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700  EAST  FORTIETH  STREET  CHICAGO 


The  Lessons  for 
the  First  Half  of 
1917Areonthe 
Life  of  Christ 


j 


January  4,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


23 


Factory  Rebuilt  Like  New  $52.50 


**>'    JSe&s; 


<mm 


The  word  "rebuilt"  has  been  abused  and  misused  until  it  has  become  a  meaningless  trade  term 

When  we  rebuild  a  Fox  Typewriter,  we  take  it  all  to  pieces,  re-nickel  the 
nickel  parts,  re-enamel  the  frame  and  replace  all  worn  parts  with  new  ones. 
The  same  men  who  originally  built  the  Typewriter  do  this  rebuilding  and  do  the  work  just  as  good. 

40%  NEW  PARTS  AND  THREE  YEARS'  GUARANTEE 

We  offer  a  rebuilt  Fox  Typewriter  Model  No.  24  -  just  like  new — for  $32.50.    These     have 
standard  carriages  taking  paper  IOJ-2  inches  wide,  any  kind  of    keyboard,  any  kind  of  type, 
rubber  covers,  tabulators,  back  spacers,  two-color  ribbons,  complete  with  instruction  books 
and  cleaning  outfits,  and  are  guaranteed  for  three  years  the  same  as  new  ones,  and  to  have  not 
less  than  forty  per  cent  of  new  parts. 
Send  any  amount  you  can  spare,  from  $1,00  up,  as  a  first  payment,  and  pay  the  balance 
$5.00  monthly.  5  per  cent  discount  for  all  cash.  Purchaser  must  pay  transportation.  If  $10.00 
or  more  is  sent  with  order,  we  will  include  FREE  a  Fox  Solid  Oak  Typewriter  Table  selling  at  $4.50. 
Please  order  direct  from  (his  offer  and  inclose  any  amount  you  can  spare — and  BE  SURE 

AND  MENTION  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  FOR  JANUARY. 
FOX  TYPEWRITER  CO., 


1101-1151  Front  Ave., 


GRAND  RAPIDS,  MICHIGAN 


Monthly 


Young  Women's  Class  Gets  Results 


The  Outlook  Class  of  the  Frank- 
lin Circle  Sunday  School,  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  is  a  well  organized  class  of 
young  women,  having  an  average 
attendance  of  thirty-eight. 

The  meetings  are  held  in  the 
Friendship  Room  of  the  new  Com- 
munity House.  A  spirit  of  warmest 
cordiality  and  harmony  prevails, 
and  the  deep  spirituality  of  all  the 
girls  is  unquestioned. 

The  same  officers — President, 
Secretary  and  Treasurer — have  di- 
rected the  affairs  of  the  class  for 
the  past  four  years.  The  chairman 
of  the  Missionary  Committee  is  the 
vice  president  of  the  class. 

The  Sunday  morning  program 
consists  of  five  minutes  for  devo- 
tional purposes,  the  repeating  of  a 
psalm  and  prayer,  and  twenty  min- 
utes for  lesson  study.  The  final  five 
minutes  is  occupied  with  announce- 
ments and  getting  acquainted. 

MISSIONARY    ACTIVITIES 

A  missionary  program  is  ar- 
ranged by  the  Missionary  Commit- 
tee for  the  last  Sunday  in  each 
month. 

The  missionary  activities  of  the 
class  are  as  follows: 

The  supporting  of  a  student  in 
the  girls'  school  in  Tokyo,  Japan. 

A  Bible  woman  supported  in  Nau 
Tung  Chow,  China,  the  Living  Link 
Station  supported  by  the  church. 

The  establishing  of  the  "Gertrude 
Hall  Memorial  Room"  in  the  Mis- 
sion School  in  Livingston,  Tenn., 
in  memory  of  a  former  member  and 
officer  of  the  class. 

Contributions  are  made  to  all  of 
the  missionary  offerings  of  the  Sun- 
day school  by  the  class. 

Special  philanthropic  work  is 
done  at  Easter,  Thanksgiving  and 
Christmas. 

The  needs  of  the  local  church  are 
kept  constantly  in  mind,  and  any 
appeal  for  assistance  meets  with  a 
ready  response. 


THE    SOCIAL    PROGRAM 

The  social  life  of  the  class  is  very 
delightful.  Social  functions  are 
held  each  month,  in  the  homes  of 
the  members. 

Once  a  year  a  banquet  is  given 
in  the  church  for  the  members  and 
friends  of  the  class,  the  attendance 
usually  reaching  one  hundred. 

Letters  of  welcome  are  written  to 
new  members  and  a  call  made  at  the 
earliest  possible  time. 

The  members  of  the  Absent  Com- 
mittee send  cards,  make  calls  and 
use  the  telephone. 

The  aim  of  the  Outlook  Class  is 


one  of  personal  consecration  to  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  mutual  helpfulness. 
To  Miss  Jennie  Jenkinson,  who 
for  four  years  was  the  pastor's  ef- 
ficient assistant,  is  due  the  splendid 
work  of  the  Outlook  Class.  This 
consecrated  woman  has  become  a 
real  pastor  to  the  individual  mem- 
bers of  the  class,  sharing  their  joys 
and  sorrows  and  discussing  with 
them  the  most  intimate  problems  of 
life.  Having  charge  of  the  welfare 
work  in  one  of  the  largest  concerns 
of  the  city,  she  holds  her  member- 
ship with  the  church  and  leads  this 
splendid  body  of  women  in  their 
Christian  activities. 

W.   F.   ROTHENBURGER, 

Pastor. 


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THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  PRESS     ' 

700    East   Fortieth   Street 
CHICAGO 


■  Vol.  XXXIV 


January  11,  1917 


Number  2 


Professor  Herbert  L.  Willett 

begins  in  this  issue  a  series 

of  Twenty  Articles  on 

The  Bible 


CHICAGO 


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Here  is  the  only  book  that  tells  the  story  of  the 
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could  perform  this  task,  and  Dr.  Moore  has  told  his 
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You  cannot  afford  to  let  this  opportunity  slip  to  se- 
cure this  book  for  your  library  at  practically  half  price! 

This  is  a  sumptuous  volume  of  700  pages,  beauti- 
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are  more  than  worth  the  price  of  the  book.  Here 
is  a  real  portrait  gallery  of  the  men  who  have  made 
the  Disciples  movement,  from  the  earliest  days  to 
the  present  living  minute. 

Here  is  the  Extraordinary  Proposition 
We  are  Making  on  the  Few  Copies 
of  the   Book  Now    Remaining 

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paid, a  copy  of  the  $4.00  Cloth  Edition.  If  you 
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1 


January  11,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


Subscription  Price— Two  dollars  a 
year  to  all  subscribers,  payable 
strictly  In  advance. 

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PUBLISHED    WEEKLY    BY    THE    DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE     INTEREST    OF    THE     KINGDOM     OF     GOD 


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Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter 
Feb.  28,  1902,  at  the  Postomce,  Chi- 
cago, Illinois,  under  Act  of  March 
3,   1879. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS, 


700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


_.     .  I  The   Disciples  Publica- 

DlSCipiCS  tion   Society   is   an   or- 

PubllCatlOn      ganization     through 
c.„.  ,  which  churches  of  the 

dOCiety  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *    •    * 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *     *     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

Dear  Friends: — I  believe  in  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  The  Christian  Century  and  wish  to  be  numbered  among 
those  who  are  supporting  your  work  in  a  substantial  way  by  their  gifts. 


Enclosed  please  find 


Name... 
Address. 


A  Great  Book  for  the  New  Day 

In  this  day  of  tremendous  issues  in  national  and  international  life,  of  the 
remaking  of  the  entire  civilized  world,  there  is  need  for  a  reconsideration 
of  the  great  messages  of  the  prophets  of  Israel,  those  spokesmen  of  God  to 
nations  and  men.  Dr.  Willett  makes  these  wise  seers  live  and  speak 
anew  for  the  modern  world  in  his 

"Moral  Leaders  of  Israel" 

inniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

Here  are  some  of  the  qualities  of  Dr.  Willett's  book  as  seen  by  well-known  publications : 
"Ripe  scholarship",  "Popular  interpretation"  (The  Advance,  Chicago).  "Comprehen- 
sive", "Popular"  (The  Continent,  Chicago).  "Vital","  Lucid"  (Christian  Endeavor  World, 
Boston).  "Definite"  (Christian  Work,  New  York).  "Brilliant",  "Clear  and  sane",  "Win- 
some and  sincere"  (Heidelberg  Teacher,  Philadelphia).  "Vivid",  "Simple  and  clear", 
(The  Living  Church,  Milwaukee) .     "Clear  and  interesting"  (Christian  Advocate). 

The  book  is  in  two  volumes.         Volume  I  is  out  at  $1.00,  postpaid.  Order  your  copy  today. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


700  E.  FORTIETH  STREET, 


CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  January  11,  1917 


'T'HE  month  of  December  broke  all  records 
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The  Christian  Century 

Chicago 


The  Christian  Century 


CHARLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT  E.  WIEEETT,   CONTRIBUTING  EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


JANUARY  11.  1917 


Number  2 


The  Disciple  College 


WE  ARE  PROUD  OF  THE  COLLEGES  OF  THE 
DISCIPLES. 

The  children  of  the  faculty  homes  in  one  of  our  lead- 
ing schools  talk  of  the  things  they  will  do  when  the  col- 
lege is  "standardized."  It  is  the  word  they  hear  every  day 
around  the  family  table.  There  is  a  mighty  passion  for 
educational  standards  in  the  minds  of  our  leading  edu- 
cators today.  It  has  been  helped  by  the  work  of  the  Men 
and  Millions  Movement,  but  it  never  could  have  been  at  all, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  kind  of  men  who  in  recent  years 
have  gone  to  our  colleges  to  teach. 

The  teachers  of  the  old  days  had  a  nobility  all  their 
own.  The  sacrifices  they  made  eclipse  the  sacrifices  of 
our  pioneer  ministers  in  some  instances.  Their  loyalty 
led  them  to  decline  leading  positions  in  prosperous  schools 
and  remain  in  some  institution  where  the  salary  check 
was  often  slow  and  where  they  often  donated  part  of 
the  annual  stipend. 

These  modern  teachers  in  these  schools  have  made 
their  great  sacrifices  in  their  preparation  days.  They  have 
remained  in  universities  until  in  all  good  conscience  they 
-  might  go  to  the  college  class  room  and  face  the  eager 
young  students  with  an  inner  assurance  that  they  were 
prepared  to  lead  these  young  minds  into  the  possession 
of  the  best  of  our  modern  learning.  These  new  teachers 
cannot  excel  the  old  in  loyalty,  but  they  are  far  and  away 
better  prepared  than  any  we  have  ever  had. 

*    • 

Why  do  Disciples  have  colleges?  The  state  uni- 
versities have  grown  to  be  powerful  institutions.  Many 
youth  from  Disciples'  homes  are  in  these  institutions. 
There  are  schools  of  the  Christian  denominations  which 
have  endowment  and  equipment  for  high  grade  educa- 
tional work. 

More  young  people  than  ever  before  are  getting  an 
education.  It  may  be  that  here  and  there  is  an  institution 
that  is  unduly  competitive  and  is  not  needed.  For  the 
most  part  America  needs  her  colleges  as  well  as  her 
universities. 

Educational  leaders  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  we 
need  our  small  schools  as  well  as  our  large  ones.  Not 
all  the  best  things  in  education  come  in  the  big  crowd. 
Some  relatively  small  schools  have  alumni  lists  in  which 
it  is  apparent  the  institution  has  brought  an  unusual  per- 
centage of  men  to  eminence  and  usefulness  in  public  life. 
The  big  educational  values  are  not  all  to  be  found  in  the 
big  schools. 

We  know  now  that  education  is  not  a  matter  of  mere 
apparatus  or  of  endowment  or  of  buildings.  It  is  cer- 
tainly not  a  matter  of  the  size  of  the  student  body.  A 
student  body  is  a  social  unit.  What  happens  on  the 
campus  is  of  almost  equal  importance  with  the  things 
that  happen  in  the  class  room.  There  is  a  training  in 
loyalties.    There  is  a  freedom  of  discussion.    In  the  case 


of  a  church  college  there  is  a  religious  atmosphere  which 
pervades  everything  in  the  community. 

Religion  is  a  spirit,  and  cannot  be  taught  in  a  formal 
sense.  It  is  useful  to  present  the  intellectual  phases  of 
religion  in  classes,  but  the  religious  attitude  is  one  which 
comes  through  contact  with  a  religious  community.  There 
is  an  apostolic  succession  of  grace  which  comes  not  with 
the  laying  on  of  hands,  but  by  the  contact  of  soul  with 
soul.  It  is  in  this  fundamental  sense  that  we  insist  that 
colleges  of  the  Disciples  have  been  the  best  friends  of 
our  religious  life.  They  presented  to  young  people  the 
spectacle  of  a  community  which  was  at  once  loyal  to 
true  learning  and  devoted  to  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Without  our  colleges,  there  would  be  no  adequate 
leadership  in  the  building  of  a  thought  structure  for  our 
religion.  Our  ministers  would  come  to  us  lacking  in  the 
loyalty  which  cannot  be  cultivated  easily  anywhere  else 
than  on  the  campus  of  Christian  college.  An  examination 
of  the  history  of  our  great  lay  leaders  of  today  shows 
that  we  have  gotten  these  men  from  Disciples'  schools. 
Their  efficiency  in  religious  work  is  the  product  of  an 
educational  process. 

The  Disciple  mind  has  apprehended  religion  peculiarly 
on  the  intellectual  side.  It  was  no  accident  that  Alexander 
Campbell  made  the  founding  of  Bethany  college  his  first 
great  service  to  religion.  We  cannot  continue  to  develop 
true  to  type  unless  the  educational  ideal,  the  intellectual 
attitude  in  religion,  is  prominent  in  our  program. 

Our  colleges  are  still  far  from  the  goal  of  twentieth 
century  standards  in  education.  Though  they  have  im- 
proved so  wonderfully  in  a  few  years,  the  standards  in 
the  whole  educational  field  have  moved  up. 

•     • 

The  educational  duty  of  the  Disciples  may  be  ex- 
pressed in  concrete  terms  as  being  first  that  of  providing 
adequate  endowment  for  our  schools.  Education  supported 
by  tuition  money  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  We  know  now 
that  it  takes  big  endowments  to  provide  young  people 
with  the  best. 

The  Disciples  have  not  only  a  financial  obligation, 
but  a  human  one  as  well.  Loyalty  to  our  schools  should 
lead  more  of  our  families  to  send  their  sons  and  daughters 
to  these  institutions.  We  can  be  assured  that  in  almost 
every  instance  they  will  come  back  to  us  with  their  re- 
ligious life  broadened  and  deepened.  In  any  other  atmos- 
phere they  might  be  lost  to  interests  that  are  very  dear 
to  us.  In  a  college  of  the  Disciples  they  will  be  taught 
to  the  full  rounded  development  of  personality  that  will 
qualify  them  to  take  in  their  hands  the  future  of  our  move- 
ment and  direct  it  toward  big  and  useful  ends. 

The  colleges  and  the  churches  should  join  hands. 
Their  interests  are  mutual.  They  are  yoke-mates  in  es- 
tablishing the  kingdom  of  Christ. 


EDITORIAL 


w 


RELIGION  FOR  THE  TIMES 

E  HAVE  lived  a  long  time  since  the  great  war 
began.  In  a  time  like  this  changes  come  that 
are  rapid  and  revolutionary  in  character.  There 
are  so  many  things  that  are  being  affected  daily  by  the 
events  of  world  history. 

The  fate  of  democracy  hangs  in  the  balance.  The 
war  may  leave  the  world  with  a  conviction  that  a  nation 
must  give  up  its  democracy  in  the  interests  of  efficiency. 
All  the  warring  nations  have  sacrificed  much  of  liberty 
for  the  sake  of  an  effective  campaign.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  war  results  in  a  draw,  war  will  be  discredited 
as  a  means  of  settling  national  disputes  and  the  states- 
manship which  initiated  the  war  will  be  repudiated. 

The  war  is  putting  a  tremendous  strain  upon  the 
nerves,  and  after  it  is  over  there  will  be  thousands  of 
men  who  will  never  be  thoroughly  careful  thinkers  again. 
The  war  is  putting  a  premium  upon  the  emotions.  This 
will  doubtless  reveal  itself  in  days  to  come  in  the  changes 
that  will  occur  both  in  literature  and  religion. 

\\ "hat  kind  of  religious  life  will  follow  the  war?  Will 
the  brutality  of  it  drive  men  into  atheism  and  despair? 
Will  we  have,  on  the  other  hand,  a  revival  of  the  older 
emotional  evangelism?  Will  we  have  a  religion  which 
will  find  a  new  passion  for  social  uplift,  or  will  it  be  a 
religion  of  individualism? 

Nearly  everybody  peers  into  the  future  and  sees  what 
he  wishes  to  see.    It  is  a  time  of  great  uncertainty. 

Meanwhile  we  have  opportunity  to  put  forward  our 
conceptions  of  a  modern  and  spiritually  satisfying  religion. 
It  is  no  time  for  any  man  to  hide  his  religious  light  under 
a  bushel.  Just  as  the  revolution  in  China  gave  the  mission- 
aries their  chance,  even  so  the  breaking  of  the  social  crust 
by  the  war  will  result  in  new  opportunities  for  us.  Every 
loyal  follower  of  Jesus  has  the  duty  to  testify  to  the  light 
which  is  in  him. 

HELPING  CLEAN  UP  POLITICS 

THE  church  men  of  Indianapolis  did  a  good  job  in 
November  in  co-operating  with  the  sheriff  in  provid- 
ing the  city  with  an  honest  election.  It  was  an  open 
secret  that  the  saloons  and  the  owners  of  the  under-world 
dives  were  working  together  to  defeat  the  sheriff  and  the 
prosecuting  attorney. 

A  meeting  of  the  ministers  was  held  and  they  induced 
business  and  professional  men  of  high  repute  to  be  sworn 
in  as  deputy  sheriffs  to  watch  all  the  polls  where  there 
was  likely  to  be  corruption.  These  men  patrolled  the  city 
to  see  that  the  saloons  were  closed.  The  day  before  elec- 
tion the  newspapers  gave  much  publicity  to  the  work  of 
the  church  men,  and  as  a  result  the  under-world  was  in- 
timidated. They  remembered  the  prosecutions  that  had 
followed  the  previous  election  and  only  three  arrests  were 
made  in  the  entire  city. 

After  the  election  was  over,  the  newspapers  and  the 
entire  city  expressed  appreciation  of  the  activities  of  the 
Christian  laymen. 

The  movement  was  initiated  by  Secretary  M.  C.  Pear- 
son of  the  Federation  of  Churches. 

The  way  of  the  reforming  official  is  not  a  pathway 
strewn  with  roses.  Dr.  Wheeler,  a  physician,  who  was 
elected  as  sheriff  of  Sangamon  county,  Illinois,  has  been 
cleaning  up  Springfield.  He  has  had  his  life  threatened 
repeatedly. 


It  may  not  always  be  by  direct  action  that  the  church 
helps  to  clean  up  the  foul  spots  in  our  political  system. 
It  is  fundamentally  by  creating  a  conscience  on  citizenship. 
There  is  a  peculiar  obligation  in  a  democracy  for  the 
Christian  to  carry  his  Christian  idealism  into  his  service 
to  the  state.  America  needs  few  things  more  than  a 
Christian  conscience  operating  throughout  her  political 
system. 

ARE  THEY  PREPARED? 

THE  call  for  preachers  for  pastorless  churches  con- 
tinues.    All  denominations  are  feeling  the  lack  of 
a  competent  supply,  but  perhaps  the  Disciples  are 
somewhat  less  adequately  provided  than  any  other  of  the 
leading  religious  bodies. 

There  are  hundreds  of  our  churches  which  have  no 
minister  who  can  devote  himself  with  anything  like  regu- 
larity to  his  pastoral  vocation.  This  is  because  so  many 
of  the  congregations  have  to  content  themselves  with  the 
partial  services  of  men  who  do  other  things  through  the 
week  and  preach  on  Sunday. 

The  lack  of  a  competent  supply  of  ministers  makes 
this  partial  service  the  only  alternative  to  nothing. 

More  than  this,  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
ministers  who  devote  all  their  time  to  the  pastoral  task 
are  but  indifferently  prepared  educationally  for  their  work. 

Professor  A.  W.  Taylor  of  Christian  Bible  College, 
Columbia,  Mo.,  recently  made  a  careful  survey  of  the 
conditions  obtaining  among  the  ministers  of  the  Disciples 
of  Christ. 

He  found  that  the  total  supply  of  ministers  to  care 
for  the  eight  or  nine  thousand  churches,  with  a  member- 
ship of  a  million  or  more  is  just  about  five  thousand. 

He  found  that  of  this  number  only  two  thousand  two 
hundred  and  fifty,  or  about  forty-five  per  cent,  are  college 
graduates.  And  this,  too,  in  an  age  when  a  college  educa- 
tion is  increasingly  taken  for  granted  as  essential  to  any 
adequate  preparation  for  Christian  leadership. 

He  found  that  about  fifteen  hundred  of  our  ministers 
have  completed  only  a  portion  of  any  college  course,  and 
have  never  graduated.  While  sixteen  hundred  have  never 
even  attended  any  college,  and  more  than  half  of  these 
have  never  been  in  attendance  in  a  high  school. 

How  much  of  the  recent  decline  in  numbers  among 
the  Disciples  and  the  ineffectiveness  of  many  of  the 
churches  as  measured  by  modern  standards  is  accounted 
for  by  this  lack  of  prepared  leaders? 

The  Christian  bodies  around  us  are  putting  renewed 
stress  upon  the  competent  training  of  their  ministers  in 
graduate  institutions.  In  several  denominations  no  man 
is  admitted  to  the  ministry  who  has  not  graduated  from 
a  college,  and  in  addition  taken  a  course  in  a  theological 
seminary  of  approved  standing. 

In  ever  increasing  numbers  our  own  churches  are 
demanding  the  same  preparation  of  the  men  they  select 
as  their  ministers.  Only  in  this  manner,  with  rare  ex- 
ceptions, can  they  obtain  the  leadership  the  times  demand. 
Professor  Taylor  found  that  the  total  number  of  our 
ministers  who,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  college  course, 
have  taken  graduate  studies  in  a  recognized  institution  is 
about  four  hundred,  or  not  more  than  eight  per  cent  of 
even  the  insufficient  numbers  we  have. 

In  these  facts  one  can  easily  discern  the  reason  for 
the  urgent  plea  made  by  our  Board  of  Education  that 


January  11,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


the  cause  of  ministerial  education  be  given  its  rightful 
place  on  Education  Sunday,  and  offerings  worthy  of  the 
cause  be  taken  to  aid  young  men  and  women  to  prepare 
adequately  for  the  ministry,  the  mission  field,  and  other 
forms  of  specialized  Christian  service. 

RELIGION  AND  LIFE 

THE  peculiar  demand  which  our  age  makes  upon  re- 
ligion is  that  it  shall  be  related  to  life.  There  have 
been  many  things  in  the  past  which  have  not  been 
very  closely  connected  with  human  welfare  which  have 
called  themselves  religious. 

Ritual  is  not  always  connected  with  vital  human  in- 
terests. A  ritual  that  is  an  adequate  expression  of  deep 
ethical  and  spiritual  realities  may  be  very  useful.  A  ritual, 
on  the  other  hand,  which  is  a  survival  from  the  past  and 
has  no  connection  with  present  reality  falls  justly  under 
the  contempt  of  progressive  minded  men  and  women. 
The  wedding  ritual  in  which  the  woman  is  given  to  the 
bridegroom  by  her  father  recalls  the  old  days  when  woman 
was  property.  The  burning  of  candles  beside  a  coffin 
at  a  wake  is  a  survival  of  the  custom  which  was  supposed 
to  keep  evil  spirits  away  from  the  dead. 

Doctrines  may  also  be  entirely  artificial  and  unrelated 
to  human  life.  The  morbid  speculation  about  the  Second 
Coming  which  characterizes  some  sects  is  of  this  sort. 
It  is  not  something  which  affects  our  conduct  of  life,  ex- 
cept it  be  in  an  unfavorable  way,  by  inducing  people  to 
defer  certain  kinds  of  Christian  work  for  our  Lord  to 
do  in  his  Parousia.  Arguments  about  transubstantiation 
or  consubstantiation  are  matters  about  which  not  many 
of  us  can  get  much  excited  any  more. 

The  religion  that  men  are  seeking  these  days  is  a 
religion  which  helps  them.  It  ought  to  bring  better  ethical 
ideals  and  it  ought  to  reveal  deep  spiritual  realities.  We 
seek  from  our  religious  life  something  that  will  aid  in  the 
development  of  social  relations. 

This  pragmatic  attitude  toward  religion  finds  its  justi- 
fication in  the  religious  position  of  Jesus.  He  said,  "By 
their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  Religion  is  to  be  judged 
by  its  influence  in  actual  experience. 

FAITH  VERSUS  FEAR 

FEARS  of  primitive  man  still  survive  in  the  soul  of 
the  man  of  this  scientific  age.  Our  abhorrence  for 
a  snake  is  said  to  be  a  survival  of  the  time  when 
the  chief  enemies  of  the  race  were  the  reptilian  monsters 
that  inhabited  the  earth.  The  primitive  man  lives  in 
continual  fear  of  evil  spirits.  We  cannot  say  that  mod- 
ern man  has  gone  very  far  in  the  way  of  eliminating  use- 
less and  foolish  worries. 

The  man  in  central  Africa  is  on  the  lookout  for  the 
witch  who  may  throw  a  spell  upon  him  from  which  will 
come  sickness  and  death.  The  man  of  the  American  com- 
munity lives  in  terror  of  the  invisible  but  terrible  microbe, 
which,  like  the  primitive  man's  evil  spirit,  ever  lurks  near 
to  blight  and  curse. 

The  fear  of  poverty  is  an  obsession  with  some  peo- 
ple. Especially  as  years  increase,  men  and  women  often 
are  haunted  day  by  day  with  the  thought  of  approaching 
want.  This  is,  of  course,  a  survival  from  the  time  when 
people  did  actually  starve  to  death.  Under  our  present 
organization  of  society  it  is  hard  for  people  really  to  want 
the  necessaries  of  life  unless  they  conceal  it  as  a  secret. 

It  is  one  of  the  great  boons  that  religion  confers  to 
feel  the  protecting  presence  of  God  about  us.    The  psalm- 


ist continually  declares  his  fearlessness  in  the  presence  of 
famine,  pestilence  and  death.  He  asserts  the  providence 
of  God  never  fails,  even  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death.  The  truly  religious  soul  finds  release  from  the 
fear  and  worry  of  the  natural  man.  The  unseen,  which 
is  full  of  terrors  for  the  pagan,  becomes  the  very  guarantee 
of  the  safety  and  peace  of  life  for  the  Christian. 

This  life  of  faith  is  needed  in  these  days  of  high 
tension.  Many  people  are  finding  it  hard  to  make  their 
adjustments  to  a  rapidly  changing  order.  We  need  to 
learn  how  to  take  much  forethought  without  having  min- 
gled therewith  any  fear-thought. 

METHODISTS  AND  EVANGELISM 

IT  WAS  probably  a  surprise  to  some  to  see  a  Meth- 
odist stand  up  and  block  a  plan  in  the  recent  con- 
vention of  the  Federal  Council  at  St.  Louis  to  employ 
a  small  army  of  professional  evangelists  in  a  big  simul- 
taneous evangelistic  campaign  during  the  next  four 
years.  If  the  plan  had  carried,  the  troubles  of  the  evan- 
gelists to  get  work  would  have  been  over  for  awhile. 
That  it  did  not  carry  is  no  indication  that  either  the 
Methodists  or  the  Council  are  not  in  sympathy  with 
evangelism.  It  meant  simply  that  there  is  a  new  con- 
viction about  what  works  in  the  recruiting  task  of  the 
church. 

The  old-time  evangelistic  meeting  in  the  hands  of 
a  professional  evangelist  has  meant  the  continuation  of 
types  of  religious  teaching  that  many  self-respecting 
pastors  cannot  longer  tolerate.  It  has  meant  an  emo- 
tionalism which  burns  itself  out  quickly  and  leaves  the 
church  with  heavy  problems  to  face  which  are  worse 
than  those  of  the  first  condition. 

Over  against  these  illusory  methods  of  recruiting 
the  Church  is  the  sound  and  historically  successful 
method  of  evangelism  by  education.  Two  thousand 
years  of  Christian  history  have  not  been  in  vain.  In 
the  long  run,  the  Church  has  found  it  more  worthful 
to  propagate  religion  by  teaching  truth  than  by  emo- 
tional exhortation. 

The  danger,  however,  is  that  having  rejected  one 
method  of  evangelism,  we  shall  work  indifferently  and 
slothfully  at  another.  Apostolic  zeal  will  be  needed  for 
any  kind  of  propagation  of  the  faith.  We  cannot  afford 
to  be  at  ease  in  Zion  in  the  presence  of  the  spiritual 
need  that  faces  us  on  every  hand.  We  should  feel  our- 
selves rebuked  by  those  young  people  who  may  have 
gone  through  our  Sunday  schools  without  a  desire  to 
become  followers  of  Jesus  Christ.  Such  should  warn 
us  that  we  have  not  presented  divine  truth  with  suffi- 
cient diligence  or  awareness  or  due  urgency. 

THE  ABUSE  OF  JOHN  BARLEYCORN 

THE  unpopularity  of  John  Barleycorn  grows  rather 
than  abates.  Politicians  who  five  years  ago  would 
have  been  as  meek  as  lambs  in  his  august  presence 
have  grown  bold  and  rebellious  against  the  erstwhile 
master  of  the  political  situation.  Mayor  William  Hale 
Thompson  of  Chicago  declares  that  for  years  whisky 
has  been  the  debauching  thing  in  municipal  politics. 
Although  we  have  not  heard  of  the  mayor  declaring 
himself  to  be  a  total  abstainer,  he  does  declare  that  he 
will  break  up  the  crooked  connection  between  the  city 
hall  and  the  saloon. 

The  magazines  were  once  giving  us  carefully  bal- 
anced statements  on  either  side  of  the  liquor  question. 


8 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


January  11,  1917 


If  anything,  the  case  of  booze  was  given  the  more  favor- 
able setting.  Reputable  journals  would  be  found  print- 
ing articles  defending  the  drinking  customs  of  the  world. 
Now  all  is  changed.  John  Barleycorn  is  being  tried 
before  the  world-jury  with  scarcely  a  voice  raised  in 
his  behalf.     There  is  no  attorney  for  the  defense. 

The  Atlantic  Monthly  points  out  that  no  good  life 
insurance  company  would  any  longer  accept  a  man  or 
woman  as  a  risk  who  was  known  to  be  seriously  tainted 
with  alcoholism.  This  is  a  result  of  handling  all  kinds 
of  people  and  is  business,  not  sentiment. 

On  every  hand  there  is  the  indictment  of  the  liquor 
business  for  the  crime  of  the  world.  Collier's  Weekly 
complains  because  a  murderer  was  sentenced  to  life 
imprisonment  for  killing  his  wife  when  dead  drunk, 
while  the  saloonkeeper  and  the  distiller  were  allowed 
to  go  free.  The  brutality  of  living  upon  the  weakness 
of  men  has  put  the  liquor  dealer  in  a  social  class  by 
himself,  for  the  enlightened  conscience  of  the  world 
judges  differently  now. 

With  this  growing  avalanche  of  opinion,  it  would 
seem  that  "A  saloonless  nation  by  1920"  is  no  mere 
empty  boast  of  the  dry  advocates.  The  time  is  near  at 
hand  when  we  shall  live  in  a  country  which  has  handled 
its  drug  menace  in  the  only  rational  way,  by  prohibit- 
ing its  continuance. 

PROGRESS  ON  THE  CONGO 

REPORTS  of  our  missionaries  on  the  African  Congo 
have  the  ring  of  reality  these  days.     The  program 
is  one  which  is  transforming  life  in  all  of  its  aspects. 
It  is  in  such  a  situation  as  this  that  one  gets  a  spectacular 


demonstration  of  the  power  of  the  Christian  message  to 
transform  a  social  order. 

The  people  of  the  district  have  had  their  language 
reduced  to  writing  at  the  hands  of  the  missionaries  and 
they  now  have  sufficient  command  of  the  art  of  writing 
that  they  often  write  each  other  letters. 

The  medical  service  has  been  of  great  benefit.  The 
diseases  that  have  long  afflicted  the  people  are  yielding  to 
the  intelligent  treatment  given  by  modern  science. 

The  steamboat,  the  "Oregon,"  is  plying  the  river. 
Though  the  boat  is  not  a  rapid  one,  it  has  proved  of  the 
greatest  service  in  transporting  workers  and  supplies. 
In  the  native  language  it  has  been  called  the  "Good  News." 

The  missionaries  have  also  introduced  the  technical 
arts.  It  used  to  be  a  saying  that  one  was  always  building 
a  house.  Tropical  conditions  rapidly  destroyed  such  houses 
as  the  people  built.  The  missionaries  are  building  houses 
of  brick  of  native  manufacture  and  are  introducing  the 
use  of  tin  in  building,  which  well  resists  the  work  of 
insects. 

Nor  has  the  mission  failed  in  its  evangelistic  work. 
It  is  said  that  3,500  people  have  been  baptized.  With  this 
beginning,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  a  sufficiently 
large  group  of  workers  could  take  the  whole  Congo  coun- 
try for  Christ. 

It  is  easier  to  get  quick  results  with  raw  heathenism 
than  with  more  sophisticated  peoples  like  the  Chinese. 
The  same  thing  can  be  done  the  world  over,  however,  if 
we  are  able  to  maintain  consecrated  Christian  workers 
who  will  work  faithfully  according  to  modern  mission- 
ary practice. 


Religion  and  Its  Holy  Books 


BY  HERBERT  L.  WILLETT 


Editor's  Note:  With  this  article  Professor  Willett  begins  a  series  of  some  twenty  articles  on 
the  Bible  in  the  light  of  modern  scholarship  and  modem  life.  It  is  increasingly  clear  that  the  currents 
of  religious  feeling  and  thought  in  our  day  are  moving  steadily  toward  a  more  intense  conflict  than 
has  been  felt  for  many  generations.  In  the  clash  of  opinion  and  interpretation  the  Bible  is  destined 
to  be  the  storm  center,  at  least  in  the  first  period  of  the  conflict.  Every  earnest  minded  Christian  will 
wish  to  have  his  thinking  defined  with  respect  to  the  issues.  It  is  inevitable  that  the  rank  and  Hie 
of  churchmen  will  be  compelled  to  take  sides  in  a  degree  which  has  not  obtained  in  previous  contro- 
versies. This  will  be  no  academic  contest  of  scholars,  with  the  great  mass  of  us  looking  on  disinter- 
estedly; for  the  issues  will  strike  down  deep  into  all  men's  souls.  We  have  asked  Professor  Willett 
to  write  with  his  accustomed  candor  and  to  deal  at  close  quarters  with  the  problems  of  the  most  prac- 
tical sort.  Without  doubt  these  articles,  combining  scientific  scholarship  with  evangelical  reverence, 
will  prove  to  be  not  only  interesting  and  enlightening,  but  profoundly  creative  of  spiritual  life  in  the 
souls  of  all  who  follow  them. 


THOSE  who  make  a  study  of  human  society  and 
its  chief  interests  are  of  the  opinion  that  easily 
the  most  commanding  of  these  interests  is  religion. 
This  does  not  imply  that  it  is  everywhere  so  regarded, 
but  that  as  history  tells  the  story,  and  world-wide  human 
activities  reveal  the  facts,  religion  holds  the  foremost 
place. 

Probably  most  people  are  not  directly  conscious  of 
this  fact.  A  score  of  other  and  apparently  more  vital 
concerns  press  in  upon  life  and  claim  earlier  attention. 
Food  is  a  necessity,  and  its  obtaining  has  absorbed  the 
efforts  of  the  race  since  the  first  adventures  of  the  hunt- 
ing path   and  the   fishing  pool.     Mating,   love,   the  sex 


impulse,  and  the  desire  for  children  have  had  their  way 
from  the  times  of  cave  man,  and  before.  Clothing  and 
shelter,  and  the  development  of  family  life  have  had 
their  profound  significance  in  the  making  of  society. 

Then  have  spread  the  social  activities,  work,  tools, 
industry,  herdsmanship,  agriculture,  social  organization, 
clan  relationships,  group  interests,  seasonal  observances, 
government,  chiefs,  law,  custom,  penalties,  war,  aggression, 
revenge,  armament,  discipline,  trade,  barter,  traffic,  travel, 
transportation. 

RELIGION    UNIVERSAL 

These  are  but  suggestions  of  the  long  and  fascinat- 


January  11,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


ing  list  of  human  interests  that  have  given  movement, 
form,  color  and  charm  to  the  life  of  the  race.  Yet  it  is 
not  beyond  proof  that  the  greatest  of  the  forces  that  has 
molded  the  social  order  into  its  many  and  diverse  expres- 
sions is  religion;  the  sense  of  higher  forces,  awe  for  the 
vast  uncomprehended  powers  or  beings  pictured  by  the 
religious  imagination,  or  interpreted  by  prophets,  seers 
and  sybils. 

It  would  not  be  too  much  to  say  that  wherever  one 
looks,  in  any  land  or  any  century,  there  will  be  found 
holy  men,  holy  places,  holy  ceremonies,  holy  books.  If 
religion  is  not  a  universal  characteristic  of  the  race,  the 
exceptions  make  the  common  experience  all  the  more  im- 
pressive. It  has  not  always  expressed  itself  in  lofty  and 
convincing  forms ;  but  the  same  charge  can  be  made  against 
art  and  law.  We  do  not  despise  music  because  the  savage 
plays  upon  a  reed  pipe,  nor  scorn  government  because  of 
grafting  officials.  And  religion  is  not  to  be  judged  by 
its  inadequate  expressions,  but  by  its  noble  and  inspiring 
embodiments. 

Moreover,  there  is  a  direct  relationship  between  the 
progress  of  religion  toward  higher  levels  and  the  enlarge- 
ment of  civilization  in  general.  There  have  been  times 
when  men  believed  that  the  larger  culture  was  to  be 
hastened  by  the  suppression  or  destruction  of  religion  as 
a  form  of  superstition.  But  these  reactions  have  been  of 
brief  duration,  and  have  soon  given  way  to  clearer  vision 
of  the  facts.  The  race  has  found  that  it  is  a  fatal  error 
to  seek  for  the  uplands  of  individual  or  social  experience 
without  the  help  of  religion  and  its  literature. 

RELIGION  AND  LITERATURE 

It  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  this  constant  connection 
of  religion  and  literature  through  all  the  centuries.  Wher- 
ever the  reverent  spirit  has  attempted  to  find  a  way  of 
access  to  the  higher  powers,  it  has  recorded  its  aspirations 
in  sacred  writings.  Of  these  some  have  survived,  and 
found  embodiment  in  collections  that  presently  became 
classic  to  the  confessors  of  the  faith.  Thus  have  the  holy 
books  of  the  world  been  made. 

All  the  important  religions  have  been  in  some  meas- 
ure related  to  such  bodies  of  writing.  Hinduism  has  its 
laws  of  Manu,  its  Vedic  Hymns  and  its  great  epics,  like 
the  Ramayana  and  the  Mahabharata,  the  most  popular  and 
authoritative  scripture  in  India. 

The  teachings  of  Confucius,  probably  the  most  widely 
revered  of  all  systems  of  instruction,  less  a  religion  than 
a  body  of  moral  precepts,  are  contained  in  a  collection  of 
classics  including  the  five  Webs  or  Threads,  and  the  Four 
Books  of  Confucius  and  Mencius.  These  are  the  stand- 
ard Scriptures  of  the  Chinese  world,  which  embraces  one- 
quarter  of  the  human  race. 

Buddhism,  sometimes  called  the  Protestantism  of 
India,  now  almost  completely  banished  from  the  land  of 
its  origin,  but  the  dominant  faith  of  Burmah  and  Ceylon, 
and  the  most  aggressive  system  of  religion  in  China  and 
Japan,  has  its  sacred  books,  the  Pitikas  in  the  Pali  tongue, 
the  holy  texts  that  reveal  the  Eightfold  Way. 

The  Parsees,  those  interesting  and  progressive  repre- 
sentatives of  the  religion  of  Zarathustra,  hold  at  high  value 
the  teachings  of  that  Persian  reformer,  recorded  in  the 
Avesta  in  the  Zend  language,  whose  prayers  the  faithful 
repeat  in  the  ancient  speech  no  longer  current,  and  by  most 
of  them  quite  unknown  save  by  sound. 

Judaism,  gathering  up  its  comments  upon  the  Hebrew 
scriptures,  enshrined  them  in  the  Talmud,  partly  explana- 


tion and  partly  tradition,  an  amazing  composite  of  fact 
and  fiction,  the  holy  book  of  the  rabbinical  schools. 

Mohammed,  the  prophet  of  Mecca,  wrote  his  medita- 
tions and  instructions  in  chapters  or  suras,  and  the  col- 
lection of  these,  known  as  the  Koran,  is  the  authoritative 
word  of  God  to  the  hosts  of  the  Moslem  world. 

These  are  but  the  more  important  illustrations  of 
the  intimate  relationship  existing  between  most  of  the 
world's  faiths  and  the  literatures  in  which  they  have  found 
exposition  and  defense.    The  list  is  long. 

THE  SCRIPTURES  OF  ISRAEL 

In  a  similar  manner  the  messages  of  prophets,  the 
institutes  of  priestly  instruction,  the  philosophic  reflections 
of  sages,  the  hymns  of  saints  and  the  dreams  of  apocalyp- 
tists  in  Israel  were  committed  to  writing,  and  some  of 
them,  age  by  age,  were  incorporated  in  that  growing 
collection  of  venerated  books  which  Jews  call  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  Christians  the  Old  Testament. 

And  just  as  the  Hebrew  religion  gave  birth  to  its 
classic  Scriptures,  the  Jewish  church  produced  the  Tal- 
mud, and  the  Mohammedan  movement  voiced  itself  in  the 
Koran,  so  Christianity  gave  to  the  world  a  group  of  writ- 
ings— epistles,  memoirs,  instructions,  defense  and  con- 
fident hopes — some  of  which  were  gathered  into  a  bod}' 
of  documents  which  we  know  as  the  New  Testament,  and 
some  of  which  found  their  place  in  secondary  and  apoc- 
ryphal lists. 

In  all  these  instances  the  relation  between  the  re- 
ligious movement  and  its  classic  literature  is  intimate.  In 
some  cases  the  writings  have  priority  over  the  organiza- 
tion with  which  they  are  associated,  and  constitute  the 
foundation  on  which  it  rests.  This  is  in  large  measure 
true  of  Confucianism  and  Islam. 

In  other  and  more  frequent  instances,  the  outbursting 
of  a  new  religious  impulse  has  produced  alike  a  body  of 
believers  and  a  literature.  This  is  true  of  Hinduism, 
Hebraism,  Judaism  and  Christianity.  Sometimes  the  rela- 
tions have  not  been  so  intimate,  as  with  the  Greek  and 
Roman  cults,  whose  influence  is  felt  in  their  literatures, 
but  which  gave  rise  to  no  distinctly  religious  writings. 
But  in  general  it  may  be  affirmed  with  emphasis  that  holy 
books  go  hand  in  hand  with  organized  efforts  to  attain 
the  holy  life. 

INSPIRATION   AND  AUTHORITY 

Most  of  these  writings  claim  some  sort  of  inspiration 
and  authority.  In  the  classic  poems  of  Greece  in  which 
the  national  faith  is  recognized,  the  singer  conceives  him- 
self as  inspired  by  deity  to  utter  his  message.  The  great 
ethical  and  religious  teachers  of  antiquity  were  no  less 
confident  that  they  spoke  with  authority.  Confucius  and 
Socrates  taught  with  assurance.  "Thus  spake  Zarathustra," 
is  a  finality  with  the  Parsee.  The  Koran  goes  even  fur- 
ther. The  writings  of  the  Koriesh  merchant  on  the  leaves 
of  the  sacred  tree  were  embodied  in  a  book.  At  first  it 
was  sufficient  to  assert  that  Mohammed  had  thus  spoken. 
Later  the  tradition  grew  up  that  the  angel  Gabriel  inspired 
the  words.  And  at  last  it  came  to  be  the  accepted  view 
of  orthodox  Moslems  that  the  whole  was  written  in 
heaven  and  handed  down  to  the  prophet  by  the  messengers 
of  Allah. 

In  the  case  of  the  Old  Testament  there  was  a  similar 
growth  of  sentiment  regarding  the  origin  and  divine  char- 
acter of  the  books.  The  prophetic  writers  conceived  it 
to  be  their  right  and  duty  to  gather,  revise  and  correct 
the  utterances  of  their  predecessors  in  the  teaching  func- 


10 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


January  11,  1917 


tion  of  Israel.  In  the  same  spirit  the  priests  of  successive 
generations  developed  the  legal  institutes  of  the  nation, 
in  harmony  with  their  advancing  conception  of  their  pas- 
tors as  religious  leaders.  In  fact,  all  the  literature  of 
religion,  prophetic,  priestly  and  philosophical,  grew  up 
with  entire  freedom  among  the  Hebrews  of  the  classic 
period.  But  when  these  writings  were  gathered  into  a 
collection  by  the  editors  of  the  Persian  and  Greek  ages, 
they  were  invested  with  a  sanctity  and  authority  unknown 
before,  and  a  portion  of  the  collection,  the  Torah  or  Five 
Books,  was  insensibly  lifted  by  popular  regard  not  only 
into  the  realm  of  the  inspired  and  inerrable,  but  the  divine. 
Little  by  little  it  was  insisted  that  these  writings  were  pre- 
pared in  heaven,  and  mediated  to  Moses  through  ranks 
of  angels.  It  was  a  far  cry  from  the  simplicity  and  natu- 
ralness of  the  earlier  feeling  regarding  the  records  of  the 
saints  and  teachers  of  Israel  to  this  sublimated  conception 
of  a  mysterious  and  unearthly  book. 

EARLY  CHRISTIAN  WRITINGS 

In  the  atmosphere  of  this  deep  reverence  for  the  He- 
brew Scriptures  as  inspired  in  a  very  solemn  and  far- 
reaching  sense,  the  writings  of  the  Christian  community 
took  form.  In  contrast  with  the  older  and  authoritative 
Scripture,  the  letters  and  memoirs  produced  by  the  first 
believers  in  the  gospel  were  regarded  less  as  inspired  utter- 
ances than  as  the  prized  words  of  the  friends  of  the  Lord. 
It  was  only  by  gradations  that  the  quality  of  divine  in- 
spiration was  affirmed  of  them,  and  their  organization  into 
a  formal  canon  began.  No  one  in  the  early  church  thought 
of  imputing  to  these  documents  any  of  the  highly  the- 
ological qualities  of  inerrancy  and  verbal  sanctity  which 
later  centuries  developed.  It  was  enough  for  these  first 
followers  of  Jesus  to  find  in  the  apostolic  writings  the 
expression  of  the  spirit  of  the  Master,  and  a  trustworthy 
narrative  of  His  life  and  teachings. 

And  what  is  the  value  of  the  claim  made  by  these 
and  the  other  sacred  books  of  the  various  nations  that 
they  are  the  inspired  and  authentic  record  of  the  divine 
will?  Is  there  reality  in  this  belief,  or  are  these  high 
insistencies  only  the  expression  of  an  affectionate  rever- 
ence for  books  that  have  become  classic  and  precious? 
Is  there  validity  in  the  claim  which  some  writings  make 
that  they  are  the  transcript  of  the  divine  will?  Are  there 
holy  books,  in  any  other  sense  than  that  some  of  them 
have  secured  the  character  of  sacredness  through  employ- 
ment in  connection  with  places  and  ceremonies  held  to  be 
holy?  And  if  there  is  value  in  the  claim,  how  may  one 
discriminate  between  the  different  books  of  religion? 
What  is  the  secret  of  their  sanctity? 

god's  messages 

The  answer  is  not  far  to  seek.  All  books  that  have 
aided  in  the  achievement  of  higher  levels  of  living  for 
any  portion  of  the  race  prove  themselves  by  that  fact 
and  to  that  extent  to  be  inbreathed  of  the  divine  life,  the 
message  of  God  to  the  world.  The  reality  of  the  divine 
element  in  the  various  religions  and  their  sacred  books 
is  proved  by  their  character  and  results.  This  is  the  only 
conclusive  test. 

Among  these  writings  some  are  of  greater  value  than 
others,  judged  by  their  iftfluence  on  the  people  who  have 
been  the  subjects  of  their  instruction.  Their  values  are 
not  to  be  measured  by  claims  they  make  to  inspiration 
and  authority,  for  all  alike  insist  upon  their  holy  char- 
acter, and  some  of  the  least  significant  are  most  urgent 


in  their  pretensions.  The  truth  is  only  to  be  discovered  by 
observing  their  effects  upon  the  lives  of  their  confessors. 
Without  anticipating  in  too  large  a  degree  the  in- 
quiries which  are  to  be  made  in  succeeding  studies  in  this 
series,  it  may  be  said  here  that  judged  by  this  standard, 
the  Bible,  particularly  the  New  Testament,  rises  unique 
and  supreme  above  every  other  writing  of  the  centuries. 
Divested  of  every  dogmatic  presupposition,  and  stripped 
of  every  adventitious  help  such  as  the  church  has  too  often 
devised  for  its  defense,  the  Book  simply  proves  itself  to 
be  the  supreme  religious  literature  of  the  race,  the  record 
of  the  great  ideals  and  imperatives  of  the  spiritual  life. 

THE  BIBLE'S   SUPERIORITY 

The  Bible  demonstrates  its  superiority  to  other  books 
of  religion  by  its  record  of  the  growth  of  the  sense  of 
worship  from  primitive  and  meager  beginnings  to  its 
supreme  embodiment  in  the  life  of  Jesus. 

It  is  the  world's  most  impressive  record  of  personal 
faith,  sometimes  in  very  imperfect  forms,  sometimes  in 
fuller  expression  in  the  lives  of  apostles  and  prophets,  and 
once  in  complete  realization  in  the  character  of  the  Lord. 

It  is  a  collection  of  human  books  of  greatly  varying 
worth,  but  possessed  as  a  group  of  a  marvelous  power  to 
inspire  human  life  with  holy  purposes. 

It  is  a  book  of  unique  authority,  incomparably  more 
urgent  than  any  other  book  in  the  world.  Its  authority 
is  not  that  of  rules  of  conduct  or  of  commands  for  obedi- 
ence. Rather  does  it  possess  the  power  of  self-evidencing 
principles  of  belief  and  behavior,  taught  and  enforced  by 
the  holiest  men  of  history,  and  by  the  Master  himself. 

It  is  the  world's  permanent  moral  and  spiritual  moni- 
tor. With  astonishing  frankness  it  reveals  the  sins  to 
which  humanity  may  descend.  With  convincing  passion 
it  urges  the  attainment  of  such  holiness  and  purity  as  the 
world  has  seen  realized  but  once.  With  supreme  con- 
fidence it  anticipates  the  embodiment  of  its  ideals  in  a 
new  spiritual  order,  attaining  slowly  but  certainly  the 
full  measure  of  Jesus'  hopes. 

This  is  the  ground  of  its  claim  to  finality  among  the 
holy  books  of  the  world.  Alike  to  hostile  charges  that  it 
is  only  a  collection  of  religious  traditions,  and  to  extra- 
vagant claims  of  inerrancy  made  on  its  behalf  it  remains 
silent  and  indifferent.  Its  vindication  is  found  in  its 
simple  fidelity  to  its  great  purpose  to  aid  in  the  creation 
of  a  new  and  diviner  humanity.  And  in  the  increasing 
success  with  which  it  realizes  this  purpose,  it  finds  the 
growing  proof  of  its  right  to  be  called  the  Book  of  Books, 
the  supreme  and  inspired  literature  of  the  ages,  the  Word 
of  God. 

[The  next  article  of  Professor  Willetfs  Series  on  the 
Bible  will  appear  next  week. — Editor.] 

iiiiiiNMiiitniimiiHHHifuimifmiiiiiiHiiiiiiniHiiwiuuiiM 

Sons  of  Promise  | 

In  every  meanest  face  I  see 

A  perfected  humanity.  | 

All  men,  though  brothers  of  the  clod, 

Bear  promise  of  the  sons  of  God. 

No  human  ore  that  does  not  hold 

A  precious  element  of  gold ;  | 

No  heart  so  blackened  and  debased 

But  has  for  Him  some  treasure  chaste. 

I  — Thomas  Curtis  Clark.  I 


iimifiiniliimiiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllNHiiiii 


n:. ii !,.:::.;.:  II. .■Iliriiim    I IHIIIIHIIIItl rllirm 1111111111111 ;:■ lllinillllllllllllllMllil 


"The  Seventy" 

A  Study  of  a  Significant  Scriptural  Principle 
By  EDGAR  DeWITT  JONES 


JESUS  was  not  primarily  an  or- 
ganizer. Not  that  he  was  with- 
out genius  for  organization — his 
work  was  of  another  nature.  He  was 
a  Prophet,  an  Inspirer,  a  Savior.   We 

have  a  record, 
however,  of  two 
organizations 
that  he  created : 
the  Twelve 
Apostles,  whom 
he  called  and 
commissioned  to 
be  the  nucleus 
of  his  church ; 
and  the  Seventy 
Disciples,  whom 
he  sent  out  to 
Rev.  Edgar  D.  Jones  prepare  the  way 
for  him.  The  Gospels  have  much  to 
say  about  the  Twelve ;  only  a  little 
about  the  Seventy.  Matthew,  Mark, 
and  Luke— all  three — record  the  call- 
ing and  sending  out  of  the  Twelve. 
Luke  alone  tells  of  the  appointment 
of  the  Seventy  and  the  charge  of 
Christ  to  them.  The  names  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles  are  given  several 
times;  the  Seventy  are  anonymous. 

WHY  WERE  SEVENTY  SENT  ? 

The  organization  of  the  Seventy  by 
Jesus,  and  his  sending  them  out,  is  an 
interesting  study.  Two  reasons  have 
been  suggested  for  this  sending  out  of 
so  numerous  a  body  of  missionaries. 
First,  the  time  before  his  passion  was 
now  short,  and  it  was  his  desire  that 
the  message  of  salvation  reach  as 
many  as  possible.  Second,  he  wished 
to  train  his  followers  to  act  alone  after 
his  departure.  It  was  pioneer  work 
that  the  Seventy  did,  it  was  prepara- 
tory and  introductory. 

Why  the  number  Seventy?  It  is  a 
significant  number  in  the  Scriptures. 
The  family  of  Jacob  that  settled  in 
Egypt  numbered  exactly  seventy. 
Moses  chose  seventy  elders  to  assist 
him  in  his  work.  There  were  seventy 
members  of  the  Jewish  Sanhedrin. 
Moreover,  the  number  seventy  to  the 
Jews  symbolized  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  and  this  is  in  accord  with  Luke's 
note  of  universality.  At  the  feast  of 
the  tabernacles  seventy  bullocks  were 
offered  upon  behalf  of  the  Gentile  na- 
tions. The  selection  of  seventy,  there- 
fore, was  symbolical  and  significant  to 
every  devout  Jewish  mind. 

THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  TWO  AND  TWO 

Why  go  out  two  and  two?  It  was 
thus    that    the    Apostles    went    out. 


There  are  several  reasons :  compan- 
ionship, different  temperaments,  coun- 
sel, and  sympathy.  All  through  Acts 
of  the  Apostles  the  evangelistic  enter- 
prise is  represented  by  heroic  couples 
or  pairs :  Silas  and  Timothy,  Timothy 
and  Erastus,  Euodia  and  Synthche, 
Paul  and  Barnabas,  Judas  and  Silas, 
Barnabas  and  Mark.  For  a  supreme 
example,  witness  John  and  Peter  be- 
fore the  Jewish  tribunal.  Their  tem- 
peraments were  different :  Peter  was 
impetuous,  John  was  tender ;  Peter 
was  practical,  John  was  poetic.  Both 
were  bold  as  lions.  They  reacted  one 
on  the  other.  They  could  accomplish 
together  what  neither  could  do  sep- 
arately ;  and  when  threatened  with 
death  if  they  should  preach  any  more 
in  the  name  of  Jesus,  Peter  spoke  the 
brave  word  for  both  of  them  when  he 
said,  ''Whether  it  is  right  in  the  sight 
of  God  to  hearken  unto  you  rather 
than  unto  God,  judge  ye,  for  we  can- 
not but  speak  the  things  that  we  have 
"seen  and  heard." 

Two  and  two — common  sense  is  in 
that  plan.  The  Mormons  have  always 
sent  out  their  missionaries  two  and 
two,  and,  thus  together,  they  have 
taken  the  Mormon  message  over  plain 
and  mountain,  in  city  and  country. 
In  imagination  one  can  see  the  Seventy 
going  forth  in  pairs,  linked  together 
for  the  most  important  of  team  work. 
The  retiring  and  diffident  with  the 
impetuous  and  enthusiastic,  the  timid 
and  shrinking  with  the  bold  and 
courageous;  the  slow  of  speech  with 
the  voluble ;  the  erratic  and  peculiar 
with  the  level  headed  and  well-bal- 
anced ;  the  pensive  and  the  poetic  with 
the  practical  and  alert;  behold  them 
going  out  two  and  two  over  hill  and 
through  valley,  into  city  and  village ! 

"So  when  two  work  together,  each  for  each 

Is  quick  to  plan  and  can  the  other  teach. 

But  when  alone  one  seeks  the  best  to  know 

His  skill  is  weaker  and  his  thoughts  are 

slow." 

THE   PROGRAM    OF  THE   SEVENTY 

The  Seventy  did  not  go  forth  with- 
out a  plan  or  program.  Jesus  pre- 
scribed the  method.  They  were  to  go 
in  the  spirit  of  prayer.  That  was 
fundamental.  They  were  to  pray  for 
laborers,  that  the  Seventy  might  be 
multiplied  many  times  over.  They 
were  to  be  courteous,  gentlemanly, 
forbearing,  always.  They  were  to  be 
contented  with  whatever  was  provided 
in  the  homes  where  they  wrere  enter- 
tained. They  were  to  make  haste. 
They  were  to  lose  no  time  in  formal 


salutations  which  consumed  many 
precious  moments.  The  time  was 
short.  They  were  to  bring  a  message 
of  peace  to  every  household.  They 
were  to  heal  and  bless  and  help,  and 
announce  that  "the  kingdom  of  God  is 
come  nigh  you."  They  were  personal 
representatives  of  Jesus  in  so  intimate 
a  way  that  he  said  of  them,  "He  that 
heareth  you,  heareth  me,  and  he  that 
rejecteth  you  rejecteth  me." 

Thus  the  Seventy  went  out  two  and 
two  on  errands  of  mercy  and  to  spread 
the  good  tidings.  They  went  before 
him.  They  were  pathfinders  of  the 
Lord,  and  their  work  was  successful. 
They  returned  with  joy.  Evil  had 
been  subject  to  them  in  the  name  of 
Jesus.  Wicked  spirits  fled  before  the 
face  of  these  missionaries.  They  came 
back  strangely  elated.  Their  joy  was 
overflowing,  for  they  had  had  a  part 
in  overcoming  evil  with  good. 

THE  JOY  OF  PERSONAL  WORK 

It  is  ever  so!  Intimate  personal 
Christian  work  assures  the  most  last- 
ing joy  the  human  heart  can  know. 
Nothing  can  take  the  place  of  personal 
service  of  this  high  character.  There 
is  no  substitute  for  individual  work 
for  individuals.  In  such  ministries 
we  save  ourselves  as  we  endeavor  to 
save  others.  Following  Jesus  ceases 
to  be  a  figure  of  speech  and  becomes 
instead  a  glorious  reality. 

Jesus'  caution  to  the  Seventy  is 
worthy  of  reflection.  To  their  fervid 
announcement  that  "even  the  demons 
are  subject  unto  us,"  he  responded. 
"Rejoice  not  that  the  spirits  are  sub- 
ject unto  you,  but  rejoice  that  your 
names  are  written  in  heaven."  Wise 
counsel  is  this !  The  enthusiasm  of 
his  followers  might  fail  if  it  rested 
solely  upon  visible  results.  Be  it  re- 
membered that  there  are  deserts  in  the 
realm  of  missionary  experiences  as 
there  are  in  the  enterprises  which  have 
to  do  with  things  purely  material. 
Rejoice  rather  in  God's  approval.  Re- 
joice in  the  privilege  of  partnership 
with  him.  Rejoice  that  your  names 
are  on  the  muster  roll  of  heaven  as 
workers  for  him  here,  channels  for  his 
grace  now,  vessels  meet  for  the  Mas- 
ter's use  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or 
night. 

THE   EVERY   MEMBER   CANVASS 

The  sending  out  of  the  Seventy  was 
an  enterprise  of  Jesus  that  suggests 
numerous  modern  methods  which  may 
serve  the  kingdom  of  God  admirably. 


12 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


January  11,  1917 


The  Every  Member  Canvass  is  pat-  ligation  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  proceed 

terned  on  the  plan  of  the  Seventy  and  to  discharge  it  accordingly.    God  will 

its  success  is  phenomenal.    The  world  follow  such  evangelism  with  showers 

awaits  the  awakening  that  will  surely  of  blessings  such  as  the  world  has  not 

follow  when  fifty  per  cent  of  church  known  since  that  memorable  Pentecost 

members  recognize  their  personal  ob-  when  the  church  was  born. 


"They  climbed  the  steep  ascent  of  Heaven 
Through  peril,  toil  and  pain! 
O  God,  to  us  may  grace  be  given 
To  follow  in  their  train." 

First  Christian  Church,  Bloomington, 
111. 


South  American  Womanhood 


How  the  Women  of  the  Southern  Continent  Have  Played  Their  Part  in  its  Conquest  and  Christianization 

By  IRENE  T.  MYERS 


FROM  some  book  of  Olive 
Schreiner's,  read  a  long  time 
ago.  there  comes  to  me  a  pic- 
ture of  singular  dignity.  It  is  of  an 
African    woman — a    burden-bearer — 

toiling  at  the 
crude  planting 
and  grinding  for 
her  family,  suf- 
fering, the  prey 
of  brutality  and 
lust,  yet  silent, 
and  proud  that 
she  is  not  fail- 
ing to  carry  her 
full  share  in  the 
hard  life  of  her 
tribe.  She  shirks 
Dr.  Irene  T.  Myers        n  0  t  h  i  n  g,   and 

since  pain  is  a  woman's  portion,  she 
respects  herself  for  bearing  it. 

She  has  risen  before  me  whenever 
I  have  heard  or  read  of  the  Mexican 
women — Indians  or  mestizos — who 
have  gone  with  the  fighting  men,  on 
the  march,  into  the  camp,  into  the 
mountain  hiding  places,  and  often  into 
the  ranks  as  soldiers,  and  have  borne 
their  children,  and  cooked  the  food, 
and  carried  a  full  share  of  the  life's 
burden.  The  life  is  hideous  to  us,  its 
demands  loathsome,  but  perhaps  these 
women  also  can  respect  themselves  in 
that  they  do  not  shirk  its  pain. 

WOMEN    AND    CONQUEST 

And  then  again  I  see  the  Indian 
women,  following  with  their  pack- 
mules  the  indistinct  trails  of  the  Peru- 
vian sierras,  bringing  in  their  heaped- 
up  hampers  the  fruit  and  vegetables 
and  grain  upon  which  the  cities  feed. 
And  this  food  is  the  product  of  their 
crude  planting  and  tending;  and  it  is 
they  who  wait  through  the  hours  of 
the  market  until  all  is  sold,  it  may  be 
from  the  early  dawn  through  the 
dawning  of  another  day.  They  too 
stand  square  with  their  world  because 
they  have  not  shirked  their  burden. 

And  I  remember  how,  through  the 
more  than  four  centuries  since  the 
Spaniard  came  into  the  Indian's  land, 
the  women  of  that  race  have  taken 
a  not  ignoble  part  in  adjusting  the 
relations  between  the  two. 


It  was  a  captive  Indian  girl  who 
saved  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  and  his 
men  from  massacre,  and  for  that  great 
quest  of  the  sea  beyond  the  moun- 
tains. When  Francisco  Pizarro 
skirted  the  Peruvian  coast,  at  the 
southernmost  point  of  his  landing  he 
was  cheered  and  strengthened  by  the 
hospitality  of  an  Indian  woman,  the 
chief  of  her  tribe.  With  her  attend- 
ants she  fearlessly  came  aboard  his 
vessel,  examined  its  new  and  strange 
accoutrements,  and  invited  him  and 
his  companions  to  land  upon  her 
shore ;  and  when  the  return  visit  was 
being  made,  with  a  fine  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility, she  sent  unasked  some 
of  the  principal  men  of  her  tribe  to 
remain  aboard  the  vessels  as  hostages 
for  the  white  men's  safe  return;  she 
spread  before  her  guests  a  tempting 
banquet  under  arbors  of  interwoven 
flowers  and  branches;  she  entertained 
them  with  dancing  men  and  maidens ; 
she  listened  courteously,  although 
without  understanding,  to  Pizarro's 
announcement  of  Castile's  claim  to  her 
land,  and  in  laughing  good  humor, 
under  his  direction,  unfurled  the  royal 
banner  over  her  own  domain. 

As  old  Bernal  Diaz  would  say,  when 
writing  in  the  sixteenth  century  of  the 
adventures  of  Cortes  and  his  men, 
"Under  God's  will"  it  was  an  Indian 
girl  who  was  one  of  the  "chief  instru- 
ments used  in  the  conquest  of  Mex- 
ico." Marina  was  one  of  twenty 
girls,  given  by  the  Tabascans  as  a 
peace  offering  to  Cortes. 

"a  man  movement" 

It  is  a  great  comfort  to  find,  if  one 
looks  closely  into  the  so-called  woman 
movement  of  the  past  and  present  cen- 
tury, that  it  is  a  man  movement  as 
well.  All  alomg  the  way  that  the 
conquistadores  traveled,  the  Indians 
proffered  their  daughters  and  the 
Spaniards  received  them.  The  stand- 
ards neither  of  the  red  men  nor  of 
the  white  men,  nor  of  the  women 
themselves,  were  violated.  Back  in 
Europe  for  centuries  before,  kings  and 
nobles  had  given  their  daughters  as 
peace  offerings  to  other  kings  and 
nobles ;  and  people  of  less  degree  had 


bartered  theirs  with  a  keen  sense  of 
their  economic  values.  Back  in  the 
early  Hebraic  days,  even  when  angels 
were  the  guests  of  Lot,  he  could  offer 
his  daughters  to  the  clamoring  men 
of  Sodom. 

To  say  that  these  things  are  no 
longer  done  would  be  untrue,  but  to 
do  them  we — men  and  women  alike — 
must  disguise  them  even  to  our  own 
souls.  Perhaps  we  may  go  too  fast, 
or  we  may  go  too  far  in  running 
away  from  the  things  that  were,  but 
no  woman,  or  man  either,  can  turn 
seeing  eyes  upon  that  past  without  a 
shudder,  and  a  breath  of  thanks  that 
it  is  no  more. 

THE  PREACHING  OF   CORTES 

Well,  Cortes  preached  to  the  Indian 
girls — a  sermon  doubtless  like  the 
others  which  have  been  reported  to  us 
as  sometimes  convincing  and  some- 
times not — a  sermon  that  probably 
dealt  with  the  mysteries  of  the  Trin- 
ity. What  other  theological  point 
could  be  so  important  as  that  to  the 
Spaniard,  who,  after  eight  centuries  of 
struggle,  had  successfully  established 
it  in  the  face  of  the  unitarian  Moor! 
And  the  girls  were  duly  baptized,  and 
renamed — what  a  fetich  baptism  was 
in  those  days ! — and  thus  made  worthy 
mates  for  the  Christians.  And  these 
were  the  first  Christian  women  of 
New  Spain. 

Doha  Marina  was  a  chief's  daugh- 
ter, Diaz  says,  who  from  her  child- 
hood had  been  the  pride  of  her 
father's  villages.  But  he  had  died, 
her  mother  had  married  a  younger 
man,  and  together  they  had  secretly 
sold  her,  that  their  possessions  might 
go  to  the  second  husband's  children. 
She  knew  the  Aztec  and  the  Yucatec 
tongues,  and  soon  she  knew  the 
Castilian,  for  it  was  the  speech  of 
Cortes,  whom  she  loved,  and  whom 
"it  was  her  pride  to  serve  in  all 
things." 

"dona  marina" 

Serve  him  she  did  with  unsur- 
passed loyalty,  but  she  served  her  own 
people  also,  and  they  loved  and  trusted 
her,  and  called  Cortes  by  her  name, 


January  11,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


13 


and  were  accustomed  to  receive 
through  her  interpretation  the  mes- 
sages he  was  powerless  to  give  her 
himself.  Through  her  he  communi- 
cated with  the  representatives  of 
Montezuma,  learned  of  the  disaffec- 
tion of  some  of  the  chiefs,  gained  the 


birds  and  insects  and  flowers  that  are 
its  pattern.  The  smoke  of  incense  is 
in  the  air.  At  the  far  end  of  the  hall 
Montezuma  is  seated.  And  Cortes 
discourses  to  him  on  the  Trinity,  the 
Incarnation  and  the  Atonement,  the 
Creation  and  the  Fall  of  Man.     He 


failed  them.  It  is  clear  that  the  work 
of  conversion  went  on  most  rapidly 
when  the  God  of  Cortes  gave  him 
victory,  and  when  they  called  upon 
theirs  in  vain. 

But  whatever  may  have  been  lack- 
ing   in     Marina's     interpretation    of 


Totonacs  as  guides,  as  transporters  of      invites  him  to  cast  away  his  idols,  to      Christian  theology,  it  is  only  we  of 


guns  and  baggage,  as  allies  in  battle, 
in  the  building  of  cities,  in  the  provid- 
ing of  food.  It  was  she  who  encour- 
aged not  only  those  Indian  allies,  but 
the  Spaniards  also  in  the  desperate 
battles  with  the  Tlascalans.  "Even 
though  she  heard  every  day,"  says 
Diaz,  "that  they  were  going  to  kill  us 
and  eat  our  flesh,  though  she  had  seen 


embrace  the  Cross,  and  doubtless  here,  later  date  who  stop  to  question  it. 
as  elsewhere,  shows  the  image  of  the  Cortes  and  his  companions  did  not. 
Virgin  and  Child,  through  whom  alone      And  on  those  long  marches  from  Vera 


he  can  be  saved  from  a  terrible  doom. 


INDIAN  WOMEN  AS  THEOLOGIANS 


Cruz  to  Mexico,  back  and  forth,  across 
sandy  plains,  through  hot,  choking 
jungles,  over  mighty,  snow-mantled 
mountains,  Marina  passed  like  Cor- 
tes' shadow — faithful,  loyal,  fearless 
-persuading,    encouraging,    warning, 


WHAT   OF   THE   FUTURE: 

In  Mexico  today,  in  Bolivia,  Peru, 
Ecuador  and  the  north  coast  republics, 
the  peoples  are  fundamentally  and 
dominantly  Indian ;  and  the  blood  of 
those     Indian    girls,     whose     fathers 


Marina  was  "beautiful  as  a  god- 
dess," Camargo  the  Tlascalan  convert 
and  chronicler  says,  and  she  undoubt- 

us  so  hard  pressed  in  the  past  battles,  edly  adds  charm  to  the  picture ;  but      explaining, 

and  now  most  of  us  sick  and  wounded,  we  may  be  permitted  to  question  how 

we  never  saw  weakness  in  her."     As  successfully    she    wrestled    with    the 

he  would  say,  "After  God,"  they  owed  abstruse  doctrines,  or  interpreted  them 

to  her  the  conquest.  int0  a  tongue  which  had  for  them  no 

It  was  she  who  learned  of  the  plot  fitting    vocabulary.      And    yet    there 

of  the   Cholulans,  and  made  it  pos-  were  points  of  contact.     The  Aztecs 

sible    for    Cortes    to   anticipate    their  offered  human  sacrifice  to  their  gods, 

plans,    overthrow    their    armies,    and  and  themselves  banqueted  on  the  body     brought  them  as  peace   offerings  all 

march   on  towards   Mexico.     It  was  of   the   victim.      Perhaps   they   could      along  the  trails  of  the  conquistadores, 

through    her    silver    speech    that    he  make  a  further  step  to  the  theology  of     is  in  the  veins  of  the  mixed  breeds  of 

talked    with    Montezuma,    while    the  Cortes,  in  which  they  learned  of  the     men    and   women   out   of   which   the 

cavaliers  and  Aztec  chieftains   stood  supreme    sacrifice    of   One   who    was      nations  are  being  made.    As  the  waves 

around  in  respectful  silence.    What  a  both  man  and  god,  and  on  whose  flesh     of  revolution,  of  immigration  and  of 

picture  we  have !    It  is  a  great  hall  in  the  Christians  daily  fed  in  their  Com-      commerce    beat    upon    them,    as    the 

Montezuma's  palace.     Outside  in  the  munion     service.       We     know     that      gentler  influences  of  schools  and  of 

courts  the  fountains  are  playing,  and  Marina  labored  zealously  to  show  the      more  spiritualizing  religion  mold  them, 

crowds     of     Aztec     nobles     gather.  God  of  Cortes  as  one,  and  yet  as  three,      what  will  the  women  become  ?     They 

Within,    the    ceilings    are    carved    of  but    it    must    have    seemed    to    those      are  not  without  a  legacy  from  their 

fragrant  woods,  the  walls   are  hung  simple-minded  red  men  as  but  the  sub-      Indian     mothers     that     gives     great 

with  cotton,  with  skins,  with  bright-  stitution   of   new   gods    for   old,    and      promise  for  their  future, 

colored  feather  work,  glowing  like  the  justifiable    only    when    the    old    had  Transylvania  College. 


MllllllllllllllMlltllllilllltlllillltMllllllllllltHllllIlllilllimiillMIIILIIllllllllllUIUIIILIilLi 


il  II 1 1 II  111  1 1  U  1 1  tJ  1 1  Li  Ml  1 1 11  il  :l  LI  I II 1XIIII  tl  II I IM  LM11JI II  M  LI  I  llll  ■UIlLIIMJIIIil  1 11  M  IMI  Mill  i  I II 1 J I J 1 1  III  1 1  i  1 1 1 II II  llll  II J 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 J  M 1 1  [1 II  [1 1 II  f  1 1 1 1  111  I J 1 J I  Ul  ti  I J 1 11 1 1 1  j  1 1 1 J II 1 1 1 1 1 1  j  t  II 1 1 1 1 J 1 1  ■  J 1 1 1  j  II I J 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 J 1 1 1 1  III  J  tl  II 11 1 1  tl  1 1 J  t  J  t  J  ri  I JUI 1 1  j  II II 1 1 1 1  ■  IU 11 1  j  J  r  j  1 1 1 J  li  1 1  ■  t  III  11 1  i  II  lit  I  tIJ  J 11 1 1 1  ■  in  It  ttllJ  I M 


Thoughts  for  the  Passing  Years 


By  LILLIAN  GRAY 


Let  us  walk  softly,  friend; 
For  strange  paths  lie  before  us,  all  untrod ; 
The  New  Year,  spotless  from  the  hand  of  God, 

Is  thine  and  mine,  O  friend ! 


Let  us  walk  humbly,  friend; 
Slight  not  the  heart's-ease  blooming  round  our  feet ; 
The  laurel  blossoms  are  not  half  so  sweet, 

Or  lightly  gathered,  friend. 


Let  u,s  walk  straightly,  friend ; 
Forget  the  crooked  paths  behind  us  now, 
Press  on  with  steadier  purpose  on  our  brow, 

To  better  deeds,  O  friend ! 


Let  us  walk  kindly,  friend; 
We  cannot  tell  how  long  this  life  shall  last, 
How  soon  these  precious  years  be  overpast ; 

Let  love  walk  with  us,  friend. 


Let  us  walk  gladly,  friend; 
Perchance  some  greater  good  than  we  have  known 
Is  waiting  for  us,  or  some  fair  hope  flown 

Shall  yet  return,  O  friend! 


Let  us  walk  quickly,  friend; 
Work  our  mite  while  lasts  our  little  stay, 
And  help  some  halting  comrade  on  the  way; 

And  may  God  guide  us,  friend ! 


lllllllllllllllllMinilllMKIILIlllllllllilllllllllllllllllllMlllltlllillllllllllllMIIMIIIllllllll 1111 rilMMlMIIrlliritlllllMUIMlllillllltllllLUITElMMIMIlMLIMLMMMIlll 1I11I1MI1 fHUIIMIfllUIIKIIIIIIIIUllllKlllllllIMIIlIltlllllll lEllIlltlTMIlMIMIIMIl tlt(lirUIMIirf1tlllltl1ltlil4MIM1111lIIIMlllllllIMIlTtIllllllintIlll)ltll1t11lt 


,:\  ;:.:,..,..',':         .. 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


anniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

Lawless  Saloons 
and  Crime 

August  A.  Busch  recently  made 
public  a  statement  that  lawless  sa- 
loonkeepers    were     responsible    for 

the  anti-saloon 
sentiment.  The 
famous  federal 
Judge,  Kene- 
saw  M.  Landis, 
sitting  recently 
in  East  St. 
Louis,  said : 
"Virtually  every 
case  that  I  have 
tried  here  in 
the  last  ten 
days  has  been 
hatched  in  some  lawless  saloon  in 
this  city."  Turning  to  the  mayor 
and  chief  of  police  he  said,  "Don't 
you  know  it  is  the  law  to  close  these 
saloons  on  Sundays?"  They  replied 
that  they  were  just  following  a  cus- 
tom. "Custom  nothing,"  said  the 
Tudge,  "close  them  or  you  violate 
the  law  yourself,"  and  issued  sub- 
poenas for  the  members  of  the  police 
board.  Then  Judge  Landis  said  to 
the  auditors  in  the  court  room: 
"Here  are  thirty-two  saloons  con- 
fessedly managed  by  Mr.  Busch's 
company,  and  they  have  been  stead- 
fastly breaking  the  law  for  at  least 
ten  years,"  and  added  that  90  per 
cent  of  the  crime  in  East  St.  Louis 
can  be  traced  to  lawless  saloons. 


Some  Good  News 
From  Mexico 

Back  in  the  seventies  when  Por- 
firio  Diaz  was  restoring  peace  to 
Mexico  with  his  iron  hand  there 
was  something  of  the  same  demand 
for  interference  by  Uncle  Sam  that 
there  is  today.  General  Phil  Sheri- 
dan was  at  that  time  in  command 
of  our  troops  and  he  warned  the 
government  at  Washington  to  pay 
little  attention  to  the  news  that 
came  from  Mexico  across  the  Rio 
Grande,  declaring  that  it  was  col- 
ored by  border  hysteria  and  Amer- 
ican investments.  Within  five  years 
we  will  doubtless  be  regaled  with 
ample  stories  of  how  the  sinister  in- 
terests of  investment  and  the  hys- 
teria of  the  border  kept  the  news  of 
this  nation  bemurked  and  muddled 
until  the  truth  of  what  was  happen- 
ing in  Mexico  was  not  known  in 
the  United  States.  Lincoln  Stef- 
fens,  who  has  won  international 
reputation  for  keenness  of  observa- 
tion and  analytical  insight,  and  Pro- 
fessor  Rowe   of  the   University   of 


J:  ,:;   '   i:     ',.::,  m:'  ^'!;l,:i:,;,  u.i.",  i  -mi 


Pennsylvania,  one  of  the  foremost 
American  authorities  on  Latin- 
America,  have  both  spent  months  in 
Mexico  and  return  to  tell  the  Amer- 
ican people  that  three-fourths  of  the 
country  is  practically  at  peace,  that 
schools  are  being  opened  rapidly 
and  industries  are  resuming  more 
nearly  normal  relations  than  at  any 
time  since  the  revolution  broke  out 
six  years  ago;  and  they  assert,  with- 
out fear  of  successful  contradiction 
from  the  lips  of  anyone  who  can 
read  his  title  clear  to  non-prejudice, 
that  there  is  very  little  trouble  of 
threatening  nature  except  that 
which  Villa  is  making  in  the  north. 
We  are  judging  all  Mexico  by  the 
border,  where  Villa  operates.  The 
eight-hour  day  has  been  adopted  in 
most  of  the  states  that  have  indus- 
tries, a  minimum  wage  of  $1.50 
Mexican  or  75  cents  American  has 
been  fixed,  the  old  serfdom  on  the 
great  haciendas  has  been  broken  up, 
labor  has  been  chartered  to  organize 
at  will,  unused  lands  have  been 
turned  over  to  the  poor  to  farm 
without  rent,  municipal  elections 
have  been  held  and  civil  authorities 
replaced  the  military  in  the  towns 
and  cities,  delegates  to  a  constitu- 
tional convention  have  been  elected 
and  plans  are  now  being  made  for 
the  election  of  both  a  congress  and 
a  president  by  February. 

The  Mexican  Review  asserts  with 
very  good  proof  that  the  yield  of 
edible  foods  the  past  year  has  been 
the  greatest  since  the  revolution 
began,  and  that  the  government  is 
rapidly  organizing  affairs  for  a  nor- 


Three  Fine  Books  on  Social  Service 


The  Association  Press  is  turning 
out  for  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s  and  groups  of 
men  interested  in  promoting  Christ- 
ian work  a  very  fine  series  of  books 
which  can  be  used  for  texts  and 
which  are  equally  valuable  for  the 
private  library.  The  three  follow- 
ing are  of  their  latest  issues : 

The  Social  Principles  of1  Jesus,  by 
Walter  Rauschenbusch ;  198 
pages;  50  cents. 

Professor  Rauschenbusch  is  the 
first  of  living  authors  upon  the  so- 
cial applications  of  Christianity. 
His  books  have  been  read  by  the 
tens  of  thousands.  This  fine  little 
volume,  printed  on  thin  paper  and 
neatly  published,  with  rounded  cor- 
ners, in  a  pocket  edition,  is  no  ex- 
ception among  his  books.  Professor 
Rauschenbusch  does  not  talk  about 


mal  industrial  life.  The  latest  news 
from  Mexico  is  that  Carranza  has 
put  an  absolute  prohibition  on  bull 
fighting  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  republic,  and  that  he 
has  also  prohibited  liquor  selling 
over  more  than  half  its  territory, 
with  a  prospect  of  making  the  pro- 
hibition complete.  The  vote  upon 
constitutional  delegates  was  the 
largest  popular  vote  that  has  ever 
been  cast  in  a  Mexican  election, 
proving  that  there  was  more  free- 
dom and  a  more  universal  franchise 
than  ever  before.  Most  of  the  great 
leaders  in  Mexico  are  advocating 
the  election  of  General  Carranza, 
just  as  did  the  great  colonial  leaders 
advocate  that  of  General  Washing- 
ton, saying  that  they  propose  to 
prove  to  the  world  that  this  revolu- 
tion is  one  of  patriotism  and  that 
they  are  for  General  Carranza  be- 
cause he  has  proved  himself  to  be 
a  real  patriot  and  not  a  seeker  for 
position. 

*     *     * 

How  the  Laymen's  Missionary 
Movement  Has  Helped 

The  Laymen's  Missionary  Move- 
ment has  led  men  into  a  larger  under- 
standing and  appreciation  of  the  real 
significance  of  the  missionary  move- 
ment. Ten  years  ago  the  Christian 
churches  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada  were  giving  $8,120,725  for  for- 
eign missions.  Last  year  they  gave 
$18,795,000,  an  advance  of  $1,000,000 
for  every  year  of  existence  of  the  L. 
M.  M.  These  churches  are  now  giving 
$10,000,000  a  year  more  than  they  did 
in  1906. 


the  "social  significance"  of  Jesus' 
teaching,  but  finds  that  Jesus  was 
directly  interested  in  social  ethics, 
that  indeed  his  entire  moral  teach- 
ing was  one  that  demanded  right 
social  relationships.  Is  there  any 
righteousness  that  is  not  a  right 
action  towards  the  other  fellow? 
But  Jesus  did  not  attack  the  social 
problems  of  his  time  as  such,  and 
therefore  some  have  stumbled  at  the 
claim  made  for  him  as  a  teacher  of 
social  righteousness.  Professor 
Rauschenbusch  sets  these  funda- 
mental teachings  forth  as  "social 
principles"  and  is  happy  in  his 
phrasing  of  the  matter.  He  treats 
of  such  themes  as  the  fundamental 
value  of  life,  the  meaning  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  the  application  of 
the  laws  of  friendship  to  those  im- 
personal relations  which  bring  most 


January  11,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


15 


of  our  social  problems  today.  If  we 
applied  Jesus'  teaching  regarding 
the  duty  of  every  man  to  be  a 
brother  to  every  other  man  in  the 
industrial  world  it  would  effect  a 
social  revolution. 

*  *     * 

Boyology,   by   H.   W.    Gibson;   294 

pages;  $1.00. 

No  phase  of  modern  church  work 
is  of  more  interest  or  importance 
than  that  of  the  boy.  Mr.  Gibson 
has  made  an  unusually  happy,  dis- 
cerning and  readable  analysis  of  boy 
nature  and  boy  interests,  and  also 
put  forth  an  admirable  program  for 
winning  the  lads.  Actual  statistical 
investigation  discovered  that  62  out 
of  every  100  boys  between  13  and 
16,  and  77  out  of  every  100  between 
the  ages  of  17  and  19  quit  Sunday 
School  and  fail  to  attend  church,  and 
yet  this  is  just  the  golden  age  for 
winning  the  lad  to  religion.  Such 
movements  as  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  junior 
work,  the  Boy  Scouts,  etc.,  have 
demonstrated  the  ability  of  Christ- 
ian institutions  to  effectually  line 
him  up.  If  every  pastor,  Sunday 
School  superintendent,  church 
worker  and  father  would  read  Mr. 
Gibson's  book  the  special  activities 
organized  in  homes  and  religious  in- 
stitutions to  "save  the  boy"  would 
constitute  a  new  era  in  organized 
religious  effort. 

*  *     * 

Moral    Sanitation,    by    Ernest    R. 

Groves ;  128  pages ;  50  cents. 

Physical  sanitation  belongs  to 
the  science  of  preventive  medicine. 
Sociology  finds  in  a  changed  and 
bettered  environment  a  moral  sani- 
tation or  prophylactic.  Can  science 
find  a  field  for  the  application  of 
preventive  methods  in  the  inner 
sources  of  personal  moral  action? 
Prof.  Groves  finds  such  a  field  in 
the  use  of  Freudian  psychology. 
Freud's  work  has  outrun  the  field 
Df  medicine  through  finding  that 
many  mental  abnormalities  are  the 
result  of  moral  conflicts;  an  analysis 
pf  these  moral  conflicts  may  lead  to 
:he  discovery  of  means  to  prevent 
:hem  and  the  adoption  of  a  better 
noral  prophylactic  in  character 
xaining.  John  Stuart  Mill's  pro- 
posal of  a  science  of  "Ethology"  has 
lever  been  as  seriously  taken  as  has 
\uguste  Compte's  science  of  soci- 
ology. Why  should  there  not  be  a 
science  of  character  building  as  well 
is  of  social  welfare  or  health?  We 
lave  been  too  much  wedded  to 
^reaching  and  pious  scolding  and 
ixhortation.  After  explaining  the 
"reudian  method  the  author  devotes 
short  but  decisive  chapters  to  such 
subjects  as  cravings,  repentance, 
lappiness,  asceticism,  conduct  and 
he  moral  significance  of  the  home 
md  of  work. 


^Iillllllli:illllllllll!llllllllllllll!!ill 


m 


The  Sunday  School 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

Reverence 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life: 
By  JOHN  R.  EWERS 


> 


Americans  have  lost  the  idea  of 
reverence.  We  call  our  father  "The 
Old  Man" ;  we  caricature  the  Presi- 

dent  of  the 
United  States; 
we  lack  in  re- 
spect for  all 
those  in  high 
office;  we  write 
parodies  on  the 
most  sacred 
hymns,  and 
twist  the  say- 
ings of  the 
Bible  to  suit 
our  light  and 
flippant  spirit.  This  is  an  index  of 
a  great  lack.  Impudence,  insolence 
and  brazen  egotism  have  risen  to 
the  maximum  point. 

We  always  feel  that  there  is 
something  fundamentally  lacking  in 
one  who  does  not  highly  honor  his 
father  and  his  mother.  Where 
there  is  no  family  pride  there  is  lit- 
tle self-respect.  Where  there  is  lit- 
tle self-respect  there  is  little  self- 
control.  Where  there  is  little  self- 
control  there  is  nothing  for  the  next 
generation   to   be  proud   of. 

Of  a  piece  with  this  honor  for 
family  is  the  reverence  for  God.  I 
always  think  of  a  great,  kingly  soul 
like  Gladstone  as  filled  with  rever- 
ence. Such  a  noble  man  could  not 
be  light  and  flippant.  It  is  true  that 
we  do  not  want  to  make  God  too 
distant  and  unreal.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  we  do  not  want  to  make  God 
a  sort  of  great,  soft,  indulgent 
grandmother !  "I  tremble  when  I 
remember  that  God  is  just."  How 
should  one  feel  in  the  presence  of 
Holiness,  Justice,  Mercy,  Power, 
Wisdom  and  Love — one  who  is  per- 
fect when  we  are  most  imperfect? 

"And  this  one  thought  of  hope  and  trust 

Comes,   banishing   all   care, 
As  here  I  lay  my  brow  in  dust 

And  breathe  my  lowly  prayer 
That  not  for  heights  of  victory  won 

But  those   I  tried  to  gain 
Will    come    my    gracious    Lord's    'Well 
Done' 

Like   sweet,    refreshing   rain." 

All  the  choice  spirits  of  the  world 
have  been  humble,  sincere  souls. 
One  time  a  man  said  to  Benjamin 

*The  above  article  is  based  upon  the 
International  Uniform  lesson  for  Jan- 
uary 28,  "Reverence  of  Jesus  for  His 
Father's  House."  Scripture,  John 
2:13-22. 


Franklin:  "Why  do  you  always 
walk  with  your  head  down?"  To 
which  the  wise  man  replied :  "I 
have  always  observed  that  when  a 
head  of  wheat  is  heavy  with  plump 
grain  it  hangs  down,  but  when  it  is 
empty  it  sticks  straight  up !" 

The  little,  pert,  dapper,  impudent, 
brazen  egotist  may  have  his  day — 
but  so  does  the  dog.  The  world  does 
not  build  monuments  to  such,  al- 
though I  know  that  we  all  go  to 
the  Hotel  des  Invalides  and  gaze 
down  on  that  significantly  blood- 
red  sarcophagus  of  the  Little  Cor- 
sican.  Also  in  Berlin  there  is  a 
wooden  statue  of  Hindenburg — full 
of  nails.  We  remember  Nero!  It 
is  one  thing  to  remember;  another 
to  imitate  and  adore. 

There  is  nothing  about  reverence 
that  contradicts  the  upstanding  ele- 
ment in  a  man.  We  like  Brown- 
ing's man  who  "never  turned  his 
back,  but  marched  breast-forward." 
But  we  like  to  see  a  man  bow  his 
head  during  prayer.  I  entered  a 
home  to  pray  with  a  very  sick  man 
the  other  day;  the  household  was  in 
deep  distress;  his  life  was  very 
valuable  to  a  vast  community;  we 
knelt.  When  deep  seriousness  en- 
ters in,  we  bow  the  knee.  There  is 
a  place  for  stoicism  and  there  is  a 
place  for  reverence.  We  like  to 
hear  Henley  growl  in  magnificent 
self-possession  and  self-confidence, 
"My  head  is  bloody  but  unbowed," 
but  it  is  fearfully  pathetic  to  think 
of  a  man  blindly,  with  blood  in  his 
eyes,  battling  on  in  a  pit  "black  from 
pole  to  pole,"  particularly  when  he 
might  have  a  guide  and  a  light. 

Beginning  in  our  Sunday  Schools, 
yes,  farther  back,  in  our  homes,  rev- 
erence should  be  instilled :  reverence 
for  aged  people,  reverence  for  the 
word  of  God,  reverence  for  the 
hymns,  reverence  for  prayers.  There 
is  no  need  for  this  to  be  constrained 
or  superficial ;  it  should  be  a  part  of 
essential  good-breeding. 

Be  as  brave,  red-blooded,  upstand- 
ing as  you  may,  but  all  your  work 
is,  after  all,  done  under  God.  Some 
day  we  shall  learn  to  say  "Our 
Father."  Then  his  house,  his  book, 
his  sky,  his  marvelous  work  will 
have  our  natural,  simple,  sincere 
reverence.  Our  constant  attitude 
toward  him  will  be  that  of  quiet, 
loving  adoration. 


The    Larger    Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN  ■ 


Remember  the  Birthday 
of  Phillips  Brooks 

Phillips  Brooks  is  thought  hy  many 
to  have  been  the  greatest  preacher 
that  ever  graced  an  American  pulpit. 
His  birthday  is  coming  to  be  remem- 
bered in  Boston  churches  every  year. 
Not  only  does  old  Trinity  church,  of 
which  he  was  so  long  the  rector,  hold 
a  special  service,  but  there  are  also 
memorial  meetings  at  St.  Paul's  cathe- 
dral. This  year  in  the  cathedral 
service  there  were  many  clergymen 
present  and  there  was  an  eulogy  of 
the  great  preacher  by  the  Rev.  Fred- 
erick B.  Allen,  who  was  for  ten  years 
his  assistant.  The  great  preacher 
would  have  been  eighty-one  years  old 
if  he  had  lived. 

President  of  the  World's 
Sunday  Schools 

The  president  of  the  World's  Sun- 
day School  Association  is  the  Rt.  Hon. 
T.  F.  Ferens  of  Hull  England. 
Though  he  has  been  a  member  of  par- 
liament for  ten  years,  he  goes  home  at 
every  week  end  to  superintend  his 
own  local  school  in  Brunswick  Wes- 
leyan  Sunday  School,  which  now  has 
a  membership  of  2,500.  He  is  the 
chief  director  of  an  industrial  firm 
which  has  a  capital  of  ten  millions. 
He  is  known  for  his  loyalty  to  philan- 
thropic and  religious  work. 

Mennonities  Are 
Being  Persecuted 

The  hatreds  begotten  by  the  world 
war  are  responsible  for  the  persecu- 
tion of  people  in  the  name  of  religion. 
Russia  is  busy  rooting  everything 
German  out  of  their  country  and  the 
Mennonite  sect  which  is  of  German 
origin  is  being  compelled  to  sell  all 
their  land  to  the  Russian  government 
at  such  price  as  the  government  will 
pay.  It  is  probable  that  conditions 
will  be  so  intolerable  that  they  will 
emigrate  to  the  United  States  or  to 
Canada. 

Congregationalists  Active 
in  City  Missions 

The  Congregationalists  of  Chicago 
are  active  in  city  missions.  During 
the  past  year  they  have  encouraged 
seven  mission  churches  to  build  houses 
of  worship  which  cost  from  $12,000 
to  $35,000.  The  society  fosters  48 
mission  points  with  52  missionaries  in 
service.  The  income  of  the  society  is 
$45,000  for  the  past  year.  Dr.  R.  L. 
Breed  is  the  new  superintendent. 


Methodist  Reunion 
Still  Pending 

The  joint  commission  on  unification 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
South,  met  in  Baltimore  during  Christ- 
mas week  and  gave  a  careful  study 
to  the  problem  of  the  unification  of 
the  two  bodies.  They  found  that  the 
point  on  which  they  were  not  able  to 
agree  was  the  question  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  of  Negro  extraction.  Southern 
Methodists  do  not  wish  these  included 
in  the  reunited  church.  The  commis- 
sion finally  agreed  to  adjourn  until 
next  June,  when  further  study  will  be 
given  to  the  matters  at  issue.  A  call 
for  prayer  was  sent  out  by  the  leaders 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  that 
the  unification  might  be  affected. 

Boston 
Still  Wet 

Many  had  hoped  that  the  campaign 
of  Billy  Sunday  in  Boston  would 
have  the  same  effect  that  it  has  had  in 
other  cities  to  bring  a  majority  to  the 
dry  cause.  Instead  of  the  dry  vote 
being  larger  this  year,  it  fell  off  by 
a  thousand  votes.  The  Catholics  of 
Boston  have  not  been  in  agreement 
with  the  evangelist,  and  the  religious 
differences  in  the  community  are  said 
to  account  for  the  smaller  dry  vote. 

Episcopal  Clergyman 
Called  to  Cathedral 

The  Rev.  George  Craig  Stewart, 
rector  of  St.  Luke's  Protestant  Epis- 
copal church  of  Evanston,  111.,  has  re- 
ceived notice  of  his  election  as  dean 
of  the  Cathedral  of  the  Incarnation, 
Baltimore.  His  call  has  resulted  from 
his  pulpit  gifts  and  his  success  in 
financing  a  large  building  enterprise. 
He  would  be  expected  to  lead  in  the 
building  of  a  new  cathedral  in  Balti- 
more. He  is  now  in  the  east  inves- 
tigating the  call.  Last  summer  he  was 
elected  the  secretary  of  the  World 
Conference  on  Faith  and  Order,  but 
declined  the  position. 

Oldest  Congregational 
Church  in  America 

Each  denomination  has  its  cause  for 
local  pride  and  Congregationalists  are 
specially  rich  in  historical  feeling.  The 
Congregational  church  at  West  Barn- 
stable, Massachusetts,  recently  cele- 
brated its  three  hundredth  anniver- 
sary. In  England  there  is  a  church 
with  a  still  longer  continuous  exist- 


ence. The  Horningsham  church, 
Wiltshire,  England,  was  organized  in 
1566. 

Congregationalists  Work 
Among  Foreigners 

The  Home  missionary  operations  of 
the  Congregational  denomination  are 
taking  more  account  of  the  stranger 
within  the  gates.  This  denomination 
is  doing  some  significant  work  among 
the  Slavic  peoples  in  the  east.  Rev.  J. 
M.  Moya  has  been  appointed  Spanish- 
speaking  pastor  in  the  southwest  and 
he  works  among  the  Mexican  immi- 
grants. 

Theological  Differences 
in  England 

The  differences  between  the  vari- 
ous parties  in  the  English  church 
do  not  grow  less  with  the  years. 
In  a  book  recently  published  by  Dr. 
Gore,  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  there 
is  a  statement,  "Final  moral  ruin 
may  involve  such  a  dissolution  of 
personality  as  carries  with  it  the 
cessation  of  personal  conscious- 
ness." Dr.  Inge  has  called  this 
statement  "flatly  heretical,"  though 
he  admits  that  St.  Paul  may  have 
held  some  such  view.  The  Dean 
of  St.  Paul's  has  also  insisted  that 
the  bishop  is  a  heretic.  Inasmuch 
as  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  is  a  leader 
of  the  Catholic  movement  in  Eng- 
land, it  is  really  very  enjoyable  to 
some  to  find  him  championing 
views  that  differ  from  church  tra- 
dition in  any  important  matter. 

Church  Has  Its 
Own  Settlement 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Evanston  has  for  a  number  of 
years  conducted  a  settlement  called 
Christopher  House,  on  the  north 
side,  in  the  poorer  district  near 
Deering.  This  enterprise  has  added 
to  the  budget  of  the  Evanston  or- 
ganization about  $25,000  per  year. 
It  is  now  proposed  that  a  $75,000 
building  be  provided  for  this  grow- 
ing work. 


Federate  Against 
Profanity 


,. 


There  seems  to  be  a  kind  of  feder 
tion  against  profanity  in  Cincinnati  in 
which  Jews,  Catholics  and  Protestants 
are  participating.  The  Protestant 
Evangelical  Alliance  and  the  Hamil- 
ton County  Federation  of  Catholic  so- 
cieties have  been  actively  in  coopera- 


tion. 


V 


January  11,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


17 


I  Our  Readers'  Opinions 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiM 


HOW   MUCH   DO   DISCIPLES 
COUNT? 

Editor  The  Christian  Century. 

Your  article  in  the  "Century"  for  Decem- 
ber 28,  1916,  "How  Much  Do  the  Disciples 
rount?"  is  very  timely.  It  calls  attention 
o  one  of  the  most  interesting  delusions 
hat  has  obsessed  the  minds  of  many  Dis- 
iples  and  illustrates  one  of  the  easiest  er- 
ors  into  which  one  can  fall  and  with  the 
est  intentions. 

The  characteristic  error- in  the  Disciples' 
hinking  in  regard  to  their  place  in  the 
hurch  union  movement  is  beautifully  illus- 
rated  by  Mr.  Barnes'  letter.  As  you  state 
n  your  commentary  on  the  letters,  the  ar- 
gument of  the  Disciples  has  run  thus :  At 
he  time  of  the  Campbells,  union  was  ana- 
hema;  the  Campbells  wrought  for  union; 
t  the  present  time,  church  union  is  the 
lesideratum  of  all  forward  looking  leaders 
n  the  Protestant  world;  therefore,  the 
.ampbells  and  the  Disciples  have  been  the 
;reat  lever  by  which  the  change  has  been 
Fought.  This  particularistic  explanation 
f  the  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  Pro- 
estant  churches  ignores  the  fact  that  this 
Teat  movement  for  church  union  has  been 
^ue  to  great  fundamental  social  forces,  to 
he  reaction  of  the  social  nexus  in  which 
he  churches  have  their  living. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that  Disciples 
;ave  been,  and  still  are,  approaching  the 
latter  of  union  from  the  doctrinal  stand- 
oint  when  it  can  only  come  from  the  liv- 
ng  and  acting  standpoint.  We  have  mum- 
led  the  words  "union"  and  "unity,"  but 
re  have  never  lived  the  union  life  or  at- 
tempted to.  We  have  given  lip  service  to 
he  name  and  never  had  the  attitude  of 
:mon  in  the  practical  life  of  the  church 
ommunity  around  about  our  very  door- 
teps.  We  have  prayed  for  union  with  our 
ips,  but  refused  to  work  it  out  with  our 
ands  and  thus  realize  our  own  prayers. 
Ve  have  called  upon  others  to  leave  thei*- 
ectanan  paths  and  fulfill  the  prayer  of  the 
/Taster  for  unity  and  have  unconsciously 
emained  the  most  sectarian  of  all  bodies 
ti  our  local  communities.  There  is  serious 
langer  that,  with  our  zeal  for  doctrinal 
>recision  and  blind  adherence  to  the  ab- 
tract  concept  "union,"  by  failing  to  recog- 
nze  the  essential  necessity  of  the  prag- 
natic  approach  to  the  realization  of  our 
nd,  we  shall  become  an  obstacle  to  church 
inion  rather  than  the  fulfillment  of  our 
henshed  ideal.  Church  union  will  come 
-he  real  problem  for  the  Disciples  is 
whether  they  will  have  their  proper  part 
n  the  mediation  of  that  goal. 

Were  the  letters  cited  in  your  article  iso- 
ited  cases,  they  would  occasion  no  inter- 
st.  But  standing  as  they  do,  as  the  typi- 
al  expression  of  the  attitudes  of  the  Dis- 
iples  and  other  bodies  in  almost  every 
ommunity  where  a  Disciples  church  has 
>een  established,  they  are  cause  for  serious 
earching  of  hearts  on  the  part  of  the 
ormer.  The  interesting  thing  about  it  is, 
hat  our  leaders  live  and  die  in  these  vari- 
es communities  and  never  become  cog- 
uzant  of  the  fact  that  in  the  consciousness 
>i  the  other  religious  communions  of  the 
ity,  the  Disciples  are  a  denomination  and 
ealously  sectarian.  The  degree  of  this 
eeling  on  the  part  of  the  other  communions 
s  proportional  to  the  amount  of  time  spent 
n  doctrinal  correctness  among  the  Dis- 
lples.  The  thing  that  constitutes  a  de- 
lomination  is  not  the  name  or  the  particular 
odification  of  articles  of  faith,  whether 
vntten  or  not,  but  the  fact  that  a  group 
exists    which    is    acting    essentially    differ- 


ent, which  is  conscious  of  the  fact  that  it 
exists  and,  above  all,  that  all  outsiders  are 
likewise  conscious  that  such  group  exists. 
The  unwillingness  or  the  inability  of  the 
Disciples  to  grasp  this  simple  truth  is  pro- 
vocative of  all  kinds  of  false  conceptions, 
not  the  least  amazing  of  which  is  our  easy 
assumption  of  an  unwarranted  estimation 
of  our  part  in  the  development  of  the  Chris- 
tian union  movement.  The  attitudes  of  the 
Disciples  and  of  their  co-religionists  in  the 
numerous  communities  of  the  nation  con- 
firm the  position  you  have  taken  in  the 
article  mentioned  above. 

Walter  B.   Bodenhafer. 
University  of  Kansas. 


"WHY  BE  OFFENDED?" 

Editor  The  Christian  Century: 

In  one  of  our  journals  there  appeared 
recently  an  editorial  under  the  caption, 
"Ought  We  to  Be  Offended?"  It  was 
based  upon  another  editorial  published 
in  a  popular  magazine.  The  magazine 
article  commented  on  the  size,  growth 
and  prominence  of  some  of  the  master 
religious  bodies  of  the  day.  Though  no 
such  intention  was  in  the  mind  of  its  au- 
thor, it  was  an  unpleasant  pronounce- 
ment for  some  Disciples. 

The  original  editorial  states: 

"The  numerousness  of  the  Disciples 
of  Christ  is  astonishing.  If  a  European 
should  read  American  books 
and  newspapers  he  would  almost  cer- 
tainly conclude  that  there  were  ten  times 
as  many  Episcopalians  as  Disciples 
among  us.  Yet  the  Disciples  outnumber 
the  Episcopalians  by  almost  50  per  cent. 

"The  Christian  Scientists  get  enor- 
mous attention  .  .  .  yet  their  last 
statement  of  membership  was  only  85,- 
000." 

Over  against  that  number  stand  the 
Disciples  with  a  membership  of  1,522,- 
000 — almost  eighteen  times  as  large,  yet 
as  compared  with  the  disciples  of  Mrs. 
Eddy,  we  are  obscure. 

It  does  not  impress  me  that  we  should 
vent  our  energy  in  spleen.  For  every 
condition  there  are  reasons.  To  be 
more  widely  known,  to  enjoy  a  wider 
publicity,  is  in  every  way  desirable.  It 
is  our  job  to  seek  out  the  reasons  for 
our  obscurity  and  correct  them. 

It  appeals  to  me  that  there  are  sev- 
eral reasons  for  our  undesirable  situa- 
tion, but  only  two  or  three  may  be  men- 
tioned in  the  limits   of  this  article. 

Among  the  causes  contributing  to  our 
obscurity,  I  would  mention  first  our  fail- 
ure to  dedicate  our  cash  to  our  Cause. 

A  good  brother  once  upbraided  me 
for  not  assailing  the  Christian  Scientists 
with  a  series  of  addresses.  I  satisfied 
his  soul  with  fatness  by  saying,  "I  sup- 
pose you  know  that  no  church  of  this 
people  ever  has  a  financial  problem?" 

In  the  light  of  the  fact  that  my  good 
man's  donations  to  his  Lord  amounted 
to  about  $50  the  year,  and  his  contribu- 
tions to  the  American  Tobacco  Com- 
pany to  some  $4  a  week,  his  zeal  for  an 
antagonistic  propaganda  waned. 

A  good  many  of  our  people  have  a 
profound  enthusiasm  for  the  "pure  Gos- 
pel" and  the  "plea  of  the  fathers,"  so 
long  as  the  cost  to  them  is  moderate, 
very  moderate.  Favorable  public  sen- 
timent can  never  be  builded  upon  cheap- 


Thc  penurious  person  never  ha--, 
back  of  him  a  wide  circle  of  helpful 
friends.  A  doctrinal  revival  is  no' 
much  needed  by  our  people  as  is  the 
emphasis  of  the  principle  that  paying  is 
as  vitally  religious  as  praying,  and  that 
no  generosity  in  creedal  statement  can 
take  the  place  of  a  generous  heart. 
*     *     * 

Another  condition  contributing  to  our 
obscurity  is  the  fact  that,  too  generally, 
in  our  teachings  we  are  emphasizing 
contentions  which  are  doctrinally  un- 
important and  socially  insignificant.  We 
too  much  stress  abstract  dogmas  and  too 
little  insist  upon  concrete  demonstration 
of  the  indwelling  of  our  Lord.  We  need 
a  baptism  of  the  consciousness  of  the 
largeness  of  our  God.  Let  a  man  once 
spread  the  wings  of  his  thought  and 
beat  his  way,  say,  to  the  unthinkable 
outposts  of  mighty  Canopus,  and  he 
can  never  again  be  so  sure  that  he  voices 
the  edicts  of  Jehovah  when  he  contends 
for  the  sanctity  of  certain  rites  and 
forms,  which  by  the  side  of  justice, 
equity  and  fraternity  are  very,  very 
small.  I  am  more  and  more  convinced 
that  the  Lord  of  the  Field  of  Stars 
doesn't  care  very  much  about  a  good 
many  of  the  things  we  grow  passing 
feverish  and  fretful  over.  So  long  as 
we  magnify  a  method  or  until  they 
hide  the  ranges  of  spirit,  we  are  in  a 
bad  state.  The  priests  of  Israel  did 
that,  and  cast  the  prophets  forth,  but 
who  remembers  the  priests?  Those  who 
put  the  emphasis  upon  trifles  must  ex- 
pect the  trifler's  reward. 

Not  the  least  of  the  ills  growing  out 
of  the  matter  I  have  just  been  consid- 
ering, and  another  element  contributing 
to  our  obscurity,  are  a  pettifogging  au- 
thorship and  pulpiteering.  Some  of  the 
brethren  have  complained  that  the  "de- 
nominations" have  discriminated  against 
our  literature  (note  the  "literature"). 
Not  until  recent  years  have  we  been  pro- 
ducing a  literature  which  was,  with  few 
exceptions,  other  than  a  sect  propa- 
ganda. Of  course,  I  know  we  are  not 
a  sect,  but  there  remains  the  "litera- 
ture." 

We  have,  through  pulpit  and  press, 
been  concerning  ourselves  with  issues 
which  were  not  commanding,  and  in 
which  the  Christian  world  was  but  pas- 
sively interested,  if  interested  at  all. 
As  a  demonstration  of  this  conten- 
tion, the  name  of  one  man  among 
us  stands  out.  He  has  been  con- 
tending for  an  issue  which  was  com- 
manding. He  has  constructively  stood 
for  a  program  tending  to  practical 
unity.  It  begins  to  appear  that  he  may 
be  one  of  the  prophets  of  this  genera- 
tion. At  an}-  rate,  his  work  has  placed 
the  Disciples  in  the  light  of  a  favorable 
attention  wherever  he  has  gone.  He  is 
not  the  only  one  among  us  who  is  con- 
tributing something  to  the  larger  serv- 
ice, but  he  stands  as  a  striking  illus- 
tration of  my  contention. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  widest  door 
to  popular  knowledge  and  approval 
stands  before  us  in  the  form  of  an  in- 
tense, sane  emphasis  upon  that  which 
is  really  the  plea  of  the  Disciples — the 
unifying  of  the  forces  of  God  on  the 
basis  of  a  dynamic  faith  is  the  abiding 
Christ. 

Wabash,  Ind.  Frank  E.  Jaynes. 


D.  O.  Cunningham,  Bilasput,  India, 
reports  five  baptisms.  He  attended  the 
convention  of  the  Indian  churches  at 
Jubbulpore  and  audited  the  books  of  the 
mission  treasurer. 

In  Kashgac.  Chinese  Turkestan,  any 
person  so  wishing  can  secure  a  divorce 
at  a   cost  of  eight  cents. 


18 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


January  11,  1917 


§■ 


kibmiiiim^ 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


m 


■ira™^ 


Five-Year  Program  at 
Beatrice,    Neb. 

C.  F.  Stevens  is  the  leader  at  First 
church,  Beatrice.  Xeb.,  and  he  has  set 
a  high  goal  for  the  attainment  of  his 
people  during  the  years  1917-1922.  The 
following  are  features  of  this  five-year 
aim:  Five  volunteers,  50  per  cent  mem- 
bership increase,  50  per  cent  attendance 
increase.  50  per  cent  increase  in  current 
expense  offerings,  50  per  cent  increase 
in  missionary  offerings;  prayer  meeting 
attendance  of  100  average,  choir  of  fifty 
regular  members,  provision  of  adequate 
Sunday  schol  room.  Aims  for  Sunday 
school:  Fifty  per  cent  increase  in  aver- 
age attendance,  fifty  trained  teachers. 
C.  \Y.  B.  M.  aims:  Fifty  per  cent  mem- 
bership increase;  the  missionary,  Dr. 
Longdon  to  be  paid  salary  in  full.  Aims  of 
Dr.  Longdon  Circle:  Fifty  per  cent  mem- 
bership increase ;  $150  for  Dr.  Longdon 
Hospital.  Christian  Endeavor  aims:  One 
hundred,  at  least,  average  attendance. 
Intermediates:  Fifty  per  cent  member- 
ship increase;  provide  support  of  orphan. 
Ladies'  Aid  Society  aims:  Three  hun- 
dred active  members;  increased  income 
to  $1,000  per  year.  Triangle  aims:  Fifty 
per  cent  membership  increase;  average 
$1  per  member  for  missions.  First 
church  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  state. 

J.   E.   Davis   Goes  to 
Kansas  City  Field 

J.  E.  Davis  has  served  Central  church, 
Spokane,  Wash.,  for  five  years  and  dur- 
ing that  period  there  have  been  700  per- 
sons added  to  the  membership,  the  pres- 
ent membership  being  over  a  thousand. 
Mr.  Davis  has  been  a  useful  man  in 
many  fields  outside  of  the  church,  hav- 
ing served  as  president  <3f  the  Research 
club  and  of  the  Spokane  Ministerial  As- 
sociation; as  Regent  of  Spokane  Univer- 
sity for  three  years ;  as  president  of  the  In- 
land Empire  Christian  Missionary  Society 
for  four  years,  and  last  spring  he  acted  as 
chairman  of  the  union  revival  meetings 
held  in  Spokane.  Previous  to  his  leav- 
ing for  Kansas  City  the  official  board 
at  Spokane  informed  Mr.  Davis  that 
they  would  increase  his  salary  to  $3,000 
if  he  would  remain  with  them,  but  he 
finds  a  great  opportunity  at  Kansas  City, 
which  he  does  not  feel  justified  in  turn- 
ing away  from.  The  First  church  there, 
to  which  Mr.  Davis  goes,  has  the  begin- 
ning of  an  endowment,  having  had  $25,- 
000  left  to  it  by  one  of  its  members  a 
few  years  ago.  R.  A.  Long  has  made 
an  offer  to  give  one-fourth  of  whatever 
sum  may  be  necessary  to  complete  the 
new  building  and  it  seems  certain  that 
this  goal  can  be  attained  very  soon. 
First  church  has  had  but  two  pastors 
during  its  history  of  thirty-five  years — 
T.  P.  Haley  and  W.  F.  Richardson. 
Dr.  Richardson  has  been  greatly  inter- 
ested in  Mr.  Davis  coming  to  succeed 
him. 

Endeavorers    With   a 
Missionary  Program 

The  Intermediate  Christian  Endeavor 
Society  at  Tulsa,  Okla.,  will  support 
Elonga-eola  and  Bofaci  in  Africa  at  $50 
each.  Five  societies  have  now  reached 
the  "double  life  line"  standard  in  the 
Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society. 
The  society  at  Beaver  Creek,  Md.,  has 
become  a  "double  life  line"  in  the  For- 
eign Society  by  pledging  $100  on  the 
support    of   their    living-link    missionary. 


It  also  expects  to  observe  Endeavor 
Daj',  having  a  part  in  the  Damoh  or- 
phanage  work. 

An  Educational   Campaign 
at  Mitchellville,  Iowa 

W.  B.  Zimmerman,  who  is  attending 
Drake,  but  who  also  preaches  at  Mitch- 
ellville. Iowa,  writes  that  his  people 
there  have  been  in  an  educational  re- 
vival. The  plan  was  to  put  the  church 
on  a  firm  financial  basis,  with  duplex 
system  for  current  expenses  and  mis- 
sions, and  to  stress  the  ideals  of  mod- 
ern religious  education.  No  emphasis 
was  placed  upon  increasing  the  church 
membership.  However,  Mr.  Zimmerman 
reports  that  twelve  persons  came  for- 
ward for  membership  on  the  first  two 
days  of  invitation.  There  has  been  a 
fine  representation  in  the  audiences  from 
the  other  three  churches  of  the  com- 
munity. Mr.  Zimmerman  preached  and 
Byrl  Babcock,  a  ministerial  student  of 
Drake,  led  the  singing. 

Endeavor  Day — 
Remember! 

Never  before  has  there  been  such  a 
keen  interest  in  the  observance  of  En- 
deavor Day,  the  last  Sunday  in  Janu-^ 
ary.  The  exercise,  "Life  Lines  Across 
the  Seas,"  furnished  by  the  Foreign 
Christian  Missionary  Society,  is  both_  in- 
teresting and  instructive.  Every  society 
should  order  programs  at  once  from  S. 
J.  Corey,  Box  884,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and 
make  the  day  one  long  to  be  remem- 
bered. Supplies  are  sent  free  to  all 
societies  taking  an  offering  for  the  work 
of  the   Foreign   Society. 

New   York's    1917 
Convention 

Arrangements  for  the  New  York  State 
Convention,  early  in  May,  are  already 
getting  under  way.  The  three  churches 
in  the  Tonawandas  will  be  hosts  and 
the  Tabernacle  church,  North  Tona- 
wanda,  George  H.  Brown,  minister,  will 
be  headquarters.  A  local  committee,  un- 
der the  chairmanship  of  Edward  W. 
Messing,  of  the  Payne  Avenue  church, 
has  charge  of  the  work  of  preparation 
and  everything  points  to  the  greatest 
convention  in  the  State's  history. 

Vincennes,   Ind.,    Church   Has 
Clear  Record 

"Freedom  From  Debt  in  1916"  was  the 
slogan  of  First  church  congregation  at 
Vincennes,  Ind.,  toward  a  debt  of  seven 
years'  standing;  and  the  aim  was  real- 
ized, for  the  debt  treasurer  paid  during 
the  year  a  total  of  $6,552.18  in  principal 
and  interest  and  had  the  pleasure  of 
turning  over  to  the  church  treasurer  a 
surplus  of  $289.80.  The  total  expendi- 
tures of  the  year  were  $12,077.41  and  all 
departments  closed  the  year  with  obliga- 
tions met  and  money  in  their  treasuries. 
Total  benevolences  of  $1,414.23  are  re- 
ported. The  C.  W.  B.  M.,  with  a  mem- 
bership of  100,  expended  $557.09,  the 
Girls'  Missionary  Circle,  $165.  The  Sun- 
day school,  under  the  efficient  leader- 
ship of  C.  B.  Kessinger,  is  at  top  notch; 
there  are  five  departments  thoroughly 
graded,  each  having  its  own  piano  and 
quarters.  Forty-seven  teachers  and  offi- 
cers are  at  work.  The  Dorcas  and  La- 
dies' Aid  societies,  respectively,  report 
expenditures  of  $444.97  and  $382.95.  The 
Christian    Endeavorers    devoted    $25    to 


benevolences.  During  the  year  forty- 
four  persons  were  added  to  the  church 
membership.  On  last  Sunday  W.  T. 
Brooks  and  Frank  McDonald  began 
evangelistic  services  at  the  Vincennes 
church.  E.  F.  Daugherty  deserves  great 
credit  for  the  present  excellent  condi- 
tion of  this  church,  with  all  its  de- 
partments. 

H.  H.  Harmon  Preaches  for 
German  Endeavorers 

H.  H.  Harmon  of  First  church,  Lincoln, 
Neb.,  delivered  the  Christmas  sermon  to 
the  Christian  Endeavor  Society  of  the 
German  Zion  Congregational  church  of 
Lincoln's  west  side  on  the  afternoon  of 
December  24,  and  the  pastor  of  that 
church  used  Mr.  Harmon's  talk,  slightly 
changed,  as  his  sermon  on  Christmas 
Day. 

Movies  at  First  Church, 
Ionia,  Mich. 

First  church,  Ionia,  Mich.,  has  been 
equipped  with  a  fine  moving  picture  out- 
fit, the  gift  to  the  church  and  Sunday 
school  of  one  of  its  members.  It  will  be 
the  aim  of  the  board,  under  whose  control 
this  feature  will  be  conducted,  to  exhibit 
pictures  not  primarily  for  entertainment, 
but  with  an  educational  purpose.  R.  B. 
Chapman,  the  pastor  at  Ionia,  believes  the 
picture  machine  can  be  made  a  means  of 
genuine  religious  education. 

New  St  Joseph,  Mo.,  Church 
Will  Cost  $100,000 

The  contract  has  been  awarded  for  the 
erection  of  the  new  First  church  building, 
St.  Joseph,  Mo.  The  bid  was  for  $72,000, 
but  it  is  estimated  that  the  building  com- 
plete, with  furnishings,  will  cost  about 
$100,000.  The  style  of  architecture  will  be 
that  of  the  Italian  renaissance,  of  gray 
brick  with  stone  trimmings.  The  edifice 
will  have  the  largest  seating  capacity  of 
all  the  city's  churches — about  850  being 
the  number  of  persons  accommodated. 
This  brings  into  realization  a  long-time 
dream  of  the  pastor  of  this  church,  C.  M. 
Chilton. 

E.  L.  Powell  Talks  to 
Railroad  Men 

Railroad  men  of  Louisville  Ky.,  heard 
E.  L.  Powell  at  First  church,  Louis- 
ville, on  the  evening  of  December  31. 
The  Powell-Posten  Bible  Class  commit- 
tee was  in  charge  of  the  event.  Dr. 
Powell  gave  before  the  assembled  hun- 
dreds of  railroad  men  an  exposition  of 
the  development  of  the  great  railroad 
industry  in  this  and  other  countries  and 
of  its  bearings  on  the  moral  develop- 
ment of  the  human  race. 

Pulpit   Changes   in 
New  York  Churches 

Several  pulpit  changes  mark  the  open- 
ing of  the  new  year  in  Disciples  churches 
of  New  York.  R.  H.  Sawtelle,  late  of 
Scio,  goes  to  Postenkill.  A.  R.  Adams 
of  the  Decatur  Street  church,  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  is  spending  two  months  with  the 
Forest  Avenue  church,  Buffalo,  with  a 
view  to  the  permanent  ministry  there. 
W.  H.  Leonard  comes  from  Bridgeburg, 
Ontario,  to  Woodlawn,  Buffalo.  Mr. 
Leonard  has  done  a  notable  work  put- 
ting mission  congregations  in  Buffalo 
and  vicinity  on  their  feet  and  he  will 
find  a  fine  opportunity  awaiting  him  at 
Woodlawn. 

Miss  Kate  Johnson 

at   North  Tonawanda,  N.  Y. 

Payne  Avenue  church,  North  Tona- 
wanda, N.  Y.,  is  enjoying  the  fellowship 
for    an    extended    period    of    Mis9    Kate 


January  11,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


19 


Johnson,  for  so  many  years  one  of  the 
Disciple  missionaries  in  Tokio.  Miss 
Johnson  is  under  treatment,  which  will 
keep  her  in  the  community  for  several 
months,  and  the  local  church  people  are 
profiting   accordingly. 

Beaver,  Pa.,  Cuts  Slice 
Off   Big   Mortgage 

Chas.  H.  Bloom  and  the  church  at 
Beaver,  Pa..  Iroquois  place,  start  off  the 
new  year  with  good  cheer.  One  of  the 
features  of  last  year's  work  was  the  cut- 
ting off  of  a  good  slice  from  a  big  mort- 
gage which  has  been  burdening  the 
work.  The  membership  at  Beaver  is 
only  186,  but  all  apportionments  were 
paid  in  full,  some  of  them  overpaid.  The 
congregation  is  not  a  wealthy  one. 
Forty-one  additions  to  the  membership 
are  reported. 

Huntington,  Ind.,  Church 
Cultivates  Spirituality 

Elmer  Ward  Cole  of  the  church  at 
Huntington.  Ind.,  writes  that  the  church 
there  is  working  to  cultivate  spirituality 
rather  than  mushroom  enthusiasm. 
With  this  in  mind,  A.  B.  Philputt  of  In- 
dianapolis has  been  asked  to  hold  a 
meeting  for  the  church  this  winter,  and 
I.  J.  Spencer,  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  has 
also  been  secured  for  next  year's  meet- 
ing. Mr.  Cole  will  soon  have  completed 
his  ninth  year  as  pastor  at  Huntington. 
During  the  past  year  he  has  preached 
105  sermons,  made  35  special  addresses, 
given  two  lectures,  made  11  after-dinner 
speeches,  preached  43  funeral  sermons, 
performed  55  wedding  ceremonies,  and 
has  made  919  calls.  A  total  of  $10,030.63 
has  been  raised  in  all  departments  of 
the  church  work,  about  half  of  this  go- 
ing toward  the  current  expense  fund. 
Over  $700  has  been  given  to  missions 
and  benevolences.  The  Sunday  school 
raised  $2,534.85,  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society 
$1,278.32,  and  other  societies  have  done 
full}'   as   well. 

An  Expert  Money 
Raiser 

George  L.  Snively  has  aided  in  raising 
oyer  three  millions  of  dollars  for  the 
Disciple  churches  during  his  career. 
During  the  last  five  years  he  has  raised 
over  two  millions.  It  is  estimated  that 
none  of  the  Methodist  Bishops  has  suc- 
ceeded in  raising  so  much  within  the 
same  time.  During  1916  over  half  a  mil- 
lion was  raised  by  Mr.  Snively  and  421 
persons  were  added  to  the  churches 
through  his  ministry. 


Illinois  Preachers  Will 
Study  Christian  Unity 

The  Committee  on  Theme  and  Read- 
ing for  the  1914  session  of  the  Northern 
Illinois  Ministerial  Institute  (at  Clinton 
next  April),  of  which  committee  S.  H. 
Zendt  is  chairman,  has  reported  in  favor 
of  "Christian  Unity"  as  the  theme  of 
study.  The  recommended  bibliography 
is:  White's  "Principles  of  Christian 
Union,"  Harnack's  "Thoughts  on  the 
Present  Position."  For  those  desiring 
further  reading,  these  books  are  also  sug- 
gested:    Van  Dyke's  "Christian  Union," 


Forrester^     "Historic    Episcopate,"    and 
McFarland's  "Christian  Union  at  Work." 

Marshalltown,  la.,  Raises 
$1,200  for  Missions 

W.  M.  Baker,  who  leads  at  Marshall- 
town,  la.,  reports  that  the  congregation 
there  raised  more  than  $1,200  last  year 
for  missions  and  benevolences.  On  C. 
\Y.  B.  M.  day  $727.68  was  raised  in  cash 
and  pledges.  Most  of  this  amount  goes 
to  support  the  living  link  missionary  of 
the  church,  Miss  Myrtle  Furman,  now 
located   in    Bilaspur,    Ind.     For   all   pur- 


Sunday  School  Superintendent  for 
Forty-Two  Years 


The  Sunday  school  of  the  Christian 
chureh  in  the  little  town  of  Nicholas- 
ville,  Ky..  mourns  the  loss  of  a  super- 
intendent who,  for  forty-two  years,  was 
the  leader  of  the  school  in  every  sense 
of  the  word.  On  December  18,  1916. 
Benjamin  M.  Arnett,  known  and  loved 
of  the  brotherhood  all  over  the  state, 
ceased   his   earthly  labors. 

In  1875,  at  the  age  of  27  years,  Mr. 
Arnett  was  elected  superintendent  of 
the  school  and  an  elder  in  the  church. 
Each  succeeding  year  he  was  re-elected, 
no  other  person  being  even  considered 
for  the  position.  At  9  o'clock  every 
Lord's  day  morning,  unless  he  was  ill— 
or  unavoidably  absent  from  home,  he 
wended  his  way  to  the  house  of  wor- 
ship and  opened  the  school  promptly  at 
9:30,  no  matter  how  few  persons  were 
present.  Although  a  man  of  versatile 
talents,  an  orator  of  more  than  local  rep- 
utation, a  successful  business  man,  a 
leader  in  fraternal  organizations,  a  man 
honored  with  political  offices,  his  first 
thought  was  of  the  Sunday  school  and 
the  church,  and  he  never  forgot  the 
widow  and  orphan.  One  of  his  last  acts 
as  superintendent  was  to  appoint  the 
committees  to  assist  in  preparing  the 
Christmas  entertainment,  and  it  was  his 
great  desire  to  be  present  and  witness 
the   children's   happiness. 

Besides  his  service  as  superintendent, 
elder  and  trustee  in  the  local  church,  he 
was  for  a  number  of  years  a  trustee  of 
the  College  of  the  Bible  at  Lexington: 
he  served  as  president  of  the  Ninth  Dis- 
trict Bible  School  Association  and  of 
the  county  association,  and  for  one  year 
was  president  of  the  Christian  Church 
State  Bible  School  Association,  being 
one    of   two    laymen   to    hold    that   posi- 


tion since  1848.  Wherever  there  was 
work  to  be  done  for  the  Sunday  school 
in  the  community  or  any  work  for  the 
upbuilding  of  the  town  he  was  present 
for   service. 

As  a  member  of  the  Independent  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows  Mr.  Arnett  had  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  highest  honors 
within  the  gift  of  the  grand  lodge  of 
Kentucky.  After  serving  as  grand  mas- 
ter during  the  term  of  1903  and  1904, 
he  was  subsequently  elected  grand  rep- 
resentative to  the  sovereign  grand  lodge, 
which  office  he  held  until  1915,  when  ill 
health  forced  him  to  resign.  Always 
a  friend  to  the  widow  and  orphan,  he 
was,  for  a  number  of  years,  a  director 
of  the  Widows'  and  Orphans'  Home  of 
the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  president  of  the 
board  of  control.  He  was  also  a  Mason 
of  high  degree  and  a  Knight  of  Pythias. 

When  Mr.  Arnett  first  became  ill. 
nearly  five  years  ago.  and  had  to  be 
removed  to  a  hospital  for  treatment,  his 
thoughts  were  not  of  his  work  as  cash- 
ier of  a  bank,  which  he  was  leaving  to 
other  hands,  but  his  interests  centered 
in  the  church  and  Sunday  school;  for 
death,  a  short  time  before,  had  entered 
the  ranks  and  called  away  an  elder  and 
assistant  superintendent,  whose  place 
had  to  be  filled. 

Although  a  sufferer  for  so  long,  he 
was  in  his  place  on  Sunday  morning, 
often  when  he  should  have  remained 
quietly  at  home,  directing  when  he  could 
not  do  the  work  himself.  But  the  school 
moved  with  a  greater  vim  when  he  was 
there,  for  his  presence  was  an  inspira- 
tion  to   teacher  and  pupil   alike. 

Mr.  Arnett  was  a  wise  counselor,  a 
faithful  superintendent,  an  efficient  elder 
and   leader,   a   true  and  tried   friend. 


MAKE 


CHRISTIAN    EDUCATION 
MAJOR   INTEREST 

Send    Your   Children   to   a   Christian   College 
Place  Education    on  Your  Missionary  Budget 


A 


EDUCATION  DAY,  JANUARY  21,  1917 


BOARD   OF   EDUCATION  OF  THE   DISCIPLES   OF   CHRIST 
70  LAYMAN  AVENUE         ::  INDIANAPOLIS,  IND 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


January  11,  1917 


poses  $8,760  was  raised.  There  were 
lifty-five  additions  to  the  membership, 
which  now  totals  1,136. 

Salina.  Kansas,  Gets 
New  Pastor 

J.  C.  McArthur,  a  leading  layman  of 
the  Salina,  Kan.,  church,  writes  that 
Arthur  Dillinger,  of  Altoona,  la.,  has 
been  called  to  the  work  there,  to  begin 
service  February  1.  The  "Wallace 
Farmer,"  well-known  publication  of  Des 
Moines,  recently  printed  an  extensive 
write-up  of  Mr.  Dillinger  and  his  work 
at  Altoona. 

C.  L.  Waite  Reports  Missionary  Church 
at  Colorado  Springs 

Claire  L.  'Waite,  who  went  to  Central 
church.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.,  last 
May.  reports  that  the  3^ear  closed  with 
the  largest  missionary  offerings  in  the 
history  of  the  church.  There  is  also  a 
balance  in  treasury.  There  have  been  66 
additions  to  the  membership  since  Mr. 
Waite's   coming. 

Editor  Morrison  at 
Springfield,  111. 

C.  C.  Morrison  of  The  Christian  Cen- 
tury, opened  Educational  Week  at 
Springfield,  111.,  on  last  Sunday  morning, 
speaking  on  "The  Continent  of  Oppor- 
tunity— South  America."  On  Monday 
he  had  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  the 
ceremonies  attendant  upon  the  inaugura- 
tion of  Governor  Lowden. 

Dedication  at 
Payette,    Ida. 

J.  K.  Ballou  writes  that  the  new  house 
of  worship  at  Payette,  Ida.,  was*  suc- 
cessfully dedicated  on  December  31, 
$8,000  being  raised  to  complete  the  pay- 
ments. Before  the  dedication  services 
$10,000  had  been  raised.  C.  H.  Richards 
is  now  holding  a  meeting  for  Mr.  Bal- 
lou, and  the   Payette  church. 

Fowler,  Cal.,  Pastor  Aided 
in  Keeping  His  Dates 

It  is  no  reflection  upon  H.  N.  McKee, 
pastor  at  Fowler,  Cal.,  that  the  congre- 
gation there  presented  him  on  Christ- 
mas with  a  handsome  gold  watch.  At 
any  rate,  Mr.  Fowler  is  very  proud  of 
it.  A  White  Gifts  Christmas  was  ob- 
served at  Fowler,  and  a  good  offering 
taken  for  the  Veterans  of  the  Cross. 

P.  A.  Cave  Goes  to 
Washington,  D.   C. 

P.  A.  Cave,  after  seven  years  of  serv- 
ice as  pastor  at  Bowling  Green,  Va.,  has 
accepted  a  call  to  H.  Street  church, 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  entered  upon  his 
duties  there  Dec.  31.  During  Mr.  Cave's 
pastorate  at  Bowling  Green,  he  made 
his  influence  felt  not  only  within  his 
congregation,  but  throughout  the  entire 
community. 

S.  T.  Willis  Speaks  at 
Waukegan,  111. 

S.  T.  Willis  of  St.  Paul,  who  with  Mrs. 
Willis  and  daughter,  has  been  visiting 
his  son,  Paul,  secretary  of  the  Wauke- 
gan Commercial  Association  at  Wauke- 
gan, 111.,  delivered  an  earnest  message 
at  the  church  there  on  December  31, 
writes  W.  C.  Macdougall,  pastor. 

Simultaneous  Campaign  at 
Indianapolis 

The  Church  Federation  of  Indianapo- 
lis, Ind.,  begins  a  simultaneous  evangel- 
istic campaign  on  January  14,  with  110 
churches  participating.  There  will  be 
two  large   meetings  held  nightly  in  the 


downtown  district.  One  of  these  will 
be  held  in  the  Roberts  Park  M.  E. 
church,  one  of  the  largest  in  the  city. 
Miss  Elinor  Stafford  Miller  of  Austra- 
lia, and  W.  E.  M.  Hacklemen  will  sing. 

O.  F.  Jordan  Receives  Deserved 
Appreciation 

Appreciation  of  the  ability  and  faith- 
fulness of  Orvis  F.  Jordan,  pastor  at 
Evanston,  111.,  is  being  shown  in  many 
ways  in  these  days.  Mr.  Jordan  is  fre- 
quently called  on  for  addresses  in  Chi- 
cago and  elsewhere.  On  last  Tuesday 
evening  he  delivered  an  address  at 
Springfield,  111.,  during  "Educational 
Week"  at  First  church,  on  "Lights  and 
Shadows  of  a  Great  City."  He  has  al- 
ready been  secured  for  addresses  at 
Bethany  Park,  Ind.,  for  next  summer. 
Mr.  Jordan  is  also  popular  as  a  speaker 
for  his  lodge,  the  Masons,  being  called 
upon  to  speak  in  various  gatherings  out 
over  the  country.  The  congregation 
which  Mr.  Jordan  has  served  so  faith- 
fully for  many  years — at  Evanston,  111. 
— is  quite  aware  of  its  pastor's  worth, 
having  recently  granted  him  an  increase 
of  salary  of  $300. 

$"    '£  -    $ 

— After  seven  years  of  profitable  work 
at  Okmulgee,  Okla.,  First  church,  R.  W. 
Clymer  will  close  his  work  there  on 
April  1.  Mr.  Clymer  writes  that  these 
have   been   strenuous   years. 


iipiiiunnif  A  Church  Home  for  You. 

NFW  YIIRK  Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
ill.  ii  i  u  1 1 1\  142  Wegt  81gt  stj  N>  Y 


HIRAM   COLLEGE  ITEMS 

On  January  1  Mr.  A.  C.  Young  began 
his  duties  as  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  college.  Mr.  Young  is  a  graduate 
of  Hiram  of  the  class  of  1906,  and  for 
the  last  four  years  has  been  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Western  Pennsylvania  Mis- 
sionary Society  and  pastor  of  the 
Squirrel  Hill  Christian  church  of  Pitts- 
burgh. Mr.  Young  is  known  to  his 
many  friends  as  a  man  of  fine  Christian 
character  and  good  executive  ability  and 
should  prove  a  valuable  addition  to  our 
office  staff. 

On  account  of  the  illness  of  Miss  J. 
Tudor,  Miss  May  Eunice  Park  of  North- 
western University  and  Chicago  Univer- 
sity Graduate  School  has  been  called  to 
assist  in  the  Department  of  English. 
The  latest  addition  to  our  faculty,  how- 
ever, is  Richard  Frederick  Stauffer,  who 
made  his  appearance  on  December  20th 
at  the  happy  home  of  Professor  and 
Mrs.  Vernon  Stauffer.  Mother  and  son 
are  both  doing  well. 

During  the  month  of  January  special 
emphasis  is  being  placed  upon  the  de- 
votional life  both  of  the  people  of  the 
community  and  of  the  students  of  the 
college.  Sectional  prayer  meetings  are 
being  held  in  the  town  and  the  dormi- 
tories and  boarding  clubs.  The  Book  of 
Acts  is  also  being  read  in  the  family  de- 
votions. These  special  efforts  have  al- 
ready been  a  great  blessing  to  our 
church  and  college  life. 

G.  S.  Bennett. 


TRANSYLVANIA    AND    THE    COL- 
LEGE  OF  THE  BIBLE 

During  the  Christmas  holidays  a  num- 
ber of  the  members  of  the  faculty  at- 
tended important  meetings  throughout 
the  country.  Prof.  R.  E.  Monroe  was  in 
Chicago  in  a  meeting  of  the  American 
Association  of  Modern  Languages,  Dean 
Irene  T.  Myers  attended  a  meeting  of 
the   American    Historical    Association   in 


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January  11,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


21 


Cincinnati,  and  President  Crossfield  at- 
tended meetings  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittees of  the  Men  and  Millions  Move- 
ment and  the  General  Convention  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  St.  Louis.  Dean 
H.  L.  Calhoun  has  been  in  i  Haverhill, 
Mass.,  holding  a  meeting  during  the  holi- 
day season,  while  Dean  McCartney  has 
spent  the  time  in  Mississippi  with 
friends. 

The  National  Inter-collegiate  Prohibi- 
tion Convention,  held  in  Lexington  dur- 
ing the  holidays,  brought  to  the  college 
community  one  of  the  great  privileges 
of  the  year.  Charles  Stelzle,  Senator 
Kenyon,  Pres.  Earl  Sparks,  Dr.  Ira 
Landreth,  George  Irving,  Daniel  Poling, 
W.  J.  Bryan  and  others  brought  great 
messages  to  the  convention.  Many  of 
the  rooms  in  Ewing  Hall  were  used  for 
the  entertainment  of  delegates.  The  Col- 
lege Prohibition  Association  of  Transyl- 
vania figured  prominently  in  taking  care 
of  the  meeting.  Many  of  the  students 
of  Lexington  returned  from  their  homes 
in  time  to  attend  the  convention. 

Education  Day,  the  third  Sunday  in 
January,  is  being  pushed  by  Transylvania 
forces.  More  and  more  the  Kentucky 
churches  are  being  led  to  feel  their  debt 
to  the  institution  which  has  made  pos- 
sible their  leadership  through  the  years 
and  upon  which  these  churches  must  de- 
pend for  their  leaders  of  the  future.  Be- 
ginning with  the  first  week  in  January 
a  flying  squadron  campaign  will  be  put 
on  in  the  interests  of  Christian  educa- 
tion. 

After  finishing  a  very  creditable  season 
the  football  team  of  Transylvania  was 
given  its  annual  banquet  in  Ewing  Hall. 
In  the  midst  of  the  large  number  of  en- 
thusiastic supporters  sixteen  men  re- 
ceived the  coveted  "T."  Oxblood  crim- 
son sweaters  were  awarded  the  players. 
Pres.  R.  H.  Crossfield,  Attorney  Hogan 
Yancey,  Coach  W.  T.  Stewart,  retiring 
Captain  Dick  Arnette,  Captain-elect  Jim 
Crawford,  Retiring  Manager  Dick  Huff- 
man and  Manager-elect  Earl  Teaford  re- 
sponded to  toasts  proposed  by  Prof.  R.  E. 
Monroe.  It  is  probable  that  the  institu- 
tion has  never  in  its  history  produced  a 
cleaner  football  team  than  that  of  the 
last  year. 

Among  the  holiday  visitors  at  Tran- 
sylvania were  John  T.  Vance,  Jr., 
Deputy  General  Collecto1-  of  Customs  of 
San  Domingo,  and  George  C.  Estill  of 
Portland,  Maine,  both  alumni  of  the  in- 
stitution. 


E.  Wasson,  superintendent,  served  a 
supper  for  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
men  of  the  United  States  Navy.  J.  G. 
Holladay,  superintendent  of  our  school 
and  secretary  of  the  Navy  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
arranged  for  and  brought  the  men  to  the 
church.  It  was  a  "turkey  supper  with 
ice  cream  trimmings."  The  Adult  De- 
partment paid  the  bills.  Each  man  was 
presented  with  a  box  of  candy.  Infor- 
mally, the  men,  who,  by  the  way,  rep- 
resented thirty-one  states,  met  in  the 
auditorium  after  supper,  and  sang  old 
hymns. 

At  7:30  p.  m.  the  Carol  Club  had  re- 
turned, and  the  men  and  the  assembled 
congregation  gathered  under  the  lighted 
Christmas  tree  on  the  church  lawn.  The 
many  colored  lights,  the  great  lighted 
star  crowning  all,  the  lighted  automo- 
biles strung  around  and  the  crowd  was 
inspiring.  The  club  sang;  a  Junior  Choir 
sang,  and  "A  Peace  Hymn"  to  the  tune 
of  "My  Country  'Tis  of  Thee"  was  sung 
lustily  by  the  sailors.  All  then  ad- 
journed to  the  auditorium  for  a  short 
service. 

A  Giving  Christmas 

With  J.  G.  Holladay,  superintendent 
of  the  school  in  charge,  the  Wednesday 
night  "Giving  Service"  struck^ a  fine 
note  again  in  a  true  Christmas  spirit. 
Sixty-seven  baskets  were  distributed 
Thursday  and  Friday  from  the  goods 
received.  Mrs.  W.  B.  East  attended  to 
the  distribution.  About  twenty  were 
baskets  of  fruit  for  the  sick  and  "shut- 
ins."  About  1,000  Red  Cross  stamps 
were  disposed  of.  About  $25.00  was  re- 
ceived for  Armenian  relief.  An  offering 
was  received  to  clear  Virginia  Christian 


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NORFOLK,  VA,  NOTES 

On  New  Year's  day  Dr.  Bernard  H. 
Walker  died  at  the  home  of  his  son,  Dr, 
Rowland  H.  Walker,  in  his  91st  year. 
He  was  a  native  of  King  and  Queen 
county,  Va.,  and  an  elder  of  the  Smyrna 
church.  He  was  an  elder  emeritus  of 
the  First  church.  He  was  a  man  of 
sterling  character;  active  until  the  last. 
He  spent  much  time  in  visiting  members 
of  the  church  and  thus  had  not  only  in 
the  church,  but  in  the  community  a  wide 
circle  of  friends  who  loved  him. 

Christmas  Eve 

The  Christmas  Carol  Club  for  the 
fourth  year  sang  on  Christmas  Eve. 
The  Holt  Street  Orphanage,  the  St.  Vin- 
cent's and  the  Protestant  hospitals  made 
up  the  itinerary.  Mr.  Shirley  Patti, 
leader  of  the  choir,  was  in  charge.  Miss 
Carrie  Steed  attended  to  the  distribu- 
tion at  each  institution  of  flowers  and 
cards.  The  club  left  the  church  at  4:30, 
returning  at  7:30. 

While  the  Carol  Club  was  on  its  way 
the  Senior  Department  of  the  Sunday 
School,   under  the   direction   of  Mrs.   B.  ' 


THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST 

• 

is  the  theme  of  the  International  Uni- 
form Sunday  School  lessons  for  the  first 
six  months  of  this  year.  There  is  no  other 
course  of  study  that  offers  such  an  oppor- 
tunity as  this  for  interesting  and  profitable 
work  in  adult  and  young  people's  classes. 
There  is  no  better  method  of  conducting 
Bible  class  work  than  by  the  question 
method.  This  is  the  plan  of  study  fol- 
lowed in  the  best  text  on  Christ's  life 
published — 

"THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS" 

By  Dr.  Loa  E.  Scott 

SEND  50c  FOR  A  SAMPLE  COPY  OF  THE  BOOK. 
IT  SELLS  IN  LOTS   OF    10  OR   MORE  AT  40c. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  Fortieth  Street       -       -       CHICAGO 


n 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


January  11,  1917 


College  of  debt  on  Sunday,  the  24th. 
About  $2S.OO  was  given  in  cash  to 
worthy  people.  The  Christmas  party 
of  the  Cradle  Roll  Beginners  and  Pri- 
mary Departments  was  the  best  ever. 

*     * 

*  *     * 

A  VITAL  MESSAGE  ON  THE  CHRIS- 
TIAN COLLEGE 

The  Christian  College  occupies  today  a 
position  of  unprecedented  importance  and 
power.  The  awakening  of  many  peoples  to 
national  self-consciousness,  the  decline  of 
ethnic  faiths,  the  solemnizing  of  the  world 
through  war,  the  need  for  strong  and  moral 
leadership,  the  socializing  of  Christianity, 
and  the  response  of  youth  in  America  to 
the  call  for  unselfish  world  service,  all  place 
upon  the  church  school  new  opportunities 
and  new  responsibilities. 

The  keynote  in  the  last  period  of  educa- 
tion was  evolution.  The  keynote  in  the 
present  period  is  redemption — social  re- 
demption, political  redemption,  commercial 
redemption,  racial  redemption. 

The  object  of  the  educational  system  that 
is  passing  was  culture.  The  object  of  the 
educational  system  that  is  emerging  is  serv- 
ice. R.  H.  Miller. 

*  *     * 

ILLINOIS  NEWS  LETTER 

H.  Gordon  Bennett  of  Monroe,  Wis., 
could  be  secured  for  a  meeting  in  Illi- 
nois if  the  matter  is  taken  up  with  him 
at  once. 

Our  mission  church  at  Freeport  has 
called  upon  the  secretary  for  a  visit. 
The  invitation  has  been  accepted  and  it 
is  the  hope  of  all  parties  concerned  that 
good  may  result  from  a  more  careful 
consideration  of  this  important  work. 

Chas.  W.  Ross  of  the  West  Side 
Church,     Springfield,     reports    the    best 


year  in  the  history  of  that  congrega- 
tion. One  of  the  indications  of  growth 
is  the  reduction  of  their  debt  from  $7,200 
to  $2,500. 

The  church  at  Tamalco  has  called 
Fred  A.  Smith  of  Mt.  Vernon  for  1917. 
Mr.  Smith's  entire  time  is  now  taken. 

Keithsburg  has  called  Ernest  Reed  of 
Kinmundy.  He  has  already  commenced 
his  service  with  the  church. 

Since  we  recently  called  upon  the 
brethren  for  a  number  of  volunteer 
meetings,  T.  E.  Tomerlin  of  Lawrence- 
ville  held  such  a  meeting  with  the  St. 
Francisville  church,  which  resulted  in 
fifty-two  additions.  We  would  be  glad 
to  hear  from  others. 

The  spirit  of  evangelism  is  on  the  in- 
crease in  Illinois.  The  great  meeting 
by  F.  B.  Thomas  with  the  Heyworth 
church,  resulting  in  eighty-four  additions, 
is  evidence  of  this. 

Then  the  meeting  with  Peoria  Central 
by  the  Minges  Evangelistic  Company, 
with  four  hundred  additions  to  the 
church,   is   still   stronger  evidence. 

O.  F.  Jordan  of  the  Evanston  church 
reports  thirty-five  additions  during  1916, 
twenty-three  by  confession  of  faith. 

Chas.  H.  Wallis,  Honey  Bend,  a  mis- 
sionary of  the  American  Sunday  School 
Union,  has  recently  enrolled  as  a  min- 
ister of  the  gospel  with  us. 

The  church  at  Chicago  Heights  con- 
tributes two  hundred  dollars  a  year  to 
the  support  of  the  work  at  Harvey.  The 
work  at  both  places  is  prospering. 

The  state  secretary  spent  the  last  Sun- 
day of  the  year  with  our  mission  at 
Monticello.  E.  W.  Akeman  has  been 
called    to    the    ministry    of   that   church. 

Fife  Brothers  recently  closed  an 
evangelistic   campaign  at   Havana.     Our 


congregation  received  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  members  as  a  result  of  the 
meeting. 

T.  L.  Read,  who  has  been  ministering 
to  the  church  at  Emden,  has  moved  to 
Texas.  He  has  located  on  his  farm  near 
Lufkin.  Brother  Read  will  do  a  fine 
service  in  that  state. 

The  churches  of  Rock  Falls  and  Ster- 
ling are  engaged  in  union  meetings.  Our 
brethren  in  the  two  cities  are  cooperat- 
ing. H.   H.   Peters, 

State  Secretary. 
*     *     * 

CANTON,  OHIO,  NOTES 

L.  A.  Britton,  a  member  of  the  church 
at  Canton,  Ohio,  will  have  charge  of  the 
music  in  an  evangelistic  meeting  in  Sec- 
ond church,  Warren,  Ohio,  beginning 
January  7.  Frank  Brown,  the  pastor, 
will  do  the  preaching. 

N.  B.  Crabtree,  the  pastor's  assistant 
at  Canton,  will  deliver  an  address  at 
the  annual  banquet  of  the  Sunday  School 
Workers  of  the  Christian  church  at 
Minerva  Monday  night,  January  15, 

The  church  at  Canton  held  a  five 
weeks  evangelistic  meeting  closing  De- 
cember 17th,  in  which  382  were  added  to 
the  church.  The  preaching  was  done  by 
the  minister,  this  being  the  tenth  meet- 
ing in  which  he  has  done  the  preaching 
in  his  fifteen  years  in  Canton.  The  Gil- 
fillen-Hatley  Quartet  of  Bellingham, 
Wash.,  sang,  and  N.  B.  Crabtree,  the 
pastor's  assistant  and  chorister,  had 
charge  of  the  chorus  and  congregational 
singing. 

P.  M.  Kendall  of  Danville,  Ohio,  will 
lead  the  singing  in  a  revival  meeting  at 
Central  church,  Warren,  Ohio,  beginning 
January  7.  Walter  Mansell,  pastor,  will 
do  the  preaching. 

P.  H.  Welshimer. 


"The  Training  of  Church  Members" 

By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN  and  CHARLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON 

IS    THE    TEXT    BOOK 
YOU  ARE  LOOKING  FOR 

IF  you  have  a  Sunday- School  class  of  young  people  or  adults  whom  you  wish  to  inform 

concerning  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  own  movement. 
IF  you  are  desirous  of  making  your  mid-week  prayer  meetings  worth  while.     Don't  let 

your  prayer  meetings  languish.     Give  your  people  something  to  really  study.     Try  this 

helpful  little  book. 
IF  your  Christian  Endeavor  Society  needs  something  definite  to  work  at  this  year.     Why 

not  teach  these  impressionable  young  people  the  things  they  should  know  concerning 

the  church? 
IF  you  are  planning  to  organize  a  Pastor's  class  for  winter's  study. 
IF  you  are  organizing  a  teacher-training  class. 

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this  important  little  book? 
Send  for  a  sample  copy  of  "The  Training  of  Church  Members,"  and  see  how  perfectly  it 

fits  into  your  needs  for  the  new  year  of  work. 

Price,  15c  per  single  copy;  123^c  in  quantities 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


700  EAST  40th  STREET 


CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


January  11,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


2; 


It  Sings  the  Message  You  Preach! 

E^VERY  modern -minded  pastor  has  had  this  experience:  After 
-■— *  preparing  a  sermon  on  some  great,  human,  social  problem  or 
duty,  he  has  searched  his  hymnal  through  to  find  a  hymn  that  would 
gather  up  and  express  in  song  the  theme  of  his  sermon.  And  he 
found  none  which  in  modern  terms  struck  the  social  note.  As  a 
result  he  felt,  after  his  sermon  was  preached,  that  half  its  power 
had  been  lost. 

One  of  the  unique  features — among  many  others  equally  distinctive — of  the  new  hymnal 

HYMNS  OF  THE 
UNITED  CHURCH 

The  Disciples  Hymnal 

is  its  section  on  "The  Kingdom  of  God,"  with  sub-sections  entitled  "Social  Aspiration 
and  Progress,"  "Loyalty  and  Courage,"  "Human  Service  and  Brotherhood,"  "The 
Nation,"  "Peace  Among  the  Nations,"  etc.,  etc.  In  this  section  are  101  great  hymns 
which  sing  the  evangelical  social  gospel  which  the  modern  pulpit  preaches.  Many  of 
these  hymns  have  never  before  been  used  in  a  church  hymnal.  Here  are  some  of  the 
authors'  names : 


John  Addington  Symonds 
Emily  Greene  Balch 
John  G.  Whittier 
William  DeWitt  Hyde 
Charles  Kingsley 
Nolan  R.  Best 
Richard  Watson  Gilder 
Algernon  C.  Swinburne 
Felix  Adler 
Ebenezer  Elliott 
W.  Russell  Bowie 


Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson 
Gilbert  K.  Chesterton 
Washington  Gladden 
Frank  Mason  North 
Charles  Mackay 
John  Hay 

William  Pearson  Merrill 
Katherine  Lee  Bates 
Frederick  L.  Hosmer 
Rudyard  Kipling 
John  Haynes  Holmes 


Think  of  being  able  to  sing  the  social  gospel  as  well  as  to  preach  it !  The  social  gospel 
will  never  seem  to  your  people  to  be  a  truly  religious  gospel  until  they  learn  to  sing  it. 
The  Disciples  Hymnal  is  the  only  church  hymnal  in  which  the  social  note  of  today's 
evangelical  preaching  finds  adequate  expression.  The  use  of  this  hymnal  will  thrill  and 
inspire  your  congregation  with  a  new  vision  and  purpose. 

Price  $1.15  in  cloth,  $1.40  in  half  leather 
Special  introductory  terms  to  churches.    Returnable  copy  sent  to  pastors  or  committees. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


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Here  is  the  only  book  that  tells  the  story  of  the 
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Dr.  W.  T.  Moore  is  the  only  man  now  living  who 
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January  18,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


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700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


~.     .  -  The   Disciples  Publica- 

LHSClplGS  tion   Society  is  an  or- 

PtlbliCatiOn     ganization     through 
-„,-„  which  churches  of  the 

dOCiety  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
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THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  PRESS 


The  Christian  Century 


CEABLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT  It.  WILLETT,  CONTRIBUTING  EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


JANUARY  18,  1917 


Number  3 


Young  People  and  Missions 


YOUNG  PEOPLE  TAKE  TO  MISSIONS. 

Their  interest  rests  upon  some  things  not  specifically 
religious,  but  for  the  most  part  it  is  of  the  truest  religious 
character.  Every  story  writer  knows  that  he  succeeds  bet- 
ter when  his  story  is  located  in  some  strange  part  of  the 
world.  In  such  a  story  what  is  lacking  in  plot  may  be 
made  up  in  description.  It  is  just  this  natural  interest  in 
strange  parts  of  the  world  which  makes  a  well-written 
missionary  literature  congenial  to  young  people. 

There  is  also  in  the  soul  of  a  young  man  the  love  of 
the  heroic.  The  man  or  woman  who  has  the  "nerve"  to 
forsake  native  land  and  modern  civilized  life  for  the  wilds 
of  the  Congo  or  for  the  unexplored  plateaus  of  Thibet  is 
sure  to  command  the  admiration  of  all  the  young  hero- 
worshippers  in  our  churches.  It  is  far  better  that  this 
inevitable  hero-worship  should  be  directed  toward  people 
who  are  engaged  in  uplifting  the  human  race  rather  than 
toward  people  who  do  reckless  things  in  behalf  of  con- 
cerns of  much  less  moment.  Hero-worship  directed  toward 
the  missionary  enterprise  is  utilizing  a  natural  stage  in 
human  development  for  religious  ends. 

Our  young  people  pass  through  a  doubt  period  in  the 
late  'teens.  At  that  time,  unless  they  are  wisely  directed, 
they  will  lose  the  traditional  faith  of  their  fathers  without 
achieving  a  faith  of  their  own.  Missions  is  a  most  power- 
ful apologetic  for  these  young  people.  The  doubts  as  to 
the  reality  of  religion  are  all  met  by  the  powerful  acts  of 
missionary  achievement.  It  is  hardly  possible  for  any 
one  to  believe  that  whole  nations  have  been  redeemed  by 
a  pack  of  lies  and  superstitions.  Religion  is  judged  by  its 
fruits,  and  the  most  spectacular  demonstration  of  the 
power  of  religion  these  days  is  the  change  wrought  by 
such  work  as  Disciples'  missionaries  are  doing  on  the 
Congo.     Missionary  students  do  not  become  infidels. 

This  natural  tendency  in  the  young  Christian  to 
develop  missionary  interest  cannot  be  left  without  direc- 
tion. There  are  churches  where  a  young  man  or  woman 
might  never  get  the  first  glimpse  of  a  missionary  inter- 
pretation that  was  interesting  to  him.  There  is  a  kind  of 
approach  which  has  proved  powerfully  effective  with 
men.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  Laymen's  Missionary 
Movement.  There  is  another  type  of  presentaton  common 
in  women's  missionary  societies.  But  young  life  demands 
its  own  kind  of  missionary  interpretation.  It  is  fortunate 
that  the  Missionary  Education  Movement  has  provided  a 
series  of  splendid  text-books  for  Christian  Endeavor 
societies  and  that  there  is  a  bibliography  of  other  books 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  teen  age. 

•    • 

The  equipment  is  all  at  the  hand  of  the  pastor  today 
for  a  piece  of  missionary  instruction  of  the  greatest  sig- 
nificance. If  young  people  can  be  gathered  into  a  study 
class  of  any  sort,  they  can  be  most  easily  grouped  to  study 
the  great  movement  for  the  redemption  of  the  world. 


It  is  inevitable  that  missionary  study  should  lead  to 
missionary  giving.  "No  impression  without  expression" 
is  a  modern  slogan  in  education.  One  of  the  most  appro- 
priate modes  of  expression  is  for  the  young  people  to  learn 
early  the  joy  of  contributing  to  the  support  of  those  who 
carry  the  gospel  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  This 
giving  should  not  be  on  the  plane  of  some  high-pressure 
campaign,  but  should  be  cultivated  as  a  natural  and  habitual 
expression  of  missionary  interest.  Some  societies  of  young 
people  have  taken  up  a  definite  work,  such  as  the  support 
of  an  orphan  child  or  the  providing  of  equipment  for  some 
station.  That  gives  a  sense  of  concreteness  and  reality 
to  the  efforts  of  our  young  students. 

It  is  at  this  time  of  the  year  that  young  Disciples 
are  facing  an  appeal  from  our  Foreign  Christian  Mission- 
ary Society.  The  wise  pastor  will  not  fail  to  use  this  as 
a  time  to  bring  to  pass  some  of  his  plans  for  arousing 
missionary  interest  among  his  young  people.  In  recent 
years  the  plans  formulated  by  the  Foreign  Christianity 
Missionary  Society  for  the  Christian  Endeavor  Day  pro- 
gram have  been  wise  and  effective.  The  pageant  notion 
has  been  utilized,  appealing  to  the  instinct  of  the  young  to 
dramatize  things. 

•    • 

The  problem  of  securing  missionary  volunteers  would 
be  in  considerable  measure  solved  if  there  were  wise  direc- 
tion to  the  missionary  interest  of  the  young  people  of  a 
church.  Many  missionary  volunteers  in  the  past  have 
devoted  their  lives  to  the  world-wide  work  before  thev 
ever  went  away  to  college.  Their  desire  for  an  education 
arose  from  the  bigger  religious  motive  of  serving  the 
world  need  on  the  mission  field.  It  is  the  glory  of  some 
of  our  churches  that  they  are  able  to  count  a  significant 
number  of  missionaries  whose  inspiration  has  arisen  right 
within  the  circle  of  the  parish  life. 

For  the  young  people  who  never  volunteer  for  the 
foreign  fields  there  is  a  leaven  of  idealism  arising  from 
missionary  devotion.  The  young  life  with  its  natural 
romance  is  sometimes  borne  down  with  our  sodden  ma- 
terialism. Worse  still,  it  sometimes  loses  itself  in  moral 
ruin.  Wrecks  of  this  sort  occur  mainly  in  the  early  years 
of  life.  Missionary  interest  fills  the  minds  of  young 
Christians  with  beautful  images  of  self-sacrifice  and  serv- 
ice and  devotion  to  the  unseen  but  ever  present  Christ. 
It  is  hard  to  estimate  the  value  for  religion  and  life  of  the 
cultivation  of  a  missionary  devotion. 

These  are  great  days  in  which  we  live.  Missionary 
work  is  to  be  one  of  the  great  bonds  of  international  peace 
and  good-will.  If  all  the  young  people  of  the  civilized 
nations  of  earth  should  come  together  with  a  common 
missionary  view-point,  the  next  generation  would  reject 
as  foolish  and  impossible  our  present  methods  of  settling 
our  international  problems, 


EDITORIAL 


SPIRITUAL  OLD  AGE 

THE  classic  example  of  the  man  who  has  grown  old 
in  the  things  of  the  spirit  is  the  writer  of  Ecclesias- 
tes.  For  awhile  Martin  Luther  thought  this  book 
ought  not  to  be  in  the  Bible.  We  are  glad  it  is  there  if 
people  will  only  know  why  it  is  there. 

The  Preacher  was  very  blase.  Life's  possibilities  had 
been  tried  out  and  found  to  be  vanity.  He  was  the  spiritual 
progenitor  of  the  modern  man  who  possesses  all  things, 
but,  in  spite  of  this,  is  poor  and  discontended. 

There  is  a  kind  of  old  age  which  takes  away  the  joy 
of  life.  Men  who  have  lived  too  long  lose  interest  in  busi- 
ness. They  have  no  concern  about  politics.  Even  their 
families  are  not  of  vital  concern  as  they  once  were.  Of 
all  pitiable  objects  in  the  world  this  kind  of  senility  is 
most  pathetic. 

Spiritually,  a  man  may  be  old  before  he  is  old  in 
years.  He  may  grow  cynical  about  life.  He  questions 
everybody's  motives  and  finds  in  every  benefaction  some 
hidden  seed  of  selfishness. 

Keeping  young  in  the  spirit  means  keeping  a  vital 
interest  in  the  deep  things  of  religion.  We  have  all  seen 
old  men  in  years  who  had  the  fire  and  enthusiasm  of 
younger  days  in  the  things  of  the  soul. 

Some  of  the  older  leaders  of  American  Christianity 
are  talking  about  religion  and  life  with  the  keenest  inter- 
est. We  think  of  Washington  Gladden,  Lyman  Abbott, 
President  Eliot,  F.  E.  Clark  and  some  others.  These  will 
never  retire  in  any  real  sense.  To  their  lives'  end  they 
will  continue  to  witness  for  Jesus  Christ  and  his  Gospel. 

BAD  THEATRICAL  OFFERINGS 

FEW  intelligent  people  deny  the  possibility  of  using 
the  stage  as  an  instrument  of  moral  uplift.  The 
modern  stage  was  revived  by  the  church  and  the 
great  morality  plays  were  presented.  If  it  fell  into  obscen- 
ity and  moral  deterioration  following  the  period  of  the 
Commonwealth,  we  have  yet  in  our  own  day  seen  many 
a  play-writer  serving  the  interests  of  the  higher  life.  That 
the  play-houses  need  constant  watching  is  borne  in  on 
our  minds  by  recent  events. 

The  Bishop  of  London  recently  condemned  "slimy 
and  lecherous  plays."  He  was  taken  to  task  by  certain 
members  of  the  Playwrights'  Society,  but  showed  that 
certain  theaters  outside  the  circle  of  this  organization 
were  indeed  offending. 

In  Chicago  these  days  the  secular  newspapers  have 
protested  against  the  influence  of  the  great  film  spectacle 
"Intolerance."  The  play  is  a  wonderful  triumph  in  the 
way  of  a  great  spectacle,  after  the  order  of  "The  Birth 
of  a  Nation."  It  takes  a  cynical  attitude  toward  reform 
movements  and  gives  plenty  of  material  for  the  sexually 
morbid  to  feed  upon. 

The  attitude  of  indifference  on  the  part  of  church 
and  clergy  only  allow  the  evil  tendencies  of  the  stage  to 
work  themselves  out  without  restriction.  All  theaters  are 
sensitive  to  the  box  office  reports,  and  with  the  simple 
weapon  of  inducing  people  to  withhold  support  from  pro- 
ductions of  improper  tendency  much  can  be  done  in  the 
way  of  educating  the  purveyors  of  amusement. 

In  these  days  of  wealth  and  luxurious  living  there  is 
a  fertile  field  for  the  lecherous  play.  It  cannot  be  doubted 
that  the  commercialized  and  thoroughly  callous  section  of 


play-producers  will  seek  financial  returns  from  this  situa- 
tion. To  meet  this  tendency,  there  must  be  strong  re- 
affirmation of  the  nobler  ideals  of  the  stage  as  held  by 
men  and  women  who  still  believe  that  the  people  behind 
the  foot-lights  may  be  made  to  preach  the  message  of  a 
higher  civilization. 

SENSATIONAL  PREACHING 

IT  IS  evident  when  one  reads  the  Sunday  announce- 
ments in  the  city  newspapers  giving  the  sermon  topics 
in  the  churches  that  the  effort  to  preach  sensational 
sermons  is  not  yet  over.  Recently  a  man  collected  some 
of  the  subjects  used  in  Cleveland,  which  is  a  city  with  as 
much  dignity  as  any  in  the  middle  west.  Among  the  topics 
offered  were,  "A  Man  With  His  Nose  Out  of  Joint,"  "A 
Joke  on  the  Conductor,"  "Slip,  Slips  and  Slippers," 
"Kicked  by  a  Calf,"  "A  Big  Hug,"  and  "Nitro-Glycerine." 
It  would  be  interesting  to  know  what  happened  to  the 
men  offering  such  subjects.  We  would  strongly  incline 
to  the  opinion  that  the  topics  failed  in  their  only  possible 
beneficent  result,  that  of  getting  a  crowd  to  church.  There 
is  hardly  any  man  so  empty-headed  that  he  would  walk  a 
block  to  hear  a  man  discuss  such  themes. 

There  is,  of  course,  a  legitimate  sensational  element 
in  preaching.  Isaiah  adopted  means  and  methods  that 
would  be  considered  very  unconventional  in  our  day.  But 
he  never  forgot  his  fundamental  message,  and  even  his 
unusual  devices  were  to  call  attention  to  his  word  of 
warning  to  his  age. 

The  words  of  Jesus  must  have  brought  a  shock  to 
the  smug  complacency  of  the  time.  They  had  the  true 
sensational  quality  of  challenging  attention.  But  they 
were  always  true  to  the  big  thing  the  Master  was  here 
to  do. 

We  suppose  it  might  be  possible  for  a  man  to  chose 
one  of  the  outlandish  topics  listed  above  and  yet  preach 
the  gospel,  if  he  was  not  too  particular  in  following  his 
subject.  But  he  would  preach  the  gospel  under  the  handi- 
cap of  facing  an  audience  in  a  frivolous  attitude  toward 
religious  truth. 

Sensational  preaching  is  like  whiskey-drinking.  An 
appetite  for  it  calls  for  larger  and  larger  doses. 

The  preaching  of  the  sensationalist  lacks  the  ring  of 
reality  and  people  are  looking  for  the  preacher  who  is 
transparently  true  and  thoroughly  genuine. 

STOPPING  THE  LEAK 

NEARLY  every  church  has  a  considerable  number  of 
inactive  people.  These  are  handled  in  various  ways, 
but  when  they  became  confirmed  malcontents  there 
is  usually  but  little  to  do.    They  are  lost  to  the  local  church. 

These  people  have  various  kinds  of  grievances.  They 
fail  to  receive  a  call  when  they  think  they  ought.  They 
may  not  like  the  minister.  They  may  think  another  church 
more  stylish  in  which  to  bring  out  their  daughters.  More 
often  than  anything  else,  they  have  grown  tired  of  paying 
a  church  pledge.  They  belong  to  one  church,  go  occa- 
sionally to  another  and  pay  to  neither. 

If  these  losses  could  be  stopped,  many  churches  would 
soon  become  powerful  organizations.  Methods  for  accom- 
plishing jthis  good  result  are  always  of  interest. 

One  pastor  has  divided  his  list  into  two  parts — the 
Certain  People  and  the  Uncertain  People.    The  first  group 


January  18,  1917                               THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  7 

is  the  smaller,  but  it  has  the  burden  of  caring  for  the  other  moved.    It  will  be  shown  that  prohibition  really  does  pro- 
group.    A  form  letter  to  the  first  group  gives  each  member  hibit.    The  national  government  will  no  longer  nullify  the 
a  name  or  group  of  names  which  are  to  receive  from  this  will  of  the  state  government  on  this  issue, 
member  special  care.  The  Webb-Kenyon  bill  was  passed  over  President 

The  habit  of  another  church  of  sending  out  much  Taft's  veto  after  he  had  declared  it  unconstitutional, 

mail,  helps.     Sometimes  the  uncertain  people  are  simply  A    further    fact   of   tremendous   significance    is   the 

careless.     The   parish   paper  mailed   every   month   may  favorable  progress  of  the  Shepard  bill  in  congress,  which 

serve  to  quicken  their  interest.     An  occasional  pastoral  will  prohibit  the  sale  of  liquor  within  the  District  of  Colum- 

letter  will  help.  bia.    The  wet  senators  are  facing  a  drought  in  their  own 

The  real  task  is  to  create  in  the  occasional  people  of  place  of  labor,  which  will  give  them  no  end  of  incon- 

the  church  a  vital  interest  in  the  things  the  church  stands  venience.    The  passage  of  this  bill  puts  the  national  gov- 

for.    Since  they  do  not  attend,  how  shall  this  be  accom-  ernment  frankly  in  line  with  the  movement  to  make  this 

plished?    The  pastoral  visit  may  help  if  it  has  a  religious  a  saloonless  nation. 

motive.     When  we  shall  have  learned  how  to  permeate  Meanwhile  the  liquor  dealers  are  getting  no  end  of 

the  whole  community  with  religious  interest  we  shall  have  good  advice  from  the  editors.     They  are  being  scolded 

a  net  with  meshes  fine  enough  to  catch  those  who  have  and   exhorted.     The   cartoonists   are   telling  them   with 

been  indifferent.  forceful  pictures  that  the  saloon  has  made  of  itself  a  law- 
breaker and  it  can  expect  no  mercy  from  a  people  that 

THE  PASSING  OF  A  GREAT  EDITOR  has  respect  for  law. 

TTT_    ,      ,      .  __      .,        ,_.  .  ,     ._  ,  .       ,    ,      ,,_  Nothing  will  save  the  saloon.     It  is  a  poor  belated 

HE  death  of  Hamilton  Wright  Mabie  of  the     Out-  thing  that  has  been  left  behind  fa  the  onward  ^^  of 

look    on  the  last  day  of  the  old  year  removes  another  civilization.     No  reform  will  bring  it  up  to  date.     No 

of  the  great  editors  of  the  time.     For  thirty-seven  lliatives  can  possibly  be    iven.    The    reat  public  grows 

years  he  has  been  associated  with  Lyman  Abbott  m  the  more  and  more  certain  that  a  thi       for  whkh  no  defence 

conduct  of  one  of  the  leading  religious  papers  of  the  can  be     •        should  be  abolished. 
country. 

The   evolution  of   this   man   is   an   interesting  one.  HOSPITALITY  IN  THE  CHURCH 
Beginning  life  as  a  lawyer,  he  early  found  himself  more 

interested  in  letters  than  in  the  work  of  the  courts.     He  A    LL  over  the  land  Disciple  churches  have  the  repu- 

was  taken  onto  the  "Christian  Union,"  the  predecessor  of  f\  tation  of  being  hospitable.    Whatever  may  be  our 

the  "Outlook,"  to  write  the  "news,"  which  was  a  depart-  "         deficiencies,  we  have  not  been  slack  in  our  duty 

ment  in  those  days  for  recording  the  changes  and  activities  t0  strangers.     This  quality  may  be  one  of  the  secrets 

of  ministers.     He  was  occasionally  allowed  to  review  a  of  Disciple  growth.     We  make   it  easy  for  the  new 

book,  which  he  did  with  rare  insight  into  its  real  meaning,  attendant  to  get  acquainted  with  us. 

Lyman  Abbott  recounts  with  pleasure  the  surprise  As  time  Soes  on>  there  wil1  be  a  tendency  to  relax 
which  was  given  his  helper  when  one  day  the  latter  read  the  warm-hearted  welcome  of  people  to  our  churches, 
in  the  paper  of  his  place  on  the  editorial  staff.  Through  all  Since  we  are  an  American-born  movement,  with  Amer- 
of  the  years  of  this  long  literary  comradeship  the  two  men  ican  sPirit  unadulterated  with  any  European  tradition, 
on  the  "Outlook"  have  continued  the  fine  co-operation  be-  we  have  thus  far  proved  ourselves  to  be  free  and  demo- 
gun  so  many  years  ago.  cratic.    America  herself,  however,  is  in  danger  of  losing 

Mr.  Mabie  has  been  in  recent  years  a  prominent  mem-  rier  democracy, 

ber  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  and  has  had  a  Wealth  is  building  up  great  social  chasms.    Amer- 

seat  in  the  General  Convention.     His  funeral  was  con-  ica  made  more  money  the  past  year  than  all  of  Europe 

ducted  by  one  of  the  bishops  of  that  church.    In  his  later  did  in  1913-    This  money  is  not  evenly  distributed,  but 

years  he  grew  more  and  more  interested  in  the  work  of  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  a  few  who  are  becoming  the 

his  communion.  lords  and  barons  of  our  social  situation.     Immigration 

Delicacy  of  feeling  marked  the  literary  work  of  Mr.  has  destroyed  the  homogeneity  of  our  American  life 

Mabie.     He  was  at  his  best  in  appreciating  the  work  of  a"d  built  up  groups  with  little  understanding  of  each 

other  literary  men.    Whether  it  was  Shakespeare  or  Tur-  other.    Even  our  great  educational  development  has  in 

geniev,  he  could  assume  the  viewpoint  of  the  author.  some  instances  built  up  groups  of  educated  men  who 

He  had  great  interest  in  young  writers  and  young  are  lords  and  barons  in  the  realm  of  ideas.     Is  not  a 

people  in  general.     He  knew  when  to  encourage  budding  university  club  in  a  city  often  one  of  the  most  exclusive 

genius  as  represented  by  the  manuscript  that  came  into  of  institutions? 

his   office.     His   addresses   before  colleges  were  always  In  the  past  the  democracy  of  the  Disciples  has 

received  with  appreciation.  been  a  product  of  our  environment.     We  have  been 

democratic  because  we  lived  in  that  kind  of  a  com- 

MORE  TROUBLE  FOR  THE  SALOON  munity.    In  the  days  to  come,  we  may  have  an  obliga- 
tion to  be  the  missionaries  of  the  spirit  of  hospitality 

THESE  are  not  days  to  bring  much  joy  to  the  liquor  in  the  church  and  of  the  spirit  of  brotherhood  in  the 

dealer.     The  calamities  are  piling  up  on  him  day  community. 

after  day.  After  an  election  this  fall,  that  may  be  Christian  union  is  born  of  the  spirit  of  brother- 
called  a  landslide  for  prohibition,  there  has  followed  a  hood.  A  daughter  of  the  same  mother  is  democracy, 
series  of  new  misfortunes.  It  is  fundamental  to  our  attitude  that  the  New  Testa- 
One  of  the  latest  of  these  is  the  passing  of  the  ment  teaching,  "God  is  no  respector  of  persons,"  should 
Supreme  Court  on  the  constitutionality  of  the  Webb-  also  be  our  attitude  today.  Our  message  to  men  of 
Kenyon  bill.  This  prohibited  the  shipment  of  liquor  into  wealth,  education  and  superior  advantages  is  that  they 
anti-saloon  territory.  By  making  this  law  effective,  one  should  consecrate  their  gifts  to  the  cause  of  religious 
of  the  great  arguments  of  the  liquor  dealers  will  be  re-  progress. 


8 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  18,  1917 


CO-OPERATING  WITH  THE  MOVIES 

THERE  are  communities  where  the  church  must  join 
issues  with  the  promoters  of  the  motion  picture.  Evil 
and  suggestive  pictures  are  to  be  eliminated.  We 
trust  that  this  sort  of  community  is  the  exception.  Ordi- 
narily the  church  is  not  to  assume  a  negative  attitude 
toward  such  things,  but  should  seek  the  social  use  of  what- 
ever lies  at  hand. 

In  Columbia,  Missouri,  the  churches  have  not  been 
much  concerned  in  installing  "movies"  in  their  church 
buildings.  They  have  found  it  possible  to  influence  the 
motion  picture  managers  of  the  community  to  exhibit  films 
on  Saturday  afternoon  at  a  low  price ;  these  pictures  to  be 
of  special  attractiveness  to  children.  The  churches  have 
even  aided  in  promoting  publicity  for  such  films,  hoping 
by  this  means  to  displace  the  wrong  thing  by  encouraging 
the  good.  Through  these  efforts  the  educational  film  has 
been  brought  to  Columbia  and  the  children  of  the  city  see 
something  besides  Wild  West  escapades  with  a  heroine 
alternately  captured  and  escaping.  The  movie  show  has 
been  converted  to  take  its  place  in  the  community  along 
with  moral  and  educational  institutions. 

In  another  community  the  motion  picture  houses, 
appreciating  a  friendly  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  churches, 
have  reciprocated  by  granting  the  churches  free  use  of 
the  announcement  opportunities  of  the  play  houses.  The 
church  announcements  have  been  thrown  upon  the  screen 
without  any  expense  to  the  churches.  Thus  the  theater 
and  the  church  have  been  able  to  live  in  friendly  and  co- 
operative spirit  in  the  community. 

The  future  of  the  motion  picture  depends  ultimately 
upon  its  moral  tone.  Its  primary  appeal  is  to  children  and 
young  people.  The  people  will  not  long  tolerate  a  picture 
theater  that  debauches  the  youth.  The  church  may  be 
able  to  save  the  motion  picture  from  some  of  its  own 
worst  dangers. 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  AND  THE 
CHURCH 

THERE  are  a  good  many  places  of  worship  now  where 
there  is  a  big  Sunday  school  and  a  poor  little  preach- 
ing service  following.  One  men's  class  of  a  hundred 
does  not  have  ten  men  stay  to  church.  A  young  people's 
class  is  recruited  outside  the  church  and  will  never  con- 
tribute much  to  the  church  life,  for  the  young  people 
are  not  being  led  to  appreciate  worship  and  the  message 
of  the  church. 

In  the  old  days  the  Sunday  school  lived  in  the  church 
by  sufferance.  It  was  a  sort  of  permitted  organization 
which  had  a  doubtful  welcome.  Long  since,  the  Sunday 
school  has  come  to  be  fundamental  to  the  whole  program 
of  the  church  in  the  community.  We  now  know  that  the 
surest  way  of  building  a  great  church  is  to  grow  it  out 
of  the  Sunday  school.  A  Sunday  school  that  has  no  loy- 
alty to  the  church  is  one  which  is  defeating  one  of  the 
primary  ends  of  the  existence  of  the  school. 

In  order  that  the  church  may  have  a  deeper  sense  of 
interest  in  the  Sunday  school,  many  churches  elect  the 
Sunday  school  officers  in  the  church  election,  recognizing 
the  Sunday  school  as  the  church  at  work  in  the  business 
of  religious  education.  Some  churches  give  the  Sunday 
school  money  from  their  budgets  so  they  will  not  lack 
equipment.  In  addition  to  these  devices  there  is  every 
need  that  the  church  should  be  educated  to  have  the 
deepest  concern  for  the  welfare  of  the  school. 

All  of  this,  however,  calls  for  a  greater  loyalty  on 


the  part  of  the  schools.  We  need  new  standards  of  suc- 
cess in  Sunday  schools.  A  Lutheran  school  we  know  ' 
marks  church  attendance  on  the  part  of  its  pupils  as  ' 
among  the  works  of  merit.  The  Sunday  school  superin- 
tendent should  be  trained  to  know  that  the  success  of  his 
task  depends  not  upon  the  mathematics  of  attendance, 
but  upon  the  souls  which  are  won  to  Jesus  Christ. 

WHO  IS  OUR  NEIGHBOR? 

WE  ARE  all  familiar  with  the  immortal  parable 
of  Jesus,  that  of  the  Good  Samaritan.  It  has  i 
been  told  again  and  again,  until  we  all  know  - 
now  that  Jesus  would  never  permit  a  man  to  regard  as 
his  neighbor  only  those  of  the  same  creed,  nationality 
or  having  some  other  peculiar  kind  of  propinquity. 
Our  neighbor  is  the  man  we  can  be  neighborly  with, 
always. 

The  Church  also  has  its  neighborly  duties.  The 
people  who  live  around  a  local  church  are  proper  sub- 
jects of  the  pood  Samaritan  kind  of  treatment.  Yet  it 
is  doubtless  true  that  many  churches  do  not  know  their 
neighbors. 

A  certain  up-to-date  city  church  has  completed  a 
card  catalogue  of  all  the  people  living  in  its  district. 
This  church  knows  not  only  where  its  own  members 
are,  but  also  where  the  Baptists  and  Methodists  are. 
Sometimes  the  pastor  of  this  church  gives  a  new  Meth- 
odist pastor  a  list  of  the  unattached  Methodists  in  that 
district.  Of  course  this  church  knows  where  the  people 
aer  who  do  not  belong  to  any  local  congregation. 

It  is  just  such  handling  of  the  religious  problem 
that  prevents  our  work  from  being  ineffective.  It  would 
be  impossible  for  a  man  to  live  in  that  community  for 
twenty  years  and  yet  remain  untouched  by  the  religious 
institutions  of  the  community. 

But  one  thing  is  needed  to  complete  the  plan.  That 
is,  a  permanent  interdenominational  clearing  house  in 
a  city  with  machinery  to  keep  the  cards  up  to  date. 
Once  a  complete  card  index  of  a  city  was  made,  a  reli- 
gious worker  could  keep  it  up  to  date  by  securing  in- 
formation as  to  changes  from  the  business  houses  of 
the  city.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  business  of  Jesus 
Christ  could  not  keep  as  closely  on  the  trail  of  new 
people  as  milk  drivers  are  able  to  do  with  their  present 
system. 

THE  PULPIT  ESSAYIST 

IT  WAS  said  that  previous  to  the  Wesleyan  revival 
in  England  a  man  might  go  from  church  to  church 
and  not  know  from  the  pulpit  utterances  whether  he 
was  in  a  Mohammedan  mosque  or  in  a  Christian  church. 
That  would  hardly  be  possible  in  any  great  Christian 
city  in  the  world  today,  but  it  may  fairly  be  questioned 
v/hether  much  of  the  preaching  of  our  day  has  not  lost 
from  it  the  thing  that  makes  it  preaching. 

The  productions  offered  to  congregations  are  some- 
times lectures.  These  have  the  virtue  of  being  inform- 
ing if  they  are  well  done.  Sometimes  we  are  given  an 
essay.  In  this  case  there  is  neither  information  nor  in- 
spiration as  the  thing  often  comes  out  of  the  sermon 
factory. 

The  great  seminaries  of  the  country  have  success- 
fully delivered  us  from  the  ranters.  We  are  now  pretty 
well  determined  that  the  men  who  fill  our  pulpits  shall 
be  men  of  training  and  culture.  But  having  escaped 
Scylla,  are  we  to  be  victims  of  Charybdis?     Shall  the 


January  18,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


9 


church  of  today  succumb  to  the  sloth-producing  influ- 
ences of  the  pulpit  essayist? 

The  need  of  the  hour  is  for  men  with  big  convic- 
tions about  big  things.  The  balancing  of  doubts  on  a 
needle's  point  may  be  well  enough  in  the  classroom.  It 
has  no  place  in  a  pulpit.  The  church  of  today  calls  for 
men  who  know  in  whom  they  have  believed.  The  great 
world  is  full  of  problems  that  call  for  a  religious  solu- 
tion. There  is  a  religious  note  coming  even  into  our 
magazines.  The  world  naturally  looks  to  the  pulpits 
of  the  world  to  furnish  guidance. 

The  preacher  of  the  hour  will  not  be  afraid  to  "let 
himself  go"  once  in  awhile.  "Billy"  Sunday  does  it, 
with  ambiguous  results  sometimes  on  account  of  his 
deficient  training.  But  if  we  could  take  the  "Billy" 
Sunday  abandon  and  put  it  into  some  of  the  educated 
men  we  know,  there  would  be  a  combination  that  might 
bring  New  York  or  Chicago  to  its  knees. 

THE  SERMON  BARREL 

PROBABLY  most  preachers  have  a  sermon  barrel — 
concerning  which  so  many  funny  things  have  been 
said'.    It  would  not  be  fitting  for  any  man  to  allow 
his  work  to  perish.     There  are  emergencies  when  such 
a  barrel  comes  in  handy.    But  most  preachers  have  learned 


by  means  of  their  barrel  just  how  rapidly  the  world  is 
moving. 

A  preacher  said  the  other  day  that  the  world  has 
lived  a  thousand  years  in  the  past  three.  All  things  have 
become  old  to  make  place  for  the  new.  While  this  has 
been  preeminently  true  of  these  particular  years,  it  is  true 
of  any  group  of  years. 

It  is  for  these  reasons  and  others  that  a  sermon  barrel 
is  a  museum.  A  man  cannot  hope  that  the  thing  he  said 
ten  or  twenty  years  ago  will  be  helpful  to  the  people  of 
the  here  and  the  now.  There  are  gospel  themes  of  per- 
ennial interest,  but  they  must  be  presented  with  a  variety 
of  illustration  and  with  the  approach  that  is  appropriate 
for  each  age. 

Who  could  hope  to  rival  the  power  of  St.  Augustine's 
denunciations  of  sin?  Yet  the  reading  of  his  Confessions 
in  a  church  today  would  not  at  all  be  certain  to  prove  inter- 
esting. Perhaps  a  church  today  would  be  more  interested 
to  hear  Professor  Ross's  denunciation  of  sin  in  a  powerful 
book  of  rather  recent  production. 

The  gospel  has  but  a  few  great  themes.  Some  preach- 
ers have  staked  all  in  preaching  throughout  a  ministry  a 
single  one  of  these  themes,  with  variety  of  subject  and 
presentation.  Every  live  preacher  is  made  to  realize,  how- 
ever, that  yesterday's  sermon  will  not  quite  fit  the  needs 
of  today. 


How  Books  of  Religion  Took  Form 


BY  HERBERT  L.  WILLETT 


RELIGION  is  older  than  any  writing.  It  seems  evi- 
dent from  what  we  know  of  the  history  of  the  race 
that  long  before  there  were  any  books,  or  even  the 
art  of  writing  was  known,  men  believed  in  deity,  and  were 
at  pains  to  express  their  belief  in  some  sort  of  service. 

Some  of  these  manifestations  must  have  been  of  a 
very  simple  type.  Among  the  lowest  of  them  were  anim- 
ism and  fetichism.  In  these  cases  the  objects  of  nature, 
or  even  the  simplest  of  material  forms,  were  invested  with 
a  magical  character  which  makes  them  potent  for  good  or 
evil  to  the  one  who  comes  in  contact  with  them. 

In  most  of  the  early  religions  certain  spots  were  be- 
lieved to  be  sacred,  as  the  abode  of  divine  beings  or 
demons.  Such  places,  stones,  fountains  or  springs,  groves 
or  single  trees,  graves  of  holy  men,  river  banks  or  moun- 
tain heights,  were  regarded  with  veneration,  and  believed 
to  be  inhabited  by  beings  whose  favor  was  to  be  sought 
and  whose  displeasure  must  be  avoided. 

Also,  because  of  their  relations  to  higher  powers,  as 
their  servants  or  their  embodiment,  particular  men  and 
animals  were  believed  to  be  holy.  The  members  of  some 
of  the  early  priesthoods,  religious  devotees,  hermits, 
ascetics,  and  the  animal  totems  of  many  tribes,  were  so 
honored.  In  some  parts  of  the  non-Christian  world  these 
strange  expressions  of  the  religious  sentiment  may  yet 
be  found. 

Almost  all  religions  have  had  certain  sacred  places, 
like  Benares,  Mecca,  Jerusalem  or  Rome,  to  which  the 
pious  resorted  to  honor  the  memory  of  the  founder  of 
their  faith,  or  some  saint  conspicuous  in  its  history.  Such 
pilgrimages  were  a  notable  feature  of  Old  Testament 
times,  and  a  recognized  factor  in  nearly  all  religious  move- 
ments. 


In  connection  with  all  these  and  many  other  early 
features  of  religion,  some  form  of  ritual,  simple  or  elabo- 
rate, was  devised.  Wherever  there  are  worshippers,  there 
something  in  the  nature  of  sacrifice,  confession,  prayer, 
expiation,  or  some  similar  attempt  to  hold  converse  with 
deity,  has  been  practiced.  Oracles,  shrines,  and  the  ritual 
of  worship  are  only  the  efforts  of  human  beings  to  pene- 
trate the  mystery  of  divinity  and  find  access  to  God. 

WORSHIP  EARLIER  THAN  WRITING 

None  of  these  simpler  expressions  of  the  religious 
life  require  a  scripture.  Men  can  worship  without  having 
any  sacred  book  or  documents  of  any  sort.  Long  before 
the  art  of  writing  was  known,  all  these  forms  of  worship, 
and  many  others,  must  have  been  practiced.  And  long 
after  men  could  write,  the  ritual  of  sacred  places  was 
probably  transmitted  from  one  generation  of  priests  to 
another,  with  no  thought  of  committing  it  to  writing.  In 
all  the  early  stages  of  any  religion,  as  the  story  of  the 
Christian  Church  makes  clear,  men  are  not  concerned  to 
write.  They  make  known  their  message  by  word  of 
mouth.  It  is  only  after  a  time  that  they  take  thought  about 
the  making  of  books. 

It  is  because  of  this  fact  that  nearly  all  the  early 
materials  which  later  find  their  embodiment  in  the  books 
of  religion  are  handed  on  for  a  long  time  in  oral  and 
traditional  form.  They  are  repeated  from  one  to  another, 
and  with  the  tenacity  of  a  child-like  memory  of  words, 
they  are  preserved  with  only  slight  changes  for  generations. 
Writing,  though  very  old  as  a  human  achievement,  is  only 
a  late  means  of  enjoyment  and  diversion.  In  antiquity, 
few  men  knew  the  art,  and  the  work  was  costly  and 


10                                                    THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  January  18,  1917 

laborious.     To-day  everyone  writes,  and  the  press  multi-  days  grew  up.    This  was  the  case  in  India,  China,  Persia 

plies  the  written  pages  with  the  swiftness  of  steam  and  and  Greece,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  was 

electricity.  als0  true  of  Palestine.     Groups  of  the  Wise  met  for  dis- 

memory  rather  than  books  cussion  and  instruction,  and  the  words  of  the  Sages  were 

In  the  times  when  most  of  the  world's  sacred  books  sought  and  treasured  by  their  scholars. 

began  to  take  form,  including  the  Old  Testament,  it  was  But  much  more  important,  from  the  point  of  view 

easier  to  remember  than  to  write.    Stories,  poems,  instruc-  of  the  growth  of  biblical  literature,  was  the  work  of  the 

tions  were  handed  on  from  father  to  son,  and  from  teacher  Sons  of  the  Prophets.    At  first  these  were  the  wandering 

to  pupil.     Scholars  believe  that  the  Homeric  poems,  the  seers,  who  went  about  in  Israel,  giving  oracles,  inciting 

greatest  classic  of  ancient  Greece,  were  unwritten  for  many  the  people  to  loyalty  to  their  national  faith,  and  in  a  rude 

centuries  after  their  composition,  and  yet  have  survived  fashion,  interpreting  the  sanctions  of  religion.    Gradually, 

in  fairly  accurate  form  from  that  dim  past.     It  was  not  under  the  leadership  of  saner  and  abler  men,  like  Samuel 

otherwise  with  the  earliest  portions  of  Holy  Scripture.  and  Elijah,  they  were  localized  in  communities  at  certain 

It  seems  probable  that  long  before  any  of  the  books  of  the  more  famous  shrines,  and  became  the  first  examples 

of  the  Old  Testament  were  written  in  the  form  in  which  of  the  Schools  of  the  Prophets,  which  later  played  so 

we  have  them,  there  were  many  short  and  pithy  sentences  important  a  role  in  the  story  of  education  and  religion  in 

in  the  style  of  proverbs,  aphorisms  and  oracles,  that  had  t"e  land. 

taken  their  place  in  the  common  speech  of  the  day,  and  schools  of  the  prophets 
passed  as  the  current  coin  of  conversation.     The  orient 

has  always  been  fond  of  maxims,  parables,  quaint  sayings  In  these  schools  the  traditions  regarding  the  great 

in  which  the  wisdom  of  the  past  was  believed  to  be  stored,  leaders  of  the  past — Abraham,  Moses,  Samuel  and  the 

Long  before  the  Book  of  Proverbs  was  thought  of,  there  like — were  preserved  and  used  as  the  material  of  common 

were  many  such  floating  bits  of  wit  and  wisdom,  as  our  instruction.    The  story  of  Jehovah  and  his  mighty  deeds 

oldest  sources,  like  the  books  of  Judges  and  Samuel,  bear  in  behalf  of  his  people  was  rehearsed  and  written  out. 

witness.     Such  riddles  as  the  ones  propounded  by  Sam-  The  world  traditions  of  divine  activity  in  the  creation  and 

son  at  his  wedding,  such  stories  as  the  parable  of  the  trees,  discipline  of  the  race  were  revised  and  adapted  to  Hebrew 

hurled  by  Jotham  at  his  arrogant  brother,  such  proverbs  use.     For  the  Hebrews  were  the  children  of  the  great 

as  the  one  quoted  by  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  to  Gideon,  were  Babylonian  civilization,  and  the  traditions  of  that  ancient 

treasured  in  memory.  people  were  not  unknown  to  them.     To  this  fact  is  due 

Then  there  were  fragments  of  poetry,  like  the  Sword  the  striking  resemblance  of  the  Hebrew  prophetic  and 

Song  of  Lamech,  the  Song  by  the  Sea,  recounting  the  priestly  stories  of  creation  and  the  flood  to  those  of  the 

triumph  of  Jehovah  over  the  hosts  of  Egypt,  the  Song  Babylonian  cycle. 

of  Deborah,  and  the  song  of  celebration  of  David's  victory  Tn  such  circles  of  instruction  the  preaching  of  the 
over  Goliath.  With  them  must  have  been  treasured  the  prophets  of  the  nation  was  the  standard  of  instruction, 
laments  and  elegies  over  famous  men,  like  the  dirges  of  The  words  of  the  leaderlike  men  whose  names  have 
David  for  Saul  and  Jonathan,  and  for  Abner.  Perhaps  become  familiar  to  us  as  the  moral  and  religious  teachers 
at  some  later  time  such  fragments  of  national  poetry  were  0f  Israel,  were  carried  out  into  the  wider  reaches  of  the 
gathered  into  such  a  collection  as  the  lost  Book  of  Jashar,  national  life  by  the  members  of  these  brotherhoods,  and 
or  The  Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah,  referred  to  but  not  set  down  for  the  purposes  of  further  study  and  later  pres- 
included  in  the  Old  Testament.  For  centuries  before  ervation  in  the  schools  of  the  prophets.  A  vast  and  wide- 
there  was  any  attempt  to  write  down  the  floating  poetry  spread  activity  went  on  among  these  unknown  servants  of 
of  remembrance,  these  and  many  other  songs  probably  God,  only  fragments  of  whose  labors  have  been  preserved 
passed  about  as  the  common  possession  of  the  Hebrew  in  the  records  of  the  Scriptures. 

bards  and  story-tellers.  And  if  the  prophets  were  busy  with  their  task  of  \ 

earliest  writings  studying,    interpreting,    recording    and    distributing    the 

,    .    .           ., ,        ,                     ,                 ,         ,  oracles  of  master  spirits  of  their  order,  not  less  fruitful 

It  is  impossible,  of  course,  to  be  sure  when  the  ma-  were  the  m          labors  of  the    rf         the  ministers  of  the 

terial  which  later  went  to  the  making  of  the  Old  Testa-  sanctuaries.  Each  of  these  shrines  was  in  some  manner 
ment  began  to  be  written  down.  If  one  is  to  judge  by  &  school  eyen  before  ^  days  of  ^  great  reformation> 
the  examples  of  other  ancient  people,  it  would  seem  likely  Jerusalem.  The  growth  of  priestly  ritual  and  torah  began 
that  the  laws  that  were  taking  form  were  written  out,  and,  very  early>  and  never  ceased,  though  its  most  flourishing 
perhaps,  displayed  on  tablets  or  carved  on  stones.  Egyp-  period  came  after  the  destruction  of  the  national  institu- 
tian  and  Babylonian  instances  of  this  sort  are  familiar,  tions,  and  the  change  of  Israel  from  a  nation  to  a  church. 
The  Ten  Commandments,  which  were  known  as  early  as  The  body  of  writings  that  took  form  in  the  schools  of  the 
the  time  of  Solomon  as  a  written  code  of  instruction,  and  sanctuaries  and  later  in  the  schools  of  the  scribes  and  was 
probably  go  much  further  back  as  oral  precepts,  may  well  known  technically  as  the  Law,  became  later  on  the  most 
have  found  visible  embodiment  as  the  recognized  form  of  revered  of  all  the  sacred  books,  and  held  in  public  regard 
popular  direction.  In  the  different  forms  in  which  these  a  position  far  more  impressive  than  even  the  greatest  of 
first  laws  of  Israel  were  cherished  as  the  words  of  Moses  the  prophetic  writings, 
the  man  of  God,  they  had  an  authority  like  that  which 
was  attributed  to  the  utterances  of  Confucius,  Zoroaster 
and  Socrates  by  their  disciples.  Of  course,  one  must  not  forget  that  religious  literature 
As  soon  as  the  interest  in  writing  developed,  and  the  js  by  no  means  the  earliest  to  take  form.  Men  were  inter- 
body of  worthful  tradition  exceeded  the  ability  of  men  to  ested  in  much  more  commonplace  matters  before  they 
remember,  records  of  the  poems,  proverbs,  parables  and  began  to  write  down  laws  and  oracles.  From  the  days 
stories  of  the  past  were  made  and  multiplied.  Some  sort  0f  picture  writing  to  the  age  of  literature,  people  were  con- 
of  institutions  that  corresponded  to  the  schools  of  later  n  cerned  to  write  about  a  hundred  different  things  which 


variety  of  literary  interest 


January  18,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


11 


pertained  to  the  simple  life  of  the  community,  and  had 
little  to  do  with  the  subjects  outside  of  the  ordinary  secular 
activities.  Letters  were  exchanged,  contracts  were  re- 
corded, accounts  were  kept,  public  proclamations  were 
made,  the  campaigns  and  achievements  of  kings  were  cele- 
brated in  laudatory  chronicles,  and  inscriptions  commemo- 
rated notable  events. 

In  this  growing  mass  of  writing,  the  religious  interest 
had  its  place,  in  the  kind  of  products  already  mentioned, 
as  well  as  the  literature  of  omens,  magical  formulae,  in- 
cantations, prescriptions  for  various  emergencies,  and 
other  like  documents.  Most  of  these  materials  have  long 
since  perished.  A  few  survivals  and  many  references  to 
such  subjects  make  it  clear,  however,  that  among  all  the 
nations  of  antiquity  possessed  of  a  fair  degree  of  culture, 
such  written  materials  were  to  be  found  in  great  abund- 
ance. That  they  should  have  perished  almost  wholly  is 
not  surprising.  It  is  rather  cause  for  congratulation  that 
so  much  has  survived  from  ages  in  which  the  interest  in 
the  preservation  of  writing  was  so  slight.  And  it  is  still 
further  the  good  fortune  of  our  time  that  archaeological 
research  is  annually  adding  a  considerable  volume  of 
unearthed  materials  to  the  literary  treasures  of  the  world. 

SURVIVING  HEBREW  BOOKS 

When  we  turn  to  the  Hebrew  people,  whose  writings 
have  proved  of  such  value  to  the  moral  and  religious  life 
of  humanity,  we  discover  that  out  of  a  large  quantity  of 
writings  of  many  sorts  a  few  have  come  down  to  us  in  a 
unique  collection  which  we  call  the  Old  Testament.  The 
books  found  in  this  list  give  clear  testimony  that  they  are 
but  a  small  part  of  all  that  was  once  extant.  The  books 
named  in  various  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  as  once  in 
existence  but  now  lost  would  make  a  considerable  volume. 
It  is  a  vast  misfortune  that  so  many  have  perished.  But 
this  is  the  fate  of  much  of  the  writing  of  the  past,  and 
we  may  feel  a  degree  of  confidence  that  in  the  providence 
of  God,  and  by  the  working  of  the  principle  that  the  most 
valuable  things  tend  to  survive,  we  have  in  our  possession 
the  writings  the  world  could  least  afford  to  lose. 

These  Hebrew  writings  in  the  amalgum  which  we 
know  as  the  Old  Testament,  appear  to  have  taken  form 
between  the  tenth  and  the  first  centuries  before  Christ. 
For  the  most  part  they  were  written  in  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, during  the  period  when  that  was  a  current  speech. 
There  are  a  few  fragments  of  Aramaic,  a  kindred  but  later 
dialect.  But  the  books  as  a  whole  are  Hebrew.  This  was 
doubtless  the  foremost  reason  for  their  inclusion  in  a 
special  collection  from  which  later  writings,  in  the  Greek 
of  the  subsequent  period,  were  excluded.  The  simplest 
definition  of  the  Old  Testament  is  that  it  is  the  total  sur- 
viving literature  of  the  Hebrew  people  during  the  centuries 
when  their  language  was  a  living  tongue. 

Bible  students  have  often  supposed  that  there  was 
something  sacred  and  marvelous  about  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, because  the  Old  Testament  books  were  written  in 
it.  This  is  not  the  case.  It  was  merely  one  of  the  many 
dialects  into  which  the  great  family  of  Semitic  languages 
was  divided.  It  seems  to  have  been  the  speech  of  the 
people  inhabiting  Cannan  at  the  time  the  first  Hebrew 
emigrants  reached  the  Mediterranean  coast  from  their 
Aramean  and  Babylonian  fatherland.  They  took  the  lan- 
guage of  their  new  neighbors  in  Canaan,  in  so  far  as  it 
differed  from  their  former  Babylonian  tongue,  and  this 
in  time  became  known  as  the  Hebrew  language.  Though 
this  is  by  no  means  the  most  finished  of  the  Semitic  dia- 
lects, it  is  a  wonderfully  expressive  language,   and  the 


sacred  writings  of  the  Hebrews  owe  much  of  their  pic- 
turesque and  expressive  character  to  the  dialect  in  which 
they  were  recorded. 

LATER    GREEK    WRITINGS 

There  were  later  books  of  religion,  such  as  Maccabees 
and  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  closely  related  to  this  body 
of  writings,  and  in  many  ways  differing  from  it  only  in 
the  fact  that  they  were  set  down  in  the  Greek  tongue, 
which  became  the  vehicle  for  literary  work  in  Palestine 
in  the  second  century  B.  C.  These  books  have  merited  a 
much  larger  measure  of  attention  from  biblical  students 
than  they  have  received.  But  because  of  the  secondary 
position  to  which  they  were  relegated  on  account  of  their 
form,  they  have  usually  taken  their  place  merely  as 
"apocrypha,"  and  lost  their  rightful  treatment  at  the  hands 
of  a  large  portion  of  both  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian 
communities. 

The  New  Testament  is  the  collection  of  writings  that 
gradually  became  classic  among  the  numerous  documents 
written  in  the  early  Christian  society,  between  the  years 
50  and  150  A.  D.  They  were  of  several  sorts — epistles, 
memoirs,  travel  narratives,  defenses  of  the  new  faith,  and 
apocalyptic  manifestoes.  They  were  all  grouped  about  the 
life  and  ministry  of  Jesus,  and  the  work  of  his  first  inter- 
preters. They  are  but  a  small  part  of  the  large  body  of 
literature  produced  by  early  Christianity.  It  was  an  age  of 
remarkable  literary  activity,  and  the  volume  of  writings 
that  grew  uparound  the  person  of  the  Lord  was  very  great. 
A  much  larger  proportion  of  these  have  survived  than  in 
the  case  of  the  older  literature  of  the  Hebrews.  But  much 
the  same  process  of  selection  took  place,  and  out  of  the 
total  mass  of  Christian  documents  there  gradually  emerged 
the  small  list  of  books  which  are  now  included  in  the  New 
Testament.  Many  others  found  their  places  in  that  extra- 
canonical  collection  generally  known  as  the  New  Testa- 
ment apocrypha. 

In  some  such  manner  as  this  our  Bible  came  into 
being.  Its  character  and  value  prove  that  a  book  does 
not  need  a  supernatural  origin  in  order  to  be  the  vehicle 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  the  soul  of  man.  This  marvelous 
collection  of  documents,  so  simple  in  form  and  so  human 
in  the  making,  has  taken  a  place  occupied  by  no  other  in 
the  regard  of  the  race,  and  is  increasing  by  wider  and  wider 
diameters  the  scope  of  its  influence.  These  books  are  our 
most  valued  possession.  Their  sound  goes  out  into  all 
the  earth,  and  their  words  to  the  ends  of  the  world. 


niiiititiiiuiiiiiiiitiitiirtiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii)niiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiu:iiiiiiiiii.: 


An  Evening  Prayer 

ACCEPT  the  work  of  this  day,  O  Lord, 
as  we  lay  it  at  thy  feet.    Thou  knowest 

its  imperfections,  and  we  know.     Of  the 
|  brave  purposes  of  the  morning  only  a  few 

have  found  their  fulfillment.    We  bless  thee 
|  that  thou  art  no  hard  taskmaster,  watching 

grimly  the  stint  of  work  we  bring,  but  the 
|  father   and   teacher  of  men  who   rejoices 

with  us  as  we  learn  to  work.     We  have 
|  naught  to  boast  before  thee,  but  we  do  not 

fear  thy  face.    Thou  knowest  all  things  and 
I  thou  art  love.    Accept  every  right  intention, 

however  brokenly  fulfilled,  but  grant  that 
I  ere  our  life  is  done  we  may  under  thy  tui- 

|  tion   become   true   master   workmen,    who 

know  the  art  of  a  just  and  valiant  life. 
|  — Walter  Rauschenbusch 

uimimmiMi HinninciiiiiiiriiiriirmniniiiiliimiiuliMriiiiHi'imiiimiimiramnummiiiniiuiiiinniuimnuiinrommimnini 


Billy  Sunday's  Conception  of 

Religion 

Expressed  in  an  Address  Before  the  Uuitarian  Ministers'  Association  of  Boston 

Billy  Sunday  has  been  achiciing  the  most  spectacular  success  of  his  evangelistic  career  in  Boston. 
Prior  to  his  entrance  into  that  city  the  strong  Unitarian  sentiment  zvas  divided  in  its  attitude  toward 
the  revivalist,  one  of  whose  chief  assets  has  always  been  his  attacks  on  Unitarianism.  Instead  of 
returning  blow  for  blozv  the  Boston  Unitarians  at  last  decided  to  treat  the  evangelist  not  only  with 
tolerance  but  with  sympathetic  respect  for  whatever  virtues  could  be  shown  to  inhere  in  his  work. 
They  inz-ited  him  to  speak  before  their  ministers'  association,  an  invitation  which  Mr.  Sunday  ac- 
cepted. The  Christian  Register  had  Mr.  Sunday's  address  taken  dozun  stenographically.  We  believe 
this  address  has  real  significance.  We  publish  it  here  without  editorial  comment.  It  will  suggest  many 
and  various  thoughts  to  Christian  Century  readers.  Suppose  we  make  an  exchange  of  our  thoughts 
through  the  columns  of  the  "Century!"  Write  down  in  not  more  than  200  words  the  outstanding 
comment  which  this  address  suggests  to  your  mind  and  send  it  in.  Let  the  comments  be  as  candid  as — 
zvcll,  as  candid  as  you  believe  our  editorial  comment  would  be! — The  Editor. 


4  4|  AM  an  old-fashioned  preacher, 
and  my  object  and  aim  in  life 
■*•  is  to  try  and  make  it  easier  for 
people  to  do  right  and  harder  to  do 
wrong;  and  I  have  no  other  object  or 
aim  than  that.  I  hope  what  I  have  to 
say  to  you  will  help  you  as  much  as 
your  kind  invitation  to  me  has  already 
helped  me.  The  goal  toward  which 
all  things  are  moving  is  the  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  sovereignty  of  God. 
All  things  are  to  be  subject  to  God. 
All  power  is  given  under  heaven 
unto  Christ  that  he  may  conquer  all 
God's  enemies,  and  when  this  is 
done  he  will  abolish  all  rule  and  au- 
thority and  power  of  the  devil,  and 
when  he  has  destroyed  the  last  en- 
emy, sin,  he  will  deliver  up  the  king- 
dom to  God,  the  Father. 

"Popularly  speaking,  salvation  is 
escape  from  the  punishment  of  sin 
and  assurance  that  the  fellow  will 
enter  heaven.  It  is  something  more 
than  an  escape  from  punishment  of 
sin.  Salvation  to  a  person  drown- 
ing would  be  his  restoration  to  the 
condition  he  occupied  before.  Sal- 
vation from  sin  restores  man  to  the 
condition  he  occupied  before  he 
sinned. 

BODY  AND  SPIRIT    . 

"Now,  the  spirit  and  the  body  are 
involved  in  the  fall,  and  both  have 
to  be  restored,  spirit  and  body.  All 
right.  Complete  salvation  demands 
the  restoration  of  the  whole  man. 
Very  well !  That  their  restoration 
can  be  all  that  was  desired  is  evi- 
dent from  the  fact  that  when  God 
made  man  he  made  him  perfect. 
God  is  not  like  an  architect;  for  the 
architect  makes  a  tentative  plan  and 
alters  it  here  and  there  until  he  is 
satisfied.  Man  was  perfect  at  crea- 
tion. The  reason  he  is  not  perfect 
now  is  because  of  sin. 

"I  don't  believe  in  the  bastard 
theory  of  evolution.  I  don't  believe 
that  I  came  from  a  protoplasm  or  a 


Rev.  William  A.  Sunday 

fortuitous  concurrence  of  atoms.  I 
don't  believe  that  my  great-great- 
grandfather was  a  monkey  in  a  co- 
coanut  tree  with  his  tail  wrapped 
around  a  limb  of  a  tree  shying  cocoa- 
nuts  at  the  neighbor  across  the  back 
alley.  If  by  evolution  you  mean  ad- 
vance, I  will  go  with  you.  If  by 
evolution  you  mean  that  I  came 
from  a  monkey,  good-night ! 

god's  plan  of  salvation 

"Now,  if  man's  spirit  alone  is  re- 
stored, then  he  is  partly  saved.  If 
his  body  is  restored,  he  is  partly  saved. 
Therefore  to  be  saved  means  that 
he  must  be  restored  to  his  original 
perfection.  While  God  knew  how 
salvation  would  ultimately  be  at- 
tained— and  the  grounds  of  it  existed 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world — 
instead  of  saving  man  directly  after 
he  fell,  God  chose  to  lengthen  the 
process  and  make  "a  full  display  of  his 


love,  his  justice,  and  his  mercy,  and 
to  show  that  salvation  was  by  grace. 
"How  could  man  show  his  obedi- 
ence? Well,  God  made  the  forbidden 
fruit  the  test  and  man  disobeyed,  ate 
the  forbidden  fruit,  and  the  world  be- 
came a  graveyard  and  an  ache  and  a 
pain.  He  made  the  rite  of  the  sacri- 
ficial test,  the  offer  of  the  sacrificial 
lamb  by  way  of  return.  Abel  offered 
his  sacrifice  in  faith,  and  God  accepted 
it.  Old  Cain  in  a  spirit  of  rebellion 
went  out  and  gathered  the  fruits  of  the 
field  and  offered  them  to  the  Lord,  but 
he  said,  'No,  nothin'  doin' !'  and  he  re- 
jected it.  Just  the  same  as  I  did.  He 
couldn't  offer  a  substitute  any  more 
than  I  can  hang  a  tallow  candle  in  the 
heavens  and  have  a  substitute  for  the 
sun.  When  man  multiplied  he  fol- 
lowed the  footsteps  of  Cain,  and, 
weary  with  sin  and  meditating  on  pun- 
ishment, God  sent  Noah  to  warn  the 
people,  and  the  warning  was  fruitless. 

THE    WRITTEN    LAW 

"Then,  God  gave  the  written  law. 
Perhaps  man  was  ignorant,  perhaps 
if  God  would  tell  him  what  he  wanted 
him  to  do  in  written  law,  man  would 
obey  it;  and  so  God  gave  the  code 
which  would  save.  The  plan  along 
this  line  was  to  raise  up  a  people 
having  God's  special  care,  to  whom 
he  would  give  his  law  and  through 
obedience  God  would  bless  them.  The 
other  people  would  see  God  bless  them 
and  turn  from  their  idolatry  to  the 
Lord  that  they  might  correspondingly 
receive  the  blessing.  This  people  one 
night  were  brought  out  of  Egyptian 
bondage.  Two  million  people  were 
suddenly  converted  from  being  slaves, 
baring  their  backs  to  the  lash  of  the 
taskmaster,  making  bricks  for  old 
Pharaoh  without  straw,  unto  a  na- 
tion ;  and  at  Sinai  God  gave  them  the 
Ten  Commandments.  For  forty  years 
they  were  in  the  wilderness,  and  God 
was  training  them  to  obey.    When  at 


January  18,  1917                               THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  13 

last  they  entered  Canaan  God  com-  thought  that  salvation  is  by  works,  in  my  unrenewed  body;  hen^e  there 
manaed  them  to  destroy  the  idolatrous  The  great  lessons  that  God  teaches  is  a  scrap  on  hand.  That  is  what 
people  that  had  taken  unwarranted  by  the  history  of  the  Jewish  nation  is  the  trouble  now  here.  When 
possession  of  their  land.  That  land  are :  first,  man  is  not  inclined  to  accept  Jesus  Christ  my  soul  is  saved 
belonged  to  them.  If  you  got  home  obey  God's  law;  second,  man  can-  then  and  there,  and  that  is  the  as- 
today  and  saw  some  fellow  in  your  not  save  himself.  The  third  method  surance  that  my  body  will  be  saved 
home,  you  would  order  him  out,  of  salvation  was  last.  God  waited,  at  the  resurrection.  But  my  re- 
and,  if  he  wouldn't  go,  you  would  and  finally  he  put  beyond  all  ques-  deemed  spirit  dwells  in  my  unre- 
mak'e  him  hotfoot  out  of  the  place  or  tion  that  salvation  is  by  faith  and  deemed  body  until  death,  and  so 
call  the  policeman.  Then  they  ren-  not  by  works,  by  laying  help  upon  there  is  a  battle  there.  At  resurrec-i 
dered  partial  obedience  and  saved  one  that  was  mighty  to  save.  So  he  tion  my  renewed  spirit  and  my  re- 
some,  and  the  ones  they  saved  be-  sent  Jesus  Christ  into  the  world  to  newed  body  are  united  and  stand 
came' thorns  in  their  flesh  and  tempted  become  a  saviour.  Christ  came  not  before  God  restored  to  my  original 
the  Jews  to  turn  from  God  to  idolatry  only  to  reveal  God  to  man,  he  came  condition  before  man  ate  the  for- 
and  worship  the  idols;  and  God  pun-  to  reveal  man  to  man.  In  Jesus  bidden  fruit  and  brought  sin  into  the 
ished  their  idolatry.  When  they  re-  Christ  I  have  the  highest  possible  world.  God  brought  me  back  again, 
pented,  of  course  the  Lord  forgave  revelation  of  God.  Because  God  has  In  Samuel's  time  the  term  'king* 
them,  but  their  tendency  was  all  the  revealed  himself,  I  can-  tell  that  fel-  had  never  been  applied  to  God.  The 
time  'to  forsake  God.  low  out  there  what  God  wants  him  people    demanded    an    earthly  king, 

to  be  and  how  God  wants  him  to  and  Samuel  declared  God  was  their 

Israel's  waywardness  live     The  speciai  feature  on  which  king;  but  God  answered  the  people 

"Now,   God   had   governed   Israel  Christ    laid    stress   was    love-love,  according  to   their   folly.      He   said, 

through  Moses  and  Joshua  and  the  Christ's   end   and   aim   was   to  win  You  don  t  need  it.     They  said,   We 

judge!  that  he  had  sent,  but  when  men's   hearts    and    show    them    the  have  got  to  have  it      He  said,   All 

Samuel  was  an  old  man,  about  ready  ove  of  God.     He  wanted  them  to  right,    you    bullheaded    mutts     you 

to    eive    uo    his    governorship     the  know  that  God  loved  them.     lt  was  can  &°  ahead  and  have  xt      So  the 

people  said" 'Oh,  give  us  a  king,  that  the  love  of  God  that  gave  the  law  to  Lord  said,  'Go  ahead,'  and  they  had 

we  may  be  like  other  nations.'     It  mankind.     It  was  the  love  of  God  their  king, 

broke  Samuel's  heart,  and  he  went  to  that  inflicted  punishment  when  they  fatherhood  of  god 

the  Lord  about  it.     The  Lord  said,  disobeyed      It  was  the  love  of  God  fatherhood  of  god 

'Now,    Samuel,    don't    you    worry;  that  sent  the  prophets     Christ  pro-  "The  sin  of  rejecting  God  as  King  is 

they  aren't  rejecting  you;  it  is  I  that  ceeded  to  convince  by  deeds.    If  the  the  sin  of  the  Jworl|  tod          Some 

they  are  passing  up' ;  and  he  gave  PeoPle  could  not  reason,  they  could  <      think    th        honor    him    b 

them    a    king    in    his    wrath.    All  feel,  and  if  they  could  not  be  reached  [eacFhing  the  fatherhood  of  God  and 

through  the  history  of  the  Jews  un-  £rouSj  thelr  i"?teilect*  ^l  •wdl_  the  brotherhood  of  man ;  they  have 

til  today  they   have   suffered   from  then  they  could  through  their  sor-  declared   that    instead    of   the    sov. 

that  minute  for  that  thing.  ro.ws  and  their  distresses  and  their  ereignt     of  Godj  the  fatherhood  of 

"Now,  under  old  Rehoboam,  who  miseries.     They    needed    help    and  God  should  be       t  forth>  and  they 

was   a   heady,   chesty,    high-headed  £ey   were   sick,   and   helpless,   and  have  been  ringing  the  changes  all 

young  fellow  and  a  high  roller,  the  bhnd>  and  lame-  and  with  the  touch  oyer  the  land  in  all  denominations 

kingdom,  because  of  oppression  and  °    P1^111?  love  Christ  healed  their  today  on  the  fatherhood  of  God  and 

injustice,  was  broken  in  two.     Ten  Jesh    forgave  their  sins,  and  their  the    brotherhood    of    man.      Some 

tribes  became  Israel  and  two  tribes  h.eartf  were  softened  and  many  be-  think  th       have   discovered  a  new 

became  Judah.     The  ten  tribes  ran  ^ved.     Not  to  leave  any  place  for  religion>    No  doubt  God  is  the  father 

such  a  course  of  rebellion  that  God  doubt>  Christ  laid  down  his  life  for  of  those  that  bdieve  in  him  through 

gave  them  into  the  hands  of  the  As-  tnem.  t|ie  Lord  jesus  Christ ;  but  will  you 

Syrians,  and  they  have  been  lost  to  saved  from  sin's  penalty  *"de  yourself  in  the  fatherhood  of 

this  day.    The  two  tribes  of  Judah  t~    ,  ^.^  Qr  are  ^qu  going  to  say  to  the 

ran  a  similar  course.     They  had  a  "Now,  we  have  been  bought  for  a  people,  'Gird  yourself  in  order  that 

few  pious  kings  who  did  their  level  price    with  the    precious    blood    of  you  may  obey  the  will  of  God  and 

best  to  turn  them  in  their  mad,  wild  Christ;  bought  from  what?   Bought  do  the  will  of  God'? 

stampede  of  idolatry  and  sin,   and  from  the  penalty  of  the  law.    God's  .       "What  is  the   dominant   note   of 

God  flashed  the  semaphores  of  his  plan  was  that  man  should  live  for-  the  Lord's  Prayer?    That  the  fath- 

eternal  truth  across  their  pathway  ever,  but  man  perverted  God's  plan  erhood    of    God    may   be    acknowl- 

and  delivered  them  into  the  hands  and  the  penalty  was,  'The  soul  that  edged?     No.     The   brotherhood   of 

of     old      Nebuchadnezzar.       They  sinneth,  it  shall  die.'     By  acting  as  man?     No.      But     'Thy     kingdom 

wouldn't  obey  God.     Nubuchadnez-  our  substitute  Christ  delivered  us.  come    and    thy   will    be   done'; — the 

zar  carried   them  to   Babylon,   and  He  tasted  death  for  every  man,  and  kingdom    of    God    as   Jesus    Christ 

that  was  the  end  of  their  kingdom  everyone  who  accepts  and  comes  to  preached   it.     It   is   through   Christ 

of  Judah.     God  did  not  allow  the  Christ  is  released  from  the  penalty  that  man  will  get  back  to  his  allegi- 

Jews  to  run  this  downward  course  of  the  law.  ance.     God  demands  obedience;  he 

without  warning.    He  sent  prophets  "Now,   that   is   God's   method   of  wants  to  rule  in  every  heart,  and  I 

to  preach  the  way  of  righteousness  salvation.     The  first  step  is  the  re-  don't  believe,  men,  there  was  ever  a 

and  the  coming  of  Christ,  but  the  newal  of  the   spirit  through   salva-  greater  time  in  all  this  world  when 

people  would  not  repent.    That  was  tion,  and  the  second  step  is  the  re-  we  ought  to  preach  obedience  to  God 

the  end  of  the  second  experiment.  newal  of  the  body  through  resurrec-  than  now.  The  world  has  gone  daffy 

tion.     Between  the  salvation  of  my  today   in  the   service   of   mammon. 

salvation  not  by  law  soul  through  faith  in  jesus  and  the  We  are  going  crazy  over  social  serv- 

"Now  salvation  was  not  by  law,  renewal  of  my  body  through  resur-  jce,    over   uplift,    over   things    which 

Paul  could  point  to  the  history  of  rection,  death  steps  in,  and  between  in  themselves  are  all  right  and  are 

the  Jews  as  proof  of  its  failure ;  and  the    salvation    of    my    soul    through  absolutely    indispensable,    but    the 

the  failure  ought  to  shut  the  mouth  faith     in     Christ     and     death,     my  trouble   is,   we   are   simply   turning 

of      everyone     who     harbors     the  friends,    my   renewed   spirit    dwells  away  people  from  obedience  to  God 


14 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  18,  1917 


and  God's  truth.  'Not  everyone 
that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven; 
but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my 
Father  in  heaven.'  The  kingdom 
must  be  set  up  in  our  hearts.  All 
things  are  working  to  this  end,  even 
the  war  in  Europe.  I  don't  know 
how  it  is  going  to  be  brought  about, 
but  it  is  going  to  be  brought  about. 
I  don't  believe  in  war  if  you  can 
possibly  get  along  without  it,  but 
there  are  times  when  you  have  to 
scrap  just  the  same.  If  there  had 
been  no  war,  Bunker  Hill  monu- 
ment wouldn't  stand  yonder. 

WHEN    WILL    THE    KINGDOM    COME? 

When  the  kingdom  is  to  be 
established,  I  don't  know.  Nobody 
knows.  Old  Russell  had  it  doped 
out ;  he  was  going  to  wind  it  up 
here.  The  Millerites  had  it  way 
back  in  1848  and  they  knocked  off 


work  and  crawled  under  barns,  and 
it  hasn't  come  true  yet.  Before  the 
kingdom  comes,  a  good  many  things 
will  have  to  be  done.  The  nations 
are  going  to  be  converted ;  the  Jews 
are  going  to  be  restored ;  Jesus  will 
return,  Satan  will  be  bound,  the 
dead  will  be  raised,  the  judgment 
will  take  place,  and  Christ  will  sit 
on  the  throne  as  judge.  When  he 
holds  the  reins  of  universal  power, 
he  will  destroy  the  last  enemy,  death, 
and  deliver  up  the  kingdom  to  God, 
the  Father. 

"The  whole  world  groans  and  tra- 
vails, my  friends,  in  pain  until  now. 
When  man  is  restored  the  earth  will 
be  delivered  from  sin.  No  thorns, 
no  thistles,  no  briers,  my  friends; 
no  sorrow,  no  famine,  no  war,  no 
saloons,  none  of  the  infamy  that 
curses  this  old  world;  all  will  be 
blotted  out.  Yet  in  spite  of  God's 
willingness  to  pardon,  men  continue 
to   reject   him.     Man's   will    is   his 


central  glory.  God  decreed  the  free- 
dom of  the  human  will,  and  he 
stopped  right  there.  I  am  Meth- 
odist enough  to  believe  that,  al- 
though I  am  a  Presbyterian.  Hats 
off  to  old  John  Wesley !  He  took  dry- 
as-dust  theology  and  set  it  on  fire. 
God  will  not  destroy  man's  central 
glory,  his  free  will.  If  a  man  wants 
to  love  sin  he  can  go  ahead,  but  he 
must  remember  that  when  he  is 
through  he  will  go  to  hell,  and  that's 
all  there  is  to  that.  God  will  never 
coerce  any  man  on  earth,  but  he 
appeals  to  people  to  !forsake  sin. 
That  is  my  mission  in  Boston,  to 
make  it  easier  for  people  to  do  right 
and  harder  for  them  to  do  wrong, 
make  it  easier  for  a  man  to  walk 
home  sober,  and  make  it  easier  for 
people  to  live  in  joy  in  this  material 
old  world.  With  all  the  power  that 
God  gives  me  I  have  come  to  preach 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  for  all  I 
know  how  to  do  it." 


Our  readers  are  invited  to  comment  on  the  views  of  Mr.  Sunday  as  expressed  in  the  above  address, 
keeping  their  statements  within  a  space  limit  of  200  words. 


Why  Force  Fails 


OF  course,  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  have  never  yet  acknowl- 
edged His  dominion.  Interna- 
tional relations  have  always  been 
founded  on  the  law  of  physical  force; 
kings  and  rulers  have  never  had  any 
faith  in  the  might  of  any  weapons  that 
are  not  carnal.  So  they  have  kept  the 
world  always  in  strife. 

At  this  moment  most  of  the  great 
nations  of  the  earth  are  reddening 
their  fields  with  blood  and  blasting  the 
lives  of  their  people  in  the  insane  en- 
deavor to  prove  that  right  relations 
between  nations  can  only  be  settled  by 
war.  They  will  prove,  of  course,  that 
war  can  do  nothing  of  the  kind. 

RIGHT  BASIS 

Right  relations  between  states  can 
never  be  founded  on  hate  and  sus- 
picion and  fear.  The  forces  in  which 
the  nations  are  trusting  are  powerless 
to  give  them  the  good  they  are  seek- 
ing. What  they  will  do  will  be  to 
demonstrate,  once  more,  the  futility 
of  force.  There  are  forces,  irresistible 
forces,  within  the  reach  of  these  na- 
tions, which  would  quickly  and  surely 
secure  right  relations  among  them. 

Kindness,  friendship,  good  will,  how 
quickly  these  would  banish  enmity  and 
quench  suspicion  and  abolish  fear! 
Germany  will  never  subdue  England ; 
England  will  never  crush  Germany; 
but  either  of  them  could  win  tomor- 
row a  splendid  and  decisive  victory  by 
flinging  away  the  sword  and  saying: 


By  Washington  Gladden 

"Come,  what  is  the  good  of  this 
hideous,  fiendish,  futile  fighting?  It 
settles  nothing;  it  never  will.  Let  us 
be  friends !  Let  us  study  how  we  can 
dwell  together  in  unity,  how  we  can 
help  and  serve  each  other.  There's 
room  enough  under  the  sun  for  all  of 
us,  and  the  space  under  the  sod  for 
our  slaughtered  youth  is  getting 
scarce.    Let  us  have  peace !" 

DREADNOUGHTS   AND   PEACE 

There  is  a  force  which  is  irresist- 
ible. That  is  the  power  with  which 
the  mind  which  was  in  Jesus  is  ready 
to  clothe  men  and  nations.  All  Eng- 
land's dreadnoughts,  all  Germany's 
batteries  and  battalions  are  devices  of 
feebleness  and  futility;  they  will  fail 
to  give  either  of  them  any  conclusive 
victory,  any  enduring  peace. 

What  a  flimsy  thing  a  dreadnought 
is,  or  a  battery  of  big  guns,  for  over- 
coming hatred  and  suspicion  and  fear 
in  the  hearts  of  a  people!    And  how 


quickly  all  that  darkness  could  be  dis- 
pelled by  a  few  words  of  good-will 
from  the  leaders  of  the  people ! 

When  will  the  nations  learn  how 
feeble  are  all  the  weapons  that  are  car- 
nal, and  how  mighty,  under  God,  are 
the  weapons  of  light  and  love? 

OUR  NATIONAL  ATTITUDE 

And  how  pitiful  it  seems  that  this 
nation,  after  watching  for  a  year  and 
a  half  the  insane  spectacle  of  the 
powers  of  Europe  slaughtering  one  an- 
other for  nought — with  the  assurance 
that  every  one  of  them  will  be  infinite- 
ly worse  off  when  the  war  is  over  than 
ever  they  were  when  it  began — should 
now  propose  to  join  this  procession  of 
maniacs  and  find  out  for  herself  how 
stupid  and  insensate  is  the  age-long 
delusion  that  right  relations  between 
states  depend  on  the  use  of  physical 
force ;  that  we  cannot  live  in  unity  with 
our  neighbors  unless  we  are  prepared 
to  kill  them. 


iiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiii muni iiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiitiNiiiiiiiiiiiiu iiijiiiiiriiiiiiiHiJiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiMtiiMiii»iiiiitiitiiiitiiiiiiriiMitiitiiiiiiiiiifiiHHiiiiiiriiiiiiritiitifMfiitiriiiiiitriiniiitiiiitn 

Goals 

-  £ 

Ah,  well  for  him  who  knows,  when  each  new  goal 
Eludes  his  steps,  'tis  only  that  the  soul 
To  farther  goals  may  speed,  and  that  the  eyes 
May  thus  be  lifted  toward  a  fairer  prize; 
Who,  called  at  eve  to  lay  his  hopes  away, 
Knows  higher  hopes  shall  come  with  breaking  day. 
I  — Thomas  Curtis  Clark  | 

*  I 

iiiiiiitiuiiimiir mr 111111 mill iimiiiimiiiimiiMim limn mil mill Illllllllllll iimmiimimiin mmimiimmimmiii mm iiniiimiiiuif 


ti iiiiiiiiiimiiimiiimminmiii 


The    Larger    Christian   World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


Religious  Education 
Association  Meeting,  1917 

"Religious  Education  and  the 
Coming  World  Order"  is  to  be  the 
theme  of  the  Fourteenth  Annual 
Convention  of  the  Religious  Educa- 
tion Association,  which  will  be  held 
at  Boston,  Feb.  27  to  March  1,  1917. 
The  theme  will  be  developed  in  ad- 
dresses at  popular  evening  sessions 
in  Symphony  Hall  and  other  meet- 
ing places,  and  will  be  studied  in  its 
relations  to  the  colleges,  to  churches 
and  Sunday  Schools,  to  the  family, 
to  public  schools  and  to  other  social 
agencies  in  special  meetings  held  in 
the  afternoons.  Several  commis- 
sions have  been  studying  specific 
problems  in  moral  and  religious  edu- 
cation during  the  past  year,  and 
these  will  report  at  the  convention. 
Sessions  will  be  open  to  the  public. 
Programs  may  be  obtained  by  ad- 
dressing The  Religious  Education 
Association,  Chicago,  111. 

Methodist  Theology 
For  the  Chinese 

The  esteem  in  which  Sheldon's 
"System  of  Christian  Doctrine"  is 
held  among  Methodist  peoples  is 
seen  by  the  fact  that  it  is  now  trans- 
lated into  the  Chinese  language. 
Rev.  M.  C.  Wilcox  has  made  it  ready 
for  printing  by  the  Methodist  Pub- 
lishing House  of  Shanghai.  The 
book  has  been  adopted  as  one  of  the 
studies  in  the  Chinese  preachers' 
course  of  study. 

English  Preacher  Wants 
No  Rich  Bishops 

Rev.  Hubert  Handley  of  England 
has  spent  ten  years  championing  the 
cause  of  abolishing  the  worldly  gran- 
deur of  the  bishops.  He  insists  that 
the  wealth  of  the  bishops  prevents  the 
church  from  making  an  appeal  to  the 
poor.  He  preached  recently  in  a  city 
church  of  London.  The  text  was 
taken  from  Acts  iii.  6:  "Silver  and 
gold  have  I  none;  but  such  as  I  have 
give  I  thee ;  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Nazareth,  rise  up  and  walk." 
The  preacher  declared  that  St.  Peter 
here  struck  a  deep  and  lasting  Chris- 
tian note.  Poverty  goes  with  spiritual 
power.  They  who  say  grandly,  com- 
mandingly,  "In  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Nazareth,  rise  up  and  walk," 
are  they  who  also,  in  effect,  say,  "Sil- 
ver and  gold  have  I  none."  Thomas 
a  Kempis  and  John  Wesley  were  ad- 
duced as  eminent  illustrations  of  this 
law.    The  Church  of  England  today  is 


saying  to  the  nation,  "In  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  rise  up  and 
walk,"  but  the  nation  does  not  listen, 
the  masses  of  the  nation  turn  a  deaf, 
a  contemptuous  ear.  All  kinds  of 
reasons  are  offered  for  this  default. 
The  real  reason  is  that  the  masses  of 
the  people  do  not  believe  in  us  Church- 
men, particularly  in  us  clergy ;  the  peo- 
ple instinctively  feel  that  we  are 
double  dealing,  are  trying  to  obey  two 
masters,  are,  with  every  moral  device 
and  social  contortion,  struggling  to 
serve  God  and  mammon.  The  root  of 
this  worldliness  of  the  Church  is  the 
worldly  grandeur  of  the  bishops. 

Wants  Church 
of  All  Nations 

There  are  600,000  Germans  in  and 
about  Chicago,  and  the  Methodists 
have  been  successful  in  planting 
churches  among  them.  Bishop  Nichol- 
son, the  new  resident  bishop  of  this 
district,  is  planning  to  develop  further 
this  German  work  and  also  looks  for- 
ward to  the  founding  of  a  Church  of 
All  Nations  on  Halsted  street  on  the 
south  side,  which  will  be  modeled  after 
Dr.  Helm's  church  in  Boston. 

Roman  Catholics 
of  Canada 

The  Roman  Catholics  of  Canada 
seem  not  to  have  enlisted  in  the  war 
as  the  members  of  other  religious  com- 
munions have  done.  While  twelve  per 
cent  of  the  members  of  the  Anglican 
church  have  enlisted,  the  percentage 
of  Roman  Catholics  is  said  to  be  but 
a  little  over  one  per  cent.  The  Roman 
Catholics  of  Canada  are  of  French  ex- 
traction and  are  not  sympathetic  with 
France  in  the  present  war,  for  to  them 
the  separation  of  church  and  state  in 
France  has  made  the  mother  country 
"godless"  in  their  eyes.  Religious  feel- 
ing in  Canada  is  not  very  cordial  these 
days  as  the  Roman  Catholic  section  of 
the  population  is  being  regarded  sus- 
piciously by  the  various  Protestant 
groups. 

Unitarian  Churches 
Well  Served 

While  the  Unitarians  of  New  Eng- 
land are  not  numerous  and  not  grow- 
ing, their  work  would  seem  to  have 
great  solidity.  There  are  199  Uni- 
tarian ministers  settled  in  New  Eng- 
land churches  and  less  than  a  dozen 
churches  are  without  ministers.  The 
average  length  of  pastorate  is  seven 
years,  which  is  more  than  twice  that 
of  the  evangelical  churches.    Twenty- 


one  of  the  ministers  have  served  their 
churches  twenty  years  or  more.  Nine 
ministers  have  a  record  of  over  thirty 
years  in  one  church  and  two  have 
been  forty  years  in  a  single  field.  The 
Unitarian  churches  have  adopted  a 
schedule  for  presenting  the  cardinal 
positions  of  the  Unitarian  fellowship 
and  Sunday  by  Sunday  the  sermons 
are  being  preached  setting  forth  Uni- 
tarian doctrine. 

Catholics  Must  Know 
the  Doctrine 

For  the  coming  five  years  there 
must  be  popular  instruction  in  Chris- 
tian doctrine  in  every  Catholic  church 
of  Chicago  by  order  of  Archbishop 
Mundelein.  At  all  low  masses,  ten 
minutes  of  Christian  instruction  will 
be  given  at  each  service.  The  first 
year  of  this  process  will  be  given  over 
to  an  exposition  of  the  Apostles' 
Creed. 

Quakers  in 

England  Embarrassed 

The  Quakers  of  England  are  very 
apprehensive  with  regard  to  future 
military  measures  compelling  men  in 
spite  of  conscientious  convictions  to 
enter  the  army  and  fight.  At  the  an- 
nual meeting  this  year  the  men  of 
military  age  set  forth  their  quiet  and 
determined  purpose  to  remain  out  of 
military  service  at  any  cost.  An  ob- 
server at  the  meeting  reports  :  "Many 
of  them  seemed  mere  boys.  They  sat 
patiently  there  quite  unanimous  in 
their  intention  to  go  to  any  lengths  to 
preserve  the  religious  freedom  of  this 
nation  in  the  crisis  that  had  come  upon 
it.  They  were  extraordinarily  simple, 
quiet,  and  unemotional,  but  all  that 
one  had  heard  of  the  early  days  of 
Christianity — of  its  unheard-of  posi- 
tion in  relation  to  the  powers  that  be 
— became  irresistibly  vivid  in  one's 
mind.  That  primitive  Christianity 
was  intensely  alive  todav  was  born  in 
one." 

One  Day's  Income 

The  members  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church  were  asked  re- 
cently for  one  day's  income  for  mis- 
sions. Enough  members  responded 
to  the  appeal  to  bring  in  a  total  of 
$95,000,  according  to  the  report 
made  the  middle  of  September.  An 
effort  is  being  made  to  increase  this 
amount  to  $122,000  at  an  early  date. 
Bishop  Tuttle  of  Missouri,  the  pre- 
siding bishop  for  the  United  States, 
has  sent  out  the  appeal. 


£  . : :::: ::: ::,:: 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


yp1"— » ",mr"" 

Hope  for 
St.  Louis 


Has  the  Business  Men's  League 
of  St.  Louis  seen  a  new  light?  They 
made  a  plea  to  the  public  last  Oc- 
tober   for    the    saloons;    now    they 

have  elected  J. 
Lionberger 
Davis,  a  mili- 
tant young  pro- 
hibitionist, who 
fought  them  to 
the  last  ditch 
on  this  proposi- 
tion, as  their 
president.  The 
St.  Louis  Re- 
public, for  so 
long  of  like 
mind  with  the  Business  Men's 
League,  but  now  edited  by  a  former 
Congregational  minister,  has  been 
calling  upon  St.  Louis  to  wake  up 
to  the  fact  that  the  country  is  going 
dry.  In  his  Sunday  address  before 
the  Federal  Council  of  Churches,  W. 
J.  Bryan  denounced  the  bankers  and 
business  men  of  St.  Louis  in  tones 
that  reminded  his  hearers  of  the 
words  of  the  old  prophet  Amos  in 
his  condemnation  of  the  princes  and 
leading  men  of  Israel.  Unless  St. 
Louis  changes  her  ways  she  will  be 
under  the  handicap  of  being  known 
as  "the  shame  of  Missouri." 

>fi  !§C  5jC 

Labor  and 
the  Saloon 

At  one  of  its  meetings  during  the 
campaign  the  Detroit  Federation  of 
Labor  voted  to  ask  all  affiliated 
unions  to  withdraw  as  delegates 
such  individuals  as  had  joined  the 
Trade  Union  Dry  League.  This  re- 
veals two  facts:  first,  that  working- 
men  are  organizing  dry  leagues,  and 
the  other  that  there  is  still  a  saloon 
influence  in  the  affairs  of  organized 
labor  that  is  menacing.  But  in 
order  that  we  may  know  that  saloon 
influence  is  not  dominant  it  is  worth 
while  noting  that  the  labor  leaders 
in  Duluth  offered  to  find  places  for 
every  liquor  employe  ousted  by  the 
prohibition  law.  Only  six  applica- 
tions were  received.  Positions  were 
found  for  each  of  them  within  a  few 
days,  but  five  of  them  had  already 
taken  other  positions.  Labor  will 
rapidly  awaken  to  see  the  truth  of 
what  Vanderveldt,  the  great  Belgian 
leader,  recently  said :  "Frankly,  I 
see  no  reason  for  waiting  for  the 
morrow  of  social  revolution  before 
we  stop  poisoning  ourselves.  We 
should  prohibit  the  sale  of  alcohol." 


The  Eclipse  of  Democracy 
in  Japan 

Japan's  Grand  Old  Man,  Count 
Okuma,  recently  felt  compelled  to  re- 
sign the  premiership  of  Japan  on  ac- 
count of  lack  of  support  in  the  gov- 
ernment and  parliament.  Japan's  cabi- 
net, like  Germany's,  is  not  responsible 
to  the  people  but  to  the  emperor. 
Nevertheless,  its  tenure  of  office  often 
depends  on  its  ability  to  work  through 
the  rather  bureaucratic  type  of  repre- 
sentative government  and  the  parlia- 
ment. Count  Okuma  is  the  leading 
democrat  of  Japan  and  is  doubtless  its 
most  liberal  -  minded,  far  -  visioned 
statesman.  But  the  Japanese  people 
are  ruled  in  a  more  or  less  paternal 
fashion.  The  Mikado  is  all-supreme 
and,  doubtless,  a  vast  majority  of  the 
people  still  look  superstitiously  upon 
his  person  as  sacred.  Count  Okuma 
is  thoroughly  sympathetic  with  all 
things  modern,  including  Christianity, 
the  best  type  of  education  and  demo- 
cratic tendencies.  Doubtless  there 
were  at  least  three  fundamental  rea- 
sons for  the  disintegration  of  his  in- 
fluence among  the  co-operative  arms 
of  government. 

First  and  foremost  was  the  demand 
of  Japanese  imperialism  upon  China. 
It  was  impossible  for  Count  Okuma 
to  use  the  iron  hand  of  a  Bismarck 
because  his  principles  were  rather  like 
those  of  Gladstone.  Secondly,  there  is 
the  growing  antipathy  in  Japan  toward 
Great  Britain  and  the  suspicion  that 
she  may  checkmate  Japan's  ambition 
to  become  the  England  of  the  East  and 
keep  the  ruling  influence,  if  not,  in- 
deed, the  actual  governing  power  in 


China.  Then  there  is  the  ancient  con- 
flict between  England  and  Russia  in 
Asia,  which  the  Japanese  could  well 
believe  will  arise  again  once  the  war 
is  over.  This,  of  course,  involves  the 
new  Russo-Japanese  treaty.  Third, 
was  the  rising  tide  of  democracy  in 
Japan  itself,  with  which  Okuma  was 
thoroughly  sympathetic.  The  young 
Mikado  is  given  credit  for  being  some- 
what reactionary  from  his  father's 
liberal  policies  and  inclined  to  rule 
with  a  military  rather  than  a  civil  arm. 

Count  Okuma  recommended  Baron 
Kato  as  his  successor,  but  Kato  was 
not  satisfactory  to  the  elder  statesmen 
and  the  Mikado  because  of  his  failure 
to  put  over  the  five  imperious  demands 
upon  China  and  on  account  of  his  pro- 
English  rather  than  pro-Russian  sym- 
pathies. Against  the  popular  will, 
Count  Terauchi,  the  man  who  by  his 
strong  military  arm  completed  the  con- 
quest of  Korea,  was  made  premier. 
Terauchi,  it  will  be  remembered,  was 
governor  in  Korea  at  the  time  more 
than  a  hundred  leading  Christians 
were  arrested  and  the  majority  of 
them  condemned  to  prison  terms  on 
account  of  a  so-called  conspiracy 
against  his  life. 

It  is  to  be  expected  that  the  new 
governor  will  glorify  the  military  arm 
of  Nippon  and  rule  more  as  a  Bis- 
marck than  as  a  Gladstone  and  that 
his  attitude  toward  China  will  be  one 
eminently  satisfactory  to  the  military, 
imperial  and  jingo  element  of  the 
country.  Japan's  democracy  is  for 
the  timebeing  in  eclipse,  but,  doubtless, 
only  in  eclipse.  Once  the  war  is  ended 
we  may  expect  a  restoration  of  some 
such  government  as  Okuma's. 


Reviews  of  Helpful  Books 


Community  Civics,  by  Field  and 
Nearing.  270  pages.  60  cents. 
Published  by  Macmillan  &  Com- 
pany, New  York. 

Miss  Jessie  Field  made  herself  a 
national  reputation  as  superintendent 
of  schools  in  Page  County,  Iowa. 
Scott  Nearing,  the  noted  social  econo- 
mist, has  corroborated  with  her  in  the 
publication  of  this  timely  effort  to  sup- 
ply the  country  boys  and  girls  with 
an  up-to-date  book  upon  community 
civics.  It  is  not  the  ordinary  treatise 
on  civics,  which  is  confined  to  the 
political  phase  of  civic  questions,  but 
socializes  the  whole  field  and  takes 
political  interests  in  as  a  part  of  gen- 
eral social  and  community  interest,  but 
the  discussion  is  made  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  rural  mind  and  of 
rural    society.      Such    topics    as    the 


home,  neighborhood,  the  school,  the 
local  political  organization,  etc.,  are 
fully  treated,  but  in  simple  language, 
and  to  every  chapter  is  appended  a 
series  of  questions  and  topics  for  dis- 
cussion. This  book  should  be  widely 
used  in  the  rural  schools. 


Industrial  Arbitration,  by  Carl  H. 
Mote.  392  pages.  $1.50.  Pub- 
lished by  Bobbs-Merrill  Co. 

This  book  is  very  timely  just  now 
as  the  President  and  Congress  are 
turning  the  thoughts  of  the  entire  na- 
tion toward  the  question  of  industrial 
arbitration  through  their  discussion 
of  the  railroad  situation  and  their  ef- 
forts to  adopt  some  form  of  enforced 
conciliation  to  prevent  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  country  being  paralyzed. 


January  18,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


17 


The  very  problem  presented  by  this 
railroad  situation  enforces  in  the  com- 
mon mind  the  notion  that  some  judi- 
cial process  must  be  discovered  for  the 
prevention  of  such  industrial  calami- 
ties. Mr.  Mote  reviews  efforts  toward 
conciliation  and  arbitration  in  all  the 
civilized  lands,  discussing  both  the 
virtues  and  the  faults.  He  is  unable  to 
find  that  the  experience  to  date  prom- 
ises any  perfect  solution.  There  are 
questions  of  conflict  that  cannot  be 
settled  by  reference  to  judicial  proc- 
esses simply  because  they  are  items  in 
the  progress  of  humanity,  which,  like 
all  measures  of  revolution  and  reform, 
are  not  matters  for  judicial  determina- 
tion but  for  law  making.  Such  are 
the  questions  as  to  whether  or  not 
women  shall  work  a  certain  number 
of  hours,  the  eight-hour  day,  how 
profits  shall  be  divided,  child  labor, 
etc.  But  all  questions  of  administra- 
tion upon  accepted  bases  of  work  and 
wages  should  certainly  be  submitted 
to  judicial  processes,  and,  without 
doubt,  the  ordinary  strike  and  lock- 
out must  give  way  to  more  judicial 
methods  of  settlement. 
*     *     * 

Play  and  Recreation,  by  Henry  S. 
Curtis.  265  pages.  $1.25.  Pub- 
lished by  Ginn  and  Co. 
Mr.  Curtis  was  formerly  secretary 
and  vice-president  of  the  Playground 
Association  of  America  and  super- 
visor of  the  playgrounds  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  He  is  now  doing  some  of 
the  most  effective  writing  in  this  field. 
In  this  volume  he  treats  of  play  in 
the  home  and  in  the  rural  school  and 
of  the  recreational  interests  of  the 
rural  community,  together  with  the 
extension  of  rural  life  interests 
through  the  social  center.  Not  only 
does  he  apply  to  the  rural  situation 
the  best  modern  pedagogical  discov- 
eries regarding  the  opportunities  for 
education  in  the  field  of  recreation, 
but  makes  a  real  contribution  to  the 
whole  general  literature  upon  the 
subject.  Education  is  rapidly  turning 
away  from  the  old  drill  method  to  the 
modern  creative,  recreational  and 
vocational  methods.  The  children  of 
the  country  communities  have  hereto- 
fore led  lives  of  rather  strict  discip- 
line. There  were  many  chores  to  do 
and  the  active  and  direct  methods  of 
work  in  their  economic  life  as  helpers 
on  the  farm  have  also  been  carried 
over  into  their  educational  life  in  the 
schoolroom.  The  children  of  urban 
communities  have  little  part  in  the 
economic  life  of  their  homes,  and  their 
schools  have  outrun  those  of  the  rural 
districts  in  the  adoption  of  the  play 
interest  as  a  means  to  study.  Mr. 
Curtis  pleads  for  and  shows  how  the 
country  community  is  rich  in  its  op- 
portunities to  use  recreation  and  cul- 
tivate a  healthy  physical  and  social 
life  as  part  of  the  educational  process. 


3lllllllllllillll!llll!lll]illlllllll!llll!lllllllllll!lillll!llil 


The  Sunday  School 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu 


God  So  Loved 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life 
By  JOHN  R.  EWERS 


DRUMMOND  was  right  when 
he  made  Love  the  greatest 
thing  in  the  world.  We  can- 
not be  thankful  enough  that  God  is 
Love.     If  God  were  loveless  Power, 

loveless  Wis- 
dom, loveless 
Will,  loveless 
Intellect,  love- 
less Brilliancy, 
we  would  all  be 
Buddhists, 
praying  for  an- 
nihilation. Our 
fondest  hope 
would  be  to  be 
blotted  out  of 
existence.  But 
God  is  Love.  When  we  say  that  the 
spring  breezes  begin  to  blow,  the 
flowers  begin  to  send  forth  fragrance 
and  the  birds  sing  rapturously.  God 
is  Love — we  must  be  Love. 

Got  is  not  Hate.  War  is  Hate. 
Loveless  Energy  is  let  loose  in  war — 
sometimes  in  business — sometimes  in 
the  home — sometimes  in  the  church. 
Love  cannot  be  cruel,  harsh,  cynical. 
Cruel  people  are  Godless;  cynical 
people  are  Godless.  Put  that  down. 
After  the  earthquake,  after  the  roar- 
ing fire,  comes  the  still,  small  voice  of 
God.  After  the  rantings  of  men,  after 
the  vituperations  of  men  comes  the 
sweet,  gentle  voice  of  Jesus.  How 
soothing  it  is.  How  it  woos  us  from 
hard  and  evil  ways — that  gentle  voice 
of  the  First  Gentleman. 


^Esop  put  this  truth  in  a  nutshell  in 
the  parable  of  the  "Sun  and  the 
Wind."  The  harder  the  wind  swept, 
the  tighter  the  traveller  drew  his  coat. 
Then  out  came  the  warm,  genial,  smil- 
ing, gentle  sun,  and  he  laid  his  coat  on 
his  arm.  Parents  need  to  learn  the 
power  of  consideration.  Each  child 
has  his  own  personality,  which  is  en- 
titled to  respect.  His  rights  may  not 
be  invaded.  He  is  a  king  in  his  little 
world. 

Love  is  a  big,  strong  word.  It  is 
roomy  enough  to  accommodate  senti- 
ment and  tenderness,  as  well  as  cour- 
age and  bravery.  Love  is  strong. 
Love  produces  sacrifice  counting  it  all 
joy.  Love  watches  silently  by  the 
sick-bed  all  through  the  night.     Love 

This  article  is  based  upon  the  Inter- 
national Uniform  lesson  for  Feb.  4, 
"Jesus  the  Savior  of  the  World,"  John  3: 
1-21. 


laughs  at  danger.  If  one  wished  to 
measure  the  size  of  God  love  would 
be  the  word.  God  is  Love.  Jesus  not 
only  was  but  is  Love.  Disciples  must 
also  be  loving. 

The  fine  art  of  living  is  attained 
when  one  learns  to  live  lovingly.  Some 
day  we  will  get  rid  of  posing  in  relig- 
ion. In  that  day  stated  times  will 
lose  some  of  their  value.  We  will 
not  only  be  good  on  Sunday,  but  all 
the  time.  We  not  only  will  look  pious 
at  church;  we  will  be  pious  all  the 
time.  Our  whole  constant  attitude  of 
life  will  be  toward  always  doing  right 
and  never  doing  wrong.  We  will  live 
lovingly  in  our  homes — what  a  revo- 
lution that  would  cause !  One  out  of 
every  six  marriages  today  ends  in 
divorce !  We  would  live  lovingly  in 
our  churches  —  how  many  nasty 
schemes  and  underhanded  methods 
would  thus  be  cast  out!  Envy,  jeal- 
ously, place-hunting,  money-grasping, 
hate  would  be  left  behind  forever.  We 
would  live  lovingly  also  in  business. 
Business  is  not  half  as  bad  as  many 
paint  it.  A  life  insurance  company 
paid  a  ten  thousand  dollar  policy 
which  it  could  easily  have  avoided 
paying;  but  it  paid  it  because  it 
seemed  right  to  the  company.  The 
wife  would  not  even  have  brought 
suit  to  collect  it.  She  could  not  have 
collected  it  by  law.  Business  men 
take  excellent  care  of  their  employes 
when  sick  in  most  situations.  I  know 
of  hundreds  of  such  cases.  Many  big 
business  men  actually  do  live  lovingly 
in  their  offices,  and  in  all  their  contact 
with  their  employes.  When  we  live 
lovingly  we  will  have  a  smile  and  an 
extra  cent  for  the  newsboy  and  every 
one  we  meet  will  be  our  friend.  Yes, 
that  is  the  way  to  love — but  it  is  very 
hard.  It  is  easy  to  lose  the  temper,  to 
be  harsh  and  selfish  in  all  of  the  above 
relations.  It  is  easy  to  brow-beat  and 
scheme.  It  is  difficult  to  live  like 
Jesus  lived — the  God  life  in  one — but 
it  is  worth  while  a  thousand  times. 
Try  it  for  a  day  and  see. 


Near  Huntsville,  O.,  a  man  named  Rob- 
inson Crusoe  was  arrested  not  long  ago 
for  robbing  the  house  of  a  man  named 
De  Foe.     Man  Friday  was  not  present. 

A  minister  in  a  western  city  has  sent 
to  his  people  a  list  of  fort}-  sermon  topics 
asking  them  to  vote  for  the  ten  they 
think  most  timely  and  important,  by  way 
of  aiding  him  to  select  for  treatment. 


18 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  18,  1917 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


Church   Receives   Legacy  and 
Meets   Conditions   Attached 

Monroe  Street  church,  Chicago,  re- 
cently fell  heir  to  a  legacy  of  $3,500  con- 
ditioned upon  the  raising  of  $500  with 
which  to  satisfy  certain  claims  against 
the  estate  of  the  testator.  The  amount 
needed  was  pledged  at  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  congregation,  January  9,  the 
most  enthusiastic  meeting  of  the  kind 
in  many  years.  The  legacy  applies 
against  the  church  debt,  which  is  now 
reduced  to  less  than  $6,000.  The  church 
is  hopeful  and  united  under  the  ministry 
of  J.  E.  Wolfe. 

Local  Congregation  to  Maintain 
Church   College  for  Christian  Training 

Tabernacle  church,  Franklin,  Ind.,  has 
met  the  need  of  training  its  members  in 
Christian  leadership  by  organizing 
within  its  membership  a  "Church  Col- 
lege." Wednesday  evenings  are  set 
apart  for  the  sessions.  Classes  are  or- 
ganized in  varoius  departments  of  Chris- 
tian work — sociology,  teacher  training 
and  missions.  The  pastor,  Carl  A.  Burk- 
hardt,  is  ably  assisted  in  manning  his 
college  by  Rev.  William  Mullendore  and 
Miss  Minnie  Treslar.  The  plans  are  ex- 
perimental and  subject  to  change  with 
experience.  In  stating  the  reason  for  so 
ambitious  an  experiment,  Mr.  Burkhardt 
says  that  "the  emphasis  has  heretofore 
been  put  upon  the  enlistment  of  mem- 
bers; henceforth  greater  prominence 
must  be  given  to  the  training  of  the 
enlisted  forces  for  more  effective  and 
intelligent  service.  An  ever-increasing 
number  of  men  and  women  are  taking 
their  Christian  calling  seriously  and  are 
anxious  to  fit  themselves  to  achieve  per- 
manent results  in  the  building  of  the 
church." 

Mark   Collis,   Pastor  for  Twenty-five 
Years,  Honored  by  His  Congregation 

Broadway  church,  Lexington,  Ky., 
celebrated  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary 
of  the  pastorate  of  Mark  Collis  with  an 
impressive  meeting  on  the  last  Sunday 
in  December.  The  service  was  held  in 
Morrison  Chapel  of  Transylvania  Col- 
lege, where  the  congregation  has  been 
worshipping  since  fire  destroyed  its 
building,  nearly  a  year  ago.  Dr.  R.  H. 
Crossfield  presided.  Many  addresses  of 
appreciation  were  made  by  leaders  of 
the  congregation.  I.  J.  Spencer,  himself 
pastor  of  Central  church  for  twenty-two 
years,  paid  a  tribute  to  his  co-worker. 
Dr.  A.  W.  Fortune,  of  the  Transylvania 
faculty;  Ira  Boswell,  pastor  it  George- 
town, Ky.,  and  F.  M.  Rains,  of  Cincin- 
nati, also  spoke.  A  purse  of  $500  was 
given  to  Mr.  Collis  by  personal  gifts 
from  his  people. 

Kansas    City   Church   Determined 
to   Remain   Downtown 

Determination  to  remain  in  the  heart 
of  downtown  Kansas  City  and  build 
there  a  strong  Christian  work  is  the 
dominent  mood  of  First  church,  as  Dr. 
W.  F.  Richardson  lays  down  pastoral 
leadership  after  twenty-two  years  of 
service.  In  his  farewell  session  on  the 
last  Sunday  of  December  Dr.  Richard- 
son expressed  this  mood  of  determina- 
tion. He  said:  "This  congregation, 
established  more  than  sixty  years  ago, 
in  the  heart  of  a  great  city  (at  Twelfth 
and    Main    streets)    has    seen    the    city 


iiiiiiEiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiuiiyiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiii 


grow  to  its  present  magnificent  propor- 
tions, has  contributed  of  its  life  to  the 
people  round  about.  It  has  refused  to 
join  the  movement  that  has  led  so  many 
churches  away  from  this  congested  dis- 
trict into  more  beautiful  and  commodi- 
ous residential  neighborhoods  of  the 
city.  For  thirty-five  years  it  has  occu- 
pied the  present  site  (Eleventh  and  Lo- 
cust streets)  and  here  it  purposes,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  to  remain.  Despite  all 
the  losses  it  has  sustained  in  the  re- 
moval of  members  and  in  the  loss  of 
wealth,  despite  the  recent  destruction  of 
its  house  of  worship  by  fire,  this  congre- 
gation persists  in  holding  fast  to  the 
trust  that  has  been  committed  to  it.  It 
is  the  settled  plan  of  the  church  to  com- 
plete its  church  building  and  fully  equip 
it  to  serve  all  the  needs  of  this  down- 
town neighborhood.  It  is  also  its  pur- 
pose to  build  up  its  endowment  fund  to 
a  point  that  will  guarantee  the  continu- 
ance and  enlargement  of  its  ministry  to 
succeeding  generations."  The  pulpit  is 
being  supplied  by  various  ministers  dur- 
ing January.  J.  E.  Davis,  of  Spokane, 
begins  his  work  with  the  church  on  Feb- 
ruary 1. 

Predicts    Deepening   of    Religion 
as  Result  of  War 

Orvis  F.  Jordan  told  his  Evanston,  111., 
congregation  that  the  effect  of  the  pres- 
ent war  would  be  to  greatly  revive  re- 
ligious faith.  "Religion  has  a  new  value 
in  these  times,"  he  said.  "It  is  no  won- 
der that  men  and  women  in  all  countries 
are  going  back  to  the  religion  of  their 
childhod.  After  the  war,  if  they  are 
rightly  led,  they  will  go  forward  to  a 
better  religion  than  the  religion  of  their 
childhood.  Catholic-minded  Christians 
of  all  sects  will  lead  the  way  in  the  days 
to  come  to  a  realization  of  the  religion 
of  Christ,  which  will  give  a  new  con- 
sciousness of  the  infinite  value  of  every 
human  soul." 

Church  Building  at  Bloomington,  Ind., 
Destroyed  by  Fire 

The  house  of  worship  of  First  church, 
Bloomington,  Ind.,  was  destroyed  by 
fire  New  Year's  Eve,  with  but  $8,000  in- 
surance. It  is  supposed  to  have  caught 
fire  from  matches  lighted  by  New  Year's 
revellers  who  entered  the  building  to 
ring  the  bell.  A  $3,000  pipe  organ  was 
destroyed.  The  building  was  erected  in 
1884  under  the  pastoral  leadership  of  T. 
J.  Clark,  now  of  Albion,  111.  The  pres- 
ent minister  is  W.  H.  Smith.  For  some 
time  the  congregation,  which  numbers 
over  1,500  members,  had  been  consider- 
ing its  need  of  a  new  and  larger  house 
of  worship  and  had  already  begun  to  as- 
semble funds  for  that  purpose.  Prompt 
decision  has  now  been  made  to  proceed 
at  once  on  a  $75,000  building. 

Norwood,  Cincinnati,   Church 
Flourishes    During    1916 

The  annual  report  of  the  minister, 
C.  R.  Stauffer  of  the  Norwood,  Ohio, 
church,  reveals  the  following  facts: 
Sixty-seven  persons  were  received  dur- 
ing the  year  by  baptism  and  fifty-nine 
otherwise,  making  a  total  of  126  added. 
Two  were  lost  by  death  and  twenty- 
seven  dismissed  by  letter,  making  a  net 
gain  for  the  year  of  ninety-seven.  The 
total  number  of  additions  to  the  church 
for  the  past  four  years  has  been  601. 
The   minister   preached   ninety-four   ser- 


mons, delivered  twenty-nine  addresses 
outside  the  local  church,  attended  eight 
conventions,  participated  in  thirty  con- 
ferences and  committees  on  the  larger 
work  outside  the  local  church,  edited 
the  Norwood  Christian  weekly,  con- 
ducted twenty-three  funerals  and  mar- 
ried eighteen  couples,  in  addition  to 
making  over  1,200  pastoral  calls.  The 
average  attendance  at  the  Sunday  school 
was  nearly  600  for  the  year,  and  the 
total  amount  of  money  raised  for  all 
purposes  by  the  various  departments  of 
the  church  was  $13,015,  of  which  $1,700 
was  for  missions  and  $4,000  for  the 
building  fund  of  the  church.  All  of  this 
money  was  given  outright,  fairs  and 
suppers  having  been  eliminated  by  the 
women  of  the  church  as  a  method  of 
raising  money.  One  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  year  was  the  sending  of 
Miss  Anna  Louise  Fillmore,  one  of  the 
young  women  of  the  congregation,  to 
Nanking,  China,  as  a  missionary  of  the 
Foreign  Society.  She  will  become  the 
living-link  of  the  Sunday  school.  Mrs. 
Minnie  Ogden  of  Batang,  Tibet,  is  the 
living-link  of  the  church.  Mr.  Stauffer 
is  in  his  fifth  year  with  this  thriving 
suburban  church  of  the  Cincinnati  dis- 
trict. During  this  time  the  church  mem- 
bership has  increased  from  350  to  over 
900,  the  Sunday  school  has  been  more 
than  doubled  in  average  attendance,  a 
Sunday  school  plant  of  the  large  pro- 
posed church  structure  has  been  erected 
at  a  cost  of  $32,000,  and  the  church  has 
become  a  factor  in  the  religious  life  of 
greater  Cincinnati,  with  the  largest  Sun- 
day school  in  the  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
W.  H.  Boden  will  assist  the  Norwood 
church  in  February  in  an  evangelistic 
campaign. 

Indiana's  Secretary  of  State 
Elected  Head  of  Temperance  Board 

Judge  Edward  Jackson,  secretary  of 
state  for  Indiana,  was  elected  president 
of  the  Disciples'  American  Temperance 
Board  at  its  annual  meeting,  January  8. 
David  Shields,  pastor  at  Muncie,  Ind., 
desired  to  be  released  from  the  respon- 
sibilities of  the  presidency,  feeling  that 
the  duties  of  his  parish  were  demand- 
ing his  undivided  attention.  L.  C.  Howe 
of  Noblesville,  Robert  Sellers  of  El- 
wood  and  E.  E.  Moorman  were  re-elected 
to  the  other  offices  of  vice-president, 
secretary  and  treasurer,  respectively. 

Central  Church,  North  Tonawanda, 
Reports  Best  Year  in  Its  History 

George  H.  Brown,  pastor  at  Central 
church,  North  Tonawanda,  N.  Y.,  re- 
ports the  best  year  in  the  history  of  the 
Congregation  there.  Eighty-one  per- 
sons were  added  to  the  church  during 
1916,  sixty-six  by  baptism.  The  mem- 
bership has  been  increased  75  per  cent 
in  the  past  two  years.  A  total  of  $5,613 
was  raised  in  all  departments  for  local 
expenses  and  missions,  and  after  all  bills 
were  paid  a  balance  of  nearly  $500  re- 
mained in  the  treasury.  The  pastor's 
salary  has  been  increased  twice  in  the 
past  two  years.  The  church  will  become 
a  living-link  in  the  Foreign  Society. 

Summarized  Report  of  First  Church, 
Ashland,  Ky.,  for  1916 

Total  amount  of  money  raised  for  all 
purposes,  $9,430.68.  Total  contribution 
for  missions,  $902.58.  The  amount  paid 
on  the  church  debt  during  the  year  was 
$4,036.50.  The  church  exceeded  its  mis- 
sionary apportionments,  made  a  contri- 
bution to  all  the  missionary  activities  of 
the  brotherhood,  and  gave  $250  toward 
a  neighboring  church.  The  Ashland 
church  building  is  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful among  the  Disciples  and  is  equipped 


January  18,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


$75,000 
FROM  THE  CHURCHES 

FOR 
CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION 


January  21st  is  the  Day 

SEND  OFFERING  TO  COLLEGE  OF 
YOUR  CHOICE  OR  TO 

BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  OF  THE 
DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST 

70  Layman  Ave.,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 


with  all  the  apparatus  of  the  most  up- 
to-date  plant,  including  printing  press 
and  moving  picture  machine.  There  is 
a  remaining  debt  of  $12,200,  which  is  ex- 
pected to  be  cleared  within  the  next 
couple  of  years.  There  have  been  sixty- 
six  additions  to  the  church  during  the 
past  year,  thirty-three  of  whom  were 
by  baptism.  The  pastor,  W.  A.  Fite, 
preached  174  sermons  during  the  year. 
A  Tithers'  League  has  recently  been 
formed  in  the  Ashland  church.  Many  of 
the  most  liberal  contributors  are  in  the 
league.  It  is  expected  to  grow.  The 
beginning  was  made  December  27,  and 
signers  to  the  tithe  covenant  card  are 
coming  in  every  Sunday. 

Pastor  Calls  on  Membership 
According  to  Wards 

In  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
membership  of  his  newly  accepted  par- 
ish at  Mexico,  Mo.,  Henry  Pearce  At- 
kins is  calling  systematically  on  all  who 
live  in  a  given  ward.  He  then  publishes 
the  fact  that  he  has  been  in  every  home 
in  that  ward.  If  any  householder  has 
been  missed,  it  is  due  to  an  error  in  the 
address  record,  which  is  thereby  easily 
discovered. 

Altoona  Declines  to 
Let  Pastor  Go       * 

Arthur  J.  Dillinger,  called  to  the  pas- 
torate at  Salina,  Kans.,  was  on  the  point 
of  accepting,  when  his  church  at  Al- 
toona, la.,  found  it  out  and  issued  pro- 
hibitive orders,  accompanied  by  an  in- 
crease of  $300  in  salary  and  a  new  auto- 
mobile. Under  such  compulsion  Mr. 
Dillinger  will  remain  in  Altoona. 

Disciples  and  Presbyterians  to 
Unite  in   Evangelistic   Meeting 

At  Wabash,  Ind.,  an  interesting  union 
meeting  is  to  be  held  in  February.  Frank 
E.  Jaynes,  Disciple  pastor  there,  tells 
of  it  as  follows:  "The  manse  of  the 
Christian  church  stands  right  by  the  side 
of  the  church.  Facing  our  church  is 
the  substantial  edifice  of  the  Presby- 
terian people,  and  standing  squarely  in 
front  of  the  residence  of  our  minister 
is  the  home  of  the  pastor  of  our  sister 
church.  Naturally,  with  nothing  but  the 
street  between  us,  geographically,  and 
with  hardly  more  vital  things  than  that 
between  us  doctrinally,  we  have  been 
very  closely  associated  for  many  years. 
Dr.  Charles  Little  has  been  pastor  of 
the  church  across  the  way  for  more  than 
forty-four    years,    and    has    been    inti- 


mately associated  with  Carpenter,  At- 
kinson, Chase,  Morgan,  Wilfley,  Daugh- 
erty,  and  other  of  the  stalwarts  of  our 
people  who  have  lived  or  served  here. 
Our  two  churches  are  probably  the  most 
substantial  and  influential  in  the  com- 
munity. We  have  been  constantly  grow- 
ing closer  to  each  other,  and  the  pur- 
pose of  this  note  is  to  advise  that  we 
are  about  to  have  a  fellowship  that 
promises  much.  It  is  coming  about  in 
this  wise:     About  a  year  ago  my  con- 


gregation called  Dr.  Herbert  Yeuell  for 
a  meeting.  He  is  to  begin  here  Feb- 
ruary 4.  In  conversation  with  Dr.  Lit- 
tle, a  few  weeks  ago,  the  idea  of  unit- 
ing our  forces  for  this  campaign  was 
broached.  It  seemed  a  happy  sugges- 
tion. It  was  presented  to  my  officers 
and  to  his  session.  The  expression  in 
favor  of  it  was  unanimous  in  both  cases. 
Next  Sunday  evening  Dr.  Little  and  I 
exchange  pulpits,  and  both  of  us  will 
talk  about  our  meeting  and  the  fellow- 


Secretary  Hopkins  Sends  News  Letter 


A  training  school  for  Sunday  School 
field  workers  is  to  be  held  in  Indianapo- 
lis, January  22-26.  The  instructors  will 
be  Prof.  W.  C.  Bower,  of  Transylvania; 
Prof.  C.  E.  Underwood,  of  Butler,  and 
E.  Morris  Ferguson,  of  the  Maryland 
Sunday  School  Association,  in  addition 
to  our  national  force.  Almost  all  of  our 
field  force  is  expecting  to  be  in  attend- 
ance. This  is  the  first  training  school 
we  have  ever  attempted  and  its  helpful- 
ness to  the  work  is  eagerly  anticipated. 

Two  new  additions  to  our  field  force 
are  announced.  Georgia,  through  the 
special  contributions  of  Mrs.  Wm.  West, 
is  to  have  a  Sunday  School  superintend- 
ent for  all  his  time.  C.  E.  Pickett,  now 
a  student  at  Yale,  has  consented  to  take 
the  work  and  will  begin  February  15. 
The  Northwest  District  has  been  with- 
out an  active  superintendent  since  the 
resignation  of  F.  E.  Billington,  save  for 
the  volunteer  service  which  C.  M.  Green 
has  been  rendering.  We  are  happy  to 
announce  that  Roy  K.  Roadruck,  asso- 
ciate superintendent  of  Kentucky,  will 
become  Northwestern  Superintendent 
February  1.  Thus  two  strong  men  are 
added  to  the  force. 

The  Sunday  School  Council  is  meet- 
ing in  Boston,  January  16  to  18.  This 
is  the  seventh  annual  meeting  of  this 
council.  Important  topics  for  consider- 
ation include  the  "Problems  of  Lesson- 
Making,"  "Standards  for  the  'Teen  Age 
Department,"  the  "Development  of  the 
New  Teacher  Training  Course,"  and 
"Bible  School  Extension."  I.  J.  Van  Ness, 
of  Nashville,  is  president,  and  Geo.  T. 
Webb,  of  Philadelphia,  the  secretary. 
Robert  M.  Hopkins,  our  own  Sunday 
School  secretary,  is  chairman  of  the  Edu- 
cation and  Extension  section. 

An  important  series  of  schools  of 
methods  is  announced  for  the  middle 
west  and  southwest.     This  includes  the 


following  dates:  Omaha,  Neb.,  Febru- 
ary 4-9;  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  February  11- 
16;  Waco,  Tex.,  February  18-23;  Tulsa, 
Okla.,  February  25-March  2;  Wichita, 
Kan.,  March  4-9.  All  schools  are  state- 
wide in  their  scope  and  in  most  cases  all 
visiting   delegates  will  be  entertained. 

W.  J.  Clarke,  adult  superintendent,  is 
to  make  an  extensive  tour  of  the  Pacific 
west  during  February  and  March.  Dates 
are  being  made  in  Nebraska,  Colorado, 
Utah,  Idaho,  Oregon  and  California. 
Schools  desiring  visits  should  write  at 
once  to  their  state  or  district  superin- 
tendent. Two  schools  of  methods  are 
projected  for  California,  at  Fresno  and 
Los  Angeles.  Edgar  Lloyd  Smith  and 
W.  J.  Clarke  will  be  the  chief  instruc- 
tors. 

One  of  the  best  pieces  of  work  yet 
done  by  P.  H.  Moss  was  the  two  weeks' 
institute  and  rally  held  in  Cincinnati. 
The  colored  population  of  Cincinnati  is 
increasing  quite  rapidly  and  our  negro 
churches  are  planning  advancement.  A 
new  house  of  worship,  well  located,  has 
been  purchased  and  Mr.  Moss,  with  his 
associates,  made  a  complete  canvass  of 
the  neighborhood,  greatly  strengthening 
the  new  work.  We  have  a  very  able 
representative  in  Mr.  Moss  for  our  ne- 
gro churches. 

The  offerings  from  the  Sunday  Schools 
are  coming  in  splendidly.  The  receipts 
for  the  quarter,  October  to  December, 
show  a  gain  over  last  year  of  $1,187.11. 
The  first  half  of  January  shows  a  gain 
of  like  amount.  That  $50,000  is  in  sight! 
There  are  400  good  schools  that  pledged 
an  offering  in  November  that  have  not 
remitted  and  almost  as  many  more 
whose  offerings  are  usually  in  hand  at 
this  time  of  year  from  whom  we  have 
not  yet  heard.  Has  your  Sunday  School 
sent  its  offering  in  full  for  the  year? 
Robt.  M.  Hopkins,  Sec 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  18,  1917 


ship  of  it.  I  feel  very  comfortable  about 
the  whole  matter.  While  it  is  probable 
that  our  congregation  would  have  en- 
joyed a  greater  number  of  accessions  if 
we  had  gone  on  alone,  I  am  sure  that 
the  force  of  religion  in  Wabash  could 
not  have  received  so  powerful  an  on- 
ward impulse  and  that,  in  the  end,  the 
benefit  will  be  far  greater  and  more 
substantial.  Another  feeling  of  satisfac- 
tion is  in  the  thought  that  no  man 
among  us  is  better  able  to  meet  an  op- 
portunity of  this  kind  than  Herbert 
Veuell.  He  will  be  ideal  for  this  situa- 
tion." I 
*     *     * 

— Yincennes,  Ind.,  church,  of  which 
Edgar  F.  Daugherty  is  pastor,  is  pre- 
paring for  its  evangelistic  campaign  by 
a  series  of  cottage  prayer  meetings,  held 
simultaneously  in  various  parts  of  the 
city,  and  led  by  the  elders  of  the  church. 
The  subject  for  prayer  and  conference 
is  "Our   Home  and   Our   Church." 


NEWYORK 


A  Church  Home  for  You. 
Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
142  West  81st  St,  N.  Y. 


— C.  W.  Clark,  minister  at  Central 
church,  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  was  recently 
elected  state  superintendent  of  Christian 
Endeavor,  succeeding  A.  A.  Sebastian, 
who  has  removed  from  the  state. 

— Madison  A.  Hart,  of  Columbia,  Mo., 
church,  addressed  the  Commercial  Club 
of  his  city  recently. 

— Fifty  persons  in  First  church,  Mans- 
field, O.,  pledged  themselves  to  the  prac- 
tice of  tithing  their  incomes  recently  in 
response  to  a  stirring  plea  by  the  pastor, 
Charles  R.  Oakley.  The  occasion  was 
made  memorable  by  the  completion  of 
an  offering  of  over  $3,300  on  the  church 
indebtedness. 

— During  the  first  four  months  of  his 
new  pastorate  at  Columbian  Heights, 
Washington,  D.  C,  E.  B.  Bagbey  has  re- 
ceived 101  persons  into  the  church. 

— As  an  indication  of  the  value  of  the 
right  kind  of  minister  to  the  business 
community  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
of  North  Platte,  Neb.,  recently  offered 
to  supplement  the  salary  of  H.  G. 
Knowles,  who  had  resigned  from  the 
pulpit  of  the  Christian  church  if  he 
would  remain. 

— Entertained  by  one  of  their  mem- 
bers, the  Men's  Bible  class  of  the  church 
at  Flora,  Ind.,  held  a  debate  on  the  ques- 
tion of  receiving  money  for  religious 
purposes  from  men  who  oppress  the 
poor  in  order  to  obtain  it. 

— The  American  Temperance  Board 
makes  a  call  upon  Disciples  of  Christ 
everywhere  to  send  money  to  the  secre- 
tary, L.  E.  Sellers,  Indianapolis,  to  aid 
in  the  state-wide  prohibition  campaign 
now  being  made  in  Indiana. 

— Decatur  Street  Church,  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  closed  the  year  with  $835  in  its 
treasury  and  all  bills  paid.  The  fact  elic- 
ited comment  in  the  daily  press  of  Mem- 
phis. 

—President  H.  O.  Pritchard  of  Eureka 
College,  Illinois,  was  chosen  president  of 
the  college  section  of  the  Illinois  State 
Teachers'  Association  at  the  recent  an- 
nual meeting. 

— The  church  at  Paulding,  Ohio,  C.  L. 
Johnson,  minister,  observed  Christmas 
with  a  "White  Gifts"  program  whose  ef- 
fects are  still  felt  in  the  whole  com- 
munity. 

— Prof.  Alva  W.  Taylor  of  Missouri 
Bible  College  has  taken  the  superintend- 


ency  of  the  Boone  county  churches.  He 
has  set  himself  the  task  of  coordinating 
all  the  churches  and  raising  the  standards 
of  missionary  giving. 

— Levi  Marshall  will  close  a  six  and 
one-half  years'  ministry  at  Nevada,  Mo., 
in  July,  1917.  This  is  the  longest  pas- 
torate in  the  history  of  the  church. 

— Canton,  111.,  church,  with  a  member- 
ship of  667,  reports  a  net  gain  of  twenty- 
seven  members  during  the  past  year.  The 
Sunday  School  enrolls  553  persons  in  all 
departments  and  reports  an  average  at- 
tendance of  236.  Nearly  $2,500  was  raised 
for  local  expenses  during  the  year  and 
$314  for  missions.  B.  H.  Cleaver  is  the 
pastor. 

— The  Sunday  School  at  Carthage,  Mo., 
offers  three  prizes,  of  $25  each,  for  a 
trip  to  the  Lake  Geneva  summer  schools 
to  the  three  persons  making  the  best 
record  in  attendance,  promptness,  offer- 
ing, home  preparation,  etc.  Charles  H. 
Swift  is  pastor. 

— Dr.  George  H.  Combs  has  been  pas- 
tor of  Independence  Boulevard  church, 
Kansas  City,  for  twenty-five  years.  The 
anniversary  was  celebrated  on  January 
7.  During  the  past  year  Dr.  Combs  has 
received  425  new  members  into  the 
church. 

— University  Place  church,  Cham- 
paign, 111.,  reported  over  $10,000  raised 
in  offerings  for  local  expenses  and  mis- 
sions during  the  past  year,  which,  after 


all  bills  were  paid,  left  over  $900  in  the 
treasury.  The  pastor,  Stephen  E. 
Fisher,  reported  138  new  members  added 
to  the  church. 

— In  response  to  a  suggestion  made  by 
a  daily  newspaper  of  Frankfort,  Ky.,  the 
Christian  church  of  that  place  has  estab- 
lished in  its  building  a  rest  room  for  the 
convenience  of  country  people  who  are 
spending  a  day  in  the  city.  They  may 
meet  friends,  receive  mail  and  packages, 
use  the  telephone,  and  enjoy  other  privi- 
leges from  9  a.  m.  to  4  p.  m.  every  day 
in  the  week.  Richard  T.  Nooe  is  the 
pastor  of  this  congregation,  which  evi- 
dently has  the  social  vision. 

— Dr.  H.  O.  Breeden,  pastor  at  First 
Church,  Fresno,  Cal.,  has  been  absent 
from  his  pulpit  a  good  part  of  the  time 
since  October  1,  three  weeks  being  taken 
in  his  trip  to  the  Des  Moines  conven- 
tion, a  week  at  Pomona,  Cal.,  where 
he  held  a  short  meeting,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  three  weeks'  illness.  He  is 
now  recovered  and  at  the  helm  of  his 
church  again. 

— A.  McLean  will  have  been  with  the 
Foreign  Society  twenty-five  years  on  the 
fourth  of  March  next.  That  is  the  date 
of  the  annual  offering  for  foreign  mis- 
sions. 

— Until  the  past  year  the  church  at 
Clarence,  Mo.,  enjoyed  only  part  time 
pastoral  care.  The  report  of  J.  W.  Pear- 
son, the  first  all-time  minister,  shows 
that  the  larger  program  for  the  church 


To  secure  an  Annuity  Bond  of  the  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society.    Send  a 
check  today  and  we  will  promptly  execute  and  return  a  bond. 

Note  the  following  advantages: 

PROMPT.  The  annuity  is  sent  to  you  the  very  day  it  is  due,  without  having  to 
notify  the  Society. 

SAFE.  Because  the  Society  is  incorporated  and  has  about  three-quarters  of  a 
million  of  dollars  in  securities,  with  a  growing  annual  income,  which  makes  it  an 
absolutely  safe  proposition  in  a  business  way. 

CHRISTIAN.  The  money  goes  into  a  growing  missionary  work  in  which  nearly 
one  thousand  workers  are  engaged.  They  distribute  Bibles,  preach  the  gospel,  baptize 
the  people,  spread  the  Lord's  table  and  establish  an  orderly  Christian  community. 

ADVANTAGES.  If  you  are  fifty  years  of  age,  the  plan  gives  you  a  good  income 
while  you  live,  free  from  taxes  or  change  of  investment  or  losses  in  any  other  way. 

The  Annuity  Fund  of  the  Foreign  Society  is  now  more  than  $600,000  and  enjoys 
constant  growth.  


As  an  investment  only,  the  Annuity 
has  very  great  advantages. 


Note  these  points 
And  there  are  others 


It  yields  a  larger  income  than  the 
usual  bond  or  stock,  and  more  than  the 
interest  rate  in  many  communities. 


ANNUITY  BEST  OF  ALL 

Good 

Better 

Better  Yet 
Best  of  All 


Postal  Savings 
Bonds 


2% 
4% 

5%    Mortgages 

70  Annuity  Bond 


For  further  information,  address 


FOREIGN    CHRISTIAN    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY 


BOX  884. 


CINCINNATI,  O. 


January  18,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


has  been  carried  off  easily.  A  total  fund 
of  $2,400  was  collected  for  current  ex- 
penses, and  $400  for  missions.  Fifty-one 
new  members  were  received  during  the 
year. 

— William  Newton  Briney,  pastor  at 
Broadway  church,  Louisville,  Ky.,  was 
called  into  conference  by  the  official 
board  on  a  recent  Sunday  and  informed 
that  his  salary  for  the  new  year  would 
be  increased  by  $600. 

— N.  S.  Haynes,  of  Decatur,  111.,  for- 
mer pastor  at  Englewood,  Chicago;  Eu- 
reka, 111.;  First  church,  Lincoln,  Neb., 
and  other  prominent  congregations,  was 
stricken  with  cerebral  congestion  of  the 
blood  vessels.  He  is  on  his  feet  again, 
but  is  feeble. 

— New  Year's  Day  was  celebrated  with 
open  house  by  the  church  at  Wellsville, 
N.  Y.,  the  affair  occupying  afternoon 
and  evening.  The  program  was  made 
up  principally  of  musical  and  appropriate 
indoor  athletic  features. 

— The  Hopi  Camp  of  Camp  Fire  Girls, 
Central  church,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  signal- 
ized Christmas  this  year  for  a  group  of 
children  in  one  of  the  poorer  quarters  of 


the  city,  providing  a  Christmas  tree  and 
appropriate  and  pleasing  gifts  for  the 
little  folks,  with  a  program  in  keeping. 

— Central  church,  Youngstown,  O., 
publishes  twice  a  year  the  names  of 
those  who  have  made  pledges  to  church 
support  and  have  paid  them.  The  effect 
is  to  standardize  the  pledge  system.  It 
is  said  to  work  wholesomely.  W.  D. 
Ryan  is  the  pastor. 

— Byron  Hester,  pastor  at  Chickasha, 
Okla.,  was  recently  the  principal  speaker 
at  a  community  meeting  and  barbecue 
held  at  Verden.  His  subject  was  "Good 
Roads,"  and  he  spoke  from  experience, 
having  spent  New  Year's  Day  working 
on  the  roads  in  the  outlying  rural  dis- 
trict. 

— First  church,  Beatrice,  Neb.,  C.  F. 
Stevens,  pastor,  has  projected  a  five- 
year  program,  with  high  goals  for  every 
department  of  congregational  activity. 

— E.  L.  Day  has  resigned  at  North 
Park  church,  Indianapolis,  to  accept  the 
leadership  of  the  church  at  Marion,  Ind. 
During  his  six  years  in  the  capital  city 
Mr.  Day  has  received  over  500  persons 
into  the  membership  of  the  church. 


Notes  from  the  Foreign  Society 


A  friend  in  Tennessee  sends  $2,500  on 
the  annuity  plan.  This  is  his  second  gift 
on  this  plan  for  this  amount. 

The  University  of  Nanking  Magazine, 
Nanking,  China,  issues  a  special  memorial 
number  for  F.  E.  Meigs,  missionary  under 
the  Foreign  Society.  He  was  worth  all  of 
the  splendid  tribute  paid  to  him  in  this  ex- 
cellent number. 

Last  week  a  friend  sent  a  contribution  of 
$5,000  as  a  direct  gift  for  the  work  of  the 
Foreign  Society.  Such  gifts  cheer  us  on 
the  way  toward  the  $600,000. 

Secretary  Bert  Wilson  has  changed  his 
address  from  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  to  Box  884, 
Cincinnati,  O.  He  is  here  in  the  work,  up 
to  his  eyes. 

David  Rioch,  missionary  to  India,  on  fur- 
lough, has  been  doing  some  excellent  work 
in  the  Rallies.  He  hopes  to  take  some  spe- 
cial studies  to  better  equip  himself  for  the 
work  in  India. 

D.  O.  Cunningham  of  India  reports  five 
baptisms. 

Report  comes  that  President  G.  W. 
Brown  of  Jubbulpore,  India,  is  improving 
some  in  health,  but  is  not  as  strong  as  his 
friends  would  like  to  see  him. 

The  missionaries  in  India  cannot  under- 


stand why  our  missionary  staff  is  not  en- 
larged in  that  country.  We  have  but 
twenty-four  on  that  field.  We  had  more 
there  eleven  years  ago.  A  great  March 
offering  and  large  receipts  this  year  will 
help  to  solve  the  problem. 

D.  E.  Dannenberg  and  family  of  Chu- 
chow,  China,  are  at  home  on  furlough. 
Their  present  headquarters  are  at  present 
at  Randolph,  O.  Mrs.  Dannenberg  has  been 
compelled  to  go  to  Rochester,  Minn.,  for 
consultation  with  physicians. 

Henry  Drummond  once  said,  "Wherever 
David  Livingstone's  footsteps  crossed  in 
Africa  the  fragrance  of  his  memory  seemed 
to  remain." 

The  whole  nation  is  going  "dry."  This 
will  hasten  the  evangelization  of  the  world 
in  a  great  way. 

A  wide  observance  of  the  March  offer- 
ing in  our  churches  will  insure  another 
splendid  advance. 

Last  year  $95,721  came  into  the  treasury 
of  the  Foreign  Society  from  the  state  of 
Illinois  alone.  Fine  record !  There  ought 
to  be  as  much  every  year  from  that  great, 
rich,  aggressive  state.  Ohio  came  second 
in  her   offering,   with  $52,814. 

S.  J.  Corey,  Secretary. 


ENDEAVOR    DAY.    FEBRUARY    4 

Little  did  Francis  E.  Clark  dream  of 
the  extent  to  which  the  Christian  En- 
deavor movement  would  grow  when  he 
organized  the  first  society  in  his  church, 
Portland,  Me.,  in  1881.  From  the  one 
small  society  it  has  grown  to  many 
thousands  in  all  denominations  and  in 
all  parts  of  the  world,  and  has  been  an 
ever-increasing  force   for  good. 

All  progressive  religious  bodies  are 
today  interested  in  missions.  It  is,  or 
should  be,  the  object  of  their  organiza- 
tion. One  of  our  mottoes,  "The  World 
for  Christ,"  places  us,  as  Endeavorers, 
in  the  forefront  of  all  missionary  work. 
Many  years  ago  the  United  Society  of 
Christian  Endeavor,  in  its  wisdom,  set 
apart  Endeavor  Day,  the  anniversary  of 
its  organization,  for  foreign  missions 
among  all  societies.  It  is  most  fitting 
that  this  day  should  be  given  over  to 
this  important  work.  An  organization 
that  has  brought  so  many  into  the  fold 
of  safety  should  carry  the  gospel  to  the 
uttermost  parts   of  the  earth. 

The  societies  of  our  own  churches 
have  been  most  aggressive  since  the  or- 
ganization of  the  movement.  During 
that  period  they  have  contributed  to  the 
work  of  the  Foreign  Christian  Mission- 


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January  18,  1917 


ary  Society  about  $1S6,000.  What  a 
power  for  good!  Since  the  great  famine 
in  India  in  1900  the  offerings  of  the 
Endeavorers  have  largely  been  used  in 
caring  for  and  developing  the  great 
Boys'  Orphanage  at  Damoh,  India.  They 
can  well  be  proud  of  the  results  accom- 
plished. Many  of  the  boys  rescued  from 
famine  are  now  the  strength  of  our 
church    in   that   land. 

The  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  So- 
ciety has  prepared  a  new  exercise  for 
the  observance  of  Endeavor  Day,  the 
first  Sunday  in  February,  1917.  It  is  en- 
titled "Life  Lines  Across  the  Sea,"  and 


is  both  interesting  and  instructive. 
These  programs  are  furnished  free  of 
charge  to  all  societies  sending  the  of- 
fering to  the  Foreign  Society.  Send  your 
order  promptly  to  S.  J.  Corey,  Secre- 
tary, Box  S84,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  help 
make  Endeavor  Day,  1917  the  best  in 
the   history  of   Endeavor  work. 

The  object  of  Endeavor  Day  is  to 
bring  prominently  before  the  minds  of 
the  young  people  their  obligation  to  the 
world.  Could  it  be  observed  more  ap- 
propriately than  in  the  manner  sug- 
gested? 


T*'T~'wTl''™""i""i  "■'",i'rrnTTm"^' 


Our  Readers'  Opinions 


!l!:i!li!i;ii!lillll!lll!l!ll!:illlllll 


APPROACH   TO   THE   STATE  UNI- 
VERSITY PROBLEM 

Editor  The  Christian  Century: 

There  is  no  place  in  all  the  world  where 
a  divided  church  demonstrates  its  weakness 
more  than  at  the  gates  of  the  state  univer- 
sities. We  must  have  a  united  religious 
approach  to  the  state  university  or  be  pun- 
ished with  sadly  meager  results  from  these 
marvelous  fields  of  strength  and  opportun- 
ity. There  are  many  indications  that  the 
state  universities  will  refuse  to  become 
denominational  grab  bags.  There  is  a  de- 
mand for  religious  life  and  instruction  as 
democratic  in  the  field  of  religion  as  the 
state  university  is  democratic  in  the  field 
of  education. 

There  are  three  classes  of  approach  to 
the  religious  life  and  instruction  of  state 
universities : 

1.  The  local  churches  in  the  cities  in 
which  the  state  universities  are  located. 

2.  Representatives  and  institutions  of  the 
churches  about  the  campus  devoted  entirely 
to  student  religious  life  and  instruction, 
such  as  university  pastors,  divinity  schools, 
seminaries,  Bible  colleges,  university 
churches,  Bible  chairs  and  guild  houses. 

3.  Organizations  of  students,  such  as 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Y.  W.  C.  A.  and  student  volun- 
teer bands.  Most  of  the  Christian  associa- 
tions have  salaried  secretaries.  Some  of 
them  are  still  allowed  to  work  in  buildings 
on  the  campus  and  others  have  built  sepa- 
rate buildings. 

All  of  these  agencies  are  appealing  to  the 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  state  uni- 
versity students  in  America  to  give  re- 
ligion and  the  Bible  a  place  in  the  program 
at  the  university.  It  is  little  wonder  that 
amidst  this  din  of  confusion,  competition 
and  sometimes  strife  he  decides  to  take  his 
own  course  and  listen  to  none  of  them. 
These  various  agencies,  this  confusion  of 
appeal,  is  an  eloquent  testimony  to  the  im- 
portance of  the  state  university  as  a  mis- 
sion field ;  but  it  also  constitutes  a  call  for 
a  united  religious  approach  that  the  work 
may   be   effectually   accomplished. 

We  venture  to  offer  the  following  pro- 
gram as  a  united  approach  to  the  state  uni- 
versity : 

1.  That  churches  in  the  communities 
where  the  state  universities  are  situated  be 
the  only  denominational  centers  and  the 
only  places  for  public  worship.  If  the  state 
university  communities  are  not  sufficiently 
provided  with  churches,  then  others  should 
be  added  or  the  existing  ones  strengthened. 
We  believe  that  university  churches  for  the 
use  of  students  only  are  not  wise.  De- 
nominational activity,  organization  group- 
ing of  students,  should  be  about  the  already 
recognized  local  denominational  churches. 
We  also  are  convinced  that  all  student  ac- 
tivities about  the  local  church  should  be 
under  control  of  the  local  church  and  an 
integral  part  of  its  work.  If  the  church 
needs  help,  then  let  assistants  be  added,  but 


not  helpers  independent  of  local  church  con- 
trol. 

2.  Leaving  all  the  denominational  and 
church  work  of  university  students  to  the 
local  churches,  all  the  other  activities  now 
at  work  on  the  problem  should  be  housed 
in  one  central  building  and  constitute  a 
school  of  religion.  This  building  should 
have  class  rooms,  offices,  lecture  rooms,  lib- 
rary and  a  chapel.  It  should  be  provided 
also  with  ample  facilities  for  social  life, 
banquets,  etc.  It  should  be  the  home  of  the 
Christian  associations  which  are  the  most 
effective  agencies  for  the  expressional  re- 
ligious life  of  students.  The  teachers  and 
other  workers  in  this  central  building  might 
be  provided  and  controlled  by  an  inde- 
pendent board  of  directors. 
Bloomington,  Ind.  Joseph  C.  Todd. 


CREED   VERSUS   PURPOSE 

Editor  The  Christian  Century. 

I  have  studied  with  appreciative  care  the 
comment  of  the  "Century"  on  the  Barnes- 
Brown  correspondence. 

To  an  observing  person,  living  here  in 
the  midst  of  the  conflicting  elements  all 
included  in  the  name  Christians  or  Camp- 
bellites,  there  is  no  mystery  whatever  in 
our  being  regarded  as  intensely  sectarian 
and  of  no  value  whatever  as  a  factor  in 
the  movements  toward  union  of  Christians. 

But  there  is  another  side  to  this  matter. 
It  is  morally  impossible  for  a  minister  or 
layman  who  cannot  conceive  of  God  as  an 
exaggerated  Asiatic  ruler  and  who  regards 
that  appeal  to  fear  which  puts  weak  adults 
and  little  children  into  a  condition  of  hys- 
terics, as  essentially  immoral,  and  also  re- 
gards rolling  in  dust  and  tobacco  spit  as 
degrading,  to  join  in  with  union  evangel- 
istic meetings  and  he  who  refrains  is  ac- 
counted sectarian  and  unbrotherly.  We 
see  here  in  an  unusually  well  developed 
form  the  evil  that  essentially  inheres  in 
speculative  religion. 

Personally,  I  have  no  use  for  any  rem- 
nant of  it.  As  long  as  churches  make 
speculative  theology  the  essence  of  their 
being  union  would  only  serve  to  perpetu- 
ate error  and  tend  to  fasten  on  human  life 
those  barnacles  of  "authoritative"  supersti- 
tions which  retard  progress. 

I  would  rejoice  to  see  a  union  of  those 
elements  which  aim  at  humanizing  man- 
kind, which  put  the  emphasis  on  individual 
and  collective  righteousness,  i.  e.,  the  state 
and  condition  of  human  life  on  this  planet 
which  corresponds  to  our  best  ideals  of 
human  perfection. 

I  want  to  see  a  union  of  purpose,  and 
primarily  a  world-centered  purpose,  and  not 
of  belief  as  belief  is  now  received  among 
traditionalists. 

The  authority  of  the  humanizing  spirit 
within  us  is  superior  to  the  "authority"  of 
a  more  or  less  imperfect  tradition. 

Harrison,  Ark.         F.  M.   Cummings. 


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January  18,  1917  THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  23 


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i   I     !!  : 


HIM 


Vol.  XXXIV 


January  25,  1917 


Number  4 


Where  is  Our  God? 

By  Edgar  DeWitt  Jones 

The  Last  Days  of 
John  Barleycorn 

By  Ellis  B.  Barnes 


1 


CHICAGO 


nu 


I  111 


3 


"THE  MEANING  OF  BAPTISM" 

By  CHARLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  Editor  of  "The  Christian  Century" 

"This  is  probably  the  most  important  book  in  English  on  the  place  of  baptism  in 
Christianity  written  since  Mozley  published  his  'Baptismal  Regeneration'  in  1856" 

That  is  what  the  New  York  Christian  Advocate  says  of  this  remarkable  volume 


Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty  (Christian  Denomination) : 
"Mr.  Morrison  is  leading  a  movement  for  larger  liberty  in 
matters  of  opinion  among  the  people  of  God." 

The  Advance  (Congregationalist):  "We  believe  the 
position  herein  advocated  is  one  that  the  Disciples  will  be 
driven  ultimately  to  adopt." 

The  Christian  Union  Quarterly  (Disciple)  :  "The  author 
has  a  brilliant  style  and  thinks  along  ingenious  and  fas- 
cinating lines." 

The  Religious  Telescope  (United  Brethren):  "The 
significance  of  this  work  is  new  and  remarkable.  It  may 
help  the  immersionists  and  affusionists  to  get  together, 
which  would  be  a  great  achievement." 

Central  Christian  Advocate  (Methodist):  "A  profound 
scholar,  a  deeply  spiritual  follower  of  the  Master,  a  man 
among  men,  something  of  a  mystic,  we  could  well  believe 
that  if  any  person  could  show  the  way  to  Christian  unity, 
Charles  Clayton  Morrison  belongs  to  the  select  few." 

The  Presbyterian  Advance:  "The  editor  of  this  paper 
welcomes  the  appearance  of  this  volume,  for  it  enables  him 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  to  answer  a  question  which  has 
often  been  asked  of  him  by  correspondents  and  readers — 
'What  is  the  best  book  on  baptism?'" 


The  Christian  Intelligencer  (Reformed):  "The  argu- 
ment seems  logical  and  the  spirit  of  the  writer  is  certainly 
as  gentle  in  statement  as  it  is  urgent  in  appeal." 

The  Continent  (Presbyterian):  "It  required  courage 
to  publish  this  book.  It  is  by  a  minister  of  the  Disciples 
church,  which  has  been  peculiarly  strenuous  in  behalf  of 
the  scriptural  necessity  of  immersion,  and  he  writes  that 
'the  effect  of  our  study  is  absolutely  to  break  down  the 
notion  that  any  divine  authority  whatsoever  stands  behind 
the  practice  of  immersion.' " 

The  Congregationalist:  A  daring  and  splendidly  Chris- 
tian piece  of  work." 

The  Homiletic  Review:  "The  spirit  of  the  book  is  de- 
lightful and  raises  new  hopes  where  none  had  seemed  pos- 
sible." 

The  Churchman  (Episcopal):  "An  interesting  sum- 
mary of  the  topic,  especially  as  it  is  related  to  the  history 
of  modern  sectarianism." 

Baptist  Standard  (Dallas,  Tex.):  "This  is  a  very  in- 
teresting work;  as  much  so  as  any  volume  of  fiction  we 
have  read  this  year!" 

The  Christian  Endeavor  World:  "A  thorough  treatise 
from  the  immersion  point  of  view,  but  building  a  bridge 
toward  the  affusionist  view." 


Every  member  of   the   Disciples'  fellowship  should  own  this  book 
which  is  stirring  the  denominations.    Price,  $1.35  per  copy,  postpaid 

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cially prepared  for  class  study?  One  of  these  deals  in  Old  Testament  life,  the  other  with 
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"The  Moral  Leaders  of  Israel" 

By  DR.  HERBERT  L.  WILLETT 

is  a  course  treating  in  a  most  attractive  way  the  mountain  peak  personalities  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Moses,  Samuel,  David,  Elijah,  Isaiah  and  the  other  great  spokesmen  for  God  are  here 
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"The  Life  of  Jesus" 


By  DR.  LOA  E.  SCOTT 

is  a  question  and  answer  study  of  the  life  of  Jesus  and  is  especially  adapted  to  High  School 
and  adult  age.   Hundreds  of  classes  have  been  built  up  on  the  basis  of  this  attractive  course. 

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ADDRESS 


DISCIPLES    PUBLICATION    SOCIETY 


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January  25,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


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700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


nJ     .  I  The   Disciples   Publica- 

lMSCipiGS  tion    Society   is   an  or- 

PubliCatiOIl     ganization     through 
e^„;,**,r  which   churches  of  the 

dOCieiy  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
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The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *    •    * 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *    *     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


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BUILD! 

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THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


January  25,  1917 


Soon  to  Appear 

Dr.  Burr  is  A.  Jenkins'  Popular  Volume 

'The  Man  in  the  Street 
and  Religion" 

A   book   containing  the  Kansas    City  preacher's  message  and    his 
personal  philosophy  of  life. 


One  of  the  livest  and  most  readable 
statements  of  modern  faith  which  the  New 
Year  will  bring  forth.  The  following  ex- 
tract from  the  first  chapter  suggests  the 
point  of  view  and  atmosphere  of  this 
fascinating  book: 

"To  look  upon  the  seething  mass  of  men  in  the 
city  streets,  or  on  the  country  side,  the  navvy  in 
the  ditch  or  on  the  right-of-way,  the  chauffeur 
and  the  engine  man,  the  plumber  and  the  pluto- 
crat, the  man  with  the  hoe  and  the  man  with  the 
quirt,  the  clerk  and  the  architect,  the  child  of  the 
silver  spoon  and  the  child  of  the  rookery,  and  to 
declare  that  all  alike  are  religious,  naturally  re- 
ligious, seems  a  daring  stand  to  take.  But  that 
is  the  precise  position  to  which  we  are  beginning 
to  come." 


$1.25   (plus  postage) 

Order  now  and  book  will  be  sent  immediately  it  comes  from  the  press. 

The  Christian  Century  Press 

700  E.  40th  Street  .'.  Chicago 


The  Christian  Century 


CHARLES  CLAYTON  MOBEISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT  J,.  WIEEETT,   CONTEIBUTIHO  EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


JANUARY  25,  1917 


Number  4 


Religious  Change 


WE  ARE  ALL  CONSERVATIVES  ! 

We  give  up  our  notions  about  life  and  the  world 
with  reluctance.  There  are  only  a  few  men  who  will 
accept  the  logic  of  their  thinking.  Such  men  lay  the 
whip  of  their  cruel  logic  across  our  backs  and  drive  us  a 
little  way  on  in  the  road  of  human  progress.  This  is 
peculiarly  true  in  religion.  The  very  importance  of  relig- 
ious ideas  is  the  reason  for  men  holding  these  ideas  so 
tenaciously  and  for  compelling  progress  to  prove  itself  at 
every  step. 

Religious  change  occasions  shock.  Even  the  individual 
communion  cup  makes  its  way  slowly  and  is  still  taboo  in 
an  old  and  highly  respectable  denomination. 

Hegel  has  given  us  a  formula  which  is  helpful  for 
interpreting  the  changes  in  human  thought.  He  uses  the 
three  words  thesis,  antithesis  and  synthesis.  His  idea  is 
that  a  careful  scrutiny  of  any  of  our  fundamental  ideas 
results  in  finding  some  truth  in  an  opposite  statement,  which 
is  antithesis.  Further  thought  leads  to  a  new  formulation 
or  synthesis. 

We  can  see  the  process  of  synthesis  at  work  in  the 
Book  of  Hebrews.  This  book  has  profound  significance 
for  the  present  stage  of  the  life  of  the  church.  It  shows  us 
how  to  proceed  in  the  task  of  reconciliation. 

The  Jews  who  had  become  Christians  had  passed 
through  the  stage  of  denial  or  antithesis.  They  had  de- 
bated in  the  synagogues  as  did  Stephen  and  Paul.  The 
break  had  at  last  been  complete  and  the  church  no  longer 
called  itself  a  synagogue,  as  did  James  in  his  epistles. 
Probably  Jews  were  ceasing  to  observe  the  practices  of 
their  ancient  faith.  It  was  at  this  point  that  doubts  arose 
about  the  value  of  the  steps  they  had  taken.  The  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  was  written  at  a  time  when  the  Alexandrian 
Jews  were  on  the  eve  of  a  great  apostasy  that  might  have 
led  them  back  into  the  synagogue.  The  unknown  writer 
of  Hebrews  (was  he  Apollos?)  helped  the  Jews  to  make 
the  proper  appreciation  of  religious  values.  Their  attitude 
was  not  to  be  reversion  to  the  old,  nor  a  continuous  atti- 
tude of  hostility  toward  the  old.  A  synthesis  was  to  be 
made  which  should  include  the  values  of  the  past  and  the 
newer  values  found  in  the  religion  of  Jesus. 

They  were  not  to  despise  sacrifice,  neither  were  they 
to  practice  again  the  killing  of  animals ;  they  were  to  look 
upon  the  death  of  Jesus  as  their  sacrifice.  They  were  not 
to  reject  the  priesthood,  nor  were  they  to  seek  again  the 
ministrations  of  the  sons  of  Aaron ;  there  was  a  new  priest- 
hood after  the  order  of  Melchisedec.  Thus  one  by  one  the 
great  ideas  of  Judaism  were  incorporated  in  a  new  defini- 
tion of  Christianity. 

•     • 

What  Apollos  or  some  other  man  did  for  the  Jews 
needs  to  be  done  for  modern  Christians.  The  book  of 
Hebrews  has  in  it  a  method  of  the  profoundest  significance 
for  our  present  needs. 

Modern  Christianity  has  been  passing  through  a  period 


of  antithesis.  The  old  definition  of  the  place  of  Christ  in  a 
theological  Trinity  has  been  denied.  The  older  conceptions 
of  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  have  been  rejected.  Science 
with  its  doctrine  of  evolution  has  compelled  us  to  reinter- 
pret all  our  knowledge.  This  has  led  to  many  denials. 
Democracy  has  led  to  the  rejection  of  many  forms  of  eccle- 
siastical authority. 

In  the  past  fifty  years  these  denials  have  seemed  to 
sweep  the  very  foundations  of  Christianity  away.  It  seems 
to  us  that  the  age  of  reconciliation  draws  near.  This  in- 
volves appreciation  of  our  religious  past,  but  not  a  return 

to  it. 

•     • 

There  is  a  new  appreciation  of  the  person  of  Jesus 
Christ.  We  have  recovered  his  humanity,  which  the  church 
had  almost  lost.  There  is  now  a  new  footing  for  confess- 
ing his  divinity  .  We  shall  do  this  because  we  now  have  a 
new  thought  of  God.  The  Trinitarian  formula  may  fall  into 
disuse,  but  the  spiritual  realities  which  it  expressed  are 
capable  of  a  fresh  and  vital  reinterpretation. 

If  we  of  modern  times  talk  less  of  the  inspiration  of  the 
Bible  our  new  thought  of  God  gives  validity  to  the  idea. 
The  Bible  does  reveal  the  will  of  God  to  us,  though  through 
human  minds  and  through  progressive  unfoldings  of  the 
truth. 

We  now  know  it  is  unscientific  to  set  science  in  opposi- 
tion to  faith  in  God,  or  Christ,  or  the  Bible,  or  the  soul,  or 
immortality.  When  a  man  of  science  makes  a  sweeping 
universal  denial  of  these  things  he  has  become  as  dogmatic 
as  a  medieval  monk.  In  the  name  of  true  science  men  now 
reject  such  unscientific  presumption.  There  is  today  no 
quarrel  between  "religious  religion"  and  "scientific  science." 

In  the  matter  of  democracy,  too,  we  are  now  ready  to 
make  a  synthesis  in  church  organization.  By  the  side  of 
democracy  we  place  the  new  word  efficiency.  We  are  will- 
ing to  give  up  at  times  a  fictitious  liberty  that  the  work  of 
God  may  be  done  quickly  and  well.  The  church  in  the 
future  will  be  no  mob. 

Especially  will  the  evangelical  spirit  survive  in  the 
reconstruction  of  religion.  We  shall  soon  cease  preaching 
our  nice  little  sermons  telling  people  to  "be  good."  We 
shall  again  exhort  men  to  "come  to  Christ."  Soon  we 
shall  cease  to  look  at  sin  with  good  natured  tolerance.  We 
shall  not  take  away  the  soul's  responsibility  with  the  famil- 
iar formula  of  heredity  and  environment.  We  shall  hate 
sin  again  as  men  have  always  hated  it  in  times  of  spiritual 
power. 

The  Disciples  movement  in  its  beginning  contributed 
much  to  the  synthesis  as  well  as  to  the  antithesis  of  reli- 
gion. Our  lingering  spirit  of  denial  must  pass.  Our  men 
of  modern  training  especially  must  learn  again  to  affirm. 
Our  weary  world  waits  for  a  religion  of  power  which  has 
thought  itself  through  and  stands  once  more  upon  the 
everlasting  rock  of  our  faith,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


EDITORIAL 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CITY 

IT  IS  often  assumed  that  the  people  of  a  great  city 
are  less  religious  than  the  people  in  the  country.  Sta- 
tistics often  seem  to  point  that  way.  Whether  in  New 
York  or  Chicago  or  San  Francisco,  the  church  is  strug- 
gling against  awful  odds  and  often  the  figures  are  a  pitiful 
indictment  of  the  religious  indifference  of  a  great  city. 

There  is  something  to  be  said  on  the  other  side.  In  a 
community  where  the  church  is  the  only  social  factor, 
some  people  may  attend  it  for  almost  the  same  reason 
that  city  men  go  to  a  saloon,  for  sociability.  It  is  rea- 
sonably certain  that  a  man  who  hunts  up  a  church  amid 
all  the  attractions  of  city  life,  is  looking  for  religion.  If 
there  is  relatively  less  church  membership,  there  is  a  loy- 
alty and  a  consecration  in  the  membership  which  makes 
it  a  select  circle.  The  story  of  sacrifice  in  city  churches 
bears  this  out. 

Religion  in  the  city  is  in  the  process  of  change.  Every 
community  has  a  right  to  shape  its  religious  ideals  and 
practices  according  to  its  needs.  There  is  one  gospel, 
but  many  applications  of  it  to  life.  The  social  situation  of 
the  city  man  makes  a  demand  for  a  peculiar  kind  of  re- 
ligious institution. 

The  religion  of  the  city  must  have  in  it  a  keen  ethical 
sense.  Sin  stalks  the  streets  seeking  its  victims.  The 
young  live  in  perils  that  are  unique.  The  church  cannot 
afford  to  take  an  indifferent  attitude  to  city  evils. 

The  city  man's  religion  must  have  in  it  a  great  note 
of  brotherhood.  There  are  more  caste  barriers  in  city 
life  created  by  race  nationality,  wealth,  education  and 
peculiar  circumstances.  Religion  has  the  power  to  glorify 
human  life  and  create  community  feeling. 

Xor  are  we  to  despair  of  finding  a  deep  consciousness 
of  God  in  the  soul  of  the  city  man.  Saints  like  Savonarola 
and  St.  Augustine  were  city  men.  Another  generation  of 
city  men  will  be  weary  of  the  toys  of  our  wealth  and  seek 
the  greater  realities  of  the  soul. 

STATIC  RELIGION 

THE  issue  that  more  than  anything  else  divides  reli- 
gionists is  the  question  as  to  whether  religion  is 
static.  Such  discussion  harks  back  to  the  days  when 
one  Greek  philosopher  declared  that  all  things  change  while 
another  declared  all  change  to  be  illusory.  The  Roman 
Catholic  theologian  speaks  in  behalf  of  an  unchanging  and 
eternal  church.  The  modernist  admits  change  and  argues 
in  behalf  of  it  as  the  one  principle  which  guarantees  the 
continued  life  of  religion. 

This  issue  is  being  fought  out  in  the  field  of  every 
religion  of  the  world — that  is,  where  modern  ideas  have 
gone.  There  are  now  Mohammedans  who  believe  in 
change  in  religion  in  opposition  to  others  who  argue  for 
the  static  conception.  Confucianism  faces  either  change 
or  utter  elimination. 

The  Disciples,  like  many  another  religious  people, 
presented  at  one  time  a  static  conception  of  religion. 
They  proposed  to  restore  the  original  church.  When  it 
was  restored,  it  would  not  need  to  be  changed.  In  this 
static  conception  they  stagnated.  The  new  life  in  the 
movement  results  from  a  frank  acceptance  of  the  principle 
of  progress  and  growth. 

There  was  no  church  in  New  Testament  times  which 
was  not  criticised  by  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament. 


The  first  three  chapters  of  Revelations  are  almost  pessi- 
mistic in  their  denunciation  of  the  failures  of  the  leading 
churches.  We  would  not  want  to  copy  the  narrowness  of 
the  Jerusalem  church,  nor  the  corruption  of  the  Corinthian 
church.  The  Ideal  church  was  in  the  minds  of  the  apostles, 
but  if  it  ever  existed  on  earth  they  failed  to  describe  it. 

Our  new  science,  our  study  of  sociology,  our  exchange 
of  views  in  the  study  of  comparative  religion, — these  and 
many  other  things  compel  change  in  the  religion  of  today. 
Behind  the  static  conception  of  religion  is  a  blind,  though 
often  unconscious  egotism.  The  conception  of  progress  in 
religion  rests  upon  humility  of  spirit.  "I  count  not  myself 
to  have  apprehended,"  says  Paul. 

RELIGION   AND   OUR  WORLD   PROBLEMS 

ULTIMATE  problems  of  religion  lie  at  the  bottom  of 
most  of  our  political  and  national  differences.  Two 
groups  of  ministers  in  the  east  seem  to  be  saying 
different  things  with  regard  to  the  world  war.  The  word 
of  the  thorough-going  pacifist,  such  as  Dr.  Gulick,  has 
become  familiar  to  the  American  public  and  has  exercised 
an  influence  that  five  years  ago  would  have  seemed  impos- 
sible. Now  another  group  of  ministers,  represented  by 
such  men  as  Rev.  Newell  Dwight  Hillis  and  others,  ask  if 
there  is  not  a  more  fundamental  word  in  the  Christian 
vocabulary  than  peace,  the  word  "justice." 

These  men  apply  this  word  to  the  international  situa- 
tion in  a  way  favorable  to  the  interest  of  the  entente.  They 
propose  a  series  of  questions  relating  to  the  iavasion  and 
spoliation  of  Belgium,  also  concerning  other  matters  con- 
nected with  the  great  world  war. 

It  is  not,  of  course,  the  intention  of  these  men  to  jus- 
tify war  as  being  the  best  means  of  settling  international 
differences.  They  intend  only  to  ask  whether,  if  there  is 
no  other  way  to  right  injustice  except  by  war,  it  is  not 
right  under  such  an  evil  situation  to  fight. 

This  is,  of  course,  no  question  to  be  settled  by  the 
matching  of  texts.  Both  pacifist  and  militarist  have  been 
able  to  use  the  Bible  effectively  in  the  past.  No  one  ques- 
tions the  thoroughgoing  militaristic  quality  of  nearly  all  of 
the  Old  Testament.  Nor  does  anyone  forget  the  great 
peace  words  of  Jesus. 

The  question  of  the  relative  value  of  peace  and  justice 
is  a  question  of  casuistry.  Casuistry  was  brought  into  dis- 
repute by  the  Jesuit's  handling  of  it,  but  in  many  moral  sit- 
uations we  are  all  compelled  to  be  casuists.  There  is  a 
greater  and  a  lesser  good.  Moral  values  do  not  stand  on  a 
dead  level.  There  is,  therefore,  in  the  issues  between  the 
two  groups  of  religious  leaders  a  problem  of  world  impor- 
tance :  Which  is  the  greater,  Peace  or  Justice  ? 

LIQUOR  AND  THE  TRADES  UNIONISTS 

IN  THE  fight  for  national  prohibition  the  last  entrench- 
ment of  the  enemy  will  be  in  the  ranks  of  the  trades 

unionists.  Large  numbers  of  these  men  are  total 
abstainers,  but  the  organized  union  men  of  the  liquor 
trades  are  claiming  the  protection  of  the  union  fellowship, 
which  in  days  gone  by  has  always  brought  a  ready 
response. 

The  argument  of  the  liquor  leaders  is  that  the  clos- 
ing up  of  the  liquor  trade  in  America  would  mean  large 
numbers  of  unemployed  men,  which  would  affect  wage 
standards  in  every  trade.     There  is  a  subtle  appeal  to 


January  25,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


selfishness  in  this  argument  which  may  prove  effective 
with  some. 

The  work  of  Rev.  Chas.  Stelzle  in  combatting  this 
tendency  is  to  be  commended.  He  is  editing  a  monthly 
magazine  and  preparing  a  tractarian  literature  in  which 
he  shows  how  little  of  the  money  of  the  liquor  business 
goes  into  labor.  He  has  been  for  a  long  time  connected 
with  the  labor  movement  and  is  persona  grata  to  its  lead- 
ers. He  is  well  qualified,  therefore,  to  conduct  this  cam- 
paign. 

Mr.  Stelzle  is  appealing  for  the  support  of  the  trades 
unionists  in  the  churches.  These  men  will  be  asked  to 
distribute  literature  in  the  shops  where  they  work. 

As  one  studies  the  wet  and  dry  map,  it  is  seen  that 
the  progress  of  prohibition  is  opposed  by  a  few  leading 
cities — New  York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  Cincinnati,  Bos- 
ton, Cleveland  and  St.  Louis.  In  these  cities  the  trades 
union  movement  is  strong.  If  this  prop  of  labor  support 
could  be  taken  away  from  the  liquor  business  in  these 
cities  it  might  turn  the  tide  for  an  immediate  victory. 

THE  CITIES  AND  PROHIBITION 

FIFTEEN  cities  in  Massachusetts  recently  voted  on 
the  liquor  question.  Fall  River,  great  industrial 
town  of  120,000  population,  changed  a  wet  ma- 
jority of  1,800  one  year  ago  to  a  dry  majority  of  1,500 
this  year.  Other  large  industrial  towns,  such  as  Haver- 
hill, Leominster  and  Tauntan  also  went  dry.  In  the 
other  eleven  cities  the  dries  made  big  gains  over  the 
last  election.  The  end  of  John  Barleycorn  in  this  coun- 
try is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  cities  and  the  industrial 
centers,  and  every  election  goes  to  give  confidence  in 
the  ultimate  verdict. 

HOW  CITY  MISSIONS  HAVE  GROWN 

IT  is  the  general  impression  that  the  work  of  home  mis- 
sions in  the  great  cities  is  being  done  each  year  by  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  in  a  bigger  way.  This  work  refers 
to  the  extension  of  our  churches  in  growing  portions  of 
the  cities  and  to  the  discharge  of  our  obligation  to  the 
immigrant.  There  will  be  much  interest  in  learning  how 
city  mission  work  has  been  extended  in  the  city  of  Chicago, 
the  metropolis  which  is  central  to  Disciple  territory. 

Something  over  ten  years  ago,  the  Illinois  Christian 
Missionary  Society  was  maintaining  one  mission  in  Chi- 
cago.   Today  it  maintains  none. 

Eight  years  ago,  the  Christian  Woman's  Board  of 
Missions  was  putting  two  thousand  dollars  per  annum  into 
mission  work  in  Chicago.  This  was  less  than  the  Chicago 
auxiliaries  and  churches  were  giving  to  the  woman's  organ- 
ization. Then  the  appropriation  was  cut  to  twelve  hundred 
dollars  a  year.  The  past  year,  the  Christian  Woman's 
Board  of  Missions  has  given  nothing  at  all  to  city  mission 
work  in  Chicago,  though  the  churches  in  that  city  have 
continued  their  gifts  to  the  organization  with  their  usual 
liberality. 

Eight  years  ago,  the  American  Christian  Missionary 
Society  was  putting  two  thousand  dollars  a  year  into  Chi- 
cago besides  refunding  the  money  given  by  Chicago 
churches  for  home  mission  purposes.  At  the  present  time 
that  society  is  content  to  pay  most  of  the  expenses  of  the 
Russian  mission,  which  is  a  considerable  saving  as  com- 
pared with  its  former  expenditure.  The  Chicago  churches 
are  not  any4onger  given  credit  for  home  mission  work 
when  their  gifts  are  used  in  Chicago,  except  in  the  case  of 
two  churches. 


Under  these  discouraging  conditions  the  contributions 
of  the  Chicago  churches  themselves  have  fallen  off.  There 
has  probably  never  been  a  year  in  twenty  years  when  so 
little  was  done  for  city  missions  in  Chicago  as  last  year. 

Meanwhile  our  great  brotherhood  is  being  told  by 
home  mission  secretaries  that  our  organized  agencies  are 
taking  seriously  the  redemption  of.  the  city. 

THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  WORK  AMONG 
IMMIGRANTS 

AN  immigrant  group  in  the  city  lives  under  conditions 
that  are  usually  unknown  to  the  rest  of  the  city,  for 
one  half  knows  nothing  of  how  the  other  half  lives. 
In  Chicago  it  is  the  one-quarter  Americans  by  birth  who 
are  ignorant  of  the  three-quarters  of  those  of  recent  Euro- 
pean origin. 

One  can  follow  the  group  of  Bulgarian  laborers  re- 
turning from  their  railroad  work.  They  live  in  boarding 
houses,  several  in  a  room  with  the  windows  nailed  down 
and  the  cracks  stuffed  with  rags  and  the  doors  shut.  There 
is  a  spring  crop  of  tuberculosis  that  rends  one's  heart  to 
see.  The  longest  lived  race  of  men  in  the  world  die  in 
Chicago  for  want  of  knowledge  of  the  hygienic  conditions 
of  existence  in  a  great  city. 

Or  one  can  go  over  into  the  Russian  colony.  There 
the  anarchist  orator,  disciple  of  Emma  Goldman,  is  ranting 
against  the  established  order  on  the  street  corner.  Only 
forty  per  cent  of  the  men  can  read  and  write,  but  one  man 
will  buy  the  I.  W.  W.  paper,  "The  Workers,"  and  gather- 
ing a  group  around  him  after  the  lecture,  will  read  the 
story  of  the  progress  of  social  unrest.  These  men  now 
carry  their  money  in  their  pockets  instead  of  in  a  bank,  and 
defend  it  as  best  they  may.  The  private  banks  have  failed, 
costing  them  thousands  of  dollars  of  hard-earned  money, 
and  the  government  savings  bank  has  no  clerk  who  speaks 
Russian. 

These  men  have  but  few  women  in  their  colony. 
There  are  none  of  the  restraints  of  the  home  life.  The 
saloons  minister  to  their  native  love  of  drink.  The  brothel 
takes  its  awful  toll  from  their  lives. 

These  are  the  cold,  brutal  facts  as  they  relate  to 
hundreds  of  thousands  in  every  metropolitan  center.  Mean- 
while a  great  brotherhood  like  the  Disciples  of  Christ 
spends  a  few  thousands  of  dollars — hardly  $10,000  all 
told — for  this  appalling  missionary  need  and  brags  of  what 
it  has  done  for  the  immigrant.  Lazarus  is  at  our  door. 
He  will  rise  up  in  the  judgment  against  us. 

MR.  LOKEN  RELINQUISHES  CHURCH 

AFTER  resigning  twice  before  in  the  past  year  and 
failing  to  get  the  consent  of  his  church  to  release 
him,  Rev.  H.  J.  Loken  has  resigned  the  third  time 
at  Berkeley,  Calif.,  and  insists  that  his  resignation  be 
accepted.  Mr.  Loken  will  spend  some  time  in  the  middle 
western  states  fostering  an  acquaintance  with  the  churches 
in  a  portion  of  the  country  where  he  is  but  little  acquainted. 

His  presence  in  these  Mississippi  Valley  states  should 
be  made  an  occasion  for  the  churches  which  have  heard 
of  the  fame  of  his  preaching  to  come  into  closer  range  with 
his  personality  and  message. 

Mr.  Loken  spent  seven  years  in  the  pastorate  at  Berke- 
ley. During  the  stress  and  storm  of  the  theological 
attack  made  upon  him  by  forces  far  removed  from  his 
parish,  his  congregation  remained  loyal  and  united  in  a 
remarkable  degree.  Contrary  to  the  prevailing  sentiment 
of  his  church,  he  now  feels  that  a  new  man  can  lead  the 


8 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  25,  1917 


congregation  into  quieter  waters,  and  into  more  effective 
service.  His  resignation  is  in  the  line  of  this  unselfish 
conception  of  his  ministry. 

In  the  brotherhood  of  the  Disciples  there  are  few 
preachers  the  superior  of  H.  J.  Loken  in  Christian  spirit, 
in  originality  of  mind,  in  the  evangelical  quality  of  his 
message  and  in  the  power  of  delivering  the  word  of  Christ 
with  prophetic  urgency. 

The  church  at  Berkeley  will  keep  its  face  forward, 
holding  fast  the  good  it  has  won  for  itself — and  for  all  its 
sister  churches  of  Disciples — through  these  trying  years  in 
which  it  has  pioneered  a  way  for  itself  and  for  the  rest  of 
us  to  live  up  to  the  high  ideals  of  our  movement  for  the 
unity  of  Christ's  followers. 

THE  WRITTEN  SERMON 

EVANGELICAL  churches  have  often  shown  a  lack  of 
hospitality  to  the  written  sermon,  especially  among 
Methodists  and  Disciples.    This  kind  of  sermon  has 
been  supposed  to  be  dull  and  difficult  to  understand.     It 


has  been,  popularly  assumed  that  it  lacks  the  fire  of  the 
preacher's  personality. 

It  would  be  interesting  for  our  readers  to  see  a  list  of 
some  of  the  foremost  preachers  among  the  Disciples  of 
this  present  period  who  use  a  manuscript  in  the  pulpit 
habitually. 

The  arguments  for  the  manuscript  are  many.  In  the 
first  place,  the  man  with  the  manuscript  has  made  prep- 
aration at  some  time  or  other.  He  does  not  come  into  the 
pulpit  to  "let  the  Lord  put  words  in  his  mouth"  as  did  a 
species  of  preacher  that  is  not  dead  yet.  The  congregation 
also  has  a  comfortable  certainty  that  the  man  with  the 
manuscript  has  some  terminal  facilities.  He  will  not  be 
tempted  to  transgress  on  the  proprieties  of  the  occasion 
by  following  interesting  side-lines  of  thought.  There  is 
also  an  order  and  symmetry  about  the  written  sermon 
which  most  extempore  efforts  do  not  possess.  Some 
preachers  have  found  also  that  when  they  discuss  a  theme 
such  as  is  likely  to  be  misunderstood,  a  written  document 
is  sometimes  a  great  protection.  It  settles  any  dispute  as 
to  what  the  preacher  really  said. 


The  Makers  of  the  Bible 


Third  Article  in  the  Series  on  the  Bible 
BY  HERBERT  L.  WILLETT 


THE  books  of  the  Bible  are  windows  through  which  one 
may  look  in  upon  the  world's  most  unique  religious 
history.  To  the  experiences  of  the  Hebrew  people  and 
the  early  Christian  church  all  the  generations  have  gone 
for  moral  and  spiritual  suggestion  and  direction,  just  as 
they  have  gone  to  the  story  of  classic  Greece  for  inspiration 
in  art  and  education,  and  to  the  life  of  ancient  Rome  for 
ideals  of  law  and  government. 

One  cannot  say  that  the  national  and  group  experi- 
ences recorded  in  the  Bible  are  the  only  ones  which  dis- 
close a  deep  interest  in  ethics  and  religion.  God  has  not 
left  himself  without  witness  in  any  people.  Several  of 
the  ancient  civilizations  re\eal  notable  concern  for  the 
higher  interests  of  life.  But  in  comparison  with  the  ideals 
progressively  reached  by  the  Hebrew  and  Christian  com- 
munities, under  the  leadership  and  inspiration  of  the 
prophets  and  our  Lord,  they  must  be  given  a  lower  place. 
The  Bible  is  the  record  of  religious  aspirations  higher  and 
more  nearly  realized  than  may  be  found  elsewhere  in  the 
story  of  the  race. 

It  is  always  interesting  to  study  the  men  who  have 
helped  to  produce  great  literature.  The  books  of  the  Bible 
furnish  the  material  for  absorbing  study.  The  men  behind 
the  books  are  of  equal  interest.  To  be  sure  they  are  not 
so  easily  studied,  because  many  of  them  are  wholly  un- 
known except  as  they  reveal  themselves  in  their  utterances. 
Yet  it  is  impossible  to  read  any  important  work  without 
attempting  to  form  some  picture  of  the  one  who  wrote  it, 
and  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  produced. 

FREEDOM   OF  BIBLICAL  WRITERS 

One  of  the  first  impressions  one  gets  from  the  reading 
of  the  books  of  the  Bible  is  that  they  were  not  written  by 
people  who  conceived  themselves  to  be  making  formal  doc- 
uments, or  materials  that  were  regarded  as  sacred  when 
written.  Rather  they  wrote  with  the  freedom  and  enthusi- 
asm of  eager  advocates  of  the  truth,  whose  chief  concern 


was  to  persuade  others  to  see  things  as  they  did,  and  share 
with  them  the  values  of  the  life  of  good  will.  Only  once, 
and  that  in  perhaps  the  least  intelligible  book  of  the  New 
Testament,  does  the  writer  assume  the  oracular  air  of  one 
whose  words  are  a  finality. 

Nor  were  these  books,  either  of  the  Old  Testament  or 
the  New,  written  with  the  thought  that  they  were  to  find  a 
place  in  a  sacred  collection  of  books,  or  to  be  preserved  for 
the  reverent  study  of  future  generations.  They  appear 
rather  to  have  the  character  of  tracts  for  the  times,  of 
urgent  and  impassioned  protests  against  the  sins  of  their 
age,  and  appeals  in  behalf  of  timely  and  needed  virtues. 
Many  of  the  writers  did  not  believe  the  world  was  to  last 
long.  This  was  as  true  of  prophets  as  of  apostles.  They 
were  not  speaking  to  the  future,  but  to  the  present.  Theirs 
were  voices,  cries,  complainings,  against  a  present  evil  age. 

For  reasons  like  these  it  is  always  interesting  to  get  as 
vivid  an  impression  as  possible  of  the  men  behind  these 
books.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  know  something  of  Deuteron- 
omy, the  Psalms,  the  Book  of  Isaiah,  the  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians,  and  the  Book  of  Acts.  But  it  is  still  more  inter- 
esting and  important  to  have  a  just  appreciation  of  the 
character  and  service  of  Moses,  David,  Isaiah,  Paul  and 
Luke.  For  in  them  the  messages  first  had  their  expression 
— in  their  character,  their  thinking  and  their  daily  speech — 
before  they  were  put  into  the  form  of  books. 

THE   MEN  BEHIND  THE  BOOKS 

In  order  then  to  have  some  adequate  conception  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  familiar  phrases  of  the  Bible  had 
their  origin,  one  must  think  of  the  men  who  framed  them, 
and  of  the  environment  in  which  they  were  first  uttered. 
Into  that  interval  of  time  that  lay  behind  the  writing,  in  the 
personal  give  and  take  of  daily  life,  one  must  penetrate  if 
he  would  gain  a  true  impression  of  the  making  of  the 
Scripture. 

There  were  the  market  places,  the  caravan  groups,  the 


January  25,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


busy  crowds  in  city  gates,  where  eager  discussions  were 
held,  questions  of  moment  were  considered  over  the  com- 
monplaces of  barter  and  exchange,  and  the  trite  proverbs 
so  dear  to  the  oriental  soul  were  made  a  part  of  the  traffic. 
There  were  the  circles  of  the  Wise,  who  sat  in  the  gate  or 
deliberated  in  sheltered  spaces  of  the  streets  over  the  prob- 
lems of  success  and  failure,  the  misfortunes  of  good  men, 
or  the  folly  of  yielding  to  the  seductions  of  wine  and  the 
strange  woman. 

There  were  occasions  of  great  significance  in  the 
national  life  out  of  which  came  hymns  of  celebrations,  odes 
of  gratitude  for  deliverance  and  victory,  songs  in  honor  of 
heroes,  or  laments  over  public  tragedies,  and  dirges  for 
the  dead.  In  all  the  tribes  and  throughout  the  history  there 
was  the  utterance  of  the  devout  spirit  in  hymns  of  the  faith, 
prayers  for  direction,  outpourings  of  thanksgiving,  medita- 
tions upon  the  mystery  and  pathos  of  life,  and  pilgrim 
songs  of  the  devout  as  they  went  up  to  the  house  of  God. 
Such  fragments  of  poetry  are  scattered  through  the  narra- 
tive portions  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  are  partly  found  in 
such  anthologies  as  the  Psalms  and  Lamentations. 

THE  GREAT  LEADERS 

Of  still  greater  moment  was  the  preaching  of  those 
men,  the  prophets,  who  did  more  than  all  others  to  give  to 
Israel's  career  its  unique  ethical  and  religious  curve.  Moses 
is  heard  instructing  his  people  in  the  wastes  of  Paran,  or 
giving  farewell  exhortations  beyond  Jordan.  Samuel  coun- 
sels with  pilgrims  as  they  visit  Ramah  for  his  advice,  or 
journeys  about  the  land  as  a  circuit  preacher,  spending  a 
few  days  at  each  of  such  sanctuaries  as  Gilgal,  Bethel, 
Carmel  and  Jericho,  in  the  celebration  of  one  of  those  "sac- 
rificial feasts"  that  must  have  been  a  sort  of  combination 
of  a  term  of  court  and  an  evangelistic  mission.  Elijah,  the 
fiery  defender  of  the  national  worship  of  Jehovah,  de- 
nounces the  tolerant  Ahab  in  the  public  highway,  or  routs 
the  priests  of  Baal  and  Astarte  in  a  fire  test  at  Mt.  Carmel, 
Amos,  a  herdsman  and  fruit  seller  from  Judah,  uses  the 
opportunity  of  his  market  journeys  to  Bethel  and  Samaria 
to  warn  the  people  of  Israel  of  impending  judgment  upon 
the  royal  house  of  Jehu.  Isaiah,  the  cultured  and  high- 
souled  statesman  of  Jerusalem,  wherever  he  can  gain  a 
hearing  in  the  city,  preaches  the  holiness  of  God  and  de- 
nounces the  social  evils  of  the  time.  And  Micah,  living 
among  the  oppressed  tenants  of  the  shephelah,  makes  elo- 
quent protest  against  the  merciless  exactions  of  greedy 
landlords  in  the  capital. 

Some  fragments  of  these  and  other  public  messages 
of  the  moral  leaders  of  Israel  have  come  down  to  us,  either 
in  quotations  in  the  prophetic  narratives,  or  in  the  books 
that  contain  small  collections  of  prophetic  sermons.  We  do 
not  know  just  how  they  first  came  to  be  written  down, 
whether  by  the  speakers  themselves  or  their  disciples  and 
helpers.  We  only  know  that  they  are  among  the  most  pre- 
cious and  inspiring  portions  of  the  Old  Testament. 

EARLY  CHRISTIAN  MESSAGES 

In  much  the  same  manner,  though  with  greater  accu-~ 
racy  of  report,  we  have  come  into  possession  of  some  parts 
of  early  Christian  sermons.  The  discourse  of  Peter  on  the 
Day  of  Pentecost,  the  sermon  of  Paul  at  Antioch  of  Pisidia, 
and  other  apostolic  addresses,  have  been  reported  in  at 
least  theif  outlines.  To  this  material  must  be  added  the 
inexpressibly  precious  words  of  Jesus,  either  assembled  in 
small  collections,  as  in  the  First  Gospel,  or  more  generally 
distributed  through  the  narrative,  as  in  the  Third. 


Nor.  must  it  be  forgotten  that  all  three  of  the  Synoptic 
Gospels  were  the  material  of  apostolic  preaching  virtually 
in  their  present  order,  some  time  before  they  were  com- 
mitted to  any  written  form.  It  appears,  then,  that  a  consid- 
erable part  of  the  Bible  was  originated  in  the  delivery  of 
moral  and  spiritual  teachings,  warnings  and  exhortations 
by  prophets  and  apostles,  and  by  our  Lord.  The  literary 
impulse  was  later  than  the  spoken  word,  and  subordinate 
to  it.  Out  of  the  crises  of  the  religious  life  of  those  event- 
ful centuries  came  the  most  impressive  sections  of  the 
Bible. 

Out  of  human  experiences  of  the  same  urgent  sort 
came  the  laws  of  Israel  and  the  guiding  instructions  for  the 
primitive  church.  Tradition  affirmed  that  Moses  gave  to 
the  nation  in  the  wilderness  the  simple  institutes  needed 
for  the  age.  Priests  in  their  ministries  at  the  various  sanc- 
tuaries, elders  of  towns  and  villages  administering  justice, 
soldiers  and  kings  making  rules  for  their  followers,  groups 
of  sheiks  and  wise  men  deliberating  upon  the  welfare  of 
their  people,  gradually  added  to  this  torah  through  the 
years.  From  time  to  time  it  was  collated,  revised  and 
reorganized,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Deuteronomic  reformers, 
and  the  scribes  of  Ezra's  age,  and  took  form  in  successive 
bodies  of  law,  like  the  Book  of  the  Covenant,  the  Deute- 
ronomic Law,  and  the  Priest  Code,  which  seem  to  have 
taken  their  place  in  the  national  life  in  the  early  royal 
period,  the  reign  of  Josiah,  and  the  Persian  age  respect- 
ively. 

THE  LAWS  OF  ISRAEL 

So  this  great  body  of  Hebrew  legislation,  which  has 
served  so  admirable  a  purpose  as  the  basis  of  later  national 
constitutions,  was  not  so  much  the  output  of  one  lawmak- 
ing mind  as  the  expanding  legislation  of  a  people,  with  the 
basic  principles  of  whose  religious  and  social  life  it  was 
impressed  through  the  centuries  of  its  growth.  As  a  torah 
for  the  habitual  regulation  of  community  life  it  deals  with  a 
multitude  of  details  that  may  seem  trivial  to  the  men  of 
today,  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  it  encouraged  that 
elaboration  of  ritual  and  ceremonial  precision  which  was 
the  prevailing  quality  of  later  Judaism.  But  fundamentally 
the  Hebrew  laws  enforced  the  religious  truths  for  which 
the*  prophets  stood,  and  the  austere  morality  which  lifted 
the  tone  of  Israel's  normal  conduct  far  above  that  of  con- 
temporary peoples. 

The  intelligent  study  of  the  Bible  demands  the  use  of 
the  creative  imagination,  which,  upon  the  warrant  of  the 
facts  we  know,  can  look  in  through  the  windows  of  these 
books  upon  their  makers,  the  men  in  whose  lives  the  prin- 
ciples of  Hebrew  and  Christian  faith  held  sway.  One  must 
see  the  unknown  author  of  the  Book  of  Job,  deeply  con- 
cerned to  sustain  the  wavering  confidence  of  his  fellow- 
Jews  in  days  of  national  ruin,  using  the  story  of  an  ancient 
saint,  suffering  incredible  afflictions  without  apparent  cause, 
as  a  means  of  present  explanation  in  the  effort  to  justify 
the  ways  of  God  to  man. 

One  must  go  with  Jeremiah  into  the  vile  dungeons  into 
which  he  was  thrust  because  of  his  unbending  opposition 
to  royal  folly,  or  watch  his  fiery  indignation  when  he 
learned  that  Jehoiakim  had  slashed  to  ribbons  and  burned 
to  ashes  the  laboriously  written  roll  from  which  he  had 
hoped  so  much.  One  must  follow  Ezekiel  about  the  streets 
of  Tel-abib,  and  listen  to  his  fierce  denunciations  of  the 
sins  that  were  making  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  inevitable. 
With  Peter  one  needs  to  travel  down  the  hills  to  Joppa,  or 
along  the  sandy  shore  to  Caesarea,  and  hear  his  conversa- 
tions with  Simon  the  Tanner  and  Cornelius  the  Centurion. 


10 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  25,  1917 


And  one  must  take  ship  with  Paul,  when  he  started, 
depressed  and  misunderstood,  to  return  to  his  own  province 
in  Asia  Minor,  where  he  was  to  spend  half  a  score  of  unre- 
corded years  before  his  familiar  ministry  really  began ;  or 
tarn-  with  him  in  prison  at  Caesarea  or  Rome,  while  he 
chafed  at  the  frustration  of  work  he  was  never  to  complete. 
In  such  moments  of  companionship  with  the  writers  of 
Holy  Scripture  one  obtains  an  insight  into  the  meaning  of 
their  books  which  can  be  gotten  in  no  other  way.  More 
than  this,  one  comes  to  understand  that  the  Bible  was 
written  in  the  spiritual  experiences  of  these  men  long  be- 
fore it  took  form  under  their  hands. 

THE  GREATER  MESSAGE  OF  CHARACTER 

Something  like  this  may  have  been  in  the  thought  of 
Jeremiah  when  he  recalled  in  later  days  the  hour  in  which 
he  determined  that  he  would  cease  his  prophetic  task 
which  had  proved  so  difficult  and  expensive.  But  when  he 
tried  to  withdraw  from  his  vocation  as  a  preacher  of  right- 
eousness, he  found  he  could  not  do  it.  The  word  of  God 
was  like  a  fire  shut  up  in  his  bones,  and  he  could  not  keep 
silent.  Behind  every  written  oracle  that  came  from 
prophetic  hands  there  were  volumes  of  the  spoken  word 
which  never  took  written  form.  And  behind  all  utterance 
of  the  lips  there  was  the  man  himself,  and  this  living  mes- 
sage was  the  most  important  of  all.  No  prophetic  sermon 
heard  in  Palestine,  no  page  from  the  book  of  Hosea  or  Hab- 
akkuk  is  as  important  as  the  prophet  himself. 

It  is  conceivable  that  if  no  word  of  the  Bible  had  ever 
been  written,  the  power  of  those  forceful  personalities  who 
first  made  known  the  truths  of  our  faith,  particularly  the 
Master  who  wrote  no  word  that  has  survived,  might  have 
been  sufficient  in  the  providence  of  God  to  found  and  direct 
the  greatest  religious  movement  in  history.  But  no  one 
who  gives  thought  to  the  problem  can  fail  to  perceive  how 
immeasurably  the  Scriptures  have  assisted  in  the  enter- 
prise. They  are  the  living  oracles  they  have  shown  them- 
selves to  be,  however,  by  reason  of  the  characters  and  expe- 
riences that  lie  behind  them. 

And  how  did  they  come  to  be  written  at  all  ?  And  by 
whom  were  they  written  ?  We  may  be  assured  that  none 
of  the  books  in  the  Bible  was  prepared  by  anyone  who  was 
conscious  of  having  a  part  in  the  preparation  of  a  sacred 
volume.  We  have  traditions  regarding  the  writing  of  some 
portions  of  the  early  laws.  Samuel  is  said  to  have  written 
out  the  rules  for  the  king  he  helped  to  choose.  Elijah 
was  reported  to  have  written  a  letter  to  a  king  of  Judah, 
and  Jeremiah  wrote  one  to  the  exiles  which  is  preserved. 
The  same  prophet's  book  of  messages  probably  originated 
in  that  roll,  which,  destroyed  and  renewed,  contained  the 
body  of  the  sermons  delivered  by  him  up  to  that  time.  Hints 
of  the  circumstances  in  which  certain  portions  of  the  bibli- 
cal material  was  written  are  found  in  books  like  Ezekiel, 
the  epistles  of  Paul,  and  the  Book  of  Revelation. 

WHO  WROTE  THE  BOOKS? 

Probably  in  many  instances  the  documents  were  pre- 
pared by  the  men  whom  tradition  has  associated  with 
them.  In  other  instances  the  words  of  the  prophet  or 
preacher  were  set  down  by  friends  or  disciples,  as  we 
know  to  be  the  fact  in  the  cases  of  Isaiah  and  Jesus.  In 
still  other  instances  the  messages  of  great  moral  leaders 
were  doubtless  gathered  up  orally  and  preserved  in  the 
schools  of  instruction,  and  there  committed  to  writing  as 
occasion   required. 

And  the  purposes  for  which  the  writing  was  under- 


taken are  sufficiently  obvious.  The  letters  were  sent  as 
vehicles  of  advice  and  instruction.  Some  of  the  writing 
was  for  the  preservation  of  important  oracles  and  their 
use  in  the  schools.  But  no  doubt  in  most  instances  the 
words  of  prophets  and  of  Jesus  were  written  out  as  the 
means  of  a  wider  dispersion  of  the  truths  it  was  deemed 
necessary  to  make  known. 

Much  of  the  human  interest  that  attaches  to  the 
Bible  is  due  to  the  simplicity  and  naturalness  of  the 
book,  as  a  collection  of  brief  tracts  or  pamphlets  which 
took  form  in  the  most  unpremeditated  manner  at  various 
times  during  a  thousand  years  of  intensely  vital  history. 
These  documents  individually  and  as  a  collection  have 
much  the  same  literary  experience  as  other  human  writ- 
ings. Only  there  is  a  certain  romantic  interest  attaching 
to  the  Bible  as  a  book  with  such  an  appealing  and  adven- 
turous career  and  such  a  marvelous  influence  upon 
humanity. 

A  great  deal  of  its  impressiveness  is  due  to  these 
elements  of  naturalness  and  frankness.  It  is  not  a  book 
making  supernatural  claims  for  itself,  like  the  Koran  or 
the  Sybeline  Oracles.  It  reveals  the  presence  of  the 
Divine  Spirit  not  by  magical  tokens  but  by  the  reality  of 
the  religious  experiences  of  the  men  whose  story  it  tells. 
The  moral  and  spiritual  levels  which  it  discloses  and  to 
which  it  summons  all  to  whom  its  message  may  come  are 
the  proofs  that  it  is  inbreathed  of  God.  The  marks  of 
its  human  makers  are  upon  it.  It  is  not  perfect,  either 
in  its  workmanship,  its  historical  or  scientific  state- 
ments, or  its  moral  ideals.  It  is  not  a  level  book.  It 
exhibits  great  variety  of  sentiment  regarding  ethics  and 
religion.  Yet  this  variety  is  the  token  of  a  constantly 
growing  sensitiveness  to  spiritual  ideals,  and  in  the  end 
of  the  day  it  presents  as  its  final  word  the  life  and  char- 
acter of  our  Lord,  between  whom  and  our  highest  con- 
ception of  God  no  acutest  criticism  has  ever  been  able  to 
detect  the  least  cleavage. 

The  Bible  has  everything  to  gain  and  nothing  to 
lose  from  a  candid  and  insistent  recognition  of  its  human 
qualities  and  its  human  experiences  as  a  collection  of 
writings.  No  theory  that  robs  it  of  these  simple  and 
appealing  values  under  pretext  of  paying  it  reverence 
can  be  other  than  erroneous,  and  in  the  end,  self-anni- 
hilating. Frankly  received  at  its  own  evaluation  as  the 
record  of  the  world's  most  illuminating  spiritual  experi- 
ences, and  especially  as  the  disclosure  of  the  life  and 
program  of  Jesus,  the  Bible  proves  itself  to  be  God's 
word  to  man,  first  revealed  in  flesh  and  blood,  and  then 
transmitted  in  divers  forms  and  fragmentary  ways  in  a 
book  of  inestimable  value,  a  book  in  which  the  illumina- 
tion and  urgency  of  the  Spirit  of  God  forever  abides. 

uiifliiiiiuuiiiiiiiuiiiniiuiuiuiiiiujtiujiniuiM 

Evening 

I  know  the  night  is  near  at  hand  ; 

The  mist  lies  low  on  hill  and  bay, 
The  autumn  leaves  are  drifting  by, 

But  I  have  had  the  day. 

Yes,  I  have  had,  dear  Lord,  the  Day; 

When  at  thy  call  I  have  the  night, 
Brief  be  the  twilight  as  I  pass  I 

From  light  to  dark — from  dark  to  light. 

— S.  Weir  Mitchell 

'Mm itifMiiniiiiiMifiHKiHiiiiiniuiniitii  timiiiijtniiirt in  uiiuiuiJtiMiiJNiiiinitiiiuii  tiiJiiiiiinniiiiunnjiiMifiLiitiiiif  ituiitinuuiif  iiNnnJUtitMMUiiiiiitjfiiuitiiiiiT 


Where  Is  Our  God? 

Are  We  in  Fact  Living  in  the  Darkest  of  All  Ages? 
By  EDGAR  DeWITT  JONES 

WHAT  a  strange  question  for         "Is  the  Lord  among  us,  or  not?" —  were  our  fathers  more  religious? 
a  people  to  raise  who  were     Exodus  17:7.  .  ..         ... 

God-emancipated    and    God-      A  reading  of    history    shows    that 

led!    For  the  children  of  Israel  to  ask,     delicate   situations   and  the   immense  eveT     a£e     t>elieved     its     day     the 

"Is  God  among  us,  or  not?"  is  like  a     difficulties  that  have  all  but  plunged  darkest   the   world   ever  knew.     We 

January  night  asking,  "Are  there  any      us   into  the  great  and   dire   conflict :  have   a   habit  of    saying    that    there 

stars   in   the   heavens?"    or   a   wheat  the  menace  of  the  bandit-ridden   re-  never  was    a    time    so  perilous,    so 

field,  ripe  for  the  harvesters,  enquir-  public  to  the  south  of  us,  the  various  worldly-minded,    so    money-mad,    so 

ing,  "Is  there  any  heat  in  the  sun?"  interests  and  policies — some   for  and  obsessed  with  a  passion  to  be  amused, 

Yet  the  chosen  people  of  God — shel-  some  against  intervention — the  proph-  as  our  own  time.     There  is  much  to 

tered  by  the  Father,  "as  a  hen  gather-  ets  of  preparedness,  the  direful  pre-  give  us  pause  and  to  disturb ;  but  we 

eth    her    brood    beneath    her    wing,"  dictions  of  Japan's  designs  upon  our  ought  to  inform  ourselves  concerning 

raised  this  unseemly  and  unbelieving  western   coast,   the  great  commercial  tjie  SL8-es  pas^  before  we   make   such 

question,  "Is  the  Lord  among  us,  or  rewards  that  have  come  to  the  United  strong      affirmations       History      and 

not?"  States  t*[™ueh  *e  Fe*t  ™"  in,?U-  biography  refresh  and  encourage  the 

the  modern  man  questions  roPe'  a"d  the  subt.Ie  temptations  of  im-  fl    * '.J       irks     f  him       h     5reads 

mense   fortunes  in  munition  making-,  -^  fob  .  *\    r  ,  , 

This  impertinent  query  asked  by  the  effect  upon  America  of  the  two  f.or  instance'  we  have  ™m?  t0  .be" 
recreant  Israelites  centuries  ago  years'  conflict  in  the  way  of  harden-  h«Ve  our  af  1S  non^hurch  going, 
catches  the  eye  and  compels  atten-  ing  our  hearts  and  blunting  our  finer  above  all  others.  Is  it.  1  have  be- 
tion.  It  is  a  question  that  multitudes  sensibilities — who  of  us  who  under-  heved  it  such ;  yet  I  came  across  the 
are  asking  nowadays;  not  all  voicing  stands  these  conditions  even  partially  comment  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson, 
it,  perhaps,  but  pondering  it;  and  all  is  not  tempted  to  raise  the  question,  written  seventy  years  ago,  in  which 
the  while  ashamed  to  be  entertaining  "Is  the  Lord  among  us,  or  not?"  he  deplored  the  lack  of  attendance  at 
even  grudgingly  so  skeptical  a  query.  ?  church  services ;  and  predicted  grave 
There  is  a  reason  for  this  question.  '  evils  would  follow  in  the  wake  of  so 
The  children  of  Israel  raised  it  be-  And  this  is  not  all:  There  is  the  woeful  an  omission.  The  words  of 
cause  they  were  almost  famished  with  great  industrial  conflict  in  our  land.  Emerson,  even  to  phraseology,  paral- 
thirst.  They  believed  that  God  had  Only  recently  what  would  have  been  lel  precisely  indictments  which  mod- 
forgotten  them.  Everything  looked  the  greatest  strike  in  the  history  of  ern  ministers  are  wont  to  make  of  this 
dark  and  doubtful.     On  the  surface,  the  world  impended  for  days  like  the  present  age. 

now  as  then,  men  and  women  who  shadow    of    some     frightful     storm,         Reflect  on  the  dark  days  that  have 

were  once  sure  of  God  have  been  led  threatening  to  break  at  any  time  in  confronted  the  brave  hearts  in  other 

to  wonder,  to  question,  to  doubt.  fury.      The   lines   are    drawn   closely  periods.     Nothing    that    impends   or 

"Is  the  Lord  among  us,  or  not?"  and  taut  between  employers  and  em-  threatens  evil  now  can  equal  the  woe 

Look  at  the  world  at  this  very  hour,  ployes  in  practically  every  important  that   enveloped    our  country    in    the 

Look  at  it  as  if  you  were  not  a  part  American  industry.    Is  it  any  wonder  purgatorial  years   of  the   Civil  War. 

of  it,  but  on  the  outside,  and  were  that   stout  hearts  sometimes  tremble  Only   those   who   lived  through   that 

scrutinizing   the    world    of   men   and  and  devout  souls,  sensible  of  a  name-  period  know  the  terror  and  sorrow  of 

women  as  a  boy  or  girl  looks  curi-  less  dread,  raise  the  question,  "Is  the  those  days  when  not  only  the  nation 

ously  at  a  globe  and  traces  the  bound-  Lord  among  us,  or  not?"  was    divided,    but    families— brother 

aries  of  land  and  sea  on  the  earth's         But  look  away  from  the  world  now  against  brother,   father    against  son, 

surface.     Look  at  this  terrestial  ball,  and   from   society   and   its   distresses,  lover  against  lover, 

and  what  do  you  see?    You  see  Eu-  Behold  yourself.    Make  a  personal  in- 

rope  in  a  bloody  onset  of  arms,  which  ventory.     The  age-old  problems,  the  "god  is  now  here  !" 

has  been   continuing   for  more  than  obstinate  questions  that  puzzled  and 

two  years.  You  behold  the  grief,  the  perplexed  your  fathers,  disturb  and  "Is  the  Lord  among  us,  or  not?" 
loss,  the  deep-seated  horror,  the  annoy  you.  The  experience  of  loss  Let  a  little  child  answer. that  ques- 
wormwood  and  the  gall.  At  a  con-  and  disappointment,  of  the  suffering  tion.  A  scoffer  once  wrote  the  irrev- 
servative  estimate,  3,000,000  men — the  of  the  innocent,  the  pathetic  incom-  erent  inscription  upon  the  sidewalk, 
very  flower  of  the  manhood  of  France,  pleteness  of  life — is  it  a  strange  thing  "God  is  nowhere."  A  little  girl  pass- 
Germany,  England,  Austria,  Russia,  that  this  question  should  arise  in  your  ing  by  saw  the  writing  and  stopped 
Italy—have  perished  on  field  of  bat-  minds  and  sooner  or  later  find  utter-  to  read  it.  She  spelled  it  out  won- 
tle  or  in  trench.  The  vastness  of  the  ance  in  the  query,  "Is  the  Lord  among  deringly,  and  then  she  read  it  aloud ; 
area  and  the  intensity  of  the  fighting  us,  or  not?"  and  this  is  how  she  read  it,  "God  is 
grows  rather  than  diminishes.  The  every  age  is  "the  dark  age"  now  here"  Blessed  little  believer! 
fourteenth  nation  to  become  involved  She  knew  the  heart  of  God  better 
in  this  dreadful  catacylsm  not  long  It  does  no  good  to  deny  these  con-  than  many  a  great  scholar.  God  is 
ago  entered  the  bloody  arena.  The  ditions,  for  they  exist.  We  may  shut  here  in  power  and  might  as  omnipo- 
grief  of  widow  and  orphan  is  too  deep  our  eyes  and  say  we  do  not  see  them ;  tently  as  when  he  bade  Moses  speak 
for  words;  and  the  loss  in  monetary  but  when  we  open  our  eyes  the  con-  to  the  people  of  Israel  that  they  "go 
values,  while  enormous,  is  the  least  ditions  confront  us,  only  too  substan-  forward."  He  is  here  as  wondrously 
loss  of  all.  So  much  for  that  portion  tial  and  matter-of-fact.  But  how  as  when  little  Samuel  heard  his  call 
of  the  globe.  great  our  folly  if  we  permit  even  the  and  answered,  "Speak.  Lord,  for  thy 

Come  closer  home ;  look  at  our  own  most  untoward  conditions  to  hinder  servant  heareth."  He  is  here  as  ma- 
land.  Reflect  on  the  perils  that  have  our  growth  in  mind  and  spirit,  or  jestically  as  when  Isaiah  saw  him 
beset  us  in  the  last  two  years !    The  dwarf  us  in  the  culture  of  the  soul !  lifted  up,  his  train  filling  the  temple 


12 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


January  18,  1917 


ami  the  seraphim  crying  one  unto  the 
other.  "Holy.  holy.  holy,  is  the  Lord 
of  Hosts.*'  He  is  here  as  assuredly 
as  when  in  the  depths  of  Gethsemane. 
Jesus  found  him  and  communed  with 
him  intimately,  until  he  was  able  at 
last  to  say.  "Not  my  will,  but  thine 
be  done." 

The  reason  we   raise  the  question, 
"Is  the  Lord  among  us?"  is  obvious. 


We  have  not  sought  him.  We  have 
been  interested  elsewhere.  Busy  buy- 
ing and  selling,  we  have  forgotten 
him.  Our  time  has  been  spent  in  fig- 
uring and  frolicking.  The  seen  has 
enthralled  us — not  the  unseen.  We 
have  minded  the  things  of  men  and 
neglected  the  things  of  God ;  and  all 
the  time  God  has  waited  for  his  chil- 
dren to  seek  him;  all  the  time  he  has 


been  speaking,  but  we  have  not  list- 
ened for  his  voice.  Like  those  weary 
disciples  who,  after  a  night  of  fruit- 
less fishing  on  Galilee,,  saw  Jesus 
standing  on  the  beach  at  the  break  of 
day  and  knew  him  not  at  first,  so  are 
multitudes  in  these  latter  days. 

On  the  glory  of  the  envisioned  mo- 
ment, when  like  that '  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved,  we  cry,  "It  is  the  Lord!" 


The  Last  Days  of  John  Barleycorn 


Getting  Ready  for  the  Funeral  of  the  "Mightiest  John  in  History" 

By  ELLIS  B.  BARNES 


44 


J 


OHX,  if  you  have  tears  to 
shed,  prepare  to  shed  them 
now.  for  as  certain  as  the 
sunrise  your  last  days  are 
in  sight.  Old  boy.  you  had  a  fine  time 
in  this  world,  and  things  went  pretty 
much  your  own  way.  You  cut  a  wide 
swath  in  many  lands,  respecting 
neither  age  nor  sex.  All  flesh  was 
fair  game  for  you ;  kings  and  paupers 
alike  went  down  to  their  graves 
after  a  career  in  your  service,  while 
you  chuckled  and  gloated  and  contin- 
ued the  slaughter.  You  have  been 
a  champion  of  champions  but  you 
have  met  your  match  in  the  opening 
of  1917. 

"You  must  be  tossing  on  your  pil- 
low these  nights  and  dreading  the 
peep  o'  day.  If  you  were  not  such 
a  notorious  villain  we  could  feel 
downright  sorry  for  you,  yea,  even 
shed  a  tear  now  that  troubles  are  roll- 
ing in  upon  you  like  a  sea.  But  like 
every  other  transgressor  you  must 
drink  your  cup  to  the  dregs,  you  must 
tread  the  winepress  alone." 

Think  of  John  treading  the  wine- 
press !  However,  we  will  not  press 
the  analogy  too  far.  The  time  has 
come  for  the  mighty  John  to  make 
his  last  will  and  testament. 


"When  the  women  of  a  former 
generation  made  war  upon  you,  spat 
upon  you  and  refused  to  come  near 
you,  you  held  your  fat  sides  and 
cackled.  'Them  dear  women,'  you 
croaked,  'they  don't  like  me.'  And 
you  were  right  about  that,  for  of  all 
your  victims  you  hit  the  women  the 
hardest,  and  they  never  forget  such 
as  you.  You  hit  the  pride,  the  love, 
the  purse,  the  homes  of  women,  and 
your  blows  were  never  tempered  with 
mercy.  You  patronized  the  women 
of  this  country  as  long  as  you  dared ; 
you  laughed  at  them  when  your  laugh- 
ter had  in  it  the  ring  of  the  maniac's 
glee ;  you  mocked  them  in  the  day  of 
their  calamity ;  and  now  when  your 
old  fat  heart  is  being  wrung  with 
anguish  and  you  are  feeling  the  bit- 


terness of  death  the  women  are  not 
inclined  to  do  the  offices  of  the  Red 
Cross  nurse  for  you.  Your  tender 
mercies  were  cruel.  Your  benevo- 
lence had  in  it  the  teeth  of  lions.  The 
women  suffered  two  pains  for  every 
one  you  inflicted  on  husband,  son,  or 
brother,  and  they  now  see  with  joy 
your  long-delayed  retribution  coming 
like  a  whirlwind.  You  are  now  walk- 
ing on  the  edge  of  the  pit  to  which 
you  drove  so  many,  and  the  fires  into 
which  you  drove  millions  are  now 
roaring  their  welcome  to  you. 

"John,  you  will  soon  know  that  the 
hottest  hell  into  which  a  man  can  fall 
is  the  one  he  kindles  for  others. 


"Then,  too,  the  preachers  made  life 
a  burden  for  you,  John,  through  many 
long  years.  Every  preacher  looked 
on  you  as  an  enemy  to  be  destroyed, 
and  never  got  near  enough  to  speak 
politely  to  you  even  had  he  been  so 
disposed.  The  preachers  cannot  for- 
get all  the  evil  you  have  done  them, 
and  they  are  not  sorrowing  for  your 
sorrow,  and  now  the  great  corpora- 
tions turned  against  you,  and  the  rail- 
roads gave  you  a  body  blow  that  sent 
you  reeling;  and  the  fraternal  or- 
ganizations expelled  you  from  their 
councils  and  treated  you  as  an  outlaw. 
Yet  you  seemed  to  have  a  warm  place 
in  the  hearts  of  your  countrymen, 
no  matter  what  happened  to  you. 
You  had  more  lives  than  many  cats. 
You  knew  how  to  light  on  your  feet 
in  any  event.  You  could  find  a 
friendly  port  in  any  storm. 

"But  when  the  fiction  writers  en- 
tered the  lists  against  you  and  you 
were  sent  to  the  hospital  for  repairs, 
we,  who  have  watched  this  warfare 
for  twenty  years,  knew  that  you  were 
being  outgeneraled  and  outfought. 
These  writers  gave  you  the  unkindest 
hurt  of  all.  They  were  not  preach- 
ing temperance  'sermons,'  so  they 
said,  just  telling  what  you  had  done 
to  them — note  that,  too — and  if  any 
wanted  the  benefit  of  their  experience 
they  were  welcome  to  it;  if  not  this 


was  a  free  country,  and  a  man  can 
take  advice  or  let  it  alone  as  he  pre- 
fers. The  polite  way  in  which  the 
novelist  mauled  you  must  have  made 
you  wish  that  they  had  used  a  real, 
live  machine  gun  and  had  the  agony 
over  with. 


But  John  was  not  down  and  out  by 
a  good  deal.  He  had  several  fights 
in  him  yet.  He  pulled  his  belt  a  lit- 
tle tighter,  gritted  his  teeth  a  little 
harder  and  said  to  himself : 

"I'll  show  these  cranks  that  I'm 
not  ready  for  the  boneyard  yet,  durn 
'em!" 

Straightway  he  sent  for  his  old 
friends,  the  politicians,  who  had  al- 
ways stood  firm  and  true  when  all 
others  took  to  the  long  grass,  and 
asked  them  what  they  were  going  to 
do  to  help  recoup  his  fortunes  and  re- 
gain his  health.  But  this  time  they 
wobbled  and  said : 

"John,  old  pard,  it's  no  use,  the  jig 
is  up,  everybody's  agin'  ye,  and  we've 
got  to  look  out  for  ourselves.  We 
stuck  to  you  as  long  as  there  was 
any  hope,  but  the  hope  is  gone." 

Whereupon  John  said  that  they 
were  wrong,  that  business  was  never 
better,  especially  in  dry  territory,  that 
all  that  was  needed  was  more  dry  ter- 
ritory to  put  the  business  on  Easy 
street.  But  the  politicians  were  not 
convinced.  They  had  heard  a  rum- 
bling which  they  thought  meant 
John's  days  were  numbered.  Then 
when  the  Supreme  Court  and  Con- 
gress went  back  on  the  mighty  John 
he  wiped  the  perspiration  from  his 
forehead,  sent  for  the  doctors  and 
his  ghostly  advisors,  begged  them  to 
do  what  they  could  for  him  ere  the 
breath  left  his  body,  and  composed 
himself  for  the  inevitable. 

At  last  reports  John's  temperature 
was  104,  and  the  physicians  hold  out 
no  hope.  A  few  of  his  old  friends 
remain  to  weep  while  the  days  of  the 
mightiest  John  of  history  draw  to 
a  close. 


Education  as  Soul-Building 


Growing  Citizens  for  the  Kingdom  of  God 
By  HERBERT  MARTIN 


A  WIDELY  known  evangelist 
said  not  long  since  that  had  he 
a  million  dollars  to  bestow  he 
would  give  one  dollar  to  edu- 
cation and  the  balance  to  the  church. 
His  conception  of  the  self  or  soul 
differs  widely  from  that  of  another 
whose  personal  experience  of  the 
value  of  an  education  would  urge  him 
to  make  at  least  an  equal  distribution 
to  those  two  religious  institutions. 
For  the  one  the  soul  was  an  entity 
whose  only  function  was  to  be  tech- 
nically redeemed;  for  the  other  the 
problem  was  the  development  of  a 
soul  which  in  the  process  was  being 
redeemed. 

THE  WHY  OF  EDUCATION 

The  type  and  function  of  education 
will  vary  according  to  one's  view  of 
the  nature  of  the  soul.  For  Comenius 
the  chief  function  of  the  school  is 
man-making.  "Man  has  to  be  edu- 
cated to  become  a  man."  Under  such 
a  view  education  is  vitally  significant. 
For  Froebel  every  person  has  a  part 
assigned,  a  definite  function  to  per- 
form in  the  universe  as  an  organic 
unity.  The  nature  of  each  is  in  tune 
with  the  whole.  The  first  concern  of 
the  educator  in  this  case  is  to  discover 
what  the  laws  of  nature  are,  and  make 
possible  their  free  expression  in  the 
individual.  The  teacher  exercises  a 
"benevolent  superintendence"  in  this 
process  of  development  from  within. 
The  educative  process  here  is  largely 
negative  and  passive. 

At  the  other  extreme  stands  Her- 
bart,  for  whom  the  soul  is  without 
form  and  void,  having  "no  capacity 
nor  faculty  whatever"  save  a  charac- 
teristic inertia  against  ideas.  Out  of 
this  action  and  reaction,  this  attack 
of  ideas  upon  the  soul  and  its  defense 
there    is   developed    what    is    called 


mind,  which  is  but  the  cognitive 
aspect  of  the  soul.  Such  a  concept  of 
the  soul's  nature  attaches  large  signifi- 
cance to  education,  since  it  is  the 
school  that  determines  the  ideas  that 
shall  be  presented  to  the  soul.  Thus 
the  differences  between  individuals, 
born  free  and  equal,  are  explicable  in 
terms  of  "education  and  environ- 
ment." For  Rousseau  "the  child  has 
a  soul  to  be  kept  pure."  "Everything 
is  good  as  it  comes  from  the  Author 
of  nature;  everything  degenerates  in 
the  hands  of  man."  For  him  educa- 
tion must  be  through  contact  with  na- 
ture, fimile  must  be  alienated  from 
society  in  order  that  his  soul,  origin- 
ally pure,  may  not  be  contaminated. 

EDUCATION  AND  LIFE 

Our  appreciation  of  education  de- 
pends upon  its  significance  for  life. 
The  prevailing  type  of  education  ex- 
presses the  life  values  of  its  expo- 
nents. Our  educational  philosophy 
grows  out  of  our  philosophy  of  the 
self  or  soul.  Where  the  older 
theological  concept  of  the  soul  is 
dominant  modern  education  is  an  en- 
terprise of  doubtful  worth  to  the  soul. 
Rousseau's  theory  were  better  here. 
If  the  soul  be  perfect  at  birth  why 
any  education  other  than  what  the 
misfortune  of  life  demands?  It  need 
only  be  fenced  about  to  save  it  from 
the  evil  that  is  in  the  world.  If  it 
show  traces  of  fallen  heredity  the 
miracle  of  grace  is  what  is  needed 
rather  than  education.  And  yet  we 
believe  in  the  admonition  to  "grow  in 
grace,"  which  many  seek  to  practise. 

Even  Paul,  of  miracle  experience, 
was  not  yet  made  perfect,  had  not  yet 
attained,  was  still  pressing  forward, 
growing  and  becoming.  These  and 
many  like  expressions  are  not  mere 
figures  by  which  Paul  graced  his  dis- 
course.   He  meant  what  he  said.    He 


uttered  the  fact  of  soul  growth,  of 
increasing  soul  stature.  Paul,  aca- 
demically trained,  graduating  in  the 
evening  of  life  from  the  school  of 
experience  with  Christ,  possessed  pro- 
portions of  soul  beyond  what  were  his 
when  he  stood  by  consenting  to  the 
death  of  Stephen. 

Students  of  religious  education  to- 
day speak  of  their  enterprise  as  one 
of  soul-building.  They  look  forward 
to  the  time  when  the  present  dramatic 
and  often  tragic  accompaniments  of 
the  soul's  acceptance  of  Christ  shall 
have  been  superseded;  when  through 
home,  society,  school  and  church, 
each  become  more  thoroughly  Chris- 
tian, our  children  shall  come  up  to 
youth  and  maturity  and  never  know 
themselves  to  have  been  other  than 
Christian.  Souls  will  be  saved  in  the 
making.  Then  will  the  Kingdom  of 
God  more  truly  have  come. 

THE   BUILDING   OF   SOULS 

The  motive  here  suggested  is  that 
education  be  viewed  as  a  process  by 
which  souls  are  developed  and  en- 
abled to  actualize  more  fully  their  di- 
vine potential,  and  that  without  it  they 
cannot  attain  the  stature  that  should 
have  been  theirs.  So  interpreted  edu- 
cation will  become  the  inalienable 
right  of  every  child,  the  imperative 
and  inescapable  obligation  of  every 
adult.  Education  as  soul-building 
will  prove  the  divine  process  by  which 
life's  lesser  values  and  baser  materials 
are  transmuted  into  eternal  spiritual 
realities.  This  new  world  of  spiritual 
values  will  be  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
Education  intelligently  grasped  as 
soul-making  will  no  longer  be  sus- 
pected, endured,  tolerated  or  apolo- 
gized for.  It  will  have  attained  the 
dignity  of  the  only  concern,  of  the 
whole  duty,  of  man. 

Drake  University. 


Evangelizing  the  Inevitable 

SHAILER  MATHEWS,  IN  THE  BIBLICAL  WORLD 


M 


EN  who  take  the  gospel  hope- 
fully believe  in  an  inevitable 
future.  They  do  not  believe 
that  the  world  is  coming  to 
an  end,  but  that  it  will  continue.  They 
see  changes  constantly  impending, 
and  with  whatever  wisdom  they  can 
assemble  they  undertake  to  bring  the 
gospel  to  bear  upon  the  forces  that 
are  making  the  changes. 


They  mean  to  evangelize  the  inevit- 
able. 

*     *     * 

Christianity  has  never  been  effect- 
ive when  it  has  endeavored  to  evan- 
gelize forces  which  are  reactionary. 
It  has  always  centered  around  those 
persons  by  whom  history  is  actually 
being  made.  The  current  of  real  his- 
tory carried  Paul  away  from  Antioch 


and  Ephesus  and  other  cities  that 
were  soon  to  be  only  symbols  of  the 
past,  and  flung  him  across  the  sea 
into  creative  history  at  Rome.  When 
Paul  came  to  Rome,  Christianity  be- 
gan to  evangelize  the  inevitable. 

So,  too,  Luther  was  caught  up  by 
the  new  forces  which  made  modern 
Europe,  and  carried  into  these  forces 
the- gospel. 


14 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  25,  1917 


Ever)'  man  who  has  been  of  relig- 
ious significance  in  history  has  had 
an  intuitive  readiness  to  throw  in  his 
lot  with  the  inevitable  while  it  was 
in  the  making,  and  to  leaven  it  with 
the  gospel. 

Our  own  day  calls  for  similar 
evangelization.  The  church  must  win 
the  loyalty  of  the  men  who  are  ac- 
tually making  tomorrow. 


The  current  of  the  inevitable  fu- 
ture does  not  run  through  the  com- 
fortable folk  who  want  things  to 
stand  as  they  are  because  it  is  too 
bothersome  or  costly  to  make  them 
better — the  complacent  householders 
who  live  where  rents  are  moderate 
and  living  expenses  are  still  suscept- 
ible to  the  manipulations  of  thrift. 
Such  persons  individually  have  their 
value,  but  if  the  church  chooses  to 
be  a  purveyor  to  middle-class  com- 
fort and  intellectual  inertness,  it  will 
have  small  influence  in  the  future. 

The  line  of  the  inevitable  runs 
through   men   who    control    corpora- 


tions and  are  masters  of  capital,  labor 
unions,  men  of  science,  social  reform- 
ers, women's  clubs.  Can  people  of 
this  sort  be  brought  to  handle  the  gos- 
pel? If  they  cannot  be  evangelized, 
the  inevitable  will  come  off  unevan- 
gelized.  That  will  be  as  serious  a 
matter  in  the  United  States  as  it  is 
in  Spain  or  Italy. 

The  inevitable  future  lies  in  great 
movements  already  in  operation,  like 
socialism,  internationalism,  the  eco- 
nomic struggle,  education.  These 
movements  are  not  dependent  on  the 
churches  for  their  existence.  They 
are  bound  to  continue  regardless  of 
the  church.  But  if  they  are  to  em- 
body Christian  principles  they  must 
be  systematically  evangelized. 

•f  T  * 

Its  capacity  to  evangelize  the  creat- 
ors of  an  inevitable  future  will  be  the 
real  test  of  Christianity.  You  cannot 
measure  the  truth  of  a  teaching  by 
counting  its  converts  or  by  its  loyalty 
to  the  letter  of  the  Scriptures.  There 
never  has  been  a  heresy  or  a  fanati- 
cism that  has  not  pleaded  a  literal  in- 


terpretation of  the  Scriptures.  Nor 
will  Christianity  be  tested  by  the  abil- 
ity of  religious  leaders  to  appeal  to 
masses  who  do  not  think  and  will  not 
think.  Demagogism  never  has  been  a 
test  of  truth  any  more  than  it  has 
been  a  test  of  wisdom. 

The  glory  of  the  gospel  is  the  fact 
that  it  always  has  been,  is,  and  always 
will  be  capable  of  bringing  the  power 
of  God  into  men,  institutions,  and 
forces  that  are  really  making  history. 

Nothing  is  more  futile  than  to  try 
to  evangelize  ancestors,  whether  they 
be  buried  or  contemporary. 

If  you  doubt  it,  look  about  and  ask 
yourself  whether  the  type  of  theology 
which  is  being  so  zealously  made  into 
obscurant  and  reactionary  propaganda 
can  possibly  have  any  constructive  in- 
fluence among  the  men  of  science,  so- 
cial reform,  and  international  outlook 
who  are  already  at  work  making  the 
future. 

Men  with  the  future  in  their  souls 
cannot  be  won  to  Jesus  Christ  by 
praise  of  a  theology  that  will  not  work 
with  posterity. 


Some  Great  Books  of  Today 


The  Hungry  Stones.  By  Rabin- 
dranath  Tagore.  Ernest  Rhys,  in  his 
biography  of  the  famous  Calcutta 
poet  and  philosopher,  says  that  his 
finest  work  lies,  not  in  his  songs  or  his 
plays,  but  in  his  short  stories.  In 
this  late  volume  are  included  thirteen 
stories,  each  of  which  has  its  own 
distinctive  individuality.  Tagore's 
philosophy  is  woven  into  them  all. 
The  following  bit  of  wisdom  is  worth 
a  score  of  pages  of  some  of  the  In- 
dian's poetry: 

"When  we  were  young,  we  under- 
stood all  sweet  things;  and  we  could 
detect  the  sweets  of  a  fairy  story  by 
an  unerring  science  of  our  own.  We 
never  cared  for  such  useless  things 
as  knowledge.  We  only  cared  for 
truth.  And  our  unsophisticated 
hearts  knew  well  where  the  Crystal 
Palace  of  Truth  lay  and  how  to 
reach  it.  But  todav  we  are  expected 
to  write  pages  of  facts." 

This  is  quoted  from  the  tale, 
"Once  There  Was  a  King."  If  Ta- 
gore can  get  this  truth  into  the  fact- 
cluttered  brain  of  the  Occident,  he 
will  not  have  won  the  Nobel  prize  of 
a  few  years  ago  for  nothing.  (Mac- 
millan  Company,  New  York,  $1.35.) 

Poems  of  the  Great  War.  Se- 
lected by  J.  W.  Cunliffe.  It  is  some- 
times declared  as  an  inevitable  result 
of  war  that  literary  activity  is  stifled, 
but  evidently  this  has  not  been  true 
of  the  great  war  of  today.  Here  are 
gathered  three  hundred  pages  of  gen- 
uine poetry,  most  of  it  of  fine  quality, 
and  all  of  it    of    poignant    interest. 


Among  the  poets  whose  work  is  in- 
cluded are  Harold  Begbie,  Robert 
Bridges,  G.  K.  Chesterton,  Alice 
Meynell,  John  Masefield,  Vachel 
Lindsay  and  Edgar  Lee  Masters.  A 
hopeful  sign  is  that  most  of  the  verse 
printed  in  this  volume  is  not  "with- 
out form  and  void,"  as  is  much  of  the 
present  day  output,  and  we  feel  com- 
forted to  believe  that  Stephen  Phil- 
lips may  have  spoken  prophetically 
when  he  said,  shortly  before  his  death, 
that  one  of  the  results  of  the  war 
would  be  the  clearing  away  of  freak- 
ishness  in  literature.  Of  course  it 
will  take  some  time  for  that  result  to 
obtain  on  this  side  of  the  water,  but 
it  is  good  to  know  that  the  process 
of  clearing  has  begun  even  three  thou- 
sand miles  from  Boston  and  Chicago. 
(Macmillan  Company,  New  York, 
$1.50.) 

Poetry  and  the  Renascence  of 
Wonder.  By  Theodore  Watts-Dun- 
ton.  Swinburne  called  the  author  of 
this  volume  "the  first  critic  of  our 
time — perhaps  the  largest  minded  and 
surest  sighted  of  any  age."  The  essay 
on  poetry  was  originally  published  in 
the  Encyclopedia  Britannica.  Such  a 
statement  as  the  following  is  not  ex- 
actly pleasant  reading  to  us  Amer- 
icans, who  think  we  have  discovered 
something  of  exceeding  great  origin- 
ality and  value  in  our  rhymeless,  un- 
metrical  verse.  The  author  speaks  of 
"the  quaint  American  heresy  which 
seems  to  affirm  that  the  great  masters 
of  metrical  music,  from  Homer  to 
Tennyson  and  Swinburne,  have  been 


blowing  through  penny  trumpets 
'feudal  ideas,'  and  that  the  more  un- 
metrical  the  lines  the  more  free  do 
they  become  from  the  penny  trumpet 
and  the  'feudal  ideas.'  "  We  trust  that 
some  of  our  moderns  will  take  time  to 
read  this  book,  especially  a  certain 
Chicago  vers  librist  who  it  is  reported 
carries  his  poems  around  in  a  cigar 
box,  and  dashes  off  his  inspirations 
as  they  come  to  him  while  riding  on 
the  elevated  or  lunching  at  Thomp- 
son's restaurant,  or  taking  in  the 
movies.  He  may  learn  that  his  cigar 
box  method  does  not  make  him  a^ 
genius,  and  that  hard  work  is  ex- 
pected even  of  an  artist, — fully  as 
much  as  are  long  hair  and  a  flowing 
tie.  Of  course  he  and  his  ilk  will 
throw  Watts-Dunton  into  the  discard 
along  with  Tennyson,  Keats,  Homer 
and  the  rest  of  the  conventional 
"rhymsters."  (E.  P.  Dutton,  New 
York.    $1.75  net.) 

The  Spell  of  Scotland.  By  Keith 
Clark.  This  is  one  of  the  invaluable 
"Spell  Series"  of  travel  books,  which 
form  almost  an  equivalent  to  a  jour- 
ney abroad.  A  pleasant  feature  of 
these  books  is  that  most  of  them  were 
written  before  the  war  and  there  is 
no  danger  from  mines,  submarines,  or 
aeroplane  bombs  as  one  reads.  The 
Scotland  story  is  as  full  of  charm  as 
Scotland  itself,  with  its  tales  of 
Bruce  and  Wallace,  Scott  and  Burns, 
Carlyle  and  Stevenson.  The  full  page 
views  in  color  of  the  Scott  and  Burns 
countries  are  especially  appealing. 
(The  Page  Company,  Boston.  $2.50 
net.)  T.  c.  c.   ' 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiB 

The    Larger    Christian   World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


tallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 


A  Hundred  Years  of 
City  Missions 

Probably  the  oldest  City  Mission 
society  on  the  continent  is  the  Con- 
gregational society  of  Boston.  The 
centennial  anniversary  of  this  society 
will  be  celebrated  in  the  Old  South 
Church,  Jan.  28.  The  secretary,  Rev. 
D.  W.  Waldron,  will  give  a  report  for 
the  century.  Addresses  will  be  given 
by  Rev.  Jason  Noble  Pierce  and  Rev. 
George  A.  Gordon  of  the  Old  South 
Church.  A  hundred  years  ago  the 
society  was  organized  in  Old  South 
Church  and  the  offering  that  year 
was  $173.08.  The  past  year,  the  in- 
come of  the  society  was  nearly  twenty 
thousand  dollars. 

Milwaukee 
Goes  to  Church 

For  a  second  time  the  churches  in 
Milwaukee  have  had  a  "Go-to-Church 
Sunday"  campaign.  The  advertising 
campaign  this  year  was  very  effective, 
including  a  window  card  reproducing 
a  famous  painting  representing  Christ 
bearing  the  cross.  The  Sunday  se- 
lected for  the  event  proved  to  be  a 
very  cold  one,  the  thermometer  regis- 
tering nine  below  zero.  In  spite  of  the 
weather  the  congregations  of  the  city 
in  all  churches  totaled  ninety  thou- 
sand, as  against  sixty  thousand  on  an 
ordinary  Sunday.  The  movement  was 
led  by  Rev.  Paul  B.  Jenkins. 

Billy  Sunday's 
Results  in  Boston 

The  revival  meetings  conducted  by 
Billy  Sunday  in  Boston  have  resulted 
in  a  total  attendance  of  over  a  million 
in  one  hundred  tabernacle  meetings. 
It  is  said  that  forty  thousand  persons 
have  "hit  the  sawdust  trail."  A 
prominent  Methodist  worker  states 
that  less  than  one-tenth  of  these  are 
conversions  in  the  sense  that  they 
will  represent  people  making  a  first 
profession  of  religion.  The  collec- 
tions had  resulted  in  offerings  of 
$75,000  before  the  final  offering  to 
Mr.  Sunday  had  been  made.  The 
meetings  were  to  close  on  Jan.  21. 

Yale  School  of 
Religion  Attendance 

The  Disciples  came  near  outnum- 
bering the  Congregationalists  in  the 
Yale  School  of  Religion  this  year. 
The  Disciples  have  thirty  students  and 
the  Congregationalists  thirty-one. 
The  Methodists  are  next  with  twenty- 
three.    Two    new    men    have    been 


added  to  the  faculty,  Prof.  Luther 
Allan  Weigle,  who  becomes  Horace 
Bushnell  Professor  of  Christian  Nur- 
ture, and  Rev.  George  Baptiste 
Hatch,  B.  D.,  who  instructs  the  stu- 
dents in  voice  training.  The  Lyman 
Beecher  lectures  on  preaching  this 
year  will  be  given  by  Bishop  William 
Fraser  McDowell  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  The  Alumni  Lec- 
ture will  be  delivered  by  President 
Harry  Otis  Pritchard,  of  Eureka  Col- 
lege. During  the  last  few  years  the 
endowment  of  the  school  has  in- 
creased by  $815,000. 

University 
Preachers 

The  University  of  Chicago  has 
called  to  the  service  of  the  religious 
life  of  the  university  Dr.  Cornelius 
Woelfkin  of  New  York,  who  will 
preach  on  February  4  and  11.  Presi- 
dent H.  P.  Faunce  will  be  the 
preacher  on  February  18. 

G.  Campbell  Morgan 
Resigns 

Rev.  G.  Campbell  Morgan  of  Lon- 
don has  been  in  ill  health  for  years, 
but  the  strain  of  the  war  time  has 
brought  him  to  a  near-breakdown. 
He  has  resigned  the  pastorate  of 
Westminster  church  in  London, 
where  he  has  served  effectively  for 
twelve  years.  The  Congregational- 
ists of  America  propose  to  secure 
his  presence  in  this  country  at  the 
Northfield  conference  and  at  the 
next  National  Council  meeting  of 
the  denomination  in  Los  Angeles. 

World  Conference  on 
Faith  and  Order 

The  World  Conference  on  Faith 
and  Order  being  called  by  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church  has  a  North 
American  Preparation  Committee 
which  was  to  hold  its  first  meeting  at 
Garden  City,  Long  Island,  Jan.  23 
and  24.  The  committee  consists  of 
about  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
men  from  all  parts  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada  and  includes  mem- 
bers of  the  following  communions: 
Anglican,  Armenian,  Baptist,  Congre- 
gationalism Disciples  of  Christ, 
Friends,  Lutheran,  Methodist,  Mo- 
ravian, Polish  Catholic,  Presbyterian, 
Reformed,  Roman  Catholic,  Russian 
and  Serbian.  It  is  believed  that  never 
before  have  so  many  men  of  so  many 


different  communions  worked  to- 
gether for  the  common  purpose  of 
trying  to  understand  and  appreciate 
each  other  and  to  bring  out  the  points 
of  agreement  which  they  hold  in  com- 
mon as  Christians. 

Religious  Educators 
Meet  in  Chicago 

The  leading  workers  in  denomina- 
tional colleges  and  in  denominational 
annexes  to  state  universities  met  in 
Chicago  the  second  week  in  January. 
The  advertising  feature  in  educational 
work  was  given  considerable  discus- 
sion. It  was  shown  that  a  group  of 
colleges  had  collaborated  successfully 
in  bringing  students  to  five  Protest- 
ant colleges  of  Minnesota.  The 
Methodists  reported  a  college  raising 
$400,000  in  small  contributions  by  an 
intensified  advertising  campaign.  The 
officers  elected  for  the  American  As- 
sociation of  American  Colleges  are: 
President,  Dr.  J.  S.  Nollen  of  Lake 
Forest  College;  vice-president,  Hill 
M.  Bell  of  Drake  University;  secre- 
tary-treasurer, Dr.  R.  Watson 
Cooper,  re-elected. 

Home  Missions 
Council  Meets 

Twenty-five  home  mission  boards 
are  now  federated  in  the  Home  Mis- 
sions Council.  This  body  met  in  New 
York,  Jan.  9,  10  and  11.  The  organi- 
zation is  able  to  report  the  completion 
of  a  plan  for  comity  in  Utah,  where 
the  work  is  properly  distributed 
among  the-  denominations.  The  com- 
mittee on  statistics  reported  that  the 
home  mission  funds  of  the  various 
constituent  bodies  the  past  year  were 
$11,756,023.  Dr.  Charles  L.  Thomp- 
son was  re-elected  president,  William 
D.  Demarest  was  re-elected  secretary. 

Foreign  Missions 
Conference 

The  various  foreign  missionary  so- 
cieties of  America  are  federated  in 
the  Foreign  Mission  Conference  of 
North  America.  They  met  this  year 
in  Garden  City,  Long  Island.  Great 
stress  was  laid  upon  the  work  in 
Latin  America,  which  was  presented 
by  Dr.  Robert  E.  Speer,  and  the  wrork 
in  Africa  which  was  set  forth  by  Dr. 
Cornelius  H.  Patton,  secretary  of  the 
American  Board.  The  work  of  edu- 
cation on  the  foreign  field  was  given 
greater  consideration  than  ever  be- 
fore. 


linn: 


iliiiillliilliliillilllliiuiliillliiliilillliillliillililliiillllillliillllillllillliilliiilliliiliiiiiiil 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


■Mill 


mil! 


Decisive  Victory  and  Lasting 
Peace  or  Decisive  Peace  and  a 
Lasting  Victory? 

Now  that  the  Allies  are  confident 
of  ultimate  victory  they  are  talking 
about  a  decisive  victory  and  lasting 
peace.  This  means  the  victory  of 
the  conqueror,  who  humbles  his 
enemy  to  his  knees  and  dictates  the 
terms  of    peace.     A    recent    English 

paper  pub- 
lished  a   car- 


to   0  11 

1  n 

which, 

after 

the    manner 

of  the  Victor 

Talking 

Ma- 

chine    adver- 

t  i  s  e  m  e  n  ts, 

E  m  p  e 

r  o  r 

William 

was 

listening 

to 

his  "Masters  Voice,"  his  master  be- 
ing John  Bull.  This  type  of  decisive 
victory  can  never  bring  lasting  peace. 
It  can  only  bring  hate  in  the  heart  of 
the  conquered,  a  resentment  that  will 
not  down,  and  the  devotion  of  whole 
peoples  to  a  revanche,  such  as  the 
French  people  have  longed  for  ever 
since  Bismarck  gained  his  decisive 
victory  and  sought  to  impose  a  last- 
ing peace  upon  a  humbled  France. 
Whatever  the  war-obsessed  govern- 
ments of  Europe  may  think  of  Presi- 
dent Wilson's  move  for  peace,  he  has, 
in  the  words  of  Prof.  Albert  Bushnell 
Hart,  one  of  his  consistent  opponents, 
furnished  one  of  the  greatest  state 
papers  in  modern  history  and  spoken 
to  the  reason  and  the  conscience  of 
the  world.  What  the  world  needs  is 
not  a  decisive  victory  for  the  sake  of 
imposing  a  "lasting  peace,"  but  a  de- 
cisive peace  through  the  agreement  of 
both  sides,  an  acknowledgment  of  war 
weariness  and  a  conversion  to  the 
standards  of  peace  rather  than  to 
those  of  war  and  conquest.  Ger- 
many's demand  that  the  discussion  of 
means  for  lasting  peace  be  postponed 
until  after  the  war  is  ended  puts  her, 
as  ever,  at  variance  with  all  that  world 
opinion  that  sought  to  work  through 
Hague  tribunals,  international  law, 
etc.  Germany  vetoed  most  of  the  pro- 
posals made  at  The  Hague  and  has 
broken  most  of  the  international  laws. 
Xow  she  proposes  to  settle  this  war 
without  including  means  for  lasting 
peace.  If  she  will  not  agree  to  in- 
clude this  item  in  peace  negotiations 
it  is  then  worth  while  for  the  Allies 
to  fight  on  until  means  for  future 
and  lasting  peace  are  made  the  first 
item  of  the  coming  peace  conference. 


The  Biggest  Bootlegger 
of  Them  All 

The  Kansas  City  Star  in  a  very 
striking  editorial  indicts  Uncle  Sam 
as  the  biggest  bootlegger  of  them  all. 
He  has  permitted  the  shipment  of  in- 
toxicants into  dry  territory,  grants 
Federal  licenses  to  men  who  can  hold 
them  for  no  other  purpose  than  that 
of  breaking  prohibition  laws,  and 
freely  circulates  wet  advertisements 
of  every  kind  through  dry  territory. 
Now  that  the  Supreme  Court  has  de- 
clared the  Webb-Kenyon  law  consti- 
tutional, the  dry  states  have  some 
hope  of  protecting  themselves  against 
the  old  construction  of  the  rights  of 
interstate  commerce  to  break  the  laws 
of  dry  states.  A  bill  has  been  intro- 
duced in  the  Senate  to  prohibit  carry- 
ing into  dry  territory  any  newspaper 
or  other  form  of  advertisement  which 
offers  to  sell  liquors,  and  another  to 
compel  every  applicant  for  Federal  li- 
cense to  sell  liquor  to  advertise  in  the 
public  press  what  his  purposes  are  in 
applying  for  the  license.  The  dry 
states,  whose  legislatures  meet  this 
winter,  are  busy  preparing  "bone-dry" 
laws,  now  that  they  are  assured  of 
their  constitutionality. 

*  *     * 

Has  Uncle  Sam 
Forgotten? 

Uncle  Sam  stands  as  the  Big 
Brother  of  the  small  peoples:  He 
demands  that  Mexico  have  the  privi- 
lege of  working  out  her  own  salva- 
tion, and  that  European  nations  keep 
their  imperial  claws  off  the  neck  of 
the  numerous  small  American  repub- 
lics. He  also  gives  a  warm  welcome 
to  the  contention  of  the  Allies  that 
they  are  fighting  for  the  integrity  of 
the  helpless  small  peoples,  and  ex- 
plains that  he  is  in  Haiti  only  to 
straighten  things  up  for  the  Haitians. 
But  has  Uncle  Sam  forgotten  all  this 
fine  principle  in  his  purchase  of  the 
Danish  West  Indies?  To  take  them 
over  without  a  plebiscite  of  the  people 
of  the  islands  is  to  hawk  them  from 
one  government  to  another  as  if  they 
were  so  much  inert  merchandise. 
Perhaps  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
people  of  these  islands  would  give  an 
overwhelming  majority  for  the 
change  of  government,  but  Uncle  Sam 
should  stick  to  principle  and  allow 
them  to  do  it. 

*  *     * 

The  "Profiteers" 

Lord  Davenport,  Britain's  new 
food  dictator,  is  after  the  "profit- 
eers." Here  is  a  man  after  Lloyd 
George's  own    heart.     To    one    who 


thinks  in  terms  of  humanity  rather 
than  in  terms  of  property  the  most 
amazing  and  atrocious  of  all  the 
human  malfeasances  in  this  war  is 
that  governments  conscript  their 
humanity  to  the  last  man,  and  even 
draft  the  women  for  national  service, 
and  then  allow  any  class  or  calling  to 
grow  rich  off  the  nation's  importun- 
ity. A  million  young  men  gave  their 
lives  at  the  front,  and  millions  of 
parents,  wives  and  children  mourn 
them;  other  millions  surrender  their 
normal  occupations  to  devote  them- 
selves to  the  nation's  crisis,  and  then 
a  few,  like  vultures  over  the  battle- 
field, grow  fat  on  the  unspeakable 
business  of  making  profits  out  of  the 
world's  calamity.  Count  Botocki  was 
cashiered  in  Germany  because  he  con- 
ducted his  office  as  food  dictator  by 
restricting  the  consumers  and  putting 
no  leash  on  the  purveyors.  Strength 
to  the  arm  of  the  great  Welshman 
who  proposes  to  conscript  profits  as 
well  as  men. 

*  *     * 

A  National  Anti- 
Saloon  Fellowship 

Charles  Stelzle  is  doing  yeoman 
service  for  the  cause  of  prohibition 
in  his  little  paper,  The  Worker, 
through  which  he  seeks  to  reach 
America's  working  millions  with  the 
type  of  argument  that  applies  to  the 
laborer's  stake  in  the  liquor  question. 
A  National  Anti-Saloon  Fellowship, 
something  after  the  order  of  the 
British  trades  union  prohibition  fel- 
lowship, will  be  organized  among  the 
trades  unionists  of  America.  Its  pur- 
pose is  to  defeat  the  efforts  of  the 
liquor  men  in  their  attempts  to  domi- 
nate the  American  labor  movement  in 
regard  to  this  issue. 

*  *     * 

The  Profits  of  Croesus  and  the 
Seven- Day  Workingman's  Week 

The  steel  trust  reports  earnings  of 
approximately  $86,000,000  for  the 
third  quarter  of  the  current  year. 
This  is  only  a  little  in  excess  of  the 
earnings  for  the  other  two  quarters, 
and  the  total  for  the  year  will  run 
doubtless  well  above  three  hundred 
millions  of  dollars.  This  gives  a  div- 
idend of  more  than  40  per  cent  upon 
the  common  stock  of  the  corpora- 
tion. Some  months  ago  this  indus- 
trial octopus  raised  the  wages  of  its 
employes  slightly.  It  had  been  shown 
by  government  investigations  that 
the  average  of  the  wage  in  the  steel 
industry  was  among  the  poorest  in 
America,  while  the  number  of  work- 
ing hours  to  earn  that  wage  averaged 


January  25,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


17 


among  the  highest  of  those  imposed 
by  any  employing  concern  in  the 
country.  There  are  still  thousands 
of  men  who  work  an  84-hour  week 
in  order  that  the  company  may  pile 
up  its  40  per  cent  dividends.  No 
more  complete  puncturing  of  every 
claim  made  by  the  steel  companies 
for  the  12-hour  day  and  the  7-day 
week  has  been  made  than  that  made 
recently  by  the  New  York  State  In- 
dustrial Commission  in  the  case  of 
the  Lackawanna  Steel  Company  of 
Buffalo.  The  prosecution  of  the  in- 
vestigation was  joined  in  most  heart- 
ily by  the  best  citizens  of  the  city, 
among  them  leading  lawyers,  busi- 
ness men,  social  workers  and  minis- 
ters. An  84-hour  week  is  an  inhu- 
man working  week  and  it  is  a  sad 
commentary  upon  the  American 
public  conscience  that  any  firm  is 
allowed  to  impose  it,  let  alone  one 
that  is  able  to  pile  up  40  per  cent  div- 
idends upon  a  stock  that  is  authori- 
tatively reported  to  be  watered  to 
double  or  thrice  the  value  of  the  real 
investment.  The  Lackawanna  Com- 
pany made  a  claim  that  its  finances 
had  been  bad  of  past  years  and  that 
it  must  now  make  good  the  deficit. 
It  was  amply  demonstrated  that  in 
this  particular  case  the  failure  to  pay 
dividends  in  the  past  was  due  to  bad 
financial  management  and  there  is 
certainly  no  twist  of  logic  that  can 
lay  upon  the  laborer's  back  the  pen- 
alty for  poor  financing. 
*     *     * 

A  New  Type  of  Leadership 
in  China 

A  fine  illustration  of  the  way  in 
which  the  youth  of  China  is  begin- 
ning to  furnish  leaders  for  bigger 
things  in  their  native  land  is  given 
by  Mr.  C.  T.  Wang.  Mr.  Wang 
graduated  from  a  missionary  college, 
spent  three  years  in  the  United 
States  in  graduate  studies,  taking  a 
complete  law  course,  and  returned  to 
his  native  land  to  teach  one  of  the 
leading  high  schools  instead  of  prac- 
ticing law.  With  the  great  incur- 
sion of  Chinese  students  to  Tokyo 
some  years  ago,  when  5,000  were 
there  attending  the  various  universi- 
ties, he  went  among  them  as  a  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  secretary.  From  this  he  was 
called  into  the  foreign  service  of  his 
country,  then  elected  to  the  senate 
under  the  new  republic,  where  his 
organizing  ability  made  him  vice- 
chairman.  Still  further  promotion 
was  given  him  in  the  cabinet,  where 
he  became  minister  of  commerce  and 
industry.  This  position  he  resigned 
when  Yuan  attempted  to  gain  the 
crown,  because  of  his  thorough-go- 
ing republican  principles,  and  he 
counted  it  no  step  downward  to  be- 
come again  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretary, 
this   time    of   the   nation    at   large. 


i!i|!llll!lllllllllllllllllli:illllllllill!lllllllll!!illllillll!lli:illll!li::!llli!llll!ll!IHI 


I  The  Sunday  School 

EifMiiinmfffiHfnnHiifiifKiiiiiifniinrnfiinifniirfiffiiHiifmmniiHifHfiiifiii 

Personal  Work 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life 
By  JOHN  R.  EWERS 


Rev.  John  R.  Ewers 


AS  ONE  looks  back  over  the  for- 
mative influences  that  played 
about  one  in  the  more  plastic 
years,  certain  elements  stand  out  with 
a  remarkable  distinctness.  J.  Z.  Tyler 
used  to  tell  the  young  people  that  it 

was  the  little 
iron  tongue  of 
the  switch  that 
determined  the 
destination  o  f 
the  mighty  train, 
and  a  little  event 
may  determine 
one's  destiny. 
Thus  I  recall 
one  autumn  eve- 
ning,  when 
strolling  home 
from  supper  at 
the  old  college, 
that  one  of  the  upper  classmen  in- 
vited me  to  a  meeting  in  one  of  the 
fellow's  rooms  to  talk  over  "Personal 
Work" — a  term  that  meant  little  to  me 
then.  In  that  room  we  studied  this 
very  chapter.  We  tried  to  find  out 
just  how  Jesus  met  and  won  this 
strange  woman  for  his  cause.  We 
learned  how  his  high  and  fine  person- 
ality overcame  the  evil  in  her,  and  in- 
spired her  to  win  a  whole  city  for 
Him.  At  the  close  of  the  study  each 
one  present  was  given  a  name.  He 
was  told  to  make  that  fellow  his 
friend  and  to  have,  as  the  one  object, 
the  winning  of  that  man  for  Christ 
and  the  Church  before  spring.  As  I 
recall,  there  were  about  fifty  young 
men  in  the  school  that  autumn  who 
had  never  made  a  public  declaration 
of- their  loyalty  to  our  Saviour.  Be- 
fore spring  all  but  five,  including  the 
captain  of  the  football  team,  had  con- 
fessed Christ.  All  through  the  win- 
ter this  little  circle  of  personal  work- 
ers met  in  one  room,  studied  different 
cases  of  personal  work  and  knelt  in 
prayer  that  God  would  use  them  to 

win  men,  one  by  one,  for  the  Lord. 

*     *     * 

Twenty  years  have  sped  into  eter- 
nity since  that  little  group  met  in 
that  student's  room  and  I  can  truth- 
fully say  that  the  highest  and  truest 
joy  of  this  period  to  me  has  been  the 
continuation  of  personal  work — the 
winning  of  men  and  women,  young 

*The  above  article  is  based  upon  the 
International  Uniform  lesson  for  Febru- 
ary 11,  "Jesus  and  the  Woman  of  Sa- 
maria."    John  4:1-29. 


people  and  boys  and  girls  for  the 
Master.  Nothing  makes  one  so  hum- 
bly thankful  as  to  think  that  God  will 
use  such  imperfect  instruments  as  we 
are  to  actually  win  men  for  Him.  It 
means  that  God  works  through  us; 
that  God  honors  our  willingness.  It 
means  that  one  man  can  actually  win  a 
thousand  others  !  Ponder  that — how 
it  thrills  you  with  joy! 

Moreover,  it  is  the  best  way  of 
building  up  the  church.  It  is  Christ's 
way.  He  seemed  not  to  depend  upon 
crowds.  Here  he  meets  this  one 
woman  at  the  well.  He  wins  her. 
Nicodemus .  comes  to  him  by  night — 
he  wins  him.  Matthew  he  calls  from 
the  custom  house.  Zaccheus  is  won  at 
the  dinner  table.  He  wins  a  house- 
hold out  on  the  Bethany  hills.  A  lame 
man  at  a  pool,  a  blind  man  at  a  gate, 
a  leper  by  the  dusty  roadside,  a  woman 
grinding  meal,  a  vine  dresser  pruning 
his  vine,  a  shepherd  leading  his  flock,  a 
soldier  mourning  for  his  dead  daugh- 
ter, a  widow  following  the  bier,  a  fish- 
erman drawing  his  net,  one  by  one, 
here  and  there,  day  after  day,  in  every 
place,  all  sorts  and  conditions — Jesus 
by  personal  work  won  them.  I  say  it 
is  the  best  way  to  build  the  kingdom. 
Not  mob  psychology,  but  personal 
talks  appeal  to  the  best  people.  When 
people  come  calmly,  after  having  all 
objections  reasonably  met  in  personal 
conversations  and  understanding  pre- 
cisely what  they  are  doing,  the  church 

gains  strong  and  permanent  recruits. 
^     ^     ^ 

When  I  say  that  personal  work  is 
the  best  way,  I  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  it  is  the  only  way.  Union  revivals 
undoubtedly  have  large  value.  Social 
service  and  mass  movements  may  not 
be  ignored,  but  as  I  analyze  the  situa- 
tion now,  the  greatest  weakness  of 
churches  and  Sunday  schools  lies  in 
this  realm — the  failure  to  develop  per- 
sonal work.  Nor  must  we  overlook 
the  fact  that  even  in  the  Billy  Sunday 
campaigns  personal  work  is  honored 
and  used.  Sunday  knows  well  that 
without  it  his  meetings  would  be  fail- 
ures. The  pastor  who  himself  does 
personal  work  and  who  trains  his 
members  and  teachers  to  this  task  will 
have    a    constantly    growing    church. 

This  is  the  outstanding  lesson  from 
John  A — Jesus  as  a  successful  worker 
— each  follower  also  a  worker.  What 
was  the  first  thing  the  Samaritan 
woman  did? 


18 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  25,  1917 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


mm 


J.  H.  Goldner  Seventeen  years 
at  Euclid  Avenue,  Cleveland 

On  January  14,  J.  H.  Goldner  began 
his  eighteenth  year  of  service  as  pastor 
at  Euclid  Avenue  church,  Cleveland,  O. 
When  Mr.  Goldner  entered  this  pastorate 
he  found  a  frame  structure  and  a  church 
membership  of  400.  Today  the  church 
has  its  home  in  a  modern  edifice  worth 
almost  $150,000  and  has  1,200  members. 
There  were  156  accessions  to  this  con- 
gregation during  the  past  year,  and  a 
budget  of  $22,000.  At  the  present  time 
the  church  supports  seven  missionaries 
on  home  and  foreign  fields  and  leads 
the  entire  brotherhood  in  amounts  of 
gifts  to  missionary  and  benevolent  en- 
terprises. 

Maxwell  Hall  Goes  to  Broad 
Street,  Columbus,  O. 

Maxwell  Hall,  who  has  served  as  gen- 
eral financial  secretary  of  the  Intercol- 
legiate Prohibition  Association,  with 
headquarters  in  Chicago,  has  accepted  a 
call  to  the  pastorate  at  Broad  Street, 
Columbus,  O.,  and  has  already  begun 
his  new  work.  Mr.  Hall  succeeds  George 
P.  Rutledge,  who  resigned  several 
months  ago  to  accept  the  editorship  of 
the  Christian  Standard.  Mr.  Hall  holds 
a  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Divinity  from 
the  Yale  School  gi  Religion.  He  for- 
merly served  as  pastor  at  Athens,  O.; 
Uniontown,  Pa.,  and  at  Portland,  Ore. 

Who  Said  Christian  Endeavor 
Is  Dying? 

Lin  D.  Cartwright,  pastor  at  Fort  Col- 
lins, Col.,  has  decided  that  Christian  En- 
deavor is  about  the  livest  organization 
going.  On  a  recent  Sunday  morning  he 
was  tendered  a  real  surprise.  Just  before 
entering  the  pulpit  the  president  of  the 
Senior  Christian  Endeavor  Society  of 
his  church  presented  him  with  a  couple 
of  innocent  looking  envelopes  with  the 
casual  request  that  they  should  not  be 
opened  until  he  was  in  the  pulpit.  Upon 
noting  their  contents  he  found  them  to 
contain  the  startling  announcement  that 
the  Endeavor  society  had  conducted  a 
secret  campaign  during  the  week  and 
had  obtained  subscriptions  and  cash  suf- 
ficient to  liquidate  the  entire  indebted- 
ness of  the  congregation  amounting  to 
SI, 700.  The  second  envelope  carrying 
the  actual  pledges  was  necessary  to  be 
produced  before  the  pastor  could  be  con- 
vinced that  some  mistake  had  not  been 
made.  Mr.  Cartwright  had  been  labor- 
ing in  his  own  mind  with  various  plans 
and  had  had  some  sleepless  nights,  ex- 
pecting some  time  during  the  year  to 
urge  the  liquidation  of  the  debt. 

Five  Year  Period  Plan  Succeeds 
at  Richmond  Avenue,  Buffalo 

Richmond  Avenue  church,  Buffalo,  N. 
V.,  John  P.  Sala  minister,  is  just  closing 
a  five  year  period  occupied  in  retiring 
the  original  $40,000  mortgage  incurred 
in  enlarging  their  plant.  This  has  been 
reduced  to  approximately  $8,000  now,  and 
this  has  been  provided  for  in  a  legacy 
that  will  shortly  be  available.  With  com- 
mendable spirit  the  congregation  plans 
to  maintain  the  standard  of  giving  that 
has  been  necessary  to  provide  for  this 
obligation  in  addition  to  regular  current 
outlays  and  missions,  and  they  have 
launched  upon  a  new  five  year  program 


which  will  distribute  these  sums  among 
worthy  enterprises.  One  especially  nota- 
ble item  in  this  program  is  a  loan  fund 
to  be  raised  for  the  use  of  students  who 
can  be  enabled  by  it  to  attend  college. 

I.  J.  Spencer  Begins  Twenty-third 
Year  at  Lexington 

I.  J.  Spencer  began  his  work  at  Cen- 
tral church,  Lexington,  Ky.,  in  1895,  and 
early  this  month  he  preached  special  ser- 
mons in  anniversary  of  the  twenty-third 
year's  beginning.  Central  church  has  a 
new  director  of  religious  education,  Mar- 
shall Dunn,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Minnesota  and  who  has 
been  specializing  in  religious  education 
at  Transylvania,  under  W.  C.  Bower, 
former  director  of  education  at  Central 
church. 

Broadway,  Lexington,  Ky., 
Will  Have  New  Building 

Construction  is  beginning  on  the  new 
building  of  Broadway  church,  Lexington, 
Ky.,  to  which  Mark  Collis  ministers. 
The  structure,  when  completed,  will  have 
cost  approximately  $100,000.  The  main 
auditorium  will  have  a  capacity  of  1,300, 
with  about  fifty  rooms.  A  Sunday  school 
attendance  of  a  thousand  will  be  pro- 
vided for.  A  recreation  and  amusement 
hall  will  be  a  feature.  Mr.  Collis  re- 
cently celebrated  the  anniversary  of  his 
twenty-fifth  year  as  pastor. 

Notable  Women's  Organization 

at  Linwood  Boulevard,  Kansas  City 

The  Minute  Circle  of  the  Linwood 
Boulevard  church,  Kansas  City,  is  an 
organization  of  women  with  a  reputa- 
tion for  doing  things.  The  1916  report 
shows  disbursements  of  $8,351.26.  Of 
this,  $2,110.21  was  spent  in  maintaining 
a  special  welfare  station  in  a  needy  dis- 
trict of  the  city,  where  two  specialists 
and  a  nurse  conduct  baby  clinics.  Over 
$3,000  was  also  expended  for  a  lot  on 
which  it  is  the  intention  of  the  women 
to  establish  a  $10,000  welfare  station  this 
year. 

Los  Angeles,  First,  Adds  1,300 
Members  in  Five  Years 

Russell  F.  Thrapp  has  served  First 
church,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  only  five  years, 
but  during  this  time  over  1,300  persons 
have  been  added  to  the  church  member- 
ship, all  at  regular  services.  The  year 
1916  was  the  banner  year  to  date.  More 
money  was  raised  for  current  expenses 
and  missions  than  ever  before,  and  over 
$8,000  was  expended  for  repairs  on  the 
building.  On  November  29,  the  Sunday 
school  raised  over  $250  for  Boys  and 
Girls  Rally  day.  The  C.  W.  B.  M.,  on 
December  8,  raised  $700  for  its  living  link 
fund,  and  the  church  at  the  Christmas 
season  gave  $200  for  good  cheer  work 
among  the  city's  poor. 

Praise  for  Missouri's  "Shepherd 
of  the  Hills" 

C.  C.  Garrigues,  of  First  church,  Jop- 
lin,  Mo.,  has  come  much  in  touch  with 
J.  H.  Jones,  superintendent  of  the  Third 
District,  Missouri,  and  writes  of  him: 
"Mr.  Jones  is  doing  a  monumental  work. 
I  know  no  man  who  fits  his  big  job  bet- 
ter than  this  patient,  tireless,  resource- 
ful, big-visioned,  lovable  'Shepherd  of  the 


Hills.'  This  Third  District,  with  its  31 
counties  and  640,000  folks,  only  one- 
fourth  of  whom  are  identified  with  any 
protestant  church,  is  indeed  a  big  field. 
We  have  about  250  congregations,  with 
a  membership  of  slightly  over  30,000.  We 
have  county  organizations  in  24  of  our 
31  counties."  During  the  past  year  Mr. 
Garrigues  has  accompanied  Superintend- 
ent Jones  to  the  county  conventions,  pre- 
senting the  themes,  "The  Whole  Church 
and  the  Whole  Task"  and  "Financing  the 
Kingdom."  Mr.  Jones  pronounces  last 
year's  conventions  the  best  in  the  dis- 
trict's history,  as  measured  by  attend- 
ance, churches  represented,  offerings  and 
enlarged  undertakings. 

W.  H.  Book  Addresses  1,000 
Men  and  Boys 

Addressing  a  big  meeting  for  men  and 
boys  in  the  Strand  Theater,  Shelbyville, 
Ind,  on  January  8,  with  nearly  1,000  per- 
sons in  attendance,  W.  H.  Book,  pastor 
of  the  Tabernacle  Christian  church,  Co- 
lumbus, Ind.,  asserted  there  never  had 
been  so  opportune  a  time  for  state-wide 
prohibition  as  today.  He  declared  this 
was  true  because  the  parties  are  equally 
divided  as  to  power  and  responsibility  in 
the  State  Assembly,  which  makes  use- 
less the  old  threat  of  the  brewers  and 
distillers  that  they  will  get  even  in  the 
next  election  with  the  party  opposing  the 
liquor  interests.  The  meeting  was  un- 
der the  auspices  of  the  Boy  Scouts,  and 
was  the  fourth  of  a  series  arranged  by 
C.  Ralph  Hamilton,  scout  executive. 

Levi  Marshall  to  Leave 
Nevada,  Mo. 

Levi  Marshall  has  filed  his  resignation 
as  pastor  of  the  church  at  Nevada,  Mo. 
The  resignation  was  accepted,  and  will 
take  effect  July  1.  Mr.  Marshall  has  not 
decided  where  he  will  locate.  Six  years 
ago  Mr.  Marshall  took  charge  of  this 
church.  He  came  to  Nevada  from  Han- 
nibal, where  he  had  been  pastor  of  First 
church  for  a  number  of  years.  During 
his  leadership  the  Nevada  church  has  ex- 
panded. One  of  the  board  members  re- 
ports the  church  has  been  more  success- 
ful and  prosperous  under  Mr.  Marshall's 
pastorship  than  ever  before.  The  church 
is  entirely  free  from  debt  at  this  time. 

C.  S.  Medbury  Thirteen  Years 
at  Des  Moines 

Charles  S.  Medbury  rounded  out  his 
thirteenth  year  as  pastor  of  University 
church,  Des  Moines;  a  few  days  ago,  his 
annual  report  showing  a  steady  gain  in 
membership  and  financial  receipts.  Dur- 
ing the  past  year  memberships  added 
were  339,  losses  by  death  and  transfer, 
219.  a  net  gain  of  120.  The  membership 
on  January  1  was  3,192,  of  which  num- 
ber 2,249  are  on  the  resident  roll,  421 
non-resident,  450  permanent  student  and 
72  annual  student.  Since  Dr.  Medbury 
has  been  pastor  he  has  received  1,488 
persons  by  confession  of  faith  and  3,036 
by  letter  and  statement,  a  total  of  4,524 
additions  during  thirteen  years.  The 
treasurer's  report  shows  the  total  gen- 
eral fund  receipts  for  1916  to  have  been 
$14,201.15,  as  against  $11,197.04  for  1915, 
a  gain  of  $3,004.11.  Department  mis- 
sionary activities  show  a  grand  total  of 
$5,836.36  for  the  year  just  closed. 

Brotherhood  a  Success  at 
Joplin,  Mo.,  Church 

First  church,  Joplin,  Mo.,  is  one  church 
where  a  Brotherhood  has  been  found  to 
work,  and  work  most  effectively.  C.  C. 
Garrigues,  pastor  at  First,  writes  that 
one    of    the    gratifying    features    of    the 


January  25,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


year's  work  has  been  the  activity  of  the 
Brotherhood  in  personal  work,  in  local 
reform,  in  public  advocacy  of  the  Pro- 
hibition Amendment  throughout  the 
county,  in  conducting  the  every  member 
canvass  and  in  promoting  the  work  gen- 
erally. This  organization  includes  some 
of  the  most  influential  citizens  of  Joplin. 
The  little  city  of  Joplin  is  rated  the  most 
prosperous  city  of  its  size  in  the  United 
States  today,  and  Mr.  Garrigues  sees  an 
unusual  opportunity  here  for  religious 
activity.  First  church  has  just  closed  one 
of  its  best  years.  There  has  been  a 
membership  increase  from  438  to  568,  the 
Sunday  school  having  increased  from 
413  to  448.  There  is  a  Junior  congre- 
gation of  66,  and  a  Mission  circle  of  15. 
A  Dorcas  Circle  reaches  a  large  per  cent 
of  the  women.  Over  a  thousand  dollars 
of  the  more  than  six  thousand  raised 
went  for  missions  and  benevolences.  An 
increase  in  the  missionary  fund  of  more 
than  129  per  cent  is  reported. 

Sunday  School  Field  Workers 
Meeting  at  Indianapolis 

This  week,  from  January  22  to  28,  the 
national  and  state  Sunday  school  field 
workers  of  the  Disciples  are  in  session 
at  Indianapolis.  Morning  and  evening 
sessions  are  being  given  to  train- 
ing school  periods,  and  afternoon  ses- 
sions to  the  Field  Workers'  Associa- 
tion. The  training  school  is  open  to  all 
interested  in  field  Sunday  school  work. 
The  faculty  includes:  Professor  W.  C. 
Bower,  Lexington;  E.  Morris  Fergusson, 
of  the  Maryland  Sunday  School  Associa- 
tion; Professor  C.  E.  Underwood,  of 
Butler  College,  and  the  national  Sunday 
school  administration  force  of  the  Dis- 
ciples. Garry  L.  Cook,  of  Indiana,  is 
president  of  the  Field  Workers'  Asso- 
ciation, which  is  coming  to  be  a  real 
force  for  more  substantial  religious  edu- 
cation among  the  Disciples. 

A  Good  Report  from 
Columbia,  Mo. 

The  following  is  a  condensed  report 
of  the  1916  work  of  the  church  at  Co- 
lumbia, Mo.:  Resident  membership,  980; 
non-resident  membership,  200;  increase 
during  the  year,  138;  loss  by  death  and 
removal,  67;  net  increase,  71.  The  total 
amount  of  money  raised  during  the  year 
by  the  church  and  its  organizations  was 
$9,034.82.  Of  this  amount  $3,012.57  was 
contributed  to  missionary  and  benevo- 
lent work.  Some  of  the  larger  amounts 
given  to  missions  and  benevolences  were 
as  follows:  Foreign  missions,  $610;  this 
was  for  the  support  of  Dr.  Jennie  Flem- 
ing, living  link  in  India.  American  mis- 
sions, $135;  Missouri  missions,  $125; 
church  extension,  $100;  National  Benevo- 
lent Association,  $100;  Christian  educa- 
tion, $100;  European  relief,  $277;  local 
relief,  $416.90;  Christian  Woman's  Board 
of  Missions,  $491.  The  Sunday  school 
has  closed  a  successful  year,  with  a  pres- 
ent enrollment  of  1,000,  including  cradle 
roll  and  home  department. 

Missouri  Church  Prospers  Under 
Permanent  Leadership 

One  of  the  hopeful  signs  of  the  times 
in  the  Sunday  school  field  is  the  fact 
that  most  superintendents  are  now  be- 
ing retained  for  a  number  of  years.  In 
these  columns  a  few  weeks  ago  was  given 
the  story  of  a  Kentucky  superintendent 
who  had  been  at  his  post  for  forty  years. 
F.  L.  Moffett,  pastor  of  South  Street 
church,  Springfield,  Mo.,  for  ten  years, 
writes  that  the  superintendent  there,  W. 
R.  Self,  has  done  fine  service  in  that  field 
for  twelve  years.    Thus  both  the  church 


and  school  leaders  have  been  able  to  co- 
operate effectively  in  building  up  a  real 
school.  Professor  M.  A.  O'Rear,  of  the 
Normal  School  at  Springfield,  serves  as 
Director  of  Education,  and  President  W. 
T.  Carrington  is  in  charge  of  the  Senior 
school.  The  entire  school  enrolls  nearly 
five  hundred  persons.  During  Mr,  Mof- 
fett's  term  of  service  with  this  church 
1,074  persons  have  been  added  to  the 
membership.  Eighty  were  added  last 
year.  Over  a  thousand  dollars  was  given 
to  missions  and  benevolences  during 
1916. 

Arthur  Dillinger  Can  Not 
Leave  Altoona,  la. 

Evidently,  one  way  for  a  pastor  to 
make  himself  necessary  to  a  church  is  to 
build  up  the  educational  side  of  his  work. 
Arthur  Dillinger,  who  was  called  from 
Altoona,  la.,  to  Salina,  Kan.,  could  not 
get  away  from  his  Iowa  charge  because 
the  students  in  his  various  classes  would 
not  let  him.  During  the  past  year  Mr. 
Dillinger  has  been  teaching  two  midweek 
Bible  classes,  having  last  year  considered 
Comparative  Religions  and  New  Testa- 
ment Doctrine.  A  stereopticon  and  gen- 
uine scholarly  methods  of  study  have 
made  these  classes  unusually  successful. 
Mr.  Dillinger  says  he  really  has  "a  small 
Bible  college  conducted  on  progressive 
lines."  In  evangelism  no  revival  meet- 
ing are  held,  the  "individual  after  in- 
dividual" method  is  used.  Fifty  persons 
have   been   added   to   the   church   during 


the  two  years.  [  Since  the  above  note 
written  a  letter  comes  from  Mr.  Dil- 
linger, stating  that  a  note  in  last  week's 
"Century"  was  misleading.  This  item, 
which  was  based  upon  a  report  coming 
through  the  mails,  was  of  course  unjust. 
Mr.  Dillinger  makes  this  statement:  "I 
am  staying  because  of  the  loyalty  and 
pledge  of  the  church  to  stand  with  mc 
for  definite  future  progress."  He  also 
states  that  he  is  not  receiving  either  a 
raise  in  salary  or  an  auto. — Office  Editor.] 

Near-Mexico  Church 
Continues  to  Prosper 

The  Mexican  embroilments  of  the  past 
year  have  not  affected  unfavorably  the 
prosperity  of  First  church,  El  Paso, 
which  P.  J.  Rice  has  been  ably  leading 
for  over  ten  years.  The  year  1916  was 
the  best  in  the  church's  history.  With- 
out special  revival  services  102  persons 
were  added  to  the  membership.  Total 
receipts  from  all  sources  were  $6,500, 
about  $1,500  of  this  amount  going  for 
missions.  The  every  member  canvass  of 
the  year  brought  the  largest  results  ever 
reported. 

"The  Deeper  Life"  as  a 
Revival  Theme 

That  the  Christian  world  is  beginning 
to  roll  into  the  light  of  a  deeper  spiritu- 
ality is  evidenced  in  many  ways.  A  single 
evidence  is  the  greater  seriousness  and 
sincerity  now  prevailing  in  the  churches 


NOW  IS  THE  TIME! 


To  secure  an  Annuity  Bond  of  the  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society.     Send  a 
check  today  and  we  will  promptly  execute  and  return  a  bond. 

Note  the  following  advantages: 

PROMPT.  The  annuity  is  sent  to  you  the  very  day  it  is  due,  without  having  to 
notify  the  Society. 

SAFE.  Because  the  Society  is  incorporated  and  has  about  three-quarters  of  a 
million  of  dollars  in  securities,  with  a  growing  annual  income,  which  makes  it  an 
absolutely  safe  proposition  in  a  business  way. 

CHRISTIAN.  The  money  goes  into  a  growing  missionary  work  in  which  nearly 
one  thousand  workers  are  engaged.  They  distribute  Bibles,  pi  each  the  gospel,  baptize 
the  people,  spread  the  Lord's  table  and  establish  an  orderly  Christian  community. 

ADVANTAGES.  If  you  are  fifty  years  of  age,  the  plan  gives  you  a  good  income 
while  you  live,  free  from  taxes  or  change  of  investment  or  losses  in  any  other  way. 

The  Annuity  Fund  of  the  Foreign  Society  is  now  more  than  $600,000  and  enjoys 
constant  growth.  


As  an  investment  only,  the  Annuity 
has  very  great  advantages. 

It  yields  a  larger  income  than  the 
usual  bond  or  stock,  and  more  than  the 
interest  rate  in  many  communities. 


ANNUITY  BEST  OF  ALL 


Note'  these  points 
And  there  are  others 


Good 

Better 

Better  Yet 
Best  of  All 


2%         Postal  Savings 

4%      Bonds 

5%    Mortgages 

Annuity  Bond 


o 


For  further  information,  address  - 


FOREIGN    CHRISTIAN    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY 

BOX  884.  CINCINNATI,  O. 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


January  25,  1917 


during  special  evangelistic  seasons. 
Ernest  H.  Wray,  pastor  at  Steubenville, 
O.,  for  four  years,  will  hold  his  own 
meeting  again  this  year,  for  the  third 
time,  and  the  special  theme  for  consid- 
eration will  be  "The  Deeper  Life,"  the 
sermons  being  preached  from  the  Gospel 
of  John.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Owen  Walker 
will  assist  in  the  music.  This  congre- 
gation recently  had  Mission  Leaders 
Doane.  McCall.  Hedges  and  Hanna  with 
them,  and  Mr.  Doane  will  give  a  week 
of  lectures  at  Steubenville  during  the 
spring. 

Fruitful  '•Wash  Line"  at 
Central  Church,  Buffalo 

Central  church,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  B.  S. 
Ferrall,  minister,  put  out  a  unique  wash- 
line  recently.  On  a  Sunday  when  spe- 
cial efforts  were  made  toward  funding 
their  building  proposition  a  Sunday 
school  class  marched  around  the  audi- 
torium with  four  hundred  dollar  bills 
strung  on  a  line  and  hung  upon  the 
proposition. 

Record-Breaking  Year 
at  Lebanon,  Ind. 

A.  L.  Ward  began  his  fifth  year  with 
Central  church,  Lebanon,  Ind.,  the  first 
Lord's  Day  in  the  year,  preaching  to 
more  than  six  hundred  people.  The  past 
year  has  been  a  record-breaker  in  three 
particulars  The  missionary  offering  was 
$1,590,  the  Sunday  school  reached  an  en- 
rollment of  seven  hundred  and  additions 
to  the  church  within  the  year  numbered 
206. 

Chicago  Church  Gives 
$1,200  for  Missions 

Of  the  $7,245.73  raised  last  year  by 
Jackson  Boulevard  church,  Chicago,  $1,- 
219. SO  went  for  missions.  Austin  Hunter, 
pastor,  reports  124  persons  added  to  the 
membership  during  the  year;  funerals 
conducted,  54;  weddings,  41;  average 
Sunday  school  attendance,  425.  Miss 
Ora  Haight  represents  this  church  as 
living  link  missionary  in  India.  At  the 
annual  dinner  of  the  congregation,  A.  R. 
McQueen,  of  Austin  church,  made  the 
address. 

"Dan"  by  F.  Lewis 
Starbuck 

One  thousand  copies  of  F.  Lewis  Star- 
buck's  little  book,  "Dan,"  have  been 
printed,  and  Mr.  Starbuck's  congrega- 
tion at  Howett  street,  Peoria,  111.,  are 
selling  the  book,  the  profits  of  the  sale 
to  go  toward  the  new  building  at  Howett 
Street.  "Dan"  is  "an  allegory  in  three 
parts  in  which  the  subjects  of  Birth, 
Life  and  Death  are  represented  in  the 
story  of  Dan   Mannering." 

Drake  Professor  Writes  of 
Billy  Sunday  in  Narrative  Poem 

_  "In  Sunday's  Tent"  is  the  title  of  the 
little  book  just  out  from  the  pen  of 
Lewis  Worthington  Smith,  professor  of 
English  in  Drake  University.  It  is  pub- 
lished by  the  Four  Seas  Company,  Bos- 
ton. This  is  reported  as  "the  first  se- 
rious attempt  in  literature  to  set  forth 
the  sinner's  struggle  to  the  light  as  it  is 
seen  in  the  Billy  Sunday  campaigns."  It 
is  somewhat  after  the  style  of  John  Mase- 
field's  "Everlasting  Mercy."  The  volume 
sells  at  60  cents,  plus  4  cents  postage. 

Appreciation  for 
J.  N.  Jessup 

J.  Newton  Jessup  has  been  with  Mag- 
nolia Avenue  church,  Los  Angeles,  since 
November    l.      He    is    pleased    and    en- 


couraged with  the  outlook.  The  church 
seems  genuinely  in  earnest  and  eagerly 
anxious  to  go  forward.  The  church  gave 
a  reception  Friday  night,  January  5,  in 
honor  of  the  retiring  pastor,  R.  W.  Ab- 
berley  and  his  wife  and  the  incoming 
pastor  and  his  wife.  On  leaving  Hop- 
kinsville,  Ky.,  the  ministerial  association, 
of  which  Mr.  Jessup  was  president,  gave 
him  a  fine  letter  of  appreciation. 

Chicago  Ministers  Will 
Discuss  Dry  Issue 

The  next  meeting  of  the  Union  Min- 
isters' organization  of  Chicago,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Chicago  Church  Federa- 
tion Council,  will  be  held  Monday,  Jan- 
uary 29,  at  10:30,  in  the  First  Methodist 
church.  This  will  be  "Dry  Chicago  Day," 
and  the  chief  speaker  will  be  Clarence 
T.  Wilson,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the 
Methodist  Temperance  Union.  It  is  re- 
quested that  all  Disciple  pastors  of  Chi- 
cago and  community  be  in  attendance. 

A  Fruitful  Texas 
Church 

Central  church,  Dallas,  Tex.,  with  its 
various  departments,  gave  to  foreign  mis- 
sions last  year  $1,143.63;  to  home  mis- 
sions, $1,167.66;  to  the  Fowler  Homes, 
$2,295.38;  to  miscellaneous  charity, 
$109.91.  For  all  purposes  there  was  ex- 
pended the  sum  of  $16,383.11.  Harry  D. 
Smith  leads  this  philanthropic  congre- 
gation. Nearly  $30,000  was  expended  for 
improvements  on  the  building  in  1916. 


iimiuAni/  A  Church  Home  for  You. 
NEW  YllRK  Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 

Ilk  II    IU!II\   142  West  glst  gt  ^  N    y 


Drake  Professor  Addresses 
Newton,  la.,  Men 

T.  J.  Golightly  is  one  of  the  new  lead- 
ers at  Drake,  being  one  of  the  professors 
in  the  department  of  religious  education. 
But  he  is  not  confining  his  activities  to 
the  class  room.  A  few  evenings  ago  he 
delivered  an  address  before  a  men's  ban- 
quet in  the  Newton,  la.,  church,  and  the 
local  newspaper  devoted  an  entire  col- 
umn to  the  address,  which  dealt  with  the 
world's  progress  in  religious  emancipa- 
tion. Among  other  excellent  things  Pro- 
fessor Golightly  said:  "The  world  has 
progressed  gradually  through  the  great 
commission,  and  is  just  now  realizing  the 
significance  of  the  injunction,  'teaching 
them  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded you.'  " 

Kirksville  Preacher  Says  Golden 
Age  Is  On  the  Way 

R.  W.  Lilley,  who  leads  the  work  at 
Kirksville,  Mo.,  is  no  pessimist  even  in 
these  dark  times  of  war.  In  a  recent 
sermon  on  "A  Look  Into  the  Future," 
he  said:  "I  believe  that  this  was  a  more 
sordid  and  selfish  world  three  years  ago 
than  it  is  today.  Materialism  is  being 
weighed  and  found  wanting.  We  are 
witnessing  as  never  before  a  demand  for 
economic,  social  and  civic  righteousness." 

South  Dakota  Minister  Will 
Teach  Bible  in  College 

For  a  score  of  years  A.  H.  Seymour 
labored  as  a  minister  and  Sunday  School 
leader  among  South  Dakota  Disciples. 
He  has  recently  been  called  to  teach  a 
credit  course  in  Bible  history  and  litera- 
ture in  the  Northern  Normal  and  Indus- 
trial School  at  Aberdeen.  The  textbook 
used  is  the  Bible  itself. 


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January  25,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


Ladies'  League  of  Lakewood  Church, 
Cleveland,  Makes  Financial  Record 

During  1916  the  Ladies'  League  of 
Lakewood  church,  Cleveland,  O.,  re- 
ceived into  its  treasury  $2,539.39,  and 
after  making  all  expenditures  has  over 
$200  in  its  treasury.  The  C.  W.  B.  M. 
expended  $334.51.  The  Lakewood  church 
increased  its  income  for  current  expenses 
by  42.5  per  cent  over  1915.  An  increase 
in  cash  raised  for  benevolences  is  re- 
ported of  96.6  per  cent.  The  Sunday 
School  received  $2,492.42.  S.  E.  Brew- 
ster leads  at  Lakewood.  He  reports  sev- 
enty-eight persons  added  to  the  mem- 
bership during  the  year.  Mr.  Brewster 
made  a  total  of  1,120  calls,  and  delivered 
255    sermons   and   other   addresses. 

New  York  Disciples 
Church  Quits 

The  property  of  the  Lenox  Avenue 
Union  Christian  church  in  New  York 
has  been  sold  for  $32,000  to  a  Swedish 
Lutheran  church,  and  the  Disciples  or- 
ganization has  voted  to  go  out  of  exist- 
ence. No  further  information  has  been 
received. 

Death  of  Mrs.  Edwin  Patterson 
Ewers 

Mrs.  Edwin  Patterson  Ewers,  mother 
of  John  Ray  Ewers,  minister  of  East 
End  church,  Pittsburgh,  died  at  the  home 
of  her  son  Sunday  afternoon,  Jan.  14. 
She  was  a  devoted  Christian  mother  and 
had  been  a  member  of  the  Fayette,  Ohio, 
church  for  thirty-five  years.  The  funeral 
was  from  the  old  home  church  and  was 
conducted  by  Dr.  S.  M.  Cook  of  Ru- 
dolph, Ohio.  "Mother  Ewers"  loved  the 
church  above  all  things  and  her  chief 
joy  was  her  son's  ministry. 

E.  H.  Wray  at  Bethany  College 
Rural  Conference 

I  E.  H.  Wray,  pastor  of  First  church, 
Steubenville,  O.,  was  one  of  the  speak- 
ers at  the  Rural  Conference  held  last 
week  at  Bethany  College. 

Welcome  for  W.  M.  White  at 
Memphis,  Tenn. 

A  large  number  of  the  members  and 
friends  of  Linden  Avenue  church,  Mem- 
phis, Tenn.,  were  gathered  at  the  church 
on   the  occasion   of  the  reception  given 


Mr.  White  and  family  by  the  Linden 
avenue  congregation.  The  city  govern- 
ment was  represented  in  the  welcoming 
speeches,  also  the  Business  Men's  Club 
of  the  city.  Milo  Atkinson  represented 
the  Disciple  churches. 

Another  Auto  for  a 
Busy  Pastor 

Among  the  events  of  the  past  year  at 
Central  church,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  was  the 
presentation  to  pastor  B.  S.  Ferrall  of 
a  fine  auto.  Mr.  Ferrall  is  shown  appre- 
ciation in  other  ways.  During  1916  he 
was  invited  to  speak  at  various  times  in 
ten  of  the  Buffal  churches  and  in  churches 
out  of  the  city ;  also  at  the  Seamen's  Home, 
at  the-  Buffalo  Assembly,  at  the  Erie 
County  Penitentiary,  at  the  Curtis  Aero- 
plane Company,  and  at  a  peace  flag  rais- 
ing. Mr.  Ferrall  has  some  very  active 
organizations,  among  them  a  Men's 
Community  Bible  Class,  a  Corona  Bible 
Class  of  young  men,  a  Camp  Fire  Girls' 
organization,  and  the  Winifred  Ferrall 
Bible  Class,  which  last  furnished  the  sup- 
per at  the  annual  meeting  on  Jan.  17.  At 
this  gathering  it  was  reported  that  the 
churches  had,  during  1916,  raised  over 
$14,400;  of  this  $8,239  went  for  the  build- 
ing fund.  There  were  119  responses  to 
the  gospel  invitation  during  the  year. 

E.  M.  Waits  to 
Dallas  Disciples 

President  E.  M.  Waits  of  Texas  Chris- 
tian University,  Dallas,  Tex.,  delivered 
the  address  at  the  January  mass  meet- 
ing of  the  Dallas  Disciples,  at  Central 
church.  His  theme  was  "The  Spiritual 
Opportunity  of  the  Southwest." 

L.  E.  Murray  as  a 
Lobbyist 

L.  E.  Murray,  pastor  at  First  church, 
Richmond,  Ind.,  was  appointed  a  mem- 
ber of  the  lobbying  committee  of  the 
Indiana  Anti-Saloon  League  to  assist  in 
getting  the  state  legislature  to  pass  a 
state-wide  prohibition  bill.  He  spent 
several  days  at  Indianapolis  during  the 
campaign. 

E.  W.  Cole  Addresses  24 
Indiana  Conferences 

During  the  last  three  weeks  of  Janu- 
ary Elmer  Ward  Cole  of  First  church, 
Huntington,  Ind.,  is  scheduled  to  deliver 


WANTED— To  locate  as  pastor. 
Married.  Nine  years'  experience  in 
country,  town  and  city.  Recommended 
by  each  church  he  has  served.  Leader 
of  song.  Educated  in  two  of  our  col- 
leges. Iowa,  Kansas,  Missouri  preferred. 
Address  Pastor,  Christian  Church, 
Box  192,  Clifton,  Kan. 


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A  Million  Dollar  Task 
A  Half  Million  Dollar  Income 

The  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society  has  a  work  which  demands  a  million  dollars  a  year  for  its  proper  development 

and  has  only  half  that  sum  with  which  to  carry  it  on. 

The  society  has  pressed  right  into  the  heart  of  China,  India,  Japan,  Africa,  Philippines  and  Cuba,  and  our  workers  have 

entered  distant  Tibet. 

No  mission  board  in  the  world  has  more  strategic  opportunity,  more  promising  fields,  or  more  important  location  for  its 

work  than  our  Foreign  Society. 

The  Doors  are  wide  open  to  us,  every  class  is  accessible,  the  pressure  of  opportunity  is  unparalleled  and  we  have  a  work 

developed  which  demands  twice  the  income  now  available. 

To  cope  immediately  with  the  situation  our  missionary  force  should  be  doubled,  the  staff  of  native  helpers  doubled,  a  third  more  stations  opened  and 

the  work  increased  along  every  line.     To  double  our  forces  would  mean  to  quadruple  the  work. 

The  Northern  Presbyterians  have  less  than  our  membership  and  expend  two  million  dollars  a  year  for  foreign  missions.     The  Congregationalists  have 

six  hundred  thousand  members  who  give  over  a  million  dollars  for  foreign  missions.  The  Northern  Baptists  have  a  membership  about  equal  to  our  own 

and  give  more  than  a  million  for  foreign  missions.    The  time  has  come  for  greater  emphasis  on  foreign  missions  by  the  Disciples  of  Christ. 


F.  M.  RAINS,  STEPHEN  J.  COREY,  Secretaries 


Box  884,  CINCINNATI,  OHIO 


The  March  offering  for  foreign  missions  is  approaching.  Express  your  earnest  desire  to  help  meet  the  world  emergencies  on  that  day.   Write  for  offering  helps. 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


January  25,  1917 


twenty-four  addresses  at  county  confer- 
ences of  Christian  churches  in  the  North- 
ern Indiana  District.  Among  the  points 
being  visited  by  him  are  Auburn,  An- 
gola, Kendallville.  Marion,  Redkey,  De- 
catur, Fort  Wayne  and  Columbia  City. 

*      *      * 

— Edward  Clutter  is  in  a  meeting  with 
the  church  at  Powhatan,  Kan. 

— The  congregation  at  Benton  Harbor, 
Mich.,  led  by  the  pastor,  T.  W.  Belling- 
ham.  entered  the  new  year  clear  of  debt, 
having  during  the  past  year  raised  cash 
to  pay  off  all  indebtedness.  Mr.  Belling- 
ham  has  served  this  church  for  eight 
years. 

— The  Christian  Endeavor  meeting  at 
Centennial  church.  Bloomington,  111.,  was 
recently  led  by  the  boys  who  attended 
an  Older  Boys'  Conference,  which  was 
held  a  few  days  ago  at  Galesburg. 

— The  church  at  Princeton,  111.,  to 
which  C.  C.  Carpenter  ministers,  is  re- 
joicing in  a  remodeled  building,  over 
$6,000  having  been  expended  upon  the 
improvements. 

— February  11  has  been  set  as  the  date 
for  the  dedication  of  the  new  $30,000 
building  of  Howett  Street  church,  Peoria, 
111. 

. — F.  C.  McCormick  has  been  called  from 
Milton  to  Dublin,  Ind.,  church. 

— In  the  newly  instituted  "church  col- 
lege" at  Tabernacle  church,  Franklin, 
Ind..  the  most  popular  course  is  reported 
to  be  that  in  Sociology,  in  which  Will- 
iam Mullendore  leads.  All  courses  are 
said  to  be  quite  successful. 

— W.  D.  Bartle,  who  leads  at  Salem, 
Ind..  reports  that  45  persons  have  been 
added  to  the  membership  there  during 
last  year,  all  coming  at  regular  services. 
Twenty-three  of  these  came  by  confes- 
sion of  their  faith.  This  church  gave 
$370  of  the  $2,400  raised  during  the  year 
for  missions  and  benevolences. 

— W.  D.  Cunningham,  Tokyo  mis- 
sionary, gave  an  address  at  the  Uhrichs- 
ville,  O.,  church  on  January  13. 

— Appreciation  of  its  pastor  by  the 
Central  church  congregation  at  Rockford, 
111.,  was  evidenced  at  a  recent  meeting 
of  the  official  board,  when  a  gift  of  gold 
was  handed  over  to  the  leader,  W.  B. 
Clemmer.  Mr.  Clemmer  reports  that 
three  persons  were  added  to  the  mem- 
bership the  last  two  Sundays. 

— Ford  A.  Ellis  is  to  conduct  evangelis- 
tic services  for  the  Lansing,  Mich., 
church. 

— It  is  reported  that  Grand  River  Ave- 
nue church,  Detroit,  Mich.,  has  the 
largest  Sunday  school  in  Michigan. 

— The  Honeywell  evangelistic  company 
has  been  conducting  a  tabernacle  cam- 
paign in  Owosso,  Mich. 

— Professor  Athearn,  of  the  depart- 
ment of  religious  education  in  Boston 
University,  has  issued  another  "Maiden 
leaflet,"  entitled  "The  Correlation  of 
Church  Schools  and  Public  Schools." 
The  Maiden  Leaflets  are  issued  as  a 
study  course  for  the  guidance  of  the 
City  Council  of  Religious  Education  at 
Maiden,  Mass.  This  new  publication 
may  be  secured  from  Professor  Athearn 
for  25  cents. 

— Miss  Kate  Hammond,  a  business 
woman  of  Mexico,  Mo.,  has  been  chosen 
financial  secretary  of  Central  church, 
Des  Moines,  to  which  W.  A.  Shullen- 
berger  now  ministers. 


— The  program,  "Life  Lines  Across 
the  Sea,"  furnished  by  the  Foreign  So- 
ciety for  Endeavor  Day,  the  first  Sunday 
in  February,  is  very  popular.  Hundreds 
of  societies  have  ordered  the  supplies  and 
will  make  the  day  the  big  day  of  the 
year.  The  offering  for  the  Damoh,  In- 
dia, Orphanage  work  will  be  liberal,  as 
this  work  supported  by  the  Endeavorers 
for  more  than  fifteen  years,  is  dear  to 
the  hearts  of  the  young  people.  Sup- 
plies can  be  secured  by  addressing  S.  J. 
Corey,  Box  884,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 


— First  church 
ported  to  have  b 
the  city  to  vote  i 
paign  which  has 
Springfield  dry. 
waged  under  the 
Knudson.  Other 
mittee  is  assured, 
tion. 


Springfield,  111.,  is  re- 
een  the  first  church  of 
n  approval  of  the  cam- 
been  begun  to  make 
The  campaign  is  being 
leadership  of  Dr.  T.  J. 
churches,  the  dry  corn- 
will  take  favorable  ac- 


— Carey  E.  Morgan  has  begun  his  sixth 
year  as  pastor  at  Vine  Street  church, 
Nashville,  Tenn.  Mr.  Morgan  has  fully 
recovered  from  his  nervous  breakdown, 
reported  in  these  columns  several  weeks 
ago. 

—George  W.  Titus,  who  has  been  as- 
sociated with  the  Anti-Saloon  League 
of  Indiana  for  several  years,  has  been 
called  to  minister  to  the  Mishawaka 
church,  and  has  accepted. 

— Guy  L.  Zerby,  of  Donavan,  111.,  who 
was  called  to  the  work  at  St.  Joseph, 
111.,  was  to  have  begun  service  there  on 
January  21. 

— The  resignation  is  announced  of  A. 
M.  Hootman,  for  four  years  pastor  at 
Greencastle,  Ind.  His  resignation  will 
take  effect  April  1. 

— C.  G.  Kindred,  of  Englewood  church, 
Chicago,  addressed  a  recent  meeting  of 
the  Tri-City  Evangelistic  Association  of 
Christian  churches,  which  includes  the 
churches  of  Davenport,  la.,  and  Rock 
Island  and  Moline,  111.  The  meeting  was 
held  at  Davenport. 

— William  V.  Nelson,  of  First  church, 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  has  received  a 
unanimous  call  from  First  church,  To- 
ronto, known  as  the  Cecil  Street  church. 
It  is  reported  that  Mr.  Nelson  has  re- 
fused the  call. 

— Members  Day  was  observed  at  First 
church,  El  Paso,  Tex.,  in  harmony  with 
the  uniform  schedule  of  special  days 
adopted  by  the  Ministers'  Alliance  of  the 
city.  P.  J.  Rice,  pastor  at  First,  preached 
on  the  theme,  "If  Christ  Were  King." 

— Albert  R.  Adams,  of  Decatur  Street 
church,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  has  refused  a 
call  to  an  eastern  church. 

— First  church,  Fort  Dodge,  la.,  and  its 
pastor,  G.  J.  Wolfe,  are  talking  of  a 
building  for  church  purposes  and  busi- 
ness combined.  The  plan  is  to  use  the 
first  three  stories  for  business  offices  and 
the  fourth  for  church  services. 

— Ernest  Reed,  formerly  at  Kinmundy, 
111.,  is  now  at  Keithsburg,  111. 

— W.     O.     Foster,    recently    resigned 


Baptismal  Suits 

We  can  make  prompt  shipments. 
Order  Now.  Finest  quality  and  most 
satisfactory  in  every  way.  Order  by 
size  of  boot. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  St.  Chicago,  III. 


from  his  Atlanta,  Ga.,  work  has  begun 
his  new  task  at  Hartselle,  Ala. 

— Z.  T.  Sweeney,  of  Columbus,  Ind., 
recently  preached  at  First  church,  Evans- 
ville,  Ind. 

— John  A.  Denton,  son  of  H.  A.  Den- 
ton, pastor  at  Galesburg,  111.,  has  begun 
work  as  pastor  at  Plattsburg,  Mo. 

— The  congregation  at  Central  church, 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  has  grown  75  per  cent 
since  the  pastor,  Geo.  H.  Brown,  came 
to  the  work  two  years  ago. 

— The  Endeavor  societies  are  taking  a 
deep  interest  in  the  traveling  libraries 
furnished  by  the  Foreign  Society.  Each 
library  is  made  up  of  ten  missionary 
books  by  our  own  workers  and  is  sent 
to  a  society  for  sixty  days  for  fifty  cents 
plus  postage  or  express.  If  interested 
write  S.  J.  Corey,  Box  884,  Cincinnati, 
Ohio. 

— Ionia,  Mich.,  church  raised  over 
$4,000  last  year  for  its  work. 

— In  a  four  weeks'  simultaneous  cam- 
paign with  all  the  leading  churches  in 
the  city,  the  Christian  church  of  Chanute, 
Kan.,  closed  December  17  with  sixty- 
three  additions,  fifty-one  by  confession 
and  twelve  by  letter  or  statement.  Near- 
ly all  were  adult  young  people.  The 
pastor.  E.  A.  Blackman,  did  the  preach- 
ing with  his  brother,  L.  J.  Blackman 
and  wife,  of  Chicago,  in  charge  of  the 
music. 

— E.  N.  Duty  and  the  church  at  Char- 
leroi,  Pa.,  report  fifty-eight  additions  to 
the  membership  and  $5,340  raised  for 
home  purposes,  with  $335  for  missions 
and  benevolences  during  the  past  year. 

— J.  H.  Fuller  of  the  Mt.  Washington 
church,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  reports  that 
the  congregation  there  had  the  pleasure 
of  closing  the  year  out  of  debt.  Larger 
plans  are  being  made  for  1917. 

— Forty-five  persons  were  added  to  the 
membership  at  Wellington,  Kan.,  church 
during  the  past  year.  Over  $600  was 
given  to  missions  by  the  church.  H.  W. 
Hunter  has  set  some  high  goals  for  his 
people  at  Wellington  during  the  current 
year. 

— C.  M.  Smail  has  closed  a  three  and 
one-half  years'  ministry  at  Beaver  Falls, 
Pa.,  to  accept  the  work  at  the  Borough 
Park   church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

— Bruce  Brown  is  assisting  W.  E. 
Crabtree  in  a  meeting  at  Central  church, 
San  Diego,  Cal.  Although  this  church 
is  located  in  the  business  portion  of  the 
city,  and  in  spite  of  much  rain  large 
audiences  are  reported.  There  were  42 
accessions  during  the  first  ten  days. 


The  Peerless  Communion  Service 


Patented 
Aug.  10, 1910 


Send  for  our  complete  circular 

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AFTER  MARCH  1,  1917 

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THE  PSYCHOLOGY 
OF  RELIGION 

By  GEORGE  ALBERT  COE 

Professor  of  Religious  Education,  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Author  of 
"The  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind,"  The  Spiritual  Life,"  etc. 


For  the  Minister's  Library 

For  the  Theological  Seminary  Student 
For  College  and  Seminary  Classes 
For  the  Psychologist  and  Educator 
For  Young  People's  and  Adult  Bible  Classes 


Of  nineteen  chapters,  the  first  four  are  devoted  to  aspects  of 
psychological  study  and  investigation.  The  remaining  fifteen 
present  the  author's  keen  analysis  of  religion  in  its  individual 
and  social  processes.  The  most  authoritative  and  interesting 
book  in  this  fascinating  field  of  study  that  has  yet  appeared. 

$  1 .50,  postage  extra  (weight  1  lb.  1 0  oz.) 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  PRESS 

700  East  40th  Street,  CHICAGO 


PJ 


m       vol.  xxxiv 


February  1,  1917 


Number  5 


The  Church — a 
League  to  Create 

Peace 

By  W.  H.  P.  Faunce 

What  is  Wrong 
with  the  Church? 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY 
OF  RELIGION 

By  GEORGE  ALBERT  COE 

Professor  of  Religious  Education,  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Author  of 
"The  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind,"  The  Spiritual  Life,"  etc. 


For  the  Minister's  Library 

For  the  Theological  Seminary  Student 
For  College  and  Seminary  Classes 
For  the  Psychologist  and  Educator 
For  Young  People's  and  Adult  Bible  Classes 


Of  nineteen  chapters,  the  first  four  are  devoted  to  aspects  of 
psychological  study  and  investigation.  The  remaining  fifteen 
present  the  author's  keen  analysis  of  religion  in  its  individual 
and  social  processes.  The  most  authoritative  and  interesting 
book  in  this  fascinating  field  of  study  that  has  yet  appeared. 

$  1 .50,  postage  extra  (weight  I  lb.  1 0  oz.) 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  PRESS 

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Discontinuance* — In  order  that  sub- 
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failure  to  receive  the  paper,  It  la 
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time  paid  In  advance  (unless  ao 
ordered),  but  continued  pending  In- 
struction from  the  subscriber.  If 
discontinuance  is  desired,  prompt 
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PUBLISHED    WEEKLY   BY   THE   DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE    INTEREST    OF    THE    KINGDOM    OF    GOD 


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If  local  check  ia  sent,  add  ten 
cents  for  exchange  charged  us  by 
Chicago    banks. 

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Feb.  28,  1902,  at  the  Postofflce.  Chi- 
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3,   1879. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS, 


700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


n.     .  I  The  Disciples  Publica- 

UlSCipieS  tion   Society  is  an  or- 

Pllblication     ganization    through 
cA«:A«ir  which  churches  of  the 

50Ciety  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. •    •    * 

The    Disciples    Publication   Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *    *     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
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published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


3= 


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THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  February  1,  1917 


January  Beats  December! 


December,  1916,  was  the  best  month  in  sub- 
scription receipts — for  both  new  subscriptions 
and  renewals — that  The  Christian  Century  has 
ever  known. 

But  January,  1917,  has  set  a  new  record,  mak- 
ing a  gain  of  33  per  cent  over  December. 


We  feel  like  saying,  "Hurrah  for  January! 


>» 


And  now  comes  little  February,  the  shortest 
month  of  the  year.  Suppose  we  all  lend  a  hand 
and  make  this  month  the  banner  month  of  the 
three! 

Send  your  own  renewal  during  February. 

And  if  you  have  not  yet  secured  your  three 
new  subscribers,  do  it  within  the  next  27  days. 


After  March  1  the  price  of  The  Christian 
Century  will  be  $2.50  a  year,  except  to  min- 
isters, who  may  continue  to  remit  at  the  rate 
of  $2.00. 


[he Christian  Century 


OH1AKI.ES  CEAYTON  mobbisoh,  ebitoe. 


EEBBSBT  E.  WHiLETT,  CONCTUBUTXZrQ  ED  IT 01 


)lume  XXXIV 


FEBRUARY  I.  1917 


Number  5 


What  Is  Wrong  With  the  Church? 


IS  RELIGION  MAKING  PROGRESS  IN  THE 
HURCHES? 

Three  ministers  met  one  day  recently  and  talked 
rer  the  religious  situation.  They  were  pastors  of 
e  Methodist,  Presbyterian  and  Disciple  churches  of 
city  neighborhood.  They  had  worked  together  long 
lough  to  throw  aside  every  pretense  to  successes  they 
d  not  have.  They  were  all  active  men  and  the  statis- 
:s  in  their  churches  were  not  bad.  There  had  been 
1  increase  in  contributions  to  missions  and  in  the 
imber  of  church  members  and  in  the  attendance  at 
inday  school,  but  they  were  not  satisfied. 

"Are  your  young  people  in  the  morning  service?" 
e  Presbyterian  pastor  asked.  The  other  two  men 
marked  the  absence  of  many  of  their  most  promis- 
g  young  people.  It  turned  out  upon  inquiry  that  the 
rgest  church  in  the  group  had  the  fewest  young 
:ople  going  to  church. 

"How  is  your  mid-week  prayer  meeting  going?" 
ked  the  Methodist  pastor.  When  figures  were  pre- 
nted  and  totaled  it  was  found  that  the  three  churches 
id  a  thousand  members.  The  three  prayer  meetings 
e  week  before,  on  a  reasonably  good  winter  night, 
id  had  a  total  attendance  of  thirty! 

"Are  you  able  to  keep  your  Sunday  school  classes 
ipplied  with  teachers?"  asked  the  Disciple  pastor, 
fhen  this  matter  was  canvassed,  it  was  found  that  not 
le  of  the  three  schools  was  fully  supplied.  In  the 
isciple  school  over  half  of  the  teachers  had  changed 
ithin  six  months.  Hardly  a  half-dozen  people  were 
orking  in  the  Sunday  school  who  had  been  on  the  job 
mtinuously  for  three  years.  The  Sunday  school  work- 
's were  a  procession. 

•    • 

"I  can't  understand  why  so  many  Methodists  stay 
it  of  their  church  in  this  town.  I  have  come  to  be- 
sve  that  there  are  nearly  as  many  outside  as  inside 
le  Methodist  churches  here."  Thus  spoke  the  Meth- 
iist  man.  "It  is  a  pity  if  they  are  worse  in  that 
:gard  than  the  Disciples,"  declared  the  Disciple 
istor. 

"What  is  wrong  with  the  churches?"  they  asked. 
Dr  do  we  happen  to  have  the  blues  today?"  Then  each 
lan  set  out  to  give  his  theory  of  what  is  wrong  with 
le  church  in  these  days. 

"I  think  that  our  town  is  over-cultured,"  declared 
le  Methodist.  "They  have  substituted  the  wisdom  of 
le  world  for  the  wisdom  of  God.  They  have  drama 
iubs  and  current  events  clubs.  They  rave  over  poets. 
>ur  town  will  have  to  learn  that  the  sin  of  the  world 
in  never  be  varnished  over  with  the  thin  veneer  of 
lis  world's  learning  of  beauty.  Nothing  but  the  blood 
f  Christ  can  save." 

"But  there  are  not  very  many  people  in  our 
hurches  who  are  cultured,"  suggested  the  Presbyterian. 


"The  people  belonging  to  the  Fortnightly  Club  are  the 
best  members  I  have.  I  think  that  infidelity  is  being 
spread  abroad  in  the  literature  of  the  day.  The  maga- 
zines and  newspapers  assume  positions  which  we  have 
been  taught  to  believe  are  out  of  accord  with  the  funda- 
mentals of  the  Christian  faith.  If  we  could  uproot  the 
poison  of  heresy  that  goes  into  the  homes  of  the  people, 
they  would  turn  to  God  again  and  trust  him." 

"People  can  believe  in  evolution  and  delight  in  the 
prayer  meeting,"  declared  the  Disciple  minister.  Th% 
man  had  been  reading  sociclo^jv  " '^  ne  said:  "I  think 
our  danger  is  ajiww»  ''  j,  new  rich.  Either  extreme 
wealth  or  extiftfutid  poverty  makes  people  think  too  much 
of  things.  If  another  generation  comes  on  which  is 
more  used  to  money,  perhaps  we  can  trust  it  to  be 
more  religious,  for,  after  all,  religion  is  something  that 
cannot  quite  be  driven  out  of  the  human  heart." 

•    • 

It  was  just  then  that  an  old  man  came  along  who 
had  been  a  member  of  the  church  for  eighty  years. 
Though  now  in  the  nineties  his  faculties  were  still 
clear.  He  had  seen  many  things,  and  his  long  quiet 
days  had  given  him  more  time  for  reflection  than  the 
busy  ministers  had.  He  was  the  kind  of  man  who  com- 
forts ministers  by  his  deep  faith  and  his  discriminat- 
ing admiration  of  their  work.  What  he  said  is  worth 
setting  down. 

The  church  suffers  by  a  divided  testimony.  Though 
the  three  pastors  in  this  city  territory  work  together, 
yet  there  is  still  rivalry  and  overlapping.  There  are  neg- 
lected families  which  never  see  any  one  of  the  three 
good  men  who  do  their  best  to  serve  their  parishes.  If 
the  church  were  one,  we  might  still  have  these  three 
congregations,  but  they  would  be  differently  located, 
and  their  official  boards  would  have  common  meetings 
in  which  the  work  of  the  kingdom  would  be  discussed, 
.and  a  division  of  the  territory  would  be  arranged. 

The  aged  counselor's  closing  words  sank  into  the 
memory  so  they  could  be  reproduced.  Here  was  his 
message:  "These  are  days  when  I  am  living  on  bor- 
rowed time.  I  have  lived  far  beyond  the  fourscore  and 
I  know  I  am  not  far  from  the  other  country.  If  I  had 
always  thought  as  much  about  God  as  I  have  the  past 
ten  years,  I  would  have  less  to  regret  in  my  life.  I 
think  the  reason  the  people  are  not  attending  church 
nor  working  in  church  as  they  should  is  that  they  are 
like  Martha,  they  are  busy  with  too  many  things.  They 
need  simpler  living  and  more  time  for  God.  People 
seem  like  children,  with  their  automobiles  and  the  many 
other  new  things  they  have.  But  their  toys  will  never 
satisfy  them.  Some  day  they  will  again  search  for  God, 
and  I  want  these  churches  today  to  have  samples  of  the 
religion  they  will  be  hungry  for  then.  Preach  your 
gospel  and  trust  God.  His  word  will  not  return  unto 
Him  void." 


EDITORIAL 


TO  OUR  SUBSCRIBERS: 

The  past  two  months  have  brought  so  large  a  body  of  correspondence  to  the  subscription  department  that 
it  has  been  impossible  to  answer  more  than  a  fraction  of  the  mail  requiring  an  answer.  We  beg  the  indul- 
gence of  our  correspondents  and  wish  to  assure  them  that  the  grateful  congestion  of  remittances  at  this  time  is 
being  satisfactorily  handled  by  the  subscription  department.  In  time  all  communications  requiring  an  answer 
will  be  duly  acknowledged. 

In  the  meantime,  we  would  remind  our  readers  that  regular  remittances  on  subscription  are  acknowledged 
not  by  letter,  but  by  the  change  of  date  opposite  your  name  on  the  wrapper.  Please  observe  the  date  on  your 
wrapper,  and  if  it  is  not  changed  in  accordance  with  the  amount  of  your  remittance  within  two  weeks,  notify  us. 

It  is  our  custom  to  specially  acknowledge  all  remittances  sent  by  our  subscribers  for  subscriptions  other 
than  their  own.  We  are  delayed  in  making  these  acknowledgments  because  the  cooperation  of  our  readers  in 
securing  new  subscriptions  has  brought  us  an  unprecedented  volume  of  subscription  business.  In  the  course  of 
time  all  such  kindnesses  on  your  part  will  be  specially  acknowledged. — THE  PUBLISHERS. 


T 


THE  CHURCH  AND  PUBLIC  QUESTIONS 

HERE  is  a  growing  conviction  among  churches  that 
the  problems  of  our  big  world  are  problems  that 
need  a  reiigious^?1"*".:^.  We  have  ceased  to  re- 
gard religion  as  something  wh  ..<'  ^™*  business  chiefly 
in  another  world.  Religion  is  a  p..  ^  &  view  from 
which  to  approach  life  in  the  here  and  the  now. 

It  is  with  this  fact  in  mind  that  a  certain  church 
conducts  a  current  events  class  in  connection  with  its 
Sunday  school,  in  which  class  the  happenings  of  the 
week  are  discussed.  The  name  is  a  poor  one,  for  it 
sounds  casual.  This  class  takes  a  deep  interest  in  look- 
ing at  public  questions  from  the  viewpoint  of  religion. 

There  has  grown  up  in  a  number  of  churches  the 
practice  of  conducting  a  church  forum  on  Sunday  even- 
ings. At  this  forum  some  well-informed  man  lectures 
upon  some  important  and  timely  theme,  then  the  topic 
is  thrown  open  to  the  audience  for  discussion  and  ques- 
tion. This  method  of  treating  public  questions  orig- 
inated in  the  east,  but  it  has  spread  to  the  middle  west 
and  is  probably  destined  to  come  into  considerable 
favor  in  many  churches  which  are  prepared  to  use  it. 

There  are  doubtless  other  ways  of  bringing  the 
members  of  the  church  to  a  religious  point  of  view  in 
connection  with  public  questions.  The  method  is  rela- 
tively unimportant.  The  result  is  of  the  very  greatest 
significance. 

The  great  problems  of  today  are  pre-eminently  re- 
ligious problems.  We  are  not  able  to  discuss  peace 
apart  from  the  standards  of  the  gospel.  The  labor 
problem  is  not  to  be  settled  by  the  older  political  econ- 
omy which  ignored  the  human  element  in  industry. 
The  task  of  the  church  is  to  build  a  civilization  in  which 
the  ethics  of  Jesus  Christ  shall  be  the  foundation 
principle. 

DISCIPLES  AND  CONGREGATIONALISTS 

THE  growing  friendship  between  Congregationalists 
and  Disciples  has  not  been  retarded  by  an  occa- 
sional ungracious  word  from  those  not  in  sympathy 
with  such  a  rapprochement. 

On  January  8  representatives  of  the  Commissions 
on  Christian  Unity  of  the  two  bodies  met  in  New  York. 
It  was  agreed  that  a  tract  should  be  prepared  setting 
forth  the  relations  between  the  two  bodies  and  that 
such  a  tract  should  be  given  wide  publicity  in  both 
communions. 

It  was  further  agreed  that  there  should  be  an 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  home  mission  leaders  of  both 


bodies  to  work  harmoniously  with  one  another.  There 
is  already  an  agreement  providing  for  a  basis  of  union 
of  Congregational  and  Disciple  churches  in  fields  where 
there  is  not  room  for  both. 

The  agreement  to  have  an  exchange  of  fraternal 
visitors  at  the  national  meetings  of  the  two  bodies  was 
a  wise  one.  While  this  lies  entirely  in  the  field  of  senti- 
ment, the  barriers  to  Christian  union  are  also  largely 
matters  of  sentiment. 

The  joint  meeting  in  New  York  last  month  was  so 
pleasant  that  it  was  voted  to  have  another  meeting  in 
1918,  at  which  there  would  be  urged  a  larger  attendance 
on  the  part  of  each  commission. 

These  are  days  of  rather  easy  exchange  of  denomi- 
national fellowship  even  on  the  part  of  ministers.  It  is 
a  significant  fact  that  Disciple  ministers  who  leave  us 
more  often  find  fellowship  with  Congregational 
churches  than  in  any  other.  This  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate a  high  degree  of  congeniality  between  the  two 
bodies. 

It  would  be  a  matter  of  delight  to  all  Disciples 
that  we  should  have  the  privilege  of  knowing  our  Con- 
gregational brethren  better. 

PAPAL  COMMISSION  ON  UNION 

THE  secular  newspapers  are  reporting  a  very  impor- 
tant step  taken  by  Pope  Benedict  XV  in  behalf  of 

unity.  Leo  XIII  had  begun  some  important  work 
in  the  direction  of  the  reunion  of  the  church,  but  his 
successor  proved  to  be  reactionary  and  used  his  ener- 
gies fighting  the  Modernist  movement.  The  present 
pope  has  revived  the  project  of  seeking  closer  relations 
with  the  Church  of  England  and  with  the  Russian 
church.  He  has  appointed  four  cardinals,  with  Cardinal 
Morini  at  the  head,  to  work  at  this  task. 

It  is  believed  that  there  will  be  a  re-examination  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  position  toward  Anglican  orders. 
The  bull  Apostolicae  Sedis,  as  issued  by  Leo  X,  denied 
the  validity  of  these  orders,  and  this  has  been  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Roman  communion  ever  since.  The  high 
church  element  of  the  English  church,  with  whom  this 
question  is  one  of  great  importance,  will  await  the  result 
with  great  interest. 

It  is  said  that  the  present  friendliness  between  the 
English  church  and  the  Russian  church  has  hastened 
action  at  Rome  on  the  union  question.  With  the  pros- 
pect of  a  mutual  recognition  of  English  and  Russian 
orders,  there  seemed  some  prospect  of  a  kind  of  rival 
Catholic  church  outside  the  Roman  communion. 


February  1,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN.  CENTURY 


The  movement  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church 
>f  America  to  bring  to  pass  a  World  Conference  on 
Faith  and  Order  is  also  a  matter  of  interest  at  Rome 
ind  has  helped  to  bring  to  pass  the  appointment  of  the 
:our  cardinals.  It  is  now  believed  that  Rome  will  be 
somewhat  friendly  toward  this  conference. 

The  world  war  has  tended  to  discourage  sectarian- 
sm.  The  various  religious  organizations  of  Europe  are 
Vaternizing  on  the  battlefields,  and  when  the  soldiers 
jo  home,  sectarianism  will  receive  still  further  discour- 
igement  at  their  hands. 

Many  of  us  would  not  see  in  the  question  of  orders 
he  big  vital  problem  of  the  reunion  of  the  church.  Yet, 
f  it  can  be  discussed  and  then  make  way  for  larger 
)roblems,  there  will  be  real  progress. 

THE  COAL  STRIKE 

ON  a  recent  Saturday  there  was  a  state  of  panic  in 
Chicago  over  coal  deliveries.  Owing  to  the  ab- 
normal conditions  prevailing  this  winter  there 
ire  many  coal  bins  which  have  but  a  limited  supply. 
School  buildings,  hospitals,  hotels  and  other  large  build- 
ngs  depend  upon  a  regular  service  that  the  hundreds  of 
mman  beings  they  shelter  may  not  suffer. 

It  did  not  take  long  for  the  strikers  to  win  their 
ase.  In  these  days  of  the  high  cost  of  living,  the  wage 
hey  will  get  will  prove  useful  in  establishing  comfort- 
ible  standards  of  living — although  the  coal  handlers  of 
"hicago  are  now  paid  more  than  most  of  the  school 
eachers!  The  important  question  in  connection  with 
his  experience  is  a  matter  of  method. 

Twice  within  a  few  months  a  great  city  has  faced 
luffering  and  a  collapse  of  its  industries  when  a  rela- 
ively  small  group  of  men  have  organized  to  get 
iomething  they  wanted.  Up  to  the  present  time  both 
ides  in  labor  disputes  have  persisted  in  believing  that 
here  are  but  two  parties  to  such  disputes.  The  public 
nust  find  a  way  to  show  that  there  are  three  parties. 

The  late  coal  strike  in  Chicago  revealed  the  fact 
hat  the  city  lacks  the  power  to  take  over  an  industry 
vhich  is  essential  to  all  the  people.  Our  laws  are  still 
n  an  archaic  condition.  What  is  needed  is  a  complete 
>ody  of  law  which  will  enable  governmental  agencies 
o  take  over  and  conduct  any  industry  which  becomes 
>aralyzed  by  private  disputes,  if  that  industry  is  essen- 
ial  to  the  public  welfare.  It  is  only  thus  that  the  pub- 
ic may  hope  for  relief  from  the  continual  threat  by  am- 
)itious  labor  leaders  and  avaricious  corporation  heads 
)f  starvation  and  death. 

"WAR  LOSSES" 

EVERY  little  while  the  newspapers  report  the  num- 
ber of  men  killed,  wounded  and  missing  since  the 
beginning  of  the  Great  War,  and  the  total  money 
:ost  of  the  war  to  date.    A  "war  loss"  which  has  never 
)een  included  in  these  reports  is  the  loss  to  literature, 
rhat,  of  course,  cannot  be  so  easily  tabulated. 

In  1915  the  papers  reported  the  death  of  the  young 
Englishman,  Rupert  Brooke,  who  was  both  poet  and 
soldier.  His  death  resulted  from  sunstroke  while  he 
vas  on  his  way  to  service  on  the  Gallipoli  peninsula, 
which  proved  to  be  a  slaughter  place  for  many  thou- 
sands of  the  allied  forces.  Young  Brooke's  body  was 
juried  on  one  of  the  isles  of  Greece.  The  following 
Doem,  written  by  the  brilliant  soldier-poet  during  the 
iarly  days  of  the  war,  has  brought  grief  not  only  to  his 


own  countrymen,  but  to  men  and  women  all  over  the 
world : 

If  I  should  die,  think  only  this  of  me: 

That  there's  some  corner  of  a  foreign  field 
That  is  forever  England.    There  shall  be 

In  that  rich  earth  a  richer  dust  concealed; 
A  dust  whom  England  bore,  shaped,  made  aware, 

Gave,  once,  her  flowers  to  love,  ner  ways  to  roam, 
A  body  of  England's  breathing  English  air, 

Washed  by  the  rivers,  blest  by  suns  of  home. 

And  think,  this  heart,  all  evil  shed  away, 
A  pulse  in  the  eternal  mind,  no  less, 
Gives  somewhere  back  the  thoughts  by  England  given, 
Her  sights  and  sounds ;  dreams  happy  as  her  day ; 
And  laughter,  learnt  of  friends,  and  gentleness, 
In  hearts  at  peace,  under  an  English  heaven. 

Last  year  Alan  Seeger,  an  American  just  out  of 

Harvard,  a  poet  also,  poured  out  his  life  in  the  trenches 

of  France.     He  was  of  a  romantic  temperament,  and 

loved  the  city  of  Paris,  with  her  many  colored  life.    It 

was   as   her   protector   that   he   joined   the   American 

Legion  and  fought  for  France.    On  the  night  of  July  4, 

last  year,  that  gallant  band  of  volunteers  was  ordered 

to  clear  the  enemy  out  of  the  village  of  Belloy-en-San- 

terre.    William  Archer  thus  writes  of  Seeger's  death : 

Alan  Seeger  advanced  with  the  first  rush  and  his  squad  was 
enfiladed  by  the  fire  of  six  German  machine  guns  concealed  in 
a  hollow  way.  Most  of  them  went  down,  and  Alan  among  them 
— wounded  in  several  places.  But  the  following  waves  of  attack 
were  more  fortunate.  As  his  comrades  came  up  to  aid  him  Alan 
cheered  them  on;  and  as  they  left  him  behind  they  heard  him 
singing  a  marching  song  in  English.  They  took  the  village;  they 
drove  the  invaders  out;  but  for  some  reason  unknown  the  battle- 
field was  left  unvisited  that  night.  Next  morning  Alan  Seeger 
lay  dead. 

On  another  page  of  this  issue  of  The  Christian 
Century  are  reprinted  the  lines  written  by  Alan  Seeger 
which  will  probably  render  his  name  immortal  in  liter- 
ature. "I  Have  a  Rendezvous  With  Death"  is  a  poem 
worth  much  more  than  all  the  edicts  of  all  the  kings 
who  have  led  in  the  Great  Slaughter.  t.  c.  c. 

THE  WOES  OF  BELGIUM 

TO  be  told  that  we  are  morally  asleep  in  America  is 
sufficiently  challenging.  Alfred  Noyes,  the  Eng- 
lish poet,  writes  in  a  current  number  of  the  Out- 
look, relating  his  experiences  on  the  front  and  giving 
what  he  believes  to  be  the  facts  of  that  situation.  He 
charges  that  the  Germans  are  carrying  away  a  consid- 
erable part  of  the  Belgian  population  and  putting  them 
at  forced  labor,  thus  making  them  toil  for  the  undoing 
of  their  own  nation.  This  operation  is  covered  by  the 
pretense  of  giving  employment  to  those  who  are  out 
of  work.  It  is  asserted,  however,  that  many  men  are 
being  transported  who  have  both  jobs  and  money. 

The  separation  of  families,  according  to  this  report, 
becomes  a  matter  of  the  deepest  tragedy.  In  some  cases 
the  women  have  thrown  themselves  in  front  of  the 
trains  which  bore  their  husbands  away.  The  men  go 
from  their  native  land  with  no  comforts,  facing  exile  in 
a  strange  land  where  their  families  may  never  again  find 
them. 

Neutrality,  so  far  as  the  mere  political  maneuvers 
of  European  nationalities  is  concerned,  is  one  thing. 
Neutrality,  in  the  face  of  the  violation  of  the  tig  articles 
of  the  creed  of  civilization,  is  another.  America  has 
been  quick  to  act  in  other  situations  when  the  call  of 
distress  was  heard.  We  have  always  claimed  that  the 
Spanish-American  war  was  a  war  in  behalf  of  humanity. 
If  we  can  allow  this  late  violation  of  a  neutral  na- 
tion to  be  followed  by  the  expatriation  of  its  citizens 


8 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  1,  191IJ 


without  even  an  attempt  at  investigation,  we  live  far 
below  the  level  even  of  the  times  of  Amos.  He  spoke 
against  just  such  barbarism  in  warfare. 

Moral  neutrality  is  treason  to  Jesus  Christ.  We 
owe  it  to  ourselves  to  get  the  facts  and  to  speak  our 
moral  convictions  on  the  basis  of  these  facts. 

MISSIONS   AND   PEACE 

THE  influences  that  conserve  the  peace  of  the  world 
are  to  be  cherished.  There  are  few  influences 
which  have  in  them  more  potency  to  effect  the 
peace  of  the  world  than  missions. 

We  have  just  now  a  signal  example  in  the  case  of 
Japan.  The  jingoes  in  both  countries  have  been  trying 
to  tell  the  people  that  two  nations  living  thousands  of 
miles  apart  and  separated  by  a  mighty  ocean  must  one 
day  fight.  The  motives  of  each  nation  have  been  mis- 
represented. 

The  missionary  has  been  the  interpreter  in  both 
countries.  The  work  of  Dr.  Sydney  L.  Gulick  in  behalf 
of  peace  with  the  Orient  is  of  such  significance  that  it 
must  never  be  forgotten.  He  has  originated  a  plan 
which  will  solve  the  difficult  problem  of  the  immigra- 
tion of  the  Japanese,  with  self  respect  to  all  parties 
concerned.  He  has  spoken  powerfully  in  both  coun- 
tries to  show  the  true  situation. 

From  this  rather  concrete  case  of  the  influence  of 
missions  upon  the  world  peace  we  may  speak  of  some 
things  less  concrete,  but  none  the  less  real. 

The  spiritual  point  of  view  of  missions  is  that  of  an 
internationalism  which  rests  not  upon  greedy  consider- 
ations of  commerce  or  conquest.  It  has  as  its  funda- 
mental principle  the  idea  of  the  solidarity  of  the  human 
race. 

The  most  missionary  nation  in  the  world  is  prob- 
ably America.  Here  we  see  the  outworking  of  this 
principle.  The  powerful  peace  sentiment  which  became 
a  determining  principle  in  a  national  election  has  un- 
doubtedly been  built  up  in  considerable  measure  by 


the  missionary  work  which  has  been  done  by  the  Chri 
tian  people  in  this  country. 

Mission  work  also  affects  the  lands  where  it 
done.     America  could  not  work  in  the  Orient  for 
generation  without  establishing  friendships  of  the  mos 
These  will  count  in  the  days  to  come. 


enduring  sort. 


ALFRED  NOYES  VISITS  CHICAGO 

THE  visit  of  a  great  poet  from  a  sister  nation  is  noil 
an  event  to  be  ignored.     Alfred  Noyes,  of  Engfj 
land,  is  now  touring  this    country    reading  hi] 
poetry  and  giving  it  interpretation. 

He  is  relatively  a  young  man  to  have  come  infcj 
such  distinction,  being  now  in  his  thirty-seventh  yeai:j 
As  he  appears  on  the  platform,  he  seems  a  splendiif 
specimen  of  physical  manhood.  He  affects  no  eccen 
tricities  and  lays  hold  at  once  upon  the  sympathies  and 
enthusiasms  of  his  audience. 

He  has  become  known  as  a  poet  of  the  sea.  He  haii 
gathered  some  of  the  legends  of  English  sea-folk  an<i 
worked  them  over  into  poems  which  will  undoubtedly 
live. 

There  is  no  puny  neutrality  in  Noyes.  He  ha' 
written  of  the  war  with  a  trenchant  pen.  He  has  don 
his  bit  just  as  truly  as  any  other  Englishman.  He  ha 
been  over  the  battle-fields  and  has  traveled  aboard  th< 
trawlers  that  guard  the  coast  of  England  from  th 
submarine. 

His  dramatic  production,  "A  Belgian  Christma 
Eve,"  reveals  all  his  sense  of  horror  at  the  injustic 
that  has  been  practiced  upon  that  little  nation.  In  thi 
drama  Noyes  brings  pointed  accusations  of  inhuman 
ities  practiced  on  women  and  children. 

Noyes  is  a  poet  of  religion.  He  asserts  a  faith  ii 
God  and  immortality  and  has  written  a  poem  in  whicl 
he  contrasts  the  Christian  viewpoint  with  the  gloomy 
materialistic  monism  of  Ernst  Haeckel. 

His  visit  to  this  country  is  an  event  which  help 
forward  that  noble  commerce  of  nations,  the  exchang 
of  ideas  and  ideals. 


Varieties  of  Biblical  Literature 


Fourth  Article  in  the  Series  on  the  Bible 
BY  HERBERT  L.  WILLETT 


ONE  of  the  first  impressions  made  upon  a  reader 
of  the  Bible  is  that  of  its  wonderful  richness  and 
variety.  In  this,  as  in  more  important  respects, 
it  differs  from  all  other  sacred  books.  It  is  not  like  the 
Koran,  a  series  of  exhortations  and  directions  on  the 
common  level  of  one  man's  thinking.  It  is  not  like 
the  Rig  Veda,  limited  to  a  collection  of  hymns  of  the 
faith,  however  noble  and  aspiring.  It  is  not  a  com- 
pendium of  moral  instructions  like  the  Confucian 
classics.  It  is  not  a  perplexing  labyrinth  of  commenta- 
tion, midrash  and  fable,  like  the  Talmud. 

It  includes  the  best  of  all  these  qualities,  but  in 
addition  many  others  that  give  it  value  and  charm.  As 
might  be  expected  in  a  collection  of  writings  that  em- 
braces all  the  rich  survivals  of  a  great  and  purposeful 
people  like  the  Hebrews,  and  the  first  eager  outpour- 
ings of  a  new  and  mighty  religion  like  the  Christian,  the 
Bible  contains  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  the 


most  varied,  opulent  and  inspiring  literature  eve 
created.  When  to  these  impressive  features  one  add 
the  peculiar  sense  of  the  divine  which  impregnate 
these  documents,  nothing  is  lacking  to  make  the  Bibl 
our  most  precious  possession. 

JEWISH    CLASSIFICATION 

The  Jewish  people  into  whose  hands  the  Hebrev 
scriptures  came  as  an  inheritance,  made  an  effort  t<] 
classify  them.  They  devised  a  three-fold  order  of  values 
First,  there  was  the  Law,  the  five  books  of  Moses 
Then  on  a  somewhat  lower  plane  were  the  Prophets 
including  the  Earlier  Prophets,  the  books  that  recordec 
the  prophetic  accounts  of  past  events,  like  Judges,  Sam 
uel  and  Kings ;  and  the  Later  Prophets,  the  books  tha 
bore  the  names  and  contained  the  oracles  of  particula 
leaders,  from  Amos  to  the  end  of  the  prophetic  period 
These  last  named  books  they  arranged  in  a  rough  ap 


'February  1,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


9 


proximation  to  their  order  of  size,  quite  indifferent  to 
their  chronological  sequence,  and  in  that  unfortunate 
condition  we  have  them  today. 

All  the  books  that  were  left  over  from  these  two 
jgroups  were  gathered  into  a  quite  miscellaneous  list, 
(which  for  the  lack  of  a  better  name  they  called  the 
•Writings.  Here  fell  such  varied  materials  as  Chron- 
icles, Job,  Daniel,  Ruth,  Canticles,  Esther,  and  the  rest 
jof  the  twelve  volumes  excluded  from  the  first  divisions. 
jAnd  because  the  Psalms  were  usually  placed  first  in 
rthis  miscellany,  the  entire  group  of  the  Writings 
(usually  passed  by  the  name  of  the  Psalms.  Our  Lord 
alluded  to  this  three-fold  classification  of  the  Scriptures 
when  he  spoke  to  the  disciples  of  the  things  "written  in 
[the  law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  prophets  and  in  the 
psalms"  concerning  himself. 

Later  efforts  have  been  made  to  give  a  satisfactory 
[classification  to  the  books,  both  of  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testament.  A  favorite  division  of  the  former 
separates  them  into  historical,  legal,  poetical  and 
prophetic.  But  this  is  quite  unsatisfactory,  because 
prose  and  poetry  are  found  in  many  parts  of  the  Old 
Testament  in  the  same  books.  Moreover  the  term  his- 
torical is  unsuitable  for  any  book  of  the  collection,  for 
while  there  is  much  use  of  historical  material,  there  is 
no  writing  whose  purpose  it  is  to  set  forth  the  history 
of  the  Hebrew  nation. 

DIVISIONS  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


A  much  more  logical  and  satisfactory  division  of 
the  Old  Testament  sets  it  into  five  sections:  Prophetic, 
Priestly,  Wisdom,  Devotional  and  Elegiac,  and  Apoca- 
lyptic. Under  such  headings  as  these  it  is  not  difficult 
to  make  a  fairly  correct  classification  of  that  rich  and 
[varied  literature  which  includes  narratives  of  personal 
I  and  national  achievement,  sermons,  hymns,  medita- 
tions, dramatic  re-enactment  of  victories,  legal  insti- 
I  tutes,  proverbs,  parables  and  fables,  national  and  relig- 
ious romances,  mythological  traditions,  apocalyptic 
dreams,  and  prophetic  hopes  for  the  coming  of  the  age 
of  righteousness,  holiness  and  peace  in  all  the  world. 

Similarly  in  the  New  Testament  there  was  for- 
merly a  tendency  to  classify  it  as  History,  including 
the  Gospels  and  the  Book  of  Acts ;  Epistle,  including  all 
the  letters ;  and  Prophecy,  meaning  the  Book  of  Reve- 
lation. 

It  would  seem  that  a  much  more  satisfactory  divi- 
sion would  result  in  five  groups :  The  Gospels,  divided 
into  the  Synoptic  three,  and  the  fourth  Gospel;  Acts, 
which  does  not  profess  to  be  a  history  of  the  early 
church,  but  a  record  of  a  few  events  in  the  ministry  of 
two  of  the  apostles,  especially  Paul;  the  Epistles  of 
Paul ;  other  Epistles ;  and  the  Apocalypse,  which  is,  in- 
deed, a  book  of  confident  expectations  for  the  early 
triumph  of  the  church  over  the  empire,  but  is  hardly 
to  be  called  prophecy  in  the  biblical  sense  of  the  term. 

In  any  attempt  to  set  the  books  of  either  Old  or 
New  Testament  into  divisions,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind 
that  no  grouping  that  has  yet  been  made  covers  all  the 
phenomena  of  this  marvelous  literature.  Each  of  the 
many  books  is  a  law  unto  itself  as  to  the  bounds  it  shall 
keep  or  the  forms  of  writing  it  shall  embrace.  Writers 
pass  from  prose  to  poetry  and  back  again  with  the  free- 
dom of  Shakespeare.  Legal  enactments  tend  to  find 
their  context  in  a  setting  of  historical  narrative. 
Hymns  of  praise  break  out  from  the  midst  of  tribal 
records.     Genealogical  tables  interrupt  the  recitals  of 


priests  and  evangelists.  Visions  of  composite  monsters 
or  of  dreamlike  cities  mingle  with  passionate  exhorta- 
tions to  fidelity  and  courage.  The  books  of  the  Bible 
elude  precise  classification  by  reason  of  their  rich  and 
varied  messages.  It  is  this  which  makes  them  the 
despair  and  delight  of  the  student,  and  the  treasure  of 
the  church. 

THE  PROPHETIC  WRITINGS 

The  first  and  most  important  section  of  the  Old 
Testament  is  the  Prophetic  books.  This  name  does  not 
refer  to  any  predictive  functions  on  the  part  of  their 
writers,  but  rather  to  the  task  of  religious  instruction. 
Prophets  were  not  mere  foretellers  of  future  events. 
They  were  preachers  of  righteousness,  interpreters  of 
the  will  of  God.  The  Jews  of  Jesus'  day  put  these  writ- 
ings in  two  orders,  the  Earlier  and  the  Later  Prophets, 
as  already  noted.  This  is  not  an  undesirable  arrange- 
ment, though  perhaps  a  better  description  would  be 
Prophetic  Narratives,  and  Prophetic  Messages.  The 
former  would  include  the  records  made  by  prophets  to 
interpret  past  events  in  the  light  of  the  religion  of 
Jehovah.  They  did  not  attempt  to  recount  the  history, 
either  as  to  individual  effort  or  national  experience. 
They  only  chose  from  the  rich  store  of  ancient  memo- 
ries and  writings  those  incidents  that  seemed  most 
convincing  regarding  the  character  of  the  God  they 
worshipped  and  his  will  for  his  people.  These  accounts 
are  found  in  their  fullest  form  in  the  books  of  Judges, 
Samuel  and  Kings.  But  the  compilers  of  Genesis, 
Exodus,  Deuteronomy,  and  Joshua,  made  use  of  them 
as  well. 

The  Prophetic  Messages  correspond  properly  to 
what  the  Jews  called  the  Later  Prophets.  They  are  the 
utterances  of  particular  moral  leaders  from  the  age  of 
Jeroboam  II  to  the  Persian  period.  They  include  all 
the  books  from  Isaiah  to  Malachi,  with  the  exception 
of  Lamentations  and  Daniel,  which  were  placed  by  the 
editors  of  the  Jewish  canon  in  the  third  division,  the 
Writings,  or  miscellany.  These  prophetic  discourses 
are  among  the  most  precious  portions  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. They  interpret  the  religion  of  Jehovah  at  its 
most  exalted  level.  They  are  not  all  of  the  same  value, 
but  taken  as  a  whole  they  are  -the  most  inspiring  body 
of  writings  outside  of  the  New  Testament. 

THE   PRIESTLY   WRITINGS 

The  Priestly  books  are  also  of  two  sorts,  the 
Priestly  Laws  and  the  Priestly  Narratives.  The  former 
include  those  collections  of  torah  which  took  form 
through  the  centuries  of  Hebrew  history  from  the  days 
of  Moses  to  those  of  Ezra  and  later.  These  priestly 
institutes  are  found  in  the  later  portion  of  Exodus,  in 
Leviticus,  in  Numbers,  and  in  Deuteronomy.  When 
carefully  studied  they  fall  into  three  considerable 
groups  of  laws:  the  Book  of  the  Covenant,  the  Deu- 
teronomic  Torah,  and  the  Priest  Code.  When  put  to- 
gether by  their  final  editors  in  the  post-exilic  time  they 
made  the  impressive  body  of  legal  enactments  known 
as  the  Law  of  Moses. 

The  Priestly  Narratives  cover  very  much  the  same 
ground  as  those  of  the  prophets,  but  in  quite  a  different 
spirit.  They  recount  the  story  of  the  past  with  empha- 
sis upon  its  priestly  and  liturgical  features.  The  books 
of  Chronicles,  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  are  of  this  class. 
Their  chief  concern  is  with  the  place  of  the  ceremonial 
of  religion  in  the  national  life.    According  to  their  in- 


10  ~~  THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  February  1,  1917! 

terpretation  of  Israel's  past,  the  kings  and  other  leaders  natural  and  instant  deliverance.     It  despaired  of  the  I 

who  gave  due  regard  to  the  liturgical  elements  of  the  prophetic  and  apostolic  voice  as  an  effective  instrument 

national  faith  were  the  ones  who  prospered.    The  same  for  the  overthrow  of  evil,  and  put  its  trust  in  the  aveng- 

point  of  view  is  presented  in  those  portions  of  Genesis  ing  power  of  God  manifested  in  catastrophe.     It  em- 

and  Joshua  which  come  from  the  priestly  writers,  and  ployed  the  cryptic  language  of  vision  and  portent.    It 

the  framework  in  which  the  laws  of  the  middle  books  dealt  with  current  political  events  under  the  forms  of 

of  the  Hexateuch  are  set  is  from  similar  sources.  living  creatures,  often  composite,  after  the  manner  of 

Babylonian  art.    The  best  illustrations  of  this  form  of 

THE   WISDOM    WRITINGS  wridng  are  ^   Book  of  Danjd  afld  the  Book  of  Reve. 

The  third  division  of  Old  Testament  literature  is  lation.    The  former  came  out  of  the  tragic  and  heroic 

the  Wisdom  Books.     It  is,  perhaps,  too  much  to  say  period  of  the  Maccabees,  and  was  designed  to  sustain 

that  the  Hebrews  were  interested  in  philosophy  as  a  the  hearts  of  the  faithful  in  Judah  with  the  promises  of 

formal  discipline.     But  many  of  their  teachers  thought  speedy  deliverance  from  the  Syrian  persecutor.     The 

over  the  problems  of  experience,  and  taught  what  they  second  was  a  Christian  defiance  to  the  power  of  Rome 

regarded  as  sound  wisdom  for  their  fellowmen.    From  in  the  lat.te,r  Part  oftthe  first  century.    Other  apocalyp- 

such  mentors,  either  as  individuals  or  in  groups,  there  *1C  materials  are  to  be  found  in  both  testaments,  in  such 

came  fragmentary  utterances,  collections  of  wise  say-  books  as  Ezekiel,  Zechanah,  Joel,  II  Peter  and  Jude. 

ings.  and  books  of  philosophic  and  speculative  char-  Contemporary   Jewish   and   early    Christian   literature 

acter.     There  was  a  tradition  that  Solomon,  the  wise  showed  many  examples  of  this  sort  of  writing, 
king  of  Israel  in  days  gone  by,  had  founded  this  school  perplexing  questions 

of  wise  men,  and  was  the  author  of  much  profound  ob- 

servation  regarding  nature  and  human  life.     For  this  From  the  foregoing  statements  it  will  be  seen  that 

reason  some  of  the  books  of  that  sort  were  attributed  most  o£  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  issued  from  the 

to  him.    Such  traditions  are  attached  to  Proverbs  and  activity   of   the   three  teaching  orders   in   Israel,   the 

Ecclesiastes.     The   Book   of  Job,   which   is   the   chief  prophets,  the  priests  and  the  sages.     Other  portions, 

product  of  this  type  of  thinking,  and  the  noblest  poem  like  the  psalms,  probably  owe  their  origin  to  members 

in  literature,  discusses  the  problem  of  unmerited  suf-  of  all  these  groups,  and  to  others  beside.    In  some  cases 

fering.  classification  is  difficult.    Is  the  Song  of  Songs  a  dra- 

The  Hebrews  were  a  religious  people.    Prayer  and  matic  discussion  of  the  problem  of  human  love,  or  only 

song  were  the  joy  and  consolation  of  many  devout  souls  a  collection  of  wedding  songs?    Is  the  Book  of  Esther 

throughout  the  history.    Out  of  such  experiences  came  a  priestly  romance  of  the  late  Persian  period,  with  its 

hymns,  composed  by  all  sorts  of  folk,  as  is  the  case  motive  the  explanation  of  the  Feast  of  Purim,  or  is  it 

today.    These  songs  of  praise  and  other  utterances  of  merely  a  vindictive  outpouring  of  Jewish  hatred  of  the 

the  religious  life  were  gathered  into  several  small  col-  heathen?    Is  the  Book  of  Ruth  a  charming  idyl  of  the 

lections  and  later  joined  in  a  larger  anthology  of  wor-  distant  past,  or  is  it,  like  the  Book  of  Jonah,  an  earnest 

ship  known  as  the  Book  of  Psalms.     Ancient  report  prophetic  protest  against  the  growing  insularity  and 

affirmed  that  David  was  a  singer  of  such  songs,  and  his  egotism  of  Jewish  feeling  in  the  third  century  B.  C? 
name,  as  the  most  conspicuous  in  the  field  of  devotion,  These  questions  and  many  others  that  arise  when 

was  associated  with  the  collection.    This  book  of  the  the  attempt  is  made  to  impose  a  precise  and  formal 

prayers  and  praises  of  Israel  was  probably  the  hymn  classification  upon  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament, 

book  of  the  second  temple.  merely  illustrate  the  freedom  and  spontaneity  which 

Another  form  of  poetic  composition  was  the  dirge,  characterize  these  books.  One  sort  of  utterance  min- 
a  mournful  hymn  in  commemoration  of  some  national  gles  with  another  in  a  manner  as  to  elude  severe  anal- 
hero.  David  honored  the  names  of  Saul  and  Jonathan  ysis.  The  writers  had  no  forms  of  composition  to 
in  the  "Song  of  the  Bow,"  that  became  familiar  to  the  which  they  were  obligated  to  conform.  They  spoke  as 
youth  of  Israel,  and  was  included  in  the  lost  "Book  of  they  were  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  Their  purpose 
Jashar."  A  fragment  of  an  elegy  of  Abner,  murdered  was  not  the  creation  of  a  literature,  but  the  utterance  of 
by  Joab  while  on  a  friendly  visit  to  David's  court,  is  their  own  convictions.  In  the  setting  forth  of  these 
preserved.  But  the  best  known  group  of  threnodies  is  truths,  whether  in  the  form  of  sermon,  hymn,  discus- 
the  little  Book  of  Lamentations,  recalling  the  fate  of  sion,  parable,  law,  romance  or  glowing  hope,  they  were 
Jerusalem  soon  after  its  overthrow  by  the  Babylonians,  obedient  to  the  urgency  that  pushed  them  on,  and  made 
Popular  tradition  ascribed  this  series  of  poems  to  Jere-  them  eager  to  speak  the  things  that  were  upon  their 
miah,  but  they  appear  to  have  been  anonymous  and  hearts, 
diverse  in  their  origin.  It  is  this  quality  of  sincerity  which  makes  the  He- 

These  two  books,  Psalms  and  Lamentations,  may  brew  Scriptures  the  most  amazing  and  inspiring  book 

be  grouped  together  as  the  fourth  division,  Devotional  of  the  pre-Christian  age.    Its  writers  spoke  out  of  their 

and    Elegiac.      They    have   in    common    merely    their  own  lives  to  the  people  of  their  time.     They  were  no 

poetic  form  and  their  deeply  religious  character.  cloud-land  dreamers,  no  unearthly  voices.    They  were 

men  of  like  passions  with  ourselves.    Their  messages 

APOCALYPTIC  WRITINGS  » ■£  ,        ,  j,u        j-j        xii  -d, 

were  not  of  equal  value,  and  they  did  not  all  agree.  But 

Apocalypse  is  a  somewhat  peculiar  type  of  writing  the  best  of  them  perceived  in  some  true  sense  the  direc- 

that  became  common  in  the  later  period  of  Old  Testa-  tion  in  which  God  was  moving,  and  tried  to  get  things 

ment  history,  prevailed  extensively  through  the  early  out  of  his  way.    The  result  is  this  great  collection  of 

days  of  Judaism  and  Christianity,  and  has  continued  to  documents  that  has  done  so  much  to  give  the  world  a 

be  a  sporadic  product  of  the  Jewish  spirit  in  later  cen-  truer  conception  of  the  divine,  and  to  assist  in  the  fuller 

turies.    It  was  the  utterance  of  days  of  persecution.    It  realization  of  the  program  of  the  holy  life  through  the 

was  the  appeal  from  a  hostile  world  order  to  a  super-  Gospel. 


The  Church 


-A  League  to  Create 
Peace 


What  Is  the  Present  Duty  of  the  Followers  of  Christ? 


FOR  two  years  the  Christian 
churches  in  America  have  stood 
appalled  and  irresolute.  We 
have  seen  our  dreams  shattered,  our 
fundamental  convictions  challenged, 
our  interpretation  of  Christianity 
flouted,  our  affirmations  laughed  to 
scorn,  and  yet  we  have  had  to  sit  still. 
Feeling  the  obligations  of  official  neu- 
trality, we  have  tried  to  hold  the  bal- 
ance even,  to  suppress  our  grief,  our 
horror,  our  rebellion  against  the  orgy 
of  force  and  blood,  and,  in  some  re- 
spects, our  task  has  been  harder  than 
that  of  the  men  in  the  trenches.  They 
at  least  have  known  the  calmness,  the 
unified  personality,  the  joy  of  the 
whole-hearted  action.  But  we  have 
known  the  pangs,  the  dissociated  per- 
sonality, pulled  hither  and  thither  by 
conflicting  claims,  and  stung  by  the 
consciousness  that  precisely  at  the 
crisis  when  the  church  was  most 
needed  it  was  impotent  and  benumbed. 
After  prolonged  inhibition  of  self, 
there  is  danger  that  we  will  react  sud- 
denly in  violent  and  foolish  ways. 
Have  the  churches  done  their  duty? 
If  not,  how  may  we  do  it  now  ? 

"stopping  the  war" 

How  to  stop  the  war  we  do  not  at 
present  inquire.  We  do  not  want  the 
war  stopped  until  peace  can  be  estab- 
lished on  the  basis  of  justice.  Our 
task  is  rather  to  understand  the  war, 
and  to  work  for  the  prevention  of  such 
folly  and  stupidity  in  the  future. 
When  the  typhoid  fever  is  raging  in 
a  patient's  blood,  the  doctor  may 
recognize  that  it  must  run  its  course 
with  whatever  alleviations  he  may 
suggest.  Meanwhile  the  doctor  is 
studying  preventive  medicine,  and  is 
introducing  sanitary  measures. 

We  do  not  need  to  come  together 
merely  to  describe  the  beauty  and  de- 
sirability of  peace.  In  fact,  peace,  as 
sometimes  pictured,  as  the  mere  nega- 
tion of  strife,  is  not  in  itself  desirable. 
One  of  the  curious  psychological  facts 
of  our  time  is  the  popular  revolt 
against  mere  peace.  It  might  be  well 
to  drop  the  word  peace  from  our  fur- 
ther discussions — provided  we  could 
find  some  positive  and  constructive 
work  to  replace  it.  Peace  that  is  a 
mere  vacuum,  no  man  desires — nature 
itself  abhors  a  vacuum.  Our  descrip- 
tions of  the  kingdom  we  desire  are  far 
too  negative  to  summon  or  inspire. 

"Lay  down  your  arms"  is  a  most 


BY   WILLIAM   H.   P.   FAUNCE 
President  of  Brown  University 

unfortunate  battle  cry,  when  compared 
with  the  New  Testament  demand  to 
put  on  the  shield  of  faith  and  grasp 
the  sword  of  the  spirit.  The  litera- 
ture of  peace  has  too  often  been 
dreary  and  anaemic.  The  exponents 
of  peace  have  wanted  to  build  dykes 
against  the  flood  rather  than  to  lift 
the  mainland  of  human  thinking  to  a 
higher  and  safer  level.  The  advocates 
of  peace  have  too  often  been  sus- 
pected of  being  averse  to  all  change 
in  the  status  quo,  of  being  mere  stand- 
patters in  both  politics  and  religion, 
who  would  repudiate  the  courage 
which  founded  our  nation  and  saved 
it  in  the  Civil  War  ?  The  advocates  of 
peace  have  sometimes  seemed  to  be 
apologists  for  injustice  and  willing  to 
crystallize  the  results  of  injustice  into 
permanent  forms.  Thus  peace  has 
seemed,  unhappily,  to  league  itself 
with  the  powers  that  be.  Thus  Chris- 
tianity, originally  a  revolutionary 
force,  has  been  interpreted  as  being 
mainly  an  anodyne,  and  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  which  contains,  as  John 
Morley  points  out,  so  many  "volcanic 
elements,"  has  been  made  to  support 
things  as  they  are  rather  than  things 
as  they  ought  to  be. 

PEACE  AND  STANDPATISM 

The  present  duty  of  the  church  is : 

I. 

To  affirm  steadily  and  universally 
what  Felix  Adler  calls  "respect  for 
unlikeness."  Our  Christian  doctrine 
of  human  brotherhood  has  often  been 
understood  as  a  doctrine  of  toleration. 
But  toleration  implies  condescension 
and  sometimes  disdain — it  is  the  oppo- 
site of  brotherhood.  Brotherhood 
means  that  we  discern  ourselves  in 
other  men,  that  in  them  we  recognize 
our  common  blood,  our  common  spirit, 
and  in  them  we  perceive  valuable  gifts 
that  we  ourselves  do  not  possess.  We 
need,  not  to  tolerate,  but  to  honor; 
that  is,  to  study  and  understand,  other 
nations,  races,  ideals.  This  is  what  is 
meant  by  "international  mind"  re- 
leased from  provincialism,  jingoism, 
chauvinism,  imperialism,  militarism 
and  all  the  little  brood  of  isms  that 
blind  our  eyes  to  the  various  goods  of 
humanity,  and  steel  our  hearts  to  the 
appeal  of  men  that  are  different.  We 
must  not  only  know  how  the  other 
half  lives,  but  how  the  other  half 
thinks.     The   European  war  has   at 


last  awakened  America  from  com- 
placency and  sleek  content  and  made 
us  aware  that  if  we  despise  others  it  is 
because  we  do  not  know  them. 

LOVE    WHICH    PERCEIVES 

The  Christian  love  which  we  need 
is  not  a  mere  sentiment,  it  is  a  percep- 
tion. It  means,  not  shutting  our  eyes 
that  we  may  dwell  in  peace,  but  open- 
ing our  eyes  that  we  may  understand 
and  appreciate  the  contribution  that 
each  nation  has  to  make  to  the  grow- 
ing good  of  the  world.  When  we  do 
that  we  shall  consider  others'  rights 
as  well  as  our  own;  we  shall  remem- 
ber that  a  war  defensive  on  one  side 
is  necessarily  offensive  on  the  other, 
and  that  an  offensive  national  disposi- 
tion inevitably  leads  to  offensive  war. 
The  disposition  which  is  founded  on 
respect  for  humanity  is  the  preface  to 
all  enduring  concord.  The  peace  on 
earth  of  which  the  angels  sang  was 
peace  simply  and  solely  "among  men 
of  good  will."  To  establish  good  will, 
not  by  exhortation,  but  by  explaining 
the  cogent  reasons  for  it,  and  the  fu- 
tility and  folly  of  ill  will,  is  the  pri- 
mary task  of  the  church. 

II 

The  further  duty  of  the  church  is 
steadily  to  affirm  its  faith  in  the  moral 
forces  of  the  world.  Cynicism  is  easy 
when  cathedrals  crumble,  treaties  are 
torn  up  and  murder  made  a  moral  ob- 
ligation. All  around  us  men  are  say- 
ing that  the  moral  law  ceases  the  mo- 
ment war  is  declared.  All  around  us 
men  are  believing  that  the  law  of  the 
jungle  is  the  foundation  of  national 
life,  and  that  might  is  the  only  final 
sanction  of  right.  They  offer  us  the 
gospel  of  Treitschke  and  the  code  of 
Bernhardi  as  the  last  word  of  modem 
wisdom,  and  proclaim  that  military 
force  is  the  ultimate  and  only  reli- 
ance for  the  nations. 

POLICE    POWER    NECESSARY 

This  is  sheer  madness  based  on  fear. 
The  fear  is  in  some  cases  perfectly 
honest,  due  to  misinterpretations  of 
history,  and  in  some  cases  dishonest, 
due  to  a  desire  for  the  military  ca- 
reer. I  myself  believe  in  adequate 
defense  of  the  nation,  even  though 
I  may  not  be  able  to  define  the  word 
adequate  in  a  rapidly  changing  en- 
vironment. I  believe  as  the  nation 
grows   its   police   power  must  grow, 


12 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  1,  1917 


that  its  increasing  number  and  wealth 
demand  increase  of  protection  against 
burglary.  I  cannot  for  a  moment  ac- 
cept the  doctrine  of  Tolstoi,  so  long 
as  I  follow  a  Christ  whose  whole  life 
was  a  resolute  resistance  to  evil. 

THE    CHURCH'S    CHIEF    DANGER 

But  the  danger  of  our  time  is  that 
we  of  the  churches  shall  lose  faith  in 
the  moral  forces  which  create  physical 
forces  and  are  far  more  powerful  than 
any  physical  forces  ever  can  be.  We 
do  not  reject  physical  force — any  more 
than  we  reject  our  own  hands  or  arms, 
the  physical  implements  of  the  spirit. 
We  may  even  be  driven  to  repel  vio- 
lence with  violence  as  a  temporary 
means  of  warding  off  a  temporary  at- 
tack. But  the  nations  that  have  been 
springing  at  each  other's  throats  have 
deluged  the  world  with  written  at- 
tempts to  justify  their  deeds,  dimly 
conscious  that  no  army  and  no  navy 
can  stand  against  the  conscience  of 
the  world.  The  sinking  of  the  Lusi- 
tania  weakened  England  by  the  loss  of 
one  ship  and  1,500  lives ;  it  strength- 
ened England  as  much  as  the  building 
of  a  dozen  ships  and  the  arming  of  a 
hundred  English  regiments.  The  exe- 
cution of  Miss  Cavell,  probably  justi- 
fied by  the  military  code,  enormously 
strengthened  Germany's  foes. 

THE  CONSCIENCE  OF  HUMANITY 

It  is  still  true,  in  spite  of  desolated 
cities  and  demolished  villages,  that  no 
nation  on  earth  can  triumph  when  the 
whole  world  believes  her  to  be  wrong, 
and  securus  judicat  orbis  terrarum — 
the  judgment  of  the  world  shall  stand. 
All  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  that 
have  relied  on  force  have  gone  down 
and  left  not  a  rack  behind.  All  the 
nations  that  have  left  a  permanent  de- 
posit in  the  world  have  done  so  in  pro- 
portion to  their  faith  in  the  invisible 
forces  and  their  reliance  on  the  con- 
science of  humanity. 

While,  therefore,  we  do  not  con- 
demn all  use  of  force,  which  is  merely 
the  extension  of  the  physical  human 
body  that  we  all  use,  »ve  proclaim  that 
the  appeal  to  Caesar  is  never  the  final 
appeal,  and  that  every  triumph  based 
on  force  alone  quickly  passes  into  de- 
feat. We  shall  never  defeat  any  of- 
fending nation  by  copying  her  offens- 
ive methods.  We  shall  never  over- 
come militarism  by  practicing  it  our- 
selves, or  escape  from  vicious  attack 
by  becoming  ourselves  vicious.  The 
very  possession  of  a  mighty  equipment 
enabling  us  to  threaten  with  impunity 
would  create  the  threatening  attitude 
of  the  international  bully.  Just  after 
the  Europeon  war  began  Prince  von 
Bulow,  German  ambassador  to  Italy, 
wrote :  "Italy  has  spent  nearly  2,000,- 
000,000  lire  ($400,000,000)  in  war 
preparations  since  the  outbreak  of  hos- 
tilities; consequently  action  on  her 
part  is  daily  becoming  more  impera- 


tive." There  spoke  the  experienced 
statesman.  Vast  expenditure  demands 
action ;  vast  equipment  must  be  used. 
Had  the  United  States  possessed  an 
immense  military  establishment  it 
would  have  been  in  the  center  of  the 
European  war  three  months  after  it 
was  declared.  The  war  would  have 
seemed  to  us  a  great  opportunity  to 
demonstrate  our  equipment  and  prove 
that  our  reliance  on  force  was  well 


grounded. 


Ill 


It  is  our  further  duty  to  insist  on 
preparedness  in  the  deeper  meaning  of 
the  word.  Surely  preparedness  has 
always  been  the  doctrine  of  the  Chris- 
tian church.  When  the  New  Testa- 
ment cries,  "  Be  ye  also  ready,"  it  em- 
phasizes the  forward  look  as  the  char- 
acteristic attitude  of  the  Christian 
church.  Preparedness  to  us  means 
vastly  more  than  physical  power  to  re- 
pel. It  means  the  development  of  the 
nation's  mind  and  soul.  It  means  in- 
dustrial preparedness,  social  prepared- 
ness, moral  preparedness.  It  means 
national  self-control,  national  unity, 
national  policy.  It  means  the  integra- 
tion of  our  diversified  life,  the  mobil- 
ization of  our  skill  and  knowledge,  the 
giving  of  strength  to  the  will,  definite- 
ness  to  the  purpose,  courage  to  the 
conscience  of  the  nation.  Prepared- 
ness means  national  repentance  and  re- 
form, the  establishment  of  justice  at 
home  as  well  as  on  the  sea,  the  realiza- 
tion of  a  finer  social  order,  and  the 
spirit  of  sacrifice  substituted  for  the 
spirit  of  greed.  The  church  should 
lead  the  entire  preparedness  move- 
ment of  the  nation.  To  oppose  that 
movement  in  stubborn  silence  would 
be  folly ;  to  lead  it,  to  give  it  meaning, 
depth,  vision  and  spiritual  power  is 
the  opportunity  now  before  us. 

IV 

We  must  exercise  this  leadership 
ourselves,  or  resign  it  to  others. 
Other  institutions  and  powers  are  now 
overcoming  their  earlier  lethargy  and 
are  seeking  to  lead  the  higher  life  of 
the  nation.  Organized  labor  is  utter- 
ing some  positive  convictions.  Litera- 
ture is  finding  its  voice.  Freemasonry 
has  spoken  in  New  York  City  and 
through  its  grand  master  has  declared 
that  the  mission  of  Masonry  is  "to 
wipe  out  not  only  geographical  lines, 
but  racial  antipathies."  It  says  to  its 
members:  "Love  your  country  as  you 
love  your  hearthstones,  but  love  men 
more."  Chambers  of  commerce  are 
speaking  of  human  brotherhood  in  no 
uncertain  voice.  Socialism,  silent  for 
a  time,  is  now  uttering  its  repressed 
convictions  in  spite  of  the  censor.  If 
the  Christian  church  is  silent  now,  and 
sits  with  folded  hands,  other  powers 
shall  accept  the  leadership  of  humanity 
and  claim  the  place  of  the  church. 


WHY   THE   CHURCH    CAN   SPEAK 

If  this  were  a  religious  war,  the 
church  could  not  speak  with  clear, 
united  voice.  If  Protestants  were  con- 
tending with  Catholics  or  both  with 
the  Greek  church,  the  voice  of  the 
church  would  be  broken.  But  since 
there  is  little,  if  any,  religious  animos- 
ity among  the  European  nations,  the 
united  church  is  free  to  speak  its  abid- 
ing faith.  If  it  fails  to  speak,  its  faith 
will  be  superseded  by  a  faith  that  has 
a  message  at  a  time  like  this. 

V 

And  that  message  must  include  the 
universality  of  the  moral  law  in  all 
ages  and  places,  among  individuals 
and  nations.  As  national  law  has 
found  expression  in  national  legisla- 
tures and  courts,  so  international  law 
must  find  expression  in  an  interna- 
tional court  and  an  international  legis- 
lature. My  own  small  state  of  Rhode 
Island  was  the  last  to  come  into  the 
Union,  because  it  sincerely  believed 
that  its  sovereignty  would  be  imperiled 
and  its  dearly  bought  liberties  lost  by 
any  union  of  states.  But  when  the 
Union  was  attacked  in  1861  Rhode 
Island  was  at  the  front. 

CHURCH  MUST  BE  CLEAR-VOICED 

Behind  the  league  to  enforce  peace 
is  that  league  to  create  peace  which 
we  call  the  Christian  church.  Too 
long  has  its  voice  been  silent  or  indis- 
tinct. Too  long  has  it  allowed  the  chief 
spokesman  for  a  cooperative  world  to 
be  Comte  and  John  Stuart  Mill  and 
Herbert  Spencer,  and  other  apostles 
of  religious  denial.  Why  should  un- 
belief be  more  positive,  clear-voiced, 
than  the  followers  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace?  Why  should  the  parliament 
of  man  find  many  of  its  chief  preach- 
ers outside  the  church,  and  the  broth- 
erhood of  man  find  its  warmest  advo- 
cates among  those  who  deny  the  fath- 
erhood of  God?  "Search  us,  O  God, 
and  know  our  hearts ;  try  us  and  know 
our  thoughts ;  and  see  if  there  be  any 
wicked  way  in  us,  and  lead  us  in  the 
way  everlasting." 


Who  Entereth  Here 

(Inscription  in  vestibule  of  Grace 
Cathedral,  San  Francisco) 

Whoe'er  thou  art  that  entereth  here 

Forget  the  straggling  world 
And  every  trembling  fear. 

Take  from  thy  heart  each  evil  thought, 

And  all  that  selfishness 
Within  thy  life  has  wrought. 

For  once  inside  this  place  thou'lt  find 

No  barter  servant's  fear 
Nor  master's  voice  unkind.  j 

Here  all  are  kin  of  God  above ; 

Thou,  too,  dear  heart ;  and  here 
The  rule  of  life  is  love. 


Man  or  Superman? 

What  Christianity  Has  to  Say  on  the  Subject 


•fi'* 


THE  earlier  years  of  Christianity 
were  stormy,  for  the  Roman  em- 
pire undertook  to  stamp  out  the 
novement  as  being  highly  inimical  to 
:he  whole  spirit  of  the  empire  and  of 
Caesar.  It  was  the  contest  of  an  old 
:ivilization  against  something  more 
than  the  encroachment  of  a  new;  it 
was  the  clash  and  battle  of  polar 
ideas  of  life. 

An  echo  of  that  struggle  is  heard 
in  the  book  of  Acts,  and  one  of  the 
Herods,  sponsor  for  the  Roman  em- 
pire as  well  as  for  the  safety  of  his 
swn  rule,  plays  a  stellar  role.  He  had 
James  killed  and  others  were  thrown 
into  prison,  and  in  the  twelfth  chapter 
Df  Acts  we  get  a  hint  of  the  superman 
idea  with  which  the  empire  was 
loneycombed:  "And  upon  a  day 
Herod  sat  arrayed  in  royal  apparel 
upon  his  throne  and  made  an  oration 
unto  them.  And  the  people  gave  a 
shout,  saying,  'It  is  the  voice  of  a  god 
and  not  of  a  man.' "  The  deification 
of  a  Caesar  had  resulted  in  one  of  his 
subordinates  consenting  to  be  heralded 
as  superman  also. 

CHRISTIANITY  AND  SUPERMAN 

The  whole  thought  was  repugnant 
to  early  Christianity  and  the  bitterness 
of  the  strife  can  best  be  understood  in 
that  light.  Pliny,  the  Roman  historian, 
wrote  a  most  interesting  letter  to  the 
emperor,  Trajan,  on  the  results  of  the 
efforts  to  stamp  out  the  movement  in 
a  portion  of  the  empire,  and  it  is  sig- 
nificant that  any  professed  Christian 
who  would  pray  before  a  statue  of 
Caesar  was  released. 

But  the  steady  development  of  the 
idea  of  superman  long  after  the  as- 
cendency of  Christianity  is  as  interest- 
ing as  it  is  anomalous.  That  this  is 
foreign  to  the  ideals  of  Christ  is  clear 
to  any  who  wish  to  see  it;  that  the 
doctrines  and  ideas  of  superman  are  a 
corruption  of  Christianity  and  most 
injurious  to  it  may  be  known  by  the 
fruits  that  have  come  out  of  the  doc- 
trines and  the  ideas.  I  would  say  that 
the  doctrine  of  superman  is  simply  the 
revival  of  pagan  ideals  in  modern  life. 
If  we  are  not  careful  we  shall  have 
pagan  ideals  with  a  Christian  name — 
a  mere  gloss. 

GERMANS   NOT  ALONE  GUILTY 

It  is  most  interesting  to  note  that 
while  we  have  charged  Germany  with 
being  controlled  by  superman  concep- 
tions of  life  and  government,  we  are 
able  to  trace  the  superman  dogma  in 
English   literature   from   Johnson   to 


BY  J.  R.  PERKINS 


Carlyle  to  Emerson.  The  German, 
Nietzsche,  is  not  alone  in  his  teach- 
ings of  superman. 

Let  us  note  some  of  the  evils  grow- 
ing out  of  that  conception  of  life  that 
God,  or  the  gods,  or  the  fates  have 
chosen  particular  men  or  groups  to 
rule  over  other  men  and  other  groups. 
For,  narrowed  to  a  single  definition, 
the  superman  is  simply  the  man  thrust 
up — thrust  above  his  fellows;  the 
man  who  possesses  both  powers  and 
privileges;  the  man  who  in  his  own 
thinking  holds  that  he  is  above  his 
fellows  and  divinely  commissioned  to 
guide  them,  to  chastise  them,  to  father 
them.  It  is  the  most  glaring  conceit 
yet  evolved  in  human  thought  and  it 
has  its  roots  in  a  very  dark  and  unholy 
past. 

WHO  CAUSED  THE  WARf 

War  is  a  result  of  superman  doc- 
trines. History  will  reveal  that  less 
than  a  dozen  men  plunged  Europe  into 
this  titanic  conflict.  Each  nation  en- 
gaging is  called  a  Christian  nation — 
that  is,  Christianity,  a  form  of  it,  is 
the  state  religion  of  each.  But  the 
New  Testament  knows  nothing  of  a 
war  god ;  in  early  Christianity  and  in 
the  teaching  of  Jesus  there  is  nothing 
that  could  plunge  Europe  into  war. 
The  subtle  controlling  ideas  of  an  old 
pagan  civilization  plunged  Europe 
into  war — the  doctrine  of  superman. 
So  the  god  of  a  war  party  is  not  the 
god  of  religion;  the  god  of  any  war 
party  is  a  tribal  deity,  whether  it  be 
Germanic  or  English.  The  Babylo- 
nians had  a  war  god  they  called  "As- 
sur."  When  they  went  to  war  they 
shouted,  "We  march  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Assur."  The  armies  of  Europe 
march  under  the  direction  of  "Assur," 
and  not  under  the  direction  of  the 
God  of  the  New  Testament. 

The  doctrine  of  superman  breeds 
the  desire  for  personal  supremacy 
over  all  others  in  every  thing.  This 
has  been  called  "the  will  to  power." 
Nothing  is  more  deadly  to  a  democratic 
society  than  the  itch  to  be  thrust  above 
and  beyond  the  mass.  Men  are  trying 
to  find  happiness  in  conquest  of  others 
rather  than  in  the  conquest  of  self. 
But  he  who  cannot  rule  his  own  soul 
is  not  fit  to  rule  at  all.  This  desire 
for  personal  supremacy  is  begotten  of 
the  error  that  God  has  willed  some 
men  to  be  above  others  and  to  have 
heavy  rule  over  them.  Thus  we  see 
imposed  religions,  imposed  political 
systems,  imposed  social  customs,  and 
often  they  are  deadly  in  their  effect 
on  the  masses. 


Perhaps  the  gravest  error  of  the 
doctrine  of  superman  is  to  be  found 
in  the  growing  conception  that  the  true 
morality  is  force,  power  and  the  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest.  One  teacher  of 
superman  doctrines  frankly  says :  "The 
duty  of  the  strong  is  not  to  bear  the 
burdens  of  the  weak,  but  to  hold  aloof 
from  them."  How  antipodal  to  true 
religion  is  this  becomes  apparent  at 
once. 

"SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST" 

But  we  do  not  have  to  go  to  Europe 
to  find  the  doctrines  of  superman.  In 
America  we  have  already  developed 
what  I  shall  term  the  supergroup. 
Utterances  are  on  record  in  this  coun- 
try to  the  effect  that  God  has  chosen 
to  rule  through  certain  groups,  and  in 
these  groups  the  doctrine  is  held — al- 
beit tacitly — that  this  group  must  mold 
the  life  and  thought  of  these  states. 
The  supergroup  in  these  states  has 
molded  legislation  for  its  own  benefit 
and  at  the  expense  of  the  mass;  the 
supergroup  has  held  that  the  mass  is 
incapable  of  governing  itself,  and  the 
supergroup  has  evolved  the  theory  of 
prior  rights  and  of  family  rights. 
Nothing  so  threatens  democracy  in 
America  as  the  old  pagan  theory  of 
superman,  now  dominating  Europe 
and  now  passing  to  these  states  modi- 
fied only  by  group  paternalism  instead 
of  the  dominance  bf  a  personality 
alone.  It  is  the  spirit  of  Caesar,  after 
sixty  generations,  lifting  itself  and 
crying  from  the  dust  of  the  dead  past : 
"I  rule;  I  rule  divinely;  I  rule  with 
the  sanction  of  the  gods." 

WHAT  RELIGION   HAS  TO  SAY 

But  those  who  stand  sponsor  for  the 
doctrines  of  superman  are  not  always 
intentionally  evil ;  indeed,  it  may  be  an 
unconscious  selfishness,  based  on  the 
fear  that  society  will  revert  to  the 
power  of  mobs  unless  held  like  a  vise 
with  the  forces  of  the  past.  The  mass 
does  think  loosely,  and  it  often  acts 
without  reason.  The  line  between  au- 
thority and  autonomy  will  likely  al- 
ways continue  to  be  redrawn  and  re- 
defined. No  one  who  is  rational  wants 
to  see  the  lessening  of  any  power  that 
now  will  result  in  disorders.  Society 
is  not  safe  until  it  is  governed  firmly, 
but  it  is  a  fiction  to  imagine  that  so- 
ciety is  safe  when  it  is  governed  by 
force  and  privilege. 

Religion,  as  I  understand  it,  is  a 
doctrine  of  man  against  superman 
theories.  All  that  is  best  in  all  re- 
ligions from  Moses  to  Jesus  reveals 
this.    The  man-on-horseback  govern- 


14 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  1,  1917 


merit  must  pass.  And  it  is  also  true 
that  the  man-on-horseback  type  in 
everv  department  of  life  must  pass. 
The' plume,  the  sword,  the  pyrotech- 


nics and  the  pompous  show  must  give  who  is  superior  in  service  and  warm- 
place  to  a  society  constrained  by  love  est  in  the  depths  of  his  feeling  to  all 
— a  society  in  which  if  there  shall  be  other  men — one  who  shall  be  puissant 
a  superman  at  all  he  will  be  the  one  not  by  privileges,  but  by  peace. 


What  Is  Woman's  Place? 

An  Interview  With  Rabindranath  Tagore 


IT  WAS  my  privilege  to  have  an- 
other talk  with  Sir  Rabindranath 
Tagore  before  he  left  San  Fran- 
cisco.   Our  subject  was  woman. 

"Tell  me,"  I  asked,  "what  you  think 
will  be  the  final  outcome  of  woman's 
present  unrest." 

Just  a  gleam  of  amusement  flick- 
ered from  out  the  dark  depths  of  his 
world-wise  eyes  as  he  replied: 

"Woman  is  a  very  deep  and  a  very 
difficult  subject.  She  requires  much 
thought.  No  one  has  ever  quite  fath- 
omed her." 

The  twinkle  was  seen  in  his  eyes 
again  and  I  almost  heard  him  say, 
"One  needs  much  experience."  But 
he  didn't. 

"The  prevalent  Western  belief  is 
that  you  of  the  Orient  do  not  place 
woman  on  a  very  high  mental  plane," 
I  ventured  further. 

"How  foolish  such  an  assertion  is !" 
he  exclaimed,  with  an  impatient  toss 
of  his  head.  "Why  will  people  con- 
tinue to  make  statements  upon  sub- 
jects of  which  they  know  nothing? 
Truth  is  universal  and  woman's  true 
place  in  society,  as  one  of  its  domi- 
nant powers,  is  not  bound  by  the  lim- 
itations of  geography  or  custom.  I 
am  speaking  now  of  woman  as  she 
should  be  recognized  by  man  and  not, 
I  regret  to  say,  as  she  is  recognized 
by  him  at  present." 

WOMAN   RESTLESS — WHY? 

And  so  he  talked  about  women  in 
the  ideal.  His  interpretation  of  the 
feminist  appeal  is  one  which  can  not 
fail  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  all  pro- 
testing women.  He  blames  their  rest- 
lessness on  the  male  of  the  species. 
Here  is  what  he  has  to  say : 
"The  natural  bond  which  held  men 
and  women  in  unity  has  been  snapped 
by  man  himself.  In  this  age,  when 
organization  takes  all  of  this  holier 
energy,  man  is  being  lured  away  from 
the  personal  side  of  his  life,  which  is 
far  more  important  to  future  civil- 
ization than  the  impersonal.  He  is 
losing  his  natural  faculties  and  is  be- 
coming a  part  of  a  great  machine. 
Woman,  instead  of  being  a  great 
force  in  his  life,  is  an  episode.  The 
fireside  and  home  play  but  a  small 
part  in  his  daily  category.    This  has 


GENEVIEVE  Y.  PANKHURST  IN 
SAN  FRANCISCO  CALL 

struck  at  the  root  of  the  family  sys- 
tem and  is  slowly  but  surely  under- 
mining the  future  of  the  race,  for 
when  woman  loses  her  true  place  the 
world  loses  its  foundation." 

He  had  many  things  to  say  about 
the  beauty  of  woman's  soul.  Among 
them  were  these : 

"Woman  is  more  personal  than 
man.  Her  physical  nature  as  the 
mother  of  man  makes  this  instinctive. 
She  must  have  the  personal  touch  to 
life  or  she  will  droop.  Her  world  is 
a  world  of  reality  as  God  created  it, 
and  not  as  man  is  attempting  to  re- 
create it.  She  must  have  her  proper 
place,  and  until  she  does  there  will 
be  turmoil." 

BEAUTY  INSPIRES   MAN 

"What  do  you  think  is  her  true 
place?"  I  asked  as  he  stopped  to 
ponder  on  the  status  of  my  sex.  He 
answered : 

"Woman  should  be  looked  upon  as 
a  creature  of  grace  and  beauty,  men- 
tally as  well  as  spiritually.  She  is 
half  of  the  great  circle  of  perpetuity. 
Without  her  man  is  useless.  He 
loses  his  inspiration.  Now,  man, 
through  his  own  greed  for  power, 
has  failed  to  protect  woman,  he  has 
neglected  her;  and  since  she  has  been 
left  alone  to  fight  her  own  fight,  ham- 
pered as  she  is  by  physical  and  eco- 
nomic conditions,  he  can  not  complain 
at  her  methods.  Man  can  not  take 
woman  from  her  true  place  and  ex- 
pect her  to  remain  unchanged." 

He  continued : 

"Woman's  struggle  will,  however, 
culminate  in  a  great  triumph  both  for 
herself  and  civilization.  Through  it 
a  larger,  truer  harmony  will  some 
day  be  established.  In  the  past 
through  man's  refusal  to  give  her  a 
proper  hearing,  the  race  has  been  de- 
prived of  her  best  service.  Domestic 
life  is  not  the  only  life  for  woman. 
Owing  to  her  physical  and  mental 
equipment,  she  is  fitter  for  certain 
sorts  of  work,  in  every  department  of 
life  than  men.  Some  things  she  is 
not  fit  for  at  all.  When  her  real  abil- 
ity and  capacity  are  recognized,  poli- 
tics, business  and  commerce  will  profit. 
This  cannot  be  until  man  is  restored 


to  a  deeper,  truer  living  personal  re- 
lation. 

FREE  LOVE  CULTISTS  GIVEN  RAP 

As  for  the  free  love  which  is  the 
cant  of  many  cultists  nowadays, 
Rabindranath  Tagore  threw  up  his 
dreamer's  hands  in  horror. 

Then  he  spoke:  "Life  would  be 
hellish  if  men  and  women  were  given 
freedom  to  indulge  their  passions  at 
will.  Society  must  have  its  limita- 
tions or  the  family  relation  would  be 
destroyed.  The  very  base  of  civiliza- 
tion would  be  razed  to  the  ground  and 
buried  under  an  avalanche  of  terri- 
ble catastrophe.  And,  as  always, 
when  the  world  goes  wrong,  woman 
would  be  the  greatest  sufferer.  Hers 
would  be  the  bearing  of  the  ultimate , 
burden.  She  would  become  cheap  in 
a  word  of  illusion  where  realities  had 
no  value.  Woman's  purity  is  the 
safeguard  of  the  universe." 

After  a  moment's  thought  he  added : 

"The  marriage  system  may  have  to 
be  changed ;  according  to  the  divorce 
statistics  something  is  radically 
wrong,  but  marriage  as  an  institution 
must  persist." 

It  is  this  finer  understanding  of 
woman  which  permeates  all  of  Ta- 
gore's  writings.  It  is  found  in  "Vis- 
ion," a  new  monologue  written  by  him, 
and  it  is  the  underlying  note  in  "The 
King  and  the  Queen."  Always  woman 
protests  against  her  displacement  in 
man's  heart  by  the  material  things  ol 
the  world,  and  always  she  is  restored 
to  it  through  the  pitiful  appeal  and 
final  spiritual  triumph  of  her  struggle. 


Above,  the  clear  sky  was  full  of 
stars,  and  among  them  the  beautiful 
planet  Jupiter  shone  serene.  The  sky 
was  of  a  lovely  night  blue;  it  was  an 
hour  to  think,  to  dream,  to  revere,  to 
love, — a  time  when,  if  ever  it  will,  the 
soul  reigns,  and  the  coarse,  rude  acts 
of  day  are  forgotten  in  the  aspirations 
of  the  inmost  mind.  The  night  was 
calm — still;  it  was  in  no  haste  to  do 
anything;  it  had  nothing  it  needed  to 
do.  To  be  is  enough  for  the  stars. — 
Richard  Jefferies. 


Christianity  Imitated 

A  Picture  of  a  Buddhist  Sunday  School  in  Japan 


An  increase  of  610  Sunday  Schools 
in  two  months  is  not  a  bad  record. 
This  has  been  accomplished  by  the 
Buddhists  of  Japan,  according  to  a 
report  by  Rev.  K.  Mito,  secretary  of 
the  Japan  Methodist  Sunday  School 
Board.  This  movement  to  hold  the 
children  of  Japan  for  Buddha  was 
inaugurated  at  the  time  of  the  Em- 
peror's Coronation  in  the  fall  of  1915, 
and  in  April  of  last  year,  six  months 
after  the  Coronation,  there  were  800 
Buddhist  Sunday  Schools  in  Japan 
with  a  registration  of  120,000  children. 
The  increased  interest  in  Sunday 
School  work  in  Japan,  caused  by  the 
coming  World's  Sunday  School  Con- 
vention in  Tokyo,  has  been  a  large 
factor  in  arousing  the  Buddhists  to 
action. 

The  Buddhist  sect  best  known  for 
its  imitation  of  Christianity  is  the 
Nishi  Hongwanji,  which  has  a  Sun- 
day School  Board  that  acts  for  all 
Japan.  This  board  gives  a  banner  to 
the  best  Buddhist  Sunday  School  and 
confers  medals  for  special  merit.    The 


child  having  the  best  record  in  each 
Buddhist  Sunday  School  is  given  the 
privilege  of  visiting  the  far-famed 
buildings  and  treasures  of  the  West 
Hongwanji  temples. 

*     *     * 

In  every  detail  the  Buddhist  Sunday 
School  imitates  the  Christian  school — 
the  same  officers  and  committees;  the 
same  classification  of  departments. 
They  have  even  gone  so  far  as  to 
organize  Mothers'  Meetings,  Young 
Men's  Associations,  and  special  meet- 
ings for  children  corresponding  to  our 
Children's  Day,  Rally  Day,  etc.  In 
literature  for  children,  it  is  difficult 
to  tell  which  is  Christian  and  which 
is  Buddhist,  so  closely  do  the  text 
cards,  "Life  of  Buddha"  series,  at- 
tendance cards,  etc.,  conform  to  those 
used  in  Christian  Sunday  Schools. 

But  the  climax  of  imitation  is 
reached  in  the  music.  Christian  hymns 
— words,  tunes  and  all — have  been  ap- 
propriated. Such  songs  as  "Oh  for  a 
Thousand  Tongues  to  Sing,"  "Jesus 
Loves  Me,  This  I  Know,"  "Bringing 


in  the  Sheaves,"  "God  Is  Love,"  are 
being  used  by  the  Buddhists,  practic- 
ally the  only  change  being  the  substi- 
tution of  the  name  of  Buddha  for 
that  of  Jesus.  Many  fundamental 
truths  of  the  Christian  religion  have 
been  brought  into  their  stories  and 
songs.  Buddha  is  referred  to  again 
and  again  as  "Heavenly  Father,"  and 
to  him  are  ascribed  many  of  the  at- 
tributes of  the  Living  God. 

Buddhism,  however,  is  not  the  only 
religious  sect  in  Japan  which  shows  a 
remarkable  growth  in  the  Sunday 
School  work.  During  the  past  two 
years  there  has  been  an  increase  of 
898  Christian  Sunday  Schools  in 
Japan,  with  an  added  enrollment  of 
41,753  students.  It  is  also  an  inter- 
esting fact  that  the  Hongwanji  sect, 
which  has  been  largely  responsible  for 
this  great  Buddhist  Sunday  School  ad- 
vance, is  the  sect  which  is  most  nearly 
like  Christianity,  in  that  its  members 
believe  in  the  coming  of  a  redeemer 
who  will  have  power  to  take  away 
their  sins. 


MijiiHiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiniiMiiiiiiinuitiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiJiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiMUiiHiiuiiiiiHniiMiiiJiiiii 


A  Rendezvous  With  Death 

[In  the  North  American  Review  appears  this  poem  by  Alan  Seeger.    He  was  killed  in  battle  last  July  in 
northern  France. — Editor.] 


/  have  a  rendezvous  with  Death 

At  some  disputed  barricade, 

When  Spring  comes  round  with  rustling  shade, 

And  apple  blossoms  Ml  the  air. 

I  have  a  rendezvous  with  Death 

When  Spring  brings  back  blue  days  and  fair. 


It  may  be  he  shall  take  my  hand 

And  lead  me  inta  his  dark  land 

And  close  my  eyes  and  quench  my  breath; 

It  may  be  I  shall  pass  him  still. 

I  have  a  rendezvous  with  Death 

On  some  scarred  slope  of  battered  hill, 

When  Spring  comes  round  again  this  year 

And  the  first  meadow  flowers  appear. 


God  knows  'twere  better  to  be  deep 
Pillowed  in  silk  and  scented  down. 
Where  love  throbs  out  in  blissful  sleep, 
Pulse  nigh  to  pulse,  and  breath  to  breath, 
Where  hushed  awakenings  are  dear. 
But  I've  a  rendezvous  with  Death 
At  midnight  in  some  flaming  town, 
When  Spring  trips  north  again  this  year, 
And  I  to  my  pledged  word  am  true, 
I  shall  not  fail  that  rendezvous. 


innmmniiuiuiimniiiiiiiuiitmuumumuuuiimuiuimmiumiuimimmMuim^^ 


EEIIMIIIMIMB 


The    Larger    Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


anmmiffliunrjmiranmianuniniifflnBiimniimnninunnn! 


■■iiiiiraoiM^ 


Dr.  Aked 
Refuses  Call 

Dr.  Charles  F.  Aked  has  published 
his  letter  in  reply  to  the  First  In- 
terdenominational church  of  San 
Francisco  declining  to  accept  the  po- 
sition as  pastor  of  the  new  organiza- 
tion. He  calls  attention  to  the  close 
proximity  of  the  new  church  to  the 
First  Congregational  church,  of  which 
he  was  recently  the  leader,  and  to  the 
fact  that  the  new  one  would  be  built 
up  at  the  expense  of  the  historic 
church  of  San  Francisco.  His  letter 
speaks  in  a  most  kindly  way  of  the 
latter  organization,  which  indicates 
that  the  failure  of  this  church  to  call 
him  back  to  its  pulpit  has  left  no 
ill-will  in  his  soul. 

For  Sailors 
and  Soldiers 

Since  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the 
British  Endeavorers  have  done  a  no- 
ble work  for  sailors  and  soldiers. 
They  have  written  by  hand  more 
than  107,860  letters  and  have  sent 
87,492  printed  letters;  they  have 
sent  22,414  copies  of  The  Christian 
Endeavor  Times  and  85,436  needle- 
cases  ;  5,716  letters  have  been  writ- 
ten to  workers  and  to  relatives  of 
soldiers.  Thousands  of  pillow  text- 
cards  have  been  distributed  in  hos- 
pitals, an  immense  number  of  tracts 
and  periodicals  have  been  sent  to 
the  ships,  and  100,000  Gospel  por- 
tions and  Testaments  have  been  giv- 
en to  the  soldiers.  The  large  cost 
of  this  and  other  similar  work  has 
been  borne  by  the  Endeavorers. 

Universalist  Pastor 
Promotes  Forum 

The  Rev.  Frederick  A.  Moore,  pas- 
tor of  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer, 
Universalist,  of  Chicago,  is  director 
of  three  forums.  The  noith  side 
forum  meets  in  the  Lane  Technical 
High  school.  The  south  side  forum 
meets  at  the  Abraham  Lincoln  cen- 
ter, Oakwood  boulevard  and  Lang- 
ley  avenue,  and  the  west  side  forum 
meets  in  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer, 
South  Robey  street  and  Warren 
avenue. 

Prominent  Leaders  Would 
Make  Chicago  Dry 

A  big  Dollar  Dry  Dinner  has 
been  scheduled  to  be  held  at  the 
Auditorium  hotel,  Chicago,  on  the 
evening  of  February  1,  at  which 
many    prominent    men    will    speak. 


The  Chicago  Dry  Federation  is 
headed  by  Bishop  Nicholson  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  who 
will  preside  at  the  dinner.  Former 
Governor  Foss  of  Massachusetts  will 
speak.  He  is  distinguished  by  the 
fact  that  he  offered  a  million  dollars 
to  reimburse  the  city  of  Boston  for 
any  loss  that  the  city  might  suffer 
from  the  closing  of  its  saloons.  It 
is  proposed  to  make  Chicago  dry  in 
1918. 

Lloyd-George  Will 
Nominate  Bishops 

The  peculiar  situation  of  the  Brit- 
ish Episcopalian  church  is  brought 
home  to  us  by  the  necessity  that 
falls  upon  Premier  Lloyd-George  of 
nominating  the  bishops  of  a  church 
of  which  he  is  not  a  member.  The 
Premier  is  quoted  as  having  said  in 
former  days  of  the  church :  "If  there 
had  been  a  fight  to  the  finish  in 
Queen  Elizabeth's  day,  England 
would  have  been  a  fine  Protestant 
or  a  fine  Catholic  country."  The 
church  leaders  of  .England  have 
fought  Lloyd-George  vigorously  over 
the  question  of  Welsh  disestablish- 
ment. 

Revival  Conference  at 
Moody  Institute 

In  connection  with  its  thirteenth 
reunion,  the  Moody  Bible  Institute 
has  arranged  for  a  Revival  Confer- 
ence to  be  held  from  Wednesday, 
January  31,  to  Monday,  February  5, 
inclusive.  This  reunion  and  confer- 
ence will  also  commemorate  the 
eightieth  birthday  of  Dwight  L. 
Moody,  the  leading  world-wide 
Evangelist  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  the  founder  of  the  institute. 
The  morning,  afternoon  and  eve- 
ning sessions  of  the  conference  will 
be  held  in  the  Moody  Church  Audi- 
torium at  the  corner  of  North  La 
Salle  street  and  West  Chicago  ave- 
nue. The  Institute  is  now  receiving 
many  letters  from  its  former  stu- 
dents and  from  Christian  workers, 
indicating  their  purpose  to  be  pres- 
ent. Among  the  prominent  speak- 
ers from  outside  the  city,  who  are 
expected  to  be  on  the  conference 
program  are:  Bishop  Luther  B.  Wil- 
son, D.  D.,  of  the  Methodist  Episcoal 
church,  New  York ;  Rev.  A.  T.  Robert- 
son, D.  D.,  of  the  Baptist  Theological 
Seminary,  Louisville,  Ky. ;  Rev.  R. 
A.  Torrey,  D.  D.,  of  Los  An- 
geles, Cal. ;  Rev.  C.  I.  Scofield,  D.  D., 
of  Long  Island,  N.  Y.;  Rev.  A.  B. 


Winchester,  D.  D.,  of  Knox  Presby- 
terian church,  Toronto,  and  Rev. 
Melvin  E.  Trotter,  of  Grand  Rapids, 
Mich.  A  tentative  program  of  the 
conference  will  be  mailed  upon  ap- 
plication. All  sessions  will  be  open 
to  the  public. 

The  Sunday  School 
Council 

The  Sunday  school  boards  of  the 
various  denominations  are  organized 
into  what  is  called  the  Sunday 
School  Council.  The  organization 
began  with  a  meeting  in  Philadel- 
phia in  1910.  Thirty  denominations 
are  now  federated  through  this  body 
in  their  denominational  Sunday 
School  work.  They  met  in  Boston 
recently. 

Aged  Congregational 
Minister  Resigns 

Dr.  Henry  A.  Stimson  is  the  only 
minister  Manhattan  Congregational 
Church  of  New  York  ever  had.  He 
is  now  seventy-five  years  old  and  is 
described  as  still  being  full  of  vigor. 
He  believes,  however,  that  the  church 
will  face  great  problems  after  the  war 
and  that  young  men  should  be  at  the 
helm,  so  a  few  days  ago  he  resigned. 

Would  Unite  Two 
Denominations 

The  Presbytery  of  New  York  at  its 
annual  meeting  of  Jan.  8  took  action 
which  bids  fair  to  make  history.  The 
body  voted  an  overture  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  asking  that  organiza- 
tion to  take  measures  looking  toward 
union  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States  of  America  with 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States.  This  means  in  common  par- 
lance the  union  of  northern  and 
southern  Presbyterianism.  The  mo- 
tion was  made  by  Rev.  William  Pier- 
son  Merrill,  of  the  Brick  Church, 
New  York;  it  was  a  predecessor  of 
his,  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring,  who  made 
a  motion  in  1861  which  resulted  in 
the  split  in  the  church. 

Presbyterians  Criticise 
President 

President  Wilson  has  been  mildly 
criticised  by  an  editorial  writer  in  the 
Continent  for  an  alleged  failure  to 
stand  against  the  saloon  interests  in 
the  District  of  Columbia.  The  Conti- 
nent editor  writes : 

To  say  that  the  President  has  so  far 
failed  to  show  such  antipathy  to  the  saloon 
business  in  the  national  capital  as  would 


February  1,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


1; 


be  expected  of  a  Presbyterian  elder,  is  to 
put  the  case  with  the  utmost  euphemism. 
Twice  Mr.  Wilson  has  named  for  the  ex- 
cise board  of  the  District  of  Columbia  men 
whom  all  the  "wets"  in  the  district  favored 
and  all  the  "drys"  opposed — men  who,  in 
fact,  during  their  first  terms  on  the  board 
had  been  publicly  condemned  by  a  commit- 
tee of  the  United  States  senate  for  twisting 
the  law  out  of  nearly  all  its  natural  mean- 
ing in  order  to  favor  saloonists  of  influ- 
ence. No  wonder  the  senate  refused  to 
confirm  such  amazing  reappointments.  The 
whole  matter  is  one  from  which  Mr.  Wil- 
son's best  friends  are  compelled  to  avert 
their  faces ;  to  apologize  for  it  is  too  great  a 
burden.  While  the  President's  re-election 
was  pending  it  did  not  behoove  a  non- 
political  journal  to  speak  of  this  matter;  a 
partisan  interpretation  might  have  been 
given  to  even  the  most  guarded  allusion. 
But  now  that  Mr.  Wilson,  by  the  suffrages 
of  the  people,  is  assured  of  four  added  years 
in  his  exalted  place,  it  is  simple  fairness  to 
say  to  him  plainly  that  here  is  a  flaw  in  his 
previous  record  which  much  needs  repair. 

Baptists  Secure  a 
New  Leader 

The  Baptists  are  in  the  midst  of  a 
Five- Year  Program  which  involves 
a  growth  all  along  the  line  for  Bap- 
tist effort.  They  have  recently 
called  a  new  secretary  to  lead  this 
effort,  Dr.  P.  H.  J.  Lerrigo,  of  Bos- 
ton. Many  Baptists  are  asking  that 
the  headquarters  of  the  movement 
be  located  in  Chicago  for  conveni- 
ence of  travel,  the  chairman  and  the 
vice-chairman  of  the  committee  liv- 
ing in  that  city.  It  is  also  argued 
that  there  is  a  great  saving  in  ex- 
pense by  locating  the  executive  in 
the  middle  west. 

Some  Significant  Changes 
in  the  Ministry 

In  these  latter  days  many  prominent 
ministers  are  becoming  unsettled. 
Changes  are  going  on  in  many  im- 
portant churches.  Recent  advices 
state  that  Dr.  G.  Campbell  Morgan 
has  been  called  to  Collins  Street 
Congregational  church  in  Australia. 
It  is  also  intimated  that  Dr.  J.  H. 
Jowett  may  be  called  to  Westminster 
Chapel  from  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presby- 
terian church  of  New  York  and  thus 
become  affiliated  with  his  native  Con- 
gregational and  English  friends  again. 

Baptists  Govern 
Connecticut 

The  'newly  elected  governor  of 
Connecticut  is  Hon.  Marcus  J.  Hol- 
comb,  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church  in  Plainville.  He  is  a  Sun- 
day school  superintendent  and  an 
active  church  worker.  The  lieuten- 
ant governor  is  a  member  of  the 
First  Baptist  church  of  Bridgeport, 
Hon.  Clifford  B.  Wilson.  He  is 
mayor  of  Bridgeport  as  well  as  lieu- 
tenant governor.  It  is  said  the  two 
men  plan  some  advanced  social  leg- 
islation. 


The  Sunday  School 


Sllllllllllllllllllllllll 


ll!lllll|i|HIIII!ll!l 


What  Is  Faith? 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life 
By  JOHN  R.  EWERS 


hBB|P*P^^| 

w$k 

ill 

SKI 

|||L, 

mm 

■■■■■■' 

J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  when  before 
the  Congressional  Committee  of  In- 
vestigation, which  was  trying  to 
ascertain  the 
values  of  busi- 
ness,  made 
this  striking 
d  e  c  1  a  ration, 
"The  thing 
which  gives 
value  to  any 
business  is  the 
character  which 
has  been  built 
into  that  busi- 
ness." What 
he  meant   to 

convey  was  that  the  great  value  of 
the  house  of  J.  P.  Morgan  was  the 
character  for  honesty  and  ability 
which  he  and  his  associates  had, 
through  many  years,  built  into  that 
vast  banking  and  promoting  estab- 
lishment. 

We  speak  of  having  faith  in  a 
certain  man  or  a  certain  woman  in 
a  given  community.  In  each  sec- 
tion there  is  to  be  found  a  man  to 
whom  others  come  for  advice.  I 
remember  how  people  of  all  sorts 
used  to  come  to  my  father's  house 
for  such  purposes,  and  how  he 
would  spend  hours  listening  to  their 
stories  and  advising  them  in  solv- 
ing their  problems  in  honorable 
ways.  The  highest  compliment 
which  anyone  can  pay  you  is  to 
trust  you  with  their  confidences. 
Your  strength  is  measured  by  the 
manner  in  which  other  people  lean 
upon  you.  It  is  not  the  strong  man 
who  leans  upon  others.  He  is  strong 
upon  whom  others  lean.  It  is  great 
to  be  a  burden-bearer.  It  is  splen- 
did to  serve.  Greatness  is  estimated 
by  the  vastness  of  service.  How 
does  this  not  apply  to  Jesus?  We 
all  lean  upon  him.  Emanuel  Kant 
once  observed,  "The  greatness  of  a 
man  is  measured  by  his  ability  to 
lift  the  world ;  judged  by  that  stand- 
ard Jesus  was  the  greatest  man  who 
ever  lived."  The  whole  world  may 
lean  upon  his  heart.  He  can  carry 
us  all  as  the  shepherd  carried  the 
one  lost  sheep.  This  is  the  final 
measure  of  His  Loving  Greatness. 

In  the  community  above  referred 

*The  above  article  is  based  upon  the 
International  Uniform  Sunday  School 
Lesson  for  February  18,  "The  Noble- 
man's Son,"  John  4:43-54. 


to  the  trusted  person  has  built  up 
his  reputation  for  wise  and  tender 
advice  by  years  of  patient  and  just 
living.  No  one  is  trusted  at  once. 
This  is  the  value  of  nineteen  hun- 
dred years  of  Christian  experience. 
Faith  is  based  upon  facts.  We  have 
seen  the  laws  by  which  Jesus  works. 
There  need  be  no  fanaticism.  There 
need  be  no  wild  propagandas;  no 
ignorant  cults.  Study  and  observa- 
tion will  show  clearly  how  Jesus 
has  and  does  work.  We  may  not 
dictate  to  him.  I  remember  what  a 
shock  my  faith  had  when  President 
McKinley  died.  Everyone  was 
eager  for  his  recovery.  All  of  the 
churches  where  I  was  then  located 
held  a  union  prayer  meeting  and  we 
all  most  earnestly  asked  God  to 
spare  the  President's  life — but  he 
died.  It  took  me  months  to  get  my 
balance  after  that.  What  was  the 
use  of  praying?  I  asked.  What  did 
prayer  change,  anyway?  Why  not 
let  the  universe  wag  on?  When 
Margaret  Fuller  said,  "I  accept  the 
universe,"  Carlyle  replied,  "Gad, 
she'd  better!"  In  that  day  it  would 
have  been  easy  to  have  become  a 
stoic.     But   the  prayer   of   faith   is 

not  dictation  to  God. 
♦    ♦    * 

What  a  wonderful  lesson  it  would 
be  if  we  could  once  learn  that !  We 
draw  the  plans  for  our  own  lives ; 
then  we  lay  the  blue-prints  down 
before  God  and  we  say,  "Now,  God. 
this  is  what  I  am  going  to  do;  add 
your  blessing."  How  absurd !  I 
remember  that  when  I  was  a  small 
boy  I  learned  that  one  of  my  rela- 
tives was  a  successful  architect.  He 
had  received  some  big  fees.  I  at 
once  aspired  to  be  an  architect  and 
began  forthwith  to  draw  plans.  The 
other  day,  in  an  old  cigar  box  I 
found  some  of  those  fearful  and 
wonderful  plans  —  the  leaning 
tower  of  Pisa  is  tame  beside  them ! 
What  arches,  turrets,  buttresses, 
wings  and  stories  !  The  Woolworth 
building  is  a  hut  beside  those  plans 
— but  they  were  impracticable — a 
child's  dreams.  How  like  my 
prayers!  Petitions  for  all  sorts  of 
absurd  things.  WThat  if  all  the 
prayers  were  answered?  The  Kai- 
ser's and  the  Czars,  the  Arch- 
bishop's and  the  French  priests? 
Answered  prayers?  Let  us  thank 
God  that  he  is  the  engineer. 


r 

1 
1 


IllUllIlillllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllUllllIllillll^ 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


li^HgHIIHHHHani!l]!l!!!ll!!lll!!II!!llllllll!!l!!lil!lllll!lll 

The  New  Conscience  and  the 
Old  Righteousness 

A  striking  illustration  of  the  way 
a  good  man  violates  the  new  conscience 
is  given  in  the  case  of  Mr.  John  Wan- 
amaker.  Mr.  Wanamaker  has  been 
one  of  the  Sunday  School  leaders,  not 
only  of  his  native  city  of  Philadelphia 
but  of  the  world,  for  a  generation. 
On  all  the  old  moralities  and  upon 
even-  item  of  essential  Christian  faith 
and  morality  he  has  been  one  of  the 
stalwarts.  While  Postmaster  General 
he  not  only  advocated  many  of  the 
great  socializing  agencies  since 
adopted  by  the  postoffice  department, 
but  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the 
battle  of  the  people  against  the  ex- 
tortion of  the  express  companies.  But, 
if  reports  are  true,  Mr.  Wanamaker 
seems  to  have  failed  to  cultivate  the 
new  social  conscience.  According  to 
these  reports  he  has  had  to  pay  re- 
cently more  than  $200,000  in  duties 
upon  foreign  goods  which  had  been 
evaded  by  his  firm,  and  it  has  been 
discovered  that  while  he  sells  great 
quantities  of  foreign  goods  to  his  cus- 
tomers and  advertises  the  fact  that 
they  are  imported  and  receives  the 
profit  therefrom  with  one  hand,  with 
the  other  he  has  been  spending  tens 
of  thousands  of  dollars  in  a  campaign 
for  a  higher  tariff,  arguing  against 
the  importation  of  foreign  goods  on 
the  plea  that  they  might  cheapen  the 
American  product.  These  are  the  re- 
ports. The  apparent  contradiction  lies 
in  the  fact  that  Mr.  Wanamaker's  con- 
science is  motived  by  the  old  moral 
viewpoint  of  individualism,  and  his 
failure  to  be  consistent  in  the  fact 
that  the  new  conscience  makes  new  de- 
mands. 


The  Poor 
Man's  Club 


strikes  a  death  blow  to  the  conten- 
tion of  those  amiable  cynics  who  de- 
clare that  if  you  shorten  the  hours 
of  work  you  simply  lengthen  the 
hours  in  the  saloon.  It  further 
showed  that  as  working  men  grew 
older  and  thus  suffered  more  from 
fatigue  that  they  drank  more. 
Doubtless  the  growing  of  the  habit 
had  something  to  do  with  this  as 
well.  The  most  striking  find  made 
in  this  investigation  was  that  mar- 
ried men  spend  more  time  in  the 
saloon  than  do  single  men.  Why 
this  is  so  merits  further  investiga- 
tion. 

*     *     * 

Social 
Reconciliation 

Social  Reconciliation  is  a  new  slo- 
gan which  will  appear  much  oftener 
in  connection  with  the  work  of  so- 
cial service  in  the  church.  It  is  the 
point  of  view  of  a  man  who  uses 
this  phrase  that  the  world  does  not 
need  more  social  antagonism  but  it 
does  need  those  who  can  bring  a 
sense  of  justice  to  all  parties  con- 
nected with  the  disputes  that  arise 
from  our  industrialism.  Dr.  Harry 
F.  Ward  of  Boston  University  has 
been  conducting  a  campaign  of  so- 
cial reconciliation  in  Kansas  City 
recently.  He  has  been  favored  with 
a  hearing  by  laboring  people,  em- 
ployers and  church  people. 


Canton,  O.,  Churches 
Stand  a  Test 

Jeff  Davis,  the  "Hobo  King," 
wanted  to  find  out  if  Canton  (Ohio) 
churches  really  want  people  in  their 
churches,  no  matter  how  they  are 
dressed,  so  he  went  to  the  First 
Methodist  Church  on  a  recent  evening 
in  his  old  ragged  clothes.  He  walked  • 
in  at  the  front  door  and  found  him- 
self facing  an  audience  that  filled  the 
building,  but  an  usher  found  a  chair 
for  him  and  made  him  welcome. 
After  service  the  pastor  also  wel- 
comed him.  He  had  a  similar  experi- 
ence at  several  other  churches,  and  set 
the  seal  of  his  approval  upon  Canton. 

*     *     * 

Salvation  Army 
Helps  in  India 

The  government  authorities  in  In- 
dia have  been  giving  credit  to  the 
Salvation  Army  for  help  in  solving 
a  difficult  problem  of  administra- 
tion. The  Salvation  Army  has  gath- 
ered together  several  thousand  of 
the  members  of  criminal  castes  in 
India  and  have  been  teaching  them 
weaving,  silk  spinning,  poultry 
farming  and  other  useful  occupa- 
tions. The  people  who  have  looked 
upon  crime  as  an  occupation  have 
found  themselves  better  provided 
for  by  contributing  their  part  to  the 
industrial  life  of  the  country. 


The  War  and  Religion 


A  thoroughgoing  study  has  re- 
cently been  made  of  how  1,000 
working  men  spend  their  spare 
money.  Twenty-three  per  cent  of 
it  was  found  to  be  spent  for  beer. 
This  is  striking  evidence  for  the 
contention  of  some  that  the  saloon 
is  the  poor  man's  club,  and  puts  it 
up  to  the  prohibitionists  with  added 
emphasis  to  provide  a  social  center 
for  the  laboring  classes  when  they 
destroy  the  saloon ;  and  it  further 
justifies  the  contention  that  drink- 
ing among  the  masses  is  not  wholly 
because  of  love  of  alcohol,  but  as  a 
means  to  social  intercourse.  This 
same  investigation  revealed  the  fact 
that  the  longer  the  hours  the 
greater     the     drinking,     and     thus 


H.  G.  Wells,  a  brilliant  and  popular 
English  author,  has  been  noted  for 
social  and  religious  radicalism,  with 
a  strong  bent  towards  pessimism.  He 
has  been  profoundly  stirred  by  the 
war  experiences.  In  common  with 
some  other  literary  men  he  appears 
to  be  undergoing  a  profound  change 
in  religious  views. 

His  recent  story,  "Mr.  Britling  Sees 
It  Through,"  deals  with  the  great  war. 
The  chief  character  in  the  story  loses 
his  son  in  battle.  His  emotions  and 
sentiments  are  thus  strikingly  ex- 
pressed : 

"For  the  first  time  he  felt  a  Pres- 
ence of  which  he  had  thought  very 
many  times  in  the  last  few  weeks,  a 
Presence  so  close  to  him  that  it  was 
behind  his  eyes  and  in  his  brain  and 
hands.  It  was  the  Master,  the  Captain 
of  Mankind,  it  was  God,  there  present 
with  him,  and  he  knew  it  was  God.  It 
was  as  if  he  had  been  groping  all  this 
time  in  the  darkness,  thinking  him- 


self alone  amidst  rocks  and  pitfalls 
and  pitiless  things,  and  suddenly  a 
hand,  a  firm,  strong  hand,  had  touched 
his  own.  And  a  voice  within  him  bade 
him  be  of  good  courage." 

Later  the  same  character  says: 
"Religion  is  the  first  thing  and  the 
last  thing,  and  until  a  man  has  found 
God  and  been  found  by  God,  he  be- 
gins at  no  beginning,  he  works  to  no 
end.  He  may  have  his  friendships, 
his  partial  loyalties,  his  scraps  of 
honor.  But  all  these  things  fall  into 
place  and  life  falls  into  place  only 
with  God.  Only  with  God.  And  be- 
fore the  coming  of  the  King,  the  King 
who  is  present  whenever  just  men 
forgather,  this  blood-stained  rubbish 
of  the  ancient  world,  these  puny  kings 
and  tawdry  emperors,  these  wily  poli- 
ticians and  artful  lawyers,  these  men 
who  claim  and  grab  and  trick  and 
compel,  these  war  makers  and  oppres- 
sors, will  presently  shrivel  and  pass — 
like  paper  thrust  into  flame.  Our  sons 
have  shown  us  God." 


February  1,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


Church  Efficiency  Week 
at  Eureka,  111. 

The  week  of  January  16-21  was  "Ef- 
ficiency Week"  at  the  Eureka,  111., 
church,  to  which  Verle  W.  Blair  min- 
isters. A  special  feature  was  an  Insti- 
tute for  Older  Boys  and  Men  conducted 
by  James  L.  Scofield,  specialist  and  ex- 
pert organizer.  The  general  theme  of 
the  institute  was  "Why  the  Average 
Man  of  Today  Is  Only  Fifty  Per  Cent 
Efficient."  Sessions  were  held  in  the 
afternoons  and  evenings  of  the  week, 
and  on  Sunday,  the  21st,  the  following 
program  was  carried  through:  10.30  A. 
M.,  mass  meeting,  subject,  "The  Modern 
Sunday  School";  3:00  P.  M.,  all  church 
officials  and  committee  men,  subject, 
"Power";  6.30  P.  M.,  young  people's 
meeting,  subject,  "What  Can  I  Do?"; 
7:30  P.  M.,  mass  meeting,  subject,  "Two 
Conversions."  Mr.  Blair,  pastor  at 
Eureka,  writes  in  the  most  enthusiastic 
terms  of  the  ability  of  Mr.  Scofield  in 
this  special  field,  in  which  field  Mr. 
Blair  believes  he  has  absolutely  no  com- 
petition. Mr.  Blair  writes  of  Mr.  Sco- 
field as  follows:  "We  have  a  multi- 
plicity of  organizations,  we  lack  power. 
We  are  doing  many  things  while  but  one 
thing  may  be  needful.  We  have  gone 
out  into  the  world  market  and  have  tried 
to  purchase  plans,  zeal  and  consecra- 
tion. We  have  imported  evangelists,  we 
have  secured  special  speakers,  we  have 
done  many  other  things,  but  we  have 
not  'reached  the  spot.'  We  need  to 
interest  ourselves  in  the  issues  and  temp- 
tations which  our  young  people  face 
right  now.  We  need  to  stress  church 
meetings  and  to  emphasize  worship,  we 
need  to  get  together.  We  need  a 
prophet.  It  seems  that  the  man  needed 
has  arrived.  I  refer  to  James  L.  Sco- 
field, more  generally  known  as  'Sunny 
Jim,'  a  successful  business  man,  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  organizer  and  secretary;  a  special 
student  and  leader  in  commissions  on 
teen  age  and  social  hygiene,  a  church 
efficiency  expert.  Having  been  'man's 
man'  and  manager  of  great  evangelistic 
campaigns  with  twenty  years  of  suc- 
cessful work  in  community  religious 
problems,  having  been  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  preachers  and  all  moral  and 
religious  leaders  of  the  community,  he  is 
specially  fitted  for  this  greater  task." 

"Whatsoever  Circle"  of  Kansas 
City  Does  Big  Things 

The  "Whatsoever  Circle"  of  Inde- 
pendence Boulevard  church,  Kansas  City, 
Mo.,  is  an  organization  of  women,  with 
philanthropic  and  benevolent  reasons  for 
its  existence.  The  Circle's  benefactions 
last  year  amounted  to  almost  $4,000.  It 
is  a  monthly  contributor  to  the  support 
of  the  local  Provident  Association,  of 
the  Boys'  Hotel,  of  Mercy  Hospital  and 
the  Crittenton  Home,  besides  aiding 
many  needy  _  families  of  Kansas  City. 
The  community  house  at  Sheffield  is  en- 
tirely supported  by  this  organization. 

New  Honor  for  Dwight  N. 
Lewis,  of  Des  Moines 

Dwight  N.  Lewis,  Drake  Law  '94,  has 
long  been  famous  as  the  teacher  of  the 
Philo  Christos,  of  Central  church,  Des 
Moines,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  in- 
teresting classes  of  the  country.  Re- 
cently a  new  honor  came  to  him.  He 
was  appointed  a  few  weeks  ago  by  the 


then  Governor  Clarke  as  State  Railroad 
Commissioner.  The  selection  was  made 
upon  the  recommendation  of  practically 
all  the  traffic  men  of  the  state,  owing 
to  Mr.  Lewis's  wide  knowledge  of  rates 
and  his  long  experience  as  a  member 
of  the  railroad  commission. 

At  Central  Church, 
New  York 

Finis  Idleman,  pastor  at  Central 
church,  New  York  City,  reports  that  the 
congregation  there  recently  had  the 
pleasure  of  listening  to  Peter  Ainslie, 
Grant  K.  Lewis,  S.  J.  Corey,  A.  E.  Cory, 
P.  C.  Macfarlane  and  F.  W.  Burnham. 
A  recent  every  member  canvass  at  Cen- 
tral increased  the  current  expense 
pledges  over  forty  per  cent,  and  mis- 
sion pledges  200  per  cent,  which  means 
an  average  of  about  $10  per  year  for 
missions.  Mr.  Idleman  was  recently 
elected  chaplain  of  the  Iowa  Society  of 
the  City  of  New  York. 

C.  H.  Morris  Succeeds  at 
Denver  Central 

The  annual  report  of  the  work  at  Cen- 
tral church,  Denver,  Col.,  indicates  that 
C.  H.  Morris  made  no  mistake  in  ac- 
cepting the  pastorate  there  a  year  or 
so  ago.  During  the  year  Mr.  Morris' 
church  raised  a  budget  of  $17,580,  of 
which  $8,080  was  for  the  expenses  of 
the  church,  $7,500  for  a  mortgage  debt, 
$1,000  for  a  surplus  for  the  mortgage 
fund  and  $1,000  for  missions.  New  mem- 
bers added  to  the  church  numbered  155. 
Every  department  of  the  church  grew 
and^  a  mission  Sunday  school  was  or- 
ganized. The  combined  service  plan  for 
morning  worship  was  inaugurated,  and 
a  junior  congregation  organized.  Mr. 
Morris  was  engaged  for  his  second  year 
at  an  increase  of  salary  of  $250. 

Indianapolis   Church 
Has  New  Pastor 

J.  D.  Garrison,  for  several  years  leader 
at  Lawrenceburgr.  Ind.,  began  service 
with  North  Park  church,  Indianapolis, 
this  week.  The  call  was  unanimous  on 
the  part  of  both  the  official  board  and 
congregation,  and  little  time  was  spent 
in  discussing  terms,  etc.  The  first  let- 
ter of  the  Indianapolis  church  asking 
whether  Mr.  Garrison  was  available  was 
dated  January  3,  and  the  final  vote  of 
the  congregation  was  taken  on  January 
14.  Great  enthusiasm  is  reported  at 
North  Park  church. 

A  New  Move  for  Co-operation 
in    Missouri 

Nelson  Trimble,  the  peripatetic  pastor 
of  Missouri,  reports  that,  "in  spite  of 
the  high  cost  of  paper  the  brethren  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Pike  will  start  a  county 
church  paper  for  the  ten  congregations 
of  Pike  County.  There  are  three  lo- 
cated ministers  and  a  number  who  come 
in  over  Sunday  for  half  time  preaching. 
The  'Journal'  will  enter  all  congrega- 
tions and  reach  every  home  in  the 
county,  both  in  town  and  in  the  coun- 
try." The  editorial  duties  will  devolve 
upon  Arthur  Stout,  of  Bowling  Green, 
who  has  just  completed  a  $20,000  edifice 
as  a  church  workshop.  Mr.  Stout  is  en- 
tering his  fourth  year  in  this  field  and 
is  attacking  and  solving  the  local  prob- 
lems in  a  statesmanly  fashion. 


Men's  Organization  at 
Buffalo  Central 

The  Men's  Community  Bible  Club,  of 
Central  church  school,  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 
recently  conducted  a  men's  Friday  night 
prayer  meeting  and  has  also  done  some 
community  and  county  extension  work. 
This  club  is  under  the  direction  of  E.  H. 
Long  and  B.  S.  Ferrall  is  pastor  at  Cen- 
tral church.  This  school  also  boasts  a 
very  unusual  class  of  young  men  which 
has  achieved  some  victories  during  the 
past  year.  This  organization  is  called 
the  Corona  Bible  Class. 

Will  Contest  in 
Texas  Sunday  Schools 

The  Christian  Ministers'  Association 
of  Dallas,  Tex.,  has  accepted  a  challenge 
from  the  Association  of  Fort  Worth  to 
hold  an  efficiency  contest  between  the 
schools  of  the  two  cities.  Editor  Walter 
M.  Williams,  of  the  Christian  Courier, 
Dallas,  read  a  paper  on  "Our  Church 
Literature"  at  the  latest  session  of  the 
Dallas  Ministers'  organization. 

South  Bend  Pastor  Talks 
to  "Tired  Business  Men" 

John  W.  Alexander,  pastor  at  First 
church,  South  Bend,  Ind.,  recently 
preached  a  sermon  to  harassed  busi- 
ness men  and  women  of  the  congre- 
gation. Mr.  Alexander  advised  that  liv- 
ing closer  to  the  Christian  ideals  of  life, 
more  family  life  and  a  striving  for  the 
"peace  within"  would  clear  away  many 
real  troubles  as  well  as  imaginary 
troubles.  First  church  has  been 
planning  an  every  member  canvass, 
which  it  is  hoped  will  clear  the  entire 
indebtedness  on  the  church  building. 

Lafayette,  Ind.,  Pastor  Discusses 
Film  Play 

In  a  talk  given  at  First  church,  La- 
fayette, Ind.,  on  the  film  play,  "Civiliza- 
tion," George  W.  Watson,  pastor  there, 
declared  that  war  is  futile  as  a  means 
of  righting  a  wrong;  that  peace  can  only 
be  based  on  good  will. 

Elders  and  Deacons  Conferences 
in  Missouri  District 

A  characteristic  fact  about  the  plans 
promoted  in  Third  District,  Missouri, 
under  the  supervision  of  J.  H.  Jones, 
district  evangelist,  is  that  they  work. 
Mr.  Jones  has  just  reported  the  suc- 
cess of  some  recent  "County  Elders 
and  Deacons  Conferences  and  Ban- 
quets." The  one  held  in  Greene  county, 
at  South  Street  church,  Springfield,  Mo., 
is  thus  described  by  the  evangelist: 
"Every  church  in  the  county  with  the 
exception  of  one  small  congregation  was 
represented,  some  churches  having  their 
entire  boards  and  all  ministers  present. 
As  is  the  custom  at  these  conferences  a 
meal  is  served  and  we  all  sit  around 
the  tables  and  talk  things  over.  Ad- 
dresses were  delivered  by  G.  W.  Mc- 
Quiddy,  pastor  Central  church,  Spring- 
field, and  F.  L.  Davis,  pastor  First 
church,  Springfield.  Our  special  guest 
was  C.  C.  Garrigues,  of  Joplin,  who  de- 
livered the  principal  address  on  'Fi- 
nancing the  Kingdom.'  It  was  a  great 
joy  to  see  how  eagerly  the  men  in  the 
churches  listen  to  a  message  that  will 
help  them  in  their  work.  A  resolution 
was  adopted  pledging  the  elders  and 
deacons  in  each  church  to  have  a  'get- 
together  meeting'  for  all  the  men  in  their 
churches.  Following  these  local  'get- 
together  meetings'  in  each  church  we 
will  attempt  a  county  round-up  of  all 
the  men  in  all  the  churches  of  the 
county.  We  expect  this  to  be  a  great 
meeting  in  enthusiasm  and  influence  on 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  1,  1917 


our  churches.  The  other  elders  and  dea- 
cons meetings  were  held  in  Barton 
county,  at  Lamar  and  Polk  county  at 
Bolivar,  January  16th  and  17th.  Eight 
other  such  county  meetings  will  be  held 
in  Third  District  in  the  near  future." 

Christian  Union  Quarterly 
Features 

The  Christian  Union  Quarterly  for 
January  includes,  among  other  features, 
articles  by  three  Disciple  ministers. 
Finis  Idleman  writes  on  "The  Contribu- 
tion of  Phillips  Brooks  to  American 
Christianity;"  Henry  Pearce  Atkins  on 
"The  Hope  of  Christian  Unity,"  and  I. 
S.  Chenoweth  on  "Christian  Unity,  Or- 
ganic and  Spiritual."  An  appreciative 
review  of  Dr.  Willett's  "Moral  Leaders 
oi  Israel"  is  also  contained  therein. 

North  Shore  Church, 
Chicago,  Succeeds 

D.  Roy  Mathews  has  been  leading  the 
North  Shore  church,  Chicago,  for  the 
last  seven  months,  and  during  this  pe- 
riod twenty-two  members  have  been 
added,  an  increased  budget  assumed,  the 
Sunday  school  reorganized  with  adop- 
tion of  the  graded  system,  Ladies'  Aid 
and  missionary  societies  strengthened 
and  Boy  Scout  work  started.  This 
church  now  has  its  own  weekly  bulletin. 

Praise  for  Edgar 
DeWitt  Jones 

The  Homiletic  Review  for  February 
contains  a  four  page  write-up  of  "Three 
American  Preachers,"  and  reviews  of 
their  recent  books.  The  preachers  con- 
sidered are  Dr.  J.  H.  Jowett  of  New 
York:  Dr.  Frederick  F.  Shannon  of 
Brooklyn,  and  Dr.  Edgar  DeWitt  Jones, 
of  First  Christian  church,  Bloomington, 
111.  A  fine  and  true  word  of  tribute  is 
paid  by  the  author  of  the  article,  Prof. 
Arthur  S.  Hoyt,  of  Auburn  Theological 
Seminary,  to  the  Bloomington  pastor. 


— W.  W.  Wharton,  of  Jacksonville, 
111.,  reports  the  close  of  a  meeting  held 
for  old  Independence  church  in  Pike 
county,  Illinois. 

— F.  B.  Thomas,  evangelist,  writes 
that  he  closed  a  meeting  of  three  weeks 
at  Sullivan,  111.,  last  week,  with  178  addi- 
tions to  the  church  membership.  Many 
business  and  professional  men  are  in- 
cluded in  the  list  of  new  recruits.  Dur- 
ing the  meetings,  the  Sunday  school 
grew  from  an  attendance  of  140  on  the 
first  Sunday  to  369  on  the  last  Sunday. 
Mr.  Thomas  speaks  in  high  terms  of  the 
work  of  the  pastor  at  Sullivan,  W.  B. 
Hopper. 

— W.  E.  M.  Hackleman  has  closed  two 
weeks'  service  at  Roberts  Park  M.  E. 
church,  Indianapolis,  with  Miss  Elinor 
S.  Miller,  an  Australian  evangelist,  and 
goes  next  to  assist  A.  B.  Philputt,  at 
Central  church,  for  his  fourth  meeting 
with  this  people. 

— E.  B.  Quick,  now  at  Barry,  111.,  who 
will  take  up  the  work  at  Hazelwood 
church,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  March  4,  will  at 
once  inaugurate  a  building  campaign. 

— Rand  Shaw  is  leading  in  an  evang- 
elistic effort  at  Omar,  W.  Va.,  which  is 
a  new  town,  about  four  years  old,  with 
6,000  people.  The  meeting  is  virtually  a 
union  enterprise.  There  were  35  acces- 
sions on  the  first  three  evenings  of 
invitation. 

— First  church,  Richmond,  Ind.,  stands 
second  in  the  state  in  its  offerings  to 
foreign  missions,  having  contributed 
$635  last  year.    Muncie  stands  first.  The 


Richmond  church  gave  $215  to  home 
missions.  The  C.  W.  B.  M.  reports  mis- 
sion offerings  of  $297.  Over  $1,500  went 
to  missions  from  all  sources.  L.  E. 
Murray,  pastor,  is  rejoicing  in  the  addi- 
tion of  99  new  members  during  last  year. 

— For  the  first  time  in  many  years 
Central  church,  Jacksonville,  111.,  closed 
last  year  with  all  indebtedness  paid  and 
a  balance  in  the  treasury.  For  current 
expenses  $6,557.82  was  received,  and 
$2,156.17  was  contributed  to  missions. 
Fifty-seven  members  were  added  during 
the  year.  During  1916  an  Ella  Ewing 
Mission  Circle  was  organized,  also  an 
Intermediate  Endeavor  organization  of 
115  members.  A  parsonage  was  erected 
last  year  costing  $7,000.  The  pastor,  M. 
L.  Pontius,  starts  the  new  year  with  a 
salary  increased  by  $500.  C.  L.  DePew 
has  recently  become  superintendent  of 
Central  Sunday  school. 

— Mason  City,  la.,  congregation,  led 
by  W.  T.  Fisher,  is  planning  to  build  an 
up-to-date  home  next  summer.  The 
building  will  be  modeled  something  after 
First  church,  Cedar  Rapids,  la.,  and  will 
cost  about  $85,000. 

— Central  church,  Indianapolis,  had 
186  accessions  during  1916,  with  no 
meeting  except  two  weeks  of  services 
led  by  home  forces.  The  average  at- 
tendance at  the  Sunday  school  was  696. 
Received  from  all  departments,  $15,- 
752.72,  of  which  $3,495  was  for  missions, 
exclusive  of  a  special  gift  of  $9,000  by 


one  of  the  members  to  the  C.  W.  B.  M. 
The  Sunday  school  raised  over  $3,000. 
This  congregation  now  has  a  member- 
ship of  over  1,300  resident  members, 
with  100  non-resident.  A.  B.  Philputt 
has  a  record  for  long  continued  and 
fruitful  service  at  Central. 

—Prof.  T.  J.  Golightly  gave  the  Edu- 
cation Day  address  at  Shenandoah,  la., 
where  Mr.  Golightly  formerly  minis- 
tered. 

— At  Central  church,  Terre  Haute, 
Ind.,  it  is  reported  that  at  the  beginning 
of  this  year  all  bills  are  paid  and  there 
is  money  in  the  treasury.  J.  Boyd  Jones 
leads  successfully  in  this  field.  The 
Brandt  meeting  closed  after  two  weeks 
of  services.  Nearly  forty  persons  were 
added  to  the  membership,  most  of  them 
coming  from  the  Sunday  school. 

— The  adult  department  is  strong  at 
the  Danville,  Ind.,  church.  At  the 
fourth  annual  banquet  of  the  Twentieth 
Century  Bible  Class  285  people  sat  down 
to  the  feast.  Charles  Otis  Lee,  pastor, 
is  also  teacher  of  this  great  class. 

— At  Euclid  Avenue  church,  Cleveland, 
O.,  a  total  of  $17,780  was  raised  last  year 
for  all  purposes.  The  missionary  treas- 
urer disbursed  $5,250.22.  There  were  156 
persons  added  to  the  membership  of  the 
church. 

— LeRoy  M.  Anderson  writes  that  he 
is  now  taking  up  his  new  work  at  New- 
port,  Ky.,  fraving  left  the   pastorate   at 


To  secure  an  Annuity  Bond  of  the  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society.    Send  a 
check  today  and  we  will  promptly  execute  and  return  a  bond. 

Note  the  following  advantages: 

PROMPT.  The  annuity  is  sent  to  you  the  very  day  it  is  due,  without  having  to 
notify  the  Society. 

SAFE.  Because  the  Society  is  incorporated  and  has  about  three-quarters  of  a 
million  of  dollars  in  securities,  with  a  growing  annual  income,  which  makes  it  an 
absolutely  safe  proposition  in  a  business  way. 

CHRISTIAN.  The  money  goes  into  a  growing  missionary  work  in  which  nearly 
one  thousand  workers  are  engaged.  They  distribute  Bibles,  pi  each  the  gospel,  baptize 
the  people,  spread  the  Lord's  table  and  establish  an  orderly  Christian  community. 

ADVANTAGES.  If  you  are  fifty  years  of  age,  the  plan  gives  you  a  good  income 
while  you  live,  free  from  taxes  or  change  of  investment  or  losses  in  any  other  way. 

The  Annuity  Fund  of  the  Foreign  Society  is  now  more  than  $600,000  and  enjoys 
constant  growth.  


As  an  investment  only,  the  Annuity 
has  very  great  advantages. 

It  yields  a  larger  income  than  the 
usual  bond  or  stock,  and  more  than  the 
interest  rate  in  many  communities. 


Note  these  points 
And  there  are  others 


ANNUITY  BEST  OF  ALL 


Good 

Better 

Better  Yet 
Best  of  All 


2%         Postal  Savings 

4%      Bonds 

5%    Mortgages 

6%  Annuity  Bond 


For  further  information,  address 


FOREIGN    CHRISTIAN    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY 

BOX  884.  CINCINNATI,  O. 


February  1,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


Bowling  Green.  He  enters  the  new  field 
in  time  to  cooperate  in  the  present 
Greater  Cincinnati  United  Evangelistic 
campaign,  in  which  250  churches  are 
uniting.  Newport  offers  a  hard  but  re- 
sponsive field,  he  writes,  but  he  is  hope- 
ful because  of  the  sympathetic  coopera- 
tion of  the  churches  of  Cincinnati.  The 
Newport  church  is  the  only  Disciples 
church  in  a  territory  including  about 
40,000  people. 


■i phi  unnu  A  Church  Home  for  You. 

NEW  YORK  Wri*e  Dr-  Firis  Wleman, 
IlLfl   I  UNIX  M2  Wwt  81gt  gt     N  y 


—Stuart  Street  church,  Springfield,  111., 
is  planning  a  revival  to  begin  Febru- 
ary 18. 

— R.  L.  Finch  has  resigned  from  the 
pastorate  at  Park  and  Prospect  church, 
Milwaukee,  Wis.,  and  will  conduct  a 
Chautauqua  course  out  of  Kansas  City. 
Since  January  1  Charles  M.  Sharpe,  of 
the  Disciples  Divinity  House,  has  occu- 
pied the  pulpit. 

— A  junior  church  is  a  very  successful 
feature  of  the  work  at  Keokuk,  Iowa, 
where  Wallace  R.  Bacon  leads.  A  mo- 
ion  picture  machine  is  being  installed  at 
:his  church. 

— H.  C.  Kendrick,  of  Ontario,  Cal.,  has 
iccepted  the  pastorate  of  the  University 
:hurch,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

— A  newly  organized  missionary  so- 
:iety  of  young  women  at  First  church, 
2uincy,  111.,  has  taken  the  name,  "the 
Lora  M.  Endres  Missionary  Society,"  in 
lonor  of  Mrs.  W.  D.  Endres,  wife  of 
he  pastor. 

— Jesse  M.  Bader,  of  Atchison,  Kan., 
,vho  is  chairman  of  the  Win  One  cam- 
paign in  Kansas,  is  holding  evangelistic 
neetings  at  Carbondale,  111. 

— It  is  announced  that  John  L.  Brandt, 
lr.,  son  of  the  St.  Louis  preacher,  has 
iccepted  a  call  to  a  pastorate  in  Seattle, 
Wash. 

—A  rather  strange  and  confusing  sit- 
mtion  exists  in  Illinois,  where  there  are 
wo  preachers  wearing  almost  identical 
lames,  Ernest  H.  Reed,  of  Pontiac,  and 
Ernest  Reed,  of  Keithsburg.  The  former 
s  in  the  third  year  of  his  pastorate  at 
Pontiac,  while  the  latter  has  but  recently 
:hanged  from  Kinmundy  to  Keithsburg. 

— W.  D.  Cunningham,  missionary  in 
rokio,  Japan,  preached  in  the  Coshoc- 
:on,  O.,  church  two  weeks  ago. 

—Mrs.  J.  S.  Young,  one  of  the  oldest 
Disciples  in  Iowa  and  in  the  United 
States,  died  at  Mitchellville,  Iowa,  Janu- 


ary 18,  1917,  aged  91  years,  7  months  and 
some  days.  Her  husband  died  a  year 
ago  at  the  advanced  age  of  94  years. 
She  was  baptized  by  Alexander  Camp- 
bell over  seventy  years  ago. 

— By  special  request  J.  W.  Lowber  re- 
cently preached  a  sermon  in  First  Con- 
gregational church,  Austin,  Tex.,  on  the 
theme,  "The  Greatest  Problem  in  the 
World." 

— J.  C.  Mason,  pioneer  Disciple  of 
Dallas,  Tex.,  celebrated  his  seventy- 
second  birthday  last  month.  Mr.  Davis 
now  ministers  to  three  small  churches 
near  Dallas. 

— The  church  at  Corsicana,  Tex.,  is 
contributing  $600  to  the  support  of  S.  G. 
Inman  in  his  work  for  Latin  America. 

— Claude  E.  Hill  is  leading  in  a  home 
meeting  at  First  church,  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.,  with  C.  H.  Hohgatt,  of  Chicago 
singing.  There  was  a  net  gain  of  100 
members  at  First  church  last  year,  with 
no  revival. 

— Graham  Frank,  of  Liberty,  Mo., 
preached  a  sermon  to  young  men  last 
Sunday,  discussing  the  question,  "Are 
the  Boys  of  Today  Worse  Than  Their 
Fathers  Were?" 

— On  January  5  A.  B.  Jones,  pioneer 
preacher  of  Liberty,  Mo.,  celebrated  his 
85th  birthday. 

— John  G.  Slayter,  of  East  Dallas 
church,  Texas,  has  been  conducting  a 
revival  series  at  Third  church,  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.,  where  F.  M.  Gordon  min- 
isters. 

—The  Bible  Chair  students  at  Texas 
University  have  decided  to  support  a 
"life  line"  in  the  San  Antonio  Insti- 
tute. This  will  obligate  the  students 
for   $300   annually. 

— Since  John  T.  Stivers  became  pastor 
at  Riverside,  Cal.,  last  March  there  have 
been  about  seventy-five  persons  added 
to  the  membership,  twenty-four  of  these 
coming  during  a  recent  revival. 

— Tonawanda,  N.  Y.,  church  is  plan- 
ning to  plant  a  mission  in  the  southern 
section  of  the  community,  not  far  from 
Kenmore,  which  connects  Tonawanda 
with  Buffalo. 

— During  the  Billy  Sunday  meetings 
now  being  held  at  Buffalo,  both  the  Cen- 
tral and  Richmond  Avenue  congrega- 
tions have  employed  assistants  for  their 
ministers,  B.  S.  Ferrall  and  J.  P.  Sala. 

— D.  Stewart  of  Russellville,  Ark.,  has 
succeeded  J.  P.  Pinkerton  in  the  pas- 
torate at  Terrell,  Tex. 

— The  Christian  Endeavorers  of  Cen- 


tral church,  Youngstown,  O.,  will  visit 
all  the  young  people  of  the  congregation 
in  the  interest  of  Christian  Endeavor  on 
Sunday  afternoon,  February  4. 

— Franklin  Circle  Sunday  school, 
Cleveland,  O.,  has  adopted  as  its  slogan, 
"Seven  hundred  average  attendance  be- 
fore May  1." 

— D.  B.  Titus  of  Rupert,  Idaho,  has 
been  called  to  lead  the  Bozeman,  Mont., 
church  in  a  series  of  meetings,  beginning 
February  13. 

— Eureka  College  is  making  an  en- 
deavor to  secure  one  hundred  freshmen 
for  next  fall's  session.  L.  O.  Lehman, 
field  secretary,  is  leading  in  the  cam- 
paign, wyfij 

— Frank  W.  Lynch,  minister  at  Sharon, 
Kan.,  has  been  called  to  this  work  for 
another  year.  He  is  now  in  a  meeting 
with  the  church  at  La  Harpe,  Kan. 
There  were  35  accessions  during  the  first 
nine  days  of  invitation. 

— The  Bridgeburg,  Ont.,  church  has 
had  its  life  sapped  by  the  loss  of  many 
of  its  men  members  to  the  war. 

— The  death  is  reported  of  Thomas 
Miller,  86  years  of  age,  at  Altoona,  Kan. 

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22 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  1,  1917 


How  Far  Does  Your  Church  See? 

The  Foreign  Society  has  had  a  large  part  in  making  spiritual  geography  for  the  Disciples  of  Christ. 
The  Church  without  a  world  vision  is  as  moss  grown  as  a  school  without  geography. 

DOES 
YOUR 

CHURCH 

SEE 


Dr.  Shelton  healing  the  sick  on  distant  Tibet's  plateaus 
Frank  Garrett  preaching  among  5,000,000  in  the  heart  of  China 

I  George  Brown  training  native  preachers  at  India's  center 
A.  F.  Hensey  baptising  African  converts  in  the  great  Congo 

|  Fred  Hagin  itinerating  through  the  villages  of  populous  Japan 
Dr.  Pickett  treating  both  soul  and  body  in  the  Philippines 
W.  L.  Burner  organizing  churches  in  nearby  Sunny  Cuba 


? 


Which  Is  Your  Vision  ? 


The  Church  that  has  no  Tibet  is  limiting  the  Savior's  commission. 

The  Church  that  has  no  China  subtracts  one-fourth  from  Christ's  census. 

The  Church  that  has  no  India  forgets  300  millions. 

The  Church  that  has  no  Africa  shuts  its  eyes  to  the  most  ignorant  and  helpless. 

The  Church  that  has  no  Japan  gives  preference  to  pagan  temples. 

The  Church  that  has  no  Philippines  halts  Christianity  short  of  the  flag. 

The  Church  that  has  no  Cuba  bars  the  Gospel  within  our  shores. 

The  March  Offering  for 
Foreign  Missions 

Will  give  your  church  world  vision  and  partici- 
pation in  the  world's  need. 

The  Foreign 
Christian  Missionary  Society 

Will  invest  your  gifts  in  all  of  these  lands  for 
Christ. 

F.  M.  RAINS,  I  Secretaries 

STEPHEN  J.  COREY,  f  becretaneS- 

BOX  884,  CINCINNATI,  OHIO. 


Mr.  Miller  served  this  church  as  pastor 
for  many  years. 

— Errett  B.  Quick,  of  Barry,  111.,  will 
assume  the  pastorate  at  Hazelwood 
church,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  on  March  1. 
Mr.  Quick  is  a  Bethany  man. 

— A  reception  was  given  at  First 
church,  Quincy,  111.,  to  the  125  members 
who  united  with  the  congregation  dur- 
ing and  since  the  recent  evangelistic 
campaign. 

— A.  McLean,  E.  I.  Osgood  and  W.  R. 
Alexander  conducted  successful  mis- 
sionary rallies  at  Rock  Island,  111., 
Memorial  church.  On  one  evening  a 
dinner  was  served,  at  which  100  persons 
were  present. 

— Austin  Hunter  of  Jackson  Boule- 
vard, Chicago,  gave  an  address  at  a  so- 
cial meeting  of  the  adult  department  of 
Irving  Park  church,  Chicago. 

— Richmond  Avenue  church,  Buffalo, 
John  P.  Sala,  minister,  enjoyed  a  ren- 
dition of  "The  Messiah"  January  7  at 
the  evening  service,  the  audience  assem- 
bled being  so  large  that  several  hundred 
could  not  find  seats.  The  program  was 
repeated  Sunday  evening,  January  21. 

— The  Endeavorers  at  Frederickstown, 
Mo.,  have  taken  a  decided  advance  step 
in  assuming  support  of  Juan  Baronia, 
an  evangelist  at  Manila,  P.  I.,  under  the 
Foreign  Society. 

— Harrv  D.  Smith,  of  Central  church, 
Dallas,  Tex.,  now  has  an  assistant  pas- 
tor, Joe  J.  Murray,  who  has  recently 
been  engaged  in  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work.  Mr. 
Murray  is  a  Texas  University  man. 

— First  church,  Tulsa,  Okla.,  will  soon 
have  a  new  home.  The  structure  will 
cost  about  $100,000.  Sunday  school  ac- 
commodations will  be  perfect  in  the  new 
building,  and  recreational  features  will 
be  provided  for.  J.  W.  Darby  leads  at 
Tulsa. 

— Central  church,  Dallas  Tex.,  raised 
a  total  of  over  $21,000  last  year  for  all 
purposes,  making  an  average  of  $34  per 
member. 

— Founders  Day  at  Eureka  College 
was  celebrated  on  January  26  rather  than 
February  R  this  year,  because  of  Presi- 
dent Pritchard's  later  absence  with  the 
Men     and     Millions     team.       President 


Crossfield,     of    Transylvania,     delivered 
the  special  address. 

— Miss  Edith  Apperson,  missionary  to 
the  Congo  district,  has  been  visiting  her 
parents  at  Watsonville,  Cal.,  and  in  Po- 
mona. She  is  the  living  link  representa- 
tive of  the  Pomona  church. 

— At  North  Yakima,  Wash.,  church, 
to  which  W.  T.  Turner  ministers,  404* 
members  were  added  last  year,  the  mem- 
bership now  being  1,407. 

— Chaplain  W.  A.  Elkins,  minister  at 
Monmouth,  Ore.,  received  a  call  to  the 
work  at  Corvallis,  Ore.,  but  decided  to 
remain  with  the  Monmouth  church. 

91ll]llllllllllllllIIIIItnillH1ll]ll[1IIIIIMIIIMIIIIIIItlllll1lllllllllllll1IH1llll1ltl[lllllllllllllltlllllllMIIII1llll1IIIIIIIIIMH 

I     GIVE  YOUR  PEOPLE  THE  FOR-     I 
WARD  LOOK 

By  laying  out  a  worthy  program  of  | 

|     missionary  education  and  giving  for  I 

|     the  church.  § 

By  preaching  at  least  three  sermons  1 

1     on  Foreign  Missions.  I 

By    telling    new    world    incidents-  1 

|     which  will  link  your  people  up  to  the  1 

1     workers  on^  the  distant  firing^  lines.  \ 

By    reading    the    best    missionary  \ 

I     books  and  giving  the  church  the  bene-  I 

|     fit  of  what  you  have  gleaned.  | 

By  preaching  a  sermon  on  bequests  | 

|     for  our  great  missionary  causes.  | 

By  getting  the  Missionary  Intelli-  § 

|     gencer  into  as  many  homes  as  pos-  1 

|     sible.  1 

By  making  a  drive  on  the  responsi-  § 

|     bility  of  the  church  for  world  con-  \ 

1     quest.  | 

By  making  the  terms  of  world-wide  \ 

|      missions  the  regular  dialect  of  your  \ 

1     preaching  vocabulary.  \ 

By  being  as  severe  on  covetousness  § 
as  on  other  sins  in  the  church. 

By  interesting  the  people  to  pray  \ 

1     for   the  work   and  workers   in    the  | 

|     world  fields.  I 

By  making  the  people  familiar  with  | 

1     Kingdom   geography    through    maps  1 

|     and  facts.  \ 

By  putting  through  the  every-mem-  § 

|      ber  canvass  and  placing  world-wide  | 

I  missions  on  a  high  and  regular  plane  | 
of  support  in  the  church. 

By  urging  the  church  to  look  out  1 

and  help  train  at  least  one  candidate  \ 
I     for  the  mission  field. 

c  = 

^UUIUUIIIIIIIIIIIinilMmilltllllllllllllllHIIilllllllllllllMIMIIIIIIHIIIIIHIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIM? 


ILLINOIS  NEWS  NOTES 

A  recent  visit  at  Decatur  found  both 
our  churches  in  the  midst  of  lively  an- 
nual meeting  preparations.  R.  E.  Henry 
of  the  First  church  and  John  R.  Golden 
of  the  Central  will  make  a  good  team  in 
Decatur. 

The  Brotherhood  of  the  church  at 
Rantoul  has  a  number  of  live  wire  mem- 
bers. At  a  recent  banquet  a  number  of 
the  men  discussed  vital  problems  of 
church  life. 

The  secretary  had  an  opportunity  "to 
spend  a  day  in  Paris  recently,  to  find, 
greatly  to  his  delight,  that  Allan  T.  Gor- 
don is  doing  well  in  his  new  work  there. 

Robinson  has  called  J.  Ralph  Roberts 
of  Eureka,  Kan.,  to  begin  work  soon. 

William  G.  McColley  will  soon  return 
to  Illinois  and  take  up  the  work  at  Say- 
brook. 

The  work  at  West  Salem  starts  out 
well,  according  to  the  report  of  D.  M. 
Durham.  The  congregation  are  expect- 
ing the  best  year  in  the  history  of  the 
church. 

As  a  sample  of  what  might  be  done  in 
a  number  of  Illinois  communities  the 
church  at  Eureka  has  made  an  appropri- 
ation of  two  hundred  dollars  a  year  to 
provide  full-time  preaching  at  Secor,  a 
village  near  Eureka. 

Ernest  H.  Higdon,  who  graduates 
from  Yale  in  June,  will  take  up  the  work 
at  Belleflower  immediately  upon  his  re- 
turn to  Illinois.  Mr.  Higdon  is  a  grad- 
uate of  Eureka  College  and  one  of  our 
Illinois  boys. 

Educational  week  with  First  church, 
Springfield,  was  a  new  feature  but  a 
noted  success.  The  secretary  had  the 
privilege  of  attending  only  one  day,  but 
on  that  day  it  was  a  delight  to  find  twen- 
ty-five or  thirty  of  our  preachers  from 
nearby  churches  in  attendance.  The 
pastor,  Frank  Waller  Allen,  has  set  the 
pace  for  an  important  movement  among 
our  churches. 

The  church  at  Petersburg  is  rejoicing 
over  the  victories  of  the  past  two  years 
and  has  increased  the  salary  of  its  pas- 
tor, Samuel  E.  Fisher.  Last  year  was 
the  best  in  the  church's  history  as  re- 
gards missions. 

H.  H.  Peters,  State  Secy. 


lllllllilllllll 


llllllllllllllll 


llllllll 


mmnm 


Here  is  the  only  book  that  tells  the  story  of  the 
Disciples  movement  from  first-hand  observation. 
Dr.  W.  T.  Moore  is  the  only  man  now  living  who 
could  perform  this  task,  and  Dr.  Moore  has  told  his 
story  in  his 

"Comprehensive  History 
of  The  Disciples  of  Christ' ' 

You  cannot  afford  to  let  this  opportunity  slip  to  se- 
cure this  book  for  your  library  at  practically  half  price! 

This  is  a  sumptuous  volume  of  700  pages,  beauti- 
fully printed  and  bound.  The  pictures  themselves 
are  more  than  worth  the  price  of  the  book.  Here 
is  a  real  portrait  gallery  of  the  men  who  have  made 
the  Disciples  movement,  from  the  earliest  days  to 
the  present  living  minute. 

Here  is  the  Extraordinary  Proposition 
We  are  Making  on  the  Few  Copies 
of  the  Book  Now   Remaining 

Send  us  only  $2.50  and  we  will  mail  you,  post- 
paid, a  copy  of  the  $4.00  Cloth  Edition.  If  you 
wish  the  half  morocco  (originally   sold  at    $5.00) 

|   send  us$3.50.  The  full 
morocco  (originally  sell- 


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This  Book  Takes 
Its  Place  Among 

the  Historical 

Treasures  of  the 

Disciples 


ing  at  $6.00)   will   be 
sent  you  for  $4.00. 

Disciples  Publication 

Society,  700  E.  40th  St., 

Chicago,   111. 


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THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  PRESS 


■ 


1 


Vol.  XXXIV 


February  8,  1917 


Number  6 


The  Religion  of 
Abraham  Lincoln 

Editorial 

Woodrow  Wilson- 


Human 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  8,  1917 


Just  From  The  Press 


Dr.  Burr  is  A.  Jenkins'  Popular  Volume 

'The  Man  in  the  Street 
and  Religion" 

A   book   containing  the  Kansas    City  preacher's  message  and    his 
personal  philosophy  of  life. 

One  of  the  livest  and  most  readable 
statements  of  modern  faith  which  the  New 
Year  will  bring  forth.  The  following  ex- 
tract from  the  first  chapter  suggests  the 
point  of  view  and  atmosphere  of  this 
fascinating  book: 

"To  look  upon  the  seething  mass  of  men  in  the 
city  streets,  or  on  the  country  side,  the  navvy  in 
the  ditch  or  on  the  right-of-way,  the  chauffeur 
and  the  engine  man,  the  plumber  and  the  pluto- 
crat, the  man  with  the  hoe  and  the  man  with  the 
quirt,  the  clerk  and  the  architect,  the  child  of  the 
silver  spoon  and  the  child  of  the  rookery,  and  to 
declare  that  all  alike  are  religious,  naturally  re- 
ligious, seems  a  daring  stand  to  take.  But  that 
is  the  precise  position  to  which  we  are  beginning 
to  come." 

Price  $1.25   (plus  postage) 

Order  now,  inclosing  remittance,   and  book  will   be   sent    immediately. 


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well  as  the  new. 


PUBLISHED    WEEKLY    BY   THE    DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE    INTEREST    OF    THE    KINGDOM     OF    GOD 


Expiration*— The  date  on  the  wrap- 
per shows  the  month  and  year  to 
which  subscription  Is  paid.  List  la 
revised  monthly.  Change  of  date 
on  wrapper  Is  a  receipt  for  remit- 
tance on  subscription   account. 

Remittance* — Should  be  sent  by 
draft  or  money  order,  payable  to 
The  Dl»clples  Publication  Society. 
If  local  check  Is  s«nt,  add  t*n 
cents  for  exchange  charged  us  by 
Chicago    banks. 

Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter 
Feb.  28,  1902,  at  the  Postofflce,  Chi- 
cago, UllnolH,  under  Act  of  March 
8,    1879. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS, 


700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


n;     .  .  The  Disciples  Publica- 

UlSCipicS  tion   Society  is  an  or- 

PubUCation     sanitation     through 
e~_i~4..  which  churches  of  the 

SOCiety  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *    •    * 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *    *    * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
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THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  February  8,  1917 


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hristian  Century 


CHARLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT    L.    WILLETT,     CONTRIBUTING     EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


FEBRUARY  8,  1917 


Number  6 


The  Religion  of  Lincoln 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  WAS  RELIGIOUS. 

If  only  church  members  are  religious,  then  Abraham 
Lincoln  is  not  to  be  counted  among  those  who  loved  God. 
Important  as  is  the  church,  there  are  few  people  who 
would  insist  that  a  man  cannot  be  religious  outside  of  it. 
It  is  to  be  doubted  if  a  Catholic  priest  with  his  high  church 
doctrine  would  go  so  far. 

Whether  a  man  is  religious  or  not  depends  on  how 
he  looks  at  life  and  whether  he  truly  believes  in  God. 

It  is  to  be  admitted  that  the  early  life  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  not  conducive  to  the  development  of  a  re- 
ligious viewpoint.  He  lived  in  a  rude  pioneer  section 
where  it  was  difficult  to  find  a  preacher  and  where  religious 
institutions  had  not  yet  done  their  beneficent  work. 

As  a  young  man,  Lincoln  found  himself  a  grocery 
clerk  in  a  district  where  free-thinkers  abounded.  It  was 
in  these  days  that  he  himself  became  a  free-thinker  for 
awhile.  He  gave  the  religion  of  the  sects  something  of  the 
critical  examination  which  is  now  given  in  all  up-to-date 
divinity  schools,  but  he  had  no  friendly  guide  to  lead  him 
out  of  his  doubts  and  troubles  into  the  faith  of  the  mature 
man.  He  had  to  live  many  years  before  life  itself  taught 
him  the  deeper  values.  At  last  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  fell 
upon  him.  The  last  years  of  his  life  had  in  them  a  quality 
of  religious  reverence  that  was  a  continual  shock  to  the 
hardened  and  selfish  politicians  who  ever  surround  a  presi- 
dent. 

•    • 

The  religious  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  due  in  con- 
siderable measure  to  his  acquaintance  with  and  love  for  the 
Bible. 

The  Bible  was  his  first  great  text-book.  In  the  log 
cabin  years  he  spelled  over  its  pages  in  learning  to  read. 
In  his  days  among  the  free-thinkers,  he  may  have  read  it 
for  the  purpose  of  criticism.  Later,  he  read  it  for  his  sons 
with  reverence  and  real  religious  appreciation. 

That  the  Bible  made  a  deep  impression  upon  him  is 
seen  by  an  examination  of  his  speeches  and  state  documents. 
In  his  celebrated  debate  with  Douglas  he  took  as  his  text : 
"A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand."  Old  men 
who  heard  the  debate  declare  that  he  "quoted  scripture 
like  a  preacher." 

In  an  examination  of  the  Gettysburg  address,  which 
has  been  regarded  by  competent  critics  as  a  matchless  piece 
of  English  seemingly  reeled  off  in  the  inspiration  of  the 
hour,  we  find  scripture  words  and  phrases  continually  re- 
curring. These  give  the  message  a  dignity  and  an  authority 
which  it  would  never  have  had  otherwise. 

A  delegation  of  negroes  once  gave  Lincoln  a  Bible. 
His  words  on  that  occasion  indicated  that  no  gift  they 
might  have  given  would  have  pleased  him  more. 

Even  his  jokes  sometimes  took  color  from  his  biblical 
knowledge.  When  debating  with  Douglas,  he  took  off  his 
long  linen  duster  and  handing  it  to  a  bystander  said,  "Hold 
my  coat  while  I  stone  Stephen." 

If  this  delight  in  the  Bible  was  one  of  the  great  forma- 


tive influences  in  his  life,  it  is  not  our  only  evidence  of 
his  religious  viewpoint.  It  is  astonishing  to  find  him  mak- 
ing and  signing  a  temperance  pledge  back  in  the  days  when 
many  of  the  prominent  ecclesiastics  of  the  country  still 
used  wine  upon  their  tables.  There  was  nothing  in  his 
environment  to  give  him  that  interest.  It  marks  him  as  a 
soul  who  had  begun  to  rise  morally  above  the  crowd  and 
stand  head  and  shoulders  above  it,  just  as  he  did  physically. 

His  interest  in  abolishing  slavery  was  a  religious  in- 
terest. The  abolitionist  of  those  days  had  nothing  to  gain 
and  much  to  lose  by  his  unpopular  propaganda.  It  was 
Lincoln's  sense  of  the  infinite  value  of  human  life  that 
made  him  give  his  life  to  this  cause  and  to  vow  that  if 
he  were  ever  given  an  opportunity  to  hit  slavery,  he  would 
hit  hard. 

It  was  this  same  sense  of  human  values  that  led  him  to 
pardon  many  prisoners.  He  had  caught  a  vision  of  the 
whole  modern  meaning  of  punishment  when  he  said :  "I 
reckon  it  won't  help  a  boy  much  to  hang  him."  He  knew 
how  the  boys  of  the  army  had  come  up.  Most  of  them 
had  never  lost  a  night's  sleep  in  their  lives.  He  was  un- 
willing to  have  them  shot  when  occasionally  they  fell 
asleep  on  sentry  duty. 

It  was  a  sense  of  his  terrible  responsibility  to  a  divided 
nation  that  drove  him  to  his  knees  in  prayer.  When  he 
left  Springfield  to  be  inaugurated,  he  said :  "And  I  hope 
you,  my  friends,  will  all  pray  for  me  that  I  may  receive 
the  divine  assistance,  without  which  I  cannot  succeed,  but 
with  which  success  is  certain."  Again  and  again  during  his 
four  years  at  Washington  he  was  asking  people  both  in 
public  and  in  private  to  pray  for  him  and  for  the  stricken 
nation.  It  is  said  that  he  even  declared  his  intention  of 
making  a  public  profession  of  religion.  In  this  intention 
he  was  overtaken  by  his  untimely  death  at  the  hand  of  an 
assassin. 

•    • 

The  appreciation  of  the  savior  of  our  country  grows 
year  by  year.  It  is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  say  that  he 
is  already  the  greatest  figure  in  the  nation's  history.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten  what  were  the  hidden  sources  of  his 
power.  The  function  of  a  great  life  to  posterity  is  to 
beckon  on  in  the  ways  of  success. 

Ancient  Israel  believed  she  was  led  of  God.  There 
is  no  reason  why  we  should  be  less  religious.  She  be- 
lieved that  her  great  men  were  raised  up  of  God.  There 
is  no  justification  for  our  taking  a  more  secular  view.  Let 
us  not  be  afraid  to  say  that  God  found  Abraham  Lincoln, 
and  that  Abraham  Lincoln  found  God. 

It  is  to  be  doubted  whether  any  builder  of  a  higher 
civilization  was  ever  other  than  religious.  Calculating  poli- 
ticians do  not  lure  the  world  to  greater  heights.  It  is  a 
religious  view  of  life  and  a  religious  view  of  the  world 
that  is  the  motive  power  of  progress.  It  was  religion  alone 
which  fitted  Abraham  Lincoln  to  think  his  way  through 
our  great  problems  and  which  nerved  his  hand  for  his 
great  task. 


EDITORIAL 


GO  SOUTH,  YOUNG  MAN! 

THE  advice  of  Horace  Greeley,  "Go  West,  young  man," 
needs  to  be  amended  if  one  is  addressing  the  young 
men  and  women  of  today,  who  face  the  possibility  of 
engaging  in  Christian  work.  They  need  to  be  told  of  the 
great  continent  of  South  America,  which,  immediately 
after  the  world  war  will  assume  an  importance  which  it  has 
never  had  before. 

It  is  today  the  least  known  continent  upon  the  earth. 
Large  tracts  of  land  have  never  been  touched  by  the  foot 
of  the  white  man.  It  is  a  continent  of  great  fertility  and 
unbounded  natural  resources.  With  far  more  habitable 
territory  than  North  America,  it  will  spring  into  tremendous 
significance  in  the  world's  life,  if  it  only  has  right  leader- 
ship. 

Long  ago  South  America  would  have  been  a  great  hu- 
man center  but  for  the  reactionary  quality  of  its  education 
and  its  religion.  The  revolt  has  begun.  The  majority  of 
the  male  population  have  left  a  church  which  has  proved 
to  be  unbearably  reactionary.  Just  now  many  of  these  men 
are  free-thinkers  and  easy-livers.  They  wait  for  the  magic 
touch  of  the  man  of  God  who  can  stir  their  souls  with 
great  loyalties  and  waken  their  wills  with  great  projects. 
What  South  America  waits  for  today  is  the  Christian 
idealist  properly  equipped  with  modern  tools. 

The  Disciples  of  Christ  will  soon  need  a  big  force  of 
leaders  to  occupy  the  territory  which  has  been  given  them 
upon  the  southern  continent.  The  missionary  recruiting 
agencies  of  the  church  can  speak  with  no  uncertain  sound 
as  to  the  opportunities  that  await  the  fortunate  young  men 
and  women  who  will  be  appointed  to  go  out  on  this  great 
mission. 

In  their  lifetime,  they  will  see  districts  with  a  few 
thousands  become  occupied  with  millions.  Europe  will 
overflow  into  the  fertile  plains  of  the  south  land,  and  the 
missionary  leader  will  be  at  the  center  of  one  of  the  most 
interesting  situations  upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 

CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR    AND    THE    LARGER 

FELLOWSHIP 

THE  Christian  Endeavor  movement  was  thirty-six 
years  old  on  February  2.  By  this  time  its  place  in  the 
Christian  world  ought  to  be  well  established  in  the 
minds  of  all.  The  reports  of  the  past  year  indicate  that  the 
movement  is  not  waning,  but  has  made  some  very  great 
strides  forward.  Over  a  thousand  new  societies  have  been 
reported  in  the  southern  states,  where  in  days  gone  by  the 
ecclesiastical  leaders  have  rather  favored  the  strict  denomi- 
national organization  for  their  young  people.  Illinois  is 
reporting  five  hundred  new  societies  and  many  states  have 
added  three  or  four  hundred. 

The  Christian  Endeavor  society  has  stood  for  the 
deepening  of  the  devotional  life  of  young  Christians.  Its 
work  of  promoting  the  larger  fellowship  is  not  one  of  the 
least  significant  of  its  features.  In  these  days  when  the 
human  race  is  hungry  for  the  larger  fellowship  of  man,  we 
remember  with  gratitude  what  the  Christian  Endeavor 
movement  has  done  to  give  young  people  larger  sympa- 
thies. 

The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  has  been  a  bond  of 
union  between  young  people  of  different  communions. 
Few  things  in  the  past  twenty-five  years  have  operated  so 


powerfully  as  has  this  work  among  young  people.  The 
young  people  of  the  past  generation  are  men  and  women 
now  and  they  can  no  longer  be  rallied  to  the  standards 
of  the  extreme  partyism  of  the  past. 

The  Christian  Endeavor  movement  is  also  interna- 
tional in  its  scope.  It  has  united  young  people  of  many 
nations  under  one  banner  in  the  service  of  Christ.  The 
people  who  are  conscious  of  international  fellowship  are 
the  least  likely  to  seek  war  and  strife  with  other  nations. 
The  peace  of  the  world  must  rest  upon  the  sense  of  fellow- 
ship and  common  interest.  In  addition  to  this  general  con- 
sideration, the  Christian  Endeavor  movement  has  fostered 
a  strong  peace  movement  within  its  membership,  which 
will  make  itself  felt  some  day. 

TESTING  A  MAN'S  MINISTRY 

THE  preaching  of  the  gospel  ought  to  be  with  power 
It  is  supposed  to  make  profound  changes  in  people 
When  it  fails  to  make  these  changes,  there  must  be 
something  wrong  with  the  manner  of  its  presentation. 

It  is  just  here  that  we  have  one  of  the  truest  tests  of 
the  value  of  a  ministry.  There  are  ministers  who  are  re- 
membered in  the  community  as  epoch-makers.  When  such 
a  man  visits  that  community  again  after  an  absence  of 
twenty  years,  he  is  hailed  with  delight  even  by  people  who 
never  met  him,  just  because  of  the  work  that  was  done 
in  the  past. 

The  minister  whose  personality  leaves  no  impress 
finds  a  lack  of  appreciation  in  the  community  which 
gradually  grows  into  hostility.  The  people  do  not  always 
know  why  they  do  not  like  the  man.  They  know  vaguely, 
but  not-the-less  truly,  that  the  minister  is  making  no 
changes  in  the  souls  of  his  hearers  nor  in  the  standards  of 
life  in  the  community. 

There  are  questions  which  every  minister  ought  to 
ask  himself  from  time  to  time :  Are  the  people  converted 
in  my  ministry  really  living  changed  lives  ?  Do  my  people 
think  larger  thoughts  than  in  days  gone  by?  Have  they 
more  catholic  sympathies? 

If  these  questions  are  answered  in  the  negative,  it  is 
time  to  take  serious  account  of  the  methods  and  point  of 
view  from  which  the  work  is  being  done. 

The  pragmatic  test  of  Jesus  is  being  applied  in  these 
days  to  all  religious  leaders.  "By  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them."  No  clever  manipulation  of  statistics,  no  bom- 
bastic endorsements  from  leading  people,  nor  even  the 
editorial  endorsement  of  a  newspaper,  will  atone  for  a 
lack  of  impress  on  the  souls  of  the  community. 

When  could  a  preacher  ever  have  lived  and  had  such 
a  chance  to  make  a  re-interpretation  of  religion  to  an  age 
in  process  of  rapid  change  as  now?  People  need  new 
modes  of  apprehending  the  truth,  and  the  stimulus  of  con- 
tact with  a  personality  charged  with  a  mighty  passion  for 
the  service  of  Jesus  Christ. 


THE  BIBLE  AS  BEST  SELLER 

IT  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  Bible  is  still  the  best  sell- 
ing book,  exceeding  with  its  perennial  popularity  the 
ephemeral  interest  in  the  various  novels  that  live  their 
little  day.    This  popularity  of  the  Bible  depends  fundamen- 
tally upon  its  intrinsic  worth,  but  in  a  secondary  way  it 


February  8,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


depends  somewhat  upon  the  earnest  efforts  which  have  been 
put  forth  in  its  behalf  by  interested  publishers.  The  best 
book  might  remain  unknown  but  for  the  promoter. 

The  American  Bible  Society  has  been  the  agency  in 
America,  which  has  been  charged  with  the  task  of  circu- 
lating the  scriptures.  This  society  has  just  completed  a 
hundred  years  of  its  history  and  the  record  for  the  hundred 
years  is  a  very  worthy  one.  It  is  reported  that  in  that  time 
the  society  has  issued  117,687,591  copies  of  the  Bible.  In 
1915  the  society  issued  nearly  eight  million  copies  of  the 
Bible  for  use  at  home  and  on  mission  fields,  or  one-fourth 
of  the  entire  printing  of  the  world.  These  facts  indicate 
how  powerful  an  agent  the  society  is  in  promoting  a 
knowledge  of  the  Book  of  Books. 

Protestantism  and  the  Bible  have  been  working  to- 
gether from  the  beginning.  It  is  often  said  that  but  for  the 
invention  of  printing  a  few  years  before  the  work  of 
Martin  Luther,  the  great  reformer  would  have  failed.  It  is 
still  true  that  the  Protestant  cause  in  the  world  depends 
upon  the  wide  use  of  the  scriptures  and  a  proper  under- 
standing of  their  contents. 

Especially  have  the  Disciples  of  Christ  laid  great 
emphasis  upon  the  importance  of  the  Bible.  "Where  the 
scriptures  speak,  we  speak;  where  the  scriptures  are 
silent,  we  are  silent,"  said  Thomas  Campbell.  It  'is  rather 
surprising,  therefore,  in  view  of  this  biblical  interest  among 
our  people  that  we  have  not  had  a  larger  measure  of  co- 
operation with  the  American  Bible  Society.  Its  facilities 
are  placed  at  the  disposal  of  our  people  as  well  as  of  other 
religious  bodies,  and  we  should  have  an  equal  interest  in 
promoting  the  work  of  giving  the  world  the  Book  which 
lies  at  the  base  of  modern  civilization. 

WHAT  WALTER  SCOTT  DID  FOR  US 

THE  newer  generation  of  Disciples  cannot  afford  to 
be  ignorant  of  the  contribution  made  to  our  move- 
ment by  the  great  leaders  of  an  earlier  day.  Hold- 
ing ourselves  free  to  interpret  religion,  as  they  were 
free,  we  cannot  lose  sight  of  our  spiritual  heritage, 
moulding,  as  it  still  does  the  religious  fellowship  in 
which  we  find  ourselves. 

Walter  Scott  was  an  Episcopalian  of  lower  Scot- 
land, but  when  he  came  to  America  he  became  a  Pres- 
byterian. Like  most  of  the  other  early  Disciple  leaders, 
he  was  a  school  teacher.  As  the  teacher  of  a  member 
of  the  Richardson  family,  he  was  brought  into  touch 
with  the  Disciple  movement  and  joined  in  it. 

It  was  he  who  first  formulated  the  gospel,  as  a 
school  teacher  would  do,  into  three  divisions :  facts  to 
be  believed,  commands  to  be  obeyed,  and  promises  to 
be  enjoyed.  These  three  subdivisions  were  again  sub- 
divided into  three  more,  in  a  way  familiar  to  all  older 
Disciples.  This  was  once  a  device  for  aiding  the  mem- 
ory. How  interesting  it  is  to  note  with  what  facility 
the  gospel  became  crystallized  into  a  hard  and  fast 
formula ! 

It  was  Walter  Scott,  also,  who  brought  the  doc- 
trine of  the  divinity  of  Christ  into  a  central  position. 
He  superseded  the  point  of  view  of  Thomas  Campbell 
of  appealing  to  Scripture  as  the  final  religious  authority 
by  making  his  appeal  to  the  living  Christ.  It  was  Christ 
who  was  to  be  the  rallying  center  for  the  reunion  of 
Christendom.  It  was  here  that  he  is  most  thoroughly 
in  accord  with  modern  modes  of  religious  thought. 

He  brought  to  the  movement  the  idea  of  baptism 
for  the  remission  of  sins.     Indeed,  it  is  astonishing  to 


find  that  he  originated  more  of  the  catch-words  of 
Disciple  preaching  than  any  other  man  connected  with 
the  movement  has  done. 

He  became  a  powerful  evangelist  with  a  new  order 
of  approach,  the  pedagogical.  His  was  a  teaching 
evangelism.  He  helped  forward  powerfully  the  move- 
ment to  supersede  the  hysterical  evangelism  of  another 
age  with  a  sober,  but  powerful,  appeal  to  the  intelli- 
gence of  men  to  give  their  hearts  to  Christ. 

It  is  said  that  few  preachers  of  the  movement,  if 
any,  excelled  this  man  in  pulpit  ability.  Those  who 
heard  him  never  forgot  the  experience.  Doubtless  he 
left  models  of  pulpit  method  which  to  this  day  help  to 
make  Disciple  preachers  men  of  power  in  their  com- 
munities. 

Generous,  kindly,  consecrated,  his  spirit  and  life  are 
a  real  treasure  for  us  all. 

THE  CRUSADE  AGAINST  OPIUM 

THE  fight  against  the  opium  traffic  in  China  has  met 
a  setback  lately.     One  of  the  wisest  efforts  ever 

made  by  a  nation  to  rid  itself  of  vice  has  been  car- 
ried out  in  China.  The  acreage  of  the  poppy  was  to  be 
reduced  systematically  year  after  year.  The  importa- 
tion was  also  to  be  decreased.  Government  officials 
were  to  lose  their  positions  if  they  indulged.  As  a  re- 
sult of  these  plans  the  time  was  near  at  hand  when 
China  should  have  been  free  from  her  curse. 

But  the  late  president,  Yuan  Shi  Kai,  needed  money 
for  his  government.  There  seemed  no  better  way  to 
get  it  than  to  license  the  cultivation  of  the  poppy  in 
three  provinces.  The  governors  of  several  provinces 
emulated  his  example  and  they  also  sold  opium  privi- 
leges to  certain  people.  While  China  has  not  returned 
to  all  the  degradation  of  her  previous  servitude,  she  is 
suffering  that  kind  of  revulsion  of  feeling  that  often 
goes  with  reform  effort. 

In  the  past  the  nations  of  the  world  have  made  it 
hard  for  China  to  be  good.  It  is  a  matter  of  history  how 
England  forced  open  the  ports  of  China  for  the  opium 
traffic.  Even  in  these  latter  days  it  was  slowly  and 
rather  grudgingly  that  England  acceded  to  China's  re- 
quest that  the  importation  of  opium  might  stop. 

It  is  not  enough  for  the  Christian  nations  of  the 
world  to  take  a  merely  negative  attitude  of  letting 
China  be  good  if  she  wants  to  be  good.  There  should 
be  an  active  campaign  of  good  will  in  which  China 
should  be  encouraged  in  every  way  to  be  free  from 
drug-addiction.  If  China  were  assisted  in  financing 
herself,  this  would  be  of  material  service.  America,  in 
her  experience  with  the  saloon,  has  discovered  that  it  is 
not  good  for  the  government  to  derive  revenue  from  the 
vicious  habits  of  its  people. 

Meanwhile  we  must  not  be  indifferent  to  our  own 
fight  against  the  drug  evil.  We  have  a  good  law,  but 
still  have  the  task  of  enforcing  it. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  SOCIAL  EVIL 

IT  was  a  dramatic  hour  in  San  Francisco  the  other  day 
when  several  hundred  abandoned  women  of  the  city 
marched  into  a  certain  Methodist  church,  where  the 
minister  had  been  having  a  good  deal  to  say  about  the 
social  evil.  The  women  had  a  spokesman,  who  had  been 
reading  the  new  social  literature  evidently,  and  she  used 
it  powerfully  in  the  defence  of  her  class. 

She  insisted  that  a  woman  could  not  be  good  without 


8 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


February  8,  1917 


an  income  of  twenty  dollars  a  week.  She  asserted  that  the 
social  evil  was  a  man's  evil  and  not  a  woman's.  "What 
would  you  have  us  do?"  she  asked  challengingly  of  the 
minister.  He  offered  to  find  these  women  positions  in  case 
they  would  leave  the  life  of  evil. 

This  incident  may  have  served  to  make  men  feel  more 
keenlv  their  responsibility  with  regard  to  the  most  shock- 
ing vice  of  our  civilization.  Yet  this  emphasis  should  not 
be  used  to  take  away  from  these  women  their  sense  of 
moral  responsibility.  A  good  girl  does  not  need  twenty 
dollars  a  week  to  keep  straight.  One  of  the  other  kind 
would  not  be  good  on  fifty  dollars  a  week.  Wages  do 
have  something  to  do  with  morality,  but  they  are  not  the 
determining  factor. 


Many  of  these  women  were  lazy.  They  found  that 
the  evil  way  furnished  a  cabaret  life  without  work.  They 
chose  the  path  of  evil  because  they  liked  it.  Vanity,  the 
love  of  finery,  was  another  lure  to  the  evil  life. 

The  scientific  study  of  society  has  been  useful  in  dis- 
covering the  things  that  make  vice  easy  and  virtue  difficult. 
It  is  when  a  study  of  so-called  "social  causes"  leads  us 
into  an  easy-going  determinism  and  into  a  flabby  state  of 
will,  that  we  are  minded  to  protest. 

Few  of  us  are  bad  because  we  had  no  power  to  be 
otherwise.  When  evil  is  necessary  it  is  no  longer  evil. 
Not  only  these  bad  women  but  all  the  rest  of  us  need  to 
be  brought  face  to  face  with  our  moral  responsibility  to  use 
our  life  circumstances  as  an  occasion  for  victory. 


The  Growth  of  the  New  Testament 


Fifth  Article  in  the  Series  on  the  Bible 


BY  HERBERT  L.  WILLETT 


THE  friends  of  Jesus  were  not  interested  in  the  writing 
of  books.  They  were  not  writers,  they  were  preach- 
ers. The  Master  Himself  was  not  a  writer.  He 
left  no  document  from  His  own  hand.  The  first  disciples 
were  too  busy  with  the  new  joys  and  activities  of  the 
Christian  society  to  give  thought  to  the  making  of  records. 

At  the  beginning  and  for  some  time  they  were  all 
Jews.  The  Master  Himself  was  a  Jew,  and  all  His  earliest 
friends  were  of  that  race.  Most  of  them  lived  in  the 
vicinity  of  Jerusalem.  It  was  only  slowly  that  the  news 
about  the  recently  formed  movement  made  its  way  into 
wider  circles.  For  this  reason  most  of  the  writers  of  the 
first  Christian  documents  were  Jews. 

Even  when  the  word  was  taken  into  Samaria,  it  was 
not  quite  regarded  as  a  departure  from  the  easily  formed 
habit  of  thinking  of  the  good  tidings  regarding  Jesus  as  an 
essentially  Jewish  enterprise.  The  Samaritans  were  con- 
sidered as  a  part  of  the  ancient  people  of  Jehovah,  though 
on  a  distinctly  lower  plane  of  religious  and  social  tolerance. 
Xor  did  the  acceptance  of  the  gospel  by  proselytes  like  the 
Ethiopian  official  invade  the  field  of  Jewish  privilege,  be- 
cause in  becoming  an  adherent  of  Judaism  such  a  man  had 
proclaimed  his  break  with  his  former  non- Jewish  life. 

NO  NEED  OF  WRITINGS 

None  of  this  early  activity  which  carried  the  move- 
ment into  Judea,  Samaria  and  Galilee,  required  written 
documents.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  literary  impulse 
in  the  church  for  years.  There  was  no  need  for  it.  The 
believers  were  closely  associated.  The  furthest  of  them 
could  be  reached  in  a  few  hours  with  instructions  from 
their  leaders.  The  story  of  Jesus,  which  was  the  substance 
of  their  preaching,  was  known  to  all.  There  was  no  need 
to  write  it  down. 

It  was  the  extension  of  the  gospel  into  non- Jewish 
communities  which  widened  the  field  of  early  Christian 
operations,  and  gradually  called  for  the  use  of  writing. 
Particularly  was  it  the  ministry  of  the  apostle  Paul  which 
awakened  Christians  to  the  importance  and  value  of  writ- 
ten communications. 

To  one  who  opens  the  New  Testament  without  pre- 


vious reflection  upon  the  manner  in  which  it  took  form,  it 
seems  surprising  to  be  told  that  the  Gospels,  the  books 
with  which  it  begins,  were  by  no  means  the  earliest  of  its 
writings.  Would  it  not  seem  natural  that  they  should  be? 
Yet  a  careful  reading  of  the  collection  makes  it  apparent 
that  such  was  not  the  case.  Why  should  the  books  have 
been  arranged  on  a  plan  which  is  so  at  variance  with  our 
modern  way  of  putting  things  in  something  like  chronolog- 
ical sequence? 

The  answer  is  that  the  order  of  the  books  was  probably 
no  important  consideration  to  the  men  who  gathered  them 
into  a  collection.  They  were  not  sensitive  to  the  spirit  of 
historical  arrangement,  which  makes  people  desire  to  set 
documents  in  the  sequence  of  their  dates.  Probably  they 
were  far  more  impressed  by  the  relative  value  of  the 
Gospels  as  the  chief  material  of  the  collection,  and  so  they 
were  placed  first. 

It  would  be  a  valuable  aid  to  the  student  if  he  could 
have  a  New  Testament  arranged  on  this  plan  of  chronolog- 
ical succession.  And  now  that  the  work  of  biblical  criticism 
has  so  far  advanced  that  the  dates  of  practically  all  the 
books  have  been  determined,  it  is  not  too  much  to  ex- 
pect that  a  New  Testament  so  arranged  may  be  hoped  for. 
Partial  approaches  to  it  have  been  made  in  the  Twentieth 
Century  New  Testament  and  other  helps,  but  the  plan 
ought  to  be  carried  to  completion. 

THE  EPISTLES  OF  PAUL 

Apparently  the  earliest  writing  in  the  New  Testament 
is  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians.  Twenty  years  had 
passed  since  the  end  of  Jesus'  ministry.  The  Christian 
society  had  extended  its  membership  from  Jerusalem  to 
Antioch,  and  from  Antioch  to  Asia  Minor  and  Europe. 
The  chief  worker  in  this  extension  of  the  movement  was 
Paul.  After  a  considerable  period  of  unrecorded  preaching 
in  his  own  home  country,  he  had  been  called  to  Antioch 
and  from  there  had  gone  out  with  Barnabas  and  Mark  on 
a  mission  to  Cyprus  and  the  northern  mainland.  Later  a 
second  journey  was  made  in  company  with  Silas  and  others, 
in  the  course  of  which  the  apostle  crossed  to  Macedonia, 
and  visited  the  cities  of  Philippi,  Thessalonica,  Berea  and 
Athens,  going  on  presently  to  Corinth. 


February  8,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


From  that  city  he  wrote  this  epistle,  on  the  arrival  of 
Timothy  with  good  news  regarding  the  Thessalonians.  In 
it  he  expresses  his  joy  at  their  constancy,  cautions  them 
to  avoid  immoral  and  indolent  behavior,  and  tells  them 
that  they  need  not  fear  that  their  loved  ones  who  have  re- 
cently died  have  lost  out  in  the  event  of  the  Lord's  return, 
which  was  eagerly  expected.  Soon  after  Paul  sent  a  second 
letter  to  the  same  church,  telling  its  nervous  and  excitable 
members  not  to  think  of  the  day  of  the  Lord  as  at  hand, 
but  to  maintain  calmness  and  a  worthy  deportment. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  was  written  to  the 
churches  in  Antioch  of  Pisidia,  Iconium,  Lystra  and  Derbe, 
which  Paul  founded  on  his  first  missionary  tour.  It  was 
a  powerful  protest  against  the  teachings  of  Jewish  teach- 
ers, who  were  attempting  to  persuade  the  Christians  of 
those  towns  to  add  the  familiar  forms  of  Jewish  legal 
observance,  such  as  circumcision,  to  their  program  of 
Christian  life.  It  is  the  most  intense  of  all  the  apostle's 
writings. 

Paul  had  already  written  one  letter  to  the  church  at 
Corinth  when  our  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  was 
sent  by  him  from  Ephesus.  He  had  learned  of  factious 
and  questionable  conduct  in  the  church,  and  had  received  a 
letter  from  some  of  the  members  asking  a  number  of 
questions.  The  Epistle  rebukes  their  divisions,  and  gives 
instructions  on  many  matters  of  importance  such  as  mar- 
riage, the  Lord's  Supper,  spiritual  gifts,  and  the  resur- 
rection. 

Later  on  Paul  heard  that  conditions  at  Corinth  were 
worse  than  ever.  His  authority  was  defied,  and  evil  con- 
duct increased.  He  sent  a  third  letter,  probably  to  be 
identified  with  the  last  four  chapters  of  Second  Corinthians. 
The  tone  of  this  document  is  very  severe.  In  deep  anxiety 
as  to  its  effect  the  apostle  waited  at  Ephesus  for  a  time, 
and  at  length  journeyed  to  Troas,  and  on  to  Macedonia 
before  he  met  Titus  and  learned  that  his  letter  had  resulted 
in  great  improvement  in  the  church.  He  thereupon  wrote 
a  fourth  epistle,  the  first  nine  chapters  of  Second  Corinth- 
ians, expressing  his  satisfaction  at  what  he  had  heard,  and 
exhorting  them  to  faithfulness,  and  particularly  to  generous 
contributions  to  the  poor  members  of  the  church  in  Jerusa- 
lem, for  whose  benefit  he  was  gathering  offerings  from  all 
the  churches. 

When  Paul  had  finished  his  work  in  the  familiar  re- 
gions of  Asia  Mnior  and  Greece,  he  planned  to  go  further 
into  that  western  world  to  which  he  had  made  his  first 
approach  at  the  time  of  his  vision  of  the  man  of  Macedonia. 
He  would  go  to  Rome,  the  capital  of  the  world,  and  then 
on  to  Spain.  He  waited  only  to  complete  the  offering  for 
the  Jerusalem  church.  In  the  meantime  he  wrote  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  telling  them  of  his  plans,  and  out- 
lining his  great  thesis  of  justification  by  faith.  To  this 
Epistle  there  seems  to  have  been  attached  at  some  later 
time  a  brief  letter  of  Paul's  to  the  church  at  Ephesus, 
recommending  Phoebe  of  Cenchrea,  and  conveying  his  best 
wishes  to  many  of  the  Ephesian  brethren. 

The  journey  of  Paul  to  Jerusalem  to  carry  up  the  offer- 
ings of  his  western  churches  resulted  in  his  arrest,  impris- 
onment for  two  years  at  Caesarea,  and  transportation  as  a 
prisoner  to  Rome.  From  his  place  of  confinement  in  that 
city  he  sent  four  letters :  To  the  good  friends  at  Philippi, 
who  had  been  so  thoughtful  of  his  comfort  he  wrote  to 
express  his  gratitude.  To  Philemon,  a  friend  at  Colosse, 
whose  slave  had  escaped  and  found  refuge  with  the 
apostle,  he  wrote  in  affectionate  terms,  sending  back  the 
refugee,  and  commending  him  to  the  regard  of  his  master 


as  a  Christian.  To  the  church  in  Colosse  he  sent  a  mes- 
sage of  admonition  regarding  certain  questionable  teach- 
ings to  which  they  have  given  credence.  And  to  the 
neighboring  church  at  Laodicea  he  also  sent  an  epistle  by 
the  hand  of  the  same  messenger.  It  is  not  unlikely  that 
our  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  is  this  otherwise  unknown 
document. 

It  seems  difficult  to  realize  that  with  these  epistles  the 
words  of  the  great  apostle  close.  No  phase  of  early 
Christianity  is  more  pathetic  than  the  abrupt  frustration 
of  all  Paul's  plans  for  further  evangelism.  So  far  as  it  is 
possible  to  judge  by  the  evidence  presented  by  the  New 
Testament,  the  writing  and  the  life  of  Jesus'  first  and  great- 
est interpreter  ceased  with  his  Roman  imprisonment. 
Probably,  by  this  time,  the  sword  of  persecution  had  shed 
the  blood  of  the  Apostle  Peter  as  well. 

THE    SYNOPTIC    GOSPELS 

No  one  of  the  Gospels  had  as  yet  come  into  being.  But 
there  was  a  man,  who,  as  a  youth,  had  known  the  members 
of  the  Jerusalem  church,  where  his  mother  lived,  had  been 
the  companion  of  Paul  on  a  part  of  his  first  missionary 
tour,  and  had  acted  as  Peter's  helper  in  later  years,  prob- 
ably at  Rome.  This  was  John  Mark,  the  son  of  Mary  of 
Jerusalem.  Sometime  after  Peter's  death,  and  before  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem,  he  seems  to  have  written  down  the  story 
of  Jesus'  life  as  his  master,  Peter,  was  accustomed  to  tell 
it.  The  Gospel  of  Mark  is  a  brief,  vivid  narrative,  empha- 
sizing the  power  of  the  Lord  in  miracle  and  ministry.  It 
was  well  adapted  to  convey  to  Roman  readers  a  suitable 
impression  of  the  character  of  the  Master. 

The  fall  of  Jerusalem  was  an  event  of  tremendous 
significance  to  the  Jewish  people.  It  appeared  to  put  the 
seal  of  condemnation  upon  their  conduct.  A  part  of  that 
conduct  had  been  the  rejection  of  Jesus.  At  first  and  partly 
in  consequence  of  that  rejection,  He  had  seemed  to  fail. 
Now  the  nation  itself  had  fallen,  and  Jesus'  followers  were 
multiplying  everywhere.  A  writer  of  the  period,  convinced 
that  Jesus  had  really  brought  to  its  consummation  the  ex- 
perience of  the  nation,  gathered  the  materials  for  another 
memoir.  It  is  based  on  several  sources:  The  work  of 
Mark,  a  collection  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus  attributed  to 
the  Apostle  Matthew,  and  other  materials.  The  book  thus 
produced  came  to  be  known  as  the  Gospel  of  Matthew.  In 
it  the  person  and  message  of  our  Lord  as  the  fulfillment  of 
Hebrew  hopes  for  the  kingdom  of  God  are  set  forth.  It  is 
in  an  important  sense  the  Gospel  of  the  Jewish  people. 

So  far  as  we  know  the  entire  group  of  New  Testament 
writers  was  Jewish,  with  one  exception.  That  was  Luke, 
the  friend  of  Paul.  He  was  a  Greek,  and  a  physician.  His 
acquaintance  with  the  Apostle  brought  him  into  contact 
with  the  leaders  and  scenes  of  early  Christian  history.  The 
story  of  the  greatest  life  ever  lived  was  being  told  in  many 
ways.  Oral  narratives  and  fragments  of  written  memora- 
bilia were  floating  about.  For  the  benefit  of  a  friend,  Theo- 
philus,  Luke  wrote  with  painstaking  care  a  record  of 
Jesus'  acts  and  sayings.  He  brought  to  his  work  the  broad 
sympathies  of  a  cosmopolitan.  His  narrative  is  the  Gospel 
of  humanity,  of  brotherhood,  of  womanhood,  childhood 
and  Christian  song.  It  is  the  Gospel  for  the  Greek  world 
of  culture  and  humanitarian  interest. 

ACTS  AND   REVELATION 

From  the  same  writer  there  came  also  the  Book  of 
Acts,  a  brief  account  of  some  of  the  events  which  marked 
the  growth  of  the  Christian  community  from  the  close  of 


10 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  8,  1917 


Jesus'  ministry  to  the  end  of  Paul's  career.  As  the  friend 
of  the  great  apostle,  Luke  had  personal  knowledge  of  much 
of  the  narrative ;  from  Paul  he  could  learn  other  portions ; 
and  the  remainder  could  easily  be  secured  during  his  resi- 
dence in  Jerusalem,  Caesarea,  and  Antioch.  This  book 
supplies  most  of  the  information  we  have  concerning  the 
early  days  of  the  church  in  Jerusalem  and  the  ministry  of 
Peter,  and  puts  an  interpreting  background  behind  the 
epistles  of  Paul. 

The  first  generation  of  Christians,  including  Paul, 
counted  much  upon  the  protection  of  the  Roman  empire 
against  their  persecutors.  It  was  therefore  a  bitter  dis- 
appointment when  that  empire  itself  turned  persecutor,  in 
the  days  of  Nero  and  later  under  Domitian.  The  martyr- 
doms of  those  periods  thrust  the  iron  deep  into  the  souls 
of  the  saints.  They  were  called  upon  to  adore  the  image 
of  the  emperor,  or  suffer  the  horrors  of  the  stake  and  the 
arena.  This  is  the  situation  which  is  made  evident  in  the 
Book  of  Revelation.  Its  author  was  a  Christian  teacher 
named  John,  probably  of  Ephesus.  He  had  suffered  banish- 
ment, and  perhaps  torture  for  the  sake  of  the  faith.  To 
encourage  his  fellow-believers  he  wrote  a  series  of  letters 
to  seven  of  the  churches  of  that  vicinity,  and  in  the  figura- 
tive language  of  Jewish  apocalypse  he  added  a  vehement 
denunciation  of  the  Roman  empire  and  its  head.  The 
Christ  who  had  gone  about  in  mild  friendliness  and 
sympathy  was  soon  to  return  as  the  Lord  of  the  world,  to 
take  vengeance  on  His  foes  and  establish  His  kingdom  in 
the  earth.  This  Christian  Apocalypse  must  have  been  of 
great  value  in  maintaining  the  courage  of  the  church  in 
those  hard  times. 

OTHER  EPISTLES 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  probably  written  to 
the  church  at  Rome  by  someone  unknown  to  us,  but  fami- 
liar with  the  dangers  that  menaced  that  group.  The  breth- 
ren there  had  endured  bitter  persecution.  Now  there  was 
danger  that  the  lengthening  time,  the  delay  in  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  Lord's  return,  the  appeal  of  the  more  spec- 
tacular Jewish  services  of  religion,  and  the  death  of  their 
leaders,  would  lead  to  apathy  and  even  apostasy.  The 
Epistle  is  a  plea  for  loyalty  to  the  gospel  as  in  every  way 
superior  to  the  Jewish  institution,  and  the  means  of  direct 
access  to  God  through  the  redemptive  ministry  of  Jesus, 
the  great  High  Priest. 

Another  document  closely  connected  with  Rome  is  the 
First  Epistle  of  Peter,  written  by  a  Christian  leader  in 
the  capital  to  the  disciples  of  Jesus  in  Asia  Minor,  en- 
couraging them  in  the  difficulties  they  were  facing.  It  was 
probably  sent  out  during  the  days  of  the  Domition  perse- 
cution, and  the  writer's  reference  to  Rome  as  "Babylon" 
reveals  the  sentiment  of  detestation  for  Roman  tyranny 
which  had  permeated  the  church. 

In  the  Epistle  of  James,  there  is  given  an  example  of 
the  sort  of  Christian  exhortations  of  which  there  must 
have  been  great  numbers  in  the  first  two  centuries.  It  is  a 
work  of  practical  counsel.  It  has  been  thought  that  the 
author  was  a  brother  of  Jesus,  but  this  tradition  is  based 
upon  nothing  in  the  writing  itself. 

THE  JOHANNINE  WRITINGS 

In  many  respects  the  most  impressive  book  in  the  New 
Testament  is  the  Gospel  of  John.  It  is  less  an  attempt  to 
narrate  the  events  in  the  life  of  Jesus  than  to  interpret  that 
life  as  a  whole,  and  mediate  the  message  of  the  gospel  to 


a  world  which  had  little  use  for  Jewish  forms  of  speech, 
such  as  filled  much  of  the  earlier  Christian  writings.  This 
gospel  probably  took  form  early  in  the  second  century,  and 
it  may  owe  its  origin  to  that  John  the  Elder,  of  Ephesus, 
of  whom  tradition  had  much  to  say.  The  difficulties  that 
confront  the  view  that  it  was  written  by  a  personal  fol- 
lower of  Jesus  are  apparent,  though  the  expressions  in  the 
epilogue  indicate  that  it  was  early  regarded  as  the  work 
of  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved.  It  is  the  Gospel  of  the 
incarnation.  Professor  Goodspeed,  in  his  recently  issued 
"Story  of  the  New  Testament,"  says:  "Its  great  ideas  of 
revelation,  life,  love,  truth  and  freedom,  its  doctrine  of  the 
spirit  as  ever  guiding  the  Christian  consciousness  into 
larger  vision  and  achievement,  and  its  insistence  upon 
Jesus  as  the  supreme  revelation  of  God  and  the  source 
of  spiritual  life,  have  given  it  unique  and  permanent  re-l 
ligious  worth." 

The  Epistles  of  John  probably  come  from  the  same 
hand.  The  First  Epistle  was  in  all  likelihood  a  circular 
letter  sent  to  the  churches  of  the  Asian  district,  emphasiz- 
ing the  great  ideas  of  the  longer  work,  particularly  the 
reality  of  Jesus'  human  life,  and  the  necessity  of  conform- 
ing to  His  commands.  The  two  shorter  epistles  may  have 
been  personal  messages  to  friends  and  comrades  in  the 
faith,  to  whom  the  more  general  writing  was  sent. 

LATER  BOOKS 

The  Epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus  appear  to  be  late 
directions  regarding  church  organization  and  efficiency. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  they  are  based  upon  short  and  gen- 
uine epistles  of  Paul,  some  portions  of  whose  word  have 
survived  in  these  admirable  churchly  counsels.  But  the 
Pauline  note  is  almost  wholly  wanting. 

A  still  later  fragment  of  early  Christian  writing  is 
found  in  the  Epistle  of  Jude.  It  was  a  stinging  rebuke  of 
scandalous  thinking  and  conduct  in  the  churches,  and 
draws  much  of  its  symbolism  from  the  lurid  pages  of 
Jewish  apocalyptic,  like  the  Book  of  Enoch.  Some  time 
afterward  another  writer  made  use  of  much  of  this  docu- 
ment in  probably  the  last  book  of  the  New  Testament,  the 
Second  Epistle  of  Peter,  another  example  of  that  large 
body  of  early  Christian  literature  which  grew  up  around 
the  name  of  the  apostle. 

Already  there  was  a  rapidly  growing  body  of  writings 
issued  in  the  names  of  apostolic  men,  and  it  was  the  task 
of  later  years  to  gather  into  a  collection  those  books  which 
were  thought  worthy  of  that  honor,  and  to  exclude  all 
others.  But  in  that  recognized  group  or  canon  these 
twenty-seven  books  gradually  secured  their  place  and 
became  the  Christian  Scriptures  as  we  now  have  them. 

IfllMlltMUllNIUIIUIIimflUIJHIJIIlininHIIHIHmilJMW 

I  Ask  God  to  give  thee  skill 

|  In  comfort's  art, 

That  thou  mayst  consecrated  be 

And  set  apart 
Unto  a  life  of  sympathy, 
For  heavy  is  the  weight  of  ill 

In  every  heart ; 
And  comforters  are  needed  much 
Of  Christlike  touch. 

— A.  E.  Hamilton. 


HflNII Ill i"1  i ( i r . n . i  J i . 1 1 1 u i .  1 1 1 : ■■ cm IllililllllllllllllllllllMIII 'i' iiiii'iniiii  imiimmmim MiiiiiiimiiiiiiimminiimiHiiiiiimniiiniiin 


A  Morning  and  An  Afternoon 


MORNING  for  study,  afternoon 
for  visiting — that  is  still  my 
program.  Ministers  a  thou- 
sand years  ago  had  the  same.  How 
antiquated  must  be  my  plan  of  work! 
In  these  days,  when  a  minister  is 
preacher,  lecturer,  reformer,  after- 
dinner  speaker,  honorary  member  of 
woman's  clubs,  organizer,  writer,  pas- 
tor, is  not  such  a  division  of  time  very 
much  outworn?  And  then  how  can 
one  study  who  finds  a  telephone  at 
every  desk  where  he  expects  to  tarry 
an  hour  or  two?  And  how  can  one 
get  away  from  committees  and  or- 
ganizations and  wife  and  babies  to 
visit  the  homes  of  one's  people?  In 
all  honesty  I  should  add  that  the  above- 
mentioned  program  is  my  ideal  pro- 
gram.   Some  days  I  live  up  to  it. 

Some  ministers  think  that  pastoral 
calling  is  very  drab  and  drear.  A  great 
book  inspires  them ;  but  lowly  persons 
depress  them.  The  minister  who  is 
well  read,  even  with  our  general  ad- 
vancement of  learning,  is  still  better 
read  than  nine-tenths  of  those  whom 
he  serves.  Most  homes  are  pitiably 
barren  in  their  supply  of  books. 

A  BOOK  ON  THE  WAR 

When  a  minister  has  a  good  book  in 
his  hand  it  is  hard  for  him  to  put  it 
down  and  go  and  call  on  some  one 
who  will  talk  nothing  beyond  a  com- 
monplace or  two.  It  is  easy  for  a 
preacher  to  become  an  aristocrat  while 
still  thinking  himself  a  democrat. 

The  other  morning  I  revelled  in  a 
book  on  the  war  till  noon.  War  read- 
ing to  us  is  not  history;  it  is  current 
events.  It  sets  forth  the  mightiest 
conflict  in  human  history,  the  deepest 
emotions  ever  stirred  among  the  na- 
tions of  earth.  A  book  written  before 
the  war  seems  to  me  uninteresting,  an- 
cient, even  if  written  only  five  years 
ago.  The  pre-war  writer  did  not 
know.  He  was  a  guesser  as  to  the 
course  of  the  world,  the  motives  and 
the  emotions  of  the  world's  leaders. 
What  could  not  be  has  come  to  be. 
Euclid  lived  before  the  war,  I  believe. 
I  liked  him  in  my  school  days.  He  is 
not  so  interesting  to  me  now ;  he  lived 
too  long  ago — before  the  war. 

PASTORAL  CALLING 

I  could  not  put  that  book  down  till 
noon ;  and  after  lunch  I  could  not  let 
it  remain  down,  so  I  continued  to  the 
end.  It  closed  with  some  words  like 
these :  "If  those  people  are  right  who 
say  that  war  has  always  been  and  must 
always  be;  that  war  is  necessary  to 
the  development  of  character,  then  it  is 
the  duty  of  every  pious  soul  the  world 
over  to  pray  that  a  star  may  touch  this 
world  and  end  it  all." 


By   GEORGE   A.    CAMPBELL 

Great  words  these. 

In  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  I 
went  out  to  call.  I  seemed  to  be  walk- 
ing amid  the  battlefields  of  Europe.  I 
saw  the  blood  of  vast  thousands  flow- 
ing in  France,  Serbia,  Roumania,  and 
the  Holy  Land.  I  heard  the  cries  of 
those  not  able  to  die,  the  sobs  of 
mothers  bereft  of  their  sons,  of  wives 
made  widows.  The  world  seemed  to 
have  gone  mad,  and  we  had  no  asylum 
in  which  we  might  incarcerate  it. 

All  was  peaceful  as  I  walked  out. 
There  was  no  undue  excitement.  The 
sunshine  was  soft  and  warm  for  a 
January  day.  A  half  dozen  birds  were 
brave  enough  to  tarry  with  the  winter 
frosts.  Boys  and  girls  laughed  and 
romped.  Men  and  women  passed  each 
other  in  their  accustomed  way. 

I  stood  at  the  first  door.  Should  I 
go  in  ?  The  first  call  is  the  hardest  to 
make.  Standing  outside  it  often  seems 
to  me  there  is  nothing  I  can  do  by 
going  in.  The  people  will  not  care  to 
see  me.  I  can  do  no  good.  After  the 
first  entrance  my  feelings  change.  I 
get  interested.  There  is  no  exception. 
Each  person  has  his  own  life,  his  own 
story,  his  own  struggle,  and  his  own 
defeat  or  victory — at  last  always  a  de- 
feat in  this  world. 

It  would  be  well  for  us  ministers  if 
in  our  calling  we  possessed  the  souls 
of  novelists. 

"THOUGHT   YOU    HAD   FORGOTTEN" 

She  was  a  little  old  woman  with  a 
dried-up  body,  bent  shoulders,  sharp 
features,  and  hands  anything  but  soft. 

"Well,  well,  you  have  been  so  long 
in  coming,  I  thought  you  had  forgotten 
me."  "Well,  never  mind,  I  am  glad 
to  see  you." 

She  lived  alone.  Her  husband  had 
been  a  war  veteran,  and  now  she  was 
left  with  a  little  pension,  which  poorly 
supported  her.  She  kept  neither  cat 
nor  dog — too  expensive,  I  presume. 
Most  of  her  old  friends  were  gone. 
She  lingered  "here  the  last."  Then, 
she  said: 

"Now  I  want  to  tell  you  what  ar- 
rangements I  want  for  my  funeral." 

She  read  them  from  a  paper  on 
which  she  had  written  them.  She  got 
her  Bible  and  showed  me  the  pictures 
of  her  pastors  between  the  leaves,  a 
Christmas  card  or  two  received  some 
years  ago,  and  then  the  text  for  her 
funeral. 

"Yes,  I  am  alone  and  lonely,  but  yet 
not  alone  or  lonely.  God  talks  to  me 
out  of  His  Book  and  I  talk  to  Him  in 
prayer."  "Don't  forget  to  come  back." 
"Don't  be  so  long."  "Yes,  I  pray  for 
you  every  day."  "I  could  not  get  out 
last  Sunday,  but  I  prayed  for  you  as 


you  went  into  the  pulpit."  "Good-bye, 
good-bye." 

Some  day  soon  I  shall  call,  and  she 
will  be  gone. 

I  will  have  "some  of  the  women 
call,"  but  a  week  or  two  may  pass  be- 
for  her  loneliness  may  again  be  inter- 
rupted. 

I  am  glad  I  got  through  the  book  on 
war. 

HEALTH  GONE,  EUT  NOT  HOPE 

I  rang  the  second  bell  without  hesi- 
tation. 

He  is  just  past  fifty.  One  day  after 
he  had  finished  his  carpenter's  job,  he 
started  to  walk  home,  but  could  not. 
Nearly  a  year  has  passed.  He  has  come 
to  know  much  of  doctor  specialists 
and  hospitals,  but  still  he  cannot  walk. 
He  may  never  "go  in  and  out  as  be- 
fore." He  is  fortunate  to  have  a  good 
wife  who  waits  upon  him  with  love 
and  intelligent  care.  Health  has  left 
him,  but  hope  abides.  We  talk  life  and 
religion.  I  have  not  prayed  with  him. 
Prayer  frightens  many  of  us.  We  are 
not  used  to  it  in  our  pastoral  calls.  If 
we  should  pray  with  our  sick  friends 
they  would  conclude  that  we  thought 
them  in  the  last  hours  of  life.  I  have 
no  art  with  the  sick.  I  feel  the  need  of 
carrying  a  message  I  do  not. 

This  brother  views  death  as  the  little 
book  "The  Great  Adventure"  does.  He 
is  cheerful.  Death  does  not  frighten 
him.  Most  sick  people  will  not  talk 
of  death.  I  wanted  to  send  a  taxi  to 
bring  him  to  church.  He  said,  "I 
would  like  very  much  to  go  and  will 
if  I  am  able."  I  wondered  if  he  would 
ever  be  able,  and  saw  in  his  eye  the 
same  question. 

I  ought  to  have  left  that  book  on 
war  sooner. 

Thoughtfully  I  descended  those 
steps.  Facing  death,  and  more  cheer- 
ful than  I !  If  I  were  in  his  place,  how- 
would  my  faith  serve  me  How  can  I 
get  more  cheer  and  comfort  into  my 
preaching?  Some  one  will  likely  hear 
me  next  Sunday  for  the  last  time.  I 
wonder  if  I  will  help  that  one  and  the 
others  ? 

THE    MOTHERLESS 

A  laughing,  happy  Christian  mother 
kissed  her  little  six  months'  baby  good- 
bye and  went  to  the  hospital.  She  did 
not  return.  The  warning,  the  ambu- 
lance, the  hospital,  the  operation,  death 
— all  in  six  hours. 

I  called  to  see  the  orphaned  one.  Oh, 
baby,  do  you  know  a  strange  woman 
has  care  of  you?  Do  you  recall  your 
mother's  blue  eyes,  her  nightly  prayer 
for  your  little  body  and  soul?  No, 
you  cannot  remember,  you  cannot 
know  of  your  loss.  Is  the  hand  of  the 
woman  who   now   cares   for  you   as 


12 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  8,  1917 


gentle  as  hers  who  gave  you  birth? 
Little  one,  you  may  not  live  for  the 
lack  of  that  gentle  mother-soul.  If 
you  live,  who  will  teach  you?  Who 
will  pray  for  you?  That  man  who 
bends  so  often  over  you  and  takes  you 
in  his  arms  is  your  father.  Do  you 
notice  the  tear  in  his  eye?  That  is  for 
your  mother.  Haven't  you  noticed 
he  is  sadder?  No?  Well,  no  wonder; 
he  always  smiles  so  sweetly  at  you. 
Yes,  little  one.  we  must  put  you  on  the 
Cradle  Roll  of  our  hearts.  Ah!  now 
you  smile.  Is  it  because  your  mother's 
spirit  has  placed  a  kiss  upon  your 
cheek?  Your  mother  certainly  is 
somewhere,  and  where  would  she  like 
to  be  so  much  as  watching  over  her 
little  one  ?  Someday  you  will  know  ; 
someday  you  will  say  "Mother";  and 
on  that  day  you  will  enter  the  way  of 
conscious  vicarious  suffering.  Those 
who  look  up  in  this  way  will  find  suf- 
fering losing  itself  in  joy.  Little  one, 
you  belong  to  our  church-family !  You 
were  born  into  our  fellowship  and  care. 
I  must  not  neglect  you  and  the  substi- 
tute mother.  You  are  greater  than 
any  book. 

AT  THE  HOSPITAL 

A  woman  had  been  hurt  in  an  acci- 


dent. It  made  her  rebellious.  To  her 
there  was  no  reason  why  it  should  be. 
I  did  not  argue  with  her.  I  have 
learned  that  you  cannot  gauge  the  real 
soul  by  its  spoken  words. 

Another,  an  old  man,  said  he  had  "a 
great  deal  more  than  his  share  of 
suffering."  Surely  the  physical  suffer- 
ing of  this  world  is  not  divided  up  into 
earned  shares.  In  the  face  of  suffer- 
ing what  can  we  say?  Some  of  the 
earth's  sweetest  songs  came  out  of 
suffering.  But,  then,  there  is  the  re- 
verse side.  The  rebellious  suffer  both 
in  body  and  in  soul.  The  believing 
suffer  in  body  and  rejoice  in  soul. 
Therefore,  to  lead  a  sufferer  to  the 
faith  of  love  is  to  render  him  a  great 
favor.    It  is  a  delicate  task. 

PREACHING  AND  VISITING 

Another  had  sinned  and  was  para- 
lized.  Forgiveness  here  is  the  neces- 
sary word.  To  be  forgiven  is  to  be 
restored  to  the  Father's  love.  He  re- 
gards the  sin  as  though  it  had  never 
been. 

There  are  others  in  the  hospital 
whom  I  ought  to  visit,  but  the  day  is 
gone  and  I  have  not  the  time  now. 

I  ought  not  to  have  finished  that 


book  on  war.  I  took  two  hours  from 
visiting.  How  can  I  know  what  to 
preach  without  visiting?  A  sermon  is 
not  the  presentation  of  history  or 
economics,  nor  social  service,  nor 
philosophy,  nor  Biblical  facts  and  doc- 
trines. Preaching  may  use  all  these, 
but  in  its  essence  preaching  is  giving 
to  the  people  the  interpretative  word 
that  will  support  them  in  their  deep 
need.  It  is  giving  spiritual  food  to 
those  whose  souls  are  hungry.  It  is 
putting  a  lantern  in  the  hands  of  those 
who  are  stumbling  over  life's  road. 
The  preacher  must  know  the  weakness, 
the  hunger,  the  darkness  or  he  cannot 
preach  helpfully. 

A  book  on  war?  Interesting? 
Fascinating  ? 

Life  is  war.  Life  and  death  con- 
tend everywhere.  The  conflict  is  in 
every  hospital,  every  home,  every 
body,  every  soul.  The  preacher  is  in 
the  thick  of  the  fight.  There  is  noth- 
ing drab  about  his  work. 

The  world-war  will  doubtless  be 
over  sometime ;  but  life's  ruthless  war 
knows  no  end ;  yet  it  is  necessary  and 
good. 

Morning  for  study,  afternoon  for 
calling. 

Both  are  battlefields. 


Woodrow  Wilson — Human 

In  these  days  when  President  Wilson  is  carrying  probably  as  great  a  responsibility  as  ever  fell  to  the  lot  of  mortal  man,  it  is  restful 
to  read  pictures  of  him  as  he  was  and  is  as  a  mere  human  being.  Recently  there  appeared  in  the  New  York  Times  a  picture  of  Mr.  Wil- 
son as  he  was  seen  in  his  home  and  in  private  life  by  the  brother  of  the  first  wife  of  the  President,  Professor  Stockton  Axson,  who  was 
intimate  with  Mr.  Wilson  for  thirty-five  years,  and  who  served  under  him  when  Mr.  Wilson  was  president  of  Princeton  University. — 
The  Editor. 


IF  I  were  asked  to  name  the  leading 
and  governing  characteristic  of 
Woodrow  Wilson,  I  should  reply : 
"That  is  not  easy,  for  he  is  a  man  of 
commanding  genius,  and  genius  is 
necessarily  complex ;  but  certainly  one 
of  his  leading  traits  is  deep  affection. 
Sometimes  in  his  public  dealings  he  is 
forced  to  harden  his  heart  deliberately 
in  order  that  he  may  do  justice,  but 
so  soon  as  he  can  follow  his  own  in- 
stinct there  emerges,  above  all  his  in- 
tellectuality and  all  his  iron  firmness 
of  will,  his  affection." 

In  the  family  circle  he  can  give  this 
affection  free  reign,  and  hence  he  prob- 
ably never  feels  so  completely  himself 
as  when  he  gathers  with  wife  and 
daughters  and  a  few  chosen  friends 
around  the  fireside,  and  allows  his 
spirit  to  move  him  whither  it  listeth. 

NOT  COLD  AND  MIRTHLESS 

Of  all  the  fictions  that  popular 
fallacy  would  weave  around  a  con- 
spicuous man,  surely  those  who  know 
Mr.  Wilson  must  find  it  the  strangest 
that  he  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  a 
cold  and  mirthless  man.  A  dozen  years 


ago  I  think  any  intimate  acquaintance 
of  Mr.  Wilson  could  have  said  that 
one  of  his  most  obvious  qualities  was 
an  incorrigible  playfulness.  Graver 
people  thought  he  was  too  much  that 
way,  for  he  would  joke  in  the  midst  of 
the  most  serious  discussion  and  con- 
troversies. His  fund  of  anecdote  (in 
one  way  he  is  the  most  provoking  of 
men,  for  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  tell 
him  a  new  story — he  has  heard  them 
all  and  invented  some),  his  gleeful  de- 
light in  nonsense  rhymes,  his  atrocities 
in  funmaking,  an  inheritance  from  his 
father,  from  whom  he  has  derived  so 
many  and  more  commendable  traits, 
all  these  things  are  pronounced  in 
Woodrow  Wilson,  together  with  that 
finest  of  all  humor,  character  humor, 
the  knack  of  word  portrayal  of  peo- 
ple in  incongruous  settings.  If  you 
want  to  laugh  until  your  breath  for- 
sakes you,  get  Woodrow  Wilson  to  tell 
you  the  story  of  how  a  certain  "edu- 
cator" startled  President  Harrison 
with  a  sudden  eruption  of  oratory 
twenty-five  years  ago.  Not  the  least 
delightful  part  of  it  is  that,  while  he 
is  relating  it,  he  apparently  forgets  that 
the  wheel  has  come  full  circle  and  he 


himself  is  now  in  the  exalted  seat  oc- 
cupied by  President  Harrison  when 
that  entrancing  bit  of  comedy  unrolled. 
These  humorous  characteristics  are 
still  in  President  Wilson,  but  it  is 
hardly  strange  if  they  are  less  habitual- 
ly on  the  surface  than  they  used  to  be 
before  the  burdens  of  a  whole  world 
in  turmoil  were  laid  upon  his  shoul- 
ders. Even  before  the  weight  pressed 
upon  him,  his  inherent  Scotch  stern- 
ness had  begun  to  assert  itself.  He 
went  through  some  rough  experiences 
at  Princeton,  and  I  have  heard  him 
say,  both  in  public  and  private,  that  he 
felt  a  stiffening  of  the  fibre  within  him, 
found  it  less  easy  to  relax  at  will  into 
playfulness.  It  merely  means  that,  as 
years  and  responsibilities  increased,  he 
became  more  purposeful. 

A   YEAR   OF   TESTING 

Only  a  few  of  us  know  what  Wood- 
row  Wilson  was  really  undergoing  in 
the  summer  and  autumn  of  1914,  when 
the  world  was  catching  fire  from  war, 
and  the  foundations  of  his  own  life 
were  crumbling  under  him.  Just  as 
the  war  opened  my  sister  died.  "I  can- 
not help  thinking,"  he  said,  "that  per- 


February  8,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


13 


haps  she  was  taken  so  that  she  might 
be  spared  the  spectacle  of  some  awful 
calamity." 

I  was  at  the  White  House  a  great 
deal  that  autumn  and  I  know  that  it  is 
no  exaggerated  use  of  words  to  say 
that  he  was  the  loneliest  man  in  all  the 
world.  I  remember  in  particular  a 
few  bitter  days  when  there  were  only 
three  of  us  in  the  family  circle.  With 
characteristic  solicitude  for  others  and 
Spartan  fortitude  he  had  deliberately 
and  peremptorily  thinned  the  house- 
hold for  the  welfare  of  others.  He 
had  compelled  Margaret  and  Jessie 
and  Frank  Sayre  to  go  to  the  summer 
home  in  New  Hampshire  for  a  change 
of  air.  He  had  forced  even  Dr.  Gray- 
son to  take  a  few  days  of  rest,  for  he 
saw  that  the  doctor  himself  was  in 
danger  of  illness  after  the  strain  of 
Mrs.  Wilson's  illness  and  death.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  McAdoo  remained  in  Wash- 
ington, and  were  much  at  the  White 


House;  but  they  also  had  their  own 
home  and  obligations. 

I  can  see  the  lonely  figure  of  the 
President  now,  walking  down  the  long 
hallway,  the  hair  so  much  whitened  in 
the  few  months.  His  intimate  friends 
often  expressed  to  me  the  wish  that 
the  President  could  marry  again,  as 
he  was  utterly  desolate. 

REVEALING   SOME  SACRED   FACTS 

We  who  love  him  feel  that  God 
Himself  must  have  directed  the  cir- 
cumstances which  brought  Mrs.  Gait 
into  the  White  House  circle.  But  for 
her  we  can  only  surmise  what  might 
have  happened,  for  not  even  the 
strongest  man  in  the  world  could  bear 
up  indefinitely  under  that  dumb  grief. 
Sunlight  and  grace  radiates  from  Mrs. 
Gait.  Her  nature  is  big  and  generous 
and  health-giving,  and  in  that  presence 
the  President  found  new  life,  found 


that  love  without  which  he  cannot  live. 
Their  love  for  each  other  is  perfect, 
and  we  all  love  her,  both  for  what  she 
has  done  for  him  and  for  herself,  for 
to  know  her  is  to  love  her. 

She  has  entered  this  great  career  as 
simply,  as  unaffectedly,  as  unselfishly 
as  Ellen  Axson  entered  into  the  ob- 
scure career  of  the  young  lawyer  who 
was  abandoning  law  for  a  new  and  un- 
tried life  of  scholarship  and  teaching. 
To  neither  woman  has  condition,  high 
or  low,  meant  anything ;  to  both  Wood- 
row  Wilson  has  meant  all. 

I  have  lifted  the  veil  from  some 
pretty  sacred  things  and  I  wonder  if 
I  should  have  done  so.  My  sustaining 
thought  is  that  some  day  these  things 
would  have  to  be  set  forth,  for  men 
like  Woodrow  Wilson  belong  to  the 
world  at  large  and  ultimately  the 
secrets  of  their  lives  must  be  made 
known  to  the  world. 


The  New  Thinking 

Eliminating  the  Heart-break  from  Human  Life 


WHETHER  or  not  it  may  be 
readily  seen  that  men  are 
today  living  differently, 
myone  may  see  that  they  are  think- 
ng  differently.  And  new  thought 
>atterns  are  the  beginning  of  a  new 
nanner  of  living. 

Three  or  four  of  the  most  history- 
naking  tendencies  in  the  life  of  society 
.re  undergoing  a  conscious  revolution 
hat  will  eventually  bring  to  birth  a 
lew  humanity.  That  labor  is  a  curse ; 
hat  religion  is  separate  from  life ;  that 
aoney  is  wealth ;  that  national  solidar- 
ty  must  be  had  at  the  cost  of  inter- 
national amiability,  have  been  assump- 
ions  on  which  much  of  the  progress 
f  society  has  been  determined.  That 
lie  mind  of  man  is  undergoing  a 
larked  change  in  reference  to  all  of 
lese  assumptions,  tending  to  bring 
bout  a  hitherto  scarcely  dreamed  of 
ew  relationship,  creating  a  new  so- 
ial  personality,  may  be  easily  shown. 

LABOR   CONDITIONS  CHANGING. 

For  the  first  time  men  have  deliber- 
tely  set  themselves  to  the  task  of 
langing  labor  from  a  curse  to  a  bless- 
ig.  The  most  stupid  and  reaction- 
7  minds  must  see  that  the  so-called 
irest  on  the  part  of  labor  is  but  the 
ltward  manifestation  of  the  inward 
:sire  to  turn  the  hell  of  drudgery  into 
e  joy  of  craftsmanship.     Of  course, 

takes  more  than  a  superficial  ob- 
rver  to  see  this,  and  yet  it  is  the  bet- 
r    spirit    of    the    whole    industrial 


By  F.  W.  ALLEN 

movement.  It  is  only  the  smug  and 
unthinking  individual  who  sees  in  the 
labor  movement  nothing  more  than 
envy  or  even  the  search  for  mere  phys- 
ical well-being.  But  even  this  shallow 
opinion  of  the  smug  might  have  some 
foundation  were  it  not  for  the  fact 
that  the  task  of  changing  labor  from  a 
curse  to  a  blessing  is  not  a  class  move- 
ment, but  a  human  tendency. 

All  of  us — the  artist,  the  musician, 
the  prophet,  the  teacher,  the  laborer — 
who  have  learned  the  spiritual  signifi- 
cance of  life,  are  about  this  business 
of  injecting  joy  into  labor.  Joyless 
labor  is  a  curse ;  and  there  is  no  happi- 
ness like  that  unto  which  a  man  gets 
out  of  the  work  into  which  he  puts  a 
thinking  mind,  a  loving  heart  and  a 
skilful  hand.  And  now,  for  the  first 
time  in  human  history,  we  are  con- 
sciously going  about  eliminating  the 
heart-break  and  putting  the  heart- 
make  into  labor. 

Again,  for  the  first  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  society  men  are  proving  that 
religion  is  not  a  hierocratic  mystery 
nor  a  social  convention,  but  a  power 
by  means  of  which  to  live  the  day 
through  more  deeply  and  consciously. 
All  things  have  become  religious  that 
have  in  them  the  hope  of  joy  and 
growth;  all  days  are  holy  days  which 
abound  in  health  and  usefulness;  all 
tasks  are  sacred  which  bring  oppor- 
tunity and  fellowship;  all  things  are 
of  God  from  a  machine  to  an  ideal, 
which  draw  men  together  in  good  will 
and  promote  beauty  in  the  earth. 


However  great  and  holy  a  purpose 
the   church,   the   Sabbath,   preachers, 
priests,  sermons,  rites  and  creeds  may 
serve,  religion  is  not  confined  to  the 
temple,   holiness   to  one   day  in   the 
week,  nor  is  God  represented  by  a 
caste,  or  salvation  achieved  through 
an  ordinance  or  a  dogma.    A  school 
may  be  as  religious  as  a  church,  Mon- 
day as  holy  as  Sunday,  a  merchant 
as  much  the  spokesman  of  God  as  a 
clergyman,  and  certainly  cleanliness, 
honor  and  justice  are  sacred  beyond 
all  confessions  of  faith  and  baptisms. 
Consciously  men  are  discovering  God 
in  their  motives  and  acts  here  on  the 
earth  in  every  moment  of  time.    Reli- 
gion is  no  longer  for  another  world 
than  ours,  apart  from  life;  it  is  life 
itself  at  its  highest  and  best. 

WEALTH   ONLY  AN   END. 

For  the  first  time  under  civilization 
has  society  begun  to  try  the  effects  of 
wealth  used  as  a  means  to  an  end 
rather  than  as  an  end  in  itself.  No 
longer  is  amassed  wealth  bowed  to  for 
its  own  sake.  Some  of  the  most  piti- 
ful people  I  know  are  the  lonely,  lack- 
lustre, dried-up  little  bores  with  noth- 
ing to  recommend  them  for  sociability 
and  friendship  save  that  they  are  rich 
in  property. 

As  never  before  are  people,  whether 
they  have  money  or  not,  recognized  in 
the  terms  of  personality.  The  people 
who  are  alive,  who  think,  who  bring 
sympathy  and  service  and  fellowship, 
make  friends  and  get  a  hearing  be- 


14 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  8,  1917 


cause  their  wealth  is  in  the  terms  of 
personality  and  not  property.  And  in 
the  growing  democracy  of  the  spirit- 
ually significant,  money  is  only  wealth 
as  it  helps  in  bringing  to  birth  beauty 
and  fellowship. 

BEING  INTERNATIONALLY-MINDED. 

Exceedingly  significant  to  our 
day  is  the  fact  that  a  man  may  be 
internationally  minded  without  be- 
ing unpatriotic.  It  is  worth  noting 
that  in  the  midst  of  the  howl  caused 
by  belligerent,  money-minded  news- 
papers and  politicians  for  militar- 
istic programs,  there  should  be  the 
widespread  conviction  that  without 
being  untrue  to  what  I  mean  when 
I  say  "my  country,"  I  may  say  with 
equal  fervor  and  genuineness  "my 
world.''  The  jingoistic  paragraph- 
ers  and  chauvinistic  politicians  are 
scribbling  and  shouting  in  puny- 
minded  egotism  against  the  great 
democratic  heart  of  humanity. 

CHRISTIANITY    HASN'T    BEEN    TRIED. 

There  are  many  who  view  the  Eu- 
ropean war  as  a  social  tragedy  signi- 
ficant of  the  unchanging  nature  of 
man,  the  failure  of  Christianity  and 
the  hopelessness  of  democracy.  Chris- 
tianity has  not  had  a  chance  to  fail 
because  it  has  not  been  tried.  Demo- 
cracy is  in  the  making — in  the  process 
of  development.  Every  ideal  and 
hope  of  American  life  emphatically 
denies  the  failure  of  a  "government  of 
the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  peo- 
ple." And  if  the  European  war  is  the 
most  terrible  conflict  in  human  his- 
tory, it  is  also  the  most  emphatically 


jjimiimimmiiiiimimiii i miimiimiiilmlHimliiimimmiiliHi iniiMlililiimliitiiliummiHimin 

LINCOLN'S  RELIGIOUS 
TESTIMONY 

|      1  DOUBT  the  possibility  or  propri-  l 

*■     cty  of  setting  the  religion  of  Jesus  § 

Christ   in   the   models   of  man-made  i 

1     creeds  and  dogmas.    It  was  a  spirit  1 

|     in  the  life  that  He  laid  stress  on  and  1 

1     taught,  if  I  read  aright.    I  know  I  see  | 

|     it  to  be  so  with  me.  | 

The  fundamental  truths  reported  in  | 

the  four  Gospels  as  from  the  lips  of  I 

|     Jesus    Christ    are    settled   and   fixed  | 

1     moral  precepts  with  me.    I  have  con-  | 

1     eluded  to  dismiss  from  my  mind  the  l 

1     debatable    wrangles    that    once    per-  | 

1     plexed    me    with    distractions    that  \ 

1     stirred  up,  but  never  absolutely  set-  \ 

1     tied  anything.     I   have   tossed  them  | 

1     aside   with   the   doubtful  differences  1 

|     which  divide  denominations — sweep-  l 

|     ing  them  all  out  of  my  mind  among  1 

|     the  non-essentials.    I  have  ceased  to  1 

1     follow  such  discussions  or  be  inter-  1 

|     ested  in  them.  1 

1         /  cannot  without  mental  reserva-  1 

1     tions  assent  to  long  and  complicated  | 

|     creeds  and  catechisms.    If  the  church  | 

|     would  ask  simply  for  assent  to  the  I 

|     Savior's  statement  of   the  substance  1 

|     of  the   law:     "Thou  shalt  love   the  \ 

|     Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  \ 

|     with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  \ 

|     mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself" —  I 

|     that  church  would  I  gladly  unite  with.  f 

[Would  Lincoln  have  been  at  home  | 

|     among    the    Disciples    of    Christ? —  I 

1     Editor.]                                                 .  | 

limtH'ini mi iiiiii illiiltiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin nmiilllllimiiiimiiifiiii iitiiiuiT 


and    unanimously    deplored    war   the 
world  has  known. 

All  of  which  is  significant  to  this 
end:  that  while  men  may  not  be  con- 
ducting themselves  so  markedly  dif- 
ferent from  their  forbears,  they  are 


thinking  tremendously  differently, 
Out  of  the  suffering,  the  shedding  of 
blood  and  the  breaking  of  hearts, 
Christianity  and  democracy,  with  theii 
program  for  international  justice  and 
good  will,  are  getting  a  wider  and 
more  serious  hearing  than  ever  before 


Rev.  Stephen  Trowbridge,  of  Cairo, 
Secretary  for  the  World's  Sunday 
School  Association,  writes  of  the  won- 
derful work  which  is  being  done 
among  the  street  lads  of  Sfax,  Tunisia 
Mr.  H.  E.  Webb,  a  missionary,  has 
gathered  these  boys,  who  are  all  Mos- 
lem, into  a  Bible  Club  with  many  ac- 
tivities. Although  many  of  these  little 
fellows  cannot  read  a  single  word,  he 
has  taught  them  with  pictures  and 
with  oral  lessons,  and  they  are  keenlj 
interested  in  what  they  are  discovering 
about  the  Bible  from  week  to  week 
Mr.  Webb  finds  that  this  special  wori 
requires  a  great  fund  of  patience  anc 
grace,  but  sees  no  reason  why  the 
same  plan  might  not  succeed  in  Cairo 
Alexandria  and  other  cities.  These 
lads,  of  course,  come  from  wretched 
homes  and  many  are  actually  home- 
less. They  are  like  the  street  waifs  oi 
the  East  Side. 


*     * 


Christian  Endeavor  had  a  temper 
ance  and  good-citizenship  exhibit  ai 
the  Northeastern  Michigan  State  fair 


*     *     * 


During  a  single  month  recently  4.q 
new  Christian  Endeavor  societies 
were  organized  in  Dixie. 


LINCOLN 


Three  Poems  By  Thomas  Curtis  Clark 


The  Masterpiece 

GOD  took  a  piece  of  common  human  clay; 
Planted  therein  ambition's  vital  seed; 
Placed  him,  a  youth,  beside  the  common  way, 
That  he  might  learn  the  common  human  need. 

Made  strong  by  strife,  he  faced  the  storm  of  wrath; 

Love  made  him  wise,  a  Nation's  cause  to  plead; 
He  walked  with  God,  though  in  a  yeoman's  path, 

And  seized  on  fame  by  an  immortal  deed. 


W 


The  Path  to  Glory 

HO  builds  of  stone  a  shrine  to  bear  his  name, 
Shall  be  forgot  when  months  and  years  have 
flown; 
Who  writes  his  name  upon  the  scrolls  of  fame, 

The  centuries  shall  find  to  men  unknown; 
But  who  for  fellow  men  endured  the  shame, 
Shall  have  eternal  glory  for  his  own. 


The  World's  Verdict 

ONE  sent  out  his  ships  to  earth's  farthest  shores. 
And  brought  to  his  coffers  the  Orient's  stores: 
The  wild  desert  sands 
Became  gold  in  his  hands; 
And  the  world  called  him  Genius — and  wondered. 

One  sought  out  the  secrets  of  planet  and  star ; 

He  reveled  in  problems  of  granite  and  spar; 
He  hungered  to  know 
All  the  earth  could  bestow; 

And  the  world  called  him  Scholar — and  praised  him. 

One  looked  on  a  suffering,  down-trodden  race; 

He  wept  as  he  gazed  upon  each  troubled  face; 
He  heeded  their  plea, 
And  he  set  their  hands  free; 

And  the  world  called  him  Brother — and  loved  him. 


g^,,,,;  |i  .i-i  ;i,i  ;|,|  .1.1,1 :  MM !  .!.l  .l,j  .1.1 .!  I..I.1 ,1,1  ,!.l  ,'.!.!■  ii  h  i' :: !,:.! ; . , ,  /  I.I  I  i  .M  J  T  .1 -I  ■  :!■  i : -LI .  M  .1  :hli  llJ  i.  !.l  l;i,  I M.  M  !i; M.I.!  I ; :,  :i  i  I:,  ill  NNNI;  i:  II J I  ill!  Mill  r  INMlSl.lII  [JIJI  lllllllill 

I  The    Larger    Christian   World 

|    A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 

Illlllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllll ''I ,' I-!' I :  in.!  M ,li.i',-!'|:;: l,- -.|| ; Iiji'l^-il:'-::.:. I.|.-|;i.l,;: :.!.! ':'ll.i lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllli 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


Buddhists  Countering  on 
Christian  Methods  in  Japan 

The  nation-wide  evangelistic 
campaign  now  drawing  toward  its 
close  in  Japan  has  aroused  the  Bud- 
dhists and  they  have  subscribed  the 
grand  sum  of  $500,000  to  establish 
Buddhist  Sunday  Schools  through- 
out the  land.  Eight  hundred  have 
been  founded  in  the  last  six  months. 
Doubtless  they  will  prove  a  consid- 
erable conserving  force  to  the  Bud- 
dhist organization,  but  the  methods 
used  are  only  so  much  useful  ma- 
chinery, and  a  generation  hence 
Japanese  Buddhism  will  find  that 
no  amount  of  machinery  will  save 
the  future  to  them  if  they  do  not 
have  with  it  that  dynamic  without 
which  machinery  is  of  little  use. 

Non-Conformists 
Furnish  Great  Men 

The  Non-Conformists  of  England 
are  congratulating  themselves  that 
they  have  come  into  their  own. 
They  have  furnished  most  of  the 
men  upon  whom  England  relies  in 
this  time  of  crisis.  Mr.  Lloyd 
George  is  said  to  be  the  first  Non- 
Conformist  that  has  become  a  pre- 
mier, though  Mr.  Asquith  spent  his 
early  years  as  a  Congregationalist. 
Mr.  Bonar  Law,  the  leader  of  the 
house,  is* a  member  of  the  United 
Free  church.  Mr.  Arthur  Hender- 
son, the  labor  member  of  the  inner 
council,  is  a  Wesleyan  Methodist 
lay  preacher.  Mr.  George  Barnes, 
the  Pension  Minister,  is  a  member  of 
the  Congregational  church.  The 
Postmaster-General  is  a  Baptist, 
and  it  is  possible  to  call  the  roll  of 
many  other  men  in  lesser  positions 
who  are  members  of  the  free 
churches.  It  was  once  thought  nec- 
essary to  leave  the  free  churches 
and  become  a  member  of  the  Estab- 
lished church  in  order  to  get  on  in 
public  life.  Recent  events  will  do 
much  to  dispel  that  illusion. 

Religious  Education 
Association  to  Meet 

The  Religious  Education  Asso- 
ciation, which  has  had  a  large  in- 
fluence in  moulding  ideals  and 
methods  in  religious  education  will 
meet  in  Boston  this  year,  Feb.  27  to 
March  1.  The  meeting  this  year 
will  bring  together  many  of  the 
greatest  men  among  the  religious 
forces  of  America,  Catholic,  Prot- 
estant and  Jewish.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  sessions  of  the  meeting 


will  be  that  which  is  devoted  to  the 
correlation  of  religious  education 
with  the  work  of  the  public  schools. 
Another  significant  meeting  will 
be  that  which  will  consider  family 
interests,  with  an  address  on  "The 
Training  of  Parents"  by  Rabbi 
Harry  Levi. 

A  Big  Missionary 
Year 

The  United  States  broke  all  rec- 
ords last  year  in  missionary  giving. 
The  total  was  reported  to  be  $19,- 
294,000.  This  is  $2,100,000  more 
than  was  given  in  the  previous  year. 
Ten  years  ago  the  missionary  giv- 
ing of  this  country  totaled  only  $8,- 
000,000.  The  Methodists  led  all 
denominations  in  their  totals,  giv- 
ing through  their  regular  church 
society  $2,764,000  and  through  their 
women's  society  $1,024,000.  Their 
per  capita,  however,  was  not  as 
large  as  that  of  several  other  de- 
nominations. The  other  denomina- 
tions in  the  order  of  their  gifts  are 
Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Congrega- 
tionalists  and  Episcopalians.  The 
last  named  of  these  gave  several 
hundred  thousand  more  than  did 
the  Disciples. 

Methodists  Will  Endow 
City  Missions 

The  Rev.  John  Thompson,  super- 
intendent of  the  Chicago  Home  Mis- 
sionary and  Church  Extension  so- 
ciety of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  will  inaugurate  about  Feb. 
23  a  campaign  for  the  raising  of  an 
endowment  of  $500,000.  The  de- 
tails of  the  plan  will  be  made  known 
at  a  mass  meeting  at  that  time, 
which  will  be  addressed  by  Bishop 
Thomas  Nicholson. 

Billy  Sunday  Starts 
in  Buffalo 

Billy  Sunday  opened  an  evange- 
listic campaign  in  Buffalo  on  Janu- 
ary 28.  It  is  said  that  four  thou- 
sand prayer-meetings  have  been 
held,  with  an  attendance  of  50,000 
in  various  parts  of  the  city.  Ar- 
rangements have  been  made  to  care 
for  several  thousand  children  each 
night  while  the  parents  go  to 
church. 

Plan  Big  Christian 
Endeavor  Function 

There  are  twenty  thousand  mem- 
bers of  the  Christian  Endeavor  so- 
ciety in  Philadelphia  and  they  are 


planning  to  hold  the  biggest  ban- 
quet of  their  history  soon.  Dr.  Ira 
Landrith  will  visit  the  city  for  the 
purpose  of  addressing  the  young 
people. 

Widow  of  Missionary 
Editor  Dead 

Dr.  Arthur  T.  Pierson  is  still  re- 
membered for  his  years  of  service 
as  the  editor  of  the  Missionary  Re- 
view of  the  World.  His  widow  has 
not  tarried  long  after  his  demise. 
She  died  in  Brooklyn  on  January  13 
at  the  age  of  80.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Williston  H.  Benedict, 
first  publisher  and  owner  of  the  In- 
dependent. She  married  an  editor, 
and  her  son,  Delavan  L.  Pierson,  is 
now  editor  of  the  Missionary  Re- 
view of  the  World. 

Evangelism  in 
Washington 

The  national  capital  will  have  two 
big  evangelistic  campaigns  within 
a  year.  Gypsy  Smith  began  on 
January  28  in  a  tabernacle  seating 
three  thousand  people.  There  have 
been  cottage  prayer  meetings  and 
personal  workers  have  been  organ- 
ized. Next  January  Billy  Sunday 
will  storm  the  city. 

Will  Make  Headquarters 
in  Chicago 

The  strategic  position  of  Chicago 
as  a  center  from  which  to  carry  on 
a  national  religious  campaign  is 
being  recognized  by  many  organi- 
zations. Dr.  Ira  Landrith  is  the 
extension  secretary  of  the  Christian 
Endeavor  movement  and  the  field 
editor  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
World.  He  has  found  the  east  re- 
mote from  the  center  of  things  and 
has  moved  to  Chicago  and  opened 
up  an  office  here  in  which  he  will 
direct  his  campaign  for  a  big  for- 
ward movement  among  the  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  societies. 

English  Visitor 
in  America 

Dr.  E.  Griffith-Jones,  the  author 
of  "The  Ascent  of  Christ,"  is  visiting 
in  America.  He  has  been  lecturing 
before  the  allied  divinity  schools  of 
four  denominations  at  Montreal.  He 
is  now  in  New  England  and  has 
appeared  before  several  universi- 
ties. His  addresses  show  great 
loyalty  to  the  new  premier  of  Eng- 
land, Lloyd-George. 


■ill 


Social  Interpretations 


Bourbonistic 
Nationalism 

The  Bourbons  never  learn.  In 
1871  Bismarck  starved  Paris  into 
submission  and  imposed  upon 
France   a    "victory   with    peace"    in 

such  a  manner 
that  patriotic 
French  men 
have  never  lost 
their  desire  to 
break  the  peace 
and  return  an 
eye  for  an  eye. 
The  spirit  of 
Bismarck  is  not 
dead  in  Ger- 
many. When 
the  Parisians 
were  being  starved  to  death  Bis- 
marck remarked  in  much  glee  about 
them  "stewing  in  their  own  juice." 
Many  an  English  Bismarkian  is 
looking  upon  Germany  in  the  same 
gleeful  manner  today.  When  the 
Parisians  did  not  starve  sufficiently 
quickly,  the  man  of  blood  and  iron 
turned  his  cannon  upon  the  city, 
something  like  his  successors  are 
turning  Zeppelins  upon  the  women 
and  children  of  England  today.  The 
German  militants  and  disciples  of 
Bismarck  will  certainly  not  impress 
many  with  their  cries  for  humanity 
against  the  English  blockade.  Now 
comes  the  German  navy  league  pro- 
testing against  the  apparent  wil- 
lingness of  the  Kaiser  to  return  to 
the  status  quo  and  demanding  that 
the  German  flag  shall  fly  over  Bel- 
gium, that  the  rich  French  mines 
shall  be  retained  and  that  the  open 
way  to  Bagdad  must  be  kept  by 
the  sword  of  conquest.  On  the  other 
hand  the  English  navalist  demands 
that  no  peace  shall  be  considered 
until  Germany's  navy  is  destroyed, 
and  that  when  peace  is  signed  no 
colonies  shall  be  returned  to  the 
Kaiser.  Now  Germany  begins  her 
reply  to  the  English  blockade  with 
a  submarine  campaign  which  is 
doubtless  much  more  effective  than 
England  has  allowed  the  world  to 
believe.  France  has  withdrawn 
Joffre  and  his  "nibbling"  process, 
but  Germany's  submarine  "nibbling" 
threatens  to  be  much  more  effective 
than  Joffre's.  Thus  the  spirit  of 
hate  and  inhumanity  and  terror 
continues  to  reign  in  the  war  coun- 
cils of  Europe,  but  certainly  among 
the  peoples  the  voice  of  President 
Wilson  calling  for  a  substitution  of 
reason  will  be  heard  and  ultimately 
must  prevail. 


Constructive 
Patriotism 

There  has  recently  been  meeting 
in  Washington  a  body  of  men  who 
had  organized  themselves  into  what 
they  chose  to  call  a  League  for  Con- 
structive Patriotism.  It  is  really  a 
league  for  the  promotion  of  con- 
scription and  universal  military 
training.  That  may  or  may  not  be 
constructive  patriotism,  but  it 
would  certainly  be  better  for  these 
patriots  to  call  a  spade  a  spade.  It 
is  safe  to  prophesy  that  universal 
training  and  conscription  will  not 
be  adopted  in  this  country.  Some 
of  the  newspapers,  a  few  magazines 
and  a  number  of  very  ardent  publi- 
cists, who  read  history  wisely  but 
not  too  well,  are  back  of  the  move- 
ment, but  the  great  mass  of  Ameri- 
can public  opinion,  whether  right 
or  wrong,  is  not  for  it  and  will  not 
adopt  it  without  either  a  very  long 
and  vigorous  educative  process  or 
the  falling  of  some  unforeseen  na- 
tional calamity.  England  has  stood 
in  the  shadow  of  European  con- 
scription and  universal  service  for 
many  years,  but  English  public 
opinion,  even  under  the  lashings  of 
men  like  Lord  Roberts  and  Earl 
Kitchener,  refused  to  adopt  it,  and 
Canada  and  Australia  have  both  re- 
fused point-blank  to  use  it,  even 
under  the  stress  of  the  empire's 
calamity.  The  Argentine  plan  has 
been  held  up  to  us  and  we  have 
been  shamed  for  allowing  our 
southern  sister  to  outrun  us,  but 
now  come  prominent  Argentinians 
who  warn  us  against  their  method 
and  prophesy  its  early  abandonment 
in  their  country.  Switzerland  has 
afforded  the  classical  example  for 
the  advocates  of  this  Old  World  and 
tragically  discountenanced  method, 
because  of  the  romance  that  hangs 
about  her  as  a  land  of  the  free  and 
a  home  of  the  brave,  but  now  comes 
an  old  Swiss  soldier  who  tells  us 
that  it  is  an  anachronism,  a  handi- 
cap and  a  foolish  device  for  Switz- 
erland to  cling  to.  He  says  the  offi- 
cers are  of  the  upper  classes  solely 
and  the  soldiers  of  the  dispossessed 
and  the  working  peoples,  and  that 
the  usual  type  of  petty  military 
tyranny  prevails,  even  to  the  extent 
of  calling  out  a  citizen  soldiery  to 
fight  the  battles  of  rich  employers 
against  their  working  people  when 
differences  arise.  He  further  asks 
us  to  make  any  defence  we  can  of 
the  effectiveness  of  the  Swiss  fight- 
ing force  against  such  a  country  as 
Germany.  It  would  amount  to  just 
about  the  same  that  Belgium's  fight- 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


ing  force  did,  and  would  therefore 
guarantee  no  protection  at  all. 

*     *     * 

Tagore's  Disappointment 
With  Western  Civilization 

The  great  Hindu  poet  and  philos- 
opher of  the  inner  light,  Rabindra- 
nath  Tagore,  quit  America  in  frank 
disappointment  with  our  hustling, 
material  and  practical  western  life. 
The  machinery  and  wealth  and  ma- 
terial conquests,  of  which  we  are  so 
proud,  profoundly  disappointed  him. 
Sir  Rabindranath  is  a  quietist.  He 
is  the  choicest  of  the  modern  repre- 
sentatives of  the  ancient  Hindu 
philosophy.  It  began  forty  cen- 
turies ago  with  the  Vedic  faith  and 
it  has  left  Hindu  society  unregener- 
ate  to  this  day.  While  it  has 
developed  in  its  midst  such  philo- 
sophical supermen  as  Tagore,  it  has 
left  the  society  about  him  with  its 
child  widows,  caste  system,  univer- 
sal poverty  and  ignorance.  We  may 
very  well  share  his  revulsion  from 
the  crass  and  materialistic  in  our 
civilization,  but  we  certainly  cannot  1 
share  with  him  the  subjectivistic 
philosophy  of  the  inner  light  which 
becomes,  in  the  final  analysis,  a  sort 
of  over-done  philosophical  anarchy. 
Our  western  civilization  is  coming 
to  need  the  lofty  idealism  and  the 
religion  of  the  inner  light  that  Ta- 
gore teaches,  and  all  of  which  is 
implicit  in  the  teachings  of  the  Gali- 
lean, but  a  thousand  times  more 
does  his  Hindu  civilization  need  the 
objective  philosophy  that  has  cre- 
ated our  "great  society,"  and  with- 
out which  his  people  have  made  no 
social  progress  in  these  thirty  cen- 
turies. He  has  been  a  welcome  vis- 
itor with  his  message  of  peace  and 
universal  good  will,  but  we  wish 
he  might  return  to  his  beloved  India 
and  use  his  philanthropy  to  send 
the  boys  from  his  school  to  America 
to  study  agriculture,  engineering, 
sociology  and  those  other  practical 
arts  without  which  the  foundations 
of  a  real  civilization  can  never  be 
builded  in  India. 


* 


John  Bull  Procrastinates 
With  the  Demon  Rum 

Instead  of  the  radical  prohibition 
measures  which  it  was  hoped  the 
new  Lloyd  George  government 
would  adopt  to  throttle  what  the 
doughty  Welshman  has  called  the 
greatest  of  England's  enemies,  an 
order  has  been  promulgated  which 
will  about  cut  in  half  the  amount 
of  intoxicants  to  be  manufactured 


February  8,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


17 


the  coming  year.  Parliament  has 
been  presented  with  a  petition 
eleven  miles  long,  asking  for  com- 
plete prohibition,  and  coincident 
with  its  presentation  came  a  peti- 
tion from  200  of  the  leading  sci- 
entists, publicists  and  soldiers  of 
England,  asking  for  the  same  radi- 
cal measure.  Farm  laborers  are 
being  called  to  the  front,  and  the 
government's  answer  to  agricultur- 
ist petitions  that  the  source  of  sup- 
plies must  not  be  depleted  is  that 
the  women  must  take  their  places; 
but  it  has  not  the  moral  courage  to 
take  the  thousands  of  able-bodied 
men  employed  by  the  liquor  busi- 
ness and  turn  them  either  to  agri- 
culture or  send  them  to  the  front. 
France  has  drastically  prohibited  the 
use  of  all  distilled  liquors  during  the 
time  of  the  war.  England  prac- 
tically remains  alone  among  the 
Allies  to  use  half-way  measures,  her 
own  colonies  having  far  outrun  her, 
as  note  the  almost  complete  pro- 
hibition adopted  in  Canada. 


President  Vetoes 
Immigration  Bill 

President  Wilson  has  for  the  sec- 
ond time  vetoed  the  bill  governing 
and  restricting  immigration,  be- 
cause of  its  imposition  of  a  literacy 
test.  President  Taft  did  likewise, 
and  thus  for  the  third  time  Congress 
has  been  rebuffed  in  its  efforts  to 
impose  the  wholly  artificial  and 
non-humanitarian  literacy  test.  It 
is  simply  another  contest  between 
the  humanitarianism  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  the  nationalism  of  Con- 
gress. The  literacy  test  answers  to 
no  moral  or  other  admittedly  hu- 
manitarian restriction.  It  shuts  out 
of  the  country  thousands  who  are 
ignorant  simply  because  the  fortune 
of  their  birth  and  surroundings  did 
not  provide  them  with  a  school,  and 
many  of  whom,  feeling  this  handi- 
cap, are  eager  to  come  to  this  coun- 
try in  order  that  their  children  may 
have  a  better  chance.  Compulsory 
ignorance  and  bad  citizenship  are 
not  synonymous  by  any  means,  nor 
does  it  follow  that  because  the  man 
has  been  denied  schooling  that  his 
misfortune  should  be  used  as  the 
means  of  preventing  labor  compe- 
tition. If  we  must  restrict  immi- 
gration, let  us  do  so  along  strictly 
logical  lines.  There  is  more  than 
a  pale  cast  of  doubt  over  the  whole 
program  of  restriction,  for  after  all 
those  of  us  who  are  here,  as  some 
wag  has  said,  were  simply  fortunate 
enough  to  catch  the  first  boat. 


^'IllllUllllllllllllllllllllillilillllllllllllillllllill 


The  Sunday  School 


^:;!Ti':!!!HinE¥i!!!:H  


Sympathy 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
BY  JOHN   R.   EWERS 


Life  is  a  succession  of  experiences. 
Play,  school,  love,  home,  birth,  busi- 
ness (gain  and  loss),  death,  friends, 
philanthropy,  age,  lonesomeness,  de- 
parture.    Each   separate   experience 

teaches  its  own 
valuable  lesson. 
There  are  times 
in  our  lives 
when  we  appre- 
ciate sympathy. 
This  lesson  re- 
veals Jesus  not 
as  a  ruthless 
superman 
crushing  down 
all  foes;  not  as 
a  selfish  indi- 
vidual exploiting  people  for  His  own 
interest  or  pleasure,  but  as  a  Great 
Heart.  How  divine  is  sympathy ! 
Jesus  sees  this  poor,  neglected,  lame 
man  beside  the  pool.  Day  after  day 
he  has  been  pushed  aside.  The 
stronger,  the  more  favored,  the  ones 
who  needed  it  less  have  entered  the 
healing  waters  and  he  has  been  left. 
Have  you  ever  stopped  to  put  your- 
self in  his  place?  Have  you  ever 
been  thrust  aside?  Have  you  ever 
had  others  harshly  take  the  place 
that  rightfully  belongs  to  you  ?  You 
know  how  you  resent  it  if,  at  the 
ticket  window,  a  late  comer  pushes 
himself  (or  herself)  in  ahead  of  you ! 
It  is  not  a  pleasant  thing  to  be  neg- 
lected. Ask  yourself  if  you  neglect 
any  sick  people,  any  old  people,  any 
infirm  people,  any  unpleasant  peo- 
ple. 


A  study  of  our  associations  will 
doubtless  reveal  the  fact  that  we 
have  a  favored  company  for  our  inti- 
mates ;  this  company  is  made  up  of 
well-to-do  folks,  good-looking  folks, 
brilliant  and  successful  folks,  good 
talkers,  good  listeners,  good  story- 
tellers, happy,  good-natured,  attract- 
ive folks.  Make  an  analysis  of  your 
associates  and  see  what  the  rules  of 
your  game  are !  You  may  not  have 
deliberately  made  this  arrangement 
— you  may  not  be  as  cold  blooded 
and  intellectual  as  that — but,  air  the 
same,  you  have  left  the  lame  man 
still  in  the  shadows. 


The    St.    Louis    Intermediate    En- 
deavorers  recently  held  a  "Prepared- 


ness    convention. 


*The  above  article  is  based  on  the  In- 
ternational Uniform  Lesson  for  Febru- 
ary 25,  "Jesus  at  the  Pool  of  Bethesda." 
John  5:1-15. 


Children  and  old  people  are  little 
understood.  We  like  to  play  with 
sweet  little  tots — that  is,  we  like  to 
be  amused  by  them,  but  who  ever 
cared  for  a  newsboy?  In  how  many 
homes  old  men  and  women  drag  on 
their  lonesome  lives  while  their 
giddy  children  rush  to  theaters,  con- 
certs, lectures,  receptions — all  sorts 
of  things — and  days  pass,  while  the 
old  folks  are  not  even  invited  to 
take  a  drive  in  the  auto.  What  has 
this  to  do  with  a  lame  man  in  Jeru- 
salem? you  ask.  Uncomfortably 
much !  Jesus  had  sympathy  on  him. 
Why  study  the  lesson  at  all  unless 
you   learn  to  be   like   Christ? 

I  called  on  a  man  the  other  day 
who  had  not  written  his  old  mother 
in  two  years.  What  do  you  think 
of  that!  On  the  other  hand,  I  know 
a  society  woman  who  spends  one  day 
each  week  looking  personally  after 
the  neglected  poor;  she  takes  them 
clothes,  she  takes  them  to  movies 
and  concerts,  she  takes  them  out  in 
her  car.  (She  does  not  send  the 
car — she  rides  with  them  and  talks 
to  them.)  And  this  is  what  Jesus 
would  call  real  Christianity.  I  know 
a  man  who  gathered  fifty  homeless 
young  men  together  on  Thanksgiv- 
ing and  carved  the  turkeys  for  them 
and  told  them  ripping  good  stories 
the  while.  I  know  a  wealthy  woman 
who  supports  seventeen  dependent 
people — and  she  would  be  the  last 
to  tell  you  about  it. 

Finally,  sympathy  must  be  ex- 
pressed first-hand.  It  is  a  cheap 
charity  that  sends  barrels  of  old 
clothes — useful  but  cheap.  It  is  an 
even  poorer  brand  of  charity  that 
pays  someone  else  to  do  all  the  un- 
pleasant work.  The  modern  way 
seems  to  be  to  hand  over  fifty  or 
a  hundred  dollars  to  some  charity 
organization,  and  then  paid  workers 
do  all  the  investigating,  administer 
all  the  relief,  send  the  poor  to  the 
various  institutions,  and  so  on  to 
the  end  of  the  line.  Jesus  laid  his 
own  hand  upon  the  sufferers.  He 
touched    them. 

Here  is  the  big  lesson  for  you  to- 
day: break  away  from  that  delight- 
ful set  of  yours  long  enough  to 
touch  some  needy,  dependent  life 
helpfully,  sympathetically.  Beware 
of  becoming  hard  and  dry.  Jesus 
helped  that  man — I  must  help  some- 
one today. 


18 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  8,  1917 


a.,,,,  j.;:.^ 


Our  Readers'  Opinions 


■■HHBiHnnm 


Billy  Sunday's  Conception  of  Religion 


In  the  Christian  Century  of 
January  18th  appeared  an  address  by 
Evangelist  Billy  Sunday,  given  before 
the  Unitarian  ministers  of  Boston,  in 
which  he  set  forth  with  some  de- 
liberateness  his  conception  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  following  comments 
on  the  address  have  been  received : 


SUNDAY'S  THEOLOGY  IS  ERROR 

Editor  The  Christian  Century: 

"Now,  if  man's  spirit  alone  is  restored, 
then  he  is  partly  saved.  If  his  body  is 
restored  he  is  partly  saved."  The  scrip- 
tures do  not  contemplate  salvation  in 
parts.  God  deals  with  the  body  and 
spirit  as  a  whole.  "Honor  God  in  our 
body  and  our  spirits."  "He  that  knoweth 
to  do  good  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it 
is  sin."  The  spirit,  our  consciousness, 
is  expected  to  control  the  members  of 
the  physical.  If  not,  all  is  fatal.  See 
Prov.  6:   16-19. 

"The  first  step  is  the  renewal  of  the 
Spirit  through  Salvation;  and  the  sec- 
ond step  is  the  renewal  of  the  body 
through  resurrection."  This,  to  me, 
sounds  strange,  foreign  to  the  Gospel. 
The  first  step  taught  toward  our  re- 
newal is  faith,  second  repentance,  and  the 
third  step  is  regeneration — Christian 
baptism.  Paul  says  "Saved  by  the  wash- 
ing of  regeneration."  Christ  says,  with 
emphasis:  "Verily,  verily  .  .  .  ex- 
cept a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit,  he  can  not  enter  the  Kingdom." 
Mr.  Sunday  and  I  were  not  members 
of  our  families  at  home  until  after  our 
natural  birth;  in  like  manner  we  be- 
come members  of  the  family  above  after 
our  spiritual  birth.  Our  resurrection 
comes  a  long  time  after.  As  proof,  see 
apostolic  conversions.  Hence  I  conclude 
that  Mr.  Sunday's  theology  is  error. 

.  I.    J.    ROSENBERGER. 

Covington,  O. 

*  *      * 

AKIN  TO  RUSSELLISM 

Editor  The  Christian   Century: 

Billy  Sunday's  conception  of  religion 
is  surely  old-fashioned!  While  denying 
salvation  by  law  he  goes  on  to  talk 
about  the  "plan  of  salvation,"  Christ, 
"our  substitute,"  and  other  legal  and 
static  notions  of  revelation.  His  "con- 
ception" is  about  as  far  off,  to  some  of 
us,  as  the  kingdom  notions  of  Russell 
and  Miller,  which  he  condemns.  In 
brief,  he  is  sixty  years  behind  the  times. 
But  his  enthusiasm  for  righteousness 
is  common  ground.  That  is  the  saving 
part  of  his  message  and  is  the  reason 
why  he  is  to  be  tolerated.  But  Billy 
must  learn  to  tolerate  other  schools  of 
opinion  also.  Giving  life  a  divine  inter- 
pretation is  a  question  of  the  heart.  If 
it  were  a  matter  of  the  intellect  only, 
then  Mr.  Sunday's  address  is  wrong,  if 
the  writer  is  the  judge. 

W.  B.  Harter. 
Manhattan,    Kan. 

*  *     * 

NOT  EVEN  INTERESTING 

Editor  The  Christian  Century: 

Off  the  platform,  where  he  can  not  de- 
pend on   his  acting,   his  cheap   and  abu- 


sive language,  Mr.  Sunday  is  not  even 
interesting.  I  should  not  have  read  his 
address  for  its  own  sake.  It  was  not 
worth  while.  How  a  man  could  have  the 
effrontery  to  go  before  a  body  of  intel- 
ligent men  and  make  such  statements  is 
more  than  I  can  comprehend.  How  they 
must  have  smiled  within  themselves! 

It  is  a  jumble  of  dogmatic  assertions 
that  have  no  foundation  in  reason  or 
fact,  and  about  things  that  no  longer 
concern  the  world. 

"Man  was  perfect  at  creation."  Where 
did  Mr.  Sunday  learn  this  fact?  And 
yet  to  maintain  this  perverting  dogma 
he  must  arbitrarily  reject  the  theory  of 
evolution,  and  villify  all  who  have, 
through  investigation,  become  con- 
vinced of  its  truth.  For  final  proof  of 
the  correctness  of  his  position  he  says 
"good   night." 

He  can  tell  "that  fellow  out  there  how 
God  wants  him  to  live,"  but  he  don't 
dare  to  read  Christ's  utterances  with 
an  open  mind.  He  can  talk  about  the 
blood  of  Christ,  forgetting  that  Jesus 
was  killed  by  the  religious  leaders  of 
his  time;  by  men  of  the  type  of  Mr. 
Sunday.  If  they  were  to  meet  the  Christ 
today,  as  men  of  that  day  met  him,  they 
would  send  him  to  jail,  ridicule  him,  un- 
dermine his  reputation,  drive  him  out  of 
society. 

No.  Mr.  Sunday  doesn't  have  any 
conception  of  religion.  At  least  he  did 
not  give  it.  It  is  not  religion  he  was 
talking  about.  F.  E.  Robey. 

*  *     * 

PREFERS  UNITARIANS'  VIEW  TO 
SUNDAY'S 

Editor  The  Christian  Century: 

I  notice  that  Mr.  Sunday's  sermon 
was  given  before  the  Unitarian  minis- 
ters' association.  I  accept,  without  ques- 
tion, the  divinity  of  our  Lord,  but  if  I 
had  to  accept  either  Mr.  Sunday's  ideas, 
or  those  of  the  Unitarians,  for  many 
reasons  my  choice  would  be  with  the 
latter.  Edgar  C.   Lucus. 

Havana,  111. 

*  *     * 

THE  MEETING  OF  EXTREMES 

Editor  The  Christian  Century: 

The  recent  address  of  Rev.  Billy  Sun- 
day before  the  Boston  Unitarian  minis- 
ters' association  was  such  an  unusual  and 
remarkable  occasion  in  the  religious 
world  that  it  is  worthy  of  more  than 
passing   comment. 

In  looking  at  it  from  my  own  view- 
point, that  of  a  layman,  what  Mr.  Sun- 
day said,  which  was  neither  more  nor 
less  than  we  would  expect  him  to  say, 
was  not  of  so  great  importance  as  were 
the  circumstances  under  which  he  said 
it.  The  real  significance  of  the  incident 
is  that  it  reveals  in  a  striking  way  the 
trend  of  present-day  thought  in  religious 
matters,  the  "time-spirit,"  as  the  Ger- 
mans say.  The  Unitarian  fellowship  has 
always  been  noted  for  its  liberality  and 
its  respect  for  and  sympathetic  interpre- 
tation of  the  views  of  others,  but  the 
invitation  of  the  Boston  ministers'  asso- 
ciation to  Mr.  Sunday  after  his  an- 
nounced purpose  of  "giving  the  Uni- 
tarians hell"  was  certainly  commendable 
and  shows  the  real  catholicity  of  the 
Unitarian     position,     which     position     is 


after  all  the  goal  for  all  communions  if 
Christian   union   is   ever   to   be   attained. 

In  his  address  Mr.  Sunday  set  forth 
in  a  clear,  concise  and  fearless  way  his 
views  and  his  object.  Without  apology 
or  evasion  he  stated  what  he  believed 
and  what  he  intended  to  preach  in  Bos- 
ton. He  represented,  on  the  one  ex- 
treme, the  severest  orthodoxy;  his  hear- 
ers, on  the  other  extreme,  were  repre- 
sentatives of  liberal  thought.  They  had 
met  face  to  face  for  a  better  understand- 
ing of  the  views  and  purposes  of  one  of 
the  greatest  evangelists  of  modern  times. 
Each  side  was  working  in  its  own  way 
to  usher  in  the  kingdom  of  God  and  to 
spread  the  spirit  of  good  will  in  the 
earth.  The  occasion  of  Mr.  Sunday's 
address  was  a  striking  example  of  liber- 
ality and  sympathy  on  the  one  hand  and 
of  sincerity  and  fearlessness  on  the 
other.  Edward  F.  Coffman. 

Russellville,    Ky. 

*      *      * 

SUNDAY'S  THEOLOGY  NOT 
ESSENTIAL 

Editor  The  Christian  Century  : 

That  theology  means  very  little  to  the 
great  evangelist,  of  course,  all  his  be- 
liefs are  intense,  and  what  theology  he 
holds  is  without  reservation.  But  it  is 
not  to  that  theology  he  converts  the 
"local  hitters."  The  theology  is  held  in 
abeyance,  in  the  twilight  zone  of  his 
mind,  as  it  were,  while  the  need  of  re- 
pentance, reform  and  righteousness  is 
preached  with  great  power.  The  im- 
mense scale  on  which  the  revivals  are 
held,  the  unconventionality  of  Mr.  Sun- 
day's works,  from  the  tabernacle  to  the 
slang,  the  anecdotes  of  a  baseball  player, 
and  a  ballplayer  as  an  evangelist,  and 
many  other  characteristic  features,  have 
more  to  do  with  his  success  than  his 
theology  possibly  could  have,  even  if  it 
were  beyond  the  reach  of  questionings. 
The  theology  with  which  Mr.  Sunday 
does  business  is  summed  up  in  the 
question  and  its  answer,  "Is  thy  heart 
right  with  God?  If  not  get  right." 
Richmond,  Ky.  E.  B.  Barnes. 


Thomas  B.  Kalane,  a  native  of  East 
Africa,  trained  at  Wilberforce  Univer- 
sity and  Edwards,  Miss.,  has  recently 
assumed  the  work  among  the  colored 
brethren  of  Bloomington,  to  help  them 
get  their  work  in  better  condition. 


American    Series    of    Five 


Maps 


These  are  lithographed  In  four  colors  on 
muslin  of  superior  quality,  and  measure  36x58 
inches.  Large  lettering  of  names  of  places  is  a 
special  feature  of  all  these  maps.  Each  map 
has  distinctive  features,  but  all  have  large  type, 
clear  and  bold  outlines. 

The  maps  are  as  follows: 
Map  of  Palestine— Illustrating    the    Old    Test- 
ament and  the  Land  as  Divided  among  the 
twelve  tribes. 
Map    of    Palestine— Illustrating  the  New  Test- 
am''  nt. 
Map    of    the    Roman   Empire -Illustrating  the 

Journeys   of  the  Apostle  Paul. 
Map  of  Assyria  and  the  Adjacent  Lands— Illust- 
rating the  Captivities  of  the  Jews. 
Map  of  Egypt  and  the  Sinai  Peninsula— Illustrat- 
ing the  Jnurneyings  of  the  Israelites. 
Any  of  the  :  Hove  mi  ps  sold  singly  and  un- 
mounted at  1.00  ca  h.  postpaid. 

These  maps  are  als  i  furnistaecj  in  a  set  of  5 
that  are  mounted  on  one  specially  constructed 
wooden  r"llr-r,  which  i^  arranged  to  rest  securely 
on  t.'ie  top  of  the  upright  bar  of  the  stand.  The 
stand  is  collapsible  and  is  made  of  steel,  finished 
in  black  Japr.n. 

Entire  Outfit,  $6  50  Net. 
By  Express  or  Freight  a.(  Purchaser  s  Exeense. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 
709  E.  40th  St.,  Chicago,  111. 


February  8,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


iiiiiiiii,? 


J.  M.  Philputt  Wins 
Charlottesville,  Va. 

Evidently  Charlottesville,  Va.,  congre- 
gation chose  the  right  man  to  lead  them 
when  J.  M.  Philputt  was  asked  to  as- 
sume this  work.  A  recent  issue  of  a 
local  newspaper  pronounces  a  eulogy 
upon  the  new  leader,  and  reports  with 
enthusiasm  some  recent  achievements  of 
the  congregation  under  Mr.  Philputt's 
leadership.  A  band  of  twenty  men  re- 
cently made  an  every  member  canvass 
and  although  the  annual  budget  is  larger 
than  ever  before  ample  pledges  were  re- 
ceived to  cover  it.  Mr.  Philputt  enter- 
tained the  canvassers  before  they  went 
at  their  task  at  a  local  hotel,  where  a 
banquet  was  served  them.  In  the  eve- 
ning at  the  church  the  men  told  of  their 
experiences  of  the  afternoon.  The  Char- 
lottesville newspaper  says  of  Mr.  Phil- 
putt's  work:  "An  outstanding  feature  of 
the  entire  scope  of  activities  at  the 
Christian  church,  is  the  splendid  leader- 
ship of  the  new  pastor.  Dr.  Philputt  is 
meeting  with  most  cordial  and  eager 
support,  and  is  enlisting  his  flock  for  a 
nobler  and  more  aggressive  conduct  of 
a  share  in  the  extension  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ.  To  his  untiring  energy  and 
faithful  presentation  of  broad  visions  of 
the  golden  opportunities  of  the  church 
of  today,  belongs  great  credit  for  the 
work  just  completed  by  his  congrega- 
tion, and  for  other  notable  tasks  under- 
taken by  that  body  since  he  took  up  its 
pastorate."  A  few  weeks  ago  $900  was 
raised  in  nine  minutes  with  which  to 
pay  for  improvements  on  the  church 
property. 

Kentucky  Pastorates 
Get  New  Leaders 

It  is  reported  that  A.  L.  Ward,  for 
several  years  in  most  successful  work 
at  Lebanon,  Ind.,  has  been  chosen  to 
succeed  LeRoy  M.  Anderson  at  Bowling 
Green,  Ky.  Also  that  D.  M.  Walker,  of 
Standford,  Ky.,  has  accepted  a  call  to 
the  work  at  Shelbyville,  Ky.,  from  which 
field  Homer  W.  Carpenter  resigned  to 
take  up  field  work  for  Transylvania  Col- 
lege. 

"The   Best  Equipped   Church 
Plant  in  Louisiana" 

That  is  the  way  W.  O.  Stephens,  min- 
ister at  Lake  Charles,  La.,  describes  the 
Duilding  now  under  way  at  Lake  Charles, 
ind  which  will  be  completed  by  Christ- 
Has.  It  will  cost  $20,000.  The  old  build- 
ing will  be  equipped  to  be  used  as  a 
gymnasium  for  young  men,  by  the  gift 
-ii  a  friend.  Both  buildings  are  on  the 
samelot  and  are  located  in  the  heart  of 
he  city. 

Burris  A.  Jenkins  Goes  Into 
European  Trenches 

A  six  months'  leave  of  absence,  be- 
ginning May  1,  has  been  granted  to  Bur- 
"is  A.  Jenkins,  pastor  of  Linwood  Bou- 
evard  church,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  in  order 
hat  he  may  go  to  Europe  to  preach  to 
he  British  soldiers.  Dr.  Jenkins  has 
mnounced  that  he  would  be  one  of  six 
Vmericans  chosen  by  George  Sherwood 
Iddy,  foreign  field  secretary  for  the  Y. 
vl.  C.  A.,  to  do  evangelistic  work  under 
he  direction  of  the  English  branch  of 
hat  organization.  "We  are  not  going 
o  limit  ourselves  to  nightly  services  in 


the  trenches,"  Dr.  Jenkins  said.  "It  is 
our  intention  to  devote  much  of  our  time 
to  working  with  the  men  in  the  day- 
time, when,  with  the  stress  and  worry 
of  battle  upon  them,  they  probably  will 
need  us  most."  Two  other  members  of 
the  party,  already  announced,  are  Ray- 
mond Robins  and  Fred  Smith,  the  latter 
a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  evangelist.  J.  Wilbur 
Chapman  and  Gypsy  Smith  are  al- 
ready at  the  front.  The  evangel- 
istic meetings  are  to  be  held  in  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  huts  and  tents  just  back 
of  the  firing  line.  The  evangelistic  force 
will  be  moved  about  the  front  in  France, 
Egypt  and  Macedonia,  and  in  the  con- 
centration camps  in  England.  Each 
member  of  the  party  will  pay  his  own 
expenses. 

"The  Most  Spiritually 
Minded   Church" 

Thus  does  E.  W.  Allen  of  Auburn, 
N.  Y.,  write  of  Peter  Ainslie's  congre- 
gation at  Christian  Temple,  Baltimore. 
Mr.  Allen  has  just  closed  a  two  weeks' 
evangelistic  effort  with  this  church,  and 
he  reports  that  the  prayer  life  is  the 
most  pronounced  feature  of  the  work 
there. 

From  Mission  to  Modern 
Building  in  Six  Years 

Starting  six  years  ago  as  a  mission 
in  a  rented  store  building  with  but  sev- 
enty-five members,  the  Glenwood  Church 
of  Christ,  Fort  Worth,  Tex.,  had,  at  the 
end  of  1916,  a  membership  of  nearly  400 
and  had  for  their  church  a  modern  brick 
building.  These  facts  were  revealed  by 
a  "New  Year's  inventory"  taken  by  the 
church.  The  work  of  the  church  dur- 
ing the  past  four  years  has  been  under 
the  direction  of  Horace  Busby.  Shortly 
after   organization   a   lot  was   purchased 


THEY  ALL  PRAISE  THE  CHRISTIAN 
CENTURY. 

"The  'Century'  is  improving  in  a  remark- 
able fashion.  All  success  to  you." — F.  E. 
Lumley,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

"You  are  certainly  giving  us  a  thought- 
provoking  paper." — C.  C.  Garrigues,  Jop- 
lin,  Mo. 

"I  am  in  love  with  the  'Century.' " — D.  W. 
Moore,  Webb  City,  Mo. 

"A  great  paper.  It  gives  me  what  I  want 
and  need.  It  discusses  problems  that  are 
big  in  the  religious'  world  today." — B.  H. 
Smith,  Horton,  Kan. 

"I  always  read  the  'Century'  with  great 
pleasure  and  profit.  It  grips  a  fellow  and 
makes  him  want  to  do  something  really 
worth  while." — /.  Irving  Brown,  Sac  City, 
Iowa. 

"The  'Century'  makes  a  fine  appearance 
with  its  new  typography,  and  the  contents 
are  fresh  and  interesting." — T.  J.  Clark, 
Albion,  III. 

"I  have  enjoyed  the  paper  the  past  year. 
It  has  been  thought-provoking,  helpful  and 
inspiring.  May  the  coming  year  be  the  best 
yet." — W.  G.  Eldred,  Eminence,  Ky. 

"We  cannot  think  of  doing  without  the 
'Century.'  The  scholarship  of  its  editors, 
the  broad  Christian  spirit  which  permeates 
its  pages,  lead  us  to  rank  it  among  our  best 
religious  literature." — Mrs.  Robt.  F.  Fryer, 
Kingsville,  Mo. 

"The  'Century'  has  the  right  punch  to  it." 
— Arthur  Dillinger,  Altoona,  Iowa. 


and  the  permanent  building  commenced 
last  August  to  take  the  place  of  the  tem- 
porary tabernacle  that  had  been  hous- 
ing the  congregation. 

Endeavor  Society  Will   Handle 
Publicity  for  Revival 

W.  G.  Loucks,  who  leads  at  East 
Grand  Boulevard,  Detroit,  Mich.,  has  a 
loyal  band  in  his  Christian  Endeavor  So- 
ciety. This  organization  took  it  upon 
itself  to  promote  the  publicity  end  of  the 
meetings  which  began  at  the  church  on 
last  Sunday.  Mr.  Loucks  is  preaching 
and  is  being  assisted  in  the  singing  by  C. 
P.  Wilson  of  Akron,  Ohio.  January  29 
to  February  3  was  observed  as  Get- 
Together  Week,  in  preparation  for  the 
meeting.  The  Endeavor  Society,  which 
is  a  new  organization,  has  also  assumed 
the  support  of  a  native  evangelist  in  Bila- 
spur,   India. 

Christian    Temple,   Baltimore, 
Has  Eighth  Branch 

Clifton  S.  Ehlers,  assistant  minister  of 
the  Christian  Temple,  Baltimore,  Md., 
has  opened  the  eighth  branch  church  of 
the  Temple,  in  a  theater  at  Park 
Heights,  with  Sunday  school  and  even- 
ing preaching  service.  A  large  number 
of  members  of  the  Temple  congregation 
who  live  in  that  section  of  the  city  will 
afford  a  nucleus  for  the  new  work.  The 
organization  will  be  called  Calvary 
Christian  church  and  will  be  ministered 
to  by  Mr.  Ehlers. 

Missionary  Pastor  for 
Kansas  Coal  Fields 

The  interurbans  in  southeastern  Kan- 
sas^ radiating  from  Pittsburg,  form  the 
basis  on  which  the  Kansas  Christian 
Missionary  society  has  decided  to  put  a 
missionary  pastor  in  the  Kansas  coal 
fields.  The  decision  was  reached  at  a 
meeting  of  the  state  board  of  officers  of 
the  Christian  church,  held  in  the  office 
of  the  secretary  in  Topeka.  O.  L.  Cook 
of  Topeka  is  president  of  the  Kansas 
state  organization  and  George  E.  Lyon 
secretary. 

W.  F.  Richardson  Goes 
to  the  Western  Coast 

W.  F.  Richardson,  for  twenty-two 
years  pastor  of  First  church,  Kansas 
City,  Mo.,  has  accepted  a  call  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  church  at  Hollywood, 
Cal.  Hollywood  is  a  suburb  of  Los  An- 
geles. Mr.  Richardson  resigned  the  min- 
istry of  First  church  January  1.  He 
built  the  congregation  up  to  its  present 
size.  He  will  assume  active  charge  of 
the  Hollywood  pastorate  April  1,  at 
which  time  he  will  move  there  from 
Kansas  City. 

Hobson  at  Chandlerville, 
Okla.,  Church 

Richmond  Pearson  Hobson,  congress- 
man and  saloon  foe,  spoke  at  Chandler- 
ville, Okla.,  Christian  church  a  few  even- 
ings ago  on  "The  Great  Destroyer." 

Galveston  Church  Trebles 
Numbers  in  Two  Years 

J.  B.  Holmes  organized  the  church  at 
Galveston,  Tex.,  in  August,  1914,  with  82 
resident  members.  Since  that  date  it 
has  practically  trebled  its  numbers  and 
has  a  property  valued  at  $25,000.  The 
following  figures  will  give  an  idea  of 
the  growth  of  the  work:  Began  in  Au- 
gust, 1914,  with  82  resident  members; 
had  133  resident  and  10  non-resident 
members  January  1,  1915;  191  resident 
and  62  non-resident  members  January  1, 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  8,  1917 


1916;  -63  resident  and  121  non-resident 
members  January  l.  1917.  Owing  to  war 
conditions,  the  church  has  lost  heavily 
during  the  last  few  months. 

Church  Doubles  at 
Flint,  Mich. 

There  has  been  a  hundred  per  cent  in- 
crease in  membership  and  finances  at 
Central  church.  Flint.  Mich.,  during  the 
last  year.  A  new  building  will  be  erected 
in  the  spring.  The  work  at  Flint  is  led 
by   1.  O.  Crawford. 

Good  Advice  From 
A.  J.  Bush 

A.  J.  Bush,  for  more  than  fifty  years  a 
leader  in  the  work  in  Texas,  in  an  ad- 
dress delivered  before  the  Dallas  Chris- 
tian Teachers'  Association,  said:  "We 
are  to  plead  with  Christian  people  to  be 
more  loving  and  harmonious  and  to  seek 
the  unity  prayed  for  by  the  Christ.  Such 
a  task  calls  for  unity  and  a  loving  spirit 
toward  all  men  in  ourselves.  We  will 
find  the  world  will  hear  our  pleas  in  pro- 
portion to  the  way  we  live  them." 

Columbus,   Ohio,   Pastor 
Receives  Call 

T.  L.  Lowe,  of  Fourth  Avenue  church, 
Columbus.  Ohio,  for  the  last  eight  years, 
has  received  an  unanimous  call  from 
First  church,  Athens,  Ohio,  but  it  is  ru- 
mored that  he  will  not  accept. 

Bryan  at  Linwood  Boulevard, 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Alluding  to  the  latest  peace  expres- 
sion of  President  Wilson  as  the  greatest 
document  in  human  history,  William 
Jennings  Bryan,  in  a  speech  before  a 
large  audience  at  the  Linwood  Boule- 
vard Christian  church,  a  week  ago, 
"seconded  the  motion"  of  the  nation's 
executive  with  an  appeal  for  general  dis- 
armament. In  his  endorsement  of  the 
President's  address  Mr.  Bryan  made  one 
reservation.  He  said  he  must  reserve  the 
privilege  of  objecting  to  a  league  to  en- 
force peace.  "Peace,"  he  said,  "is  one 
thing  that  cannot  be  forced.  It  must 
come  through  love  and  the  brotherhood 
of  man." 

Greater  Louisville  School 
of  Methods  in  Session 

The  fourth  annual  Greater  Louisville 
School  of  Methods  is  in  session  this 
week — February  5-9 — at  Third  church. 
On  the  program  are  the  following  lead- 
ers: W.  E.  Frazee,  Miss  Lucy  K.  De- 
Moss,  Garry  L.  Cook,  Miss  Muriel 
White,  W.  P.  Crouch,  W.  C.  Bower  and 
J.  B.  Briney.  The  school  is  held  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Jefferson  County 
Bible  School  Committee  and  the  Ken- 
tucky Bible  School  Association,  of 
which  W.  E.  Frazee  is  secretary. 

Louisville  Church  to  Raise 
Up  Christian  Leaders 

Parkland  Church,  Louisville,  Ky.,  has 
included  in  its  budget  the  Life  item.  It 
is  the  purpose  of  the  church  each  year  to 
choose  from  its  young  people  at  least 
two  who  will  dedicate  their  lives  to 
Christian  leadership  and  then  help  to 
make  possible  the  training  of  these  two 
young  people  for  their  lif»  task. 

Central  Church,  Covington,  Ky., 
Extends  "Life  Call" 

The  minister  of  First  church,  Coving- 
ton, Ky.,  extended  the  Life  Call  a  few 
weeks  ago  and  fifteen  young  people 
made  decisions  to  fit  themselves  for  spe- 
cial Christian   service.     This  church  has 


sent  out  such  men  as  Howard  T.  Cree, 
Joseph  A.  Serena  and  Harry  Stansifer 
in  the  past. 

M.  E.  Chatley  in 
Popular  Address 

M.  E.  Chatley,  of  Memorial  church, 
Rock  Island,  111.,  recently  exchanged 
pulpits  with  the  pastor  of  the  Rock 
Island  Central  Presbyterian  church.  Mr. 
Chatley  delivered  an  address  on  "Super- 
stition," which  he  had  given  before  the 
local  Ministerial  Alliance,  to  the  delight 
of  his  hearers. 

Dr.  Garrison  Gives  Lecture 
on  Journalism 

Dr.  J.  H.  Garrison,  editor-emeritus  of 
the  Christian  Evangelist,  recently  deliv- 
ered a  lecture  before  the  Junior  Class  of 
Pomona  College  on  "The  Progress  of 
Religious  Journalism  in  the  United 
States  During  the  Last  Half  Century." 

J.  L.  Garvin  in 
New  Work 

Joseph  L.  Garvin,  formerly  president 
at  William  Woods  College,  has  been 
called  as  field  secretary  of  the  National 
Church  and  Sunday  School  Efficiency 
Bureau,  with  headquarters  at  Flint, 
Mich. 

W.  J.  Clarke 
Tours  Coast     * 

W.  J.  Clarke,  National  Adult  Superin- 
tendent of  Bible  Schools,  is  to  make  an 
extensive  tour  of  the  Pacific  west  dur- 
ing this  month  and  next.  Two  schools 
of  methods  have  been  arranged  at  Fresno 
and  Los  Angeles. 

J.  McD.  Home  Leaves 
Illinois 

J.  McD.  Home,  for  five  years  pastor 
at  First  church,  Charleston,  111.,  has  re- 
signed this  work  and  accepted  the  pas- 
torate   at     Sullivan,     Ind.      During    Mr. 


Home's  administration  over  300  mem- 
bers were  added  to  the  congregation 
and  the  church  has  enjoyed  the  best 
financial  condition  in  its  history.  He  led 
also  in  the  remodeling  of  the  church 
home  at  Charleston. 

Louise  J.  Taft 
Ordained 

Mrs.  Louise  J.  Taft,  for  several  years 
secretary  of  the  California  Sunday 
School  Association,  has  been  formally 
ordained  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  at 
First  church,  Berkeley,  Cal.  H.  H.  Guy 
and  T.  A.  Boyer  had  charge  of  the  cere- 
monies. Mrs.  Taft  studied  for  her  work 
at  the  University  of  Nebraska  and  at  Pa- 
cific Theological  Seminary.  At  present 
she  is  a  special  worker  with  the  W.  C. 
T.  U.  for  moral  education  and  race  bet- 
terment. 

J.  N.  Jessup  Appreciated 
in  Los  Angeles 

The  Morning  Tribune,  of  Los  An- 
geles, Cal.,  made  a  column  feature  of  a 
recent  sermon  of  J.  N.  Jessup,  new  pas- 
tor at  Magnolia  Avenue.  The  theme 
treated  was  "Be  True  to  Self."  The 
newspaper  also  gave  a  very  compli- 
mentary notice  of  Mr.  Jessup's  work  at 
the  Los  Angeles  church. 

Russell  H.  Conwell 
at  First,  Chattanooga 

Dr.  Russell  H.  Conwell,  famous 
preacher  of  Philadelphia,  gave  his  lec- 
ture on  "Acres  of  Diamonds"  at  First 
church,  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  as  one  of 
the  numbers  of  a  course  being  given 
under  the  auspices  of  the  "Inner  Circle" 
organization  of  the  church. 

E.  H.  Clifford  to  Leave 
Ft.  Wayne,  Ind. 

E.  H.  Clifford  has  resigned  from  the 
pulpit  at  Third  church,  Ft.  Wayne,  Ind., 
to  accept  a  call  to  the  work  at  Clinton, 


Deserved  Tribute  to  J.  H.  Goldner 


On  the  evening  of  January  18,  Euclid 
Avenue  church,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  held  its 
annual  meeting,  election  of  officers  and 
church  dinner.  Judge  F.  A.  Henry  pre- 
sided at  the  business  meeting  at  which 
reports  from  all  departments  and  offi- 
cers of  the  church  were  submitted.  These 
reports  showed  that  the  year  1916  has 
been  the  banner  year  in  the  history  of 
this  seventy-three  year  old  institution. 

The  church  membership  is  now  1,200, 
156  new  members  having  come  in  dur- 
ing the  past  year.  The  church  is  sup- 
porting an  entire  mission  station  in  Af- 
rica, with  seven  missionaries  on  the  home 
and  foreign  field.  In  gifts  to  missionary 
and  benevolent  enterprises,  the  church 
now  leads  the  entire  brotherhood.  The 
C.  W.  B.  M.  organization  also  leads  in 
its  work  in  the  brotherhood.  The  ag- 
gregate of  funds  raised  in  1916  was  re- 
ported to  be  $24,022. 

When  one  considers  that  J.  H.  Gold- 
ner began  his  work  as  pastor  of  this 
church  seventeen  years  ago  in  a  frame 
building,  with  a  membership  of  about 
five  hundred,  a  budget  of  about  $4,000, 
the  church  not  supporting  a  single  mis- 
sionary, then  one  gets  an  idea  of  the 
type  of  leadership  that  he  has  given  to 
this  work.  In  his  quiet,  modest  way  he 
has  been  doing  an  enduring  piece  of 
work.  With  no  blare  of  trumpets  he  has 
led  his  great  church  on  to  a  record  of 
achievement  which,  in  the  words  of 
Judge  Henry,  "is  second  to  none  in  the 


entire  brotherhood."  Says  Judge  Henry 
again:  "He  came  to  make  the  work  of 
the  Euclid  Avenue  church  his  life  work 
and  he  is  making  good."  Mr.  Goldner 
has  the  longest  record  of  continuous 
service  in  one  post  of  the  Disciple  min- 
isters of  the  state  of  Ohio,  and  there  are 
but  two  or  three  Protestant  ministers 
in  the  great  city  of  Cleveland  who  have 
served  the  community  longer  than  he. 

It  would  be  hard  to  tell  the  secret  of 
the  strength  of  this  splendid  church  and 
its  able  leader.  In  a  sense,  the  church 
has  come  to  be  much  like  its  leader, 
and  rightly  so.  Mr.  Goldner  goes  about 
his  work  in  a  quiet,  unassuming  man- 
ner, and  so  does  his  church. 

An  old  Scotchman  gave  three  essen- 
tials for  a  successful  minister.  They 
were:  "First,  some  of  the  Grace  of 
God;  second,  some  book  learning;  third, 
a  heap  of  common  sense."  Mr.  Goldner 
possesses  all  three  of  these  qualifica- 
tions, and  certainly  "a  heap  of  common 
sense."  It  is  not  easy  to  make  the  reader 
understand  what  real  harmony  and  unity 
of  spirit  there  is  in  this  church.  Those 
of  us  who  enjoy  its  fellowship  cannot 
say  just  how  or  why  these  splendid  con- 
ditions exist.  We  believe  that  it  takes 
years  of  discipline  to  develop  an  atmos- 
phere such  as  we  have  at  Euclid  ave- 
nue. We  also  believe  that  it  takes  a 
leader  who  stands  close  to  his  God,  and 
we  know  that  we  have  such  a  leader  in 
Jacob  H.  Goldner.  T.  E.  Hann. 


February  8,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


Ind.  It  is  reported  that  E.  W.  Allen, 
formerly  of  West  Jefferson  church,  Ft. 
Wayne,  but  now  of  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  will 
succeed  Mr.  Clifford  at  Third. 

At  First  Church, 
Springfield,  III. 

The  work  of  the  past  year  at  First 
church,  Springfield,  111.,  has  been  de- 
voted especially  to  religious  education 
and  the  promotion  of  the  missionary 
ideal  as  seen  in  the  world  program  of 
the  church.  In  the  spring  Miss  Eva 
Lemert  spent  ten  weeks  with  the  church 
school  and  reorganized  this  branch  of 
the  work,  also  permeating  it  with  the 
newer  ideals  of  religious  education.  Ed- 
ucational Week,  observed  early  in  Janu- 
ary, was  a  notable  success.  An  every 
member  canvass  is  being  planned  for 
May  6,  to  follow  logically  upon  the  re- 
cent week  of  educational  lectures  and 
study.  First  church  contributed  $1,293.46 
to  missions  during  1916.  There  were 
fifty-six  members  added  to  the  congrega- 
tion. The  Fellowship  Movement  in  this 
church  has  been  successful  and  has  elic- 
ited much  interest  in  other  quarters.  F. 
W.  Allen  leads  at  First  church. 

Philadelphia,  Third,  Makes 
Year's  Report 

The  work  of  the  Disciples  is  ex- 
tremely difficult  in  the  conservative  cit- 
ies of  the  East,  but  it  is  encouraging  to 
see  such  reports  as  are  coming  in  from 
such  churches  as  those  in  Philadelphia, 
which  is  a  city  proverbially  cold.  T.  E. 
Winter,  who  came  to  Third  church  about 
three  years  ago,  writes  that  there  have 
been  sixty-nine  accessions  to  the  mem- 
bership there  during  the  last  year,  fifty- 
four  by  confession  of  their  faith,  all  at 
regular  Sunday  services.  The  present 
church  membership  is  693,  while  the  Sun- 
day school  enrollment,  including  Cradle 
Roll  and  Home  Department,  is  828.  Last 
summer  a  new  lot  was  purchased  at  a 
cost  of  $10,500.  On  this  lot  the  congre- 
gation expects  to  erect  a  modern  church 
building  in  the  near  future.  A  campaign 
to  raise  $7,000  to  pay  for  this  lot  was 
recently  successfully  closed.  An  exten- 
sion work  has  already  been  launched  in 
the  new  neighborhood,  a  Sunday  school 
and  a  Sunday  night  preaching  service 
being  conducted.  The  attendance  at  the 
school  has  averaged  about  forty  and  at 
the    evening   service    aboujt    seventy-five. 


The  church  raised  for  all  purposes  dur- 
ing the  year  $19,079.88.  Of  this  amount 
$5,728.28  was  for  current  expenses, 
$1,161.86  for  missions  and  benevolences, 
and  the  balance,  $12,189.74,  for  the  new 
lot  and  expenses  incident  to  its  pur- 
chase, together  with  the  extension  work 
in  the  new  neighborhood.  Every  or- 
ganization of  the  church  closed  the  year 


with  a  balance  in  its  treasury  and  all 
bills  paid.  The  total  amount  of  all  bal- 
ances was  $2,553.43. 


— Prosperity  seems  to  be  finding  its 
way  into  the  homes  of  Disciple  pastors. 
Within  one  week  come  reports  of  the 
purchase  or  erection  of  homes  by  Allen 


Making  Over  George  Ade's  Town 


Two  or  three  weeks  ago  it  was  the 
writer's  privilege  to  speak  at  the  dedi- 
catory services  of  a  splendid  new  Com- 
munity House  at  Kentland,  Ind.,  and  the 
indications  of  Christian  progress  in  that 
town  are  so  marked  that  they  merit  com- 
ment even  beyond  what  can  be  offered 
here.  Elvin  Daniels  and  his  capable 
wife  are  the  pastors,  and  in  three  years 
of  literally  heroic  labors  they  have  ac- 
complished what  hosts  of  others  have 
not  in  a  lifetime. 

Mr.  Daniels'  first  task  was  that  of 
analyzing  the  situation.  Kentland  is  a 
town  of  some  1,700  population,  mostly 
retired  farmers,  with  four  congregations, 
well  housed  for  the  conventional  pro- 
gram of  the  church,  plenty  of  wealth  and 
ability  to  guard  it,  and  literally  swarms 
of  young  people  who  had  been  regularly 
told  to  be  good  by  the  swiftly  passing 
procession  of  ministers,  but  who,  as 
young  people  often  do,  failed  to  see  the 
point.  The  respectable  people  attended 
church  services  in  the  usual  number — say 
30.  The  children  and  young  people 
skillfully  avoided  the  morning  worship. 
There  was  no  town  pride  except  in  the 
fact  that  George  Ade  had  been  born 
there.  Business  was  organized  after  the 
usual  fashion,  education  was  organized 
and  fairly  efficient,  religion  was  dis- 
organized into  the  regular  number 
of  sects,  but  the  play  spirit — and  it 
is  always  the  spirit  that  plays — was  left 
to  take  the  boys  and  girls  into  hidden 
pitfalls.  There  was  no  town  organiza- 
tion, no  centralizing  idea,  no  community 
goal. 

Mr.  Daniels,  by  previous  preparation, 
was  able  to  uncover  the  fundamental 
needs  and  to  head  a  movement  to  pro- 
vide for  them.  At  first  the  indifference 
was  splendid.  He  urged  his  church  to 
support  him  in  his  community  program, 
but  he  found  deaf  ears.     He  sought  out 


the  remnants  of  an  almost  defunct  com- 
mercial club,  but  got  slight  response. 
A  woman's  literary  club  listened  atten- 
tively, but  acted  listlessly.  After  almost 
infinite  discouragements,  such  as  theo- 
retically could  be  found  only  on  the  for- 
eign field  among  the  totally  ignorant  and 
blindly  superstitious,  the  force  of  oppo- 
sition yielded  to  such  telling  arguments 
as  earlier  hours,  more  regular  habits, 
abandonment  of  cigarettes  and  liquor, 
and  the  growing  wholesomeness  of  the 
young  people  who  had  gladly  flocked 
about  the  ones  championing  their  cause. 
Decent  parents  could  no  longer  be  in- 
different to  the  pastors  who  were  clean- 
ing up  their  boys  and  girls  before  their 
very  eyes. 

In  brief,  the  result  of  this  work  is  this 
magnificent  community  center,  ulti- 
mately to  cost  ten  thousand  dollars,  the 
inauguration  of  musical  courses  and  dra- 
matic studies,  farmers'  short  courses,  va- 
rious farmers'  exhibits,  a  county  athletic 
league  with  high  standards  of  admis- 
sion, the  reorganization  of  the  commer- 
cial club  into  a  community  club  and  the 
creation  of  a  new  spirit — the  spirit  of 
aspiration — in  the  whole  community. 

In  the  church  to  which  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Daniels  ministers  there  is  now  a  fine 
chorus  of  young  people,  a  unified  morn- 
ing service,  with  every  person  studying 
the  Bible,  a  unified  evening  service  with 
everybody  studying  missions,  a  train- 
ing class  for  the  development  of  leaders, 
the  budget  system,  every  member  can- 
vass, and  all  the  features  of  an  up-to- 
date  church. 

This  community  is  rapidly  becoming  a 
part  of  the  Kingdom  in  a  real  sense  and 
the  effects  are  far-reaching.  The  peo- 
ple's lives  are  being  socialized,  sectar- 
ianism is  disappearing  and  the  better 
day  is  at  hand.     Frederick  E.   Lumley. 

Indianapolis,  Ind. 


Our  Foreign  Work 

Faces  a  Great 

Responsibility 


India  Mission  Disciples  of  Christ. 

Damoh,  C.  P.,  Nov.  22,  1916. 

Dear  Brother  McLean: — Reinforcements  for  our  India  Mission  are  absolutely  necessary  if  we 
are  to  heed  God's  call  in  the  emergency  which  now  faces  us.  Here  is  what  the  people  are  saying 
in  the  Mungeli  District:  "Give  us  preachers  and  teachers,  we  are  ready  to  be  made  Christians." 
A  more  significant  call  never  faced  the  church.  If  comprehended  by  the  churches  at  home,  it  alone 
would  bring  the  income  of  the  Foreign  Society  up  to  the  $600,000  asked  for.  This  call  is  of  God. 
His  spirit  lifts  a  voice  in  India's  depressed  classes  who  have  no  chance  in  life.  There  are  200,000 
of  them  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Mungeli  and  Bilaspur.  Our  hands  are  tied  until  we  have 
sufficient  workers  to  care  for  these  who  are  so  ignorant  of  Christian  living. 

Included  in  these  people  is  a  sect  of  the  low  caste  who  to  the  north  of  us  in  another  mission 
gave  40,000  converts  to  Christianity  last  year.  These  people  are  under  the  intolerable  weight  of 
India's  caste  system,  and  when  they  come  to  Christianity  they  will  come  by  groups  and  villages  that 
they  may  more  easily  break  the  terrible  bonds  of  caste  and  be  a  protection  to  each  other  in  the 
inevitable  persecution  which  will  follow. 

_  We  have  now  1,200  converts  scattered  through  the  villages  near  Mungeli  and  Bilaspur.  We  are 
caring  for  these,  but  these  new  people  will  doubtless  act  in  a  body.  We  MUST  have  a  sufficient 
force  of  workers  to  deal  with  whole  villages.     We  must  make  haste.     Send  the  workers! 

If  we  do  not  hurry  the  opportunity  may  pass,  or  if  the  move  develops  quickly  our  work  may 
face  a  great  crisis  through  an  influx  of  illiterate  and  ignorant  converts,  with  no  one  to  guide  them. 
In  the  face  of  such  a  wonderful  opportunity  surely  the  great  brotherhood  will  respond. 

In  behalf  of  His  kingdom  in  India,  W.  B.  Alexander. 


The  Foreign  Christian  Mission- 
ary Society  is  planning  to  meet 
this  and  other  similar  emergencies 
as  soon  as  funds  are  available. 

Help  meet  this  crisis  in  your 
gifts  for  Foreign  Missions  on  the 
first  Sunday  in  March. 

Why  not  give  a  day's  income  of 
your  own  as  an  extra  thank  offer- 
ing? 

F.  M.  Rains, 

Stephen  J.   Corey,  Secretaries, 

Cincinnati,  O. 


THE  :^_iv 
MISSIONARY'S 


HANDS 


.TIED 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  8,  1917 


T.  Shaw  of  Pekin,  111.;  J.  McD.  Home, 
the  new  pastor  at  Sullivan,  Ind.,  and  T. 
C.  Perrv,  of  First  church,  Ponca  City, 
Okla. 

— Bargersville,  Ind.,  congregation  has 
completed  a  $15,000  church  home,  under 
the  leadership  of  Roland  Bennett. 


■inn  unni/  A.  Church  Home  for  You. 

NEW  TURK  Wri*e  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
lib ii   i  vii n  142  West  glst  St ■    N  y 


—More  than  two  hundred  persons 
were  added  to  the  membership  at  First 
church,  Tulsa,  Okla.,  through  the  meet- 
ings led  by  J.  C.  Burkhardt,  of  Musko- 
gee, Okla. 

— YY.  R.  "Warren,  of  the  Board  of  Min- 
isterial Relief,  recently  gave  a  talk  at 
a  luncheon  of  the  Christian  ministers  of 
St.  Louis,  held  at  the  Planters  Hotel. 

— Herbert  Yeuell  is  beginning  a  union 
meeting  with  the  Presbyterian  and  Dis- 
ciples churches  of  Wabash,  Ind. 

— C.  H.  Hilton,  recently  resigned  at 
Healdsburg,  Cal.,  has  begun  his  new  task 
at  Baker  City,  Ore. 

— M.  H.  Fagan  has  accepted  a  call  to 
Corvallis,  Ore.,  where  is  located  the 
State  Agricultural  College. 

— A  community  welfare  meeting  was 
held  in  First  church,  Quincy,  111.,  last 
week. 

— The  marriage  is  reported  of  Chester 
B.  Grubb,  pastor  at  Watseka,  111.,  and 
Miss  Gladys  Dale  of  Sumner,  111.  Both 
bride  and  groom  are  Eureka  graduates. 

— The  new  pastor  at  First  church,  Hig- 
ginsville,  Mo.,  Archie  B.  Bedford,  is 
twenty-one  years  of  age. 

— J.  H.  O.  Smith,  of  Metropolitan 
church,  Chicago,  recently  declared  in  a 
sermon  that  he  fears  the  results  of  the 
entrance  of  the  United  States  into  a 
"Federation  of  Nations." 

— E.  L.  Thompson,  pastor  at  Nacog- 
doches, Tex.,  has  resigned  this  work  to 
accept  the  pastorate  at  Forney,  Tex. 

—George  W.  Wise,  having  returned 
from  the  hospital  in  Rochester,  Minn., 
where  he  underwent  a  serious  operation, 
is  again  at  work  with  his  church  at 
Salem,  Mo.,  and  reports  fourteen  acces- 
sions within  the  past  month. 

— The  Fife  brothers,  having  concluded 
their  series  of  meetings  in  Bellefontaine, 
Ohio,  have  gone  to  New  England  to  con- 
tinue their  campaigns. 

— Norwood,  Ohio,  church  begins  an 
evangelistic  series  on  February  11,  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  H.  Boden  leading.  C. 
R.  Stauffer,  pastor  at  Norwood,  is  lead- 
ing in  a  series  of  cottage  prayer  meet- 
ings in  preparation  for  the  campaign. 

— R.  W.  Abberley  is  holding  a  series 
of  meetings  at  Fullerton,  Cal. 

— A  midwinter  conference  of  the 
Christian  churches  of  Southern  Califor- 
nia was  held  last  Monday  at  First 
church,  Los  Angeles.    . 

— H.  W.  Hunter,  who  leads  at  Well- 
ington, Kan.,  is  conducting  a  series  of 
six  studies  on  Personal  Evangelism  at 
the  midweek  prayer  meetings.  This 
church  is  preparing  for  an  "Each  One 
Win  One"  campaign. 

— Ninth  Street  Sunday  school,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  has  challenged  Norwood, 
Ohio,  school  to  an  attendance  contest. 

— H.  N.  McKee,  pastor  at  Fowler,  Cal., 
reports  all  bills  paid  at  his  church  and 


a  balance  in  the  treasury  of  every  de- 
partment. Twenty  persons  were  added 
to  the  membership  during  last  year.  Mr. 
McKee  speaks  in  complimentary  terms 
of  his  congregation. 

— During  H.  J.  Loken's  seven  years  at 
Berkeley,  Cal.,  church  there  have  been 
471  accessions  to  the  church  member- 
ship. 

— February  is  "Church  Loyalty  Month" 
at  North  Shore  church  Chicago.  The  fol- 
lowing topics  are  being  discussed  by  D. 
Rov  Mathews,  pastor:  "What  Is  Chris- 
tianity?" "Christianity  and  the  Church." 
"The  Church  and  the  World."  "Some 
Duties  to  the  Church." 

— A  missionary  rally  was  held  at  Uni- 
versity Place  church,  Des  Moines,  la., 
on  February  2.  President  A.  McLean, 
W.  E.  Alexander  of  India  and  Dr.  E.  I. 
Osgood  of  China  were  the  speakers. 

— W.  C.  Cole  closed  his  meeting  at 
Capitol  Hill  church,  Des  Moines,  la., 
with  104  persons  added  to  the  church 
membership  in  the  eighteen  days.  E.  C. 
Harding  and  wife  led  the  singing. 

— Seventeen  nationalities  are  repre- 
sented in  the  student  body  at  Drake  Uni- 
versity, among  them  four  from  England, 
five  from  Russia  and  seven  from  the 
Philippines. 

— Clinton,  la.,  reports  a  25  per  cent 
increase  in  pledges  to  local  work  and  a 
missionary  budget  of  $120,  as  a  result 
of  an  aggressive  every  member  canvass. 

— J.  H.  McCartney,  pastor  at  Modesto, 
Cal.,  has  been  appointed  state  superin- 
tendent of  the  Home  Department. 

— F.  M.  Warren  of  Vinton,  la.,  church 
has  organized  a  young  men's  class,  which 
is  meeting  in  a  local  theater. 

— The  men's  Bon  Ami  class  and  the 
women's  class  of  the  church  at  Hender- 
son, Ky.,  are  proposing  to  raise  $1,200 
to  build  additions  to  the  church  edifice, 
thus  providing  three  new  class  rooms 
for  the  church  school.  Kyle  Brooks  is 
achieving  some  big  things  at  Henderson, 
being  a  Sunday  school  specialist. 

— W.  M.  Baker,  who  leads  at  Marshall- 
town,  la.,  has  a  successful  "Central  Boys' 
Club,"  which  meets  every  Wednesday 
evening  for  gymnastics. 

— The  Alabama  Christian,  edited  by  O. 
P.  Spiegel,  is  now  published  in  Mont- 
gomery, after  being  published  for  thir- 
teen years  in  Birmingham. 

— The  School  of  Religious  Education, 
which  is  conducted  by  First  church, 
Springfield,  111.,  in  co-operation  with  the 
First  Methodist  church,  has  an  enroll- 
ment of  257,  with  eleven  on  the  faculty. 

— The  Disciples'  Congress,  of  which 
Frederick  E.  Lumley  is  secretary,  has 
its  1917  meeting  at  St.  Louis  during  the 
week  following  Easter.  Graham  Frank 
is  president  of  the  Congress,  Charles  M. 
Sharpe  vice-president,  and  the  executive 
committee  consists  of  Frederick  D. 
Kershner  and  Charles  H.  Winders.  An 
unusually  interesting  program  is  being 
arranged,  and  any  Disciple  minister  or 
leader  who  is  not  already  planning  to 
attend  is  not  alert  to  his  opportunities. 

— Charles  M.  Fillmore,  of  Hillside 
church,  Indianapolis,  reports  the  close  of 
a  ten  days'  meeting  at  this  church,  led 
by  Eugene  Morton  of  Columbus,  Ind. 
Fifteen  accessions  are  reported. 

— F.  E.  Lumley  of  Indianapolis 
preached  at  Poseyville,  Ind.,  on  January 
28.  Harry  F.  Lett,  pastor  at  Poseyville, 
is  a  former  College  of  Missions  student. 
Mr.  Lumley  writes  that  he  is  having  the 


interesting  experience  of  promoting  a 
series  of  conferences  through  Indiana  on 
various  forms  of  welfare  work.  This  is 
being  done  by  Mr.  Lumley  under  the 
auspices  of  the  State  Board  of  Chari- 
ties. 

— The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  of 
First  church,  Cedar  Rapids,  la.,  has 
charge  of  the  last  prayer  meeting  of 
each  month  and  uses  as  the  topic  a  se- 
lection from  their  mission  study  text, 
"The  King's  Highway." 

— The  Foreign  Society  has  assigned 
the  Philippine  evangelist,  Juan  Nativi- 
dad,  to  the  Endeavorers  of  First  church, 
Norfolk,  Va.,  for  their  support. 

— The  University  of  Chicago  preacher 
for  February  11  will  be  Dr.  Cornelius 
Woelfkin,  of  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist 
church,  New  York.  President  W.  H.  P. 
Faunce,  of  Brown  University,  will  speak 
on  February  18,  and  Robert  E.  Speer  of 
New  York  City,  on  February  25.  Bishop 
Francis  McConnell  of  Denver,  Colo.,  will 
be  the  speaker  on  March  4  and  11,  and 
Prof.  Hugh  Black,  of  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  will  be  the  March  18  preacher. 

— First  church,  Cedar  Rapids,  la.,  is 
still    looking    for    a    preacher.     W.    L. 

Pulpit  at  Bement,  Illinois,  is  open  for  a 
minister.  Right  man  can  take  up  the  field 
at  once.  Address  C.  M.  Campbell,  Clerk, 
Christian  Church,  Bement,  Illinois. 


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THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


23 


Barth  is  doing  excellent  service  as  sup- 
ply. Dean  J.  C.  Caldwell,  of  Drake  re- 
cently, presented  his  phase  of  work  at 
a  morning  service.  The  church  enjoyed 
a  missionary  rally  on  January  18. 

— For  the  first  four  months  of  the  cur- 
rent missionary  year  the  Board  of  Min- 
isterial Relief  of  Indianapolis  reports  a 
gain  in  receipts  in  churches  of  12y2  per 
cent,  while  the  Sunday  schools  have  al- 
most doubled  their  offerings.  The  an- 
nuity receipts  are  extraordinarily  large, 
two  friends  having  given  $500  each  on 
this  plan,  one  $2,500  and  one  $10,000.  The 
bequests  of  $200  of  Mrs.  Dana  Hyde 
Pleak  and  $1,000  of  Mrs.  Esther  C. 
Shaver  have  also  been  received.  At  the 
same  time  the  calls  upon  the  board  are 
more  numerous  than  ever  before  and  the 
utmost  efforts  of  all  friends  of  the  work 
will  be  required  to  keep  the  receipts  up 
to  the  demands. 

— Claude  J.  Miller,  of  Windsor,  Colo., 
has  closed  a  three  weeks'  meeting  at 
Severance,  Colo.,  where  A.  A.  Proffitt 
ministers.  Nine  accessions  are  reported, 
eight  of  them  by  confession  of  faith. 

— E.  B.  Barnes  sends  report  of  a  series 
of  union  meetings  in  Richmond,  Ky.,  led 
by  Dr.  John  Robertson,  of  Edinburgh, 
Scotland. 

— Mart  Gary  Smith,  for  two  years  pas- 
tor at  Kenney,  111.,  has  left  this  field  to 
accept  the  work  at  Ada,  O.  During  his 
stay  at  Kenny,  Mr.  Smith  did  much 
toward  developing  a  community  spirit 
in  the  town.  Ada,  O.,  is  a  college  town, 
and  an  important  field.  Mr.  Smith  had 
a  call  also  to  West  End  church,  Atlanta, 
Ga.,  but  decided  upon  the  Ohio  work  as 
being  more  promising. 

— C.  L.  Johnson,  of  the  Paulding  O., 
church,  writes  that  R.  A.  Doan  spoke  at 
the  church  there  at  the  morning  service 
on  January  28.  In  the  afternoon  an 
every  member  canvass  was  taken  and 
the  evening  service  was  in  charge  of  the 
men  canvassers.  The  canvas  resulted  in 
increased  pledges  toward  current  ex- 
penses and  missions.  Two  recent  bap- 
tisms are  reported. 

I  — C.  C.  Morrison,  editor  of  The  Chris- 
tian Century,  has  been  spending  the 
past  few  weeks  in  Kansas  City,  Inde- 
pendence, Liberty  and  other  Missouri 
towns  and  is  in  Des  Moines  this  week. 
He  spoke  recently  at  Linwood  boule- 
vard and  Wabash  avenue  churches,  Kan- 
sas City,  and  at  Independence  and  Lib- 
erty, Mo. 

— A  Federation  of  Men's  Bible  Classes 
has  been  formed  at  Wellsville,  N.  Y., 
and  vicinity,  with  particular  view  to  law 
and  order  enforcement.  The  Wellsville 
church  is  cooperating,  as  is  also  that  at 
Scio. 

—Four  of  the  thousand  Philadelphia 
Trail  Hitters  who  went  to  New  York  to 
help  prepare  the  city  for  Billy  Sunday, 
spoke  at  Central  church  on  January  14. 
Both  Central  church,  New  York,  and 
Flat  Bush,  Brooklyn,  have  been  promot- 
ing evangelistic  meetings  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  Sunday  campaign. 

— J.  H.  Craig  of  Jay  Street  church, 
Troy,  N.  Y.,  recently  received  a  gift  from 
his  Bible  class  of  a  beautiful  set  of 
Shakespeare's  works. 

— The  Brotherhood  of  First  church, 
Eugene,  Ore.,  recently  raised  about 
$2,500  on  $5,000  required  for  the  work  of 
the  church.  The  achievement  was  put 
through  at  a  banquet,  at  which  A.  L. 
Crim,  the  pastor,  made  an  address. 

— The  principal  address  at  the  annual 
dinner  of  Central  church,  Anderson,  Ind., 


was  given  by  T.  W.  Grafton,  former 
pastor.  J.  W.  Underwood,  present  pas- 
tor, also  spoke  on  "The  Outlook." 

— At  a  banquet  of  the  Sunday  school 
teachers  and  officers  of  First  church, 
Pasadena,  Cal.,  held  last  week,  George 
P.  Taubman  of  Long  Beach,  F.  B.  Ward 
of  Pomona  and  Leon  V.  Shaw  were  chief 
speakers. 


ILLINOIS    NEWS    NOTES 

Ellsworth  Thorp  of  Rock  Falls  has  ac- 
cepted the  work  at  Kinmundy  and  will 
begin  there  February  11. 

Another  pastoral  unity  has  been 
formed.  Ludlow,  a  strong  village  church 
in  north  Champaign  County,  and  Mt. 
Olivet,  a  country  church  about  seven 
miles  away,  are  co-operating  in  the  call- 
ing of  a  minister.  This  method  of  co- 
operation is  growing  in  popularity. 

Arthur  Scott,  a  former  Eureka  stu- 
dent, who  has  been  preaching  for  sev- 
eral years  in  Indiana,  has  returned  to 
Illinois  and  will  be  here  for  a  few 
months.  He  wishes  to  be  busy  and  will 
be  glad  to  hold  meetings  or  do  supply 
work  wherever  either  is  needed.  Feel 
free  to  call  upon  him.  He  can  be  reached 
at  La  Rose,  111. 

We  have  in  Illinois  nine  preachers' 
wives  who  are  preachers.  We  would  like 
to  try  out  a  proposition  which  the  office 
believes  would  work  admirably.  In  sev- 
eral cases  I  have  had  inquiries  from  those 
people  about  work.  We  could  take  care 
of  a  number  of  our  smaller  churches  in 
this  manner.  The  husband  and  wife 
could  take  two  of  our  moderate  sized 
churches  and  by  alternating  could  carry 
on  a  delightful  ministry.  There  are  some 
things  that  the  women  can  do  much  bet- 
ter than  the  men,  and  I  suppose  the  sis- 
ters will  grant  me  the  privilege  of  saying 
this  the  other  way  also.  The  Bible  says 
the  two  shall  be  one  and  I  think  we  have 
an  opportunity  in  Illinois  to  prove  that 
this  is  true,  as  well  as  in  other  things. 
If  two  neighboring  churches  anywhere 
in  the  state  would  like  to  take  this  mat- 
ter up  with  me  I  would  be  glad  to  talk 
it  through. 

The  church  at  Rossville  recently  se- 
cured the  services  of  Frank  Shane  as 
the  resident  pastor. 

H.  H.  Peters,  State  Secretary. 


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I 


Vol.  XXXIV 


February  15,  1917 


Number  7 


On  the  Eve  of 
Armageddon 

By  E.  W.  McDiarmid 

"New  Wars  for  Old" 

A  Book  Review 

By  Ellis  B.  Barnes 


CHICAGO 


HI.Hl    ll      I 


||I|||||||||||!|H 


2  THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  February  15,  1917 

=-riitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiii  i^i 


The  Wisdom  of 
God's  Fools" 


AN  INSPIRING 
BOOK  BY  A  SPIR- 
ITUAL PREACHER 


MmiinMiiiiitiiniiiiiiiii 


imiiniiumiimi! 


lii ii 


mnillllllMil imMNiimiMiiiiiiiiiMii.il:.- 


Prof.  Arthur  S.  Hoyt,  D.D., 
°f  Auburn  Theological  Semi- 
nary, N.  Y.,  writes  as  follows 
of  Edgar  De  Witt  Jones  in  a 
recent  "Homiletic  Review"  arti- 
cle on  'Three  American  Preach- 
ers," Dr.  J.  H.  Jowett,  Dr. 
Frederick  F.  Shannon  and  Dr. 
Edgar  DeWitt  Jones: 

"Dr.  Jones  feels  our  mysterious 
and  complex  life,  and  holds  that 
Christ  is  fitted  to  every  side  of 
our  nature,  and  must  rule  in  every 
province  and  institution  of  hu- 
man life.  He  is  a  man  of  imagi- 
nation and  feeling.  His  sermons 
are  full  of  life,  and  they  are  a 
word  to  real  life." 


Professor  Hoyt  says  of  Dr.  Jones' 
recent  book — 

"The  Wisdom  of  God's  Fools" 


lit  I  tlllllltt  MLt  I) 


; iiiiuii 


imuiifiimiiiim 


"The  Wisdom  of  God's  Fools"  is  a 
book  of  vital  and  practical  interpre- 
tations of  Christian  truth  adapted  to 
the  popular  mind.  Here  we  have  the 
word  to  the  personal  life  through  its 
social  relationships.  There  is  no 
blurring  of  the  personal  nature  of  sin 
and  responsibility,  no  hiding  behind 
society,  no  impossible  dream  of  a 
redeemed  society  without  the  change 
in  individual  life ;  but  also  the  clear 
recognition  that  the  individual  cannot 
be  understood  or  fulfill  his  life  apart 
from  his  social  environment.  The 
individual  and  the  social  are  kept 
together,  as  they  are  in  fact  and  in 
the  gospel  of  Christ." 


Siimnn  mi  miii  mini  minium  n  inmmiiiiuim 


iiMiiiuiminiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiHiiiiuiiiniiuiNiiimMiiiiiniiiNiiiiii 


tiiiMiimiiiiiNMiMMiiiiiiinnr; 


Every  preacher  should  possess  a  copy  of  this  unusual  book,   price  $1.00  net 


Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  40th  Street  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


^fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisiiiiiiBiiiiiiEiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiir? 


February  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


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n.     .  I  The   Disciples   Publica- 

UlSCipiGS  tion   Society   is   an  or- 

PubllCatiOn      Sanation     through 
cA„:*>4»  which  churches  of  the 

aOCieiy  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to  I 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *    •    ♦ 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *     *     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such_  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

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A  Great  Book  for  the  New  Day 

In  this  day  of  tremendous  issues  in  national  and  international  life,  of  the 
remaking  of  the  entire  civilized  world,  there  is  need  for  a  reconsideration 
of  the  great  messages  of  the  prophets  of  Israel,  those  spokesmen  of  God  to 
nations  and  men.  Dr.  Willett  makes  these  wise  seers  live  and  speak 
anew  for  the  modern  world  in  his 

"Moral  Leaders  of  Israel" 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

Here  are  some  of  the  qualities  of  Dr.  Willett's  book  as  seen  by  well-known  publications: 
"Ripe  scholarship",  "Popular  interpretation"  (The  Advance,  Chicago).  "Comprehen- 
sive", "Popular"  (The  Continent,  Chicago).  "Vital","  Lucid"  (Christian  Endeavor  World, 
Boston).  "Definite"  (Christian  Work,  New  York).  "Brilliant",  "Clear  and  sane",  "Win- 
some and  sincere"  (Heidelberg  Teacher,  Philadelphia).  "Vivid",  "Simple  and  clear", 
(The  Living  Church,  Milwaukee) .     "Clear  and  interesting"  (Christian  Advocate). 

The  book  is  in  two  volumes.         Volume  I  is  out  at  $1.00,  postpaid.  '        Order  your  copy  today. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


700  E.  FORTIETH  STREET, 


CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  February  15,  191? 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY 
OF  RELIGION 

By  GEORGE  ALBERT  COE 

Professor  of  Religious  Education,  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Author  of 
"The  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind,"  The  Spiritual  Life,"  etc. 


For  the  Minister's  Library 

For  the  Theological  Seminary  Student 
For  College  and  Seminary  Classes 
For  the  Psychologist  and  Educator 
For  Young  People's  and  Adult  Bible  Classes 


Of  nineteen  chapters,  the  first  four  are  devoted  to  aspects  of 
psychological  study  and  investigation.  The  remaining  fifteen 
present  the  author's  keen  analysis  of  religion  in  its  individual 
and  social  processes.  The  most  authoritative  and  interesting 
book  in  this  fascinating  field  of  study  that  has  yet  appeared. 

$  1 .50,  postage  extra  (weight  1  lb.  1 0  oz.) 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  PRESS 

700  East  40th  Street,  CHICAGO 


The  Christian  Century 


CHAKLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT    L.    WILLETT,    CONTRIBUTING    EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


FEBRUARY  15,  1917 


Number  7 


Faith  and  Life's  Burdens 


EACH  HEART  HAS  ITS  OWN  LOAD. 

It  is  well  for  the  minister  when  he  faces  his  morning 
congregation  that  he  cannot  know  all  that  is  in  the  souls 
of  the  people  before  him.  He  could  have  no  courage  for 
his  preaching.  Even  the  most  sheltered  lives  reveal  on 
inspection  such  sorrow  and  disillusionment  that  we  face 
continual  surprises. 

There  is  the  burden  of  worry.  Worry  is  a  form  of 
unfaith.  It  is  the  fear  that  denies  God.  We  all  have  so 
much  trouble  that  never  happens.  When  scarlet  fever  is 
abroad  we  suffer  all  winter  though  our  child  is  not  touched 
by  it.  When  a  great  railroad  strike  is  imminent  we  worry 
over  empty  food  bins,  though  at  last  we  suffer  nothing  at 
all.  The  number  of  people  who  take  medicine  they  do  not 
need  because  of  worry  is  known  only  to  doctors  and  drug- 
gists. In  the  field  of  personal  relations  we  find  it  even 
more  true  that  worry  kills.  There  is  the  wife  who  spends 
a  life-time  doubting  a  husband  who  is  ever  true.  There 
is  the  haunting  sense  of  impending  disaster  with  which  the 
neurasthenic  tries  his  or  her  soul. 

The  burden  of  hate  is  a  peculiarly  heavy  one.  Fortu- 
nate is  the  person  who  does  not  carry  it.  It,  too,  is  a  form 
of  unfaith  in  God.  To  hate  is  to  pronounce  some  one  alto- 
gether unlovely.  Yet  God  has  not  left  himself  without  wit- 
ness in  any  human  heart.  The  law  courts  know  those  cases 
which  drag  through  the  weary  processes  year  after  year 
by  reason  of  hate.  The  spite  fence  between  two  city 
houses  is  a  peculiarly  shocking  announcement  of  hate 
between  two  neighbors.  There  is  no  hate  like  that  between 
two  souls  which  are  under  peculiar  obligations  to  love  one 
another.  When  the  milk  of  human  kindness  is  attacked 
by  the  germ  of  hate,  the  result  is  horrible  to  contemplate. 

Do  we  not  all  carry  the  burden  of  sin?  Sin  is  also 
an  act  of  unfaith.  We  know  the  law  of  God,  but  for  our 
own  peculiar  circumstances  and  needs  we  assert  that  just 
now  something  else  is  better  than  God's  law.  What  a  bur- 
den sin  imposes  upon  life  the  story  of  every  penitent 
reveals.  Others  keep  hidden  away  in  their  hearts  the 
awful  story.  A  guilty  conscience  is  one  of  the  most  terri- 
ble things  known  to  man.  The  Greek  story  of  the  Furies 
who  avenged  crime  tells  us  what  this  ancient  people 
thought  of  the  burden  of  sin.  Shakespeare  told  us  in 
"Macbeth"  what  he  thought  of  the  power  of  an  avenging 
conscience.  The  soul  which  is  weighted  down  with  sin 
is  like  Bunyan's  "Pilgrim,"  who  with  his  pack  upon  his 
back  wallowed  around  in  the  Slough  of  Despond. 

•     • 

That  it  should  be  within  the  power  of  religious  faith 
to  lift  these  hideous  burdens  from  the  human  heart  seems 
at  first  unbelievable.  This  miracle  in  the  moral  realm 
causes  many  to  halt  at  the  door  of  the  sanctuary.  Yet 
a  great  literature  of  redemption  has  been  built  up,  telling 
us  of  souls  who  have  found  freedom  and  joy  and  peace 
through   faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


How  does  faith  in  Christ  lift  our  burdens?  The  bur- 
den of  worry  disappears  when  we  trust  God  as  he  did. 
Though  he  was  surrounded  with  enemies  who  plotted  for 
his  life,  though  he  was  forsaken  by  his  friends,  he  trusted 
on.  He  might  prudently  withdraw  from  the  confines  of 
his  own  country  for  his  own  safety  (for  his  hour  was 
not  yet  come),  but  this  was  no  panic  of  fear.  The  very 
hour  of  retirement  was  spent  in  constructive  labor.  Thus 
walking  with  Christ,  may  we  learn  to  turn  defeat  into 
victory.  We  cannot  believe  that  those  who  trust  God  will 
come  to  an  evil  end. 

*  • 

The  burden  of  hate  is  lifted  by  Jesus  Christ.  He 
knew  how  to  hate  evil,  but  not  how  to  hate  men.  He 
might  denounce  vigorously  those  false  spiritual  leaders 
who  betrayed  their  trust,  but  he  did  it  without  hate.  He 
saw  the  image  of  God  imprinted  on  every  human  heart. 
He  found  the  godlike  in  the  heart  of  Zaccheus  the  publi- 
can. He  found  it  in  a  woman  of  the  street  who  washed 
his  feet  with  her  tears  of  penitence  and  wiped  them  with 
the  hair  of  her  head.  It  is  even  so  that  we  lose  the  bur- 
den of  hate,  through  coming  to  see  the  godlike  in  human 
hearts.  We  can  see  what  our  eyes  are  trained  to  see. 
The  botanist  finds  strange  plants  everywhere.  The  engi- 
neer recognizes  unutilized  sources  of  power.  The  Chris- 
tian finds  the  divine  in  human  life. 

The  burden  of  sin  and  guilt  also  is  removed  by  Jesus 
Christ.  He  teaches  us  to  lift  our  bowed  heads  in  the  pres- 
ence of  God  and  to  bring  our  petitions  to  our  Father. 
Sins  which  have  been  the  most  abhorred  by  the  race  were 
not  yet  regarded  by  him  as  sins  unto  death.  His  was  not 
the  tolerance  of  the  worldling  who  blots  out  all  moral 
distinctions.  He  offered  reconciliation  of  the  heart  with 
God. 

How  rich  is  life  when  these  three  awful  burdens  are 
taken  away !  The  man  who  does  not  carry  these  burdens 
has  the  joy  of  Christ  in  his  soul.  Christianity  is  the  great 
singing  religion.  Our  music  is  the  song  of  the  redeemed. 
Ours  are  not  the  shortlived  joys  of  the  debauchee ;  they 
are  the  deep  satisfactions  of  the  man  who  is  truly  in  tune 
with  the  Infinite. 

•  • 

There  is  a  great  freedom  to  the  soul  which  is  relieved 
of  the  triple  burden  of  worry  and  hate  and  sin.  He  once 
thought  that  his  life  apart  from  God  was  freedom.  Now 
he  knows  it  was  bondage.  This  new  experience  of  faith 
is  the  only  real  freedom. 

The  result  of  the  burden-loosing  faith  is  peace.  There 
is  a  deeper  peace  than  the  peace  of  society.  There  is  the 
peace  of  the  man  whose  soul  knows  no  longer  conflicting 
desires  and  interests.  Life  has  found  one  goal  and  one 
great  interpretative  principle.  The  passion-swept  souls  of 
others  know  nothing  of  the  strength  and  satisfaction  of 
this   soul  which  no  longer  fights  against  God. 


EDITORIAL 


THE  CHURCH  IN  A  COUNTRY  AT  WAR 

IN  these  days  of  war  and  rumors  of  war,  no  man  can 
tell  at  night  what  he  will  read  in  his  newspaper  the 
next  morning.  There  appears  to  be  every  prospect 
that  the  United  States  will  be  engaged  in  war  with 
Germany,  perhaps  before  these  words  shall  be  read 
in  print. 

In  case  we  are  about  to  enter  war,  which  we  pray 
mav  not  be  the  case,  it  will  be  well  for  the  church  to 
ponder  well  her  duty  to  the  nation  in  time  of  war.  The 
religious  expressions  of  leading  men  in  Germany  have 
served  as  the  butt  of  ridicule  on  the  part  of  newspaper 
men  in  this  country.  Shall  we  also  phrase  our  religious 
attitudes  in  an  unconvincing  way? 

We  may  hope  that  God  approves  the  course  that 
our  nation  is  pursuing.  Yet  we  ought  not  to  claim 
some  particular  favoritism  on  the  part  of  God  for  this 
land  or  for  any  cause.  Our  concern  these  days  will 
not  be  to  win  God  to  our  side  but  to  make  sure  that 
we  are  on  God's  side. 

We  will  need  to  guard  the  nation  against  intense 
racial  hatreds  at  this  crucial  time.  Even  if  we  be  found 
fighting  Germany,  we  shall  not  forget  our  old-time 
admiration  for  her  men  who  have  achieved  in  science 
and  philosophy  and  religion. 

We  must  also  oppose  a  false  and  jingo  patriotism 
which  puts  at  the  mast-head  of  a  great  newspaper 
Decatur's  famous  saying,  "Our  Country !  In  her  inter- 
course with  foreign  nations,  may  she  always  be  in  the 
right ;  but  our  country,  right  or  wrong."  It  is  just  such 
blind  and  unreasoning  patriotism  which  is  today  the 
curse  of  the  world  and  the  occasion  of  a  world  struggle. 

We  must  be  ready  to  protest  any  increase  in  the 
horrors  of  war.  Our  duty  will  lie  in  the  direction  of 
furthering  every  merciful  and  kindly  ministry  that 
men  may  need  in  these  trying  times.  There  will  be 
great  military  camps,  where  men  will  wait  our  spiritual 
ministry.  If  we  are  finally  engaged  in  war,  the  church 
will  have  new  opportunities  of  glorifying  the  Christian 
profession. 

THE  MODERN  APOLOGETIC  FOR  MISSIONS 

IX  a  hundred  years  the  cause  of  missions  has  come 
to  be  presented  in  a  new  way.  Once  the  Calvin- 
istic  approach  to  the  subject  was  the  common  one. 
The  objections  once  interposed  were  Calvinistic  ob- 
jections. If  God  wanted  to  save  the  heathen,  He 
would  do  so.  Later,  it  was  the  usual  thing  to  speak 
of  the  number  of  souls  of  unregenerate  heathen  falling 
into  hell  every  minute. 

Then  came  the  age  of  social  methods  in  missions. 
We  sent  out  not  only  ordained  ministers,  but  also 
doctors  and  teachers  and  industrial  workers.  These 
began  the  big  task  of  building  a  Christian  civiliza- 
tion in  a  land  which  knew  it  not.  With  the  new 
method  came  a  new  apologetic.  We  now  hear  appeals 
for  people  who  die  without  a  doctor  and  for  those 
who  are  living  without  the  tools  of  modern  life. 

This  appeal  has  been  more  effective  than  the  for- 
mer one.  Some  people  who  could  never  understand 
the  subtleties  of  theology  do  know  what  human 
service  means.  The  work  of  missions  has  gradually 
come  into  its  own  in  the  world's  life  through  its  tre- 
mendous   humanitarian    appeal. 

The  missionary  speaker  does  not  need  any  longer 


to  assume  that  everything  found  in  a  non-Christian 
land  is  false  or  bad.  Many  things  that  Confucius  said 
are  true  and  some  are  Christian  in  quality.  The  Vedic 
hymns  have  many  noble  sentiments.  Mohammedan- 
ism agrees  with  Christianity  in  a  number  of  matters  of 
deep  importance.  We  may  assert  that  the  best  things 
of  all  religions  are  to  be  found  in  Christianity.  With 
its  wonderful  history,  it  has  gathered  truth  in  many 
lands  and  from  many  peoples. 

We  defend  Christianity  as  the  universal  religion. 
Its  universality  is  to  be  realized  through  missionary 
endeavor  by  reason  of  what  it  does  everywhere  in 
cultivating  a  soil  in  which  civilization  can  grow,  and 
in  gathering  together  in  its  comprehensive  grasp  the 
religious  truth  of  the  ages. 

THE  POCKET  TESTAMENT  LEAGUE 

A   SIGNIFICANT  type  of  Christian  activity  is  that 
which  is  carried  on  by  the  Pocket  Testament  League. 
The  movement  originated  in  this  country  in  the  mind 
of  the  Evangelist,  Rev.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman.    It  has  spread 
around  the  world. 

A  business  man  related  a  characteristic  incident  the 
other  day.  A  friend  of  his  had  noticed  a  gilt-edged  book 
in  his  vest  pocket.  "What  is  that  book  you  carry  around?" 
he  queried.  "That  is  my  New  Testament,"  was  the  reply, 
and  the  little  book  was  pulled  out  for  inspection.  "I  guess 
I  will  keep  the  story  I  was  about  to  tell  you,  for  you  are 
evidently  not  the  kind  of  man  to  enjoy  it,"  smilingly  said 
the  friend.  The  little  book  had  conferred  a  certain  dignity 
on  the  man  who  carried  it. 

The  New  Testament  has  been  published  in  khaki 
covers  for  the  soldiers  and  circulated  by  the  thousand.  The 
presses  have  been  turning  them  out  with  the  utmost  speed. 
The  soldiers  of  Europe  will  soon  have  these  books  in  the 
trenches.  There  are  some  interesting  stories  told  which 
indicate  their  usefulness  there. 

The  great  old  book  is  useful  for  the  spare  moments 
which  every  person  has  in  his  life.  If  these  moments  were 
utilized,  a  man  might  come  to  have  a  pretty  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  literature  of  the  New  Testament. 

Our  Savior  is  our  example  in  the  use  of  the  Bible.  His 
speech  was  saturated  with  biblical  expressions.  Perhaps  He 
was  often  unconscious  that  He  had  fallen  into  a  biblical 
phraseology.  The  great  temptations  which  came  to  Him 
were  met  with  ready  quotation  from  the  word  of  God.  It 
is  in  such  a  way  as  this  that  a  man  should  know  his  scrip- 
ture. The  Pocket  Testament  League  with  its  members 
running  up  into  the  millions  in  various  sections  of  the 
world  is  being  used  of  God  to  lead  men  into  more  devout . 
lives. 

ARE  THE  DISCIPLES  REALLY  GROWING? 

THE  old  time  boast  of  the  Disciples  that  they  were 
the  most  rapidly  growing  religious  body  of  Amer- 
ica is  not  heard  so  frequently  today.     Each  year 
we    have    more    accurate    figures.      We    are    probably 
nearer  the  facts  than  ever  before. 

This  year  the  figures  show  a  loss  again  instead  of 
a  gain.  We  are  accustomed  to  explain  our  loss  by  the 
separate  listing  of  the  "anti"  brethren  who  refuse  co- 
operation with  missionary  societies.  Or  we  explain 
apparent  losses  by  wiping  off  the  books  many  fictitious 
churches,  which  have  long  since  perished. 


February  15,  1917                             THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  7 

These  explanations  arc   valid   as  far  as  they  go,  Whether  the  lesson  ot  all  this  will  be  lost  on   Illinois 
but   they   do   not   tell   the    whole    story.     The   decline  republicans  remains  yet  to  be  seen, 
of  the  rural  church  in  many  states  affects  our  statis-  Once   it   was  suicidal   in   politics  to  be  "dry."     It 
tics    but    not    differently    than    the    statistics    of    some  will  not  be  long  until  practical  politicians  will  observe 
other  denominations  which   also  operate  in   rural   dis-  that  the  opposite  is  true.    The  community  sounds  with 
tricts.  increasing    vigor    the    cry    "The    saloon    must    be    de- 
Are  we   really  keeping  up  our  old   time  growth?  stroyed." 
Or  have  we  suffered  a  temporary  check  which  makes 
it  incumbent  on  us  to  stop  and  examine  the  methods  PROHIBITION  POSSIBLE  FOR  ILLINOIS 

by  which  we  work? ,                   ,         .       ,  HH  HE  forces  of  righteousness  need  to  take  notice  of 

Rapid   as   has   been   our   educational   progress,  _  we  a  movement  in  the  lllinois  legislaturef  the  most  impor- 

are  still  behind   some  great  and  successful  denomina-  1                                             „.         .           ..           ,.„      f.  . 

,       , .    °  ,      ,       ,      ,      ,       ,,          .  tant  in  many  a  year.    Ihere  is  pending  a  bill  which 

tions   in    our   educational    standards   for   the   ministry.  '  .    J        .                   *            , 

We  have  never  even  formulated  a  standard  which  we  would  make  Illinois  dry  in  1919.     rhe  bill  has  a  refer- 

would    recommend   to   the   churches   as   a   sine   qua   non  endum   condition   attached  to  it  by  which   the  people 

for   the   employment   of   a   minister    who   is    taking   a  would  vote  at  the  1918  election  whether  they  approve 

charge  for  the  first  time.     Would  this  not  be  a  good  the  ™n  or  not- 

thing   for    our    educational    board    to    do,    even    if   for  '       ^ach  day  brings  exciting  news  of  the  progress  of 

1.%     ±u       u       u        u      ij       4.     i            i-              i.     ii  the  bill.      1  he  wets  brought  in  nullifying  amendments 

awhile  the  churches  should  not  always  live  up  to  the  ,  .  ,              ,  .         ,  .      ,                  ,                    e  ■>-,       1  ■» 

,i,o  which  were  defeated  in  the  senate  by  a  vote  ot  66  to  lo. 

standard:  _.      ,  .,,                 ,            .                 .  ,  J     ,       .       . 

ASr     ,                     ,       • ,     c                     ,,                r  ,•  1  he  bill  was  to  be  made  a  special  order  in  the  senate 

We  have  turned  aside  from  our  old  evangelistic  ._  .                       l 

methods.     Some  of  the  evangelists  who  used  to  tele-  on  \lbruai7  Uth'          .               .        .       n. 

.                •         ,       ,,      ,        ,      ,                  .,•        ,  ,.  There    is    opportunity   yet    for   the    Christian    voters 

graph  accessions  by  the  hundreds  are  writing  letters  .    ,                      rr  ,        ,    .    .  a             ,  .        „     .      .  . 

?       ■        r       •  i           u                    -4.          ■                    r  of  the  state  to  make  their  influence  telt.     Each  citizen 

begging  for  jobs  or  have  gone  into  union  evangelism.  ,,«',.,               ,       ,  •                          i 

TiT-     a     v         t  •  *.        a.  •              a            t            -a.-       u  should   find   out   who   his   senator   and   representatives 

This  decline  of  interest  in  one  type  of  recruiting  has  ..  ,                          ,        ,     ,                  .         K  ,                  , 

,i           r  n         ,  ,            i  &    ■.                 ™-u  u   ir     r  are,  if  he  does  not  already  know,  and  send  letters  and 

not  been  followed  by  a  definite  program  in  behalf  of  '                  ...           J                          r       TT            ,-,.„ 

,,        ,  telegrams   asking   these    men   to   vote    for   House    Bill 

Former  methods  of  religious  work  are  rapidly  be-  x     '       "       .       '       .                      .              .              .... 

,      i  ,        T,          .    °     ,          ,      r                  ■     •  I  he    church    does   not   take   partisan   politics    into 

coming  obsolete,      ihere  is  real  need  of  a  commission  .           ,.,.....,              ,       *                /                     , 

which  would  give  serious  attention  to  the  program  of  "s  pulpit  but  if  it  fails  to  take  there  a  clean  issue  of 

the  local  church  in  typical  situations.  righteousness,  then  the  church  is  no  longer  concerned 

in  making  this  a  Christian  world.      1  he  saloon  torces 

in    Illinois   have   been   flagrantly   lawless.     They   have 

HOW  THE  LIQUOR  MEN  LOST  IN  INDIANA.  used  every  tricky  subterfuge  to  evade  reasonable  reg- 

T-HE  liquor  leaders  of  the  state  of  Indiana  formed  uJatio.n-    Th^  saloonS  have  ^een  th,e  recruitin&  f ounds 

I         i                r                              •,.                 r  .,      i     j-  of  crime   and   indecency.     Certainly  we  have   here  an 

?      a  league  a  few  years  ago  with  some  of  the  leading  .                    ...           .      J                  ,  J            .           ,,, 

1     democratic  politicians.     William  Jennings   Bryan  lssue  on  whl,ch  ?ood  men  everywhere  ought  to  be  able 

tells  the  story  and  he  is  supposed  to  have  the  facts.  to  u"f  wlth  the  &?***  enthusiasm  and  unanimity. 

^         r    i      i  •          f.-  •           i rii:       ,   j.              r          -ii  there  is  not  a  single  valid  objection  to  be  made 

One  of  the  big  politicians  of  the  state  was  financially  ,,       ,  ...       ^       -j-               •*.    j         r                -         j 

,    .       ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,.  .to   the   bill.      Providing   as   it   does   for   a   reterendum, 

interested  in   the   most   celebrated   gambling  resort  in  there  ^  be  nQ  effort  ^  ^^  &  minoH      tQ          ^ 

the  United  States,  our  own  Monte  Carlo.   He  has  never  thJ       oyer  a  majorit        Wh     should  H           men  fear 

had    any    serious    embarrassment    in    carrying    on    his  the   tegt   that   ig   involved   in   this   referendum   if   they 

immensely  profitable  business  enterprise.  bdieve  that  tfae  gtate  of  I1Hnois  wantg  saloons? 

The  state  of  Indiana  adopted  a  county  option  law  The  campaign  for  a  dry  state  is  in  the  hands  of 

by  which   a   section  of  the  state  of  considerable   size  lhg   Anti.Saloon    League,    which    means   that    it    is    in 

might  be  made  dry      This  county  option  law  became  competent  hands.     If  we  all  do  our  part>  niinois  may 

the   object   of   attack   on   the   part   of   the   democratic  join  the  honor  roU  of  dry  gtates  SQOner  than  SQme  of 

leaders.     They  were  able  to  supersede  it  with  a  law  ug  had  been  able  tQ  h 
much  more  favorable  to  the  wet  interests. 

Last  autumn  a  ridiculous  campaign  was  waged  in  RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION  A  GROWING 

the    state.      The    candidate    for    governor    got    himself  INTERF^T 
written  up  as  helping  drive  a   load  of  hogs  to  town. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  ingratiate  the  candidate  in  FN  Maiden,  Mass.,  is  a  very  advanced  type  of  com- 

the  favor  of  the  state.     Yet  in  a  year  when  the  state  munity  organization  in  the  work  of  religious  edu- 

should    have    gone    democratic    by    a    big   majority,    it  cation.     There  is   a  board  of    religious    education 

actually  was  carried  by  the  republicans.     Bryan  says  chosen   from  the   various  churches   of  the   city.     This 

the  wets  gave  the  state  over  to  the  republican  party  board  has  entire  charge  of  devising  plans  and  methods 

through  their  coalition  with  the  democrats.    We  would  for  the  religious  care  of  the  young. 

judge  that  he  knows.  At  the  present  time  there  is  held  a  mid-week  even- 
It  is  tragic  to  see  how  the  tide  has  turned  against  ing  school  which  is  preparing  prospective  teachers,  un- 
file undemocratic  democrats  of  Indiana.  Not  perceiv-  der  the  directorship  of  Professor  Walter  S.  Athearn. 
ing  that  most  prohibition  states  are  also  democratic  who  is  well  known  to  Disciples.  Professor  Athearn  is 
states,  the  party  in  Indiana  has  not  only  been  defeated,  now  a  teacher  in  Boston  University :  when  he  accepted 
but  it  now  suffers  the  humiliation  of  seeing  a  state-  this  work  he  stipulated  that  he  should  have  a  commun- 
wide  prohibition  bill  carry  the  state.  Unwilling  to  ity  in  which  to  work  and  which  would  serve  him  as  a 
allow  the  state  to  have  the  county  option  bill  that  it  laboratory, 
wanted,    it    must    now    see    the    state    entirely    dry.  The  board  of  religious  education  of  Maiden  em- 


8 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


February  15,   1917 


ploys  a  local  expert  in  the  person  of  Miss  Grace  Jones, 
who  gives  her  services  freely  in  bringing  schools  up  to 
standard  condition.     She  also  has  an  assistant. 

It  is  the  plan  of  the  board  of  education  to  have 
week-day  religious  instruction  in  the  not  distant  future. 
The  board  holds  a  firm  conviction  that  the  work  of  re- 
ligious education  can  never  be  done  adequately  in  the 
time  which  the  Sunday  school  of  today  has  at  its  dis- 
posal. 

Methods  of  religious  work  are  changing  in  many 
respects,  but  in  nothing  do  we  face  greater  changes 
than  in  our  methods  of  instructing  the  young  in  re- 
ligion. 

The  juvenile  courts  reveal  how  inadequate  is  the 
ethical  influence  of  the  home  and  the  public  school  at 
the  present  time.  There  should  be  in  every  community 
a  group  of  people  specializing  in  child  welfare  on  the 
religious  side,  and  to  these  must  be  given  the  tools  with 
which  to  work  out  an  organization  that  will  provide 
better  religious  instruction  for  the  future. 

READING  THE  HYMN-BOOK 

DID  you  ever  notice  how  the  man  spends  his  time 
who  happens  into  the  church  early?    He  very  fre- 
quently takes  up  a  hymn-book  and  starts  to  read  it. 
If  he  opens  to  a  song  that  has  for  its  title  "A  Little  Bit 


of  Love,"  he  turns  wearily  over  to  another  page.  He  is 
tired  with  the  struggle  against  an  evil  world  situation 
and  he  finds  another  song,  "Glory  for  Me."  Its  egotism, 
its  lack  of  contact  with  life  make  him  turn  a  whole  hand- 
ful of  pages.  So  he  goes  through  that  hymn-book,  and 
if  in  the  ten  minutes  that  he  has  to  wait  before  the  service 
begins,  he  finds  no  gripping  sentiment  in  the  book,  he 
forms  a  low  idea  of  the  cultural  and  religious  level  of  the 
church. 

Reading  a  hymn-book  may  seem  rather  an  uninter- 
esting exercise.  The  only  reason  it  is  so,  is  that  the  hymn- 
books  is  of  the  wrong  kind.  If  there  is  contained  within 
its  covers  the  noblest  religious  poetry  of  the  race,  set  to 
the  greatest  music,  the  hymn-book  is  only  less  interesting 
and  helpful  than  the  Bible.  Who  could  be  bored  in  open- 
ing a  hymn-book  to  read  these  words  of  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes : 

Lord  of  all  being,  throned  afar, 
Thy  glory  flames  from  sun  and  star; 
Center  and  soul  of  every  sphere, 
Yet  to  each  loving  heart  how  near! 

People  sometimes  say  they  do  not  think  of  the  words 
when  they  sing.  They  anaesthetize  themselves  to  get 
through  the  cheap  maudlin  sentiments  which  their  leaders 
call  upon  them  to  use  in  the  praise  of  God.  There  is  a 
good  time  coming  when  we  shall  read  our  hymn-books 
again  as  did  our  forefathers. 


Catholic-Mindedness — An  Illustration 


KANSAS  CITY  Disciples  have  recently  been  giving 
farewell  receptions  to  Rev.  W.  F.  Richardson,  who, 
for  twenty-two  years,  has  been  pastor  of  the  historic 
First  Church  in  their  city.  Mr.  Richardson  has  made 
abiding  impressions  upon  the  church  and  civic  life  of  his 
community,  and  the  words  of  appreciation  spoken  by  min- 
isters of  all  denominations  and  by  honorable  kronen  have 
been  remarkable  in  graciousness,  sincerity  and  unanimity. 

Several  characteristics  stand  out  in  these  interpreta- 
tions of  this  preacher's  long-time  service,  which  it  will  be 
profitable  to  reflect  upon  as  illustrative  of  those  qualities 
in  any  preacher  which  endear  him  to  his  people  and  give 
to  his  work  an  abiding  character. 

Mr.  Richardson's  ministry,  so  his  brethren  have  been 
saying,  has  been  an  admirable  combination  of  devotion  to 
his  own  local  church,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the  general 
welfare  of  all  the  churches,  both  of  his  community  and  the 
general  brotherhood  of  Disciples,  on  the  other.  His  has 
been  an  intensive  parish  ministry.  With  a  faithfulness 
that  has  been  the  comment  of  all  who  knew  him  he  has 
kept  the  interests  of  his  particular  congregation  constantly 
to  the  front  of  his  mind  and  has  toiled  unremittingly  at 
,the  great  task  presented  by  a  down-town  church  from 
whose  vicinity  there  has  been  for  years  an  unceasing  flow 
of  removals. 

Hut  without  slackening  his  attention  to  the  details  of 
his  congregational  problem,  he  has  had  room  in  his  heart 
for  the  tasks  of  civic  progress  and  for  the  interests  of  all 
the  churches.  Mr.  Richardson  has  been  the  true  spiritual 
bishop  of  Kansas  City  Disciples,  succeeding  in  their  affec- 
tionate esteem  to  the  preeminence  long  held  by  the  late 
T.  P.  Haley,  who  laid  the  foundation  for  the  statesmanlike 
policies  which  have  made  Kansas  City  the  leading  center 
in  the  entire  country  for  Disciples  of  Christ. 

His  brethren  have  been   recalling  with  loving  appre- 


ciation the  multitudinous  ways  in  which  his  unselfish  devo- 
tion to  all  the  churches  was  carried,  even  to  the  point  of 
great  personal  and  congregational  sacrifice.  It  is  this 
gracious  habit  of  putting  the  whole  cause  of  Christ  ahead 
of  his  own  and  his  congregation's  immediate  advantage 
that  now  makes  it  the  joy  of  all  the  churches  of  Kansas 
City  to  join  together  with  enthusiasm  in  raising  an  endow- 
ment for  First  Church  and  aiding  generously  in  the  build- 
ing of  a  noble  house  of  worship  and  work  suitable  to  its 
location  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city's  business  life. 

There  is  a  feature  of  Mr.  Richardson's  ministry  that 
has,  perhaps,  not  received  as  explicit  interpretation  as  it 
deserves,  a  feature  to  which  the  The  Christian  Century 
delights  to  call  attention.  We  think  of  him  as  a  rare  illus- 
tration of  catholic-mindedness,  a  man  who  typically  rep- 
resents the  quality  of  personal  character  which  the  Dis- 
ciples' ideals  of  fraternity  and  unity  are  intended  to  pro- 
duce. 

With  a  singularly  open  mind  Mr.  Richardson  has  kept 
abreast  of  the  growing  thought  of  the  day.  He  insists 
upon  classifying  himself  as  neither  "conservative"  nor 
"liberal"  in  respect  to  his  religious  opinions.  But  with  the 
rarest  sympathy  he  has  maintained  the  most  intimate  rela- 
tions of  affection  and  co-operation  with  men  who  for  lack 
of  a  better  word  are  called  "liberals." 

Mr.  Richardson  has  never  allowed  differences  of  theo- 
logical opinion  or  of  expediencies  in  church  procedure  to 
make  him  assume  an  unbrotherly  attitude  toward  any 
Christian  minister.  He  has  insisted  always  upon  the  right 
of  difference  in  all  matters  that  do  not  touch  the  essential 
and  vital  thing  of  loyalty  to  Jesus  Christ. 

The  effect  of  such  catholic-mindedness  is  seen  in  the 
beautiful  fellowship  obtaining  among  all  the  churches  and 
ministers.  In  Kansas  City,  as  in  Chicago,  the  Disciples' 
cburches  of  the  denominational  type  and  those  which  try 


February  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


to  practice  an  undenominational  fraternity  with  all  Christ's 
people  are  working  in  complete  co-operation  and  harmony. 

More  than  once  this  catholicity  of  spirit  in  W.  F. 
Richardson  has  saved  the  Kansas  City  brotherhood  and 
probably  the  churches  of  the  State  of  Missouri  from  seri- 
ous internal  strain.  His  has  ever  been  the  ireiiic  spirit  of 
Thomas  Campbell,  which,  again,  is  the  essential  spirit  of 
Christ. 

Perhaps  Mr.  Richardson  thinks  of  himself  as  occupy- 
ing a  sort  of  "middle-of-the-road"  position  theologically. 


But  if  so,  he  does  not  belong  with  that  dull  company  w! 
middle-of-the-road-ism  makes  them  colorless,  insipid  and 
uninfluential  in  the  presence  of  the  great  issues  which  the 
church  is  confronting. 

The  catholicity  of  YV.  F.  Richardson  is  positive,  con- 
structive and  fruit-bearing. 

Such  men  as  he  keep  the  highway  of  progress  open, 
gladly  working  in  it  themselves  and  finding  joyous  fellow- 
ship in  the  company  of  all  men  whose  faces  are  turned 
toward  the  light. 


How  the  Books  of  the  Old  Testa 
ment  Were  Assembled 


Sixth  Article  in  the  Series  on  the  Bible 


BY  HERBERT  L.  WILLETT 


CHRISTIANS  and  other  people  who  use  the  Bible  in 
its  present  form  are  accustomed  to  refer  to  its  two 
divisions  as  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment respectively.  This  form  of  speech  is  based  upon  the 
frequent  biblical  references  to  God's  covenants  with  man, 
and  is  a  familiar  idea  with  the  priestly  writers  of  the 
Hebrew  literature  and  some  early  Christian  teachers,  such 
as  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

A  covenant  sometimes  has  the  character  of  a  testa- 
ment or  will.  Perhaps  it  would  have  been  easier  for  our 
generation  to  understand  the  names  of  these  two  portions 
of  the  Bible  if  they  had  been  called  the  Old  Covenant  and 
the  New  Covenant.  But  the  word  testament  was  formerly 
in  common  use  in  that  sense,  and  passed  into  current 
employment  to  designate  the  two  collections.  Of  course 
the  Jews,  having  little  interest  in  the  early  Christian  writ- 
ings, do  not  refer  to  the  Hebrew  books  as  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, but  rather  as  the  Scriptures. 

But  all  of  these  terms  imply  that  someone  at  some 
time  made  selection  of  the  documents  that  comprise  these 
two  venerable  collections.  The  result  of  this  process  we 
call  the  Canon.  The  word  means  a  measuring  line,  and 
was  first  used  by  writers  of  the  fourth  century  A.  D.  to 
describe  the  recognized  books  of  the  two  groups  forming 
the  Bible.  There  are  no  precedents  for  such  a  restricted 
body  of  sacred  literature  among  any  of  the  peoples  with 
whom  the  Hebrews  and  early  Christians  came  into  rela- 
tion. Neither  the  Babylonians  nor  the  Egyptians  had  any 
such  body  of  religious  books  distinct  from  works  of  a 
more  general  order.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  had  works 
of  religious  poetry  and  ritual,  but  nothing  in  the  nature 
of  a  canonical  collection.  Perhaps  the  nearest  approach 
to  the  biblical  grouping  is  to  be  found  in  the  case  of  the 
Vedic  hymns,  which  from  a  period  as  far  back  as  the  days 
of  Moses,  or  even  earlier,  were  recognized  by  the  Aryan 
Hindus  as  a  collection  of  songs  of  the  faith.  Hebrews 
in  exile  in  Persia  may  also  have  come  to  some  knowledge 
of  the  Avestan  writings.  But  in  all  essential  features,  the 
formation  of  the  canon  of  the  earlier  and  the  later  biblical 
books  is  unique. 

ROMAN   AND  PROTESTANT  VIEWS 

Who  was  responsible  for  the  beginnings  of  this  pro- 
cedure, and  upon  what  principles  was  it  conducted?  The 
question  is  of  interest,  as  it  bears  upon  the  sentiments  of 


the  Hebrew  people  and  the  first  Christian  communities  at 
various  periods  in  reference  to  their  increasing  literature. 

Moreover,  it  is  one  of  the  questions  upon  which  Prot- 
estanism  has  maintained  outstanding  opposition  to  the 
theories  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  latter  takes  the 
ground  that  the  canon  of  Scripture  was  determined  by 
the  church  in  the  decisions  reached  in  the  various  coun- 
cils, particularly  the  Council  of  Trent  in  1546,  confirm- 
ing the  verdicts  of  previous  assemblies.  These  decisions 
affirmed  the  canonicity  of  the  sixty-six  books  of  the  Bible 
as  we  now  have  them,  and  placed  the  apocrypha  of  the 
Old  Testament  upon  an  almost  equally  valid  basis  .of 
inspiration  and  authority. 

The  question  was  one  of  the  moot  points  in  the 
memorable  disputation  held  by  Luther  with  the  Roman 
Catholic  scholar,  Dr.  Eck,  at  Leipsig  in  1519.  In  the 
course  of  the  discussion  the  professor  from  Ingoldstadt 
quoted  a  text  from  the  Second  Book  of  Maccabees  in 
support  of  his  position.  Luther  at  once  challenged  this 
procedure,  on  the  ground  that  the  passage  was  not  Scrip- 
ture. Eck  maintained  that  the  authority  of  the  church 
supported  its  validity.  Then  it  was  that  Luther  uttered 
his  notable  declaration,  "The  church  can  give  no  more 
force  or  authority  to  a  book  than  it  (the  book)  has  in 
itself.  That  cannot  be  made  to  be  Scripture  which  in  its 
own  nature  is  not  Scripture." 

LATE   BEGINNINGS   OF   A    CANON 

On  this  ground  Protestantism  has  taken  its  position. 
It  maintains  the  claim  that  there  must  be  in  the  biblical 
books  a  certain  self -evidencing  quality  which  makes  its 
appeal  to  the  discerning  soul  quite  apart  from  any  external 
authority  such  as  the  church  can  contribute  by  its  sanc- 
tion. No  doubt  it  is  of  value  to  know  that  the  Roman 
Church  has  recognized  the  unique  character  of  the  docu- 
ments which  compose  the  Bible.  But  it  is  equally  impor- 
tant to  understand  that  the  verdict  of  the  church  itself 
rested  upon  the  practically  unanimous  conviction  of  the 
entire  Christian  fellowship,  expressed  in  many  forms 
through  the  centuries.  The  Roman  Church  merely  rati- 
fied a  judgment  already  reached  by  the  Church  of  Christ 
throughout  all  the  world. 

It  appears  that  any  thought  of  a  special  collection  of 
Hebrew  books  must  have  arisen  quite  late  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  nation.     At  such  a  time  the  total  body  of 


10 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  15,  1917 


writings  from  which  choice  could  be  made  must  have 
been  very  considerable.  This  aggregate  consisted  of  many 
different  sorts  of  documents.  There  were  state  records, 
legal  institutes,  prophetic  narratives  like  those  of  the 
Judean  and  Ephraimite  sources,  biographical  sketches,  col- 
lections of  hymns  and  national  poems,  anthologies  of  epi- 
grams and  other  wisdom  materials,  fragments  of  prophetic 
preaching,  and  masses  of  more  popular  and  perishable 
literature,  such  as  an  active  and  successful  people  pro- 
duce day  by  day. 

But  the  first  trace  of  a  deliberate  effort  to  place  a 
particular  writing  upon  the  level  of  approved  sanctity  and 
reverence  is  observed  in  connection  with  the  discovery  of 
a  book  of  laws,  in  the  process  of  renovating  the  temple, 
in  the  reign  of  Josiah,  621  B.  C.  The  code  thus  brought 
to  light  was  made  the  basis  of  a  drastic  national  reforma- 
tion, and  was  adopted  by  the  people  in  a  sort  of  solemn 
league  and  covenant  as  the  law  of  the  land.  Already  the 
Book  of  the  Covenant,  embodying  the  older  legislation  of 
Israel,  had  been  in  circulation  for  generations  as  the 
authoritative  constitution  of  the  state.  But  from  this  time 
on  the  new  code,  which  both  embraced  and  superseded 
the  familiar  legal  corpus,  held  the  place  of  power. 

The  law  thus  canonized  by  royal  edict  and  popular 
approval  is  now  recognized  to  have  been  our  Deutero- 
nomic  legislation.  It  came  into  Israel's  life  in  a  dramatic 
manner  and  at  an  opportune  moment.  It  possessed  the 
sanction  of  the  venerated  name  of  Moses;  it  claimed  the 
authority  of  God ;  and  furthermore,  it  manifested  those 
inherent  qualities  of  high  moral  tone,  lofty  religious  pur- 
pose, and  searching  appeal  which  have  made  it  a  most 
valuable  portion  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. 

THE  CANON  OF  THE  T0RAII 

A  second  stage  in  the  selection  of  a  body  of  writings 
as  the  norm  of  the  nation's  life  is  witnessed  in  the  days  of 
the  two  great  reformers,  Nehemiah  and  Ezra.  The  for- 
mer probably  arrived  in  Jerusalem  as  the  volunteer  gov- 
ernor of  the  unhappy  province  in  445  B.  C.  The  latter 
came  at  the  head  of  a  little  company  of  priests  and  Levites 
a  few  years  later,  probably  in  397  B.  C.  The  item  of  chief 
interest  in  connection  both  with  Ezra's  commission  and 
his  journey  is  that  he  brought  from  the  richer  and  more 
highly  organized  centers  of  Jewish  life  in  the  east  a  copy 
of  a  document  so  important  that  it  is  frequently  referred 
to  as  "the  law  of  God." 

This  new  code  of  law,  revising  and  superseding  the 
Deuteronomic  legislation,  appears  to  have  grown  out  of 
the  assiduous  labors  of  priests  and  scribes  in  the  Jewish 
schools  of  the  east,  whither  the  exile  had  driven  their 
fathers.  Since  the  days  of  Josiah  the  nation  had  fallen. 
Its  hopes  of  restoration  to  political  power,  tried  out  in 
the  melancholy  efforts  to  revive  Jerusalem,  had  all  but 
failed.  Its  future  success  must  lie  in  the  effort  to  observe 
with  rigorous  minuteness  the  divine  will  as  embodied  in 
rules  of  conduct.  Ezekiel  had  outlined  such  a  state  and 
the  laws  by  which  it  ought  to  be  controlled.  A  priest,  the 
author  of  the  central  chapters  of  the  Book  of  Leviticus, 
had  produced  the  "Law  of  Holiness."  On  the  basis  of 
these  materials  the  Priest  Code  took  shape.  And  soon 
after,  the  Books  of  Moses,  as  they  were  called,  reached 
their  present  form,  including  the  prophetic  laws  and  narra- 
tives of  the  Judean  and  Ephraimite  sources,  the  Deutero- 
nomic material,  the  "Holiness"  institutes,  and  the  Priest 
Code.  This  body  of  writings,  fitted  into  the  matrix  of 
the  priestly  narratives,  became  the  recognized  "Book  of 
the  Law  of  Moses." 


In  an  assembly  like  the  one  in  Josiah's  day,  this  vol- 
ume was  read,  adopted  as  "a  sure  covenant,"  and  sol- 
emnly sealed,  with  a  curse  upon  the  indifferent.  In  this 
impressive  manner  a  part  of  the  extant  Hebrew  literature 
become  Holy  Scripture.  From  that  day  forth  this  group 
of  writings  was  the  Torah,  the  Law  of  Moses,  the  will  of 
God.  Nothing  ever  compared  with  it  in  sanctity.  Grad- 
ually it  rose  from  one  level  of  veneration  to  another 
through  the  years,  till  it  was  confidently  affirmed,  first 
that  Moses  wrote  the  whole  of  it,  and  then  that  it  was 
penned  in  heaven,  and  delivered  to  the  immortal  law- 
giver through  ranks  of  angels.  It  is  possible  to  say  with 
assurance,  then,  that  this  first  section  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment to  be  recognized  as  Scripture,  became  canonical  soon 
after  the  year  400  B.  C. 

THE    CANON    OF   THE    PROPHETS 

At  that  date  the  second  group  of  our  Old  Testament 
books,  the  Prophets,  had  not  attained  the  rank  of  canonic- 
ity.  We  know  this  by  two  tokens.  The  first  is  the  fact 
that  the  Samaritans,  who  at  some  period  subsequent  to 
the  reformation  of  Ezra  separated  themselves  forever 
from  all  relationship  with  the  Jewish  community,  adopted 
the  Five  Books  of  Moses,  almost  in  the  precise  form  in 
which  we  have  them,  as  their  canon  of  sacred  Scripture, 
but  rejected  all  the  other  parts  of  the  Old  Testament. 
That  Torah  of  Moses  they  keep  to  this  day  in  a  highly 
revered  and  very  ancient  scroll.  The  second  fact  is  the 
exalted  regard  in  which  the  Books  of  Chronicles,  written 
about  300  B.  C,  hold  the  Law  of  Moses,  while  they  employ 
with  the  utmost  freedom,  and  alter  without  hesitation, 
the  prophetic  books. 

But  by  the  year  200  B.  C.  the  eight  Books  of  the 
Prophets — Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel,  Kings,  Isaiah,  Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel  and  the  Roll  of  the  Twelve  (meaning  the 
twelve  Minor  Prophets,  from  Hosea  to  Malachi) — were 
accorded  canonical  recognition.  The  author  of  The  Wis- 
dom of  Jesus  the  Son  of  Sirach  lived  about  that  time. 
He  refers  to  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  as  acknowledged 
Scripture  in  his  time.  This  provides  a  satisfactory  assur- 
ance of  the  inclusion  of  this  second  group  in  the  canon. 

There  still  remained  the  miscellaneous  books,  more 
or  less  concerned  with  religion,  but  far  less  revered  than 
those  already  mentioned.  By  the  time  the  prophetic  list 
was  organized,  no  doubt  a  large  portion  of  the  abundant 
literature  of  previous  generations  had  yielded  to  the  vicis- 
situdes of  time,  and  disappeared.  The  nation  had  passed 
through  such  tragedies  as  might  well  dissipate  all  but  the 
most  highly  prized  and  carefully  preserved  of  its  literary 
treasures.  Certain  it  is  that  a  large  part  of  the  total  body 
of  Israel's  writings  have  perished.  There  were,  however, 
at  hand  the  great  works  of  poetry  like  the  Psalms,  Prov- 
erbs, and  Job,  each  the  result  of  patient  gleaning  and 
revision;  the  Five  Rolls  comprising  Canticles,  Ruth,  La- 
mentations, Ecclesiastes  and  Esther ;  and  two  other  works, 
the  pseudonymous  apocalypse  of  Daniel,  and  the  priestly 
record  of  national  events,  Chronicles,  with  its  continu- 
ations in  Ezra-Nehemiah. 

Some  of  these  books  were  quite  late.  In  Jesus'  ref- 
erence to  the  sweep  of  events  from  the  death  of  Abel  to 
that  of  Zachariah  he  seems  to  imply  the  very  late  date 
of  the  Books  of  Chronicles  in  which  the  second  of  these 
incidents  is  recorded.  Daniel  was  probably  written  about 
164  B.  C,  and  the  Book  of  Psalms  may  have  received  its 
final  editing  as  late  as  150  B.  C.  It  is  not  unlikely  that 
the  Maccabean  struggle  created  the  desire  to  preserve  as 
much  as  possible  of  the  national  literature  from  destrtic- 


February  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


11 


tion.  There  are  evidences  that  not  all  of  the  books  in- 
cluded in  the  canon  were  admitted  without  debate,  for 
Esther,  Canticles  and  Ecclesiastes  were  held  doubtful  by 
some.  The  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament,  made 
for  use  in  Egypt,  was  begun  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  before  Christ,  but  not  completed  till  long  afterward, 
and  certain  portions  of  the  material  were  supplied  from 
other  sources.  So  that  the  Septuagint,  or  LXX,  as  it  is 
usually  called,  is  not  a  sure  index  of  the  time  at  which 
the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament  was  completed. 

THE   CANON      OF  THE    WRITINGS 

In  the  year  132  B.  C.  the  grandson  of  Jesus  ben 
Sirach,  whose  work  has  been  mentioned,  made  a  trans- 
lation of  his  ancestor's  Hebrew  writing,  into  Greek.  In 
a  prologue  prepared  for  this  edition  he  mentions  three 
times  over  "the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Other  Books." 
In  this  phrase  there  seems  to  be  a  reference  to  three  groups 
of  writings,  although  one  cannot  be  sure  that  the  last  was 
a  definitely  fixed  list.  It  is  known  that  as  late  as  the  first 
century  B.  C.  the  schools  of  Shammai  and  Hillel,  con- 
servative and  progressive  respectively,  debated  the  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  "defiled  the 
hands"  (i.  e.,  was  canonical). 

In  the  New  Testament  it  is  assumed  that  the  three 
sections  of  the  Old  Testament  canon  were  accepted  and 
understood.  The  Master  referred  to  the  things  written 
in  the  Law,  the  Prophets  and  the  Psalms  (i.  e.,  the  Writ- 
ings, whose  first  book  was  the  Psalms)  concerning  him- 
self. In  much  the  same  manner  Philo,  the  Jewish  histor- 
ian,  who   lived    in   the   first   half   of   the   first   Christian 


century,  referred  in  frequent  quotations  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment as  a  work  well  known  and  of  fixed  content ;  and  the 
same  is  true  of  Josephus,  who  wrote  early  in  the  second 
century.  By  the  time  of  the  Jewish  Council  of  Jamnia 
in  113  A.  D.,  the  canon  of  the  Hebrew  writings  had  passed 
beyond  debate.  In  general,  then,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
canon  of  the  Law  was  fixed  in  the  days  of  Ezra ;  that  of 
the  Prophets  by  200  B.  C,  and  that  of  at  least  the  major 
portion  of  the  Writings  as  early  as  132  B.  C. 

If  it  be  asked  what  was  the  final  criterion  by  which 
a  book  was  judged,  it  may  be  responded  with  a  fair  degree 
of  assurance  that  these  books  which  were  written  in  the 
Hebrew  language  were  at  last  recognized  as  canonical. 
And  if  the  work  above  referred  to,  the  Wisdom  of  ben 
Sirach,  seems  to  be  an  exception,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  it  only  became  current  in  its  later  Greek  form,  though 
in  recent  years  portions  of  the  Hebrew  original  have 
appeared.  It  is  not  easy  to  discover  what  other  ground 
of  decision  there  could  have  been  that  would  admit  books 
like  Ecclesiastes  and  the  Song  of  Songs  and  exclude  the 
Wisdom  of  Solomon  and  ben  Sirach.  But  by  the  time  the 
final  verdicts  were  reached,  the  Hebrew  tongue  was  so 
far  a  thing  of  the  past  as  to  be  classic,  and  for  that  reason 
sacred. 

It  seems  reasonable  therefore  to  accept  the  view  that 
in  the  last  issue  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament  was  deter- 
mined by  the  fact  that  certain  works  survived  in  the 
ancient  language  of  the  nation,  and  were  therefore  held 
to  be  sacred;  and  that  the  collection  as  we  have  it  is  the 
total  surviving  literature  produced  by  the  Hebrew  people 
during  the  period  when  their  speech  was  still  current. 


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A  Soldier  to  Jesus 

The  following  lines  were  found  on  the  dead 
body  of  a  British  soldier  who  had  fallen  on  Gal- 
lipoli  Peninsula.  The  poem  appeared  first  in  the 
A  ustralasian  Intercollegian : 


JESUS,  whose  lot  with  us  was  cast, 
Who  saw  it  out  from  first  to  last ; 
Patient  and  fearless,  tender,  true, 
Carpenter,  vagabond,  felon,  Jew — 
Whose  humorous  eyes  took  in  each  phase 
Of  full,  rich  life  this  world  displays; 
Yet  evermore  kept  full  in  view 
The  far-off  goal  it  leads  us  to; 
Who,  as  your  hour  neared,  did  not  fail — 
The  world's  fate  trembling  in  the  scale — 
With  your  half-hearted  band  to  dine, 
And  speak  across  the  bread  and  wine ; 
Then  went  out  firm  to  face  the  end, 
Alone,  without  a  single  friend ; 
Who  felt  as  your  last  words  confessed — 
Wrung  from  a  proud,  unflinching  breast 
By  hours  of  dull,  ignoble  pain, 
Your  whole  life's  fight  was  fought  in  vain ; 
Would  I  could  win  and  keep  and  feel 
That  heart  of  love,  that  spirit  of  steel — 
I  would  not  to  Thy  bosom  fly 
To  shirk  off  till  the  storms  go  by ; 
If  you  are  like  the  man  you  were, 
You'd  turn  in  scorn  from  such  a  prayer, 
Unless  from  some  poor  workhouse  crone, 
Too  toilworn  to  do  aught  but  moan. 
Flog  me  and  spur  me,  set  me  straight 
At  some  vile  job  I  fear  and  hate'; 


Some  sickening  round  of  long  endeavor, 
No  light,  no  rest,  no  outlet  ever; 
All  at  a  pace  that  must  not  slack, 
Though  heart  would  burst  and  sinews  crack- 
Fog  in  one's  eyes,  the  brain  aswim, 
A  weight  like  lead  in  every  limb 
And  a  raw  pit  that  hurts  like  hell 
Where  the  light  breath  once  rose  and  fell. 
Do  you  but  keep  me,  hope  or  none, 
Cheery  and  stanch  till  all  is  done, 
And  at  the  last  gasp  quick  to  lend 
One  effort  more  to  serve  a  friend. 
And  when,  for  so  I  sometimes  dream, 
I've  swum  the  dark,  the  silent  stream — 
So  cold  it  takes  the  breath  away — 
That  parts  the  dead  world  from  the  day, 
And  see  upon  the  farther  strand 
The  lazy,  listless  angels  stand, 
And,  with  their  frank  and  fearless  eyes, 
The  comrades  whom  I  most  did  prize ; 
Then  clear,  unburdened,  careless,  cool, 
I'll  saunter  down  from  the  grim  pool 
And  join  my  friends.    Then  you'll  come  by, 
The  Captain  of  our  company ; 
Call  me  out,  look  me  up  and  down, 
And  pass  me  through  without  a  frown, 
With  half  a  smile,  but  never  a  word ; 
And  so — I  shall  have  met  my  Lord. 


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On  the  Eve  of  Armageddon 


.  .    11  K  AX     has     walked     by    the 
/  V 1     tiffa  °t  conflagrations  and 

*  "  *  amidst  the  sound  of  falling 
cities,  and  now  there  is  darkness  and 
long  watching  until  it  be  morning. 
The  voice  of  the  faithful  can  but  ex- 
claim :  As  yet  strikes  the  twelfth  hour 
of  the  night.  Birds  of  darkness  are  on 
the  wing,  specters  arise,  the  dead  walk, 
the  living  dream.  Thou,  Eternal 
Providence,  will  cause  the  day  to 
dawn." 

Thus  spake  Carlyle,  greatest  of 
modern  prophets. 

It  is  indeed  the  twelfth  hour  of  the 
night.  Bestiality,  brutality,  fire,  rapine, 
indiscriminate  slaughter,  massacres 
without  end,  children  without  bread 
and  milk,  hundreds  of  thousands 
starving  to  death,  millions  in  un- 
timely graves ;  all  this  and  more 
constitute  such  a  fearful  condition  that 
we  can  only  join  fervently  in  the 
prayer : 

'"When  wilt  thou  save  thy  people,  Lord, 

O  God  of  mercy,  when! 
The  people,  Lord,  the  people, 

Xot  crowns,  nor  thrones,  but  men." 

GOD  STILL  ACTIVE 

This  prayer  has  for  its  basis  the 
conviction  that  the  Lord  is  still  active 
in  the  affairs  of  the  universe.  He  has 
not  abdicated  his  throne!  Luther,  in 
a  time  of  mental  anguish  ,cried  out,  "O 
God,  art  Thou  dead!"  A  great  wave 
of  atheism  and  agnosticism  has  fol- 
lowed every  war.  It  will  come  in  the 
wake  of  this,  the  greatest  of  all  wars. 
As  for  the  church,  never  before  has 
the  church  received  such  scathing 
criticism.  Hear  a  typical  remon- 
strance : 

It  can  stop  a  few  children  from  play- 
ing cards  or  dancing,  and  make  a  few 
old  people  happy  with  psalm  singing, 
but  when  any  real  thing  comes  that  calls 
to  men  to  be  beasts,  the  church  is  pow- 
erless as  a  little  baby.  She  can  deal  with 
a  few  inconsequential  peccadilloes,  but 
when  it  comes  to  any  real  sin  like  this 
wholesale  murder,  this  orgy  of  passion, 
this  reversion  of  men  to  devils,  which 
we  are  witnessing  now,  she  might  as  well 
not  be.  Does  it  not  look  as  if  the  devil 
were  after  all  stronger  than  God? 

carlyle's  prayer  urged 

It  is  lamentably  true  that  the  church 
and  its  dignitaries  seemed  to  have 
failed  in  every  attempt  to  check  this 
modern  holocaust.  The  Pope  has 
spoken,  but  to  no  avail ;  Cardinal  Mer- 
cier,  the  bravest  soldier  of  righteous- 
ness the  war  has  developed,  has  plead 
for  his  people  in  vain  ;  the  primates  of 
the  church  of  England  and  the  Protest- 
ant clergy  of  Germany  alike  have 
failed.  But  the  Almighty,  the  Jehovah 
of  battles,  has  not  failed.  We  need  to 
hear  and  to  believe  that  mighty  prayer 


BY  E.  W.  McDIARMID 

President  of  Hamilton  College 

z'HiiiimiimiiiiNuiuiiiiiiiiiiiiimiimimti iiiiiiiiiiiuuiiiniiiimiiiim iiiiitiiiniiiuuiuumimmmiiuiu 

"Then   saith  Jesus  unto  him,  Put     | 
1      up   again   the  szvord  into  its  place:      | 
|     for  all  they  that  take  the  szvord  shall 
|      perish  tvith  the  sword." 

.nllUHIIIMIIIHIIHMtlllllllHIIIIllllllMIHIlllHllllllllllllllllllHllllllllllltllllMMIIIIlllHllllllltlllltillllllllllllllllltllll; 

of  Carlyle,  again  and  again.  "Thou, 
Eternal  Providence,  will  cause  the  Day 
to  Dawn." 

Read  again  the  story  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. Walking  in  the  royal  palace 
at  Babylon,  he  boasted:  Ts  not  this 
great  Babylon,  which  I  have  built  for 
the  royal  dwelling  place  by  the  might 
of  my  power  and  for  the  glory  of 
my  majesty?'  Before  the  boast  had 
left  the  King's  mouth,  he  heard  his 
word  of  doom  from  heaven :  'Thy 
kingdom  is  departed  from  thee ;  and 
thou  shalt  be  driven  from  men ;  and 
thy  dwelling  shall  be  with  the  beasts 
of  the  field ;  thou  shalt  be  made  to  eat 
grass  like  oxen ;  and  seven  times  shall 
pass  over  thee ;  until  thou  know  that 
the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom 
of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever 
he  will." 

JEHOVAH  AS  WAR  PATRON 

And  God  is  still  in  the  world,  direct- 
ing, governing,  ordering,  over-ruling, 
and  He  will  yet  make  the  wrath  of  men 
to  praise  Him.  Both  the  Allies  and 
the  Central  Powers  are  claiming  the 
favor  and  the  patronage  of  Jehovah. 
Both  are  right,  at  least,  in  believing 
that  the  god  of  battles  is  watching  over 
it  all,  and  that  through  it  all,  He  will 
have  His  will  finally  to  be  done  among 
men.  We  of  this  democracy  believe 
that  Emerson's  word  was  right : 

God  said,  I  am  tired  of  kings, 

I  suffer  them  no  more; 
Up  to  mine  ear,  the  morning  brings 

The  outrage  of  the  poor. 

HUMANITY   TO   TRIUMPH 

Out  of  this  great  conflict,  there  is 
to  emerge  triumphant  that  cause  which 
is  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  out  of  it 
are  to  come  as  conquerors  those — : 

Who,  rowing  hard  up  stream, 
See  distant  gates  of  Eden  gleam, 
And  do  not  deem  it  all  a  dream. 

And  just  as  surely  as  God  intervened 
to  drive  Nebuchadnezzar  from  his 
kingdom,  so  the  responsible  author  of 
the  present  war,  the  arch  instigator  of 
it  all,  will  have  to  answer  for  his 
crimes.  The  German  military  clique 
will  yet  come  to  know  that  the  "Most 
High  is  still  ruling  in  the  kingdom  of 
men,  and  that  he  will  give  it  to  whom- 
soever he  will."  Lying  ambassadors 
and  inconsistent  secretaries  will  yet 
read   a   thunderous   message,    "I   am 


Jehovah,  that  maketh  all  things,  that 
frustrateth  the  signs  of  the  liars  and 
maketh  diviners  mad;  that  turneth 
wise  men  backward  and  maketh  their 
knowledge  foolish." 

THE  VOICES  OF  THE  DEAD 

And  now  this  government  faces  the 
most  sombre  moment  in  its  history. 
For  two  years  and  more,  in  the  strik- 
ing phrase  of  Carlyle,  "Spectres  have 
been  arising,  the  dead  are  walking." 
We  shall  not  soon  forget  the  voices  of 
our  dead.  We  shall  never  cease  to  tell 
how,  when  the  Lusitania  was  sinking, 
Alfred  G.  Vanderbilt  took  off  his  life 
preserver  and  gave  it  to  a  woman  in 
the  hope  of  saving  her  life,  and  turning 
to  his  valet,  in  that  awful  hour,  said: 
"Come  and  let  us  save  the  kiddies," 
and  turned  aside  to  render  service  to 
children.  Nor  shall  we  forget  Charles 
Frohman  and  his  last  word  to  us: 
"Why  fear  death?  It  is  the  most 
beautiful  adventure  in  life." 

The  dead,  our  dead,  will  not  be 
quiet  in  their  graves.  They  come 
forth,  they  call  to  us,  they  have  waited 
long  for  our  response. 

SPECTRES    IN    ARMENIA    AND    BELGIUM 

Spectres  are  arising,  the  dead  are 
walking,  the  living  are  in  a  dream  in 
Armenia.  What  a  fearful  tale  it  is 
borne  to  us  across  the  seas !  Our 
Christian  brethren,  who  have  suffered 
in  every  one  of  the  Christian  ages, 
have  come  to  a  very  Golgotha  of  tor- 
ment in  this  year  of  grace.  God  grant 
that  Armenia's  dead  may  soon  be  con- 
tent to  go  back  to  their  graves  in  peace 
and  that  Armenia's  living  may  soon 
awake  as  from  a  hideous  dream. 

Spectres  arise,  the  dead  walk  in 
Belgium.  A  happy,  innocent  land,  a 
land  of  industrious  men  and  women, 
singing  at  their  work.  Suddenly,  the 
gray  flood  of  a  ruthlessly  invading 
army  sweeps  over  the  devoted  land ;  a 
reign  of  horror  begins,  frightfulness 
lifts  its  awful  head,  and  an  entire  na- 
tion is  plunged  into  the  deepest  sorrow 
and  lamentation. 

PACIFICISM 

What  is  the  duty  of  Christian  na- 
tions facing  a  situation  like  this  ?  We 
dare  not  say,  "It  is  no  concern  of 
ours !"  It  is  a  shameful  utterance, 
heard  too  often,  "Let  them  fight  it 
out!" 

The  pacifist  of  a  certain  kind  coun- 
sels soft  words  and  pious  platitudes. 
And  we  have  had  many  very  fine  and 
true  statements,  eloquently  put  and 
faultlessly  worded,  that  have  accom- 
plished nothing  at  all.    President  Wil- 


February  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


13 


son  has  led  in  the  great  appeal  to  rea- 
son.   He  has  said : 

,The  example  of  America  must  be  a 
special  example.  The  example  of  Amer- 
ica must  be  the  example,  not  merely  of 
peace  because  it  will  not  fight,  but  of 
peace  because  peace  is  the  healing  and 
elevating  influence  of  the  world  and 
strife  is  not.  There  is  such  a  thing  as 
a  man  being  too  proud  to  fight.  There 
is  such  a  thing  as  a  nation  being  so  right 
that  it  does  not  need  to  convince  others 
by  force  that  it  is  right. 

NATION   BEHIND  PRESIDENT 

We  have  supported  the  President  in 
his  wonderful  manifestation  of  Chris- 
tian patience.  Some  have  called  him 
recreant.  But  now  we  are  beginning 
to  see  that  his  remarkable  restraint,  his 
faithful  effort  to  preserve  the  peace, 
have  justified  him  all  the  more  when 
now  he  is  speaking  a  different 
language.  And  when  he  dismisses  the 
German  ambassador  and  plainly  de- 
clares that  war  will  follow  the  con- 
summation of  the  declared  policy  of 
Germany,  he  has  behind  him  solidly 
a  nation  that  will  go  to  war,  with  the 
consciousness  of  fighting  in  the  name 
of  humanity  and  for  civilization's  most 
precious  ideals.  And  if  the  Lord  could 
say  to  Cyrus,  "Thou  art  my  shepherd, 
whose  hand  I  have  holden,"  or  to 
Ahab,  "Thou  shalt  lead  the  battle," 
may  we  not  believe  that  Jehovah  is 
now  directing  Woodrow  Wilson  as  he 
is  making  decisions  fraught  with  such 
tremendous  consequences  to  all  the  na- 
tions of  the  world. 

WARNING  TO  AGGRESSOR 

"All  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish 
with  the  sword."  To  the  aggressor, 
to  the  man  or  nation  quick  to  resort  to 
force,  the  message  is  sternly,  "Put  up 


the  sword."  And  Americans  will  never 
tolerate  a  war  of  willful  aggression. 
But  there  is  another  word  in  the  text. 
It  is  directed  to  the  bully,  the  ruffian, 
the  swashbuckler  among  men  or  na- 
tions, the  mad  beast  running  amuck 
through  the  streets,  or  the  armed  ty- 
rant running  amuck  through  civiliza- 
tion. It  is  this,  "Having  taken  the 
sword,  thou  shalt  perish  with  the 
sword." 

And  if  two  millions  of  men  have 
taken  the  sword  ruthlessly  and  violent- 
ly, then  the  only  way  in  which  the 
prophecy,  the  just  judgment  of  the 
Lord  upon  them  can  be  fulfilled,  is  for 
millions  of  men  from  other  nations  to 
rise  up  in  righteous  wrath  to  execute 
the  condemnation  of  Heaven  upon  the 
offenders.  It  seems  now  to  have  come 
to  that  last  necessity. 

If  any  man  shall  kill  with  the  sword, 
with  the  sword  must  he  be  killed. 
Here  is  the  patience  and  tti£  faith  of 
the  saints. 

PATIENCE  HAS  HAD  ITS  WORK 

The  world  knows  that  we  have  been 
patient  enough.  There  is  the  incident 
of  the  Gulflight,  May  1,  1915;  of  the 
Lusitania,  May  7,  1915;  of  the  Ne- 
braska, May  25,  1915 ;  of  the  Arabic, 
August  19,  1915;  of  the  Hesperian, 
September  4,  1915;  and  passing  by 
others,  of  the  Sussex,  March  24,  1916. 
The  patience  of  the  administration,  its 
calm  bearing  under  attack  after  attack 
will  never  be  forgotten. 

But  now  patience  has  had  its  work, 
unhappily  not  perfect.  Now  it  is  the 
time  for  faith,  the  faith  of  our  fathers, 
the  faith  and  courage  of  Washington 
at  Valley  Forge,  the  faith  that  will 
lead  us  to  sing  as  those  who  went  be- 
fore us  sang : 


Mine    eyes    have    seen    the    glory    of    the 

coming  of  the  Lord, 
He  is   trampling  out  the  vintage  where 

the  grapes  of  wrath  are  stored, 
He  hath  loosed  the  fateful  lightning  of 

his  terrible,  swift  sword, 
His  truth  is  marching  on. 

He   has   sounded   out   the   trumpet   that 
never  calls  retreat, 

He  is  sifting  out  the   souls  of  men  be- 
neath his  judgment  seat, 

Oh,  be  swift,  my  soul,  to  answer  him;  be 
jubilant,  my  feet, 
Our  God  is  marching  on. 

CHRISTIAN    WAR   JUSTIFIED 

Is  it  right  for  a  Christian  to  go  to 
war?  It  is  not  right  for  any  one  else 
to  go  to  war!  And  a  Christian  nation 
is  the  only  nation  that  ought  ever  to 
go  to  war,  and  that  only  as  it  is  forced 
to  conceive  itself  as  the  instrumentality 
through  which  God's  will  may  be  done. 
Unless  a  nation  goes  to  war  in  the 
spirit  of  Cromwell  and  his  psalm-sing- 
ing soldiers  or  the  spirit  of  Woodrow 
Wilson  with  his  prayer  that  we  may 
not  be  challenged  to  proceed  further 
that  nation  dare  not  believe  itself  to 
be  God's  under  shepherd  for  the  chas- 
tisement of  wayward  sheep. 

The  President  has  spoken.  The  na- 
tion is  arising  in  his  support.  If  war 
comes,  we  shall  believe  that  God  has 
called  us  to  battle,  and  that  it  is  His 
will  that  we  bear  our  part  in  the 
struggle.  May  it  not  be  that  following 
the  example  of  America,  all  the  other 
neutral  nations  of  the  world  shall  align 
themselves  solidly  with  us,  so  that 
Germany,  becoming  a  very  Ishmael 
among  the  nations,  may  be  brought  to 
sound  judgment  again,  and  so  that  the 
German  people  may  be  saved.  God 
grant  that  a  way  out  may  be  found. 
But  if  not,  let  us  say  as  did  the  cru- 
saders of  old,  "It  is  the  will  of  God !" 


§"""" """""""" niiiinniiiiiii iiiiiiniMuimiimimimiiiimmmimii uuuuiuuiiiraiiiiuipjuiiiiu miimiiiiiiiimimmi iimuiiimimii iiiuiiuuuiiiuuiiiuuuiiiiiiiiuuuiiiiiuui iiiiiiiniiimiihiuiiu.il iiuiiiiiuiiiiui i unniiiian ■nimuiimi i nwroimiiiiiwwiiw 


The  Call 

By  Thomas  Curtis  Clark 


T  N  days  long  gone  God  spake  unto  our  sires : 

*      "Courage !   Launch  out !    A  new  world  build  for  me !" 

Then  to  the  deep  they  set  their  ships,  and  sailed 

And  came  to  land,  and  prayed  that  here  might  be 
A  realm  from  pride  and  despotism  free, 
A  place  of  peace,  the  home  of  liberty. 

Lo,  in  these  days  to  all  good  men  and  true 

God  speaks  again:   "Launch  out  upon  the  deep 

And  win  for  me  a  world  of  righteousness !" 

Can  we,  free  men,  at  such  an  hour  still  sleep? 

O  God  of  Freedom,  stir  us  in  our  night 

That  we  set  forth,  for  justice,  truth  and  right ! 


""" iiuiiiiiiiiiuiiiiuiiiiiiiiii tuuiuuiuiuiiiiiiiuiiuuiu iii uuiuuiuuiuiiuuiliiuuiiuiiinuiluiuiui uuuiiiuiuiiuiiiuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiii iiuiiuuaiuuiuuuuiuuuuiuuiuuuuuiiiuuuuuuillluuuiuuuuiuuuiumuuuiiuuiuuiuuuuui luiuiiuiiiuuiiiiiuiiuiiiumiimiuuiiiinimi 


"New  Wars  for  Old" 

"The  Most  Christian  Book  that  has  Appeared  in  Ten  Years" 
REVIEWED  BY  ELLIS  B.  BARNES 


JOHN  HAYNES  HOLMES,  the 
author  of  "New  Wars  for  Old,'' 
is  a  famous  Unitarian  preacher 
of  New  York  City,  a  student  of  inter- 
national problems,  and.  needless  to  say, 
a  scholar.  He  has  written  the  most 
Giristian  book  that  has  appeared  in 
ten  years,  if  we  allow  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  be  the  judge.  It  is  not  a  popu- 
lar book  and  never  will  be,  because  it 
raises  by  implication  the  daily  ques- 
tion. Dare  we  be  Christians? 

There  may  be  some  intellectual 
heresies  in  this  book ;  I  did  not  notice 
any  as  I  was  not  looking  for  them, 
having  been  knocked  down  before  I 
went  very  far  by  the  startling  contra- 
dictions between  our  daily  ideals  and 
the  ideals  which  are  presented  to  us 
by  Christ.  I  never  realized  as  keenly 
as  now  that  even  the  best  of  people 
can  be  as  orthodox  as  John  Calvin  in 
belief  and  as  unorthodox  as  an  agnos- 
tic in  conduct.  If  a  good  many  honest 
souls  who  are  troubled  by  discussions 
over  orthodoxy  and  heresy  would  read 
this  book,  they  might  conclude  that 
heresy  is  not  simply  a  matter  of  the 
head.  There  can  be  such  a  thing  as 
honoring  Christ  with  the  lips  and 
denying  him  with  the  life.  Read  the 
book  and  see  how  far  the  world  has 
drifted  from  the  idealism  of  Christ. 

NOX-RESISTAXCE  THE  BASIC  PRINCIPLE 

I  should  take  the  author  to  be  a  re- 
former of  the  New  England  type  who 
fears  not  to  bare  his  soul  to  the  sun 
that  his  sincerity  may  be  known  of 
all  men.  He  plants  himself  squarely 
on  Christ's  doctrine  of  non-resistance, 
fearlessly  accepting  all  its  conse- 
quences. Not  many  of  us  are  willing 
to  do  that.  We  prefer  to  accept  the 
doctrine  in  a  half-hearted  way,  to 
smile  when  smiled  at,  and  to  strike 
when  struck  at.  We  are  willing  to  be 
pacifists  in  time  of  peace  and  warriors 
in  time  of  war.  We  are  willing  to 
have  our  enemies  to  forgive  us,  but 
not  quite  so  willing  to  forgive  them. 
We  make  mighty  distinctions  in  our 
sermons  betwen  the  eye  for  an  eye 
regime  and  the  law  of  love  laid  down 
by  Christ,  but  in  our  conduct  the  dis- 
tinctions are  not  so  apparent.  We 
still  hide  behind  time-honored  words 
to  justify  the  use  of  force,  calling 
down  fire  from  heaven,  even  as  Elias 
did,  burning  up  the  world  and  our 
enemies  with  a  great  name  as  a  torch. 

MOSES  OR  CHRIST? 

Mr.  Holmes  does  not  belong  to  that 
class.  He  takes  literally  the  New 
Testament    teaching    of    forgiveness 


even  to  seventy  times  seven.  He  is 
willing  to  defend  himself  when  at- 
tacked as  Christ  defended  himself.  He 
is  bold  to  declare  that  about  all  our 
present  day  troubles,  internationally 
at  least,  grow  out  of  our  bondage  to 
the  law  of  Moses.  Christ's  doctrine 
and  Mr.  Holmes'  interpretation  of  it 
may  lead  to  endless  embarrassments 
and  complications,  but  he  is  willing  to 
accept  the  harness  with  the  horse. 
Mr.  Holmes  knows  that  war  means 
the  extermination  of  the  human  race, 
if  logically  carried  out,  and  a  nation 
had  better  lose  much  than  lose  its  life. 
The  good  Monseigneur  Bienvenu  of 
"Les  Miserables"  is  none  too  good  for 
Dr.  Holmes,  not  foolhardy  or  crazy 
because  he  left  his  door  open  at  all 
times  so  that  the  passerby  might  cross 
his  threshold  and  find  a  welcome. 
Where  there  was  no  fear  there  was 
no  need  of  bolts  or  bars.  One  may 
cry  "nonsense !"  and  pooh-hooh  Dr. 
Holmes'  theories  and  interpretations 
of  the  New  Testament,  but  it  is  much 
easier  to  do  that  than  to  answer  his 
arguments.  These,  the  reader  will  find 
set  forth  with  much  clearness.  The 
position  of  the  militarist  is  stated  at 
length  and  the  reasons  for  not  accept- 
ing it  are  equal  to  a  demonstration. 

CHANGING     THE     THOUGHTS     OF     MEN 

In  spite  of  world-wars,  all  serious- 
minded  citizens  are  protesting  against 
them  with  every  passing  year  by  their 
abhorrence  of  force  as  seen  in  a  hun- 
dred ways.  The  iron  hand  of  the 
father  is  disappearing  from  the  family 
discipline,  the  school  teacher  appeals 
to  force  with  less  frequency  today 
than  ever,  the  penal  systems  have  been 
compelled  to  substitute  humane  prin- 
ciples for  cruelty,  the  severities  meted 
out  to  prisoners  and  criminals  of 
many  grades  are  continually  being 
ameliorated ;  we  are  even  questioning 
the  value  of  the  death  penalty.  Every- 
thing is  tending  to  preserve  rather 
than  to  destroy  life.  As  Dr.  Holmes 
points  out,  the  need  of  the  hour  is  to 
change  the  thoughts  of  men  from 
force  to  peaceful  measures  in  the  ad- 
justment of  difficulties,  and  then 
human  nature  will  change.  The 
bellumists  tell  us  that  human  nature 
cannot  be  changed.  Change  the 
thoughts  of  men  and  human  nature 
will  fall  into  line. 

BURNING  UP   PEACE  PRINCIPLES 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the 
many  ministers  in  our  day  who  have 
been  caught  in  the  militaristic  gale 
and  driven  before  it  like  thistledown, 


those  who  burned  up  their  peace  prin- 
ciples with  their  peace  sermons,  and 
suffered  their  convictions  that  inter- 
national peace  was  in  harmony  with 
the  will  of  Christ  and  that  war  was 
abhorrent  to  him,  to  be  shattered  be- 
cause fighting  rulers  had  trampled 
them  under  foot,  have  a  great  com- 
rade in  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson.  His 
"Lecture  on  War"  is  the  American 
classic  on  this  theme.  In  this  he  car- 
ries his  views  to  the  point  of  non- 
resistance,  yet  he  "repudiated  his  faith 
completely  and  finally  under  the  im- 
pact of  the  closing  years  of  the  strug- 
gle against  slavery."  I  will  say  for 
the  modern  shepherds  who  have  be- 
come as  panicky  as  their  sheep  that 
they  are  not  without  illustrious  leader- 
ship in  the  great  Concord  philosopher. 
In  the  early  part  of  1861,  according 
to  the  biography  of  Mr.  Cabot,  Emer- 
son visited  the  Charlestown  Navy 
Yard  and,  looking  about  at  the  cannon 
and  shells,  exclaimed  to  a  friend, 
"Ah,  sometimes  gunpowder  smells 
good." 

THE  TEST  OF   PRINCIPLES 

But  theories  or  principles  are  not 
of  any  value  unless  they  stand  the 
test  when  the  pressure  is  the  severest. 
It  is  of  no  value  for  the  drunkard  to 
know  that  the  total  abstinence  prin- 
ciples which  snatched  him  as  a  brand 
from  the  burning,  will  all  go  to  pieces 
the  moment  a  bottle  is  thrust  to  his 
lips.  Any  man  could  be  a  temperance 
fanatic  in  a  vacuum.  It  is  folly  to 
assure  the  gambler  that  his  principles 
are  proof  against  assault  until  you 
bring  him  face  to  face  with  conditions 
under  which  all  the  associations  of 
life  cry  out  for  the  gratification  of 
the  gambling  passion.  Any  man  can 
be  an  advocate  of  peace  in  serene  and 
sunny  days  of  a  nation's  life,  as  many 
a  man  can  be  a  Christian  when  all  goes 
merry  as  a  marriage  bell,  but  the  peace 
advocate  must  preserve  his  peace 
armor  unpierced  when  the  missiles  are 
flying,  when  the  soldiers  are  march- 
ing, when  the  music  sets  the  corpuscles 
to  dancing,  when  appeals  of  many 
kinds  are  made  to  manhood  and  pa- 
triotism, no  matter  how  fallacious. 

He  must  be  a  peace  patriot  when 
fields  are  red  with  blood,  never  for- 
getting that  his  mission  in  the  world 
as  a  follower  of  the  Prince  of  Peace 
is  to  overcome  evil  with  good. 

A  perusal  of  this  book  will  confirm 
every  peace-maker  in  his  belief,  and 
cause  every  militarist  to  moderate  his 
zeal.  It  will  put  fire  in  the  lukewarm- 
ness  of  the  peace  advocate  and  ice  in 
the  fire  of  the  bellumist. 


Mei  Fang's  Creed 

Note:  The  following  is  a  literal  translation  of  a  statement  of  faith  written  by  a  student  in 
the  Luchowfu  Girls1  School  of  the  Foreign  Society,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  tzvo  years  after  she 
had  first  heard  the  gospel.    It  zvas  her  own  basis  of  teaching  for  her  family. 


God 

I  say  that  God  is  a  Spirit,  He  was 
from  the  beginning,  all  Truth  in  all 
places  and  in  all  time  is  from  Him. 
They  ask  if  God  has  features  of  face 
as  man.  I  say  that  He  is  without 
form  ;  that  He  is  everywhere ;  that  He 
is  in  my  heart.  If  I  think  much  of 
Him,  He  abides  there.  If  I  do  that 
which  is  wrong,  He  departs  far  from 
me.  All  under  Heaven  is  of  His  crea- 
tion and  subject  to  His  law. 

Jesus  Christ 

Jesus  was  the  Perfect  Sage.  In 
Him  was  no  sin.  His  doctrine  of 
Love  was  Divine,  for  He  was  the  Son 
of  God.  He  was  born  into  the  world 
to  die  upon  the  Cross  to  save  me. 
When  I  think  of  His  righteousness  my 
heart  is  moved  to  cast  out  sin  from 
my  life,  and  virtue  is  born  within  me. 
But  first,  I  must  believe  in  Him,  for 
He  says  that  whosoever  believeth  on 
Him  shall  attain  salvation.  Thinking 
of  His  holiness  my  heart  is  moved  to 


communion  with  God,  and  so  shall  I 
enter  Heaven. 

The  Devil 

All  evil  is  from  the  evil  one.  He  is 
the  opponent  of  Truth.  If  I  do  not 
heed  what  is  true  he  enters  into  me. 
He  is  death  to  my  soul.  He  and  the 
Spirit  of  God  will  not  dwell  together. 
God's  Holy  Spirit  is  Light,  the  devil 
is  Darkness  ;  if  I  enter  into  the  Spirit's 
place  of  Radiant  Light,  I  come  into 
eternal  joy;  if  I  abide  in  the  devil's 
Darkness,  I  am  in  eternal  sorrow. 
Thinking  upon  the  Holiness  of  Christ, 
my  heart  is  moved,  and  my  spirit  is 
forever  in  the  Light  of  God  and  in 
eternal  joy.  As  I  believe  in  Jesus,  and 
learn  of  Him  He  saves  me  from  sin, 
and  from  the  eternal  darkness  of 
Death. 

Prayer 

Prayer  enables  one's  own  heart  to 
receive  the  Holy  life  of  Jesus,  and  to 


gradually  imitate  it  and  become  good. 
My  prayer  must  be  in  accord  with 
right  principles,  not  my  sinful  desires, 
then  will  they  be  answered.  It  is  bet- 
ter not  to  pray  than  to  pray  only  with 
a  selfish  purpose.  I  must  pray  many 
times  a  day,  that  my  heart  shall  be  con- 
stantly learning  of  Jesus. 

Baptism 

In  baptism  the  body  is  washed  with 
clean  water  to  symbolize  the  washing 
of  the  heart  of  all  sin.  Believers  in 
Jesus  should  be  baptized  ;  it  helps  them 
to  be  His  Disciples ;  it  is  His  command. 
Baptism  cannot  take  me  to  Heaven ; 
I  must  obey  all  Plis  other  commands, 
then  shall  I  become  good  and  come  into 
God. 

Love 

We  are  created  by  God ;  He  loves 
us ;  we  should  seek  His  righteousness. 
Jesus  was  asked  if  we  should  forgive 
seven  times  and  he  said  seventy  times 
seven.  If  our  hearts  cannot  forgive, 
God  cannot  forgive  us. 


Recent  Books  of  Value 


A  History  of  the  Great  War. — 
Volume  I.  By  A.  Conan  Doyle.  It  is 
a  far  reach  from  Sherlock  Holmes, 
Detective,  to  Historian  of  the  Great 
War,  but  it  may  be  said  that  it  will 
probably  take  all  of  the  detective  pow- 
ers of  Sir  Conan  Doyle  to  find  out 
just  who  was  to  blame  for  the  present 
slaughter.  This  volume  deals  only 
with  the  events  of  1914  in  the  British 
fighting-line  in  France  and  Belgium. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  war  the 
author  has  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
various  campaigns  and  has  most  of  his 
information  first  hand.  He  has  the 
literary  genius  to  make  his  narrative 
attractive  and  interesting  as  well  as 
authoritative.  (Geo.  H.  Doran  Com- 
pany, New  York.    $2.00  net.) 

The  Enlarging  Conception  of 
God. — By  Herbert  A.  Youtz.  Serious- 
minded  people  today  who  are  giving 
thought  to  religious  problems  will  wel- 
come this  late  contribution  of  Dr. 
Youtz.  It  is  vigorous  and  vital,  and 
carries  its  message  straight  to  the 
heart.  (The  Macmillan  Company, 
New  York.     50  cents  net.) 

Paul's  Doctrine  of  Redemption. 
— By  Henry  B.  Carre.  This  study  is 
an  attempt  to  interpret  the  Apostle 
from  the  standpoint  of  his  world  phil- 
osophy.   "Man's  salvation  is  a  chapter 


of  cosmical  history,  as  it  unfolded  it- 
self to  the  dualism  of  Paul."  (Mac- 
millan &  Co.,  New  York.    50c  net.) 

It's  All  in  the  Day's  Work. — By 
Henry  Churchill  King.  The  question 
Dr.  King  here  considers  is,  "In  what 
spirit  are  we  to  take  life  and  to  face  its 
vicissitudes?"  It  is  a  book  written 
from  a  man's  point  of  view.  (Mac- 
millan &  Co.,  New  York.    50c  net.) 

Livelihood. — By  Wilfrid  W.  Gib- 
son. This  poet  has  become  recognized 
as  the  leader  of  modern  poets  of  labor. 
There  is  no  sentiment  in  his  work; 
only  realism,  but  with  the  light  of  hu- 
man sympathy  over  it  all.  Mr.  Gib- 
son won  fame  by  his  volume  issued  a 
few  years  ago,  "Daily  Bread."  (The 
Macmillan  Company,  New  York. 
$1.25.) 

The  Twentieth  Century  Story 
of  the  Christ. — "An  interweaving  of 
the  four  Gospels,"  using  the  "Twen- 
tieth Century"  translation  into  modern 
English.  The  harmony  is  arranged  by 
Henry  T.  Sell,  D.  D.  (Fleming  H. 
Revell,  New  York.    50c  net.) 

The  Land  of  the  Prophets. — By 
Albert  H.  Heusser.  The  author  of 
this  book  is  a  lecturer  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Education  of  New  York  City 
and  a  member  of  the  National  Geo- 


graphic Society.  This  is  still  another 
interesting  and  instructive  story  of 
travel  in  that  land  of  greatest  attrac- 
tiveness to  the  serious-minded.  The 
book  contains  a  wealth  of  helpful  illus- 
trations, most  of  them  from  photo- 
graphs. (T.  Y.  Crowell  Co..  New 
York.    $1.50.) 

Modern  Messages  from  Great 
Hymns.  By  Robert  E.  Smith.  This  is 
not  simply  a  series  of  stories  of  how 
the  great  hymns  came  to  be  written ; 
the  author  goes  further  and  elaborates 
the  life  messages  they  carry.  Twelve 
hymns  are  considered,  including,  of 
course,  "Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul," 
"Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,"  "Faith 
of  Our  Fathers,"  and  "Lead,  Kindly 
Light."  There  is  an  introductory 
note  by  Bishop  Bashford.  (The 
Abingdon  Press,  New  York.    $1.50.) 

A  Country  Chronicle.  By  Grant 
Showerman.  This  is  not  a  "great 
book,"  but  it  is  a  remarkable  one.  It 
is  the  story  of  a  Wisconsin  boyhood 
of  a  generation  ago  written  in  the  lan- 
guage of  a  boy  by  a  professor  of 
Latin  in  a  Wisconsin  university.  The 
illustrations  are  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  story.  If  one  wishes  to 
shuffle  off  his  adult  matter-of-factness 
and  sophistication,  here  is  the  where- 
by. (The  Century  Companv.  New 
York.     $1.50  net.) 


The    Larger    Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN    1 


■miiniiiinMiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 


English  Bishop 
Criticises  Newspapers 

The  Bishop  of  Oxford  has  lately 
indulged  in  criticism  of  the  British 
press  for  its  failure  to  represent 
public  sentiment  in  England  accu- 
rately at  the  time  of  the  German 
offer  of  peace.  The  Bishop  said: 
"The  German  proposal,  whatever 
lies  behind  it,  is  an  occasion  for  us 
to  make  evident  to  all  the  world  that 
we  have  always  desired,  and  still 
passionately  desire,  peace;  that  we 
went  to  war.  and  are  maintaining 
the  war  in  the  sacred  cause  of  lib- 
erty, and  that  as  soon  as  German 
aggressiveness  has  been  publicly 
rebuked  and  discredited,  and  ade- 
quate security  has  been  taken  for 
European  liberty  and  for  its  main- 
tenance in  the  future,  there  is  noth- 
ing Ave  desire  so  much  as  peace." 

Catholic  Laymen  Will 
Go  Into  Retreat 

The  Passionist  Fathers  will  pro- 
vide Roman  Catholic  laymen  of 
Chicago  with  the  facilities  of  their 
monastery  at  Norwood  Park,  and 
these  business  men  will  use  the 
week-end  for  special  devotions  and 
the  study  of  religion  at  the  hands 
of  great  missionaries  of  the  church. 
The  project  has  the  approval  of 
Archbishop  Mundelein. 

Slight  Increase  for 
Churches  of  America 

The  expected  spiritual  reaction 
from  the  war  has  not  yet  arrived  in 
America,  for  the  leading  denomina- 
tions last  year  had  just  about  their 
usual  gain.  The  Methodists  had 
250,000  new  members  as  their  goal 
and  actually  secured  100,000.  In 
England  there  has  been  an  actual 
loss  in  church  members,  perhaps 
partly  due  to  deaths  upon  the  field. 

Robert  E.  Speer 
Visits  Chicago 

Robert  E.  Speer,  missionary 
leader  and  secretary  of  the  Presby- 
terian board  of  foreign  missions, 
visited  Chicago  recently  and  spoke 
in  a  number  of  Presbyterian 
churches.  His  society  was  seeking 
to  raise  $200,000  in  this  city  on  a 
million  dollar  fund  authorized  by 
the  General  Assembly  for  advance 
work  and  equipment  in  the  foreign 
field.  With  him  were  a  consider- 
able company  of  missionary  secre- 
taries and  missionaries.  The  drive 
in  Chicago  met  with  success. 


-.i!,.!!:'.:;^::!,:!:,;:^:,:  ,i;  ,■::.::■,:',;,.::';.....:    ' 


pointment  of  a  commission  to  work 
to  this  end.  He  will  be  long  re- 
membered as  a  devoted  evangelical 
who  saw  in  the  Sunday  School  an 
organization  of  deep  significance  to 
the  Protestant  movement  in  re- 
ligion. 

Federal  Council  Wants 
an  Oriental  Commission 

The  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America  has 
been  taking  much  interest  in  the 
oriental  question  and  has  a  com- 
mission which  undertakes  to  influ- 
ence American  and  Asiatic  senti- 
ment in  favor  of  peace.  This  com- 
mission recently  asked  the  president 
and  the  Foreign  Relations  commit- 
tee of  the  Senate  to  appoint  a  gov- 
ernment commission  which  would 
confer  with  similar  commissions  of 
the  Orient  to  arrange  for  the  pro- 
tection of  orientals  in  the  United 
States. 

Government  Does  Not  Sanction 
Papal  Decree  on  Marriage 

The  famous  papal  "ne  temere" 
decree  with  regard  to  marriage  has 
recently  had  an  interesting  test. 
This  decree  declares  that  marriage 
other  than  at  the  hands  of  the  priest 
of  the  Roman  church  is  not  valid. 
In  the  Panama  Canal  Zone  a 
couple  were  married  by  an  Episco- 
pal clergyman,  and  after  the  cere- 
mony another  license  was  taken  out 
and  the  couple  were  married  by  a 
priest.  The  second  license  was 
issued  in  the  maiden  name  of  the 
bride.  The  priest  in  making  a  re- 
turn on  the  license  appended  a  state- 
ment of  the  Catholic  position  on 
marriage.  The  matter  was  brought 
to  the  attention  of  the  Governor  of 
the  Canal  Zone  and  he  rebuked  the 
Catholic  priest  for  his  aspersions 
on  the  Protestant  ceremony  and  re- 
minded him  that  his  position  as  a 
government  chaplain  made  it  in- 
cumbent on  him  to  show  more  re- 
spect to  the  laws  of  the  United 
States. 

Ministerial  Relief 
of  Presbyterians 

The  boards  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  charged  with  the  work  of 
Ministerial  relief  have  addressed  an 
open  letter  to  all  the  Presbyterian' 
churches  in  the  United  States  indi-: 
eating  that  the  increased  cost  o 
living  should  bring  an  increase  oi 
salary  to  the  ministers.  Thest; 
boards    state    that    their    work    is 


Episcopalian  Pension 
Fund  Grows 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  church 
has  set  out  to  raise  a  five-million-dol- 
lar pension  fund  by  March  1st.  They 
report  that  four  millions  of  dollars  are 
already  pledged,  but  many  of  the 
pledges  are  not  good  unless  the 
whole  amount  is  raised.  Bishop 
Lawrence  has  the  campaign  in  hand 
and  he  has  a  high-pressure  cam- 
paign ahead  of  him  to  reach  the  goal 
within  the  stipulated  time. 

Methodists  Make  Study 
of  City  Missions 

Dr.  M.  P.  Burns,  secretary  of  the 
department  of  cities  of  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions  and  Church  Exten- 
sion of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  spent  a  week  in  Chicago  re- 
cently. He  made  complete  tours  of 
the  downtown  and  outlying  sections 
under  the  direction  of  the  Rev.  John 
Thompson,  L.  F.  W.  Lesemann,  and 
Joseph  L.  Walker.  Several  confer- 
ences were  held  on  Chicago's  prob- 
lems with  Bishop  Nicholson  presid- 
ing at  each  conference. 

Armenian  Relief 
Continues 

The  situation  in  Armenia  con- 
tinues to  call  for  assistance,  and  it 
is  said  that  many  refugees  are  starv- 
ing in  the  Caucasus.  In  one  week 
recently  $225,000  was  cabled  for  the 
relief  fund.  One  of  the  gifts  much 
appreciated  was  $10,000  from  Nubar 
Pasha,  the  European  representative 
of  Kevork  V.  Catholicos,  Supreme 
ruler  of  the  Armenian  church.  This 
makes  a  total  of  $30,000  given  by 
Nubar  Pasha  during  the  war.  He 
has  his  headquarters  in  Paris. 

Sunday  School  Leader 
Passes  Away 

Dr.  George  W.  Bailey  was  one 
of  the  great  Sunday  School  leaders 
of  the  world,  having  been  a  presi- 
dent of  the  World's  Sunday  School 
Association.  He  died  recently  in 
the  Battle  Creek  Sanitarium.  At  the 
time  of  his  death  he  was  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  the  next  con- 
vention to  be  held  in  Tokio.  He 
originated  the  slogan,  "A  million 
nickels  from  a  million  Sunday 
School  scholars  for  a  million  testa- 
ments for  a  million  soldiers."  He 
was  interested  in  securing  a  uni- 
form usage  in  repeating  the  Lord's 
prayer  throughout  the  English 
speaking  world,  and  secured  the  ap- 


February  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


17 


made  hard  by  the  fact  that  so  many 
ministers  live  on  a  wage  that  af- 
fords bare  subsistence.  The  churches 
are  urged  to  relieve  the  pastors  from 
"temporal  worries"  and  the  need  of 
pursuing   "secular   avocations." 

Many  Clergymen  Win 
Fame  as  Novelists 

The  ministers  of  America  are  fur- 
nishing their  share  of  recruits  to  the 
literary  profession.  The  Disciple 
writers,  Harold  Bell  Wright  and 
Peter  Clark  Macfarlane,  are  well- 
known.  Basil  King,  who  scored  a 
success  in  "The  Way  Home,"  and 
who  now  has  a  story  running 
serially  in  McClure's  magazine,  is 
a  clergyman  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church.  He  was  at  one 
time  the  rector  of  Christ  Church, 
Cambridge.  He  recently  gave  a 
lecture  before  the  Woman's  Press 
Association  of  Boston  on  "Novel- 
writing  as  a  Profession."  The  Ro- 
man Catholics  take  pride  in  the 
work  of  the  Rev.  Hugh  Benson. 

President  of  China  Dissatisfied 
With  Confucianism 

The  new  President  of  China  is 
reported  to  be  dissatisfied  with  Con- 
fucianism. He  holds  that  it  makes 
an  essentially  aristocratic  order  of 
society.  He  says:  "The  principles 
of  freedom  and  equality  inculcated 
by  the  Christian  religion  are  bound 
to  prevail  in  China.  The  young 
men  and  women  in  this  land  who 
have  been  taught  these  principles 
are  to  be  depended  upon.  They 
make  good,  strong  citizens  of  the 
republic." 

Plan  to 

Utilize  Speakers 

The  Church  Federation  of  Chi- 
cago is  planning  to  utilize  the  latent 
talent  to  be  found  in  the  churches  of 
the  city.  A  bureau  of  information 
is  being  established  in  which  there 
will  be  a  list  of  the  men  of  the  city 
who  are  available  for  service  in  Sun- 
day Evening  Club  work.  Already 
a  large  list  has  been  gleaned  of  such 
talent.  The  churches  are  given  free 
use  of  the  information  which  has 
been  gotten  together. 

Seventh  Day  Adventists 
Aggressive  in  Chicago 

The  Seventh  Day  Adventists  of 
Chicago  have  leased  Willard  Hall, 
in  Woman's  Temple,  once  owned 
by  the  national  organization  of  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.  In  this  hall  the  Ad- 
ventists propose  to  bring  their  mes- 
sage to  the  more  immediate  atten- 
tion of  the  city.  The  sermon  subject 
on  the  first  Sunday  dealt  with 
prophecy,  the  topic  being,  "What 
the  Bible  Says  About  the  Turk 
Leaving    Europe." 


III!!! 


e  Sunday  Schoo 


i |i|!|j 

"But  What  Are  These? 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life" 
BY  JOHN   R.   EWERS 


f> 


"There  is  a  lad  here  who  has  five 
crackers  and  two  sardines — but  what 
are  these  among  so  many  ?"  How  hu- 
man? There  you  are.  I  would  like  to 
do  something  in  the  Sunday  School  or 
in  the  Church — but  look  at  my  meager 

preparation,   my 
miserable  limita- 


tions- 
Ido? 


-what  can 
There  is 


Rev.  John  R.  Ewers 


NOTHING  MORE 
CHRIST  -LIKE 
THAN  MAKING  A 
MAN  BELIEVE  IN 

himself!  I  am 
persuaded  that 
the  great  reason 
why  so  many 
people  drag  on  a 
colorless,  nomi- 
nal church-life 
is  because  no  one  inspires  them  to  be- 
lieve that  they  are  worthwhile,  that 
they  have  something  valuable  to  give. 
Jesus  put  Philip  to  the  test.  "How 
can  we  ever  feed  this  big  crowd?"  he 
asked.  Jesus  knew  all  the  time  what 
could  be  done,  but  he  wanted  to  de- 
velop faith  in  his  disciple.  "I  declare  I 
don't  know,"  Philip  answered,  "there 
are  five  thousand  folks  here,  the  big- 
gest crowd  I  ever  saw  at  one  of  your 
meetings  and  our  money  bag  is  about 
empty.  Why,  it  would  take  five-hun- 
dred dollars  to  feed  this  crowd !  Lord, 
I  give  it  up."  But  there  was  another 
disciple  standing  near.  He  was  think- 
ing while  Philip  was  talking.  Three 
times  this  man  appears  in  the  gospel 
narratives — and  every  time  he  brings 
someone  to  Jesus.  He  was  a  bringer. 
He  delivered  the  goods.  He  brought 
things  to  pass. 


Andrew — God  bless  him.  If  it  were 
not  for  the  Andrews  in  our  churches 
we  would  close  the  doors.  There  are 
some  problems  that  cannot  be  worked 
out  by  plain  mathematics.  How  can 
we  build  our  new  church  ?  Philip  can- 
not get  the  answer.  "It's  not  in  the 
wood,"  he  says.  How  can  we  build  up 
our  Sunday  School?  Philip  cannot 
make  it  out.  But  Andrew  can.  Ly- 
man Abbot  says,  "It  isn't  what  you  can 
do,  but  what  you  and  God,  working 
together,  can  do."    That  is  the  formula 


*The  above  article  is  based  on  the  In- 
ternational Uniform  lesson  for  March  4, 
"Tesus  Feeds  the  Five  Thousand."  Tohn 
6:1-21. 


without  which  the  answer  to  your 
problem  cannot  be  obtained.  Let  X 
equal  God.  Andrew  plus  a  boy  plus 
God  equals  success. 

"There  was  a  lad  there."  Dont 
overlook  that  boy.  The  boy  is  over- 
looked about  every  place  else.  Bob 
Burdette  used  to  tell  us  how  the  boy 
was  always  given  the  poorest  room  in 
the  house  for  his  room.  He  must  not 
scratch  the  furniture ;  he  must  not  yell ; 
he  must  not  be  noticed.  Churches  are 
built  for  pious  old-folks,  whose 
miserable  habits  are  all  formed !  There 
is  no  place  for  the  boy  except  a  cob- 
webbed  room  in  the  tower  that  cannot 
be  heated,  or  a  musty  room  in  the 
basement.  Then  you  come  to  the 
morning  service  and  the  reporter 
writes:  "NOT  a  lad  there."  Jesus 
saw  the  lad.  He  used  that  boy.  He 
made  that  boy  believe  that  he  was  the 
most  important  thing  on  the  map. 
What  a  picture — Andrew  bringing  up 
that  chap  with  his  little  lunch  rolled 
up  in  a  handkerchief — five  thousand 
hungry  folks  waiting  to  be  fed — Jesus 
smiling  on  that  boy — taking  his  lunch 
and  blessing  it  into  a  banquet ! ! ! 
"There  was  a  boy  there" — Jesus  knew 
it.  Jesus  got  along  with  boys.  Boys 
may  flee  from  the  church,  but  they 
would  like  the  real  Jesus.  There 
is  something  wrong  with  a  boy-less 
church.  The  thing  that  is  wrong  is 
that  Jesus  is  not  in  that  church. 


"But  what  are  these?"  Does  it  not 
show  how  Jesus  can  take  the  little  we 
have  and  multiply  it?  A  greater 
miracle  is  being  performed  today.  A 
man  invests  his  little  and  Jesus  multi- 
plies the  power  of  his  personality. 
Look  at  John  Mott — one  of  the 
world's  greatest  citizens — a  few  years 
ago  a  young  man  modestly  giving  his 
little  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Look  at 
Eliott  Osgood,  going  out  as  a  young 
doctor  to  China  and  God  has  given 
him  the  entire  city  of  Chu  Chow.  Not 
only  does  God  wonderfully  multiply 
a  man's  personal  power,  but  He  allows 
him  to  kindle  other  men.  The  seed 
becomes  a  tree.  What  would  happen 
if,  in  a  given  church,  each  and  every 
'  member  would  devote  what  power  was 
possessed !  Miracles  would  follow. 
Thousands  would  be  converted. 
Throngs  would  attend  Sunday  School. 
"She  hath  done  what  she  could" — 
more  than  all  the  rest  put  together. 


OBsaiiinn 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W. TAYLOR 


Marvelous  Growth 
of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

The  International  Committee  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associ- 
ation is  asking  for  a  total  of  $2,000,- 

000  for  next 
year's  running- 
expenses.  The 
growth  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  is 
one  of  the  phe- 
nomenons  of 
our  times. 
There  were 
last  year  more 
than  a  million 
and  a  half 
young  men  in 
their  Bible  classes ;  double  the  num- 
ber of  ten  years  ago.  A  round  mil- 
lion were  enrolled  in  physical  cul- 
ture classes.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  the  charge  frequently  heard  to 
the  effect  that  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  oper- 
ates more  on  the  physical  than  on 
the  spiritual  plane  is  illy  put.  Nine 
million  dollars  were  invested  in 
buildings  last  year,  and  there  is  a 
total  of  $100,000,000  in  buildings  in 
North  America  alone,  with  an  an- 
nual expenditure  of  $14,000,000. 
There  are  now  3,000  associations, 
with  new  ones  being  added  daily, 
and  it  may  be  confidently  predicted 
that  the  three-quarters  of  a  million 
membership  will  soon  reach  a  round 
million. 

The  marvelous  success  of  the  Y. 
M.  C.  A.  is  due  to  three  facts.  First, 
it  ministers  to  the  all-round  life  of 
young  manhood,  making  religion 
practical  in  its  service  to  body,  mind 
and  soul ;  second,  it  uses  social  serv- 
ice methods  and  works  seven  days 
per  week,  day  and  night;  third,  it 
unites  all  evangelistical  forces. 

One  of  the  broadest  fields  of  its 
modern  development  has  been  in 
foreign  lands.  A  striking  instance 
of  success  is  the  Shanghai  associa- 
tion, with  its  1,500  adult  and  1,200 
boy  members,  and  its  budget  of 
$100,000  a  year,  every  penny  of 
which  is  raised  in  the  city  of  Shang- 
hai. Its  foreign  work  is  not  done, 
however,  altogether  in  foreign  lands, 
for  last  year  it  reached  down  into 
the  factories  and  the  foreign  quar- 
ters and  instructed  130,000  men  in 
English,  American  citizenship  and 
evangelical  Christianity. 

Its  most  striking  piece  of  work  is 
at  present  being  done  behind  the 
battle  lines  and  in  the  camps  of  war 
prisoners  in  all  lands.  Our  country 
gave  last  year  $800,000  to  this  work 
and   opened   500  camps  for  soldiers 


and  war  prisoners  in  Europe,  and 
England  alone  contributed  $4,000,- 
000  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  "huts"  in 
France.  More  than  $1,000,000  will 
be  spent  on  this  work  the  coming- 
year,  and  the  opportunities  on 
purely  evangelistic  lines  are  without 
equal  in  our  time. 

*       :;=       * 

Increasing  Wages  and  a 
Decreasing  Wage 

The  Secretary  of  Commerce  and 
Labor  states  that  more  than  1,000,- 
000  workers  in  this  country  have 
had  their  wages  raised  from  7  to  10 
per  cent  in  the  last  two  months. 
Perhaps  5,000,000  working  men 
have  been  given  a  like  raise  since  the 
cost  of  living  began  its  rapid  ascent, 
but  there  are  30,000,000  wage  earn- 
ers in  this  country,  and  the  cost  of 
living  has  gone  up  fully  30  per  cent. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  though  the 
amount  of  the  wage  has  increased 
about  10  per  cent  for  a  large  num- 
ber of  wage  earners,  the  actual  wage 
received,  even  by  those  who  have 
been  granted  the  increases  is,  meas- 
ured by  its  buying  power,  steadily 
decreasing,  while  of  the  millions 
who  have  received  no  increase  we 
may  well  wonder  how  they  are  able 
to  live  at  all. 

%     *     * 

Japan's  Start  on 
Social  Legislation 

Japan's  new  factory  laws,  which 
prohibit  the  employing  of  children 
under  12  years  for  heavy  work,  and 
boys  under  15  and  all  women  from 
laboring  more  than  12  hours  per 
day,  have  recently  gone  into  force. 
To  the  modern  humanitarian  and 
social  worker  it  leaves  factory  con- 
ditions in  Japan  in  a  semi-barbarous 
condition  yet,  for  it  neither  prohibits 
child  labor  nor  puts  the  working  day 
on  a  really  humane  basis,  The  sig- 
nificant thing,  however,  is  that 
Japan  has  made  a  start  in  the  right 
direction.  It  will  pay  Western  in- 
dustrial factors  immensely  to  pro- 
mote that  type  of  missionary  work 
in  the  Orient  which  will  seek  to 
bring  their  social  and  industrial  con- 
ditions in  terms  of  working  day 
and  wage  more  nearly  to  the  West- 
ern standard,  for  ultimately  we 
must  meet  the  competition  of  Jap- 
anese and  Chinese  factories  with 
their  cheap  wage  scale.  Promoters 
of  missions  may  well  stand  appalled 
before  the  inhuman  conditions  that 
must  follow  the  introduction  of  a 
factory  system  in  the  Orient  on  the 
present  meager  wage  and  unlimited 


!l!l!!l!llll!l!!l!l!llll!!l!l!llll]||||!!lll!l!lll 


working  time  prevalent  in  those 
countries ;  and  if  we  are  not  humane 
and  Christian  enough  to  be  inter- 
ested in  this  viewpoint,  then  we 
should  be  interested  from  the  more 
selfish  fear  of  the  competition  be- 
tween cheap  Oriental  production 
and  that  more  expensive  Occidental 
production  which  is  made  neces- 
sary by  our  higher  standards  of  liv- 
ing. 

*  *     * 

Church  Dogma  and 
Prohibition 

The  strictly  sacramentarian  dogma 
held  by  one  or  two  ecclesiasticisms 
stands  impiously  in  the  way  of  the 
"bone  dry"  prohibition  laws  now 
being  considered  in  practically  every 
prohibition  state.  In  Arizona  the 
Catholic  archbishop  protested  to  the 
extent  of  bringing  the  whole  matter 
to  the  supreme  court,  where,  fortu- 
nately, morals  triumphed  over  his 
protest,  but  in  Kansas  the  protest  of 
this  type  of  church  (and  they  are 
not  all  Catholics  by  any  means) 
have  availed  to  bring  an  exception 
clause  into  the  "bone  dry"  bills  now 
before  the  legislature.  Could  there 
be  a  more  exasperating  type  of  ludi- 
crousness  than  that  of  a  church  be- 
ing the  only  institution  in  existence 
that  prevents  the  application  of  ab- 
solute prohibition  for  the  sake  of 
common  morals? 

*  *     * 

Vote  for  State  Control 
of  Liquor  Traffic 

The  Church  of  England  Temper- 
ance Society  had  an  all-day  debate 
not  long  ago  over  a  proposition  to 
stand  for  state  control  of  the  liquor 
traffic.  The  vote  stood  50  to  29. 
Canon  Horsley  was  the  floor  leader  in 
favor  and  Canon  Masterman  was  op- 
posed. This  proposition  means  that 
the  government  would  purchase  the 
saloons  and  run  them. 


Catholics  May  Lose 
State  Aid 

Recent  agitation  in  Chicago  has 
resulted  in  a  lawsuit  to  determine 
the  legality  of  Cook  county  paying 
money  into  Roman  Catholic  institu- 
tions for  the  education  of  children 
committed  to  these  institutions 
from  the  juvenile  court.  The  de- 
cision in  the  lower  court  is  against 
the  church.  If  this  decision  stands 
on  appeal,  the  church  will  lose  a 
total  income  of  $250,000  per  year 
which  has  been  derived  from  the 
tax-payers  of  Cook  county. 


February  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


^illllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllli 

5=3  =J 

|  Disciples  Table  Talk  | 

:;jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!iiii:iiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:!i:i:iiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiH 


First  Church,  Kansas  City, 
Installs  New  Pastor 

Through  a  bitter  storm  a  large  con- 
gregation, representing  all  Kansas  City 
Discipledom,  foregathered  at  First 
church  on  Sunday  afternoon,  Feb.  4,  to 
install  the  new  pastor,  J.  E.  Davis,  re- 
cently pastor  of  Central  church,  Spo- 
kane, Wash.  The  various  "charges" 
were  given  by  Dr.  George  H.  Combs, 
L.  J.  Marshall,  W.  F.  Richardson  (Mr. 
Davis'  predecessor),  Dr.  Burris  A.  Jen- 
kins and  Rev.  W.  S.  Abernathy  of  First 
Baptist  church,  who  spoke  on  behalf  of 
the  Union  Ministerial  Alliance  of  Kan- 
sas City.  Dr.  Davis  has  now  been  with 
his  new  work  three  Sundays  and  has 
made  a  reassuring  impression  on  his 
congregation  and  all  who  have  come  into 
contact  with  him. 

Indiana  Pastor  Ministers 
to  Railroad  Men 

New  fields  of  opportunity  are  continu- 
ally opening  up  to  the  pastor  who  is 
alert.  Huntington,  Ind.,  is  a  railroad 
town,  with  many  factories.  E.  W.  Cole 
has  ministered  to  First  church,  Hunting- 
ton, for  nine  years,  and  has  a  profound 
influence  throughout  the  town  and  com- 
munity. He  has  recognized  his  oppor- 
tunity with  the  railroad  men  of  the  town 
and  the  railway  management  has  not 
been  slow  to  appreciate  what  Mr.  Cole 
is  doing  for  the  employes.  Many  noon- 
day meetings  are  held  at  the  shops.  Re- 
cently Mr.  Cole  gave  a  series  of  talks 
at  these  meetings  on  "The  Crime  of  In- 
efficiency." The  officials  of  the  railroad, 
as  well  as  heads  of  some  of  the  fac- 
tories, are  continually  sending  to  him 
men  who  imbibe  freely,  and  the  pastor 
frequently  gives  an  hour's  time  in  con- 
ference with  them,  advising  them  as  to 
the  moral  equipment  necessary  for  their 
work.  Many  of  them  sign  the  pledge, 
and  very  often  the  officials  of  the  rail- 
road require  the  men  to  bring  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Cole  before  they  will  accept 
them  back  to  their  work. 

Roy   K.   Roadruck   to    Promote 
Sunday  Schools  in  the  Northwest 

For  three  years  Roy  K.  Roadruck  has 
served  the  Kentucky  Sunday  schools  as 
their  associate  state  evangelist,  and  from 
the  good  words  of  countless  Kentucky 
leaders  he  has  become  a  most  popular 
leader.  So  popular  has  he  become  that 
a  larger  field  has  called  him.  On  Janu- 
ary 15  he  resigned  from  the  Kentucky 
work  to  accept  the  responsibility  of  sec- 
retary of  the  Northwest  District,  com- 
prising the  states  of  Idaho,  Montana, 
Washington  and  part  of  Oregon.  Mr. 
Roadruck  was  trained  for  his  task  in  the 
University  of  Michigan  and  the  Ann 
Arbor  Bible   Chair.     He  succeeds   F.   E. 


Billington,  who  has  done  valuable  work 
in  the  difficult  Northwest  District. 

Dedication   of   Howett   Street 
Church,   Peoria 

For  many  years  the  Howett  Street 
congregation  of  Peoria,  111.,  has  been  la- 
boring in  a  small  frame  mission  build- 
ing. There  is  now  a  strong  organization, 
representing  an  active  membership  of 
290,  a  Sunday  school  which  cannot  grow 
any  larger  for  lack  of  room,  and  one  of 
the  most  efficient  women's  organizations 
in  the  state.  The  new  building,  which 
was  dedicated  on  last  Sunday  by  George 
L.  Snively,  has  a  total  seating  capacity 
of  about  1,000,  and  has  a  beautiful  audi- 
torium, a  modern  Sunday  school  plant, 
club  rooms,  dining  rooms,  etc.  The 
plant  represents  an  expenditure  of  nearly 
$35,000,  but  has  an  actual  value  of  $45,- 


000,  for  much  money  was  saved  on  the 
building  by  the  handling  of  subcontracts. 
F.  Lewis  Starbuck  is  the  present  min- 
ister, having  come  to  the  work  a  little 
over  a  year  ago.  He  is  evidently  the 
right  man  for  this  task,  as  he  has  been 
quite  successful  in  all  branches  of  the 
work. 

C.  M.  Smail  to  Study 
in   Columbia   University 

C.  M.  Smail,  who  has  resigned  from 
the  work  at  Beaver  Falls,  Pa.,  to  assume 
the  pastorate  of  the  Borough  Park 
church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  announces  that 
he  plans  to  attend  Columbia  Univer- 
sity in  a  very  short  time.  Mr.  Smail 
graduated  from  Yale  in  1010,  and  since 
then  has  served  as  pastor  at  Greens- 
burg  and  Beaver  Falls,  Pa.  For  two 
years  he  has  been  president  of  the 
Beaver  Falls  Ministerial  Association. 
During  the  three  and  one-half  years  of 
Mr.  Smail's  ministry  there  227  members 
were  added  to  the  congregation.  Dur- 
ing this  period  $3,000  was  paid  off  on  an 
indebtedness  on  the  church  building.  Mr. 
Smail   is  already  entering  upon   his   new 


mm 


warn 


|  Our  Readers'  Opinions 

liiiiiitiiiiiiiiiin 


WHY   WORRY   OVER  IT? 


Editor  The  Christian  Century  : 

A  few  weeks  ago  there  appeared  in 
the  Century  an  article  from  the  pen  of 
E.  B.  Barnes,  in  which  he  quoted  a  let- 
ter from  an  author  of  repute  who  had 
written  a  book  on  Christian  Union.  In 
his  book,  in  which  he  gave  credit  to  a 
number  of  denominations  that  had  been 
advocating  Christian  union,  no  credit  or 
even  mention  was  made  of  the  contribu- 
tion of  the  Disciples  of  Christ  to  that 
cause. 

Mr.  Barnes  is  not  the  first  of  our 
brethren  to  wonder  why  the  Disciples 
were  ignored  when  Christian  union  had 
been  our  plea  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years.  Others  have  spoken  and  written 
in  regard  to  the  matter,  but  why  should 
we  worry?  We  know  that  when  the 
union  of  all  God's  people  was  first  agi- 
tated and  a  movement  set  on  foot  for 
the  accomplishment  of  that  end,  it  was 
opposed  by  all  the  various  denomina- 
tions and  its  advocacy  ridiculed,  but 
those  who  came  out  of  the  denomina- 
tions were  not  to  be  deterred  and,  in 
spite  of  the  combined  opposition  of  the 
denominations,  continued  the  advocacy 
of  union  and  continued  to  grow  until 
they  now  number  more  than  a  million 
and  a  half  of  people. 

Christian  union,  which  a  hundred 
years  ago  was  so  unpopular,  has  become 
popular,  and  in  probably  every  denomi- 
nation there  are  many  now  advocating 
it.  Why  should  the  Disciples  of  Christ 
not  rejoice  over  the  fact?     Why  should 


they  ask  credit  for  themselves  in  bring- 
ing about  this  result?  Is  it  not  enough 
for  them  to  know  that  the  work  in 
which  they  have  been  so  long  engaged  is 
about  to  be  accomplished  and  the  prayer 
of  the  Master  answered  that  his  follow- 
ers may  all  be  one?  Let  us  give  God 
the  glory  and  press  on.  Let  us  not  be 
like  the  children  mentioned  by  our  Lord 
who  said  in  sorrow  to  their  companions: 
"We  have  piped  unto  you,  but  you  did 
not  dance."  Why  not  accept  the  situa- 
tion philosophically,  and  be  not  as  the 
seventy  who  returned  to  the  Master  re- 
porting exultingly  that  even  the  demons 
were  subject  unto  them,  but  let  us,  as  the 
Master  advised  them,  rejoice  that  our 
names  are  written  in  the   Book  of  Life. 

It  is  not  the  way  of  the  world  to  give 
credit  to  reformers  even  when  the}'  re- 
luctantly or  otherwise  adopt  their  views. 
For  nearly  fifty  years  the  Prohibition 
party  has  been  in  existence.  It  has  la- 
bored in  season  and  out  of  season  in  the 
advocacy  of  prohibition.  That  cause  is 
now  popular.  Its  advocates  are  found  in 
the  various  political  parties,  but  do  they 
give  credit  to  the  Prohibition  party  for 
their  change  in  views?  Not  at  all.  Yet 
had  it  not  been  for  the  work  of  the  Pro- 
hibition party  can  anyone  believe  the 
great  cause  would  be  so  near  accom- 
plishment? 

And  so  it  is  with  the  Disciples  of 
Christ.  They  have  consistently  advo- 
cated the  cause  of  Christian  union  for 
many  years.  It  seems  as  if  the  end  is 
near.  Let  us  rejoice  over  the  fact  and 
give   God  the   praise. 

S.   J.    Clarke. 


DON'T 

Neglect  to  read  John  R.  Ewers  this  week  on  "But  Where  Are  These?"  Mr. 
Ewers  is  writing  the  most  pungent,  practical  and  modern  treatment  of  the  Inter- 
national Uniform  Sunday  School  lessons  being  published  anywhere  today.    There 

is  no  doubt  about  it.  Your  adult  and  young  people's  class  members  should  have  The  Christian 
Century  and  this  very  unusual  weekly  article  by  Mr.  Ewers.  It  will  mark  the  beginning 
of  a  new  epoch  in  the  class.     Write  for  best  terms — Office  Manager. 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  15,  1917 


Brooklyn  work.  The  Beaver  Falls  con- 
gregation gave  a  reception  for  the  retir- 
ing pastor  and  his  wife  and  presented 
them  with  tokens  of  their  regard. 

Oklahoma  Pastor  Fights  Vice 
of  City,  Then  Resigns 

J.  C.  Burkhardt.  pastor  at  Muskogee, 
Okla..  First  church,  after  a  sensational 
sermon  denouncing  some  members  of 
the  local  congregation  as  "gamblers, 
drunkards  and  adulterers,"  tendered  his 
resignation  to  the  board,  according  to  a 
report  coming  in  an  Oklahoma  Cit}' 
newspaper. 

.  New  Jersey  Pastor  Preaches 
on  "Protestors" 

W.  M.  Haushalter,  of  Park  Avenue 
church.  East  Orange,  N.  J.,  has  been 
preaching  a  series  of  sermons  under  the 
general  theme.  "Beyond  Protestantism." 
The  following  were  the  several  themes 
discussed:  Joan  of  Arc:  The  Protest 
for  God's  Leadership.  Francis  of  As- 
sissi:  The  Protest  for  Service.  Martin 
Luther:  The  Protest  for  Righteousness. 
John  Calvin:  The  Protest  for  Truth. 
John  Wesley:  The  Protest  for  Evangel- 
ism. Ralph  Waldo  Emerson:  The  Pro- 
test for  Tolerance.  Mary  Baker  G. 
Eddy:  The  Protest  for  Healing.  Alex- 
ander Campbell:    The  Protest  for  Unity. 

Lawrence,    Kan.,    Church   Has 
'Financing  Association" 

Less  than  a  year  ago  there  was  or- 
ganized in  First  church,  Lawrence,  Kan., 
what  is  known  as  the  First  Christian 
Church  Financing  Association,  the  pur- 
pose of  which  is  to  raise  money  to  liqui- 
date a  debt  on  the  church  building  en- 
tirely apart  from  the  raising  of  funds  for 
current  expenses.  Much  of  the  indebted- 
ness has  already  been  cancelled,  and  in 
a  short  time  it  is  hoped  the  church  may 
be  entirely  free  of  debt.  Arthur  K. 
Braden  is  president  of  the  organization, 
which  held  its  annual  meeting  a  few 
evenings  ago. 

Men's  Class  Establishes 
Employment  Bureau 

The  Men's  Bible  class  of  the  church 
at  Columbia,  Mo.,  had  an  attendance  of 
138  on  a  recent  Sunday  morning,  which 
was  nothing  unusual  for  this  organiza- 
tion. A  late  move  of  the  class  is  to  estab- 
lish an  employment  bureau,  with  the 
purpose  of  securing  work  not  ony  for  mem- 
bers of  the  class,  but  also  outside  the 
class  and  throughout  the  community. 
The  bureau  will  have  its  headquarters 
in  the  law  office  of  one  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  class.  A  committee  of 
three  was  appointed  to  have  charge  of 
this  new  feature. 

Missionary  Education  for 
Christian  Endeavorers 

Each  year  a  large  number,  of  Chris- 
tion  Endeavor  societies  use  the  En- 
deavor Day  program  furnished  by  the 
Foreign  Society,  on  other  dates  in  Feb- 
ruary or  March.  Sometimes  they  have 
other  plans  for  Endeavor  Day,  yet  do 
not  want  to  miss  the  educational  value 
of  these  splendid  programs.  The  one 
this  year,  "Life  Lines  Across  the  Sea," 
is  exceptionally  fine.  The  supplies  are 
sent  free  of  charge  if  an  offering  will 
be  taken  for  the  orphanage  work  at 
Damoh,  India.  Write  S.  J.  Corey,  Box 
884,  Cincinnati,  O. 

B.  G.  Reavis  as 

Evangelist 

A.  L.  Cole,  who  is  now  serving  the 
church    at    Brookfield,    Mo.,    writes    that 


an  evangelistic  series  has  just  closed 
there,  led  in  the  preaching  by  B.  G. 
Reavis  and  in  the  singing  by  R.  W.  Pol- 
lock. Speaking  of  Mr.  Reavis,  Mr.  Cole 
says  he  is  "unconventional,  lovable,  sym- 
pathetic and  severe.  He  knows  nothing 
of  the  sectarian  vocabulary.  The  scrip- 
tures are  interpreted  in  terms  of  today's 
life."  Mr.  Pollock  is  praised  also  as  a 
chorus  leader  and  personal  worker. 
Twenty  adults  came  into  the  church  dur- 
ing the  meetings. 

Graham   Frank   Addresses 
Kansas  City  Disciples 

The  annual  banquet  of  the  joint  board 
of  the  Disciple  churches  of  Greater  Kan- 
sas City  will  be  held  on  February  16,  at 
the  Independence  Boulevard  church. 
Graham  Frank,  of  Liberty,  Mo.,  will 
make  the  address  of  the  evening.  The 
joint  board  is  made  up  of  the  pastors, 
elders  and  deacons  of  all  the  Kansas 
City  churches.  The  annual  banquet  is 
attended  by  these  officers  and  pastors 
and  their  wives.  There  is  usually  an 
attendance  of  about   500. 

Danville,  111.,  Pastor  Discusses 
Religious  Press 

B.  H.  Bruner,  pastor  at  Third  church, 
Danville,  111.,  read  a  paper  a  few  days 
ago  before  the  Danville  Ministerial  As- 
sociation on  "The  Religious  Press."  Mr. 
Bruner  stated  that:  "The  future  of  the 
religious  press  in  America  rests  with  the 
churches  themselves.  Leaders  of  the 
church  should  urge  their  friends  to  take 
more  interest  in  religious  magazines. 
The  religious  press  should  and  would 
be  one  of  the  greatest  forces  for  charac- 
ter building  in  America  if  the  church 
people  would  do  by  them  as  the  general 
public  does  in  supporting  the  newspa- 
pers, who  print  the  news  of  the  world  as 
it  happens   from  day  to  day." 


Colorado  Pastor  Leads  in  a 
Better  City  Campaign 

Interest  attendant  upon  similar  serv- 
ices recently  conducted  at  First  church, 
Loveland,  Colo.,  has  led  Pastor  J.  E. 
Lynn  to  arrange  a  second  symposium  of 
ten-minute  talks  for  Sunday  evenings 
by  prominent  citizens  on  the  general 
theme,  "A  Better  Loveland."  Topics 
considered  are  "Better  Streets,"  "Bet- 
ter Lights,"  "Better  Looking,"  "Better 
Health,"  "Better  Public  Spirit,"  all  given 
by  men  who  know.  Mr.  Lynn  is  giving 
also  on  the  same  evenings  a  series  of 
sermons  on  "A  Better  Church,"  consid- 
ering the  following  sub-topics:  "The 
Church  with  a  Social  Message,"  "The 
Church  a  Community  Force,"  "The 
Church  Conscious  of  the  Weakness  of 
Denominational  Divisions,"  "The  Church 
Praying  for  the  Union  of  God's  People," 
"The  Church  with  a  World  Conscious- 
ness." 

*     *     * 

— A.  L.  Huff,  of  Benton,  111.,  recently 
visited  Charleston,  111.,  with  a  view  to 
considering  the  pastorate  there,  recently 
made  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  J. 
McD.  Home. 

— Frank    B.    Ward,    of    Pomona,    Cal., 
has  been  chosen  director  of  religious  ed- 
ucation   at    Union    Avenue    church,    St.  \ 
Louis,  Mo. 

—J.  N.  McConnell,  of  the  McMjnn- 
ville,  Ore.,  church,  who  lay  unconscious 
for  three  weeks  with  paralysis,  is  re- 
ported better,  with  hope  for  recovery. 

— John  A.  Tate  has  been  formally  in- 
stalled as  pastor  at  South  Side  church, 
Richmond,  Va.  George  W.  Kemper, 
pastor  at  Hanover  Avenue  and  president 
of  the  Richmond  Ministerial  Union,  pre- 
sided over  the  installation  services,  which 
were  held  on  January  28.  _  Mr.  Tate  suc- 
ceeded F.  W.  Long,  who  is  now  at  Clif- 


HYMNS 


OF 
THE 


CHURCH 


OUR  LATEST  CHURCH  HYMNAL 

Edited  by  Dungan,  Philputt,  Excell  and  Hackleman 

One  Book  for  All  Purposes 

This  Hymnal  is  used  in  hundreds  of  our  large 
and  small  churches  in  lots  of  100  to  500  copies 


Athens,  Ga. 
Visalia,   Cal. 
Madisonville,  Ky. 
Sixth,   Ind'p'lis,  Ind. 
New  Castle,  Pa. 
Newport,  Ky. 
Dayton,  Wash. 
Gary,  Ind. 
Bluefield,  W.  Va. 
Rock  Island,  111. 
Fowler,  Cal. 


Third,  Ind'p'lis,  Ind. 
Seventh,  Ind'p'lis,  Ind. 
Englewood,  Ind'p'lis,  Ind. 
Macon,  Ga. 
Bristol,   Tenn. 
Cleghorn,  la. 
East  Liverpool,  O. 
Enid,  Okla. 
Mankato,  Minn. 
Mt.  Pulaski,  111. 
Lancaster,  Ky. 


Bowling  Green,  Mo. 
Walla  Walla,  Wash. 
Kentland,  Ind. 
Washburne,  111. 
Birmingham,  Ala. 
Jackson,  Miss. 
Waxahachie,  Texas. 
Sullivan,  Ind. 
Fayetteville,  Ark. 
Wellsville,  O. 
Newark,  O. 


READINGS.     352  pages. 


E.  L.  Powell's  Church  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  Uses  600  Copies ! 

Part  One  #  STANDARD  HYMNS  and  TUNES  and  RESPONSIVE 

D-    i.  Twft  •  GOSPEL  SONGS  selected  from  America's  best  writers— 
*  ****•  *WU*  kggj.  foe  world  affords.     Published  with  Part  One  Only, 
making  544  pages. 

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HACKLEMAN  MUSIC  CO. 


February  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


ton  Forge,  Va.     Mr.  Tate  is  a  Bethany 
man. 

— E.  B.  Barnes,  of  First  church,  Rich- 
mond, Ky.,  preached  on  January  28  upon 
the  topics,  "Religion  and  Money"  and 
"Religion  and  Marriage." 

— The  Christian  Endeavorers  of  First 
church,  Berkeley,  Cal.,  will  have  charge 
of  the  evening  services  there  until  a 
new  pastor  is  found  to  succeed  H.  J. 
Loken. 


iirmwAni/  A  Church  Home  for  You. 

NFW  YllRK  Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
hi. if  i  uiii\  142  Wegt  81gt  gt ^  N  Y 


— First  church,  Wellington,  Kan.,  held 
a  special  Lincoln  service  on  last  Sun- 
day morning,  with  the  local  G.  A.  R.  and 
Woman's  Relief  Corps  organizations 
present  in  a  body.  H.  W.  Hunter,  the 
pastor,  preached  a  special  sermon. 

— Roy  E.  Deadman  reports  that  one- 
fifth  of  the  receipts  of  the  church  at 
Auburn,  Neb.,  last  year  were  contributed 
to  missions.  The  missionary  offerings 
amounted  to  $800.  Mr.  Deadman  re- 
cently dedicated  a  church  at  Guide  Rock, 
Neb. 

— W.  C.  Macdougall,  of  the  Wauke- 
gan,  111.,  church,  reports  fourteen  acces- 
sions to  the  membership  there  since  last 
report. 

— L.  E.  Brown,  of  Connersville,  Ind., 
church,  has  been  holding  a  series  of 
meetings  at  Englewood,  Indianapolis,  as- 
sisting E.  E.  Moorman,  pastor. 

— W.  E.  Sweeney,  of  First  church,  Ev- 
ansville,  Ind.,  has  received  a  call  to  Bir- 
mingham, Ala.,  but  at  last  report  had 
made  no  decision  as  to  a  change  of  field. 

— J.  H.  O.  Smith,  of  Metropolitan 
church,  Chicago,  spoke  at  the  Central 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  of  the  city  on  last  Sunday 
afternon,  discussing  the  topic,  "Christ's 
Way  of  Winning  Men." 

— First  church,  Ralston,  Okla.,  has  just 
dedicated  what  is  said  to  be  the  finest 
church  building  in  the  county.  It  is 
of  native  sandstone.  Lots  have  also  been 
purchased  for  a  parsonage. 

— Liberty,  Mo.,  congregation  recently 
had  as  guests  E.  E.  Violett  and  C.  C. 
Morrison. 

— C.  F.  Pickett,  a  graduate  of  Bethany 
college,  and  more  recently  of  the  Yale 
School  of  Religion,  has  been  appointed 
to  the  state  Bible  school  superintend- 
ency  of  Georgia. 

— This    week    is    being-    held    in    Little 


Rock,  Ark.,  a  school  of  methods,  in 
which  the  workers  are  the  secretaries  of 
the  national  organization  and  also  Clif- 
ford S.  Weaver  and  S.  W.  Hutton,  of 
Texas.  The  school  is  in  session  at  First 
church,  to  which  B.  F.  Cato  ministers. 

— Frank  Lowe,  Jr.,  field  secretary  of 
the  national  Christian  Endeavor  organ- 
ization, was  the  principal  speaker  at  a 
three-day  conference  on  evangelism  held 
in  St.  Louis  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  local  union. 

— N.  S.  Haynes,  pioneer  Illinois  Dis- 
ciple leader,  is  reported  as  having  re- 
covered from  the  cerebral  congestion  of 
the  blood  vessels  which  laid  him  low  a 
few  weeks  ago,  but  he  is  now  suffering 
from  neuritis  and  is  in  pain  much  of 
the  time. 

— The  young  men  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Bible  class  of  First  church,  Lincoln, 
Neb.,  will  have  charge  of  the  evening 
service  at  First  church  on  February  21. 

— Lawrence  Dry,  assistant  pastor  at 
First  church,  Lincoln,  Neb.,  was  the 
speaker  at  a  union  Christian  Endeavor 
service  at  Crete,  Neb.,  during  Christian 
Endeavor  week,  early  this  month.  Mr. 
Dry  also  had  charge  on  Christian  En- 
deavor day  at  First  church,  Lincoln. 
This  was  made  a  day  of  decision  for 
the  young  people  of  the  church. 

— There  are  now  ninety-five  tithers  in 
the  Marshall,  Tex.,  church,  to  which  G. 
F.  Bradford  ministers.  This  is  about  31 
per  cent  of  the  entire  membership. 

— The  Texas  School  of  Methods  will 
be  held  at  Central  church,  Waco,  Tex., 
February  19-23.  F.  N.  Calvin  leads  in 
the  work  at  Central. 

— Ernest  C.  Mobley,  of  Amarillo,  Tex., 
gave  an  address  at  a  men's  banquet  at 
First  church,  Quanah,  Tex.,  speaking  on 
the  topic,  "Man's  Part  in  the  Master's 
Plans." 

— O.  F.  Jordan,  of  Evanston  church, 
Chicago,  gave  his  lecture,  "The  Soul  of 
a  Boy,"  before  the  Twentieth  Century 
Club  of  Evanston  on  February  5,  and 
received  prominent  notice  of  his  talk  in 
the  town's  leading  newspaper.  Mr.  Jor- 
dan will  also  give  this  lecture  before  a 
number  of  parents'  associations  of  the 
public  schools.  He  lectured  on  Thurs- 
day night  of  last  week  in  his  former 
parish,  Rockford,  111.,  speaking  at  a 
men's  banquet  on  the  theme,  "Men  and 
Religion." 

— Howett  Street  church,  Peoria,  boasts 
a  "Thousand  Dollar  Team"  of  men  which 
saved  the  church  there  over  a  thousand 
dollars  by  themselves  installing  the  fur- 


nace in  the  new  building,  putting  on  the 
roof  and  donating  sheet  metal  for  the 
work. 

— Win.  Ross  Lloyd  visited  the  church 
at  Russellville,  Ky.,  last  Sunday,  with  a 
view  to  considering  the  work  there. 

— The  Eureka  College  glee  club  has 
just  completed  a  short  tour,  visiting  the 
following  places:  Magnolia,  Gridley, 
Fairbury,  Watseka  and  Chicago. 

— W.  T.  Brooks  and  Frank  McDonald 
are  holding  a  remarkably  successful 
meeting  at  First  church,  Vincennes,  Ind., 
where  E.  F.  Daugherty  ministers. 

— The  church  news  committee  of  the 
Waukegan,  111.,  church  reports  that  the 
leadership  of  W.  C.  Macdougall  there  is 
very  fruitful  of  results.  One  of  the  best 
of  these  results  is  "a  new  spirit  through- 
out the  entire  congregation."  A  $1,000 
church  mortgage  was  recently  burned, 
over  $2,500  was  raised  for  various  pur- 
poses, and  many  improvements  on  the 
building  and  equipment  are  being  made. 
The  congregation  is  noticeably  taking 
a  larger  part  in  the  work  of  the  com- 
munity. 


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let*  than  forty  per  cent  of  new  parti. 
Send  any  amount  you  can  tpare.  from  $1.00  up,  at  a  firtt  payment,  and  pay  the  balance 
$5.00  monthly.  5  per  cent  discount  for  all  cath.  Purchaser  mu»t  pay  transportation.  If  $10.00 
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■>■> 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


February  15,  1917 


A  Day's  Income  for  Foreign  Missions 

It  Is  Proposed 

To  add  $50,000  to  the  gifts  for  the  work  of  the  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society. 

This   is   to   be   a   self-denial  offering    in   addition   to   the   regular  offering   for  Foreign 

Missions. 

This  is  absolutely  necessary  if  the  work  of  our  missionaries  is  to  be  advanced. 

The  Plan 

To  have  each  person  interested  in  Foreign  Missions  give  at  least  one  day's  income  or 
wage   in  addition   to  all   regular  missionary   giving. 

The  Seasons 

1.     The  work  of  the  Foreign  Society  has  grown  far  beyond  the  regular  income. 

..      The  missionaries  in  all  fields  have  asked  for  $50,000  additional  for  greatly  needed 

things.    These  most  necessary  requests  cannot  be  granted  from  the  regular  income. 
3.     When  our  workers  have  created  the  wonderful  opportunities   to  advance,  can  we 

say  to  them,   "no,  dollars  and  cents  are  in  the  way?" 


How  Done 
1. 


3. 


People  will  be  enlisted  for  this  self-denial  offering  of  A  Bay's  Income  by  personal 

announcement,  appeal,  by  pastors  and  leaders  and  through  printed  appeals. 

Each    personal    gift   will   be   applied   on    the   offering   for   Foreign    Missions   of   the 

church  to  which  the  donor  belongs. 

These  gifts  should  be  thank  offerings  in  addition   to  the  regular  offerings  of  the 

nprmlp 


people. 


The  Missionaries  are  holding1  the  trenches. 

Who  can  withhold  a  Day's  Wage  from  these  representatives  at  the  front? 
Add  your  day's  wage  to  the  Poreign  Offering  of  your  church. 
Remember  the  offering  for  Foreign  Missions  March  4th. 

F.    M.    RAINS, 
STEPHEN    J.    COREY, 
Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Secretaries. 


New  Plan  for  Illinois  Work 


[The  State  Board  of  the  Illinois  Chris- 
tian Missionary  Society  met  at  the  office 
in  Bloomington  Feb.  6.  A  number  of 
items  of  special  interest  were  discussed, 
but  chief  among  them  was  the  new  plan 
of  state  and  district  work.  This  matter 
is  of  such  vital  concern  to  the  100,000 
Disciples  of  Illinois  that  we  feel  it 
should  have  the  place  of  a  news  letter  in 
this  issue.  We  invite  the  frankest  dis- 
cussion and  the  most  earnest  coopera- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  brethren.  We 
make  no  argument  in  favor  of  the  plan, 
but  are  content  merely  to  state  it.  It 
represents  the  best  we  can  do  in  an  ef- 
fort to  put  our  state  work  on  a  better 
basis.— H.  H.   P.] 

A  Plan  of  State  and  District  Work 

At  a  meeting  of  the  state  board  held 
during  the  state  convention  last  year  in 
Peoria,  a  special  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  consider  a  new  plan  of  state 
and  district  work.  That  committee  con- 
sisted of  the  following  brethren:  Dis- 
trict Secretaries  C.  C.  French,  Adam  K. 
Adcock  and  C.  C.  Carpenter;  S.  H. 
Zendt.  chairman  of  the  state  board;  Wal- 
ter S.  Rounds,  secretary  of  the  state 
board;  and  State  Secretary  H.  H.  Peters. 

The  special  committee  met  in  Bloom- 
ington  Sept.  28,  1916,  and  drew  up  a 
program  of  procedure.  This  was  ap- 
proved by  the  state  board  at  its  regular 
meeting  Nov.  8,  1016,  and  is  herewith 
submitted  to  the  brotherhood  in  Illinois: 

1.  In  order  to  a  more  systematic  and 
effective  prosecution  of  the  missionary 
work  of  the  state  a  new  district  method 
of  organization  is  proposed.  The  pres- 
ent district  groupings  shall  be  aban- 
doned, and  the  present  district  organiza- 
tion shall  cease  to  be,  upon  the  adoption 
of  the  new  method  of  organization.  The 
state  shall  be  divided  into  five  districts, 
exclusive  of  Chicago,  which  shall  be  a 
district  of  itself.  This  latter  district  shall 
conduct  its  missionary  work  independ- 
ently of  the  state  board,  though  in  all 
matters  of  fellowship  it  shall  be  consid- 
ered an  integral  part  of  the  Illinois 
Christian  Missionary  Society. 

2.  Each  of  these  five  districts  shall 
hold    an    annual    convention,    at    which 


there  shall  be  elected  a  president,  vice- 
president  and  secretary-treasurer.  The 
five  district  secretary-treasurers  thus 
elected,  together  with  the  secretary  of 
the  Chicago  Christian  Missionary  So- 
ciety, shall  be,  by  virtue  of  their  office, 
members  of  the  state  board  of  the  Illi- 
nois Christian  Missionary  Society. 

3.  A  district  evangelist  shall  be  ap- 
pointed to  serve  in  each  of  the  five  dis- 
tricts of  the  state.  The  work  of  the 
district  evangelists  shall  be  to  aid  weak 
churches,  to  restore  dead  churches,  to 
organize  new  churches,  to  bring  together 
groups  of  churches  for  ministerial  sup- 
port, to  enlist  churches  for  missionary 
giving  and  in  general  to  aid  the  churches 
in  achieving  greater  usefulness. 

4.  These  district  evangelists,  together 
with  all  paid  workers  in  state  or  district 
work,  including  all  Bible  School,  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  and  similar  church  activ- 
ities, shall  be  appointed  by  and  shall  be 
responsible  to  the  state  board  of  the 
Illinois     Christian     Missionary     Society. 

5.  All  money  raised  for  state  and  dis- 
trict work,  including  Bible  School,  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  and  all  similar  state  and 
district  activities,  shall  pass  through  the 
state  treasury  and  credit  shall  be  given 
only  for  funds  thus  received.  All  work- 
ers in  state  and  district  work,  includ- 
ing Bible  School,  Christian  Endeavor 
and  all  similar  state  and  district  activi- 
ties shall  be  paid  from  the  state  treas- 
ury. The  districts  shall  not  maintain 
separate  treasuries.  The  expense  for 
district  conventions  and  similar  purposes 
shall  be  paid  from  the  state  treasury,  and 
money  raised  for  district  conventions  and 
similar  purposes  shall  be  sent  to  the 
state  treasury. 

G.  The  matter  of  living  links  shall  be 
left  with  the  state  secretary  and  a  spe- 
cial effort  shall  be  made  to  secure  living 
link  connections  for  mission  churches  as 
they  are  established.  In  this  manner  it 
is  the  hope  that  we  may  perpetuate  the 
work  we  thus  establish. 

7.  The  grouping  of  counties  into  dis- 
tricts shall  be  as  follows: 

Southern — Alexander,  Pulaski,  Massac, 


Hardin,  Pope,  Johnson,  Union,  Gallatin, 
Saline,  Williamson,  Jackson,  White, 
Hamilton,  Franklin,  Perry,  Randolph, 
Wabash,  Edwards,  Wayne,  Jefferson, 
Washington,  St.  Clair,  Monroe,  Law- 
rence, Richland,  Clay,  Marion,  Clinton, 
Madison. 

East  Central — Crawford,  Jasper,  Ef- 
fingham, Fayette,  Bond,  Clark,  Cumber- 
land, Shelby,  Christian,  Montgomery, 
Edgar,  Coles,  Douglas,  Piatt,  Moultrie, 
DeWitt,  Macon. 

West  Central — Macoupin,  Jersey,  CaM 
houn,  Greene,  Sangamon,  Morgan,  Scott, 
Pike,     Logan,     Menard,     Cass,     Brown, 
Schuyler,  Adams,  Mason,  Tazewell,  Ful- 
ton, McDonough,  Hancock. 

Northeastern — Varmilion,  Champaign, 
McLean,  Livingston,  Ford,  Iroquois, 
Kankakee,  Grundy,  La  Salle,  Kendall, 
Will,  DuPage,  Kane,  Lake,  DeKalb,  Mc- 
Henry,  Boone. 

Northwestern  —  Woodford,  Peoria, 
Knox,  Warren,  Henderson,  Stark,  Mar- 
shall, Mercer,  Putnam,  Bureau,  Henry, 
Rock  Island,  Lee,  Whiteside,  Ogle,  Car- 
roll, Winnebago,  Stephenson,  Jo  Daviess, 

Chicago — The  territory  covered  by  the 
Chicago  Christian  Missionary  Society. 

8.  In  making  the  transition  from  the 
present  method  of  organization  to  the 
new  the  following  method  of  procedure 
shall  be  followed: 

1.  The  state  secretary  shall  present 
the  new  plan  of  organization  to  each 
district  convention  in  the  spring  of  1917 
for  ratification.  Upon  ratification  the 
various  districts  shall  vote  to  dissolve 
their  organizations  on  Sept.  30,  1917. 

2.  The  state  secretary  shall  then  pre- 
sent the  new  plan  of  organization  to  the 
state  convention  in  September,  1917,  for 
ratification. 

3.  Upon  ratification  the  new  method 
of  organization  shall  become  operative 
Oct.  1,  1917. 

4.  The  state  board  shall  then,  at  the 
close  of  the  state  convention  in  1917,  and 
before  Oct.  1,  1917,  appoint  district  ofs 
ficers,  namely,  a  president,  vice-president 
and  secretary-treasurer,  for  each  of  the 
five  districts  in  the  state,  to  serve  until 
the  district  conventions  meet  in  1918, 
when  the  districts  shall  choose  their  own 
officers.  H.  H.  Peters, 

State  Secretary. 


iiiiiiiiiiiii;ii!iilii!!iii!iiiii; 


Here  is  the  only  book  that  tells  the  story  of  the 
Disciples  movement  from  first-hand  observation. 
Dr.  W.  T.  Moore  is  fjbr«^ly  man  now  living  who 
could  perform  this  task,  and  Dr.  Moore  has  told  his 
story  in  his 

"Comprehensive  History 
of  The  Disciples  of  Christ' ' 

You  cannot  afford  to  let  this  opportunity  slip  to  se- 
cure this  book  for  your  library  at  practically  half  price! 

This  is  a  sumptuous  volume  of  700  pages,  beauti- 
fully printed  and  bound.  The  pictures  themselves 
are  more  than  worth  the  price  of  the  book.  Here 
is  a  real  portrait  gallery  of  the  men  who  have  made 
the  Disciples  movement,  from  the  earliest  days  to 
the  present  living  minute. 

Here  is  the  Extraordinary  Proposition 
We  are  Making  on  the  Few  Copies 
of  the   Book  Now    Remaining 

Send  us  only  $2.50  and  we  will  mail  you,  post- 
paid, a  copy  of  the  $4.00  Cloth  Edition.  If  you 
wish  the  half  morocco  (originally   sold  at    $5.00) 

send  us  $3.50.  The  full 
morocco  (originally  sell- 
ing at  $6.00)  will  be 
sent  you  for  $4.00. 


9iMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiriiiHiiiriiitiiiiiiniiiiiiiiifiiiiiuiiiMUiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiniHnini[HHiiiiiiiinL 

5  - 

-  § 

I  This  Book  Takes  I 

1  i 

I  Its  Place  Among  | 

the  Historical 

I  Treasures  of  the  \ 
1          Disciples 


niiifiiiiHtiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiitiiiiHiiniiiiuiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiririiiiriiiiiMiiiiiiiriiiiiiiinuniruiiu 


Disciples  Publication 

Society,  700  E.40thSt, 

Chicago,    111. 


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THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  PRESS 


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Vol.  XXXIV 


February  22,  1917 


Number  8 


Our  Religion  Does 
Not  Face  Defeat! 

Editorial 

The  United  States 
On  Trial 

By  Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones 


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CHICAGO 


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THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  22,  1917 


Just  From  The  Press 


Dr.  Burris  A.  Jenkins'  Popular  Volume 

"The  Man  in  the  Street 
and  Religion" 

A   book   containing  the  Kansas    City  preacher's  message  and   his 
personal  philosophy  of  life. 


One  of  the  livest  and  most  readable 
statements  of  modern  faith  which  the  New 
Year  will  bring  forth.  The  following  ex- 
tract from  the  first  chapter  suggests  the 
point  of  view  and  atmosphere  of  this 
fascinating  book: 

"To  look  upon  the  seething  mass  of  men  in  the 
city  streets,  or  on  the  country  side,  the  navvy  in 
the  ditch  or  on  the  right-of-way,  the  chauffeur 
and  the  engine  man,  the  plumber  and  the  pluto- 
crat, the  man  with  the  hoe  and  the  man  with  the 
quirt,  the  clerk  and  the  architect,  the  child  of  the 
silver  spoon  and  the  child  of  the  rookery,  and  to 
declare  that  all  alike  are  religious,  naturally  re- 
ligious, seems  a  daring  stand  to  take.  But  that 
is  the  precise  position  to  which  we  are  beginning 
to  come." 


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PUBLISHED    WEEKLY    BY   THE    DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE    INTEREST    OF    THE    KINGDOM     OF    GOD 


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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS, 


700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


n.     .  -  The   Disciples  Publica- 

IMSCipiGS  tion   Society   is   an  or- 

Publication   s*ni?ation  *hroru8h 

e>~_:>4..  which  churches  of  the 

iOCiety  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples #  organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *    •    ♦ 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  v/ith  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as_  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
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The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
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ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
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desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

Dear  Friends: — I  believe  in  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  The  Christian  Century  and  wish  to  be  numbered  among 
those  who  are  supporting  your  work  in  a  substantial  way  by  their  gifts. 


Enclosed  please  find 


Name... 
Address. 


"THE  MEANING   OF  BAPTISM" 

By  CHARLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  Editor  of  "The  Christian  Century" 

4  'This  is  probably  the  most  important  book  in  English  on  the  place  of  baptism  in 
Christianity  written  since  Mozley  published  his  'Baptismal  Regeneration'  in  1856" 

That  ia  what  the  New  York  Christian  Advocate  says  of  this  remarkable  volume 


Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty  (Christian  Denomination): 
"Mr.  Morrison  is  leading  a  movement  for  larger  liberty  in 
matters  of  opinion  among  the  people  of  God." 

The  Advance  (Congregationalist):  "We  believe  the 
position  herein  advocated  is  one  that  the  Disciples  will  be 
driven  ultimately  to  adopt." 

The  Christian  Union  Quarterly  (Disciple) :  "The  author 
has  a  brilliant  style  and  thinks  along  ingenious  and  fas- 
cinating lines." 

The  Religious  Telescope  (United  Brethren):  "The 
significance  of  this  work  is  new  and  remarkable.  It  may 
help  the  immersionists  and  affusionists  to  get  together, 
which  would  be  a  great  achievement." 

Central  Christian  Advocate  (Methodist) :  "A  profound 
scholar,  a  deeply  spiritual  follower  of  the  Master,  a  man 
among  men,  something  of  a  mystic,  we  could  well  believe 
that  if  any  person  could  show  the  way  to  Christian  unity, 
Charles  Clayton  Morrison  belongs  to  the  select  few." 

The  Presbyterian  Advance:  "The  editor  of  this  paper 
welcomes  the  appearance  of  this  volume,  for  it  enables  him 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  to  answer  a  question  which  has 
often  been  asked  of  him  by  correspondents  and  readers — 
'What  is  the  best  book  on  baptism?'" 


The  Christian  Intelligencer  (Reformed) :  "The  argu- 
ment seems  logical  and  the  spirit  of  the  writer  is  certainly 
as  gentle  in  statement  as  it  is  urgent  in  appeal." 

The  Continent  (Presbyterian) :  "It  required  courage 
to  publish  this  book.  It  is  by  a  minister  of  the  Disciples 
church,  which  has  been  peculiarly  strenuous  in  behalf  of 
the  scriptural  necessity  of  immersion,  and  he  writes  that 
'the  effect  of  our  study  is  absolutely  to  break  down  the 
notion  that  any  divine  authority  whatsoever  stands  behind 
the  practice  of  immersion.'  " 

The  Congregationalist:  A  daring  and  splendidly  Chris- 
tian piece  of  work." 

The  Homiletic  Review:  "The  spirit  of  the  book  is  de- 
lightful and  raises  new  hopes  where  none  had  seemed  pos- 
sible." 

The  Churchman  (Episcopal) :  "An  interesting  sum- 
mary of  the  topic,  especially  as  it  is  related  to  the  history 
of  modern  sectarianism." 

Baptist  Standard  (Dallas,  Tex.):  "This  is  a  very  in- 
teresting work;  as  much  so  as  any  volume  of  fiction  we 
have  read  this  year!" 

The  Christian  Endeavor  World:  "A  thorough  treatise 
from  the  immersion  point  of  view,  but  building  a  bridge 
toward  the  affusionist  view." 


Every  member  of   the   Disciples'  fellowship  should  own  this  book 
which  is  stirring  the  denominations.    Price,  $1.35  per  copy,  postpaid 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY    -     -    700  East  Fortieth  Street 


CHICAGO,  ILL. 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  February  22,  1917 


Help  Little  February! 


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But  with  a  very  little  help  it  may  do  so !  Today,  the 
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P.  S.     After  March  1 ,  the  price  of  The  Christian  Century 
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hristian  Century 


CHABI.ES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT    It.    "WTU.ETT,     CONTETBUTINO    EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


FEBRUARY  22,  1917 


Number  8 


Christianity's  Opportunity 


OUR  RELIGION  DOES  NOT  FACE  DEFEAT. 

The  war  is,  of  course,  a  violent  antithesis  to  the 
things  for  which  Christians  stand.  The  slaughter  of 
millions,  the  economic  waste,  the  deepening  of  hatreds 
are  all  hateful  in  the  sight  of  God  and  are  deplored  by- 
Christian  people  everywhere. 

These  things,  however,  give  an  added  significance 
to  the  missionary  propaganda.  It  is  no  accident  that 
the  missionary  work  of  the  world  has  gone  on  even 
faster  by  reason  of  the  world's  trouble.  The  work  of 
missions  is  organized  international  good-will.  It  is  a 
moral  substitute  for  war,  engaging  the  heroism  of  our 
young  people  and  diverting  the  human  instinct  of  con- 
quest and  turning  it  to  a  constructive  treatment  of 
world  problems. 

It  is  in  the  midst  of  the  war  conditions  that  great 
changes  have  taken  place  in  the  world  which  afford 
the  Christian  propaganda  new  opportunities  of  victory. 

•     • 

Perhaps  the  most  astonishing  of  all  situations  is 
that  which  has  come  in  the  Moslem  world.  During  the 
past  century,  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  spent  much  effort  in 
creating  and  fostering  a  Pan-Islamic  feeling  among 
230,000,000  adherents  of  that  faith.  It  was  believed 
by  many  that  the  Sultan  could  order  a  holy  war  that 
would  fill  the  world  with  the  strife  of  a  new  religious 
war. 

Instead  of  that,  the  authority  of  the  Sultan  has 
been  repudiated  by  nation  after  nation  of  Moslems. 
Moslem  fights  against  Moslem  in  the  present  world 
war  no  less  truly  than  Christian  against  Christian.  The 
Arab  has  declared  his  independence  of  the  Sultan  and 
taken  possession  of  the  holy  places  of  the  faith  in 
Arabia.  The  religious  leadership  of  Turkey  among 
the  Moslems  has  passed.  At  the  same  time,  new  ques- 
tionings have  arisen  among  the  intelligent  Moslems  of 
the  world.  Their  dream  of  a  great  Mohammedan  theoc- 
racy has  vanished.  With  this  ended,  the  ethical  and 
social  ideals  of  Christianity  are  making  their  appeal  with 
great  power. 

South  America  has  recently  come  into  the  focus  of 
the  world  vision.  She  is  no  longer  the  forgotten  conti- 
nent. The  war  is  bringing  into  relief  the  fact  that  it  is 
foolish  for  the  people  of  the  world  to  fight  for  the 
chance  to  overpopulate  Europe  when  a  great  continent 
of  undeveloped  resources  lies  at  hand  for  development. 
After  the  war  there  will  flow  into  South  America  a 
great  stream  of  immigration. 

The  spiritual  poverty  of  the  religion  of  South 
America  will  be  remedied  by  the  presence  of  an  active 
and  resourceful  Protestantism  entering  the  field.  The 
atheists  and  agnostics  of  the  universities  will  be  given 
an  understanding  of  a  type  of  Christianity  not  incon- 
sistent with  their  scientific  ideas  and  their  philosophical 
beliefs. 


In  Japan,  it  is  clear  that  the  issue  now  is  Christi- 
anity, or  no  religion  at  all.  In  the  Imperial  University 
of  Tokyo,  of  five  thousand  students,  eight  were  re- 
ported as  Shintoists,  fifty  as  Buddhists,  sixty  as  Chris- 
tians, 1,500  as  atheists  and  3,000  as  agnostics.  This 
shows  that  the  country  will  not  remain  loyal  to  the  old 
religion.  It  may  try  for  a  time  the  exceedingly  dan- 
gerous experiment  of  being  a  people  without  a  faith 
in  Deity. 

High  in  government  circles  and  among  the  edu- 
cated leaders  of  the  country  stand  the  native  Christians. 
Though  relatively  few  in  numbers,  these  men  possess 
influence  far  beyond  their  numerical  strength.  They 
are  the  only  men  in  all  Japan  who  have  well  organized 
ideas  for  the  reconstruction  of  Japan  into  a  thoroughly 
modern  nation. 

China  is  a  particularly  fertile  field  for  the  mission- 
aries of  the  United  States.  The  magnanimous  treat- 
ment accorded  this  nation  by  our  own  has  resulted  in 
a  deep-lying  friendship  for  us  in  China.  This  is  a  cir- 
cumstance that  is  of  God.  If  Japan  now  leads  the 
Orient,  in  the  end  it  will  likely  be  China.  She  has  the 
population.  She  has  many  national  traits  that  fit  her 
for  the  position  of  a  world  power.  If  the  individualism 
of  the  Chinese  could  be  tempered  with  the  sense  of 
social  responsibility,  which  is  the  spirit  of  Christianity, 
we  should  have  a  nation  equipped  for  the  great  work 
she  has  before  her. 

With  the  destruction  of  the  ancient  classics  as  the 
basis  of  government  preferment  and  the  coming  in  of 
modern  education,  the  inertia  of  the  Chinaman  is 
broken  down.  He  is  now  in  the  most  impressionable 
stage  of  his  entire  history.  He  waits  upon  the  ministry 
of  the  missionary  to  become  a  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Nothing  more  archaic  and  incompatible  with  the 
modern  spirit  could  be  imagined  than  the  social  struc- 
ture in  India.  Science  and  democracy,  those  powerful 
twin  forces  that  have  wrought  in  Christendom  so  pow- 
erfully, will  work  even  more  striking  changes  in  India. 

•     • 

The  world  has  grown  to  be  very  small.  Lincoln 
said  that  our  nation  could  not  endure  half  slave,  half 
free.  There  is  a  deeper  sense  in  which  we  can  insist 
that  the  world  cannot  go  on  half  Christian  and  half 
pagan.  Modern  communication  and  means  of  travel 
have  brought  all  sections  of  the  world  into  daily  com- 
munication. We  will  have,  after  awhile,  a  universal 
culture.  In  those  days  we  shall  also  have  a  catholic 
religion,  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  freed  both  from 
Romish  excrescences  and  Protestant  sectarianism. 

It  is  in  the  midst  of  a  world  situation  like  this  that 
the  Disciples  of  Christ  take  their  missionary  offering 
this  year.  The  facts  should  bring  a  mighty  response 
from  our  people,  who  live  now  in  the  richest  nation 
in  all  the  world. 


EDITORIAL 


GETTING  INTERESTED  IN  THE  BIBLE 

IT  WAS  one  of  the  paradoxical  statements  of  the  late 
President  Harper  that  the  Bible  is  the  best  known  and 
the  least  known  of  all  books.  It  is  the  best  known 
because  nearly  everybody  has  a  copy.  It  is  the  least 
known  because  so  few  read  it  and  fewer  still  know  what 
it  means. 

Many  of  us  have  found,  when  we  have  undertaken 
to  interest  people  in  the  Bible,  that  the  road  was  a  diffi- 
cult one.  We  were  met  with  evasions  and  excuses  when 
it  was  proposed  to  study  the  Bible  systematically.  There 
must  be  a  reason  why  the  Bible  should  be  at  once  the  fun- 
damental book  in  Christendom,  and  yet  be  a  book  which 
is  neglected  by  so  many. 

We  think  we  find  that  reason  partly  in  the  failure 
to  let  the  book  tell  its  own  story.  A  great  many  people 
have  come  to  the  Bible  seeking  reinforcement  for  their 
religious  views.  A  formidable  text  satisfied  them  that 
they  need  look  no  further. 

There  are  great  numbers  of  people,  too,  who  have 
undertaken  to  understand  an  ancient  literature  without 
taking  the  trouble  to  study  the  environment  in  which  its 
characters  lived.  Much  light  is  being  shed  upon  holy 
scripture  these  days  by  modern  research  in  archaeology 
and  history.  The  best  commentators  know  how  to  bring 
us  this  help  in  the  most  usable  form. 

The  Bible  needs  to  be  read  from  the  viewpoint  of 
our  natural  interests.  It  is  a  great  literature  adapted  to 
all  stages  of  human  life,  but  certain  parts  meet  special 
needs.  The  children  will  find  their  hero  stories,  the  young 
man  his  ideals,  the  mature  man  his  thoughtful  sections  and 
the  old  man  his  hopes.  The  wise  guide  to  those  who  would 
know  the  Bible  will  help  them  to  find  the  literature  which 
they  need  for  their  personal  use. 

The  Bible  is  a  book  with  a  point  of  contact  with 
modern  life.  It  discusses  many  problems  that  are  funda- 
mental to  us  today.  The  wise  teacher  will  know  how  to 
point  all  of  this  out  as  he  goes  along. 

When  the  Bible  is  rightly  presented  it  is  the  most 
interesting  of  all  books. 

THE  LAYMAN'S  PLACE  IN  THE  CHURCH 

THE  clergy  and  the  laity  are  not  sharply  distinguished 
among  the  Disciples,  with  their  democratic  concep- 
tions of  religion.  Yet  the  difference  in  function 
between  the  specialist  in  church  work,  such  as  the  min- 
ister is  and  the  layman  who  works  in  the  church  on 
occasion,  is  not  to  be  ignored. 

First  of  all,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  modern  church 
could  not  exist  without  the  lay  worker.  A  vast  body  of 
activities  depend  upon  a  form  of  volunteer  service  which 
cannot  be  superseded  with  talent  which  is  employed  for 
money.  When  we  think  of  the  labors  of  women's  soci- 
eties, Sunday  school  teachers,  official  boards  and  all  the 
rest,  this  becomes  quite  obvious. 

While  this  is  all  so  apparent,  yet  there  are  many  lay- 
men in  these  days  who  carry  heavy  burdens  in  their  secu- 
lar business  and  who  feel  that  they  cannot  do  anything 
else.  When  they  go  to  church,  they  like  to  go  where 
there  are  no  demands  upon  them  other  than  to  give  the 
hour  which  is  taken  up  with  the  service. 

Yet  some  of  the  great  men  of  the  world  are  active 
workers  in  the  church.     The  president  of  the  World's 


Sunday  School  Association  is  a  Sunday  school  superin- 
tendent and  goes  home  from  parliament  every  week-end 
to  be  with  his  own  Wesleyan  Sunday  school.  And  there 
are  many  other  men  of  great  prominence  who  are  also 
well  known  for  their  interest  in  religious  work. 

The  lay  people  of  the  world  have  a  very  advantageous 
position  from  which  to  work.  While  they  have  not  expert 
training  for  religious  work,  they  are  above  all  suspicion 
of  professionalism.  The  testimony  of  the  man  of  the  pew 
is  always  taken  at  par  in  religious  matters,  especially  if 
his  life  squares  with  his  professions. 

The  task  of  the  church  today  is  to  get  more  lay  work- 
ers. A  study  of  a  church  directory  is  often  a  rather  dis- 
appointing thing.  It  is  seen  that  relatively  few  people 
carry  the  burdens  of  lay  activity.  When  the  church  can 
be  organized  to  utilize  all  of  its  power,  the  world  will 
grow  better  at  a  greatly  accelerated  rate. 

THE  MINISTER'S  SALARY 

THESE  are  great  days  for  capital  and  labor.  We  read 
continually  of  the  enormous  dividends  that  have 
been  declared  on  various  kinds  of  war  stocks.  "Cut- 
ting melons"  is  a  favorite  diversion  for  the  American 
people. 

Unionized  labor  has  also  been  well  cared  for.  The 
increase  of  wages  paid  during  the  past  year  is  said  to 
amount  to  seven  billions  of  dollars.  The  American  work- 
ingman  has  had  an  average  increase  of  income  of  fifteen 
percent.  Some  kinds  of  mechanics  have  been  offered  as 
high  as  two  dollars  an  hour  for  their  time.  Meanwhile, 
the  living  expenses  have  soared,  requiring  thirty-five  per- 
cent more  money  in  order  to  cover  them. 

The  professional  people  of  the  country,  however, 
face  this  higher  living  expense  with  but  little  if  any  more 
money.  The  average  income  of  doctors,  lawyers,  preach- 
ers and  teachers  is  said  to  be  $700  per  year.  The  logic 
of  this  is  all  against  securing  an  education.  We  hear  of 
preachers  going  back  to  hand  labor  to  better  their  cir- 
cumstances. There  are  school  houses  where  the  teacher 
would  be  better  paid  if  she  did  the  janitor  work. 

This  injustice  of  economic  condition  works  an  espe- 
cial hardship  upon  the  minister.  The  minister's  library 
costs  more  and  more,  for  books  and  periodicals  increase 
in  price.  Everything  he  uses  is  going  up,  and  yet  in  most 
churches  the  salary  remains  stationary. 

Unless  the  salary  question  in  our  churches  becomes 
a  live  issue,  we  shall  lose  many  good  men  from  our  pul- 
pits. It  will  be  argued  that  these  men  ought  to  "sacri- 
fice." They  have  been  ready  to  do  this  in  the  days  when 
their  members  also  sacrificed.  But  they  cannot  see  why 
their  wives  should  spend  their  talents  in  laundry  work 
and  their  children  be  deprived  of  an  education  while  their 
fellow  Christians  ride  in  automobiles.  It  will  be  a  shame 
to  the  church  if'  prosperity  does  not  distribute  itself,  so 
that  the  minister's  salary,  for  instance,  will  at  least  buy 
what  it  did  three  years  ago. 

PROPHETS  OF  THE  NEW  SOCIAL  ORDER 

MORE  than  one  man  today  is  beginning  to  appre- 
hend that  the  new  social  order  must  come  to  us 
in  the  form  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.     No 
cold-blooded  intellectualistic  scheme  for  the  regenera- 
tion of  society  can  ever  call  men  away  from  their  self- 


February  22,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


ishness  to  the  practice  of  the  universal  brotherhood  of 
man.  H.  C.  Wells  says  something  like  this  in  "Mr. 
Britling  Sees  It  Through." 

Jesus  formulated  his  ideals  for  a  regenerate  society 
under  the  conception  of  the  incoming  kingdom.  This 
kingdom  was  understood  by  his  apostles  in  terms  of 
Jewish  Messianism.  We  shall  need  to  clear  away  some 
of  the  formal  elements  in  the  phrasing  and  interpret 
them.  This  done,  it  is  our  duty  to  enter  with  the  deep- 
est enthusiasm  into  the  movement  of  the  Christ  for  a 
new  state  of  human  society. 

The  modern  prophet  of  a  redeemed  society  will 
show  what  the  ideals  of  the  Christ  should  do  in  every 
department  of  life.  We  have  for  a  long  time  known 
what  the  Christ  would  have  us  to  do  to  slavery.  We 
have  recently  seen  his  will  concerning  the  saloon.  Some 
of  us  see  what  a  Christian's  duty  toward  wage  slavery 
is.  We  are  beginning  to  understand  that  for  the  purposes 
of  kingdom  we  must  clean  the  Augean  stables  of  politics. 


which  John  Barleycorn  gets  his  coup  de  grace,  it  will 
be  necessary  for  us  to  make  use  of  all  our  energies. 

Our  American  Temperance  Board  has  already  given 
a  good  account  of  its  stewardship  and  the  work  that 
lies  just  ahead  will  justify  liberal  support  on  the  part 
of  the  churches.  It  is  one  of  the  recognized  agencies  of 
the  movement,  its  reports  having  a  place  in  the  year- 
book. 


T 


THE  EMPHASIS  ON  THE  SPIRITUAL 

HE  Christian  Courier,  of  Texas,  in  a  recent  issue 
sounds  a  most  wholesome  note  in  insisting  that 
a  church  is  not  "set  in  order"  until  the  spiritual 
aspects  of  our  religion  are  in  the  heart  and  center  of  it. 
This  article  states  that  the  fathers  were  men  of  prayer 
and  great  piety.  Their  sons  often  undertake  to  do  with 
their  own  strength  that  which  God  alone  can  accom- 
plish. 

One  of  the  most  subtle  dangers  to  which  our  min- 


The  developing  social  organism  reveals  new  virtues     igters  are  SU3ceptibie  springs  from  their  familiarity  with 


and  new  vices,  as  Professor  Ross  has  so  well  shown  in 
"Sin  and  Society."  Guided  by  the  spirit  and  point  of 
view  of  Christ,  the  modern  prophet  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  may  declaim  with  authority  against  the  new  sins 
and  attack  with  confidence  everything  which  offers 
resistance  to  the  incoming  of  better  conditions. 


holy  things.  At  last  for  them  nothing  in  religion  is 
surrounded  with  mystery.  A  deadly  commonplaceness 
attaches  to  everything.  In  such  a  state  the  minister 
needs  a  refreshing  contact  with  some  great,  prayerful 
soul.  He  needs  the  retreat.  He  needs  time  away 
from  the  routine  of  church  life  that  he  may  seek  the 


This  new  prophetic  ministry  will  be  different  from     (jeeper  meanings  of  religion 
the  old  concordance  reciting  of  a  purely  formal  ministry.        '     The  spirit  of  worship  is  not  strong  in  many  con- 
With  all  reverence  for  the  past  in  religion,  it  will  per-     gregations ;  this  may  be  seen  from  the  empty  pews  and 
ceive  present  duty  to  God  to  be  more  than  the  duty  of     the  half-hearted  ways  in  which  people  go  to  church. 
an  expositor.    The  pulpits  must  ring  with  living  exposi- 
tions of  the  will  of  the  everlasting  God,  who  is  not  dead 
nor  on  a  journey,  but  who  even  now  works  His  will 
in  human  history. 


THE  DISCIPLES  AND  PROHIBITION 

BECAUSE  we  are  a  young  and  deeply  earnest  body 
of  Christians,  the  Disciples  have  been  among  the 
first  and  most  zealous  exponents  of  the  cause  of 
a  dry  nation.  In  the  recent  victory  in  Indiana,  the 
American  Temperance  Board,  supported  by  our 
churches,  played  a  creditable  part.  There  was  a  "Chris- 
tian Church  day"  in  which  350  members  of  our  churches 
appeared  at  the  statehouse  to  influence  sentiment 
through  their  presence  in  the  galleries. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  Temperance  Board  repre- 
sented the  church  in  the  Dry  Federation,  which  brought 
together  all  of  the  interests  which  sought  a  state  pro- 
hibitory law.  Thus  at  no  stage  in  the  proceedings  were 
the  Disciples  without  a  voice  in  the  plans  for  Indiana. 
As  our  relative  strength  in  Indiana  is  very  great,  it  was 
right  that  we  should  participate  so  actively  in  the 
splendid  program  which  finally  swept  the  brewery  in- 
terests off  their  feet. 

The  work  of  the  Temperance  Board,  under  the 
leadership  of  Secretary  L.  E.  Sellers,  will  be  carried 
to  the  places  where  it  is  most  needed.  No  ammunition 
will  be  wasted  in  dry  states,  with  the  victory  already 
won.  As  the  states  one  by  one  make  ready  to  vote  upon 
prohibition,  the  Disciple  organization  will  be  right  in 
the  thick  of  the  fight. 


Yet  in  most  religions  of  the  world  the  altar  stands  at 
the  center.    There  is  no  substitute  for  prayer. 

A  religion  that  theorizes  only  is  a  philosophy.  The 
typical  religion  is  the  one  which  recognizes  the  mys- 
teries of  the  universe  and  which  seeks  communion  with 
the  Invisible  God. 

In  every  one  of  our  churches  there  are  elect  souls 
who  do  prize  the  inner  experiences  of  religion.  These 
gather  about  the  Lord's  table  with  deep  feelings  of 
loyalty  and  who  rejoice  in  the  assembling  together  of 
the  saints  as  a  real  privilege.  We  are  sometimes  in- 
clined to  think  that  such  souls  are  impractical,  but"  a 
closer  examination  reveals  the  fact  that  they  give  them- 
selves much  in  consecrated  service.  The  mystic  and 
the  servant  of  his  brethren  are  but  one  person,  as  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi  proved  in  the  long  ago. 

The  piety  of  the  older  generation  of  Disciples  was 
expressed  in  their  wonderful  love  for  Christ.  This 
devotion  is  within  the  reach  of  all  our  members.  It 
ought  to  be  the  great  unifying  thing  to  transcend  the 
incipient  partyism  within  our  movement. 

ARE  SAINTS  HARD  TO  GET  ALONG  WITH? 


T 


HERE  is  a  wide-spread  impression  that  saints  are 

hard  people  to  get  along  with.    "When  I  have  a 

very  spirituelle  neighbor,  I  don't  get  too  intimate 

with  her,"  declared  a  Christian  woman  who  is  to  be 

classified  as  belonging  to  the  common-sense  type  of 

folk.    Was  she  right? 

There  have  been  saints,  undoubtedly,  who  were 
hard  to  get  on  with.  When  we  read  Stevenson's  inter- 
Then  we  are  not  far  away  from  the  national  fight,  pretation  of  John  Knox's  attitude  to  women  we  feel  a 
Even  now  we  are  being  asked  to  write  to  our  congress-  distinct  chill  in  our  loyalty.  The  reformer  does  not  cut 
men  in  behalf  of  the  Hobson  resolution.  The  year  1920  a  very  lovely  figure  in  "The  First  Blast  of  the  Trumpet 
has  been  set  as  the  year  of  final  victory  in  this  enterprise,  Against  the  Monstrous  Regiment  of  Women." 
and  if  this  date  shall  actually  prove  to  be  the  one  in  Martin  Luther,  who  takes  the  side  of  aristocracy  in 


8 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  22,  1917 


the  Peasants'  War  and  urges  the  persecutions  of  the 
Anabaptists  with  greater  fury,  is  not  in  the  mood  when 
we  most  love  and  praise  him.  His  refusal  to  shake 
hands  with  Zwingli.  and  by  this  means  thrusting  the 
curse  of  denominationalism  into  the  Reformation,  was 
no  lovely  thing. 

Saints  in  modern  literature  are  accused  of  bigotry, 
of  distorted  ethical  conception,  of  lacking  mercy  to 
sinners. 

All  of  this  is  but  to  confess  the  frailty  of  human 
life.  There  is  only  one  great  figure  in  human  history 
whom  we  do  not  criticise,  and  even  he  has  fallen  under 
the  displeasure  of  Nietzsche  for  teaching  what  the  lat- 
ter called  "slave  ethics." 

But  where  shall  we  find  better  people  than  those 
who  are  in  earnest  about  religion?  The  "sport"  is  often 
?dvertised   for  some  kindly  thing  he   has   done.     But 


most  of  his  life  he  takes  pleasure  at  the  expense  of 
others. 

The  true  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  are  the  salt  of 
the  earth  and  the  light  of  the  world.  Their  virtues 
are  the  models  of  all  virtue.  When  they  have  failed 
as  "living  epistles"  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  the  ideal 
for  which  they  stand  is  not  thereby  set  aside  as  inad- 
equate or  undesirable.  It  is  only  at  times  that  they 
are  hard  to  live  with. 


iHimiitiimiMiiimiiiiiimiimmiimnimniHiiiimmiiiiim 


IIIHIMIIItMnillllllllllllllllllllllMlilllllllllnllllllllllllllllUIMItltlllHIMIMDHIIlllllllMllllHIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHII 


The  reveries  even  of  the  wise  man 
will  make  him  stronger  for  his  work: 
his  dreaming  as  well  as  his  thinking 
will  render  him  sorry  for  past  failure 
and  hopeful  for  future  success. — 
1  George  MacDonald.  f 

=  5 

(MitiiiiiHiHHiHiiiimiiiiiiiimHmiimiiiuimiiiiiiiMmi in n  n  hum iiiiiiuinni mini n  iti  i   iHiitniiiiiiHiniuiniiiHitMiiiiiiiiiitinuitiiiiniiiHiMiiitiiiittii 


The  Canon  of  the  New  Testament 


Seventh  Article  in  the  Series  on  the  Bible 
BY  HERBERT  L.  WILLETT 


THE  process  of  making  a  collection  of  early  Chris- 
tian writings  which  should  serve  the  same  pur- 
pose as  the  Hebrew  canon  for  the  Synagogue,  was 
so  gradual,  and  in  a  manner  so  unconscious,  that  no 
definite  account  of  it  can  be  given. 

The  Hebrew  Scripture,  which  we  now  call  the  Old 
Testament,  formed  the  acknowledged  sacred  writings 
of  the  first  Christian  communities.  It  is  probable  that 
these  Scriptures  even  included  the  apocryphal  books. 
Because  of  the  fact  that  most  of  the  first  generation  of 
the  followers  of  Jesus  were  Jews,  the  older  books  of 
their  race,  generally  used  in  the  Greek  version  called 
the  Septuagint,  or  LXX,  were  to  them  inspired  and 
authoritative.  They  searched  them  for  hints  of  the 
Messianic  hope.  The  Book  of  Psalms  was  their  hymn- 
book.  They  needed  no  other  holy  books  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  movement. 

But  when  their  own  literature  began  to  take  form 
and  multiply,  it  was  inevitable  that  they  should  face 
the  problem  as  to  the  kind  of  writings  suitable  for  read- 
ing in  the  public  worship.  This  was  an  entirely  simple 
and  practical  question,  and  did  not  at  first  involve  the 
broader  inquiry  as  to  the  canonical  value  of  such  books. 
Nonetheless,  those  writings  which  gained  recognition 
in  the  churches  as  profitable  for  use  in  the  worship  held 
the -priority  as  candidates  for  any  subsequent  inclusion 
in  a  reserved  and  canonized  group. 

Aside  from  the  Old  Testament,  which  was  employed 
in  the  Septuagint  translation,  those  churches  which 
received  letters  from  men  of  apostolic  standing  would 
be  sure  to  employ  them  in  worship.  Epistles  like  those 
of  Paul  to  the  Thessalonians,  Galatians  and  Philippians 
would  be  held  in  great  esteem  by  those  congregations, 
and  preserved  for  frequent  use  in  the  public  service. 
In  like  manner  those  epistles,  like  the  ones  to  the 
churches  in  Colosse  and  Laodicea,  which  Paul  directed 
their  recipients  to  exchange,  would  certainly  be  pre- 
served in  copies  by  both  groups,  and  employed  as  of 
lectional  value.  Hardly  less  important  were  the  cir- 
cular letters,  like  Romans,  1   Peter  and  perhaps  Ephe- 


sians.  These  also  would  find  a  place  in  the  list  of 
writings  held  sacred  by  those  churches.  But  by  the 
Christian  communities  at  large  the  epistles  did  not  come 
into  general  esteem  until  after  the  Gospels  were  recog- 
nized as  in  some  sense  authoritative. 

EARLY    LIST 

The  first  reference  to  a  body  of  books  used  for  read- 
ing in  the  public  worship  is  found  in  the  writings  of 
Justin  Martyr  (died  165  A.  D.),  who  speaks  of  the  three 
Gospels  (the  Synoptic  group)  along  with  the  prophets 
of  the  Old  Testament  as  having  this  rank.  Soon  after- 
ward Tatian,  a  disciple  of  Justin's,  prepared  a  composite 
narrative  of  the  life  of  Jesus  for  the  use  of  the  church 
at  Edessa.  This  was  woven  together  out  of  the  four 
Gospels,  and  was  called  the  Diatessaron,  or  narrative 
"according  to  the  Four." 

The  list  of  books  named  by  Marcion  (about  140  A.  D.) 
does  not  throw  light  on  church  usage,  for  he  had  a 
special  purpose  in  directing  attention  to  the  teaching  of 
Paul,  which  he  thought  was  falling  into  neglect.  His 
canon  consisted  of  a  modified  Gospel  of  Luke,  and  ten 
epistles  of  Paul,  the  Pastorals  being  excluded.  Here 
for  the  first  time  epistles  take  rank  with  the  Gospel 
records. 

The  thirty  years  from  Justin  Martyr  to  Irenseus  of 
Lyons  (177-202  A.  D.)  witnessed  a  rapid  but  unrecorded 
growth  of  opinion  regarding  the  right  of  most  of  our 
present  New  Testament  books  to  a  recognized  place  in 
a  canon  of  Scripture.  In  the  writings  of  the  latter  the 
epistles  take  rank  with  the  Gospels  (though  Hebrews  is 
not  mentioned),  and  the  entire  list  is  lifted  from  casual 
use  by  the  churches  to  the  plane  of  authoritative  Scrip- 
ture. Who  was  responsible  for  this  development  is  un- 
known. Perhaps  Irenseus  himself.  At  any  rate,  the 
dangers  to  apostolic  teaching  from  the  inroad  of  hereti- 
cal, particularly  Gnostic,  opinion,  rendered  it  necessary 
to  possess  some  standard  of  appeal  in  a  body  of  books 
vested  with  apostolic  character. 


February  22,  1917                           THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  9 

Passing  over  Morcion's  partial  and  biased  list,  the  question  of  canonicity  was  made  by  Eusebius  of  Casaria 
earliest  known  canon  of  New  Testament  writings  is  (270-341  A.  D.),  the  eminent  church  historian.  He 
found  in  the  Muratorian  Fragment.  In  1740  an  Italian  made  three  lists  of  books:  First,  those  that  were  ad- 
scholar  named  Muratori  found  in  the  Ambrosian  mitted  by  all,  including  the  four  Gospels,  Acts,  the 
Library  at  Milan,  in  a  monk's  notebook  dating  from  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  reckoned  to  be  fourteen  in  number, 
seventh  or  eighth  century,  a  mutilated  extract  of  a  list  1  Peter,  1  John  and  (with  some  hesitation)  Revelation, 
of  New  Testament  books  made  at  Rome  before  the  Second,  those  books  that  were  widely  accepted,  though 
close  of  the  second  century.  The  fragment  starts  in  held  doubtful  by  some;  these  included  James,  Jude,  2 
the  middle  of  a  sentence,  referring  to  Peter's  connection  Peter,  2  and  3  John.  Third,  those  regarded  by  him  as 
with  the  second  Gospels  of  Luke  and  John.  Presumably  spurious,  including  the  Acts  of  Paul,  the  Shepherd  of 
it  dealt  with  all  four  of  the  evangelists  as  we  have  them.  Hermas,  the  Apocalypse  of  Peter,  and  the  Teaching  of 
It  speaks  of  Acts  as  the  work  of  Luke.  It  mentions  the  Twelve  Apostles.  At  the  order  of  the  Emperor 
thirteen  epistles  of  Paul,  thus  including  the  Pastorals,  Constantine,  Eusebius  had  fifty  copies  of  the  Scriptures 
but  excluding  Hebrews.  It  recognizes  Jude,  two  epis-  prepared  in  elaborate  form  for  the  use  of  the  churches 
ties  of  John,  and  the  Book  of  Revelation.  In  includes  of  Constantinople.  These  copies  naturally  conformed 
also  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon  and  the  Apocalypse  of  to  his  rule  of  canonicity,  and  assisted  in  fixing  it. 
Peter,  though  with  reserve  in  the  case  of  the  last  named.  From  this  time  onward  the  eastern  church  continued 
This  document  thus  includes  most  of  our  New  Testa-  to  hold  much  the  same  view.  Athanasius  (246-273  A.  D.) 
ment  books;  but  it  is  noticeable  that  Hebrews,  1  and  2  gives  a  list  of  New  Testament  books  which  agrees  with 
Peter,  James  and  one  of  the  epistles  of  John  are  not  our  own.  So  also  does  Epiphanius  (315-403  A.  D.) 
named.  The  Shepherd  of  Harmas  is  referred  to  as  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  (350-386  B.  C.)  differs  from  them 
profitable  reading.  only  in  omitting  Revelation.    A  little  later  (395  A.  D.) 

At  the  opening  of  the  third  century  there  is  an  appeared  a  versified  list  of  the  books  of  the  New 
anonymous  writing  which  has  been  attributed  by  some  Testament  by  Amphilochius  of  Iconium,  in  which  are 
to  Victor  of  Rome  (200-230  A.  D.).  Reference  is  made  found  all  the  books  as  we  have  them  excepting  the 
in  it  to  the  three  divisions  of  Scripture:  Prophetic  Revelation.  Chrysostom,  the  famous  Patriarch  of  Con- 
writings — the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  stantinople  (died  405  A.  D.)  gives  no  formal  list  of  the 
Apocalypse,  and  Hermas ;  the  Gospels ;  and  the  Apos-  books,  but  in  his  voluminous  writings  makes  no  men- 
tolic  writings — Paul,  I  John  and  Hebrews.  It  will  be  tion  of  Revelation,  or  2  Peter,  or  either  of  the  three 
noticed  that  this  list  omits  Acts,  James,  1  and  2  Peter,  epistles  of  John.  In  an  appendix  to  the  eighth  book  of 
2  and  3  John,  and  Jude.  Neither  this  nor  the  list  in  the  the  Apostolical  Constitutions  there  is  a  document  which 
Muratori  Fragment  can  be  regarded  as  a  certain  guide  may  go  back  to  the  fourth  century  A.  D.,  which  places 
to  church  usage  in  that  period,  for  their  authors  are  Ben  Sirach  after  the  Old  Testament,  and  follows  it  with 
unknown.  But  they  are  valuable  as  throwing  light  the  four  Gospels,  fourteen  epistles  of  Paul  (including 
upon  the  growing  process  of  selecting  a  list  of  authori-  Hebrews),  the  two  epistles  of  Peter,  the  three  of  John, 
tative  books  to  which  appeal  could  be  made  in  the  James,  Jude,  the  two  epistles  of  Clement,  the  eight 
refutation  of  heresy.  books  of  the  Apostolical  Constitutions,  and  Acts.    This, 


THE   EASTERN    CHURCH 


like  some  of  the  others,  omits  Revelations. 

THE    WESTERN    CHURCH 


In  the  eastern  church,  Clement  of  Alexandria  (165- 

220  A.  D.)   acknowledges  the  four  Gospels  and  Acts,  In  the  western  church  at  this  period  Augustine  (354- 

and  fourteen  epistles  of  Paul,  thus  including  Hebrews.  430  A.  D.)  discussed  the  canon  in  a  lengthy  treatise. 

He  also  quotes  from  1  and  2  John,  1  Peter,  Jude  and  dividing  the  book  into  two  lists,  those  which  all  received, 

Revelation.     He  does  not  refer  to  James,  2  Peter  or  3  and  those  regarding  which  there  was  some  question. 

John.    But  it  is  difficult  to  determine  his  views  regard-  jn  the  case  of  the  latter  group  he  thought  the  usage  of 

ing  the  authentic  list  of  sacred  writings,  for  he  also  the   churches,   particularly   the   more    important   ones, 

quotes  in  much  the  same  manner  from  Barnabas,  Clem-  should  decide.     His  final  verdict  agreed  with  our  own 

ent   of   Rome,    Hermas,   the   Preaching   of   Peter,   the  New  Testament.    Jerome  (346-420  A.  D.),  whose  Latin 

Apocalypse     of     Peter,     and     the     Sibylline     Writings.  versioil)  the  Vulgate>  did  more  to  fix  the  canon  than 

According  to  Eusebius,  he  had  a  collection  of  New  Tea-  other  si     k  influence)            ts  the  same  list  as  his 

tament  books  in  two  volumes  which  he  called      I  he  ,         ,                         ,.       ,t *  ^         u         u 

Gosnel"  and  "The  Fnistle"  resnectivelv  great  contemporary,  noting  that  there  have  been  ques- 

vjospei     ana     ine  npisiie     respectively.  ..                     «-        •»              T    ,      TT  «                   ,  -,-,       <   ,• 

c           i    a.                    i     •      •  ■   aa.    ,    !•              x  r\  •  tions  regarding  James,  Jude,  Hebrews  and  Revelation. 

Somewhat  more  conclusive  is  the  testimony  of  Ongen  TT           &  ,       ,       -        ,  «  T         ,          ,                .,    .    .  , 

(184-253  A.  D.),  the  greatest  of  the  Greek  church  fathers.  He  remarks  *»*  2  f?  3  Jolln  ,have  been  attributed  to 

He  mentions  as  authoritative  the  books  of  the  Old  Tes-  a  certain  P^sbyter  John,  of  Ephesus. 

tament  as  we  have  them,  and  portions  of  the  Apocrypha,  None  of  the  early  church  councils  seem  to  have  given 

particularly  1  Maccabees.    He  includes  in  the  canon  of  pronouncement  on  the  subject  of  the  canon,  if  a  pos- 

the  New  Testament  the  four  Gospels,  Acts,  thirteen  sible  decision  of  the  Council  of  Laodicea  (about  360  A. 

epistles  of  Paul,  Hebrews,  1  Peter,  1  John  and  Revela-  D-)   be  excepted.     This  approves  the  Old  Testament, 

tion.     He   does  not  directly   mention  James  or  Jude.  Baruch  and  the  Epistle  of  Jeremiah,  and  all  the  New 

He  speaks  of  2  Peter  and  2  and  3  John  as  in  dispute,  Testament  with  the  exception  of  Revelation.     But  this 

and  in  more  doubtful  words  refers  to  the  Gospel  of  the  testimony  is  questionable.    In  the  west,  the  Third  Coun- 

Hebrews,  the  Gospels  of  Peter  and  James,  the  Acts  of  cil  of  Carthage  (397  A.  D.)  ordered  that  nothing  be  read 

Paul,  the  Shepherd  of  Hermas,  and  Barnabas.    But  all  as  Scripture  in  the  churches  except  the  Canonical  Scrip- 

his  commentaries  are  upon  books  in  our  New  Testa-  tures,  which  are  named  as  the  Old  Testament,  the  entire 

ment  canon.  Apocrypha,   and   the    New   Testament   in   its   present 

An  important  contribution  to  the  settlement  of  the  form.    It  was  probably  but  small  effect  which  these 


10 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  22,  1917 


consiliar  decisions  had  upon  the  growing  verdict  of  the 
church.  It  was  rather  the  immense  influence  of  Augus- 
tine, and  the  widespread  use  of  Jerome's  Vulgate  which 
gave  practical  finality  to  the  discussion  for  many 
centuries. 

During  all  this  time,  if  there  had  been  question  as  to 
why  these  particular  books  were  included  in  the  received 
canon,  the  reply  would  doubtless  have  been  that  tradi- 
tion and  usage  accepted  them  as  the  work  of  the 
apostles,  or  at  least  of  apostolic  men.  But  the  Revival 
of  Learning,  and  the  Reformation  which  followed  it, 
turned  attention  to  the  subject  afresh.  The  reformers 
appealed  to  an  authoritative  Scripture  as  over  against 
the  authoritative  Church  of  Rome.  But  this  appeal 
necessitated  careful  inquiry  into  the  nature  and  validity 
of  the  Bible.  Were  these  books  which  had  been  ac- 
cepted for  centuries  as  apostolic  actually  the  writings  of 
the  first  interpreters  of  Jesus? 

THE   REFORMATION    VIEW 

Erasmus  doubted  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
was  either  by  Paul  or  Luke ;  he  did  not  think  2  Peter 
could  have  been  the  work  of  that  apostle;  and  he  dis- 
believed that  Revelation  was  from  the  hand  of  the  Evan- 
gelist John.  He  did  not  question  the  worth  of  these 
books,  nor  their  right  to  a  place  in  the  canon;  he  only 
denied  their  apostolic  origin.  But  this  was  also  to 
invalidate  the  familiar  criterion  of  apostolic  genesis. 
Luther  was  equally  bold  in  his  challenge  of  the  tradi- 
tional views  of  biblical  authorship.  In  this  he  held 
ground  similar  to  that  taken  by  some  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  scholars  of  his  day.  Cardinal  Cajetan,  in  the 
Augsburg  disputation  with  Luther,  questioned  whether 
Hebrews  was  either  Pauline  or  canonical,  and  doubted 
whether  2  and  3  John  and  Jude  had  a  right  to  a  place 
in  the  Scriptures. 

The  reformers  insisted  that  the  contents,  not  the 
authorship,  of  New  Testament  books  must  determine 
their  canonicity.  Luther's  criterion  was  the  conformity 
of  a  book  to  his  great  principle  of  justification  by  faith. 
He  held,  therefore,  that  the  epistles  of  Paul — especially 
Romans,  Galatians  and  Ephesians — 1  Peter  and  the 
Fourth  Gospel  were  the  most  important  books  of  the 
collection.  He  placed  Hebrews,  James,  Jude  and  Reve- 
lation at  the  end  of  his  translation,  as  having  a  some- 
what different  tone.  He  was  very  free  in  his  discussion 
of  the  relative  merits  of  the  various  books.  But  he 
included  them  all  in  his  translation.  Calvin  had  a  dif- 
ferent rule,  regarding  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
within  the  books  as  the  test  of  their  canonicity.  He 
passed  over  2  and  3  John  and  the  Revelation  without 
notice,  and  expressed  doubts  regarding  2  Peter,  James 
and  Jude.  Luther's  friend  Carlstadt  arranged  the  Bible 
in  three  divisions.  The  Pentateuch  and  the  four  Gos- 
pels ;  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  Epistles 
of  the  New,  including  thirteen  of  Paul,  1  Peter  and  1 
John;  and  the  Writings,  or  Hagiographa,  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  seven  disputed  books  of  the  New. 
Thus  in  spite  of  wide  variety  of  opinion  regarding  the 
origin  of  the  New  Testament  books,  the  reformers  did 
not  alter  the  canon. 

The  first  official  and  general  pronouncement  made 
upon  the  question  was  the  declaration  of  the  Council  of 
Trent  (1546  A.  D.),  which  uttered  anathema  upon  any- 
one refusing  to  accept  as  canonical  all  the  books  con- 
tained in  the  Vulgate  version  of  the  Scriptures.    This 


fixed  the  Apocrypha  along  with  the  Old  Testament  as 
an  accepted  part  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Bible.  In  the 
New  Testament,  Romanists  and  Protestants  hold  the 
validity  of  the  same  books.  The  many  versions  of  the 
Bible  issued  in  various  languages  by  the  Protestant 
churches  have  made  familiar  their  collection  and  ar- 
rangement of  the  various  portions  of  Holy  Scripture. 

LATER   OPINIONS 

In  recent  years  the  problems  relating  to  the  canon 
have  given  way  in  large  measure  to  the  more  important 
inquiries  suggested  by  biblical  criticism.  This  disci- 
pline has  gone  afresh  into  the  matters  of  authorship  and 
date  with  valuable  results  for  biblical  study.  But  the 
canon  remains  unaffected,  for  the  reason  that  it  rests 
today  mainly  upon  tradition  and  usage.  If  the  apos- 
tolic authorship  once  affirmed  of  practically  all  the 
books  cannot  longer  be  claimed,  at  least  a  certain  apos- 
tolic atmosphere  and  feeling  is  discoverable  in  all.  To 
this  is  to  be  added  their  place  in  the  church  through 
the  years,  which  invests  them  with  a  veneration  not  to 
be  questioned;  and,  above  all,  their  inherent  value,  as 
aids  to  the  interpretation  of  the  early  Christian  ideal 
and  character. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that,  valuable  as 
the  opinion  of  the  early  church  may  have  been  in  regard 
to  the  right  of  a  certain  list  of  books  to  receive  the 
regard  and  attention  of  all  Christians,  and  important  as 
the  confirmation  of  that  verdict  by  the  church  through 
the  centuries  may  be  for  belief  and  comfort  today,  yet 
it  is  the  conviction  of  the  individual  mind  at  last  which 
must  determine  what  for  itself  shall  be  the  limits  of 
Holy  Scripture.  In  reality  our  Bible,  the  Bible  we  know 
and  reverence,  consists  of  just  those  books  we  actually 
use,  and  which  have  proved  their  power  to  find  and  in- 
spire us.  It  is  useless  for  anyone  to  insist  that  his 
Bible  has  in  it  a  list  of  books  which  the  church,  or  the 
beliefs  of  his  fathers,  or  any  other  validation,  has 
approved.  In  the  final  issue  the  canon  of  any  Christian 
is  the  group  of  books  he  uses  as  the  Word  of  God.  We 
are  the  makers  of  our  own  individual  canons,  just  as 
the  Christian  world  has  always  chosen  deliberately  and 
perhaps  half  unconsciously  its  Scripture. 

And  if  that  historic  process  of  canon  fixing  were  to 
begin  all  over  again,  and  were  to  be  submitted  afresh 
to  all  classes  of  people,  and  if  there  were  to  be  added 
to  the  material  available  for  choice  all  the  books  writ- 
ten in  all  the  lands  since  the  Bible  took  form,  the  result 
would  be  the  same.  These  sixty-six  books  would  emerge 
once  more  from  the  process,  a  new,  yet  venerable  aggre- 
gation of  writings  upon  the  high  themes  of  God  and 
religion.  They  have  proved  their  worth  through  the 
ages.  And  to  the  end  of  time  they  are  destined  to  go 
on  proving  themselves  to  be  the  divine  word  to  men, 
the  supreme  literature  of  the  race. 

imiiiwiflfliiiiMiiwiiMnifiiiuaHJiiiiniiMMiiimiMiiu^ 


"Behold  him  now  where  he  comes! 

Not  the  Christ  of  our  subtle  creeds, 
But  the  lord  of  our  hearts,  of  our  homes, 

Of  our  hopes,  our  prayers,  our  needs! 
The  brother  of  want  and  blame, 

The  lover  of  women  and  men, 
With  a  love  that  puts  to  shame 

All  passions  of  mortal  men." 


/i ,  i  r.i-u  ii;  inn  rj  ir;  k  i  :iti  m  :  i  ■  n  i  l-  L3 1  -n: r  ti  i  n  m  i  m  (  j  i  n  1 1 1  j  n  i  u  i  n  1 1 1  a  i  i  1 1  n  n  1 1  uj*ti  d  a  i  n  d  J  i  m  t :  1 1 1  l  i  j  m  l  m  1 1 1 1  j  :  j  i  rn  i  u  1 1 1  e  i  r  1 1  n  1 1  u  f  1 1  ^  t  m  1 1 1  >  i  n  h  i  i  n  i  uion  ii  i  j  in  1 1  i  n  inr?Jimnim  i  uni 


"Christus  Victor" 

By  Joseph  Fort  Newton 


CONSIDER  the  amazing  audac- 
ity of  these  words !  They  were 
written  by  an  old  man,  frail  and 
almost  blind,  held  captive  in  Rome  as 
a  wandering  teacher  of  a  despised  sect. 
The  charge  against  him  was  that  he 
had  gone  to  and  fro  over  the  empire 
proclaiming  the  deity  of  a  young  man 
who  had  lived  in  an  obscure,  minor 
province.  Not  many  had  heard  even 
the  name  of  Jesus,  and  most  of  those 
who  knew  that  he  had  lived  at  all  re- 
garded his  religion  as  a  vile  supersti- 
tion. Ridicule  was  heaped  upon  it, 
because  its  Founder  had  been  put  to 
a  shameful  death  reserved  for  crimi- 
nals and  slaves.  Yet  this  man  calmly 
foretells  a  time  when  at  the  name  of 
Jesus  every  knee  shall  bow  and  every 
tongue  confess  that  he  is  the  Lord  of 
all  good  life ! 

The  human  mind  is  capable  of  many 
things,  and  if  we  did  not  know  what 
has  happened  since  that  day,  the  in- 
credible faith  of  that  old  prisoner 
would  seem  like  a  wild  feat  of  fanat- 
icism. Every  fact  and  force  upon 
earth  seemed  to  be  against  it.  Indeed, 
it  was  a  twilight  time  and  the  world 
was  rushing  into  a  dark  night,  carry- 
ing with  it  the  beauty  and  grace  of 
the  old  classic  civilization.  Humanity 
was  almost  hopeless,  and  weariness 
and  sated  lust  made  life  a  hell  in  that 
hard  old  Roman  world.  Rome  her- 
.self  was  doomed,  and  soon  the  young, 
virile  savage  tribes  of  the  north  would 
be  thundering  at  her  gates. 

None  the  less,  the  intrepid  old  pris- 
oner looked  beyond  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  and  saw  the  sunlight  shining 
on  the  hills.  In  the  swift  and  gentle 
years  of  the  life  of  Jesus  he  discov- 
ered a  redeeming  force  destined  to 
reshape  the  crumbling  world,  and 
slowly  lift  mankind  from  the  animal  to 
the  angel  shape.  Of  the  truth  of  his 
faith  we  ourselves  are  a  proof,  gath- 
ering as  we  do  to  pray  for  its  fulfill- 
ment, offering  our  prayer  in  his  name. 

FAITH  FOR  THE  PRESENT  DARK  AGE 

Here  was  a  faith  equal  to  a  world- 
tragedy,  and  that  is  the  faith  we  need 
today  when  a  new  Dark  Age  seems 
to  be  settling  down  upon  us.  Thank 
God,  the  same  mighty  faith  still  lives, 
and  seldom  has  it  been  set  to  nobler 
music  than  by  the  poet-prophet  in  his 
many-voiced  song,  "Christus  Vic- 
tor," (*)  of  which  let  me  speak  a  lit- 
tle if  only  to  bring  to  notice  a  book  of 
faith  sorely  needed  in  these  strange 
and  troubled  times.  The  song  is  frag- 
mentary, like  that  which  Dante  heard 

(*)  Christus  Victor:  A  Student's  Rev- 
erie, by  H.  N.  Dodge, 


D minimum iimHilHlllliiililimuiiiiiiiiimlilimiimuiliiliilliiii HllllMIIIHIflMOIIIIH uiiiiim 

"That  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every 
I  knee  should  bow,  and  every  tongue 
|     confess." 

fiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiHiiniiiiiiiHiiuiiiliiiiiiiilinilHilimiiimmiitmiiiiimmiimiimiiiiiiiiim 

at  the  gates  of  heaven,  as  indeed  befits 
a  theme  so  vast,  so  profound,  that  it 
will  not  suffer  itself  to  be  caught  in 
orderly  forms  of  music.  Rather  it  is 
like  flashes  of  a  wondrous  vision,  kind- 
ling the  imagination  with  brief,  broken 
glimpses  of  a  light  that  blinds  while  it 
blesses.  Like  a  musician  haunted  by 
some  sweet,  elusive  melody,  now  lead- 
ing, now  driving  him  from  key  to  key, 
the  singer  moves  toward  that  concep- 
tion of  God  and  man  and  life  and  sin 
and  destiny  which  alone  is  equal  to 
the  stupendous  days  in  which  we  live. 

"a  student's  reverie" 

In  an  old  New  England  farm  house 
a  medical  student  sits  before  a  skele- 
ton he  has  been  studying,  while  the 
snow  is  piled  high  outside  and  the 
night-wind  is  mourning  under  the 
eaves.  The  skeleton,  seen  by  the  dim 
lamp  and  flickering  fire,  is  but  the 
grim  and  ghastly  shadow  of  a  man. 
Forgetting  its  horror,  he  falls  to  pon- 
dering its  symmetry,  its  exquisite 
adaptations  of  part  to  part,  its 
strength,  agility  and  supple  grace.  He 
considers,  as  never  before,  the  lithe 
and  sinewy  beauty  of  the  human  body 
— the  dexterity  of  the  hand,  the  faith- 
fulness of  the  heart,  the  eye  that  mir- 
rors the  marvels  of  the  world,  and 
last  of  all,  the  head  and  its  wondrous 
throne  of  thought.  Truly  it  is  a  mas- 
terpiece, fit  dwelling  place  for  the 
winged,  thinking,  dreaming,  loving, 
hoping  spirit  now  flown. 

Then  he  muses  of  the  spirit  of  man, 
its  undeveloped  powers,  the  reason  of 
its  existence,  its  immortal  longings,  in 
contrast  with  the  grinning  shape  be- 
fore him.  The  problem  becomes  per- 
sonal to  the  student,  the  while  he  feels 
a  new  sense  of  kinship  with  his  fel- 
lows : 

What  man  soe'er  I  chance  to  see — 
Amazing  thought — is  kin  to  me, 

And  if  a  man,  my  brother! 
What  though  he  sit  in  royal  state 
And   for  an   empire  legislate; 

He  is  a  man,  my  brother. 
What  though  his  hand  is  hard  with  toil 
And  labor  his  worn  garment  soil ; 

He  is  a  man,  my  brother. 
What  though  his  hand  with  crime  be  red, 
His  heart  a  stone,  his  conscience  dead; 

He  is  a  man,  my  brother. 
Though  low  his  life,  and  black  his  heart, 
There  is  a  nobler,  deathless  part 

Within  this  man,  my  brother. 
The  soul  which  this  frail  clay  enfolds 
The  image  of  its  Maker  holds — 

That  makes  this  man  my  brother  1 


THE  SOLE  REFUGE 

Naturally,  his  thoughts  wander  into 
eternity,  trying  to  follow  the  fate  of 
man — not  only  his  own  destiny,  and 
that  of  the  phantom  of  a  man  before 
him,  but  of  all  humanity  in  its  endless 
procession  passing  across  the  earth, 
as  one  generation  vanishes  and  another 
appears.  Their  life  is  woven  of  good 
and  ill,  light  and  shadow,  joy  and  woe, 
tragedy  and  comedy.  For  many  it  is 
a  thing  to  be  endured,  not  enjoyed. 
Some  move  lightly,  recking  not  of  the 
future ;  others  trudge  slowly,  bearing 
heavy  burdens  of  sorrow  and  care. 
For  all  life  ends  in  the  grave.  We  can 
follow  them  no  further.  Whence  do 
they  come  and  why?  Where  do  they 
go?  What  does  it  all  mean?  Has  it 
a  meaning?  All  the  old,  dark  ques- 
tions rise  up  to  haunt  and  baffle  the 
student  in  his  reverie. 

He  turns  to  the  Bible,  finding  some 
passages  that  give  him  hope,  and  oth- 
ers that  seem  to  deny  it.  Sorely  per- 
plexed, he  takes  refuge  in  the  great 
truth  of  God  the  Father  of  all  men, 
the  Shepherd  of  all  souls — knowing 
all,  forgetting  none.  Yet  even  that 
truth  leaves  many  mysteries  unsolved. 
Why  all  the  woe  of  the  world,  its 
filthy  lust,  its  brutal  tyranny,  its  turbid 
ebb  and  flow  of  misery?  If  God  is 
good  why  is  man  so  often  vile  ?  Nev- 
ertheless, he  clings  to  the  truth  that 
love  lies  at  the  heart  of  things,  a  Love 
profounder  than  sin,  deeper  than 
death — 

Ah,  never  sank  a  sinning  soul  so  low, 
But  God's  paternal  hand  could  deeper  go 
His  perishing  child  to  save — 

and  even  in  the  awful  law  of  retribu- 
tion he  reads  the  stern  fact  of  Love. 
The  very  keenness  of  his  problem 
makes  him  feel  that  there  is  Another 
who  feels  it  more  keenly  than  he,  suf- 
fering with  humanity  in  its  woe  and 
even  in  its  sin. 


"the  master  of  calvary" 


At  least,  God  is  no  far-off  looker-on, 
judging  men  harshly,  condemning 
them  arbitrarily,  but  with  great  passion 
yearning  over  them,  within  them, 
wounded  by  their  transgressions,  bear- 
ing their  woe.  As  the  student  listens, 
the  Master  of  Calvary  tells  in  a  ma- 
jestic, plaintive  monody  of  his  passion 
and  hope  for  humanity,  his  oneness 
with  it  in  its  woe,  and  his  redeeming 
Love.  The  words  are  simple,  noble, 
ineffable,  tender,  broken  only  by  the 
faint  echoes  of  angelic  chants  slowly 
rising  from  miserere  to  alleluia. 

The  poem  closes  with  an  aftermath, 


12 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  22,  1917 


entitled  "The  Presence  in  the  Camp," 
dated  1914,  showing  that  this  vision 
of  the  suffering  love  of  God  in  Christ 
is  equal  to  our  new  world-tragedy,  as 
it  was  in  ages  agone  to  the  little  old 
man  in  prison  at  Rome.  Scattered 
through  its  pages  are  many  lyrics, 
some  of  them  of  exquisite  delicacy  and 
beauty,  singing  of  life  and  love,  of  the 
coming  of  spring  and  the  birth  of  the 
flowers,  of  the  life  of  Jesus  and  the 
love  that  should  bind  man  to  man.  No 
matter  to  what  school  of  religious 
thought  a  man  may  belong,  he  will  find 
much  to  exalt,  inspire  and  fortify  his 
soul  in  this  tender-hearted,  far-seeing 
book  of  Faith  in  the  Love  of  God. 

CHRIST    SPEAKS — AND   THE   SUN    IS    UP 

What  shall  we  say  of  a  faith  so  pro- 
found, so  far-reaching,  so  wonderful 
in  its  reach  and  grasp  and  grandeur? 
What  is  the  basis  of  it?  What  right 
has  any  man  to  hold  it  in  the  dim  coun- 
try of  this  world?  First,  let  us  meas- 
ure the  fact  upon  which  this  sublime 
faith  rests.  Nature,  we  know,  is  inev- 
itable in  her  law,  her  movement,  her 
goal  and  her  high  manner.  The  tides 
come  and  go,  following  their  ancient 
rhythm,  and  no  hand  can  stay  them. 
Night  follows  night,  day  follows  day, 
season  follows  season,  and  none  can 
break  the  immemorial  sequence.  The 
sun  rises  in  splendor,  marches  in 
majesty,  and  sets  in  a  sacrament  of 
beauty.  None  can  say  him  nay.  There 
is  something  like  that  in  the  spirit  of 
Christ.  Deny  how  you  will,  doubt  this 
item  and  that  of  his  story,  his  spirit  is 
here  and  here  to  stay.  It  is  inevitably 
present  and  inevitably  influential. 

"I  am  the  light  of  the  world,"  he 
said — and  the  sun  is  up!  It  shines  on 
farm  and  factory,  on  palace  and  hut, 
on  peace  and  war,  slowly  changing 
winter  into  summer.  None  can  stay  it. 
His  spirit  is  with  us,  whether  we  obey 
it  or  not;  his  power  is  in  the  heart- 
beat and  step  of  humanity.  If  there 
is  no  room  for  him  in  the  inn,  he  finds 
a  cradle  in  a  manger.  No  one  can 
expel  him  from  human  life.  His  king- 
dom is  like  a  woman  who  took  three 
measures  of  meal  and  put  leaven  into 
it  until  the  whole  was  leavened.  Can 
you  take  yeast  out  of  bread?  Once 
there,  always  there,  and  it  will  go  on 
until  it  has  done  its  work. 

Such  is  the  influence  of  Jesus.  Once 
here,  always  here,  inevitable  in  its  be- 
nign fatalism  of  influence — in  the  his- 
tory, in  the  tradition,  in  the  sentiment 
and  conscience  of  humanity,  in  its  in- 
nermost habits  of  thought  and  feeling, 
shaping  even  the  literature  of  denial. 

WHAT   IS   COMING? 

Nature  is  inevitable  not  only  in  her 
power,  but  in  her  beauty.  From  Ho- 
mer to  Byron,  from  Wordsworth  to 
Emerson,  her  enchantment  carries  men 


away,  filling  their  hearts  with  a  wild, 
sad  joy  and  touching  their  speech  to 
song.  Who  can  flee  from  its  spell !  If 
we  take  wings  of  the  wind  and  go  to 
the  loneliest  sea  that  drifts  and  sings, 
the  ancient  loveliness  is  there.  It  com- 
pels homage.  There  is  something  like 
that  in  the  spirit  and  gospel  of  Christ. 
His  life,  his  character,  his  vision  of 
God — these  are  the  ultimate,  ineffable, 
unspeakable  beauties  and  the  sublim- 
est  possessions  of  humanity.  So  long 
as  men  are  blind  they  can  resist  it,  like 
peasants  who  live  amid  the  splendors 
of  nature  unmoved.  But  once  their 
eyes  are  opened,  once  their  souls  are 
weakened,  they  must  yield  soon  or 
late  to  his  spirit  and  the  wonder  of  his 
vision  of  a  kingdom  of  love.  It  is 
inevitable. 

Towards  that  kingdom  all  the  high 
paths  lead,  as  of  old  all  roads  led  to 
Rome.  At  last,  after  age-long  tragedy, 
it  will  command  not  only  the  admira- 
tion but  the  obedience  of  humanity  as 
surely  as  suns  rise  and  set,  as  certainly 
as  the  tides  ebb  and  flow. 

THE   MOVEMENTS  OF   HISTORY 

History,  in  the  great  conception  of 
it,  shows  an  inevitable  tendency  of 
man  upward  toward  the  same  goal. 
There  was  Greece,  after  her  twenty- 
seven  years  of  war,  exhausted,  fallen. 
Mighty  Rome  became  decrepit,  cor- 
rupt, and  fell  before  the  youthful  bar- 
baric multitudes.  The  Reformation 
made  protest  against  tyranny  in  behalf 
of  freedom  of  conscience  and  the  lib- 
erty of  faith,  and  none  could  stop  it. 
The  French  revolution  was  a  human 
earthquake,  a  whirlwind  of  inhuman- 
ity and  atheism,  yet  out  of  it  rose  a 
new  humanity.  Our  own  civil  war 
was  an  invocation  of  humanity  against 
inhumanity,  and  injustice  had  to  go. 


Truly,  there  is  something  inevitable 
in  the  movement  of  history,  a  Force 
which  man  can  neither  reckon  nor  re- 
sist, and  it  is  always  toward  a  juster, 
wiser,  gentler,  nobler  life — slowly  ris- 
ing toward  the  ideal  of  Jesus.  Just  so 
it  will  be  with  the  vast  tragedy  now 
dragging  its  bloody  way  along,  dark- 
ening the  earth  and  the  sky  like  a  new 
crucifixion.  Make  no  mistake ;  out  of 
it  will  rise  a  new  age,  a  new  world, 
and  the  good  that  will  surely  come  will 
outweigh  the  measureless  woe  of  it  all. 

WHAT  IS  OUR  PRESENT  DUTY? 

What  does  this  mean  to  us  and  what 
is  our  duty?  It  means  everything — it 
means  light  and  hope,  at  once  a  great 
comradeship  and  a  great  crusade!  It 
means  that  God  is  with  us,  working 
with  man,  working  in  man,  without 
hasting  and  without  resting,  reasoning 
with  him,  punishing  him,  pursuing  him 
with  his  everlasting  persuasions,  and 
that  he  cannot  be  defeated.  Evermore 
he  seeks  incarnation  in  humanity — 
asking  for  clear  minds,  pure  hearts, 
and  clean  hands,  to  manifest  his  spirit 
and  his  power. 

What  is  our  duty?  By  as  much  as 
we  love  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  obey  it, 
live  it,  making  it  the  law  of  our  hearts 
and  the  breath  of  our  life,  following 
in  his  way,  his  truth,  by  so  much  do 
we  help  forward  the  kingdom  of  love 
and  become  fellow- workers  with  the 
Eternal.  Salvation,  at  last,  is  by  the 
Spirit  and  Life  of  Jesus. 

Other  way  there  is  none,  as  man 
will  yet  learn,  taught  by  the  terrible 
tragedy  of  trying  to  live  without  him. 
Finally  the  faith  of  the  prisoner  of 
Rome  will  be  fulfilled ;  every  knee  shall 
bow  and  every  tongue  confess  the 
Lord  of  all  good  life ! 


1"" iiiiHiiiiimuiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiMHiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMHiiiiiiuiiuiiiiiiiiiiiinuiHiiiiiii milium i inimiimi iiiiitiitiiiimiiiimnuiimiiiiiiiiniimmiimiiiiijj 


The  Dawn 


Dreams  are  they?    But  ye  cannot  stay  them 
Or  thrust  the  dawn  back  for  one  hour! 
Truth,  love,  justice,  if  ye  slay  them, 
Return  with  more  than  earthly  power; 
Strive,  if  ye  will,  to  seal  the  fountains 
That  send  the  spring  through  leaf  and  spray, 
Drive  back  the  sun  from  the  Eastern  mountains, 
Then — bid  this  mightier  movement  stay. 

It  is  the  Dawn !  The  Dawn !  the  nations 
From  East  to  West  have  heard  a  cry — 
Through  all  earth's  blood-red  generations 
By  hate  and  slaughter  climbed  thus  high, 
Here — on  this  height — still  to  aspire, 
One  only  path  remains  untrod, 
One  path  of  love  and  peace  climbs  higher 
Make  straight  that  highway  for  our  God. 

— Alfred  Noyes. 


?imftimiililiiiiliniliniTnimiiililllliiiliiiiiiiiilliiliiiin|iiiiiiliiiiilll1iililimiilllMlllllllimiulllllliillllllliilliiliuinii imimiiuiliiiilliilillimiililu/iiiiiiiinliiiiiiimiiiiiiiniiuiiiimiii^ftiinViiiiiii.ijiiiliunmiM'rpfjfcqmjljiJ 


The  United  States  on  Trial 

By  Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones 

An  Address  Delivered  at  Abraham  Lincoln  Center,  Chicago 


SOMETHING  has  happened, 
something  tragic.  Something 
that  may  carry  with  it  floods  of 
tears,  oceans  of  blood,  and  destroy 
towers  of  treasure.  I  must  declare 
myself  in  this  presence,  were  it  the 
last  word  ever  given  me  to  speak  from 
this  free  platform :  If  war  was  wrong 
last  week,  it  will  be  wrong  next  week. 
If  it  was  wrong  then  to  tear  human 
flesh  to  shreds,  to  devastate  homes  and 
desecrate  the  ideals  of  men  and  of  na- 
tions, it  is  wrong  now,  and  it  is  ever- 
lastingly wrong. 

WAR  AND  PROFIT 

War  is  still  a  survival  of  brute 
forces.  It  occurs  where  spirit  has  not 
yet  freed  itself  from  the  entanglements 
of  things  that  can  be  measured,  of 
things  that  can  be  weighed.  We  of 
the  United  States  for  two  and  a  half 
years  have  been  twiddling  our  thumbs 
while  Europe  was  tearing  itself  to 
pieces.  We  have  gloated  over  our 
increasing  prosperity,  the  profits  from 
our  hellish  industry  of  making  things 
that  kill.  We  have  sowed  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe  thick  with  fragments 
of  shell  and  bullets  stained  with  hu- 
man blood.  We  have  filled  hospitals 
with  agonized  bodies.  We  have  torn 
homes  to  pieces.  We  have  planted  un- 
counted acres  of  human  bones.  We,  I 
say,  we,  have  been  sending  this  devilish 
stuff  over  there  to  do  the  work  of  hell, 
while  taking  shelter  behind  some  thin, 
shadowy  rag  of  what  we  call  "Inter- 
national Law." 

Alas,  now  we  are  in  grave  danger 
of  being  swept  into  this  fiendish  mad- 
ness which  we  have  witnessed  and 
fostered. 

THREE  INSPIRATIONS  OF  WAR 

Do  not  tell  me  that  there  is  any 
"honor"  tn  trying  to  avenge  the  loss 
of  a  few  petty  ships  and  a  limited 
number  of  lives  by  proceeding  by  con- 
quest and  under  the  guidance  of  sci- 
ence to  sink  numberless  other  ships 
and  destroy  numberless  other  lives  on 
both  sides  of  the  fighting  line,  killing 
those  whose  hands  are  clean  of  any 
responsibility.  As  I  interpret  spirit, 
no  wrong  can  be  atoned  by  other 
wrongs.  You  can  not  bring  back  the 
lives  that  are  gone  by  sallying  forth  to 
destroy  other  lives. 

Three  great  inspirations  of  war  have 
obtained  in  what  we  call  civilization. 
First  was  the  battle  for  God.  Some 
of  the  hardest  battles  of  history  were 
devoted  to  religion;  they  were  for 
God's  sake. 

Then  there  was  the  battle  for  greed, 


for  territory,  the  love  of  power.  Many 
millions  of  lives  have  been  sacrificed 
in  trying  to  straighten  boundary  lines 
between  nations  which  scarcely  knew 
themselves  apart. 

WAR  AND  "HONOR" 

Then  there  comes  this  other  thing 
we  call  "honor" — battle  for  honor's 
sake.  As  if  any  nation  in  the  light 
of  history  could  add  a  star  to  its  crown 
of  glory  by  proving  itself  of  superior 
power  in  killing  its  neighbors.  As 
if  outraged  dignity  could  be  assuaged 
by  a  systematic  slaughter  of  innocents. 

The  United  States  is  now  under  a 
panic  for  "honor's  sake."  This  valor 
for  "honor"  threatens  to  throw  us  into 
everlasting  dishonor.  I  have  lived 
through  three  of  these  spasms.  I  re- 
member the  dark  midnight  when,  as  a 
boy,  I  crawled  out  of  bed  with  the 
rest  of  the  family  because  the  bigger 
brother  had  come  home  with  the  awful 
news  that  Sumter  had  been  fired  upon. 
I  have  often  traced  with  you  that  in- 
spiration, that  intoxication,  to  the  bit- 
ter end,  and  found,  as  everybody  now 
knows,  that  it  was  the  very,  very 
wrong  way  of  doing  the  right  thing. 

"remember  the  maine" 

I  remember,  as  most  of  you  remem- 
ber, that  other  time  when  the  flags 
climbed  to  the  highest  and  fireworks 
illuminated  the  cities,  that  otherwise 
were  torpid  and  stupid,  with  the  cry: 
"Remember  the  Maine !  Remember 
the  Maine!  Remember  the  Maine!" 
And,  remembering  the  Maine,  the 
great  republic  was  precipitated  into  a 
mad,  foolish,  fruitless  war.  Our  min- 
ister to  Spain  told  me  with  his  own 
lips  and  he  has  repeated  it  over  and 
over  again  in  public,  that  if  the  United 
States  had  but  let  reason  rule  forty- 
eight  or  seventy-two  hours  longer, 
everything  would  have  been  accomp- 
lished by  diplomacy  at  the  capital  city 
of  Spain  that  we  succeeded  in  getting 
by  brutal,  merciless,  bloody  barbarism, 
including  a  compensation  for  the 
Maine  for  which  Spain  never  admit- 
ted her  guilt.  It  was  a  mad  intensity 
that  led  us  into  that  fruitless  struggle. 

And  now  comes  this  excitement. 
When  pugilists  in  the  last  desperate 
struggle  for  conquest  resort  to  the  ulti- 
mate expediencies  of  fighters,  no 
longer  content  to  pull  at  each  other's 
hair  or  clutch  at  each  other's  throats, 
they  forget  all  the  limitations  that  ob- 
tain in  the  ring  and  hit  anywhere, 
above  or  below  the  belt.  We,  who  sit 
by,  witnessing  all  these  things,  seeing 
this  desperate  struggle,  because  our 


own  supposed  "rights"  are  now  in- 
vaded a  little  bit,  and  our  commerce 
is  endangered,  become  enraged.  Will 
we  dare  jump  into  this  ring  at  this  time 
to  add  wickedness  to  wickedness,  and 
murder  to  murder? 

"international  law" 

May  God  help  us  to  re-enforce  the 
spirit,  that  we  may  carry  this  diplo- 
matic perplexity  to  the  court  of  reason, 
to  listen  to  the  impulses  of  love  and  to 
take  a  "quarter  of  an  hour,"  nationally 
speaking,  to  commune  with  God  and 
with  the  voice  within.  We  should  go 
behind  that  ragged  page,  born  out  of 
expediency  and  cruelty,  the  selfishness 
of  formality  and  precedent,  which  we 
call  "International  Law,"  a  thing  of 
shreds  and  tatters,  at  best,  born  out  of 
a  false  assumption  that  the  normal  re- 
lations between  nations  are  those  of 
rivalry  and  antagonism  and  not  of  a 
community  interest. 

Steps  may  be  taken  down  there  at 
Washington  which  will  strike  a  bloody 
sword  deep  into  the  flesh  of  this  nation 
where  a  million  quivering  nerves, 
deeper  than  consciousness,  bind  us  to 
the  Fatherland  over  there.  It  is  inter- 
national vivisection,  without  cause  and 
without  profit,  if  we  look  at  it  even  on 
the  external  side  of  things  alone. 
Here  our  New  Germany  is  summoned 
to  our  colors  to  strike  at  the  heart 
of  the  Fatherland. 

the  civil  war 

I  have  mounted  guard  on  many  a 
weary  watch  under  the  direction  of  a 
German  sergeant.  I  have  divided  my 
rations  with  and  profited  by  the  prow- 
ess of  "Fred  Schmidt"  more  than  once. 
I  walked  afoot  while  my  German  lieu- 
tenant rode  horseback.  I  saw  Carl 
Schurz,  clad  in  the  panoply  of  war, 
lead  his  11th  and  12th  corps  up  the 
bloody  side  of  Missionary  Ridge.  I 
saw  dear  old  Colonel  Matthias  of  the 
"Fife-th"  Iowa,  as  he  used  to  call  it, 
after  the  bloody  battle  of  Corinth,  dis- 
mounting and  falling  on  the  logs  as  he 
sobbed,  "My  Boys !  My  poor  Boys !" 
— one  hundred  or  more  of  them  lying 
there  in  one  trench.  I  know  of  Colo- 
nel Matthias  on  the  charge.  I  know 
of  how  the  boys  loved  him  on  the 
march.  He  had  a  reputation  for  dis- 
cipline and  military  usefulness  which 
he  brought  from  his  years  of  training 
across  the  sea,  but  I  think  of  Colonel 
Matthias  most  tenderly  shedding  bit- 
ter tears  over  that  open  grave  where 
his  boys  were  lying — those  boys  who 
were  so  much  alive  the  day  before. 
All  the  United  States  is  quivering 


14 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  22,  1917 


with  gentle  emotions  to-day  where  di- 
vided loyalties  are  being  challenged  by 
the  cruel  brutality  that  may  declare 
war  with  a  precipitancy  with  which  no 
benignant  project,  national  or  other- 
wise, would  be  entered  upon. 

AN     INHERITANCE     FROM     THE     BRUTE 

So  I  stand  here  to  say  again  that 
war  is  wrong,  unalterably  wrong,  an 
inheritance  from  the  brute,  and  there 
is  a  better  way  to  do  it. 

Said  a  man  to  me  the  other  day 
when  I  was  talking  to  the  students  of 
the  Lane  Technical  High  School :  "Do 
you  think  that  your  ideals  will  come 
true  in  a  thousand  years?"  I  did  not 
wait  for  the  conclusion  of  his  sentence 
before  I  exclaimed :  "That  is  none  of 
my  business.  I  don't  know  whether  it 
will  be  a  thousand  years  or  five  thou- 


sand years.  I  know  where  I  belong 
and  I  know  what  ultimately  will  tri- 
umph." 

The  time  is  coming  for  the  United 
States  to  decide  whether  it  will  ally 
itself  with  Christ  or  with  Csesar, 
whether  the  law  of  love  can  be  tried  or 
the  law  of  hate  be  resorted  to. 

Oh,  but  "Honor!  Honor!"  Honor 
to  the  wind  where  love  and  right  and 
beauty  and  humanity  are  jeopardized. 
Oh,  our  country  will  be  valorous  on 
sea  or  land,  if  it  sallies  forth,  but  it 
will  be  a  valor  allied  to  cowardice  com- 
pared to  the  sublime  valor  of  Calvary, 
which  still  waits  for  a  nation  to  vindi- 
cate the  Christ  as  he  has  been  over- 
whelmingly vindicated  in  individual 
lives. 

And  so  to  ease  my  own  soul — not 
because  I  thought  it  could  reach  the 


Centre — I  sent  this  telegram  to  our 
President  in  whom  I  have  trusted  and 
in  whom  I  still  have  hope : 

Keep  us  out  of  war.  The  incivilities  of 
war-maddened  monarchies  are  no  ade- 
quate excuse  for  plunging  a  great  democ- 
racy into  the  same  madness.  The  de- 
struction of  a  few  lives  and  ships  cannot 
be  atoned  for  by  sacrificing  countless  lives 
and  homes.  A  wrong  cannot  be  righted  by 
added  wrongs.  Our  crowning  dishonor 
would  be  to  surrender  to  the  war  spirit  in 
this  dire  crisis  of  civilization  and  of  our 
boasted  Christianity.  Now,  if  ever,  should 
the  choice  be  made:  Is  it  Christ  or  Caesar? 

While  the  blackest,  the  damnedest 
war  is  a  transient  thing,  and  the  tri- 
umphs of  the  noblest  and  greatest  of 
wars  are  evanescent,  still  the  tides  of 
life  are  ever  onward  and  upward,  and 
we,  God  helping  us,  must  go  in  that  di- 
rection. 


Social  Service  in  China 

How  the  Heralds  of  the  Gospel  Are  Winning  Their  Way  Into  the  Inner  Life  of  Chu  Chow 

BY  ELLIOTT  I.  OSGOOD 


IN  spite  of  the  shortage  of  crops, 
with  real  famine  in  many  places 
not  far  distant,  things  keep  moving 
here.  A  few  days  ago,  I  baptized 
eight  of  our  school  boys,  our  oldest 
Chinese  woman  teacher  and  the  wife 
of  the  head  teacher  of  our  girls'  school. 
We  were  especially  happy  over  the 
conversion  of  the  woman  teacher. 

She  perhaps  is  not  the  only  educated 
woman  in  this  city  who  had  come 
down  from  the  old  regime,  yet  I  know 
of  no  other.  For  years  she  had  a  girls' 
school  of  her  own  until  the  change  in 
China  caused  the  old  class  schools  to 
pass  away.  She  is  a  woman  of  be- 
tween forty  and  fifty.  We  needed  just 
such  a  woman  to  help  maintain  a  social 
standard  in  our  school  that  would  at- 
tract others  in  the  city.  She  is  a 
woman  of  very  high  character  and  that 
is  what  we  wanted  most  of  all.  Now 
that  she  has  become  a  Christian,  we 
look  forward  to  her  being  of  great 
help  in  reaching  and  teaching  other 
women.  Her  only  son,  a  fine  young 
man  of  nineteen,  who  is  in  our  boys' 
school,  was  also  baptized  and  he  is  a 
leader  among  the  boys. 

WORKING  WITH  YOUNG  PEOPLE 

I  have  been  having  a  Bible  study 
class  of  the  best  school  teachers  in  the 
city.  Two  of  them  are  very  near  de- 
ciding to  be  Christians  and  they  are 
working  to  have  three  more  join  with 
them.  I  believe  that  I  can  soon  report 
their  being  baptized.  We  also  had 
sent  in  the  other  day  a  list  of  ten  young 
fellows  who  wanted  to  organize  a 
Bible  study  class  and  mutual  help  as- 
sociation, with  athletic  work  in  mind. 
They  are  of  the  class  who  have  not 


much  to  do,  yet  are  not  very  bad  and 
certainly  not  very  good.  We  have 
formed  them  into  a  class  and  they  will 
meet  each  Wednesday  for  Bible  study, 
and  perhaps  we  can  give  them  other 
things  that  will  make  their  heretofore 
idle  hours  into  something  worth  while. 
Young  men  and  old,  young  women 
and  old,  are  alike  the  world  over. 
They  have  their  heartbreaks  and  re- 
joicings here  just  as  anywhere  else. 
They  come  to  us  to  be  comforted  and 
to  be  guided  and  to  be  inspired.  We 
have  to  be  fathers  and  mothers  to 
them.  In  all  of  our  playgrounds  and 
bridge  buildings,  we  do  not  forget  that 
we  want  them  for  Christ. 

GETTING  SOME  THINGS  DONE 

During  the  last  few  days  I  have  been 
in  quite  close  touch  with  the  city  lead- 
ers and  the  official.  They  started  last 
summer  to  rebuild  an  old  stone  bridge, 
torn  down  sixty  years  ago  by  the  Tai- 
pings.  They  want  to  connect  the  north 
part  of  the  city  with  the  new  park 
and  playgrounds.  The  bridge  has  three 
stone  arches  and  will  rise  twenty-five 
feet  above  low  water.  The  contractor 
agreed  to  build  at  a  ridiculously  low 
price  and  got  into  a  hole.  The  short 
crops  shut  off  municipal  moneys,  as 
well  as  possibilities  of  subscriptions. 
They  were  $800  short.  As  our  reform 
society  had  fathered  the  scheme,  I  got 
on  the  inside.  They  thought  of  all 
possible  and  impossible  schemes  and 
finally  came  down  to  hunting  up  pieces 
of  land  belonging  to  the  city  which  had 
been  forgotten  and  which  people  had 
been  quietly  using  for  their  own  and 
hoped  to  get  this  recognized  as  really 
theirs.    There  were  pieces  of  temple 


lands  and  old  temple  sites.  They  are 
going  to  sell  these  and  put  the  money 
into  finishing  the  bridge.  They  are 
also  going  to  take  down  two  old 
temples  and  a  building  over  one  of  the 
outside  city  gates  and  rebuild  them  in 
the  park  for  public  uses. 

This  morning  I  took  the  official  out 
and  showed  him  an  old  stone  wall 
which  we  want  to  tear  down  for  use  in 
the  bridge,  and  also  showed  him  a  city 
gate  that  has  been  closed  since  the 
Revolution,  which  ought  to  have  been 
re-opened  long  ago. 

Incidentally,  I  showed  him  that 
there  was  a  piece  of  ground  to  which 
the  city  markets  ought  to  be  moved. 
At  present,  these  markets  twice  every 
ten  days,  fill  up  the  main  street  with 
pigs  and  buffalos  and  donkeys  and 
bamboos,  which  are  being  offered  for 
sale.  People  can  hardly  get  through 
the  crowd  to  the  railroad  station.  This 
new  site  will  take  away  that  every- 
fifth-day  market  congestion  and  leave 
the  main  route  of  traffic  free. 

SOME  ACHIEVEMENTS 


Think  of  it:  since  we  started  our 
reform  society,  we  have  macadamized 
a  street,  gotten  control  of  the  street 
cleaning,  built  several  public  lavatories, 
opened  a  park  and  playgrounds,  and 
are  building  a  bridge ;  and  now  we  are 
starting  a  school  for  the  illiterate  and 
are  winning  some  of  the  leading  peo- 
ple to  Christ.  Besides  the  city  is  be- 
coming known  all  over  China,  for  we 
have  taken  pains  to  publish  and  ad- 
vertise by  articles  in  the  Shanghai 
papers.  So,  you  see,  we  are  moving. 
After  a  few  more  years,  things  will  go 
much  easier. 


llUllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIII 


The    Larger    Christian   World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 

lllllllIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIl 


Episcopalians 
Enlarge  Hymn-book 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
has  enlarged  its  hymn-book  the  past 
year  by  the  addition  of  126  new 
hymns.  Dean  Peter  Lutkin  of 
Northwestern  School  of  Music  gives 
the  new  hymnal  much  praise.  The 
selection  of  hymns  was  not  confined 
to  Episcopalian  writers  nor  to  the 
work  of  those  who  are  deceased. 
The  book  contains  a  hymn  written 
by  Dr.  Frank  Mason  North,  secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  on  "Where  Cross  the 
Crowded  Ways  of  Life." 

Boy  Scout  Movement 
Goes  to  China 

The  methods  of  the  Boy  Scout 
movement  are  being  appropriated  by 
missionaries  upon  the  foreign  field. 
Rev.  F.  Stanley  Carson  of  the  Meth- 
odist mission  at  Hingwha,  South 
(China,  has  several  patrols.  About 
140  boys  have  been  examined  and 
iceepted  for  the  first  degree  of  the 
society. 

Priests  Changing 
Fellowship 

The  change  of  priests  from  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  fellowship  and  vice  versa 
:ontributes  much  to  the  interest  of 
life  in  these  religious  bodies.  The 
Protestant  Episcopal  paper,  the 
Living  Church,  insists  that  there 
js  a  regular  exodus  from  that  church 
pf  two  priests  a  year  into  the  Roman 
communication.  In  the  same  paper 
it  is  noted  that  a  Roman  Catholic 
priest  has  recanted  the  errors  of 
Romanism  and  returned  to  the  church 
of  his  fathers,  the  Protestant  Episco- 
ipal.  He  is  the  Rev.  Francis  M.  Mar- 
chant,  of  western  New  York. 

Jewish  Priest 
Comes  to  Chicago 

The  Rev.  A.  C.  Silverlight,  Epis- 
copal priest,  has  come  to  Chicago  to 
Work.  The  Jews  of  Toronto  have 
argely  enlisted  in  the  war,  so  he 
JfVas  not  needed  there.  He  will  have 
charge  of  the  Chicago  Hebrew  In- 
stitute, and  is  assisting  in  the  servi- 
ces of  the  Church  of  the  Epiphany. 

A  Church  Census  of 
New  York  City 

The    most    difficult    census    ever 
nade  was  that  taken  in  New  York 


ill 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


City  early  in  February.  Catholics, 
Protestants  and  Jews  cooperated  in 
the  effort.  They  were  led  by  J. 
Shreve  Durham,  of  the  Interdenomi- 
national Sunday  School  Association, 
who  is  a  member  of  the  Memorial 
Church  of  Christ  in  Chicago.  Mr. 
Durham  succeeded  in  harmonizing 
the  various  religious  elements  and 
over  four  million  names  were  turner' 
in.  The  names  of  the  families  not 
reached  have  been  turned  over  to 
the  pastors  of  each  district  with  the 
injunction  to  follow  up  the  effort 
until  every  family  is  listed. 

Disintegrating  Tendencies 
in  Christian  Science 

There  have  been  rumors  ever  since 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Mary  Baker  Eddy 
of  the  possibility  of  a  disintegra- 
tion of  the  Christian  Science  move- 
ment. There  has  been  organized  in 
St.  Louis  "The  First  Primitive 
Church  of  Christ,  Scientist."  This 
will  be  under  the  ministry  of  Leon 
Greenbaum,  P.  C.  S.  This  church 
was  modern  enough  to  install  elec- 
tric fans  last  summer  in  order  to 
overcome  a  "belief"  in  the  weather. 

Turks  Bar 
Christian  Ship 

The  mind  of  the  Turk  has  always 
been  a  mystery,  but  never  more  so 
than  in  his  action  forbidding  the 
landing  of  the  Caesar,  a  relief  ship 
sent  to  Syria  before  Christmas.  The 
ship  is  laden  with  provisions  for 
which  the  people  are  perishing.  It 
is  now  in  the  harbor  at  Alexandria, 
Egypt,  where  it  will  remain  until  the 
matter  is  ironed  out  with  the  Turk- 
ish authorities.  Should  the  break 
with  Germany  lead  to  war,  the  ship 
may  never  reach  a  Turkish  port. 

Will  Furnish  Literature 
for  Mission  Fields 

The  Edinburgh  Conference  re- 
sulted in  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee for  the  production  of  a 
Christian  literature  for  the  mission 
fields.  This  committee  is  now  urg- 
ing upon  the  various  missionary  so- 
cieties that  something  be  done.  In 
Korea  there  are  300,000  native 
Christians,  but  no  commentaries,  no 
devotional  books,  no  Christian  bi- 
ographies, no  concordances,  dic- 
tionaries of  the  Bible  or  works  on 
Christian  evidences.  This  need  is 
paralleled  in  many  other  mission 
fields. 


Chicago  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Makes  Larger  Plans 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation of  Chicago  is  making  a 
great  place  for  itself  in  the  city  life. 
It  now  has  35,000  members,  a  gain 
of  6,000  during  a  year.  During  the 
past  year  the  new  million  dollar  ho- 
tel for  transient  young  men  has 
been  opened.  It  is  now  proposed  to 
build  new  branch  equipment  for 
professional  students  on  the  West 
side  of  the  city,  and  for  various 
groups  of  industrial  workers.  The 
Central  Association  in  the  loop  is 
also  to  undergo  extensive  improve- 
ments. 

Prosecuted  for 
Blasphemy 

Survivals  of  the  stringent  laws 
regulating  religious  practice  in  the 
past  are  still  to  be  found  in  the  East. 
A  suit  is  pending  against  an  athe- 
istic Lithuanian  free-thinker  under 
an  old  law  relating  to  blasphemy. 
The  suit  is  brought  by  Roman 
Catholic  priests.  The  first  press  re- 
port had  the  sensational  story  that 
a  "higher  critic"  was  being  sued 
for  his  utterances  about  Jonah! 

Rescue  Missions 
Being  Closed 

Prohibition  may  be  the  death  of 
the  rescue  missions  of  the  large 
cities.  The  Brotherhood  League 
Club  mission  of  Seattle  was  once 
a  flourishing  institution  with  much 
work  to  do,  but  since  the  saloons 
have  been  voted  out,  the  workers 
have  been  idle.  Just  two  applica- 
tions for  help  were  received  within 
a  month,  so  the  mission  has  closed 
its  doors.  This  experience  will 
probably  be  repeated  in  other  cities. 

Scripture  for  a 
Million  Soldiers 

The  World's  Sunday  School  As- 
sociation set  out  to  provide  the 
New  Testament  to  a  million  soldiers, 
and  it  is  now  reported  that  this  goal 
has  been  reached,  with  the  modifi- 
cation that  copies  of  the  gospels 
have  been  provided  instead  of  the 
entire  New  Testament.  The  Sun- 
day School  organization  states  that 
it  will  now  start  for  the  second  mil- 
lion of  gospels.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
has  distributed  nearly  four  hundred 
thousand  copies  of  the  scriptures 
printed  in  more  than  twenty  differ- 
ent languages. 


Social  Interpretations 


illlllllllllllllltlllllllllllllllllllllllllllM 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


The  Danger  of  Losing  Our  Neutrality 


ALL  the  conditions  are  ripe  for 
us  to  be  swept  off  the  plains  of 
reason  into  the  chaos  of  war 
by  some  incident  that  would  give  birth 
to  a  "Remember  the  Maine"  cry.  Mc- 
Kinley  did  not  think  war  with  Spain 

necessary  to  a 
settlement  of  the 
Cuban  question, 
but  when  the 
Maine  was  de- 
stroyed, prestige 
and  authority 
and  statesman- 
ship all  went 
down  under  the 
wave  of  military 
suggestion  that 
swept  the  coun- 
try. The  pages  of  human  history  have 
been  reddened  many  times  with  such 
precipitations  of  reasoning  humanity 
into  unreason.  Note,  for  instance,  the 
fanatical  sweep  of  the  witchcraft  scare 
among  our  Puritan  ancestors  in  Salem 
and  of  the  Crusades  of  the  middle  ages 
that  carried  humanity  into  such  fanati- 
cal zeal  that  even  armies  of  children 
started  out  for  Jerusalem.  Travelers 
in  Europe  at  the  time  this  war  broke 
out  said  that  in  talking  with  the  rank 
and  file,  the  privates  who  were  being 
gathered  from  the  villages  and  farms 
of  the  countries  involved,  they  con- 
fessed they  did  not  know  why  they 
were  going  to  fight,  and  yet  the  nations 
involved  were  swept  with  a  tidal  wave 
of  military  passion  and  enthusiasm. 
War  is  a  reversion  to  the  primitive. 
There  have  been  many  times  in  the 
last  two  years  when  a  bellicose  Presi- 
dent could  have  blown  the  military 
bugle,  and  the  rank  and  file  of  Ameri- 
cans would  have  responded  with  the 
same  enthusiasm  that  the  rank  and 
file  of  the  nations  of  Europe  have 
shown,  and  we  today  are  standing 
upon  the  brink  of  such  a  reversion  to 
the  primitive  within  us ;  indeed  it  is 
a  marvel  of  contemporaneous  history 
that  the  calm,  serene,  but  deep  think- 
ing and  masterful  head  of  the  nation 
has  been  able  to  keep  us  from  being 
engulfed  by  the  war  spirit  of  the 
western  world. 


HAVE  WE  BEEN  NEUTRAL  f 

Considering  all  the  conditions,  our 
government  has  succeeded  marvelous- 
ly  well  in  keeping  neutral.  Perhaps  85 
per  cent  of  us  are  pro-Ally  sympa- 
thizers ;  about  the  same  percentage  of 
us  nre  Ally  in  our  inheritance.    The 


!l!lllllll!llll!lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!l!li 

"Britannia  Rules  the  Waves" ;  and 
what  of  the  dismal  history  of  Ireland 
for  the  past  three  centuries  and  the 
crushing  of  the  Boer  republic.  The 
writer  was  in  England  when  Dr. 
Aked's  church  was  stoned  and  W.  T. 
Stead  was  assaulted  on  the  streets  of 
London  and  Lloyd  George  was  hissed 
off  the  platform  for  protesting  against 
the  iniquity  of  the  Boer  conquest. 
Then  for  good  measure  let  us  recall 
that  Gen.  Grant,  who  fought  in  the 
Mexican  war  in  his  youth,  in  his  ma- 
turity called  it  one  of  the  most  un- 
justifiable wars  ever  waged.  When 
we  think  of  the  unspeakable  Belgian 
atrocities  let  us  recall  the  fact  that 
our  fathers  wiped  out  whole  Indian 
villages  because  "the  only  good  Indian 
was  a  dead  one,"  that  England  gave 
Longfellow  material  for  the  immortal 
"Evangeline"  by  transporting  a  whole 
people,  root  and  branch,  to  a  strange 
clime,  then  add  the  fact  that  half  of 
all  living  Irishmen  live  outside  the 
land  they  dearly  love  because  life  is 
intolerable  there.  None  of  these 
things  excuse  the  German  crime  but 
they  do  catalog  it  as  part  and  parcel 
of  the  military  business  and  dull  the 
edge  of  our  partizanship  and  deter- 
mine us  to  keep  a  non-military  mind 
and  preserve  our  neutrality  even  im 
the  face  of  our  convictions  that  Ger- 
many is  the  greatest  of  these  sinners. 
We  are  horrified  at  the  ruthless! 
threat  of  the  submarine  campaign. 
Here  again  it  is  simply  the  military 
idea  resorting  to  its  logical  extremity 
with  Germany  as  its  arch-exponent. 
Logically,  if  force  is  the  final  appeal, 
we  must  admit  the  legitimacy  of  such, 
a  policy  of  terrorism  and  assassination. 
What  we  cannot  admit  is  the  force 
theory  and  we  must  keep  ourselves' 
out  of  the  old  world  welter  that  has1 
arisen  out  of  that  old  world  theory 
and  through  its  practice  by  all  the  great 
nations  at  war. 


great  bulk  of  those  of  Germanic  in- 
heritance are  Germanic  in  their  sym- 
pathies, as  we  would  expect.  It  would 
be  indeed  a  rare  accomplishment  of 
dispassionate  reasoning  that  would  en- 
able one  of  Germanic  inheritance  to 
sympathize  with  the  enemies  of  his 
country  in  a  time  of  crisis,  or  for 
those  of  us  who  are  Slavic,  Romic  or 
Angflo-Saxon  in  our  racial  inheritance 
to  reason  otherwise  than  sympathetic- 
ally with  the  lands  of  our  fathers. 
Joseph  Choate  said  in  England  some 
time  ago  that  our  government  was  neu- 
tral and  should  be,  but  that  our  people 
were  overwhelmingly  pro-Ally.  Some 
publicists,  together  with  most  German 
sympathizers,  claim  that  our  govern- 
ment has  not  been  neutral.  We  have 
furnished  the  Allies  with  money,  mu- 
nitions, merchandise  and  men,  but  we 
have  not  done  it  by  design.  Germany 
could  have  had  all  of  these  were  it  not 
for  the  fact  that  the  Allies  have  pre- 
vented her  from  coming  to  get  them. 
Had  we  by  design  denied  the  Allies  ac- 
cess to  our  ports  because  Germany 
could  not  reach  them  we  would  have 
been  pro-German  in  that  we  rendered 
void  the  allied  blockade  on  Germany's 
behalf ;  in  other  words,  we  have  been 
severely  neutral  even  to  the  extent  of 
refusing  to  meet  Germany's  impor- 
tunity by  denying  the  Allies  the  privi- 
lege of  realizing  upon  our  neutrality 
simply  because  Germany  was  not  able 
by  force  of  circumstances  to  do  the 

same. 

*     *     * 

KEEPING  THE  NEUTRAL  VIEWPOINT 

We  need  the  perspective  of  a  little 
history  to  dull  the  edge  of  our  parti- 
sanship and  to  help  us  preserve  a 
neutral  viewpoint.  Germany's  sin  is 
not  of  different  kind  so  much  as  of 
greater  degree.  Let  us  remember  that 
only  a  few  years  ago  France  came  near 
precipitating  this  war  through  the  Al- 
geciris  affair  and  the  taking  of  Mo- 
rocco, and  that  the  story  of  her  con- 
quest of  Cochin  China  is  not  lovely 
reading  to  those  of  us  who  love  her 
today  because  of  her  sacrifice  and  he- 
roism. Let  us  look  over  a  century's 
history  of  Russia — the  grasping,  con- 
quering giant  whose  borders  have  been 
extended  in  every  direction,  and  then 
recall  how  Italy  renewed  the  memories 
of  old  Rome  with  the  wanton  seizure 
of  Tripoli  so  recently  that  the  smoke 
had  not  died  out  of  her  guns  when 
this  war  was  declared.  Then  what 
of  the  past  century  of  Britain's  im- 
perialism   and    her    "navalism"    and 


WE  MUST  REMAIN  NEUTRAL 

The  theory  of  the  Old  World  has' 
been  that  civilization  was  based  upor1 
force.     It  was  the  doctrine  of  Na 
poleon,  Bismarck  and  Kitchener  an<i 
it  is  the  doctrine  of  a  certain  bellicosi 
element  of  our  own  country.     Triet 
schke   perhaps    most   amply    set    thi 
forth  when  he  talked  history  to  th< 
German  nation.     The  source  of  hit 
appeal,    however,    was   the    story   o 
these  elder  nations  that  today  are  fight 
ing  Germany.    It  was  upon  this  theor 
that     Bismarck    wrought     when    hi 
crushed   France   a   half-century  ag(i 
Certainly  this  war  discredits  the  fprc 


February  22,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


17 


heory;  it  has  failed  in  the  laboratory 
est  of  experience.  Nation  has  armed 
.gainst  nation  and  with  a  curious  per- 
version of  the  theory  that  the  best  way 
o  keep  peace  is  to  prepare  for  war 
las  engulfed  the  world  in  a  war  that 
ngages  more  men  than  have  all  the 
vars  of  civilized  history  and  which 
vhen  it  is  finished  will  have  taken 
nore  lives  than  have  all  the  wars  of 
he  Christian  Era.  Our  country  must 
ie  the  arbiter,  the  international 
>rophet  and  the  statesmanlike  leader 
or  that  better  and  more  Christian 
heory  that  civilization  is  based  upon 
ustice  and  that  force  is  only  the 
oercive  arm  of  justice.  The  theory 
>f  force  as  the  basis,  because  it  was 
he  last  appeal  of  governments  and 
:ivilization,  was  the  fruitful  mother 
)f  conquest,  imperialism,  autocracy, 
he  divine  right  of  kings,  paternalism, 
md  class  privilege.  The  theory  of 
ustice  as  the  basis  of  government, 
ising  force  as  a  police  power,  is  the 
nother  of  democracy,  equality  and 
•ight.  As  the  greatest  of  the  neutrals 
ve  have  sought  to  uphold  international 
aw  because  it  is  civilization's  effort 
o  restrict  war  and  deprive  it  of  its 
avagery  and  anarchy.  In  every  war 
here  will  be  abrasion  of  international 
aw.  Men  cannot  fight  in  your  back 
rard  without  interfering  with  the 
ights  of  the  neighborhood,  and  when 
lalf  the  neighborhood  turns  out  to 
ight  in  your  front  yard  it  will  be  im- 
)Ossible  for  you  to  resent  every  abra- 
don  of  your  rights  or  those  of  the 
leighborhood  which  is  not  in  the  fight, 
rhus  there  have  been  scores  of  inci- 
lents  since  this  war  broke  out  against 
vhich  we  have  had  to  protest  and 
>ver  which,  had  we  followed  some  of 
mr  hot-headed  leaders,  we  could  have 
:ntered  the  general  melee.  Only  the 
narvelous  patience  of  the  President 
las  saved  us  from  such  a  disaster, 
^ow  we  face  a  direct,  deliberate  and 
najor  abrasion  of  international  law 
tnd  the  rights  not  only  of  neutrals  but 
)f  humanity,  in  the  desperate  deter- 
nination  of  the  German  military 
>owers  to  blockade  England  by  the 
vholesale  sinking  of  even  neutral 
hips,  with  the  implied  assassination 
>f  their  crews  and  passengers.  Now 
>atience  ceases  to  be  a  virtue  and  it 
nay  become  our  clear  human  duty  to 
ise  the  long  arm  of  force  to  enforce 
ustice  and  the  rights  of  humanity. 
Jut  if  we  do  we  should  still  keep  our 
ieutrality  and  fight  for  the  sake  of 
ustice  and  international  law  and  hu- 
nanity  and  not  join  the  Allies  in 
heir  historic  quarrel  with  the  Central 
'owers,  for  in  that  we  have  no  part. 


i[I!lll!!!IIIIIIIIIIII!lillllllllllllll 


y  School 


!i!l!!!!!lil!!!l!ll!!ll!!!llll;llillIIIIII!B^ 


Hungry  for  What? 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life 
BY  JOHN  R.  EWERS 


Fifteen  years  ago  not  one  Filipino  had 
ver  been  inside  of  a  Sunday-school;  to- 
ay  the  Philippine  Islands  have  an  en- 
Jllment  of  nearly  60,000,  and  the  move- 
pent  is  only  just  begining. 


Would  it  seem  an  ultra-radical  idea 
to  you  if  I  should  say  that  all  that 
God  requires  of  you  is  to  be  a  normal 
man  or  woman?  Phillips  Brooks  had 
that  idea.  God  wants  a  man  to  be  a 
full-orbed  man.     A  father  wants  his 

son  to  grow  up 
to  be  a  real  man. 
He  does  not 
want  that  son  to 
drink  or  to  be 
impure  because 
those  evil  practi- 
ces would  rot 
the  fibre  of  his 
soul  and  leave 
him  less  a  man. 
He  wants  his 
son  to  over- 
come obstacles  and  to  have  his  lat- 
ent abilities  brought  out.  Sins  make 
us  less  than  normal  men.  I  do  not 
care  whether  you  believe  in  original 
sin  or  plagiarized  sin,  transmitted  or 
acquired,  or  both.  It  is  the  sins  in 
your  life  that  make  you  sub-normal. 
Your  body,  mind  and  soul  are  less 
than  normal  because  you  are  weak- 
ened by  sins — definite,  concrete,  nam- 
able  sins — not  some  vague,  intang- 
ible, hazy  thing. 

You  see  this  in  the  art  in  European 
galleries.  Notice  the  torso!  Venus 
de  Milo — arms  gone.  Winged  Victory 
— head  gone.  Elgin  Marbles — only 
parts.  What  would  we  not  give  to  see 
the  entire  statues?  But  it  is  even  so 
with  men — broken  fragments  of  nor- 
mal men.  Now  God  wants  us  to  be 
full-orbed,  perfectly-developed  men 
and  women.  He  will  be  satisfied  when 
that  is  accomplished.  We  need  Jesus 
because  the  oceans  cannot  wash  us 
clean,  the  perfumes  of  Arabia  cannot 
sweeten  us  and  we  lack  the  stuff  to 
build  up  again  the  broken  parts. 
*     *     * 

We  are  hungry— but  for  what? 
Our  tastes  are  perverted.  We  need 
bread ;  we  want  marshmallows !  We 
need  meat ;  we  want  bonbons !  We 
need  milk ;  we  want  frothy  sodas ! 
Here  is  the  secret  of  weakness.  A 
modern  English  writer  complains  be- 
cause men  will  not  read  solid  litera- 
ture anymore ;  they  turn  from  the 
bread  to  the  confectionery. 

*The  above  article  is  based  upon  the  In- 
ternational Uniform  Lesson  for  March  11, 
"Jesus  the  Bread  of  Life."     John  6:22-40. 


I  stood  at  the  end  of  a  bridge  and 
watched  the  people  coming  over  it — all 
were  hungry.  Some  were  in  need  of 
material  food.  All  were  lean  and 
hungry,  or  fat  and  still  hungry,  or 
neither  lean  or  fat  but  yet  hungry. 
Some  looked  like  lean  tigers.  All 
were  on  the  trail.  Yes,  they  were 
hungry,  but  not  one  in  a  hundred  knew 
what  he  ought  to  feed  upon.  All  were 
predatory.  Like  animals  they  pursued 
their  prey.  Many,  most  were  hungry 
for  money.  Doomed  never  to  be  satis- 
fied. Some  were  hungry  for  recogni- 
tion —  fame-seekers  —  a  feeding  on 
vapor.  Some  rolled  bloodshot  eyes  in 
quest  of  bodily  appetites.  Others 
merely  looked  for  ease.  Hungry, 
driven  beasts — how  pitiable.  It  needs 
a  Russian  novelist  to  picture  these 
modern  people  with  their  hungers, 
their  perverted  tastes. 

If  Jesus  could  stand  at  the  end  of 
the  bridge  he  would  cry  out,  "I  am  the 
Bread  of  Life !"  "I  am  the  Bread  sent 
down  from  heaven !"  Christ  alone  is 
the  satisfaction  of  our  lives.  He  alone 
is  the  life-giving  bread.  Within  the 
hour  I  have  been  talking  to  a  minister 
who  has  been  telling  me  of  the  "Holi- 
ness" people  in  his  church.  These 
people  tell  of  the  miraculous  way 
Christ  has  entered  their  lives,  leaving 
them  without  desire  to  sin  any  more, 
leaving  them  abiding  in  a  perfumed 
paradise.  The  tragedy  is  that  these 
people  are  so  near  and  yet  so  far! 
They  burlesque  Christianity.  They 
make  one  hesitate  to  talk  about  the 
highest  and  best  experience  that  may 
be  ours. 

We  must  not,  however,  allow  this 
"Holiness  Crowd"  to  prejudice  us 
against  a  rational  acceptation  of  the 
truth  we  are  considering.  Christ  is  the 
Bread  of  Life.  He  alone  can  satisfy 
our  hunger.  We  shall  be  restless  until 
we  rest  in  him. 

Pray  for  normal  tastes.  Pray  for 
essential  appetites.  Ask  to  be  a  real 
man.  Feed  your  soul  not  on  confec- 
tions but  on  the  very  Christ.  Not 
only  ignorant  fanatics  but  many  proud 
scholars  feast  upon  frothy  concoc- 
tions which  lack  strength  producing 
elements.  Bread  gives  you  power. 
With  power  you  can  do  the  world's 
work.  Examine  your  hungers.  Test 
your  foods.  Weigh  your  actual  work. 
Bread,  exercise,  results. 


18 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  22,  1917 


Disciples  Table  Talk  | 


Dr.  Ainslie  Expresses 
Himself  on  Peace 

The  New  York  Independent  of  a  re- 
cent date  contains  replies  from  a  num- 
ber of  prominent  ministers  and  publicists 
in  answer  to  a  question  sent  out  by  that 
periodical  as  to  whether  or  not  the  time 
is  ripe  for  peace.  Dr.  Peter  Ainslie's 
reply  is  as  follows:  "Germany's  pro- 
posals for  peace  should  be  taken  in  sin- 
cerity until  her  conditions  of  peace  re- 
veal her  insincerity.  Then  is  the  time 
for  protests,  for  there  are  wrongs  to  be 
righted — wrongs  that  Germany  must 
right  without  which  there  can  be  no 
peace — but  has  the  time  come  when  this 
can  be  done  by  force  of  reason  rather 
than  by  force  of  steel?  If  the  church 
followed  more  closely  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  it  might  become  a  factor  in  hasten- 
ing the  end.  The  world  must  come  to 
know  that  the  one  moral  equivalent  for 
war  is  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
these  days  test  men's  faith  in  Him." 

Indiana  Pastor  of  English  Birth 
Will  Not  Fight  England's  Battles 

"I  am  willing  to  fight  for  my  country, 
but  this  is  my  country,"  were  the  words 
used  by  D.  L.  Milligan,  of  the  East 
Columbus,  Ind.,  church,  when  he  was 
urged  by  one  of  his  eight  brothers,  who 
are  fighting  in  the  English  army  and 
navy  to  join  them.  Mr.  Milligan  also 
has  two  sisters  engaged  in  the  muni- 
tions factories.  One  of  his  brothers  had 
part  in  the  historic  battle  off  Jutland  and 
another  was  in  the  fighting  in  the 
Dardanelles  campaign.  D.  L.  Milligan 
has  been  in  America  for  the  past  fifteen 
years,  although  he  has  not  become  fully 
naturalized. 

C.  S.  Medbury  Would  Fight, 
But  Still  Protest 

Although  Charles  S.  Medbury,  of  Des 
Moines,  believes  that  "the  demand  of 
the  day's  patriotism  is  that  we  stand  by 
the  President,"  and  if  necessary  fight, 
yet  he  holds  that  "it  is  also  demanded 
of  us  by  the  new  patriotism  that  we  con- 
tinue, even  in  war,  to  maintain  the  atti- 
tude of  protest  against  it.  We  will  only 
go  where  violated  rights  lead  us.  No 
marks  of  aggression  shall  mark  us.  We 
seek  no  personal  or  national  advantages 
whatever.  To  use  the  President's  own 
words,  we  'seek  merely  to  vindicate  our 
right  to  liberty  and  justice  and  an  un- 
molested life.'" 

President  J.  A.  Serena 
Keeps  Busy 

President  Joseph  A.  Serena,  of  Wil- 
liam Woods  College,  spoke  on  Christian 
education  in  the  following  places  during 
January:  Montgomery  City,  Mexico, 
Louisiana,  Bowling  Green,  Slater,  Mar- 
shall and  Jefferson  City,  Mo.  He  ex- 
pected to  spend  most  of  February  in 
Oklahoma  as  a  member  of  the  Men  and 
Millions  team.  This  will  be  the  fourth 
campaign  he  has  been  in  with  this  move- 
ment. 

A  Brotherhood  in  Nebraska 
That  Does  Things 

The  men  of  the  Berean  Brotherhood  at 
First  church,  Lincoln,  Neb.,  held  a  ban- 
quet  in   the   basement   of   the   church   a 


few  evenings  ago,  at  which  forty  men 
attended.  The  question  of  the  regula- 
tion of  pool  halls  was  discussed  from 
both  sides,  several  speakers  outside  of 
the  Brotherhood  being  present  to  repre- 
sent one  side  or  the  other.  Among  the 
speakers  present  were:  Secretary  Luke, 
of  the  local  Y.  M.  C.  A.;  Mayor  Bryan, 
author  of  the  ordinance  before  the  com- 
mission; John  Wright,  commissioner  of 
public  safety;  Chief  of  Police  Antles,  ex- 
Chief  Malone,  and  James  E.  Beltzer, 
proprietor  of  a  local  pool  hall.  The 
question  was  taken  up  and  discussed 
much  as  a  body  of  legislators  would 
deal  with  it. 

Editor  of  The  Christian  Century 
Has  Busy  Week  in  Des  Moines 

Editor  C.  C.  Morrison  preached  for 
the  Forest  Avenue  Church,  Kansas  City, 
Russell  B.  Briney,  pastor,  on  Sunday, 
February  4.  Mr.  Morrison  delivered  five 
addresses  to  various  audiences  in  Drake 
University,  Des  Moines,  during  the 
week  following  and  preached  for  W.  A. 
Shullenberger  at  Central  Church  on 
February  11.  At  a  meeting  of  students 
and  members  of  the  faculty  of  the  Bible 
College  at  Drake,  about  twenty-five 
Bible  College  men  subscribed  for  The 
Christian  Century,  and  a  small  fund 
was  made  up  of  contributions  by  Dean 
Caldwell  and  other  instructors  to  send 
the  paper  to  a  number  of  students  who 
cannot  afford  to  pay  for  it.  On  Monday 
evening,  February  12,  a  dinner  was 
given  to  Mr.  Morrison  by  a  large  com- 
pany of  friends  of  The  Christian  Cen- 
tury, at  which  time  addresses  were 
made  by  Mr.  Morrison  and  others  on 
the  forward  movement  of  the  Disciples. 
Many  of  Des  Moines'  leading  citizens 
were  present. 

Northwestern  Ohio  Ministers 
Meet  at  Bowling  Green 

The  February  meeting  of  the  North- 
western Ohio  Ministers'  Association  was 
held  at  Bowling  Green  on  February  12. 
Although  the  weather  was  the  coldest 
of  the  winter  fourteen  ministers,  from 
six  counties,  were  present.    At  the  morn- 


ing session,  Stephen  J.  Corey  addressed 
the  association  on  "The  Needs  of  the 
Mission  Fields,"  giving  locations  of  the 
various  mission  stations,  the  progress 
that  had  been  made,  and  the  great  need 
of  more  workers  and  better  equipment 
on  all  these  fields.  An  open  discussion 
of  the  plans  and  problems  of  the  For- 
eign Society  followed.  At  the  next 
meeting,  at  Central  Church,  Toledo,  W. 
C.  Prewitt,  of  Bowling  Green,  will  read 
a  paper  on  "The  Minister's  Spiritual 
Culture."  The  book  review,  "The  Trail 
to  the  Hearts  of  Men,"  will  be  given  by 
R.  C.  Lemon,  of  Sandusky.  The  North- 
western Ohio  Ministers'  Association  was 
organized  last  October,  and  meets  regu- 
larly the  second  Monday  of  each  month. 
J.  J.  Tisdall,  of  the  Norwood  Avenue 
Church,  Toledo,  is  the  president;  D.  W. 
Miller,  of  Weston,  vice-president;  Ed- 
ward Goller,  assistant  at  Central,  Toledo, 
secretary-treasurer. 

Honor  for  Oakland,  Cal.. 
Pastor 

H.  A.  Van  Winkle,  the  new  pastor  at 
Oakland,  Cal.,  First  Church,  has  been 
appointed  pastoral  counselor  for  the 
Alameda  County  Christian  Endeavor 
Union,  which  includes  more  than  ninety 
societies.  First  Church  has  a  very  lively 
men's  club,  which  meets  once  a  month 
and  listens  to  men  and  women  prominent 
in  various  lines  of  public  service.  Capt. 
W.  I.  Day,  noted  prison  reform  worker, 
talked  to  the  club  last  month.  Mr.  Van 
Winkle  preached  a  sermon  early  this 
month  on  "Education  as  the  Cure  for 
Vice,"  which  was  given  an  elaborate 
write-up  in  a  local  paper.  This  church 
is  preparing  for  a  series  of  evangelistic 
meetings  in  April,  with  the  Kellems 
brothers  leading. 

Forward  Steps  at  East 
End,  Pittsburgh 

Over  250  members  of  the  East  End 
church,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  banqueted  to- 
gether on  February  14.  Reports  showed 
that  $18,500  was  raised  during  last  year; 
fifty-eight  new  members  were  added; 
$200,000  was  pledged  for  the  new  church, 
for  which  ground  will  be  broken  May  1. 
The  Margaret  Oliver  Memorial  Bible 
School  Building  will  first  be  erected.  A 
lot  has  already  been  purchased  for  $35,- 
000.  John  R.  Ewers  is  in  his  eighth  year 
as  pastor  at  East  End. 


pillllllllllllllllilllllllllilllllllilllllllllllllllH 

I  Our  Readers'  Opinions  j 

piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ 


LINCOLN     AND     THE     DISCIPLES 
OF  CHRIST 

Editor  The  Christian  Century: 

At  the  close  of  an  article  on  "Lincoln's 
Religious  Testimony,"  in  the  "Century" 
of  February  8,  you  ask,  "Would  Lin- 
coln have  been  at  home  among  the 
Disciples  of  Christ?"  I  can  answer  this, 
on  unimpeachable  testimony  as  given  me 
by  Rollo  W.  Diller,  now  deceased,  v/ho 
lived  many  years  on  the  same  block  with 
Lincoln. 

Mr.  Diller  said  that  Lincoln  desired 
to  make  the  confession,  and  unite  with 
the  Christian  church  under  the  preach- 
ing of  E.  D.  Baker,  a  lawyer-preacher, 
who  was  afterwards  commissioned  by 
Lincoln  a  major  general,  and  who  was 
killed  at  Bull's  Bluff  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Civil  War.  Mrs.  Lincoln  objected 
so    strenuously   that   Lincoln    postponed 


his  decision  until  too  late,  hoping  the 
objections  of  his  wife  might  be  over- 
come. This  information  was  confirmed 
to  me  by  others  in  Springfield,  who  re- 
membered the  occurrence. 
.  Mr.  Diller,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
same  church  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  in 
whose  store  Lincoln  spent  many  an  hour 
in  social  converse,  was  most  positive  in 
his  statement,  given  from  personal 
knowledge. 

I  am  not  writing  this  for  publication, 
but  merely  to  squander  two  cents  in 
answer  to  your  question,  because  I  firmly 
believe  Mr.  Diller  and  others  told  me 
what  was  positively  true.  Lincoln  and 
Baker  were  the  warmest  friends,  and 
Baker  was  one  of  the  most  eloquent  men 
that  ever  occupied  the_  pulpit  and  held  a 
seat  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

Chicago,  111.  S.  J.  Clarke. 


February  22,  1917 

few  Mission  Building  for 
jsaka,  Japan 

Our  Japan  mission  is  building  a  Chris- 
ian  institution  in  the  city  of  Osaka, 
nade  possible  by  a  gift  from  R.  A. 
^ong  for  the  lot  and  a  gift  from  a 
voman  in  the  West  for  the  building, 
["he  land  is  already  purchased  and  this 
tistitution  is  to  be  erected  in  the  heart 
if  that  great  city  of  one  million  people. 
i.  R.  Erskine  will  be  in  charge. 

)rake  Graduates  to  Work 
kmong  English  Soldiers 

It  is  announced  that  John  Roberts, 
vho  graduated  from  the  liberal  arts  and 
Jible  College  of  Drake  last  summer,  will 
fo  to  England  as  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  worker 
n  the  military  camps,  doubtless  in  asso- 
iation  with  Kirby  Page,  who  is  booked 
o  return  to  his  work  there.  They  ex- 
acted to  sail  about  February  10th,  but 
he  war  situation  will  probably  inter- 
ere  with  their  plans.  W.  E.  Roosa  is 
ilso  booked  to  accompany  Roberts  on 
lis  trip  to  England  and  to  be  engaged  in 
he  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work  among  the  soldiers. 
it  is  also  a  graduate  of  Drake. 

Endeavor  Societies 
;nd  Missions 

The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  at 
Sarber,  Okla.,  has  assumed  the  support 
>f  Elisha,  No.  709,  one  of  the  orphan 
>oys  at  Damoh,  India.  More  societies 
han  ever  before  observed  the  first  Sun- 
lay  in  February  as  Endeavor  Day,  using 
he  program  furnished  by  the  Foreign 
society,  "Life  Lines  Across  the  Sea." 
rhe  offering  for  the  Orphanage  at 
3amoh,  India,  will  probably  be  larger 
han  heretofore.  Many  societies  are  us- 
ng  the  missionary  plays  or  demonstra- 
ions  to  great  advantage.  They  give  the 
roung  people  something  definite  to  do 
ind  at  the  same  time  they  are  interest- 
ng  and  instructive.  Write  to  S.  J. 
Zorey,  Box  884,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  con- 
rerning  them. 

\ppreciation  for  Pennsylvania 
Leader 

F.  A.  Bright,  of  the  Bellevue  church, 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  writes  that  D.  Park 
Zhapman,  of  the  Observatory  Hill 
:hurch,  Pittsburgh,  has  been  elected  cor- 
responding secretary  of  the  Western 
Pennsylvania  Christian  Missionary  So- 
:iety  until  a  man  can  be  found  to  take 
:his  work  permanently.  Mr.  Chapman's 
address  is  309  Elsdon  street,  N.  S.,  Pitts- 
aurgh.  All  correspondence  and  offer- 
ngs  should  go  to  him  at  that  address. 
Mr.  Bright  writes  that  the  board  re- 
:ently  passed  a  unanimous  vote  of  ap- 
preciation of  the  work  of  A.  C.  Young, 
who  left  the  Pennsylvania  field  a  few 
weeks  ago  to  become  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  Hiram  College. 

Dr.  Paul  Wakefield 
Returning  on  Furlough 

The  family  of  Dr.  Paul  Wakefield, 
who  is  in  charge  of  hospital  work  in 
China,  being  supported  by  the  Liberty, 
Mo.,  church,  will  sail  for  America  on  the 
Empress  of  Russia  from  Shanghai  on 
March  17.  Dr.  Wakefield  will  follow  a 
little  later. 

U  Main  Street  Church, 
iokomo,  Ind. 

D.  H.  Shields,  of  Main  Street  Church, 
Kokomo,  Ind.,  writes  that  Secretary  G. 

Hoover  conducted  at  Kokomo  a  short 
ime  ago  "the  best  county  cooperative 
inference  in  the  history  of  the  work." 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


Mrs.  Kelly,  Miss  DeMoss  and  John  H. 
Booth,  of  the  national  societies,  aided 
in  the  program.  Main  Street  Church  has 
committees  at  work  preparing  for  the 
Indiana  State  convention,  which  meets 
at  Kokomo  May  14-17.  Mr.  Shields 
spent  several  days  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, he  writes,  representing  a  group  of 
men  helping  to  put  Indiana  dry.  He  is 
very  busy  in  the  work  of  the  church, 
with  an  average  of  a  wedding  and  a 
funeral  every  week  so  far  this  year,  in 
addition  to  his  regular  duties.  The  Sun- 
day school  is  planning  a  "Forward  Step 
Day." 

Foreign  Society  Has 
New  Headquarters 

The  Foreign  Society's  rooms  have  re- 
cently been  transferred  to  the  seventh 
floor  of  the  building  at  222  West  Fourth 
street,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  with  much 
pleasanter  quarters,  more  room  and  op- 
portunity- to  build  up  a  more  effective 
organization.  The  new  quarters  are 
modest,  but  well  equipped  and  lend 
themselves  to  greater  economy  in  the 
work.  Friends  are  asked  to  call  and 
visit  the  new  mission  rooms  and  make 
them  their  headquarters  while  in  Cin- 
cinnati. 

Chicago  Union  of  C.  W.  B.  M.'s 
to  Meet 

The  quarterly  convention  of  the  Chi- 
cago Union  of  the  Christian  Woman's 
Board  of  Missions  will  be  held  on  Thurs- 
day, March  1,  at  North  Shore  church, 
Terminal  Hall,  on  Wilson  avenue.  The 
hall  is  reached  by  the  Northwestern  Ele- 
vated. Features  of  the  program  are  ad- 
dresses by  Mrs.  G.  M.  Mathes,  president 
of  the  Woman's  Church  Federation;  by 
Mrs.  Anna  Barbre  Colgrove,  vice-presi- 
dent Illinois  State  C.  W.  B.  M.,  and  by 
Mrs.  F.  C.  Buck,  Luchowfu.  China.  Mrs. 
S.  J.  Russell  is  president  of  the  Chicago 
organization. 


Memorial  for 
Drake  Student 

The  "Volunteer  Bands"  and  Y.  M.  and 
Y.  W.  C.  A.'s  of  Drake  University,  in 
co-operation  with  Bethany  College,  are 
raising  funds  for  a  memorial  to  Frank 
Battson,  the  Drake  student  who  lost  his 
life  last  summer  in  an  effort  to  rescue 
some  companions  from  the  Des  Moines 
River.  On  March  1  memorial  services 
will  be  held  by  the  literary  societies  of 
Drake,  and  Secretary  S.  J.  Corey  will  de- 
liver addresses  in  behalf  of  the  cause. 

— The  enrollment  at  the  Des  Moines 
Sunday  School  Institute  has  reached  205. 

Large  Gifts  for 
Missions 

Recently  a  good  friend  of  foreign  mis- 
sions in  Missouri  has  given  $15,000  to 
special  work  in  one  of  the  great  mission 
fields  and  another  friend  in  California 
has  pledged  $20,000  for  the  same  work 
in  Africa.  Still  another  group  of  people 
in  a  strong  church  in  the  Central  states 
is  planning  for  large  endeavor  in  China. 

A  Bible  College  for 
California 

There  is  talk  of  launching  a  Bible 
College  in  California,  with  an  especial 
purpose  of  training  the  more  than  300 
"Life  Recruits"  who  have  been  won  to 
service  through  the  efforts  of  the  Men 
and  Millions  leaders.  The  representa- 
tives of  75  per  cent  of  the  churches  of 
the  state  unanimously  instructed  the  Col- 
lege Commission  to  proceed  at  once  to 
select  a  location  for  such  a  college. 

Mission  Work  in  Philippines 
Prospers 

The  new  dormintory  in  Manila  is  re- 
ported full  to  overflowing.  Bruce  L. 
Kershner  is  hoping  that  a  new  wing  will 
be  added  to  the  building  in  the  near  fu- 
ture,   to    accommodate    those    who    are 


The  Disciples'  Congress 


The  Disciples'  Congress  will  be  held 
in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  April  10-12,  probably 
at  the  Union  Avenue  church,  where  B. 
A.  Abbott  is  the  able  pastor. 

There  are  always  two  problems  con- 
nected with  this  desirable  gathering: 
first,  the  preparation  of  the  program; 
and,  second,  the  securing  of  a  worthy  at- 
tendance. And  the  first  is  conditioned 
by  the  second.  It  is  hardly  fair  to  ask 
busy  men  to  give  their  time  to  the 
preparation  of  an  address  or  scholarly 
paper  for  the  mere  handful  that  some- 
times attends.  They  would  gladly  do 
this  if  more  interest  was  in  evidence. 

This  year's  program  will  equal  the 
best.  Editor  C.  C.  Morrison  will  give 
some  impressions  of  his  trip  to  South 
America;  Bert  Wilson,  the  indefatigable 
missions  advocate,  will  present  his  con- 
clusions regarding  the  desirability  of 
having  the  tithing  system  adopted  by 
the  Disciples.  His  position  will  probably 
call  out  some  sharp  criticism  and  argu- 
ment. H.  H.  Peters  will  have  a  new 
proposition  regarding  the  regional  su- 
perintendency  plan  to  offer  and  F.  W. 
Burnham  will  lead  the  debate  in  review. 
Needless  to  say,  this  will  be  one  of  the 
outstanding  features  of  the  occasion. 
Prof.  W.  C.  Gibbs,  of  Columbia,  has 
promised  a  paper  on  the  teaching  of  the 
Bible  to  college  students  and  no  doubt 
there  will  be  much  to  commend  and 
something  to  raise  objections  in  this.  In 
addition,  we  are  to  have  an  able  paper 


from  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan  on  the  sub- 
ject, "Is  Bernard  Shaw  a  Christian?" 
Shaw  has  circled  about  religion  for  a 
long  time  and  now  comes  out  squarely 
with  an  exposition  of  Christianity  as  the 
New  Testament  discloses  it  to  him.  He 
asks  for  a  trial  of  Christianity.  Here 
will  be  a  message  to  all  the  preachers. 
If  the  program  were  to  have  no  other 
item,  there  would  be  enough  here  to 
interest  all  ministers  who  wish  to  be 
abreast  of  the  thought  of  the  times. 
Probably  there  will  be  a  review  ot  a 
new  book  by  H.  G.  Wells  on  religion. 
And,  finally,  an  address  will  be  delivered 
by  a  distinguished  minister  from  another 
communion;  another  address  will  be 
given  on  the  subject  of  "Peace." 

No  meeting  on  the  horizon  at  pres- 
ent promises  such  a  feast  of  live  dis- 
cussions. These  men  are  at  work.  They 
are  giving  long  hours  of  study  to  these 
timely  questions.  It  is  for  the  minis- 
ters and  laymen  to  show  their  apprecia- 
tion by  attending  and  by  taking  part  in 
the  debates.  This  is  a  place  for  fear- 
less, frank  and  pointed  discussion  of 
the  questions  of  the  hour.  Show  your 
interest  by  dropping  a  card  to  the  secre- 
tary, F.  E.  Lumley,  College  of  Missions, 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  assuring  him  of  your 
interest  and  of  your  intention  to  be  pres- 
ent. Interest  your  friends.  Let  each 
minister  bring  a  few  laymen  and  show 
them  the  ministers  at  work,  taking  stock 
of  their  ideas.  F.  E.  Lumley. 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  22,  1917 


now  being  turned  away.  This  dormitory 
is  unique  among  mission  institutions  in 
that  it  is  paying  its  own  way.  The  Mary 
lane  Chiles  Hospital  in  Manila,  under 
Dr.  J.  \V.  Young,  is  maintaining  its  repu- 
tation. The  German  sailors  of  the  six- 
teen interned  German  ships  in  Manila 
harbor  appreciate  very  much  Dr.  Young's 
skill  and  service.  Mrs.  F.  V.  Stipp  and 
her  Bible  woman  have  started  a  series 
of  mothers'  meetings  in  Laoag. 

Sermons  on  War 
and  Peace 

\Y.  M.  Haushalter.  of  the  East  Or- 
ange. N.  J.,  church,  is  preaching  a  Feb- 
ruary series  of  sermons  especially  to  the 
Christian  Endeavorers.  on  "The  Great 
War  and  Christianity."  Topics  were: 
•The  War  and  Love  of  Your  Enemies," 
"The  Nobility  of  Death,"  "The  Doctrine 
of  Non-Resistance,"  and  "The  Building 
of  a  New  World." 


— The  church  at  Pendleton,  Ind., 
George  L.  Moffett,  pastor,  has  been  hold- 
ing meetings  with  the  purpose  of  glean- 
ing after  results  of  a  union  meeting  re- 
cently held  in  the  community. 

— Wilford  H.  McLean,  until  recently 
state  Sunday  school  superintendent  of 
Ohio,  has  accepted  a  call  to  the  church 
at  Niles,  Ohio,  succeeding  Allan  T.  Gor- 
don, who  is  now  at  Paris,  111. 

— R.  H.  Ingram,  formerly  pastor  at 
Beatrice,  Neb.,  has  been  suffering  from 
cancer  for  many  years,  and  his  death  was 
expected  at  last  report,  a  few  days  ago. 
He  has  made  his  home  recently  in  Perry, 
la. 

— Through  a  series  of  meetings  held 
by  E.  A.  Cole,  of  Knoxville,  Pa.,  eigh- 
teen persons  were  added  to  the  member- 
ship of  First  church,  Charleroi,  Pa.  Pas- 
tor E.  N.  Duty  states  that  the  field  had 
already  been  well  gleaned.  He  praises 
the  work  of  Mr.  Cole  very  highly.  Mr. 
Duty  will  hold  a  meeting  at  Knoxville, 
beginning  March   5. 

— Foreign  missionary  circulating  libra- 
ries are  reported  successful  at  Sandusky 
and  East  church,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

— W.  P.  Jennings,  pastor  at  McKin- 
ney,  Tex.,  recently  held  a  ten  days'  meet- 
ing in  his  church,  with  twenty-seven  new 
members  added.  During  the  past  year 
103  persons  have  been  added  to  the  mem- 
bership at  McKinney.  Every  outstand- 
ing debt  has  been  paid  by  this  congre- 
gation; the  church  property  has  been 
thoroughly  overhauled  and  put  in  re- 
pair, yet  there  is  money  in  the  various 
treasuries. 

— S.  O.  Landis,  recently  of  Lowell, 
Ind.,  has  accepted  the  work  at  Forest 
Avenue,  Buffalo,  temporarily.  Oscar  Mc- 
Hargue,  of  Jacksonville,  Fla.,  has  taken 
the  pastorate  at  Dunkirk,  N.  Y. 

— Dr.  J.  H.  Garrison,  editor  emeritus 
of  The  Christian  Evangelist,  celebrated 
his  seventy-fifth  birthday  at  his  home  in 
Claremont,  Cal.,  on  February  2.  The 
Christian  Century  joins  with  Dr.  Garri- 
son's other  thousands  of  friends  in  wish- 
ing him  good  health  and  continued  use- 
fulness for  many  more  years. 

— C.  R.  Scoville  is  conducting  a  union 
evangelistic  meeting  in  Fresno,  Cal.,  this 
month.  H.  O.  Breeden,  of  the  Fresno 
First  church,  has  a  large  part  in  this 
campaign. 

— Byron  Hester,  of  the  Chickasha, 
Okla.,  church,  reports  that,  after  a  rous- 
ing campaign  by  one  of  the  Men  and 
Millions    teams,   a   few   of   the   members 


of  the  church  there  pledged  $2,500  to 
missions.  Mr.  Hester  believes  that  it 
was  a  result  also  of  their  work  that  he 
was  able  on  a  recent  Sunday  morning 
to  raise  nearly  $1,000  to  pay  a  long- 
standing paving  debt.  The  church  has 
learned  how  to  give. 

— R.  B.  Chapman,  of  the  Ionia,  Mich., 
church,  reports  five  additions  at  the 
morning  service  on  February  11,  four 
by  confession  of  faith.  Large  audiences, 
in  spite  of  zero  weather.  Bible  school 
of  314. 

— Frank  W.  Lynch,  of  Sharon,  Kan., 
has  closed  a  series  of  meetings  at  La 
Harpe,  Kan.,  with  fifty-five  additions. 

— D.  B.  Titus,  of  Rupert,  Ida.,  has 
closed   a    home    force    meeting   of    three 


weeks  with  thirty-four  additions,  nearly 
all  by  confession  of  faith.  Mrs.  Hiram 
Yerkes,  of  Idaho  Falls,  was  soloist  and 
song  leader. 

— A.  LeRoy  Huff,  of  Benton,  111.,  has 
been  called  to  Charleston,  111.,  and  has 
accepted  the  work.  He  succeeds  J.  McD. 
Home,  who  has  gone  to  Sullivan,  Ind. 

— Huell  E.  Warren  writes  that  the 
membership  was  increased  at  Moulton, 
la.,  last  year  by  sixty-one.  This  church 
has  now  a  membership  of  305.  The  Sun- 
day school  is  thoroughly  graded  and 
the  congregation  contributes  to  all  or- 
ganized work.  Mr.  Warren  began  his 
third  year  in  this  field  with  February  1. 

— M.  C.  Hutchinson,  who  leads  at  Ful- 
ton,    Mo.,     reports     fifty-six     members 


A  Pre-Easter  Campaign 


The  following  statement  of  the  plans 
of  Jackson  Avenue  Church,  Kansas  City, 
Mo.,  which  are  fairly  typical  of  the  suc- 
cessful campaigns  of  this  sort,  may  be 
suggestive  to  other  pastors  and  churches. 
Ellmore  Sinclair  is  the  leader  of  this 
church,  and  the  chief  inaugurator  of  this 
plan. 

The  aims  are:  1.  2,000  in  Sunday 
school  on  Easter  Sunday  morning;  2. 
$2,000  cash  offering;  3.  Fifty  conver- 
sions. 

Features  of  the  campaign  for  2,000  at- 
tendance  are: 

1.  A  meeting  of  the  cabinet  of  the 
Sunday  school  in  order  to  get  them  to 
agree  on  the  plan. 

2.  Present  it  to  the  teachers'  meeting 
and  apportion  the  number  expected  to 
be  secured  by  each  class. 

3.  A  canvass  of  the  neighborhood  a 
month  before  Easter  on  a  Sunday  after- 
noon; results  tabulated  and  assigned  to 
the  classes  that  should  secure  the  people 
not  attending  any  school. 

The  following  plans  will  help  toward 
the  attainment  of  the  second  aim: 

1.  A  joint  meeting  of  the  finance  com- 
mittees of  the  church  and  Sunday  school. 

2.  A  canvass  made  of  the  member- 
ship of  the  church,  securing  pledges  pay- 
able cash  on  Easter  Sunday  morning. 

3.  A    canvass    made    of    the    Sunday 


school  classes  at  teachers'  meeting  and 
pledges  secured  from  each  class,  payable 
cash  on  Easter  Sunday  morning. 

To  secure  the  fifty  conversions,  these 
plans  will  be  carried  out: 

1.  A  quiet  movement  among  the  most 
prayerful    people    of    the    church    in    m 
league  to  pray  quietly  five  minutes  each 
morning  at  9:00  a.  m.  for  the  conversion 
of  fifty  people  Easter  Sunday. 

2.  A  careful  distribution  of  prayer 
cards  to  be  filled  and  returned  to  the 
pastor    and    superintendent. 

3.  A  personal  workers'  campaign  on 
the  names  signed  on  the  prayer  cards. 

The  week  before  Easter  a  meeting  is 
held  each  night  at  the  church  for  one 
hour  to  concentrate  these  movements 
and  pray. 

On  Easter  Sunday  morning  at  7:30 
a.  m.  the  men  and  women  of  the  adult 
classes  go  out  to  wake  up  the  families!, 
promising  to  attend. 

At  nine  o'clock  teachers  go  down  to 
the  church  to  pray  and  prepare  to  meet 
their  classes  and  to  urge  the  uncon- 
verted to  Christ. 

This  plan  on  Easter  in  1915  resulted  in 
2,126  in  Sunday  school,  $2,370  cash  of- 
fering and  86  additions  to  the  church. 

This  plan  on  Easter  in  1916  resulted  in 
2,230  in  Sunday  school,  $2,016  cash  offer-, 
ing  and  65  additions  to  the  church. 


A  Union  Church  Near  Cleveland 


I  was  recently  called  to  visit  the  new 
Union  Church  at  Garrettsville,  O., 
which  is  now  adjusting  itself  to  the  re- 
ligious and  social  needs  of  the  com- 
munity. I  found  there  a  most  interesting 
situation. 

Garrettsville  is  a  town  of  less  than  a 
thousand  people,  thirty-five  miles  from 
Cleveland  and  two  and  one-half  miles 
from  Hiram  College.  Until  recently 
there  were  four  churches  in  this  center 
with  a  combined  membership  of  less 
than  500.  They  were  Methodist,  Baptist, 
Congregational  and  Disciples  of  Christ 
churches.  Through  heavy  sacrifice,  each 
of  these  bodies  had  acquired  comfort- 
able houses  of  worship,  but  growth  to 
any  great  proportion  had  never  been 
possible.  The  people  were  not  suffi- 
ciently numerous  to  ever  hope  for  large 
memberships,  and  the  Disciples  of  Christ 
had  never  been  able  to  support  a  set- 
tled pastor.  Its  proximity  to  Hiram 
College,  of  course,  resulted  in  many 
years  of  student  preaching. 

The  union  seems  to  have  been  a  lay 
movement.  All  but  the  Methodists  have 
formed  a  "Union  Church"  with  a  new 
charter  and  a  membership  of  225.  W. 
W.    Tuttle,    a    recent    graduate    of    Yale 


and  a  man  of  fine  qualities  and  with  a 
spiritualized  social  vision,  has  been 
called  to  the  pastorate  and  for  two 
months  has  been  grappling  with  the 
problems  incident  to  the  readjustment. 
Officers  have  been  chosen  from  each  of 
the  three  bodies,  missionary  funds  are 
to  be  distributed  among  their  respective 
societies,  the  Lord's  Supper  is  to  be  ob- 
served monthly  and  a  baptistry  is  to  be 
installed.  The  Congregational  building 
will  be  used  for  worship  and  one  of  the 
other  two  buildings  will  be  converted 
into  a  social  center.  The  members  mani- 
fest unusual  enthusiasm  and  speak  simply 
in  terms  of  "The  Church."  As  in 
apostolic  days,  if  they  have  occasion  to 
refer  to  either  of  the  original  organiza- 
tions or  buildings  it  is  always  in  terms 
of  "The  Church  on  Blank  Street,"  or 
"The  Church  on  Summit  Street." 

Not  only  are  the  church  folk  them- 
selves happy  over  the  union,  but  a  num- 
ber of  business  men  who  have  no  con- 
nections whatever  have  been  impressed 
with  the  economic  sense  of  the  project 
to  the  extent  that  they  are  contributing 
to  the  expenses  incident  to  the  re- 
adjustment. 

Cleveland,  O.         W.  F.  Rothenburger.  ' 


February  22,  1917  THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  21 


Why  I  Am  A  Disciple 

Bp  Charles  Clayton  Morrison 

In  the  issue  of  March  15,  and  continuing 
for  twelve  or  fifteen  weeks,  the  editor  of 
The  Christian  Century  will  begin  a  series 
of  articles  giving   a  personal  statement 

of  his  reasons  for  being  a  Disciple.  In 
this  series  Mr.  Morrison  will  treat  in  the 
most  intimate  and  candid  fashion  of  the 
vital  and  urgent  issues  now  confronting 
our  people. 

Every  thoughtful  layman  and  minister 
will  be  keenly  interested  in  these  articles. 
In  view  of  this  widespread  interest,  our 
present  readers  are  taking  special  satis- 
faction at  this  time  in  commending  the 
"Century"  to  their  thoughtful  acquaint- 
ances and  in  soliciting  their  subscriptions. 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


February  22,  1917 


added  by  confession  of  faith  during  1916, 
fifty-eight  by  letter  and  statement.  Since 
191*0  the  Ladies'  Aid  of  this  church  has 
paid  $6,000  on  the  church  and  $500  on 
the  parsonage.  The  society  is  now  free 
from  debt. 

— Monroe  Street,  Chicago,  recently  re- 
ceived a  legacy  of  $3,500  upon  condition 
that  enough  money  be  raised  in  advance  to 
settle  the"  debts  of  the  estate,  something 
like  $500.  This  amount  was  raised 
quicklv  and  now  Monroe  Street  has  re- 
duced'her  debt  to  less  than  $600.  The 
pastor,  J.  E.  Wolfe,  is  feeling  very 
happy. 

—The  building  of  Central  church,  Co- 
lumbus, Ind.,  which  work  was  merged 
with  that  at  Tabernacle  church,  has  been 
sold  to  the  local  German  Lutheran  con- 
gregation. 


......  ..-_„  A  Church  Home  for  You. 

NFW  YllR  K  Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
nun  i  uiiix  U2  West  81st  st>  N  y 


— The  Elders'  and  Deacons'  Confer- 
ence of  Jasper  county,  Mo.,  was  held  at 
the  Carthage  church  on  February  5.  C. 
C.  Garrigues  had  the  direction  of  the 
program.  Addresses  were  given  by  F. 
L.  Moffett,  Dr.  J.  T.  Bacon  and  J.  H. 
Jones,  all  of  Springfield,  Mo.  A  feature 
was  an  evening  banquet,  with  F.  L.  Mof- 
fett as  toastmaster.  W.  P.  Shamhart 
was  chairman  of  the  conference. 

— The  men's  Bible  class  of  the  Butler, 
Mo.,  church  is  one  of  the  strongest  or- 
ganizations in  the  state.  The  meetings 
of  the  class  are  held  in  the  Circuit  Court 
room,  and  the  teacher  is  Circuit  Clerk 
H.  C.  Maxey.  This  organization  is  a 
mighty  factor  for  community  welfare. 

— The  young  people's  class  of  Union 
Avenue  church  school,  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
has  to  its  credit  for  1916  the  following 
achievements  in  social  service:  Offer- 
ings for  the  Christian  Orphans'  Home, 
missionary  offerings  on  Easter  day, 
Children's  day  and  for  home  missions; 
aid  in  the  support  of  a  social  worker; 
an  offering  of  over  $50  for  the  poor  of 
St.  Louis  at  the  Christmas  season.  The 
disbursements  of  the  year  amounted  to 
$539.50.  Mrs.  A.  C.  Smither  teaches  this 
class. 

— The  Nebraska  School  of  Methods 
this  year  was  held  at  First  church, 
Omaha,  February  5  to  9.  The  faculty 
consisted  of  W.  J.  Clarke,  Miss  Cynthia 
Maus  and  Miss  Hazel  Lewis,  all  of  Cin- 
cinnati, and  David  H.  Owen,  state  Sun- 
day school   superintendent  of  Kansas. 

•  — The  death  is  reported  of  Mrs.  Ju- 
liette Harrison,  a  member  of  the  Tona- 
wanda,  N.  Y.,  church  for  more  than  fifty 
years,  and  one  of  the  pioneer  Disciples 
of  the  Northwest  Frontier.  John  P. 
Sala  of  Buffalo  officiated  at  the  funeral 
services. 

— "The  most  influential  person  in  the 
city"  is  the  way  Bruce  Brown,  evangel- 
ist, describes  W.  E.  Crabtree,  who  has 
been  pastor  at  San  Diego  for  twenty- 
one  years.  Mr.  Crabtree  has  an  average 
of  200  weddings  and  100  funerals  per 
year.  Mr.  Brown  recently  held  a  series 
of  meetings  at  San  Diego. 

— George  L.  Snively  led  in  the  dedica- 
tion services  at  First  church,  Ardmore, 
Okla.,  and  succeeded  in  wiping  out  the 
$15,000  debt  on  the  building,  with  $670 
to  spare.  This  congregation  is  the  sec- 
ond largest  in  the  state.  The  pastor  is 
Robert  Burns,  who  recently  left  a  law 
practice  in  Oklahoma  City  to  enter  the 
ministry. 


— During  the  four  years  of  the  pas- 
torate of  A.  F.  Stahl  at  Maysville,  Ky., 
there  have  been  400  additions  to  the 
church  membership.  During  this  period 
over  $3,000  was  raised  for  missions.  Mr. 
Stahl  has  been  called  for  another  year. 

— The  following  Christian  Endeavor 
societies  have  become  Life-Lines  in  the 
Foreign  Society,  supporting  their  own 
evangelists  on  the  foreign  field:  Mem- 
phise  (McLemore  Avenue),  Tenn.; 
Nashville  (Seventeenth  Street),  Tenn.; 
Jacksonville  (Central),  111.;  Detroit  (E. 
Grand  Boulevard),  Mich. 

— Three  Japanese  teachers  in  the 
school  of  our  Japan  mission  have  had 
their  finishing  training  in  America.  One 
is  a  graduate  of  Ohio  University,  an- 
other of  Bethany  College,  and  still  an- 
other of  Butler  College  and  the  College 
of  Missions. 

— Charles  W.  Roos,  of  the  West  Side 
church,  Springfield,  111.,  is  a  candidate 
for  the  Republican  nomination  as  assist- 
ant supervisor.  He  is  running  on  a  law 
enforcement  slate. 

— E.  J.  Barnett  has  resigned  the  work 
at  Clarksville,  Tenn.,  and  will  accept  a 
pulpit  in  Texas.  The  ill  health  of  his 
wife  is  the  determining  factor  in  Mr. 
Barnett's  move. 

— W.  P.  Clark  has  been  called  to  the 
work  at  Centerville,  la.,  and  has  already 
begun  his  new  task. 

—P.  H.  Welshimer  and  F.  P.  Arthur 
will  be  leaders  in  the  Third  District 
Convention  of  Michigan,  the  first  week 
in  April,  to  be  held  at  Franklin  Street 
church,  Grand  Rapids. 

—Nine  churches  of  Owosso,  Mich., 
have  been  cooperating  with  success  in  a 
union  meeting  held  by  the  Honeywell 
evangelistic  party.  The  Church  of  Christ 
was  among  the  number;  there  were  four 
M.  E.  churches  cooperating. 

— A  newspaper  of  Flint,  Mich.,  reports 
that  the  coming  of  J.  L.  Garvin  to  Flint 
Fourth  Ward  church  as  an  evangelist 
has  been  "a  great  blessing  to  the  com- 
munity." His  "winsome  personality  and 
strong  sermons"  have  aided  him  in  re- 
cording many  victories.  Over  eighty 
members  were  added  to  the  church,  a 
vision  of  larger  service  was  inspired  and 
plans  were  made  for  a  new  building. 

— The  church  at  Vining,  Kan.,  was 
closed  for  two  Sundays  of  January  on 
account  of  smallpox  in  the  town.  Many 
leading  families  of  the  congregation  are 
quarantined.  The  pastor,  A.  C.  Stewart, 
is  working  hard  at  the  raising  of  mis- 
sionary  apportionments. 


DISCIPLES     MISSIONARY     UNION 
OF  GREATER  NEW  YORK 

The  Disciples  Missionary  Union  of 
Greater  New  York  and  Vicinity  has  com- 
pleted another  year  of  work.  Again  the 
year's  work  has  been  characterized  by 
the  same  complete  unity  of  purpose  and 
harmony  of  action  that  has  marked  our 
work  in  preceding  years.  In  co-opera- 
tion with  the  American  Christian  Mis- 
sionary Society,  through  which  we  re- 
ceive financial  and  advisory  assistance, 
our  churches  are  enabled  to  do  a  small 
but  progressive  work  in  this  great  city. 

We  have  at  present  six  self-supporting 
churches,  four  missions  supported  by 
the  Union,  and  two  mission  points  re- 
ceiving no  financial  aid,  but  identified 
with  our  work. 

Our  Russian  work  is  in  a  healthy  and 
progressive  condition  and  we  await  with 
great  anticipation  the  time  when  we  will 


have  a  suitable  building  for  work  among 
foreigners  that  will  make  possible  a 
larger  influence.  During  the  year  we 
have  been  publishing  the  "Russian 
Christian  Herald,"  a  monthly  religious 
paper  which  has  a  nation-wide  circula- 
tion. A  second  Russian  mission  has 
been  started  on  Cherry  Street,  lower 
Manhattan,  in  connection  with  our  Rus- 
sian church  on  East  Second  Street.  C. 
Jaroschevich  is  assisting  John  Johnson 
in  the  work.  Mr.  Jaroschevich  was  pre- 
pared for  this  work  at  Kimberlin 
Heights,  and  possesses  great  ability  for 
his  work.  Lack  of  funds  prevents  our 
supporting  him  to  the  extent  of  full  time 
service. 

Kirby  Page,  private  secretary  to  Sher- 
wood Eddy,  is  looking  after  the  inter- 
ests of  our  Ridgewood  Heights  Mission. 
C.  M.  Smail,  of  Beaver  Falls,  began  a 
pastorate  with  the  Borough  Park  Church, 
February  11th. 

Our  annual  report  reveals  the  follow- 
ing facts:  Days  of  service,  953;  pas- 
toral calls,  1,903;  additions  by  baptism, 
43;  otherwise,  3;  Sunday  school  enroll- 
ment, 341;  average  attendance,  235; 
money  raised  for  self-support,  $1,840.02; 
for  missions,  $147.25.  This  report  is  for 
the  Russian,  Borough  Park  and  Ridge- 
wood Heights  Missions. 

M.   M.   Amunson, 

Secretary  Disciples  Missionary  Union. 


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February  22,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


23 


The  Sands  of  Our  Opportunity  Are  Rapidly  Running  Out  of  The  Glass  of  Time 

No  words  are  sufficient  to  describe  the  remarkable  conditions  which  confront  the 
Foreign  Missionary  work  in  all  lands. 

There  is  no  continent  which  is  not  involved  in  the  tremendous  political,  commercial, 
intellectual,  moral  and  spiritual  tides  which  are  sweeping  the  world. 

There  is  no  Oriental  race  that  is  not  in  transition,  there  is  no  door  that  is  not  open, 
there  is  no  opportunity  that  is  not  immediate. 

The  world  has  never  seen  such  a  time  and  may  never  see  such  a  time  again.  Someone 
has  said  that  it  would  be  justifiable  to  mortgage  every  church  in  America  in  order  to 
immediately  evangelize  the  world. 

China  is  in  swift  transition.  She  has  destroyed  her  old  monarchy  and  established  a 
republic.  She  has  abolished  her  old  inefficient  educational  system  and  adopted  our  own. 
She  is  discouraged  with  her  age-long  conservatism  and  wishes  recognition  among-  the 
nations.  With  eager  desire  she  loiig^  '<d||  ^HBn  things  that  have  made  the  West. 
She  crowds  the  mission  schools,  fills  the  chapels'  and  opens  every  door  to  the  missionary. 

India  is  stirred  by  deep,  rapidly  moving  tides.  Recognizing  the  freedom  which 
Christianity  gives  and  goaded  by  the  awful  restrictions  of  caste,  whole  villages  are  accept- 
ing Christianity. 

Japan  is  prospecting  for  a  religion.  Buddhism,  fearing  death,  is  imitating  Chris- 
tianity in  Sunday-schools,  songs  and  evangelism.  The  native  Christians  are  conducting 
a  nation-wide  evangelistic  campaign.  The  students,  disgusted  with  heathenism  and 
knowing  not  Christ,  are  becoming  atheists. 

Africa  is  a  fair  field,  and  the  issue  is  between  Christianity  and  Mohammedanism. 
The  religion  which  moves  quickest  will  possess  the  land. 

Philippines  is  a  nation  in  adolescence.  Here  our  flag  floats,  our  schools  train  the 
young,  our  democracy  is  on  trial  and  our  missionaries  have  wide  open  doors. 

Tibet  is  a  lonely  land  of  great  isolation,  vast  distances,  corrupt  religion,  sturdy 
people  and  unique  opportunity. 

The  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society  is  in  strategic  points  in  each  of  these  fields. 
The  work  done  is  only  a  token  of  what  may  be  done  with  larger  gifts  from  the  people. 
The  March  Offering  for  Foreign  Missions  is  a  great  means  of  expression  from  our 
churches  for  this  world  work. 

Make  the  day  worthy  of  the  work. 
Order  your  March  offering  supplies  early. 

F.  M.  BAINS,  STEPHEN  J.  COKEY,  Secretaries,  Box  884,  Cincinnati 


NOTES  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


The  demand  for  missionary  literature 
is  constantly  increasing.  The  life  of 
Ray  and  Edith  Eldred  is  being  widely 
read.  Perhaps  no  society  ever  sent  out 
two  more  devoted  or  heroic  spirits  than 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eldred. 

The  One-Day  Income  plan  of  the  For- 
eign Society  is  meeting  with  enthusi- 
astic approval.  The  ideal  is  for  indi- 
viduals to  give  one  day's  wages  as  an 
additional  gift  for  world-wide  missions, 
this  to  be  made  entirely  in  addition  to 
the  regular  offerings  of  the  churches. 
These  gifts  are  to  be  credited  to  the 
churches  of  which  the  donors  are  mem- 
bers. It  is  hoped  that  $50,000  additional 
may  be  secured  for  the  great  needs  of 
the  work  in  this  way. 

A  number  of  new  churches  are  signi- 
fying their  plans  to  become  Living-links 
and  support  their  own  missionaries  on 
the  foreign  field. 

The  attention  of  all  missionary  lead- 
ers is  being  attracted  to  what  will  be 
necessary  in  the  missionary  campaign 
after  the  war  has  closed.  It  is  felt  that 
the  greatest  movement  in  the  history  of 
Christianity  must  be  launched,  and  that 
a  united,  systematic  campaign  of  stew- 
ardship of  life  and  money  must  be  in- 
augurated to  take  the  non-Christian  na- 
tions of  the  world  for  Christ. 

The  missionaries  of  the  Foreign  So- 
ciety in  Central  Africa  form  one  of  the 
Living  Links  in  the  chain  of  missionary 
stations  stretching  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Congo,  on  the  west  coast,  up  the 
valley  of  that  river  through  Uganda  and 
on  to  the  east  coast.  This  line  of  sta- 
tions, with  the  Christian  constituency  be- 
ing built  up  in  this  section  of  pagan 
Africa,  are  forming  an  arresting  line 
against  the  Mohammedan  approach  from 
the  north.  It  is  the  purpose  of  these 
missionary  societies  to  build  so  solid  a 
line  of  Christian  work  across  the  Dark 
Continent  that  Islam  cannot  break 
through  it.  Our  own  stations  are  near 
the  center  of  this  chain  on  the  equator 
and  the  trenches  now  being  dug  and  the 
lines    established   by    our   own   mission- 


aries are  a  line  completing  all  this  cross- 
country barricade. 

News  comes  from  our  Tibet  mission- 
aries that  the  China  England  Mission, 
which  has  a  station  five  hundred  miles 
this  side  of  our  own  at  Batang,  is  being 
obliged  to  retrench,  and  that  our  mission 
may  be  called  upon  to  do  the  work  that 
they  have  been  carrying  on.  This  move 
will  leave  our  own  group  of  eight  mis- 
sionaries practically  alone  in  undertak- 
ing the  Tibetan  work.  Our  workers  are 
calling  for  reinforcements  and  are  facing 
a  desperate  need  in  this  wide-open  and 
very  extensive  field. 

S.  J.  Corey,  Secretary. 

IN  APPRECIATION  OF 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY 


"Your  paper  is  increasingly  valuable. 
I  trust  the  subscription  list  will  grow 
in  proportion  to  its  value." — G.  D.  Ed- 
wards, Columbia,  Mo. 

"I  have  been  reading  the  'Century' 
since  its  beginning  and  enjoy  its  vital 
and  informing  messages,  as  well  as  much 
that  is  contributed  to  its  pages." — E.  W. 
Elliott,   Glasgow,  Ky. 

"I  congratulate  you  on  the  improved 
'Century'  of  late.  I  am  very  much  in- 
terested in  and  am  delighted  with  Dr. 
Willett's  series  on  the  Bible."— J.  H.  Fill- 
more, Cincinnati. 

"I  certainly  rejoice  with  you  in  the 
fine  growth  of  the  'Century.'  May  it 
continue." — T.  E.  Winter,  Philadelphia, 
Pa. 

"Of  the  papers  that  come  to  me,  there 
is  none  that  I  read  with  more  interest 
and  more  delight  than  The  Christian 
Century.  There  is  matter  in  it  of  grow- 
ing value." — Huell  Warren,  Moulton,  la. 

"I  wish  to  congratulate  you  on  the 
splendid  progress  the  'Century'  is  mak- 
ing. It  is  the  greatest  religious  paper 
published  today."  —  E.  L.  Mitchell, 
Springfield,  Ky. 

"As  for  the  'Century,'  I  cannot  get 
along  without  it." — E.  C.  Lucas,  Havana, 
111. 

"I  enjoy  every  copy  of  the  'Century' 


and  am  glad  to  co-operate  in  making  it 
a  great  success.  I  recognize  it  as  the 
progressive  organ  of  the  Brotherhood, 
in  which  alone  there  is  hope  for  pro- 
gressive leadership." — M.  A.  Cossaboom, 
Corydon,   Ind. 


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THE  HYMNAL 
IN  THE 


fo  dob  p-:o' 
.H»biJ    St" 

BttoitO 


A  great  hymnal  should  be  in  every  Christian  home. 
Its  presence  on  the  piano  will  prove  a  means  of  culture, 
and  a  benediction  to  the  entire  household.     In 

HYMNS  OF  THE 
UNITED  CHURCH 

The  Disciples  Hymnal 

you  will  find  the  choicest  religious  poetry  of  the  ages 
and  of  our  own  time.  The  music  of  these  hymns  is 
the  sweetest  and  richest  in  the  world.  Encourage  your 
sons  and  daughters  to  play  and  sing  the  great  hymns  of 
the  united  Church.  Next  to  the  Bible  there  is  no 
means  of  grace  so  inspiring  and  enriching  to  the  soul  as  a 
great  hymnal. 

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THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  PRESS 

700    East   Fortieth    Street 
***** CHICAGO 


<s 

4 

Vol.  XXXIV  March  1,  1917 


Number  9 


■ 


Nationalism  and 
Beyond 

By  Nicholas  Murray  Butler 


Take  Time  to  Think 


Editorial 


CHICAGO 


1UI 


m 


1 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  March  1,  1917 


Why  I  Am  A  Disciple 

Bp  Charles  Clayton  Morrison 

In  the  issue  of  March  15,  and  continuing 

for  twelve  or  fifteen  weeks,  the  editor  of 

The  Christian  Century  will  begin  a  series 
of  articles  giving   a  personal  statement 

of  his  reasons  for  being  a  Disciple.     In 

this  series  Mr.  Morrison  will  treat  in  the 

most  intimate  and  candid  fashion  of  the 

vital  and  urgent  issues  now  confronting 

our  people. 

Every  thoughtful  layman  and  minister 
will  be  keenly  interested  in  these  articles. 
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tfarch  1,  1917 


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DhrinlK        7 he  ?is^Ples.  P«biica- 

IflaLipioa  tion   Society  is  an  or- 

Publication    ea"!tati°n  JhrorUB1h 

n s^a..  which  churches  of  the 

SOCiety  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
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ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
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profit  by  its  earnings. 

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ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
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ligion. *    •    * 

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regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *    *     * 

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gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
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ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

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Name. 


Address. 


A  Great  Book  for  the  New  Day 

In  this  day  of  tremendous  issues  in  national  and  international  life,  of  the 
remaking  of  the  entire  civilized  world,  there  is  need  for  a  reconsideration 
of  the  great  messages  of  the  prophets  of  Israel,  those  spokesmen  of  God  to 
nations  and  men.  Dr.  Willett  makes  these  wise  seers  live  and  speak 
anew  for  the  modern  world  in  his 


"Moral  Leaders  of  Israel" 


lllllllllll! 


Illlllllllllllll!lllll!lllllllllllllll!ll!!llll!llllllll!ll!llllllllllllllllli 


Here  are  some  of  the  qualities  of  Dr.  Willett's  book  as  seen  by  well-known  publications : 
"Ripe  scholarship",  "Popular  interpretation"  (The  Advance,  Chicago).  "Comprehen- 
sive", "Popular"  (The  Continent,  Chicago).  "Vital","  Lucid"  (Christian  Endeavor  World, 
Boston).  "Definite"  (Christian  Work,  New  York).  "Brilliant",  "Clear  and  sane",  "Win- 
some and  sincere"  (Heidelberg  Teacher,  Philadelphia).  "Vivid",  "Simple  and  clear", 
(The  Living  Church,  Milwaukee) .     "Clear  and  interesting"  (Christian  Advocate). 

The  book  is  in  two  volumes.         Volume  I  is  out  at  $1.00,  postpaid.         Order  your  copy  today. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


700  E.  FORTIETH  STREET, 


CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  March  1,  1917 


"Five  Hundred  New  Minister  Readers  During  the  Month  of  March" 

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The  Christian  Century 


CHARLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT    E.    WHJ.ETT,    CONTEIBUTINO    EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


MARCH  1,  1917 


Number  9 


Taking  Time  to  Think 


MEDITATION  IS  NECESSARY  TO  THE  IN- 
NER LIFE. 

There  seemed  to  be  a  conviction  in  Bible  times  that 
shepherds  were  more  religious  than  other  men.  The 
Christmas  story  represents  the  shepherds  who  watched 
their  flocks  by  night  as  receiving  the  message  of  the 
new-born  Saviour.  If  the  shepherds  were  especially 
religious  men,  it  was  because  they  had  time  to  think. 
Their  occupation  did  not  use  up  all  their  spiritual 
energies.  With  many  hours  of  waiting  on  their  hands, 
they  turned  their  thoughts  to  God  and  to  the  problems 
of  life. 

The  opportunity  to  meditate  was  back  of  the  philo- 
sophic movement  in  Greece.  The  conditions  of  life  had 
become  less  severe.  Slaves  performed  most  of  the  work. 
The  free  population  of  Athens  gave  themselves  over  in 
considerable  measure  to  intellectual  pursuits.  In  this 
atmosphere  of  meditation  grew  up  such  wonderful  souls 
as  Socrates  and  Plato  and  Aristotle.  The  picture  is 
given  of  Socrates  lost  in  thought  on  a  battlefield  and 
unconscious  of  his  surroundings  until  at  last  his  prob- 
lem is  solved.  The  philosopher  was  absent-minded 
only  from  the  point  of  view  of  petty  souls.  He  was 
possessed  completely  by  intellectual  activity. 

It  seems  to  have  been  in  considerable  measure  the 
life  of  retirement  and  meditation  that  gave  Israel  her 
prophets.  Amos  was  a  shepherd  and  a  small  agricul- 
turist. Isaiah  was  a  city  man,  but  Micah  and  Jeremiah 
seem  to  have  spent  much  time  in  villages  and  apart 
from  the  haunts  of  men.  All  of  them  were  men  who 
thought  deeply  on  the  problems  of  their  time.  They 
were  statesmen  without  any  parliament  in  which  they 
might  champion  their  views,  so  they  took  the  curb- 
stone as  a  place  from  which  they  gave  the  people  the 
result  of  their  reflections. 

•     • 

Our  modern  life  has  robbed  us  of  much  of  this  op- 
portunity for  the  cultivation  of  the  inner  life.  The 
modern  man  fears  solitude  more  than  he  would  the 
plague.  The  problems  that  arise  in  his  mind  appall 
him,  so  he  betakes  himself  to  his  lodge  or  club  or  to 
the  neighborhood  saloon,  according  to  his  taste. 

The  young  people  of  today  are  usually  rushing 
hither  and  thither.  Before  the  boys  are  in  long 
trousers  they  are  going  out  to  parties.  The  "movies" 
claim  several  evenings  a  week.  There  are  but  few  of 
our  young  people  who  take  time  to  sit  down  and  think. 
Their  decisions  are  made  impulsively,  without  due  con- 
sideration. Hence  they  choose  a  vocation  unwisely, 
marry  unfortunately,  and  in  middle  life  have  no  phi- 
losophy with  which  to  support  the  burdens  of  life. 

Women  in  domestic  life,  more  than  most  of  our 
moderns,  have  time  for  meditation.  The  mother  rocks 
her  child  to  sleep  with  sweet  dreams  of  his  future.  Be- 
cause the  women  have  lived  the  meditative  life  more 
than  others,  we  find  them  rapidly  taking  in  hand  the 
spiritual  leadership  of  the  race. 


Some  religious  movements  have  definitely  sought 
to  cultivate  the  quiet  hour.  Christian  Endeavor  has 
many  devout  members  over  the  country  who  have  obli- 
gated themselves  to  devote  an  hour  each  day  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  inner  life.  This  hour  is  occupied 
with  Bible  reading  and  prayer  and  meditation.  The 
young  people  who  keep  this  tryst  are  to  be  marked  in 
all  of  our  churches  by  their  intellectual  balance,  their 
social  feeling  and  their  spiritual  perception.  The  inner 
life  has  opportunity  to  renew  itself  each  day  for  a  fur- 
ther giving  to  the  life  of  the  world. 

The  Christian  Science  movement  has  used  the  cura- 
tive power  of  quiet  and  reflection.  Nervous  and  dis- 
traught victims  of  city  life  are  sent  to  their  rooms  to 
read  Mrs.  Eddy's  book  and  to  be  quiet.  When  sick 
bodies  which  have  had  functional  derangements  grow 
better  under  this  treatment,  credit  is  given  to  the  book 
instead  of  to  the  process.  Every  mystic  knows  that 
health  and  sanity  proceed  out  of  a  quiet  hour  rightly 
used. 

What  would  our  modern  Christians  acquire  through 
the  practice  of  solitude  and  meditation? 

There  would  be  a  larger  and  better  faith  in  religious 
things.  Our  forefathers  knew  what  they  believed  and 
why.  These  beliefs  were  not  all  taught,  they  were 
experienced.  Our  ancestors  had  the  robust  convictions 
of  men  who  have  paid  the  price  to  acquire  them.  We 
covet  for  Christians  of  today  something  better  than 
bargain-counter  ideas.  We  can  only  have  a  solid  and 
thoughtful  church  membership  by  fostering  the  per- 
sonal search  for  the  truth. 

With  the  practice  of  taking  thought,  there  would 
be  a  growth  of  conscience;  and  we  must  say  with  sor- 
row that  of  late  the  world  has  shown  too  little  feeling 
for  right  and  wrong.  What  is  right  for  any  particular 
man  or  woman  cannot  be  told  him  or  her  by  some  one 
else.  Standards  of  living  must  be  wrought  out  in  the 
hours  when  we  are  alone  with  God,  if  they  are  to  grip 
us  with  power. 

The  quiet  hour  helps  us  all  to  choose  the  worth- 
while in  life.  After  we  have  had  time  to  examine  the 
goods  of  life,  we  shall  not  buy  brass  armor  for  the  price 
of  gold.  We  shall  know  just  what  each  life  interest  is 
worth  and  how  many  of  our  precious  hours  we  may 
spend  upon  it.  Many  a  man  is  appalled  in  his  old  age 
to  recollect  how  much  of  his  time  went  to  whist,  or  to 
loafing  in  idle  crowds.  When  we  are  quiet  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Eternal,  we  can  see  more  clearly  just  how 
we  should  spend  our  days  that  our  lives  may  have  pur- 
pose and  unity  and  power. 

Perhaps  we  could  never  know  God  adequately 
without  our  social  contacts,  but  the  quiet  hour  interprets 
our  social  experiences.  In  the  seclusion  of  our  rooms, 
with  no  distracting  impressions,  we  seek  and  find  that 
personal  walk  with  God  without  which  no  soul  has  the 
eternal  life. 


EDITORIAL 


A  WORLD  CONFERENCE 

THE  enterprise  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
in  initiating  a  'World  Conference  on  Faith  and 
Order  of  the  various  religious  bodies  calling  them- 
selves Christian,  will  lead  to  one  of  the  most  interesting 
sratherinss  that  has  ever  assembled  since  the  church 
became  divided. 

War  conditions  have  prevented  the  American  organ- 
ization from  securing  the  participation  of  European 
Lutherans.  Catholics  and  Orthodox,  but  the  treatment 
given  the  enterprise  in  the  journals  of  these  various 
religious  bodies  indicates  that  they  are  favorably  dis- 
posed toward  participation.  The  Pope  has  ordered 
special  prayers  for  the  conference. 

In  America  the  great  religious  bodies  have  Com- 
missions on  Comity  and  Christian  Unity  and  these 
commissions  are  now  being  urged  to  the  task  of  pre- 
paring a  statement  on  faith  and  order  which  will  show 
first  the  agreements  of  each  religious  body  with  the 
larger  Christian  world,  and  in  the  second  place  the 
truths  which  this  body  regards  itself  as  holding  in  some 
unique  way.  These  statements  will  later  be  summarized 
by  the  Conference  and  it  may  safely  be  anticipated 
that  the  points  of  agreement  will  be  of  far  more  signifi- 
cance than  those  of  disagreement. 

In  the  organization  of  the  World  Conference,  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  have  been  given  an  honorable  place. 
We  find  the  name  of  R.  A.  Long  on  the  finance  com- 
mittee and  on  the  executive  committee  is  the  name  of 
Rev.  Peter  Ainslie  of  Baltimore. 

It  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  the  World  Confer- 
ence will  result  in  Christian  union,  but  that  it  will  mark 
a  great  advance  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  fraternity  and 
in  the  understanding  which  the  various  sections  of 
Christendom  will  have  of  each  other  is  to  be  confidently 
expected.  Under  the  teachings  of  Christ,  the  church 
will  never  be  satisfied  with  itself  while  it  is  divided. 
Slowly  but  surely  the  spirit  of  God  draws  the  Christian 
world  together. 

EDUCATING  THE   LOCAL  CHURCH   IN 
MISSIONS 

THE  redemption  of  the  world  waits  upon  the  educa- 
tional process.  It  is  a  fact  of  deep  significance 
that  the  early  missionary  impressions  upon  the 
mind  of  William  Carey  were  received  in  the  process  of 
map  making.  As  the  map  in  the  cobbler  shop  grew  in 
completeness,  revealing  the  failure  of  the  preachers  of 
the  word  in  reaching  the  distant  parts  of  the  world,  the 
soul  of  that  man  was  stirred  within  him  to  carry  the 
gospel  to  the  neglected  parts. 

The  missionary  education  in  the  average  church 
is  an  uneven  enterprise.  A  few  individuals,  relatively, 
are  receiving  the  knowledge  which  is  the  mainspring 
of  the  missionary  passion.  The  women  of  the  local 
auxiliaries  are  in  touch  with  many  of  the  facts,  and  in 
recent  years  have  been  studying  missions  beyond  the 
limitations  of  a  strictly  society  viewpoint.  Some  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  societies  have  a  mission  study  class 
operating  for  three  months  in  the  year.  A  few  junior 
societies  are  operated  from  the  standpoint  of  missionary 
education.  But  still  great  numbers  in  every  congrega- 
tion are  unreached. 


A  certain  official  board  expressed  itself  as  disap- 
pointed because  the  people,  on  the  introduction  of  the 
Every-Member  Canvass,  gave  so  much  to  missions. 
What  is  wrong  with  these  men?  They  have  no  facts. 
Their  religious  knowledge  is  limited  largely  to  what 
they  get  from  the  pulpit,  and  the  pulpit  of  today  must 
interpret  so  many  things  that  the  missionary  cause 
cannot  secure  enough  attention  to  furnish  the  congre- 
gation with  adequate  missionary  education. 

The  church  missionary  library  is  of  great  impor- 
tance in  any  church  and  the  librarian  should  be  a  person 
of  deep  enthusiasm  for  the  cause,  one  who  will  actively 
float  the  information  out.  The  missionary  magazine 
and  the  missionary  leaflet  should  be  on  a  literature 
table  and  go  out  continually  into  the  homes  of  the 
people.  If  there  is  a  parish  paper,  it  ought  to  be  used 
for  enlightenment  in  missions.  Only  a  well-informed 
church  may  be  trusted  to  do  its  whole  duty  in  the 
redemption  of  the  world. 

A  NEW  LECTURESHIP  IN  CHICAGO 

THE  Disciples'  Divinity  House  of  the  University  of 
Chicago  has  this  year  had  the  largest  student  body 
in  the  history  of  the  institution.  Among  the  for- 
ward steps  that  have  been  taken  is  the  creation  of  a 
special  lectureship  in  which  eminent  Disciples  will 
speak  each  spring  term  on  themes  which  have  signi- 
ficance to  university  men. 

The  lecturer  this  year  has  been  most  happily  chosen. 
He  is  Rev.  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan  of  Richmond,  Va.  He 
will  give  three  lectures  April  17-19  on  the  ministers'  use 
of  Philosophy,  Psychic  Research  and  Literature.  Mr. 
Maclachan  through  his  years  of  study  is  eminently  qual- 
ified to  discuss  any  one  of  these  three  subjects  and  his 
success  in  the  pastorate  guarantees  that  the  things  he 
will  say  will  not  only  be  technically  accurate  but  happily 
chosen  to  fit  into  the  lives  of  young  ministers. 

These  lectures  will  be  regularly  posted  at  the  uni- 
versity and  will  be  interesting  to  many  divinity  students 
who  are  not  Disciples.  They  will  represent  the  beginning 
of  that  larger  contribution  to  the  life  of  the  university 
which  it  is  the  duty  and  privilege  of  the  Disciples  to  I 
offer. 

The  lectureship  this  year  is  supported  from  the  gen- 
eral fund  of  the  Divinity  House,  but  it  should  be  en- 
dowed and  named  and  made  a  regular  feature  of  the 
university  life. 

The  times  in  which  we  live  are  demanding  that 
every  effort  be  made  to  make  the  new  interpretation  of 
religion  which  alone  will  be  able  to  command  the  loyalty 
of  people  living  in  the  light  of  our  new  knowledge  and 
civilization.  The  church  is  confused  and  weary  these 
days,  and  discouraged  by  the  rather  scanty  success  that 
comes  through  present  methods.  We  need  more  ade- 
quate conceptions  of  what  religion  really  is  and  how  we 
should  work  at  the  task  of  propagating  it. 

STARVATION  IN  AMERICA 

SERIOUS  food  riots  in  New  York  have  brought  to 
public  attention  in  a  forcible  way  the  fallacious  basis 
of  our  supposed  prosperity.    It  is  true  indeed  that 
there  is  today  more  wealth  in  America  than  ever  before. 


March  1,  1917                                  THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  7 

But  this  wealth  is  in  relatively  few  hands.    The  accident  doubtless  be  carried  out  and  should  result  in  a  better 

of  the  war  has  been  taken  advantage  of  by  shrewd  understanding. 

financial  operators  and  as  a  result  the  people  are,  in  This  report  indicates  the  effective  work  being  done 

general,  worse  off  instead  of  better  off  by  reason  of  our  by  the  Commission  on  Christian  Unity,  of  which  Dr. 

prosperity  and  high  prices.     There  has  been  only  one  Ainslie  is  executive  head.    Among  the  activities  of  the 

alleviating  circumstance,  and  that  has  been  the  large  Disciple,  none  are  more  fundamental  than  those  which 

demand  for  labor,  which  has  resulted  in  steady  employ-  look  in  the  direction  of  a  united  church.     It  is  in  this 

ment  through  the  winter.  service  that  we  were  especially  called  to  serve. 

The  millions  in  New  York  that  live  close  to  the 

starvation  level  have  finally  found  the  necessities  of  life  THE    WOES    OF   ARMENIA 

beyond  their  reach.    Food,  fuel,  and  nearly  all  the  things  __ur              ,   A           .     ,                     ,    .                   .. 

i,  -\   ,          iU     ,      .       r     /      •     1  1-  •       u            i            i  HPHF  case  of  Armenia  has  engaged  the  sympathies 

that  form  the  basis  of  physical  living  have  advanced.  J        c  ,.           .        .  ...      ,          if         r            .u 

„,  .    .          ^     j       .                    i«x«           Tt  •      1  ~  a      a.  1      of  the  entire  civilized  world,  so  far  as  the  story 

This  is  partly  due  to  war  conditions.    It  is  also  due  to  1     ,        ,             , .      T  -.      %,      - '       ..                 ,  —    J 

,            r ,.           r    i                    i4.           t<i.    u:~u :        e  has  been  told.     John  Maseneld,  the  poet  of  Fng- 

the  operations  of  clever  speculators.     1  he  high  price  ot  ,      ,   ,         .   ,    -  ,.        J     .        ,              .       ,  £,,                ° 

f,/          .              .iU      .     4.u        •             4.    i-u        -i       a  land,  has  stated  the  case  in  a  few  words :     These  people 

fuel  has  not  gone  either  to  the  miner  or  to  the  railroads.  '          .      ,                 _,                  ,                W                t 

It  stands  as  one  of  the  scandalous  evidences  of  graft  in  ~.    .  , .               ,      ,    "          e^      e'     ,  ,           r,1"^'  ™    «j 

,      .                    ,.            ttju           1U1-4.J  Christian  people,  too  poor,  too  helpless  and  too  mild 

business  operations.     Food  prices  have  also  been  kited  ,     ,             v.  ■  *    *         /.   '    rt      .. K  «     ,  Al 

i               i  f  to  be  enemies  to  anybody.     One-third  of  the  race  are 

^    ?          ,.     '       1-  r  i-       •     4.u      i-      4.-          {       ~,  dead  of  massacre,  starvation  and  pestilence,  and  one- 
Immediate  relief  lies  in  the  direction  of  a  more  ,    ,,    ,  A,              .  '               .         i         ,    ,  ,                , 

,  L.       ,       ,,                           ,      r  ,i                ,  halt  ot  the  remainder  are  homeless,  helpless  wanderers, 

active  regulation  by  the  government  of  the  operators  ,   .        .          .,         ,              ,     ,     .    , '        r . 

,      ,          ,          ,,  ;,  •              <r    .         ,•           a          4.  dying  in  exile,  where  nobody  but  the  Americans  can 

who  have  brought  this  era  of  starvation  and  want  upon  J     °,               '                      ,   J              .         ...            „. 

Jt                   ~    ?•          ,  ,.       •          ,     •    ,  ,     •          ,  *"  save  them.    We  cannot,  and  our  enemies  will  not.     lhat 

the  poor.     Such  regulation  is  undesirable  in  a  demo-  .,                   ..         ,      ti  '.     .                                        . 

:.r                  ,     ,  °,         ...                    ,     •    i  ,  they   are   alive   at   all   is   in   a   great   measure   due   to 

cratic  country,  but  starvation  is  more  undesirable.  a        •      » 

Meanwhile,  we  have  one  more  evidence  of  the  need  „,, -        .                  ,,       .,         ,           .  , 
f         ,.   .            .  .,  .     ,                   B   ,,,             ,,     ,  Ihe  only  reason  that  there  has  not  been  more  pro- 
of a  religious  spirit  in  business.    Ruthless  methods  are  ,    .   -J.          .     ,           .  ,.          .  i(.                  .  * 

^1,4.1      4.  a  ■    4.u       a          f ..      a   ~   „~a  test  and   indignant   denunciation  of     the  unspeakable 

no  more  to  be  tolerated  in  these  days  of  a  more  advanced  ^     ,  „  .      .  .  &    .     .       .           .          ,  . .    t         ,Y\           . 

.  ...             A,                    .,,            ,         •                  A  ,  lurk    in  this  culminating  crime  of  his  long  history  of 

civilization  than  is  a  ruthless  submarine  war.    Ad  vane-  ..  .    iU    .     ,     r           .    °  .         .    ,         .   .b        ,./ 

,                   ,    ,  ,           4.u     4.    4-u  4-u  4.  -4-  -         4.  ^vll  ls  the  lack  ot  accurate  knowledge  of  the  conditions, 
ing  years  have  revealed  to  us  the  truth  that  it  is  not  ,.                               ,  t,     ,.    .      .     fa    r  ^        ,        ,          ' 
. °.  f  A    ,  ,              .    ,  .    ,      t        r.  owing  to  censors  and  the  limitations  of  travel  and  corn- 
right  to  take  certain  kinds  of  profits.  °    .          „,,      -    ,    .^  _.                 .       .            ,           . 

to.         1.4.  4.     t,             mi    ^               i   .      -I,     i :    -  mumcation.     Ihe  facts  that  are  coming  in  are  from  the 

It  ought  to  be  possible  to  appeal  to  the  business  L     ,.  , ,                       ,           .  ^          &^,         .        , 
;             ,     .,        ,        ,1           A.               r      u      j  j  most  reliable  sources  and  are  of  the  most  damning  char- 
men  of  a  great  city  when  the  mothers  cry  for  bread  for  & 

their  children,  and  these  men  should  be  depended  upon  '     .          .  i              ,,      ,  „                .„  ,         ,        ,  j 

.,',          ,          ,     .          ,    .u>4       ,c0u  :„-;  „-  Such  a  picture  as  the  following  will  be  referred  to 

to  move  swiftly  and  surely  to  curb  the  wolfish  instincts  ,      ,  A           v                     .,,    ,           &    <<T             „     , 

r       L  •         -1                    u    4.  i              C4.     ■.!,„  4.  i     i  •   „  by  future  generations  with  horror:       I  saw  all  ot  our 

of  certain  evil  persons  who  take  a  profit  without  looking  J               °                .                ^     ..         .      ,, 

^    ...                   ■  .     ..      i,-      ,      jy    ,  women  and  my  mother  torn  to  pieces  by  the  monsters 

to  its  source  or  to  its  ultimate  ettect.  ,       ,.       .    ,  i      ..                  .     r  r  .»      ■%,             .        ., 

who  disputed  for  the  possession  of  them,    says  the  old 

A  NOTEWORTHY  MEETING  princess  in  Candido,  "and  I  was  left  for  dead  amid  a 

heap  of  corpses.     For  three  hundred  leagues  around, 

THOUGH    the    Disciples    and    the    people    of    the  similar  scenes  were  going  on  without  any  omission  in 

"Christian   Denomination"   both   look   back   with  the    five    prayers    a   day   prescribed    by   Mohammed." 

pride  and  loyalty  to  Barton  W.  Stone,  and  though  prayer  and  rape  f    Fiends  could  not  invent  a  more  hor- 

they  have  so  much  in  common,  there  has  not  been  rjble  combination! 

much  talk  of  union  between  them  in  recent  years.    Each  Israel  Zangwill,  the  famous  Jewish  dramatist,  says 

body  claims  to  have  a  special  message  on  the  subject  0f  the  situation  in  Armenia:    "Sister  nations   I   have 

of  Christian  union.  been  accustomed  to  think  the  Armenians  and  the  Jew. 

The  Virginia  state  convention  of  Disciples  and  the  *    *    *    Sisters  forsooth,  but  yet  not  equal  in  suffering. 

East  Virginia  conference  of  the  "Christian  Denomina-  Hitherto  through  the  long  centuries  the  crown  of  suf- 

tion"  each  have  a  committee  of  three  on  fraternal  rela-  fering  martyrdom  has  been  pre-eminently  Israel's.    As 

tions.    The  two  committees  met  in  Norfolk  recently  and  day  by  day  during  this  war  of  wars  there  came  to  me 

held  a  public  meeting  which  was  addressed  by  Dr.  Peter  by  dark  letter,  or  whisper,  the  tale  of  her  woes  in  the 

Ainslie.    His  address  made  such  a  deep  impression  that  central  war  zone,  I  said  to  myself,  Surely  the  cup  is 

it  was  reported  very  fully  by  the  public  press.  full.    Surely  no  people  on  earth  has  had  such  a  measure 

Dr.  Ainslie  did  not  hesitate  to  assert  that  the  church  of  gall  and  vinegar  to  drain.    But  I  was  mistaken.    One 

in  America  is  not  growing  as  it  should.     The  growth  people  has  suffered  more.     That  people  whose  ancient 

last  year  was  less  proportionately  than  the  growth  of  realm  held  the  legendary  Eden  has  now  for  an  abiding 

population.     He  asserted  that  three  million  people  in  place  the  pit  of  hell.    I  bow  before  this  higher  majesty 

New  York  were  without  religious  influence.     Thirty-  of  sorrow.     I  take  the  crown  of  thorns  from  Israel's 

nine  percent  of  the  country  churches  are  either  dead  or  head  and  I  place  it  upon  that  of  Armenia." 

dying.     The  church  in  America  is  rapidly  losing  its  The  American  Committee  for  Armenian  and  Syrian 

power  and  the  times  demand  a  careful  study  of  causes.  Relief    is    located    at    70    Fifth    Avenue,    New    York. 

Among  the  causes  for  waning  power  on  the  part  of  Through  this  office  goes  the  help  which  America  of  all 

the  church  is  that  of  the  divisions  of  the  church,  asserted  the  nations  is  best  prepared  to  give.     When  our  zeal 

Dr.  Ainslie.    While  there  has  been  a  great  growth  in  the  flags,  death  by  starvation  moves  the  faster  to  claim 

spirit  of  unity,  there  is  still  much  to  do  before  we  can  thousands  among  this  persecuted  race.    The  wealth  of 

say  the  church  is  truly  one.  America  can  be  devoted  to  no  more  worthy  enterprise 

Following   the   earnest   address,   resolutions   were  than  in  defeating  the  malignity  of  the  Turkish  persecu- 

passed,  asking  for  an  exchange  of  fraternal  delegates  tion.     For  the  Turk  there  awaits  the  sure  and  swift 

of  the  two  bodies  represented.    These  suggestions  will  judgment  of  God. 


Translations  and  Revisions  of  the  Bible      I 

Eighth  Article  of  the  Series  on  the  Bible 
BY  HERBERT  L.  WILLETT 

NINE  days  southeast  of  Suez  by  caravan  in  a  cleft  in  time  displace  the   Greek,  as  the  Christian  church 

of  the  mountains  is  the  Greek  monastery  of  St.  developed    its    liturgies    and    literature.     Accordingly, 

Catherine.     Tradition,   rather  late   and   not  par-  Latin  versions  of  the  Bible,  including  both  Testaments, 

ticularly  convincing,  located  here  the  scenes  of  impor-  were  in  circulation  as  early  as  the  first  half  of  the  third 

tant  incidents  in  the  life  of  Moses,  and  on  the  neighbor-  century.    These  are  variously  known  as  the  Old  Latin 

ing  mountain  the  place  of  the  dispensation  of  the  law.  and  the  Itala  versions.    But  the  most  important  edition 

In  the  monastery  there  is  a  library  containing  many  of  the   Scriptures  in  the  language  of  Rome  was  the 

old  and  precious  manuscripts.    During  the  two  or  three  Vulgate,  made  by  Jerome,  an  accomplished  scholar  and 

hours  daily  in  which  light  penetrates  the  obscure  spaces  churchman,  the  later  years  of  whose  life  were  spent  in 

of  the  library,  those  who  have  made  the  long  journey,  Bethlehem.     Here  for  fourteen  years  (390-404  A.  D.) 

and  have  the  proper  official  permission,  may  examine,  he  brought  out  a  complete  translation  of  the  Bible,  in- 

and  even,  for  a  consideration,  copy  the  documents  here  eluding  the  apocrypha,  which  has  remained  ever  since 

treasured,  for  neither  lights  nor  fire  are  permitted.  the  accepted  text  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

Here,  in  1844,  Constantine  Tischendorf  of  Leipsig  Many  popular  translations  of  the  Scriptures  into 

discovered  in  a  basket  of  refuse  some  leaves  of  a  very  the  various  languages  of  the  East  were  made  in  the 

old  Greek  manuscript  of  the  Bible.    He  was  not  permit-  early  Christian  centuries.    There  were  many  communi- 

ted  to  see  the  remainder  of  the  material,  and  two  sub-  ties  of  Syrian  Christians,  and  for  them  Syriac  transla- 

sequent  visits  were  necessary  before  he  was  able  to  tions  were  made  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 

secure,  by  the  authority  of  the   Czar  of   Russia,  the  The  Jewish  people,  who  had  entirely  lost  the  use  of 

entire  document,  containing  the  entire  New  Testament,  their  classic  tongue  by  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 

portions  of  the  Old,  and  in  addition  the  books  of  Barna-  era,  made  for  synagogue  use  versions  of  the  Old  Testa- 

bas  and  Hermas.    In  this  same  library  two  sisters  from  ment   called    Targums,   which   were   sometimes   fairly 

Oxford,  Airs.  Lewis  and  Mrs.  Gibson,  found  in  1892  a  accurate  renderings  of  the  Hebrew  text  into  the  Aramaic 

palimpsest  of  the  Syriac  Gospels.    On  three  later  visits  of   common   speech,   and   sometimes   free   paraphrases 

these  ladies  photographed  the  entire  manuscript,  which  which  made  no  effort  to  be  literal.     For  the  Christian 

is  now  published  and  available  to  scholarship.  population  of  Egypt  several  Coptic  versions  of  all  or 

In  such  places  the  various  ancient  versions  of  the  portions  of  the  Bible  were  made  in  the  fifth  and  sixth 

Scriptures  were  preserved.     Hundreds  of  such  reposi-  centuries.    At  the  southern  end  of  the  Red  Sea  in  the 

tories  have  yielded  up  their  secrets  in  modern  times  to  Abyssinia,  the  Sheba  of  the  Hebrew  writers,  there  were 

afford  students  of  the  Bible  the  means  of  comparing  likewise  Christian  influences  at  work  early  in  the  his- 

and  correcting  the  text  of  the  two  Testaments  and  the  tory  of  the  church.    There  in  the  fifth  century  appeared 

extra-canonical  books.     For    wherever  the  religion  of  a  version  of  the  Bible  in  the  Ethiopic  language.    In  the 

the  Hebrews  went,  there  copies  of  the  Scriptures  were  region  which  we  now  know  as  Serbia  and  Bulgaria, 

in  demand  and  had  to  be  supplied  either  in  the  original  Ulfilas,  the  apostle  of  the  Gospel  to  the  Goths,  lived 

language  or  in  some  translation.    And  wherever  Chris-  and  wrought  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  century, 

tianity  has  gone  in  its  world-encircling  expansion,  there  He  translated  the  Scriptures  into  the  Gothic  language, 

versions  of  both  New  and  Old  Testaments  have  been  the  speech  of  the  barbarians  who  had  raided  the  districts 

sure  to  take  form  in  due  time.  of  Cappadocia  and  carried  off  his  parents  a  generation 

before.     A  contemporary  naively  says  that  he  trans- 

NEED  OF  TRANSLATIONS  ,   ,     ,  „   „   ,,       ,        i  r  .of     c      "    /  **u   4.U 

lated  all  the  books  of  the  Scripture  with  the  exception 
The  Old  Testament,  as  already  noted,  was  written  of  the  books  of  Kings,  which  he  omitted  because  they 
in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  all  save  a  few  chapters  of  are  a  mere  narrative  of  military  exploits,  and  the  Gothic 
Daniel,  a  portion  of  Ezra,  and  a  single  verse  of  Jeremiah,  tribes  were  especially  fond  of  war." 
But  the  wars  of  Alexander  carried  the  Greek  speech  A  Slavonic  translation  was  made  in  the  early  cen- 
out  into  the  East,  and  made  it  the  language  of  culture  turies  for  the  Slavic  peoples,  particularly  the  Bulgars. 
in  all  the  Levant.  There  were  many  Jews  living  in  For  the  Armenian  communities  of  Asia  Minor  a  version 
Egypt  in  the  third  century  before  Christ.  About  250  of  the  Bible  seems  to  have  been  made  in  the  fifth  cen- 
B.  C.  a  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  was  tury.  Among  the  Christians  of  Syria  and  Egypt  who 
projected.  Tradition  affirmed  that  it  was  prepared  at  were  overwhelmed  by  the  Arab  wave  of  conquest  in 
the  order  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  by  seventy-two  the  seventh  century,  there  appeared  translations  of  the 
translators.  It  was  probably  undertaken  by  the  Jewish  Scriptures  into  Arabic.  It  will  be  noticed  that  in  these 
community  as  the  only  means  of  access  to  the  Scrip-  instances  the  effort  was  made  either  to  supply  a  Jewish 
tures.  The  work  was  accomplished  by  various  people  or  Christian  community  with  the  Scriptures  for  pur- 
through  a  period  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  years.  It  was  poses  of  study  and  worship,  or  to  provide  the  material 
a  free  and  not  very  accurate  translation  of  the  Old  Testa-  for  missionary  extension  of  the  Christian  faith, 
ment  books.  But  it  was  the  form  in  which  most  Jews  Similar  activities  have  produced  the  hundreds  of 
of  Jesus'  day  knew  their  Scriptures,  and  the  writers  of  versions  of  the  Scriptures  now  available  for  Christian 
the  New  Testament  nearly  always  quoted  from  this  education  in  all  the  lands  to  which  the  gospel  has  been 
version.  carried.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  collections  of 
The  official  language  of  the  Roman  empire  was  books  in  the  world  is  the  library  of  the  British  and 
Latin.    It  was  almost  inevitable  that  this  speech  should  Foreign  Bible  Society.    Hardly  less  interesting  is  that  of 


March  1,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


the  American  Bible  Society.  There  are  gathered  copies 
of  all  the  attainable  versions  of  the  Scriptures  since 
printing  was  invented,  and  many  manuscript  editions 
are  shown.  There  are  books  of  the  curious  and  fascinat- 
ing tongues  to  which  only  specialists  have  access.  There 
are  the  copies  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  such  as 
one  sees  on  the  shelves  of  the  Bible  dispensaries  in 
Tokyo,  Shanghai,  Singapore,  Rangoon,  Bombay,  Co- 
lombo, Cairo  and  Constantinople.  There  are  the  Bibles 
which  have  had  romantic  and  fateful  personal  histories, 
as  the  possessions  of  soldiers,  sailors,  explorers  and 
adventurers  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  Bibles  with 
bullet  holes  and  sabre  thrusts,  Bibles  stained  with  the 
blood  of  missionary  martyrs,  and  Bibles  blotted  with 
the  red  ochre  of  official  censors.  And  besides,  there  are 
the  quaint  and  curious  Bibles  in  the  early  forms  of  our 
own  speech ;  Bibles  representing  all  the  stages  of  our 
English  Scripture;  Bibles  with  grotesque  errors,  like 
the  "Wicked  Bible,"  the  "Breeches  Bible,"  and  others 
whose  printers  were  punished  roundly  for  their  mis- 
takes. 

THE   ENGLISH    BIBLE 

And  that  leads  naturally  to  the  story  of  the  Bible 
in  our  own  mother-tongue.  This  story  is  illustrative  of 
what  has  been  done,  or  must  be  done,  in  every  language 
in  which  the  Scriptures  are  presented.  For  language  is 
a  fluid  thing.  It  does  not  remain  fixed  for  a  day.  There 
is  therefore  constant  need  of  retranslation  and  revision, 
lest  the  Word  of  God  be  left  in  archaic  and  outworn 
form.  Fifty  dictionaries  of  the  English  language  have 
been  issued  since  the  King  James  Version  of  the  Bible 
made  its  appearance  in  1611.  And  if  the  ceaseless  labor 
of  Bible  translation  and  revision  has  been  the  price  of 
the  measure  of  biblical  knowledge  we  possess,  not  less 
essential  has  been  the  same  process  in  all  other  lands 
where  biblical  studies  are  to  be  kept  fresh  and  timely. 
And  a  similar  future  of  splendid  labor  awaits  the  grow- 
ing Christian  communities  in  the  mission  fields,  where 
the  first  partial  or  imperfect  versions  of  the  Scriptures 
are  now  appearing. 

Two  impressive  names  gather  to  themselves  the 
values  of  the  story  of  the  English  Bible.  Of  all  the 
work  which  preceded  the  art  of  printing,  John  Wyclif 
is  the  common  denominator,  and  of  that  which  has  taken 
form  since,  William  Tyndale  is  the  representative. 

In  597  A.  D.  the  missionary  Augustine  landed  in 
Kent,  on  the  southern  shore  of  England.  His  preach- 
ing was  not  the  first  Christian  message  that  Britain 
had  heard,  for  from  the  second  century  there  had 
been  confessors  of  the  faith.  From  his  day  the 
growth  was  rapid.  But  culture  was  rare,  and  the 
need  of  copies  of  the  Scripture  was  little  felt.  Caedmon 
of  Whitby  set  some  of  the  stories  of  the  Bible  into 
poetic  paraphrase  as  early  as  670  A.  D.  A  little  later, 
about  700  A.  D.,  Aldhelm,  bishop  of  Sherborne,  pre- 
pared a  version  of  the  Psalms  partly  in  prose  and  partly 
in  verse.  The  best  known  Christian  scholar  of  that  age 
was  Bede,  a  monk  of  Yarrow  on  the  Tyne,  who  died  in 
735  A.  D.  The  last  book  of  his  version  of  the  Bible  to 
be  translated  was  the  Fourth  Gospel,  and  he  finished  it 
in  the  closing  hours  of  his  life. 

King  Alfred  of  England,  justly  called  the  Great 
(849-901  A.  D.),  did  much  to  revive  the  Christian 
religion  in  the  realm.  He  translated  portions  of  the 
Scriptures  into  the  vernacular,  particularly  the  Psalms. 
He  prefixed  to  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  a  version  of  the 


Ten  Commandments  and  parts  of  Exodus.  The  earliest 
known  appearance  of  the  Gospels  in  English  is  a  para- 
phrase by  a  priest  named  Aldred,  who  about  950  wrote 
it  between  the  lines  of  a  Latin  copy  of  the  Gospels. 
Aelfric  of  Peterborough  about  1000  A.  D.  made  a  copy 
of  the  Gospels,  and  later  added  several  books  of  the  Old 
Testament,  as  well  as  Judith  and  Maccabees  from  the 
apocrypha. 

THE  CONQUEST 

Soon  afterward  William  the  Conqueror  came  with 
his  Normans  to  crush  the  Saxons.  The  Battle  of  Hastings 
in  1066  was  the  beginning  of  a  total  change  in  language, 
manners  and  customs.  Little  was  done  to  promote 
Bible  translation  in  the  first  centuries  of  Norman  rule, 
but  two  or  three  versions  of  the  Psalms  in  the  new 
language  served  to  make  it  familiar  and  acceptable  to 
the  common  people. 

Out  of  the  stormy  period  which  prevailed  in  Eng- 
land from  the  Conquest  till  the  Reformation  there  rises 
the  impressive  figure  of  John  Wyclif.  He  was  an  Oxford 
man,  a  scholar  of  distinction,  and  one  of  the  "morning 
stars"  of  the  new  era  of  enlightenment  and  religious 
reform.  They  were  restless  times  in  which  he  lived. 
Political  and  social  troubles  made  the  reign  of  Richard 
II  memorable.  Wat  Tyler's  rebellion  was  a  sign  of  the 
times.  Famine  and  plague  were  frequent.  Chaucer 
was  singing  the  first  songs  of  English  poetry.  Men 
were  eager  for  a  better  order,  but  church  and  state  were 
unawakened. 

Wyclif  saw  that  one  of  the  greatest  needs  of  the 
hour  was  a  Bible  that  the  people  could  use.  He  there- 
fore planned  a  translation  of  the  entire  Latin  Vulgate 
into  the  English  tongue,  which  was  now  settling  itself 
into  a  combination  of  the  older  Saxon  and  the  Norman- 
French  which  had  come  in  at  the  Conquest.  This 
translation  appeared  about  1382,  and  was  soon  popular- 
ized by  the  traveling  preachers  whom  Wyclif  organized 
and  sent  out  through  the  country.  They  were  known 
as  "Lollards,"  and  performed  a  very  great  service  in 
awakening  the  public  mind  on  religious  themes. 

Soon  afterward,  as  early  as  1388,  a  revision  of 
Wyclif's  Bible  appeared,  probably  the  work  of  his  friend 
and  pupil,  John  Purvey.  This  became  more  popular 
than  Wyclif's  own  work,  and  largely  superseded  it.  On 
the  foundation  of  biblical  knowledge  laid  by  these  ver- 
sions of  the  Scriptures  the  English  Reformation  was 
built.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  as  yet  no  printed 
copies  of  the  Word  of  God  had  appeared.  All  the  Bibles 
were  in  manuscript  form,  and  therefore  expensive.  More 
than  this,  the  practice  of  reading  the  Bible  was  under 
the  ban  of  the  state.  Men  were  fined  for  possessing  or 
distributing  any  part  of  the  Scriptures,  and  even  worse 
penalties  were  at  times  inflicted.  This  was  the  usual 
method  of  suppressing  heresy. 

tyndale's  work 

About  a  hundred  years  after  the  death  of  Wyclif, 
whose  bones  were  dug  up  and  burned  as  a  mark  of  royal 
condemnation  of  the  reforms  he  had  set  going,  William 
Tyndale  was  born  in  1484.  In  the  meantime  Gutenberg 
in  1455  had  printed  from  movable  type  the  first  com- 
plete Latin  Bible,  and  the  study  of  Hebrew  and  Greek 
had  made  great  advances  under  the  influence  of  the 
Revival  of  Learning.  The  printing  press,  which  began 
its  work  in  Germany  in  1454,  was  brought  by  Caxton 
into  England  in  1470.    Tyndale  studied  both  at  Oxford 


10                                    ~                  THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  March  1,  1917 

and  Cambridge,  and  was  so  deeply  stirred  by  the  intel-  ''Authorized  Version."    It  represented  the  best  scholar- 

lectual  and  religious  needs  of  the  time  that  his  rejoinder  ship  of  the  time.    Its  stately  and  beautiful  literary  style 

to  a  churchman  of  his  day  has  become  classic,  "If  God  has  made  it  an  unfailing- source  of  satisfaction  to  the 

spare  my  life,  ere  many  years  I  will  cause  a  boy  that  English-speaking   world.     Though    its   reception    into 

driveth  the  plow  shall  know  more  of  the  Scriptures  than  popular    favor    was    slow,    it   won    its   way,    and    has 

thou  doest."  remained  until  our  own  time  the  familiar  and  cherished 

Compelled  to  seek  refuge  in  flight  from  England,  version  of  the  Bible, 
he  went  to  Germany,  and  with  the  help  of  friends,  pub-  But  it  is  a  far  call  from  1611  to  our  day.  The  changes 
lished  two  editions  of  the  New  Testament  in  1525,  which  which  have  come  over  our  language  have  been  revolu- 
were  smuggled  into  England,  and  met  instant  accept-  tionary.  Words  do  not  now  mean  what  they  did  in 
ance.  Henry  YIII  used  every  effort  to  suppress  this  King  James'  reign.  More  than  this,  much  new  material 
work,  and  many  copies  were  publicly  burned.  But  its  for  the  correction  of  the  original  text  of  the  Bible  has 
popularity  increased  with  the  efforts  made  to  suppress  come  to  hand  through  the  discovery  of  other  texts  and 
it.  Tyndale  himself,  still  in  exile,  in  1530  set  about  the  versions,  and  the  light  thrown  upon  the  Bible  by  archaeo- 
completion  of  his  work  by  the  translation  of  the  Old  logical  science.  Textual  and  literary  criticism  have  made 
Testament,  which,  however,  he  did  not  live  to  complete,  their  contributions  to  the  study  of  the  Word  of  God.  A 
For  in  1536,  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  his  friends  to  new  edition  of  the  Book  became  imperative.  The  pub- 
keep  him  safe  in  his  retreat  in  Antwerp,  he  was  be-  lication  of  numerous  private  versions  added  force  to 
trayed  into  the  hands  of  imperial  officers,  tried,  con-  this  demand, 
demned,  strangled  and  burned.  In  1870  a  beginning  was  made  by  the  organization 

The  last  words  of  Tyndale  were,  "Lord,  open  the  0f  two  Commissions,  one  of  English  scholars,  and  one 

king  of  England's  eyes."    Miles  Coverdale,  the  next  in  of  Americans.    The  work  was  prosecuted  with  diligence 

the  illustrious  list  of  translators,  did  much  to  realize  until  in  18gl  the  New  Testament  was  published.     On 

the  martyr's  prayer.     He  published  the  first  complete  the  morni       of  M       20  of  that  year,  the  entire  New 

Bible   in   the   English    language   about    1535.     It   was  Testament    cabled  from   Lond        was       inted  in  the 

printed  on  the  continent,  but  seems  to  have  won  the  AT        v  ■  i  '  tt      u         j  *         j         1  *                        •       j 

K            .  it           ..      ...        .     .    ,.        ,,      ,  .         r-.  New  York  Herald,  and  two  days  later  it  was  printed 

favor  of  the   authorities,   including  the  king,    lhomas  .      .      .      _,  .           „  .,            J  ,    .      ~.  .          ^ 

Cromwell  and  Bishop  Cranmer.  From  this  time  onward  !?ire  in  thet  Chlcaf>  Jn?u"e*°d  *e  ChlCag°  Time!- 
Bible  translation  and  publication  became  the  order  of  Three  years  later  the  Revlsed  0ld  Testament  appeared, 
the  day.  The  work  of  Wyclif  and  Tyndale  came  to  its  the  work  of-these  two  Commissions, 
fruition.  ^n  vari°us  points  the  judgment  of  the  English 
""  A  friend  and  co-worker  of  Tyndale's,  John  Rogers,  revisors  differed  from  that  of  the  American  group.  It 
brought  out  the  so-called  "Matthew  Bible"  in  1537.  was  therefore  arranged  that  the  separate  readings  of 
This  was  really  the  continuation  of  the  work  of  Tyndale  the  latter  should  appear  in  an  appendix,  and  that,  after 
and  Coverdale,  and  yet  it  received  the  sanction  of  Henry  the  expiration  of  the  copyright  period  of  fourteen  years, 
VIII  hardly  more  than  a  year  after  Tyndale's  martyr-  an  edition  should  be  issued  giving  the  American  read- 
dom.  In  1539  Coverdale  published  a  revision  of  his  ings  in  the  text  itself.  During  the  years  that  followed, 
Bible,  which  because  of  its  larger  and  more  sumptuous  the  American  Committee  continued  its  labors,  in  prep- 
form  was  called  "The  Great  Bible."  Several  editions  aration  for  the  publication  of  the  American  edition, 
of  this  book  were  published,  and  it  was  scattered  But  just  before  the  expiration  of  the  time  limit  set,  the 
widely  among  the  churches  of  England  for  the  uses  of  Qxford  and  Cambridge  Presses  published  an  American 
public  worship.  Revised  Version,  giving  in  the  text  the  readings  of  the 

In   the  reign  of  Mary,  the  persecuting  daughter  American  Committee  fourteen  years  before, 

of    Henry,    many   of   the    reformers     were    compelled  This  action  wag            ded  as  most  unwarranted  by 

to    take    refuge    on    the    continent.      A    company    of  the  American  Committee,  as  it  failed  entirely  to  repre- 

thesc    in    Switzerland    prepared    a    revision    of    the  sent  the  status  of  biblical  scholarship  at  the  time  of  its 

Scriptures    which    was    known    as    the    Geneva    Bible  arance  in  1899.    Accordingly  in  1901  the  American 

and     became     very     popular.      This     was     completed  Committee   published    the   American    Standard    Bible, 

™a     f-  u        u       .^bishop  parke[  began  with  the  under  the  j        int  of  Thomas  Ndson  and  Sons  q£  New 

aid  of  other  churchmen  a  revision  of  the  Great  Bible  York      This  ig  tfae  j            and  b     far  the  b         of  ^ 

This  appeared  under  the  title  of  the  Bishop  s  Bible  and  Reyised  Versions,  which  have  in  informed  circles  of 

soon  superseded  the  other  work  in  the  usage  of  the  Bible  gtud    j        j    dispiaced  the  archaic  readings  of  the 

established  church.    About  the  same  period  other  work-  King  James  Version  of  1611. 

ers  than  the  Geneva  exiles  produced  upon  the  continent  \Z           .u                      t.                       j  • 

.u     t\       •       j   tdl.  •        D'Li             t?     »•  i       j-.-       r  Many  other  versions  have  appeared  in  recent  years, 

the   Douai   and   Kheims   Bible,   an   English   edition  for  ,,         ,.                     ,       ,«       -d-.i                  •    L  «•   -ui      i. 

t>            r  *u  i-         tl-           i                 I  •     ^An  attempting   to   render  the   Bible   more   intelligible   by 

Roman  Catholics.     This  work  appeared  in  1609.  t        a        z             i           u             u                        / 

1  v  means  of  modern  forms  of  speech  or  such  arrangements 

the  authorized  version  or  trie  text  as  w1^  serve  to  illustrate  its  literary  features. 

Of  the  former  sort,  the  Twentieth  Century  New  Testa- 
King  James  I,  the  successor  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  came  ment,  now  being  expanded  to  include  the  Old  Testa- 
to  the  throne  in  1603.  The  multitude  of  editions  of  ment,  is  an  admirable  example.  Of  the  latter,  Dr.  R.  G. 
the  Scriptures  which  had  taken  form  since  the  days  Moulton's  "Modern  Reader's  Bible"  is  a  convenient  and 
of  Wyclif,  differing  as  they  did  in  many  features  and  admirable  illustration.  But  in  the  nature  of  the  case, 
based  upon  many  different  sources,  made  wise  the  prep-  the  Revised  Version  of  the  Bible  is  destined  to  hold  the 
aration  of  a  standard  English  edition  of  the  Scriptures,  popular  place.  Like  the  Authorized  Version,  its  gen- 
In  1611  a  royal  commission,  representing  the  two  Uni-  eral  acceptance  will  be  a  matter  of  growth,  but  its 
versities  and  the  City  of  London,  completed  the  work  superiority  for  general  use  is  a  commonplace  of  informed 
which    has    for    the    past    three    centuries    been    the  biblical  study  today. 


Nationality  and  Beyond 


SOME  weeks  ago  I  was  surprised 
and  shocked  to  read  in  the  public 
press  the  statement  that  with  the 
causes  and  the  outcome  of  the  Euro- 
pean War  we  Americans  were  not 
concerned.  I  am  bound  to  assume 
that  the  words  must  have  been  used  in 
some  strange  and  unusual  manner,  for 
I  find  myself  unable  to  believe  that 
any  intelligent  American,  in  high  sta- 
tion or  in  low,  could  hold  the  view 
which  these  words,  interpreted  liter- 
ally, would  appear  to  express.  I 
should  as  soon  expect  one  to  say  that 
we  Americans  were  not  interested  in 
the  revival  of  learning,  or  in  the 
causes  or  outcome  of  the  French 
Revolution,  or  in  the  invention  of 
printing,  or  in  the  harnessing  of  sci- 
ence to  industry,  or  in  any  one  of  the 
great,  significant  events  in  the  history 
of  free  men.  For,  unless  I  am  wholly 
mistaken  in  the  significance  of  these 
years  through  which  we  are  passing, 
we  are  living  in  one  of  the  great  epoch- 
marking  crises  of  the  history  of  the 
world.  We  are  standing  at  one  of  the 
watersheds  from  the  heights  of  which 
streams  of  tendency  and  of  influence 
will  flow  for  generations,  perhaps  for 
centuries  to  come,  now  this  way  and 
now  that. 

MAKING   OVER   THE   WORLD 

What  we  are  witnessing  is  not  an 
ordinary  international  war.  We  are 
not  spectators  of  a  contest  between 
Guatemala  and  Honduras  over  a 
boundary;  we  are  standing  before  a 
struggle  so  stupendous,  involving 
such  incalculable  sums  of  human  treas- 
ure, that  all  the  great  contests  with 
which  history  is  strewn  fade  into  in- 
significance before  it.  This  contest  is 
not  between  savage  and  barbarous 
and  untutored  and  backward  peoples. 
It  is  not  a  strong  barbarian  who  is 
emerging  from  the  jungle  to  extend 
his  reach  over  the  less  powerful.  This 
war  is  a  clash  between  ideals.  It  is 
a  controversy  over  ideals  and  national 
purposes,  and  it  takes  rank  with  the 
most  magnificent  events  in  all  history ; 
and  I  use  the  word  "magnificent"  in 
its  literal  sense  of  great-making,  a 
great  making  over  of  issues  and  ten- 
dencies. 

We  are  witnessing  the  nemesis  of 
the  doctrine  of  nationality  as  an  end 
in  itself.  We  are  standing  at  the 
bloody  grave  of  an  ideal  that  is  a 
thousand  years  old,  one  that  has  made 
the  history  of  Europe  since  the  fall 
of  the  Roman  empire.  And  we  are 
witnessing  the  birth  of  a  new  ideal, 
an  ideal  of  nationality  with  new 
human  significance,  new  human  serv- 


By  Nicholas  Murray  Butler 

ice  and  new  human  helpfulness, — an 
ideal  of  nationality  higher  than  mere 
self-aggrandizement,  or  economic 
wealth,  or  military  power.  This  is  an 
ideal  which  calls  to  the  heart  and  to 
the  mind  of  every  American,  and  stirs 
his  soul  with  the  hope  and  the  desire 
that  his  nation  may  participate  in  the 
upbuilding  of  a  new  conception  of  na- 
tional purpose  that  shall  call  upon  us 
to  see  something  in  a  nation  that  is 
beyond  population  and  wealth  and 
trade  and  influence,  and  that,  whether 
the  nation  be  great  or  whether  it  be 
small,  shall  give  it  an  honorable  place 
in  the  great  structure  which  is  civiliza- 
tion. 

WHY  THE  PRESENT  WAR? 

Just  so  long  as  every  nation  is  re- 
garded as  an  end  in  itself,  just  so  long 
will  the  world  be  faced  with  the  pos- 
sibility of  a  recurrence  of  this  soul- 
stirring  tragedy.  Just  so  long  will  the 
time  come,  at  more  or  less  frequent 
intervals,  when  national  ambition,  na- 
tional zeal,  national  selfishness  even, 
will  find  themselves  struggling  for 
new  and  forceful  expression,  for  new 
and  greater  extension  of  influence,  for 
new  accomplishment  and  new  grand- 
eur. 

I  take  it  that  the  dream  of  one 
world  empire  has  passed  away  for- 
ever. It  was  a  dream  that  came  to  the 
ancient  Persians ;  it  was  a  dream  that 
sent  Alexander  the  Great  with  his 
troops  out  over  the  deserts  of  Asia; 
it  was  a  dream  that  stirred  the  Ro- 
man conquerors;  it  was  a  dream  that 
gave  Charlemagne  his  name;  it  was 
a  dream  that  showed  us  the  magnifi- 
cent spectacle  of  Napoleon  trying  to 
turn  back  the  hands  of  the  clock  of 
progress  only  a  century  ago.  That 
dream  I  take  it  has  passed  forever, 
and  we  have  now  to  deal  not  with  the 
conception  of  a  world-empire,  but 
with  the  conception  of  clashing,  con- 
flicting, mutually  antagonistic  nation- 
alities. International  war  at  intervals 
is  the  necessary  accompaniment  of 
that  stage  of  national  politics.  But, 
magnificent  as  was  the  diplomacy  of 
Cavour,  of  Bismarck,  of  Palmerston, 
and  of  Disraeli,  that  diplomacy  and 
that  ideal  of  nationality  which  it  pur- 
sued, have  passed  away  forever. 

PUBLIC    OPINION    WINNING 

We  are  now  coming  to  that  state 
of  international  policy  where  whether 
a  nation  be  democratic  or  monarchical, 
informed  public  opinion  matters 
mightily,  and  little  by  little  is  becom- 
ing the  responsible  controller  of  policy. 
An  instructed  and  conscientious  public 
opinion  is  reaching  out  to  take  the 


control  of  international  policy  out  of 
the  hands  of  monarchs  and  their  irre- 
sponsible ministers,  and  to  put  that 
control  in  the  hands  of  representative 
ministers  of  government  who  are  re- 
sponsible to  their  several  peoples  and 
who  will  no  longer  wage  wars  for  per- 
sonal, dynastic  or  merely  individual 
aims.  As  that  democratizing  of  in- 
ternational relations,  of  foreign  policy, 
takes  place,  the  ground  will  be  plowed 
and  harrowed  and  seeded  and  pre- 
pared for  the  crop  of  a  new  ideal. 

This  is  the  ideal  of  a  great  com- 
munity of  nations  each  standing,  as 
international  law  says  it  shall  stand, 
as  the  equal  of  every  other,  whether 
great  or  small,  powerful  or  weak,  en- 
gaged in  the  common  co-operative 
task  of  advancing  the  world's  civiliza- 
tion, of  extending  its  commerce  and 
trade,  of  developing  its  science,  its  art, 
and  its  literature;  all  aiming  to  in- 
crease the  standards  of  comfort,  and 
to  lift  the  whole  great  mass  of  man- 
kind to  new  and  higher  planes  of  ex- 
istence, of  occupation  and  of  enjoy- 
ment. In  that  co-operative  family  of 
nations  whose  institutions  are  now  in 
the  making,  there  will  be  a  place  for 
every  people,  for  every  race,  and  for 
every  language,  and  there  will  be  a 
place  for  us.  The  compact  of  the  Pil- 
grim Fathers  on  the  Mayflower,  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  the  Con- 
stitution, the  Gettysburg  Address  and 
Lincoln's  Second  Inaugural,  are  all 
one  great  series  of  steps  in  the  de- 
velopment of  our  national  purpose  and 
of  our  international  position  and  in- 
fluence. 

"entangling  alliances" 

George  Washington  counseled  this 
nation  to  beware  of  entangling  al- 
liances that  would  carry  us  into  the 
martial  conflicts  of  Europe.  We  have 
wisely  maintained  that  policy  from  his 
day  to  our  own;  but  nothing  was 
farther  from  his  thought  than  to  coun- 
sel us  against  participation  with  every 
other  nation  in  the  solution  of  the 
great  political  problems  common  to  all 
nations.  We  know,  because  their  very 
names  recall  the  knowledge  to  our 
minds,  what  the  great  nations  of  the 
ancient  world  and  of  modern  times 
meant  and  still  mean.  We  know  what 
Italy  means,  what  Germany  means, 
what  France  means,  what  Holland 
means,  what  Great  Britain  means.  We 
see  with  the  eye  of  imagination  their 
accomplishments,  their  service,  and 
their  great  leaders  of  human  influ- 
ence and  of  action  for  centuries  past. 

The  question  that  now  presses 
heavily  upon  our  American  people  is, 
what  shall  we  make  America  to  be? 


12 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  1,  1917 


Shall  America  come  to  be  merely  the 
symbol  for  a  busy  hive  of  industrious 
bees,  or  a  symbol  for  a  great  hill  of  in- 
telligent ants?  Shall  it  mean  only  a 
nation  absorbed  in  daily  toil,  in  ac- 
cumulation, in  individual  satisfaction, 
or  shall  it  mean  a  nation  so  intelligent 
as  to  its  purposes,  so  secure  in  its 
grasp  upon  its  ideals  and  so  devoted 
to  them,  that  it  will  not  rest  until  it 
has  carried  all  around  this  world  an 
American  message  that  will  raise  and 
help  and  succor  the  stricken  and  con- 
flicting family  of  peoples?  Shall  we 
keep  to  ourselves  the  great  funda- 
mental American  accomplishments 
that  have  in  them  lessons  for  the 
whole  world,  or  shall  we  use  our  influ- 
ence to  teach  to  others  those  accom- 
plishments and  to  spread  them 
abroad? 

America's  federation  experiment 

I  mean,  first,  our  literally  stupend- 
ous achievement  in  federation.  We 
have  shown  for  the  first  time  in  his- 
tory, on  a  large  scale,  that  there  may 
be  flexibility  in  government  combined 
with  a  single  unit  of  ultimate  control. 
We  have  shown  how  we  can  retain 
personal  liberty  and  local  self-govern- 
ment while  building  up  a  strong,  pow- 
erful, united  nation.  The  world  out- 
side of  the  United  States  is  waiting 
to  profit  by  that  experience.  If  there 
can  be  a  common  unity  between  Maine 
and  California,  Washington  and  Flor- 
ida,    uniting     local     self-government 


with  membership  in  a  great  federated 
nation,  why  is  not  some  part  of  that 
principle  and  why  is  not  some  part  of 
that  experience  to  be  made  ready  for 
use  and  application  by  Great  Britain, 
and  Italy,  and  France,  and  Hungary, 
and  Russia  and  the  rest? 

SETTING  OUR  HOME  IN  ORDER 

Then,  so  many  human  conflicts  arise 
out  of  differences  of  language,  differ- 
ences of  religion,  differences  of  insti- 
tutional life,  and  so  often  the  attempt 
has  been  made  to  suppress  and  op- 
press the  weak  by  the  stronger.  Men 
and  women  are  told  that  they  may  not 
worship  according  to  their  faith ;  that 
their  children  may  not  be  educated  in 
schools  where  the  vernacular  is 
taught ;  and  there  must  be  various 
differences  between  races  and  creeds 
and  languages  and  types.  Have  we 
not  proved  to  a  watching  world  that 
the  cure  for  that  form  of  conflict  is 
Liberty?  Have  we  not  shown  that 
freedom  of  religion,  freedom  of  edu- 
cation, equality  of  race  and  of  lan- 
guage, letting  all  work  out  their  sev- 
eral conflicts  and  controversies  as  they 
please  subject  only  to  the  law,  is  the 
best  policy  ?  Have  we  not  shown  that 
out  of  these  different  elements,  a 
strong  united  nation  can  be  built? 
And  are  we  not  ready  and  anxious  to 
teach  that  to  those  who  would  still 
try  to  unify  by  suppression  and  by 
persecution  ? 

Are  we  not    ready    as    Americans 


first  to  set  in  order  our  own  house, 
first  to  make  sure  that  we  ourselves 
are  living  at  home  in  accordance  with 
our  ideals,  with  our  best  purposes, 
and  are  learning  the  lessons  of  our 
own  experience?  And  then,  shall  we 
not  be  ready  to  say  to  Europe,  to  Asia 
and  to  Africa,  and  to  our  sister  re- 
publics to  the  South,  that  we  feel 
our  sense  of  international  obligation? 
We  have  gained  some  information ;  we 
have  proved  some  things.  This  infor- 
mation and  this  experience  we  offer 
them.  We  offer  it  in  persuasiveness, 
in  friendship  and  in  kindness.  We 
offer  this  as  our  contribution  to  the 
great  temple  of  civilization  that  we  all 
would  join  to  build. 

What  a  day  it  will  be  when  we  can 
take  our  Washington,  our  Jefferson, 
our  Hamilton,  our  Marshall,  our  Web- 
ster, and  our  Lincoln  out  of  the  re- 
stricted class  of  merely  American 
voices  and  American  figures  and 
American  heroes,  and  give  them  to  the 
world,  to  take  their  first  place  by  the 
side  of  the  great  statesmen,  the  great 
artists,  the  great  poets,  the  great  seers 
of  all  time,  as  our  contribution  to  a 
new  civilization  in  which  every  nation 
shall  find  its  place!  Understanding 
this,  let  us  press  forward  to  a  single 
goal  for  all  men,  the  goal  described 
and  written  in  our  own  American 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

That  is  the  goal  that  lies  beyond 
nationality  conceived  as  an  end  in  it- 
self. 


Christ  Is  Now  Here! 

By  William  L.  Barth 

Since  the  resignation  of  Rev.  Walter  M.  White  from  the  great  First  Church,  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  several  months  ago, 
the  pulpit  has  been  supplied  regularly  by  Rev.  W.  L.  Barth.  In  response  to  our  request  for  an  article  from  his  pen,  Mr. 
Barth  sends  us  the  following  portion  of  a  recent  sermon.  As  one  reads  this  extract  from  his  preaching  one  understands 
easily  enough  why  the  Cedar  Rapids  congregation  seems  to  be  taking  its  leisure  in  the  matter  of  calling  a  permanent 
pastor.  We  are  glad  to  introduce  Mr.  Barth  to  readers  of  The  Christian  Century  and  to  the  churches  of  our  communion 
through  this  first  message  which  he  has  allowed  to  be  published  beyond  the  limits  of  the  local  churches  to  which  he  has 
ministered. — The  Editor. 


IS  IT  a  fact  or  a  mere  fancy  that  we 
worship  a  living  Christ?  Are  we 
cherishing  only  a  beautiful,  poetic 
ideal  when  we  speak  of  the  Master 
coming  to  our  hearts  with  his  wistful 
appeal  for  entrance?  Is  this  only  a 
metaphor  or  is  it  a  reality?  What 
does  he  mean  when  he  says,  "Behold, 
I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock"  ?  "Lo, 
I  am  with  you  alway,  even  to  the  end 
of  the  ages"?  Surely  this  means  more 
than  a  beautiful  memory,  a  vague, 
haunting  dream  of  a  dim,  mystical  fig- 
ure that  walked  our  earth  for  a  few 
short  days  in  the  long  ago,  or  is  the 
fragrance  that  touches  our  souls  only 


the  fragrant  memory  of  those  far-off 
days?  Are  the  fragmentary  teachings 
of  the  Master's  ministry  and  the  in- 
complete history  of  the  days  of  his 
flesh  all  that  remain  to  us  of  the 
world's  Saviour,  or  is  he  perhaps  an 
absentee  Saviour  only? 

THE  DREAM  OF  THE  APOSTLES 

Surely  then  we  misread  those  won- 
drously  strange  stories  that  make  the 
pages  of  the  New  Testament  so  full 
of  interest  and  charm.  When  the 
Master  was  led  to  his  cross,  his  fol- 
lowers went  back  to  their  nets.  For 
them    the    bubble    had    burst;    their 


dream  of  a  kingdom  and  a  kingly 
Christ  had  come  to  naught.  Their 
high  hopes  lay  at  their  feet  in  broken 
fragments,  and  in  the  shock  of  their 
disillusion  they  could  think  of  nothing 
better  than  to  go  back  to  their  boats 
and  nets.  And  so  Peter  said,  "I  go 
fishing;"  and  the  rest  of  the  discour- 
aged disciples  said,  "We  go  with 
thee."  They  fished  all  night,  and  of 
course  in  that  mood  caught  nothing, 
and  so  at  the  first  faint  flush  of  the 
dawn  they  turned  shoreward;  and  lo, 
"Jesus  stood  on  the  shore."  And  now 
they  think  no  more  of  nets  and  fish- 
ing; they  had  met  again  their  Master. 


March  1,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


13 


The  cross  could  not  kill  him,  the  grave 
could  not  hold  him.  He  was  truly 
their  King;  yes,  more,  the  Son  of  God, 
the  Saviour  of  men.  And  they  went 
out  to  tell  the  wondrous  story  with  a 
courage  and  an  enthusiasm  they  had 
never  known.  They  were  beaten,  im- 
prisoned, driven  from  city  to  city  like 
a  pestilence ;  but  their  faith  and  their 
zeal  never  faltered. 

In  every  hour  of  stress  and  danger 
the  promise  was  verified  to  them,  "Lo 
I  am  with  you."  And  so  they  tell  us 
he  opened  their  prison  doors,  he 
comforted  them,  strengthened  them, 
illumined  them;  and  when  their  bit- 
terest enemy  hunted  them  even  to  far 
away  cities,  he  was  halted  in  the  way 
by  a  binding  flash  of  glory  and  trans- 
formed into  a  flaming  herald  of  the 
new  faith. 

HOW    CHRIST   REVOLUTIONIZES   LIVES 

How  do  we  explain  these  thrilling 
stories  of  the  early  church  ?  Are  they 
only  the  artless  fairy  tales  of  simple 
men,  deluded  by  an  entrancing  ideal? 
Men  do  not  give  their  lives  for  an 
ideal.  Men  do  not  organize  churches 
around  an  ideal.  Men  do  not  banish 
themselves  to  India  as  did  Moffat,  nor 
to  Africa  as  did  Livingstone,  nor  to 
China  as  did  Hudson  Taylor,  for  an 
ideal.  It  takes  a  living,  pulsing  life 
incarnating  the  ideal  to  so  inspire  men. 
And  that  life  is  here ;  it  is  among  men 
today  even  as  it  was  in  the  long  ago. 
It  has  been  here  from  the  first  Christ- 
mas day  to  the  present  hour. 

St.  Augustine,  next  to  St.  Paul,  is 
probably  the  most  outstanding  figure 
in  the  Christian  church.  He  was  a 
very  prince  in  the  power  of  his  intel- 
lect ;  but  he  was  a  rake.  He  had  soiled 
his  splendid  soul  in  the  filth  of  Carth- 
age and  of  Rome.  His  father  was  a 
pagan.  Then  why  should  not  he  live 
and  die  likewise  as  a  pagan?  At  last 
there  came  a  crucial  day  in  his  life,  as 
it  has  come  to  the  lives  of  millions  of 
others.  He  was  compelled  to  face  the 
issues  that  Christ  brought  to  him.  He 
threw  himself  upon  his  face  in  a  gar- 
den and  battled  for  his  soul ;  and  there 
he  heard  a  voice  saying,  "Take  and 
read,  take  and  read."  And  he  took  up 
the  Book  that  has  brought  life  to  an 
innumerable  host,  and  he  read,  "Put 
ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  and  make  no  pro- 
vision to  fulfill  the  lusts  of  the  flesh." 
He  arose  to  his  feet  a  new  man,  a  new 
light  on  his  face,  a  new  hope  in  his 
heart,  a  redeemed  soul.  Christ  had 
spoken  and  had  conquered. 

THE  CONVERSION  OF  LUTHER 

Martin  Luther  was  a  troubled  soul. 
The  barrenness  of  the  church  had 
starved  his  nature,  the  meaningless 
ceremonials  had  revolted  his  soul.  He 
went  to  Rome  as  a  pilgrim,  hoping  in 
the  sacred  city  to  find  peace,  and  he 
did;  but  not  as  he  had  reckoned.    He 


went  to  the  church  of  the  sacred  stair, 
and  began  to  mount  it  on  his  knees,  as 
was  prescribed.  He  kissed  the  so- 
called  blood  spots  of  the  Saviour ;  and 
then  there  came  to  him  a  voice,  "The 
just  shall  live  by  faith,"  and  Luther 
arose  and  went  back  to  Wittenberg 
and  nailed  his  theses  to  the  church 
door.  The  ever  living  Christ  had 
spoken. 

John  Wesley  is  a  world  figure.  His 
name  will  live  as  long  as  men  shall 
seek  for  "Christianity  in  earnest." 
Under  his  gracious  ministry  England 
was  transformed.  For  years,  how- 
ever, he  labored  without  power  or 
peace.  On  his  return  from  his  mission 
work  in  Georgia  he  wrote  in  his  jour- 
nal: "I  went  to  America  to  convert 
the  Indians,  but,  oh,  who  will  convert 
me?"  He  went  one  night  to  a  Mora- 
vian prayer  meeting  in  London,  and 
while  the  leader  was  reading  the  les- 
son the  Voice  that  had  spoken  to 
Augustine  and  Luther  spoke  to  Wes- 
ley. He  tells  us  that  he  suddenly  felt 
his  heart  "strangely  warmed"  and 
filled  with  a  great  peace.  The  ever 
living  Christ  had  spoken  once  more. 

HOW   CHRIST    COMES 

It  is  a  blessed  promise,  dear  to 
every  heart,  that  our  Lord  will  one 
day  appear  on  the  earth,  in  clouds  of 
glory,  to  end  the  dominion  of  sin  and 
sorrow,  and  to  establish  fully  and 
completely  his  glorious  reign  of  peace 
and  love.  He  spoke  of  this  again  and 
again  to  his  immediate  followers. 
The  early  church  was  aflame  with  the 
glory  of  this  hope.  For  ages  it  was 
the  rallying  cry  of  the  church,  and 
though  the  ages  since  his  day  have 
seemed  to  mock  this  hope,  the  church 
will  not  relinquish  it.  For  unnum- 
bered thousands  the  announcement  of 
the  coming  reign  of  God,  the  immi- 
nence of  the  Second  Advent  is  the 
most  fundamental  and  inspiring  prom- 
ise of  the  New  Testament;  and  they 
are  right.  The  promise  will  be  ful- 
filled. The  Christ  shall  come,  and  the 
full  realization  of  the  promise  will  far 
outstrip  any  literalistic  dreams  we 
may  have  of  that  dispensation  of 
grace. 

To  look  for  a  cataclysmic  panorama 
may  be  a  degradation ;  to  befuddle  the 
brain  with  a  study  of  numbers  an  ab- 
surdity ;  to  predict  times  and  dates  an 
impertinence.  Neither  Calvin  nor 
Luther  felt  competent  to  interpret  the 
wondrous  imagery  of  the  book  of 
Revelation,  but  this  does  not  deter  les- 
ser minds  from  their  fantastic  per- 
versions. We  chart  the  hoofs  and  the 
horns,  and  set  up  kindergarten  classes 
in  the  study  of  the  sublimest  mysteries 
of  God.  Surely  such  exegesis  is 
neither  informing  nor  inspirational. 
The  Master  himself  has  told  us  that 
the  coming  of  his  Kingdom  is  like  the 
working  leaven ;  the  growing  seed  and 


whatever  else  that  may  symbolize  it 
surely  indicates  that  the  transforma- 
tion of  the  ages  is  a  process  of  the 
ages.  Time  seems  to  be  an  element  in 
the  Kingdom  of  God  as  in  the  king- 
dom of  nature.  The  ages  belong  to 
our  God  and  we  may  rest  assured  that 
He  will  not  delay  by  a  single  hour  His 
gracious  purposes  of  redemption.  It 
takes  a  hundred  years  to  bring  a  cen- 
tury plant  to  the  bloom;  a  thousand 
years  to  build  a  California  redwood 
tree,  and  these  facts  should  teach  us 
not  to  despair  if  the  glories  of  the 
eternal  kingdom  are  not  realized  in  a 
day. 

"the  lord  god  reigneth" 

During  the  coronation  ceremonies 
of  Queen  Victoria,  she,  as  was  the 
custom,  attended  the  rendition  of  the 
"Messiah,"  and  as  she  was  instructed 
that  it  was  not  meet  for  the  Queen  to 
stand  in  the  presence  of  her  people, 
she  kept  her  seat ;  but  when  the  mighty 
chorus  grew  louder  and  still  louder 
and  the  singers  began  to  shout,  "Hal- 
lelujah, Hallelujah,  Hallelujah!  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth !"  the 
little  slip  of  a  girl  forgot  that  she  was 
the  Queen  of  all  the  realm,  and  she 
arose  to  her  feet  and  with  bowed  head 
stood  while  the  tears  coursed  unbidden 
over  her  cheeks.  In  her  heart  she  felt 
as  if  she  should  take  the  crown  from 
her  head  and  cast  it  at  the  feet  of  her 
Lord  and  King. 

This  is  only  a  parable  of  that  which 
shall  one  day  take  place  in  this  old 
world.  Our  Christ  shall  be  King.  He 
is  here  among  men  today  by  his  vital- 
izing, spiritual  presence,  turning  and 
overturning,  bringing  our  selfish  plans 
to  naught,  defeating  our  narrow  pur- 
poses, prodding  our  laggard  con- 
sciences, inspiring  our  ideals  and  guid- 
ing our  steps  in  the  upward  march  to 
the  city  of  God. 

And  his  spirit  will  one  glad  day 
conquer  every  heart.  The  mystic 
dream  of  the  prophet  of  Patmos  will 
yet  come  true,  for  though  our  blinded 
natures  see  it  not,  the  Christ  of  God  is 
among  us.  It  is  he  that  "lifted  the 
gates  of  empires  from  their  hinges 
and  turned  the  stream  of  history  into 
other  channels."  It  is  he  that  has 
wrought  the  wondrous  transformation 
of  the  ages  and  that  is  today  the  in- 
spiration of  every  social  uplift.  And 
he  shall  not  fail  nor  be  discouraged 
until  he  has  accomplished  his  work. 
The  slums  must  go  with  all  their 
squalor  and  poverty.  Congested  tene- 
ments must  go,  soul-blighting  poverty 
must  go,  the  lust  and  greed  of  the 
world  must  go,  war  with  all  its  terrors 
and  heart-breaks  must  go;  for  men 
cannot  always  resist  the  nameless  pa- 
tience and  might  of  his  love.  He  has 
conquered  our  hearts  and  he  will  con- 
quer the  hearts  of  all  men  until  his 
gracious  will  is  done  here  on  earth  as 
it  is  in  Heaven. 


"Tenting  on  the  Old  Camp  Ground"  in  India 


By  George  E.  Miller 


OUT  under  the  great  spreading 
mango  trees  stands  our  white 
tent,  its  door  facing  the  stream 
which  curves  and  loses  itself  from 
view  as  it  works  on  toward  the  blue 
hill  in  the  far  distance.  How  often 
have  I  sat  in  my  tent  door  in  other 
days  and  watched  that  river  and  the 
ever  changing  robes  of  that  hill! 
They  had  a  different  message  then. 
They  spoke  of  home.  Now  they  speak 
of  India,  and  all  our  hopes  for  her. 

UNDER  THE  MANGO  TREES 

Yesterday  we  were  camped  in  Pen- 
dradihi,  in  the  little  grove  of  "babul" 
trees  where  the  Christians  have  their 
annual  Christmas  dinner.  Mrs.  Miller 
and  the  little  folk  were  with  me.  This 
was  our  first  family  camp,  and  it 
surely  was  better  than  those  other 
days,  even  if  the  young  Miss  Miller 
sometimes  disturbs  me  in  the  should- 
be-quiet  hours  of  the  night.  I  spent 
one  forenoon  in  measuring  the  new 
leper  asylum  wards  and  working  out 
the  bill  for  whitewashing.  One  even- 
ing I  visited  the  old  site  to  see  how 
much  usable  material  can  be  obtained 
from  it,  then  went  further  on  to  see 
one  of  our  teachers  who  was  down 
with  fever  in  his  brother's  house. 
Damaru  was  with  me,  and  as  ever 
proved  a  most  helpful  companion. 
Damaru  is  making  a  splendid  record 
there,  tactful,  patient,  intelligent  and 
industrious  in  season  and  out  of  sea- 
son. Amongst  other  things  he  has 
our  village  farm  work  on  his  hands, 
and  is  making  it  pay. 

From  Pendradihi  we  came  on  to 
Bareia,  where  we  are  now  snugly 
nestled  under  the  protecting  arms  of 
the  mango  trees.  Yesterday  evening 
Dhansai,  Yaphat  and  I  went  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Bhatri.  On  the  way  we  had 
a  most  excellent  view  of  the  river,  a 
surprising  one  to  me.  To  the  front 
curved  the  river,  one  arm  reaching 
out  to  a  tree-hidden  village  to  the 
right,  and  another  stretching  toward 
the  hills  to  the  fore.  The  river  wound 
back  and  forth,  and  was  a  patchwork 
of  shining  water  and  brown  sand. 
Later  all  this  sand  will  be  covered 
with  the  green  of  growing  sweet  po- 
tatoes. That  river  scene  was  beauti- 
ful, but  when  I  turned  to  look  at  the 
drab  little  village  of  Bhatri  a  feeling 
of  depression  came'  over  me.  Small 
mud  houses;  narrow,  crooked,  dusty 
streets,  and  a  stray  tree  here  and 
there, — altogether  a  most  straggly  and 
discouraging  appearance;  but  where 
man  has  an  interest  and  work  to  do, 
the  humblest  and  most  unpromising 
place  holds  an  interest  for  him.  When 
I    found   a  number   of   newly   made 


Christians  there,  the  place  took  on 
new  meaning.  Many  were  out  in  the 
fields  at  work,  as  this  is  a  most  busy 
time,  and  people  work  from  early 
morn  until  ten  o'clock  at  night;  for 
there  is  now  a  moon.  There  were 
eight  or  ten  Christians  gathered  to- 
gether, and  we  visited  with  them,  and 
tried  to  give  them  courage  and  a  new 
vision.  I  asked  them  if  they  had  given 
up  their  evil  ways — their  use  of  vile 
and  abusive  language,  lying,  quarrel- 
ing, etc.  They  calmly  answered  that 
they  had  not !  On  being  asked  why, 
one  of  them  replied,  "Who  can  do  it, 
Sahib  ?    Nobody  can." 

THE    "TRUE   NAMES" 

These  new  Christians  are  very  im- 
mature, and  naturally  so.  They  are 
a  source  of  worry  to  our  workers 
here.  Today,  as  Yaphat  and  Dhansai 
and  I  walked  to  another  village,  work- 
ing our  way  through  golden  rice  and 
green  flax  fields,  the  men  told  me  of 
these  new  people,  and  of  their  fears 
for  them.  They  are  present  at  all  the 
heathen  festivities,  and  these  are  vile. 
They  believe  in  child  marriage.    It  is 


a  disgrace  for  Indian  parents  to  fail 
to  make  marriage  arrangements  for 
their  children.  These  raw  Christians 
have  the  same  idea,  and  the  men  are 
having  difficulty  in  getting  them  to  see 
the  Christian  viewpoint.  They  do 
not  want  to  send  their  girls  to  Bi- 
laspur  nor  their  boys  to  Damoh.  As; 
our  chief  hope  is  for  their  children, 
this  is  most  discouraging;  but  we  have 
not  given  up.  We  have  just  begun. 
There  is  no  giving  up  on  the  mission 
field,  no  defeat.  We  do  not  follow 
that  kind  of  captain.  We  found  quite 
a  number  of  people  this  morning,  con- 
sidering the  circumstances,  and  we 
told  them  of  Christ,  the  "True  Name." 
These  people  here  call  themselves  the 
"True  Namers,"  and  talk  of  the 
teacher  who  is  to  come,  the  "True 
Name."  We  tell  them  that  he  has  al- 
ready come,  that  we  bring  his  mes- 
sage. 

When  our  friends  pray  for  the 
coming  of  the  kingdom,  may  they  not 
forget  us  here,  especially  the  strug- 
gling, untaught,  new  Christians. 

Mungeli,  Central  Province,  India. 


iuiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiuiliiiuinmiiiiiuiliiiiullinllHiilimuiiilliiuiin iMiullMiiMiiiiiMiuiMHHiMiHinHlilliuuiliiiilllilMtiMllilllliiliitiMniiinitiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiuitiiiiiillilllllutllllllutuillltllllllttluilHlHlitllllllilllunluillllluillul 

i  I 

E  5 


The  Seeker  After  God 

By  Harry  Kemp 

There  was  a  dreamer  once,  whose  spirit  trod 
Unnumbered  ways  in  thwarted  search  for  God : 
He  stirred  the  dust  on  ancient  books;  he  sought 
For  certain  light  in  what  the  teachers  taught ; 
He  took  his  staff  and  went  unto  the  Wise, 
And  deeper  darkness  fell  about  his  eyes; 
He  lived  a  hermit  and  forebore  his  food, 
And  God  left  visitless  his  solitude; 
He  wrapped  himself  in  prayer  night  after  night, 
And  mocking  demons  danced  across  his  sight. 

Resigned  at  last  to  Him  he  could  not  find, 
He  turned  again  to  live  among  mankind, — 
And  when  from  man  he  no  more  stood  apart 
God,  on  that  instant,  visited  his  heart ! 

— The  Independent. 


r[l(l>>ltl<llJlll:>1i:il|llt!l>|:rj>IIIIIIlllllllllIlll!!ril]||JlilllI[|llli>l!IMMIIIllllMIMIII[ll[lUlllllNIILIItlL J 1 1 1 1  ]  1 1  <  1 1 1 1 1 1  >  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  i  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 !  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  f  1 1 1 1  <  1 1 1  ^1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ]  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 J 1 1 1  >  1 1 1 1 1 U  1 1  >  <  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 M  M 1 1 1  r !  rl  1 1  i  1 1 1 !  1 1 1  >  1 1  <  1 1 1 1 1 1  [  tj 


Social  Interpretations 

TiillllllllllillllllliillllllllM 


The  Failure  of  the 
Wyoming  Plan 

The  arch  advocates  of  preparedness 
have  shouted  much  over  the  "Wyom- 
ing Plan"  as  a  right  step  forward  in 
the  training  of  military  leaders  for 
that  dread  day  when  the  bogie  man 
of  the  nations  will  pounce  down  upon 

us  unawares.  It 
was  a  scheme  to 
instruct  the  stu- 
dents  of  the 
public  schools, 
especially  the 
high  schools,  in 
military  arts. 
Now  the  super- 
intendentat 
Laramie  pro- 
no  u  n  c  e  s  the 
whole  thing  a 
failure  and  has  abandoned  it  in  his 
school ;  and  we  find  that  there  are  only 
300  in  the  entire  state  of  Wyoming 
under  training.  A  national  system  of 
compulsory  physical  culture  for  our 
schools  would  be  approved  by  all 
classes  of  thinking  people.  It  could 
cultivate  the  same  physical  efficiency, 
ability  to  work  together  and  all  of  that 
more  salutary  part  of  the  military 
training  which  is  good  for  civil  or 
military  life,  but  it  would  not  carry 
with  it  the  objectionable  features  of 
military  training  by  inculcating  the 
military  spirit  and  viewpoint.  By  all 
means  let  us  have  universal  training, 
but  may  the  good  Lord  spare  us  from 
universal  military  training. 

*     *     * 

Henry  Ford 
as  a  Patriot 

That  Henry  Ford's  passivism  has 
not  made  him  any  the  less  a  patriot 
is  well  evidenced  by  his  striking  offers 
to  the  government  in  the  present 
crisis.  He  offers  to  place  his  entire 
vast  plant  and  organization  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  government  in  case  of 
war,  without  money  and  without 
price,  and  also  to  loan  Uncle  Sam  his 
millions  of  spare  cash  without  inter- 
est. Now,  let  other  patriots  who  are 
shouting  for  preparedness,  vaster  arm- 
ament and  war,  come  forward  and 
show  a  patriotism  that  is  equal  to  that 
of  this  "mollycoddle."  The  fact  is 
that  great  numbers  of  gentlemen  who 
were  so  ardent  for  preparedness  are 
looking  at  the  whole  scheme  across 
the  credit  balance  of  their  ledgers.  In 
both  England  and  Germany  today 
there  are  groups  of  gilded  harpies  who 
are  growing  rich  out  of  their  coun- 
try's disaster.     Such  men  will  some 


day  be  numbered  among  the  traitors. 
Like  Mr.  Edison,  Mr.  Ford  will  also 
place  his  mechanical  genius  at  the  na- 
tion's disposal,  and  has  already  pro- 
posed the  manufacture  of  a  small  type 
of  submarine  with  which  he  would  in- 
fest the  waters  of  American  harbors 
in  such  numbers  as  to  make  it  improb- 
able that  any  enemy  ship  could  ever 
approach  nearer  than  the  open  sea. 

Meanwhile  the  automobile  genius 
pushes  ahead  with  his  peace  cam- 
paign. He  has  set  aside  $1,000,000  as 
a  beginning  for  the  circulation  of  lit- 
erature and  the  discovery  of  methods 
to  promote  peace.  He  proposes  to  es- 
tablish automobile  plants  in  all  the 
chief  nations  of  the  world  after  the 
war  and  to  establish  the  Ford  indus- 
trial organizations  to  promote  con- 
structive ideas  of  peace  and  creative 
industry.  His  main  reliance  is  in  the 
child  at  its  mother's  knee  and  in  the 
schoolhouse  by  teaching  that  it  is  as 
patriotic  to  serve  your  nation  self-sac- 
rificingly  in  time  of  peace,  and  indeed 
to  serve  the  cause  of  peace  itself  hero- 
ically, as  it  is  to  serve  one's  country 
in  time  of  war.  The  greatest  need  for 
national  defense,  both  today  and 
henceforth  forever,  is  not  the  military 
spirit  but  the  peace  spirit. 

*     *     * 

A  Successful 
Uplift  Movement 

One  of  the  most  successful  of  the 
uplift  movements  has  been  the  fight 
against  tuberculosis.  Ten  years  ago 
there  were  156  organizations  in  the 
United  States,  and  today  there  are 
more  than  3,000.  In  that  time  the 
number  of  sanatoria  and  hospitals  has 
grown  from  100  to  550,  with  450 
clinics  and  dispensaries  besides;  then 
there  was  not  an  open-air  school  in 
existence,  while  today  there  are  800. 
The  death  rate  then  was  more  than 
200  per  100,000,  while  today  it  is 
about  145,  and  all  this  has  been  ac- 
complished through  a  general  type  of 
organization  which  has  succeeded  as 
yet  in  only  enlisting  concrete  effort  in 
five  states.  The  national  association 
is  pushing  ahead  as  rapidly  as  funds 
will  permit.  It  seeks  to  establish 
sanatoria,  dispensaries,  open-air 
schools,  anti-tuberculosis  associations 
and  to  induce  communities  to  employ 
visiting  nurses.  It  works  through  a 
field  staff,  correspondents,  sectional 
conferences,  the  Tuberculosis  Week 
movement,  general  publicity,  publica- 
tion of  studies  and  bulletins  and 
through  the  sale  of  Red  Cross  stamps 
at  holiday  time.  If  it  is  a  good  thing 
to  comfort  the  afflicted  when  members 


of  the  family  die  of  this  White  Plague, 
and  to  bury  the  dead  with  Christian 
ceremonies,  why  would  it  not  be  a 
good  thing  for  religious  organizations 
everywhere  to  promote  campaigns  for 
the  prevention  of  the  dread  disease? 

*     *     * 

Socializing 
Politics 

In  the  last  analysis  the  fight  of  the 
progressives  in  politics  in  this  coun- 
try is  for  the  socializing  of  legislation. 
Their  program  is  not  alone  against  the 
old  spoils  of  office  and  corruptionist 
type  of  politics,  but  is  also  in  favor 
of  a  larger  public  control  of  natural 
monopolies,  the  public  utilities  that 
transport  men  and  ideas,  and  the  nat- 
ural resources  of  water,  oil,  minerals, 
etc.  And  that  the  progressives  are  in 
the  saddle  is  now  beyond  doubt.  In 
the  last  election  the  people  certainly 
gave  warrant  to  the  leaders  to  go 
ahead  with  constructive  progressive 
ideas.  "Fighting  Bob"  La  Follette's 
majority  in  Wisconsin,  where  he  has 
been  a  progressive  pioneer  for  twenty 
years,  was  not  only  the  largest  he  ever 
received  but  the  largest  any  candidate 
ever  received  in  the  history  of  the 
state.  The  same  was  true  of  Governor 
Capper  in  his  candidacy  for  re-election 
in  Kansas,  where  he  carried  the  state 
with  an  ovenvhelming  majority, 
while  the  opposition  carried  it  on  the 
national  ticket,  and  what  was  true  of 
Capper  in  Kansas  was  true  of  John- 
son in  California.  The  progressive 
element  in  Congress  and  in  all  the 
state  legislatures  should  literally  take 
the  bull  by  the  horns  this  winter  and 
put  through  constructive  programs  for 
social  legislation.  When  President 
Wilson  entered  office  four  years  ago 
he  was  a  little  doubtful  about  the 
whole  socializing  process  in  politics, 
but  actual  contact  with  the  affairs  of 
state  and  that  closer  grip  with  the 
mind  of  the  masses  has  completely 
converted  him,  and  if  he  needs  any 
further  reason  for  going  ahead  with  a 
constructive  social  program,  certainly 
the  mandates  of  the  people  for  his 
second  term  would  be  sufficient,  for 
he  carried  nearly  every  progressive 
state  in  the  nation. 


"God  loves  givers  like  himself." 

"Doing  nothing  for  others  is  the  un- 
doing of  one's  self." 

"With  God  go  over  the  sea ;  without 
him  not  over  the  threshold." 

"What  I  spent  I  had — what  I  kept 
I  lost — what  I  gave  I  have." 


■■niiniii 


The    Larger    Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 

iiiiiiininiiiiiiiii! 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN   1 


Ministerial  Pensions 
in  Favor 

Plans  have  been  inaugurated  to  be 
put  into  immediate  operation  to  make 
for  greater  unity  and  co-operation 
in  the  campaigns  for  pensions  for 
preachers  on  interdenominational  lines 
in  the  Protestant  Churches  which  are 
raising  $67,000,000,  of  which  the 
Methodists  are  seeking  $15,000,000 
and  the  Presbyterians  $10,000,000. 
The  Presbyterians  have  over  $4,000,- 
000  of  their  needed  $10,000,000 ;  the 
Methodists  have  over  $8,000,000 
of  the  $16,000,000,  and  the  Episco- 
palians have  $4,000,000  of  the  $5,000,- 
000  they  are  seeking,  while  the  Pres- 
bvterian  Church,  South,  has  $536,000 
of  its  needed  $1,000,000.  The  Congre- 
gationalists,  the  Baptists,  the  Disci- 
ples, the  Lutherans,  and  the  Jewish 
Churches  are  all  in  campaigns  for  pen- 
sions for  preachers. 

Conversions  in 
Army  Camps 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation workers  in  the  army  camps  on 
the  Mexican  border  have  not  failed  to 
strike  the  evangelistic  note  and  the  re- 
sponse they  have  met  is  full  of  encour- 
agement. They  report  12,234  deci- 
sions to  lead  the  Christian  life.  They 
have  also  secured  a  membership  of 
12,726  men  in  the  Enlisted  Men's 
Bible  and  Prayer  League.  The  mem- 
bers of  this  organization  pledge  them- 
selves to  daily  devotional  reading  and 
prayer. 

Rev.  Campbell  Morgan 
in  Australia 

The  Rev.  G.  Campbell  Morgan  had 
to  resign  the  Westminster  Chapel  in 
London  on  account  of  ill  health.  He 
will  spend  a  year  around  on  the  other 
side  of  the  earth.  He  is  reported  to 
be  in  the  service  of  Collins  Street 
Church  in  Melbourne,  Australia,  for 
the  coming  year. 

New  Leader  for 
Millennial  Dawn 

The  death  of  Pastor  Russell  re- 
moved the  valiant  leader  of  the  Mil- 
lennial Dawn  movement,  but  it  will 
go  on  under  new  leadership.  Joseph 
F.  Rutherford  is  the  new  leader.  He 
was  once  a  lawyer  in  Missouri  and 
was  attracted  to  the  cult  by  its  rejec- 
tion of  the  doctrine  of  hell.  He  later 
came  to  be  attorney  for  Pastor  Rus- 
sell and  is  now  the  interpreter  for  the 
organization,  which  has  always  been 


operated  as  an  autocracy.  The  failure 
of  the  prophecy  that  the  kingdom 
would  be  set  up  visibly  in  1914  has 
not  daunted  the  followers  of  the 
Brooklyn  prophet.  The  date  has  been 
moved  up  a  thousand  years,  so  there 
will  be  no  disappointments  for  the 
new  leader  such  as  met  the  old  one. 

Noncomformists  Work 
for  Prohibition 

The  nonconformists  of  England 
are  working  for  prohibition  these 
days  as  a  war  measure.  So  far  they 
have  not  received  much  encourage- 
ment from  Lloyd  George.  Many  es- 
tablished church  leaders  continue  to 
defend  the  saloon  as  do  some  of  the 
leaders  of  Scotland's  Kirk.  There 
has  been  a  proposal  for  the  govern- 
ment to  buy  out  the  saloons  but  the 
free  church  leaders  indignantly  reject 
this  as  a  solution. 

Missionary  Education 
Movement 

The  Missionary  Education  Move- 
ment which  has  come  to  the  attention 
of  lay  people  so  often  through  the  ex- 
cellent little  text-books  on  missions 
which  it  publishes,  has  headquarters 
in  New  York.  In  addition  to  the  cen- 
tral office,  three  branch  offices  have 
been  opened  lately,  one  in  Boston  and 
two  on  the  Pacific  coast,  in  Los  An- 
geles and  San  Francisco.  The  branch 
offices  have  secretaries  who  will  hold 
missionary  institutes  and  in  other 
ways  help  in  the  dissemination  of  mis- 
sionary intelligence. 

Methodist 
Postgraduate  Club 

The  Methodist  Postgraduate  Club  is 
much  like  the  Campbell  Institute  of 
the  Disciples,  except  that  its  territory 
is  restricted  to  the  Rock  River  Con- 
ference, in  which  Chicago  is  located. 
This  club  met  in  a  tea  room  in  Chicago 
on  February  26,  and  there  were 
papers  on  Milton;  one  speaker  con- 
sidered "Milton  the  Puritan"  and 
another  "Milton  the  Poet." 

Studying 
Methodist  Ministers 

The  Board  of  Education  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
has  been  conducting  a  study  of  the 
ministers  of  the  denomination.  It  was 
shown  that  only  2.1  per  cent  came 
from  homes  in  which  neither  parent 
was  a  Christian;  9.9  per  cent  came 
from    homes    in    which    one    parent 


only  was  Christian.  The  remainder 
were  from  homes  where  both  parents 
were  Christian.  It  was  shown  that  58 
per  cent  could  name  a  definite  time 
for  conversion  and  the  remainder 
could  not  name  such  a  time  as  the  be- 
ginning of  their  religious  experience. 

Will  Advertise 
Home  Missions 

The  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  has  secured  the 
services  of  the  Rev.  Ralph  Welles 
Keeler  to  conduct  the  bureau  of  pub- 
licity, which  will  give  the  widest  pub- 
licity to  the  home  mission  needs  of 
America.  The  first  bulletin  has  been 
issued  as  a  beautiful  piece  of  printing 
and  calls  attention  to  the  needs  of  the 
rural  church. 

Lenten  Topics  at 
Old  South  Church 

Old  South  Church  of  Boston  an- 
nounces a  course  of  Sunday  evening 
addresses  in  Lent  by  Dr.  Gordon  on 
these  themes:  February  25,  "The 
Burning  Bush:  God  in  His  World;" 
March  4,  "Balaam :  Perverted  Genius 
and  Simplicity;"  March  11,  "En-gedi: 
Magnanimity;"  March  18,  "The 
Golden  Calf:  Mammon  Worship;" 
March  25,  "Belshazzar's  Feast:  Judg- 
ment." The  series  has  for  its  general 
subject,  "Old  Testament  Stories  and 
Their  Significance." 

Ministers  Hear 
Defence  of  Militarism 

"Is  a  Man  Fit  to  Vote  Who  Is  Too 
Proud  to  Fight?"  This  was  the  sub- 
ject of  an  address  given  by  the  Rev. 
H.  D.  Jenkins  before  the  Presbyterian 
ministers  of  Chicago  on  February  19. 
Dr.  Jenkins  was  requested  by  a  vote 
of  the  Presbyterian  ministers  to  give 
the  soldier's  point  of  view  in  answer 
to  the  pacifists. 

President  Faunce 
in  Chicago 

The  Rev.  William  Herbert  Perry 
Faunce,  D.  D.,  L.  L.  D.,  for  eighteen 
years  president  of  Brown  university, 
Providence,  R.  I.,  was  the  speaker  in 
Chicago,  February  18,  at  the  Sunday 
Evening  Club  in  Orchestra  hall.  His 
subject  was  "The  Achievement  of 
Brotherhood."  Dr.  Faunce  is  an  ad- 
vocate of  the  league  to  enforce  peace 
which  was  indorsed  recently  by  Presi- 
dent Wilson.  He  is  a  believer  in  the 
need  of  the  United  States  adjusting 


March  1,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


17 


itself  to  international  relationships, 
basing  his  belief  on  observations 
made  by  him  in  a  tour  of  the  world. 
Dr.  Faunce  graduated  from  Brown 
university,  class  of  1880,  one  year 
ahead  of  Charles  Evans  Hughes,  can- 
didate for  the  presidency  on  the  Re- 
publican ticket  in  the  last  election. 

A  Wider  Vision 
for  the  Church 

Commenting  on  its  year's  work,  the 
executive  committee  of  the  Five 
Years'  Meeting  of  the  Friends  in 
America  (Orthodox)  makes  these 
thoughtful  observations : 

"The  work  of  the  year  has  made  clear 
the  following  points:  Friends'  meetings, 
especially  in  rural  districts,  have  too  nar- 
row and  restricted  a  vision  of  their  mis- 
sion. We  must  steadily  work  toward  the 
widening  of  this  mission  and  the  enlarge- 
ment of  our  ideals.  If  we  are  to  grow  in 
power  as  a  religious  body  and  be  a  vital 
and  vitalizing  force  in  community  life  we 
must  aim  to  make  each  meeting  a  radiating 
center  of  religious,  moral,  and  social  activ- 
ity for  the  truer  life  of  the  region  in  which 
it  is  located.  To  work  out  its  tasks  it  must 
get  into  close  and  sympathetic  relation 
with  all  the  churches  of  the  region  and  co- 
operate in  every  possible  way  to  promote 
evangelistic  efforts,  moral  reforms,  com- 
munity health,  district  nursing,  and  move- 
ments for  better  farming,  more  efficient 
schools,  sounder  forms  of  recreation,  and 
truer  public  spirit.  The  work  that  belongs 
to  the  full  life  of  a  Friends'  meeting,  as 
here  outlined,  calls  for  consecrated  and  in- 
telligent leadership  and  can  with  _  difficulty 
be  done,  unless  some  person  who  is  trained 
and  prepared  for  it  is  liberated  to  devote 
time  and  energy  to  this  great  outreaching 
mission  of  the  meeting." 

A  Methodist  Church 
Back  in  the  Fold 

Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  of  Chicago,  is  again  back  in 
the  fold.  For  several  years  it  was 
in  the  courts  and  was  able  to  defeat 
the  denominational  authorities  in  a 
lawsuit.  On  a  recent  evening  Bishop 
Nicholson  was  entertained  at  a  re- 
ception given  by  the  Methodist  So- 
cial Union,  and  thfbughout  the  week 
the  Methodism  of  Chicago  gathered 
at  this  church  for  various  functions. 
The  church  is  located  on  the  south 
side  in  a  section  where  great  changes 
are  going  on  in  the  character  of  the 
population. 

Heresy  in 
Greenland 

There  is  amusement  mingled  with 
chagrin  among  Baptists  to  find  that 
the  heresy  question  has  been  in- 
voked as  far  north  as  Greenland. 
One  church  refused  to  grant  a  letter 
to  a  Baptist  to  unite  with  another 
Baptist  church,  because  the  latter 
church  was  suspected  of  being 
"alien  in  practice."  The  alien  prac- 
tice referred  to  is  a  lack  of  ritual 
conformity  to  Baptist  usage  in  the 
administration  of  the  ordinances. 


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiill!l!ll!l!llli!l!!; 


The  Sunday  School 


!ll!fl!li!llllllll!l!llllll!!ll!llllllll!lllira 


llffllllllllHIIIIH! 


Control 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life  * 
BY  JOHN  R.  EWERS 


The  man  who  cannot  control  him- 
self forfeits  his  self-respect.  Every 
disciple  is  inspired  by  that  remarkable 
statement  of  Garfield  when  told  by  a 
bribe-giver  that  no  one  would  ever 
know  about  it,  "There  is  one  man  who 

would  know, 
about  it  —  the 
man  with  whom 
I  go  to  bed 
every  night  and 
get  up  with 
every  morning !" 
When  self-re- 
spect has  been 
insulted  it  is  not 
pleasant  to  go  to 
bed  with  one's 
self.  When  you 
hate  yourself  there  is  no  joy  in  going 
forth  to  the  day's  work.  The  unhap- 
piest  man  in  the  world  is  he  who  hates 
himself.  The  weakest  man  in  the 
world  is  he  who  pities  himself ! 

In  the  hour  in  which  one  has  to  ad- 
mit that  one  cannot  maintain  abso- 
lute and  unreserved  control  the  self 
degenerates.  Is  there  an  insurrection 
in  any  territory?  Is  any  province  in 
revolution?  Can  I  keep  peace  in  my 
whole  realm?  Am  I  captain  of  my 
soul?  Is  there  an  enemy  in  my  castle 
who  disputes  my  power  and  ability? 
Who  sits  upon  the  throne  in  the 
golden  room  of  my  heart?  Temper- 
ance means  control. 

Let  me  return  for  a  moment  to  deal 
with  this  miserable  fellow  who  thinks 
that  he  is  tempted  in  a  peculiar  way, 
as  no  other  man  is  tempted.  He  is 
that  weak  brother  who  pities  himself 
— weakest  of  all  the  weak.  Alas  for 
the  chap  who  has  compassion  upon  his 
own  shortcomings,  who  seeks  excuses 
for  himself.  There  is  not  a  man  of  us 
but  who  has  his  besetting  sin  and  to 
whom  life  is  not  a  royal  battle,  but  we 
waste  no  time  in  soft  tolerance  of  our 
own  sinful  propensities;  we  grapple 
with  them,  we  struggle  with  them,  we 
down  them. 

Paul  was  a  human  sort  of  preacher; 
he  gave  his  body  the  black-eye.  Many 
a  bitter  battle  that  old-time  gospeller 
had.  Hot  blood  boiled  in  his  veins. 
He  loved  the  games  and  real  life;  no 
cloistered,  sheltered  saint  was  he.  His 
character  was  developed  in  the  storm 

*The  above  article  is  based  on  the  Inter- 
national Uniform  lesson  for  March  18, 
"Jesus  Saves  from  Sin"  (Temperance  Les- 
son).   John  8  :12,  28-37,  56-59. 


of  the  world,  as  Goethe  put  it.  But 
Paul  controlled  himself.  He  never 
"flew  off  the  handle."  Running  your 
life  is  like  driving  an  auto.  It  is  wise 
to  approach  every  crossing  "under 
control."  When  you  are  going  so  fast 
that  you  can't  stop,  when  the  power 
under  you  is  sweeping  you  along  irre- 
sistibly, when  the  brakes  slip  or  the 
steering  gear  is  loose — heaven  help 
you !  I  saw  three  cars  pile  into  each 
other  last  week !  Ford,  Packard,  Oak- 
land— it  was  horrible,  bloody.  Your 
foot  rests  more  lightly  on  the  accel- 
erator for  days  after  that.  A  lot  of 
our  young  folks  are  going  at  a  fright- 
ful pace.     The  age  is  FAST; 

All  about  us  we  see  human  wrecks, 
men  and  women  who  could  not  keep 
control.  See  that  whiskered  knight 
holding  up  the  telephone  pole  over 
there?  Noble  and  inspiring  example 
of  manly  prowess!  See  that  battered 
hag  shuffling  through  the  alley? 
Charming  specimen  of  feminine 
beauty!    Human  junk. 

No  wonder  temperance  is  coming 
by  leaps  and  bounds.  We  are  sick  of 
seeing  and  maintaining  wrecks.  Jails, 
almshouses,  homes  for  the  down-and- 
outs  do  not  embellish  the  landscape. 
One  of  our  successful  preachers  is 
now  a  highly  successful  life  insurance 
man.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  lunching 
with  him  in  a  down-town  hotel  a  few 
days  ago.  He  said,  "The  new  note  in 
our  conventions  is  that  the  'punk' 
agent  must  go."  This  man  is  heading 
up  an  efficiency  department.  Those 
who  cannot  deliver  the  goods  will  be 
eliminated,  capable  men  will  be  edu- 
cated, developed  and  trained  for  bet- 
ter service.  Many  jibes  have  been 
poked  at  "Efficiency,"  but  it  is  the 
worst  enemy  of  intemperance  today. 
Business  men  have  no  time  to  waste 
on  incapables  and  they  have  no  use 
for  anything  that  lowers  or  ruins  a 
man's  efficiency. 

Watch  that  controlled  man  gain  on 
his  competitors !  It  is  the  most  fasci- 
nating game  in  the  world — steadily, 
surely  he  makes  progress — now  he  is 
in  the  lead  and  on  he  goes,  distancing 
his  rivals.  Happy  the  man  who  hon- 
estly sings: 

"I  am  the  Master  of  my  fate, 
I  am  the  Captain  of  my  soul." 

But,  remember: 

"If  the  son  shall  make  you  free, 
you  shall  be  free  indeed." 


18 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  1,  1917 


Our  Readers'  Opinions 


SHALL    OUR    SUNDAY    SCHOOLS 
TEACH  PATRIOTISM? 


MR.    MORRISON    IN   DES   MOINES 


Editor  The  Christian  Century: 

Our  local  Sunday  school  superintend- 
ent has  just  received  a  circular  letter 
from  our  American  Bible  school  secre- 
tary, suggesting  that  the  present  crisis 
affords  an  opportune  time  for  teaching 
patriotism. 

Now,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  motive 
is  good.  It  has  an  eye  single  to  an  of- 
fering for  American  missions,  and  I'm 
sure  the  cause  merits  all  we  can  get 
for  it.  But  permit  me  to  say  that  there 
are  doubtless  tens  of  thousands  of  mem- 
bers of  our  own  schools  that  would  be 
conscientiously  opposed  to  such  a  pro- 
gram as  is  suggested.  It  belongs  more 
to  other  nations  and  to  other  times.  If 
we  had  a  state  church  headed  by  the 
king,  such  a  program  would  come  as  a 
matter  of  course.  I  have  always  ques- 
tioned the  propriety  of  teaching  national 
patriotism  in  the  Sunday  school.  If  we 
in  America  lend  our  schools  to  this  pur- 
pose, we  must  expect  our  brethren  in 
Japan,  in  Germany,  in  Turkey,  in  Africa, 
to  do  likewise.  If  this  is  an  opportune 
time  to  teach  patriotism  in  America,  it 
is  even  more  so  in  Germany.  Does  any 
Christian  in  America  believe  that  Christ 
is  well  pleased  by  similar  services  in  Ger- 
many today,  where  people  assemble  in 
the  name  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  but 
are  confronted  by  bold  pictures  of  Bis- 
marck and  Wilhelm,  richly  draped  by 
their  country's  flag?  Do  the  angels  in 
heaven  join  in  the  chorus  as  they  sing 
their  national  airs? 

Oh,  the  tragedy  of  it  all!  I  believe 
that  if  the  pulpits  of  Germany  had  been 
true  to  their  Christ,  this  war  would  have 
been  averted. 

Last  fall  our  city  manager  sent  all 
local  ministers  an  invitation  to  come 
with  our  churches  and  enter  a  great  pre- 
paredness parade.  Needless  to  say,  the 
churches  did  not  respond.  Now,  I  know 
that  a  patriotic  day  in  the  Sunday  school 
is  very  different  from  a  preparedness 
demonstration,  but  the  difference  is  one 
of  degree  rather  than  one  of  kind.  So 
long  as  we  give  our  time  to  questions 
not  vitally  related  to  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  we  will  continually  be  invited  to 
fall  down  and  worship  at  every  shrine. 

"As  goes  America,  so  goes  the  world," 
suggests  the  sorg.  Now,  the  world  is 
not  failing  because  of  a  lack  of  national 
patriotism.  Indeed,  I'm  not  so  sure  but 
what  it's  a  kind  of  bondage  from  which 
we  must  yet  be  freed. 

The  world  does  not  need  the  example 
of  a  nation  teaching  its  people  to  re- 
spect its  heroes  and  reverence  its  flag. 
The  world  does  need  the  example  of  a 
nation  that  honors  true  greatness  wher- 
ever found.  It  needs  the  example  of  a 
nation  that  respects  the  flags  of  other 
peoples  too  much  to  exalt  its  own  above 
them. 

In  other  words,  the  world  needs  the 
example  of  a  whole  nation  accepting  the 
fact  of  the  Fatherland  of  God  and  the 
Brotherhood  of  Man.  May  God  deliver 
the  pulpit  and  the  church  from,  any 
stand  that  may  have  the  appearance  of 
worldly   selfishness. 

C.    M.    BURKHART. 

Springfield,  O. 


Note. — The  office  editor  takes  occasion, 
during  the  editor's  absence  from  the  office, 
to  reprint  the  following  comment  of  The 
Christian  News,' of  Des  Moines,  on  Mr. 
Morrison's  recent  znsit  to  that  city.  Charles 
Blanchard  is  the  editor  of  the  Nezvs. — 
Office  editor. 


An  Appreciation  of  a  "Comrade  of  the 
Cross" — Not  a  "Cross  of  Gold!" 

Charles  Clayton  Morrison,  the  editor 
of  The  Christian  Century  of  Chicago, 
spent  some  days  in  Des  Moines  the  past 
week  and  spoke  a  number  of  times  be- 
fore various  gatherings  of  the  students. 
He  gave  a  talk  on  "The  Latin-American 
Republics"  at  an  early  chapel  meeting 
on  Thursday  morning  and  followed  with 
an  address  on  religion  and  some  of  the 
problems  growing  out  of  the  great  war. 
The  last  we  did  not  hear,  but  have  heard 
it  highly  commended.  His  talk  on  the 
Latin  republics  was  interesting  and  in- 
forming. As  secretary  of  the  "Regional 
Conferences,"  held  at  Panama  and  other 
places  in  South  America  a  year  ago,  he 
had  an  opportunity  to  learn  the  condi- 
tions, having  traveled  leisurely  through 
the  length  of  these  comparatively  un- 
known lands  for  several  months. 

"the    christian    century    and   our   reli- 
gious ideals" 

The  address  that  interested  the  editor 
of  the  Christian  News  especially  was  the 
one  given  before  the  ministerial  students 
in  Hobbs'  Hall  on  "The  Christian  Cen- 
tury and  Our  Religious  Ideals." 

With  an  engaging  frankness  that  dis- 
arms criticism,  the  editor  of  the  Cen- 
tury told  us  his  dream.  He  told  us  a 
bit  of  his  personal  experiences  when  he 
was  a  "Soph"  in  Drake  and  a  "kid" 
preacher  more  than  twenty  years  ago. 
The  story  that  he  told  of  the  influences 
of  Henry  Drummond  upon  his  life  was 
so  nearly  a  repetition  of  the  experiences 
of  the  editor  of  the  News,  in  the  days 
of  struggle  and  almost  heart-break,  that 
it  caught  me  like  a  German  submarine — 
without  warning!  The  reading  of  Drum- 
mond's  "Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual 
World,"  and  later  of  his  "The  Ascent  of 
Man,"  and  still  later  that  wholly  de- 
lightful story  of  his  life,  by  his  dear 
friend,  George  Adam  Smith,  has  had  an 
unconscious  and  leavening  influence 
upon  my  whole  life.  Similar  influences 
seem  to  have  been  a  large  factor  in  shap- 
ing the  life  of  the  editor  of  the  Cen- 
tury, as  he  told  us,  in  a  most  interest- 
ing way. 

outstanding  characteristics  of  our  mod- 
ern   RELGIOUS    LIFE 

He  emphasized  four  outstanding  char- 
acteristics of  religion  in  this  age.  First, 
"Fearlessness  of  Scientific  Scholarship." 
Twenty-five,  thirty-five  years  ago  the  re- 
ligious world  was  in  troubled  waters, 
fearful  that  "evolution"  and  what  was 
called  "modern  science"  would  com- 
pletely overthrow  the  foundation  of  our 
faith.  The  editor  of  the  News  recalls 
the  mental  agitation  felt  when  the  Dar- 
winian theory  of  the  "Origin  of  Species" 
hit  our  religious  journals.  Champions 
of  the  old  Book  flew  to  its  defense  and 
innumerable  articles  were  written  to 
prove  that  there  is  no  conflict  between 


the  creation  chapters  in  Genesis  and  the 
discoveries  of  modern  geology  and  bi- 
ology. It  was  all  tragical  in  the  life  of 
a  farm  boy,  just  awakening  to  the  reali- 
ties of  the  big  world  and  the  limitless 
universe.  But  through  it  all  I  held  fast 
my  faith,  changing  with  the  years,  yet 
stronger  growing  with  every  shift  of 
the  spiritual  winds.  A  like  experience 
came  to  C.  C.  Morrison  and  multitudes 
of  others,  in  and  out  of  college  and  uni- 
versity. 

Through  all  this  conflict,  or  seeming 
conflict,  between  the  Bible  and  science, 
many  of  us  came  forth  wondering,  yet 
still  worshipping  the  God  of  our  fathers 
— not  the  tribal  God  of  the  Jews,  as 
they  knew  Him,  but  the  "God  and  Father 
of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ." 
Nowadays  we  do  not  try  to  reconcile 
Genesis  and  geology.  We  have  learned 
to  our  surprise  and  to  the  quieting  of 
our  own  souls  that  God  can  take  care 
of  His  own  book,  and  that  it  is  indeed 
"The   Deathless   Book." 

He  mentioned  in  the  second  place  the 
emphasis  that  we  are  putting  today  on 
"The  Obligations  of  Social  Service." 
This  is  one  of  the  marked  characteris- 
tics of  religion  in  this  second  decade 
of  the  twentieth  century.  And  this  is 
one  of  the  things  the  Christian  Century 
is  trying  to  do.  Alva  W.  Taylor,  of 
the  Bible  College  of  Missouri,  another 
Drake  man  and  a  recognized- leader  in 
the  social  service  movement,  edits  a  de- 
partment in  the  paper  under  the  head 
"Social  Interpretations,"  which  is  alto- 
gether worthy.  However,  the  "Social 
Gospel"  is  not  offered  or  advocated  as 
a  substitute  for  the  gospel  of  individual 
salvation  and  spiritual  aspiration.  This 
the  speaker  was  careful  to  point  out. 
"the  passion  for  christian  unity" 

The  third  characteristic  of  the  reli- 
gious life  of  today  is  its  "Passion  for 
Christian  Unity."  There  is  danger,  he 
said,  in  this  very  popularity,  since  it 
sometimes  happens  that  the  very  thing 
that  everybody  agrees  is  right  and 
ought  to  be  is  the  very  thing  we  often 
leave  undone! 

There  is  danger  to  us  that  we  will  be- 
come puffed  up  in  our  pride  of  progress 
and  of  numbers  as  a  people  and  forget 
the  "plea"  of  the  fathers  as  embodied  in 
"The  Declaration  and  Address"  of 
Thomas  Campbell.  There  is  very  pres- 
ent danger  that  we  will  become  a  "de- 
nomination," with  all  the  pride  and  pro- 
vincialism of  denominationalism,  and 
become  self-centered  and  self-satisfied 
and    sordid   in   our   success. 

There  is  always  the  danger  of  drifting 
into  "formalism."  The  failures  of  "re- 
formation" are  almost  always  due  ,to 
this  fact — this  tendency  to  settle  into 
fast  and  hard  forms  of  thinking  and  of 
worship,  which  crushes  the  spirit  out  of 
our  religion  and  leaves  the  letter  which 
killeth.  How  many  good  men  and  meas- 
ures and  movements  have  been  killed  by 
just  this  thing!  He  spoke  frankly  of 
baptism,  avowing  his  simple  faith  in  im- 
mersion, which  he  has  "always  held  as 
the  only  proper  mode  of  "Christian  bap- 
tism" and  still  holds,  while  protesting 
that  we  are  in  grave  danger  of  making 
baptism  by  immersion  seem  to  be  the 
distinctive  thing  for  which  the  world, 
religious  and  otherwise,  supposes  we 
stand.  It  is  against  this  misapprehen- 
sion of  "our  plea"  that  the  Christian 
Century  has  raised  its  protest,  and  we 
who  love  the  "Restoration  Movement" 
and  believe  it  is  of  God,  need  to  heed 
this    warning. 

"THE    REDISCOVERY    OF   THE    INNER    LIFE" 

The  fourth  thing  that  he  mentioned  as 
characterizing      the      present      religious 


March  1,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


thought  is  the  "Rediscovery  of  the  Inner 
Life,"  by  which  is  meant  the  larger  em- 
phasis that  is  being  put  upon  the  spir- 
itual development  of  our  individual  lives. 
He  protested,  with  vigor  and  real  elo- 
quence, against  the  so-called  "Social  Gos- 
pel" that  seems  to  save  society  and  neg- 
lects the  spiritual  note  and  fails  to  sound 
the  spiritual  depths  of  the  inner  life. 
There  is  salvation  only  in  individual  re- 
demption. 

He  called  attention  to  the  pitiful 
dearth  of  devotional,  spiritual  literature 
among  us  as  a  people.  We  have  been 
so  busy  contending  for  the  "first  prin- 
ciples" of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  in 
our  journalism,  and  in  our  making  of 
books  of  this  character,  that  we  have 
scarcely  any  books  of  a  devotional  char- 
acter. He  did  not  mention  them,  but 
they  can  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of 
one  hand:  "Communings  in  the  Sanc- 
tuary," by  Richardson,  the  author  of 
"The  Memoirs  of  Alexander  Campbell," 
which  was  really  our  first  and  only  book 
of  the  kind  during  the  first  three-quar- 
ters of  a  century  of  our  history.  Then 
came  Garrison's  "Alone  With  God," 
later  Ainslie's  "God  and  Me"  and  "My 
Brother  and  I,"  and  just  recently  "The 
Inner  Circle,"  by  Edgar  D.  Jones.  And 
perhaps  we  may  include  in  this  "Jesus 
Christ  in  Human  Experience,"  by 
Meade  E.  Dutt,  recently  from  the  Stand- 
ard Press.     And  what  else? 

It  is  an  altogether  worthy  ambition  to 
desire  to  help  forward  the  creation  of 
a  devotional,  spiritual  type  of  literature 
among  us.  It  is  one  of  our  sorest  needs. 
But  right  here  comes  in  another  danger 
— perhaps  not  serious — but  yet  possible. 
It  is  easy  to  drift  off  into  mysticism,  to 
Over  emphasize  the  spiritual  note  till  the 
things  most  surely  believed  among  us 
are  obscured  or  vanish  into  vapory  noth- 
ings and  vapid  mouthings  and  meaning-- 
less  phrases  and  passionless  pretense  and 
philosophical  and  psychological  palaver, 
from  which  may  the  good  Lord  and  the 
good  sense  of  our  people  deliver  us! 

[DEALS   OF   THE  CHRISTIAN   NEWS    WHICH    WE 
CAN   ALL  HOLD  IN  COMMON 

That  we  may  keep  our  heads  clear  and 
our  hearts  warm  and  open  and  optimis- 
tic; that  we  may  be  brotherly  in  our 
sympathies  and  broad  in  our  outlooks, 
without  losing  our  grip  on  God  and 
the  great  fundamentals  of  our  common 
faith;  that  we  may  hold  faith  with  a  good 
conscience,  failing  in  which  some  have 
made  shipwreck  of  their  faith;  that  we 
may  be  loyal  and  yet  liberal;  Christian 
and  yet  consistent;  critical  and  yet  not 
fault-finding;  careful  and  yet  not  carp- 
ing; concerned,  but  not  contrary;  that 
we  may  hold  fast  the  faith  without  wa- 
vering, knowing  whom  we  have  believed 
— not  in  any  man  or  man-made  system 
or  scheme  or  plan,  but  in  the  Lord 
Christ — "both  yours  and  mine";  that  we 
may  have  courage  to  plead  the  things 
we  hold  as  from  the  Lord  of  Glory, 
without  pretense  or  prattle;  that  we  may 
stand  firm  and  four-square  to  every  wind 
that  blows,  without  trying  to  crowd  the 
other  fellow  off  the  dump;  that  we  may 
be  "Christians  only,"  remembering  that 
we  are  not  the  "only  Christians";  that 
we  may  be  patient  toward  all  men,  sup- 
porting the  weak,  comforting  the  feeble- 
minded (always  the  "other  fellow,"  of 
course!);  that  we  may  be  the  children  of 
light  in  the  midst  of  a  perverse  and 
crooked  generation,  shining  as  lights  in 
the  world,  holding  forth  the  Word  of 
Life  is  the  aspiration  of  the  editor  of 
the  Christian  News,  and  I  am  persuaded 
ilso  of  my  comrades  in  Christian  jour- 
lalism. 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


Working  Miracles  at 
Peoria,  111. 

Last  April,  when  the  new  building  of 
Howett  Street  church,  Peoria,  began  to 
go  up,  the  building  fund  included  less 
than  $3,000  cash,  with  about  $3,500  in 
pledges,  the  old  property  and  two  lots 
donated  by  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion. On  February  11  a  fine  $40,000  struc- 
ture was  dedicated,  with  sufficient  funds 
in  hand  to  pay  all  indebtedness,  and 
over  $4,000  to  purchase  furniture  and 
other  equipment.  George  L.  Snively  had 
charge  of  the  dedication,  and  the  pastor, 
F.  Lewis  Starbuck,  speaks  in  high  praise 
of  his  work.  After  all,  however,  it  has 
been  the  steady  and  aggressive  work  of 
the  pastor  during  the  past  year  which 
resulted  in  this  modern  miracle.  As 
the  building  grew,  the  building  finance 
committee  used  whole  pages  in  the  Pe- 
oria newspapers,  and  the  city  was  not 
allowed  to  forget  that  the  church  was 
there  and  doing  things.  A  very  efficient 
organization  of  women  helped  to  make 
the  recent  achievements  possible,  to- 
gether with  a  faithful  group  of  men, 
many  of  whom  labored  at  the  task  with 
their  own  hands.  During  the  year  and 
a  half  of  Mr.  Starbuck's  ministry  there 
have  been  130  persons  added  to  the  mem- 
bership. Mr.  Starbuck  is  active  in  sev- 
eral of  the  city's  public  organizations. 

Beatrice,  Neb.,  Pastor  Called 
for  Another  Five  Years 

The  congregation  of  First  church,  Be- 
atrice, Neb.,  recently  passed  a  series  of 
resolutions  in  praise  of  the  work  of  their 
pastor,  C.  F.  Stevens.  A  portion  of  this 
reads  as  follows:  "In  furtherance  of 
the  program  adopted  and  as  testimony 
of  our  confidence  in  you,  we  extend  to 
you  an  invitation  to  continue  in  the 
work  with  us  for  another  five  years." 
This  church  has  recently  adopted  a  five- 
year  program,  covering  all  activities. 

Complimentary  Luncheon  for 
W.  F.  Richardson 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Ministerial 
Alliance  of  Larger  Kansas  City,  a  com- 
plimentary luncheon  was  given  in  honor 
of  W.  F.  Richardson,  retiring  pastor  at 
First  church,  Kansas  City.  The  lunch- 
eon was  given  on  February  19.  W.  S. 
Abernathy,  president  of  the  Alliance, 
served  as  toastmaster.  Addresses  were 
given  by  George  H.  Combs,  of  Inde- 
pendence Boulevard  Church  of  Christ, 
on  "Closer  Friendships  of  the  Church," 
and  by  fellow-ministers  of  other  fellow- 


■    .>," 


ships.  Claudius  B.  Spencer,  of  the  Cen- 
tral Christian  Advocate,  talked  on 
"Larger  Fellowships  of  a  Minister."  Mr. 
Richardson  spoke  in  response  to  all 
these  greetings.  Eleven  organizations  of 
the  city  co-operated  in  this  feast  of  ap- 
preciation of  the  departing  pastor  and 
citizen. 

Baptist  Minister,  Oxford  Man, 
Comes  to  Disciples 

W.  G.  Eldred,  of  the  church  at  Emi- 
nence, Ky.,  writes  that  E.  C.  Cravens, 
minister  of  the  Baptist  congregation 
there,  closed  his  work  with  that  people 
on  February  18,  and  on  the  following 
Wednesday  evening  united  with  the 
Christian  church.  He  desires  to  enter 
the  ministry  of  the  Disciples.  Mr. 
Cravens  is  a  Georgian  by  birth,  but  lived 
for  many  years  in  England,  having  grad- 
uated from  Oxford.  He  studied  also  in 
Heidelberg,  Germany.  On  the  outbreak 
of  the  war  he  came  to  America,  as  an 
Episcopalian.  Believing  that  immersion 
is  the  correct  form  of  baptism,  he  went 
over  to  the  Northern  Baptist  church,  be- 
coming a  fully  licensed  minister.  Now 
he  finds  himself  out  of  harmony  with 
the  Southern  Baptists  and  in  harmony 
with  the  Disciples,  of  whom  he  has 
learned  since  coming  to  this  country. 
Mr.  Eldred  writes  in  terms  of  high  praise 
of  Mr.  Cravens,  as  to  personality  and 
character  and  ability  as  a  minister. 

President   Bell   of  Drake   University 
Ordained  to  the  Ministry 

President  Hill  M.  Bell  of  Drake  Uni- 
versity, Des  Moines,  la.,  was  ordained 
to  the  Christian  ministry  some  weeks 
ago.  The  ceremony  was  privately  per- 
formed by  Dr.  Charles  S.  Medbury  in  the 
president's  office  in  the  college  building, 
which  fact  accounts  for  the  tardiness  of 
this  news  item.  Dr.  Medbury  was  as- 
sisted by  two  elders  of  University  Place 
church.  It  is  not  expected  that  Dr. 
Bell  will  enter  the  ministry  in  the  usual 
sense,  but  it  was  felt  that  as  an  ordained 
clergyman  he  would  be  able  to  obtain 
certain  advantages  not  open  to  the  col- 
lege president  who  is  a  layman. 

Dr.  Jenkins  at  University 
of  Chicago 

Burris  A.  Jenkins,  pastor  of  the  Lin- 
wood  Boulevard  Christian  Church,  Kan- 
sas City,  Mo.,  will  be  the  University 
preacher  at  the  University  of  Chicago 
on  Sunday,  April  8.  This  is  the  second 
season  of  Dr.  Jenkins'  selection  for  this 


Disciples  Lectureship  at  University  of  Chicago 


The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Dis- 
ciples Divinity  House  has  recently  cre- 
ated an  annual  lectureship,  consisting  of 
at  least  three  lectures  either  upon  the 
history  and  ideals  of  the  Disciples  of 
Christ,  or  upon  themes  related  to  the 
preparation  of  ministers  and  mission- 
aries. 

The  first  lecturer  upon  this  founda- 
tion will  be  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan,  pastor 
of  Seventh  Street  Church,  Richmond, 
Va.,  who  will  deliver  three  lectures  in 
April  upon  the  following  subjects:  Tues- 
day, April  17,  "The  Value  of  Modern 
Philosophy  to  the  Ministry";  Wednes- 
day, April  18,  "The  Value  of  Psychic 
Research    to    the    Minister";    Thursday, 


April  19,  "The  Value  of  Literature  to 
the  Minister."  The  lectures  will  be  de- 
livered in  Haskell  Assembly  Hall  at  the 
University  of  Chicago,  and  will  be  open 
to  all.  They  will  be  given  at  4:30  p.  m. 
Mr.  Maclachlan  has  occupied  his  pres- 
ent pastorate  for  many  years  and  is  re- 
garded as  the  leading  preacher  in  the 
city  of  Richmond.  He  has  been  notably 
successful  as  the  leader  of  interdenom- 
inational movements,  particularly  in  the 
field  of  religious  education.  His  visit 
to  Chicago  will  be  an  event  of  interest 
to  all  the  Disciples  of  the  city,  and  ar- 
rangements are  being  made  to  have  all 
our  people  hear  him,  as  far  as  possible. 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  1,  1917 


important  position.  His  visits  to  Chi- 
cago are  always  hailed  with  pleasure  by 
the  Disciples  at  the  University  and 
throughout    the   city. 

Foreign  Society  Leaders  in 
New  York  Conference 

The  annual  conference  of  foreign  mis- 
sion boards  of  the  North  American  con- 
tinent was  recently  held  in  Garden  City, 
Long  Island.  This  important  meeting 
lasted  for  three  days  and  many  subjects 
vital  to  the  interests  of  the  foreign  work 
were  discussed.  Members  of  the  staff 
of  the  Foreign  Society  occupied  im- 
portant positions  in  the  conference  and 
on  the  committees. 

Dr.  Jones'  Book  Praised 
by  Louis  Wallis 

Louis  Wallis,  a  prominent  Sociological 
leader  and  critic,  has  an  article  in  a  re- 
cent issue  of  The  Public,  entitled,  "Vi- 
tality in  Religion,"  and  the  article  is 
based  upon  a  review  of  Dr.  Edgar  D. 
Tones'  book,  "The  Wisdom  of  God's 
Fools."  Mr.  Wallis  says,  among  other 
things:  "Dr.  Jones  belongs  to  that 
growing  fellowship,  recruited  from  all 
denominations,  which  is  teaching  the 
world  how  to  combine  spirituality  with 
sociological  insight.  The  volume  ought 
to  go  into  the  libraries  of  ministers  and 
theological  seminaries  as  an  example  of 
sermon-building  out  of  present-dav  ma- 
terial." 

J.  R.  Perkins  Addresses  Credit 
Men's  Association 

J.  R.  Perkins  of  First  Church,  Sioux 
City,  la.,  recently  gave  an  address  be- 
fore the  Credit  Men's  Association  of 
that  town  on  "Financing  Religion."  Mr. 
Perkins  declared  that  the  preacher  is  by 
far  the  poorest  paid  man  of  the  profes- 
sional world  today.  "But,"  he  asserted, 
"after  all  it  is  the  unpaid  service  which 
blesses  a  community  most,  and  the 
preacher  who  is  not  willing  to  give  it 
has  missed  the  meaning  of  his  calling. 
A  man  must  love  much  to  remain  in  the 
ministry.  Perhaps  the  failure  to  practice 
business  in  religion,  may  be  the  result 
of  the  corresponding  failure  to  practice 
religion  in  business,"  Mr.  Perkins  said. 
"Some  of  the  keenest  men  in  the  busi- 
ness world  have  failed  in  financial  posi- 
tions in  the  church.  Is  this  because 
they  give  most  of  their  thought  to  com- 
merce and  none  to  Christianity?  There 
is  an  old  saw  which  says  the  preacher 
is  a  poor  business  man.  No  man  has 
a  right  to  say  that,  except  the  man  who 
is  attempting  to  live  on  the  average 
preacher's   salary." 

Pioneering  in 
Alaska 

The  following  is  from  a  letter  recently 
received  from  Harry  Munro,  who  is  our 
missionary  "farthest  north" — at  Seward, 
Alaska:  "We  had  some  very  good  holi- 
day celebrations.  We  united  with  the 
Methodist  Sunday  school  at  their  invi- 
tation for  our  Christmas  tree  on  Satur- 
day night  before  Christmas.  One  of  the 
newspapers  here  started  a  movement  to 
have  a  community  treat  for  all  the  chil- 
dren of  the  town  and  asked  me  to  act 
as  chairman  of  the  committee  which  had 
it  in  charge.  That  was  a  big  affair  and 
gave  me  a  fine  opportunity  to  get  be- 
fore the  children  of  the  town.  On  Sun- 
day night,  December  31,  we  had  a  watch 
night  meeting  here  in  our  own  rooms 
at  which  we  had  a  very  interesting  pro- 
gram, followed  by  light  refreshments. 
There  were  twenty-four  in  attendance." 
Mr.    Munro    has    completed    a    very    at- 


tractive   bungalow   church   for   his   new 
work. 

At  Jackson  Street  Church, 
Muncie,  Ind. 

The  Sunday  school  at  Jackson  street, 
Muncie,  Ind.,  reports  the  best  year  in 
the  history  of  the  organization.  A  suc- 
cessful Junior  Church  is  a  feature  of 
the  work  there.  Forty  additions  are  re- 
ported added  to  the  congregation.  About 
a  thousand  dollars  was  given  to  missions 
and  benevolences.  The  following  is  a 
cheering  portion  of  the  annual  report  of 
this  church:  "We  are  set  to  sound  the 
call  of  the  unity  of  all  God's  people. 
We  must  be  informed  regarding  the 
principles  that  make  for  unity.  We  must 
have  conviction  that  will  set  forth  the 
truth  so  as  to  be  heard.  We  must  also 
have  a  charity  that  will  keep  us  and  our 
plea  likeable  to  other  people  and  will 
keep  us  free  from  narrowness  and  a 
sectarian  spirit."  F.  E.  Smith  leads 
at  Muncie. 

Survey  of  African 
"Back  Country" 

The  African  Mission  of  the  Disciples 
reports  a  survey  of  the  great  "back  coun- 
try," which  occupied  five  months  in  time. 
Four  of  the  men  took  this  long  journey 
from  the  front,  walking  most  of  the  dis- 
tance. They  report  great  areas  unoccu- 
pied, and  people  everywhere  anxious  for 
the  missionary  to  come. 

Grant  W.  Speer  Will  Not 
Go  to  Cedar  Rapids,  la. 

It  is  reported  that  Grant  W.  Speer  of 
Toledo,  O.,  who  was  called  to  the  pas- 
torate of  First  Church,  Cedar  Rapids, 
la.,  has  decided  not  to  leave  his  Ohio 
field.  W.  L.  Barth  is  still  supplying  the 
pulpit  at  First,  to  the  great  satisfaction 
of  the  congregation. 

Community  House  for 
Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

The  Riverside  congregation,  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  Harris  Miller,  minister,  have  be- 
gun the  use  of  their  new  community 
house,  though  the  work  upon  it  is  not 
yet  complete.  The  gymnasium  is  in 
use  regularly,  and  bowling  alleys  will 
be  installed  shortly.  They  plan  to  dedi- 
cate the  structure  on  Palm  Sunday. 

Dr.  Willett  Speaks  at 
Sedalia,  Mo. 

First  Church,  Sedalia,  Mo.,  through 
its  C.  W.  B.  M.  Federation,  recently  en- 
tertained Dr.  Herbert  L.  Willett,  who 
gave  two  addresses  on  "Missions"  and 
"The  Changing  Orient."  A.  W.  Koken- 
doffer,  pastor  at  Sedalia,  writes  that  the 
addresses  were  masterly  and  were  heard 
with  great  interest  and  appreciation  by 
large  audiences,  a  number  of  persons 
coming  from  nearby  towns  that  they 
might  hear  the  lectures. 

Growing  at  Freeport, 
Illinois 

H.  H.  Peters,  state  secretary  of  Illi- 
nois Discipledom,  writes  that  he  recent- 
ly spent  a  Sunday  at  Freeport,  111.,  and 
found  himself  so  enthusiastic  about  pros- 
pects there  that  he  must  send  in  a  re- 
port. Nine  years  ago  the  church  was 
organized  in  this  city  of  20,000.  The 
church  has  been  led  by  good  men,  but 
the  difficulties  have  been  great.  A  good 
corner  lot  has  now  been  secured  and 
the  congregation  is  looking  forward  to 
a  new  building.  On  the  Sunday  in  which 
Mr.  Peters  visited  the  field,  H.  Gordon 


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March  1,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


Bennett,  of  Monroe,  Wis.,  was  present 
and  preached  at  the  evening  service. 
During  the  day  George  H.  McClintock 
and  wife,  missionaries  of  the  Sunday 
School  Union,  took  membership  with 
the  church.  The  officers  of  the  church 
at  the  close  of  the  morning  service  ac- 
cepted the  suggestion  of  the  state  sec- 
retary for  the  holding  of  a  conference 
within  a  month  or  two,  with  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  several  churches  in  this 
part  of  the  state. 

Home  Coming  Day  at 
Rosemont,  Dallas 

A  year  ago  Tolbert  F.  Weaver,  then 
state  evangelist  of  Texas,  held  a  meet- 
ing at  Rosemont  Church,  Dallas,  Texas. 
His  work  was  so  greatly  appreciated  that 
he  was  called  as  pastor  there  in  May, 
and  he  accepted  the  work.  On  Febru- 
ary 11,  a  year  from  the  date  of  the  evan- 
gelistic meeting,  Home  Coming  day  was 
celebrated  at  Rosemont,  with  principal 
features  a?  follows:  Sermon  by  the 
pastor  in  the  morning;  afternoon  ad- 
dresses by  J.  C.  Mason,  former  state 
secretary;  Walter  M.  Williams,  editor 
the  Christian  Courier;  W.  A.  Scott,  gen- 
eral secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  of 
Dallas;  L.  B.  Haskins  of  Oak  Park 
Church,  and  John  G.  Slater  of  the  East 
Dallas  Church.  During  Mr.  Weaver's 
period  of  service  seventy-seven  members 
have  been  added  to  the  congregation, 
$1,200  raised  on  debts,  a  loan  negotiated 
from  the  Church  Extension  Board  and 
the  Sunday  school  more  than   doubled. 

Membership  Doubled  at 
Ivanhoe  Park,  Kansas  City 

J.  B.  Hunley  began  his  sixth  year  at 
Ivanhoe  Park,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  on  Feb- 
ruary 1.  During  his  ministry  the  mem- 
bership has  been  doubled,  there  being 
a  net  gain  of  104  last  year.  A  Sunday 
school  of  350  average  attendance  is  re- 
ported. There  was  contributed  for  mis- 
sions last  year  a  total  of  $1,235.30.  This 
congregation  is  planning  to  erect  at  once 
a  modern  Sunday  school  building. 

New  Honor  for  Finis 
Idleman 

I.  E.  Reid  of  North  Tonawanda,  writes 
that  State  Superintendent  Anderson  of 
the  New  York  Anti-Saloon  League  has 
requested  that  Finis  Idleman  of  Central 
church,  New  York  City,  with  Mayor 
Rand  of  North  Tonawanda,  be  desig- 
nated by  the  next  state  convention  of 
the  Disciples  to  represent  them  on  the 
State  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Anti- 
Saloon  League.  This  will  be  the  first 
time  the  church  has  had  representation 


officially  on  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
New  York.  Mr.  Reid  reports  that  "Mr. 
Idleman  is  acquiring  a  place  in  the  re- 
ligious life  of  the  metropolis  more  potent 
than  any  since  the  days  of  B.  B.  Tyler." 

A  New  Church  at 
Auburn,  N.  Y. 

A  forward  step  has  been  taken  at  Au- 
burn, where  E.  W.  Allen  has  been  labor- 
ing for  the  past  two  years.  The  church 
building  there  is  located  in  the  outskirts 
of  the  city,  and  has  for  many  months 
been  outside  the  center  of  the  work 
under  Mr.  Allen's  leadership.  It  has 
now  been  determined  to  form  a  new 
congregation  down  town.  A  lot  has  been 
purchased  whose  location  has  no  su- 
perior in  the  city,  and  upon  this  a  first 
class  building  will  be  erected  in  the  im- 
mediate future;  the  new  congregation, 
now  meeting  in  a  theater,  will  enter  this 
building  with  a  membership  approxi- 
mating 250.  The  former  church  will  con- 
tinue in  the  old  building,  butsome  of  its 
members  will  take  fellowship  with  the 
new  congregation. 

*      *      * 

— W.  H.  Book  of  Columbus,  Ind,  re- 
cently spoke  to  the  Shelbyville,  Ind., 
public  school  teachers  on  "Vocational 
Training  Work." 

— Crayton  S.  Brooks,  evangelist,  and 
Fred  E.  Warner,  singer,  will  hold  an 
April  meeting  at  Oak  Cliff  church  Dal- 
las, Texas. 


unif  imnif  A.  Church  Home  for  You. 

HEW  TURK  Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
flirt   i  uiiix  U2  West  81gt  gtj  N  Y 


— R.  A.  Schell  of  Boulder,  Colo.,  and 
the  Howe  song  leaders,  are  holding  a 
series  of  meetings  at  Fort  Collins,  Colo., 
where  Linn  D.  Cartwright  ministers. 

— W.  A.  Brundage,  the  new  pastor  at 
Indiana  Avenue  church,  South  Bend, 
Ind.,  is  leading  the  congregation  there 
in  a  very  successful  revival. 

— John  Haynes  Holmes,  author  of 
"New  Wars  for  Old,"  spoke  a  few  eve- 
nings ago  at  First  church,  Lincoln,  Neb., 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Nebraska  Peace 
Society. 

— Portland  Avenue  church,  Minneap- 
olis, Minn.,  celebrated  the  fortieth  anni- 
versary of  the  organization  of  this  work 
on  February  14.  Six  churches  of  Dis- 
ciples had  part  in  the  meeting.  S.  G. 
Fisher  ministers  at  Portland  Avenue. 

— R.  H.  Ingram,  whose  death  is  re- 
ported   at    Perry,    la.,    was    at    various 


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periods  in  his  life  pastor  at  Omaha, 
Beatrice,  Neb.;  Atchison,  Kan.,  and 
Boone,  Red  Oak,  Creston,  Albia,  Fort 
Madison  and  Perry,  la.  His  burial  took 
place  at  Marion,  la. 

— G.  Lyle  Smith  has  resigned  from 
the  work  at  Bentonville,  Ark.,  to  accept 
the  pastorate  at  Brownswood,  Texas. 

— The  new  edifice  of  the  Ogden,  Utah, 
congregation  was  dedicated  on  Febru- 
ary 11.  Chas.  W.  Dean  is  superintend- 
ent of  the  mission  and  made  a  talk,  but 
the  dedication  services  were  in  charge 
of  Secretary  F.  W.  Burnham  of  the 
Home   Society. 

— First  church,  Oklahoma  City,  Okla., 
will  have  a  new  $12,000  organ,  accord- 
ing to  the  pastor,  H.  E.  Van  Horn. 

— Wednesday  evenings  at  Central 
church,  New  York  City,  are  notable  oc- 
casions. At  one  of  them  recently,  be- 
sides messages  from  local  people 
connected  with  the  preparatory  work  of 
the  Sunday  campaign  to  open  in  April, 
Miss  Bertha  Clawson,  of  Japan,  and  Mr. 
Arthur  Santmeier  of  the  Canadian 
Northwest  spoke.  Miss  Clawson  is  de- 
lighting the  congregation  with  her  fel- 
lowship for  several  months  in  connection 
with  some  work  she  is  carrying  on  in 
Teacher's  College,  Columbia  University, 
and  Mr.  Santmeier's  visit  to  New  York 
was  for  the  purpose  of  marketing  the 
furs  of  his  Indian  parishioners. 

— The  following  missionaries  have  as- 
sisted in  the  rallies  this  year:  Dr.  E.  I. 


Factory  Rebuilt  Like  New  $52.50 


imm& 


fe&&! 


The  word  "rebuilt"  has  been  abased  and  misused  until  it  has  become  a  meaningless  trade  term 

When  we  rebuild  a  Fox  Typewriter,  we  take  it  all  to  pieces,  re-nickel  the 
nickel  parts,  re-enamel  the  frame  and  replace  all  worn  parts  with  new  ones. 
The  same  men  who  originally  built  the  Typewriter  do  this  rebuilding  and  do  the  work  just  as  good. 

40%  NEW  PARTS  AND  THREE  YEARS'  GUARANTEE 

We  offer  a  rebuilt  Fox  Typewriter  Model  No.  24  —  just  like  new — for  $52.50.    These     have 
standard  carriages  taking  paper  I01'2  inches  wide,  any  kind  of   keyboard,  any  kind  of  type, 
rubber  covers,  tabulators,  back  spacers,  two-color  ribbons,  complete  with  instruction  books 
and  cleaning  outfits,  and  are  guaranteed  for  three  years  the  same  as  new  ones,  and  to  have  not 
less  than  forty  per  cent  of  new  parts. 
Send  any  amount  you  can  spare,  from  $1.00  up,  as  a  first  payment,  and  pay  the  balance 
$5.00  monthly.  5  per  cent  discount  for  all  cash.  Purchaser  must  pay  transportation.  If  $10.00 
or  more  is  sent  with  order,  we  will  include  FREE  a  Fox  Solid  Oak  Typewriter  Table  selling  at  $4.50. 
Please  order  direct  from  this  offer  and  inclose  any  amount  you  can  spare— and  BE  SURE 
AND  MENTION  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  FOR  MARCH. 

FOX  TYPEWRITER  CO.,  1101-1151  Front  Ave,  GRAND  RAPIDS,  MICHIGAN 


^m^m 


5S^S*5^ 


Pay 

$5.00 

Monthly 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  1,  1917 


Osgood  of  China,  W.  B.  Alexander  of 
India,  \Y.  H.  Hanna  of  the  Philippines, 
C.  P.  Hedges  of  the  Congo,  and  C.  F. 
McCall  of  Japan. 

— J,  Boyd  Tones  of  Central  church, 
Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  with  his  wife,  was 
guest  of  honor  at  a  recent  banquet  given 
by  the  Anderson.  Ind.,  Central  Church 
Brotherhood  to  the  women  of  church. 

— Oren  Orahood  is  closing  a  two 
years'  pastorate  with  the  famous  S.  L. 
W.  Ranch  church  near  Greek}',  Colo. 
During  his  term  of  service  a  building 
was  dedicated  and  paid  for  at  Gill,  where 
a  mission  work  was  started  during  the 
ministry  of  his  predecessor,  J.  E.  Lynn.' 
Mr.  Orahood  has  accepted  a  call  from 
the  church  at  Manzanola,  Colo.,  and  will 
begin  his  new  work  April  1  if  a  minister 
can  be  found  for  the  S.  L.  W.  work  by 
that  time. 

— Denver,  111.,  church  building  was 
burned  a  few  days  ago,  with  a  loss  of 
about   $7,000. 

— Fred  S.  Nichols  has  resigned  from 
the  pastorate  at  Iowa  City,  la.,  and  has 
no  definite  plans  for  the  future.  Mr. 
Nichols  is  also  chaplain  of  the  First 
Iowa  Regiment,  which  he  served  on  the 
Mexican  border  for  several  weeks  last 
summer. 

— George  W.  Kemper  of  Hanover 
Avenue  church,  Richmond,  Va.,  holds 
weekly  noonday  meetings  at  the  car 
shops  of  the  Virginia  Railway  company, 
and  .holds  his  services  in  an  old  street 
car.  These  meetings  are  under  the 
auspices  of  the  local  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

— E.  F.  Daugherty  of  First  church, 
Vincennes,  Ind.,  recently  gave  an  ad- 
dress before  the  officers  and  teachers  of 
Central  church  Sunday  school,  Terre 
Haute,  Ind.  The  theme  considered  was 
"Life,  and  How  to  Make  It  Worth 
While." 

— During  the  series  of  meetings  con- 
ducted   at    First    church,    Chattanooga, 


Tenn.,  by  Claude  E.  Hill,  pastor,  sev- 
enty-one new  members  were  added  to 
the  church.  A  reception  was  held  at 
the  church  for  all  persons  who  have 
come  into  the  membership  since  Mr. 
Hill's  coming  to  the  work. 

— Jackson  Street  church,  Muncie,  Ind., 
F.  E.  Smith,  pastor,  is  preparing  for  a 
series  of  March  meetings,  with  the  pas- 
tor preaching  and  Owen  Walker  lead- 
ing the  singing.  The  campaign,  accord- 
ing to  report,  will  be  one  "intended  to 
appeal  to  the  intelligence  rather  than 
to  sentiment  or  emotion." 

— George  P.  Taubman  and  First  church, 
Long  Beach,  Cal.,  had  a  rousing  meet- 
ing in  the  Municipal  Auditorium  of  the 
town  two  weeks  ago,  with  an  audience 
of  3,600.  A  new  building  is  being  talked, 
being  badly  needed. 

— F  W.  Emerson,  new  pastor  at  On- 
tario, Cal.,  began  his  work  with  a  three 
weeks'  meeting,  assisted  by  Mrs.  Prin- 
cess Long,  who  is  a  valued  member  of 
that  congregation. 

— Union  evangelistic  meetings  have, 
recently  been  in  progress  at  Brook,  Ind., 
in  which  meetings  R.  C.  Dilman  and  the 
Disciples  church  took  a  deeply  inter- 
ested part. 

— Hamilton  Avenue  church,  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  will  dedicate  its  new  $30,000  Bible 
and  Sunday  school  building,  the  only 
building  of  its  kind  in  St.  Louis,  on 
March  25.  This  congregation  began 
its  career  twenty-one  years  ago  with 
twenty-eight  members,  and  now  has  an 
enrollment  of  more  than  600.  The  Sun- 
day school  has  about  the  same  number. 
The  new  building  has  thirty-four  rooms. 
L.  W.  McCreary  has  been  pastor  at 
Hamilton  Avenue  for  twelve  years. 

— First  c  hurch,  Coff eyville,  Kan.,  has 
shows  its  appreciation  of  the  good  serv- 
ice of  its  pastor,  Arthur  Long,  by  rais- 
ing his  salary  $400.  Mr.  Long  has  been 
with   this   church  four  years,   and   since 


his  coming  about  900  persons  have  been 
added  to  the  membership.  A  new  build- 
ing has  been  erected  during  this  time. 
Plans  for  further  increasing  the  ca-' 
pacity  of  the  building  are  under  way. 
It  is  hoped  to  arrange  seating  for  1,600. 

— On  the  evening  of  February  14  at 
First  church,  Bloomington,  111.,  thirty- 
one  persons  came  into  the  church,  fif- 
teen of  them  being  baptized  on  that  same 
evening. 

— W.  E.  Sweeney,  who  was  recently 
called  to  Birmingham,  Ala.,  has  decided 
to  remain  with  his  charge  at  First 
church,  Evansville,  Ind. 

— The  Macmillan  Company,  the 
largest  publishers  in  the  country,  have 
accepted  for  publication  a  new  book  of 
Edgar  DeWitt  Jones,  entitled  "Fair- 
hope."    This  is  a  story  of  a  rural  church. 

— First  church,  Lincoln,  Neb.,  has  lost 
from  its  membership  Jacob  C.  March, 
the  sole  survivor  of  the  Seminole  War. 
He  would  have  been  a  centenarian  had 
he  lived  until  June  16  of  this  year.  Mr. 
March  had  been  a  life-long  Christian. 

— James  M.  Taylor,  for  several  years 
pastor  at  Scott  City,  Kan.,  has  accepted 
a  call  to  the  work  at  Liberal,  Kan. 

— G.  W.  Titus,  a  young  man  of  Can- 
adian birth,  has  accepted  the  pulpit  at 
Mishawaka,  and  has  already  begun  his 
new  task. 

— H.  E.  Sala  of  Central  church,  Peo- 
ria, 111.,  has  been  preaching  two  sermons 
dealing  with  Christian  Science.  One  of 
these  had  as  its  subject,  "Is  Christian 
Science  Christian?"  and  the  other  "Is 
Christian  Science  Science?" 

— B.  H.  Linville,  formerly  pastor  at  St. 
Joseph,  111.,  has  accepted  the  work  at 
Compton  Heights,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

— David  M.  Walker,  who  has  served 
the  church  at  Stanford,  Ky.,  for  the  past 
ten   years,   will    begin    a    new   work   at 


Wet  and  Dry  Map  of  Illinois 


*c*W*  r»  M„  la.  1915 


*= 


^IIIIIIIllllilHIIIlIIIIIIlllIIIIllllllllMllllllliltllllllllilllllltMIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIUItlllllllllllllHilllH IIMIinUMIitMilflllllllltiltltlllllUllllllllUIIIIIIMIIIIIIItltllllllNlllllllllllltllllllMIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllHIIIIIIlIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIII! 

I  1240   OF   THE    1430   TOWNSHIPS    IN    THE   STATE 

HAVE    BEEN    VOTED    DRY    UNDER 
LOCAL  OPTION 

Now  is  the  time  to  strike  and  strike  hard  for  state 
wide  prohibition.     A  bill  referring  the  question  of  prohi- 

|  bition  to  the  people  has  passed  the  Senate  by  a  vote  of 

31  to  18.     It  is  now  pending  in  the  House  of  Representa- 

|  tives  and  will  come  to  a  vote  early  in  March.     The  pros- 

pects for  its  passage  are  good.  There  are  almost  enough 
pledged  votes  to  pass  it.  There  are  many  members  waver- 
ing and  what  is  needed  now  is  a  strong  and  emphatic  ex- 
pression of  public  sentiment  to  every  member  of  the 
Legislature.  At  this  critical  time  you  can  aid  the  cause 
of  state  wide  prohibition  tremendously  by  writing  your 
members  of  the  Legislature  asking  them  to  support  the 
Referendum  Prohibition  Bill.  It  is  not  necessary  to  give 
the  number  of  the  bill,  simply  refer  to  it  as  the  Referendum 
Prohibition  Bill.  It  is  not  necessary  to  write  a  long  letter, 
just  let  your  representatives  know  that  you  are  for  it.  If 
you  do  not  know  the  names  of  your  representatives,  write 
The  Anti-Saloon  League  of  Illinois,  189  West  Madison 
Street,  and  they  will  furnish  you  the  names.  Life  long 
wets  in  Indiana  voted  for  the  prohibition  bill  there  early 
this  month — they  did  it  because  the  people  all  over  the 
state  rose  up  and  demanded  it  in  such  an  emphatic  way 
that  flesh  and  blood  could  not  stand  the  pressure.  Now 
is  the  time  for  Righteousness  in  Illinois  to  make  itself 
felt.    Write  today — do  not  put  it  off. 

E.  J.  Davis, 
Chicago  District  Supt. 


ifoiMuiiiifiiiiiimifjrjfMiiifMiiHiiMHinHMMiiiNMiiiimiinuHimMim^^ 


March  1,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


23 


THE  MEN  IN  THE  TRENCHES 

In  Europe  pin   their  faith  to  the  loyalty  of  the  people  at  home,   who  with   remarkable 
patriotism  are  giving  them  the  support  so  necessary  for  success. 

THE  MEN  IN  THE  TRENCHES 

On  the  distant  battle-fields  of  the  non-Christian  world,  pressing  their  heroic  conquest  for 

Christianity  against  heathenism,  also  pin  their  faith  to  the  supporters  in  the  home-land. 

Dare  we  be  less  loyal  in  our  Christian  patriotism  than   the  soldiers  of  Europe  in  their 

national  patriotism? 

The  greatest  problem  of  the  Mission  Fields  is  the  problem  of  the  support  from  home. 

Is  your  church  making  any  real  sacrifice  in  this  hour  of  the  world's  greatest  need? 

Stand  by  the  187  missionaries  of  the  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society  at  the  front 
the  first  Sunday  in  March. 

F.  M.  RAINS, )  Q       p 
Box  884,  Cincinnati.  S.  J.  COREY,  }  ^ecretai 


tries. 


Shelbyville,  Ky.,  succeeding  Homer  W. 
larpenter,  who  was  called  to  the  chan- 
:ellorship  of  Transylvania   College. 

— W.  T.  Hilton  has  resigned  from  Cen- 
ral  pulpit,  Pueblo,  Colo. 

— Floyd  Tucker,  recently  at  Streator, 
[11.,  has  become  pastor  at  Central 
:hurch,  Paducah,  Ky. 

— Bruce  Brown,  evangelist,  lectured  to 
he  Thirty-second  degree  Masons  and 
heir  wives  at  the  Scottish  Rite  Cathe- 
Iral,  Los  Angeles,  on  February  12. 

— Peter  Clark  Macfarlane  spoke  at 
he  annual  dinner  of  the  Acropolis  Club, 
Mew  York,  on  February  13.  The  club 
s  made  up  of  Disciple  students  in  the 
Columbia  University  community. 

— Peter  Ainslie  and  Dr.  Cornelius 
vVoelfkin,  of  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist 
church,  New  York,  were  speakers  at 
the  annual  Disciples  Missionary  Union 
dinner,  New  York  City,  at  the  Builders 
Exchange,  on  the  evening  of  Feb- 
ruary 27. 

— Ira  L.  Parvin,  of  North  Tonawanda, 
N.  Y.,  addressed  the  Men's  Club  of  the 
Niagara  Falls  church,  on  February  19. 
He  considered  the  subject,  "On  the 
Coaching  Line  With   Billy  Sunday." 

— Rand  Shaw  of  Frankfort,  Ky.,  has 
just  closed  what  was  practically  a  union 
meeting  of  Disciples  and  Methodists  at 
Omar,  W.  Va.,  with  over  200  accessions. 

— Report  comes  that  H.  O.  Breeden, 
}f  Fresno,  Cal.,  has  been  suffering  from 
i  severe  attack  of  inflammatory  rheu- 
matism, Mrs.  Breeden  having  taken  him 
:o  Byron  Hot  Springs,  Cal.,  for  treat- 
ment. 

— Charles  A.  Lockhart,  new  pastor  at 
Helena,  Mont,  is  giving  a  series  of  lec- 
tures on  the  Bible.  His  first  lecture,  on 
'The  Literary  Character  of  the  Bible," 
was  reported  very  fully  in  one  of  the 
Helena  newspapers. 

— The  Ministerial  Association  of 
Springfield,  Ohio,  is  co-operating  with 
the  County  Sunday  School  Association 
in  conducting  a  School  of  Religious  Ed- 
ucation. The  sessions  are  held  on  Tues- 
day evenings  at  the  high  school  build- 
ing. C.  M.  Burkhart,  Disciple  pastor  at 
Springfield,  is  chairman  of  the  committee 
in  charge.     The   following  subjects   are 


being  studied  during  the  present  semes- 
ter: English  Bible  Course,  Life  of 
Christ,  The  Teacher  and  the  Pupil,  The 
Modern  Church  School,  and  Early 
Church  History,  each  of  these  being 
taught  by  different  instructors. 

— Three  weeks  of  February  were  spent 
in  Oklahoma  and  southern  Kansas  by 
the  Men  and  Millions  movement,  with 
gratifying  results.  With  6,000  life  cards 
signed  and  $4,200,000  of  the  $6,300,000 
fund  subscribed,  the  work  of  the  move- 
ment is  two-thirds  done,  and  June  1, 
1918,  has  been  set  for  its  completion, 
for  the  financial  goal  at  least. 


American    Series    of    Five 


Map 


These  are  lithographed  in  four  colors  on 
muslin  of  superior  quality,  and  measure  36x58 
inches.  Large  lettering  of  names  of  places  is  a 
special  feature  of  all  these  maps.  Each  map 
has  distinctive  features,  but  all  have  large  type, 
clear  and  bold  outlines. 

The  maps  are  as  follows: 

Map   of  Palestine— Illustrating    the    Old    Test- 
ament and  the  Land  as  Divided  among  the 
twelve  tribes. 
Map   of    Palestine— Illustrating  the  New  Test- 
ament. 
Map    of    the    Roman  Empire— Illustrating  the 

Journeys   of  the  Apostle  Paul. 
Map  of  Assyria  and  the  Adjacent  Lands— Illust- 
rating the  Captivities  of  the  Jews. 
Map  of  Egypt  and  the  Sinai  Peninsula — Illustrat- 
ing the  Journeyings  of  the  Israelites. 
Any  of  the  above  maps  sold  singly  and  un- 
mounted at  1.00  ea  :h.  postpaid. 

These  maps  are  also  furnished  in  a  set  of  5 
that  are  mounted  on  one  specially  constructed 
wooden  roller,  which  is  arranged  to  rest  securely 
on  the  top  of  the  upright  bar  of  the  stand.  The 
stand  is  collapsible  and  is  made  of  steel,  finished 
in  black  Japan. 

Entire  Outfit,  $6  50  Net. 

By  Express  or  Freight  af  Purchaser  s  Exoense. 

discepi.es  publication  society 

709  E.  40th  St.,  Chicago,  111. 


Baptismal  Suits 

We  can  make  prompt  shipments. 
Order  Now.  Finest  quality  and  most 
satisfactory  in  every  way.  Order  by 
size  of  boot. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  St.  Chicago,  111. 


Acme  S.  S.  Register  Board 


A  practical  and  inexpensive  board 
with  which  comparative  records  may 
be  made.  Is  of  ash.  Size,  30  inches  high, 
21  inches  wide,  3-4  inch  thick.  The  fol- 
lowing cards  and  figures  make  up  the 
outfit:  Register  of  Attendance  and 
Collection,  Register  of  Attendance  and 
Offering,  Number  on  the  Roll,  Atten- 
dance Today,  Attendance  a  Year  Ago 
Today,    Collection    Today,    Offering    To- 


day, 


..oilecuen 


Year     Ago   Today, 


Offering  a  Year  Ago  Today,  Collection 
Last  Sunday,  Offering  Last  Sunday, 
Attendance  Last  Sunday,  Hymns, 
Record  Collection,  Record  Offering, 
Record  Attendance,  Psalm.  Also  six  J 
each,  of  figures  1  to  0,  inclusive.  Let- 
ters and  figures  are  white  on  black 
background,   3   5-S   inches  high. 

y       Price,  $3. co.    Delivery  Extra. 
DISCIPLES    PUBLICATION    SOCIETY, 
700  East  40th  St.         :         Chicago,  DL 


CHURCH  [IflPJI  SCHOOL 


Ask  for  Catalogue  and  Special  Donation  Plan  No. .27 

(Established  1S58) 

THE  C.  S.  BELL   COMPANY  •        HILLSBORO,  OHIO 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY 
OF  RELIGION 

By  GEORGE  ALBERT  COE 

Professor  of  Religious  Education,  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Author  of 
"The  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind,"  The  Spiritual  Life,"  etc. 


For  the  Minister's  Library 

For  the  Theological  Seminary  Student 
For  College  and  Seminary  Classes 
For  the  Psychologist  and  Edupator 
For  Young  People's  and  Adult  Bible  Classes 


Of  nineteen  chapters,  the  first  four  are  devoted  to  aspects  of 
psychological  study  and  investigation.  The  remaining  fifteen 
present  the  author's  keen  analysis  of  religion  in  its  individual 
and   social    processes.      The  most  authoritative  and  interesting 

book  in  this  fascinating  field  of  study  that  has  yet  appeared. 

/• 

$  1 .50,  postage  extra  (weight  1  lb.  1 0  oz.) 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  PRESS 

4 

700  East  40th  Street,  CHICAGO 


!    I      l!l 





Vol.  XXXIV 


March  8,  1917 


Religion  After 
The  War 

By  Joseph  Fort  Newton 


Faith  at  Forty 

By  Edgar  D.  Jones 


CHICAGO 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  8,  1917 


Another  Big  Book 


New   York  Publishers   Sacrifice   Stock  Reduction 
Sold  to  us  EXCLUSIVELY  and  at  a  fraction  of  original  prices 

A  splendid  list  of  Theological  Books  never  offered  at  less  than  Publishers'  Prices — 
Remember — In  this  extraordinary  list  we  offer  you  the  original  edition  of  every  book 
— (no  cheap  editions) — printed  on  good  paper  and  substantially  bound  in  cloth.  Every 
book  new  and  perfect — if  not  as  represented  can  be  returned  at  our  expense.  All  quantities 
limited — no  more  to  be  had  after  our  stock  is  sold. 

To  delay  ordering  is  your  loss 

We  doubt  if  at  anytime  so  many  books  of  real  merit  have  been  sold  at  such  a  big  saving  in 
price.  Note  the  splendid  array  of  noted  authors.  Every  bookof  helpand  suggestions  to  ministers. 

We  pay  the  postage 


Our 

Pub.  Sals 

Author             Title                                                      Price  Price 

Deis  maun,  Adolph — St.  Paul;  A  study  of  Social 

and   Beligious   History $3.50  $1.65 

Sods,  Marcus — Christ  and  Mas 1.50  .75 

Denny,  James — The  Death  of  Christ — Bev.  Ed. .   1.50  .75 

Orr,  James — Faith  of  a  Modern  Christian 1.50  .75 

Orr,  James — Sin  as  a  Problem  of  Today 1.50  .75 

Clow,  W.  M. — Secret  of  the  Lord 1.50  .65 

Porsyth,  P.  T. — The  Work  of  Christ 1.50  .55 

Dixon,  A,  C. — Glories  of  the  Cross 1.25  .75 

Dixon,  A.  C. — Through  Bight  to  Morning' 1.85  .75 

Jones,  J.  D. — The  Gospel  of  Sovereignty 130  .75 

Hill,  A.  C — The  Sword  of  the  Lord 1.35  .75 

Kill,  A.  C — Shall  We  Do  Without  Jesus 1.50  .75 

Xelman,  J.  M. — The  Head  of  Life — A  Study  of 

Pilgrim's  Progress — 2  Vols 2.50  1.25 

Knowllng,  K.  J. — Testimony  of  St.  Paul  to  Christ  230  30 

Moffatt,  Jan. — Reasons  and  Seasons 1.50  .65 

Kaering-,  Theo. — The  Christian  Paith — 2  Vols.. .   630  330 

Murray,  M. — Bible  Prophecies  and  the  Plain  Man  1.25  .75 

Sclater,  J.  K.  P. — The  Enterprise  of  Z>ife 130  .65 

Simpson,  P.  c. — The  Pacta  of  Life  in  Relation 

to  Paith 135  .75 

Thomas -Griffith — The  Work  of  the  Ministry. . .   1.60  .75 
Stoddart,    J.    T. — Hew   Testament   In    Life    and 

Literature    235  135 

Stoddart,    J.    T. — Old    Testament    in    Life    and 

Literature    235  1.25 

MacLeod,  W.  B. — Afflictions  of  the  Biffhteous.   130  .75 
Moffatt,  Jas. — A  New  Translation  of  Hew  Testa- 
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Button,  J.  A. — Weapons  of  Our  Warfare 75  35 

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dren's Sermons — Large  Octavo 530  3.25 

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of  the  Changes  in  Modern  Thought 75  30 

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Field   3.00  1.00 

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HISTORY  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.  By  W.  T.  Moore.  A  comprehensive  story 
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THE  MORAL  LEADERS  OF  ISRAEL.     By  Herbert  I,  Willett.    A  thrilling  and  luminous 

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the  great  leaders  i3  made  to  live  anew.    In    Two   Volumes,    Each,   .$1. 

THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST.  By  Edward  Scribner  Ames.  Professor  Geo.  A.  Coe  says  of 
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HISTORICAL  DOCUMENTS  ADVOCATING  CHRISTIAN  UNION.  Charles  A.  Young, 
Editor.  Contains  Thos.  Campbell's  "Declaration  and  Address,"  Alex.  Campbell's  "Ser- 
mon on  the  Law,"  Stone's  "Last  Will  and  Testament  of  the  Springfield  Presbytery," 
Errett's  "Our  Position,"  and  Garrison's  'The  World's  Need  of  Our  Plea."  Beautifully 
illustrated.     Price,    $1. 

THE  EARLY  RELATION  AND  SEPARATION  OF  BAPTISTS  AND  DISCIPLES..  By  Er- 
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THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  March  8,  1917 


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Volume  XXXIV 


MARCH  8.  1917 


Number  10 


The  Preacher  Today 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  MINISTER  IS 
INCREASING. 

It  was  once  said  with  a  sneer  that  there  were  three 
sexes:  men,  women  and  ministers.  Such  a  remark  would 
fail  to  elicit  a  smile  in  most  communities  today.  The 
things  that  once  forfeited  them  the  respect  of  the  com- 
munity have  passed  out  of  the  lives  of  ministers  in  large 
measure. 

Once  ministers  were  officious  and  anxious  about  their 
dignity.  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  Premier  of  England,  first 
came  into  prominence  in  a  legal  contest  with  a  minister 
who  tried  to  keep  a  man  from  being  buried  in  the  parish 
burying  ground.  The  meddlesome  minister  of  the  past 
was  much  concerned  to  see  that  people  lifted  their  hats 
to  the  dominie. 

There  was  the  type  of  minister  who  lived  as  a  recluse. 
He  came  forth  from  his  study  one  day  in  seven  to  deliver 
profound  discourses  that  had  but  little  relation  to  real 
life.  People  tolerated  such  men,  but  did  not  love  them. 
Such  ministers  never  knew  the  power  that  arises  from  in- 
terpreting every-day  life  as  essentially  religious. 

The  fox-hunting  minister  represented  another  kind. 
In  England  one  heard  of  the  sporty  young  fellow  who 
hurried  into  his  robes  for  the  service  after  his  Sunday 
morning  trout  fishing.  These  have  their  successors  today. 
Ability  to  drink  wine  at  a  dinner  or  to  indulge  in  mild 
profanity  is  regarded  by  such  as  a  sign  of  "liberality." 
For  all  these  sporty  secular  ministers  the  world  has  had  a 
wholesome  contempt. 

The  minister  fanatic  was  once  common.  We  will 
not  say  that  his  genus  is  extinct,  but  modern  education 
has  made  him  more  rare.  Such  a  man  would  conduct 
inquisitions,  denounce  as  heretics  all  who  differed  from  his 
precious  opinions,  and  hunt  to  earth  all  who  opposed 
him.  He  was  the  self-appointed  body-guard  of  God  Al- 
mighty. With  no  sense  of  humor,  he  failed  to  see  himself 
as  a  Don  Quixote  of  the  cloth. 

•     • 

A  great  new  day  has  dawned  for  the  minister.  Paul 
could  say,  "I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ." 
So  any  minister  of  today  might  say,  'T  am  not  ashamed 
of  my  high  calling." 

When  President  Wilson  came  into  power,  he  began 
to  look  around  for  statesmen  to  help  him.  Again  and 
again  he  called  ministers  into  the  public  service.  He  sent 
Henry  van  Dyke  abroad.  Other  ministers  were  offered 
places  of  influence  which  in  many  cases  they  rejected,  for 
the  modern  minister  usually  thinks  there  is  no  throne 
of  power  like  his  pulpit.  Universities  often  call  ministers 
for  presidents,  though  the  scholarship  of  the  minister  is 
not  greater  than  that  of  some  other  men.  President 
Faunce,  and  many  another  great  university  president  came 
up  through  the  manse.  Ministers  are  sought  as  mis- 
sionary secretaries,  educators,  statesmen.    But  the  minister 


who  stays  by  his  job  finds  the  greater  place  in  the  world's 
life. 

The  new  minister  has  carved  a  place  for  himself  in 
the  affection  of  the  community  through  service.  Every- 
body of  right  mind  is  grateful  to  the  man  who  builds  well 
in  human  life. 

The  modern  social  movement  has  found  its  effective 
interpreters  in  the  leaders  of  the  church.  Josiah  Strong 
and  Washington  Gladden  turned  loose  a  flood  that  has 
swept  our  nation.  Practically  all  churches  do  something 
in  the  way  of  social  helpfulness.  The  community  loves 
the  minister  who  is  concerned  for  the  burdens  of  the 
people. 

Ministers  are  leaders  of  the  only  effective  agency  for 
teaching  morals  in  this  nation.  The  movement  for  re- 
ligious education  of  a  thoroughly  competent  sort  has  found 
its  interpreters  in  city  and  villages  in  men  ordained  to 
the  ministry.  These  men  have  fought  the  conservatism 
of  old  methods  in  the  Sunday  schools,  and  as  a  result 
we  are  just  now  probably  entering  into  a  new  era  of  re- 
ligious education  in  which  far  more  time  will  be  given  to 
directing  the  unfolding  mind  of  the  child  than  in  reclaim- 
ing it  when  it  has  been  allowed  to  unfold  in  a  wrong  way. 

It  is  the  ministry  which  is  combating  the  last  remnants 
of  a  false  and  empty  materialism.  When  men  identified 
mind  with  brain  and  denied  immortality,  when  they  postu- 
lated such  a  universe  of  matter  as  excluded  God,  our 
world  was  a  very  sad  and  visionless  place.  The  ministers 
are  taking  the  work  of  the  great  philosophers  such  as 
Royce  and  James,  Eucken  and  Bergson,  and  are  giving 
popularity  once  more  to  a  view  of  life  that  has  ample 
room  in  it  for  faith  in  God  and  immortality. 

•     • 

There  is  a  wider  field  than  the  local  parish  for  every 
minister.  He  helps  mould  the  Christian  sentiment  which 
is  now  so  powerful  in  forming  the  policies  of  our  nation. 
When  an  extravagant  type  of  militarism  breathes  slaughter 
and  threatenings,  it  finds  its  fangs  drawn  by  the  quiet 
work  of  the  ministers.  The  monster  rages,  but  there  are 
few  to  heed  him.  The  liquor  men  have  been  surprised  to 
find  prohibition  coming  with  a  speed  that  sweeps  them 
off  their  feet.  The  power  behind  this  nation-wide  tend- 
ency is  the  minister.  Indeed,  one  might  say  with  perfect 
truthfulness  that  the  ministers  of  America  are  rapidly 
transforming  the  nation.  The  new  minister  who  is  no 
propagandist  of  a  little  doctrinal  scheme,  but  a  preacher 
of  modern  vital  religion  is  today  our  most  powerful  man 
of  affairs. 

To  this  new  minister  we  turn  for  a  patriotism  that 
will  lead  America  to  her  true  destiny.  It  is  religion  that 
will  furnish  the  force  to  perform  the  Herculean  task  of 
cleansing  our  political  life.  It  is  religion  which  at  last 
shall  unite  humanity  in  one  great  brotherhood  ;  and  brother- 
hood will  give  us  peace.  It  is  a  calling  glorious  enough 
for  any  man,  to  be  the  prophet  of  that  great  ideal. 


EDITORIAL 


WHAT  MEN  OWE  THEIR  CHURCH 

THE  amount  of  religious  work  done  at  the  present 
time  by  men  is  far  less  than  the  work  which  is 
done  by  the  women.  Men  in  the  cities  often  live 
under  great  pressure  and  feel  that  they  are  absolved 
from  every  other  duty  except  that  of  providing  for  their 
homes. 

The  man  who  assumes  that  attitude  does  not  act 
as  men  in  other  ages  have  acted.  Religion  had  its  be- 
ginnings with  men,  as  anthropology  shows.  The  Chris- 
tian religion  began  under  the  leadership  of  men.  Men 
bulk  large  in  the  religious  activities  of  this  very  hour, 
though  women  have  assumed  so  much  of  the  religious 
responsibility. 

Men  have  a  kind  of  talent  which  they  owe  to 
the  church.  Their  business  experiences  qualify  them 
uniquely  to  administer  church  finance  in  a  way  to  bring 
the  church  to  its  highest  state  of  efficiency.  All  too 
often  the  finances  are  in  a  most  unbusinesslike  state  of 
neglect  and  in  the  time  of  the  church's  need  the  Ladies' 
Aid  Society  is  called  on  for  some  special  draft. 

Men  must  realize  their  responsibility  to  enlist  other 
men.  The  Men  and  Religion  Movement  stressed  the 
responsibility  of  every  Christian  man  to  the  unsaved 
men  of  the  world.  "Catch-My-Pal"  Patterson  has  ex- 
emplified a  method  in  temperance  work  which  might 
well  be  taken  over  for  our  evangelism. 

The  Christian  man  also  owes  his  church  defense. 
Certain  lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort  love  to  sneer  at 
the  church  and  often  to  libel  it.  The  defense  of  the 
church  ought  to  rest  with  the  men  who  belong  and  who 
believe  in  its  cause.  With  them  the  good  name  of 
Christ's  followers  should  be  a  sacred  interest. 

The  energy,  the  aggressiveness,  the  resourceful- 
ness which  we  are  accustomed  to  associate  with  the 
masculine  character  are  all  needed  by  the  church.  All 
too  often  the  church  lacks  all  of  these.  We  will  face  a 
new  day  in  religion  when  men  will  devote  all  the  talents 
God  has  given  them  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  kingdom. 

A  THESAURUS  OF  RELIGIOUS  INFORMATION 

YEAR-BOOKS  of  individual  denominations  are  now 
a  commonplace  in  the  Christian  world,  but  a  year- 
book of  the  federated  Protestantism  of  America 
is  a  new  thing.  Such  a  year-book  has  been  prepared 
by  H.  K.  Carroll,  LL.  D.,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
published  by  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ  in  America. 

In  this  book  it  will  be  possible  to  find  the  most 
accurate  statistics  available  with  reference  to  the  various 
religious  bodies.  All  societies,  colleges  and  other  organ- 
izations are  listed,  and  the  names  of  their  leaders  given. 
Various  interchurch  movements,  such  as  the  Sunday 
School  and  the  Christian  Endeavor  movement,  are  also 
tabulated.  All  of  this  information  is  purveyed  for  the 
small  sum  of  fifty  cents. 

The  religious  statistics  for  last  year  are  of  great  inter- 
est. The  thirty  religious  denominations  that  cooperate 
with  the  Federal  Council  had  a  net  gain  during  the  year 
of  about  a  quarter  of  a  million,  with  a  constituency  of 
seventeen  millions.  The  rate  of  gain  on  the  face  of 
those  figures  would  be  one  and  one-half  per  cent;  the 
gain  in  population  in  this  country  is  at  the  rate  of  three 
per  cent  per  year. 


This  small  gain  is  explained  by  the  statistician  by  an 
apparent  loss  among  the  Disciples  of  Christ  of  185,000 
due  to  better  methods  of  accounting.  It  is  noticeable, 
however,  that  a  number  of  the  denominations  suffered 
a  loss  in  the  number  of  churches,  among  these  the 
Methodists.  The  rural  problem  and  the  problem  of  the 
metropolitan  church  are  proving  very  serious  ones  for 
the  denominations  belonging  to  the  evangelical  group. 

If  one  may  generalize  on  the  face  of  the  returns, 
small  denominations  like  the  "Christian  Denomination" 
or  the  Friends  tend  to  show  a  decrease.  Notable  excep- 
tions to  this  are  found  in  the  good  gains  made  by  Uni- 
tarians and  Universalists,  who  have  been  showing  a 
decrease  in  recent  years. 

Though  the  statistician  finds  great  encouragement 
in  the  figures,  a  critical  examination  of  them  shows  the 
churches  less  active  than  they  must  be  to  reach  America 
in  this  generation. 

A  STUDY  OF  DOMESTIC  CONDITIONS 

OF  the  utmost  importance  to  the  church  is  the  study 
of  domestic  conditions  now  being  carried  on  in 
various  quarters,  but  especially  by  the  Social  Serv- 
ice Department  of  the  Chicago  Municipal  court.  It  is 
well  known  that  Chicago  has  unenviable  notoriety  in  the' 
matter  of  divorces.  The  prevalence  of  domestic  infelicity 
is  alarming.  The  problem  is  to  be  handled  through  an 
intelligent  understanding  of  the  causes,  rather  than  through 
making  penalties  for  domestic  failure  more  severe. 

It  is  shown  that  low  wages  and  harsh  domestic  con- 
ditions are  one  great  source  of  trouble  with  the  homes. 
Two  people  who  are  reasonably  comfortable  on  their 
separate  incomes  come  together  and  the  growing  needs 
of  a  family  soon  make  inadequate  the  earnings  of  one 
member  in  the  partnership.  In  the  conditions  of  struggle 
and  self-denial,  bitterness  grows  up  and  leads  to  the  ruin 
of  the  home.  Only  a  better  wage  scale  will  cure  this 
trouble. 

Irregular  marriages  also  turn  out  badly  in  the  main. 
People  who  run  away  on  lake  steamers  and  marry  as  a] 
summer's  day  lark  hardly  have  the  right  point  of  view 
for  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  home.  Hasty  mar- 
riage should  be  made  impossible  by  law.  The  community 
is  concerned  in  every  marriage.    It  is  not  a  private  matter. 

Religious  differences  are  shown  to  be  a  source  of 
trouble.  It  is  a  sound  instinct  that  leads  parents  to  oppose 
marriage  between  Jews  and  Gentiles  and  between  Catholics 
and  Protestants.  In  the  bringing  up  of  a  family,  the  par- 
ents look  to  the  church  as  the  source  for  the  teaching  of 
life's  nobler  things.  In  the  things  of  the  spirit,  husband 
and  wife  should  see  eye  to  eye. 

The  most  potent  cause  of  domestic  disturbance  is 
drink.  When  the  liquor  habit  is  finally  uprooted,  there 
will  be  a  far  larger  percentage  of  happy  homes. 

The  church  and  the  home  are  necessary  to  each  other.  ] 
What  affects  one  cannot  be  ignored  by  the  other. 

SUNDAY  VISITING 

STREET  cars  and  trains  of  cities  are  crowded  with 
people  who  are  going  somewhere  for  dinner  on  Sun- 
day. In  many  instances,  separated  branches  of  fam- 
ilies are  getting  together.  The  thing  has  in  it  some  elements 
of  the  better  life.  Certainly  this  is  a  vast  improvement 
on  the  cafes  and  amusement  parks,  not  to  mention  the 


March  8,  1917                                    THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  7 

saloons.    Yet  there  are  but  few  causes  which  keep  so  many  sponsibility  for  wrong-doing  has  been  blunted. 

people  away  from  worship  as  does  Sunday  visiting.  Our  age  needs  again  the  spiritual  frankness  which 

A  pastor  used  his  telephone  and  made  calls  one  week  will  call  sin  the  thing  it  is.     With  a  keener  sense  of  moral 

to  learn  scientifically  what  it  was  that  influenced  people  to  responsibility  we  would  find  it  easier  to  preach  faith  in 

remain  home  from  church.    He  found  this  visiting  habit  Christ  and  the  salvation  of  the  soul, 
of  his  people  the  greatest  obstacle  to  regularity  in  worship. 

The  Roman  Catholics  have  been  praised  for  the  regu-  LEAVING    MONEY    TO    THE    LOCAL    CHURCH 

larity  with  which  their  people  go  to  church.     They,  too,  ,        „  „m  ,        , 

.      3J,     0      .        .  v.            ui            i  .u           i            a  J  4      RECEN1    news  item  states  that  $2,000  has  been 

face  the  Sunday  visiting  problem  and  they  make  no  effort  A                   tQ  the  church  fa  Da             In       the  ^ 

to  create  conscience  against  the  practice      They  wisely  l\              ^  ^  Aat  ^^     The  church  at  Wauk 

provide  some  early  morning  services  for  the  people  who  T11.     .     ,   *     «      .         ,    ,      ,  .          „     ^*„«.„,  ~t  ^,«„^ce  v.« 

3     ,        ,&,          T,.                        ,.  Illinois,  has  also  been  helped  to  a  new  state  ot  progress  by 

have  other  interests  for  the  day.     In  this  manner  a  far  h           .^  debts      k]  fa  ^ 

larger  proportion  of  Catholics  are  induced  to  remain  for  We  haye  Qnly  tQ  create  a  conscience  among  our  ^ 

«A        •    •                  ii,i             ,                    ^  pie  with  reference  to  the  local  church  to  secure  thousands 

When  rt  is  proposed  to  hold  an  early  morning  Prot-  of  guch     .f      whkh  wU1  saye  many  a  congregation  from 

estant  service,  the  objections  are  numerous.    Yet  it  may  defeat      The  offida,  board  of  e         church  should  consider 

well  be  doubted  whether  the  Protestant  services  are  not  k  one  of  itg  duties  t0  present  the  cause  of  the  Iocal  church 

held  too  late  m  the  day.    Coming  at  the  middle  of  the  day,  tQ          le  who  are  making  wiUs 

they  make  impossible  many  other  good  things  that  may  In  the  cities  there  are  many  churches  which  must  have 
legitimately  be  done  on  the  Lord's  Day.  When  it  was  such  help  or  die  These  endowments  in  many  cases  need 
first  proposed  to  cease  holding  Sunday  school  at  the  noon  t0  provide  onh/  a  fraction  of  the  income  of  the  church  to 
hour  or  in  the  afternoon  and  hold  it  at  an  early  morning  guarantee  that  the  work  of  the  church  will  go  on.  In 
hour,  the  project  was  regarded  as  very  difficult.  Now  it  some  situations,  almost  the  entire  income  must  be  pro- 
is  the  simplest  thing  in  the  world  to  fall  into  the  practice  vided>  especially  in  neighborhoods  which  are  no  longer  of 
of  an  early  Sunday  school.  Perhaps  it  needs  to  be  earlier  the  family  type,  but  have  become  "boarding-house  neigh- 
still  and  the  church  service  correspondingly  earlier.  borhoods." 

Since  the  days  of  Alexander  Campbell's  Sermon  on  There  are  communities  where  the  congregation  has 

the  Law,  the  Disciples  have  not  been  rigid  Sabbatarians.  \ong  needed  a  new  building.     In  many  of  these  places  a 

Do  we  not  need,  however,  to  create  more  conscience  upon  wju  that  would  provide  even  a  third  of  the  entire  cost 

regular  worship?  would  insure  a  good  building.     A  better  monument  could 

hardly  be  conceived  than  a  noble  structure  erected  to  the 

THE  EVANGELICAL  SPIRIT  IN  THE  CHURCH  service  of  God  and  continually  blessing  the  community. 

We  now  have  inheritance  taxes.     These  rest  upon  the 

EVANGELICAL  churches  may  change  in  their  meth-  theory  that  part  of  what  every  man  accumulates  belongs 

ods,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  will  never  lose  to   the   community.     There    are    social   theorists    radical 

the  great  kernel  of  the  movement  which  has  brought  enough  to  insist  that  it  should  be  impossible  for  a  man  to 

such  distinct  blessing  to  the  world.  will  nis  pr0perty  to  any  person  or  to  any  institution  except 

It  was  Paul  in  the  Roman  letter  who  formulated  first  the  state     However  that  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  a  man 

the    great    verities    of    the    evangelical    viewpoint.     The  who  has  been  prospered  in  his  life  owes  something  to  the 

evangelical  ever  insists  that  the  gospels  are  not  complete  religious  life  of  the  community  in  which  he  has  lived.     In 

interpretation  of  Christ,  for  they  do  not  interpret  his  place  days  to  come  more  than  one  city  wjH  call  men  blessed  who 

in  human  history  and  in  religious  experience  as  Paul  has  haye  guaranteed  the  future  of  a  congregation  working  in 

done_                                         ......  some  difficult  situation. 

Paul  set  forth  the  great  fact  of  sin,  sin  which  was  to 

be  found  among  the  Jews  who  had  the  law,  and  among  the  a   POET  OF  RELIGION 

Gentiles  who  had  no  law  except  the  inner  witness  of  their 

own  souls.     Paul  believed  that  this  universal  sin  brought  A      TWrO-COLUMN  article  in  a  recent  issue  of  the 

humanity  under  the  sentence  of  spiritual  death.     Faith  in  IJL       Christian  Endeavor  World,  setting  forth  the  merits 

Jesus  Christ  was  the  means  of  deliverance  to  the  man  who  and  achievements  of  the  Disciple  poet  of  our  Chi- 

would  otherwise  confess  defeat.     Thus  we  have  the  great  cago  circles,  Thomas  Curtis  Clark,  brings  to  our  attention 

words  of  the  evangelical  message,  sin,  faith  and  salvation,  again  the  rapidly  growing  popularity  of  this  young  writer 

Augustine  took  up  this  message  and  related  it  sig-  of  verse.  He  was  discovered  some  time  ago  by  the  reli- 
nificantly  to  a  wonderful  religious  experience  as  set  forth  gious  press,  and  journals  of  nearly  all  the  denominations, 
in  his  "confessions."  Here  are  introduced  some  new  ele-  as  well  as  several  undenominational  papers,  are  now  using 
ments  which  are  probably  to  be  rejected  by  the  modern  his  verses  and  giving  them  the  best  of  treatment.  In  ad- 
man, but  the  great  evangelical  tradition  is  set  forth  in  such  dition,  several  secular  magazines  have  realized  the  merits 
power  as  to  live  to  the  dawn  of  the  reformation  period.  of  Mr.  Clark's  work  and  they  too  find  an  honored  place 

And  then  John  Calvin  organized  the  evangelical  view  for  the  products  of  his  pen. 

of  religion  into  a  great  doctrinal  system.     This  Calvinism  There  is  an  underlying  motive  in  the  beautiful  verses 

remains  to  this  day  a  powerful  element  in  the  thinking  of  of  this  brilliant  young  writer.     He  sets  forth  the  imminence 

many  religious  people  who  may  no  longer  admit  that  they  of  God  and  the  need  of  simpler  living  on  the  part  of  men 

are  Calvinists.  in  order  that  He  may  be  found.     Upon  these  two  strings 

We  live  in   an   age   which   does   not   feel  the  great  our  artist  plays  his  music  of  the  higher  life.     A  proper 

evangelical  verities  as  some  ages  have  done.     Sin  has  be-  text   for  his  work  might  be  that  profound   one  of   the 

come  for  some  only  retarded  development,  or  a  bad  state  scriptures,  "Be  still  and  know  that  I  am  God."     God  is 

of  mind  needing  suggestive  treatment,  or  the  frailty  of  life  sung  as  at  work  in  everyday  life.     Henry  van  Dyke  has 

for  which  we  can  hardly  be  blamed.     The  sense  of  re-  written  of  our  poet :  "I  find  both  music  and  thought  in  his 


8 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


March  8,  191! 


verse"  Dr.  Amos  R.  Wells,  in  the  article  above  men- 
tioned, speaks  not  only  of  the  poet's  "strong  and  beautiful 
style,"  but  also  of  the  "spiritual  serenity  and  uplift"  of  his 
poems. 

Mr.  Clark  has  not  gone  out  after  the  poetic  fads  of 
our  day.  Although  he  wrote  what  is  now  jubilantly  called 
"free  verse"  a  dozen  years  ago,  long  before  the  modern 
craze,  he  usually  follows  the  well-established  models  of 
poetic  style,  believing  that  this  style  may  best  be  trusted  to 
convey  adequately  the  music  of  the  soul.  He  holds  that 
a  poet  may  be  modern  without  wearing  the  togs  of  the 
freak  writer  who  haunts  cafeterias  and  department  stores 
and  elevated  railroads  seeking  "modern  themes."  While 
he  reads  with  pleasure  much  of  the  irregular,  "up-to-the- 
minute  verse."  so-called  of  Edgar  Lee  Masters  and  Amy 
Lowell,  he  still  has  place  in  his  library  for  Tennyson  and 
Keats — and  for  the  Psalms,  the  greatest  of  the  world's 
collections  of  poetry. 

The  Chicago  Anthology  is  a  newly-published  volume 
of  verse  by  Chicago  poets  of  two  generations.  In  this 
collection  we  find  Mr.  Clark's  poems  "Wealth"  and  "Way- 
side Flowers."  The  Cloister  Press  of  Chicago  will  soon 
issue    two    booklets    of    his    verse.     These    are    entitled 


"Friendly  Town"  and  "Poems  for  the  Quiet  Hour."  Withi 
the  introduction  that  has  already  been  given  the  work  ofi 
Mr.  Clark,  these  little  volumes  are  sure  to  find  a  ready  | 
welcome  with  the  public. 

We  had  thought  that  the  hurry  of  modern  life  in  the 
city  had  quenched  the  spirit  of  song.  We  find  encourage- 
ment through  our  Chicago  poet  to  believe  that  men  may 
live  in  great  cities  and  yet  be  aware  of  the  spiritual  sig- 
nificance of  their  environment. 

Mr.  Clark's  chief  quarrel  with  many  of  the  modern 
poets  may  well  be  expressed  in  the  following  lines  of  a 
very  true  poet  of  the  east : 

They  have  sung  of  the  heroes  of  olden  days, 

With  the  blood  of  war  besmeared ; 
Of  the  roll  of  fame,  and  the  wreaths  of  bays 

For  the  men  who  fought,  nor  feared. 

They  have  sung  of  the  bliss  of  the  human  soul, 

When  a  man  and  a  maiden  wed ; 
Of  the  hearts  that  mourn  with  an  endless  dole, 

When  the  sad  farewells  are  said. 

They  have  sung  of  the  deeds,  of  the  loves  of  earth, 

Of  the  sky  and  the  flow'ring  sod; 
But  they  died  'ere  their  poet's  soul  had  birth, 

For  they  never  sang  of  God ! 


Textual  Criticism  of  Biblical  Books 


Ninth  Article  of  the  Series  on  the  Bible 


By  HERBERT  L.  WILLETT 


THE  Hebrew  of  the  Old  Testament  books  was  a 
speech  closely  related  to  the  other  Semitic  languages, 
like  the  Babylonian,  Phoenician  and  Arabic.  It  was 
written  in  an  alphabet  much  more  archaic  than  the  square 
so-called  Hebrew  letters  of  our  common  Hebrew  texts, 
which  are  in  reality  Aramaic,  the  sort  which  superseded 
the  classic  form  some  centuries  B.  C.  Examples  of  the 
older  writing,  such  as  that  in  which  most  parts  of  the  Old 
Testament  were  written,  are  to  be  found  in  the  Moabite 
inscription  of  King  Mesha  of  the  year  about  800  B.  C, 
in  the  Siloam  inscription  of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  and 
in  Phoenician  inscriptions. 

Xo  portion  of  the  Old  Testament  has  survived  in 
original  documents.  The  earliest  specimens  of  Biblical 
Hebrew  are  found  in  certain  fragments  whose  date  is  not 
earlier  than  the  tenth  century  A.  D.  From  later  times 
great  numbers  of  such  manuscripts  of  the  Old  Testament 
text  are  extant.  They  owe  their  preservation  to  the  care 
with  which  they  were  handled  in  the  synagogues  of  the 
Jewish  people.  But  examination  of  their  character  shows 
that  they  all  go  back  to  a  single  edition  of  the  text,  pre- 
pared by  Jewish  scholars  in  the  second  Christian  century, 
at  which  time  the  variant  readings  were  eliminated  and 
imperfect  manuscripts  suppressed,  after  the  manner  fol- 
lowed by  the  editors  of  the  Koran  in  later  days. 

The  labor  of  unifying  and  preserving  the  Hebrew 
text  was  begun  about  250  A.  D.  by  Rabbi  Aquiba  and  his 
disciples,  and  continued  for  many  centuries  in  the  various 
rabbinical  schools.  Elaborate  rules  were  devised  for  the 
careful  transmission  of  the  text,  and  the  exactitude  with 
which  this  was  accomplished  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
the  errors  of  that  established  codex  have  been  perpetuated 
with  the  same  zeal  as  its  proper  readings.  This  was  done 
in  the  belief  that  the  inexplicable  forms,  like  abnormally 


small  or  large  letters  found  in  the  text,  were  in  some 
mystical  manner  significant  of  the  divine  will,  and  not  to? 
be  disturbed. 

THE  MASSORAH 

These  scholars  of  the  Jewish  schools  have  received 
the  names  of  Massoretes  from  the  fact  that  the  product 
of  their  labors  was  called  the  Massorah  or  tradition,  the 
thing  that  was  handed  on.  One  of  the  devices  used  to 
perpetuate  the  interpretation  as  well  as  the  form  of  the 
text  upon  which  they  came  to  agree  was  the  invention 
of  the  vowel  points  for  the  Hebrew  text.  As  written  at' 
first,  and,  in  fact,  more  commonly  through  all  the  history 
of  the  language,  Hebrew  had  only  consonants.  The  vowels 
were  supplied  by  the  reader.  But,  as  in  our  own  language, 
this  would  naturally  lead  to  great  ambiguity.  In  English, 
for  example,  the  consonants  FR,  unaccompanied  by  vowels, 
might  be  pronounced  far,  fur,  fear,  free,  afore,  afire,  and 
in  several  other  ways,  to  the  despair  of  the  reader,  unless 
the  context  made  the  meaning  plain. 

In  most  instances,  fortunately,  such  is  the  case.  But 
in  a  sufficient  number,  doubt  is  sure  to  remain.  A  Hebrew 
example  is  afforded  by  the  fact  that  a  word  written  with 
the  consonants  corresponding  to  WYSB  might  represent 
correct  forms  of  at  least  three  different  verbs,  and  might 
be  translated  variously,  "and  he  dwelt,"  "and  he  returned," 
"and  he  brought  back,"  "and  he  took  captive."  To  obviate 
such  danger  of  confusion,  the  Massoretic  scribes  devised 
a  system  of  points  and  other  marks,  to  be  used  above, 
below  and  within  the  various  consonant  letters.  This  was,, 
no  doubt,  of  great  advantage.  But  at  best  it  only  served 
to  make  permanent  the  interpretation  which  had  met  the 
approval  of  the  Massoretes. 

As   matter  of   fact,   very   serious  changes   had   been 
wrought  in  the  Hebrew  text  between  the  days  in  which 


Vlarch  8,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


:he  various  portions  of  the  Old  Testament  took  form  and 
:he  time  of  the  unification  of  its  text  in  the  second  century, 
\.  D.  This  is  proved  by  the  variations  from  that  text 
shown  in  the  LXX,  in  the  Targums  and  in  the  New  Testa- 
nent.  But  perhaps  the  most  convincing  proof  of  errors 
n  transcription  is  found  in  the  differences  between  two 
;ets  of  parallel  narratives  in  the  Old  Testament  itself,  as 
n  the  comparison  of  Kings  with  Chronicles,  of  2  Sam.  22 
vith  Psalm  18,  and  many  other  instances.  It  is  well-nigh 
mpossible  to  copy  a  manuscript  correctly.  Errors  of  all 
sorts  are  likely  to  creep  in.  Such  errors  are  due  to  failure 
:o  understand  the  passage  copied,  or  to  a  mistake  of  the 
;ye  in  reading  one  word  or  letter  for  another,  or  to  a 
nisunderstanding  of  words  when  several  copyists  follow 
:he  voice  of  a  reader,  or  failure  of  memory  to  carry 
Droperly  several  words  in  a  series.  These  and  other  types 
)f  scribal  mistake  are  abundantly  illustrated  by  the  ordi- 
lary  Old  Testament  text. 

THE   WORK   OF   CRITICISM 

It  is,  therefore,  the  task  of  one  who  undertakes  the 
study  of  the  text  of  the  Old  Testament  to  recognize  the 
:act  that  the  original  writers  used  a  form  of  Hebrew  letters 
lifferent  f ronf  those  now  in  use,  that  they  did  not  employ 
/owel  points,  that  their  words  were,  in  many  instances, 
lot  separated  one  from  another,  and  that  the  divisions  of 
heir  material  were  not  marked  off  in  any  way.  From 
ill  this,  it  follows  that  the  sort  of  criticism  which  yields 
he  most  satisfactory  results  is  that  which  secures  from 
he  materials  now  at  hand  the  meanings  most  in  harmony 
vith  the  current  of  Biblical  teaching  throughout  the  He- 
>rew  Scriptures.  This  would  seem  simple  and  obvious. 
3ut  it  does  not  take  account  of  Jewish  and  even  early 
Christian  tradition,  which  at  times  obtrudes  itself  in  the 
>ath  of  the  plain  meanings  of  the  writings. 

With  the  weight  of  this  ancient  tradition  clearly  felt, 
t  is  not  strange  that  most  of  the  translations  should  have 
>een  content  to  go  back  to  the  Massoretic  text.  This  has 
>een  true  from  the  days  of  Jerome  and  the  Vulgate, 
rhrough  all  the  centuries  since  that  time  the  immense  vol- 
ime  of  material  slowly  collected  from  the  many  versions 
las  been  given  small  attention  until  our  own  day.  Even 
ret  the  spell  of  the  Jewish  tradition  is  strong.  In  most 
:ases  in  which  students  attempt  to  study  the  Hebrew  text 
)f  the  Old  Testament  they  content  themselves  with  such 
:ditions  of  the  Massoretic  reading  as  those  of  Baer  and 
Delitzsch,  or  Ginsburg.  As  might  be  expected,  the  Re- 
vised Version,  which  took  form  before  the  searching  crit- 
cal  work  of  the  last  twenty  years  came  to  light,  relies 
ilmost  as  much  as  the  King  James  version  upon  the  Mas- 
.oretic  text.  The  special  labors  of  an  army  of  independent 
icholars  in  the  field  of  Old  Testament  textual  criticism  is 
low  available.  But  as  yet  the  work  of  each  covers  only 
l  small  portion  of  the  material.  Beginnings,  however,  have 
)een  made  in  the  direction  of  a  thoroughly  revised  text, 
^erhaps  at  the  present  moment,  the  student  who  wishes  a 
:omplete  Hebrew  text  of  the  Old  Testament  cannot  do 
>etter  than  to  use  Kittel's,  which  follows  the  Massoretic 
■eadings  in  the  text,  but  presents  in  convenient  notes  a 
arge  amount  of  suggestive  material  from  the  field  of 
vider-going  research  into  the  versions,  and  the  newly 
)pened  world  of  comparative  philology  and  history. 

The  work  of  finding  the  most  nearly  perfect  text  of 
he  Bible  or  of  any  other  book  is  called  textual  criticism. 
\  more  common  name  for  it  is  the  Lower  Criticism.  This 
erm  is  not  employed  to  signify  a  lower  grade  of  importance 
ittaching  to  this  process  than  to  some  other,  but  to  indicate 


the  primary  fundamental  character  of  these  inquiries  as 
contrasted  with  those  of  the  historical  and  literary  investi- 
gations which  follow.  These  latter  have  to  do  with  author- 
ship, integrity,  historicity  and  chronology.  They  are  com- 
prehended under  the  term  Higher  Criticism. 

NECESSITY   OF   CRITICISM 

Criticism  means  separation.  It  is  the  attempt  to  dis- 
criminate between  the  genuine  and  the  spurious,  the  orig- 
inal and  the  superficial.  All  students  of  the  Bible  recog- 
nize the  invaluable  nature  of  the  labors  of  such  textual 
critics  as  have  been  named  above,  together  with  a  con- 
siderable company  beside.  Upon  the  foundations  they 
have  laid  and  are  laying,  the  structure  of  historical  studies, 
Hebrew  and  Christian  origins,  and  the  theological  disci- 
plines is  now  taking  form.  There  was  a  time  when  all 
types  of  biblical  criticism  were  viewed  with  disquietude 
by  the  uninformed.  Now  the  vital  necessity  of  such  re- 
searches as  have  been  made  both  by  the  lower  and  the 
higher  critics,  and  the  value  of  their  results  both  to  scholar- 
ship and  to  faith,  are  the  commonplaces  of  intelligent  Bible 
study. 

If  the  work  of  the  textual  critic  has  been  of  great 
value  in  the  field  of  Old  Testament  study,  even  more 
romantic  and  not  less  significant  has  it  been  in  the  case 
of  the  Christian  documents.  And  as  these  are  the  literary 
materials  upon  which  rests  the  religious  assurance  of  the 
most  progressive  nations  in  the  world,  their  importance 
as  sources  and  the  necessity  of  their  complete  investiga- 
tion are  at  once  apparent. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  older  Scriptures,  there  are  no 
autograph  copies  of  the  New  Testament  extant.  The  most 
ancient  copies  we  possess  go  back  no  further  than  the 
fourth  century.  It  is  probable  that  the  books  were  mostly 
written  and  copied  upon  papyrus,  a  perishable  material 
at  best.  It  was  not  until  Christianity  became  a  recognized 
and  powerful  influence  in  the  Roman  empire  in  the  fourth 
century  that  the  multiplication  and  preservation  of  its 
books  became  a  matter  of  widespread  concern,  and  papyrus 
was  superseded  by  vellum  or  parchment  as  the  material 
on  which  its  documents  were  reproduced. 

THE  GREAT   MANUSCRIPTS 

Of  these  manuscripts  there  wrere  two  sorts,  an  earlier 
and  a  later.  From  the  fourth  to  the  tenth  century  they 
were  written  in  Greek  capital  letters,  and  were  for  that 
reason  called  uncials.  From  the  tenth  century  a  smaller 
and  more  running  script  was  used.  This  is  called  minus- 
cule or  cursive.  Of  the  uncials  about  one  hundred  and 
sixty  are  known,  containing  the  entire  New  Testament,  or 
parts  of  it.  Of  the  cursives  there  are  upwards  of  three 
thousand. 

There  are  five  of  the  great  uncials  that  are  most 
famous.  Mention  was  made  in  the  last  study  of  the  dis- 
covery by  Tischendorf  of  a  manuscript  of  the  Greek  Bible, 
in  the  library  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Catherine  at  the 
traditional  Mt.  Sinai,  in  1844.  This  was  secured  by  him 
in  1859,  and  is  now  in  the  Imperial  Library  at  Petrograd. 
It  is  known  as  Codex  Sinaiticus,  or  Aleph,  the  first  letter 
of  the  Hebrew  alphabet.  It  dates  from  the  fourth  century. 
Then  there  is  in  the  British  Museum  a  manuscript  of  most 
of  the  Greek  Bible,  given  to  Charles  I  in  1627  by  the 
Patriarch  of  Constantinople.  It  is  known  as  Codex  Alex- 
andrinus,  or  A.  In  the  Vatican  Library-  at  Rome  there 
is  probably  the  oldest  and  most  valuable  manuscript  of 
the  Greek  New  Testament.  It  is  of  the  fourth  century, 
and  is  called  Codex  Vaticanus.  or  B.    In  the  Bibliotheque 


THE   RECEIVED   TEXT 


10                                                        THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  March  8,  19lj 

Xationale  at  Paris  there  is  a  manuscript  of  the  Greek  and  be  of  less  value  than  two  whose  ancestry  is  older  an< 

Bible  dating  from  the  fifth  century.     In  the  twelfth  cen-  more  satisfactory;  a  shorter  reading  is  preferable  to  ; 

tun-  a  Syrian  Christian  named  Ephraem  washed  or  scraped  longer  one,  because  a  text  is  more  likely  to  be  changed  bj 

the  vellum  in  order  to  write  some  of  his  own  compositions  additions  than  by  omissions;  more  difficult  and  obscun 

apon  it.     It  is,  therefore,  a  palimpsest,  nearly  illegible  in  reading  is  to  be  preferred  to  one  simple  and  easier,  becaust 

portions.     It  is  called  Codex  Ephraemi,  or  C.     In  the  a  copyist  has  a  tendency  to  explain  a  seemingly  difficul 

University  Library  at  Cambridge  there  is  a  Greek  and  passage ;  and,  a  reading  which  indicates  a  controversia 

Latin  codex  of  the  Gospels  and  Acts,  which  was  presented  bias  is  less  likely  to  be  genuine  than  one  to  which  no  sucl 

by  Theodore  Beza,  who  obtained  it  from  the  monastery  suspicion  adheres. 

of  St.  Irenaeus  at  Lyons.     It  is  believed  to  come  from  The  application  of  these  and  numerous  other  criteri; 

the  sixth  century,  or  perhaps  even  the  fifth.    It  is  named  has  given  us  our  comparatively  modern  and  authenticate! 

Codex  Bezae,  or  D.  text  of  the  New  Testament,  although  the  Westcott  am 

It  is  the  task  of  the  textual  critic  of  the  New  Testa-  Hort  material  was  not  available  for  the  English  Revision 

ment,  in  the  effort  to  approach  as  near  as  possible  to  But  even  so,  in  many  places  the  Revised  Versions  sho\ 

the  authentic  text  of  the  Christian  sources,  to  compare  the  value  of  careful  critical  work,  as  compared  with  th 

these  and  the  scores  and  even  hundreds  of  other  manu-  Authorized  Version.     Among  the  changes  in  the  readin 

scripts  of  the  Greek  New  Testament,  or  of  parts  of  it;  which  are  most  noticeable,  are  the  following:     The  bes 

to   secure   in   addition   all   the   information   furnished   by  texts  omit  the  last  verses  of  the  Gospel  of  Mark,  fror 

the  many  ancient  versions,  some  of  which  were  mentioned  9  to  20  of  Chapt.  16 ;  the  account  of  the  woman  taken  i: 

in  the  last  study;  and  to  compare  with  these  the  many  sin,  in  John  7:53-8:11  is  not  found  in  the  oldest  MSS 

quotations    found   in  -  the   early   Christian   fathers,   which  and  is  probably  spurious,  though  the  incident  itself  ma 

show  what  readings  they  found  in  the  texts  they  used.  be  true ;  in  Acts  8 :37  there  is  the  record  of  a  portion  c 

the  conversation  between  Philip  and  the  Ethiopian  eunuc 
in  the  words,  "And  Philip  said,  If  thou  believest  with  a 

The  Greek  text  of  the  New  Testament  which  was  thine  heart,  thou  mayest.     And  he  answered  and  said, 

best  known  to  scholars  until  recent  times,  is  called  the  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,"  which  appear 

Textus  Receptus,  or  Received  Text.    It  is  practically  the  to  be  an  addition  to  the  original,  and  is  omitted  in  the  late 

same  as  that  published  by  Stephens  in  1550  and  by  the  texts;  and  in  1  John  5  the  section  which  reads,  "For  ther 

Elzevirs  in   1624.     These  in  turn  were  based  upon  the  are  three  that  bear  witness  in  heaven,  the  Father,  th 

two  earliest  printed  texts  of  the  New  Testament,  that  Word  and  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  these  three  are  one,"  an 

of  Erasmus,  published  in  1516,  and  that  of  the  Compluten-  which  is  verse  7  in  the  Authorized  Version,  is  no  part  c 

sion  Polyglot,  printed  in  1514,  and  issued  in  1522.    They  the  original  text,  as  biblical  students  now  agree,  and  i 

were   representative   of  the  kind  of   Greek  manuscripts  omitted  in  the  revised  readings,  the  last  portion  of  vers 

accessible  in  the  middle  ages.     Upon  the  Received  Text  6  being  counted  as  verse  7. 

the  Authorized  or  King  James  Version  of  the  New  Testa-  One  who  is  interested  in  the  new  readings  which  hav 

ment  was  based.    A  very  large  proportion  of  the  material  resulted  from  the  work  of  textual  criticism  has  only  t 

with  which  the  textual  critic  of  the  New  Testament  is  compare  the  Revised  Versions  with  the  Authorized,  an 

concerned  has  become  available  during  the  past  two  cen-  more  particularly,  to  observe  the  marginal  readings  in  th 

turies.     Much  of  this  evidence  goes  far  back  of  anything  former,  which  often  suggest  changes  which  the  reviset 

Erasmus  or  his  contemporaries  had  at  hand.    For  example,  were  too  timid  to  include  in  the  text.    These  difference 

the  Vatican  Codex,  the  oldest  and  best  of  the  texts,  has  will  be  found  to  run  into  the  hundreds,  and  many  c 

become  fully  known  only  within  the  last  half  century,  them  are  of  profound  significance  in  their  bearing  upo 

and  Tischendorf's  great  discovery  was  not  published  until  the  meaning  of  the  Bible.     In  this  manner  by  the  sIoa 

1862.  but  steady  processes  of  trained  and  expert  examinatio 

The  list  of  men  who  have  worked  at  the  task  of  of  every  line  of  the  Scriptures,  both  of  the  Old  and  th 

compiling  the  facts  and  applying  them  to  the  reconstruc-  New  Testaments,  the  world  of  biblical  study  is  brougl 

tion  of  the  text  of  the  New  Testament  books  is  long,  nearer  to  the  original  documents  as  they  left  the  hands  c 

Among  the  notable  names  are  Bengel  (1734),  Wetstein  their  writers.     These  writings  were  not  supernaturall 

(1752),    Semler    (1767),    Griesbach    (1774),    Lachman  produced  in  the  beginning,  and  they  have  not  been  prc 

(1831),  Tischendorf  (1869),  and  Tregelles  (1870).    But  served  to  us  in  any  miraculous  manner.     They  bear  th 

the  most  eminent  contributors  to  a  satisfactory  text  have  marks  of  human  workmanship,  both  in  their  productio 

been  the  two  English  scholars,  Bishop  Westcott  and  F.  and   transmission.     But   with   all   the   limitations   unde 

J.  A.  Hort.     Their  joint  labors  upon  the  Greek  text  be-  which  they  have  come  into  our  keeping,  they  vindicate  thei 

gan  as  far  back  as  1853,  but  their  finished  product,  ac-  right  to  a  unique  and  transcendent  place  in  the  regard  c 

companied  by  an  explanatory   introduction,  came   from  mankind,  and  they  abundantly  justify  the  long  centurie 

the   press   in   1881,   five  days  before  the   publication   of  of  labor  bestowed  upon  them. 

the  English  Revised  Version.  It  is  probable  that  in  spite  of  all  that  critical  researc 

may  be  able  to  accomplish  in  the  future,  some  portions  c 

RULES  OF  TEXTUAL  CRITICISM  jt     J               .    .      A        .„  *\                                    ,                  r-r.    ,     ., 

the  sacred  text  will  always  remain  obscure.     But  thes 

In  the  long  years  during  which  the  science  of  textual  imperfections  are  negligible  in  comparison  with  the  wealt 

criticism  has   developed,   many  recognized   rules   for  the  of  inspired  and  inspiring  material  whose  meaning  is  quit 

prosecution  of  the  task  have  taken  form.    These  are  now  clear,  and  whose  vindication  has  been  achieved  by  th 

familiar  to  all  scholars.     Among  them  are  the  necessity  processes  of  criticism.     To  the  men  who  have  labore 

of  gathering  all   the   facts,  historical,   geographical   and  in  these  industries  of  scholarship,  the  church  owes  a  del 

linguistic,  regarding  a  manuscript  before  its  evidence  is  which  no  mere  mention  of  names  can  ever  discharge,  a 

estimated;  the   danger  of   relying  upon   numbers,   since  obligation  which  only  the  accumulated  gratitude  of  th 

twenty  manuscripts  might  be  copied  from  an  inferior  text,  centuries  to  come  can  reward. 


Religion  After  the  War 


IT  is  surely  significant  that  so  many 
thoughtful  men  are  pondering  the 
influence  of  the  war  on  religious 
faith,  even  if  their  prognostications 
differ  widely.  Shaken  out  of  apathy, 
and  thrown  back  upon  things  basic, 
they  have  been  forced  to  grapple  with 
the  great  issues  of  life  and  death  and 
destiny.  Men  who  have  been  indif- 
ferent have  become  either  pensive, 
pessimistic,  or  prophetic.  Along  dif- 
ferent paths,  and  from  different  points 
of  view,  they  have  come  to  realize 
the  fact  that  the  life  of  man  is  funda- 
mentally spiritual,  and  that  the  world 
has  a  spiritual  end. 

SPIRITUAL  VALUES  REVALUED 

If  nothing  else,  the  war  has  brought 
a  new  sense  of  the  reality  and  splendor 
of  spiritual  values,  which  means  the 
bankruptcy  of  the  old  materialism  and 
the  old  dogmatism.  At  first  it  seemed 
as  if  there  might  be  a  revival  of  the 
older  forms  of  faith  and  ritual,  but 
that  was  only  seeming — despite  the 
retreat  of  a  few  men  who  had  held 
advanced  positions.  Up  until  the 
battle  of  the  Marne,  the  churches  were 
filled  with  eager  multitudes,  but  the 
tide  receded  and  has  not  returned — 
albeit  many  have  discovered  a  new 
use  of  the  churches  as  places  of  silent 
meditation. 

Still  less  has  the  war  brought  a 
triumph  of  liberal  faith,  as  that  word 
is  usually  employed.  Indeed,  it  would 
be  a  blessing  if  it  should  sweep  the 
old  wrangle  between  orthodoxism- 
versus-liberalism  clean  away,  leaving 
us  free  to  look  at  the  truth  with  fresh 
eyes  and  a  sweeter  fellowship.  No 
sect,  no  cult,  no  school  of  religious 
thought  has  anything  to  boast.  All 
were  alike  taken  by  surprise,  and  all 
are  about  equally  baffled,  bewildered, 
and  confounded. 

Nor  has  the  expected  recrudescence 
of  superstition  arrived,  as  so  many 
feared.  No,  thank  God,  the  human 
mind  is  too  bright,  too  brave,  too  in- 
telligent to  follow  a  marsh  light  into 
the  bog.  Stirred  to  the  deepest  ques- 
tions about  life  and  God,  thought  and 
reasoned  direction,  light  and  healing 
of  heart  is  what  men  seek,  and  the 
faith  that  fails  here  is  cast  aside. 

Arnold  Bennett's  error 

It  is  hard  to  be  indifferent  any 
longer,  and  the  light  half-believers  of 
a  casual  creed  are  almost  as  few  as 
the  glib  deniers  of  the  faith  of  other 
men.  An  attitude  of  mere  detachment 
is  not  a  token  of  high  intelligence, 
much  less  of  that  tenderness  of  heart 
which  should  snark  us  in  so  dark  a 
day. 


By  Joseph  Fort  Newton 

Minister  at  City  Temple,  London 

For  this  reason  one  regrets  the 
essay  of  Arnold  Bennett  on  "Religion 
After  the  War,"  because  it  will  wound 
many  a  heart  at  a  time  when  there 
are  wounds  enough.  He  tells  us  that 
"the  war  has  finally  demonstrated  the 
fall  of  the  Christian  religion,"  and 
one  has  the  feeling  that  to  him  the 
great  tragedy  is  almost  worth  its  price, 
since  it  has  proved  so  pleasing  a  fact. 
By  Christianity  he  seems  to  mean  that 
form  of  it  which  he  knew  in  the  Five 
Towns  years  ago,  whereof  we  read  in 
his  stories.  His  special  aversion  is 
Methodism.  In  respect  to  that  army 
of  the  church  he  is  not  a  neutral;  he 
hates  it.  If  he  did  not  go  out  of  his 
way  to  say  so,  we  should  know  it  from 
his  portrayal  of  its  working — or  rather 
its  failure  to  work — in  the  Five 
Towns.  Truly  it  is  a  forbidding  pic- 
ture, drab,  gray,  unheroic,  leaving  out 
so  much  that  everyone  else  knows — 
and  therefore  untrue  and  unjust. 
Estranged  from  the  church  in  early 
manhood,  he  has  never  entered  a  place 
of  worship,  as  he  admits,  save  in  a 
spirit  of  sociological,  historical,  or 
artistic  curiosity,  or  on  the  occasion 
of  a  wedding  or  a  funeral. 

There  are  many  such,  but  how  little 
do  they  know  how  far  and  how  fast 
the  church  has  journeyed  betimes,  and 
so  their  dicta  are  of  little  worth. 

CHRISTIANITY   IS  DYING ! 

Is  Christianity  dying,  as  Arnold 
Bennett  says  it  is?  Of  course  it  is; 
that  is  its  genius  which  he  does  not 
understand :  to  die  like  its  Master  and 
rise  again  radiant  and  reborn — which 
is  what  Vinet  meant  when  he  said  that 
the  true  Church  of  Christ  is  not  an 
establishment  but  an  encampment;  an 
eternal  pilgrim  and  stranger  in  the 
world,  forever  dying  and  rising  again. 
Evermore  it  must  die  to  its  outworn 
forms  of  faith  and  rite  and  rise  to  a 
new  vision  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus ;  must  die  to  its  narrow  secta- 
rianism which  has  outlived  its  useful- 
ness and  rise  to  a  sense  of  the  higher 
unity  of  things  which  differ ;  must  die 
to  an  inadequate  individualism  and 
rise  as  "the  Beloved  Community," 
which  so  stirred  the  soul  of  a  great 
thinker  recently  fallen  asleep. 

DESPAIRING  OF  THE  CHURCH 

When  the  Church  ceases  to  die  it 
ceases  to  live,  having  lost  its  sublime, 
sacrificial  spirit  which  is  the  very  life 
of  Christ  in  its  heart.  By  as  much 
as  it  is  ruled  by  that  spirit,  by  so  much 
does  it  find  Him,  as  indeed  the  Gospel 
bids  it  find  Him,  in  the  service  of 
humanity,  often  unrecognized  by  those 
who  without  knowing  it  serve  Him, 


and  as  often  crucified  by  those  who 
know  not  what  they  do. 

Another  forward-looking  thinker  is 
Herbert  Wells,  whose  enthusiasm  over 
his  own  discovery  of  religion  is  en- 
chanting. Writing  of  "The  Revival 
of  Religion,"  which,  he  holds,  is  to 
follow  the  war,  he  tells  us  that  there 
are  four  stages  between  belief  and  ut- 
ter unbelief.  There  are  those  who 
believe  in  God,  those  who  doubt  Him 
like  Huxley,  the  agnostic,  those  who 
deny  Him  like  the  atheists  but  do  at 
least  keep  the  site  vacant,  and  lastly 
those  who  set  up  a  church  in  His 
place.  This  last  he  thinks  is  the  ulti- 
mate outrage  of  unbelief. 

And  so,  despairing  of  the  church 
he  looks  for  the  revival  of  religion  to 
come  outside  of  the  church,  if  not  in 
spite  of  the  church — albeit  history 
holds  out  little  hope  of  it.  Hitherto 
the  tides  of  refreshing  have  come  from 
within  the  church,  and  most  often 
when  the  life  of  faith  is  at  its  lowest 
ebb.  It  was  so  in  the  days  of  Wesley, 
to  name  no  other,  and  we  may  be  sure 
that  it  will  be  so  in  the  future — unless, 
indeed,  history  should  reverse  its  proc- 
esses. Full  of  faults  as  the  church  is, 
forgetful  of  her  august  mission,  she 
is  yet  the  hope  of  the  world  in  its 
darkest  day. 

RELIGION  ABIDES 

Whatever  betide,  religion  will  re- 
main, an  instinct,  an  impulse,  an  in- 
spiration so  deep-set  in  the  soul  of 
man  that  many  waters  cannot  quench 
it  nor  all  the  woes  of  life  extinguish 
it.  Times  of  tragedy  sweep  away  the 
conventions  of  religion,  revealing  the 
primitive  fires  of  faith  always  burn- 
ing, the  permanent  fountains  of  hope 
always  flowing.  If  all  temples  were 
shattered  and  all  sacred  books  de- 
stroyed, the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of 
man  would  build  other  shrines  and 
write  new  pages  of  prophecy.  Out  of 
the  depths  this  mighty  faith  will  rise, 
purified  as  if  by  fire,  clarified  by 
human  tears,  and  take  new  forms  in 
days  to  be. 

But  it  will  never  take  higher,  truer, 
or  more  lovely  shape  than  it  did  in 
the  Life  of  Jesus,  beyond  whom  we 
may  never  hope  to  go.  Even  now 
clear-seeing  men  perceive  that  the  root 
of  our  woes  lies  in  a  denial  of  His 
spirit,  His  truth,  and  His  laws  of  life. 
For  ages  we  have  called  Him  Lord, 
Lord,  but  have  not  obeyed  His  prin- 
ciples of  life  which  are  as  immutable 
as  the  laws  of  physics  and  mathe- 
matics. 

A  VOICE   FROM    GERMANY 

Hear  now  a  voice  from  German)1 — 


12 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  8,  1917 


Forster,    of    Munich — telling   us    the 
truth  so  long  forgotten : 

"Let  him  that  is  without  sin  cast  the 
first  stone.  The  traditions  of  all  na- 
tions are  stained  with  blood  and  guilt, 
and  the  world-war  is  the  culmination  of 
the  slowly  working  world-judgment  on 
the  terrible  course  of  European  history 
in  the  past.  For  us  here,  behind  the 
lines,  it  is  a  sacred  duty  to  do  all  we  can 
to  bring  about  an  atmosphere  in  which 
passions  can  be  soothed  and  the  voice 
of  reason  make  itself  heard.  What  mat- 
ters is  a  new  spirit;  in  each  nation  men 
must  make  themselves  felt  who  will  say 
openly  that  there  is  no  way  out  of  this 
hell  of  madness  and  obstinacy,  unless 
we  resolve  to  give  up  the  old  evil  spirit 
that  ruled  the  intercourse  of  nations, 
confess  openly  and  honestly  our  share 
in  its  sins,  and  from  the  bottom  of  our 
hearts  learn  to  love  and  think  out  a  new 
Europe." 

"A  LEAGUE  OF  MEN   WHO  THINK  lov- 
ingly" 

Such  voices  are  prophetic  amid  the 
wide-sown  hatreds  of  the  hour,  and 
they  will  increase  in  number  and  vol- 
ume— heralds  of  a  new  dawn.  If  the 
long  tragedy  ends  in  a  league  of  men 
who  think  lovingly,  there  will  be  a 
new  Europe  and  a  new  world  wherein 
justice  will  grow  and  be  glorified,  and 
liberty  will  be  the  sweet  food  of  hu- 
manity. When  men  think  lovingly 
they  will  think  clearly,  seeing  that 
within  the  kingdom  of  God  there  is  a 
tiny  kingdom  of  man,  where  Man,  and 
not  God,  is  supreme  for  rule  or  ruin — 
that  it  must  be  so,  else  man  were  a 
mere  puppet.  They  will  see  that  social 
injustice,  economic  brutality,  and  the 
nameless  horrors  which  war  writes  in 
large  and  lurid  letters  are  due  to  hu- 
man   improvidence,    from   which   the 


race  must  free  itself  by  the  law  of 
love  and  the  rule  of  righteousness. 
That  is  to  say,  by  the  inspiration  and 
practice  of  that  eternal  religion  which 
underlies  all  creeds  and  overarches  all 
temples.  Sixty  years  ago  Leigh  Hunt, 
in  his  Autobiography,  wrote  words 
that  might  have  been  written  this 
very  week: 

I  respect  all  churches  which  are  prac- 
tically good.  Yet  inasmuch  as  I  am  of 
opinion  that  "the  letter  killeth  and  the 
spirit  giveth  life,"  I  am  looking  to  see 
the  letter  itself  killed,  and  the  spirit  giv- 
ing life,  for  the  first  time,  to  a  religion 
which  need  revolt  nobody.  It  seems 
clear  to  me,  from  all  that  is  occurring 
in  Europe  at  this  moment,  from  the 
signs  in  the  papal  church,  in  our  own 
church,  in  the  universal  talk  and  minds 
of  men,  whether  for  it  or  against  it,  that 
the  knell  of  the  letter  of  Christianity  has 
been  struck,  and  that  it  is  time  for  us  to 
inaugurate  and  enthrone  the  spirit. 
Nothing  again  will  ever  be  universally 
taken  for  Christianity  but  the  religion 
of  Love  of  God  and  Love  of  Man. 

FORWARD  WITH  CHRIST 

Even  so.  Faith  depends  for  its  cred- 
ibility on  its  worthiness,  its  innate 
beauty,  its  appeal  to  the  angels  of  our 
better  nature.  No  unfatherliness.  No 
unbrotherliness.  No  monstrous  exac- 
tions of  assent  to  the  horrible.  No 
creed  of  any  kind  but  such  as  proves 
its  divineness  by  the  private  nobility 
and  public  justice  which  it  inspires. 
By  this  Divine  light  men  will  see  in 
how  many  ways  and  in  what  diverse 
quarters  the  spirit  of  God  has  been 
moving  among  them,  and  they  will 
hail  each  other  from  nation  to  nation 
as  sons  of  a  common  Father,  held 
by  one  duty  and  one  destiny.  Light 
will  shine  in  darkness,  as  surely  as 


the  same  sunshine  of  heaven  is  on 
the  mountain  tops  of  East  and  West, 
and  the  simple  faith  of  Jesus,  which 
shakes  the  poison  out  of  all  our  wild 
flowers,  will  bring  pity  and  laughter 
back  to  the  common  life  of  man. 

Such  are  the  truths,  and  such  only, 
which  will  stand  the  test  of  tragedy, 
fortify  man  for  his  fragile  life  on 
earth  and  build  an  arch  of  hope  over 
the  vast  gulf  of  the  grave.  Freed  from 
the  error  which  has  obscured  them, 
they  will  rekindle  the  Lamp  of  Poor 
Souls  in  old  ivied  churches  where  men 
and  women  and  little  children  worship 
with  white,  upturned  faces,  and 
whence  the  dead  are  borne  forth  to 
sleep  under  the  green  sward. 

WATCHMAN,   WHAT  OF  THE  NIGHT? 

Today  the  unseen  world  seems  very 
near,  its  gates  thronged  by  a  host  no 
man  can  number  of  the  bravest  and 
the  best  who  offered  their  lives  for 
the  things  that  make  life  dear.  Death, 
so  multitudinous  and  overwhelming, 
has  brought  immortality  to  light.  For 
many,  as  for  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  its  si- 
lence is  broken  by  the  soft  accents  of 
familiar  voices,  and  for  all  the  assur- 
ance is  doubly  sure  that  "life  is  ever 
lord  of  death,  and  Love  can  never 
lose  its  own." 

Watchman,  what  of  the  night?  It 
is  long,  dark  and  dreary,  and  no  one 
can  see  very  far  into  the  shadow,  but 
the  morning  cometh  when  the  new 
crucifixion  will  be  followed,  as  of  old, 
by  a  resurrection  of  Faith,  Hope  and 
that  Divine  Charity  which  is  the 
prophet  of  unknown  redemptions  and 
which  will  make  the  gates  of  heaven 
as  wide  and  free  as  the  Love  of  God. 


Faith  at  Forty 

By  Edgar  DeWitt  Jones 

Editorial  Note:  rA  short  time  ago  Dr.  Jones  passed  into  the  forties,  and  at  that  time  delivered  a 
sermon  in  celebration  of  the  event  before  his  congregation  at  First  Church,  Bloomington,  III.  The  Chris- 
tian Century  is  pleased  at  the  opportunity  afforded  to  give  to  a  larger  audience  some  of  the  interesting 
reflections  suggested  by  Dr.  Jones  on  this  occasion. 


THE  speaker  is  Stephen,  in  his  de- 
fense before  the  high  priest  and 
the  Jewish  council.  The  refer- 
ence is  to  Moses,  who  was  about  forty 
years  old  when  he  investigated  the 
condition  of  his  brothers  in  bondage 
and  struck  the  first  blow  for  their  de- 
liverance. This  historic  allusion  sug- 
gests my  theme,  "Faith  at  Forty,"  a 
message  for  the  middle-aged.  One 
reason  for  my  choice  of  this  theme  is 
that  middle  age  has  been  neglected  by 
poets,  artists,  novelists  and  preachers. 
The  poets  love  to  write  verses  about 
the  very  young  or  the  very  old.  Field, 
Riley  and  Dunbar  are  laureates  of 
child  life.    "Little  Boy  Blue,"  "Po'  LiT 


UHi  ti  nnif  mi  if  nil  uiif  in  ni  Am  m  iinmi  f  nim  1 1  j  ntn  in  m  m  ti  ni  nm  m  1 1  mi  i  iui  1 1  in  n  m  1 1  n  i  hi  i  iirtii  n  i  f  i  in  1 1  nn  u 

"Well-nigh  forty  years  old." — 
|    Acts  7:23.  I 

iiiiitMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiittiiittiiiiiiiiiiiintiiiiintiiimiiiiiiiiirniiNitiiiiiiiiitMiiniiiiiniiiHiiurtiuiiiiiiu 

Lamb"  and  "Little  Orphant  Annie" 
glorify  childhood.  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes  weaves  a  halo  of  romance 
about  the  sunset  years  in  his  inimitable 
"Last  Leaf."  But  who  are  the  poets 
who  glorify  middle  life? 

"IN  THE  GLOAMING" 

The  artists  vie  with  one  another  in 
painting  the  baby  in  the  crib  or  chil- 
dren playing  on  the  beach.  They  also 
glorify  old  age,  as  in  the  portrait  of 
the  old  grandmother  gone  to  sleep  over 


her  knitting,  and  entitle  it  "In  the 
Gloaming."  Who  are  the  artists  who 
crowd  their  canvas  with  sturdy  figures 
of  middle  age? 

The  novelists  usually  end  their 
books  with  the  chime  of  wedding  bells 
and  leave  to  the  imagination  the  home- 
building  years,  with  their  commingled 
round  of  toil  and  halo  of  romance. 
For  the  larger  part,  their  heroes  are 
in  the  splendor  of  youth,  or  of  the  time 
when  the  almond  tree  flourishes  and 
the  grasshopper  becomes  a  burden. 

In  poem,  picture  and  oration  there 
are  many  to  crown  vivacious  youth  or 
enfeebled  old  age.  Yet  how  few  there 
are  to  wreathe  a  garland  for  those  who 


March  8,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


13 


stand  midway  between  the  halcyon 
days  of  youth  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
sunset  years  of  life  on  the  other  1 

TEMPTATIONS  OF  MIDDLE  AGE 

There  is  a  second  reason  for  my 
treating  this  topic,  but  it  is  of  a  per- 
sonal nature,  and  may  become  appar- 
ent further  on. 

Every  period  of  life  has  its  peculiar 
temptations,  and  this  is  particularly 
true  of  middle  age.  For  one  thing,  it 
is  a  stressful  period.  It  is  the  time  of 
life  when  the  bread-winner  carries  the 
heaviest  burden.  It  is  the  season  when 
mind  and  body  undergo  a  severe 
strain.  The  temptations  that  assail 
middle  life  are  subtle  and,  therefore, 
the  more  perilous.  There  is  the  ex- 
perience of  disappointment,  offspring 
of  youth's  unfulfilled  hopes.  Across 
the  paths  of  a  multitude  falls  the 
shadow  of  unrealized  dreams  of  boy- 
hood and  girlhood  days.  Life  at  forty, 
to  many  persons,  is  drab  and  dreary. 
There  is  little  else  save  the  dull  daily 
round  of  monotonous  toil  and  never- 
ending  anxiety,  to  provide  bread  and 
butter,  shelter  and  clothing.  When  life 
has  been  especially  hard,  the  dis- 
appointments of  middle  age  threaten 
to  overwhelm  and  destroy.  One  is 
tempted  to  become  cynical  and  morose, 
to  flout  the  goodness  of  God  and  the 
integrity  of  man.  Ambition's  fires 
burn  low.  Sometimes  even  self-re- 
spect languishes. 

"putting  the  mind  to  bed" 

There  is  the  temptation,  likewise,  to 
sluggishness  of  intellect.  There  are 
people  who  never  change  an  opinion 
or  entertain  a  new  idea  after  the  age 
of  forty.  They  put  their  minds  to 
bed.  They  look  neither  backward — 
which  is  typical  of  old  age — nor  for- 
ward, which  is  characteristic  of  youth. 
They  become  mentally  stolid. 

Still  more  serious  is  the  temptation 
to  moral  compromise.  In  the  heyday 
of  youth,  when  hope  beats  high  and 
a  glamor  haloes  even  the  commonest 
bush,  lofty  ideals  lead  on.  The  buoy- 
ant youth,  environed  in  a  genuinely  re- 
ligious atmosphere,  feels  sure  that  he 
would  readily  lay  down  his  life  for  a 
principle  or  spend  his  days  in  an  alms- 
house rather  than  trifle  with  truth. 
But  when  mind  and  body  have  been 
overtaxed  and  blasted  hopes  and  bit- 
ter disappointments  have  left  their 
scars,  temptation  to  increase  a  meager 
income  by  questionable  methods  be- 
comes subtle  in  the  extreme.  Why 
should  a  man  suffer  for  the  bare  ne- 
cessities of  life  when,  by  winking  at 
sin,  he  can  put  silks  on  his  wife  and 
dress  his  daughter  stylishly?  Doesn't 
the  world  owe  every  man  a  living? 
Such  is  the  sophistry  that  sometimes 
betrays  middle  age  into  sin  and  moral 
defeat. 

The  stage,  in  at  least  one  notable 


success,  has  taken  account  of  the  perils 
peculiar  to  middle  life.  The  drama  is 
called  "Mid-Channel,"  and  portrays  a 
husband  and  wife  of  middle  age  who, 
under  the  attendant  strain  and  storm, 
wrecked  their  middle  life  on  a  sunken 
reef.  At  the  very  time  when  the  foun- 
dations of  their  home  should  have 
been  strong,  they  were  weak  and 
crumbly.  At  the  very  period  when 
their  faith  in  God  should  have  been 
deep-rooted  with  convictions,  there 
was  no  rootage  at  all.  Alas,  mid-chan- 
nel is  where  many  ships  have  gone 
down!  Half-way  between  the  port 
they  left,  with  flags  flying  and  bands 
of  music  playing,  and  the  harbor  that 
awaited  their  coming  with  greetings 
and  glad  welcome — half-way  over, 
how  many  ships  go  down  in  woeful 
wreck ! 

If  there  are  perils  peculiar  to  middle 
life,  there  are  likewise  rich  compen- 
sations, greatly  to  be  desired.  The 
neglect  of  middle  age  by  the  pulpit  is 
due  in  part  to  the  vigor  and  independ- 
ence of  normal  men  and  women  at 
that  time  of  life.  They  are  so  strong 
and  vigorous,  so  independent  and  able. 
They  ask  so  little  sympathy,  therefore 
they  receive  but  little.  Middle  life  is 
recognized  as  the  summit  of  mental 
and  physical  vigor.  Thus,  in  his  mem- 
orable oration,  the  eloquent  Ingersoll 
at  his  brother's  grave  avers :  "He  had 
not  passed  on  life's  highway  the  stone 
that  marks  the  highest  point;  he  died 
where  manhood's  morning  almost 
touches  noon  and  while  the  shadows 
still  were  falling  toward  the  west." 

INDIAN  SUMMER 

If  youth  is  like  the  joyous  spring- 
tide, middle  age  resembles  the  splendor 
of  the  early  autumn.  If  maidenhood 
and  young  manhood  are  like  the  apple 
blossoms  in  beauty  and  fragrance, 
middle  life  is  as  the  luscious  ripening 
fruit.  The  changes  that  come  at  mid- 
dle life,  unless  there  has  been  illness 
or  accident,  are  scarcely  perceptible. 
There  may  be  a  few  gray  hairs  in  his 
black  locks,  or  silver  threads  among 
her  golden  tresses.  There  may  be 
glasses  to  aid  the  sight  which  begins 
to  show  the  slightest  indication  of 
weariness  after  steady  use.  In  truth, 
middle  life  brings  some  changes  that 
are  for  the  better.  There  is  a  new  and 
juster  estimate  of  life,  an  appreciation 
of  rest  and  relaxation.  There  is  a 
more  charitable  view  of  men  and  wo- 
men. The  change  that  Time  works  at 
forty  is  slight.  There  are  so  few 
aches,  so  few  inconveniences,  so  little 
that  annoys  or  pains ;  and  a  rich  and 
mellow  something  that  invests  one  like 
the  soft,  dreamy  haze  of  an  Indian 
summer. 

Then  there  is  the  tasting  of  the  first 
fruits  of  experience,  that  greatest  of 
all  teachers.  By  the  time  one  reaches 
forty,  if  he  does  not  stand  on  moun- 


tain peaks  of  expectancy  as  often  as 
in  youth,  neither  does  he  so  often  de- 
scend into  the  valley  of  discourage- 
ment. If  there  have  been  disappoint- 
ments and  blasted  hopes,  there  are 
likewise  delightful  surprises  and  frui- 
tions as  sweet  to  the  soul  as  honey  to 
the  lips.  By  middle  life,  if  one  has 
been  either  a  student  of  books  or  an 
observer  of  people — or,  better  yet,  a 
thinker — there  is  an  accumulation  of 
riches  better  than  gold :  a  companion- 
ship with  the  great  writers,  the  friend- 
ship of  books,  the  well-stocked  mind, 
the  communings  with  the  great  spirits 
of  the  dead  who  never  die.  Then 
there  are  the  friendships  which  by  the 
time  of  middle  life  are  among  one's 
priceless  possessions.  The  friend  of 
childhood,  of  youth,  of  business  and 
college  life — they  are  all  part  and  par- 
cel of  middle  age  and  come  like  angels 
of  mercy  to  bless,  inspire,  and  encour- 
age. Not  till  middle  life  can  one  ap- 
preciate the  lovely  sentiment  of  James 
A.  Garfield's  notable  verse :  "And  now 
with    noiseless    step    sweet    memory 


comes. 


RELIGION    AT    FORTY 


Religion  scarcely  begins  to  find  and 
feed  men  and  women  until  middle  age. 
Prior  to  that  period  the  spiritual  na- 
ture can  seldom  express  itself  freely. 
One's  religion  is  at  first  largely  of  the 
intellect.    It  becomes  of  the  affections 
only  as  one  lives,   loves  and  serves. 
One  has  to  live  the  Christian  life  for 
forty  years  or  so  before  God  ceases  to 
be  some  faraway  abstraction  and  be- 
comes instead  a  nearby,  ever-present, 
Spirit  of  power  and  wisdom.    Experi- 
mental religion,  after  all,  is  the  only 
vital  religion.    Most  of  us  have  a  the- 
ology which  is  a  view  of  God,  before 
we  possess  a  religion  which  is  the  life 
of  God  in  our  souls.    By  the  time  one 
reaches  forty  he  has  come  to  know 
something  of  that  certain  and  myste- 
rious visitor  which  we  call  Death.    By 
middle  life  some  of  our  dearest  and 
best  have  been  taken  from  us  and  we 
have  known  the  aching  heart  and  ex- 
perienced the  deep  sorrow  that  always 
accompanies  the  shock  of  death  in  the 
circle  of  family  or  friends.    Such  sor- 
row chastens  one's  spirit  and  brings  a 
mellowness  of  soul.    By  the  time  one 
reaches  forty  he  ought  to  begin  to  live 
the  real  life  of  faith.    The  vicissitudes 
and    experiences    of    "tender    teens, 
teachable   twenties,    tireless   thirties," 
ought  to  measurably  balance  and  safe- 
guard the  "fiery  forties." 

A   PERSONAL   TESTIMONY 

Moreover,  at  forty  a  man  has  an- 
other chance,  so  to  speak  to  retrieve 
the  fortune  he  has  lost;  a  chance  to 
increase  whatever  success  he  may  have 
achieved.  Another  decade  is  before 
him ;  and  in  that  stretch  of  time,  prof- 
iting by  experience,  a  decade  of  his 


14 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  8,  1917 


mental  and  physical  vigor  at  its  best 
is  before  him.  Having  learned  by  ex- 
perience his  limitations  and  capacity, 
like  an  athlete  who  as  he  starts  out 
upon  the  last  lap  of  the  race  puts  into 
play  all  he  has  learned  of  endurance, 
husbanding  of  strength,  knowledge  of 
track — exemplifies  it  all  by  putting  the 
same  into  practice  and  comes  out  vic- 
torious amid  the  shouting  and  plaudits 
of  the  multitude. 

"Well  nigh  forty  years  old."  As 
was  intimated  in  the  beginning,  I  have 
a  second  reason  for  speaking  on  this 
theme,  a  personal  reason,  for  very 
soon — no  matter  how  soon — I  shall  be 
crossing  over  the  line  from  the  thirties 
into  the  forties.  I  can  scarcely  realize 
it  until  I  look  about  me  and  see  the 
young  men  and  women  who  were  little 
boys  and  girls  when  I  became  their 
pastor  more  than  a  decade  ago.  A 
personal  testimony  may  be  of  some 
value,  particularly  to  those  who  are 
still  in  the  period  of  youth. 

It  occurs  to  me  that  I  have  been 
greatly  blessed  all  my  life ;  verily,  "my 
cup  rurmeth  over."  I  am  deeply  in- 
debted to  early  religious  influences.  I 
can  never  recall  the  time  when  I  first 
realized  that  God  loved  me  and  that 
Jesus  Christ  died  for  me.  I  never 
doubted  that  fact  any  more  than  I 
doubted  the  sun,  the  moon  and  stars, 
or  the  seasons.  I  began  my  ministry 
with  a  naturally  optimistic  spirit,  and 
sixteen  years  of  service  has  not,  so 
my  friends  say,  dampened  my  youth- 
ful ardor.  I  do  not  believe  that  my 
faith  in  the  goodness  of  God  and  in 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  justice  was 
ever  stronger  than  at  this  very  mo- 


ment, and  it  is  such  despite  the  fact  of 
the  lurid  horizon  of  war-scourged  Eu- 
rope and  conditions  here  in  America 
that  are  anything  but  Christian.  I  do 
not  believe  I  ever  had  a  more  abiding 
faith  in  men  and  women  than  now, 
and  this  is  true  despite  the  fact  that 
deep  disappointment  and  sad  disillu- 
sion have  sometimes  been  my  experi- 
ence as  regards  persons  for  whom  I 
had  expected  extraordinary  leader- 
ships. 

THE  GLORY  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

The  glory  and  power  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  never  appealed  to  me  so 
tremendously  as  in  this  present  day 
when  the  work  of  the  preacher  was 
perhaps  never  more  difficult.  Triple 
rainbows  flame  above  the  sacred  desk 
for  me,  and  greater  throne  than  the 
preacher's  pulpit  I  know  not!  I  re- 
joice that  I  have  come  up  to  the  pres- 
ent hour  and  am  permitted  to  stand  on 
the  brink  of  a  new  period  of  service, 
hopeful,  enthusiastic  and  expectant.  I 
have  yet  much  to  learn.  I  have  not 
apprehended  the  depth  and  height  of 
Christian  truth,  but  I  want  much  to 
press  on !  The  noble  sentiment  of  the 
poet  Holmes,  in  his  "Chambered  Nau- 
tilus," voices  the  yearning  of  my  heart 
at  this  hour: 

"Build  thee  more  stately  mansions,  O 

my  soul, 
As  the  swift  seasons  roll! 
Leave  thy  low-vaulted  past! 
Let   each   new  temple,   nobler  than   the 

last, 
Shut  thee  from  heaven  with  a  dome  more 
vast, 
Till  thou  at  length  art  free; 
Leaving   thine   outgrown    shell   by   life's 
unresting  sea!" 


Missionary  Nuggets 

"The  curse  of  your  life  and  of  my 
life  is  its  littleness." 

"Unless  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  of  all, 
he  is  not  Lord  at  all." 

"Only  consistent  giving  keeps  the 
soul  from  shrinking." 

"The  dynamic  that  is  to  save  the 
world  is  a  heart  motor." 

"Love  never  asks  how  much  I  do, 
but  how  much  can  I  do?" 

"We  need  to  save  the  world  in  order 
to  save  America  spiritually." 

"Missionary  history  is  a  mystery, 
until  it  is  read  as  his  story." 

"The  best  remedy  for  a  sick  church- 
is  to  put  it  on  a  missionary  diet." 

"They  call  us  fanatics,  but  I  would 
rather  be  a  fanatic  than  a  corpse." 

"That  life  is  most  worth  living 
whose  work  is  most  worth  while." 

"Anywhere,  any  time,  anything,  for 
the  Son  of  God,  and  the  sons  of  men." 

"To  have  what  we  want  is  riches, 
but  to  be  able  to  do  without  is  power." 

"We  are  leading  a  crusade,  not  to 
take  a  sepulcher,  but  to  take  a  world." 

"Let  us  fail  in  trying  to  do  some- 
thing rather  than  sit  still  and  do  noth- 
ing. 

"We  cannot  serve  God  and  mam- 
mon, but  we  can  serve  God  with  mam- 
mon." 

"The  kingdom  of  God  is  waiting  for 
the  hard-earned  leisure  of  the  business 
man." 

"Other  people  are  talking  brother- 
hood, the  missionary  is  exemplify- 
ing it." 


Three  Poems  of  War  and  Peace 


August,  1914 


CHRISTIAN  and  heathen  ire 
Issues  in  martial  fire. 
Love  faints  before  the  blast. 
God,  may  if  be  the  last! 

When  will  earth's  warrings  cease? 
In  vain  the  dreams  of  peace! 
Hopes  now  are  changed  to  fears, 
Smiles  yield  to  sighs  and  tears. 

Can  hate  bring  freedom's  reign, 
Love  grow  by  wars  for  gain? 
Can  greed-born  shot  and  shell 
For  peace  and  friendship  tell? 

Shall  nations  thus  be  built 
On  death?    Must  blood  be  spilt 
That  life  may   brighter  be, 
That  men  may  be  set  free? 

Forbid  it!     Elind  are  they 
Who  mar  our  growing  day 
With  battled  smoke  and  flame — 
And  that  in  freedom's  name! 


By  Thomas  Curtis  Clark 

When  will  earth's  warrings  cease? 
Shattered  the  dreams  of  peace! 
Love's  hopes  are  changed  to  fears. 
Smiles  yield  to  groans  and  tears. 


Christmas,  1916 

WHAT  do  the  bells  of  Christmas  say, 
As     they     their     simple     musings 
play? 
"Warring  shall  cease; 
Soon   cometh  peace; 
This  world  is  God's  world ! 
Love  shall  increase." 

What  do  the  bells  of  Christmas  say, 
As  they  their  tender  carols  play? 

"Night  soon  is  past; 

Day  comes  at  last; 
This  world  is  Love's  world, 

Though  hate  hold  fast." 

What  do  the  bells  of  Christmas  say, 
As  they  their  mighty  measures  play? 

"Take  heart,  all  men: 

War  seeks  its  den; 
God  rules  and  Love  rules ! 

Dawn  breaks  again." 


19— A.  D. 

BLOW,  bugle,  blow! 
The  day  has  dawned  at  last 
Blow,  blow,  blow! 
The  fearful  night  is  past. 
The  prophets  realize  their  dreams: 
Lo,  in  the  east  the  glory  gleams! 
Blow,  bugle,  blow! 
The  day  has  dawned  at  last. 

Blow,  bugle,  blow! 

The  soul  of  man  is  free. 

The  rod  and  sword  of  king  and  lord 

Shall  no  more  honored  be; 

For  God  alone  shall  govern  men, 

And  love  shall  come  to  earth  again. 

Blow,  bugle,  blow! 

The  day  has  dawned  at  last. 

Blow,  bugle,  blow! 

The  rivers  run  with  blood, 

But  greed  and  strife  and  lust  for  life 

Are  passing  with  the  flood. 

The  beast  of  war  is  tame  and  cowed, 

The  world's    great    heart    with    grief    is 

bowed. 
Blow,  bugle,  blow ! 
The  day  has  dawned  at  last. 


The    Larger    Christian   World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


Death  of 

Dr.  Andrew  Murray 

One  of  the  best  known  devotional 
writers  of  the  past  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury was  Dr.  Andrew  Murray. 
Though  he  lived  in  a  corner  of  the 
world,  his  writings  have  become 
known  wherever  English  is  spoken. 
He  was  born  a  Scotchman  and  com- 
pleted his  university  education  at 
Aberdeen.  He  went  to  Utrecht  for 
his  divinity  training  and  later  went  as 
a  missionary  to  South  Africa.  Here 
he  joined  the  Dutch  Reformed  church 
of  Africa.  He  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  Boers  in  their  struggle  with  Eng- 
land. He  was  made  moderator  of  his 
church  and  later  held  its  leading  pul- 
pit in  Cape  Town.  During  later  years 
of  his  life  he  conducted  a  seminary 
for  girls  and  a  missionary  training 
school  for  young  men.  His  well- 
known  devotional  books  are  "Abide 
in  Christ,"  "Like  Christ,"  and  "With 
Christ  in  the  School  of  Prayer." 

A  Lord's  Day 
League 

The  Lord's  Day  League  of  New 
England  is  a  very  active  organization 
which  watches  carefully  for  bills  ap- 
pearing in  the  legislature  designed  to 
break  down  the  observance  of  the 
Christian  rest  day.  Candidates  known 
to  stand  for  the  "continental  Sunday" 
are  often  left  at  home  through  the 
activity  of  the  League.  In  the  cam- 
paign matter  of  this  organization,  Lin- 
coln is  quoted  as  saying  during  the 
Civil  War,  "As  we  keep  or  break  the 
Sabbath  Day,  we  nobly  save  or  meanly 
lose  the  last,  best  hope  by  which  man 
rises." 

Pupil  of  Mrs.  Eddy 
Founds  Church 

Miss  L.  Helen  Fyfe  was  a  private 
pupil  of  the  late  Mrs.  Mary  Baker 
Eddy.  She  has  recently  applied  to 
the  state  of  Illinois  for  a  charter  to 
found  "The  First  Church  of  Ideal- 
ism." She  states  some  of  her  views  as 
follows :  "The  new  church  will  evolve 
the  subject  of  Christian  Science  and 
metaphysics,  which  object  is  the  real 
purpose  of  my  life.  Unlike  Mrs. 
Eddy,  I  look  upon  healing  as  secon- 
dary, though  I  believe  it  is  required 
of  us  to  study  and  promote  the  study 
of  those  spiritual  forces  governing  the 
life  of  humanity  and  their  effects  upon 
the  health,  occupation  and  destiny  of 
mankind.  All  inspired  writing  will  be 
text-books  in  my  Church  of  the  Ideal- 


ism. The  Bible  is  not  the  only  in- 
spired book.  I  consider  many  other 
writings  inspired,  notably  Dr.  Horatio 
Dresser's  and  a  little  book  I  have 
resurrected  from  oblivion,  As  It  Is  to 
Be." 

Sherwood  Eddy 
Suffers  Loss 

Mr.  Sherwood  Eddy  is  now  widely 
known  in  the  religious  world.  His 
service  for  students  in  India  and  China 
brought  him  into  the  focus  of  atten- 
tion. Lately,  as  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  evan- 
gelist, he  has  rendered  a  conspicuous 
service  in  the  army  camps  of  Europe. 
His  many  friends  and  admirers  will 
sympathize  with  him  in  the  death  of 
his  only  son,  Arden,  who  died  at  the 
Hill  school,  Pottstown,  Pa.,  on  Feb- 
ruary 17. 

Dr.  Washington  Gladden 
Still  Preaching 

There  is  no  deadline  for  Washing- 
ton Gladden.  Though  he  celebrated 
his  eighty-first  birthday  recently,  he  is 
now  the  acting  pastor  of  First  Con- 
gregational church,  Los  Angeles, 
where  the  congregation  is  seeking  a 
successor  to  Dr.  William  Horace  Day. 
The  veteran  minister  is  reported  to  be 
in  good  health. 

Dr.  Charles  F.  Aked 
Will  Supply 

Dr.  Charles  F.  Aked,  formerly  pas- 
tor of  First  Congregational  church, 
San  Francisco,  will  serve  as  acting 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  church 
of  Riverside,  Cal.,  from  Easter  until 
September.  Dr.  Aked  has  been  in  the 
east  recently  delivering  a  course  of 
lectures. 

Pastor  Becomes 
Religious  News  Gatherer 

The  Joliet,  111.,  Herald  News  is 
progressive  enough  to  recognize  the 
value  of  authoritative  and  interesting 
religious  news.  This  paper  secured 
the  services  of  Rev.  Carl  F.  Bruhn  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  to  gather  the 
news  of  all  the  churches  of  the  city. 
By  this  means,  religion  has  received 
much  publicity  in  Joliet. 

Y.  M.  C.  A.  on  the 
Mexican  Border 

Nearly  4,300,000  letters  were  writ- 
ten by  soldiers  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
buildings  on  the  Mexican  border  dur- 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


ing  the  first  seven  months  after  the 
national  guard  was  called  out.  Almost 
40,000  copies  of  the  Bible  were  dis- 
tributed among  the  soldiers,  with  350,- 
000  other  pieces  of  reading  matter. 
Over  ninety  tons  of  writing  paper  have 
been  used  and  more  than  seventy  tons 
of  magazines.  At  special  evangelistic 
services  addresses  have  been  made  by 
twelve  Presbyterian  representatives, 
twelve  Baptists,  nine  Methodists,  eight 
Episcopalians,  five  Disciples  and  three 
Congregationalists. 

New  Social  Service 
Secretary 

The  Federal  Council  of  Churches 
has  announced  the  appointment  of 
Dr.  Worthy  M.  Tippy,  pastor  of  Mad- 
ison Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  of  New  York  as  secretary  of 
the  Commission  on  Social  Service. 
Dr.  Tippy  acquired  his  leadership  in 
social  service  while  a  pastor  in  Cleve- 
land at  the  Epworth  Memorial  church. 
He  is  the  author  of  a  book  called  "The 
Church  a  Community  Force,"  which 
has  been  published  as  a  text-book  on 
city  church  work  by  the  Missionary 
Education  Movement. 


Laymen  Study 
Home  Missions 

The  southern  Presbyterians  have 
recently  held  a  meeting  for  laymen  in 
Lexington,  Ky.,  which  was  attended 
by  leading  men  from  all  over  the 
south.  Well-known  speakers  dealt 
with  the  various  phases  of  America's 
problem.  Dr.  William  H.  Sheppard, 
a  negro  preacher  and  a  Fellow  of  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society,  made  a 
deep  impression  with  his  address.  A 
similar  meeting  will  be  held  in  New 
Orleans  this  month  for  the  men  of 
the  southwest. 


Would  Give  Mexico 
a  Real  University 

Certain  Christian  educators  believe 
there  is  a  better  program  for  America 
in  Mexico  than  invading  her  territory. 
They  propose  that  a  big  educational 
institution  like  Roberts  College  in 
Turkey  be  given  to  the  Mexican  peo- 
ple and  made  independent.  They  re- 
gard the  problem  of  Mexico  as  being 
the  problem  of  education.  The  edu- 
cators who  have  been  most  prominent 
in  the  proposals  are  Dr.  Charles  Wil- 
liam Dabney.  Presidents  Henry  Giur- 
chill  King,  Harry  Pratt  Judson  and 
David  Starr  Ionian. 


llUIIHIlIlllllilllllli 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


Social  Interpretations 


!!!lllil!ll!llilJG!!llllilllllll!IB 


Will  England  or  Germany  Starve  First? 


SIR  EDWARD  CARSON  tries  to 
buoy  up  the  English  people  with 
statistics  showing  only  a  small 
percentage  of  English  shipping  ton- 
nage was  actually  sunk  during  the  first 
month  of  submarine  ruthlessness,  but 
there  is  little  use  whistling  in  the  dark 

when  the  spec- 
ter is  actually 
present.  Sir  Ed- 
ward says  noth- 
ing about  the 
enormous  Amer- 
ican and  other 
neutral  tonnage 
tied  up  in  home 
and  other  ports 
by  fear  of  the 
submarine ;  s  o 
far  as  the  Eng- 
lish supply  is  concerned,  it  had  as  well 
be  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  unless 
Britain  can  give  guarantee  that  it  can 
deliver  the  goods  without  too  great  a 
risk.  The  Germans  did  not  sink  a 
million  tons  the  first  month  of  their 
campaign  of  terror,  but  they  kept 
much  more  than  that  in  safe  ports 
and  altogether  deprived  England  of 
more  than  2,000,000  tons  delivery. 
Their  campaign  is  based  upon  the 
theory  that  if  they  can  destroy  a  mil- 
lion tons  per  month,  they  can  so  cur- 
tail supply  as  to  force  her  to  meet  in 
a  peace  council  before  her  armies  can 
accomplish  the  "big  push."  Uncle 
Sam  may  arm  his  ships  and  insure 
them  besides,  but  the  risk  will  be  so 
great  to  life  that  there  will  be  a  cur- 
tailment, while  little*  nations  like 
Holland  and  the  Scandinavian  coun- 
tries do  not  dare  arm  their  vessels  and 
their  considerable  tonnage  will  be 
practically  tied  up.  Lloyd-George 
was  sounding  no  needless  or  merely 
sensational  alarm  when  he  frankly 
told  the  nation  it  faced  a  serious  crisis. 
That  Germany  faces  a  serious  food 
crisis,  there  is  no  doubt.  Madeline 
Doty,  author  of  "Society's  Misfits," 
was  sent  to  Germany  to  administer  a 
children's  fund  collected  in  this  coun- 
try. She  is  now  at  home  again  and 
is  telling  the  actual  facts  in  "Christian 
Work."  Her  testimony  is  borne  out 
by  our  consuls  just  now  coming  out 
of  Germany.  The  German  civilian 
population,  with  the  exception  of  the 
rich,  go  to  bed  hungry  at  night.  Their 
faces  are  losing  color,  their  cheeks 
growing  thin  and  their  stomachs  flat. 
The  poor  are,  of  course,  suffering  hor- 
ribly and  their  children  are  beginning 
to  fall  under  the  dread  diseases  that 
come  after  under-nutrition.    The  pris- 


oners of  war  are  at  work  but  are 
underfed  and  dying  in  great  numbers ; 
they,  of  course,  will  be  starved  first. 
The  transport  system  is  getting  worn 
and  the  military  officials  are  willing  to 
wear  it  and  the  people  right  down  to 
the  breaking  point  in  this  last  desper- 
ate effort  to  win  terms  that  will  not 
be  too  onerous — for  that  is  all  Ger- 
many fights  for  now.  We  must  not 
draw  the  conclusion  that  the  fact  that 
all  Germany  goes  to  bed  hungry  means 
quick  surrender.  Nations  have  starved 
half  their  population  before  they  sur- 
rendered, and  such  spirit  is  not  foreign 
to  German  military  character.  There 
are  still  large  stores  in  Germany,  much 
larger  than  in  England,  but  the  "ra- 
tioning" of  the  people  in  order  to 
conserve  food  to  the  last  pound  is  re- 
moving any  danger  of  Germans  "dig- 
ging their  graves  with  their  teeth,"  and 
a  people  can  exist  a  long  time  on  half- 
rations.  Meanwhile  German  soldiers 
are  well  fed  and  England  is  trying  to 
slowly  starve  the  women  and  children 
and  the  civilian  population  of  Ger- 
many to  death  so  as  to  reach  her  mili- 
tary forces. 

There  is  no  language  too  strong  to 
execrate  the  submarine  campaign,  but 
why  not  say  the  same  of  the  starva- 
tion campaign  against  a  whole  nation 
of  women  and  children?  Is  sudden 
death  to  groups  of  tens  and  even  hun- 
dreds so  much  more  horrible  than  slow 
death  to  millions?  If  we  could  purge 
ourselves  of  partisan  feelings  and  see 
the  horrors  of  the  military  business, 
we  would,  perhaps,  talk  less  of  one 
nation  or  the  other  and  more  of  the 
unspeakable  business  to  which  both 
are  committed  in  using  what  they 
choose  to  call  by  the  euphonious  name 
of  "military  necessity,"  but  which,  in 
the  vernacular,  is  only  legalized  mur- 
der. 

Can  We  Afford  to  Fight 
for  These  Things? 

It  is  well  understood  that  among 
the  things  for  which  the  Allies  are 
fighting  and  upon  which  they  intend 
to  insist  at  the  peace  conference  are 
the  following:  Italy  must  have  the 
Dalmatian  Coast;  France,  Alsace- 
Loraine ;  Russia,  Constantinople  and 
the  Bosporus,  and  England  security  in 
her  domination  of  the  seas.  Have  we 
a  dollar  to  spend  or  a  drop  of  blood  to 
give  for  these  goals?  If  we  join  the 
Allies  we  should  be  bound  to  help 
them  win  them,  whether  we  favored 
such  terms  or  not,  because  we  could 


not  dictate  the  final  terms.  Now  come 
certain  colonial  premiers  and  the 
colonial  minister  in  London  with  a 
declaration  that  Germany's  colonies 
will  never  be  restored  to  her  and  a 
Japanese  minister  further  declares 
that  they  will  never  surrender  the 
German  provinces  captured  in  China 
and  among  the  Pacific  islands.  If  we 
are  willing  to  grant  that  such  terms 
are  justified  under  the  premises  of  the 
conflict,  we  must  admit  that  the  fight 
for  them  is  not  our  fight  and  that, 
therefore,  we  have  neither  treasure 
nor  blood  to  give  for  the  undertaking. 
If  we  must  fight,  let  it  be  for  humanity 
and  international  law  and  not  for  any 
cause  that  is  so  intimately  tied  up  with 
territorial  aggrandizement. 

*     *     * 

Suspicion  Feeding  War  Between 
United  States  and  Japan 

Back  of  war,  as  one  of  the  distinct 
nurturing  motives,  lies  suspicion.  In- 
deed, suspicion  is  the  very  bread  and 
meat  upon  which  the  military  spirit 
feeds  and  suspicion  is  growing  like 
a  Upas  tree  in  both  countries,  fed  by 
the  shallow  Jingo  spirit.  Last  year  a 
Boston  paper  proclaimed  the  news  that 
thirty  thousand  Japanese  had  been 
sent  to  Villa's  aid.  Last  July  the 
Forum,  a  usually  sedate  publication, 
gave  the  startling  information  to  the 
world,  quoting  it  as  an  estimate  of 
the  War  Department,  that  there  were 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Jap- 
anese in  Mexico  ready  to  help  settle 
accounts  with  Uncle  Sam.  The  Cen- 
tury magazine  went  them  one  better 
by  quoting  a  supposed  officer  of  the 
Department  as  saying  that  four  hun- 
dred thousand  were  there,  and  all  of 
them  were  veterans  of  the  Russian 
War.  Some  one  then,  refusing  to  get 
excited,  interviewed  the  Department 
officials  and  found  that  there  were  not 
more  than  three  thousand  Japanese  in 
Mexico  and  they  were  all  civilians! 
Thus  this  spectre  of  a  mighty  army 
trained  and  armed  to  the  teeth  and 
waiting  only  the  bugle  blast  to  cross 
the  Rio  Grande  vanished  under  the 
light  of  simple  inquiry.  Does  anyone 
deny  that  we  have  not  been  ready  for 
the  past  year  for  a  fit  of  national  hys- 
terics? The  Japanese  Jingoes  are 
suspicious  of  the  United  States  be- 
cause they  fail  to  understand  our  atti- 
tude toward  China ;  being  imperialistic 
themselves,  they  cannot  conceive  of 
America  not  being  imperialistic ;  then 
they  cannot  understand  why  we  should 
be  making  such  tremendous  plans  and 
spending  the  unequaled  sums  that  we 
are  upon  our  navy  if  we  are  not  pre- 


March  8,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


17 


paring  against  Japan.  These  things 
breed  suspicion  in  the  Japanese  mind 
when  they  come  on  top  of  the  immi- 
gration issue  in  California  with  its 
discrimination  against  the  Japanese  in 
regard  to  the  schools  and  land  owner- 
ship. At  the  bottom  of  it  all  with  us 
both  is  more  or  less  of  that  unreason- 
ing national  prejudice  that  is  unable 
to  evaluate  the  motives  of  others. 
Japan  desires  no  war  with  the  United 
States  and  certainly  the  Americans  de- 
sire no  war  with  Japan.  It  is  possible 
that  there  will  be  such  a  war  in  spite 
of  our  desires  simply  because  Jingo 
suspicion  drives  us  ahead  like  a  man 
running  blindly  in  the  night. 

*     *     * 

A  Grand  Old 
Man  of  China 

Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  one  of  the 
grand  old  men  of  the  missionary  force, 
is  dead  in  Pekin  at  the  ripe  old  age  of 
eighty-nine.  He  gave  sixty  years  of 
wonderfully  fruitful  service  to  China. 
He  not  only  enriched  China  with  his 
writings  and  research  and  educational 
work,  but  the  outer  world  was  also 
enriched  through  his  interpretation  to 
it.  He  wrote  an  Apologetic  for  Chris- 
tianity in  the  Chinese  language  which, 
perhaps,  reached  a  larger  sale  than  any 
like  volume  in  modern  times.  It  ran 
through  forty  editions  in  the  Chinese 
and  was  also  translated  into  several 
other  Oriental  languages,  and  is,  even 
after  a  generation,  the  most  largely 
used  book  of  its  kind  in  the  world. 
To  this  he  added  a  number  of  other 
volumes  in  Chinese  besides  the  two 
large  volumes  in  English  upon  China, 
interpreting  to  the  outer  world  Chin- 
ese life  and  thought.  His  "Lore  of 
Cathay"  is  a  rich  mine  of  source  ma- 
teria^ upon  Chinese  education  and 
thinking.  Second  only  to  his  labors  as 
an  apostle  ,of  Christianity  was  his 
work  as  a  translator  of  books  on  inter- 
national law.  These  very  largely  fur- 
nished the  foundation  for  modern 
Chinese  diplomacy.  He  was  also  one 
of  the  chief  advisors  in  the  founding 
of  _  the  new  educational  system  in 
China  and  was  made  the  president  of 
the  Imperial  University.  As  the  years 
came  on  and  his  energies  waned  until 
he  was  unable  to  carry  the  heroic  task 
of  middle  life,  he  still  clung  to  his 
adopted  land  and  spent  his  later  years 
in  Pekin  in  evangelistic  work,  refus- 
ing the  importunities  of  friends  and 
children  to  return  to  America  for  rest. 
In  his  death  he  was  greatly  honored 
by  the  Chinese  people  and  over  his 
grave  in  Pekin  they  will,  no  doubt, 
some  day  rear  a  monument  befitting 
the  esteem  in  which  they  hold  him. 


The  Sunday  School 


■ >:>ii!<!i'>i:ii'i<ii!inn,i!ii,ii'!'iiHiiiii"ii"iiiiirp'itiii|>niiiiiii!!iiii!ii ii'ii 


Jesus,  the  Way,  Truth,  Life 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life 
BY  JOHN  R.  EWERS 


"God  will  not  look  you  over  for 
medals,  degrees  and  diplomas,  but  for 
scars." 


THIS  is  what  Jesus  says  of  him- 
self:  "I  am  the  way,  the  truth 
and  the  life."  Why  is  that  not 
better  than  Peter's  statement?  It 
would  mean  more  to  make  such  a  con- 
fession in  terms  of  actual  living.    We 

may  acknowl- 
edge Jesus  as 
the  Anointed  of 
God,  as  the 
uniquely  divine 
Son,  and  still 
remain  far  from 
living  like  him. 
Again  and  again 
it  is  borne  in 
upon  me  that 
the  church  is 
dying  for  the 
want  of  sincere  following  of  Jesus. 
Someway  we  must  walk  in  his  steps ; 
we  must  possess  his  spirit.  "If  you 
have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  you  are 
none  of  his."  On  the  one  hand  you 
have  your  intellectualists  coldly  talk- 
ing and  writing  about  Christ;  on  the 
other  hand  you  have  your  hot  emo- 
tionalists singing  and  going  into  vari- 
ous forms  of  ecstacies  over  Jesus ;  be- 
tween the  two  extremes  you  have  the 
worldly  man  selfishly  ignoring  the 
Master  as  he  rushes  for  gold,  fame, 
pleasure  or  ease.  When  will  we  begin 
to  live  Christ? 

There  are  a  thousand  roads — but 
Jesus  is  the  way!  Men  are  lost  in 
devious  by-paths  and  in  paved  boule- 
vards. Jesus'  way  is  narrow  and  steep 
and  few  there  are  who  walk  therein. 
Few,  very  few,  pitiably  few.  Throngs 
sweep  past  our  church  doors,  a  few 
enter,  and  of  the  few  who  enter,  a  few 
pray  and  of  the  few  who  pray,  a  few 
are  sincere.  Ministers  need  to  stand 
in  the  highways  and  cry,  "Jesus  is  the 
way."  The  world  has  not  learned  it 
yet.  While  we  pile  up  needless  wealth, 
have  we  learned  it?  While  we  hate 
and  kill,  have  we  learned  it?  While 
we  care  nothing  for  our  brothers,  have 
we  learned  it  ?  No,  we  do  not  believe 
it.  We  do  not  believe  that  Jesus'  way 
is  the  best  way.  If  we  did,  we  would 
walk  in  his  steps.  But  let  us  see: 
What  has  become  of  all  the  selfish 
people?  Forgotten,  altogether  forgot- 
ten. Someway  God  has  built  the  world 
so  that  only  the  unselfish  souls  will  be 


remembered.  It  would  be  foolish  to 
remember  the  selfish. 

There  are  a  thousand  schools  of 
thought — but  Jesus  is  the  Truth. 
What  a  jumble  in  the  intellectual  Cor 
the  non-intellectual)  realm!  Russell- 
ism,  Dowieism,  Eddyism,  Campbell- 
ism,  Wesleyanism,  Calvinism,  home- 
opathy, allopathy,  hydropathy,  chirop- 
athy,  osteopathy,  sun  baths,  breakfast 
foods  and  faith  healing,  pragmatism, 
idealism,  realism,  monism,  dualism, 
pantheism,  schools  of  art  and  schools 
of  music,  technical  schools  and  dead 
languages,  socialism  and  plutocracy, 
single  tax  and  free  love — in  the  name 
of  common  sense,  what  can  a  man  be- 
lieve enough  to  act  upon  it?  There 
is  only  one  sane  life — the  life  of  Jesus. 
It  may  seem  insane  to  you,  imbued 
with  modern  notions,  dwelling  in  a 
warring  world,  stamped  with  com- 
mercialism, and  torn  by  two  hundred 
and  fifty  bigoted  denominations,  each 
of  which  thinks  that  it  has  a  monopoly 
on  truth ! ! !  "I  am  the  truth."  Pilate 
asked,  "What  is  truth?"  The  truth 
was  incarnate  before  his  blood-shot 
eyes. 

There  are  a  thousand  varieties  of 
life — Jesus  is  the  life.  Palaces  and 
sweat-shops,  dainty  rooms  and  foul 
dens,  avenues  and  slums,  parks  and 
fetid  walls,  gardens  and  alleys,  flow- 
ers and  tin  cans,  clubs  and  mills, 
libraries  and  saloons,  churches  and 
dives — what  contrasts.  Forests  and 
flats,  sunny  meadows  and  dark  hall- 
ways, silent  stars  and  the  tumult  and 
wail  of  the  city's  noise.  Ten  thousand 
homes — all  different — birth  and  sui- 
cide, love  and  hate,  mirth  and  despair, 
happy  fireside  and  smoking  revolver. 
But,  tell  me.  who  knows  how  to  live? 
If  you  should  mention  anyone  save  the 
sincere  Christian,  I  will  not  believe 
you.  O,  Thou  Way,  Truth  and  Life. 
I  follow  Thee! 


*The  above  article  is  based  on  the  Re- 
view lesson  for  First  Quarter,  1917. 


"This  is  a  lost  world  to  be  saved, 
and  not  simply  an  ignorant  world  to 
be  educated." 

"Jesus  Christ  alone  can  save  the 
world,  but  Jesus  Christ  cannot  save 
the  world  alone." 

"The  church  that  forgets  itself  in 
its  passion  for  others  will  in  that  for- 
getfulness  find  itself." 

"The  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not 
only  a  gospel  for  all  men,  but  it  is  a 
gospel  for  the  whole  man." 


IS 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


March  8,  1917 


i!!ii!!!!IIIIIin!l!!!Mii!l!!i!il!IK 


IIIIIIIIIIIII 


Preachers'  Problems 


By  Ellis  B.  Barnes 


wiiniffiriiiMmnii^ 
These  Sermons  of  Ours 

SERMONS  are  to  be  tasted,  and 
tasters  abound.  I  wonder  how 
many  sermons  are  digested. 
When  we  think  of  the  millions  of 
sermons  that  are  preached  in  the  land 
during  a  decade  it  is  a  wonder  that  a 
single  hearer  is  left  unconverted,  un- 
edified  or  unenthnsiastic.  Yet  the  fly 
appears  in  the  ointment.  Many  hear- 
ers attend  irregularly  and  miss  sys- 
tematic instruction ;  many  others  take 
it  for  granted  that  the  preacher  has 
nothing  of  importance  to  say  and  set- 
tle down  into  inattention  or  for  a  com- 
fortable nap;  many  more  cannot  or 
do  not  concentrate  their  minds  pn 
what  the  preacher  is  saying,  and  his 
words  are  lost  upon  them.  The  inner 
circle  are  those  who  hear  the  Word 
of  God  and  do  it.  There  is  a  fine  art 
in  hearing  as  in  speaking. 

Joseph  Parker  was  an  eloquent  man, 
but  he  claimed  that  there  was  no 
eloquent  tongue  without  an  eloquent 
ear.  Of  what  value  is  a  sermon  unless 
there  is  sympathetic  hearing?  The 
pew  makes  great  demands  upon  the 
pulpit;  its  cry  for  eloquence  is  never 
done.  But  the  Bible  demands  that 
we  take  heed  how  we  hear.  Jesus  knew 
that  good  hearing  was  as  essential  to 
the  soul  as  good  speaking,  and  pro- 
nounced a  blessing  upon  the  ears  that 
hear.  It  would  be  a  boon  to  many 
congregations  if  the  pastor  now  and 
then  reminded  them  of  the  need  of 
hearing,  of  attending  to  the  thing- 
spoken.  The  pew  is  quick  to  retort : 
"Give  us  something  to  attend  to  and 
we  will  attend."  The  pulpit  can  just 
as  properly  respond,  "Give  us  a 
friendly  ear  and  we  will  turn  its 
dumbness  into  music."  Many  a  good 
sermon  is  killed  b>  a  listless  hearer, 
and  many  a  poor  sermon  is  redeemed 
by  intelligent  hearing.  The  alertness 
of  an  audience  reacts  upon  the 
preacher.  There  are  many  dull  ser- 
mons preached,  no  doubt,  but  sharp 
ears  can  help  even  dull  sermons. 

He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him 
hear. 

A  good  janitor  may  make  a  good 
preacher  out  of  a  poor  one,  while  a 
worthless  janitor  may  ruin  the  best 
preacher  that  ever  lived.  Every 
preacher  ought  to  be  on  good  terms 
with  his  janitor  and  it  should  be  un- 
derstood between  them  that  the  janitor 
can  give  wings  to  the  sermon  by 
watching  the  temperature.  Stuffy 
auditoriums  and  poor  ventilation  are 
the  devil's  devices  to  kill  the  effect  of 
many  good  sermons.  "Satan  finds 
some  mischief  still  for  idle  hands  to 


do,"  is  not  true  of  the  janitor,  for  he 
will  lull  him  to  slumber  with  the  other 
saints,  when  the  temperature  is  sti- 
fling, and  keep  him  there  until  the 
closing  hymn  is  announced.  There  is 
no  college  yet  for  the  training  of  jani- 
tors, no  appreciation  of  the  value  of 
an  intelligent  janitor.  I  have  always 
admired  the  men  who,  unwilling  to 
preach  to  a  sleepy  congregation, 
knocked  out  a  few  window  lights — 
and  the  breath  out  of  the  dignified  at 
the  same  time — while  letting  in  the 
balmy  air  of  heaven.  All  honor  to 
such  iconoclasts. 

All  that  I  have  said  presumes  in- 
telligent preaching.  I  am  a  firm  be- 
liever in  the  "foolishness  of  preach- 
ing." It  is  of  more  value  to  the  world 
than  anything  else  to  redeem,  to  uplift 
and  to  save.  When  one  reads  these 
lists  of  sermons  he  will  see  how  thor- 
oughly scriptural  they  are,  how  full  of 
the  desire  to  interpret  the  conditions 
of  the  time,  and  how  great  the  desire 
to  adapt  the  messages  to  the  souls  of 
men  now.  We  disciples  are  never  go- 
ing to  get  far  away  from  the  Bible, 
no  matter  what  happens.  We  will  not 
always  agree  on  our  interpretations  of 
it,  but  we  are  going  to  group  our 
thinking  around  Biblical  ideas.  We 
are  never  going  to  forget  the  prophetic 
spirit  of  Isaiah,  nor  the  prophetic 
spirit  of  1917.  We  are  not  going  to 
shut  the  Bible  up  to  the  ages  that  are 
past ;  we  are  going  to  make  men  be- 
lieve that  it  endureth  forever.  I  do 
not  forget  the  men  among  us  who  have 
little  use  for  interpretations  except  as 
they  fit  into  their  ambitious  schemes, 
but  they  are  in  every  communion,  and 
wholly  committed  to  the  gospel  of  'the 
loaves  and  fishes.  The  rank  and  file 
will  go  on  as  the  Disciples  have  ever 
gone  with  the  desire  to  know  and  to 
do  the  will  of  God,  despite  tuning- 
forks,  little  or  big  "d,"  fears  and 
tumults  and  riots  in  theological  cen- 
ters. If  you  don't  think  that,  read 
these  recent  sermon  subjects  of  Dis- 
ciple ministers,  and  these  book  titles 
and  be  convinced  that  we  are  going 
forward  in  spite  of  ourselves. 
Rev.  W.  D.  Ryan,  Youngstown,  O. 

Pulpit  Themes — 
"Cain  and  Andrew — A  Contrast;" 
"An  Irresistible  Christian;"  "Soul 
Prosperity;"  "The  Seats  of  the 
Mighty;"  "What  About  Hell?"  "The 
Tragedy  of  the  Empty  Net;"  "The 
Upper  and  the  Nether  Springs." 

Books  Read  and  Recommended — 

"The  Common  Life,"  Brierly;  "The 

New  World,"  Black;  "Opportunities 

of  the  Ministry,"  Lynch;  "The  New 


Theology,"  Wm.  Adams  Brown ;  "The 
Fight  for  Peace,"  Gulick ;  "The  Trans- 
figured Church,"  Jowett;  "The  Hun- 
gry Stones  and  Other  Stories,"  Ta- 
gore;  "The  Turmoil,"  Tarkington; 
"Mr.  Britling  Sees  It  Through," 
Wells;  "Phaedrus,"  Hillis. 

Rev.  R:  G.  Frank,  Liberty,  Mo. 
Pulpit  Themes — 
"The  Heresy  of  Silence;"  "Chris- 
tianity and  the  War  Spirit;"  "God's 
Initiative;"  "Perils  to  Spirituality;" 
"Modern  Allies  of  Christianity;" 
"The  Blessedness  of  Sacrificial  Liv- 
ing." 

Books  Read  and  Recommended — 
"The  Breath  of  Life,"  Burroughs; 
"Foundations,"  Seven  Oxford  Men ; 
"The  Innocents  Abroad ;"  "Don  Quix- 
ote," Cervantes;  "Lectures  on  Preach- 
ing," Beecher ;  "Theism  and  Human- 
ism," Balfour;  "Sandhana,"  Rabind- 
ranath  Tagore ;  "New  Wars  for  Old," 
Holmes. 

Rev.  L.  O.  Bricker,  Atlanta,  Ga. 
Pulpit  Themes — 
"Seekers  After  God;"  "Something 
to  Say ;"  "The  Tyranny  of  Things ;" 
"The  Ocean  and  the  Bay ;"  "He  An- 
swered Her  Not  a  Word." 

Books  Read  and  Recommended — 

"The  Oriental  Christ,"  Mazoomd- 
har;  "The  Fellowship  of  Silence," 
Macmillan ;  "University  Sermons," 
Henry  Sloane  Coffin ;  "Eucken  and 
Bergson,"  He'rrman ;  "The  Gospel  of 
Good  Will,"  Hyde. 

Rev.  Stephen  E.  Fisher,  Champaign, 
111. 
Pulpit  Themes — 
"The  Heart  of  the  Gospel ;"  "The  j 
Power  of  a  Vital  Faith ;"  "The  Rea- 
sonableness   of    the    Gospel ;"    "The 
Health  of  the  Soul ;"  "Thy  Kingdom 
Come;"  "Jesus  and  His  Friends." 

Books  Read  and  Recommended —  j 
"The  Romance  of  Preaching," 
Home ;  "The  Natural  Way,"  DuBois ; 
"What  Men  Live  By,"  Cabot;  "The 
Reconstruction  of  the  Church," 
Strayer;  "When  a  Man's  a  Man,"] 
Wright. 

Rev.  Peter  Ainslie,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Pulpit  Themes — 
Mr.  Ainslie  says:     "Regarding  ser-  . 
mon  subjects,  I  have  been  preaching 
for  the  last  year  or  longer  on  those 
themes  that  have  to  do  with  the  re-  I 
adjustment    of    the    Church    to    the 
times,    such    as    the    attitude    of    the 
Church  toward   war,  toward  wealth, 
toward  international  relations,  toward 
social  justice,  toward  anxiety,  toward 
brotherhood,  and  then  questions  deal- 
ing  with    the    Christian's   abiding    in 
Christ.     In   the   early   spring   I   had, 
perhaps,  a  dozen  sermons  on  that  one 
phrase,  'In  Christ,'  taking  it  up  from 
different  views  in   Paul's  epistles — a 
phrase  distinctively  his." 


March  8,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


19 


Disciples  Table  Talk 

iiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim 


•,.i; 


High  Cost  of  Living  Discussed 
at  First  Church,  Philadelphia 

Irving  S.  Chenoweth,  who  leads  at 
First  church,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  has  ar- 
ranged for  a  series  of  Sunday  evening 
addresses  at  this  church,  to  be  given 
by  men  prominent  in  Pennsylvania  pub- 
lic life.  The  general  purpose  of  these 
addresses  is  to  consider  the  why  of  the 
"high  cost  of  living."  Among  the 
speakers  are  Samuel  McCune  Lindsay 
of  Columbia  University;  J.  H.  Willetts  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania;  Jas.  H. 
Maurer,  president  of  the  State  Federa- 
tion of  Labor;  J.  P.  Jackson,  commis- 
sioner of  labor  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
pastor,  who  will  discuss  on  April  8th, 
"Jesus,  a  Laborer:  His  Message  for  To- 
day." Mr.  Chenoweth  reports  that  the 
old  First  church  building  has  been  sold 
for  $18,000,  out  of  which  a  long-stand- 
ing mortgage  had  to  be  paid.  The  new 
lot,  costing  $12,500,  is  paid  for  and  there 
is  now  in  hand  a  total  of  $34,500  in  cash 
and  pledges  toward  the  new  building, 
for  which  ground  will  be  broken  this 
month.     The   building   will   cost   $60,000. 

A.  McLean  Receives  Ovation 
at  His  Home  City 

Seven  of  the  Foreign  Society  leaders 
are  members  at  Norwood  church,  Cin- 
cinnati. Mr.  McLean  is  greatly  loved 
by  this  congregation,  and  by  other  Cin- 
cinnati Disciples,  as  also  by  the  churches 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
Discipledom.  On  Sunday  afternoon, 
March  4,  the  thirty-fifth  anniversary 
of  Mr.  McLean's  service  with  the  For- 
eign Society,  an  anniversary  service 
was  held  in  his  honor  at  Central 
church,  Cincinnati.  This  is  an  unusual 
achievement  which  Mr.  McLean  has  to 
his  record:  he  has  served  longer  as  an 
active  officer  of  the  society  than  any 
similar  officer  now  living  has  served  any 
board  in  America.  The  Christian  Cen- 
tury joins  with  all  Disciples  of  Christ 
in  wishing  him  added  years  of  happy 
usefulness  in  the  work  of  the  Kingdom. 

Dr.  Maclachlan,  of  Richmond, 
Rebukes  City's  Extravagance 

In  an  address  on  "Civic  Pride  and  a 
Lean  Treasury,"  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan, 
of  Seventh  Street  church,  Richmond, 
Va.,  rebuked  with  a  lash  the  extrava- 
gance of  the  city  government.  Among 
his  declarations  was  the  following: 
"The  form  of  our  city  government  is  the 
seat  of  all  our  trouble.  It  is  antiquated, 
roundabout,  unscientific,  unwieldy,  as 
much  so  as  the  mind  of  man  could  con- 
ceive. Almost  any  form  of  government 
would  be  better.  We  are  spending,  not 
for  improvements,  but  for  the  overhead 
expenses  of  government,  money  that 
might  as  well  be  thrown  into  the  James 
river.  The  cost  of  running  the  city  gov- 
ernment per  capita  is  78  per  cent  greater 
than  in  any  other  city  of  our  class."  Dr. 
Maclachlan  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
most  influential  men  in  the  Richmond 
city. 

Joplin,  Mo.,  Churches 
Cleaning  Up  Debts 

Three  of  the  Joplin,  Mo.,  churches  are 
making  inroads  on  their  church  debt3. 
First  recently  subscribed  a  little  more 
than  the  full  amount  of  its  debt  ($4,500) 
and  expects  to  burn  its  mortgage  Oct.  1, 


1917.  Central  is  pushing  a  tithing  cam- 
paign with  encouraging  results  and  is 
gradually  reducing  its  debt.  Recently  a 
joint  Elders'  and  Deacons'  conference, 
representing  the  Joplin  churches,  was 
entertained  at  Central  Church.  E.  W. 
Couch,  pastor,  presided.  W.  P.  Sham- 
hart,  pastor  South  Joplin  Church,  gave 
an  address  on  the  work  of  the  el- 
ders and  deacons.  C.  C.  Garrigues,  of 
First  church,  spoke  on  "Financing  the 
Kingdom."  The  South  Joplin  church  is 
putting  on  a  vigorous  debt-raising  cam- 
paign and  hopes  to  reach  the  goal  by 
May  1.  W.  P.  Shamhart  of  South  Jop- 
lin and  C.  C.  Garrigues  are  soon  to  ex- 
change pulpits.  Mr.  Garrigues  will  give 
an  address  on  "Church   Finance." 


An  Honor  for  A.  R.  Liverett, 
Of  Jefferson  City 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  allied  tem- 
perance forces  of  Missouri,  held  in  Jef- 
ferson City,  Mo.,  a  movement  was  started 
to  organize  all  of  the  Protestant  minis- 
ters of  the  state  for  a  closer  fellowship 
and  to  work  together  on  any  program 
of  constructive  legislation  looking  to  the 
moral  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people 
of  the  state.  A  large  number  of  minis- 
ters were  present,  representing  several 
religious  bodies,  and  such  an  organiza- 
tion was  perfected.  A.  R.  Liverett  of 
First  Christian  Church,  Jefferson  City, 
was  elected  state  president.  First  Church 
at  Jefferson  City,  Mr.  Liverett  reports, 
is  planning  a  two  weeks'  pre-Easter  cam- 
paign. Harvey  B.  Smith,  pastor  at  Mar- 
shall, Mo.,  will  do  the  preaching.  The 
Jefferson  City  church  has  had  a  splendid 
growth  during  the  nearly  six  years'  pas- 
torate of  Mr.  Liverett,  672  persons  hav- 
ing been  added  to  the  church  member- 


Ministers  Consider  War  and  Peace 

The  subjects  of  zvar,  peace,  nationalism  and  internationalism  are  getting  into  the 
sermons  being  preached  today.  Especially  is  the  topic  of  war  as  related  to  religion 
frequently  considered  by  the  ministers  of  the  country.  The  following  excerpts  from 
recent  sermons  by  Disciples  pastors  will  be  of  interest. — News  Editor. 


"Should  Throw  Down  Arms 
and  Refuse  to  Fight" 

"The  religion  of  Jesus  was  to  over- 
come all  world-religions  and  institutions 
based  on  force  and  hate.  All  parties  in 
his  day  were  opposed  to  him  because  he 
raised  a  cry  for  the  oppressed.  Today 
we  are  not  talking  about  our  religion 
as  we  did  before  the  great  war  be°-an. 
We  have  as  yet  but  a  veneer  of  Chris- 
tianity. Christ  demands  the  same  mor- 
ality of  nations  that  he  does  of  individ- 
uals. The  present  war  is  a  commercial 
one,  and  due  to  the  breakdown  of  com- 
mercial orders.  The  lineup  of  the  na- 
tions at  war  shows  that  it  is  a  commer- 
cial struggle.  The  way  of  Christ  is  the 
only  way  out.  We  must  first  think  of 
the  kingdom  of  God,  as  Christ  thought 
of  it.  Then  we  must  demand  that  com- 
mercialism get  off  the  throne.  As  soon 
as  we  get  a  conscience  about  the  war 
question,  war  will  cease.  Plant  the  king- 
dom in  the  heart  of  men.  Make  them 
know  that  love  is  better  than  hate.  The 
United  States  can  stop  the  world  war 
by  throwing  down  arms  and  refusing  to 
fight." 

F.  G.  Strickland,  Dayton,  O. 

"Paying  the  Price  to  Rid 
World  of  War" 

"That  more  are  slaughtered  in  today's 
war  than  ever  in  history  is  no  argument 
for  pessimism.  This  is  not  due  to  a 
worse  world,  but  rather  it  is  a  practical 
demonstration  of  the  tremendous  ad- 
vance of  science  and  invention  along 
military  lines.  True  progress,  real  re- 
formation and  actual  advance  steps  in 
civilization  have  always  been  expensive. 
We  paid  a  tremendous  price  to  rid 
America  of  slavery  and  we  are  now 
paying  a  more  tremendous  price  to.  rid 
the  world  of  war." 

L.  N.  D.  Wells,  Akron,  O. 

Is  There  a  United  States 
God? 

"From  what  we  understand,  Kaiser 
Wilhelm  is  working  hand  and  glove  with 
the  God  of  the  Germans.  The  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  is  walking  arm  in 
arm   with   the   God   of  the   British    Em- 


pire and  President  Poincare  of  France 
is  pretty  close  to  the  French  God.  And 
now  I  guess  they  are  preparing  for  us 
to  pray  to  our  God,  the  God  of  the  Stars 
and  Stripes.  I  for  one  will  refuse  to 
do  it.  My  God  is  the  God  of  all  nations, 
the  God  of  the  English,  the  Germans,  the 
Chinese,  the  Hindus  and  of  all  the  world. 
I  cannot  believe  in  a  little  tribal  God 
My  God  is  greater  than  the  boundaries 
of  the  nation.  I  want  to  believe  in  a 
God  in  whom  centers  all  that  is  good 
and  perfect.  I  do  not  want  a  God  be- 
cause it  is  expedient.  I  want  a  religion 
that   is  right." 

John  R.  Ewers,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Better  World  After 
the  War 

"The  slothful  Christian  in  this  hour 
is  worse  than  the  'slacker.'  He  betrays 
a  greater  cause  than  the  cause  of  a  na- 
tion. He  is  a  traitor  to  the  whole  cause 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  whose  op- 
portunity lies  at  hand.  I  cannot  doubt 
that  the  poverty  and  destitution  that 
will  follow  the  war,  the  new  search  for 
human  values,  the  new  loyalty  that  has 
been  born  from  blood  and  the  terrors  of 
the  battlefield  will  furnish  the  back- 
ground for  the  big  spiritual  movement 
which  will  go  far  to  satisfy  our  hopes 
for  a  better  world." 

O.  F.  Jordan,  Evanston,  III. 

"Must  Bow  to  Authority 
of  Christ" 

"We  are  in  the  crisis  of  the  world  in 
this  present  time,  a  struggle  of  greed 
and  materialism  against  the  principles  of 
Christ's  kingdom.  Christ's  authority  is 
absolute.  Will  you  submit  to  it?  Our 
little  schemes  and  petty  quarrels,  our 
heady  and  "rule  or  ruin"  spirit,  may  flour- 
ish for  a  little  time.  Christ  may  be  cov- 
ered, hidden  from  view  by  our  own  self- 
importance,  but  he  will  arise,  to  our  sor- 
row and  dismay.  The  judgment  of  the 
world  is  set  and  we  must  bow  to  the 
authority  of  Christ  against  the  grasping 
dispositions  of  men.  The  judgment  is 
set,  and  God  will  bring  out  of  this  con- 
flict a  better  world,  that  will  more  nearly 
conform  to  the  laws  of  his  kingdom.'" 
W.  G.  Oram.  Davton.  O. 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


March  8,  1917 


ship.  The  attendance  at  the  great  Bible 
class,  taught  by  T.  Kelly  Pool,  at  First 
church,  has  been  making  an  average  at- 
tendance of  from  100  to  150  each  Sunday. 

Outside  Help  in  Promoting 
Every  Member  Canvass 

In  preparing  for  the  annual  every  mem- 
ber canvass  at  Eureka,  111.,  Verle  W. 
Blair,  pastor,  with  his  leaders,  decided 
to  call  in  outside  talent  as  an  aid  in 
getting  best  results  from  this  campaign. 
A  committee  decided  to  call  in  Herbert 
L.  Willett,  Jr.,  of  Chicago,  and  Secretary 
Bert  Wilson,  of  the  Foreign  Society. 
Mr.  Blair  has  this  to  say  concerning  the 
fine  results  attained:  "Our  purpose  in 
securing  Mr.  YVillet  was  to  get  exact  in- 
formation first  hand  in  regard  to  the 
actual  conditions  in  the  war  stricken 
countries.  His  talk  did  just  what  we 
wanted  it  to.  He  has  a  genuine  message 
of  power.  Our  men  ought  to  use  him 
wherever  the  opportunity  is  open.  His 
story  cannot  be  told  before  the  ordinary 
audience  without  accomplishing  much 
good.  I  feel  very  much  the  same  about 
Bert  Wilson,  whose  message  on  stew 
ardship  is  the  greatest  financial  appeal  I 
ever  have  heard.  I  commend  them  botl; 
most  cordially  and  believe  they  ought  tb 
be  kept  busy  every  Sunday  in  some  of 
our  churches." 

*     *     * 

— J.  E.  Davis,  new  pastor  at  First 
church,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  spoke  on 
"David  Lloyd-George,  the  Man  of  the 
Hour,"  at  a  mass  meeting  of  Welshmen 
of  Kansas  City  on  March  1. 

— H.  G.  Kenney  is  the  newly  called 
pastor  at  Sturgis,  Ky. 

— C.  R.  Scoville  is  leading  in  a  great 
union  meeting  at   Fresno,   Cal. 

— G.  W.  Kemper,  of  Hanover  Ave- 
nue church,  Richmond,  "Va.,  was  recently 
presented  with  a  purse  of  gold  by  two 
adult  classes  of  the  Sunday  school. 

— Decatur,  Ind.,  is  to  have  a  new 
Christian   church   building. 

— R.  W.  Stancill  has  been  called  to  the 
pastorate  at  Fredericksburg,  Va. 

— The     Indianapolis     Disciple  Sunday 

schools    are    striving    for    9,000  persons 

present  on  Easter  Sunday,  with  $500  of> 
fering  and  100  confessions. 

— F.  M.  Warren,  pastor  at  Vinton,  la., 
is  addressing  audiences  of  men  at  the 
local  opera  house  every  Sunday  at  the 
Sunday  school  hour. 

— E.  J.  Xickerson,  of  Cleghorn,  la.,  a 
comparatively  small  town,  had  100  men 
present  at  the  last  meeting  of  his  broth- 
erhood. 

— Graham  Frank,  of  the  Liberty,  Mo., 
church,  has  a  class  of  instruction  in  the 
Duty,  Privilege  and  Meaning  of  Church 
Membership  for  the  last  four  Sundays 
before  Easter.  The  class  meets  on  Sat- 
urday afternoons  between  3  and  4 
o'clock. 

— Fifty  men  gathered  at  a  fellowship 
supper  at  Central  church,  Rockford,  111., 
to  hear  O.  F.  Jordan,  of  Evanston,  111. 
The  result  was  a  reorganization  of  the 
men  of  the  church,  with  twenty  mem- 
bers added  not  before  affiliated  with  this 
branch  of  the  work.  W.  B.  Clemmer, 
pastor  at  Rockford,  reports  that  $2,800 
on  the  building  fund  has  been  paid  by 
the  congregation  there  since  dedication 
day,  a  year  ago. 

— The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  at 
Central  church,  New  York  City,  is  tak- 
ing  charge    of   the   headquarters   of   the 


Disciples  of  Christ,  for  the  World's  En- 
deavor convention  to  be  held  in  the  east- 
ern city  next  July. 

— K.  F.  Nance,  formerly  of  Hutchin- 
son, Kan.,  but  more  recently  in  the  am- 
bulance service  in  France,  delivered  his 
lecture  on  his  experiences  at  First 
Church,  Jefferson  City.  Mo.,  a  few  eve- 
nings ago.  A.  R.  Liverett,  pastor  there, 
reports  a  most  vivid  presentation  of  war 
conditions  in  Europe. 

— John  G.  Slayter,  pastor  of  the  East 
Dallas  Church,  Dallas,  Tex.,  addressed 
the  Dallas  Auto  club  on  the  topic,  "The 
Rights  of  an  Automobile,"  claiming, 
among  other  things  that  an  automobile 
had  a  right  to  proper  care,  good  roads, 
good  laws  and  a  good  man  to  drive  it. 

— Central  Church  school,  New  York 
City,  has  a  Chinese  department  with 
about  fifty  attendants.  The  church  has 
also  fostered  the  work  among  the  Rus- 


sians of  the  community,  having  recently 
opened  up  a  new  work,  with  an  added 
missionary. 

— Z.  O.  Doward  of  Cheney,  Wash.,  has 
been  elected  president  of  the  Inland  Em- 
pire organization  of  Disciples,  to  suc- 
ceed J.  E.  Davis,  who  recently  left  Se- 
attle to  take  up  the  work  at  First  Church, 
Kansas  City. 

— Victor  M.  Hovis  has  closed  his  work 
as  superintendent  of  the  Christian  Chi- 
nese Mission,  at  San  Francisco,  Cal., 
and  has  entered  the  evangelistic  field. 

— The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  of 
Central  Church,  Shreveport,  La.,  issues 
the  weekly  bulletin  of  the  church. 

— For  four  Sunday  evenings  pastor  H. 
H.  Griffis,  of  First  Church,  Portland, 
Oregon,  has  been  reading  before  his  En- 
deavorers  installments  of  Mary  R.  S.  An- 
drews' little  book,  "The  Three  Things," 
which  has  been  pronounced  the  greatest 


Dr.  Cave  Taken  Back  in  Church  After 

27  Years 


Clergyman,  Whose   Sermon  Caused  Hi  m  to  Be  Condemned  as  Heretic,  Received 
Into  Union  Ave.  Con  gregation,  St.  Louis 


Rev.  Robert  C.  Cave,  who  for  twenty- 
seven  years  has  stood  in  ecclesiastical 
isolation,  having  been  pilloried  as  a 
heretic,  was  received  into  full  communion 
with  the  Union  Avenue  Christian  church, 
St.  Louis,  on  Sunday,  Feb.  25.  This  is 
the  same  congregation,  under  a  new 
name,  with  added  members,  as  the  Cen- 
tral Christian  church,  from  whose  pulpit 
Dr.  Cave  departed  because  of  hostile 
criticism  by  other  ministers  of  a  sermon 
which  he  preached.  Later,  for  thirteen 
years,  he  preached  in  an  independent 
church  in  St.  Louis. 

Dr.  Cave,  in  coming  back  into  the 
church  from  which  he  stood  aloof  so 
long,  does  not  retreat  from  the  expres- 
sions of  this  sermon,  but  it  has  been 
agreed  by  those  concerned  that  his  faith 
on  fundamental  matters  is  such  as  to 
warrant  his  reception  into  the  church. 
Opinion  was  freely  voiced  in  the  congre- 
gation that  if  Dr.  Cave  had  preached  the 
disputed  sermon  today  it  would  not  have 
created  the  comment  which  it  did  then. 
A  newspaper  publication  of  the  sermon, 
which  touched  Old  Testament  belief  with 
significant  headlines,  heightened  the  im- 
pression of  "heresy"  at  the  time. 

COMMON  FAITH   IS   FOUND 

B.  A.  Abbott,  pastor  of  Union  Avenue 
church,  in  receiving  Dr.  Cave  into  the 
church,  said:  "I  have  had  many  confer- 
ences with  Brother  Cave,  some  of  them 
lasting  hours.  I  did  not  ask  him  to 
change  his  views,  and  I  understand  he 
has  not  changed  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  church  does  not  commit  itself 
to  Brother  Cave's  opinions.  They  are  his 
own,  personally.  But  in  these  talks  we 
have  found  our  common  faith  in  God, 
and  in  the  obligation  to  be  Christlike  as 
far  as  we  can,  and  to  treat  each  other  in 
a  brotherly  manner,  and  to  strive  to- 
gether for  the  advancement  of  the  king- 
dom of  God  without  reference  to  our  own 
personal  opinions  about  matters  —  we 
have  found  all  this  to  be  a  sufficiently 
strong  tie  to  unite  us  in  working  to- 
gether." 

Dr.  Cave  made  no  address,  being  quiet- 
ly received  with  other  members.  After 
the  service,  he  explained  the  reasons  for 
his  retirement,  and  his  present  feeling 
toward  the  church. 

"In    December,    1889,"   said   Dr.    Cave, 


"at  the  old  Central  Christian  church, 
then  at  Finney  and  Grand  avenues,  I 
preached  a  sermon  in  which  I  alluded  to 
Col.  Ingersoll's  talks  on  God  as  repre- 
sented in  the  Old  Testament  stories,  and 
I  asserted  that  these  old  stories  did  not 
represent  God  truly — that  the  church  of 
this  age  could  not  attempt  to  uphold 
them  without  antagonizing  the  moral 
sense  at  the  present  time,  and  that  the 
church  ought  to  reject  these  Old  Testa- 
ment stories,  and  call  man  to  the  accept- 
ance of  no  God  other  than  the  infinitely 
loving  Father  manifested  by  Jesus. 

"This  sermon  was  published  and  called 
down  upon  me  a  storm  of  condemnation. 
It  was  said  bv  my  brethren  that  in  as- 
sailing the  Old  Testament  I  had  assailed 
'the  inspired  Word  of  God,  which  is  the  l 
foundation  of  the  church.' 

"My  own  congregation  passed  resolu- 
tions    indorsing    me,    but    the    ministers 
and    editors    and    many    influential    men 
throughout   the   country   condemned  me 
bitterly,  saying  that  I  did  not  represent 
the  Disciples  of  Christ,  would  not  be  fel- 
lowshipped  by  them,  and  as  an  honest 
man  could  not  try  to  remain  with  them. 
Thus,  by  the  almost  unanimous  voice  ofll 
the  Disciples  told  that  I  should  get  outil 
I  withdrew  from  the  church,  and  about!/ 
decided  to  quit  the  ministry,  when  a  few* 
members  of  the  old  Central  congregation 
withdrew  and  organized  a  new  church  for 
which  I  was  asked  to  preach." 

Dr.  Cave  is  remembered  in  St.  Louis 
for  his  brilliant,  widely  quoted  sermons 
before  this  new  congregation,  the  Non- 
sectarian  Church,  at  Lindell  and  Vande- 
venter  avenues.  There  were  soon  400 
members.  Men  were  ^in  the  predomi- 
nance. So  many  came"  on  bicycles  that 
a  wide  bicycle  rest  was  established  out- 
side the  church.  The  interest  continued 
for  thirteen  years,  when  a  physician  or-  j, 
dered  Dr.  Cave  to  discontinue  preaching, 
which  he  did,  and  spent  several  years 
recuperating. 

His  young  assistant  in  a  part  of  this., 
nonsectarian  pastorate  was  Joseph  Fortl! 
Newton,    now   pastor-elect   of   the    City ' 
Temple   in    London,   England,   successor 
to  Joseph  Parker.    A  later  assistant  tried 
to   continue   the   church   after   Dr.   Cave 
left  it,  but  the  work  did  not  survive  a 
year.    Dr.  Cave  is  in  his  75th  year. 


March  8,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


story  the  war  has  produced.     Here  may 
be  a  suggestion  for  other  pastors. 

— The  largest  adult  class  in  Arizona 
is  reported  to  be  the  Loyal  Men  and 
Women  organization  at  Christian  Church 
of  Phoenix,  Ariz.  The  enrollment  is 
about  three  hundred.  W.  S.  Buchanan 
ministers  to   this   church. 

— Pomona,  Cal.,  church  has  been  fea- 
turing what  are  called  "Neighborhood 
Fellowship  Meetings."  On  each  evening 
a  number  of  these  meetings  were  held  in 
homes  of  the  congregation  in  various 
parts  of  the  city.  Teams  of  singers  and 
musicians  were  assigned  to  go  from  one 
home  to  another  on  these  special  eve- 
nings. On  one  evening  a  gospel  team 
of  men,  led  by  Dr.  R.  J.  Dye,  made  the 
round  of  the  meetings,  with  song,  prayer 
and  brief  testimonies. 

— Harristown  is  one  of  the  few 
churches  in  Illinois  that  gives  more  to 
missions  than  to  local  work.  The  con- 
gregation expects  to  build  a  new  house 
of  worship  this  year.  Roby  Orahood  is 
now  serving  the  third  year  of  his  min- 
istry there. 

— Once  in  a  while  a  very  unusual  thing 
happens,  writes  H.  H.  Peters,  Illinois 
state  secretary.  Wm.  J.  Montgomery 
reports  that  the  Niantic,  111.,  church 
closed  the  year  with  over  $700  in  the 
treasury. 

— J.  F.  Smith  of  Eureka,  111.,  preaches 
for  the  Blooming  Grove  Church,  six 
miles  south  of  Bloomington,  111.  Last 
summer  they  remodeled  their  building, 
making  it  modern  in  every  detail,  and  are 
now  doing  a  real  community  service. 
Something  like  a  dozen  of  the  young 
people  attend  the  State  Normal  at  Nor- 
mal, and  are  workers  in  the  church  there. 

— Lee  Garrett,  for  the  last  seven  years 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Paris,  Tex.,  has 
been  called  to  the  work  at  Weatherford, 
and  has  accepted. 

• — During  the  first  year  of  W.  C.  Pre- 
witt's  pastorate  at  Bowling  Green,  Ohio, 
there  have  been  64  accessions  to  the 
church  membership,  most  of  these  at 
regular  services.     More  than  $1,000  has 


We    Appeal    to   You 
For  an  Easter  Offering 

WE  are  depending  on  YOU  for  FOOD. 

Last  year  we  ministered  unto  1356  and  in  17^  years, 
14166  homeless,  aged,  helpless  and  afflicted  ones. 

There  are  many  more  needing  our  care. 

Write  at  once  for  Easter  Exercises,   collection  envel- 
opes and  literature  —  furnished  free.     Do  not  fail  us. 

Christian    Woman's    National 
Benevolent  Association 

803  N.  Garrison  Ave.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


been  given  by  the  church  and  other  or- 
ganizations for  missions  and  benevo- 
lences. There  is  a  large  Sunday  school, 
also  a  life  line  Christian  Endeavor  So- 
ciety. 


»i>ni  uAnii  A.  Church  Home  for  You. 

HrW  YI1RK  Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
Ilk  II    I  U 1 1 1\  142  West  81gt  st>  N  y 


— S.  H.  Zendt,  chairman  for  the  next 
session  of  the  Northern  Illinois  Minis- 
terial Institute,  to  be  held  at  Clinton,  re- 
ports that  the  list  of  books  for  consider- 
ation at  this  meeting  has  been  revised 
somewhat.  The  following  will  be  stud- 
ied: "Church  Unity,"  by  Briggs;  "Chris- 
tian Unity  at  Work,"  by  MacFarland; 
"Christian  Union,"  by  Kershner.  For 
wider  reading,  the  following  have  been 
selected:  "Christian  Union,"  by  Van 
Dyke;  "Christian  Union  and  the  His- 
toric Episcopate,"  by  Forrester.  B.  H. 
Cleaver  is  secretary  of  the  Institute. 

— During  January  and  February  at 
Central  Church,  New  Albany,  Ind.,  there 
were  42  new  members  added.  H.  G. 
Connelly,  the  pastor,  reports  that  ground 
will  be  broken  about  the  middle  of 
March  for  a  parsonage. 

— The  Temple,  Tex.,  church,  to  which 
E.  S.  Bledsoe  ministers,  will  begin  a 
meeting  on  March  25,  with  the  pastor 
preaching  and  E.  M.  Douthit  leading  in 
song.  Mr.  Bledsoe  writes  that  he  re- 
cently had  the  pleasure  of  having  in  his 
audience  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  of  Col- 
umbia, Ky.  Mr.  Williams  many  years 
ago  took  Mr.  Bledsoe's  confession,  bap- 
tized him  and  encouraged  him  to  enter 
the  ministry.  Two  confessions  are  re- 
ported at  Temple  on  February  24. 

— The  church  at  Girard,  O.,  recently 
held  a  fathers  and  sons  banquet,  at  which 
over  200  men  and  youths  were  in  attend- 
ance. 

— W.  E.  M.  Hackleman  is  leader  of  the 
music  and  special  soloist  in  the  union 
meeting  at  Connersville,  Ind.  The  Meth- 
odist, Presbyterian  and  Christian 
churches  are  participating.  During  the 
first  week  the  services  are  being  held  in 


the  Methodist  Church,  and  L.  E.  Brown, 
pastor  of  the  Christian  Church  is  preach- 
ing. Each  week  the  meeting  will  be 
held  in  one  of  the  other  churches,  and 
there  will  be  a  change  of  preachers  as 
well;  this  is  a  new  feature  in  union  meet- 
ings. A  large  choir  has  been  organized 
and  is  rendering  faithful  service. 

— The  church  at  Windsor,  111.,  is  con- 
templating a  new  building  under  the 
leadership  of  Geo.  A.  Reinhardt. 

— Cyrus  R.  Mitchell  has  returned 
from  Australia  and  is  doing  graduate 
work  in  the  University  of  Chicago. 

— A.  F.  DeGafferelly,  who  leads  the 
work  at  Sidell,  111.,  reports  the  close 
of  a  two  weeks'  soul-winning  campaign, 
in  which  sixteen  persons  responded  to 
the  invitation.  The  pastor  preached  and 
was  assisted  by  Otis  E.  Watson  and  wife 
4n  the  music. 

— Now  comes  the  Literary  Digest, 
quoting  from  the  United  Presbyterian, 
stating  that  Lloyd-George  is  a  "Camp- 
bellite  Baptist." 

— L.  B.  Haskins  of  Oak  Cliff  Church, 
Dallas,  Tex.,  announces  that  Crayton  S. 
Brooks  and  Fred  Warner  will  hold  a 
series  of  meetings  at  this  church  begin- 
ning April  1. 

— L.  C.  Oberlies  of  Bible  school  fame 
throughout  Nebraska,  gave  an  address 
before  the  Aurora,  Neb.,  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
and  spoke  also  at  the  Christian  Church 
there  on  "The  Boy  and  His  Father." 

— George  L.  Peters  of  Omaha,  Neb., 
Central  Church,  during  a  trip  to  San 
Antonio,  Tex.,  paid  a  visit  to  the  Mexi- 
can Christian  Institute,  located  in  the 
heart  of  "Little  Mexico,"  a  section  of 
the  city  with  a  population  of  about  S,000 
Mexicans.  This  work  is  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  C.  W.  B.  M.  and  is  directed 
by  Elmer  R.  Childs  and  wife. 

— William  Oeschger  of  Nebraska  Dis- 
cipledom,  recently  gave  his  address  on 
the  world  war  at  Elliott,  la. 

— Cottage  prayer  meetings  are  a  fea- 
ture of  the  successful  work  at  Tabernacle 
Church,   Franklin,   Ind.,  under  the  lead- 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  8,  1917 


ership  of  C.  A.  Burkhardt.  Mr.  Burk- 
hardt  also  has  an  interesting  pastor's 
class  of  young  people. 

— Warren,  O.,  church  now  has  a  Junior 
Congregation,  under  the  care  of  the  pas- 
tor, Walter  Mansell. 

— "The  Awakening  World"  is  the  sub- 
ject of  a  striking  series  of  lectures  be- 
ing given  in  the  Fine  Arts  Building, 
Chicago,  by  members  of  the  University 
of  Chicago  Faculties.  The  speaker  for 
February  2?  was  Edward  Scribner  Ames, 
assistant  professor  of  philosophy  at  the 
university,  and  pastor  at  Hyde  Park 
church. 

— It  is  proposed  to  secure  10,000  sub- 
scribers among  the  Kentucky  churches 
for  the  live  little  weekly  published  by  the 
Kentucky  Bible  School  Association  and 
edited  by  W.  E.  Frazee,  state  Bible 
school  superintendent.  The  paper  bears 
the  title,   "The  Weekly   Bulletin." 

— Indiana  wins!  A.  L.  Ward,  who  has 
done  remarkable  work  at  Lebanon,  Ind., 
and  who  serves  the  state  as  president  of 


the  Indiana  Missionary  Association,  will 
not  go  to  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  to  which 
field  he  was  recently  called.  There  have 
been  200  additions  to  the  membership 
at  Lebanon  during  the  past  year,  and 
Mr.  Ward  has  become  a  dependable 
leader  in  many  phases  of  community 
work. 

— George  L.  Moffett,  who  leads  at 
Pendleton,  Ind.,  writes  that  the  series 
of  meetings  held  there  by  George  W. 
Winfrey,  of  Alexandria,  and  W.  E.  M. 
Hackleman  ran  for  only  eighteen  days, 
but  109  persons  were  added  to  the  church 
membership. 

— W.  A.  Shullenberger,  of  Des  Moines, 
Central,  gave  an  address  at  a  banquet 
of  men  at  the  Trenton,  Mo.,  church  on 
February  22. 


Ask  lor  Catalogue  and  Special  Donation  Plan  No.  27 

(Established  1858) 

THE  C.  S.  BELL   COMPANY        •        •        HILLSBORO,  OHIO 


Dr.  Ainslie  Still  on  the  Firing  Line 

Dr.  Peter  Ainslie  is  known  to  his  friends  as  a  most  amiable  personality,  but  he  is 
evidently  at  the  same  time  a  fighter — for  peace.  Dr.  Ainslie  has  recently  been  sending 
out  some  strong  letters  to  influential  newspapers  and  officials.  The  following  will  be 
read  with  interest: 


To  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  Sun 
— Sir:  I  have  read  your  editorial  in  this 
morning's  paper  with  interest.  You  usu- 
ally speak  with  marked  fairness  and  to 
my  profit.  But  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  your  reference  to  pacificists  in  the 
editorial  referred  to  indicates  such  a 
strong  leaning  to  the  military  side  that 
you  do  not  recognize  the  principle  for 
which  some  of  us  are  contending  and  in 
this  instance  I  am  speaking  for  myself 
alone. 

Wars  between  nations  are  no  more 
proper  in  the  settling  of  difficulties  than 
fist  fights  between  individuals  on  the 
street.  We  have  established  courts  for 
the  settlement  of  differences  between 
individuals.  Has  the  day  not  come  for 
the  establishment  of  courts  for  the  set- 
tling of  differences  between  nations? 
How  can  this  ever  come  unless  there 
are  men  with  strong  convictions  con- 
tending for  this  method  of  settlement, 
rather  than  by  a  method  that  is  aggra- 
vating and,  as  Napoleon  Bonaparte  said, 
can  not  produce  a  durable  peace? 

President  Wilson  does  not  want  war, 
and  by  the  large  vote  given  to  him  last 
November  it  is  very  evident  the  Ameri- 
can people  do  not  want  war.  Is  it  not 
far  more  patriotic  to  sustain  the  Presi- 
dent in  his  desire  for  peace,  as  well  as 
the  convictions  of  the  multitude  of 
Americans,  rather  than  seizing  the  in- 
flamed condition  of  the  public  mind  and 
hurrying  the  nation  into  the  conflict, 
which  will  take  us  back  into  a  barbar- 
ous method  of  adjusting  differences, 
rather  than  pushing  us  forward  to  give 
moral  force  an  opportunity  to  speak  in 
behalf  of  a  better  civilization  than  we 
now  have? 

Is  it  not  true  that  the  greatest  ene- 
mies of  America  and  the  ideals  for 
which  our  country  stands  are  those  who 
are  wildly  talking  of  war,  expressing 
irresponsible  and  hostile  sentiments 
against  Germany  and  offering  them- 
selves and  their  sons  for  the  battle 
field?  President  Wilson  does  not  want 
this,  and  it  is  this  policy  that  is  tying 
the  hands  of  the  President  more  than 
any  other.  As  he  is  straining  every 
nerve  to  maintain  peace,  every  citizen 
in  America  is  under  obligation  to  do  the 


same  thing  and  stand  by  the  man  whom 
we  believe  is  able  to  keep  us  out  of  war 
with  honor,  unless  he  is  swept  off  his 
feet  by  the  inflamed  passion  of  distrust. 

As  Abraham  Lincoln  so  frequently 
said  to  the  people  he  met  in  the  days  of 
the  Civil  War  that  he  needed  their 
prayers,  so  this  whole  nation  should 
pray  that  patience  and  wisdom  may  be 
given  the  President  to  save  us  from  en- 
tering into  this  European  quarrel,  at  the 
same  time  to  try  to  show  that  Ger- 
many's course  is  wrong  and  to  endeavor 
to  bring  the  warring  nations  together  for 
adjusting  their  differences  in  a  court  of 
reason  rather  than  in  the  trenches,  where 
the  nations  of  Europe  are  now  bleeding 
to  death. 

I  have  sent  today  the  inclosed  tele- 
grams— one  to  President  Wilson  and  the 
other  to  the  German  people — as  my  con- 
tribution, small  as  it  may  be,  neverthe- 
less as  a  saner  method  to  prevent 
hostilities  between  my  country  and  Ger- 
many than  offering  myself  to  the 
president  to  enter  the  army  with  the  pur- 
pose of  inflicting  on  the  Germans  all 
the  injury  that  war  entails. 

Peter  Ainslie. 

Baltimore,  Feb.  13. 


Baltimore,  Md.,  Feb.  13,  1917. 
President  Woodrow  Wilson,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C: 
There  are  multitudes  of  us  standing 
back  of  you  in  your  desire  for  peace  and 
I  pray  that  God  may  give  you  patience 
and  wisdom  that  you  may  be  able  to 
keep  us  out  of  war  for  the  sake  of 
America's  service  to  the  world. 

Peter  Ainslie. 

Baltimore,  Md.,  Feb.  13,  1917. 
Ambassador    Bernstorff,    Care    Frederik 
Eighth,    Scandinavian    Line,    New 
York  City: 
Convey  to  the  German  people  my  sin- 
cere   expression    of    good    will    toward 
them  and  my  deep  desire  that  they  will 
do    what   they   can    to   prevent   war    be- 
tween   their    country   and    mine    for    the 
sake  of  the  civilization  of  which  we  are 
common   parts. 

Peter  Ainslie. 


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March  8,  1917  THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  23 


Pastors:  Announce  this  From 

Your  Pulpit! 

Why  I  Am  A  Disciple 

Bp  Charles  Clayton  Morrison 

In  the  issue  of  March  29,*  and  continuing 
for  twelve  or  fifteen  weeks,  the  editor  of 
The  Christian  Century  will  begin  a  series 
of  articles  giving  a  personal  statement 
of  his  reasons  for  being  a  Disciple*  In 
this  series  Mr.  Morrison  will  treat  in  the 
most  intimate  and  candid  fashion  of  the 
vital  and  urgent  issues  now  confronting 
our  people. 

Every  thoughtful  layman  and  minister 
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In  view  of  this  widespread  interest,  our 
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The  Christian  Century 


CHAM.ES  CLAYTON  MOEKISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT    E.    WTT.T.ETT,     CONTRIBUTING    EDITOR- 


Volume  XXXIV 


MARCH  15,  1917 


Number  1 1 


The  Evangelistic  Note 


THE  CHURCH  MUST  GROW  OR  PERISH. 

Modern  conditions  have  made  the  recruiting-  work 
of  the  church  more  important  than  ever.  Population 
shifts  far  more  rapidly.  The  average  city  neighborhood 
in  Chicago  changes  fifteen  per  cent  each  year.  A  cer- 
tain typical  suburban  church  with  two  hundred  mem- 
bers has  but  thirty  people  who  were  members  ten  years 
ago.  The  church  that  does  not  continually  add  to  its 
membership  will  utterly  waste  away  in  a  short  time. 

While  the  importance  of  the  recruiting  task  has 
grown,  the  skill  of  the  church  in  recruiting  has  waned. 
The  popular  methods  of  fifty  years  ago  still  persist 
because  of  a  belief  that  they  are  the  easy,  not  to  say 
only,  way  of  doing  this  work.  Yet  every  successful 
pastor  knows  perfectly  well  that  his  accessions  to  mem- 
bership are  not  coming  in  the  old  way,  but  by  brand 
new  processes. 

Especially  has  the  change  in  theological  emphasis 
seemed  to  cut  the  nerve  of  evangelism.  When  men 
were  rescued  instead  of  being  saved,  to  use  a  pregnant 
phrase  of  Dr.  Shailer  Mathews,  the  presentation  of 
the  message  was  simple.  Now  the  old-time  materialistic 
hell  is  a  joke,  and  the  preacher  is  jeered  who  tries  to 
present  it  as  an  object  of  terror  to  the  people.  The  mod- 
ern man  is  to  be  saved  and  not  to  be  merely  rescued. 

•     • 

Modern  religion  has  grip  and  power  and  it  must 
find  new  methods  of  recruiting  the  churches  that  live 
by  its  principles.  Already  these  new  methods  are  mak- 
ing their  appearance. 

A  scientific  theology  recognizes  the  pivotal  place 
which  the  child  occupies  in  the  scheme  of  religious  de- 
velopment. The  statistics  of  the  church  show  that 
ninety  per  cent  of  the  members  came  in  when  they  were 
under  eighteen,  even  under  a  system  that  did  not  prop- 
erly evaluate  the  religion  of  childhood.  In  the  future 
the  percentage  will  be  even  higher. 

The  church  that  does  not  duly  impress  the  teachers 
in  the  Sunday  School  with  their  evangelistic  duties  is 
failing  in  one  of  its  most  fundamental  tasks.  It  will 
be  a  matter  of  shame  to  a  Sunday  School  in  the  future 
which  does  not  encourage  its  children  to  take  a  definite 
stand  for  Jesus  Christ.  These  children  should  be  care- 
fully prepared  for  a  decision  by  the  pastor. 

Recruiting  among  adults  is  largely  the  task  of  en- 
listing to  definite  service  people  who  have  made  a  pro- 
fession of  faith  and  have  fallen  away.  Some  of  these 
feel  that  they  have  served  their  time.  They  have  moved 
out  to  the  suburbs  to  rest.  They  want  to  look  around  a 
little  and  see  the  different  churches.  It  is  not  long 
until  they  are  engulfed  in  worldliness  and  lost  to  all 
sense  of  definite  responsibility  to  the  work  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

These  people  are  often  hard  to  interview.  They 
must  be  bombarded  through  the  mail   with   carefully 


prepared  letters.  Sometimes  they  are  to  be  reached 
through  the  columns  of  a  newspaper  where  the  churches 
will  preach  the  gospel  with  hired  space.  The  whole 
community  must  be  saturated  with  the  idea  that  we 
need  our  churches,  and  that  if  they  are  to  go  on  people 
must  belong  to  them  and  support  them.  The  Christian 
without  a  definite  and  active  relationship  to  the  church 
is  to  be  looked  on  as  a  "slacker." 

The  church  that  learns  to  use  the  personal  work 
of  its  members  has  a  most  powerful  means  of  recruiting 
for  this  class  of  people.  A  certain  ladies'  aid  society 
finds  its  chief  work  not  in  giving  dinners,  but  in  look- 
ing up  the  new  people  of  the  community  and  learning 
their  attachments.  Another  church  has  a  group  of 
consecrated  men  who  meet  once  a  week  and  accept 
assignments  of  definite  work  in  reaching  the  people 
who  are  without  church  affiliation. 

•     • 

Certainly  the  church  cannot  any  longer  neglect  the 
internal  conditions  of  its  own  corporate  life.  When 
people  were  being  rescued  and  not  saved,  it  did  not 
matter  much  what  the  church  was,  for  one  could  escape 
hell  in  almost  any  kind  of  church.  Now  that  people  are 
seeking  the  biblical  kind  of  salvation,  the  character  of 
the  church  group  is  of  enormous  importance.  Are 
there  not  churches  in  which  a  man  would  be  damned? 
How  could  one  be  saved  in  a  church  where  the  quarrels 
and  troubles  obscured  the  Christian  injunctions  to  love 
and  holy  living? 

The  most  important  element  in  the  recruiting  work 
of  a  church  is  the  spirit  of  the  church.  There  are  some 
large  churches  which  want  only  the  "best"  people,  as 
these  are  known  among  the  four  hundred.  There  are 
narrow  churches  that  want  nothing  but  bigots.  But 
the  true  church  of  Jesus  Christ  which  has  a  catholic 
ideal  of  fellowship  and  which  stresses  the  "whosoever 
will"  of  the  gospel  will  find  many  ways  of  getting  hold 
of  the  people  for  the  service  of  Christ. 

There  is  no  season  when  the  church  should  cease 
to  be  evangelistic  in  spirit;  there  are  seasons  when  it  is 
easier  to  win  people.  Just  now  the  older  historic 
churches  are  holding  confirmation  classes  and  giving 
lectures  to  people  not  members.  The  air  is  charged 
with  religious  interest.  Perhaps  there  is  no  time  in  all 
the  year  when  a  church  can  so  surely  draw  the  net  and 
have  reward  for  its  labor  as  now.  Special  opportunities 
justify  special  efforts  and  special  methods. 

The  man  with  the  modern  message  should  have 
the  apostolic  zeal  to  propagate  his  view  of  religion  in 
the  world.  The  religion  that  survives  in  the  midst  of 
the  clash  of  creeds  and  the  war  of  ideals  in  our  modern 
life  will  not  be  of  a  non-evangelistic  sort.  Let  Paul  be 
our  model.  He  claimed  the  utmost  freedom  in  his 
theology,  but  coupled  it  with  the  deepest  devotion  in 
seeking  to  win  the  world  to  the  truth  of  our  Lord. 


EDITORIAL 


LENTEN  DEVOTIONS 

THE  Protestant  revolt  against  the  church  year  was 
carried  to  great  lengths.  There  have  been,  even 
in  our  generation,  some  prominent  ministers  who 
refused  to  observe  Easter  because  every  Sunday  was 
an  Easter.  Christmas  with  its  joy  and  gift-giving  was 
regarded  as  pagan  by  not  a  few.  For  the  rest  of  the 
church  year  there  was  ignorance  and  neglect. 

For  the  saints'  days  and  like  observances  of  the 
medieval  church  the  Protestant  is  apt  to  continue  to 
have  scant  interest.  There  is  no  reason,  however,  why 
essential  Protestantism  should  not  cooperate  with  any 
movement  that  means  greater  penitence,  prayer  and 
works  of  piety.  We  have  had  our  own  special  seasons, 
chiefly  those  connected  with  the  revival.  Lent  is  only 
an  annual  revival  which  comes  at  a  fixed  time  in  the 
calendar. 

The  forty  days  before  Easter  are  now  largely  rec- 
ognized by  the  entire  community.  The  press  and  many 
other  moulders  of  public  opinion  plan  to  help  on  the 
movement  for  a  deeper  piety  at  this  time  of  year.  The 
wise  Protestant  leader  will  use  this  period  of  awakened 
religious  interest  for  his  own  purposes. 

The  season  is  particularly  favorable  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  children  of  our  Sunday  Schools  preparatory 
for  their  reception  into  the  church.  It  is  a  time  when 
one  may  secure  greater  faithfulness  of  attendance  at 
worship  on  the  part  of  the  members  of  the  church. 
Bible  reading,  prayer  and  the  life  of  meditation  may  be 
urged  with  greater  success  in  this  season. 

With  the  great  distractions  incident  to  our  enor- 
mous wealth  and  our  increased  worldliness,  there 
should  now  be  an  increase  in  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
church  to  counteract  all  the  paganism  that  is  in  our 
hearts.  The  church  cannot  meet  its  new  problems  un- 
less its  spiritual  life  is  warm  and  true. 

THIRTY-FIVE  YEARS  OF  LEADERSHIP 

FOR  thirty-five  years  A.  McLean  has  served  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  as  a  missionary  leader.  In 
that  period  the  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  So- 
ciety has  grown  from  humble  beginnings  to  an  organi- 
zation having  an  income  of  more  than  a  half  million 
a  year. 

The  task  which  has  been  performed  by  this  man 
has  been  one  of  the  most  onerous  ever  given  to  an 
apostle  of  a  new  idea.  The  Disciples  were  for  a  long 
time  opposed  to  foreign  missions  on  principle.  Later 
a  provincial-minded  idea  of  expediency  led  them  to 
continue  their  indifference  to  the  world's  redemption. 
Thirty-five  years  ago  no  statistics  of  missionary  work 
ever  mentioned  the  Disciples  of  Christ  among  the 
world  forces.    Today  our  place  is  an  honorable  one. 

The  success  of  our  venerable  missionary  leader  is 
one  that  has  rested  on  a  thoroughly  religious  basis.  He 
has  not  known  the  tricks  of  the  orator,  nor  the  subter- 
fuges of  a  mere  promoter  in  setting  forth  to  us  our 
world  duty.  His  appeal  has  been  to  the  Scriptures  and 
to  our  own  conscience.  He  has  shamed  us  with  the 
stinginess  of  our  giving,  he  has  awed  us  with  a  vision 
of  the  world's  need,  he  has  made  our  hearts  bleed  with 
the  stories  of  the  sorrows  of  those  who  live  without 
Christ. 


We  could  well  imagine  that  long  ago  A.  McLean 
took  the  motto,  "This  one  thing  I  do."  He  has  stood 
as  the  symbol  of  a  single  idea.  Without  denying  the 
value  of  other  Christian  interests,  he  has  found  his  en- 
tire life  organized  around  a  single  task,  to  lead  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  to  an  adequate  participation  in  the 
work  of  giving  the  world  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Our  missionary  leader  is  a  growing  man.  He  goes 
to  the  great  gatherings  of  experts.  He  is  informed  on 
the  literature  of  his  subject.  He  has  traveled  in  mis- 
sion lands.  Living  after  this  fashion,  he  will  continue 
to  exercise  leadership  so  long  as  he  has  strength  to  do 
his  work. 

It  will  be  a  good  fortune  for  the  Disciples  if  he  is 
spared  for  many  years  yet  in  his  productive  service  in 
behalf  of  the  unsaved  world. 

A  RAILROAD  PRESIDENT  ARRESTED 

MOST  of  the  railroads  of  the  country  have  long 
since  bowed  to  public  sentiment  and  no  longer 
undertake  to  do  an  illicit  liquor  business  in  dry 
territory.     Among  the  recalcitrant  roads  is  the  New 
York  Central. 

William  H.  Anderson,  superintendent  of  the  New 
York  Anti-Saloon  League,  not  willing  to  trust  hired 
detectives,  got  aboard  a  New  York  Central  train  re-  | 
cently  and  bought  a  bottle  of  whiskey  and  a  bottle  of 
brandy  while  the  train  was  going  through  dry  territory. 
He  stepped  off  the  train  and  swore  out  a  warrant  for 
the  arrest  of  Alfred  H.  Smith,  president  of  the  New 
York  Central  Railroad,  in  Glenville,  Schenectady 
county.  In  order  that  the  railway  president  should  not 
be  unduly  humiliated,  this  official  was  given  time  to 
appear  at  the  court  voluntarily. 

The  whole  trend  of  public  sentiment  these  days  is  1 
that  "wet"  agents  shall  not  be  allowed  to  nullify  "dry" 
laws  by  invasion  of  the  "dry"  territory  with  "wet" 
goods.  It  is  the  same  issue  as  that  which  confronted 
the  north  just  prior  to  the  civil  war.  The  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  really  opened  the  doors  in  northern  states 
to  the  invasion  of  slavery,  an  institution  that  was  ob- 
noxious to  them.  The  abolition  of  slavery  was  the 
answer  that  was  given  to  this  effort. 

The  government  has  recently  rid  itself  of  com- 
plicity in  violating  local  prohibitory  laws.  It  is  now 
impossible  to  use  mail  or  express  either  to  advertise 
alcoholic  liquors  or  to  deliver  them.  When  public 
sentiment  has  driven  the  government  this  far,  it  will 
never  tolerate  the  violation  of  the  liquor  laws  by  a 
railroad. 

The  difference  between  Alfred  H.  Smith  and  a 
boot-legger  is  favorable,  on  the  whole,  to  the  boot- 
legger. The  latter  supports  a  family  by  means  of  an 
illegal  business.  The  former  only  increases  the  divi- 
dends of  a  corporation. 

THE  PASTOR  AS  A  MISSIONARY  LEADER 

THE  responsibility  of  the  pastor  for  the  attitude  of 
the  local  church  toward  missions  is  great.     In  the 
case  of  a  long  ministry,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  a 
church  will  become  loyal  and  enthusiastic  to  the  work  of 
world  evangelization  if  the  pastor  is  faithful  to  his  duties. 
The  pastor  has  a  duty  in  the  missionary  education  of 
his  church.     No  group  of  Christian  people  can  be  ex- 


March  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


pected  to  be  enthusiastic  concerning  missions  unless  they 
are  well  informed.  Church  papers,  missionary  magazines, 
tracts  and  study  books  now  provide  a  great  body  of  the 
most  helpful  missionary  information.  The  pastor  should 
lead  his  people  to  a  knowledge  of  this  literature.  His 
sermons  should  find  many  of  their  most  telling  illustrations 
from  the  achievements  of  mission  fields. 

Then  the  pastor  must  create  a  background  for  mis- 
sionary giving  by  teaching  the  great  Christian  doctrine  of 
stewardship.  Only  the  people  who  believe  that  their 
wealth  belongs  to  God  will  give  to  missions  as  they  should. 

It  is  always  the  duty  of  the  pastor  to  lead  in  securing 
workers  for  the  world  task.  The  preaching  of  missions 
appeals  to  the  heroism  and  devotion  of  the  young  people 
of  the  churches.  They  need  only  intelligent  guidance  that 
they  may  become  consecrated  missionaries  of  the  cross. 

The  pastor's  greatest  service  is  in  furnishing  the 
spiritual  background  to  the  whole  enterprise  of  missions. 
He  must  know  how  thoroughly  the  Bible  is  a  missionary 
book.  He  must  enter  into  the  prayer  spirit  which  has 
possessed  the  great  missionaries.  When  the  people  are 
led  to  see  how  fundamental  the  missionary  cause  is  to  the 
whole  work  of  God  in  the  world,  they  will  choose  to  be 
fellow-laborers  together  with  God. 

THOU  SHALT  NOT  KILL 

A  MOTHER  in  England,  when  her  son  told  her  he 
was  going  to  Chicago  to  carve  out  his  fortune,  said : 
"You  are  sure  to  be  killed."  The  reputation  of  the 
great  city  by  the  lake  had  spread  to  England.  It  had  be- 
come known  on  the  other  side  of  the  water  as  the  city 
where  it  is  easy  to  kill.  Chicago  had  several  times  as 
many  murders  last  year  as  did  London,  although  the  latter 
city  is  three  times  as  large  as  Chicago. 

America,  as  a  whole,  is  a  place  of  easy  murder.  Bad 
as  the  conditions  are  in  the  cities,  in  some  sections  they 
are  even  worse  in  the  country.  The  rate  last  year  for  each 
hundred  thousand  of  population  in  thirty-one  larger  cities 
was  8.3  in  1915.  In  New  England  it  was  2.9.  In  the 
western  states  it  was  10.6,  and  this  was  exceeded  by  the 
rate  in  the  south,  where  the  rate  was  13.1. 

There  are  a  number  of  reasons  why  murder  has 
flourished  in  this  country.  We  are  relatively  a  new  people. 
We  have  a  great  conglomeration  of  races,  which  are  in 
some  cases  very  antagonistic  to  each  other.  The  spirit 
of  individualism  in  the  country  is  very  high.  The  respect 
for  law  is  very  low.  We  are  still  very  raw  and  undevel- 
oped as  compared  with  the  older  civilization  in  Europe. 

Perhaps  the  chief  reason  for  the  commonness  of  mur- 
ders here  in  this  country  is  to  be  found  in  our  legal  sys- 
tem. In  no  country  in  the  world  is  a  man  charged  with 
crime  given  so  many  loop-holes  by  which  to  evade  paying 
the  penalty  for  his  crimes.  In  all  large  cities  there  are 
attorneys  of  evil  reputation  who  fatten  upon  the  successful 
defense  of  criminals.     Our  courts  are  slow  and  uncertain. 

Graft  among  the  police  also  results  in  the  failure  to 
catch  criminals. 

We  need  in  America  a  new  sense  of  the  infinite  value 
of  human  life. 

R.  C.  CAVE  REINSTATED 

FEW  incidents  in  our  recent  history  have  been  more 
dramatic  than  the  recent  reception  of  R.  C.  Cave 
back  into  the  Disciple  church  in  St.  Louis,  from 
which  he  was  excluded  twenty-seven  years  ago.     Mr. 
Cave  was  at  that  time  preaching  on  some  difficult  Old 


Testament  problems  which  are  now  rather  common- 
place with  us.  He  insisted  that  the  character  of  God 
was  not  adequately  set  forth  in  some  of  the  stories 
of  the  Old  Testament  characters.  For  these  views  he 
was  compelled  to  seek  more  congenial  fellowship. 

In  returning  to  the  fellowship  of  the  younger  years, 
R.  C.  Cave  declares  he  has  not  changed  his  views.  Has 
the  church,  then,  changed?  Chiefly  in  the  matter  of 
tolerance.  Tolerance  is  a  larger  principle  than  is  any 
method  of  biblical  interpretation. 

The  tardy  righting  of  a  wrong  done  in  the  long 
ago  brings  to  all  of  us  a  certain  sense  of  shame.  It  ought 
to  make  us  consider  what  a  burden  we  are  laying  up 
for  ourselves  at  the  end  of  another  quarter  of  a  century 
of  history.  By  that  time  the  battle  of  a  modern  method 
in  religious  study  will  be  beyond  debate.  Few  com- 
munities will  be  so  belated  as  to  refuse  recognition  to 
a  point  of  view  which  even  now  makes  up  the  equip- 
ment of  practically  all  university  trained  preachers. 
Twenty-five  years  from  now  we  shall  be  seeking  out 
one  by  one  the  men  who  have  been  publicly  flogged  in 
our  newspapers  and  making  what  reparation  we  can 
to  them. 

Meanwhile,  the  brotherhood  has  lost  a  large  and 
important  part  of  the  life  of  R.  C.  Cave,  and  the  branded 
preacher  lost  much  in  going  out  among  strangers  to  try 
to  do  his  life  work.  These  losses  have  no  compensa- 
tion unless  it  be  in  the  clear  recognition  that  heresy- 
hunting  is  no  part  of  the  business  of  true  Disciples. 

If  R.  C.  Cave  had  been  wrong  in  his  opinions,  we 
needed  nothing  but  the  truth  to  bring  them  to  naught. 
If  he  was  right  in  many  of  his  ideas,  we  have  only 
vainly  fought  against  God  in  opposing  them. 

THE  HUMAN  SCIENCES  AND  RELIGION 

WHEN  science  was  operating  quite  exclusively 
in  the  field  of  biology,  men  sometimes  felt 
that  religion  and  science  were  working  at  cross- 
purposes.  In  these  days  when  so  much  of  scientific 
inquiry  is  at  work  in  the  human  sciences,  it  becomes 
clear  that  science  has  become  one  of  the  most  valued 
allies  of  religion. 

We  have  the  new  science  of  society  which  has 
grown  up  within  the  past  generation  and  is  just  now 
being  recognized  as  a  true  science.  Its  work  has  re- 
sulted in  showing  how  truly  religion  has  a  place  in  the 
various  societies  of  the  past  and  by  presumption  estab- 
lishing a  place  for  religion  in  society  in  the  days  to 
come.  The  service  of  the  church  has  been  made  richer 
and  better  by  reason  of  the  light  which  has  been  thrown 
upon  the  function  of  the  church  by  the  great  social  stu- 
dents of  the  age. 

The  study  of  psychology  has  made  ready  for  the 
study  of  religious  experience.  It  is  now  many  years 
since  Starbuck  made  his  initial  venture  in  this  field 
and  was  followed  by  James,  Coe  and  many  other  emi- 
nent investigators.  This  study  of  the  psychology  of 
religious  experience  has  revealed  the  various  possibili- 
ties of  Christian  development,  stamping  some  as  de- 
sirable and  some  as  undesirable.  Probably  no  one  dis- 
cipline has  so  shaken  the  practice  of  evangelism  in 
the  church  or  so  much  strengthened  the  educational 
method  in  religious  work,  as  has  this. 

Anthropology,  dealings  as  it  does  with  human 
origins,  helps  us  to  understand  the  great  instincts  that 
move  people  about  us.     The  pastor  in  his  parish  prob- 


8 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTUR  Y 


March  15,  1917 


[ems  often  finds  a  human  situation  illuminated  when  it 
is  brought  into  relation  with  the  primitive  interests  of 
the  race. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  one  must  be  very  much  be- 


hind the  times  to  talk  of  a  conflict  between  religion  and 
science.  Science  has  greatly  enriched  modern  religious 
life.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  it  can  be  successfully 
maintained  that  the  religious  spirit  has  helped  science. 


The  Higher  Criticism 

Tenth  Article  of  the  Series  on  the  Bible 

By  Herbert  L.  Willett 


DURING  the  past  century  the  books  of  the  Bible 
have  been  subjected  to  searching  examination  as 
the  result  of  what  is  known  as  the  critical 
method.  That  activity  arose  as  the  result  of  the  gen- 
eral scientific  movement  with  its  appeal  to  fact  and 
its  rejection  of  tradition.  The  discovery  of  glaring 
errors  in  historical  or  semi-historical  documents  relat- 
ing both  to  political  and  religious  history,  sharpened  the 
interest  of  inquirers  to  apply  some  method  of  discrimi- 
nation to  a  wide  range  of  ancient  writings.  The  dis- 
covery by  Valla  of  the  false  decretals  and  the  spurious 
donations  by  which  validation  was  apparently  secured 
for  ecclesiastical  pretensions,  stirred  the  scholarly 
world  to  further  research.  The  nature  and  trustworthi- 
ness of  many  types  of  literature  inherited  from  classic 
periods  came  under  scrutiny. 

It  was  inevitable  that  soon  or  late  this  process 
should  be  applied  to  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
The  purely  scientific  concern  for  the  correct  tradition 
was  intensified  in  the  case  of  the  Scriptures  by  religious 
considerations.  It  was  to  be  expected  that  such  activity 
would  arouse  apprehension  on  the  part  of  those  who 
had  no  reason  to  question  the  familiar  theories  of 
biblical  authorships,  dates  and  values.  The  form  in 
which  the  Bible  was  received  by  the  church  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  the  views  then  held  regarding 
its  literary  history,  were  considered  authentic,  authori- 
tative and  final.  To  only  a  few  biblical  scholars  had 
there  occurred  such  questions  as  are  today  the  com- 
monplaces of  careful  Bible  study.  Something  of  the 
work  of  the  textual  critic  has  been  indicated  in  the 
last  study.  Upon  that  foundation  it  was  necessary  to 
-et  the  task  of  literary  and  historical  investigation.  To 
some  this  seemed  unnecessary  and  irreverent.  But  it 
becomes  increasingly  evident  upon  study  and  reflection 
that  in  the  Bible  the  student  is  dealing  with  a  human 
literature  which  has  the  common  characteristics  of  all 
literary  work. 

NECESSITY  FOR  INQUIRY 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  inquiry  into  the  structure  and 
peculiarities  of  this  literature  is  inevitable.  Only  timid- 
ity and  submission  to  traditional  opinions  could  inhibit 
from  such  a  task.  The  merest  reading  of  some  books 
of  Scripture  shows  that  they  are  made  up  of  two  or 
three  wholly  unrelated  parts  which  were  probably  at 
one  time  separate  books;  and  others  are  seen  to  be 
compiled  from  various  sources  by  editorial  activity 
which  has  in  turn  become  responsible  for  additions  to 
the  original  material.  The  frank  recognition  of  these 
facts  is  in  no  way  disturbing  to  the  faith  of  any  believer 
m  the  value  of  the  Scriptures  as  the  highest  literary 
expression  of  the  will  of  God.  Since  these  qualities  of 
combination  and  expansion  are  evident  in  other  kinds 


of  writing,  why  should  they  discredit  a  set  of  docu- 
ments which  have  proved  their  ethical  and  religious 
value,  not  only  in  spite  of,  but,  in  some  considerable 
degree,  because  of  these  very  qualities  of  human  work- 
manship? 

The  Old  Testament  came  into  the  possession  of 
the  Christian  church  carrying  certain  assumptions  and 
traditions  regarding  its  origin  and  structure.  Jewish 
opinion  asserted  that  its  books  fell  into  three  groups  of 
distinctly  different  value  and  inspiration.  There  were 
the  five  books  assigned  to  Moses;  the  authoritative 
standard  of  doctrine  and  conduct,  and  the  object  of  far- 
reaching  and  luminous  labors  of  commentation.  There 
was  the  body  of  prophetic  writings,  highly  valued, 
though  not  to  a  degree  approaching  the  reverence  inj 
which  the  torah  was  held.  The  traditions  regarding 
the  authorship  of  such  books  as  Samuel,  Isaiah,  Zecha- 
riah  and  the  like  were  regarded  as  authentic  and  satis- 
factory. Then  there  was  the  collection  of  miscellaneous 
writings  which  included  all  the  books  left  over  from 
the  two  previous  lists.  Here  again  tradition  was  free 
to  insist  upon  certain  sacred  names  as  those  of  recog- 
nized authors.  The  Davidic  origin  of  the  Psalms,  the 
Solomonic  authorship  of  Proverbs  and  Ecclesiastes,  the 
exilic  date  and  authenticity  of  Daniel,  were  not  ques- 
tioned, either  in  the  later  Jewish  community  or  in  the 
early  Christian  church.  It  was  not  painstaking  inquiry 
on  the  part  either  of  Jews  or  Christians  that  validated 
these  documents ;  it  was  only  the  fact  that  no  one  ever 
suspected  any  occasion  for  question  regarding  these 
matters.  If  there  still  remained  in  scribal  schools  the 
echoes  of  recent  controversies  over  Ecclesiastes  and 
Canticles  they  were  soon  forgotten  in  the  multiplying 
labors  of  Talmudic  commentation  and  Christian  evan- 
gelism. 

FREEDOM  OF  THE  REFORMERS 

There  was  little  effort  to  question  these  early 
opinions  for  centuries.  It  should  be  noted,  however, 
that  the  obscure  spaces  of  both  Jewish  and  Christian 
history,  lying  between  the  first  and  fifteenth  centuries, 
were  not  without  fruitful  work  in  the  field  of  biblical 
scholarship,  and  now  and  then  there  were  voices  raising 
casual  but  not  insistent  questions  regarding  the  ancient 
traditions.  This  process  of  inquiry  was  greatly  stimu- 
lated at  the  period  of  the  Reformation  by  the  light  into 
which  the  Bible  was  thrown  as  the  Protestant  source 
of  authority  over  against  the  papal  claims  of  the  Roman 
Church.  The  reformers  used  the  Bible  with  the  utmost 
freedom,  giving  little  heed  either  to  Jewish  or  Christian 
notions  regarding  dates  and  authorships.  One  is 
astonished  to  see  how  radical  were  some  of  the  views 
advanced  by  Luther  and  his  contemporaries  as  com- 
pared with  the  timid  conservatism  of  the  second  gen- 


March  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


■ration  of  reformers,  with  their  favorite  doctrine  of 
verbal  inspiration.  But  still  the  modern  discipline  of 
the  literary  and  historical  criticism  of  the  Bible  was 
yet  to  be  born.  It  could  only  come  to  birth  as  the  child 
of  the  new  spirit  of  scientific  and  historical  inquiry  that 
sought  to  test  all  the  facts  in  these  fields,  and  to  hold 
fast  only  to  that  which  could  prove  its  worth. 

The  modern  method  of  literary  criticism  of  the 
Bible  arose  first  out  of  the  unrelated  but  similar  in- 
quiries of  such  investigators  as  Astruc,  Colenso,  Simon, 
Spinoza  and  others.  The  attention  of  these  men  was 
attracted  to  certain  literary  phenomena  in  Genesis  and 
other  portions  of  the  Hexateuch.  The  variations  noted 
in  the  use  of  the  divine  names  in  the  early  chapters  of 
Genesis,  the  apparent  presence  of  two  different  narra- 
tives of  such  events  as  the  creation,  the  deluge  and 
many  incidents  in  the  patriarchal  stories,  led  to  the 
gradual  adoption  of  the  documentary  hypothesis, 
though  not  without  ebbs  and  tides  of  opinion,  and  the 
rise  and  fall  of  other  theories  such  as  that  of  the  "frag- 
ment" hypothesis.  These  workers,  and  those  who  fol- 
lowed them  in  this  field,  men  like  Ewald,  Kuenen, 
DeWette,  Stade,  Vatke,  Wellhausen,  Hupfeld,  Budde, 
and  a  distinguished  company  besides,  attacked  the 
various  problems  that  arose  when  once  the  spirit  of 
inquiry  was  fully  released.  They  did  not  come  to  their 
task  for  the  purpose  of  challenging  and  discrediting  the 
traditional  views,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  with  the 
motive  of  their  defense.  Rather  they  came  to  seek  the 
facts,  knowing  that  whatever  were  the  results  obtained 
by  a  process  carried  on  in  that  spirit,  truth  and  religion 
would  profit  thereby.  Already  discredited  in  its  very 
beginnings  is  the  labor  of  any  man  who  undertakes  the 
work  of  criticism  merely  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
a  preconceived  opinion,  no  matter  whether  it  be  con- 
servative or  radical.  It  is  only  in  the  atmosphere  of 
free  and  unbiased  research  and  with  the  conflict  of 
opinions  which  is  sure  to  follow  any  new  proposal  that 
the  best  values  of  Scripture  and  theology  emerge. 

FEAR  OF   CRITICISM 

Thus  criticism  is  both  destructive  and  constructive. 
It  signifies  the  removal  of  those  things  which  can  be 
shaken,  that  the  things  which  cannot  be  shaken  may 
remain.  In  all  of  its  earlier  stages  it  is  sure  to  be  de- 
structive and  alarming.  It  appears  to  be  an  audacious 
digging  around  the  roots  of  the  tree  of  life.  In  the 
Christian  church  it  has  brought  dismay  to  multitudes 
of  souls  firm  in  the  belief  that  their  inherited  and  tra- 
ditional views  of  the  Bible  were  identical  with  the  very 
nature  of  the  divine  revelation,  and  that  any  modifica- 
tion of  such  views  was  heretical  and  inexcusable.  But 
that  sentiment  passes  away  as  the  discovery  is  made 
that  the  critical  inquirers  have  no  personal  ends  to1 
serve,  but  are  only  searching  for  facts.  And  in  the  end 
of  the  day  it  becomes  clear  that  as  the  result  of  the 
critical  process  the  Bible  has  gained  immeasurably 
larger  values,  and  is  shown  to  rest  not  on  heaps  of 
sand,  but  on  mountains  of  rock. 

If  it  has  been  proved  in  the  process  of  critical  in- 
quiry that  the  book  of  Joshua  is  a  part  of  a  six-fold 
unit  called  the  Hexateuch,  which  has  taken  the  place 
of  the  former  five-fold  Pentateuch ;  that  Moses  is  only 
a  common  denominator  for  the  legislation  of  Israel, 
rather  than  the  lawgiver  which  later  Hebrew  tradition 
made  him  to  be;  that  there  are  four  documents  in  the 
Hexateuch  almost  as  clearly  differentiated  as  are  the 


four  Gospels  of  the  New  Testament;  that  the  prophetic 
and  priestly  histories  are  compilations  made  up  from 
various  sources  and  with  differing  values;  that  the 
Psalms  are  Davidic  only  in  the  sense  that  the  first  king 
of  Israel  was  believed  to  be  a  musician  and  a  patron  of 
the  music  of  the  sanctuary ;  that  it  is  questionable 
whether  we  have  any  literary  material  which  directly 
represents  Solomon ;  that  the  Book  of  Isaiah  is  made 
up  of  at  least  three  different  bodies  of  prophetic  ma- 
terial from  different  ages  of  the  national  experience, 
and  manifests  in  addition  the  results  of  editorial  work 
to  a  marked  degree;  that  the  Book  of  Daniel  is  in  no 
sense  a  work  of  prophecy,  and  that  it  assumes,  for  pur- 
poses of  apocalyptic  persuasion,  the  name  and  character 
of  Daniel ;  that  the  four  Gospels  are  anonymous,  and 
give  clear  evidences  of  the  usual  literary  relationships ; 
that  the  common  authorship  of  the  fourth  Gospel  and 
Revelation  cannot  be  maintained ;  that  the  Pauline  au- 
thorship of  Hebrews  is  no  longer  defensible,  and  the 
relation  of  the  Apostle  to  the  Pastoral  Epistles  is  im- 
probable ;  if,  let  it  be  repeated,  it  has  become  evident 
that  these  are  among  the  conclusions  to  which  pains- 
taking and  accurate  scholarship  has  been  led,  the  re- 
sult is  not  the  discrediting  of  these  portions  of  the 
Bible,  but  rather  a  closer  approach  to  their  true  origin 
and  purpose.  No  part  of  the  Bible  gains  in  value  merely 
by  being  assigned  to  some  distinguished  moral  leader  of 
the  past;  its  value  lies  wholly  in  its  own  message  and 
urgency. 

It  is  the  function,  then,  of  the  literary  criticism  of 
Scripture  to  raise  inquiries  regarding  the  integrity,  au- 
thenticity, credibility  and  historical  value  of  the  docu- 
ments which  make  up  our  collection  of  sacred  writings. 
One  wishes  to  know  whether  a  book  like  Nehemiah  or 
Matthew  is  a  single  document  written  by  one  author,  or 
is  an  amalgamation  of  different  works,  a  composite  of 
various  strata  of  writing.  It  is  also  natural  that  one 
should  ask  whether  it  seems  probable  that  the  name 
attached  to  a  given  book  like  Samuel  or  the  Song  of 
Songs  or  James  is  the  name  of  the  author,  or  the  hero, 
or  is  a  mere  literary  device.  One  makes  inquiry,  fur- 
chermore,  whether  the  statements  made  in  a  biblical 
narrative  can  be  trusted,  as  in  the  cases  of  the  healing 
of  Naaman,  the  Syrian,  and  the  recession  of  the  shadow 
on  the  dial  of  Ahaz.  These  are  not  inquiries  which  are 
devised  for  the  purpose  of  discrediting  any  document, 
biblical  or  otherwise.  They  are  the  inevitable  questions 
which  any  thoughtful  reader  raises  regarding  the  objects 
of  his  study.  Criticism,  therefore,  is  judgment,  discrim- 
ination, investigation,  and  when  properly  pursued  it  has 
always  the  value  of  eliciting  the  kind  of  knowledge 
desired  regarding  the  materials  under  examination. 

BIBLE    WRITERS    AS    HIGHER    CRITICS 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  process  of  literary 
criticism  is  wholly  new  and  unprecedented.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  Old  Testament  presents  an  amazing  amount 
"of  critical  wrork  on  the  part  of  the  men  who  were  con- 
cerned, though  unconsciously  so,  in  its  literary  prepara- 
tion. In  the  ninth  century  before  Christ  the  schools  of 
the  prophets  in  the  Judean  sections  of  Palestine  pre- 
pared and  circulated  a  prophetic  narrative  of  the  early 
days  of  the  world  and  of  their  own  Hebrew  people,  set- 
ting forth  certain  conceptions  of  God  and  certain  ideals 
of  the  moral  life.  A  century  later  the  prophetic  group 
in  the  northern  kingdom,  apparently  fully  acquainted 
with  the  document  which  their  earlier  brethren  of  the 


10  THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  March  15,  1917 

south  had  published,  issued  another  narrative  covering  rewrote  its  history,  evidently  regarding  the  prophetic 

much  the  same  ground  so  far  as  period  and  incidents  narratives  of  earlier  times  as  entirely  insufficient  and 

were  concerned,  but  correcting  the  earlier  views  in  a  misleading.     And  no  one  who  compares  the  priestly 

number  of  important  details.     They  were  dissatisfied  narrative  with  its  prophetic  predecessors  need  be  told 

with  the  anthropomorphic  character  of  God  in  the  Judean  how  much  more  dignified  and  authoritative  is  its  in-! 

record,  and  with  certain  types  of  morality  which  had  lerpretation   of  the  divine   character,   and   how  much 

there  passed  without  criticism.     They  made  free  use  more  satisfactory  its  ethical  standards  than  those  of  the 

of  their  undoubted  right  to  revise  and  alter  the  previous  Judean  and  Ephraimite  writers. 

interpretation  of  the  ideals  and  institutes  of  their  nation.  And  if  one  wishes  to  see  this  critical  process  in  its 
They  performed — these  Ephraimite  prophets — the  high  final  form  he  has  but  to  study  the  work  of  those  later 
and  impressive  task  of  literary  criticism.  They  had  the  editorial  workers,  who  combined  with  skill  and  dis- 
advantage of  the  contemporary  teaching  of  great  spir-  cretion  these  various  strata  of  material  into  one  con- 
itual  leaders  like  Amos  and  Hosea,  and  just  as  these  tinuous  story,  which  everywhere  emphasizes  by  ad- 
prophets  did  not  hesitate  to  call  in  question  the  moral  mirable  arrangement  of  details  the  supremacy  of  the 
standards  complacently  accepted  by  previous  teachers  priestly  ideals  of  ethics  and  religion, 
like  Samuel,  Elijah  and  Elisha,  so  these  writers  of  the  There  are  many  evidences  of  the  like  spirit  and 
Ephraimite  group  laid  emphasis  upon  the  new  ethical  activity  in  other  sections  of  biblical  literature.  They 
principles  which  awoke  in  their  souls  and  emerged  in  may  be  seen  in  that  anthology  of  devotion,  the  Book 
their  preaching.  of  Psalms,  whose  various  editions  and  editorial  re- 
in the  next  century  there  came  the  long  days  of  visions  are  plainly  marked  in  our  present  Psalter.  A 
darkness  in  Judah  under  the  rule  of  Manasseh.  Priests  similar  work  of  criticism  was  performed  by  the  Hebrew 
and  prophets  were  almost  entirely  cut  off  from  the  privi-  collectors  and  editors  of  such  books  as  Isaiah,  Jeremiah, 
lege  of  public  ministry.  The  times  were  evil.  It  was  and  Zechariah.  One  need  seek  no  further  for  ample 
clear  that  the  older  religious  customs  and  standards  were  justification  of  literary  criticism  in  the  domain  of  bibli- 
insufficient.  In  the  light  of  the  hard  experience  of  their  cal  literature,  even  long  before  the  scientific  and  his- 
lime  these  consecrated  men  seem  to  have  undertaken  torical  motives  had  emerged  to  expression.  And  one  is 
the  task  of  restating  the  institutional  forms  of  Israel's  always  interested  in  the  air  of  freedom  with  which 
life.  They  had  before  them  the  prophetic  documents  of  all  these  biblical  workers  exercised  their  function.  Each 
their  earlier  brethren,  both  of  the  Judean  and  the  Ephraim-  generation  regarded  itself  as  the  sole  judge  of  what  was 
ite  schools.  They  had  in  hand  the  laws  of  the  Book  wisest  and  most  expedient  in  the  handling  of  the  sacred 
of  the  Covenant.  But  manifestly  these  were  insuffi-  writings  of  the  past.  And  each  regarded  this  freedom 
cient,  and  to  that  extent  they  were  wrong.  With  a  as  in  no  way  inconsistent  with  that  high  sense  of  loyalty 
diligence  and  zeal  that  win  the  highest  admiration  from  to  the  writings  themselves  which  were  in  part  taking 
the  student  of  that  period  of  Hebrew  history,  they  set  form  under  their  hands, 
themselves  the  task  of  criticism  and  revision,  of  ex- 
pansion and  elimination.  The  document  which  they  the  method  of  jesus 
produced  and  which  later  became  the  authoritative  T  .  .  ,  ,  ,  ,  .  T 
standard  of  the  Josian  reformation  was  a  drastic  criti-  It  is  not  without  value  to  note  the  attitude  of  Jesus 
cism  of  the  former  ethics  and  religion  of  the  nation,  toward  the  Scriptures  and  his  superb  freedom  in  their 
The  most  interesting  feature  of  this  great  critical  docu-  usf;  He  was  nourished  upon  those  books  which  we 
ment  is  the  fact  that  it  claims  and  everywhere  assumes  cta11  the  OId  Testament.  He  quoted  from  them  as  if 
the  sanction  of  the  Mosaic  spirit,  with  the  conviction  they  were  the  ever-present  background  of  his  thinking, 
that  if  the  classic  lawgiver  were  at  hand  these  were  pre-  £et  ^  USed  ,the.m  aS  lf  ^  T"6  Pks.tlc.to  hls  touch, 
cisely  the  strictures  he  would  make  upon  current  He.  dld  not  hfsl!ate  t0  show  their  limitations  while  he 
theory  and  practice,  and  these  the  new  institutes  he  Pointfd  °,ut,  .their  V&!Ue;  HeJ  con.tras.ted  tl}e  l™*  of 
would  issue  for  public  guidance.  lsrael  wlth  hls  own  ldeals>  and  maintained  that  the  lat- 
ter were  permanent  and  complete.  To  be  sure  he  did 
the  priests  as  critics  n°t  discuss  nor  question  the  traditional  dates  and  au- 
thorship of  these  documents.  If  he  knew  more  of  the 
Nor  did  the  process  of  criticism  end  here.  The  facts  than  his  contemporaries,  he  wisely  applied  the 
exile  dispersed  the  most  intelligent  and  resourceful  law  of  accommodation,  or  purposely  declined  to  raise 
Hebrews  through  the  east.  In  the  downfall  of  their  questions  which  had  no  value  for  religion  or  conduct, 
government  and  institutions  they  saw  the  chastising  But  in  all  other  regards  his  was  the  attitude  of  a  rev- 
hand  of  God.  It  was  a  natural  inference  that  some-  erent  critic  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  under  his  in- 
thing  was  wrong  with  the  previous  religious  life  of  terpretation  of  those  ancient  documents  men's  hearts 
their  people,  and  that  a  more  extensive  and  far-reaching  burned  within  them  as  they  talked  with  him.  The  pur- 
scheme  of  religious  activities  was  essential  to  their  poseful  criticism  of  the  Bible  in  all  its  parts  may  justly 
national  revival.  The  years  of  the  exile  would  not  have  claim  the  example  and  authority  of  the  Master  himself, 
been  far  advanced  when  this  process  began.  It  is  seen  It  would  be  engaging  study  to  pursue  step  by  step 
some  distance  on  its  way  in  the  ideal  code  of  Ezekiel.  the  path  of  biblical  inquiry  during  the  past  century  in 
It  is  still  further  developed  in  the  "Holiness  Law,"  the  company  of  those  devout  and  scholarly  men  who 
though  on  somewhat  different  lines.  It  came  to  its  have  labored  nobly  to  disengage  the  Bible  from  the  cere- 
full  expression  in  the  great  Priest  Code  which  radically  ments  of  traditional  views.  Against  these  men  and 
revised  and  corrected  all  hitherto  accepted  standards  of  their  published  results  a  volume  of  protest  was  raised 
religious  practice.  Here  was  criticism  in  its  final  legal  by  those  who  were  disturbed  in  their  comfortable  bib- 
form,  so  far  as  the  codes  of  the  Old  Testament  witness.  Heal  ideas.  It  was  charged  that  these  critics  were  dis- 
Those  workers  of  the  fifth  century  B.  C.  not  only  re-  turbers  of  the  peace,  that  they  undermined  the  citadel 
vised  and  changed  the  laws  of  their  nation,  but  they  of  religion,  that  they  spread  the  spirit  of  skepticism, 


March  15,  1917                                  THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  11 

and  that  they  denied  the  divine  character  of  the  Bible  through  which  the  present  generation  has  been  parsing, 
and  of  Jesus.  No  doubt,  all  these  charges  could  be  The  critical  spirit  that  has  given  reasonable  and  con- 
sustained  in  individual  cases.  But  time  has  greatly  vincing  explanation  of  the  physical  universe  has  pro- 
reduced  the  spirit  of  opposition  to  literary  and  historical  vided  us  with  an  equally  satisfactory  interpretation  of 
criticism.     Today  the  voices  of  antagonism  are  grow-  the  Word  of  God. 

ing  fainter,  and  are  for  the  most  part  reduced  to  the  The  Higher  Criticism  has  forever  disposed  of  the 
circle  of  provincial  theology  and  a  futile  section  of  the  fetish  of  a  level  Bible;  it  has  destroyed  the  doctrine 
religious  press.  The  process  has  vindicated  itself  by  its  of  verbal  inspiration ;  it  has  set  in  proper  light  the  par- 
results.  The  work  of  criticism  has  made  human  and  tial  and  primitive  ethics  of  the  Hebrew  people;  it  has 
convincing  the  story  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  relieved  the  church  of  the  responsibility  of  defending 
prophets  and  apostles  no  longer  look  at  us  from  the  ancient  social  abuses  which  received  popular  and  even 
dim,  unworldly  heights  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  in  Michael  prophetic  sanction  in  Old  Testament  times;  it  has 
Angelo's  portraits,  but  from  the  nearer  and  more  sym-  made  faith  easier  and  more  confident;  it  has  helped  the 
pathetic  levels  of  Sargent  and  Tissot.  world  to  turn  from  the  imperfect  views  of  an  ado- 
lescent stage  of  the  race  to  the  satisfying  ideals  of  our 

THE  VALUE  OF   THE   HIGHER   CRITICISM  T          ,        .,    7                   ...                               I        I       J    *l 

Lord ;  it  has  enabled  us  to  understand  the  varying 
The  work  of  the  Higher  Criticism  is  not  completed  testimonies  to  the  life  of  Jesus  and  the  different  tend- 
as  yet,  though  the  main  lines  of  its  affirmations  have  encies  of  the  apostolic  age;  and  most  of  all,  it  has  ex- 
been  established.  It  is  rather  in  some"  of  the  details  plained  the  seeming  contradictions  and  conflicts  of 
that  work  still  remains  to  be  done.  Along  the  broad  biblical  statement  which  were  in  former  periods  the 
frontiers  of  biblical  literature  its  results  are  accepted,  target  of  captious  and  often  successful  attack, 
and  the  great  Christian  public  is  well  on  its  way  toward  The  work  of  the  Higher  Criticism  has  its  pur- 
complete  conviction  of  its  outstanding  results  and  a  poses  and  its  limitations.  It  is  a  means  to  the  better 
calm  and  assured  employment  of  its  findings.  It  is  diffi-  understanding  of  the  Word  of  God.  If  it  can  make  more 
cult  any  longer  to  stir  up  controversy  over  the  process,  vivid  and  convincing  the  pages  of  the  Old  Testament 
The  odium  once  attached  to  those  concerned  with  it  has  and  the  New  it  performs  an  admirable  and  gratifying 
largely  receded.  On  the  foundations  laid  by  the  work  service.  Whatever  helps  to  the  intelligent  apprecia- 
of  devout  scholars  in  this  field  are  building  the  im-  tion  of  the  Bible  is  of  undoubted  value,  for,  as  Mr. 
pressive  structures  of  a  rational  theology  and  religious  Gladstone  has  said,  "All  the  wonders  of  Greek  civiliza- 
education.  The  age  of  apprehension  is  passing.  Our  tion  heaped  together  are  less  wonderful  than  this  book, 
children  wall  not  have  to  fight  the  battle  for  freedom  the  history  of  the  human  soul  in  relation  to  its  Maker." 


ll1HIIIIIIHIIinilltUIIIIIIII[|IIIMII!llllHII!lllllll[IIJIIIIIlllllHIIIIIII|[ltil(lll[|l<IIIIUIIUIHllllllllllllllltlllllllltlUI<NIMUNIi[ ilHllll  lltJItllltlHMIIIltlMlllllltlllHllllllUllMllinllllllUIIIIUIItllll. 


Honour's  Answer  From  the  Battle  Front 

By  Lauchlan  M.  Watt 
Of  the  Gordon  Highlanders,  France 

LORDS  of  the  world,  be  quiet ;  In  the  long  trenches,  where  the  true  have  made 

For  I  have  seen  Of  their  fair  bodies  Freedom's  barricade 

The  sorrows  that  have  been,  Across  our  Europe,  I  have  heard  the  breath 

And  the  Great  Cross  of  Christ,  amid  earth's  riot,  Of  ancient  things,  that  never  have  known  death, 

Stained  with  the  blood  of  His  fresh  sacrifice;  Though  men  believed  them  dead,  and  buried  deep 

And  I  have  seen  the  price  Under  the  easy  sleep 

Counted  in  lives  of  dearest  things  men  loved —  Of  age-long  sloth  and  money-purchased  peace. 

Dear  souls,  all  beautiful,  approved  Now  they  have  found  release : 

Of  heavenliest  purpose !    And  I  care  no  more  And  nevermore  shall  our  dreams  be  the  same, 

For  what  was  reckoned  best  in  days  before  But  always  shall  we  count  it  sin  and  shame 

This  day  of  sorrow.    I  have  heard  deep  pain  To  shut  out  God  with  gold,  and  selfish  strife, 

Speak  with  the  voice  of  gladness  ere  it  died —  As  in  the  days  ere  Hate  woke  Love  to  life. 

Nor  surely  died  in  vain —  Ah  !  not  for  such  our  loved  ones  stood  in  pride 

In  the  vast  Stillness,  where  we  do  not  ask,  Of  wakened  manhood,  till  they  fell  and  died, 

As  in  our  day  of  pride,  With  the  bright  smile  of  dawn  upon  their  face. 

The  Why  or  How  of  life's  divinest  task,  But  rather,  far,  that  we,  each  in  his  place, 

But  are  content  to  know  Might  still  fight  on  till  Victory's  blast  be  blown, 

That  Love  and  Honour  always  wish  it  so.  And  the  White  Christ  come,  conqueror,  to  His  own. 

-      ;_;  —British  Weekly. 

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The  Courage  of  a  Prophet 


By  Fred  S.  Nichols 


THE  rugged,  intrepid  prophet, 
with  his  thundering  declarations 
of  positive  faith,  has  become  the 
prisoner  of  humble  interrogation.  His 
dynamic  conviction,  repressed  for  a 
time  in  its  expression,  craves  a  satis- 
fying reassurance.  So  in  his  char- 
acteristic way  he  strikes  out  for  the 
source;  he  sends  to  the  place  of  re- 
assurance or  of  disillusionment,  as 
the  case  may  be.  But  what  of  this 
apparent  change?  It  is  seemingly  a 
long  journey  from  the  confident  "Be- 
hold the  lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world,"  to  the  uncer- 
tainty of  "Is  this  the  Christ,  or  shall 
we  look  for  another?"  Is  John  beat- 
ing a  retreat?  Have  we  here  a  new 
Elijah  running  for  shelter?  Are  we 
witnessing  the  fall  of  another  of 
Israel's  giants?  Is  there  a  collapse  of 
his  one  big  idea? 

You  may  have  been  moved  with 
the  pathos  of  it  all,  for  one  instinct- 
ively feels  that  every  lonely  soul 
should  at  least  see  the  promised  land 
before  Moab  claims  his  body.  We 
grieve  in  the  eclipse  of  any  hero's 
glory,  and  especially  are  we  slow  to 
think  of  such  a  waning  of  this  pic- 
turesque blazer  of  spiritual  trails.  We 
would  see  him  go  down  in  the  full 
flush  of  glory,  the  glory  of  Jesus,  who 
finished  the  work  his  Father  gave  him 
to  do,  or  of  Paul,  who  kept  the  faith. 
Do  not  despair  too  soon ;  such  a  soul 
cannot  suddenly  become  a  complete 
wreck ;  the  questioner  may  still  be 
our  courageous  hero ;  the  imprisoned 
may  be  a  prisoner  of  hope.  John's 
decreasing  may  in  reality  be  an  in- 
creasing. 

A    COURAGEOUS  QUESTION 

Loyal  followers  have  always  been 
ingenious  in  the  defense  of  their 
heroes,  and  in  this  supposed  shielding 
of  some  of  the  characters  of  the 
Bible,  they  have  unconsciously  robbed 
them  of  murh  of  their  deserved  glory. 
Xow,  it  may  be  this  well-meaning  de- 
fense that  hastens  to  John's  rescue 
with  the  explanation  that  he  is  tact- 
fully inquiring  for  the  benefit  of  his 
disciples,  that  in  his  expanding  un- 
selfishness he  may  make  it  easier  for 
them  to  transfer  their  allegiance  from 
himself  to  Jesus.  This  is  a  heart- 
warming view  to  take  of  the  incident. 
But  one  wonders  if  this  interpreta- 
tion is  not  with  some  based  on  the 
fallacy  that  a  question  such  as  this  is 
weak  and  betrays  a  decaying  faith. 

Too  often  the  idea  has  been  that 
questioning  has  been  altogether  de- 
structive and  negative.  At  this  point 
it  is  well  for  us  to  remember  that  in- 
stead of  engulfing  waves  it  has  some- 


-imuiiiiiniiii 


luiiiiimiimiiimiiiiiimii 


"Art  thou  he  that  cometh,  or 
look  we  for  another?" — Matthew 
11:3. 


iimm '.imiiiiiiiiMiH 


times  meant  a  safe  harbor,  and  that 
while  some  forms  of  questioning  may 
neutralize  power,  it  is  no  less  true 
that  blind  faith  has  occasionally 
demonized  it.  If  agnosticism  is  dev- 
ilish, omniscience  is  blasphemous.  It 
may  be  a  wholesome  frankness  to  say 
that  John  is  here  inquiring  for  him- 
self as  well  as  for  his  disciples.  And 
when  this  position  is  taken  we  need 
not  feel  we  are  doing  violence  to 
John.  The  courageous  acts  of  the 
prophets  are  many.  But  Elijah  be- 
fore Ahab  or  Amos  crying  for  jus- 
tice among  the  northern  princes,  or 
John  in  his  positive  exclaiming  tones 
of  the  wilderness  days,  was  not  more 
courageous  than  this  man  here  in  the 
prison  shades  struggling  with  the 
questions  of  his  soul.  Dogmatic  as^ 
sertion  at  this  time  might  have  been 
but  the  confession  of  weakness,  the 
playing  of  a  coward's  role. 

The  brave  soul  is  the  struggling 
one,  and  the  struggling  soul  is  the 
questioning  one.  Pharisaism  is  never 
conscious  of  any  heights ;  its  days  are 
spent  on  a  dead  level,  and  hence  its 
world  is  insipidly  sure.  In  the  cour- 
age of  this  question  we  should  all  be 
akin  to  John.  We  may  be  helped  by 
noticing  wherein  the  courage  of  it 
reflects  credit  on  one  of  the  world's 
worthy  prophets. 

COURAGE     THAT      FACED      DISILLUSION- 
MENT 

These  prison  days  were  days  of  re- 
flection for  John,  and  it  was  the  re- 
flection that  seasoned  a  flaming 
activity.  There  was  no  gloomy  intro- 
spection, but  a  meditation  of  cour- 
ageous purpose.  There  was  a  sub- 
ordination of  personal  suffering  in  a 
faith  that  was  reaching  toward  a  sat- 
isfying reality.  At  all  hazards,  he 
would  not  follow  an  illusion. 

Now,  disillusionment  is  sometimes 
an  awful  blow;  it  comes  with  a  force 
that  staggers.  You  remember  how 
the  two  on  the  Emmaus  way  walked 
and  were  sad,  overwhelmingly  sad,  be- 
cause a  disillusionment  had  come. 
They  hoped  it  was  he  who  should 
redeem  Israel.  The  personality  that 
had  cheered  their  oppressed  spirits 
was  gone  and  they  had  awakened  to 
find  their  joy  had  been  only  in  the 
land  of  dreams. 

You  are  aware  of  the  first  blow  of 
disillusionment    that    comes    with    a 


more  careful  historic  study  of  events 
and  of  men.  Some  characters  are 
brought  down  from  the  clouds  because 
of  their  flesh  and  blood  and  made  to 
dwell  among  us.  Some  wars,  while 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  have  not 
been  in  the  spirit  of  the  Lord,  as  we 
had  supposed.  This  may  all  be  very 
wholesome,  but  at  first  the  disillu- 
sionment is  painful.  Cowardice  often 
shrinks  from  such  a  shock. 

When  the  Greek  tragedian  Euripi- 
des disillusioned  the  mind  of  the 
Greek  by  lowering  the  glories  of  the 
Trojan  war  to  a  contemptible  squab- 
ble, and  by  revealing  the  divine  and 
fair  Helen  as  a  trouble-making  co- 
quette, it  lost  him  many  prizes  and 
made  him  dangerously  unpopular. 
Religious  zeal  persecuted,  rather  than 
be  disillusioned  by  a  new  astronomy. 
Men  are  now  occasionally  found  who 
still  hold  off  disillusionment  about  the 
processes  of  life  by  facetious  refer- 
ences to  monkey  ancestry.  So  fearful 
has  man  been  of  disillusionment  that 
he  has  first  ignored,  then  ridiculed, 
then  burned  at  the  stake. 

It  would  be  helpful  for  those  who 
refuse  to  read  certain  books  because 
of  this  fear  to  remember  that  any  sane 
and  lasting  progress  is  based  upon  a 
reasonable  amount  of  disillusionment. 
A  saviour  does  not  exist  because  our 
fear  refuses  the  possibility  of  a  dis- 
illusionment. Though  painful,  it  is 
better  for  a  devotee  to  find  that  the 
idol  to  whom  he  has  prayed,  and  in 
whom  he  has  trusted,  is  powerless. 
John  had  been  fortified  in  the  con- 
sciousness that  Jesus  was  here,  but  he 
was  courageous  enough  to  risk  a  dis- 
illusionment by  facing  the  issue 
squarely.  If  this  was  not  the  Christ, 
he  wanted  to  know  it.  He  knew  that 
whistling  did  not  eliminate  the  fact 
of  tombstones.  His  was  not  the  cow- 
ardice that  refused  to  run  a  risk. 

COURAGE    THAT    PERSISTED    IN    HOPE 

John  not  only  faces  disillusionment 
in  this  question,  "Art  thou  he  that 
should  come?"  but  his  is  the  courage 
of  persistent  hope  as  expressed  in  "or 
shall  we  look  for  another?"  No  more 
majestic  structure  has  risen  on  any 
ruins  than  that  which  we  see  here.  If 
the  crash  of  disillusionment  comes, 
he  will  look  for  another  Christ.  This 
is  the  courage  of  a  hope  that  survives 
a  shock,  that  weathers  a  storm.  Some 
in  their  disillusionment  become  skep- 
tical in  belief  or  reckless  in  conduct. 
Some  grow  hard  and  callous  and  all' 
spontaneity  and  enthusiasm  go.  They 
are.  resigned  to  anything;  they  hope 
for  nothing.  Not  so  with  John;  his 
faith  is  fundamental.     With  him,  Je- 


March  15,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


13 


hovah  is  still  in  the  world ;  the  king- 
dom is  assured  some  day;  Jesus  must 
come  some  time.  His  was  not  the 
spirit  to  say,  If  the  evolutionary 
method  is  true,  then  I  must  give  up 
my  belief  in  God.  If  Moses  did  not 
write  the  Pentateuch,  then  the  Bible 
is  no  more  the  Word  of  God  for  me. 
If  the  plea  I  have  been  making  for 
Christian  union  is  to  fail,  then  I  must 
give  up  all  hope  of  union.  John  had 
too  much  courage  to  be  afflicted  with 
such  a  spirit ;  his  was  not  the  cow- 
ardice of  such  shallowness.  He  was 
building  on  something  that  enabled 
him  to  come  back.  His  faith  could 
recover  a  blow ;  it  was  unconquerable. 
We,  too,  in  our  religious  experience 
should  have  a  faith  that  disillusion- 
ment in  one  or  many  things  could 
not  wreck.  Otherwise  ye  are  building 
on  the  sand. 

And  this  kind  of  a  faith  will  nur- 
ture a  charity  that  refuses  to  con- 
demn a  person  as  wholly  and  hope- 
lessly lost  who  may  doubt  some  insti- 
tution or  particular  expression  of 
faith.  John  had  faith  in  the  progress 
of  spiritual  things  and  in  the  coming 
of  larger  realities.  If  we  become  dis- 
illusioned about  the  effectiveness  of 
certain  church  activities  or  denomi- 
national shibboleths  or  program  of 
union,  it  does  not  follow  that  faith  has 
been  lost.  Rather  it  may  mean  that 
after  long  wandering  in  a  far  coun- 
try, we  have  come  to  ourselves  and 
returned  to  our  Father. 

COURAGE    THAT    WELCOMED    READJUST- 
MENT 

As  the  refusal  to  send  to  Jesus 
would  not  in  itself  save  a  great  truth, 
neither  did  the  sending  result  in  a 
complete  disillusionment.  The  cour- 
age to  run  the  risk  does  not  imply  a 
loss.  Saviours  do  not  depart  be- 
cause we  make  a  little  inquiry.  In 
fact,  in  our  disciple  limitation  some 
of  the  great  forces  we  take  to  be  men- 
acing ghosts  will,  upon  a  little  inves- 
tigation, prove  to  be  saviours  of  life. 
If  John  was  brave  in  his  willingness 
to  face  disillusionment  and  in  the  per- 
sistence of  his  hope,  he  was  no  less 
courageous  in  his  readiness  for  read- 
justment. Evidently  Jesus  was  not 
after  John's  pattern  in  every  respect; 
he  did  not  recognize  all  the  features. 
He  did  heroic  work  with  limited 
knowledge,  but  the  glory  is  in  the 
limitation  that  welcomed  readjust- 
ment to  larger  knowledge.  He  would 
adjust  himself  to  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent and  richer  Christ  than  the  one 
for  whom  he  had  prepared  the  way. 

This  is  something  of  the  spirit  of 
Huxley,  who  said  he  had  resolved  to 
follow  truth  wherever  it  led  and  at 
whatever  cost.  It  takes  a  brave  soul 
to  welcome  such  readjustment  days. 
We  are  all  more  or  less  indolent  and 
cowardly  here.  We  like  to  drive 
stakes  and  call  things  fixed  and  fin- 


ished. A  readjustment  in  thinking 
requires  effort.  In  our  civil  and  so- 
cial life  we  continue  in  some  ways, 
knowing  better,  all  because  we  fear 
the  troubles  and  difficulties  of  read- 
justment. There  is  an  aversion  to 
going  all  over  a  proposition  when 
once  we  have  reached  the  Q.  E.  D.  to 
our  own  satisfaction. 

The  Pharisees  knew  the  kind  of 
Christ  that  was  coming,  and  when 
one  came  who  was  not  that  kind, 
what  did  they  do?  Because  of  self- 
ishness and  cowardice  they  refused 
readjustment  and  took  him  to  the 
cross.  John  was  courageous  enough 
to  welcome  an  expanding  readjust- 
ment to  the  greatness  of  the  Christ 
rather  than  demand  a  diminishing  re- 
adjustment in  the  life  of  the  Master. 
Learning  the  way  of  the  Lord  more 
perfectly  may  demand  a  readjustment 
in  our  thinking,  in  our  personal  con- 
duct, and  in  our  social  attitude  and 
labor.  Because  such  readjustment 
may  be  necessary,  we  ought  not  to 
be  too  cowardly  to  make  our  investi- 
gations. May  John's  courage  inspire 
us  at  this  place. 

THE  REWARD  OF   COURAGE 

That  Christ  appreciated  the  cour- 
age of  this  sincere  and  reasonable 
question,  we  may  be  assured  both 
from  his  eulogy  of  John  and  by  the 
answer  he  returns  to  him.  Dp  not 
think  John  is  a  reed  shaken  with  the 
wind  because  he  asks  this  question, 
for  a  greater  hath  not  been  born  of 
woman  than  John — yea,  he  is  more 
than  a  prophet.  How  this  consider- 
ate recognition  increases  our  devo- 
tion to  Jesus!  Like  all  of  his  teach- 
ings and  miracles,  it  shows  his  pro- 
found respect  for  other  personalities. 
What  a  different  idea  he  had  of 
strength  from  those  about  him!  And 
in  his  answer,  Jesus  is  a  real  saviour 
to  John  that  day.  He  did  not  suspect 
his  loyalty  nor  did  he  silence  his  ques- 
tioning. Christ  is  the  savipur  of  our 
life  because  the  honest  questions  of 
our  souls  are  answered  from  the 
depth  of  his  soul — "deep  answereth 
unto  deep."  He  gives  light.  His  re- 
ply was  not  an  arbitrary  claim  of  au- 
thority expressed  in  "I  am  the 
Christ." 

The  nature  of  the  reply,  some 
would  have  us  believe,  was  such  be- 
cause that  Jesus  did  not  care  to  dis- 
close his  identity  at  this  time.  This 
may  be  true.  But  why  not  say  that 
he  sent  back  such  an  answer  because 
it  was  more  authoritative  and  satis- 
fying than  any  other  he  could  have 
given?  Complex  and  abstract  state- 
ments would  not  suffice  at  this  time 
and  Jesus  knew  it.  "Go  tell  John  the 
things  which  ye  hear  and  see !  the 
blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame 
walk,  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the 
deaf  hear,  and  the  dead  are  raised 
up,  and  the  poor  have  good  tidings 


preached  to  them."  These  were  the 
words  sent  back  to  the  courageous, 
waiting  John,  lie  is  not  to  be  disap- 
pointed ;  his  inquiry  lias  not  gone 
astray.  This  man  clothed  in  camel'-, 
hair  and  living  on  locusts  and  wild 
honey,  not  known  for  his  profound- 
ness nor  admired  because  of  his  ver- 
satility, has  the  gift  of  knowing  the 
works  of  a  redeemer  and  appreciat- 
ing the  fruits  of  a  saviour's  life. 
Jesus  based  his  claim  at  a  place  that 
satisfied  John. 

THE     SATISFYING     ANSWER     TODAY 

And  the  answer  Jesus  gave  to  John 
is  the  sign  by  which  we  conquer  to- 
day. When  the  other  religions  of  the 
world  ask  concerning  Christianity, 
the  effective  and  satisfying  answer 
will  not  be  in  the  abstract  specula- 
tions of  the  theologian  or  philosopher, 
but  in  the  hospitals,  orphanages,  and 
schools  of  the  missionary  and  in  the 
democratizing  labors  of  the  social  re- 
deemer. This  is  the  religion  from 
above,  for  it  draws  all  men  to  the 
abundant  life.  And  it  is  only  as 
Christianity  mingles  thus  in  the  world 
that  every  imprisoned  soul  will  be 
satisfied  with  the  divine  claims. 

This  in  substance,  too,  is  the 
answer  the  church  must  give  the 
world.  When  the  world  asks,  Is 
this  the  forceful  and  helpful  institu- 
tion above  all  others  or  shall  we  look 
for  another?  what  shall  the  answer 
be?  Shall  it  be  a  discrediting  in  the 
inquirer  of  all  sincerity?  Shall  it  be 
an  expression  of  impatience?  Shall 
the  answer  fall  back  on  the  idea  of 
infallibility  or  divine  origin?  Such 
an  answer  will  not  only  fail  to  kindle 
any  passionate  enthusiasm,  it  will  not 
even  satisfy.  In  our  ministry  to  the 
world  we  must  be  outstanding  in  our 
faith  in  the  kingdom  and  in  the  sacri- 
ficial service  needed  to  bring  it  to 
pass.  Our  creeds,  written  or  unwrit- 
ten, will  not  satisfy.  Our  only  satis- 
fying answer  is  in  the  measure  in 
which  we  reflect  in  an  institutional 
way  the  life  of  the  Galilean  sen-ant 
who  went  about  doing  good. 

Iowa  City,  la. 


"The  message  of  the  hour  is  for  the 
main  body  to  come  up  to  the  firing 
line." 

"Nothing  is  eternal  but  that  which 
is  done  for  God  and  others.  That 
which  is  done  for  self  dies." 

"Not  how  much  of  my  money  will  I 
give  to  God,  but  how  much  of  God's 
money  will  I  keep  for  myself?" 

"If  we  have  not  enough  in  our  re- 
ligion to  drive  us  to  share  it  with  all 
the  world,  it  is  doomed  here  at  home." 

"You  might  as  well  try  to  cure 
smallpox  by  scenery  as  to  try  to  save 
the  world  by  improvement  of  environ- 
ment." 


Jesus  and  Pacifism 


By  George  A.  Gordon 


THE  disciples  of  Jesus,  while 
slow  to  accept  the  challenge  of 
brute  power,  could  not  allow 
themselves  and  their  cause  to  be 
crushed  out  of  the  world  by  barba- 
rian man.  There  is  no  contradiction 
in  the  behavior  of  the  peace-loving 
men  who  formed  Cromwell's  Iron- 
sides, when  before  going  into  battle 
they  sang.  "Let  God  arise,  let  his 
enemies  be  scattered."  The  cause  of 
Cromwell  and  his  army  was  the  free- 
dom of  England  from  the  mendacity 
and  intolerable  tyranny  of  the  King. 
There  is  nothing  un-Christian,  as  a 
last  resort,  to  refuse  to  allow  the 
worst  men  to  degrade  the  best.  A 
noble  comprehensiveness  will  find  all 
the  precepts  of  Jesus  harmonious 
with  one  another  when  the  troubled 
environment  of  man  is  seen  steadily 
and  seen  whole. 

A   ONE-SIDED  VIEW 

Some  of  the  ablest  and  best  of  my 
younger  brethren  in  the  ministry  dif- 
fer with  me  here.  I  admire  their 
elevation  of  character,  their  splendid 
idealism,  their  lofty  unconcern  for 
the  unpopularity  of  their  views  when 
the  life  of  the  truth,  as  they  see  it,  is 
at  stake,  their  complete  sincerity  and 
their  noble  readiness  to  seal  their 
faith  by  heroic  sufferings. 

My  objection  to  their  interpretation 
of  the  gospel  is  that  it  is  one-sided, 
it  lacks  comprehensiveness;  they  do 
not  see  the  teaching  of  Jesus  steadily, 
they  do  not  see  it  whole.  They  speak 
of  Christianity  as  if  it  were  an  alien 
in  God's  world,  with  no  profound 
and  everlasting  affinities  with  the 
mighty  instincts  that  burn  and 
breathe  in  the  human  heart,  and  that 
are  the  aboriginal  witness  of   God's 


^'iitluiuimiiMiiMiiiniiiimiMiiiiitiiiiiiii 


"Render  unto  Caesar  the 
tilings  that  are  Caesar's  and 
unto  God  the  things  that  are 
God's." 


presence  with  men.  Christianity  is 
thus  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  hav- 
ing no  eternal  sympathies  with  the 
obligation  of  the  husband  and  father 
to  defend  his  wife  and  his  children, 
no  regard  for  the  duty  of  the  free- 
man to  meet  the  aggressor  against 
his  country  at  the  boundary  lines,  as 
the  Greeks,  first  at  Marathon  and 
later  at  Thermopylae,  met  the  invad- 
ing Persian  hordes,  no  bugle  blast  of 
inspiration  for  the  lover  of  man,  and 
the  best  that  man  has  achieved,  de- 
voting himself  in  life  and  in  death 
against  the  ruthless  brute  who  would 
trample  the  fairest  civilization  into  a 
desert  waste. 

THE  TIDES  OF  THE  ETERNAL 

If  the  religion  of  Jesus  is  the  eter- 
nal thing  it  has  been  held  to  be,  it 
must  be  capable  of  putting  itself  in 
alliance  with  all  that  is  great  in  nor- 
mal human  beings,  with  all  that  is 
essential  to  the  material,  intellectual 
and  moral  order  of  society;  it  must 
be  able  to  enter  the  entire  circle  of 
our  interests;  otherwise  it  cannot  en- 
rich, exalt  and  save  them  with  an 
everlasting  salvation. 

The  tides  against  which  no  religion 
and  no  teacher  can  make  headway 
are  the  tides  of  the  eternal  as  they 
flow  in  the  instincts  of  motherhood 
and  fatherhood,  as  they  flow  in  the 
complex  of  instincts  that  make  the 
conscience  of  the  strong  in  his  sense 


of  obligation  to  the  weak  who  have 
taken  refuge  in  the  shadow  of  his 
manhood. 

Jesus  recognized  the  necessity  of 
government;  he  recognized  therefore 
the  further  necessity  of  physical  force 
to  protect  society  against  the  ene- 
mies within  its  bounds,  he  recognized 
therefore  the  ultimate  necessity  when 
all  other  ways  and  means  had  failed, 
as  a  last  woeful  resort,  the  appeal  to 
arms  in  a  purely  defensive  warfare 
against  the  enemies  of  society,  and 
for  maintaining  in  being  the  sover- 
eign achievements  of  civilized  and 
Christianized  men. 

SOME  THINGS  WORTH  DYING  FOR 

Jesus  held  that  some  things  are 
worth  dying  for.  He  might  easily 
have  run  away  and  escaped  death  if 
he  had  been  willing  to  save  his  life 
by  the  betrayal  of  his  cause.  His 
cause  was  his  life;  it  was  the  joy  set 
before  him ;  for  it,  he  endured  the 
cross  and  despised  the  shame.  What 
he  held  as  truth  for  himself,  he  holds 
as  truth  for  his  disciples. 

There  are  some  things  worth  dying 
for.  Among  these  are  the  sanctity  of 
womanhood,  the  safety  of  children, 
the  security  of  the  things  essential  to 
man's  life,  the  integrity  of  the  state, 
the  majesty  of  righteousness,  the 
honor  and  freedom  of  the  United 
States  of  America.  If  these  precious 
things  can  be  secured  by  wise  delay, 
by  moral  power  alone,  let  us  lift  our 
hearts  in  thanksgiving  to  the  High- 
est; if  moral  power  is  finally  set  at 
naught,  let  the  aggressor  meet  the 
invincible  defender  of  the  humanity 
of  the  nation  and  the  humanity  of  the 
world. 

Boston,  Mass. 


America,  a  Debtor  Nation 


GERMAN  and  Jew,  Greek  and 
Italian,  Swede  and  Dane, 
Austrian  and  Russian,  Bulga- 
rian and  Roumanian,  Japanese  and 
Chinese,  Frenchmen  and  Englishmen 
— these  peoples  from  over  the  seven 
seas  have  not  been  put  into  the  melt- 
ing pot  of  America  to  produce  a  dis- 
cordant, divided  nation.  There  is  a 
divine  purpose  to  be  seen  in  the  des- 
tiny of  this  republic  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious freedom. 

THE    WORLD'S    TESTING    GROUND 

America   is   the   testing  ground   of 
the    world.     Here    is    God's    chosen 


By  Jefferson  D.  Garrison 

place  to  work  out  before  mankind  a 
great,  unified  brotherhood  of  all  the 
races,  strong  with  the  strength  of 
all  the  peoples  it  represents  and  un- 
selfish because  it  realizes  its  debt  to 
all  those  who  have  brought  it  im- 
perishable aims  and  ideals.  And  real- 
izing this  great  debt,  America,  the 
debtor  nation,  now  stands  ready  to 
pay  the  price  it  owes  to  humanity. 
Even  if  needs  be  to  perform  this 
service  for  God  and  humanity  we 
must  enter  war  to  defend  Germany 
from  herself,  we  shall  wage  war  as  a 
debtor  nation,  thankful  to  God  for  the 
blessings  He  has  brought  to  this  land 


and  for  Him  ready  to  give  our  all  that 
His  purposes  may  prevail  among  all 
nations. 

We  will  never  fight  in  hate.  Amer- 
ica is  not  a  land  of  haters.  We  for- 
got our  troubles  with  England.  The 
North  forgave  the  South  long  ago. 
We  have  forgotten  the  late  unpleas- 
antness with  Spain.  And  even  if  we 
have  trouble  with  Germany  we  are 
not  going  to  hate  the  Germans.  There 
are  just  as  fine,  intelligent  and  Chris- 
tian souls  among  them  as  among  any 
other  people.  We  may  have  to  show 
them  their  mistake,  but  we  will  not 
hate  them,  and  the  world  is  going  to 


March  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


15 


be  a  great  deal  better  after  this  great 
war  crisis  is  over.  God  is  moving 
back  of  it  all  toward  a  new  civiliza- 
tion, a  new  order  of  things,  and  if 
America  fails  now  to  carry  out  her 
destiny  God  will  find  another  gen- 
eration or  another  people  in  another 
land  to  carry  out  His  purpose  of  a 
great  brotherhood  leading  all  the 
world  in  His  chosen  work. 

BENEFITS    MUST    BE    PASSED    ON 

Moral  obligations  are  seldom  paid 
to  the  person  or  persons  through 
whose  kindly  offices  we  are  become  in- 
debted. If  ever  paid,  it  is  by  the  rec- 
ognition, with  its  consequent  logical 
action,  of  the  continuity  of  principles 
and  generations.  These  principles 
are  unchanging  and  the  generations 
present  the  same  need  which  can  only 
be  met  by  the  man  who  is  passing, 
acting  for  the  benefit  who  is  coming 
on  the  stage  of  action,  in  the  hope 
that  the  beneficiary  will  face  the  fu- 
ture with  the  same  intent. 

Children  can  not  repay  parents  for 
the  trouble  ,of  their  upbringing,  ex- 
cept in  the  performance  of  parental 
duties  in  their  turn.  It  is  well  for  the 
social  order  that  they  can  not,  because 
social  obligations  so  paid  would  pre- 
vent interdependence  and  the  constant 
development  of  society. 

Nature  does  not  expect  the  clouds 
to  return  the  moisture  to  the  fields 
from  which  it  came,  but  will  have 
performed  their  function  if  they  re- 
turn it  to  any  needed  place.  If  the 
clouds   fail  the   system  fails,   and   if 


a  human  being  fails  to  perform  his 
moral  duty,  by  so  much  the  moral 
system  fails. 

WHV  THE  JEWISH   NATION  FAILED 

The  Jewish  nation  failed  because 
when  Jesus  came  looking  for  fruit  He 
found  nothing  but  leaves.  He  found 
a  beautiful  tree,  highly  ornamented 
with  a  well-developed  ritualism  and 
symmetrical  with  an  attractive  body 
of  traditions,  but  barren.  If  God  had 
conceived  no  mission  for  them  but 
their  own  self-content,  they  had  been 
exonerated,  but  God  was  thinking  of 
the  same  world  He  had  in  mind  in 
making  the  promise  to  Abraham,  "In 
thee  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
be  blessed."  They  had  every  reason 
to  be  cosmopolitan,  because  they  had 
drawn  their  resources  from  every  na- 
tion under  heaven,  but  they  thought 
to  turn  all  this  to  their  own  national 
account. 

Now,  America  is  in  a  position  sim- 
ilar to  the  Jews  at  the  time  Jesus  came 
demanding  world  fruit.  Shall  He 
find  nothing  but  leaves?  We  have 
drawn  our  vigor,  industry,  initiative, 
laws,  institutions  and  idealism  from 
every  nation  on  the  earth,  and  shall 
we  think  only  of  ourselves?  God  is 
at  work  for  the  second  time  trying 
to  establish  internationalism  and  hu- 
manitarianism  by  welding  these  con- 
flicting elements  into  a  united  world 
force  and  purpose.  Can  He  fail  and 
civilization  succeed? 

The    true    Christian    conception    is 


that  the  fortunate  are  debtors  to  the 
unfortunate,  the  man  who  knows  to 
the  man  who  does  not,  the  physician 
to  the  sick,  the  minister  to  the  sinful, 
wealth  to  poverty.  If  we  see  and  act 
upon  this,  the  distress  of  the  world 
would  be  relieved,  and  if  we  should 
recognize  this  other  sound  principle  of 
society,  that  prevention  is  better  than 
cure,  the  distress  would  never  return. 

WHY  ALL   MUST   PAY 

Since  we  are  the  beneficiaries  of 
the  good  intention  of  others  whom 
we  have  never  been  able  to  pay  in 
person,  God  will  not  hold  us  guiltless 
if  we  do  not  pay  this  debt  to  those 
who  have  the  same  need  that  brought 
the  messenger  to  us. 

Just  now  we  are  threatened  with 
the  breakdown  of  all  international 
laws  and  treaties.  What  are  our 
duties  in  the  present  crisis?  The 
answer  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  con- 
cern which  we  have  for  our  national 
rights,  but  rather  in  the  concern  of 
those  peoples  who  have  a  right  to  ex- 
pect "the  strong  to  bear  the  burdens 
of  the  weak."  We  shall  be  called 
upon  to  enter  the  councils  of  war  that 
we  may  thus  be  in  the  councils  of 
peace.  If  the  course  of  the  belliger- 
ents had  been  such  that  we  could  have 
been  acceptable  to  them  as  an  inter- 
mediary, Ave  need  not  have  entered, 
but  Divine  Providence  has  not  seen  it 
wise  to  so  overrule.  Let  us  not  mis- 
take our  mission  to  speak  for  a  higher 
civilization. 

North    Park    Church,    Indianapolis. 


"This  One  Thing  I  Do" 

A  Tribute  to  Archibald  McLean 


THIRTY-FIVE  years  ago  A. 
McLean  saw  a  task  to  which  a 
great  and  growing  people  ought 
to  set  their  hearts  and  their  hands. 
It  was  a  neglected  task.  It  was  not 
popular  then.  It  needed  an  advocate 
and  an  apostle.  To  that  apostleship 
God  called  him.  As  one  sent  upon 
a  mission  he  set  about  that  task  with 
an  absorbing  purpose  and  passion 
which  have  held  true  through  more 
than  a  third  of  a  century.  One  pur- 
pose has  been  his,  a  purpose  which 
has  occupied  his  thoughts  by  day  and 
his  dreams  by  night.  That  purpose 
no  enervating  prosperity  has  weak- 
ened nor  distracting  calamity  daunted. 
In  the  pursuit  of  that  purpose  he  has 
never  faltered  nor  has  his  energy 
failed.  As  needle  to  the  North,  as 
dipper  to  the  pole  star,  as  planet  to 
the  sun  he  has  held  to  his  compelling 
objective. 

And  that  one  purpose  has  not  been 
to  be  the  pleader  for  a  special  interest. 


By  F.  W.  Burnham 

It  has  not  been  to  be  the  agent  of  an 
institution,  nor  to  be  a  cog  in  the 
machinery  of  a  church.  A.  McLean 
has  not  been  a  crank;  but  a  dynamo. 
He  is  not  a  functionary  nor  a  digni- 
tary, though  he  can  function  with 
dignity.  He  is  a  seer  and  leader  of 
men. 

NO    PLEADER   FOR   A    SPECIAL    INTEREST 

His  one  purpose,  clearly  conceived, 
has  been  to  be  the  prophet  and  apostle 
of  Jesus  Christ  calling  his  people  to 
the  task  which  our  Lord  set  for  His 
church,  and,  by  every  means  within 
his  power  and  every  agency  conse- 
crated by  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  hold  that 
people  to  that  task  through  all  the 
changing  vicissitudes  of  the  fleeting 
years. 

In  the  prosecution  of  that  purpose 
he  has  found  the  mind  of  childhood 
and  instructed  it  in  the  way  of  the 
Lord.  He  has  laid  his  hands  upon 
Youth  and  Strength  and  Culture  and 


Beauty  and  consecrated  it  to  Christ's 
service.  He  has  challenged  Man- 
hood's hoarded  store  and  transmuted 
sordid  gold  into  tools  for  the  King's 
hands.  He  has  shown  men  a  better 
way  to  live  and  a  nobler  way  to  die. 
He  has  made  death  a  gateway  into 
perpetual  partnership  with  Christ  in 
the  extension  of  His  kingdom.  He 
has  given  wider  meaning  to  the  hope 
of  immortality. 

"THE  TRAVAIL   OF    HIS   SOUL" 

By  fidelity  to  this  purpose  through 
thirty-five  years,  he  has  seen  his  peo- 
ple rise  to  their  task  with  a  growing 
consciousness  of  strength.  He  has 
seen  the  fields  of  the  world  entered,  a 
share  in  the  world's  redemption  as- 
sumed. He  has  seen  new  boundaries 
set  for  the  Kingdom  of  Christ.  He 
has  seen  the  coming  of  the  Great 
King.  "He  has  seen  of  the  travail  of 
his  soul"  and  found  satisfaction  in 
God. 


liliii! 


38 


The    Larger    Christian  World 


I   A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


'"League  of  the 
Kindly  Tongue" 

An  interdenominational  move- 
ment, now  three  years  old.  is  the 
League  of  the  Kindly  Tongue.  Rev. 
William  D.  Marsh.  Methodist  pas- 
tor in  Appleton.  Wis.,  originated 
the  organization.  There  are  21,000 
members.  There  are  no  dues  and 
the  members  promise  to  abstain 
from  unkind  speech,  and,  as  often 
as  possible,  in  the  spirit  of  Christ 
to  speak  words  of  cheer. 

Free  Lectures 
on  Luther 

The  Presbyterians  will  do  their 
part  in  honoring  Luther  this  year. 
Dr.  J.  E.  Clarke,  of  the  college 
board  of  that  denomination,  has  pre- 
pared a  stereopticon  lecture  on  that 
theme  and  ten  sets  of  slides  will  be 
circulated  free  within  the  denomina- 
tion. 

Facts  of  Indian 
Evangelization 

There  are  325,000  people  in  the 
United  States  and  Alaska  classed  as 
Indians.  Indians  have  been  sub- 
jects of  evangelizing  efforts  from 
the  earliest  periods  of  the  white  oc- 
cupation of  the  continent.  Less  than 
40  per  cent  of  them  profess  the 
Christian  religion.  About  one-half 
of  these  are  claimed  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  the  remainder 
by  the  various  Protestant  denomina- 
tions. Among  these  the  Northern 
Presbyterians  and  the  Episcopal- 
ians lead,  the  former  with  9,000 
Indian  members,  the  latter  with 
7.000.  The  Baptists  have  5,408,  and 
the  Methodists  5,300. 

For  Ministerial 
Relief  Funds 

At  a  conference  held  recently  in  the 
office  of  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants,  Chicago,  between  Dr.  Wil- 
liam II.  Foulkes,  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  Dr.  J.  B.  Hingeley  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
plans  were  made  for  an  intensive 
interdenominational  campaign  for 
pensions  for  retired  preachers.  Doc- 
tor Foulkes  is  general  secretary  of 
the  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief  and 
Sustentation  Fund  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  with  headquarters  at 
Philadelphia,  and  Dr.  Hingeley  is 
corresponding  secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants  of 
the  Methodist  Church.  At  the  con- 
ference it  was  announced  that  the 


Board  of  Conference  Claimants  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and 
the  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief  and 
Sustentation  Fund  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  had  been  made  resid- 
uary legatees  of  an  estate  of  $500,- 
000  by  the  will  of  Doctor  Sinclair, 
Denver,  Colo.  Doctor  Foulkes  also 
announced  that  the  Presbyterians 
had  recently  received  two  notable 
gifts  from  laymen ;  one  was  the  gift 
of  $50,000  to  be  added  to  the  perma- 
nent endowment  funds  of  the  Sus- 
tentation Department,  and  the  other 
was  a  gift  of  $100,000  to  be  added 
to  the  Permanent  Fund  of  the  Re- 
lief Department  as  a  memorial  to 
the  donor's  parents.  Doctor  Foulkes 
withheld  the  names  of  the  donors. 


Farms  Grow 
Many  Preachers 

Statistics  compiled  by  the  Asso- 
ciation of  American  Colleges  indi- 
cate that  thirty-three  per  cent  of  the 
ministers  in  the  Northern  States 
came  from  the  farm.  The  parson- 
age is  the  next  most  fruitful  source 
of  ministerial  supply,  eighteen  per 
cent  of  all  ministers  in  these  states 
being  also  sons  of  ministers.  Other 
vocations  furnish  recruits  for  the 
pulpit  in  the  following  percentages: 
Physicians,  2  per  cent ;  clerical 
workers,  4  per  cent;  carpenters,  5 
per  cent;  merchants  and  laborers, 
each  8  per  cent;  all  other  vocations, 
20  per  cent. 


Armenian  Martyrs 


By  James  Bryce 


IN  THE  history  of  the  early  Chris- 
tian church  there  are  no  figures  so 
gloripus,  none  of  which  have  con- 
tinued to  be  so  much  honored  by  the 
church  all  through  its  later  days  as 
those  of  the  martyrs,  men  and  women 
who  from  the  time  of  Nero  down  to 
that  of  Diocletian  sealed  with  their 
blood  the  testimony  of  their  faith, 
withstanding  every  lure  and  every 
threat  in  order  to  preserve  their  loy- 
alty to  their  Lord  and  Master  Christ. 

In  our  own  times  we  have  seen  this 
example  of  fidelity  repeated  in  the 
Turkish  Empire  and  it  is  strange  that 
the  Christians  of  Europe  and  America 
should  not  have  been  more  moved  by 
the  examples  of  courage  and  heroic 
devotion  which  the  Armenian  Chris- 
tians have  given.  Of  the  seven  or 
eight  hundred  thousand  of  Armenians 
who  have  perished  in  the  recent  mas- 
sacres, many  thousand  have  died  as 
martyrs ;  by  which  I  mean  they  have 
died  for  their  Christian  faith  when 
they  could  have  saved  their  lives  by 
renouncing  it. 

It  was  not  religious  fanaticism  that 
led  the  present  rulers  of  Turkey  to 
seek  to  root  out  Christianity.  So  far 
from  being  fanatics,  most  of  these 
men,  though  nominally  Mohamme- 
dans, have  no  religion  whatever. 
Their  aim  was  political.  They  wanted 
to  make  the  whole  Turkish  Empire 
Mohammedan  in  order  to  make  it  uni- 
form, with  only  one  creed  and  no  dif- 
ferences between  one  class  of  subjects 
and  another.  They  saw  that  the 
Christian  part  of  the  population,  suf- 
fering under  constant  oppressions  and 


cruelties,  continued  to  turn  its  eyes 
westward  and  hope  for  some  redress 
from  the  Christian  nations ;  so  they 
determined  to  eliminate  Christianity 
altogether. 

During  these  recent  massacres, 
whenever  any  Christian  would  turn 
Mohammedan  his  life  was  spared.  It 
was  only  as  a  Christian  that  he  was 
killed.  Many  a  Christian  child  was 
torn  from  its  parents  to  be  brought  up 
as  a  Mussulman.  Thousands  of  Ar- 
menian Christian  girls  were  sold  in  the 
market  or  distributed  among  Turkish 
officers  to  be  imprisoned  for  life  in 
Turkish  harems  and  there  forced  into 
Mohammedanism. 

Surely  the  remains  of  this  suffering 
nation  could  make  no  stronger  appeal 
for  pity  and  help  to  the  Christians  of 
America  than  they  make  through  these 
martyr  deaths.  Only  a  remnant  is 
now  left  to  whom  charity  can  be  ex- 
tended. It  is  still  a  sorely  afflicted 
remnant.  Some  in  territory  occupied 
by  the  Russian  army,  though  safe 
from  their  ferocious  enemies,  are  in 
sad  need  of  help  to  rebuild  their  homes 
and  cultivate  once  more  their  ravaged 
fields.  The  condition  of  others  is  even 
worse.  They  are  barely  supporting 
life  in  the  deserts  of  northern  Syria 
where  their  oppressors  watch  their 
sufferings  under  hunger  and  disease 
and  refuse  to  alleviate  their  agonies. 
There  is  still,  however,  a  chance  for 
relief  from  without  to  reach  them  and 
their  friends  in  Europe  hope  that  gen- 
erous charity  of  America,  much  as  it 
has  already  done,  will  respond  once 
more  to  the  appeal  made  to  it. 


JlllllllllilllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllM 


Social  Interpretations 


Some  Fine  Books  From  the  University 

of  Chicago  Press 


The  Psychology  of  Religion,  by 
George  A.  Coe  of  the  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  365  pages,  $1.50. 
University  of  Chicago   Press. 

"The  Psychology  of  Religion"  is, 
of  course,  the  psychology  of  the  relig- 
ious experience  of  individuals.  Pro- 
fessor Coe  has  been  gathering  mate- 
rial and  making  observations  for 
many  years.  In  his  work  as  a  teacher 
in  the  field  of  religious  education  he 
has  been  able  to  procure  data  not 
only  from  the  experiences  of  great 
numbers  of  students,  but  has  also 
conducted  experimental  or  model 
Sunday  schools  and  thus  had  at  his 
hand  a  source  for  data  that  is  per- 
haps even  more  valuable  than  that 
of  students,  who  must  largely  read 
backwards  in  their  own  experiences 
to  answer  questions.  To  this  is  added 
the  ethnological  materials  that  are  at 
the  scholar's  hand.  There  have  been 
a  dozen  men  working  in  various 
phases  of  this  field,  but  Professor  Coe 
has  perhaps  succeeded  best  in  cover- 
ing the  whole  field  and  in  giving  a 
well-rounded  treatment  of  it.  He  at- 
tempts to  free  himself  of  the 
"psychologist's  fallacy,"  but  frankly 
uses  his  own  experience.  Professor 
Coe  candidly  confesses  his  faith  in 
the  great  fundamentals  of  our  relig- 
ion and  treats  ethics  as  a  social 
science;  religion  itself  is  essentially  a 
social  phenomenon  in  that  its  evolu- 
tion is  a  part  of  the  general  social 
evolution,  its  theology  at  any  stated 
time  reflects  the  social  organization 
of  that  time,  and  its  code  of  morals 
is  more  or  less  the  direct  product  of 
social  progress.  Even  the  hope  of 
immortality  the  author  finds  to  be  so- 
cial, feeling  that  life  after  death  has 
little  value  apart  from  its  social 
satisfactions.  The  book  is  written  in 
Professor  Coe's  usual  readable  style 
and  any  intelligent  layman  can  read 
it  with  satisfaction,  though  he  would 
perhaps  better  read  the  more  techni- 
cal first  four  chapters  last. 
#     ♦     * 

The  Function  of  Socialization 
in  Social  Evolution,  by  Ernest 
W.  Burgess  of  the  University  of 
Chicago.     237  pages,  $1.25. 

This  is  an  excellent  volume  for 
partisans  of  the  Marxian  theory  of 
economic  determinism  as  well  as  all 
disciples  of  the  materialistic  school. 
The  thesis  developed  is  that  all  those 
more  material  factors  of  progress, 
such    as    physical    environment     and 


heredity  are  really  of  less  importance 
than  social  environment  and  hered- 
ity. Ward's  theory  that  the  spiritual 
values  of  civilization  spring  so  di- 
rectly out  of  its  material  conditions 
that  there  is  little  need  to  pay  any  at- 
tention to  anything  but  the  securing  of 
proper  physical  conditions  is  com- 
bated with  the  theory  that  these  phy- 
sical goods  acquire  value  and  appre- 
ciation only  in  the  measure  that  we 
cultivate  the  spiritual  values.  We 
might  disagree  with  Professor  Bur- 
gess's contention  that  the  final  con- 
sideration in  the  socializing  process  is 
that  of  developing  personality,  but 
will  not  disagree  with  his  description 
of  personality  at  its  highest  as  that 
character  which  most  adequately  en- 
ters into  and  co-operates  with  all  the 
social  processes  of  value  to  mankind. 
Why  seek  to  delimit  the  final  values 
as  either  social  or  personal?  Inven- 
tion and  discovery  are  conditioned  by 
socialization ;  the  rate  and  direction 
of  social  progress  is  determined  by 
mental  attitudes ;  ideals  are  the 
plastic  ends  of  morals,  customs  and 
conventions — by  them  comes  that 
"oughtness"  out  of  which  the  ethics 
of  tomorrow  will  be  made ;  the  social- 
izing process  is  not  one  of  knowledge 
alone,  any  more  than  it  is  determined 
by  material  goods  alone,  but  of  a 
complex  of  knowing,  feeling  and  will- 
ing and  such  an  attainment  of  self- 
control  that  the  individual  will  at  all 
times  modify  his  action  to  promote 
the  highest  good  of  all.  In  other 
words  the  social  problem  is  not  fun- 
damentally economic;  it  is  funda- 
mentally one  of  spiritual  values  and 
morals. 

»t,  *<-  j- 

Slavery  in  Germanic  Society  in 
the  Middle  Ages,  by  Agnes  M. 
Wergeland.  158  pages.  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago  Press,  $1.00. 

History  of    the    Working  Classes 
in  France,  by  Agnes  M.  Werge- 
land.     136    pages.      University    of 
Chicago  Press,  $1.00. 
In    both    these    volumes    Professor 
Wergeland,  late  of  the  University  of 
Wyoming,    has    done    a    painstaking 
piece   of  work.     The  second   volume 
is    a    sort    of    rescript    or   review    of 
Levasseur's  great  work  on  the  history 
of  industry  and  the  working  classes 
in  France  previous  to   1789.     It  fur- 
nishes   an    admirable    short   introduc- 
tion  to  an  understanding  of  the   in- 
dustrial   factors   in   the   French   Rev- 


olution. In  the  first  volume  is  found 
a  thorough-going  inquiry  into  the 
question  of  slavery  among  the  medie- 
val Germans,  and  it  is  not  a  pleasant 
picture,  though  perhaps  not  different 
from  what  might  be  presented  by  any 
like  presentation  of  the  slave's  status 
and  rights  ( ?)  among  other  peoples 
of  the  time.  Both  books  are  most 
readable  and  valuable  documents  in 
the  history  of  the  evolution  of  labor 
from  the  condition  of  slavery  and 
serfdom  to  that  of  freedom. 
*     *     * 

Handwork  in  Religious  Educa- 
tion, by  Addie  Grace  Wardle. 
143  pages.  $1.00.  University  of 
Chicago    Press. 

Secular  education,  so-called,  tends 
more  and  more  to  utilize  muscular  ac- 
tivities as  a  medium  for  training  the 
senses  and  to  impart  ideas  through 
activities  of  the  pupil.  This  little 
volume — one  of  the  University  of 
Chicago's  series  on  principles  and 
methods  in  religious  education  — 
brings  the  method  and  a  wide  variety 
of  suggestion  as  to  material  over  into 
the  field  of  religious  instruction. 
Creative  work  is  not  only  the  natural 
way  to  develop  minds  but  to  build 
character  as  well.  The  author  for- 
mulates first,  in  each  chapter,  the 
modes  of  activity  in  their  relation  to 
the  end  sought,  and  then  suggests 
the  materials  to  be  used  in  actual 
class  room  work.  The  teacher  who 
uses  this  method  will  need  more 
room  and  to  give  more  time  than  does 
the  average  teacher  in  our  present 
easy-going  method  of  Sunday  school 
work — but  until  that  is  done  we  can 
hardly  profess  efficiency  in  this  field. 

;js         5|c         ^z 

The  Country  Church  and  the 
Rural  Problem,  by  Kenyon  L. 
Butterfield,  President  of  Mass- 
achusetts Agricultural  College.  153 
pages,  $1.00.  University  of  Chi- 
cago Press. 

It  is  a  rather  notable  fact  that 
teachers  in  the  agricultural  colleges 
take  a  more  active  part  in  religious 
work  than  do  those  of  any  other  de- 
partment in  the  modern  state  univer- 
sity. This  is  doubtless  due  to  the 
practical  character  of  their  work  and 
the  inevitable  recognition  of  the  part 
the  church  plays  in  rural  life.  Pres- 
ident Butterfield  is  not  only  a  leader 
in  the  agricultural  field,  but  in  the 
religious  as  well  and  in  this  volume 
presents  the  functions  of  the  rural 
church  from  the  all-round  viewpoint 
of  social  and  community  welfare 
rather  than  from  that  of  the  building 
of  a  church   for  its  own   sake. 


18 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  15,  1917 


■HHKB 


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The  Sunday  School 


MtiiimiiiiiNiiii 


Who  Sinned? 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 

BY  JOHN  R.  EWERS 

UnpEACHER.  who  sinned,  this  ner?"  "Nothing,"  said  I,  "God  is  not 
man  or  his  parents,  that  he  punishing  you."  And  then  we  sat 
*■  was  born  blind?"  Jesus  down  and  tried  to  think  the  thing 
answered,  "Neitber  did  this  man  sin  through.  The  death  of  that  child 
nor  his  parents ;  but  that  the  works  was  due  to  perfectly  clear  causes, 
of  Clod  should  be  manifest  in  him."  The  parents  were  not  at  all  to  blame 
There  is  a  great  and  needed  teaching,  and  the  merciful  Father  in  Heaven 
Millions  of  people  cannot  get  rid  of  was  not  cruelly  hurting  them.  A  man 
the  idea  that  affliction  is  due  to  their  lost  nearly  all  his  money  in  one  deal 
sin.      Now    it   is    quite    possible    that 

certain    b  1  i  nd- 

ness    is    due    to 

parents'   sin. 

We   know   that. 

It   is   also   poss- 
ible that  certain 

blindness  is  due 

to  our  own  sin. 

We    can    see 

that.      But    this 

case    was    not 

due  t©  sin  at 
all.  One  out  of  every  1,000  in  Eu- 
rope (before  the  war)  was  blind. 
Even  today  in  Palestine  one  out  of 
every  hundred  is  blind.  Sore  eyes 
are  common  and  preventive  meas- 
ures are  not  known.  In  such  a  case 
it  is  no  more  a  sin  for  a  man  to  be 
blind  than  for  his  child  to  have  the 
measles. 

But  let  us  get  at  the  heart  of  this 
lesson:  why  are  we  afflicted?  A 
child  is  taken  from  Us — is  God  an- 
gry :  We  fail  in  business — is  God 
displeased?  Prolonged  sickness  is 
our  lot — is  God  chastening  the  son 
that  he  loveth  ?  I  heard  a  man  lec- 
ture recently,  saying  that  God  thrust 
these  thorns  into  our  flesh  for  a  pur- 
pose. The  book  of  Job  deals  with 
this  problem — but  not  until  Jesus 
died  on  the  cross  as  God's  particular 
son,  was  the  mystery  cleared — then 
it  became  apparent  that  God  might 
still  love  us  and  not  spare  us  suf- 
fering. The  sooner  we  get  rid  of  a 
capricious  God  the  better!  God  is 
not  a  great  Gorilla,  waiting  with  a 
club  to  bloodily  bruise  us !  God  is 
not  in  the  business  of  handing  out 
death,  failure  and  pain  lawlessly. 

I  entered  a  home  where  a  little 
child  had  been  taken.  "O  what  have 
I  done,"  said  the  young  father,  "that 
God  has     punished  me   in  this  man- 


and  how  that  idea  has  persisted!  If 
only  our  good  ideals  could  last  as 
long.  But  it  is  not  true.  Let  us 
clear  up  this  false  notion  and  thereby 
bring  relief  to  many  a  burdened 
mind. 

It  is  strange  how  deeply  this  no- 
tion is  imbedded  in  our  souls.  As 
soon  as  misfortune  comes  we  im- 
mediately ask  the  above  question. 
We  wonder  what  we  have  done  that 
God  should  punish  us.  Why  blame 
God  for  ignorant  doctors,  careless 
nurses,  improper  quarantine,  complex 
social  conditions,  crowded  cities, 
miserable  diet,  overwork,  neglected 
conditions?  Why  blame  God  for  the 
dry  season  and  the  slump  in  the  stock 
market  or  the  dishonest  purchaser? 
I  suppose  we  all  feel  that  we  have 

HrhTd\heTam7notion^    He"  thought     sinned  t0  a  Sreater  or  less  f*tent  fnd 
that    God    was    punishing    him.      He      therefore    must     not    complain     vvlien 

spent  sleepless  nights  examining  his 
past  life.  Pie  said  to  me:  "I  know 
I  have  not  been  a  saint,  but  I  have 
never  done  anything  very  bad  that  I 
know  of."  "Who  sinned,  this  man 
or  his  parents?     Neither!" 

It    is    said    that    our    sermons    and 


the  punishment  falls,  but  that  punish- 
ment will  come  lawfully,  in  the  realm 
of  definite  cause  and  effect.     There 
are  blind  children  because  of   sinful 
parents ;    there    are    blind    men    who 
made    themselves   blind.      There    are 
blind   saints.      No,   God   did   not   kill 
Sunday    school    lessons    are    quickly     your  child  or  ruin  your  business  to 
forgotten.     That  is  only  a  half-truth,      punish    you.      Remember    the    word, 
Some    old    preacher    first    announced      "NEITHER."      The    important    fac- 
this  diabolical  idea  that  when  a  man     tor  is  to  see  that  the  works  of  God 
was  afflicted  God  was  punishing  him,     are  manifest  in  us. 


iniiiiiNiiiiiiiiimmtimiiijmi 


11111111111111111111111 


11111111111111111111 


Invocation 


By  Wendell  Phillips  Stafford 


THOU  whose  equal  purpose  runs 
In  drops  of  rain  or  streams  of  suns, 
And  with  a  soft  compulsion  rolls 
The  green  earth  on  her  snowy  poles ; 
O  Thou  who  keepest  in  Thy  ken 
The  times  of  flowers,  the  dooms  of  men, 
Stretch  out  a  mighty  wing  above — 
Be  tender  to  the  land  we  love. 


*The  above  attitude  is  based  on  the 
International  Uniform  lesson  for  April  1, 
'"Jesus  Gives  Light  to  the  Blind,"  John 
9:  l-::8. 


If  all  the  huddlers  from  the  storm 

Have  found  her  hearthstone  wide  and  warm  ; 

If  she  has  made  men  free  and  glad, 

Sharing  with  all  the  good  she  had ; 

If  she  has  blown  the  very  dust 

From  her  bright  balance  to  be  just, 

Oh,  spread  a  mighty  wing  above — 

Be  tender  to  the  land  we  love. 

When  in  the  dark,  eternal  tower 
The  star  clock  strikes  her  trial  hour, 
And  for  her  help  no  more  avail 
Her  sea-blue  shield,  her  mountain  mail, 
But  sweeping  wide  from  gulf  to  lakes 
The  battle  on  her  forehead  breaks, 
Throw  thou  a  thunderous  wing  above — 
Be  tender  to  this  land  we  love. 


'llllll!IMIIIUIIII]|IIIM<ll!IIIMIIIIIIIIII[|IUI1!llllllllllilMIII|[|llllfllinilllllllll]lll]MMJII1llll 


imiiiMimiiMiiiiiimninniiiiiiiiinitimtii 


iiiiiiiii[iiiiiiiii[]iiiNti(iruiiiiiiiUi[ii{iiiii!iii[|iiiiiiiiiii[iiiiiiitiiii[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiHiiiiMinii|]| 


March  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


19 


i 


wm 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


Good  Words  for  Central 
Church,   New  York 

A  weekly  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
the  upper  west  side  of  New  York  City, 
recently  printed  a  two-column  story  of 
Central  Church,  New  York,  of  which 
Finis  Idleman  is  pastor.  A  hrief  extract 
follows:  "Central  Christian  Church  is 
one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  pioneer 
churches  in  the  city  of  New  York,  owing 
to  its  phenomenal  growth  and  its  varied 
work  in  the  missionary  field  since  its 
organization  in  1810.  It  has  had  a  con- 
tinuous history  of  unbroken  communion 
service  every  Sunday  for  one  hundred 
and  seven  years.  The  present  pastor, 
Rev.  Finis  S.  Idleman,  received  a  call 
from  a  Des  Moines  church,  with  a  mem- 
bership of  about  twenty-five  hundred,  to 
the  Central  Church  about  one  year  ago, 
since  when  the  congregation  has  in- 
creased 25  per  cent.  Mr.  Idleman  is  a 
member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
America.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Christian  Union  Commission  of  the  Dis- 
ciples of  Christ." 

At  First  Church, 
Bloomington,  111. 

There  were  one  hundred  and  eight 
accessions  to  First  Church,  Bloomington, 
111.,  during  the  period  from  January  1  to 
March  1.  Of  this  number  eighty-three 
were  by  confession  and  baptism,  and  the 
others  by  letter  and  statement.  The 
church  is  still  reaping,  either  directly  or 
indirectly,  a  harvest  from  the  recent 
union  revival  services  held  in  Blooming- 
ton by  Evangelist  Bob  Jones  and  party. 
The  mid-week  prayer  services  at  First 
Church  have  averaged  above  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  in  attendance  for  the  last 
month.  The  minister,  Edgar  DeWitt 
Jones,  has  been  giving  brief  Bible  studies 
at  the  mid-week  service,  followed  by 
baptismal  services.  The  annual  Good 
Cheer  banquet  of  First  Church  will  take 
place  on  the  evening  of  March  29,  in  the 
departmental  rooms.  The  out-of-town 
speakers  will  be  John  I.  Gunn  of  Marion, 
whose  topic  will  be  "The  Church  of 
Drumtochty,"  and  Dr.  Joe  Bell,  dis- 
tinguished Methodist  minister  of  Illinois. 
For  six  months  the  pastor  has  been 
preaching  a  brief  sermon  each  Lord's 
day  morning  for  the  children.  This  fea- 
ture has  grown  upon  the  congregation 
and  in  favor  with  the  children.  First 
Church,  in  all  departments,  is  thriving 
and  full  of  hope. 

Elders  and  Deacons  Conference 
in  Missouri  County 

Missouri  is  getting  to  be  the  state  of 
new  ideas  in  the  promotion  of  religious 
work.  C.  C.  Garrigues,  of  First  church, 
Joplin,  Mo.,  writes  that  the  recent  El- 
ders and  Deacons  Conference  of  Jasper 
county,  held  at  Carthage  was  a  decided 
success.  Fourteen  of  the  eighteen 
churches  were  represented.  Sixty  men 
were  present.  Some  of  these  had  come 
nearly  thirty  miles  to  be  in  the  meeting. 
The  afternoon  session  opened  with  a 
round  table  discussion  of  the  Jasper 
county  plan  of  work,  led  by  Mr.  Garri- 
gues. F.  L.  Moffet,  district  president, 
brought  a  strong,  thought-provoking  ad- 
dress on  "The  Church."  Mr.  Moffet  acted 
as  toastmaster  at  the  evening  banquet 
session.  \y.  P.  Shamhart  gave  an  edify- 
ing address  on  "Elders  and  Deacons  and 


wm 


the  Minister."  W.  D.  Moore  led  his 
hearers  to  the  heights  as  he  spoke  of 
"Elders  and  Deacons  and  the  Church." 
C.  H.  Swift  brought  up-to-date  ideas 
on  "Elders  and  Deacons  and  the  Com- 
munity." J.  H.  Jones,  district  superin- 
tendent, gave  an  informing  and  enter- 
taining address  on  "The  Preacher  and 
His  Job."  These  elders  and  deacons' 
conferences  promise  much. 

ft  r  1 1  ii  j  1 1  r  f  r  1 1  r  j  r  r  1 1 1 1 1  r  i  r  i  r  1 1 1 1 1 1  it  n  1 1 llimilHlJJIHNllljmHIItlllHIlimillirmillHflimnillllllMHimllllllHlllU 

I    They  All  Praise  The  Century    I 

The  first  subscribers  to  pay  $2.50     § 

1  for   their  "Christian   Century"   were     | 

1  Mr.  Rupert  A.  Nourse,  of  Milwau-     | 

I  kee,  and  Mr.  James  M.  Pickens,  of     | 

I  Washington,  D.  C.    Both  these  read-     | 

1  ers  declined  to  take  advantage  of  the     | 

1  two  dollar  rate  during  February  and     | 

1  remitted  for   their  renewals  on   the     \ 

I  new   rate    basis,   declaring    that    the     I 

I  "Century"  was  worth  so  much  more     f 

1  than  two  dollars  that  they  would  not     § 

1  pay  the  lesser  sum.    These  were  but     § 

I  the    first   fruits    of    the    new    order.     1 

I  They  were  followed  by  many  others     | 

I  who  did  likewise. — Office  Manager. 

"The  Christian  Century  is  a  great     f 

1  and     instructive      religious     journal     1 

1  which  opens  the  very  world  to  one's 

1  view." — Carl   A.    Burkhardt,    Taber- 

|  nacle  Church,  Franklin,  Ind. 

1  "I  appreciate   The   Christian   Cen- 

1  tury  very  much.     You  are  certainly 

I  giving  us  a  fine  paper.     If  I  could 

1  afford  it  I  should  like  to  send  it  reg- 

1  ularly  to   several  of  my  friends." — 

1  Tolbert  F.  Weaver,  Dallas,  Tex. 

1  "It  is  not  only  a  delight  but  a  real 

I  inspiration  to  read  its  pages.    It  be- 

|  gins  to  look  as  if  great  victory  were 

I  coming  to  those  who  have  labored  so 

1  faithfully    at    such    a    sacrifice    ana 

I  amid  so  many  misunderstandings  for 

i  many  years." — V.  W.  Blair,  Eureka, 

I  III. 

I  "The    Century    continues    to    im- 

|  prove.    Success  to  you." — C.  C.  Gar- 

|  rigues,  Joplin,  Mo. 

"I  have  received  my  first  copy  of 

1  The  Christian  Century.     The  eighth 

1  article  of  Dr.  Willett's  scries  on  the 

I  Bible  is  in  this  number.    I  thought  at 

1  first  that  I  would  read  it  until  I  re- 

|  ccived   the   back   numbers,   but  after 

1  sketching^   the  first  paragraph   fairly 

I  twelve  lines  I  could  not  stop    till  I 

1  read  it  all.    It  is  the  best  on  'Trans- 

|  lations  and  Revisions'  I  ever  read." 

1  — Prof.  C.  H.  Dutcher,  Warrensburg, 

I     M°- 

"I  wish  you  unlimited  success  with 

1  your  most   excellent  religious  jour- 

1  nal." — Elmer   Ward    Cole,   Hunting- 

i  ton,  Ind. 

I  "For     some     INEXPLAINABLE 

I  reason    I    have    never    been    a    sub- 

1  scriber   to    the   Century,   but   I   have 

1  been  intending  to  subscribe  for  the 

I  last  four  years.     I  have  seen   it  at 

I  the  desks  of  the  most  energetic  and 

1  thoughtful    ministers    desks.     I    en- 

1  close  two  dollars  for  subscription." — 

1  R.  L.  Riddell,  Cropper,  Ky. 

"I  am  enjoying  The  Century  very 

1  much  and  my  only  trouble  is  that  I 

I  cannot  give  it  the  time  the  contents 

§  deserve.     May  the  paper  grow  and 

be    glorified." — A.    H.    Cooke,    Park 

1  Avenue  Church,  Des  Moines,  la. 

fllllllinilllllllllllllMIIIIIIMMMIIIIHItllMMHIMIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllHIIIHItllMlllllllllllllllllltlllllllllll 


"Christian  Century  Day"  at 
Eureka,  111.,  Church 

Editor  C.  C.  Morrison  spent  Sunday, 
March  4,  with  Eureka,  111.,  church,  Verle 
W.  Blair,  pastor.  He  preached  in  the 
morning  and  spoke  in  the  evening  on 
his  South  American  tour.  Mr.  Morri- 
son also  delivered  several  addresses  to 
college  groups,  including  the  Bible  Col- 
lege students  and  the  regular  chapel 
gathering.  He  was  accompanied  by 
Charles  A.  Young,  who  interpreted  the 
work  of  The  Christian  Century  to  va- 
rious groups  and  received  a  fine  list  of 
new   subscriptions. 

Successful  Union  Meetings 
at  Wabash,  Ind. 

Herbert  Yeuell,  who  is  leading  in  a 
union  meeting  at  Wabash,  Ind.,  in  which 
the  Disciples  and  Presbyterian  churches 
are  co-operating,  writes  that  with  such 
leaders  as  F.  E.  Jaynes,  "man's  man" 
pastor  of  the  Disciples,  and  Dr.  Little, 
former  Presbyterian  moderator,  of  the 
Presbyterian  congregation,  unusual  suc- 
cess has  resulted  from  the  effort.  It 
is  found  necessary  to  ask  members  of 
other  churches  to  attend  their  own  serv- 
ices on  Sunday  evenings,  so  great  is  the 
interest.  At  one  service  125  persons  re- 
sponded to  the  invitation,  at  another 
over  a  hundred.  Mr.  Yeuell  has  de- 
clined two  extended  Chautauqua  prop- 
ositions in  order  to  give  himself  ex- 
clusively to  evangelistic  work. 

A  Big  "Little"  Church  at 
Hyde  Park,  Chicago 

A  member  of  Hyde  Park  church,  Chi- 
cago, has  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  308  members  there  make  up  an 
organization  that  is  in  fact  "bigger  than 
nine-tenths  of  the  8,826  churches  re- 
ported in  the  year-book."  The  church 
raised  for  local  expenses  last  year  $4,- 
787.93.  Only  192  churches  in  the 
brotherhood  raised  more.  There  was 
$1,903.08  given  to  missions  and  benevol- 
ence, and  only  fifty-four  of  the  Chicago 
congregation  gave  more.  The  per  capita 
of  giving  to  missions  and  benevolence  is 
$6.18.  Dr.  E.  S.  Ames'  sermon  subjects 
during  Lent  are  as  follows: 

February  25,  "Can  Man's  Character 
Be  Changed?"  March  4.  "A  Letter  to  a 
Promoter  of  Missions."  March  11. 
"Changing  Men  Through  Physical  Con- 
ditions." March  18,  "Changing  Men 
Through  Social  Influence."  March  25. 
"Man's  Power  to  Change  Himselt: 
Auto-Suggestion. "  April  1.  "A  Letter  to 
a  Lost  Soul."  April  S,  Easter,  "Contin- 
uity of  Personality." 

Missouri  Disciples  to 
Meet  in  Mexico 

The  Annual  Convention  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  of  Missouri  will  be 
held  in  Mexico.  June  12  to  14,  1917.  A 
cordial  invitation  is  extended  to  the 
brotherhood  of  the  state  to  be  present 
at  that  time.  Mexico  is  centrally  lo- 
cated and  is  in  easy  reach  of  all  parts 
of  the  state.  The  Mexico  church  will 
do  its  best  to  entertain  all  who  come. 
For  further  information  write  Henry 
Pearce  Atkins,  pastor  at  Mexico. 

An  Opportunity  at  Aurora 
and  Ottawa,  111. 

H.  H.  Peters,  the  energetic  secretao* 
of  Illinois  Discipledom.  writes  hopefully 
of  the  work  at  Aurora.  111.  He  quotes 
W.  W.  Vose,  of  Eureka,  who  has  been 
spending  a  month  with  this  church  and 
that  at  Ottawa,  as  follows:  "The  work 
in  Aurora  is  a  trifle  unsettled  yet.  The 
trouble  has  been  in  securing  a  place  to 
meet.     February  25th  we  met  in  a  small 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  15,  1917 


dance  hall  and  had  to  rent  chairs  from 
outside.  Lord's  Day,  March  11th,  we 
will  meet  in  a  larger  hall,  which  we 
think  we  can  secure  regularly.  Some- 
thing over  seventy  families  have  been 
found  in  this  place  who  have  had  mem- 
bership with  the  Disciples  of  Christ. 
Although  quite  a  few  of  these  have  tak- 
en membership  with  other  churches, 
still  there  are  perhaps  thirty-five  to 
forty  families  who  have  remained  loyal. 
I  believe  the  main  question  here  is  a 
building,  and  I  am  hoping  some  Disciple 
of  Christ  in  Illinois  will  come  and  see 
this  city  of  40,000  people  without  a 
Disciple  church,  and  be  moved  to  buy 
a  good  lot  for  them.  Given  the  lot, 
I  think  they  would  erect  a  tabernacle  at 
once.  They  are  a  brave,  loyal  set  and 
need  some  outside  encouragement." 
Mr.  Yose  writes  of  the  prospects  at 
Ottawa:  "Ottawa  is  showing  a  fine 
spirit,  and  while  we  will  not  burn  the 
mortgage  for  a  jrcar  or  two,  we  expect 
to  cancel  every  other  debt  by  the  first 
of  April.  In  fact  since  February  we 
have  raised  enough  money  and  sub- 
scriptions to  do  this.  The  ladies  of  the 
church  will  serve  a  men's  banquet,  Fri- 
day night,  March  10th,  in  the  church 
parlors.  Fifty  men  are  invited.  A  base- 
ment and  other  improvements  are  in 
prospect.  The  church  is  taking  part  in 
the  city's  dry  fight." 

Help  Evangelize   Russians 
of  New  York 

M.  M.  Amunson,  secretary  of  the  Dis- 
ciples Missionary  Union  of  New  York 
City,  writes  that  this  organization  has 
seen  to  the  education  of  a  young  Rus- 
sian. Constantine  Jaroshevich,  capable 
and  consecrated,  and  wishes  now  to  set 
him  at  work  among  the  New  York  Rus- 
sians, along  with  John  Johnson,  long  a 
missionary  there.  But,  alas!  the  Union 
is  already  heavily  burdened.  However, 
the  Union  proposes  to  furnish  one-third 
of  the  $720  per  year  needed  on  the  con- 
dition that  the  balance  be  subscribed  by 
others.  Mr.  Amunson's  address  is  358 
St.  John's  place,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Men  and  Boys'  Banquet 
in  Missouri 

C.  C.  Garrigues,  of  First  church,  Jop- 
lin.  Mo.,  writes  that  there  was  held  at 
this  church  a  men's  and  boys'  banquet 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Personal 
Workers'  Brotherhood.  The  boys  were 
personally  invited  by  the  men.  Each 
boy  was  seated  with  his  host  at  table. 
Seventy-four  were  present.  The  toast 
of  the  evening,  "Our  Boys,"  was  subdi- 
vided as  follows:  "What  They  Are 
Worth,"  "How  They  Can  Make  Good," 
"How  We  Can  Help  Them,"  "What  the 
Church  Owes  Them."  Other  brief,  im- 
promptu responses  were  made. 
#      #      •]' 

— J.  Boyd  Jones,  of  Central  church, 
Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  was  recently  hon- 
ored by  being  asked  to  address  the  Ro- 
tarians  of  the  city.  This  organization  is 
made  up  of  one  man  from  each  of  the 
professions  and  industrial  organizations 
of  the  city. 

<  — C.  C.  Morrison  has  been  engaged  at 
Liberty.  Mo.,  to  give  the  annual  address 
before  the  C.  W.  B.  M.  Auxiliary  and  the 
Mission  Circle,  in  observance  of  C.  W. 
B.  M.  Day.    The  date  is  March  18. 

— B.  H.  Cleaver,  president  of  the  Ful- 
ton County  (111.),  Co-operation,  writes 
that  the  Fulton  County  Convention  of- 
ficers and  other  leaders  held  a  "Midyear 
Board  Meeting"  at  Lewistown,  Monday, 
February  26.  Plans  were  laid  for  a 
spring  advance   in   the   rural   and   village 


Sunday  schools,  a  unified  missionary 
program  was  approved,  and  a  county 
rally  tour  decided  upon,  to  come  be- 
fore the  Fifth  Annual  Convention  at 
Vermont,  next  October.  W.  L.  Hipsley 
is  secretary  of  the  Fulton  County  Co- 
operation. 

— T.  E.  Tomlinson,  of  Hillsboro,  Tex., 
has  retired  from  the  presidency  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  Texas  Christian 
University.  He  has  served  in  this  po- 
sition for  many  years.  S.  J.  McFar- 
land,  of  Dallas,  succeeds  him. 

— It  is  reported  that  every  member 
of  First  Church,  McKinncy,  Tex.,  to 
which  W.  P.  Jennings  ministers,  con- 
tributes to  the  support  of  the  church. 

— Percy  G.  Cross,  evangelist,  has  been 
called  to  the  pastorate  at  Wichita  Falls, 
Tex.,  and  has  accepted. 

— Clifford  S.  Weaver,  of  Texarkana, 
Tex.,  endowment  secretary  of  Texas 
Christian  University,  Fort  Worth,  has 
been  elected  chancellor  of  the  institu- 
tion. 

— North  Side  Church,  Omaha,  Neb., 
is     adopting     the     unified     program     of 


morning  services,  and  the  South  Side 
church  is  waging  a  campaign  to  lower 
the  debt  on  its  property. 

—The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  class  of  First 
church  school,  Lincoln,  Neb.,  recently 
had  charge  of  an  evening  church  service. 
A  chorus  of  thirty-six  men  furnished 
anthem  music,  quartets  and  solos.  Law- 
rence Dry,  assistant  pastor,  gave  an 
address  on  "The  Young  Man  and  His 
Dreams." 

—A.  H.  Cook,  of  Park  Avenue 
church,  Des  Moines,  la.,  writes  that  the 
congregation  there  has  its  vision  fas- 
tened upon  the  prospect  of  a  wholly 
new  equipment.  It  is  hoped  an  in- 
debtedness of  $1,600  may  soon  be  paid 
off. 

— Bethany  Assembly  has  engaged 
some  of  the  world's  best  Chautauqua  at- 
tractions for  its  1917  session.  Among 
them  are  Estelle  Carson  Jones  and  Gay 
Zenola  MacLaren,  both  of  whom  will  in- 
terpret some  of  the  world's  famous 
plays  and  books;  Louis  Williams,  the 
electrical  entertainer;  Charles  Crawford 
Gorst,  the  famous  whistler  and  bird  imi- 
tator;  the   Hruby   Bohemian   Orchestra; 


Two  Stories  of  Successful  Churches 


An  Ohio  Church  That  Is 
In  Good  Health 

A  diagnosis  of  the  work  of  the  church 
at  Steubenville,  O.,  to  which  Ernest  H. 
Wray  ministers,  reveals  a  perfect  state 
of  health.  Here  are  some  of  the  evi- 
dences: Seven-eighths  of  the  member- 
ship contribute  to  missions,  with  five  liv- 
ing links  under  their  support;  the  nu- 
merical growth  of  the  church  and  school 
now  demands  a  new  building;  a  most 
successful  series  of  meetings  have  just 
been  closed,  the  theme  of  the  services 
being  "The  Deeper  Life";  the  pastor  did 
the  preaching,  and  emphasis  was  placed 
upon  spiritual  living  rather  than  upon 
increase  of  membership.  The  following 
is  Mr.  Wray's  account  of  the  meetings: 

"In  preparing  for  the  meeting  right 
conditions  were  fulfilled.  The  church 
realized  that  what  we  needed  first  of  all 
was  not  large  numbers  of  men  and 
women  to  'join,'  but  rather  a  deeper 
prayer  and  spiritual  life.  Those  inter- 
ested knew  that  if  the  conditions  that 
brought  about  Pentecost  were  fulfilled 
the  results  of  Pentecost  would  follow. 
The  church  abandoned  itself  unto  prayer. 
On  Wednesday,  preceding  the  opening 
of  the  meeting,  an  all-day  prayer  meet- 
ing was  held  at  the  church,  beginning  at 
0:30  in  the  morning.  At  different  hours 
during  the  day  the  people  came  and  went 
and  all  were  deeply  impressed  and 
blessed.  At  the  evening  hour  the  day 
came  to  a  close  with  a  great  meeting, 
which  was  addressed  by  H.  Newton  Mil- 
ler of  Bethany  College  on  'Prayer  and 
the  Deeper  Life.'  On  leaving  the  build- 
ing that  night  more  than  one  said,  'Did 
not  our  hearts  burn  within  us  while  he 
opened  to  us  the  scriptures?' 

"For  his  message  in  the  meetings  the 
pastor  took  up  the  Gospel  of  John  and 
interpreted  this  wonderful  message  to  the 
people  from  night  to  night.  The  spe- 
cial theme  which  was  emphasized 
throughout  the  entire  meeting  was  'The 
Deeper  Life.'  The  meetings  were  deeply 
devotional.  From  the  very  first  the  audi- 
ences were  large  and  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  evenings  men  and  women  made 
the  good  confession  nightly.  There  were 
no  spectacular  methods  used.  The  meet- 
ings were  conducted  in  a  quiet,  dignified 
and  devotional  manner.     At  the  close  of 


the  meetings  it  was  found  that  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-eight  persons  had  made 
the  good  confession." 

For  the  last  three  years  Mr.  Wray  has 
been  holding  his  own  evangelistic  meet- 
ings, assisted  by  Owen  M.  Walker,  song 
leader  and  soloist. 


Clearing  Off  Debts 
at  Sharon,  Pa. 

About  fifteen  months  ago  Central 
church,  Sharon,  Pa.,  was  in  debt  $1,000, 
and  could  not  raise  enough  money  to 
pay  expenses.  R.  J.  Bennett  was  called 
to  this  church  Dec.  1,  1916,  from  Wil- 
mington, O.  He  began  work  with  us 
along  aggressive  but  efficient  lines.  He 
realized  that  a  permanent  work  could 
not  be  carried  on  by  spurts.  He  first 
began  to  formulate  a  church  roll  by  dis- 
covering who  were  and  should  be  mem- 
bers of  the  church.  There  has  been  a 
lopping  off  of  members,  which  has  been 
conducive  to  a  stronger  church. 

Mr.  Bennett  is  a  missionary  leader  and 
he    has    emphasized    the    importance    ofi 
contributing  to  all  our  missionary  activi- 
ties.    The  church  has  given  to  missions 
about  three  times  more  than  ever  before. 

Evangelism  has  been  emphasized  only 
in  a  quiet  manner,  there  being  over  fifty 
additions  to  the  church  during  last  year, 
under  the  preaching  of  our  pastor. 

In  finances  we  have  succeeded  in  pay- 
ing off  all  debts  so  that  the  church  and 
Sunday  school  passed  into  1917  entirely 
free  of  debt.  We  have  been  paying  Mr. 
Bennett  $300  a  year  more  than  we  ever 
paid  regularly  before,  and  we  are  now 
able  to  permit  him  a  month  of  vacation. 
Last  year  we  raised  about  $3,500  for  all 
purposes.    All  are  rejoicing. 

On  Dec.  10  about  thirty-five  men  of 
the  church  took  an  every-member  can- 
vass, and  now  our  problem  of  finances 
for  this  new  year  is  practically  solved. 
Our  people  pledged  $2,500  for  current 
expenses  and  $700  for  missions.  We 
hope  this  year  to  be  the  greatest  year 
financially  and  spiritually  in  the  history 
of  the  church.  R.  J.  Bennett  and  wife 
have  proved  themselves  to  be  faithful 
and  efficient  leaders  and  workers. 

H.   M.   DERR, 
Chairman   Publicity  Committee. 


March  15,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


21 


The  famous  Dixie  Jubilee  Singers,  and 
Julius  Caesar  Payphe,  who  will  give  his 
famous  lecture  on  the  Twenty-Third 
Psalm  in  the  attire  of  a  Shepherd  of  his 
native  country.  This  lecture  will  ap- 
peal to  ministers  especially,  and  will 
be  given  during  the   Bible   Conference. 

— In  the  opening  meeting  of  the  Men 
and  Millions  Movement's  campaign  in 
Greater  Cincinnati  Friday,  March  2d,  it 
was  announced  that  the  Oklahoma  and 
Southern  Kansas  campaign  had  carried 
the  number  of  life  cards  signed  well  be- 
yond 6,000  and  that  the  total  pledges  to 
date  toward  the  $6,300,000  fund  are  over 
$4,400,000.  The  Cincinnati  meeting  both 
in  attendance  and  enthusiasm  was  one 
of  the  greatest  that  has  been  held. 

— High  Street  church,  Hamilton,  O., 
C.  R.  Sine,  pastor,  has  just  closed  an 
interesting  contest  with  the  Lindenwald 
church.  High  street  gave  Lindenwald 
a  handicap  of  20  per  cent,  but  still  won 
by  1,612  points.  On  February  18th  there 
were  672  present.  On  February  25th  all 
records  were  broken,  with  an  attendance 
of  967,  of  whom  790  remained  for  the 
morning  service,  including  the  Junior 
church.  This  congregation  has  come 
into  the  living-link  class  the  past  year. 

— Lin  D.  Cartwright  came  to  the  pul- 
pit at  Ft.  Collins,  Colo.,  two  years  ago, 
but  already  there  have  been  200  addi- 
tions to  the  church  membership.  In  a 
meeting  just  closed  there  were  sixty-one 
added.  R.  A.  Schell,  of  Boulder,  Colo., 
preached  and  C.  M.  Howe  and  wife,  of 
Iowa,  led  in  the  music.  Mr.  Cartwright 
is  organizing  a  class  of  fifty  in  which 
"The  Training  of  Church  Members"  will 
be  used. 

—About  $1,000  was  expended  for 
missions  and  benevolences  by  the  con- 
gregation at  First  church,  Ft.  Smith, 
Ark.,  last  year,  under  the  leadership  oi 
J.  David  Arnold.  Mr.  Arnold  is  just 
beginning  his  third  year  at  Ft.  Smith, 
and  finds  all  organizations  in  excellent 
condition.  A  pre-Easter  campaign  of 
evangelism  is  being  promoted. 

— Jasper  T.  Moses  of  Pueblo,  Colo., 
is  collaberating  on  a  text-book  in 
Elementary  Commercial  Spanish  for  the 
International  Committee  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  He  is  under  appointment  to  the 
Union  Training  School  for  Mexico 
whenever  work  in  that  unhappy  coun- 
try can  be  reopened. 

— J.  L.  Deming,  of  Yale  University, 
was  recently  engaged  by  the  contractors 
of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  to  direct  their 
side  in  a  large  carpenters'  strike.  He 
has  succeeded  in  establishing  the  open 
shop     principle     in     New     Haven.       He 


longs  for  the  west  again  and  would  be 
glad  to  find  a  suitable  location  here. 
His  work  is  in  sociology. 

— March  11  was  "Members'  at  Home" 
day  in  the  Hyde  Park  church,  Chicago. 
The  members  of  the  board,  going  two 
by  two,  called  upon  every  member  of 
the  church  between  the  hours  of  3  and 
6. 


unit  m n  n  u  A  Church  Home  for  You. 
NEW  Y  RK  Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
il i. ii    '  u,m  142  West  81st  St.,  N.  Y. 


— Since  D.  Roy  Mathews  came  to  the 
pastorate  at  North  Shore  church,  Chi- 
cago, nine  months  ago,  there  have  been 
twenty-nine  new  members  added.  The 
congregation  raised  five  times  the 
amount  apportioned  them  by  the  For- 
eign Society. 

— E.  P.  Wise  reports  "a  quiet  form 
of  well-sustained  enthusiasm"  through- 
out the  series  of  meetings  just  closed 
at  East  Market  street,  Akron,  O.,  with 
home  forces  leading,  but  assisted  in  the 
music  by  the  Gilfilin-Hatley  quartet  of 
young  ladies.  A  good  increase  of  mem- 
bership is  reported  as  a  result  of  the 
campaign,  130  persons  having  come  into 
the  church  fellowship. 

— The  congregation  at  Dowden,  111., 
is  seriously  contemplating  a  new  build- 
ing. Both  congregation  and  Sunday 
school  have  outgrown  the  present  build- 
ing. J.  A.  Clemens  is  leading  the 
church  into  larger  things. 

— Guy  B.  Williamson,  of  Paxton,  111., 
has  been  called  to  the  ministry  of  the 
El  Paso,  111.,  church.  The  Paxton 
church  is  seeking  his  successor. 

— The  church  at  Colfax,  111.,  is  con- 
ducting a  special  pre-Easter  campaign  at 
regular  services.  On  a  recent  Wednes- 
day night  thirteen  children  made  the 
confession.  H.  H.  Jenner  and  his  con- 
gregation joined  the  Methodists  in  a 
Community  Welfare  Institute  Sunday, 
March  4th. 

— The  McLean  County  (111.),  Sunday 
School  Association  secured  the  services 
of  R.  P.  Shepherd,  of  Chicago,  for  a 
series  of  Community  Welfare  Institutes 
during  the  week  of  March  4th  to  11th. 
He  spoke  at  Colfax,  Hudson,  Heyworth, 
Bloomington  and  Carlock.  Mr.  Shep- 
herd's recent  book,  "Essentials  of  Com- 
munity Efficiency,"  ought  to  be  in  the 
hands  of  every  church  worker  of  the 
brotherhood. 

— The  Ministers  Association  of  the 
Disciples  in  Des  Moines  has  undergone 
re-organization,     having    been    amplified 


to  include  all  ministers  of  the  Disciples 
in  Polls  county  and  will  be  so  named 
to  signify  the  change.  W.  A.  Shullen- 
berger,  of  Central,  is  elected  president 
and  W.  C.  Cole,  of  the  Capitol  Hill 
church,  secretary. 

—The  chorus  of  Central  church,  Des 
Moines,  forty-five  in  number,  won  first 
place  in  the  competitive  rendition  of  an- 
thems at  the  Welsh  Music  Festival  in 
Des  Moines  the  last  week  in  February. 
The  same  chorus  also  tied  for  second 
place  in  the  competition  of  another 
member,  winning  prizes  to  the  amount 
of  $325  and  giving  Mr.  Jellison,  the 
director,  the  gold  medal  as  winning  cho- 
rus-master. The  following  Sunday,  when 
the  chorus  entered  the  choir  loft,  the 
entire  morning  audience  arose  with  ap- 
plause in  their  honor. 

— The  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief  of 
Indianapolis  reports  that  for  the  five 
months  of  the  current  year  to  March 
first  its  receipts  have  amounted  to  $31,- 
934.22,  a  gain  of  $17,931.35  over  the  same 
period  last  year.  While  there  is  a  sub- 
stantial increase  in  offerings  from 
churches  and  the  Bible  schools  have  al- 
most doubled  last  year's  gifts,  the  prin- 
cipal gain  is  in  annuities  which  go  into 
the  Permanent  Fund.  The  increase  in 
the  pension  roll  continues  to  absorb  all 
available  money  without  advancing  the 
inadequate  scale  of  payment. 

— F.  A.  Scott  of  Indianapolis  has  been 
called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Allison 
church,  near  Lawrenceville,  111.  This 
is  one  of  the  best  country  churches  in 
the  brotherhood.  They  have  a  good 
church  and  parsonage,  with  two  acres  of 
ground,  and  have  done  a  community 
work  for  years. 

— It  is  reported  that  there  are  nearly 
600  students  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ 
in  attendance  at  the  University  of  In- 
diana this  year. 

—Robert  Knight,  student  pastor  of  the 
Disciples  at  Purdue  University,  has 
found  259  students  who  are  either  mem- 
bers of  or  give  preference  for  the  Chris- 
tian church. 

—J.  H.  McCartney,  of  Modesto,  Cal., 
Frank  E.  Herthum  and  H.  Y.  White 
recently  occupied  the  pulpit  at  Berkeley, 
Cal. 

— Miss  Agnes  Pickering,  an  expert  in 
rare  books  from  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago, has  been  spending  several  days 
at  Transylvania  College,  and  states  that 
"the  literary  treasures  of  Lexington  are 
of  a  richness  utterly  bewildering.  The 
great  libraries  of  the  East  have  abso- 
lutely   no    such    rare    scientific    books    as 


Factory  Rebuilt  Like  New  $52.50 


^mmc? 


The  word  "rebuilt"  has  been  abused  and  misused  until  it  has  become  a  meaningless  trade  term 

When  we  rebuild  a  Fox  Typewriter,  we  take  it  all  to  pieces,  re-nickel  the 
nickel  parts,  re-enamel  the  frame  and  replace  all  worn  parts  with  new  ones. 
The  same  men  who  originally  built  the  Typewriter  do  (his  rebuilding  and  do  the  work  just  as  good. 

40%  NEW  PARTS  AND  THREE  YEARS'  GUARANTEE 

*^7e  offer  a  rebuilt  Fox  Typewriter  Model  No.  24  — just  like  new— for  $52.50.    These     have 
standard  carriage*  taking  papCT  10}^  inches  wide,  any  kind  of   keyboard,  any  kind  of  type, 
rubber  covers,  tabulators,  back  spacers,  two-color  ribbons,  complete  with  instruction  books 
and  cleaning  outfits,  and  are  guaranteed  for  three  years  the  same  as  new  ones,  and  to  have  not 
less  than  forty  per  cent  of  new  parts. 
Send  any  amount  you  can  spare,  from  $1.00  up,  as  a  first  payment,  and  pay  the  balance 
$5.00  monthly.  5  per  cent  discount  for  all  cash.  Purchaser  must  pay  transportation.  If  $10.00 
or  more  is  sent  with  order,  we  will  include  FREE  a  Fox  Solid  Oak  Typewriter  Table  selling  at  $4.50.  ( 
Please  order  direct  from  this  offer  and  inclose  any  amount  you  can  spare — and   BE  SURE 
AND  MENTION  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  FOR  MARCH 


w% 


FOX  TYPEWRITER  CO., 


1101-1151  Front  Ave., 


GRAND  RAPIDS,  MICHIGAN. 


Pay 
$5.00 

Mon  thly 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


March  15,  1917 


I  have  found  here.  I  have  found  in 
Transylvania  whole  sets  of  such  works 
as  I  have  not  dreamed  of  finding  outside 
an  Italian  monastery." 

— Paducah.  Ky..  Tenth  Street  Church 
has  called  to  its  leadership  J.  P.  Born- 
wasser  of  Lagrange. 

— A.  R.  Liverett,  of  Jefferson  City,  Mo., 
was  recently  invited  to  Eldon.  Mo.,  to 
deliver  an  address  before  the  men  of  the 
church  at  a  banquet.  Since  W.  L.  Reese 
has  been  in  this  field,  the  last  six  months. 
over  $4,000  has  been  spent  in  improve- 
ments on  the  church  building. 

— F.  Lewis  Starbuck  of  Howett  Street 
Church  Peoria,  111.,  gave  an  address  at 
this  church  on  "The  Star  of  Greatest 
Magnitude,"  and  invited  the  local  chap- 
ters of  the  Eastern  Star  organization  to 
hear  him. 

— W.  V.  Wilkinson  has  served  the 
Brooksville.  Ky.,  Sunday  school  as  super- 
intendent for  forty-six  years. 

— Baxter  Waters,  of  Lathrop,  Mo.,  has 
been  called  to  the  pastorate  at  West 
End.  Atlanta,  Ga.,  and  he  is  now  in 
Atlanta   looking  over   the  work. 

—P.  J.  Rice  of  First  Church,  El  Paso, 
Tex.,  preached  a  sermon  recently  on 
"Finding  Life's  Values,"  with  sub-topics: 
The  Value  of  the  Kingdom,  The  Social 
Significance  of  Becoming  a  Christian, 
and  The  Way  to  Happiness. 

— Through  the  generosity  especially  of 
C.  C.  and  S.  J.  Chapman  and  W.  F. 
Holt,  of  California,  Wilshire  Boulevard 
church,  Los  Angeles,  recently  canceled 
an  obligation  of  $18,000  and  raised 
enough  additional  cash  to  purchase  a 
new  pipe  organ. 

— There  are  222  Disciple  students  in 
the  University  of  Oklahoma  this  year. 
The  Disciples  rank  second.  The  school 
is  located  at  Norman. 

— In  a  life  work  meeting  held  at  Eu- 
clid Avenue,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  under  the 
direction  of  Miner  Lee  Bates,  F.  D. 
Butchart  and  David  Teachout,  fifty-three 
young  people  declared  their  purpose  to 
take  up  college  work,  with  view  to  en- 
tering upon   Christian   service. 

— First  church,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich., 
has  embarked  upon  a  five-year  program. 
Among  the  phases  of  work  featured  are 
evangelism,  Bible  study,  a  new  building, 
more  money  for  missions,  more  charity 
and  social  work,  increased  co-operation 
with  other  churches  and  recreational  ac- 
tivities for  the  young  people.  W.  V. 
Nelson  leads  at  First. 

—An  unusually  attractive  program  is 
being  prepared  in  Bethany  Assembly,  the 
dates  of  which  this  year  are  July  25  to 
August  19.  Many  prominent  speakers 
of  the  brotherhood  are  being  engaged. 
The  first  week  will  be  Opening  Week, 
and  the  program  will  be  a  miscellaneous 
one.  The  remaining  weeks  will  be  Wom- 
an's Week,  Social  Service  Week  and 
Bible  Conference  Week.  The  Bethany 
School  of  Methods,  under  Dean  Garry 
L.  Cook,  will  parallel  the  last  two  weeks, 
beginning  August  7  and  closing  August 
17.  The  printed  program  will  be  a  work 
of  art  throughout,  and  will  be  ready  for 
distribution  soon. 

— The  church  at  Liberty,  Mo.,  recently 
celebrated  the  tenth  anniversary  of  the 
dedication  of  the  building  there.  Graham 
Frank,  in  a  sermon  preached  two  weeks 
ago,  discussed  the  philosophy  of  H.  G. 
Wells'  widely  read  book,  "Mr.  Britling 
Sees  It  Through."  This  book  is  un- 
doubtedly the  foremost  work  of  fiction 
growing  out  of  the  great  war.  Every 
wide-awake  minister  should  read  it. 


— P.  Y.  Pendleton,  for  about  a  year 
pastor  at  Valparaiso,  Ind.,  has  been 
called  to  First  church,  Cedar  Rapids,  la., 
and  will  begin  his  new  task  as  soon  as  he 
can  be  released  from  the  Indiana  field. 

— B.  H.  Coonradt  of  Panora,  Iowa,  will 
preach  a  sermon  on  "If  Christ  Should 
Come  to  Panora"  next  Sunday. 

— Lloyd  Darsie,  of  Hollywood,  Cal., 
is  supplying  the  pulpit  at  San  Bernar- 
dino. 

— Henry  C.  Armstrong  of  Harlem  Ave- 
nue church,  Baltimore,  Md.,  has  an  ap- 
preciative congregation.  Some  of  the 
leaders  recently  made  a  quiet  canvass, 
and  as  a  result  of  the  canvass  Mr.  Arm- 
strong now  rides  about  the  city  in  his 
own  Ford. 

— Frank  W.  Lynch,  minister  at  Sharon, 
Kan.,  has  organized  a  church  at  Hazle- 
ton,  Kan. 

— W.  L.  Fisher,  who  has  resigned  at 
First  church,  Seattle,  Wash.,  will  not 
leave  this  field  until  July  1. 

— First  church,  Tacoma,  Wash.,  is  en- 
deavoring to  pay  off  a  $10,000  debt  by 
the  issuance  of  bonds.  Hermon  P.  Wil- 
liams ministers  at  Tacoma,  at  the  same 
time  doing  some  special  work  in  Wash- 
ington University. 

— F.  C.  Ford,  of  West  Boulevard 
church,  Cleveland,  O.,  has  accepted  a  call 
to  Hillman  street,  Youngstown,  O. 


A  NEED  REQUIRES 

A  GREAT  OFFERING 


O.  C.  Bolman  reports  21  additions  to 
the  membership  at  Greenville,  111.,  during 
February.  The  Sunday  school  has 
reached  the  245  mark  and  still  grows. 


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NowcnanAvc  contain  many  items  daily 

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Why  a  Great  Easter  Offering  Is  Needed 

by  the  National  Benevolent 

Association 


A  Great  Beginning — We  have  made  a 
creditable  beginning  in  this  Christlikc 
ministry-  The  past  justifies  the  public 
and  the  Christ  in  expecting  that  we  will 
maintain  our  record.  They  must  not 
be  disappointed. 

A  Great  Family — Under  the  blessing 
of  God  we  have  been  permitted  to  bring 
together  a  great  family  of  widows,  or- 
phans and  the  aged,  numbering  about 
six  hundred.  These  helpless,  homeless 
wards  depend  upon  us.  We  dare  not, 
we  will  not,  turn  them  out  to  perish. 

A  Great  Demand — Never  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  National  Benevolent  Asso- 
ciation was  there  such  a  demand  for 
service.  The  cry  of  distress  of  the  hap- 
less American  victims  of  the  European 
war  is  heard  constantly  outside  our 
doors. 

Easter  Our  One  Day — Easter  in  the 
Bible  schools  is  the  one  day  in  all  the 
year  devoted  to  this  sweet  and  tender 
ministry.  If  the  Easter  offering  fails, 
our  homes  fail,  and  the  widow  and  the 
orphan  will  cry  in  vain  to  us  for  help. 

An  Empty  Treasury — These  homes 
are  all  full.  Our  treasury  is  empty,  our 
credit  taxed.  Others  cry  for  aid.  God 
awaits  our  answer. 

The  Will  of  Christ— It  is  the  will  of 
Christ  that  the  hungry  should  be  fed 
and  the  naked  clothed.  "Inasmuch  as 
ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least 
of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me." 

How  Can  Your  Church  and  Bible 
School  Aid? — By  trying  to  make  the 
Easter  offering  unanimous  in  your 
school. 

By  trying  to  raise  the  amount  sug- 
gested as  the  goal  for  your  school,  and 
by  dividing  the  amount  suggested,  as  a 
goal  among  the  several  classes  of  your 
school,  that  each  class  may  have  a 
definite  goal. 

By  encouraging  individuals  to  make 
thank  offerings  for  birthdays,  for  wed- 
ding anniversaries,  in  memory  of  loved 
ones  gone,  in  gratitude  for  the  hope  of 
the  resurrection. 

By  making  Easter  Day,  April  8,  a  day 
of  great  joy  and  thanksgiving  in  your 
church  and  Sunday  school. 

The  enthusiastic  entrance  of  jrou  and 
your  church  and  Bible  school  into  fel- 
lowship with  Christ  in  His  compassion 
upon  the  poor,  by  the  observance  of 
Easter,  will  enable  the  association  to 
secure  the  $50,000  necessary  for  the 
comfort  of  the  great  family  divinely 
committed  to  its  care,  and  will  bring 
the  richest  blessing  of  God  upon  you, 
for  He  said,  "He  that  hath  pity  upon 
the  poor,  lendeth  to  the  Lord." 

All  checks,  drafts  and  money  orders 
should  be  made  payable  to  Mrs.  J.  K. 
Hansbrough  and  sent  to  the  National 
Benevolent  Association,  2955  Euclid 
avenue,  St.  Louis,   Mo. 


E.  W.  Elliott,  of  the  church  at  Glas- 
gow, Ky.,  writes  that  plans  are  going 
forward  there  for  a  two  weeks'  Easter 
meeting,  the  pastor  preaching  and  W.  E. 
M.  Hackleman  leading  in  song. 


CHURCH  [jfllEI  SCH00L 


Ask   for  Catalogue  and  Speolal  Donation  Plan  No.  27 

(Established  1858) 
THE   C.  S.  BELL    COMPANY  HILL  SBORO,   OHIO 


March  15,  1917  THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  23 


Pastors:  Announce  this  From 

Your  Pulpit! 

Why  I  Am  A  Disciple 

Bp  Charles  Clayton  Morrison 

In  the  issue  of  March  29,*  and  continuing 
for  twelve  or  fifteen  weeks,  the  editor  of 
The  Christian  Century  will  begin  a  series 
of  articles  giving  a  personal  statement 
of  his  reasons  for  being  a  Disciple.  In 
this  series  Mr.  Morrison  will  treat  in  the 
most  intimate  and  candid  fashion  of  the 
vital  and  urgent  issues  now  confronting 
our  people. 

Every  thoughtful  layman  and  minister 
will  be  keenly  interested  in  these  articles. 
In  view  of  this  widespread  interest,  our 
present  readers  are  taking  special  satis- 
faction at  this  time  in  commending  the 
"Century"  to  their  thoughtful  acquaint- 
ances and  in  soliciting  their  subscriptions. 

*This  series  was  at  first  advertised  to  begin  March  15.  The  date  of  the  first  article  has 
been  deferred  two  weeks  to  allow  the  new  subscribers  who  come  in  during  March  to  "begin 
at  the  beginning."  The  suggestion  for  this  postponement  came  from  our  readers  who  are 
cooperating  with  us  to  add  500  new  Ministers  to  our  list  this  month. 


WHAT  WOULD  BECOME  OF  YOUR  CHILDREN? 


•7    t   ft    t    t    f 


IF  YOU  SHOULD  DIE- — Leaving  your  family  unprovided  for. 

IF  YOUR  WIFE  SHOULD  DIE— Leaving  your  children  to 
the  care  of  relatives. 

IF  THERE  WERE  NO  RELATIVES  — or  no  one  able  to 

carry  this  extra  burden  — 

THINK  OF  IT 

The  National  Benevolent  Association  of  the  Christian  Church  was  organized  to  be  the  RELA- 
TIVES AND  FRIENDS  of  THE  FATHERLESS,  THE  MOTHERLESS,  and  THE  FRIEND- 
LESS. For  32  years  it  has  been  the  churches'  agent  in  this  ministry  of  mercy,  caring  for  9,800 
children,  feeding  them,  clothing  them,  schooling  them  and  preparing  them  for  lives  of  usefulness. 
Forty-seven  hundred  have  been  placed  in  Christian  family  homes. 

THE  EASTER  OFFERINGS 

from  Churches  and  Bible  Schools  and  proportionate  share  in 
Budget  Offerings  is  the  only  means  of  support  of  this  Society. 


EASTER  EXERCISE  —  ENTIRELY  NEW— NOW  READY  — FREE 

To  Churches  and  Schools  making  an  offering 


ADDRESS 


NATIONAL  BENEVOLENT  ASSOCIATION, 


2955  N.  Euclid  Ave., 


ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 


Please  do  not  confuse  this  Association  with  any  other  institution.     Be  sure  to  note  the  street  address. 
Make  all  checks  and  drafts  payable  to  Mrs.  J.  K.  HANSBROUGH. 

HEAVEN     AWAITS    YOUR     RESPONSE 


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Vol.  XXXIV                  March  22,  1917                   Number  12            I 

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THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  March  22,  1917 


"Five  Hundred  New  Minister  Readers  During  the  Month  of  March" 

The  Month  of  March  is 


misters'  Month 


December,  January  and  February  have  shown  the 
greatest  gains  in  new  subscriptions  and  renewals  to  The 
Christian  Century  in  its  entire  history.  Mainly  our  new 
subscriptions  have  come  from  the  ranks  of  thoughtful 
men  and  women  of  the  laity. 

During  March  we  desire  the  special  cooperation  of 
all  our  readers  in  adding  five  hundred  new  subscrip- 
tions from  the  ranks  of  the  ministry. 

Every  reader  may  share  in  this. 

Is  your  pastor  a  subscriber?  Ask  him.  If  he  is 
not,  tell  him  what  he  is  missing  and  go  straight  after 
his  two  dollars! 

Think  up  several  other  ministers  of  your  acquaintance.  Speak 
to  them  or  write  to  them.  If  they  do  not  take  the  "Century",  put 
the  case  to  them  with  such  urgency  that  they  will  wish  to  subscribe. 

Let  us  make  MARCH  a  great  month  for  MINISTERS  and 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY 

The  recent  slight  increase  to  $2.50  a  year  for  a  regular  sub- 
scription to  the  "Century"  has  not  affected  the  rate  to  ministers, 
which  still  stands  at  $2  when  paid  in  advance. 


March  22,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


•dm 


Subscription  Price — Two  dollars  and 
a  half  a  year,  payable  strictly  in 
advance.  To  ministers,  two  dollars 
when   paid  in  advance. 

Discontinuance* — In  order  that  sub- 
scribers may  not  be  annoyed  by 
failure  to  receive  the  paper,  it  is 
not  discontinued  at  expiration  of 
time  paid  In  advance  (unless  so 
ordered),  but  continued  pending  in- 
struction from  the  subscriber.  If 
discontinuance  is  desired,  prompt 
notico  should  be  sent  and  all  ar- 
rearages paid. 

Change  of  address— In  ordering 
change  of  address  give  the  old  as 
well  as  the  new. 


PUBLISHED    WEEKLY    BY    THE    DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE    INTEREST    OF    THE    KINGDOM     OF    GOD 


Kxplratlonw — The  dan  on  th<-  wrap- 
per shows  the  month  and  year  to 
which  subscription  Ic  paid.  LUt  is 
revised  monthly.  Change  of  date 
on  wrapper  is  a  receipt  for  remit- 
tance  on   subscription  account. 

Remittance* — Should  be  sent  by 
draft  or  money  order,  payable  to 
The  Disciples  Publication  Society. 
If  local  check  Is  went,  s'ld  ted 
cents  for  exchange  charged  us  by 
Chicago    banks. 

Entered  as  Second-Class  Ma.tter 
Feb.  28.  1902,  at  the  PoRtofnce,  Chi- 
cago, Illinois,  under  Act  of  March 
3,    1879. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS, 


700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


n.     -  -  The  Disciples  Publica- 

iFlSCipicS  tion   Society   is  an  or- 

PubliCatiOIl     &anization     through 
c^«;«*,.  which  churches  of  the 

bOCiety  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *    •    * 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  aswell  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *     *     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

Dear  Friends: — I  believe  in  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  The  Christian  Century  and  wish  to  be  numbered  among 
those  who  are  supporting  your  work  in  a  substantial  way  by  their  gifts. 


Enclosed  please  find 


Name.,., 
Address. 


UILD! 

You   have    wondered   perhaps  why  your  school  does  not  grow.  It  has 

about  the  same  attendance  as  it  had  this  time  last  year.     One  question:  Have 

you  made  any  definite  effort  to  build  your  school  ?     Have  you  a  plan  ?  Does 
your  plan  extend  over  a  long  enough  time?     Our 

Attendance  Builders 

have  been  published  to  put  your  school — and  thousands  of  others — on  a  grow- 
ing basis. 

Do  This: 

Send  1  Oc  in  stamps  or  coin  for  full  set  of  samples  of  these  cards;  or  better  send 
75  cents  for  1 00  assorted  cards.     We'll  show  you  how  to  make  your  school — 

BUILD! 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  FORTIETH  STREET,  CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  March  22,  1917 


Pastors:  Announce  this  From 

Your  Pulpit! 

Why  I  Am  A  Disciple 

Bp  Charles  Clayton  Morrison 

In  the  issue  of  March  29/  and  continuing 
for  twelve  or  fifteen  weeks,  the  editor  of 
The  Christian  Century  will  begin  a  series 
of  articles  giving  a  personal  statement 
of  his  reasons  for  being  a  Disciple.  In 
this  series  Mr.  Morrison  will  treat  in  the 
most  intimate  and  candid  fashion  of  the 
vital  and  urgent  issues  now  confronting 
our  people. 

Every  thoughtful  layman  and  minister 
will  be  keenly  interested  in  these  articles. 
In  view  of  this  widespread  interest,  our 
present  readers  are  taking  special  satis- 
faction at  this  time  in  commending  the 
"Century"  to  their  thoughtful  acquaint- 
ances and  in  soliciting  their  subscriptions. 

*This  series  was  at  first  advertised  to  begin  March  15.  The  date  of  the  first  article  has 
been  deferred  two  weeks  to  allow  the  new  subscribers  who  come  in  during  March  to  "begin 
at  the  beginning."  The  suggestion  for  this  postponement  came  from  our  readers  who  are 
cooperating  with  us  to  add  500  new  Ministers  to  our  list  this  month. 


CHARLES  CLAYTON  MOSEISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT    L.    WU.EETT,     CONTRIBUTING     EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


MARCH  22,  1917 


Number  12 


Men  and  Religion 


ARE  MEN  LACKING  IN  RELIGION? 

There  is  a  widespread  feeling  that  religion  is  native 
to  the  soul  of  a  woman  rather  than  to  that  of  a  man.  Few 
religious  bodies  in  America  have  a  male  membership  of 
fifty  per  cent,  which  would  be  the  normal  status.  Episco- 
palians have  the  largest  number  of  men  per  capita  and 
Christian  Scientists  have  the  smallest.  Presbyterians  ex- 
cel Methodists  in  attracting  men,  as  do  the  Disciples  and 
the  Baptists. 

In  exclusively  Roman  Catholic  countries,  few  men 
now  go  to  church  except  for  the  great  family  ceremonies 
of  baptism,  weddings  and  funerals.  Where  there  is  the 
most  persistent  use  of  relics  and  other  superstitions,  men 
are  fewest.  Only  the  higher  forms  of  this  religion  attract 
men. 

These  facts,  briefly  stated,  and  to  be  more  briefly 
summarized  and  interpreted,  indicate  that  men  are  at- 
tracted by  dignified  worship,  logical  creeds  and  humani- 
tarian service.  They  are  usually  repelled  by  the  evangelical 
forms  of  religious  emotion,  by  appeals  for  blind  faith  and 
by  feminine  types  of  religious  activity. 

*         *         * 

In  a  hundred  years  the  churches  of  America  have 
suddenly  become  predominantly  feminine  in  constituency. 
What  has  wrought  this  great  change?  Some  say  that  the 
sudden  invasion  of  women  into  education  and  industry  has 
made  her  more  prominent  in  religion.  Probably  the  re- 
vivalism of  the  past  century,  more  than  anything  else,  made 
the  church  feminine.  Its  emotionalism  secured  more  ready 
response  from  women  than  from  men.  The  church  with 
"mourners'  benches"  grew  into  great  organizations,  but 
they  did  not  make  an  equal  appeal  to  both  sexes. 

These  facts,  however,  do  not  prove  that  men  are  not 
religious.  They  only  show  that  men  are  not  religious  in 
quite  the  same  way  as  are  women.  The  whole  history  of 
religion  shows  the  father  as  the  leader  of  religious  institu- 
tions, and  the  originator  of  religion  itself,  at  least  humanly 
speaking. 

In  many  religions  of  the  world,  women  have  no  well- 
defined  status;  if  they  have  they  occupy  an  inferior  posi- 
tion. It  is  so  in  India.  Mohammedanism  assigns  no 
equality  of  standing  to  the  sexes.  In  the  great  alien  re- 
ligions, man  has  been  the  great  rock  on  which  religion  has 
built  her  house. 

Bible  religion  was  largely  a  religion  of  men.  The 
women  of  the  Old  Testament  often  lacked  faith  or  rever- 
ence, as  did  Sarah  or  David's  wife.  Only  now  and  again 
do  we  find  the  sweet  incense  of  feminine  piety  as  in  Han- 
nah, the  mother  of  the  prophet. 

In  the  New  Testament,  Mary  is  matched  by  Martha. 
Godly  women  minister  to  our  Lord,  but  they  are  over- 
shadowed by  the  apostles.  Women  were  not  counted  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost.  They  were  an  indefinite  overplus 
of  the  day's  results. 

The  fathers  of  the  church  who  originated  its  theology 


were  men,  and  the  saints  as  well.  We  remember  Heloise 
and  Joan  of  Arc  and  St.  Theresa,  but  are  not  these  over- 
shadowed by  a  great  company  among  whom  we  name  St. 
Augustine,  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  and  Savonarola? 

Today,  even  in  denominations  where  women  may 
enter  the  ministry,  there  are  no  considerable  number  of 
them  assuming  leadership,  except  among  Christian 
Scientists — and  here  for  a  special  reason.  Religious 
leadership  is  still  in  the  hands  of  men.  That  they  are 
just  now  not  so  effective  as  should  be,  is  to  be  admitted. 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  church  to  guide  her  men  into  forms 
of  religious  expression  at  once  ennobling  and  natural  to 
the  masculine  mind  and  heart. 


In  doing  this,  we  need  not  disparage  the  enormous 
gain  which  has  come  to  Christianity  from  a  larger  par- 
ticipation in  religious  life  by  women.  They  have  given 
to  our  religion  sympathy  where  before  it  had  been  hard 
and  without  feeling.  They  have  brought  neatness  and 
beauty  into  the  house  of  God.  They  have  cultivated  the 
mystical  phases  of  religion  in  which  the  average  man  has 
had  but  little  interest. 

Men  must  have  a  body  of  doctrine  which  brings  no 
offense  to  their  intellects.  The  preacher  who  rails  against 
higher  criticism  and  evolution  without  establishing  firmly 
a  contrary  doctrine  will  lose  his  men.  Conservatism  still 
has  stubborn  representatives  among  us  in  the  masculine 
tribe,  but  the  average  man  in  America  delights  to  make 
progress  in  his  religious  thinking. 

Men  must  be  allowed  to  establish  system  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  churches.  They  despise  to  see  a 
church  loosely  run.  They  want  the  money  raised  by 
effective  planning  and  spent  in  a  business-like  manner. 

They  want  to  see  the  church  active  in  the  big  human 
tasks.  Any  men's  club  can  be  thrilled  with  the  story  of 
what  Christian  men  have  done  to  save  their  fellows  from 
poverty  and  sin.  Take  the  boy  problem  and  lay  it  on  their 
hearts  and  their  coldness  and  indifference  vanishes.  The 
average  man  is  generous  to  a  fault  in  the  presence  of 
human  need. 

The  biggest  business  men  in  the  church  will  teach. 
The  notion  of  imparting  religion  to  the  young,  stirs  some- 
thing deep  and  primitive  in  their  souls.    There  is  no  : 
son  why  every  Sunday  school  should  not  engage  the 
men  of  the  parish  to  help  it. 

The  danger  in  masculine  religion  today  is  that  i 
try  to  be  ethically  earnest  and  socially  helpful  with  1 
thought  of  God.     Our  old  ideas  of  God  are  gone. 
Titan  god  of  the  skies  has  vanished.    To  the  men  of  this 
generation  with  their  deep  enthusiasms  for  human  wel- 
fare must  come  an  intimate  fellowship  with  the  God  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  revealed  not  in  fire  or 
tempest,  but  in  the  still  small  voice.  -^ 


EDITORIAL 


AN  EXPERIMENT  IN  CHRISTIAN  UNION 

THE  Panama  strip  about  the  Panama  canal,  which  is 
under  the  control  of  the  United  States,  has  been 
organized  in  a  most  effective  way.  There  are  seven- 
teen thousand  Americans  living  there,  ten  thousand  as  civ- 
ilian office  holders,  and  the  remainder  as  soldiers.  The 
soldiers  will  soon  be  greatly  increased  in  number. 

This  great  population  was  at  first  lacking  in  relig- 
ious services  except  those  provided  by  the  army  chaplains ; 
these  were  few  in  number.  Then  there  was  organized 
the  Union  church  of  Panama,  in  which  practically  all 
the  great  evangelical  denominations  participated.  The 
Southern  Baptists  alone  insisted  upon  organizing  denom- 
inational work  in  the  strip.  The  Rev.  Sidney  S.  Conger 
has  become  the  pastor  of  the  Union  church,  and  some  of 
the  most  prominent  government  officials  are  serving  upon 
its  governing  board. 

The  Union  church  maintains  preaching  services  at 
five  different  points :  Balboa,  Christobal,  Gatun,  Pedro 
and  Miguel.  There  are  also  Sunday  schools  at  two  addi- 
tional points,  Ancon  and  Paraiso. 

The  people  in  the  district  are  supporting  their  own 
work  and  are  giving  money  for  mission  work  among  the 
Panamanians  in  adjacent  sections.  The  only  need  to  date 
has  been  that  of  buildings,  which  are  difficult  for  salaried 
people  with  an  uncertain  tenure  to  erect. 

Had  the  various  denominations  gone  into  this  field 
in  the  old-time  competitive  way,  there  would  now  be 
many  thousands  of  dollars  of  home  mission  money  spent 
to  support  struggling  mission  points  which  could  never 
make  an  impress  upon  the  life  of  the  community.  As  it 
now  is,  there  is  a  strong  united  church,  which  commands 
the  respect  of  everybody  and  which  effectively  does  the 
work  that  is  to  be  done. 

This  experiment  on  a  small  scale  will  help  the  peo- 
ple in  the  older  sections  of  the  continent  to  realize  the 
wastefulness  of  competition  in  religion  and  the  desir- 
ability of  organizing  our  work  in  a  way  that  will  bring 
all  of  God's  people  into  co-operation. 

EVANGELISTIC  SPIRIT  IN  CHICAGO 

THE  Chicago  Church  Federation  Council,  of  which 
the  Rev.  \V.  B.  Millard  is  secretary,  has  been  gath- 
ering information  about  the  evangelistic  plans  of 
Chicago  churches  in  the  Lenten  season  and  urging  that 
all  the  churches  adopt  some  plan  in  their  recruiting  work. 
The  returns  that  have  come  in  at  the  office  of  the  Fed- 
eration Council  are  characteristic  of  the  new  attitude  now 
being  taken  by  pastors  toward  the  work  of  recruiting. 
In  a  few  cases  community  groups  of  churches  have  em- 
ployed an  evangelist  and  are  going  at  their  problem  in 
the  old  way.  In  most  cases,  the  churches  are  experi- 
menting with  the  more  modern  ways  of  doing  recruiting 
work. 

The  organization  of  individual  church  members  to 
use  their  personal  influence  is  one  of  the  favorite  devices. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Skevington  of  the  Belden  Avenue  Baptist 
church  has  a  "Centurion  Band,"  which  includes  a  group 
of  personal  workers  who  will  try  to  enlist  a  hundred  new 
members  for  the  church  in  a  hundred  days.     Dr.  Albert 


H.  Gage,  another  Baptist  minister,  has  organized  seventy 
people  to  win  seventy  souls  in  seventy  days. 

Systematic  visitation  of  the  parish  is  being  used  for 
evangelistic  purposes  by  a  number.  Dr.  H.  E.  Peabody 
of  the  South  Congregational  church  has  arranged  for 
such  a  visitation,  as  have  a  number  of  other  pastors. 
The  homes  are  visited  with  the  purpose  of  interesting 
and  enlisting  new  members. 

Few  devices  meet  with  more  favor  than  pastor's 
classes,  which  are  intended  to  prepare  the  children  of 
the  Sunday  school  for  church  membership.  In  some  of 
the  churches  these  classes  are  so  large  that  they  have, 
been  divided.  The  fundamentals  of  the  gospel  are  im- 
parted to  the  children,  though  not  usually  by  the  stereo- 
typed catechetical  method. 

The  growth  of  Chicago  churches  of  the  various  de- 
nominations has  not  been  noteworthy  in  recent  years. 
The  churches  were  in  many  instances  country  churches 
trying  to  live  in  the  city  environment.  As  the  churches 
adopt  new  methods  adapted  to  the  city  life,  they  will  be 
increasingly  successful. 

DEVOTIONAL  LIFE  IN  HOLY  WEEK 

THE  Federal  Council  of  Churches  has  sent  out  a  call 
to  the  Christians  who  are  federated  through  it  for 
special  devotions  during  Holy  Week.     The  Lord's 
prayer  is  suggested  for  the  week's  study.     Christians  are] 
urged  to  see  in  this  prayer  those  great  elements  which 
make  for  peace  and  unity  among  the  children  of  men. 

The  idea  of  using  the  church  year  as  an  occasion  for 
united  prayer  has  much  in  it  to  commend.  Christian 
union  is  not  a  matter  simply  of  arranging  doctrinal  stand- 
ards or  of  completing  a  scheme  of  church  government 
that  would  be  acceptable  to  all.  The  sentiments  and  ideals 
of  Christians  in  the  various  evangelical  bodies  must  be 
united  by  common  experiences.  The  observance  of  Holy 
Week  by  the  millions  of  people  in  the  evangelical  churches 
will  serve  the  valuable  purpose  of  affording  common  exv> 
periences  of  a  most  valuable  sort. 

The  Federal  Council  has  shown  great  wisdom  in 
working  at  the  problem  of  unity  in  ways  which  are  obvi- 
ous and  beyond  dispute.  There  has  been  a  clear  percep- 
tion of  the  points  of  contact  between  the  constituent 
denominations.  These  points  of  contact  have  been  broad- 
ened, and  it  may  be  confidently  asserted  that  through  this 
excellent  organization,  Protestantism  is  now  more  united 
than  at  any  time  since  the  days  of  Martin  Luther. 

IMPRESSIVE  REPORTS 

THERE  is  usually  a  temptation  for  secretaries  of  vari- j 
ous  organizations  to  make  large  claims  in  their 
annual  reports  of  work  done.  Upon  these  reports 
depend  in  considerable  measure  the  revenue  from  the 
public.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  found  that  reports  that 
do  not  test  up  well  with  facts  turn  out  to  have  a  minus 
value  in  the  end. 

We  find  in  the  new  year-book,  on  page  11,  that  Rev. 
W.  G.  Winn,  secretary  of  the  Chicago  Christian  Mission- 
ary Society,  is  listed  as  a  missionary  of  the  American 
Christian  Missionary  Society.  This  is  not  the  first  year 
that  he  has  so  been  listed,  but  it  is  the  first  year  that  the 


March  22,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


American  Christian  Missionary  Society  has  not  contrib- 
uted anything  to  his  support. 

Last  year  the  society  failed  to  make  a  contract  with 
the  Chicago  Christian  Missionary  Society,  the  first  time 
in  many  years.  Churches  which  sent  in  their  home  mis- 
sionary money  for  use  in  Chicago  to  the  Chicago  office, 
following  the  custom  of  years,  were  not  recognized  in  the 
year-book  as  having  given  anything  to  city  missions,  except 
in  the  case  of  Hyde  Park  and  Irving  Park  churches.  Had 
not  such  loyal  churches  as  Memorial,  Englewood,  Jack- 
son Boulevard,  Evanston,  Monroe  Street,  Ashland  Ave- 
nue, Sheffield  Avenue,  Austin,  and  perhaps  other  churches 
not  persisted  in  supporting  Mr.  Winn,  in  spite  of  the  lack 
of  recognition  of  these  contributions  in  the  year-book, 
the  Chicago  secretary  could  not  have  gone  on.  Yet  the 
American  Christian  Missionary  Society  .honors  itself  by 
including  his  name  as  one  of  its  employed  missionaries. 

There  may  be  some  explanation  of  this  way  of  doing, 
but  what  is  it? 

THE  CRISIS  AND  THE  PREACHER 

ON  Wednesday,  March  28,  the  Illinois  House  of 
Representatives  will  vote  on  the  state-wide  Refer- 
endum Prohibition  Bill.  The  prospects  of  its  pas- 
sage are  good.  It  has  already  passed  the  State  Senate  by 
a  vote  of  31  to  18.  If  it  passes  the  House  it  will  become 
law  and  the  people  will  vote  on  the  question  at  the  fall 
election,  1918. 

It  is  difficult  to  press  into  a  few  words  the  full  import 
and  importance  of  this  event.  Whether  or  not  the  bill 
becomes  law  will  depend  upon  the  churches  of  Illinois. 
In  the  last  analysis  it  rests  upon  the  ministers,  for  whether 
they  will  or  not,  by  virtue  of  their  position  they  are  the 
leaders  in  this  cause.  The  fight  has  been  made,  the  argu- 
ments are  in,  and  the  final  decision  rests  with  them  much 
more  than  it  does  with  the  Representatives  at  Springfield 
themselves.  The  Representatives  will  be  responsive  to 
public  sentiment.  If  public  sentiment  is  live  and  virile  and 
active,  the  legislators  will  record  that  in  their  vote.  If 
it  is  dull  and  inert,  they  will  record  that  and  public  senti- 
ment will  be  live  and  active,  or  dull  and  inert,  according 
to  the  activities  of  the  preachers  of  the  churches. 

Probably  ninety  per  cent  of  the  ministers  of  the  State 
of  Illinois  are  sympathetic  toward  state-wide  prohibition. 
Many  of  them  are  working  like  Trojans,  some  are  absorbed 
in  other  matters  and  are  not  active.  It  is  easy  enough  for 
each  minister  to  take  his  own  measure  on  this  proposition, 
for  certain  definite  things  are  needed  to  be  done.  Some  of 
them  may  be  enumerated,  as  follows : 

Is  the  minister  praying  earnestly,  definitely  and  daily 
that  the  righteous  will  of  the  state  may  triumph  in  the 
vote  on  March  28? 

Is  he  talking  about  it  in  his  church  services  morning 
and  evening? 

Is  he  impressing  upon  his  men  the  necessity  of  their 
writing,  telephoning  and  telegraphing  to  their  members  of 
the  Legislature? 

Unexpressed  sentiment  amounts  to  nothing,  or  a 
sentiment  expressed  which  does  not  reach  the  right  spot 
helps  very  little  just  at  this  time.  The  place  to  express 
the  sentiment  is  to  the  members  of  the  legislature  in  whose 
hands  the  fate  of  the  bill  lies. 

Is  he  organizing  his  men  for  the  canvassing  for  signa- 
tures to  petitions,  telegrams  and  letters  to  be  sent  the  repre- 
sentatives from  people  of  his  parish  outside  of  the  church? 


Is  he  arranging  for  representatives  of  his  church  to 
call  upon  members  of  the  Legislature  while  they  are  home 
at  the  week  ends? 

Is  he  writing  and  having  members  of  his  congrega- 
tion writing  to  the  daily  papers  asking  for  their  editorial 
support  of  the  bill? 

Is  he  planning  to  have  his  church  represented  in 
Springfield  on  the  day  the  bill  is  voted  on? 

If  he  believes  the  liquor  traffic  ought  to  be  destroyed, 
if  he  believes  that  the  saloon  and  alcohol  are  the  greatest 
curse  of  the  race  he  will  do  all  of  these  things.  If  he  is 
doing  none  of  them  he  may  set  himself  down  as  the  great- 
est practical  friend  which  the  liquor  traffic  has  in  the  State 
of  Illinois  at  this  time. 

John  G  Woolley  said,  "The  greatest  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  prohibition  is  not  the  malignant  activity  of  the  bad, 
but  the  benignant  inactivity  of  the  good."  No  truer  words 
have  been  spoken. 

We  can  have  prohibition  in  the  State  of  Illinois.  We 
can  have  it  now  if  every  man  will  do  his  part. 

MR.  BRITLING  FINDS  GOD 

THE  increasing  interest  in  religion  is  reflected  in  the 
fiction   literature   of   our  time.     The   most   popular 
novel  of  the   winter,   and  deservedly  so,   has  been 
"Mr.  Britling  Sees  it  Through,"  by  H.  G.  Wells,  the  bril- 
liant English  writer. 

One  needs  to  know  Mr.  Wells  and  his  antecedents  in 
order  to  appreciate  to  the  full  the  meaning  of  his  book. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  professional  sportsman  and  was  edu- 
cated in  scientific  schools  exclusively.  After  graduating 
from  college,  he  was  for  several  years  a  teacher  of  science. 
His  earlier  efforts  at  writing  took  his  scientific  knowledge 
into  the  field  of  fiction,  after  the  style  of  Jules  Verne  in 
some  measure. 

Later  he  came  to  be  a  Socialist  and  wrote  a  number 
of  books  in  the  sociological  field,  all  of  them  charged 
with  rousing  indictments  against  the  existing  order  and 
against  the  Church. 

It  is  this  background  which  gives  the  novel  its  interest. 
Mr.  Britling  is  a  typical  Englishman,  a  writer  and  skeptic. 
His  morals  are  none  too  good.  He  has  been  married 
twice  and  has  sons  by  each  wife.  The  description  of  the 
period  prior  to  the  war  is  done  with  rare  literary  ability. 
Then  there  is  the  story  of  the  incredulity  of  England  at 
the  time  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  war. .  There  are  anxious 
days  afterward  in  which  Mr.  Britling  fears  for  the  safety 
of  his  son. 

At  last  the  news  comes  that  his  darling  Hugh  has 
been  shot  through  the  head  by  a  German  bullet.  This 
is  a  crushing  blow  to  Mr.  Britling.  When  he  ^allies  from 
it  he  starts  his  pen  going  in  the  direction  of  formulating 
a  plan  for  a  great  world-wide  republic.  He  becomes  con- 
vinced, howTever,  that  even  this  is  futile  unless  we  discover 
God  and  work  with  him. 

The  God  whom  Mr.  Britling  discovers  is  not  the  Go 
of  the  orthodox  creeds.     Mr.  Britling  insists  that  an  in- 
finite God  would  be  a  criminal  for  allowing  the  war  and 
decides  to  believe  in  a  finite  God  who  struggles  along  wil 
the  rest  of  us,  but  who  will  one  day  win  the  victory  ov 
the  evil  forces  of  the  universe.    Students  will  recognize  in 
Mr.   Britling's   idea  of   God   the   pragmatist's   conception 
which  was  expounded  to  the  world  by  William  James. 

Mr.  Britling  also  comes  to  believe  in  immortality, 
though  this  doctrine  is  evidently  less  fundamental  to  his 


8 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


March  22,  1917 


thinking.  All  the  while  he  relaxes  none  of  his  contempt 
for  the  fat  village  clergyman  of  the  established  church 
who  talks  pious  platitudes  and  who  is  to  be  suspected  of 
having  no  secure  foundation  for  his  faith 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  Episcopal  clergymen 
in  this  country  have  spent  much  time  in  preaching  against 
the  views  of  Mr.  Britling.  for  the  book  is  a  sharp  ar- 
raignment of  the  English.  Church.  It  is  clear  that  Mr. 
Britling  does  not  reach  a  faith  in  the  traditional  orthodox 
God.  He  does  insist,  however,  that  the  God  he  worships 
is  to  be  identified  with  Christ.  If  Mr.  Britling  applied 
for  membership  in  one  of  our  churches,  would  we  take 
him  in?  Just  what  does  a  man  have  to  believe  about  God 
to  be  a  Christian? 

BESMIRCHING  THE  NAME  OF  BEN  FRANKLIN 


the  great  majority  of  mediums  are  mercenary  frauds 
living  upon  the  sorrows  and  weaknesses  of  humanity. 
Discounting  this  element  of  fraud,  he  still  insists  that 
there  are  so  many  things  in  his  recent  experiences  of  a 
convincing  character  that  he  is  fully  persuaded  that  he 
has  communicated  with  his  son  in  a  world  beyond  this 


one. 


THE  big  breweries  are  finding  business  pretty  dull 
these  days,  so  they  have  taken  to  advertising.  The 
ethics  of  their  advertisements  is  on  a  par  with  the 
ethics  of  their  business  in  general.  Just  now  the  An- 
heuser-Busch Company  of  St.  Louis  (they  will  not 
profit  long  by  the  advertisement  we  now  give  them)  is 
setting  forth  the  drinking  habits  of  celebrated  men. 
The  ad  writer  drew  forth  this  gem  from  his  imagina- 
tion :  I  •',(  i  :f\ 

"So  long  as  Americans  treasure  the  Republic  and  Personal 
Liberty  .  .  .  the  fame  of  Franklin  can  never  perish.  Person- 
ally he  was  possessed  of  robust  health;  he  was  a  .  .  .  moderate 
user  all  his  lifetime  of  Old  Madeira  and  barley-malt  brews.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  he  toasted  the  New  Republic  with  every  great 
man  of  Europe  and  America." 

Nearly  every  printer  has  read  Franklin's  Auto- 
biography in  which  he  represents  his  habits  in  a  very 
different  way  than  does  the  ad  writer  of  the  brewing 
company.     Here  is  Franklin's  own  record : 

"At  my  first  admission  into  this  printing  house  (at  London) 
I  took  to  working  at  press,  imagining  I  felt  a  want  of  the  bodily 
exercise  I  had  been  us'd  to  in  America,  where  presswork  is  mix'd 
with  composing.  I  drank  only  water;  the  other  workmen,  near 
fifty  in  number,  were  great  guzzlers  of  beer.  On  occasion  I  car- 
ried up  and  down  stairs  a  large  form  of  types  in  each  hand,  when 
others  carried  but  one  in  both  hands.  They  wondered  to  see, 
from  this  and  several  instances,  that  the  Water-American,  as  they 
called  me,  was  stronger  than  themselves,  who  drank  strong  beer !" 

The  fact  is  that  Ben  Franklin  deserves  credit  as 
one  of  the  great  forerunners  of  the  total  abstinence 
idea.  The  brewery  agent  has  not  hesitated  to  blacken 
his  memory  to  sell  a  few  more  cases  of  beer.  A  business 
that  proceeds  with  ethical  standards  like  these  rests 
indeed  upon  a  very  unsound  basis. 

Of  course,  if  the  facts  had  been  the  other  way,  it 
would  still  not  be  proved  that  the  drinking  customs  of 
a  hundred  years  ago  should  continue  in  these  days  when 
the  physiological  effects  of  alcohol  are  so  well  known. 
Times  change  and  when  humanity  discovers  that  death 
is  in  the  brew,  there  would  be  no  use  appealing  to  the 
past  to  support  customs  that  are  inimical  to  the  race. 

SIR  OLIVER  LODGE  AND  SPIRITUALISM 

A  RECENTLY  published  book  gives  the  story  of 
Sir  Oliver  Lodge's  alleged  communications  with 
his  son  Raymond.  The  famed  English  scientist 
has  tor  many  years  been  a  member  of  the  Society  for 
Psychic  Research,  but  the  death  of  his  son  in  the  war 
and  his  advancing  years  must  have  enormously  quick- 
ened  his  own  interest  in  the  subject. 

Sir   Oliver   Lodge   has  discovered,   of  course,   that 


There  are  several  typical  attitudes  one  may  take 
with  regard  to  such  phenomena.  One  is  that  of  the 
materialist  who  taboos  the  whole  subject  as  unworthy 
of  attention.  With  such  individuals,  philosophical 
dogma  stands  in  the  way  of  free  investigation  of  alleged 
phenomena. 

There  is  also  the  attitude  of  the  older  type  of  reli- 
gionist who  regards  all  such  research  as  impious.  Some 
of  these  would  say  that  there  are  evil  lying  spirits 
which  impersonate  the  dead,  and  others  that  even  His 
Satanic  Majesty,  who  is  with  them  just  as  real  a 
person  as  God,  condescends  to  befool  us  with  lying 
representations.  Against  this  type  of  prejudice  the 
spiritualist  of  a  Christian  turn  urges  the  stories  of 
the  reappearances  of  Jesus  as  proof  of  the  fundamental 
possibility  of  the  phenomena  he  alleges. 

In  one  way,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge  has  done  a  real  service 
to  the  world,  and  that  is  to  warn  people  who  do  not 
have  special  equipment  for  it  away  from  this  type  of 
investigation.  The  amateur  spiritualist  is  victimized 
by  quacks,  grows  morbidly  interested  in  things  not 
much  related  to  his  own  life  and  becomes  at  last  a 
"queer"  person  avoided  by  the  whole  community. 

Were  Sir  Oliver  Lodge's  convictions  to  prove  true, 
it  would  not  disturb  Christian  doctrine.  Meanwhile, 
there  are  matters  of  much  greater  import  than  seeking 
ambiguous  oracles  from  the  dead. 

MARTIN  LUTHER  THE  REFORMER 

DURING  this  year  much  will  be  written  and  said 
about  Martin  Luther,  the  great  reformer  of  Ger- 
many.    Under  God,  he  was  the  first  man  to  lead 
successfully   a   movement   for   the   purification   of  the 
church. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  it  was  in  a  sense  a: 
moral  question,  and  not  a  theological  one,  which  first 
put  him  in  antagonism  to  Rome.  The  cathedral  of 
Rome  was  being  built  and  indulgences  were  being  sold 
throughout  Germany  to  raise  funds.  This  was  not  an 
indulgence  to  commit  sin,  but  was  the  sale  of  an  abso- 
lution for  sin  already  committed.  Though  Martin 
Luther  was,  as  a  Roman  Catholic  monk,  acquainted 
with  the  penitential  system  of  the  church,  yet  he  was 
greatly  shocked  by  the  flagrant  way  in  which  this  sale 
was  carried  on.  It  was  clear  that  its  purpose  was  much 
more  to  secure  money  for  the  church  than  to  bring 
sinners  to  repentance. 

The  great  evangelical  principle  in  the  heart  of 
Luther  was  that  the  just  should  live  by  faith.  His  em- 
phasis on  this  doctrine  was  secured  in  part  from  the 
writings  of  St.  Augustine,  but  still  more  from  the  writ- 
ings of  St.  Paul.  While  practical  events  were  setting 
him  in  opposition  to  Rome,  it  became  ever  more  clear 
to  him  that  the  church  of  his  age  had  obscured  this 
great  principle  of  the  innerness  of  religion. 

We  are  not  to  believe  that  Martin  Luther  carried 
his  reform  very  far  at  first.  He  sought  to  make  it  a 
reform  within  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  When  this 
was  impossible,  he  next  sought  to  conduct  a  reform 


March  22,  1917                                 THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  9 

which  would  not  change  more  than  was  necessary  the  powerful  a  will  was  necessary  in  order  to  effect  the  few 

existing  religion   of  the   people.     The   images   in   the  changes  that  came  during  his  life-time,  we  are  made  to 

churches  were  taken  down  without  his  consent.    It  was  appreciate  the  difficulty  of  his  task, 

long  before  he  could  see  the  mass  abolished.    His  steps  All  Protestants  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  great 

in  reform  seem  timid  to  us,  but  when  we  learn  how  man  who  gave  the  Bible  to  the  people. 

The  Bible  and  the  Monuments 

Eleventh  Article  in  the  Series  on  the  Bible 

By  Herbert  L.  Willett 

4  4/^\N  MARCH   13  we  received  a  telegram  saying  were   locked   in   the  mysterious  grasp   of  unknown   lan- 

(       )    that  our  friends  were  on  the  way  up  the  Tigris,  guages.     Nothing  more  romantic  has  been  accomplished 

^""^^     but  as  the  boat  was  not  allowed  to  stop  at  Kut-  by  the  scientific  researches  of  scholars  than  the  opening 

el-Amara  they  would  be  obliged  to  continue  to  Bagdad,  of  the  secret  doors  that  admitted  the  modern  age  to  a 

Since  my  last  report  the  excavations  have  been  carried  knowledge   of   the    literatures   of   those   two  great   civil- 

on  but   four   days,   on   account   of   severe   sand    storms,  izations. 

religious    feasts,   trouble   with  an   Arab   sheik,   and   my  For  a  long  time  it  was  known  that  old  Persian  in- 

absence  in  Kut-el-Amara."    This  is  not  a  military  report,  scriptions  were  to  be  seen  upon  the  ruined  walls  of  Per- 

familiar  as  are  the  two  places  mentioned  as  scenes  of  sepolis.     As  long  ago  as   Niebuhr's   day  the  three-fold 

recent  stirring  events  in  the  Mesopotamian  campaign  of  character  of  these   inscriptions  was  perceived.     But  not 

the  great  world  war.     It  is  an  excerpt  from  the  letter  until  Grotofend  in   1802  hit  upon  the  secret  that  these 

of  an  excavator  who  was  working  some  years  ago  on  one  were  actually  three  languages,  the  old  Persian,  the  Median 

of  the  most  ancient  sites  in  Babylonia,  a  few  miles  from  or  Susian,  and  the  Babylonian,  was  the  significance  of 

the  former  location  of  Babylon.  the  inscription  perceived  as  a  key  to  the  cuneiform,  or 

The  writer  of  that  report  was  one  of  the  men  who  wedge-shaped,    language    of    Babylonia,    as    yet    unde- 

have   devoted  their  efforts  to  the  discovery  of   ancient  ciphered.     The  next  and  most  decisive  step  was  taken 

remains  in  the  lands  where  Biblical  history  transpired,  in  1835  by  Henry  C.  Rawlinson,  an  English  officer  with 

The  science  of  archaeology  is  one  of  the  later  outgrowths  the  Persian  army  in  the  Zagros  mountains.     He  discov- 

of  the  spirit  of  investigation.     Its  object  is  the  discovery,  ered  a  great  inscription  cut  on  the  side  of  the  Behistun 

description  and  classification  of  whatever  materials  throw  Rock  in  western  Persia,  near  the  old  Median  highway 

light  on  ancient  civilizations.     The  excavators  have  dug  betweeen   Hamadan   and   Kirmanshah.     The    former   of 

in  many  parts  of  Greece,  in  different  sections  of  the  city  these  towns  is  the  ancient  Ecbatana,  and  both  have  fig- 

of  Rome,  in  Asia  Minor,  in  Phoenicia,  on  the  island  of  ured  in  recent  reports  on  the  advance  of  the  Russians 

Crete,  and  in  Cyprus.    But  most  interesting  of  all  to  the  toward  the  Tigris. 

Biblical  student  have  been  the  discoveries  made  in  Pales-  This  mass  of  mountain  rock  towers  seventeen  hun- 
tine,  in  Egypt,  and  in  Assyria  and  Babylonia.  dred  feet  above  the  plain.  On  a  smooth  surface  more 
Until  recent  years  the  Bible  stood  comparatively  alone  than  three  hundred  feet  above  the  base,  Darius  placed 
in  the  midst  of  the  world's  literature.  It  told  the  story  his  own  image  in  heroic  size  in  bas  relief,  and  before  him 
of  earlier  civilizations  around  the  eastern  end  of  the  Med-  nine  captive  kings,  while  prostrate  at  his  feet  was  placed 
iterranean  Sea.  There  was  a  sort  of  traditional  history  the  Magian  usurper,  Guamata.  Below  and  beside  the 
of  these  civilizations  of  Egypt,  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  sculptured  group  there  are  carved  in  three  languages,  line 
but  historical  and  archaeological  science  had  not  yet  con-  after  line  of  wedge-shaped,  or  nail-shaped,  characters 
firmed  the  Biblical  statements  regarding  them.  How  can  arranged  in  columns  telling  the  prowess  and  achievements 
one  be  sure  that  the  Biblical  statements  are  true?  Were  of  the  great  king.  Rawlinson  copied  and  translated  five 
there  such  places  as  those  referred  to  in  the  Old  and  New  columns,  including  some  four  hundred  lines.  Later,  these 
Testaments?  Did  cities  like  Ur,  Haran,  Pithom,  Gezer,  were  sent  to  Europe  and  published  in  1847.  The  tri- 
Megiddo  and  Gath  actually  exist?  Were  there  such  kings  lingual  inscription  at  Persepolis  gave  the  key,  and  Raw- 
as  Rameses,  Ahab,  Jehu,  Menahem,  Sargon  and  Senna-  linson  using  it  opened  to  the  world  the  treasures  of  Baby- 
cherib?  Ionian  and  Assyrian  literature. 

key  to  Babylonian  language  From  that  time  onward  the  science  of  Assyriolog; 

made  rapid  progress  through  the  excavations  and  de- 
Today  the  student  of  the  Bible  and  its  contemporary  cipherments  of  Botta,  Place,  Layard,  Rassam,  DeSarsac, 
history  has  at  hand  a  mass  of  confirmatory  details  yielded  George  Smith,  Ward,  Peters  and  many  others.  The  great 
up  by  the  mounds  and  ruins  of  the  Oriental  world.  Cities  sites  of  Kouyunjik  and  Khorsabad,  parts  of  the  location 
long  buried  have  given  up  their  secrets.  Rulers  believed  of  ancient  Nineveh,  the  excavations  at  Warka,  Senkere 
to  be  half  mythical  have  emerged  from  the  light  of  veri-  Nuffur,  Mugayyer,  Birs,  Tello,  Bismya  and  numerous 
fiable  knowledge,  and  incidents  told  in  the  Bible  are  now  other  places  have  given  to  the  world  an  increasingly  ade- 
vouched  for  by  the  narratives  of  the  Tigris  and  the  Nile,  quate  picture  of  the  most  ancient  of  Semitic  civilizations. 
The  results  achieved  by  archaeology  are  the  more  impres-  Among  the  objects  found  in  these  regions  and  now 
sive  when  it  is  remembered  that  until  within  recent  years  available  in  the  museums  of  the  world  for  the  study  of 
the  early  stories  of  Egypt  and  the  Assyrian  peninsula  Biblical  archaeology  a  few  only  can  be  mentioned.     Near 


10 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


March  22,  1917 


the  site  of  Nineveh,  Rassani  found  an  obelisk  of  black 
marble  set  up  by  Shalmaneser  II.  On  one  of  its  panels 
there  is  a  scene  representing  Hebrews  offering  presents 
to  the  Assyrian  king.  The  inscription  reads,  "The  trib- 
ute of  Jehu  the  son  of  Omri,  silver,  gold,  basins  of  gold, 
bowls  of  gold,  lead,  a  royal  sceptre,  staves,  I  received." 
In  the  inscriptions  of  Tiglath  Pileser  III  record  is  made 
of  the  capture  of  Hamath  and  Arpad  in  738  B.  C,  of  the 
appeal  made  by  Ahaz  of  Judah  against  the  allied  kings 
of  the  north  in  734  B.  C.  and  the  fall  of  Damascus  in 
732  B.  C. 

Sennacherib's  inscription 

The  inscriptions  of  Shalmaneser  IV  tell  of  the  siege 
of  Samaria  in  722  B.  C,  and  those  of  Sargon  II  recount 
its  fall  in  the  following  year.  A  remarkably  interesting 
inscription  is  that  of  Sennacherib  telling  of  his  expedi- 
tion against  Judah  and  Jerusalem  in  701  B.  C.  The  fol- 
lowing narrative  by  the  king's  own  scribes  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  Biblical  story  contained  in  II  Kings  18,  19. 
After  recounting  the  earlier  events  of  his  third  campaign 
to  the  Mediterranean  coast,  with  his  victories  in  Phoenicia 
and  Philistia,  Sennacherib  proceeds:  "But  Hezekiah  of 
Judah,  who  had  not  submitted  to  my  yoke,  forty-six  of 
his  fenced  cities  and  fortresses,  and  small  towns  in  their 
vicinity  without  number,  by  breaking  them  down  with 
battering  rams  and  the  blows  of  (illegible),  and  the  strokes 
of  axes  and  hammers,  I  besieged  and  took:  200,150  per- 
sons, small  and  great,  male  and  female,  horses,  mules, 
asses,  camels,  large  cattle,  small  cattle,  without  number,  I 
brought  forth  from  the  midst  of  them  and  counted  as 
spoil.  As  for  Hezekiah  himself,  like  a  bird  in  a  cage  in 
Jerusalem,  his  royal  city,  I  shut  him  up.  I  threw  up  forts 
against  him,  and  whoever  would  come  out  of  the  gate  of 
the  city  I  turned  back.  His  cities  which  I  had  spoiled 
I  cut  off  from  his  land,  and  gave  them  to  Mitinti,  king 
of  Ashdod,  Padi,  king  of  Ekron,  Zil-bel,  king  of  Gaza, 
and  so  made  his  territory  small.  To  the  former  tribute, 
the  gift  of  their  country,  the  presents  due  to  my  sover- 
eignty, I  made  an  addition  and  imposed  it  upon  (them). 
As  for  Hezekiah  himself,  the  fear  of  the  glory  of  my 
sovereignty  overwhelmed  him,  and  the  Arabs  and  his  other 
allies,  whom  he  had  brought  to  strengthen  Jerusalem,  his 
royal  city,  were  seized  with  great  fear.  Thirty  talents  of 
gold,  and  eight  hundred  talents  of  silver,  *  *  *  great 
stores  of  lapis-lazuli,  couches  of  ivory,  arm-chairs  of 
ivory  (covered)  with  elephants'  hide,  ivory  tusks,  ussu 
wood,  urkarinu  wood,  and  the  like,  an  immense  treasure ; 
and  his  daughters,  his  palace-women,  men-singers,  women- 
singers,  to  Nineveh  my  royal  city  I  made  him  bring;  and 
for  the  delivery  of  the  tribute  and  rendering  homage  he 
sent  his  ambassador." 

EGYPTIAN    INSCRIPTIONS 

The  most  fruitful  region  with  which  the  Biblical 
student  is  concerned  is  Egypt,  for  here  the  kindly  sand 
and  the  warm  climate  have  combined  to  preserve  enor- 
mous quantities  of  pictorial  and  inscriptional  material, 
which  in  other  regions  would  have  perished.  The  hiero- 
glyphics or  priestly  writings,  the  monumental  records 
made  by  the  sovereigns  of  Egypt,  are  more  or  less  famil- 
iar. But  their  secret  had  to  be  secured  by  precisely  the 
same  means  as  those  employed  in  the  case  of  the  cunei- 
form text.  One  of  the  prized  possessions  of  the  British 
Museum  is  the  celebrated  Rosetta  Stone,  a  large  block 
of   black  granite,   with   three   inscriptions,   one   in  hiero- 


glyphic, one  in  the  shorter  or  demotic  writing,  and  one 
in  Greek.  This  stone  was  discovered  near  the  town  of 
Rosetta  east  of  Alexandria  by  a  French  artillery  officer 
at  the  time  of  Napoleon's  invasion  of  Egypt  in  1799. 
Several  attempts  were  made  to  decipher  the  inscription, 
but  the  work  was  not  accomplished  with  satisfaction  un- 
til 1822,  when  Francois  Champollion  began  his  work  which 
lasted  for  ten  years  and  resulted  in  the  publication  of  an  j 
Egyptian  grammar  and  vocabulary. 

The  Greek  inscription  on  the  Rosetta  Stone  was 
identical  with  the  other  two  in  substance  and  revealed 
their  secret.  It  was  a  decree  in  honor  of  Ptolemy  V 
Epiphanes  (205-181  B.  C.).  From  this  time  it  was  sim- 
ply a  question  of  securing  ampler  material  and  extending 
the  field  of  Egyptology.  Among  the  famous  names  in 
the  history  of  this  science  have  been  Lepsius,  Marriette, 
Maspero,  DeMorgan,  Naville  and  Petrie.  The  light  which 
the  labors  of  Egyptologists  have  thrown  upon  Biblical 
literature  may  be  illustrated  by  two  or  three  examples. 
On  the  south  wall  of  the  temple  of  Anion  at  Karnak,  a] 
portion  of  the  ancient  Thebes,  the  capital  of  Upper  Egypt, 
there  is  a  large  inscription  of  Sheshonk  I  of  the  twenty- 
second  dynasty  (the  Shishak  of  the  narrative  of  I  Kings 
14:  25-28).  The  gigantic  figure  of  the  god  towers  above 
that  of  the  king  himself,  who  boasts  that  on  an  expedi- 
tion to  the  northeast  he  had  taken  many  cities  in  Pales- 
tine, the  names  of  several  of  which  are  quite  familiar, 
including  Gaza,  Abel,  Bethaneth,  Beth  Horan,  Aijalon, 
Gibeon  and  Shunem.  This  was  the  invasion  which  spoiled 
Jerusalem  in  the  fifth  year  of  Rehoboam,  and  pushed  on 
with  its  ravages  into  the  northern  kingdom. 

There  is  but  one  reference  to  Israel  on  the  Egyptian 
monuments.  This  is  found  in  an  inscription  of  Merneph- 
tah  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  the  successor  of  Rameses 
the  Great.  It  was  discovered  by  Petrie  in  the  ruins  of 
that  king's  mortuary  temple  at  Thebes  in  1896.  The 
inscription  is  a  hymn  on  the  victory  over  the  Lybians, 
and  its  concluding  strophe  reads :  "The  kings  are  over- 
thrown, saying  'Salaam.'  No  one  holds  up  his  head  among 
the  nine  bows.  Wasted  is  Teheme,  Kheta  is  pacified, 
plundered  is  Pekanan,  carried  off  is  Askelon,  seized  upon 
is  Gezer,  Yensam  is  made  as  nothing,  Israel  is  desolated ; 
his  seed  is  not.  Palestine  has  become  a  widow  (i.  e., 
unprotected)  for  Egypt." 

Two  other  important  finds  have  come  from  the  soil 
of  Egypt.  One  is  the  celebrated  collection  of  the  Tel-el- 
Amarna  letters.  These  were  reports  made  in  the  cunei- 
form language  by  governors  and  other  officials  in  Pales- 
tine to  Amenophis  IV  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  about 
1400  B.  C.  These  show  that  Babylonian  was  the  official 
language  of  Palestine  at  that  period.  The  second  of  these 
bodies  of  material  was  found  at  Oxyrinchus,  not  far 
from  the  Nile,  by  Grenfell  and  Hunt,  and  comprised  a 
considerable  collection  of  the  logia  of  Jesus  written  on 
papyrus.  They  probably  represent  literary  activities  of 
the  second  Christian  century. 

PALESTINE    DISCOVERIES 

But  naturally  the  keenest  interest  attaches  to  archaeo- 
logical work  in  Palestine  and  Syria.  It  was  the  land  of 
the  Lord.  Biblical  history,  both  in  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  was  concerned  directly  with  it.  To  Palestine 
the  pilgrims  went  in  vast  numbers  in  the  early  centuries. 
And  the  number  of  those  who  have  journeyed  there  for 
purely  Biblical  reasons  in  days  since  then  has  been  a 
great  host.     Yet  it  has  thus  far  yielded  fewer  returns  for 


March  22,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


11 


the  labor  of  the  excavator  than  either  Babylonia  or  Egypt. 
The  reasons  for  this  are  many.  It  is  a  much  smaller 
country.  It  has  been  desolated  again  and  again  by  war, 
earthquake  and  other  disturbances.  Its  soil  is  shallower, 
and  its  mountains  are  washed  down  by  the  heavy  rains 
of  the  winter.  Objects  of  interest  from  ancient  days 
have  little  chance  of  survival  in  such  conditions.  At  the 
same  time  the  beginnings  of  work  in  Syria  have  yielded 
some  interesting  results,  and  some  have  come  to  hand  by 
pure  accident.  For  example,  in  1868  a  missionary  living 
in  Dibon,  in  ancient  Moab,  came  upon  an  archaic  inscrip- 
tion on  a  stone  built  into  the  wall  of  a  native  house. 
When  finally  secured  in  rather  mutilated  form,  this  proved 
to  be  a  record  of  King  Mesha,  of  Moab,  a  contemporary 
of  Ahab.  The  stone  is  now  called  the  Moabite  Stone, 
and  is  preserved  in  the  Louvre,  in  Paris.  It  is  in  praise 
of  Chemosh,  the  god  of  Moab,  and  dates  from  about 
850  B.  C.  Its  contents  form  a  remarkably  interesting 
commentary  upon  the  Biblical  record  in  II  Kings  3 :4-27. 

The  Bible  mentions  as  one  of  the  acts  of  King  Heze- 
kiah  the  construction  of  a  rock  conduit,  or  tunnel,  under 
the  city  of  Jerusalem.  This  was  long  ago  discovered  as 
one  of  the  interesting  rock  cuttings  under  the  city.  It 
extends  in  an  irregular  course  from  the  Virgin's  Foun- 
tain, the  ancient  Gihon,  southward  to  the  Pool  of  Siloam, 
something  like  a  third  of  a  mile.  It  was  dug  by  work- 
men who  worked  in  two  parties  from  either  end  of  the 
cutting,  and  after  much  difficulty  met  half  way  the  course. 
A  few  years  ago  Dr.  Schick,  a  German  teacher  who  lived 
for  many  years  in  Jerusalem  and  was  a  careful  investi- 
gator of  all  its  archaeological  features,  discovered  in  the 
opening  of  this  tunnel  near  the  Siloam  end  an  inscription 
in  archaic  Hebrew  characters,  like  those  of  the  Moabite 
Stone.  This  interesting  object  has  now  been  removed 
to  the  imperial  museum  at  Constantinople.  It  tells  the 
story  of  the  meeting  of  the  two  groups  of  workmen  after 
they  had  made  many  unsuccessful  efforts  to  find  each 
other  through  the  rock.  It  is  called  the  Siloam  Inscrip- 
tion, and  is  the  most  important  archaeological  object  yet 
found  in  Palestine. 

On  the  site  of  the  ancient  temple,  now  called  the 
harem  area,  M.  Claremont-Ganneau  found,  a  few  years 
ago,  a  stone  with  a  Greek  inscription  warning  all  non- 
Jews  against  approach  beyond  a  given  point  in  the  temple 
court,  on  pain  of  death.  This  is  known  as  "the  Warn- 
ing Stone,"  and  is  also  at  Constantinople. 

JERICHO    AND    SAMARIA 

The  site  of  ancient  Jericho  has  been  excavated  by 
Dr.  Sellin  under  German  auspices  in  recent  years.  Few 
objects  of  particular  significance  were  discovered.  But 
the  walls  of  the  ancient  town  were  uncovered,  and  the 
general  character  of  the  streets  and  buildings  disclosed. 
The  work  of  Mr.  Macalister  at  Gezer  was  notable.  For 
three  seasons  he  excavated  that  ancient,  historical  site, 
the  city  given  by  the  king  of  Egypt  to  his  daughter  as  a 
marriage  portion  upon  her  arrival  in  Canaan  as  the  wife 
of  Solomon.  The  diggings  revealed  the  structure  and  life 
of  the  place  from  pre-Israelitish  to  Maccabean  times,  and 
many  interesting  objects,  such  as  images  and  pottery,  were 
found,  but  no  inscriptions  of  significance.  Still  more  re- 
cently Harvard  University  has  excavated  a  portion  of  the 
hill  of  Samaria.  During  the  years  1908-1910  Dr.  Reisner 
conducted  these  operations,  uncovering  an  enormous  stair- 
way with  a  well  preserved  altar  at  its  foot,  a  mutilated 
marble  statue  of  heroic  size,  probably  representing  Au- 


gustus, a  paved  platform  at  the  top  of  the  stairway,  and 
massive  walls  of  buildings  beyond  the  platform.  A 
Herodian  temple  erected  in  honor  of  Augustus  was  un- 
earthed south  of  the  platform.  The  remains  of  private 
houses  of  the  Greek  period  were  removed  and  below  them 
were  found  the  massive  walls  of  a  large  Hebrew  building, 
believed  to  be  the  palace  of  Omri  and  his  son  Ahab.  This 
is  the  most  important  building  yet  discovered  in  Palestine. 
Nearby  have  been  found  fragments  of  pottery  with  pen 
and  ink  writings  in  the  Hebrew  character  dating  from 
about  the  period  of  Ahab,  and  written  in  the  same  kind 
of  script  as  that  found  on  the  Moabite  Stone. 

Excavations  have  also  been  undertaken  at  Taanach, 
Megiddo,  Lachish,  Gath  and  other  places.  Only  a  begin- 
ning has  been  made,  however.  With  such  changes  as 
time  is  certain  to  bring  in  the  unhappy  government  of 
the  country,  the  work  of  the  explorer  will  be  made  easier, 
and  the  materials  discovered  will  be  of  greater  service. 
Thus  far  the  inscriptional  finds  have  been  very  meager. 
Besides  those  mentioned,  only  the  calendar  and  certain 
Assyrian  tablets  from  Gezer,  a  tablet  from  Lachish,  a 
lion  seal  from  Megiddo,  ostraca  from  Samaria,  and 
stamped  jar  handles  from  a  few  other  places  have  re- 
warded the  labors  of  the  investigators.  But  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  much  material  of  equal  or  greater 
value  lies  undisturbed  in  the  soil  of  Palestine,  and  that 
the  future  will  add  rich  treasures  to  the  increasing  stores 
of  archaeology. 

Such  remains  are  of  the  utmost  service  in  the  illu- 
mination of  the  Biblical  books.  The  uncovering  of  the 
ruins  of  ancient  cities,  walls  and  towers,  the  exploration 
of  wells,  tombs  and  graves,  the  unearthing  of  tools,  uten- 
sils, coins,  statues  and  idols,  and  the  aid  which  they  afford 
in  the  interpretation  of  ancient  civilizations,  all  help  to 
make  clearer  the  life  and  character  of  the  Hebrew  people, 
and  the  nations  with  whom  they  came  into  the  most 
intimate  contact.  And  it  is  only  in  the  light  of  all  attain- 
able facts  regarding  these  neighboring  nations,  their  cus- 
toms, culture  and  religions,  that  the  deeper  facts  of  He- 
brew life  emerge  to  view.  It  is  no  longer  possible .  to 
claim  any  competent  knowledge  of  Old  Testament  and 
the  people  who  produced  it  without  a  comprehensive  ac- 
quaintance with  the  other  nations  of  their  world.  And 
to  this  knowledge  nothing  has  contributed  more  helpfully 
than  the  monuments  and  the  related  archaeological  ma- 
terial. 

ainiiinTiiinimmininiiiiiininiinniUMnminimiNmnuunMiMiniiiJUiiim 

I  A  CREEDLESS  LOVE  | 

1  The  crest  and  crowning  of  all  good, 

|  Life's  final  star  is  Brotherhood; 

|  For  it  will  bring  again  to  Earth  | 

I  Her  long-lost  Poesy  and  Mirth ;  1 

f  Will  send  new  light  on  every  face,  | 

|  A  kingly  power  upon  the  race. 

I  And  till  it  comes  we  men  are  slaves, 

I  And  travel  downward  to  our  graves. 

|  Come,  clear  the  way,  then,  clear  the  way ; 

Blind  creeds  and  kings  have  had  their  day. 

Break  the  dead  branches  from  the  path ; 
|  Our  hope  is  in  the  aftermath —  f 

|  Our  hope  is  in  heroic  men,  | 

f  Star-led  to  build  the  world  again.  j 

f  To  this  Event  the  ages  ran :  | 

All  hail  the  Brotherhood  of  Man! 
|  — Edwin  Markham.  | 

TinriiiiiiiiiMtiiHiiii]HniniHlHniillMrHiiuiiMinniniMUiiiMiunHMiiinitMtwi(iiiiniuMiiMiU[iniuintniiniiuninM;itui;itiuiiin:ii.i;itii!tiiini;i;;;], 


"I  Know" 


IT  is  a  bracing  thing  to  come  into 
touch  with  a  man  of  full-blooded 
convictions,  one  who  stands  up  in 
the  midst  of  your  doubts  and  ques- 
tions and  says,  "/  knozv." 

There  are  only  two  provinces  of 
absolutely  sure  knowledge:  One  is 
pure  mathematics,  and  the  other  is  the 
experience  of  the  soul.  When  we 
say:  "The  whole  is  greater  than  the 
part."  we  are  stating  an  axiom  that 
is  imbedded  in  the  constitution  of 
things ;  and,  in  order  to  contradict  it, 
we  would  have  to  reconstitute  the  hu- 
man mind,  and  for  that  matter,  re- 
constitute the  universe. 

This  axiom  belongs  to  the  nature  of 
things,  and  the  Almighty  Himself 
could  not  make  the  part  greater  than 
the  whole.  When  Paul  says,  "I  know" 
in  religion,  he  is  falling  back  upon  his 
spiritual  consciousness.  His  experi- 
ence with  Christ,  and  with  God  in 
Christ,  is  just  as  real  and  positive  as 
his  experience  with  heat  and  cold, 
with  light  and  darkness. 

HOW  PAUL  KNEW   CHRIST 

His  realization  of  Christ  was  three- 
fold :  First,  he  realized  Christ  in 
Heaven,  seated  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  speaking  with  absolute  authority. 
He  is  King  of  Kings,  and  Lord  of 
Lords.  There  is  no  word  above  or 
beyond  His. 

Next,  he  observed  Christ  doing 
wonders  in  his  own  life,  and  he 
realized  him  as  his  Saviour  and  Re- 
deemer; and,  finally,  he  found  Christ 
in  his  own  soul,  a  living  presence, 
ever  with  him,  and  a  living  power, 
enabling  him  to  do  all  things.  His  ex- 
perience of  union  with  Christ  is  so 
complete — Christ  is  in  him,  the  hope 
of  glory,  and  his  life  is  hid  with  Christ 
in  God,  that  for  him  to  live  is  Christ. 
Nothing  could  shake  his  faith,  for  he 
carried  Christ  within  him ;  and  nothing 
could  separate  him  from  his  Lord,  for 
Christ  is  his  life  and  he  was  already 
with  him  in  the  heavenly  places. 

This  is  Paul's  conscious,  intellectual, 
and  spiritual  Christian  experience.  If 
you  object  that  his  consciousness 
might  be  wrong,  then  you  have  come 
to  the  end  of  all  things.  If  a  sane  man 
like  Paul  can  not  bear  witness  to  his 
most  profound  experience,  if  he  is  de- 
ceived about  the  things  he  knows  best, 
then  human  experience  is  worthless, 
and  we,  today,  have  no  certainty  that 
we  either  exist,  or  that  we  are  here. 
If  Paul  had  a  right  to  say,  "I,"  and 
we  allow  him  to  be  conscious  of  his 
own  existence,  then  he  had  the  right 


By  L.  O.  Bricker 

aiiHiiiliuiiiuiiuiiiUiiiiiiiiilliiiiiitiiiiiiliiiitliiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiliiuiiuiiliiiiMHtiiiiiiiiiliuiiiiiluiiiiiiliiiiliiiiniii^ 

"I  know  whom  I  have  believed,    f 
f    and  am  persuaded."  f 

^itiiiifiiiiMiiiiiiiiniiiiiMiiiiiiitiiiiinHiiiiiiiuitiiiiiiiHiitiiiiiiMiiiiiirniiiuMiHMiiiiiiiiii(iiiirl'ii[iiii]iiniiiiiniiT 

to  say,  "I  know,"  and  we  ought  accept 
the  certainty  of  such  experience. 

Now  Paul's  Christian  experience  is 
the  normal  one,  and  is  meant  to  be  the 
experience  of  all  Christians.  Chris- 
tianity is  for  every  one,  first  an  experi- 
ment, then  an  experience,  then  a 
science.  Let  us  think  first  about  the 
experiment  with  Christianity: 

EXPERIMENT,   EXPERIENCE,   SCIENCE 

Paul's  first  step  in  the  Christian  life 
was  not  to  say,  "I  know,"  but,  "Who 
art  thou,  Lord  ?"  and  "What  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do?" 

Christianity  is  set  forth  in  the  New 
Testament  as  a  Way  of  Life.  Long 
before  man  had  ever  thought  of  cast- 
ing it  into  a  theology,  or  developing  it 
into  a  philosophy ;  long  before  Catholic 
had  organized  it  into  an  institution, 
or  Protestant  had  stereotyped  it  into 
creeds,  primitive  Christianity  was 
known  simply  as  The  Way — a  way  of 
life,  a  new  and  blessed  way  of  living. 
A  way  of  life  like  the  trade  of  a  car- 
penter, or  the  art  of  a  musician,  has 
certain  principles  and  laws,  and  these 
principles  and  laws  are  to  the  one 
making  the  experiment  in  Christianity, 
what  the  principles  of  perspective  are 
to  the  artist,  and  what  the  laws  of 
navigation  are  to  the  sailor — helps  and 
aids  in  doing  the  thing  he  has  set  out 
to  do. 

DOING   BEFORE    KNOWING 

Before  you  can  become  anything, 
artist,  musician,  navigator,  anything, 
you  must  make  the  experiment  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  and  principles  of  that 
thing.  Experience  follows  experi- 
ment. You  have  first  to  do  before 
you  can  know.  A  man,  for  example, 
cavils  at  golf:  He  calls  it  a  "crazy 
game,"  "the  sport  of  fools."  The  golf 
enthusiast  is  dumb,  if  he  be  wise.  He 
knows  that  it  is  no  use  to  argue  with 
his  friend.  His  only  chance  or  hope 
is  to  entice  him  on  to  the  golf-links, 
put  a  driver  in  his  hand,  encourage 
him  to  take  a  swing  at  the  ball,  and  if 
he  makes  one  good  drive,  the  chances 
are  a  hundred  to  one  that  he  will  be- 
come an  enthusiastic  devotee  of  the 
game,  which  in  advance  of  experience 
he  boastfully  despised. 

Truth,  founded  on  experience,  can 
not  be  refuted  or  denied;  yet,  since 
experiment  comes  first,  and  experi- 
ence second,  in  all  practical  matters, 
industrial,  artistic,  intellectual,  moral, 


and  spiritual,  we  must  take  our  initial 
experience  as  the  golfer  takes  his  first 
drive,  as  the  swimmer  takes  his  first 
stroke,  in  advance  of  demonstration, 
on  the  recommendation  of  others  who 
have  had  experience. 


"a  way  of  life" 


There  is  no  valid  intellectual  objec- 
tion essential  to  Christianity,  for 
Christianity  is  a  way  of  life.  There 
is  no  valid  intellectual  objection  to  an 
automobile:  An  automobile  is  simply 
a  way  of  getting  around.  Christianity 
is  an  experience  like  music  and  paint- 
ing, like  golf  and  tennis,  like  hunting 
and  fishing.  The  fact  that  all  who 
have  had  deep  experience  with  it  like 
it,  and  prefer  it  to  any  other  way,  is 
enough  of  argument  to  induce  any  one 
to  try  the  experiment  for  themselves. 

Jesus  says,  "I  am  the  Way,  he  that 
followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in  dark- 
ness, but  shall  have  the  Light  of  Life." 
Try  the  experiment  of  Christianity, 
according  to  the  laws  and  principles 
of  Jesus'  way  of  life.  Christianity  is 
first  an  experiment,  and  until  you  are 
willing  to  make  the  experiment,  the 
whole  matter  is  completely  and  en- 
tirely unknown  to  you. 

But,  having  made  the  experiment, 
Christianity  next  becomes  experience. 
Our  first  experience  follows  the  ex- 
perience of  Paul,  namely,  a  realization 
of  Christ  in  Heaven,  seated  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  speaking  with  au- 
thority the  forgiveness  of  our  sins, 
and  our  adoption  into  the  family  of 
God,  giving  us  the  consciousness  of 
salvation  through  obedience. 

CHRIST  AS  SAVIOUR 

The  next  step  is  that  of  Christ  as 
Saviour — not  only  from  sins  past,  but 
from  sins  and  faults  and  failings  and 
imperfections  of  the  present — doing 
wonders  upon  our  lives,  changing  and 
transforming  us. 

Not  all  who  share  the  first  experi- 
ence, share  the  second,  and  fewer  still 
share  the  third  and  most  blessed  ex- 
perience of  finding  Christ  within  their 
own  hearts  and  lives. 

All  who  are  Christians  have  the  con- 
sciousness of  Christ  in  Heaven,  seated 
at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father — Lord 
and  Master  and  Saviour.  Many  of 
you  have  the  consciousness  of  a 
Saviour  who  has  kept  you,  and  helped 
you  and  blessed  you;  but  we  have 
stopped  far  short  of  all  that  Christian- 
ity holds  for  us  until  we  have  found 
Christ  within  us,  the  living  Lord,  the 
conscious  Saviour,  the  present  coun- 
sellor, inspirer,  and  friend.  This  ex- 
perience awaits  every  one  of  you.  This 
is  the  first  and  foremost  teaching  of 


March  22,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


II 


the    apostles — this    consciousness    of 
the  present,  living  Christ  within. 

"CHRIST   FORMED   IN    YOU-" 

It  is  the  heart  of  every  one  of 
Paul's  epistles.  Paul  was  uneasy 
about  the  stability  of  his  converts 
until  they  had  entered  into  this  glori- 
ous experience.  To  the  Galatians,  he 
writes :  "My  little  children,  for  whom 
I  am  again  in  travail,  until  Christ  be 
formed  in  you."  He  could  not  feel 
sure  of  them.  He  was  in  pained 
anxiety  concerning  them  until  Christ 
is  so  formed  within  them  that  they 
will  be  as  conscious  of  Him  as  they 
are  of  themselves. 

To  the  Romans,  Paul  says  that 
the  presence  of  Christ  within  settles 
once  and  for  all  the  whole  problem 
of  sin,  past,  present,  and  future:  "If 
Christ  is  in  you  the  body  is  dead  to 
sin;  and  if  the  spirit  of  Him  that 
raised  up  Jesus  dwelleth  in  you,  he 
shall  also  quicken  your  mortal  bodies 
through  the  spirit  that  dwelleth  in 
you."  These  mortal  bodies  of  ours, 
with  their  pains  and  passions,  their 
sickness,  and  soddenness,  their  weight 
and  weariness,  shall  experience  the 
quickening,  life-giving  power  and 
presence  of  Him  who  dwells  within. 

THE    PRECIOUS    MYSTERY 

To  the  Colossians,  he  writes  of  the 
precious  mystery  which  God  had  hid 
for  ages  and  generations,  but  which 
is  now  manifested  unto  the  saints;  to 
whom  God  is  pleased  to  make  known 
the  riches  of  the  mystery,  which  is: 
"Christ  in  you,  the  hope  of  glory." 

To  his  beloved  Ephesians,  he  makes 
his  great  prayer:  "For  this  cause  I 
bow  my  knees  unto  the  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  the  whole 
family  in  heaven  and  earth  is  named, 
that  He  would  grant  you,  according 
to  the  riches  of  His  glory,  to  be 
strengthened  with  might  by  His  spirit 


in  the  inner  man,  that  Christ  may 
dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith;  to  the 
end  that  ye,  being  rooted  and 
grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to  ap- 
prehend with  all  the  saints,  what  is 
the  breadth  and  length,  and  depth  and 
height,  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ, 
which  passeth  knowledge,  that  ye  may 
be  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God." 

THE  HEIGHT  OF  CHRISTIAN 
EXPERIENCE 

If  you  have  not  found  Christ  within, 
if  you  are  not  conscious  of  His  pres- 
ence with  you,  if  Christ  is  not  so 
formed  within  you  that  you  com- 
mune with  Him  as  consciously  as  you 
commune  with  your  own  mind,  then 
you  have  stopped  short  of  the  real 
power  of  Christianity,  and  the  precious 
mystery  of  God  has  not  yet  been  re- 
vealed unto  you.  But  if  Christ  is 
formed  within  us,  and  we  have  found 
Him  there,  and  are  so  conscious  of 
His  presence  that  we  think  with  the 
mind  of  Christ,  and  can  say  with  Paul, 
"I  live,  yet  it  is  no  longer  I  that  live, 
but  Christ  that  liveth  in  me,"  than  we 
have  risen  to  the  height  of  Christian 
experience,  and  we  can  say  with  Paul, 
"I  know." 

Christianity  then  becomes  a  science. 
We  can  teach  it  to  others  with  cer- 
tainty and  conviction.  With  all  the 
assurance  of  a  teacher  saying  to  a 
child  in  school  tomorrow  morning, 
"Two  and  two  make  four,"  we  can 
proclaim  the  truth  in  Christ  Jesus  as 
we  know  it.  We  can  say  to  those  who 
know  Him  not:  "There  is  in  Him 
the  life  you  are  seeking,  the  peace  you 
crave,  the  help  and  power  you  need. 
He  is  the  Way.  "In  Him  is  life,  and 
the  life  is  the  light  of  men,  and  he  that 
followeth  Him  shall  not  walk  in  dark- 
ness, but  shall  have  the  light  of  life." 

We  can  say  to  the  weak  and  sinful, 
"There  is  help  and  power  in  the  living 
Christ  for  you.    Make  up  your  mind 


about  the  kind  of  life  you  want  to 
live,  and  desire  to  live,  and  are  re- 
solved to  live  by  the  help  of  God,  and 
ask  Him  to  help  you  live  that  kind  of 
a  life,  and  you  will  find  the  help  you 
need." 

We  can  say  to  the  tempted  and 
tried,  who  are  almost  ready  to  fall 
under  the  hard  way:  "Pray,  there 
always  comes  back  into  the  life  of  the 
one  who  prays  a  power  that  enables 
him  to  live  the  spirit  of  his  prayers." 


"the  power  of  god" 


We  can  say  to  the  sick  and  suffer- 
ing: "He  that  dwelleth  in  you  is  the 
Great  Physician  of  the  body  and  the 
mind  and  the  spirit.  Trust  Him  also 
to  quicken  your  mortal  bodies."  Out 
of  our  own  experience  and  knowledge 
we  can  say  to  all  the  fellow-members 
of  the  human  race:  "This  gospel  of 
the  living  Christ  is  the  power  of  God 
unto  full  salvation  unto  every  one 
that  believeth." 

If  you  have  not  made  the  experi- 
ment of  Christianity,  then  the  greatest 
and  profoundest  act  of  your  life  is  yet 
to  be  performed.  If  you  have  made 
the  experiment  of  Christianity,  do  not 
stop  until  you  have  carried  experience 
up  into  conscious  union  and  fellow- 
ship with  the  Christ  within,  remember- 
ing His  great  promise,  "If  any  man 
love  me,  he  shall  be  loved  of  my 
Father  also,  and  we  will  come  unto 
him  and  take  up  our  abode  in  Him." 
Then  you  will  know,  then  you  will 
have  something  to  tell,  and  the  pas- 
sion to  tell  it  will  be  upon  you.  You 
will  not  be  able  to  keep  quiet.  You 
will  be  like  Peter  and  John  before  the 
Sanhedrin,  who  when  threatened  with 
death  if  they  dared  preach  any  more 
in  the  name  of  Jesus,  said,  "We  can 
not  but  speak  the  things  which  we 
have  seen  and  heard." 

Atlanta,  Ga. 


The  Visitor  of  the  Trenches 


NIGHT  trembled  like  the  shadows 
of  a  leafy  tree  in  a  fitful  breeze ; 
the  earth  shook  with  thunders; 
the  sky  sparkled  with  wicked  lights 
flashed  from  millions  of  mouths  of 
steel.  Vapors  rose  tortuously,  swirled 
by  gusts  blown  hot  through  the  chilly 
air.  Men  advanced  and  fell,  writhed 
and  moaned,  and  some  crashed  down 
muttering  not  a  sound. 

The  sentry  stood  gazing  into  the 
mystery  of  murk.  Around  him  lay 
stricken  fellows  dead  and  dying;  and 
some  in  agony  begged  piteously  for 
death.    Anguish  weltered  in  a  mire  of 


By  FRANCIS  NEILSON 
In  the  Public 

blood.  To  the  sentry  time  seemed  to 
stand  still ;  eternity  filled  the  section  of 
a  second.  He  was  alone,  an  outpost 
not  called  in.  With  straining  eyes, 
craning  neck  and  quivering  mouth,  all 
wrenched  painfully,  he  sought  in  the 
thickening  gloom  the  source  of  dis- 
aster. A  soldier  overlooked  in  a  world 
of  horror.  It  was  so  long  since  he  was 
stationed  there  he  thought  he  was  for- 
gotten; or  had  the  battle-line  receded 
far,  and  no  orders  from  his  captain 
now  could  reach  him?  He  prayed  for 
dawn  to  come  and  dissipate  the  night. 
His  lips  and  tongue  were  parched  and 


thick,  too  numb  for  angry  blasphemy. 
A  God-forsaken  man  where  King's 
battalions  die. 

Out  of  the  black  patch  into  which  he 
peered  there  moved  a  form ;  it  seemed 
like  a  streak  of  grey,  a  rent  in  night's 
clouded  sky.  The  form  came  from  the 
enemy's  lines;  without  show  of  haste 
it  approached  speedily.  Weaponless 
it  drew  nigh.  The  sentry  raised  his 
rifle;  his  sight  grew  keener;  warmer 
flowed  his  blood ;  and  the  weariness  of 
fear  fell  from  him.  Alert,  eager,  and 
intransigent,  he  desired  the  moment 
of  attack. 


14 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  22,  1917 


"Who  goes ?" 

The  figure  raised  its  head  and  eyes, 
full  of  pity,  gazed  on  the  sentry  be- 
fore he  finished  the  question. 

"Oh! — it's  you.  matey,"  he  cried  in 
a  gasp  of  deep  relief.  Then  the  weari- 
ness fell  on  him  again,  and  leaning  his 
worn  body  on  his  rifle,  he  stood  bent, 
resting  his  head  upon  his  hands, 
clutching  his  weapon  as  a  prop. 

"A  friend,"  the  figure  said.  "The 
countersign  you  all  know.  'Mercy'  is 
the  word  which  passes  me  through  all 
the  lines."  The  voice  was  soft  as 
gentle  rain  in  summer  time. 


The  sentry  raised  his  head  and  smiled 
kindly.  He  looked  on  a  man,  fearless, 
graceful,  sad,  clad  in  a  long  loose  robe, 
neither  brown  nor  gray,  but  of  some 
strange  hue  the  darkness  could  not 
hide. 

"Haven't  you  had  enough  of  this 
business?  Always  a-roaming  about 
the  lines,  in  and  out,  hob-nobbing  with 
all  sorts?" 

"No,  my  business  never  ends,"  the 
figure  replied.  "I  am  the  only  neutral 
in  the  midst  of  all  the  fray." 

"You  are  that,"  the  soldier  agreed. 
"But  I  thought  you'd  gone  home  long 
ago." 

"Home  is  no  place  for  me  just  now. 
I  am  not  asked  for  there.  They  have 
other  work  to  do." 

"Here's  the  work  they  do."  The 
soldier  waved  his  hand  over  the  dead 
and  dying.  "Look  at  it,  matey.  Well, 
I  hope  they  may  see  it  before  it's  over. 
So  you've  not  been  home?" 

"No,  my  countersign  would  not  pass 
me  in  one  bare  yard.  'Mercy'  is  known 
only  to  the  soldier." 

"That's  right,  matey.  But,  stay  a 
bit.  Sit  down.  They  must  have  for- 
gotten about  me  out  here ;  seems  as  I 
were  the  only  live  'un  standing  up  to- 
night." The  sentry  listened  for  a 
moment.  "Strange,  but  it  has  got 
quiet  all  of  a  sudden.  Why,  I  can't 
hear  a  groan,"  he  muttered. 


The  figure  sat  down  on  an  ammuni- 
tion box  and  looked  up  into  the  sol- 
dier's face. 

"I  thought  you'd  have  some  good 
news  to  tell.  So  you  haven't  been 
home?" 

"No,  I  left  without  a  passport  when 
the  soldiers  went  from  home." 

"But  where  have  you  been?  I 
haven't  seen  you  for  months." 

"I  came  when  you  were  sleeping, 
sometimes  when  you  were  fighting. 
Not  a  day  passes  but  I  visit  all  the 
lines." 

The  sentry  smiled  tolerantly.  He 
was  incredulous,  but  he  had  no  desire 
to  challenge  the  statement  of  his 
visitor. 

"If  I  weren't  sure  Christ  was  dead, 
blest  if  I  wouldn't  begin  to  think  you 


were  Him,"  the  soldier  muttered,  with 
a  shake  of  his  head. 

"The  same  thought  conies  to  most 
of  the  sentries  I  visit,"  the  figure  said. 

"Is  that  right  ?  Others  think  as  I  do  ? 
Well,  I'm  blest."  The  soldier's  grim- 
stained  face  seemed  to  flush  with  joy. 
He  looked  long  into  the  eyes  of  his 
friend,  then  suddenly  started  back. 
"It's  the  day,"  he  cried.  "It  must  be. 
It's  after  midnight.  What's  the  time? 
My  watch  was  smashed  by  a  splinter. 
Lord,  how  strange  I  feel.  It  must  be 
the  day.  My  Mary  wrote  and  told  me 
good  news  would  come  this  time.  And 
you — what's  the  matter  with  me?  I'm 
all  of  a  tremble.  Are  you — ?  Well — 
but — may  be " 

He  muttered  in  staccato  tones,  his 

voice  becoming  softer  and  softer,  until 

it  sank  to  a  whisper.    His  knees  gave 

way,  and  down  he  sat  at  the  side  of  his 

visitor. 

*     *     * 

They  were  silent  for  a  long  while. 
The  weary  soldier  felt  relief,  like  sleep 
refreshing  a  wide-eyed  man  in  pain, 
and  to  him  there  came  a  voice  which 
said: 

"I  am  greater  than  life.  Duration 
and  I  are  one.  I  am  the  spirit  of  the 
best  that  is  in  you :  the  divine  you  do 
not  know.  I  am  here  to  tell  you  there 
is  hope  for  you.  Soldier,  all  history  is 
the  same  to  me:  it  is  thread  spun  by 
the  seekers  of  Power.  But  the  king- 
doms, principalities,  and  common- 
wealths of  the  earth  come  and  go,  and 
change  not,  while  I  remain  a  witness 
of  their  strife,  waiting  the  day  of  my 
enthronement  in  the  hearts  of  men. 
You  soldiers,  you  who  inherit  my 
shame,  are  now  the  only  men  who  shut 
me  not  out  of  your  hearts.  It  is  with 
you  as  it  was  with  me.  I  was  the  in- 
strument Force  raised  up  to  quell  Jus- 
tice. Force  though  raised  me  up  to  its 
own  destruction.  But  that  day  is  long 
in  coming.  Yes,  the  cross  the  Caesar's 
symbol  of  Force,  my  Body  the  Symbol 
of  My  Father's  Love." 

The  sentry  started  and  stood  up. 

"Love !"  he  said.  "There's  not  much 
love  going  about  these  days,"  wearily 
he  sighed. 

"More  than  you  think." 

"Look  at  us,  at  it  morning,  noon  and 
night.  Nothing  but  blood  to  see,  noth- 
ing but  groans  to  hear.  Hell,  but  I'm 
tired  of  it.  See,  out  here  alone,  for- 
gotten by  the  staff.  I  wonder  what  my 
Mary'd  say  if  she  knew — "  he  mut- 
tered dreamily,  thinking  of  his  wife. 
"But  what's  it  all  about?'" 

"Power,"  the  visitor  replied.  "They 
fight  for  Power." 

"Blest  if  I  don't  think  soldiering's  a 
curse." 

"You  suffer  for  my  strength,"  the 
figure  said. 

"That's  a  riddle,  matey,"  the  sentry 
smiled. 

"It  is  quite  clear.  It  was  my  stand 
against    ruthless    Power    and    Force 


which  caused  the  rulers  to  make  you 
serve  in  arms  against  me." 

"Against  you — against — "  he  mur-| 
mured.     "I  see.     You  mean  they're 
afraid  of  us  going  over  to  you?     Is 
that  it?" 

"How  quick-witted  you  are  in  your 
present  distress.  But  will  you  remem- 
ber that  when  you  rest  from  your 
labors  ?  Or  will  you  forget  as  speedily 
as  heretofore.  Remembrance,  sentry, 
is  more  potent  than  sudden  resolution 
born  in  an  hour  of  pain.  Remem- 
brance this  time  should  foster  love." 

"We'll  remember  this  time,"  the 
soldier  said  as  his  face  took  on  a  look 
of  deep  determination.  "But  when 
will  it  be  over?" 

"When  you  all  desire  it.  No  sooner. 
Yet,  this  day  hope  dawns  anew.  The 
west  greets  the  message  sent  in  the 
long  ago  out  of  the  east  from  whence 
I  came.  But  it  is  to  you,  you  soldiers, 
who  have  borne  the  near  pain  of  it  all 
I  look  for  Peace :  the  Peace  of  Under- 
standing, of  Justice,  of  Brotherhood, 
of  Love.  You  are  the  victims  of 
Force.  Force  is  behind  you  and  drives 
you  on  to  win  Power.  The  soldier 
must  conquer  Force  if  he  would  de- 
stroy Power  and  know  my  Peace." 


The  sentry's  eyes  were  far  away,  his 
face  was  wan,  and  his  hands  went  up 
to  his  breast  as  if  he  would  clutch  the 
hope  implanted  there.  The  rifle  fell 
into  a  pool  of  blood.  He  turned  to 
speak  to  his  visitor,  but  He  was  gone. 
Alone  the  soldier  sank  down  overcome 
by  fatigue.  Then  dawn  came  glim- 
mering faintly  as  if  it  were  afraid  of 
revealing  the  scene  of  woe-spread 
battlefields  to  the  heaven  of  day. 
Again  the  soldier's  dreamy  eyes  were 
far  away  fixed  upon  the  tremulous 
light  rising  in  the  east. 

"Look,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  "all 
the  armies  gather.  Linked  battalions, 
all  brothers.    It  is  the  day !" 

Across  the  plains  of  Europe  he  saw 
the  millions  of  all  nations  move,  and 
on  their  shoulders  each  a  cross  instead 
of  a  rifle  bore.  They  marched  to- 
wards the  rising  sun. 


Nothing  can  be  better  than  to  work 
well  and  rest  well  and  blend  both  to-j 
gether  into  one  life.  To  be  astir  to] 
the  tips  of  the  fingers  and  the  centres 
of  the  heart  and  brain,  and  then  to  be 
still  and  leave  it  all  is  the  finest  con- 
summation and  completeness  we  can 
compass. — Robert  Collyer. 

A  small  force,  if  it  never  lets  up, 
will  accumulate  effects  more  consider-, 
able  than  those  of  much  greater  forces 
if  these  work  inconsistently.  The 
ceaseless  whisper  of  the  more  perma- 
nent ideals,  the  steady  tug  of  truth  and 
justice,  give  them  but  time,  must  walk 
the  world  in  their  direction. — William 
James. 


A.  McLean  as  a  Spiritual  Leader 

An  Address  Delivered  at  the  McLean  Thirty-fifth  Anniversary  Celebration,  at  Cincinnati 


I  AM  here  as  the  representative  of 
the  Christian  Woman's  Board  of 
Missions,  to  express  its  apprecia- 
tion of  onr  friend  and  brother  in 
whose  honor  this  meeting  is  held. 
That  -ippreciation  has  grown  with  the 
years,  and  with  the  closer  co-operation 
in  work  that  the  years  have  brought 
to  our  boards.  It  is  based  on  his 
understanding  sympathy  with  our  aims 
and  ideals,  on  his  willingness  to  share 
the  treasures  of  his  wisdom,  but  most 
of  all,  on  the  closeness  of  his  walk 
with  God.  That  is  the  great  inspira- 
tion in  Christian  character  and  Chris- 
tian service,  yet  it  is  a  strange  sad 
paradox  that  those  who  lead  in  good 
works  are  not  always  our  leaders  in 
things  spiritual.  Hawthorne,  in  his 
Blithedale  Romance,  has  given  us 
warning  that  the  pursuit  of  a  noble 
end  is  not  necessarily  an  ennobling 
process.  He  paints  a  philanthropist 
who  has  devoted  his  life  and  talents  to 
the  uplift  of  criminals,  but  who  is  so 
obsessed  with  his  own  passion  of 
building  a  college  for  their  reforma- 
tion that  he  stoops  to  unworthy 
methods  to  attain  his  aim,  and  thus 
illustrates  that  dread  truth  in  Bunyan's 


By  Ida  Withers  Harrison 

Allegory,  "That  from  the  very  gate  of 
the  Celestial  City,  there  is  a  byway 
to  the  Pit." 

THE   ONE  THING   NEEDFUL 

It  is  not  true  that  everyone  who  has 
been  engaged  for  a  long  time  in  some 
enterprise,  noble  and  unselfish  though 
it  may  be,  is  conscious,  if  he  be  honest 
and  earnest,  that  it  alone  does  not 
suffice  for  his  spiritual  upbuilding,  and 
utters  at  times  the  cry  of  the  Apostle 
"Lest  I  become  a  castaway?"  The 
successful  conduct  of  a  great  organ- 
ization is  so  absorbing  a  task,  that  it 
carries  certain  perils  with  it — the  very 
whirr  of  its  machinery  may  deafen 
one  to  the  still,  small  voice  that  calls 
to  the  life  that  is  hid  with  Christ  in 
God.  The  end  and  aim  of  the  For- 
eign Christian  Missionary  Society  and 
of  the  Christian  Woman's  Board  of 
Missions  is  not  the  raising  of  money, 
important  as  that  is,  but  to  have 
spiritual  leaders  so  possessed  with  the 
love  of  God  that  they  know  no  rest 
until  they  have  shared  that  divine 
heritage  with  every  creature  that  He 
has  made. 

I   sometimes  wonder  if  we  realize 


as  we  should  that  the  great  quest  of 
life  is  the  soul's  quest  for  its  God; 
that  the  great  need  of  the  church  is 
hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness 
— that  longing  for  God  that  the  old 
singer  likened  to  the  panting  of  the 
hart  after  the  water-brooks.  And  I 
wonder  still  more,  after  we  have  at- 
tained some  dim  and  far  sense  of  His 
presence,  and  realize  that  it  is  our  sins 
that  alienate  us  from  Him,  whether 
we  are  willing  to  give  up  everything 
that  may  stand  between  us  and  that 
priceless  boon.  Can  we  all  say  from 
our  hearts  that  old  prayer : 

Search  me,  O  God,  and  know  my  heart; 

Try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts; 

And  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in 

me, 
And  lead  me  in  the  way  everlasting. 

AN    INSPIRATION    TO    ALL 

While  so  many  of  us  fall  far  short 
of  our  ideals,  yet  we  know  there  is 
one  among  us  to  whom  the  secret  of 
his  presence  has  been  revealed,  whose 
daily  walk  is  with  God,  and  whose 
thirty-five  years  of  sendee  have  been 
years  of  such  spiritual  leadership  that 
he  has  been  an  inspiration  and  benedic- 
tion to  all  who  have  known  him. 


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Two  Poems 

By  Thomas  Curtis  Clark 


A 


God  Rules  the  Seas! 

THOUSAND  dreadnoughts  proudly  flaunt 

Their  flags  before  the  breeze; 
A  million  seamen  ride  the  waves, 
But  God  rules  the  seas. 


Before  a  king  had  donned  a  crown, 
Or  queen  had  lolled  at  ease, 

The  floods  beat  high  against  the  sky, 
And  God  ruled  the  seas. 

Before  a  lord  had  ciaimed  the  tide 
To  curb  as  he  might  please, 

The  waters  of  the  earth  flowed  wide, 
And  God  ruled  the  seas. 

The  fountains  of  the  deep  are  His, 
And  His  the  favoring  breeze ; 

His  are  the  laws  of  ebb  and  flow, 
For  God  rules  the  seas. 


The  Abiding 

GOD  reigns! 
His  is  the  day, 
And  the  night  of  hate 
And  the  storm  of  wrath 
Shall  pass  away. 

Love  reigns ! 

Hers  are  the  years, 
And  an  age  of  peace 
And  of  kindliness 

Will  banish  fears. 

Truth  reigns ! 

God  is  on  high. 
And  the  pride  of  kings 
And  the  lust  for  things 

Are  doomed  to  die. 


-Christian  Endeavor  World. 


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Problems  of  the  Newer  Immigration 


THE  newer  immigration  is  con- 
fronting us  -with  many  new  and 
pressing  problems.  With  some 
of  these  the  National  Benevolent  As- 
sociation must  be  increasingly  con- 
cerned. 

We  Disciples  have  recently  laid  out 
for  ourselves  a  five  year  program  of 
activity  which  contemplates  the  accept- 
ance of  a  more  worthy  place  in  the 
evangelization  of  the  multitudes  of 
southern  Europeans  who  have  recently 
come  to  us.  If  we  are  to  succeed  in 
this  much  needed  work,  we  shall  have 
to  be  prepared  to  make  our  plea  for 
Christ  a  reality  by  rendering  the 
Christlike  ministry  of  caring  for  the 
widow  and  the  orphan.  We  cannot 
win  these  worthy  people  to  our  cause 
with  that  Christless  Gospel  which  vir- 
tually says,  "We  want  you  to  be  Chris- 
tians and  unite  with  our  church — but 


By  F.  D.  Butchart 

understand,  you  must  look  to  the  city 
or  the  state  or  some  other  institution 
for  the  care  of  your  aged  poor  and 
the  helpless  child."  "Inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  it  to  one  of  the  least  of 
these  my  brethren"  must  find  an  im- 
portant place  in  the  gospel  we  present 
to  the  needy  foreigners  if  we  would 
win  them  for  Christ. 

TRAGEDIES     OF     FOREIGN     SETTLEMENTS 

One  does  not  need  to  study  the  for- 
eign settlements  of  a  great  city  long 
to  be  impressed  with  the  fact  that 
multitudes  of  families  are  living  all 
the  time  very  close  to  the  border  line 
of  dependency.  We  may  account  for 
this  on  the  basis  of  the  high  cost  of 
living,  or  an  unjust  economic  system, 
but  the  fact  still  remains.  When  we 
add  to  this  situation  the  fact  that  the 
average  foreign  family  is  large  and 
when  we  understand  the  pitiable  help- 


lessness of  the  foreigner  in  the  land 
of  his  adoption,  the  seriousness  of  the 
problem  increases.  If  death  calls  the 
father  or  the  mother  or  both  from  the 
home,  the  children  are  left  destitute 
and  dependent.  This  is  a  common 
tragedy  of  the  foreign  settlement. 

If  we  undertake  our  proposed  work 
for  the  foreigner  worthily,  we  must 
needs  be  prepared  to  care  for  the  aged 
ones  and  for  the  child  that  has  been 
unfortunate.  We  are  providing 
through  the  American  Christian  Mis- 
sionary Society  for  the  evangelization 
of  the  foreigner ;  through  the  Board  of 
Church  Extension  we  plan  the  erection 
of  places  of  work  and  worship; 
through  the  National  Benevolent  As- 
sociation we  must  plan  for  more  ample 
care  of  the  widow  and  the  orphan  of 
the  foreign  group.  This  is  one  of  our 
newer  problems  to  be  solved. 

Cleveland,  O. 


Heart-Heretics 


FOR  ages  the  church  has  been 
hunting,  trying  and  condemning 
her  preachers  for  heresy  of  the 
head,  but  how  many  trials  are  on  rec- 
ord for  heresy  of  the  heart?  How 
many  preachers  have  been  hounded 
by  our  self-appointed  "defenders  of 
the  faith"  for  turning  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
cry  of  the  orphan  and  for  having  an 
unseeing  eye  in  the  presence  of  the 
widow's  tears?  And  yet  James  tells 
us  that  "Pure  religion  and  undefiled 
before  our  God  and  Father  is  this : 
To  visit  the  fatherless  and  the  widows 
in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  one's  self 
unspotted  from  the  world."  Accord- 
ing to  Jesus,  our  place  for  eternity  is 
fixed  by  what  we  have  done  in  allevi- 
ating the  sufferings  of  this  world. 
Paul  and  John  tell  us  that  heresy  in 
the  sight  of  God  is  the  unloving  heart. 
The  church  is  only  beginning  to  re- 
discover the  fact  that  Christianity  is 
not  a  theorv,  but  a  benevolent  force,  a 
life. 

"faith  apart  from  works" 

Xo  stronger  evidence  of  the  return 
of  the  church  to  Christ  can  be  pro- 
duced than  its  growing  works  of 
benevolence,  its  care  for  the  orphan 
and  widow,  the  helpless  and  the  needy. 
We  are  only  beginning  to  appreciate 
the  fact  that  "faith  apart  from  works 
is  dead."  If  we  are  in  truth  the 
disciples  of  Christ,  we  must  do  His 
work,  and  His  work  is  to  seek  and  to 


By  D.  H.  Shields 

save  those  that  are  lost,  and  to  go 
about  doing  good.  The  Christian  is 
to  translate  Christ  into  the  language  of 
the  world;  the  more  literal  the  trans- 
lation, the  greater  the  power  for  good. 
And  can  Ave  translate  him  more  liter- 
ally than  in  caring  for  the  helpless 
child  and  aged  poor? 

The  world  cares  little  for  hair-split- 
ting theories,  but  it  can  understand 
and  appreciate  loving  ministry.  By 
taking  attar  from  the  rose,  we  rob  it 
of  its  fragrance  and  beauty,  and  leave 
nothing  but  refuse.  By  robbing  Chris- 
tianity of  good  works,  we  take  its  life, 
and  nothing  but  pulseless  forms  and 
ceremonies  remain. 

Watts  may  have  had  the  pattern  of 
the  steam  engine  in  his  mind  for  years, 
but  not  until  he  wrought  it  out  in  iron 
and  steel  and  brass  did  men  begin  to 
believe  in  it. 

Not  till  the  architect  clothed  his 
plans  in  stone  and  marble,  did  men 
admire  St.  Peter's  at  Rome. 

Not  till  Michaelangelo  had  chipped 
away  the  rough  stone  disclosing  the 
angel  imprisoned  there  in  the  rough 
block  of  marble  did  men  grasp  the 
beauty  of  the  image  in  his  mind. 

Not  till  Beethoven  put  the  song  that 
was  in  his  heart  into  notes  and  meas- 
ures, were  men  enraptured  by  the 
sweetness  of  the  melody  and  lifted  by 
the  loftiness  pi  its  flight. 

Not  till  God  was  incarnated,  took 
upon  Himself  our  flesh  and  our  blood, 


not  till  "the  Word  became  flesh  and 
dwelt  among  us,"  did  the  world  begin 
to  understand  and  appreciate  His  love. 

So,  not  till  we  put  our  faith  into 
good  works,  into  caring  for  the  orphan 
and  the  widow  and  the  afflicted,  into 
aiding  the  helpless,  and  ministering  to 
the  aged  saints,  will  men  be  led  to 
glorify  God.  The  National  Benevo- 
lent Association  is  an  incarnation,  the 
putting  into  flesh  and  blood  the  faith 
of  our  hearts. 

Heart  heresy  is  fatal.  The  heart 
heretic  can  never  see  God.  Are  we 
guilty  ? 


GOING  WITHOUT  RELIGION 

"I  wouldn't  drop  some  chapters  of 
the  Old  Testament,  even,  for  all  the 
science  that  ever  undertook  to  tell  me 
what  it  doesn't  know.  *  *  *  The 
worst  kind  of  religion  is  no  religion  at 
all.  *  *  *  I  fear  that  when  we  in- 
dulge ourselves  in  the  amusement  of 
going  without  religion,  we  are  not,  per- 
haps, aware  how  much  we  are  sus- 
tained by  the  enormous  mass  all  about 
us  of  religious  feeling  and  religious 
conviction,  so  that,  whatever  it  may  be 
safe  for  us  to  think,  for  us  who  have 
had  great  advantages,  and  have  been 
brought  up  in  such  a  way  that  a  cer- 
tain moral  direction  has  been  given  to 
our  character,  I  do  not  know  what 
would  become  of  the  less  favored  class 
if  they  undertook  to  play  the  same 
game." — James  Russell  Lowell. 


My  America 

By  F.  Lewis  Starbuck 


Note  :  Mr.  Starbuck  is  minister  at  Howett  Street  Church,  Peoria.  We  take  pleasure  in  reprinting  the  following  expres- 
sion of  patriotism,  which  we  found  in  the  weekly  publication  of  the  Howett  Street  Church.  We  are  using  it  without  Mr. 
Starbuck's  permission,  but  trust  he  will  pardon  the  transgression,  if  such  it  be. 


MY  America  is  dear  to  me.  Amer- 
ica is  a  strange  land.  To  it 
have  come  strange  peoples  from 
everywhere:  Europe,  Asia,  Africa, 
aye,  and  from  the  islands  of  the  five 
oceans.  The  confusion  of  tongues  at 
the  building  of  the  Tozver  of  Babel 
was  not  more  wonderful  than  the 
polyglot  of  America's  citizenship. 
And,  Lord,  I  would  invite  it  to  be  ever 
so  until  the  cheek  of  every  nation  be 
kissed  rosy  with  the  lips  of  free 
speech,  free  schools,  free  government, 
and  personal  freedom  in  religion  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

The  social  and  commercial  unbear- 
ableness  of  the  over-lords  of  those 
governments,  which  are  the  outgrowth 
of  the  ancient  clan  life,  has  bent  the 
backs  of  men  and  women  to  the  break- 
ing, and  with  their  backs  their  ambi- 
tions and  hopes.  My  America  is 
unique  in  that  her  ideals  are  for  her 
sons  and  daughters.  All  other  gov- 
ernments are  peasant  governments. 
Their  people  must  pass  under  the  yoke 
and  be  obeisant  to  the  ambitions  of 
puppet  suzerains.  My  America  in- 
vites the  courageous  from  these  op- 
pressed people  to  come  to  her  open 
shore,  to  breathe  her  pure  air,  to  im- 
bibe her  rarified  ideals,  and  participate 
in  a  government  of  the  people,  for  the 
people  and  by  the  people. 

My  America  is  dear  to  me  because 
my  ancestor,  Edward  Starbuck,  a  Celt 
from  Wales,  seeking  freedom  and  a 


place  hi  which  to  breathe,  and  think, 
and  build  a  home,  left  the  land  of  his 
fathers,  sailing  from  the  port  of 
Cardiff  and  came  to  this  land  of 
promise  unbroken  with  opportunity 
unlimited.  He  came  sometime  before 
the  year  1630;  for  in  that  year  he 
purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  on 
Nantucket  Island  and  removed  his 
family  from  somewhere  on  the  main- 
land to  his  new  home  on  the  island 
and  it  is  written  and  re-written  in  the 
records  of  the  island's  history.  My 
people  have  fought  for  the  cause  of 
America  in  every  war  waged  upon 
these  shores.  The  blood  of  my  people 
flowed  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars. 
The  earth  at  Quebec  is  enriched  with 
the  bones  of  my  fathers  zvho  died 
there.  In  '"j6,  for  the  love  of  Amer- 
ica, my  great  grandfather  cut  the  last 
tie  that  bound  the  name  of  Starbuck 
to  England  and  cast  his  lot  with  Wash- 
ington and  the  American  patriots.  In 
1S12  he  left  his  boat  in  the  harbor; 
for  he  was  c  apt  am  of  a  whaler,  and 
shouldered  his  musket,  an  old  flintlock 
and  fought  another  battle  for  the  glory 
of  a  free  people.  In  '61  on  both  sides 
of  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line  were 
Starbucks  fighting  for  the  cause  they 
loved.  In  this  war  zvere  six  of  my 
uncles,  and  my  father,  enlisting  three 
times,  served  four  and  one-half  years. 
And  in  none  of  this  did  they  fight  for 
themselves  or  for  power  at  the  ex- 
pense of  their  fellows.  They  fought 
for  America  and  her  freedom. 


America  is  synonymous  with  free- 
dom. And  her  freedom  is  for  all  and 
not  for  a  few.  Her  government  is  set 
tip  by  her  people.  Her  President  is 
one  taken  from  the  ranks,  named  by 
the  people,  to  lead  the  nation  in 
righteousness,  mercy,  and  in  paths  of 
peace.  The  people  are  loyal  to  follozv 
his  lead.  Let  ambitious  men  employ 
such  ignoble  methods  as  they  may  to 
weaken  the  prestige  of  our  President, 
within  the  lines  of  whichever  party, 
and  the  people  as  one  man  will  con- 
demn them.  .The  problems  of  a  nation 
are  too  sacred  to  be  set  aside  to  meet 
the  selfish  purposes  of  office  seekers 
and  the  courtiers  of  the  modern 
chautauqua. 

*     *     * 

The  President  of  the  United  States 
is  not  of  my  political  party,  but  he  is 
the  leader  of  my  people  and  of  the 
country  I  love.  His  ideals  are  my 
ideals.  He  would  pledge  his  life  for 
the  safety  and  security  of  all  Amer- 
icans, regardless  of  the  country  they 
may  have  come  from. 

Where  is  the  patriot  zvho  would 
weaken  his  courage ?  Such  an  one  is 
no  patriot  nor  is  he  made  from  the 
material  which  makes  them.  He  is 
a  traitor  and  disloyal. 

My  America,  thy  cause  has  cost  my 
people  too  much — though  not  too 
much,  though  not  too  great  a  price — 
for  me  to  forsake  thee.  I  love  thee, 
My  America. 


Some  Recent  Books 


The  Great  Valley.  By  Edgar 
Lee  Masters.  Mr.  Masters  won 
world-wide  fame  with  his  very  un- 
usual "Spoon  River  Anthology." 
Some  of  the  poems  in  the  present 
book  are  modeled  after  the  interest- 
ing— but  depressing — epitaphs  of  the 
earlier  collection.  There  is  power  in 
almost  everything  this  author  writes, 
and  beauty  in  some  of  it.  At  any 
rate,  "The  Great  Valley"  is  worth 
buying,  if  only  for  the  three  poems, 
"The  Typical  American,"  "Come,  Re- 
public" and  the  Lincoln  poem,  "Go- 
bineau  to  Tree."  (Macmillan  Com- 
pany, New  York.     $1.50.) 

The  Quest.  By  John  G.  Neihardt. 
Mr.  Neihardt's  earlier  "Song  of  Hugh 
Glass"  struck  out  a  new  path  in  Amer- 
ican poetry.  It  is  an  epic  of  the  great 
Northwest.     The   book    under   notice 


consists  of  sixty  or  more  briefer 
poems,  many  of  them  treating  the 
love  theme.  All  of  them  are  clean-cut 
and  vivid.  There  is  sentiment,  but 
great  strength.  All  lovers  and  stu- 
dents of  poetry  should  follow  the  work 
of  Neihardt.  (Macmillan  Company, 
New  York.     $1.25.) 

Our  Next-Door  Neighbors.  By 
Belle  K.  Maniates.  The  tale  of  five 
healthy  American  youngsters  of  the 
Polydore  family  and  of  the  depreda- 
tions they  made  upon  the  peace  of  the 
neighborhood  into  which  they  moved. 
Many  a  chuckle  here  for  the  man  or 
woman  who  is  weary  with  many  cares. 
The  author  became  popular  with  her 
earlier  story,  "Amarilly  of  Clothes- 
line Alley."  (Little,  Brown  &  Co., 
Boston.     $1.35  net.) 

The    Twenty-Four.     By    George 


Fitch.  A  few  years  ago  several  live 
western  newspapers  conducted  a  cir- 
culation campaign  and  agreed  to  send 
to  Europe  the  twenty-four  girls  who 
secured  the  largest  number  of  new 
subscriptions  to  the  papers.  When 
the  contest  was  over,  the  late  George 
Fitch,  humorist,  was  appointed  to 
escort  "the  twenty-four"  on  their  trip. 
This  book  is  a  story  of  their  adven- 
tures, and  is  entertaining  reading. 
(Little,  Brown  &  Co.  Boston.  $1.25 
net.) 

Oh  Mary  Be  Careful  ! — By  George 
Weston.  A  delightful,  witty  and 
sweet  story  for  busy  and  tired  people 
with  but  little  margin  of  time  for  light 
reading.  The  rich  aunt  was  fond  of 
the  girl  and  gave  her  three  tests  by 
which  to  judge  claimants  for  her  hand. 
(J.  B.  Lippincott  Co.,  Philadelphia.) 


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The    Larger    Christian   World 


|   A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 

Illllllll 


Convention  of 
Religious  Liberals 

There  was  held  in  Pittsburgh  re- 
cently the  National  Convention  of  Re- 
ligious Liberals.  Membership  in  this 
organization  was  once  confined  to 
such  denominations  as  the  Unitarian 
and  the  Universalis^  but  now  nearly 
every  evangelical  denomination  is 
represented.  Prominent  among  the 
speakers  was  Dr.  Frederick  B.  Lynch, 
who  has  been  favorably  known  for  his 
writings  on  social  topics  and  the  peace 
question. 

Old  Publication 
Gets  New  Editors 

The  Presbyterian  Banner  has  been 
published  in  Pittsburgh  for  more  than 
a  hundred  years.  It  has  recently  ex- 
perienced a  change  in  business  organ- 
ization and  with  the  new  ownership 
will  come  a  new  group  of  editors. 
These  are  Dr.  Joseph  T.  Gibson  and 
Rev.  W.  A.  Kinter. 

Ask  Ministers  About 
Sunday  Theaters 

The  manager  of  the  Pitt  Theater 
in  Pittsburgh  has  recently  sent  a  let- 
ter to  the  ministers  of  the  city  seeking 
to  know  their  attitude  toward  opening 
the  theaters  of  the  city  on  Sunday, 
which  has  never  been  the  practice  of 
the  city.  There  has  been  a  determined 
resistance  on  the  part  of  the  ministers 
and  the  Presbyterian  ministers'  meet- 
ing has  appointed  a  committee  which 
is  charged  with  working  against  the 
proposal  to  give  the  city  Sunday 
amusements. 

Churches  Study  an 
Industrial  Section 

The  Protestant  churches  in  Chicago 
no  longer  compete,  but  cooperate  in 
the  work  of  city  missions,  thanks  to 
the  Cooperative  Council  of  City  Mis- 
sions, composed  of  committees  from 
the  various  denominational  city  mis- 
sionary societies.  The  people  in 
South  Chicago  recently  asked  for  a 
survey  of  their  section,  which  would 
indicate  the  forward  steps  which 
should  be  taken.  A  portion  of  the  re- 
port was  a  recommendation  to  the 
Disciples  to  move  into  a  new  and 
rapidly  growing  section  and  erect  a 
new  building  there. 

John  R.  Mott 

Popular  With  Students 

Dr.  John  R.  Mott  has  produced  a 
profound  impression  at  the  University 
of    Wisconsin,    where    he    has    been 


speaking  recently.  The  student 
pastors  and  counselors  of  the  various 
denominational  groups  in  the  state 
university  have  assisted  him  most 
loyally.  Big  mass  meetings  were  held 
and  these  were  attended  by  throngs 
of  from  one  thousand  to  twenty-five 
hundred  students.  There  were  special 
meetings  in  fraternities  and  club 
houses.  The  coming  of  Mr.  Mott  was 
timed  in  such  a  way  as  to  assist  in 
the  preparations  for  the  Biederwolf 
campaign  which  will  open  soon  in 
Madison. 

An  Anti-Suicide 
Bureau 

The  increasing  number  of  suicides 
and  attempted  suicides  in  the  cities 
has  led  the  Salvation  Army  to  open  a 
very  peculiar  department  of  work  in 
Chicago.  They  have  a  refuge  where 
people  contemplating  suicide  are  in- 
vited to  go.  In  the  past  few  years 
two  hundred  and  fifty  people  have  ap- 
plied to  this  department  and  have  been 
restored  to  life  and  hope.  The  Salva- 
tion Army  is  engaged  in  a  number  of 
most  commendable  tasks  not  generally 
known  to  the  public.  There  is  a 
missing  friends  department  which  has 
brought  fifteen  hundred  people  to- 
gether. The  rescue  and  maternity 
home  has  provided  shelter  for  3,000 
girls  and  1,700  babies  have  been  born 
in  this  home.  It  is  service  like  this 
which  has  given  the  army  its  deserved 
popularity. 

A  Christian  for 
Ninety-three  Years 

It  is  doubtful  if  anyone  in  America 
has  been  a  member  of  the  church 
longer  than  Mrs.  Abigail  Morrill,  who 
is  a  member  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  West  Newbury, 
Mass.  She  was  108  years  old  on 
March  1  and  has  been  a  Christian  for 
ninety-three  years.  On  her  birthday 
she  received  her  friends.  Mrs.  Mer- 
rill still  enjoys  physical  health  and 
mental  vigor. 

Bishop  Protests 
Dancing  in  Schools 

Bishop  M.  S.  Hughes  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  recently  de- 
livered a  sermon  in  Pasadena,  Cal., 
dealing  with  the  promotion  of  the 
social  dance  in  the  public  schools  of 
the  country.  This  sermon  has  been 
published  by  the  Methodist  Book 
Concern  and  is  being  widely  circulated 
throughout  the  country. 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN  1 


!ll!llllllllllllll!llll;ll!l!!!ll!llii:ii!l!l!IIII 


Films  for  the 
Churches 

The  growing  demand  for  motion 
picture  films  suitable  for  use  in  the 
churches  has  led  to  the  organization 
of  a  $300,000  company  in  Los  Angeles, 
Cal.,  for  the  production  of  high  grade 
motion  pictures.  One  of  the  first 
photo  dramas  to  be  produced  will  be 
Hall  and  Sumner's  comedy,  "Wet  and 
Dry." 

Visiting  the 
Colleges 

Bishop  Stuntz  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  is  giving  special  at- 
tention to  the  visiting  of  Methodist 
colleges.  He  not  only  speaks  at  chapel 
but  to  groups  at  dinner  tables,  and  the 
results  have  been  very  favorable. 
Students  are  being  converted  and 
others  are  won  to  give  their  lives  to 
Christian  work. 

Congregationalists  Study 
Church-going 

The  influences  that  lead  men  to  go 
to  church  or  to  stay  at  home  have  been 
given  a  careful  and  scientific  study  by 
the  Social  Service  Department  of  the 
Congregational  churches.  During  the 
past  five  years  observations  have  been 
made  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 
In  Tennessee  twenty  per  cent  do  not 
attend;  in  Missouri,  twenty-eight  per 
cent;  in  Kansas,  forty-five  per  cent, 
and  in  Maine  sixty-five  per  cent. 
There  seems  to  be  better  church  at- 
tendance in  communities  where  hell 
fire  is  preached.  However,  it  is 
shown  that  non-church-going  is  more 
a  characteristic  of  the  illiterate  man 
than  of  the  college  man.  Of  the  col- 
lege men  studied,  only  three  per  cent 
stayed  at  home;  of  those  with  high 
school  training,  ten  per  cent ;  of  those 
with  common  school  training,  twenty- 
six  per  cent,  and  of  the  illiterate, 
sixty-one  per  cent.  It  is  found  that 
lodge  men  are  more  apt  to  go  to 
church  than  others. 

An  Effective 
Electric  Sign 

One  of  the  most  impressive  electric 
signs  in  the  country  is  said  to  be  that 
of  the  Central  Union  Mission  in 
Washington,  D.  C.  There  is  a  sign 
with  a  gospel  slogan  which  outlines 
against  the  sky  the  gospel  message 
night  after  night.  This  mission  has 
over  thirty-one  years  of  history  and 
has  been  of  great  helpfulness  in  the 
city  life. 


I    Social  Interpretations 

ili!lll!lllllllllllllllll!l!lllltll!ll! 


Taking  Our  Part  in  the  World 


THOMAS  Jefferson  expressed  the 
>vish  that  the  Atlantic  were  a 
sea  of  fire  to  separate  us  from 
the  countries  of  Europe  with  their 
monarchism,  militarism  and  traditions. 
Jefferson  was  so  eager  for  the 
democracy  which  his  fertile  brain  was 
fructifying  for  this  country  that  he 
unduly  feared  the  influences  of  Europe 
upon  us.  The  two  oceans  have 
hitherto  been  our  main  defense  against 
Old  World  intrusions,  but  steam  and 
electricity  have  abolished  the  oceans 
as  effective  barriers  and  walls  of  iso- 
lation. We  can  no  longer  keep  our- 
selves apart  from  the  problems  of  the 
Old  World.  The  easy  transmission 
of  commerce,  intelligence  and  travel- 
ers has  njade  it  both  impossible  and 
undesirable.  President  Wilson  de- 
clares we  can  never  be  neutral  in  an- 
other world-war;  our  interests  are  so 
inextricably  interwoven  with  the  in- 
terests of  other  nations  that  we  will 
perforce  be  drawn  in. 

This  has  led  some  students  of  his- 
tory, political  science  and  commerce, 
together  with  many  whose  larger 
patriotism  reaches  only  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race,  to  advocate  that  we  should 
join  with  England  in  the  balance-of- 
power  schemes  that  so  long  have 
ruled,  and  at  last  threaten  to  wreck 
European  civilization.  These  men  de- 
clare the  time  has  come  to  forsake 
Washington's  warning  regarding  en- 
tangling alliances.  But  does  it  follow 
that  because  we  must  take  a  larger 
part  in  world  affairs  that  we  must 
therefore  abandon  the  warning  of  the 
father  of  his  country  regarding  en- 
tangling alliances,  especially  if  we  put 
emphasis  upon  the  word  entangling? 
There  is  certainly  a  vast  difference 
between  making  treaties  for  the 
promotion  of  peace,  or  even  uniting  in 
a  league  to  enforce  peace,  both  of 
which  are  alliances  with  a  forward 
look,  and  turning  the  dial  of  progress 
backward  by  making  entangling  alli- 
ances with  England,  or  England  and 
France,  upon  the  basis  of  discredited 
Old  World  balance-of-power  policies. 
In  other  words,  let  us  make  alliances 
solely  for  the  sake  of  promoting  peace, 
but  beware,  as  we  would  of  destruc- 
tion, of  those  entangling  alliances  that 
would  draw  us  into  such  quarrels  as 
the  balance-of-power  arrangements 
have  brought  to  a  focus  in  the  present 
European  cataclysm. 


The  Menace  of  the 
Military  Mind 

One  of  the  leaders  of  English 
thought,  Mr.  S.  K.  Ratcliffe,  editor  of 
the  London  Sociological  Review,  is  at 
present  in  this  country  and  has  been 
addressing  university  and  other  au- 
diences far  and  wide.  He  says  with- 
out hesitation  that  our  present  state 
of  mind  is  dangerously  military  and 
that  he,  loyal  Englishman  though  he 
is,  deplores  it  as  the  most  tragic  thing 
that  has  appeared  in  America.  We 
are  in  greater  danger  today  from 
military-mindedness  than  we  are  from 
either  Germany  or  Japan.  To  imagine 
oneself  back  ten  years  and  from  that 
dispassionate  vantage  point  to  review 
the  demand  for  universal  and  con- 
scripted military  training  in  this  coun- 
try convinces  one  of  the  truth  of  this 
declaration.  Ten  years  ago  a  proposi- 
tion for  conscripted  military  training 
of  our  youth  would  have  been  received 
with  a  commingling  of  horror  and 
ridicule.  Today  it  is  feverishly  ad- 
vocated by  many  of  our  publicists, 
statesmen  and  educators.  We  are  in 
much  less  danger  of  war  today  and 
will  be  for  fifty  years  to  come  than  we 
were  before  this  war  broke  out.  The 
whole  movement  is  a  study  in  that 
phase  of  crowd  psychology  which 
gathers  momentum  across  whole  na- 
tions and  populations  in  times  of  such 
stress  as  the  war  has  put  on  the  world. 
We  are  receiving  the  back-wash  from 
Europe's  military  typhoon. 

The  extent  to  which  this  militaristic 
feverishness  is  seizing  upon  us  is  well 
illustrated  by  a  recent  incident  in 
Columbia  University.  Now,  if  there 
is  any  spot  in  a  modern  civilization 
where  reason  should  rule  instead  of 
prejudice  and  unreason,  it  ought  to 
be  on  a  university  campus ;  yet  recently 
when  a  student  association  arranged 
for  Count  Tolstoi  to  give  his  address 
on  the  life  and  work  of  his  illustrious 
father,  the  head  of  the  Slavic  depart- 
ment closed  the  doors  of  the  institu- 
tion against  him  upon  a  plea  that  he 
feared  the  utterances  of  this  noted 
Russian,  who  has  two  sons  fighting  in 
the  Russian  army,  might  weaken  pa- 
triotic sentiment  among  the  students, 
and  President  Nicholas  Murray  But- 
ler, who  hitherto  has  been  one  of  the 
foremost  promoters  of  peace  ideas, 
stood  by  his  professor  instead  of  his 
students.  Count  Tolstoi  said  he  was 
not  in  the  least  insulted  personally  by 
the  incident,  because  he  felt  that  the 
authorities  had  insulted  their  own  in- 


telligence much  more  than  they  had 
him,  by  refusing  the  privilege  of  giv- 
ing their  students  a  lecture  which  he 
has  given  repeatedly  in  Russia  since 
the  war  broke  out,  and  to  audiences 
totaling  tens  of  thousands.  He 
thought  it  was  something  of  an  irony 
that  he  should  be  compelled  to  return 
to  Russia,  which  is  so  roundly  repro- 
bated in  this  country  for  denying 
freedom  of  speech,  and  tell  his  audi- 
ences on  every  occasion  when  he  de- 
livered this  lecture  that  the  most 
numerously-attended  seat  of  learning 
in  America,  .the  land  of  boasted  free 
speech,  had  refused  to  listen  to  him. 
And  as  if  this  were  not  military  ob- 
session enough,  the  Outlook,  edited 
by  one  of  the  foremost  expositors  of 
the  Prince  of  Peace  produced  by 
America,  justifies  the  action  of  the 
university  authorities,  and  this  in  the 
face  of  the  fact  that  Count  Tolstoi's 
lecture  was  delivered  in  many  places 
in  the  United  States  and  was  found 
upon  no  instance  to  contain  anything 
whatsoever  subversive  of  patriotism. 


What  Kind  of 
Preparedness? 

Facing  the  necessity  of  prepared- 
ness as  we  do,  the  main  question  is 
as  to  what  kind  of  preparedness  we 
shall  adopt.  The  logic  of  the  military 
advocate  is  undeniable  if  we  admit  his 
premise.  If  there  has  suddenly  arisen 
grave  dangers  from  both  the  seas  or 
if  the  dangers  have  long  been  there 
and  will  grow  greater,  then  of  course 
the  logic  of  the  situation  is  a  prepared- 
ness so  vast  that  it  can  meet  military 
nations  like  Germany  and  Japan  upon 
their  own  grounds,  and  we  may  have 
resort  to  the  same  devices  they  use. 
that  is,  universal  and  conscripted 
military  training.  But  with  Germany 
all  but  prostrate,  and  with  reason 
enough  to  recognize  that  Japan  pos- 
sesses less  than  half  of  the  naval 
strength  and  not  a  tithe  of  our 
economic  strength,  and  with  sym- 
pathetic appreciation  enough  of  her 
national  mind  to  see  that  she  in  no 
wise  desires  war  with  us,  we  cannot 
acknowledge  their  premise. 

Just  to  what  extent  our  prepared- 
ness should  go  is  too  critical  a  ques- 
tion to  be  settled  in  our  present  state 
of  mind  and  under  the  stress  and  bias 
of  a  world  war.  It  is  an  undeniable 
fact  that  the  militarists  are  exerting 
every  ounce  of  energy  they  possess  to 
put  their  program  over  before  the 
war  ends,  because  they  know  that  a 
calm-minded,  dispassionate  America 
will  never  go  their  lengths.     To  for- 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  22,  1917 


sake  the  policy  of  more  than  a  century 
and  adopt  conscripted  universal  train- 
ing is  a  serious  business.  It  may  be 
the  correct  program,  but  we  are  not 
at  the  present  time  competent  to 
judge  regarding  it,  and  certainly  there 
is  no  immediate  danger  facing  us  that 
demands  it  as  an  emergency.  It  could 
do  no  good  in  the  present  war  if  we 
are  drawn  into  it,  and  it  is  only  by  a 
wild  fantasy  that  anyone  can  see  a 
war  for  us  immediately  following:  this 
war.  England  stood  under  the  menace 
of  German  militarism  for  forty  years, 
and  neither  the  prayers  of  Lord 
Roberts  nor  the  lashings  of  Lord 
Kitchener  and  their  followers  could 
induce  the  Englishman  to  surrender 
his  precious  heritage  of  democracy  to 
the  dangers  conscription  would  bring. 
He  depended  upon  his  navy  to  defend 
his  shores  in  the  case  of  any  emer- 
gency, until  his  army  could  be  trained. 
Rather  than  surrender  ourselves  to 
the  evils  of  universal  and  conscripted 
military  training,  had  we  not  better 
provide  a  standing  army  of  four  or 
five  hundred  thousand  men,  with 
short  terms  of  enlistment  and  a  long 
term  on  the  reserve  list?  Such  a 
standing  army  could  be  provided  if 
sufficient  wages  were  paid,  and  it 
would  serve  at  all  times  to  take  up 
the  slack  in  the  casual  labor  world  as 
well  as  to  provide  a  standing  army  of 
reserves  for  emergency  defense. 

In  the  meanwhile  there  are  other 
forms  of  preparedness  that  demand 
emphatic  attention,  such  as,  for  in- 
stance, the  conscription  of  profits, 
both  on  war  supplies  in  times  of  peace 
and  upon  all  the  profiteers  whom  war 
would  enrich  otherwise  in  times  of 
war.  Let  us  arrange  for  conscription 
of  excess  profits  before  we  adopt  the 
Prussian  idea  of  conscription  for  our 
youth.  Again,  such  national  control 
of  the  transportation  system  as  to 
prevent  a  complete  paralysis  in  the 
movement  of  armies  is  another  type 
of  preparedness  that  stands  us  in  hand 
before  we  talk  of  such  radical  Old 
World  and  monarchical  devices  as 
conscripted  training.  Finally,  let  us 
face  the  sober  issue  regarding  the 
amount  of  training  that  would  be  re- 
quired under  any  system.  The  Cham- 
berlain bill  calls  for  six  months,  and 
the  war  college  demands  a  year,  but 
the  Germans,  the  best  military  trainers 
in  the  world,  believe  three  years  the 
minimum  requisite.  If  they  and  their 
imitators  are  the  ones  we  are  to  meet, 
can  we  meet  them  with  a  less  efficient 
soldiery  than  they  possess?  France 
had  two  years'  training  until  the 
Prussian  menace  loomed  so  high  that 
she  adopted  the  German  plan  of  three 
years,  in  order  to  meet  Prussia  upon 
her  own  grounds.  If  we  are  going  to 
adopt  the  Prussian  plan,  let  us  also 
adopt  the  Prussian  method  and  be 
consistent.     We  may  be  well  assured 


that  if  we  do  adopt  the  Prussian  plan 
and  method  our  gravest  danger  is  not 
the  Prussians,  but  Prussianization. 

*    •*     * 

Pacifism  But 
Not  Passivism 

The  emphasis  is  being  put  in  the 
wrong  place.  The  military  mind  is 
not  so  much  concerned  with  peace  as 
with  nationalism.  Those  who  are  so 
ardently  advocating  universal  con- 
scription have  little  to  say  about  the 
newer  ideals  of  peace  and  of  a  na- 
tionalism that  puts  humanity  and  uni- 
versal justice  ahead  of  "national 
glory."  Every  argument  for  pre- 
paredness should  be  based  upon  a  plea 
for  universal  peace;  the  emphasis 
needed  is  PEACE,  not  war,  and  thus 
of  preparation  to  enforce  peace.  Those 
sinuous  generalizations  of  "honor," 
"national  dignity"  and  "destiny"  are 
terms  that  demand  definition;  they 
could  lead  us  into  war  just  as  they 
once  led  individuals  into  duels;  let  us 
concrete  the  issue  into  such  specific 
and  definable  terms  as  JUSTICE  and 
HUMANITY  and  live  by  the  slogans 


of  the  newer  ideals  of  peace  rather 
than  by  those  of  the  older  ideals  of  a 
narrow  nationalism. 

If  we  are  fervently  desirous  of  in- 
ternational peace  we  will  provide 
against  the  nations  that  break  it  just 
as  we  do  against  the  anti-social  ele- 
ments and  outlaws  that  break  our 
community  peace,  but  it  will  be  in  con- 
crete terms  of  law  and  justice  and 
not  in  the  hollow  terms  of  so-called 
"honor"  and  "dignity."  And  we  will 
devote  ourselves  as  energetically  and 
as  clamorously  to  organizing  and  pre- 
paring for  peace  as  we  do  to  prepara- 
tion for  national  defense  and  war.  In 
other  words  the  great  issue  is  not  war, 
but  peace  with  war  as  a  last  resort  to 
secure  and  enforce  the  newer  ideal  of 
peace.  We  will  be  ardent  pacifists,  but 
not  passivists — pacifists  who  hold  war 
in  no  more  glory  than  we  do  police 
business  and  penal  activities,  but 
willing  to  wage  it  for  the  sake  of  peace 
to  the  world  and  justice  to  all,  not 
passivists  who  resign  meekly  to  any 
wrong  rather  than  use  force.  The 
passivist,  not  the  pacifist,  is  the  other 
extreme  from  the  militarist. 


illlliilllllllllllllllllllllllllllliii 

I  Disciples  Table  Talk  | 


Get-Together  Meetings  at 
Colorado  Springs 

First  Church,  Colorado  Springs,  Colo... 
under  the  leadership  of  Claire  L.  Waite, 
has  just  closed  a  "get-together"  pro- 
tracted meeting,  in  which  the  pastor  did 
the  preaching  and  P.  H.  Edwards,  a 
member  of  the  congregation,  led  the 
singing.  The  chief  purpose  of  the  meet- 
ings, writes  Mr.  Waite,  was  to  intensify 
the  church  life.  There  were  eighty-four 
additions,  of  these  fifty-four  coming  by 
confession  of  their  faith.  An  every- 
member  canvass  will  be  made  next  Sun- 
day at  this  church. 

Auto  Service  at 
Mason  City,  la. 

A  regular  auto  service  has  been  inaug- 
urated at  Mason  City,  la.,  under  the  su- 
pervision of  the  church  there,  with  a 
view  to  making  it  possible  for  Sunday 
school  members  in  outlying  districts  of 
the  town  to  attend  the  services  regu- 
larly. W.  T.  Fisher,  pastor  at  Mason 
City,  believes  that  this  plan  will  be  help- 
ful, and  the  expense  of  the  "bus  line"  is 
willingly  borne  by  the  Sunday  school. 

Union  Pre-Easter  Services 
at  Indianapolis 

Edgar  D.  Jones  of  First  Church, 
Bloomington,  111.,  has  accepted  an  invi- 
tation from  the  church  federation  of  In- 
dianapolis to  hold  a  week  of  down-town 
noon  meetings  in  that  city  during  the 
week  preceding  Easter.  The  Protestant 
churches  of  Indianapolis  are  back  of  this 
annua!  pre-Easter  series  of  services.  Dr. 
Jones  will  speak  each  noon  during  the 
week  except  Saturday  at  a  local  theater. 
In  the  evenings  he  will  speak,  from  the 
pulpit  of  one  of  the  down-town  churches. 
This  season  will  be  the  fourth  year  that 


the  church  federation  of  the  city  has  ar-j 
ranged    such    services    for    the    Easter 
season. 

Union  Revivals  at 
Terre  Haute,  Ind. 

Charles  H.  Winders  of  Downey  Ave- 
nue Church,  Indianapolis,  was  invited  to 
explain  the  church  federation  plan  of 
revival  to  the  leaders  of  the  Terre  Haute, 
Ind.,  federation  of  churches  early  this 
month.  The  success  of  such  a  plan  at 
Indianapolis  made  it  possible  for  Mr 
Winders  to  give  practical  advice  to  the 
sister  city,  which  is  looking  forward  to 
the  promotion  of  similar  meetings  at; 
Terre  Haute.  Mr.  Winders  was  intro- 
duced by  J.  Boyd  Jones  of  Central 
Church,  Terre  Haute.  Mr.  Jones  is 
chairman  of  the  social  service  commit- 
tee of  the  campaign.  The  meetings  were 
planned  to  begin  on  last  Sunday. 

All-Day  Prayer  Meeting  at 
Muncie,  Ind. 

An  all-day  prayer  meeting  is  rather 
an  unusual  feature  in  church  work,  but 
the  plan  proved  very  successful  as  pro- 
moted at  Jackson  Street  Church,  Mun- 
cie, Ind.,  in  which  field  F.  E.  Smith  min- 
isters. The  men's  class  conducted  a 
meeting  at  5:45  a.  m.  Other  classes  had 
sessions  at  7:15  and  9:15.  The  Ladies' 
Aid  had  charge  at  10  a.  m.  and  at  noon 
another  Bible  class.  At  2  p.  m.  the  C.  W. 
B.  M.  met  in  prayer,  at  3:30  the  Flower 
Mission,  and  at  4:15  the  school  children 
were  led  in  a  meeting  by  one  of  the 
church  women.  The  last  period,  that  at 
7:30,  was  a  fellowship  service  for  the 
entire  church.  The  general  public  was 
welcomed  at  all  these  services,  and  many 
persons  from  outside  the  church  at- 
tended. 


March  22,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


Great  Addresses  Before 
Lincoln  (Neb.)  Brotherhood 

At  the  March  Brotherhood  supper  at 
First  Church,  Lincoln,  Neb.,  about  fifty 
men  were  present.  Lieutenant-Governor 
Howard  made  an  address  on  "Christian 
Character  and  Christian  Service."  A 
helpful  evening  of  fellowship  was  en- 
joyed and  plans  were  made  for  a  banquet 
in  April,  at  which  time  Charles  S.  Med- 
bury  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  and  Judge 
Haymaker  of  Wichita,  Kansas,  will  de- 
liver addresses. 

Quarterly  Assembly  of 
Chicago  Disciples 

The  quarterly  assembly  of  the  Dis- 
ciple churches  of  Chicago  will  meet  on 
next  Sunday  afternoon  at  3  p.  m.  at  the 


unif  tin  n  >/  A  Church  Home  for  You. 

NtW  YLSH K  Write  Dr-  Finis  Idleman, 
Ilk II    I  UNIX  M2  Wegt  81st  gt     N  Y 


First  Methodist  Church,  corner  Wash- 
ington and  Clark  streets.  The  feature 
of  the  program  will  be  an  address  by 
H.  H.  Peters,  Illinois  State  secretary,  on 
the  subject,  "A  New  State  and  District 
Program."  Delegations  will  sit  in  sec- 
tion indicated  by  standard.  The  largest 
delegation  will  be  announced.  The 
meeting  will  begin  on  time  and  close  at 
4:45.  All  delegations  are  requested  to 
be  punctual. 

Dual  Celebration  at 
Chicago  Heights,  111. 

Chicago  Heights  congregation  cele- 
brated the  fourteenth  anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  the  church  on  Washington's 
birthday  with  a  successful  dual  celebra- 
tion. During  the  day  the  Chicago  and 
Calumet  Evangelistic  Association  was  in 
session  at  the  church  and  in  the  evening 
there  was  a  large  crowd  present,  mem- 
bers both  of  the  Chicago  Heights  and 
the  Harvey  congregations.  Letters 
were  read  by  Pastor  A.  I.  Zeller  from 
former  Pastors  Tucker,  Lockhart  and 
Salkeld,  congratulating  the  congrega- 
tion on  its  success.  C.  M.  Smithson,  of 
the  Harvey  church,  known  as  the  "living 
link"  of  Chicago  Heights,  spoke  of  the 
work  at  Harvey.  Postmaster  Stolte,  of 
Chicago  Heights,  talked  on  Washington, 
and  the  mayor  followed  in  a  stimulating 
word  of  congratulation.  A  fine  flag  was 
presented  to  the  church  by  the  "Kindred 
Girls,"  one  of  the  organizations  of  the 
church.  Mr.  Zeller  spoke  in  terms  of 
high  appreciation  of  the  work  of  C.  G. 
Kindred,  of  Englewood,  for  the  church 
at  Chicago  Heights.  He  also  announced 
that  there  was  $1,300  on  hand  to  pay  on 
the  church  debt.  Mr.  Kindred  followed 
with  a  powerful  address,  lamenting  the 
differences  between  the  servants  of 
Christ  and  looking  forward  to  a  time 
when  there  would  be  absolute  harmony. 
Rev.  Carpenter  of  Indiana  Harbor  of- 
fered the  benediction.  Chicago  Heights 
is  to  be  congratulated  on  the  rapid  prog- 
ress being  made  there.  Since  January 
1  there  have  been  twenty-one  accessions 
to  the  membership.  Many  of  the  mem- 
bers are  tithers,  and  there  "is  much  spirit- 
ual growth.  Recently  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Col- 
lins have  been  employed  as  Mr.  Zeller's 
assistants;  they  live  at  the  church  and 
are  proving  very  helpful.  Mr.  Zeller  has 
been^ honored  with  the  following  offices: 
President  of  the  Humane  Society;  di- 
rector of  the  Carnegie  Library,  the 
United  Charities  and  the  Visiting  Nurse 
Association;  chairman  of  the  Anti-Tu- 
berculosis Committee.  He  has  recently 
accepted  an  invitation  to  accompany  the 


Royal  Baking  Powder  makes  it  possible  to  pro- 
duce appetizing  and  wholesome  cakes,  muffins, 
cornbread,  etc.,  with  fewer  eggs  than  are  usually 
required. 

In  many  recipes  the  number  of  eggs  may  be  re- 
duced and  excellent  results  obtained  by  adding 
an  additional  quantity  of  Royal  Baking  Powder, 
about  a  teaspoon,  for  each  egg  omitted.  The 
following  tested  recipe  is  a  practical  illustration: 


1  cup  sugar 
V%  cup  water 

3  eggs 

2  teaspoons  Royal  Baking  Powder 
1  cup  flour 
1  teaspoon  salt 

Kg  cup  cold  water 
1  teaspoon  flavoring 


SPONGE  CAKE 

DIRECTIONS:— Boll  sugar  and  water 
until  syrup  spins  a  thread  and  add  to  the 
stiffly  beaten  whites  of  eggs,  beating  until 
the  mixture  is  cold.  Sift  together  three 
times  the  flour,  salt  and  baking  powder; 
beat  yolks  of  eggs  until  thick;  add  a  little 
at  a  time  flour  mixture  and  egg  yolks 
alternately  to  white  of  egg  mixture,  stir- 
ring after  each  addition.  Add  %  cup  cold 
water  and  flavoring.  Mix  lightly  and 
bake  in  moderate  oven  one  hour. 


The  old  method  called  for  6  eggs 
and  no  baking  powder 

ROYAL 


ING  POWDER 


Made  from  Cream  of  Tartar,  derived  from  grapes, 
adds   none  but   healthful  qualities  to  the   food. 


No  Alum 


No  Phosphate 


county  commissioner  and  the  mayor  to 
look  over  Oak  Forest  Sanitarium. 

Disciples'  Commission  on 
Federation 

The  Commission  on  Federation  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  consists  of  Finis  S. 
Idleman,  New  York;  Judge  F.  A.  Henry, 
Cleveland;  J.  H.  Goldner,  Cleveland;  B. 
A.  Abbott,  St.  Louis,  and  E.  M.  Bow- 
man, Chicago.  The  Association  for  the 
Promotion  of  Christian  Unity  is  divided 
into  four  commissions,  namely:  Com- 
mission on  Christian  Unity  in  General, 
Commission  on  Federation,  Commission 
on  World  Conference  and  Commission 
on  International  Friendship.  The  com- 
mission named  is  the  Commission  on 
Federation.  This  commission  will  have 
its  dealings  directly  with  the  Federal 
Council,  and  to  Mr.  Idleman,  as  chair- 
man, all  matters  concerning  the  Dis- 
ciples along  this  line  should  be  directed, 
his  address  being  375  Central  Park 
West,  New  York  City. 

Marion  (O.)  Newspaper  Appreciates 
Disciples  Minister 

For  several  years  C.  A.  Pearce  has 
been  leading  the  church  at  Marion,  O., 
and  recently  the  congregation  has  elected 
Mr.  Pearce  for  another  year.  The 
Marion  Tribune  takes  occasion  to  pub- 
lish a  half-column  editorial  on  the  work 
of  this  leader  and  his  wife.  Because  it 
is  too  often  true  that  the  minister  is  not 


appreciated  until  after  he  has  gone,  we 
think  it  worth  while  to  reprint  just  a  few 
of  these  golden  words  of  the  Ohio  paper 
for  the  man  who  is  still  "on  the  job": 
"We  sit  down  here  this  minute  to  write 
to  you  men  and  women  who  are  respon- 
sible for  persuading  Rev.  Mr.  Pearce  to 
remain  in  Marion,  extending  to  you  our 
sincere  gratitude  for  your  good  judg- 
ment. You  have  not  only  added  to  the 
high  esteem  in  which  your  churchy  is 
already  held,  but  in  taking  this  action 
you,  as  a  church,  have  made  it  possible 
for  Marion  to  have  the  services  of  a  gen- 
tleman who  really  belongs  to  us  all.  He 
is  the  kind  of  man  the  church  needs  and 
he  is  the  kind  of  man  the  whole  com- 
munity needs.  This  is  written  of  a  man 
who  is  endowed  with  those  rare  quali- 
ties of  tact,  poise  and  leadership  that 
have  endeared  him  to  every  man,  woman 
and  child  fortunate  enough  to  know  him. 
And  the  big  thing  that  stands  out  in 
everything  he  does  is  the  eloquent  fact 
that  he  lives  daily  the  sermons  he 
preaches.  It  is  not  difficult  to  under- 
stand why  such  a  man  is  a  favorite  with 
everybody.  And  don't  overlook  the 
quiet,  constructive  work  that  this  man's 
wife   is   doing  in    Marion,   either.     It  is 


CHURCH  EBQ3  SCHOOL 


Ask   for  Catalogue  and'Speolal    Donation  Plan  No.  27 

^Established  1858) 

THE  C.  S.  BELL   COMPANY        •  HILLSBORO,  OHIO 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


March  22,  1917 


Mercy — Organized  and  Efficient 

Individual,  impulsive  pity  may,  and  often  does,  find  expression  that  does  more  harm  than  good  to  its 
object.  Even-body  has  at  hand  numerous  instances  of  children  spoiled  for  life  by  the  mistaken  kindness 
of  indulgent  parents  and  guardians.  Promiscuous  street-charity  is  the  same  thing  in  another  relation.  Nor 
do  we  get  away  from  the  human  tendency  to  allow  the  softening  of  our  hearts  to  extend  to  our  heads 
when  a  number  of  us  unite  in  establishing  an  institution  of  mercy.  While  it  is  always  in  danger  of  losing 
the  quality  of  mercy  and  becoming  cold  and  mechanical,  it  may  also  run  to  the  other  extreme  and  be  gov- 
erned by  the  emotions  of  its  officers. 

The  National  Benevolent  Association  of  the  Christian 

Church  Avoids  Extremes 

The  National  Benevolent  Association  of  the  Christian  Church  commends  itself  to  those  who  know 
its  history  of  thirty-two  years  most  intimately  and  examine  its  records  and  administration  most  critically 
for  its  success  in  avoiding  both  extremes.  This  would  be  worth  while  if  it  meant  only  the  saving  of  the 
funds  that  generous  men  and  women  have  consecrated  to  such  service  as  it  represents;  but  it  means  also 
the  saving  of  human  lives  and  immortal  souls.  It  requires  clear  discrimination  and  courageous  control 
to  compel  the  sick  and  maimed  and  aged  who  come  into  its  institutions  to  help  themselves  just  as  far 
as  they  can,  but  is  not  only  best  for  them;  it  also  makes  it  possible  to  help  twice  as  many.  Tremendous 
appeal  could  be  made  to  superficial  visitors  to  orphanages  by  keeping  in  them  the  largest  possible  numbers 
of  attractive  children,  but  the  steadfast  rule  is  to  get  these  children  out  into  Christian  family  homes, 
where  they  can  have  normal  care,  prove  a  blessing  to  their  foster  parents,  and  leave  the  institution  free 
to  minister  to  a  succession  of  others. 

A  Record  of  Distinction 

To  have  made  such  a  record  in  one  place  would  have  been  a  rare  distinction,  but  to  have  maintained 
it  throughout  the  brotherhood  and  in  thirteen  institutions  is  really  glorious,  especially  when  we  realize 
that  this  means  not  only  the  wise  guidance  of  such  various  and  sometimes  conflicting  interests,  but  also 
the  prevention  of  ill-advised  ventures,  while  giving  the  strong  hand  of  help  where  success  was  possible. 
It's  good  to  have  a  NATIONAL  Benevolent  Association.  Help  it  April  8th  with  a  generous  Easter 
offering.     Note  the  address,  2955  N.  Euclid  Ave.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

W.  R.  WARREN. 


the  hope  of  the  Tribune  that  these  two 
people  will  permit  Marion  the  pleasure 
and  profit  of  their  leadership  indefinitely, 
for  they  are  two  of  Marion's  most  useful 
citizens." 

*     *     * 

— C.  R.  Scoville  and  his  party  preached 
to  nearly  75,000  persons  in  two  weeks  of 
the  union  meetings  at  Fresno,  Cal.  Dur- 
ing the  first  six  days  of  invitation  there 
were  1,235  confessions,  letter  bearers, 
etc.  An  addition  seating  600  was  made 
to  the  original  tabernacle,  which  seated 
4,000. 

— D.  A.  Wetzel  started  on  his  fourth 
year  at  Pittsfield,  111.,  Jan.  1.  This 
church  gave  more  than  $1,000  for  mis- 
sions last  year.  Ten  additions  are  re- 
ported since  the  first  of  the  year. 

— In  the  revival  services  which  closed 
March  4th  at  Windsor,  Colo.,  there  were 
37  accessions  to  the  church.  More  men 
than  women  are  reported.  There  were 
accessions  from  many  denominations. 
The  preaching  was  done  by  the  pastor, 
Gaude  J.  Miller,  the  music  being  in 
charge  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ray  Gunderman, 
of  Boulder,  Colo.,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  meeting  and  by  Walter  Loupe  of 
Denver  later. 

— F.  A.  Bright,  pastor  at  Bellevue,  Pa., 
reports  the  close  of  a  ten  days'  meet- 
ing there,  John  E.  Pounds  of  Hiram  do- 
ing the  preaching.  There  were  eleven 
accessions  by  confession  of  faith.  Mr. 
Bright  began  his  sixth  year  April  1. 

— Russell  F.  Thrapp,  minister  of  First 
Church,  Los  Angeles,  on  invitation  of 
the  president,  preached  at  Stanford  Uni- 
versity Memorial  Chapel  Sunday  morn- 
ing, March  11th.  The  sermon  was  in 
commemoration   of   Founders'   Day,   the 


university  on  that  day  celebrating  its 
twenty-fifth  anniversary.  In  the  eve- 
ning Mr.  Thrapp  preached  for  the  Palo 
Alto   Christian    Church. 

— C.  C.  Morrison  is  spending  several 
days  at  Liberty,  Mo.,  and  in  other  parts 
of  that  state. 

— Mrs.  O.  F.  Jordan  occupied  the  pul- 
pit at  Evanston,  111.,  two  weeks  ago  at 
the  evening  service,  Mr.  Jordan  having 
been  called  out  for  a  number  of  lec- 
tures during  the  previous  week.  The 
Chicago  papers  made  a  big  feature  of  the 
circumstance. 

— C.  G.  Kindred  of  Englewood,  Chi- 
cago, is  to  hold  a  protracted  meeting  at 
Janesville,  Wis.,  beginning  April  16. 

— G.  L.  Snively  dedicated  the  new  $25,- 
000  building  of  the  Garrett,  Ind.,  church 
on  March  4.  Following  the  dedication 
a  six  weeks'  evangelistic  series  of  meet- 
ings is  being  held,  the  Schenck  evan- 
gelistic company  assisting  the  pastor,  J. 
M.  Small. 

— Allen  B.  Philputt  of  Indianapolis  is 
conducting  evangelistic  services  at  Hunt- 
ington, Ind.,  assisting  E.  W.  Cole,  the 
pastor. 

— Ernest  C.  Mobley,  who  leads  at 
Amarillo,  Tex.,  writes  that  two  men  of 
the  congregation  there  have  made  an 
offer  to  meet  the  expense  of  repairing 
the  church  building. 

— There  are  five  earnest  Christian  En- 
deavor organizations  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  National  Guard  now  on  duty 
on  the  Mexican  border. 

— A  campaign  to  raise  $2,500  to  pay  all 
indebtedness  against  the  West  Side  (In- 
dianapolis)  Mission  is  being  made  from 


March  17  to  27.  Sixty  of  the  livest  of. 
the  city's  church  leaders  have  the  matter 
in  hand.  A  great  meeting  of  the  church 
and  Sunday  school  workers  was  held  at 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Auditorium  on  the  even- 
ing of  March  16. 

— University  Heights  congregation, 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  is  buying  a  lot  look- 
ing toward  the  erection  of  a  new  build- 
ing. 

— The  Kellems  Brothers  will  begin  a 
series  of  meetings  at  First  church,  Oak- 
land, Cal.,  on  April  8.  This  church  re- 
cently entertained  a  school  of  methods, 
with  W.  J.  Clarke,  Edgar  Lloyd  Smith, 
Charles  L.  Beal  and  Morton  L.  Rose  as 
leaders.  H.  A.  Van  Winkle,  pastor  at 
Oakland,  recently  held  an  evangelistic 
series  at  Pacific  Grove.  A  very  unusual 
Christian  Endeavor  Society  makes  its 
home  at  this  church.  A  few  evenings  ago 
an  effort  was  to  be  made  to  raise  $50  to 
support  a  native  evangelist  at  Damoh  for 
a  year,  and  more  than  $100  was  easily 
secured.  A  strong  men's  club  is  another 
feature  of  the  work  at  Oakland. 

— A  community  church  building  cost- 
ing $15,000  will  be  dedicated  at  Hartford, 
la.,  on  Easter  Sunday.  But  about  $3,000 
is  yet  to  be  raised.  This  is  the  church 
that  was  established  three  years  ago  by 
R.  A.  Gillespie,  then  a  student  in  Drake, 
now  at  Berkeley,  Cal.  The  community 
was  practically  dead  religiously — at  any 
rate  doing  nothing.  There  were  two 
churches — Presbyterian  and  Christians — 
which  had  been  at  sword's  point  for  fifty 
years,  until  both  had  lost  whatever  of 
influence  for  good  they  might  have  had 
in  the  community.  An  effort  was  made 
to  unite  the  two,  with  the  result  that  the 
Presbyterians  got  stirred  up  and  built  a 


March  22,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


23 


^^i^f^ffifnn^GLf^ee'  -'  ~i*lft%£39SBBHfliHH 

■' 

'  y$$B&&:'' 

■BBhH^uBbh  * « ?iifi£ 

Wm 

EBSBK^-'-.'J 

.■V    . 

\*i0&^M 

■^■.j^y-T 

■ 

'    . 

r^     '     ■  .".'--"::"  ";^'.'-'    "' 

mmm^SS%§M 

f&mu&BSft-'*' 

GOING  OVER  THE  HILL  TO  THE  POOR  HOUSE 


Scores  Turned  Away! 

THIS  is  not  the  report  of  an 
evangelistic  meeting.    It  is 

an  announcement  of  the  NATIONAL 
BENEVOLENT  ASSOCIATION  of 
the  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH,  and  refers  to  the 
number  of  old  people  who  have  been  refused 
admittance  to  our  OLD  PEOPLE'S  HOMES 
because  the  homes  are  crowded  to  overflowing 
and  there  is  no  more  room  available. 


MORE  ROOM  MUST  BE  PROVIDED 

These  people  who  have  been  turned  away  from  our  doors  are  not  strangers,  but  are  YOUR  BRETHREN 
in  the  faith,  Disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  HOMELESS  AND  FRIENDLESS. 

NO  PLACE  TO  GO  BUT  THE  POOR  HOUSE 

You  can  find  hundreds  of  aged,  indigent  disciples  in  the  poor  houses  of  this  country,  some  of  them  preachers 
and  wives   of  preachers.     They  ought  to  be   in  some   of  our   Christian  homes.     They  can  be  and  will  be  if  our  people  heed. 


THE  EASTER  APPEAL 

A  NEW  EASTER  EXERCISE  is  now  ready  and  is  being  sent 
FREE  to  those  churches  and  schools  that  will  send  an  offering. 

Address  NATIONAL  BENEVOLENT  ASSOCIATION 
OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH 

2955  North  Euclid  Ave.  ST.  LOUIS,  MISSOURI 


Please  do  not  confuse  this  Association  with  any  other  institu- 
tion.    Be  sure  to  note  the  street  address. 

Make  all  checks  and  drafts  payable  to  Mrs.  J.  K.  Hansbrough. 
This  is  truly  Christ's  call  for  help.  "Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done 
it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me." 


new  house.  The  larger  part  of  the  Dis- 
ciples' membership  went  into  the  "Com- 
munity church,"  which  has  finally  com- 
pleted their  building.  Dean  D.  A.  Evans 
of  Highland  Park  College,  Des  Moines, 
has  been  preaching  for  them  since  Mr. 
Gillespie  went  away  two  years  ago. 

— The  congregation  at  Eugene,  Ore., 
under  the  leadership  of  A.  L.  Crim,  has 
cleared  up  the  indebtedness  on  the  fine 
new  building  there. 

— I.  N.  McCash,  of  Phillips  University, 
was  announced  as  chief  lecturer  at  the 
Kansas  Ministerial  Institute,  which  was 
to  meet  at  Hutchinson,  March  20-22. 

— Addison  Lewis  Cole,  Jr.,  has  been 
added  to  the  pastoral  forces  at  Brook- 
field,  Mo.,  where  A.  L.  Cole,  Sr.,  is  meet- 
ing with  good  success  in  his  new  work. 

— The  next  regular  union  ministers' 
meeting,  to  be  held  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Chicago  Church  Federation  Council, 
will  occur  Monday,  March  26,  at  10:30 
a.  m.,  in  the  First  Methodist  Church,  as 
usual.  Hon.  Harry  Olson,  chief  justice 
of  the  municipal  court  of  Chicago,  will 
be  the  speaker.  The  subject  is  "The  In- 
tensive Study  of  the  Criminal  Himself." 


out,  made  a  very  interesting  address  to 
the  students  of  the  college  Tuesday 
morning.  While  a  member  of  the  Red 
Cross  he  witnessed  some  of  the  hardest 
fighting  on  the  western  front,  saw  the 
destruction  of  Louvaine,  was  captured 
and  sentenced  to  be  shot.     He  escaped, 


however,  on  the  plea  that  he  was  an 
American  citizen.  Mr.  Bogaert  is  spend- 
ing all  of  his  time  now  in  Belgian  re- 
lief work. 

President  R.  H.  Crossfield  has  just 
returned  from  New  York  and  Washing- 
ton.     In    New    York    he    attended    the 


Notes  From  Akita,  Japan 


BY  GRETCHEN  GARST 


TRANSYLVANIA  AND  THE  COL- 
LEGE OF  THE  BIBLE 

Prof.  R.  E.  Monroe,  the  head  of  the 
Department  of  Modern  Languages  at 
Transylvania,  has  just  declined  a  propo- 
sition from  Pomona  College,  California. 
Prof.  Monroe  has  been  at  Transylvania 
for  eight  years  and  is  one  of  the  most 
popular  and  useful  men  in  the  college 
community. 

Victor  Bogaert,  a  former  resident  of 
Lexington,  but  whose  residence  was  m 
Belgium  when  the  European  war  broke 


One  of  our  Akita  Sunday  schools  gave 
a  bag  of  rice  and  two  bags  of  charcoal 
to  a  poor  family,  while  all  of  the  Sunday 
schools  contributed  to  the  American 
Bible  Society's  fund  for  Bibles  for 
prisoners  in  Japanese  penitentiaries. 

The  boys'  class  of  the  same  Sunday 
school  as  that  which  helped  a  poor  fam- 
ily, bought  and  trimmed  a  Christmas 
tree  as  a  surprise  to  the  other  teachers 
and  pupils.  The  teacher  is  a  layman, 
who  is  earnest  in  all  the  activities  of 
the  church. 

Because  of  the  opposition  to  Chris- 
tianity in  the  Girls'  Normal  school,  the 
girls  attending  Christian  meetings  have 
been  forbidden  to  sing  any  Christian 
songs,  and  are  persecuted  in  other  ways. 

The  district  superintendent  of  the  Na- 
tional Sunday  School  Association  vis- 
ited Akita,  and  spoke  at  a  special  wo- 
men's meeting.  In  spite  of  deep  snow 
and  a  high  wind,  there  were  twenty- 
one  Japanese  women  present. 

The  spirit  of  united  effort  is  growing 
among  the  churches  of  Akita  district. 
There  is  in  Akita  City  a  Union  Sunday 
School  Teachers'  Training  class  twice  a 
month,  and  a  union  prayer  meeting  the 
first    Wednesday   of    each    month.      The 


latter  meeting  is  held  at  the  different 
churches  in  regular  order  of  rotation. 
In  Tsuruoka.  another  center  of  work, 
there  is  a  Union  Evangelistic  Band, 
holding  regular  meetings  to  further  the 
cause  of  the  Kingdom. 

The  Christian  Endeavor  girls  had  a 
New  Year's  Social  meeting,  joining  with 
Kindergarten  graduates  who  are  now  in 
high  school.  Thirty-four  girls  had  a 
jolly  afternoon  of  play.  One  of  the  re- 
sults is  that  three  kindergarten  grad- 
uates have  joined  the  Endeavor  Society. 

In  response  to  the  request  of  some  of 
the  members  of  the  Kindergarten  Moth- 
ers' Club,  a  New  Year's  meeting  was 
held  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
the  club.  Thirty-two  women  were  pres- 
ent, twenty-three  of  whom  were  non- 
Christian,  ^f 

On  December  31,  1916,  two  Sunday 
schools — the  one  meeting  at  the  Mission 
Home,  and  that  meeting  at  the  church 
— joined  forces  in  a  new  Church  Sunday 
school  meeting  Sunday  morning  at  nine. 
There  are  three  classes,  boys,'  girls'  and 
primary.  The  average  attendance  for 
January  was  sixty-five,  and  the  total  col- 
lection, 54  cents.  This  is  a  small  begin- 
ning, but  all  are  hoping  that  this  school 
may  grow  in  strength  and  purpose. 


24 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  22,  1917 


meeting  of  the  Council  of  Church 
Boards  and  was  in  conference  with 
members  of  the  General  Education 
Board.  He  stopped  at  Washington  long 
enough  to  see  President  Wilson  inaugu- 
rated and  reports  that  the  outstanding 
fact  in  connection  with  the  inauguration 
is  that  of  the  unity  of  the  American 
people  behind  the  president. 

In  the  death  of  Col.  W.  D.  Pickett  of 
Lexington,  Transylvania  lost  her  oldest 
living  alumnus.  Colonel  Pickett  grad- 
uated from  the  institution  in  1843.  In 
the  118  years  of  her  history  Transyl- 
vania has  educated  a  host  of  men  wW- 
have  helped  to  mould  the  life  of  the 
country.  The  institution  is  now  better 
prepared  for  her  task  than  ever  before. 

H.  W.  Carpenter. 


ATTENTION,   ILLINOIS   DISCIPLES! 

On  April  10-12,  there  will  be  held  at 
Urbana-Champaign,  in  the  University  of 
Illinois,  one  of  the  most  important  meet- 
ings of  the  vear.  This  meeting  will  be  held 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  R.  E.  Hierony- 
mus,  Community  Adviser,  University  of 
Illinois,  who  was  for  many  years  President 
of  Eureka  College.  It  is  the  second  Better 
Community  Conference.  We  are  very 
anxious  that  Illinois  Disciples  shall  avail 
themselves  of  this  splendid  opportunity. 
The  purpose  of  this  meeting  is  quite  fully 
revealed  in  two  paragraphs  of  a  circular 
letter  recently  received  from  Dr.  Hierony- 
mus. 

"The  first  Better  Community  Conference 
was  held  here  at  Urbana  last  June.  Since 
that  time  the  Central  Illinois  Better  Com- 
munity Conference  was  held  at  Galesburg; 
the  Southern  Illinois  at  Centralia;  the 
Northern  Illinois  at  the  Art  Institute  and 
City  Club,  Chicago;  and  local  conferences 
at  still  other  centers. 

"The  Second  Annual  Better  Community 
Conference  will  be  held  here  at  the  Uni- 
versity immediately  after  Easter.  The  out- 
line of  the  program  is  as  follows :  General 
sessions  will  be  held  afternoon  and  evening, 
Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thursday,  April  10, 
11,  12.  On  Wednesday  forenoon  five  sec- 
tional meetings  will  be  held  in  which  will 
be  discussed  (1)  Good  Roads,  (2)  Better 
Farming,  (3)  Home  Improvement,  (4)  City 
Press,  and  (5)  Rural  Church;  on  Thursday 
forenoon  five  sections,  discussing,  (1)  Pub- 
lic Health,  (2)  Commercial  Clubs  and  Trade 
Organizations,  (3)  Woman's  Clubs  and 
Parent-Teacher  Associations,  (4)  Rural 
Press,  and  (5)  City  Church.  On  Tuesday 
at  4:00  the  After  Easter  University  Con- 
vocation will  be  held.  The  speaker  is  Ed- 
ward T.  Devine,  Professor  in  Columbia  and 
Editor  of  the  Survey.  On  Wednesday  the 
portrait  of  Frank  Hall  will  be  unveiled  in 
the  Hall  of  Fame,  and  later  in^he  after- 
noon a  reception  will  be  held  in  the 
Woman's  Building.  On  Thursday  after- 
noon there  will  be  a  recreation  hour  on 
Illinois  Field  or  in  the  new  Armory.  The 
program  throughout  is  strong,  practical, 
attractive." 

H.  H.  Peters,  State  Secretary. 


— A.  L.  Chapman  of  Bozeman,  Mont., 
reports  the  close  of  a  three  weeks'  evan- 
gelistic meeting  held  by  D.  B.  Titus  of 
Rupert,  Idaho.  Eighty  persons  responded 
to  the  gospel  invitation.  Mr.  Chapman 
speaks  in  high  praise  of  the  ability  and 
consecration  of  Mr.  Titus. 

— James  A.  Barnett  of  Bloomington, 
111.,  who  has  been  in  evangelistic  work 
the  past  year,  has  accepted  a  call  to  the 
pastorate  of  First  Church,  Lincoln,  111. 
He  will  begin  service  there  April  1.  He 
is  at  present  engaged  in  a  successful 
meeting  at  Waynesville,  111. 


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Map 


These  are  lithographed  In  four  colors  on 
muslin  of  superior  quality,  and  measure  36x58 
inches.  Large  lettering  of  names  of  places  is  a 
special  feature  of  all  these  maps.  Each  map 
has  distinctive  features,  but  all  have  large  type, 
clear  and  bold  outlines. 

The  maps  are  as  follows: 

Map  of  Palestine— Illustrating    the   Old    Test- 
ament and  the  Land  as  Divided  among  the 
twelve  tribes. 
Map   of    Palestine— Illustrating  the  New  Test- 
ament. & 
Map    of    the    Roman  Empire— Illustrating-  the 

Journeys  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 
Map  of  Assyria  and  the  Adjacent  Lands— Illust- 
rating the  Captivities  of  the  Jews. 
Map  of  Egypt  and  the  Sinai  Peninsula— Illustrat- 
ing the  Journeyings  of  the  Israelites. 
Any  of  the  above  maps  sold  singly  and  un- 
mounted at  1.00  each,  postpaid. 

These  maps  are  also  furnished  in  a  set  of  5 
that  are  mounted  on  one  specially  constructed 
wooden  roller,  which  is  arranged  to  rest  securely 
on  the  top  of  the  upright  bar  of  the  stand.  The 
stand  is  collapsible  and  is  made  of  steel,  finished 
in  black  Japan. 

Entire  Outfit,  $6  50  Net. 

By  Express  or  Freight  at  Purchaser  s  Exoeose. 

DISCIPI.ES  publication  society 
709  E.  40th  St.,  Chicago,  HI. 


Acme  S.  S.  Register  Board 


REGISTER & 

ATTENDANCE  'cV;Q;Fj£R  IN  G 


A1  TENDANCE  If 


HI 


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teAf?AG0TJ3"DAY 


mm 


wm 


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American     Series    of    Five 


A  practical  and  inexpensive  board 
with  which  comparative  records  may 
be  made.  Is  of  ash.  Size,  30  inches  high, 
21  inches  wide,  3-4  inch  thick.  The  fol- 
lowing cards  and  figures  make  up  the 
outfit:  Register  of  Attendance  and 
Collection,  Register  of  Attendance  and 
Offering,  Number  on  the  Roll,  Atten- 
dance Today,  Attendance  a  Year  Ago 
Today,  Collection  Today,  Offering  To- 
day, Collection  a  Year  Ago  Today, 
Offering  a  Year  Ago  Today,  Collection 
Last  Sunday,  Offering  Last  Sunday, 
Attendance  Last  Sunday,  Hymns, 
Record  Collection,  Record  Offering, 
Record  Attendance,  Psalm.  Also  six  [ 
each,  of  figures  1  to  0,  inclusive.  Let- 
ters and  figures  are  white  on  black 
background,  3  5-8  inches  high. 
^  Price,  $3.00.  Delivery  Extra. 
DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY, 
700  East  40th  St.         :        Chicago,  111. 


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Vol.  XXXIV 


March  29,  1917 


Number  13 


Why  I  Am  a 
Disciple 


A  Series  of  Articles  Beginning  in 
This  Issue  by  the  Editor, 

CHARLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON 


CHICAGO 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  March  29,  1917 


UIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM 

iMinuiriuiiiMiiiniiiiiiiitiitiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnitiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiMiiiiHiiiiiHiiiii]iiiiiiiiiiiiiMii liiimiiiimiiinMiimiimtiiitiiMiiitmiimitiHiiiiiiiiimitiititiiuiii 


MARCH  LEADS  ALL! 

□  □  □ 

A  S  WE  GO  TO  PRESS,  the  receipts  for  new  subscriptions 
"**•  and  renewals  to  the  Christian  Century  during  March  are 
far  ahead  of  February,  with  several  days'  receipts  yet  to  hear 
from. 

February  was  far  ahead  of  January. 

January  was  far  ahead  of  December. 

And  December  beat  any  month  that  ever  went  before. 

The  subscription  receipts  for  the  three  months  of  January, 
February  and  March,  1917,  are  equal  to  the  total  subscription 
receipts  for  the  entire  year  of  1916! 

These  results  have  been  secured,  not  by  employed  agents, 
but  by  the  volunteer  efforts  of  our  loyal  readers. 

The  editors  and  publishers  desire  to  say,  Thank  you!  to 
every  one  who  has  sent  in  a  subscription,  his  own  or  another's. 

On  another  page  we  are  suggesting  to  our  minister  readers 
that  they  put  the  climax  on  this  campaign  by  securing  three 
new  subscribers  apiece  during  April. 

Can  April  beat  March? 

We  shall  see! 


iiiii:iii]iiMiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiHtiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiinniiiiiui!iiii[iiiiiiii!i]!inniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiin!Hiiiii mimmiimiiiimiiiimmi MiiimiiimiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiMUlimiiliiitmifimr 


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Subscription  Ptice—  Two  dollars  and 
a  half  a  year,  payable  strictly  in 
advance.  To  ministers,  two  dollars 
when  paid  In  advance.  Canadian 
subscriptions,  50  cents  additional  for 
nostagre.  Foreign.  $1.00 additional. 
Discontinuances — In  order  that  sub- 
scribers may  not  be  annoyed  by 
failure  to  receive  the  paper,  it  is 
not  discontinued  at  expiration  of 
time  paid  in  advance  (unless  so 
ordered),  but  continued  pending  in- 
ctruction  from  the  subscriber.  If 
discontinuance  is  desired,  prompt 
notice  should  be  sent  and  all  ar- 
rearages paid. 

Change  of  address — In  ordering 
change  of  address  give  the  old  as 
well  as  the  new. 


PUBLISHED    WEEKLY    BY    THE    DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE    INTEREST    OF    THE    KINGDOM     OF    GOD 


Kiplratlons — The  date  on  the  wrap- 
per shows  the  month  and  year  to 
which  subscription  is  paid.  List  is 
revised  monthly.  Change  of  date 
on  wrapper  is  a  receipt  for  remit- 
tance on   subscription  account. 

Remittance*) — Should  be  sent  by 
draft  or  money  order,  payable  to 
The  Disciples  Publication  Society. 
If  local  check  Is  s*nt,  add  ten 
cents  for  exchange  charged  us  by 
Chicago    banks. 

Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter 
Feb.  28,  1902,  at  the  Postofnce,  Chi- 
cago, Illinois,  under  Act  of  March 
3,   1879. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS, 


700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


Disciples 

Publication 

Society 


The  Disciples  Publica- 
tion Society  is  an  or- 
ganization through 
which  churches  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ 
seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *    •    * 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


Acme  S.  S.  Register  Board 


A  practical  and  inexpensive  board 
with  which  comparative  records  rnav 
be  made.  Is  of  ash.  Size,  80  inches  high, 
21  inches  wide,  3-4  inch  thick.  The  fol- 
lowing cards  and  figures  make  up  the 
outfit:  Register  of  Attendance  and 
Collection,  Register  of  Attendance  and 
Offering,  Number  on  the  Roll,  Atten- 
dance Today,  Attendance  a  Year  Ago 
Today,  Collection  Today,  Offering  To- 
day, Collection  a  Year  Ago  Today, 
Offering  a  Year  Ago  Today,  Collection 
Last  Sunday,  Offering  Last  Sunday, 
Attendance  Last  Sunday,  Hymns, 
Record  Collection,  Record  Offering, 
Record  Attendance,  Psalm.  Also  six 
each,  of  figures  1  to  0,  inclusive.  Let- 
ters and  figures  are  white  on  black 
background,  3  5-8  inches  high. 
•?  r  Price,  $3.00.  Delivery  Extra. 
DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY, 
700  East  40th  St.         :         Chicago,  111. 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *     *     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such_  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

Dear  Friends: — I  believe  in  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  The  Christian  Century  and  wish  to  be  numbered  among 
those  who  are  supporting  your  work  in  a  substantial  way  by  their  gifts. 

Enclosed  please  find  Name 

% Address 


Kent  and  Madsen  Maps 


*■"   ■■  ■,iiTfa:ar7*aTffnrtgnrr 


A  New  Series  of  Historical 

Maps 

For    Sunday    Schools,   Bible  Classes  and  Individ- 
ual Students 


m^m 


jsai  w> 


0P  TBI  WWUWti 


WAjrcsauoD,.  ISW-ilW  a.  ■:. 


Because  of  the  combined  attractiveness,  ac- 
curacy, adaptability,  compactness  and 
cheapness  of  these  maps,  the  series  should 
find  a  place  promptly  i\t  the  classrooms  of 
every  progressive  Sunday  School. 

The  maps,  bi-th  in  detail  of  drawing  and  coloring', 
are  superb,  Size,  about  17x25  inches.  Not 
sold  seyr.rateh\  Complete  set  mrunled  en 
wooden  rr-'ifj-,  to  fit  on  music:  „tand  tripod. 
The  low  pnef*  of  £5.00  includes  maps,  tripod, 
b^xinfr  arid  delivery  charges  in  continenta' 
United  States. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

700  East  Fortieth  Street, 

CHICAGO 


Collection   Plates 


WOODEN    COLLECTION    PLATES 
IMITATION    BLACK    WALNUT. 

Imitation  walnut,  velvet  lined;  10 
inches  in  diameter,  Price,  $1.25  each. 
12  inches  in  diameter,  $1.50  each.  Ex- 
pressage  extra. 

OAK,  HOLLOW  RIM,  COLLECTION 

PLATES. 
Oak,  hollow  rim,  velvet  lined;  10 
inches  in  diameter,  a  handsome  plate. 
Price,  $2.00  each.  12  inches  in 
diameter,  $2.50  each.  Expressage  ex- 
tra. 

QUARTERED  OAK  AND  BLACK  WAL- 
NUT HOLLOW  RIM  COLLEC- 
TION PLATES. 

A  finer  grade  plate,  made  of  light, 
quartered  oak,  or  solid  black  walnut, 
plush  lined.  The  rim  is  hollow,  giving  a 
rich  appearance.  Two  sizes,  10  inches 
in  diameter,  $2.50  each;  expressage  ex- 
tra. 12  inches  in  diameter,  $3.00  each; 
expressage  extra. 

DISCIPLES    PUBLICATION 
SOCIETY 

700   East   40th    St.  :  Chicago 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  29,  1917 


NEW  GYMNASIUM  OF  EUREKA  COLLEGE 


The  money  for  the  erection  of  this  building  was  raised  during  the  visit  of  the  Men  and 
Millions  Movement  team  to  Eureka  two  years  ago.  The  students  themselves  led  off  with 
pledges  that  totaled  $5,000  and  $25,000  was  subscribed  by  citizens  of  Eureka  and  vicinity. 
The  success  of  the  effort  was  celebrated  with  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  holidays  ever 
observed  in  any  college  town.  But  the  supreme  event  of  the  week  was  the  Life  meeting 
in  which  missionaries  from  many  lands  set  forth  the  opportunities  for  service  in  their  several 
fields.  Six  new  members  were  added  to  the  Student  Volunteer  band  and  over  forty  signed 
cards  indicating  their  purpose  to  study  the  world  fields  and  their  own  capabilities  and  to 
choose  the  life  work  that  seemed  to  be  the  Divine  Will  for  them. 

Primarily  Educational 

nceived  as  a  campaign  for  one  million  dollars  for 
owing  to  $6,300,000  and  its  scope  being  enlarged  to 
sions,  benevolences  and  education,  its  character  was 
w,  in  all  its  phases,  primarily  educational. 

iately  enlist  for  missionary  service,  which,  indeed, 
letest  possible  education  and  to  study  the  world 
elligently   decide   where    and   how   they   can    invest 


The  Men  and  Millions  Movement  was  first  co 
foreign  missions,  but  while  its  financial  goal  was  gr 
include  all  the  fields  and  all  the  departments  of  mis 
being   transformed   and   transfigured   until   it   is    no 

Its  appeal  to  the  young  people  is  not  to  immed 
ihey  are  not  allowed  to  do,  but  to  secure  the  comp 
field,  and  their  own  capabilities,  that  they  may  int 
their  lives  to  the  greatest  advantage 

In  every  church  visited  the  official  board  is  ca 
the  fact  that  while  the  leaders  in  Sunday  School,  i 
have  been  thoroughly  trained  for  their  specific  duti 
for  their  supreme  tasks.  The  Every  Member  Canv 
but  as  an  educational  process. 

Even  in  the  securing  of  pledges  toward  the  fu 
kept  foremost.  In  refusing  to  take  pledges  in  publ 
as  well  as  in  the  method  of  soliciting  these  subscri 
a  money  raising  campaign  and  established  its  char 
remark  of  one  of  the  greatest  leaders  of  the  most  n 
Men  and  Millions  Movement  is  raising  standards  o 

In  its  relationship  to  the  colleges  through  its  b 
its  educational  character  again.  It  is  not  merely  b 
a  sum  as  they  had  raised  in  all  their  previous  histo 
the  integrity  of  their  work  until  it  shall  meet  the 


lied  together  and  frankly  challenged  to  recognize 
n  Christian  Endeavor  and  the  work  of  the  women 
es,  the  church  officers  themselves  are  unprepared 
ass  is   introduced  not  as  a  money  raising  method, 

nd  of  $6,300,000  the  educational  purpose  has  been 
ic,  in  limiting  the  subscriptions  to  $500  and  more, 
ptions,  the  movement  has  steadfastly  refused  to  be 
acter  as  an  educational  process  that  deserves  the 
umerous  Protestant  body  in  the  United  States:  "The 
f  giving  for  the  whole  Christian  world." 

usiness  men's  commission  the  movement  has  shown 
ringing  to  the  endowment  of  these  colleges  as  large 
ry,  but  it  is  leading  them  to  improve  the  quality  and 
most  exacting  requirements  of  the  new  c,entury. 


Men    and    Millions     Movement,    Cincinnati,    Ohio 


CHASEES  CLAYTON  MOEEISON,  EDITOR. 


HEEBEET    I..    WILLETT,     CONTBIBX7T1NO     EDITOE. 


Volume  XXXIV 


MARCH  29,  1917 


Number  13 


Dealing  With  Religious  Error 


"WHAT  IS  TRUTH?" 

Pilate's  skeptical  inquiry  is  not  without  some 
point.  All  of  us  have  held  certain  ideas  firmly  in  other 
days  which  we  now  repudiate.  As  we  grow  older,  these 
experiences  should  tend  to  make  us  modest  in  the  ex- 
pression of  our  opinions.  Yet  there  are  some  ideas 
abroad  in  the  world  which  seem  to  us  very  fallacious. 
What  shall  we  do  when  we  meet  people  holding  wrong 
conceptions  about  religion? 

For  instance,  what  shall  we  do  with  the  people 
who  hold  to  some  error  that  seems  to  be  the  very  prop 
of  their  lives?  A  certain  minister  went  the  other  day 
to  a  workingman's  home.  The  husband  and  wife  were 
rather  aged,  and  their  only  child  had  died.  Without 
impairing  their  loyalty  to  the  Disciple  church  of  their 
town,  these  people  had  taken  up  with  spiritualism. 
They  solemnly  told  the  minister  of  a  message  they  had 
received  for  him,  commending  him  in  his  good  work. 
The  minister  was  no  spiritualist,  but  as  he  saw  how 
pathetically  these  people  clung  to  their  belief  that  every 
week  they  were  brought  into  communication  with  their 
departed  child  now  living  in  another  world,  he  departed 
without  making  any  testimony  against  spiritualism. 
Was  he  a  coward,  or  a  constructive  religious  leader? 

•     • 

There  is  the  kind  of  error  that  the  minister  finds 
it  dangerous  to  attack.  A  man  finds  himself  pastor 
of  a  church  whose  leading  men  live  by  dividends 
from  distillery  stock.  These  men  want  to  be  let  alone 
in  their  business.  They  insist  that  their  minister  shall 
"keep  religion  out  of  politics."  If  he  bears  testimony 
to  his  convictions  in  this  church,  the  minister  will  move 
shortly.  Ought  he  to  speak  and  then  pack  up  and  face 
the  inevitable? 

Our  historical  judgment  of  ministers  of  another 
age  who  faced  the  issue  of  slavery  with  silence  is  not 
favorable.  We  are  inclined  to  say  that  there  is  no 
chapter  in  American  church  history  so  little  creditable 
to  ministers  as  the  story  of  dalliance  with  one  of  the 
greatest  evils  this  country  ever  faced. 

How  far  shall  we  go  with  this  kind  of  warfare? 
Shall  we  speak  out  when  we  see  a  baby  die  for  lack  of 
antitoxin  in  a  Christian  Science  home?  Shall  we  sound 
the  trumpet  when  the  I.  W.  W.  holds  a  meeting  in  our 
town,  threatening  the  community  with  sabotage  and 
lawlessness? 

Even  the  greatest  reformers  seem  to  have  limited 
their  activities  to  certain  matters  in  which  they  were 
deeply  concerned.  Martin  Luther  thundered  against 
the  sale  of  indulgences  but  had  no  encouragement  for 
the  incipient  social  movement  of  his  time. 

We  all  recognize,  of  course,  that  there  are  errors 
of  too  little  consequence  to  merit  serious  consideration. 
If  someone  refuses  to  sit  down  with  thirteen  at  the 


table,  we  usually  smile  and  acquiesce.  The  rural  min- 
ister does  not  quarrel  with  the  farmer  who  believes  that 
one  phase  of  the  moon  grows  good  potatoes  and  an- 
other phase  good  crops  above  ground,  and  who  sows  his 
seed  accordingly. 

Superstition  still  abides  all  about  us.  Shall  it  be 
the  business  of  the  Christian  to  attack  it  wherever  it 
raises  its  head?  Or  may  we  not  assume  that  a  positive 
service  of  truth-giving  will  render  the  destructive  work 
of  "error-smasher"  in  many  cases  unnecessary? 


It  may  be  stated,  constructively,  that  the  Christ- 
ian's first  loyalty  is  to  human  life,  and  not  to  abstract 
logic  or  to  science  viewed  apart  from  its  every-day 
uses.  What  we  shall  do  at  any  particular  time  depends 
entirely  upon  circumstances.  The  error  which  has  no 
particular  relation  to  life  processes  we  can  afford  to 
ignore.  The  error  upon  which  people  lean  is  to  be  re- 
moved gradually  and  by  the  substitution  of  truth.  It 
is  only  the  flagrant  and  dangerous  error,  which  seems 
to  be  spreading,  and  which  is  unquestionably  hurtful 
to  human  life,  that  needs  to  provoke  us  to  a  fight. 

With  most  error  we  may  proceed  as  the  builder 
does  who  removes  a  rotten  sill  from  an  old  building. 
He  does  not  take  out  the  rotten  support  until  he  gives 
the  building  some  other  temporary  resting  place. 

It  is  not  necessary  at  all  times  to  put  truth  and 
error  in  sharp  antithesis.  Old  and  discarded  notions  of 
the  Bible  are  best  disposed  of  by  presenting  modern 
and  obviously  true  notions.  The  surest  way  to  bring 
about  correct  conceptions  of  doctrine  is  not  by  making 
war  upon  the  past,  but  by  building  the  new  system  for 
tomorrow's  use. 

•     • 

Meanwhile,  let  every  man  look  to  his  own  errors 
in  religious  thinking.  There  is  no  static  truth  in  re- 
ligion. Jesus  Christ  promised  his  Spirit  that  we  might 
be  led  into  all  truth.  This  giving  of  the  truth  did  not 
cease  when  the  New  Testament  was  entirely  written, 
nor  did  it  cease  when  the  canon  was  finally  settled. 
The  giving  of  truth  did  not  cease  with  the  church 
fathers.  We  have  always  believed  that  through  the  re- 
formers God  led  us  into  a  larger  understanding  of  the 
truth.  Is  there  any  point  of  time  at  which  we  can  say 
the  giving  of  the  truth  at  the  hands  of  God  stops?  We 
think  not. 

If  God  is  ever  giving  us  the  truth,  He  must  ever 
be  correcting  errors  and  partial  concepts.  The  humble 
man,  the  man  of  child-like  spirit,  will  get  these  new 
conceptions.  The  proud  man,  the  prejudiced  man,  the 
brutish  man  will  fail  utterly  to  transcend  the  limita- 
tions of  his  childhood  ways  of  looking  at  things. 

May  God  lead  all  of  us  gently  into  His  everlasting: 
Truth.  " 


EDITORIAL 


TO    OUR    MINISTER   READERS 

rUE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  lives  by  the  loyalty 
of  its  friendly  readers.    More  than  ninety  per  cent 
of  all  our  new  subscriptions  arc  received  through 
their  efforts. 

The  admirable  co-operation  of  our  readers  during  the 
past  four  months,  which  has  made  possible  the  unpre- 
cedented gains  in  the  subscription  department,  is  a  matter 
which  calls  for  repeated  acknowledgment. 

During  April  zee  arc  asking  the  especial  co-operation 
of  our  minister  readers  to  put  the  climax  on  this  extraor- 
dinary achievement.  We  ask  that  every  minister  secure 
three  new  subscribers  during  the  month  of  April. 

Tins  is  the  way  we  suggest  that  it  be  done: 

Let  each  minister  think  up  three  intelligent,  interested 
church  people  not  now  taking  the  "Century."  Call  them 
up  on  the  phone,  or  drop  in  and  see  them  specifically  for 
this  purpose.  Tell  them  the  service  The  Christian  Century 
is  rendering  to  the  Disciples  of  Christ,  to  your  own  local 
church,  to  your  own  mind  and  heart.  Arid  tell  these  friends 
zAiat  it  will  mean  to  them  when  once  they  become  ac- 
quainted with  it. 

Then  go  straight  after  their  two  dollars  and  a  half! 

If  every  minister  noiv  taking  the  "Century"  will 
secure  three  new  subscribers  during  April  we  will  be  able 
to  make  the  finest  report  not  only  in  the  history  of  the 
"Century"  but  of  Disciples'  journalism. 

It  is  a  very  simple  and  modest  thing  to  ask  of  our 
minister,  readers.  In  many  cases  it  would  require  less  than 
an  hour's  time  at  the  telephone.  But  is  it  not  zvorth  an 
afternoon's  time — if  that  is  necessary — to  put  this  stimu- 
lating paper  into  three  homes  not  now  receiving  it? 

We  zvant  this  to  be  a  work  of  love  on  the  part  of  our 
minister  readers,  and  no  premium  inducements  are  offered, 
but  if  you  zi'ill  remind  us  of  it,  the  office  will  set  your  ozvn 
subscription  forveard  six  months  for  each  new  subscrip- 
tion you  send  in,  minister  or  layman.      The  Publishers. 

WHY  JOIN  A  CHURCH? 

AS  religion  becomes  more  widely  diffused  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  will  the  case  of  the  church 
be  more  difficult  instead  of  easier?  Does  the 
triumph  of  religion  mean  the  death  of  the  church? 

There  are  some  who  have  spoken  thus  of  the  nature 
of  the  religious  problem.  The  experiment  of  living  a 
religious  life  outside  a  religious  organization  is  one 
that  is  often  made.  The  second  generation  of  this  sort 
of  family  is  always  an  interesting  study.  The  children 
are  not  as  well  able  to  do  without  religious  institutions 
as  were  their  fathers. 

Religion,  to  remain  alive  in  the  world,  must  be 
taught  like  any  other  element  of  our  racial  heritage. 
We  no  longer  look  upon  religion  as  being  instinctive 
in  the  sense  that  it  would  perpetuate  itself  apart  from 
teaching.  The  whole  religious  education  movement  of 
today  proceeds  upon  the  assumption  that  religion  rests 
fundamentally  on  teaching. 

Since  there  must  be  a  teaching  organization,  it  is 
clear  that  the  whole  future  of  religion  depends  upon 
something  that  is  like  a  church.  Without  a  church  or 
analogous    institution,   there   would    soon   be   an   end   to 


religion.  If  a  man  believes  in  the  perpetuation  of  re- 
ligion at  all,  he  ought  to  believe  it  right  that  he  should 
unite  with  a  church  and  support  it.  .  I 

Religion  as  an  attitude  toward  life  is  opposed  by 
the  pure  naturalism  of  those  who  would  follow  their 
uncorrected  impulses  and  thoughts.  The  irreligious 
man  thinks  he  represents  an  advance  in  living  standards. 
Pie  is  really  a  reversion  to  a  very  old  and  outgrown 
type  of  men.  There  is  in  the  world  today  a  great  battle 
between  the  representatives  of  naturalism  and  the  rep- 
resentatives of  religion.  Neutrality  in  the  midst  of  this 
great  contest  is  well-nigh  impossible.  "He  that  is  not 
for  me  is  against  me." 

Our  age  needs  out-and-out  people  who  will 
valiantly  champion  the  ideals  of  Jesus  Christ.  Only 
thus  can  the  Master  become  truly  triumphant.  The 
good  friend  of  Jesus  Christ  should  join  the  church. 


T 


THE  FAMILY  BOND 

HE  family  has  always  been  considered  akin  to  the 
institutions  of  religion.  In  olden  times  the  father 
was  the  priest.  The  common  religious  life  was  one 
of  the  great  sources  of  strength  to  the  family.  To  this  day 
the  fate  of  religion  and  the  future  of  the  monogamous 
family  are  bound  up  together. 

In  the  great  cities  there  is  an  evident  weakening  of  the 
family  idea,  revealed  both  in  the  divorce  court  and  in  the 
juvenile  court.  There  are  more  divorces  because  husband 
and  wife  have  less  in  common.  There  is  more  juvenile 
delinquency  because  parents  share  less  with  their  children. 

In  the  sections  where  the  family  idea  is  strong,  the 
members  of  the  family  have  much  in  common.  They  eat 
together  at  the  family  table  three  times  a  day,  and  are  not 
scattered  as  are  members  of  families  in  large  cities. 

Families  of  close  ties  have  their  amusements  together. 
Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  moving  picture,  it  has  culti- 
vated a  strong  amusement  interest  outside  the  home.  This 
takes  away  just  so  much  from  the  sense  of  fellowship  in 
the  family  circle. 

The  family  is  being  widely  separated  in  industry.  The 
father  works  behind  locked  doors  in  the  factory  and  the 
son  is  no  longer  an  apprentice  to  the  father.  Nor  does  the 
mother  have  opportunity  to  teach  the  household  arts  to 
her  daughter.    The  daughters  are  in  stores  and  offices. 

The  family  bond  results  from  common  activities  and 
interests.  When  the  different  members  of  the  family  all 
go  different  ways  and  are  interested  in  different  things,  the 
family  becomes  a  kind  of  cooperative  boarding  house. 

For  the  deepening  of  the  family  bond  there  must  be 
renewed  attention  to  the  task  of  finding  common  ideal  pur- 
suits. In  amusement,  in  cultural  pursuits,  in  worship,  the 
modern  family  may  yet  find  the  tie  that  binds  together 
hearts  in  mutual  love. 

TRAINING  IN  PARENTHOOD 

IT  is  interesting  to  note  with  what  eagerness  the  average 
young  parent  absorbs  information  with  regard  to  his 
or  her  duty  to  the  child  that  has  come  into  the  home. 
Many  of  these  young  parents  are  so  absorbed  in  their 
homes  that  they  are  not  seen  at  the  church.  Even  with 
all  this  devotion,  lack  of  proper  information  and  guidance 
results  in  many  instances  in  poorly  conducted  homes. 

There  is  growing  up  a  new  type  of  Sunday  School 
class  devoted  to  the  training  of  parents.    For  such  a  class, 


March  29,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


there  is  much  biblical  material  which  can  be  used,  for  the 
Bible  is  a  great  book  for  home  ideals.  Naturally  there  is 
a  great  body  of  knowledge  from  modern  science  and  edu- 
cational methods  that  are  of  the  greatest  importance. 

These  parents'  classes  can  do  much  toward  lessening 
infant  mortality.  Many  a  first  child  is  a  victim  to  the  lack 
of  information  on  the  part  of  young  parents  who  have 
the  money  to  supply  every  need  of  the  child,  but  not  the. 
knowledge.  The  great  truths  of  child  psychology  will 
prevent  the  warping  of  a  child's  nature  through  misunder- 
standing. The  peculiar  and  freakish  people  of  the  world 
are  the  result  largely  of  the  bad  handling  of  little  children. 
There  is  the  "wild"  boy  and  melancholy  girl,  who  are  to 
be  interpreted  to  their  parents  in  a  way  that  will  be  reme- 
dial, not  to  say  redemptive. 

It  is  also  clear  that  such  classes  call  back  to  the 
church  circle  again  a  class  of  people  who  should  be  held 
to  religion  at  a  time  when  their  children  need  a  warm  re- 
ligious atmosphere  about  them.  Thus  the  church  with 
twenty  new  babies  in  the  parish  will  not  need  to  lose  forty 
people  from  its  list  of  workers  for  several  years  but  may 
count  on  deepening  the  religious  interest  of  these  very 
people. 

Such  parents'  classes  would  sometimes  serve  also  to 
bind  homes  together  which  have  been  disrupted  by  the 
adverse  influences  of  modern  life.  By  glorifying  the  home 
and  exalting  the  duties  of  parenthood,  husband  and  wife 
enter  into  a  new  intimacy  that  will  enable  them  to  weather 
every  storm  in  their  domestic  life. 

THE  PREACHING  OF  THE  SPRING-TIME 

TAGORE  has  rightly  described  our  western  civili- 
zation as  having  the  thought  limitations  of  brick 
walls.  He  says  India  has  developed  differently 
because  she  has  lived  in  the  open  fields.  With  the  com- 
ing of  spring-time,  many  of  us  are  finding  the  open 
fields  again,  lured  as  we  are  by  the  charm  of  the  season. 
The  words  of  the  poet  Wordsworth  come  to  us  at  this 
time: 

It  is  the  first  mild  day  of  March, 
Each  moment  sweeter  than  before; 

The  redbreast  sings  from  the  tall  larch 
That  stands  beside  our  door. 

Modern  science  brings  us  back  closer  to  the  nature 
religions  of  the  past.  We  are  a  part  of  this  wonderful 
nature  and  not  something  separate  from  it.  The  evo- 
lutionary processes  of  the  past  have  brought  us  forth, 
and  we  are  related  to  bird  and  beast  and  every  living 
thing.  The  life  of  all  nature  is  our  life.  It  is  the  recog- 
nition of  this  profound  truth  which  gives  the  nature  en- 
thusiast his  passion  and  fills  all  our  souls  with  the  glow 
of  the  spring-time. 

The  spring-time  preaches  to  us  of  the  deep  mys- 
teries of  life.  As  we  watch  the  perennial  miracle,  we 
feel  that  there  is  a  sermon  there  for  us  on  humility. 
Our  little  systems  dwindle  in  significance  before  the 
great  facts  of  life.  There  is  an  amended  beatitude  from 
the  lips  of  our  preacher:  Blessed  are  the  humble,  for 
they  alone  shall  understand  life. 

The  spring-time  is  prodigal  in  its  wealth,  but  per- 
sistent in  its  great  purpose.  The  sky  may  frown  for 
awhile,  the  wintry  blasts  may  persist  beyond  their 
season,  but  the  great  end  of  the  Creator  is  again  ac- 
complished.    The  world  is  born  anew. 

The  birds  build  not  their  nests  in  vain,  for  they 
build  in  harmony  and  cooperation  with  God.    We  who 


build  faith  and  ideals,  who  seek  to  build  the  souls  of 
men,  will  build  solidly,  only  as  we  build  in  cooperation 
with  the  Master  Builder. 

A    NEW    CHICAGO    BEING    BUILT 

IT  is  within  the  pastorates  of  many  men  now  preach- 
ing in  Chicago  that  this  city  has  doubled  in  popula- 
tion. Since  the  time  of  the  world's  fair  the  develop- 
ment of  the  city  has  gone  forward  with  a  steadiness 
that  is  a  guarantee  of  the  future.  Is  it  too  much  to  say 
that  within  the  life-time  of  many  ministers  now  preach- 
ing in  Chicago,  the  city  will  double  again?  Will  there 
not  be  a  new  city  built  around  the  edges  of  the  Chicago 
of  today  that  will  equal  the  present  city  in  size? 

Great  commercial  concerns  have  spent  enormous 
sums^of  money  in  making  surveys  which  would  enable 
them  to  anticipate  the  city's  growth.  The  telephone 
company,  the  gas  company  and  others  are  planning 
now  to  supply  public  utilities  to  the  new  Chicago  that 
is  in  process  of  building. 

The  city  missionary  societies  of  great  religious 
denominations  are  doing  the  same.  Research  work  is 
going  on  all  the  time.  The  development  of  a  new  suburb 
is  followed  with  a  Sunday  School  and  a  mission  church. 
In  some  cases  quick  results  are  secured  by  sudden  real 
estate  booms.  In  other  cases,  the  society  must  hold 
on  and  wait. 

While  the  larger  religious  denominations  have  been 
increasing  their  income  for  city  missions  with  the  great- 
est possible  speed,  until  now  the  Presbyterians  spend 
more  in  Chicago  alone  than  our  home  missionary  so- 
ciety spends  in  the  whole  country,  Disciple  societies 
have  been  retrenching.  We  face  the  death  of  some  of 
our  missions  this  year  because  of  support  withdrawn. 
Disciples  are  spending  less  than  half  as  much  now  as 
the  pitiable  sum  they  spent  five  years  ago.  How  will 
our  two  or  three  thousand  dollars  look  this  year  beside 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  spent  by  the 
Presbyterians  and  large  sums  by  the  other  great  evan- 
gelical bodies? 

No  greater  mistake  in  home  missionary  policy  was 
ever  made  in  America  than  is  now  being  made  by  the 
Disciples.  The  metropolitan  city  central  to  their  loca- 
tion is  being  neglected.  Our  children  will  rise  up  to 
call  us — foolish. 

A  NEW  SIEGE  OF  JERUSALEM 

THE  press  reports  bring  us  a  thrill  when  they  tell 
us  that  the  British  troops  are  at  Hebron,  only 
a  few  miles  from  Jerusalem.  It  may  be  that  this 
historic  city,  the  city  of  many  sorrows,  is  to  undergo 
another  siege.  It  is  said  that  since  the  time  of  King 
David  it  has  been  besieged  over  forty  times.  This  has 
been  partly  because  of  its  military  importance,  but 
more  often  the  wars  about  its  walls  have  grown  out 
of  religious  differences. 

Should  the  allies  continue  to  be  successful,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  one  of  their  objectives  will  be  to 
dispossess  the  Turk  in  Jerusalem  or  perhaps  even  in 
the  whole  of  Palestine.  The  traveler  in  the  land  made 
sacred  by  the  footsteps  of  our  Lord  has  been  continually 
scandalized  by  the  low  standards  of  life  and  the  mis- 
rule of  a  country  which  is  dear  to  the  entire  western 
world. 

Perhaps  the  method  adopted  would  be  that  of  an 
international  commission  for  the  government  of  Palestine 


8 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


March  29,  1917 


which  would  make  it  neutral  ground  for  all  the  nations 
of  the  world.  Thus  the  Jew  might  recover  for  himself 
spots  specially  sacred  to  him  through  long  history, 
and  Christians  might  also  come  into  possession  of  places 
dear  to  them. 

Certain  historic  ideas  persist  in  the  world  when 
they  have  no  reason  in  self-interest.  The  economic  in- 
terpretation of  history  neglects  the  play  of  romantic 
ideas  in  the  historic  unfolding.  The  passion  of  the  Cru- 
sades is  still  in  the  heart  of  the  European.  The  British 
soldiers  who  are  battling  on  in  Palestine  today  are 
living  over  again  a  chapter  out  of  the  distant  past. 

Against  a  Mohammedan  as  a  Mohammedan  we 
have  no  quarrel,  but  only  a  difference  of  faith,  which 
we  would  submit  to  the  processes  of  reason  and  experi- 
ence. Against  the  Turk,  as  the  butcherer  of  Armenia 
we  have  an  indictment  in  the  name  of  civilization.  We 
must  wish  for  Palestine  a  change  of  government. 

AN  ECHO  FROM  OUR  PAST 

THEOLOGICAL  persecution,  which  was  at  one 
period  in  our  history  as  favorite  a  pastime  as  bull- 
righting  in  Mexico,  has  almost  disappeared.  Men 
have  come  into  a  larger  faith  in  the  Faith.  They  no 
longer  try  to  steady  the  sacred  ark  to  keep  it  from  fall- 
ing, believing  that  God  will  take  care  of  truth  with  no 
other  defense  than  truth. 

It  is  therefore  a  voice  out  of  the  past  when  a  stu- 
dent at  Transylvania  University  sends  a  circular  letter 
throughout  the  state  of  Kentucky  charging  certain 
heresies  against  the  majority  of  the  instructors  of  the 
Bible  College  of  that  institution.  The  letter  is  signed 
by  several  students,  but  all  except  four  of  them  have 
since  withdrawn  their  signatures.  The  student  body 
has  risen  up  against  the  misrepresentation  of  their  alma 
mater,  and  already  over  eighty  per  cent  of  them  have 
signed  a  statement  in  which  they  assert  confidently 
the  loyalty  of  their  instructors  to  the  great  common 
faith  and  purposes  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ. 

A  humorous  item  in  the  charges  is  that  some  of  the 
books  written  by  the  late  Professor  J.  W.  McGarvey 
are  being  withdrawn  from  use  in  the  classroom.  A  re- 
actionary student  sees  in  this  a  great  disloyalty.  How 
different  is  that  feeling  from  the  feeling  of  the  Harper 
family,  who  have  withdrawn  from  circulation  the  late 
President  Harper's  "Priestly  Element  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament" because  it  is  no  longer  up-to-date. 

The  teachers  at  Transylvania  are  all  moderate  men. 
It  is  doubtful  if  one  could  find  either  a  progressive  ex- 
tremist or  a  conservative  extremist  in  the  group.  There 
is  a  wholesome  difference  of  opinion  in  the  classrooms, 
which  is  the  mark  of  a  real  university.  It  is  gratifying 
to  note  that  with  hardly  more  than  a  single  exception 
no  teacher  in  Transylvania  wants  to  see  any  other 
teacher  subjected  to  pressure  because  of  his  opinions. 

Time  was  when  a  student  raising  the  cry  that  has 
just  been  raised  at  Lexington  would  have  been  sure 
of  a  sympathetic  response  from  our  people,  or  from 
large  numbers  of  them.  Just  now  we  are  all  inclined 
to  yawn. 

REVOLUTION  IN  RUSSIA 

THE  western  world  has  been  astonished  at  the  revo- 
lution in  Russia  more  than  at  any  recent  event. 
This  revolution  is  not  so  "sudden"  as  it  has  the 
appearance  of  being.     The  tension  between  the  Duma 


and  the  Czar  has  been  growing  through  the  years,  and 
the  reactionary  elements  in  the  empire  have  been  trying 
to  have  the  popular  assembly  abolished.  Recently  the 
Czar  ordered  the  Duma  dissolved  again,  and  it  refused 
to  dissolve.  Having  made  its  arrangements  with  promi- 
nent officers  in  army  and  navy,  an  almost  bloodless 
revolution  has  resulted. 

The  effect  of  this  revolution  upon  religious  con- 
ditions in  Russia  will  be  very  marked.  There  are  more 
dissenting  denominations  in  Russia  than  in  America, 
and  they  have  millions  of  adherents ;  an  exact  census, 
however,  has  never  been  taken,  because  of  government 
interference.  The  established  church  has  been  identi- 
fied with  the  autocracy  and  has  not  helped  the  cause 
of  revolution.  For  this  and  many  other  reasons  the 
cause  of  free  religion  is  bound  to  go  forward. 

The  unfavorable  feature  in  this  revolution  is  that 
it  is  a  revolution  managed  by  the  "intelligentsia"  of  the 
nation,  the  university  trained  men,  who  are,  unfortu- 
nately, not  friendly  to  religion  as  a  class.  They  have 
been  largely  influenced  by  the  writings  of  the  French 
revolution  and  of  such  men  as  Darwin  and  Huxley  in 
England.  They  have  not  yet  found  the  higher  ground 
of  a  religion  and  a  science  which  together  form  a  har- 
monious world  view. 

Powerful  influences  will  set  to  work  at  once  work- 
ing for  reaction  in  Russia.  The  grafters  of  the  old 
system,  and  the  German  element  in  Russia  will  take 
advantage  of  the  natural  tendency  of  social  groups  to 
waver  in  their  opinions.  It  is  not  to  be  believed,  how- 
ever, that  Russia  can  ever  again  live  under  an  autocracy. 

With  the  coming  of  a  free  press  and  free  speech, 
the  cause  of  free  religion  has  its  great  opportunity. 
American  denominations  after  the  war  will  do  well  to 
foster  native  movements  in  the  religious  life  of  Russia 
that  are  working  out  toward  modern  religious  con- 
ceptions. 

'iiiiniiiiiiiii HiiiiiiMiMMinHniiMiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiMinnMMMiMiiuiniiinNiiiniiiniinNMinMiMMiiiMiJiiMiiiinniiniMiniiiiiMMMiMinnMMiniitniHiitiiiniiiiiHiiiiuiiiiiiiiiii' 


What  Life  Is 

"What  is  life  but  zvhat  a  man  is  thinking 
of  all  day?" — Emerson. 

If  life  were  only  what  a  man 

Thinks  daily  of, — his  little  care, 
His  petty  ill,  his  trivial  plan ; 

His  sordid  scheme  to  hoard  and  spare ; 
His  meagre  ministry,  his  all 

Unequal  strength  to  breast  the  stream; 
His  large  regret — repentance  small; 

His  poor  unrealized  dream, — 

'Twere  scarcely  worth  passing  a  nod ; 

Meet  it  should  end  where  it  began. 
But  'tis  not  so.    Life  is  what  God 

Is  daily  thinking  of  for  man. 

— Julia  M.  Lippmann 


lllllllllllllMlllhllJIJIMIJIIIHIIIHJM 


iiitiliiiiiiiiiiiilliuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHuiiiiiinii! 


IIHHIIIHIIIIIIJINIIIIIII 


llllilJIHNIKIIIIIIIIlia 


Why  I  Am  a  Disciple 


INTRODUCTORY 

IN  this  series  of  articles  I  am  consenting  to  set  forth 
those  personal  convictions  and  feelings  that  underlie 
my  fellowship  with  the  Disciples  of  Christ.  The 
articles  will  appear  to  be  more  intimate,  more  ego- 
centric, than  I  like  any  writing  of  mine  to  be;  but  I 
recognize  that  personal  testimony  to  the  faith  that  is  in 
one  is  always  of  value,  regardless  of  the  importance  or 
unimportance  of  the  person  testifying.  Whatever  value, 
therefore,  attaches  to  my  personal  testimony  is  to  be 
determined  by  the  readers  of  these  articles  who  are 
capable  of  separating  the  testimony  from  the  person- 
ality and  weighing  it  according  to  its  actual  worth. 

Before  going  into  the  reasons  for  my  being  a  Dis- 
ciple it  will  perhaps  be  advisable  to  state  one  or  two 
things  concerning  my  fundamental  point  of  view.  This 
is  important,  because  I  wish  to  define  and  restrict  the 
expectations  of  my  readers  and  perhaps  to  disarm  in 
advance  certain  criticisms.  I  think  two  points  are  all 
that  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  state. 

*     *     * 

The  first  of  these  is  that  in  my  thinking  on  religious 
matters  I  am  what  is  usually  called  a  liberal.  I  do 
not  like  party  classifications  in  the  church  and  I  resent 
the  use  of  labels  in  any  exclusive  fashion  whose  effect 
is  to  separate  men  of  faith  into  hostile  camps  or  sects. 
Yet  I  suppose  there  is  no  way  of  avoiding  certain  char- 
acteristic attitudes  or  opinions  by  which  one  seems  to 
have  more  affinity,  intellectually,  with  a  certain  type 
of  mind  and  less  affinity  with  another  type  of  mind. 
So  I  frankly  say  that,  so  far  as  one  must  take  sides, 
I  stand  with  those  who  are  called  liberals. 

In  allowing  myself  to  be  classified  as  a  liberal  I 
mean  that  I  accept  without  fear  or  apprehension  the 
work  of  modern  scientific  scholarship  in  all  fields  of 
knowledge,  including  those  fields  closely  related  to 
religion. 

I  am  not  afraid  of  science.  It  is  challenging  the 
truth  of  many  things  that  have  been  for  a  long  time  held 
true.  But  I  see  no  reason  why  the  truth  of  things 
cannot  be  ascertained  as  well  by  our  generation  as  by 
any  previous  generation,  and  perhaps  better,  for  we 
have  the  successes  and  failures  of  the  past  by  which  to 
guide  our  efforts.  Many  people  live  in  constant  fear 
that  science  is  about  to  rob  them  of  their  religion ;  so 
they  cling  tenaciously  and  even  hysterically  to  certain 
dogmas  and  points  of  view  which  scientific  facts  have 
long  since  fully  discredited.  Such  people  are  incapable 
of  reexamining  the  grounds  of  their  faith  in  the  light 
of  the  indisputable  new  knowledge  that  has  come  to 
the  world  in  the  past  one  hundred  years. 

I  try  to  avoid  any  such  hardening  of  my  mind.  I 
try  to  keep  sympathetic  with  the  painstaking  work  of 
scholarship.  With  Huxley,  I  keep  saying  to  myself 
that  the  mind's  first  duty  is  to  walk  humbly  in  the  midst 
of  facts.  This  attitude  of  openmindedness,  of  willing- 
ness, to  accept  reality  for  whatever  it  may  prove  itself 
to  be,  seems  to  me  to  be  of  the  essence  of  religion,  and 
it  is  what  I  mean  when  I  use  the  word  liberal. 

With  respect  to  religious  truth,  as  with  truth  of 
any  kind,  I  expect  change.  I  plan  for  progress.  I  believe 
it  is  in  our  power  to  know  more  than  our  fathers  knew, 
just  as  I  believe  it  will  be  in  our  children's  power  to 
know  more   than  we  know.     It  is  this   sense  of  the 


progressive  character  of  all  our  knowledge  that  pre- 
disposes me  with  a  friendly  feeling  toward  those  whose 
teaching  tends  to  break  up  somewhat  the  dogmas  and 
conventions  that  have  been  handed  down  from  the  past. 
I  believe  that  new  paths  for  man  to  walk  in  are  yet 
being  opened  up,  and  my  disposition  is  to  keep  evermore 
on  the  lookout  for  the  pioneer  whom,  haply,  God  has  • 
chosen  to  lead  the  way.  This  attitude  of  expectancy  is, 
I  think,  characteristic  of  what  is  called  liberalism. 

Yet  while  I  am  a  liberal  I  do  not  like  to  think  of 
myself  as  a  radical.  I  am  no  free  lance.  I  believe  that 
(true  liberalism  is  reverent  toward  the  past.  I  believe 
that  any  man  who  despises  the  past,  or  discounts  it,  or 
lacks  sympathy  with  it  is,  so  far  forth,  a  dangerous 
leader,  and  I  could  not  follow  him.  A  teacher  of  re- 
ligion who  has  no  anchor  in  the  past  is  as  harmful 
to  progress  as  is  a  visionless  reactionary.  The  .true 
liberal  is  open-minded  to  the  old  as  well  as  to  the  new,  . 
and  herein  is  the  conservative  principle  of  liberalism. 
To  my  mind  the  major  task  of  progress  is  not  so  much 
to  discover  truth  that  is  brand  new  as  it  is  perennially 
to  reinterpret  the  old  truth  so  as  to  preserve  its  truth 
and  yet  fit  it  to  the  conditions  of  the  new  age. 

Concretely,  what  I  have  said  means  that  I  heartily 
accept,  for  one  thing,  the  modern  view  of  the  Bible.  , 
I  do  not  think  of  the  book  in  just  the  same  way  it  was 
conceived  a  generation  or  two  ago.  I  am  convinced 
'  that  the  very  preservation  of  the  Bible  as  a  book  of 
power  in  men's  lives  demands  the  adoption  of  the 
view  of  modern  scholarship  with  regard  to  it.  So  far 
as  I  have  been  able  to  test  this  view  by  the  facts,  it 
seems  to  me  to  answer  to  the  facts  better  than  the 
traditional  view.  I  am  not  afraid  of  higher  criticism. 
Somehow  I  have  too  much  confidence  in  the  great  time- 
less values  of  the  Scriptures  to  allow  me  to  tremble 
when  historical  and  literary  scholars  announce  changes 
from  the  traditional  dates  or  authors  of  the  various 
books  of  the  Bible. 

My  liberalism  means  also  that  I  find  greater  satis- 
faction in  the  modern  theological  conceptions  than  in 
the  older.  Science  and  experience  have  greatly  changed 
our  view  of  the  world,  of  the  physical  universe  and  the 
social  order  of  mankind.  It  seems  to  me  exceedingly 
unlikely  that  it  should  not  also  have  greatly  modified 
our  thought  of  God  and  Christ  and  the  soul  of  man.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  it  has  done  so,  and  I  think  for  the 
better. 

As  a  teacher  of  religion,  my  liberalism  extends  in 
other  directions  also, — in  the  direction  where  modern 
psychology  is  working  to  give  us  newer  and  clearer  . 
understanding  of  the  inner  life,  and  in  the  direction 
where  modern  social  theories  are  breaking  up  the  crust 
of  established  custom  and  introducing  principles  of  re- 
construction which,  it  seems  to  me,  are  bound  to  give 
us  a  plan  of  living  together  far  happier  and  more  just 
than  the  social  scheme  to  which  through  long  ages  we 
have  grown  accustomed.  My  interest  in  these  activities 
of  scholarship  and  my  sympathy  with  their  results 
tends  to  liberalize  my  thinking  on  matters  of  religion. 

So  much  for  my  liberalism. 

*     *     * 

The  other  thing  I  want  to  say  about  myself  is  that 
I  am  a  stout  evangelical.  I  am  just  as  evangelical  as 
I  am  liberal.     I  do  not  find  my  intellectual  affinities 


10                                                        THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  March  29,  1917 

with  those  whose  liberalism  is  colorless  latitudinarian-  I  believe  in  prayer. 

ism.     I  believe  in  believing  something.     And  I  believe  I  believe  in  the  Church. 

something  can  be   believed   in   right  hard  without  its  I  believe  in  conversion. 

becoming  dogmatism.     The  things  about  religion  that  I  believe  in  the  life  immortal. 

I  believe  in,  and  believe  in  right  hard,  are  the  evangel-  These  great  evangelical  realities  I  believe  in,  and  I 

ical  things.  believe  in  them  with  deep  conviction.    I  hold  that  with 

I  believe  in  God,  a  personal  Father,  who  is  in  my  the  coming  of  these  evangelical  ideas  to  mankind  there 

life  and  my  world  and  in  whom  my  life  and  my  world  came  a  vast  new  enrichment  of  man's  spiritual  life.    And 

have  reality.                                                                   '     *Si  \  I  hold  that  to  drop  them  from  the  vocabulary  of  our 

I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  uniquely  the  Son  of  God,  faith  would   be   like  disemboweling  the   Christian  re- 

who  gave  himself  in  life  and  in  death  for  us  men  and  ligion. 

our  salvation.     I  believe  in  Jesus  as  both  a  fact  of  his-  So  much  for  my  evangelicalism, 

tory  and  a  fact  of  the  living  present,  to  teach,  to  guide  To  some  people  it  may  seem  inconsistent  for  me  to 

and  to  save  mankind.    I  believe  that  the  moral  wisdom  class  myself  as  both  liberal  and  evangelical.    To  me  it 

illustrated  in  the  life  and  character  of  Jesus  is  the  norm  is  not  at  all  inconsistent.    I  should  enjoy  showing  why 

by  which  we  are  perennially  to  correct  and  purify  our  it  is  not  inconsistent,  but  that  it  is  not  my  purpose  to 

thinking  about  God  and  to  define  our  own  duty  and  do  at  this  time.    I  am  not  arguing  anything  now.    I  am 

ideals.  merely  stating  a  fact  or  two  about  my  own  fundamental 

I   believe   in   the   incarnation,   that   in   Christ   God  point  of  view, 

was  and  is  uniquely  revealed.  As  I  proceed  from  week  to  week  to  state  why  I  am 

I  believe  in  the  vicarious  atonement,  as  the  principle  a  Disciple  I  ask  my  readers  to  keep  in  mind  these. two 

by    which    Jesus    lived    and    died,    and    as   a   profound  presuppositions  as  a  sort  of  background  against  which 

ethical  fact  in  common  human  experience.  to  interpret  whatever  I  may  say. 

I  believe  in  the  Holy  Spirit.  Charles  Clayton  Morrison. 

The  Old  Testament  in  the  New 

Twelfth  Article  of  the  Series  on  the  Bible 

By  Herbert  L.  Willett  j 

AS  the  Iliad  finds  its  sequel  in  the  Odyssey,  and  direct  or  implied,  to  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament 

Paradise  Lost  in  Paradise  Regained,  so  the  New  on  the  pages  of  the  New.    And  some  of  the  books,  such 

Testament  forms  the  essential  conclusion  to  the  as   Matthew,    Luke,   Romans,   and   Hebrews,   seem,   in 

Old.    Without  it  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  are  like  a  story  parts,  like  an  anthology  of  Scripture  texts  held  together 

without  a  final  chapter,  a  torso  without  a  head.     But  by  the  framework  of  the  argument.     Other  books,  like 

the  parallel  with  the  other  writings  named  is  not  com-  John,  the  Corinthian  and  Galatian  epistles,  and  1  Peter, 

plete.     For  the  Iliad  is  greater  than  the  Odyssey,  and,  fall  not  far  behind  in  this  regard.    If  Philippians,  Colos- 

as  Macauley  eloquently  pointed  out,  the  Paradise  Re-  sians,  the  Thessalonians,  Philemon,  Titus  and  the  three 

gained  did  not  compare  in  majesty  and  impressiveness  Johannine  epistles  show  little  or  no  trace  of  this  in- 

with  its  great  predecessor.    With  the  Bible  it  is  not  so.  terest,  the  difference  is  not  difficult  to  explain.    And  in 

Wonderful  as  is  the  Old  Testament  in  literary  beauty,  the  other  books  the  references  are  noticeable, 
in  moral  urgency  and  religious  passion,  the  New  Testa- 

,    .                      u            -a.   ■            i                           j            1-1        ti_  SATURATED   WITH   THE  OLD   TESTAMENT 

ment  towers  above  it  in  solemn  grandeur  like  Lebanon 

above  the  sea.  This  dependence  of  the  Christian  writers  upon  the 

Nor  can  they  ever  be  divorced.     Numbers  of  read-  Old  Testament  was  inevitable.     They  were  nearly  all 

ers  delight  in  the  rich  treasures  of  the  Iliad  who  never  Jews,  and  their  education  and  experience  were  in  the 

look  into  Homer's  later  work;  and  probably  few  of  the  atmosphere  of  the  great  classic  of  their  race.    It  formed 

admirers  of   Milton's  great   epic   have   ever  completed  their   historical   and   literary   background.     Its   stately 

its  sequel.    But  the  two  Testaments  are  linked  together  sentences  were  the  warp  and  woof  of  learned  discus- 

m   an   indissoluble  unity.     One  cannot  know  the  one  si011)  and  colored  the  talk  of  the  street.     To  Jesus  and 

without  the  other.    As  the  cord  to  the  bow,  or  the  hand  his  first  interpreters  the  people,  places,  incidents  and 

to  the   harp,   these   collections   of  religious   documents  figures  of  speech  of  the  Old  Testament  were  so  well 

are  essential  to  each  other.    Tertullian  phrased  this  idea  known  that  they  formed  the  most  usable  material  of 

m  the  lines  familiar  to  the  fathers  of  the  church:  common  speech.     And  when  to  this  fact  one  adds  the 

Novum  Tegmentum  in  Vctere  Met;  reverence    in   which    the    Scripture   was    held,    and   its 

Fetus  Testamentum  hi  Novo  patet.  weight  when  cited  in  argument,  it  is  evident  that  the 

disciples  found  it  of  the  highest  value  in  the  preaching 

ir,5l=N™!crr„,leNoTdisTvCel1.;  °f  *«  «w  fa!th-     Particularly  did  they  search  it  for 

utterances   which   could   be   construed   as   referring  in 
The  most  casual  reader  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  even  the  most  remote  manner  to  Jesus  and  his  min- 
is impressed  with  the  familiarity  of  the  writers  with  istry. 

the  books  of  the  older  collection,  and  their  frequent  use  It  would  not  be  venturing  on  too  strong  a  state- 

of  them  for  purposes  of  illustration  and  enforcement,  ment  to  affirm  that  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament 

There  are  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  references,  either  were  literally  saturated  with  the  ideas,  incidents  and 


March  29,  1917  THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  11 

phrases  of  the  Old.     Quite  apart  from  their  conscious  text  of  the  Old  Testament.     For  example,  the  author 

efforts  to  use  its  language  in  citation  and  argument,  of  Hebrews  appears  not  to  quote  any  other  than  the 

they  fell  naturally  into  the  habit  of  employing  its  words  LXX  text  save  in  one  passage,  Heb.  10:30,  and  there 

and  sentences  in  their  writings.    The  instances  in  which  he  seems  to  follow  Paul  in  Rom.  12:19.     And  second, 

Paul  reveals  the  influence  of  the  Scriptures  upon  his  most  writers   and   speakers  were   willing  to  permit   a 

thinking   and   utterance   are   beyond    computation.     A  fairly  accurate  rendering  of  the  passage  to  satisfy  the 

glance  through  the  epistle  to  the  Romans  will  show  occasion.    They  did  not  appear  to  be  scrupulous  in  pre- 

the  extent  of  this  in  a  single  document.     The  author  senting  a  precise  rendering. 

of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  likewise  indebted  to  In  like  manner  the  facts  of  Old  Testament  pass- 
them  for  almost  numberless  terms  of  speech  such  as  ages  are  often  used  with  as  much  freedom  as  the  lan- 
"Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire,"  or  "Hereby  some  have  guage.  In  the  speech  of  Stephen  (Acts  7:16)  there  is 
entertained  angels  unawares."  Even  in  a  less  con-  found  a  curious  misstatement  regarding  the  burial  place 
spicuous  writer  like  the  author  of  1  Peter  one  finds  of  the  patriarchs,  due,  perhaps,  to  the  speaker  or  his 
such  reminiscent  expressions  as  "A  living  stone,  re-  chronicler.  In  1  Corinthians  10:18  Paul  speaks  of  the 
jected  indeed  of  men,  but  with  God,  elect,  precious;"  23,000  who  fell  in  one  day,  while  in  Numbers  25:9, 
"which  in  time  past  were  no  people,  but  now  are  the  24,000  is  the  number.  In  Hebrews  9:4  the  altar  of 
people  of  God ;"  and  "who  did  not  see,  neither  was  quite  incense  is  mistakenly  placed  within  the  second  veil  of 
formed  in  his  mouth,"  which,  without  being  exact  quo-  the  temple.  Other  instances  of  free  handling  of  Old 
tations,  carry  the  reader  back  at  once  to  the  pages  of  Testament  facts  are  familiar.  They  merely  illustrate 
Isaiah  and  Hosea.  Furthermore,  that  the  story  of  the  unstudied  approach  which  the  writers  of  the  Christ- 
Israel  as  a  nation  was  familiar  as  the  background  of  ian  oracles  made  to  the  classics  of  their  race, 
all  the  thinking  of  these  disciples  of  the  Lord,  one  But  even  more  interesting  is  the  manner  in  which 
needs  only  to  recall  the  summaries  of  that  history  pre-  at  times  the  statements  of  the  Old  Testament  are 
sented  in  the  speech  of  Stephen  (Acts  7-16f),  the  ad-  changed  from  their  obvious  meaning  to  make  them 
dress  of  Paul  at  Antioch,  Pisidia  (Acts  13:16),  and  serve  the  purpose  of  the  writers.  A  few  examples  out 
the  splendid  review  of  the  heroes  of  faith  in  the  of  many  will  illustrate  their  method,  which  was  in  no 
eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews.  sense  due  to  any  irreverence,  or  the  wish  to  modify  the 
Deeply  impressive  is  Jesus'  familiarity  with  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures.  It  was  merely  the  fact 
Old  Testament,  and  his  frequent  use  of  its  material,  that  the  words,  slightly  changed,  fitted  so  well  the 
His  references  to  Moses,  Isaiah,  Naaman,  David,  Jonah,  meaning  they  wished  to  convey  that  they  asked  per- 
Solomon,  Noah,  Lot,  Daniel,  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  Tyre  mission  of  the  original  writers,  so  to  speak,  to  make  the 

and  Sidon;  his  frequent  citation  of  favorite  passages,  transfifr  of  frorm  and  meaning.     In  Psarlrt\  10t:4  there. 

,  ,,  j       r  tt  <(T    i     •  i        ,  is  a  fine  reference  to     ehovah  s   use   of  the  forces   of 

such  as  the  words  of  Hosea,     1  desire  mercy  and  not  J         r      .  .  .        J     .        ,,,,T.  .     .     .         .    , 

.£„,,.,.                  A,                          ,.            r  nature  tor  his  gracious  ends:       Who  maketh  the  winds 
sacrifice,     and   his  reliance  on  the  great  sanctions   of  ,  .  &  .  .        ...  a  r      »     T     u 
t-.     ,                   .     ,,      ,           , ,  .    ,         *  , .         ,  his  messengers,  his  ministers  a  flaming  Are.       in  .tie- 
Deuteronomy  in  the  days  of  his  temptation,  show  some-  .            .    ,x,          .,            ...              ,       °  ,       .«  . 
_,,.          *  ii_     -    i       £      ■  j   •     .i.             i         r  ,i_         .•  brews  1:4  the  author,  wishing  to  show  that  the  angels 
thing  of  the  value  found  in  the  oracles  of  the  nation,                ,                           ,            .,,  °.t      c                 -l 

»?i  ,,    ,      j     •      ,  £         ,i  cannot  compare  in  glory  with  the  bon,  uses  the  passage 

and  the  strength  he  derived  from  them.  .     ,.  .  r    «™n_  i-.li.-i_'  i        •  j     i5 

°  in  this  way:       Who  maketh  his  angels  winds,  his  mes- 

freedom  in  quotation  sengers  a  flame  of  fire."    Hosea,  in  a  moment  of  fierce 

T  1   . .       ,        .  .   _, ,   _  indignation    against    the    impenitent    people    of    Israel, 

In  studying  the  citations  of  Old  Testament  pass-  confident  that  God  would   never         in  t  of  his 

ages  by  the  writers  of  the  Gospels  and  the  Epistles,  one  tQ  de  the  rebellious  natioilj  summons  death 

is  compelled  to  note  the  freedom  with  which  the  older  and  the  tQ  do  thdr  WQrst .    ..Shall  j  ransom  them 

words  are  used.     While  most  of  the  passages  quoted  frQm  the  r  q£  the  ?     ShaU  j  redeem  them 

are  easily  traceable  to  their  source,  and,  m  many  in-  from  death?     Q    death    where  are  th        lagues?     0, 
stances,  the  authors  are  named,  yet  in  several  cases  the  where  ig  th     destruction?     Repentance  shall  be 

citation  is  erroneous   or  mixed,  as  when  in  Luke  3 :4-6  hidden  from  mine  „     But   PauU   in  his  glorious 

the  writer  has  added  to  the  oracle  of  Isa .40:1   p.  a  euthanasiaj  using  the  words  in  precisely  the  opposite 

phrase  from  Exodus   14:13;  in  Mark   1:2,   3  reference  sensercries   «0  deathj  where  is  thy  Yictory?     O  death 

is  made  to  Isaiah    but  the  passages  are  from  Mai   3:1  where  is  th     sting?»  and  precedes  this  quotation  with 

and  Isa.  40:3;  ml  Cor   14:21  a  passage  from  Isa.  28:11  one  frorn  Isaiah)  «Death  is  swanGwed  up  in  victory." 

is  spoken  of  as  found     in  the  law     while  a  few,  like  Stm   more  familiar  is   the  bold   appropriation  by  the 

those  quoted   in   Rom.  9:15   and  Matt.  2:23,   are   not  evangelists  of  the  words  of  Isaiah  40:3  regarding  the 

found  in  any  portion  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  are  voice  that   cries  to   exiled    Tudah,   «Prepare  ye  m  the 

either  quoted  from  unknown  sources  or  are  more  or  wilderness  the  way  of  the  Lord ;  make  straight  in  the 

less  expressive  of  general  sentiments  found  in  the  Scrip-  desert   a   highwa      for   our    God."      By   onlv   a   minor 

ture.    Moreover,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  particular  chang6j   hardl      more  than   of  punctuation/the   entire 

effort  to  quote  with  nice  exactness.    In  comparing  such  meaning  of  the  passage  is  altered,  and  it  is  applied  to 

passages  as  Matt  4:14-16  with  its  original  in  Isa.  9:1,2;  the  voke  of  John  the  Baptist  cry}ng  in  the  desert     To 

or  Acts  2 :17  with  Joel  2 :28-31 ;  or  Rom.  9 :25  with  Hos.  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  such  uses  of  the  older 

■t!  °'J  '  °!lscores  of  such  quotatlons'  *  1S  obvious  that  Scriptures  must  have  been  not  only  permissible  but 

the  New  Testament  rendering  is   not  verbally  exact.  neCessafy.    And  for  this  reason  they  are  valuable  aids 

This  is  due  to  two  causes.    First,  there  was  an  almost  to  our  understanding  of  the  regard  in  which  they  held 

universal  employment  of  the  Greek  translation  known  these  oracles 

as  the  LXX,  instead  of  the  original  Hebrew,  which  very  - 

few   understood.     The   LXX  was  at  best  an   inexact  ARE  THESE  PREDICTI0*S- 

translation,  in  many  places  hardly  more  than  a  para-  And  this  leads  appropriately  to  the  so-called  pre- 

phrase.    Yet  few  of  the  early  Christians  knew  any  other  dictions  in  the  Old  Testament,  which  are  said  to  have 


12 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


March  29,  1917 


been  "fulfilled"  in  the  New.  Much  of  the  older  apolo- 
getic of  the  church  was  concerned  with  the  prophetic 
anticipations  of  events  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  and  their 
striking  realization  in  his  ministry.  Long  lists  of  such 
passages  were  cited  as  proofs  of  the  miraculous  fore- 
sight of  these  earlier  ministers  of  God.  The  argu- 
ment from  prophecy  has  largely  shifted  from  this 
ground  toda)r,  and  is  based  upon  much  more  substan- 
tial foundations.  Most  of  the  claims  made  by  eager 
but  uncritical  exponents  of  the  Bible  require  ex- 
amination and  correction.  The  great  forward-looking 
hopes  of  the  Old  Testament  saints  are  a  luminous  and 
convincing  feature  of  the  Scriptures,  but  they  move  on 
levels  far  higher  than  the  minute  and  circumstantial 
"predictions''  formerly  exploited. 

One  has  but  to  study  these  New  Testament  refer- 
ences to  the  older  writings  in  the  light  of  careful  com- 
parison to  be  warned  away  from  the  error  of  regarding 
them  as  the  realization  of  predictive  effort.  A  few  ex- 
amples will  suffice  to  illustrate  this  principle.  Hosea, 
referring  to  a  notable  experience  of  the  ancient  nation, 
says :  ""When  Israel  was  a  child  I  loved  him,  and  I 
called  my  son  out  of  Egypt."  The  writer  of  the  First 
Gospel,  feeling  the  appropriateness  of  the  words  to  the 
return  of  Jesus  from  the  refuge  in  Egypt  writes,  "That 
it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the  Lord 
through  the  prophet,  'Out  of  Egypt  did  I  call  my  son.'  " 
The  evangelist  knew  that  in  the  event  those  earlier 
words  came  to  new  meaning,  were  filled  out,  fulfilled. 
But  would  even  a  casual  reader  assert,  in  the  light  of 
the  entire  message  of  Hosea,  that  the  words  had  at  first 
the  remotest  application  to  Jesus? 

In  a  critical  moment  in  the  story  of  Jerusalem, 
when  a  powerful  king  of  Assyria  had  invaded  the  north 
regions  of  Zebulon  and  Naphtali,  and  seemed  about  to 
march  on  Judah,  Isaiah  calmed  the  perturbed  souls  of 
his  fellow-citizens  with  the  confident  assurance  that 
Tiglath-pileser  and  his  invading  army  should  soon  be 
expelled  from  the  land.  That  message  is  recorded  in 
Chapter  9  of  the  prophet's  book.  The  writer  of  the 
First  Gospel  perceived  the  appropriateness  of  these 
words  to  the  light  and  comfort-bringing  arrival  of 
Jesus  in  the  same  regions  centuries  afterward,  and  did 
not  hesitate  to  apply  them  to  the  event,  saying,  "That 
it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  Isaiah  the 
Prophet."  Yet  here  again,  and  in  scores  of  similar  in- 
stances, no  one  who  reads  the  prophet's  words  in  the 
light  of  their  context  would  think  of  regarding  them  as 
predictions  referring  to  Jesus. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  there  is  not  an  in- 
stance in  the  New  Testament  of  any  such  incident  in 
the  life  of  Jesus  that  holds  to  any  Old  Testament  pass- 
age the  relation  of  fulfillment  to  prediction.  It  will  be 
shown  presently  that  the  great  prophetic  movement  of 
the  Hebrew  interpreters  of  God  anticipated  One  who 
was  to  come  and  bring  deliverance  to  his  people  and 
the  world.  But  none  of  the  words  which  the  evan- 
gelists so  freely  appropriate  from  the  Scriptures  as  "ful- 
filled" in  the  incidents  of  Jesus'  career  have  other  value 
than  that  of  significant  coincidence,  which  the  friends 
of  the  Lord  were  quick  to  perceive  and  utilize  in  the 
interest  of  his  wider  ministry.  Indeed  one  of  these 
very  writers  (T  Pet.  1:20)  was  at  pains  to  affirm  that 
"no  prophecy  is  of  any  private  interpretation,"  i.  e., 
refers  to  any  one  event  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  But  many 
such  events  were  made  more  impressive  to  Jewish 
minds  by  being  connected  with  venerable  words  that 


seemed  to  live  again  and  complete  themselves  in  the 
life  of  the  Lord. 

CONFIDENT  USES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

It  is  this  aspect  of  Jesus'  exalted  place  in  the  regard 
of  his  disciples  which  helps  us  to  go  a  step  further,  and 
find  some  explanation  for  their  astonishing  and  au- 
dacious employment  of  other  utterances  of  the  Old 
Testament  as  applying  to  him.  It  is  clear  that  they 
searched  the  Scriptures  with  eager  intent  to  find  in 
them  phrases  that  fitted  the  life  or  the  ministry  of  the 
Master.  To  their  surprise  and  delight,  they  found  the 
Scripture  full  of  such  words.  The  older  book  was 
"gravida  Christi,"  pregnant  with  Christ.  Statements 
that  originally  applied  to  some  king  or  saint  of  the 
olden  time  now  seemed  to  glow  with  a  new  meaning 
as  the  reader  thought  of  the  Lord.  The  cries  of  martyrs 
or  the  laments  of  persecuted  souls  voiced  in  too  vivid 
a  manner  the  sufferings  ,of  the  Savior  not  to  refer  to 
him  in  some  manner.  The  explanatory  context  that 
warns  us  against  the  supposition  that  the  speaker  had 
any  other  than  his  own  griefs  in  mind,  or  could  have 
been  interested  in  a  distant  divine  sufferer,  fell  away 
from  their  thoughts  as  they  read  the  pregnant  phrases 
and  reflected  upon  their  holy  Lord,  the  victim  of  out- 
rageous violence.  They  knew  him  to  be  the  Servant 
of  God  for  the  new  day.  Whatever,  therefore,  had  been 
said  regarding  Israel,  the  ancient  servant  of  God,  or 
any  of  the  saints  who,  through  the  years  had  lifted  to 
heaven  the  white  flowers  of  blameless  and  sacrificial 
lives,  must  also  be  true  of  him  in  whom  all  the  striv- 
ings of  elect  souls  were  brought  to  completion. 

With  confidence  born  of  this  conviction,  Peter 
affirmed  that  the  words  of  the  Sixteenth  Psalm  were 
spoken  of  Jesus  (Acts  2:25  f.).  In  the  same  mood  the 
writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  applied  to  him 
the  words  of  God  to  David  regarding  his  posterity  (2 
Sam.  7:14)  ;  the  appeal  of  a  psalmist  to  the  angels,  or 
the  gods,  to  worship  Jehovah  (Ps.  97:7)  ;  the  reference 
to  humanity  in  the  Eighth  Psalm ;  the  words  of  God, 
through  a  psalmist,  to  the  newly  chosen  king  of  Israel 
(Ps.  2:7),  and  the  words  of  God  giving  assurance  of 
royal  and  priestly  power  to  another  king  of  the  nation 
(Ps.  110:4).  These  are  only  examples  of  a  large  group 
that  might  be  cited.  The  careful  reader  who  is  at  pains 
to  study  the  Old  Testament  passages  perceives  at  once 
that  their  writers  were  thinking  and  speaking  of  mat- 
ters in  no  way  connected  with  the  life  or  ministry  of 
our  Lord.  The  claim  often  made  that  there  was  a 
double  meaning  in  the  prophetic  words,  a  second  sig- 
nificance in  the  thought,  is  a  violation  of  every  canon 
of  straightforward  and  honest  interpretation.  Skepti- 
cism has  been  quick  to  seize  upon  such  assertions  made 
by  Christian  apologists,  and  to  charge  the  entire  argu- 
ment based  on  prophecy  with  disingenuousness  and 
perversion  of  the  facts. 

RABBINIC  METHODS  OF  INTERPRETATION 

But  it  is  wholly  unjust  to  the  writers  of  the  New 
Testament.  It  must  be  remembered  that  they  lived  in 
the  atmosphere  of  Jewish  speculation  regarding  the 
Scriptures,  and  that  many  did  not  hesitate  to  regard  the 
figurative  and  allegorical  uses  of  the  Old  Testament 
as  even  more  important  than  the  plain  statement  of 
fact.  One  sees  examples  of  this  influence  in  the  writ- 
ings of  more  than  one  of  the  New  Testament  authors. 
For  example,  Paul  employs  the  Jewish  legend  that  the 
rock  from  which  Moses  drew  water  actually  followed 


March  29,  1917  THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  1 J 

the  Israelites  through  the  wilderness  (1  Cor.  10:4) ;  he  tries  from  which  a  new  nation  and  a  new  world  would 

refers  to  the  veil  Moses  put  over  his  face,  as  a  symbol  emerge  (cf.  Isa.  61:lf)  Jesus  took  to  himself  all  these 

of  the  veil  of  ignorance,  that  had  fallen  over  Jewish  prophetic   words,   conscious   that   in    him    alone   could 

minds  in  the  reading  of  their  Scriptures  (2  Cor.  3:7-16)  ;  they  find  their  realization  (see  Lu.  4:16-21;.    But  most 

he  employs  the  two  mountains,  Sinai  and  Zion,  and  the  of  all  did  he  find  in  the  sublime  words  of  the  Song  of 

two  women,  Hagar  and  Sarah,  as  figures  illustrating  the  Suffering  Servant  (Isa.  52:13-53:12;  the  picture  of 

the  relations  of  the  law  and  the  gospel  (Gal.  4:21-31)  ;  his  sacrificial  career.     Written  originally  of  the  nation 

and  he  uses  the  distinction  between  the  singular  and  crushed  into  the  dust  of  Babylonian  exile,  yet  animated 

the  plural  of  the  word  "seed"  (Gal.  3:6)  in  a  manner  with  the  deathless  hope  of  survival  and  service,  Jesus 

that  seems  to  us  wholly  fantastic,  but  was  quite  char-  knew  that  the  only  true  fulfilment  of  such  expectations 

acteristic  of  rabbinic  practice.    In  a  similar  manner  the  was  not  in  the  nation  but  in  himself.     For  that  reason 

writer  of  1   Peter  makes  the  Ark  of  Noah  a  type  of  he  laid  calm  and  confident  hands  on  all  such  oracles, 

baptism    (I    Pet.   3:21);   and   the   author   of   Hebrews  and  with  complete  insight  into  their  further  reaches  of 

makes  the  tabernacle  a  type  of  the  church  (  Chapts.  8,  anticipation,    applied    them    to    himself    and    his    holy 

9),  and   Melchizedek  of  Christ   (Chapt.  7:1   f.).     The  labor  for  the  world. 

intelligent  reader  of  the  Old  Testament  does  not  need  In  the  light  of  these  facts,  one  understands  such 

to  be  told  that  in  their  original  setting  none  of  these  deeply  impressive  language  as  that  used  by  the  Savior 

persons  or  objects  had  the  slightest  connection  with  again  and  again  to  his  disciples,  in  the  effort  to  instruct 

the  life  of  Jesus,  or  the  Christian  message.     At  the  them  regarding  his  function  as  the  world's  Redeemer, 

same  time  it    must  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  writing  to  It  was  not  to  specific  and  detailed  predictions  of  his 

a  group   of  people   like  the   first   Christians,   most   of  life  that  he  referred  when  he  spoke  of  his  approaching 

whom   were   either  Jews  or  acquainted  to   a  marked  passion,  for  there  are  none  such.     But  back  into  the 

degree  with  the  Old  Testament  books,  there  was  great  treasured    records    of   Hebrew    sufferers,    of   prophetic 

value  in  the  use  of  the  materials  of  that  older  literature  martyrs  and  of  patient  witnesses  of  the  truth  he  reached, 

as  illustrations  throwing  some  sort  of  light  upon  the  and  gathered  up  their  agitated  phrases,  their  broken 

principles  of  the   gospel.     To   modern  readers,   unac-  cries,  their  tremulous  hopes  for  better  days,  and  made 

quainted  with  the  dialectic  of  the  Jewish  schools,  some  them  his  own.     Hosea  (Chapt.  6:2)   had  with  broken 

of  these  references  seem  remote  and  unconvincing.  But  heart  besought  the  nation  to  turn  from  its  waywardness 

no  doubt  they  had  their  value  in  the  thought  of  the  to  God,  and  had  said,  "He  hath  smitten  us,  but  he  will 

Apostles,  and  in  no  instance  that  we  can  perceive  did  build  us  up.    After  two  days  he  will  revive  us,  and  on 

they  employ  them  without  full  warrant  of  the  literary  the  third  day  he  will  raise  us  up  and  we  shall  live." 

customs  of  their  age  and  people.     If,  therefore,  one  is  So  we  hear  Jesus  saying  to  the  disciples,  "All  the  things 

puzzled  at  times  to  find  the  connection  between  an  Old  that  are  written  by  the  prophets  shall  be  done  unto  the 

Testament   character   or   object   and   the   New   Testa-  Son  of  man.    For  he  shall  be  delivered  up  to  the  Gen- 

ment  idea  it  is  employed  to  symbolize,  it  must  be  re-  tiles,  and  shall  be  mocked,  and  shamefully  entreated, 

membered  that  to  the  disciples,  as  to  Jesus  himself,  the  and  spit  upon ;  and  they  shall  kill  him,  and  the  third 

Hebrew  Scriptures  were  the  literary  storehouse  from  day  he  shall  rise  again."     He  reproved  his  friends  for 

which  there  could  be  drawn  at  need  all  weapons  of  de-  their  slowness  of  heart  "to  believe  all  that  the  prophets 

fense  and  all  supplies  of  prophetic  assurance.  had  spoken,"  and  "opened  to  them  the  Scriptures,"  ex- 

messianic  prophecy  plaining  to  them  that  it  was  written  that  the  Christ 

must  suffer,  and  rise  from  the  dead  the  third  day  (cf. 

But  the  most  illuminative  and  convincing  feature  Lu.  24:25-49). 
of  the  relation   between  the   Old  Testament  and  the  On  such  exalted  levels  do  the  real  facts  of  Mes- 

New  is  the  forward-looking  attitude  of  the  prophetic  sianic  prophecy  lie.     If  something  seems  to  be  lost  in 

ministers  of  the  older  order.    Israel's  golden  age  lay  in  the  change  of  attitude  which  is  necessitated  by  a  frank 

the  future,  not  the  past.     The  purposes  of  God  were  facing  of  the  facts,  much  more  is  gained.     Prophecy 

not  completed  in  the  broken  and  marred  history  of  the  is  perceived  to  be  no  mere  set  of  predictions  regarding 

nation.     The  redemptive  function  of  the  tribes  of  the  events  in  the  life  of  the  Lord,  but  an  onward  sweep 

Lord  seemed  to  fail,  as  they  went  down  in  political  dis-  0f  the  divine  purpose,  a  progressive  realization  of  the 

aster.    But  ever  the  hope  of  survival  and  success  burned  truths  and  ideals  toward  which  the  Spirit  of  God  was 

in  the  hearts  of  choice  and  elect  servants  of  God.    That  evermore  leading  the  saints.    These  ideals  were  at  last 

hope  was  often  political  and  crass,  but  it  had  higher  made  clear  by  Jesus,  and  in  the  consciousness  of  that 

qualities  of  redemptive  and  sacrificial  passion.     Israel  sublime  fulfilment  he  rightly  claimed  all  the  sanctions 

saw  hints  of  it  (Chapts.  9,  11,  etc.)  ;  Jeremiah,  in  the  of  the  past.     He  knew  that  the  portrait  drawn  by  the 

Book   of   Consolation,   recorded    some   of   its   features  prophets  of  old,  not  in  the  carefully  traced  lines  of 

(Chapts.  31,  32),  the  Evangelical  Prophet  made  it  still  predictive  detail,  but  in  the  bold  strokes  of  world  antici- 

more  vivid,  keeping  it  ever  true  to  its    national  rooting  pation,  was  his  own.     The  prophets  described  not  a 

in  the  experiences  of  Israel,  but  revealing  at  last  the  person;  but  an  office,  a  function,  a  service  to  be  ren- 

full  glory  of  the  hope  in  the  coming  of  One  who  should  dered  to  Israel  and  the  world.     They  did  not  predict 

both  represent  and  transcend  the  nation,  and  bring  re-  the  life  of  Jesus,  but  they  foreshadowed  the  ministry 

demption  to  all  mankind  (Isa.  40-55).  of  the  Messiah.    It  was  the  task  of  Jesus  and  his  friends 

It  is  in  the  atmosphere  of  this  real  expectation  that  to  make  clear  to  the  men  of  their  time  that  he  was  that 

Jesus  moved,  and  it  was  in  the  complete  assurance  that  Messiah,  and  that  the  picture  they  had  in  the  Old  Testa- 

these  hopes  were  centered  in  him  that  he  went  forward  ment  was  in  reality  his  own.     So  to  the  Jews  he  said 

with  his  sublime  task.     In  the  Old  Testament  there  one  day,  "Ye  search  the  Scriptures,  for*  in  them  ye 

were  many  notes  of  suffering  and  depression,  such  as  think  ye  have  eternal  life.    And  little  as  you  perceive  it, 

are  found  in  Psalms  22  and  69.    There  were  confident  they  testify  of  me."    Then  he  added  sadly,  "But  ye  will 

anticipations  of  better  days  and  of  redemptive  minis-  not  come  to  me,  that  ye  may  have  life." 


"To  Have  and  to  Hold" 


By  Edgar  DeWitt  Jones 


IN  ALL  the  world  there  is  no  event 
so  rainbowed  with  romance  as  a 
wedding;  and  there  is  no  object  of 
interest  so  universally  popular  as  a 
bride.  Whether  the  wedding  be  an 
elaborate  society  event  or  a  simple  cer- 
emony in  a  humble  home,  glory  and 
romance  halo  the  scene.  Whoever  be- 
held a  bride  and  groom  at  a  railway 
station,  surrounded  by  a  gay  and  gar- 
rulous throng  of  friends,  without  ex- 
periencing a  tug  at  the  heart  and 
a  wishing  well  the  young  couple  in 
their  high  adventure  of  home  build- 
ing? Ah,  if  only  the  glory  and  halo 
remained  throughout  the  wedded  life 
of  every  bridal  couple!  If  only  the 
romance  never  died  or  faded  into  the 
light  of  common  day!  If  only  every 
married  life  were  one  continued  court- 
ship, how  beatific  the  results !  This 
subject  of  marriage  interests  old  and 
young  alike,  but  especially  the  young ; 
and  the  pity  is  that  so  little  is  said 
upon  this  important  subject  in  the  way 
of  wise  counsel  and  needed  instruc- 
tion. Alas,  that  so  much  is  said  that 
is  flippant  and  all  too  pointless ! 

MARRIAGE  IN  THE  SCRIPTURES 

The  Holy  Scriptures  accord  an  ex- 
alted place  to  the  estate  of  marriage. 
The  halo  of  glory  and  sanctity  is  over 
the  marriage  relationship  there,  and 
especially  in  the  New  Testament.  The 
great  law-giver,  Moses,  sought  to  safe- 
guard the  family ;  and  Jesus  reaffirmed 
the  teachings  of  Moses,  and  more : 
He  put  them  on  a  higher  level.  There 
is  a  wealth  of  significance  in  the  Scrip- 
tural words,  "Therefore  shall  a  man 
leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  shall 
cleave  unto  his  wife:  and  they  shall 
be  one  flesh."  According  to  the  Scrip- 
tures marriage  is  of  divine  origin. 
Jesus  glorified  the  wedding  feast  at 
Cana  by  his  presence.  Paul  likens  the 
unity  between  husband  and  wife  to 
that  mystical  unity  between  Christ  and 
his  church.  Jesus  regards  divorce  im- 
possible except  as  a  formal  recogni- 
tion of  the  already  broken  union.  The 
church  is  spoken  of  as  the  "bride  of 
Christ,"  and  the  figure  is  most  elo- 
quent. Young  people  everywhere  do 
well  to  observe  the  high  ideals  of  mar- 
riage taught  in  the  New  Testament, 
and  to  take  the  teaching  to  heart.  It 
will  profit  society  when  the  flippant 
attitude  of  thousands  toward  the  mar- 
riage relationship  gives  place  to  one 
of  respect  and  proper  regard.  Wed- 
ding ceremonies  ought  not  be  sad; 
they  are  solemn,  and  rightfully  so. 

THE  IDEAL  MARRIAGE 

The  ideal  marriage  is  not  difficult 
to  describe.    Physically,  the  bride  and 


■iiumiiiiiiiiiiitiiiHiiniiiimiiiimi i imiiiiiimiiiitiuiiiiiMmiiiiimimiiiiimimiiiimiiiiiiiitniii 

"Therefore  sluill  a  man  leave  his 
I  father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave 
|  unto  his  zvife:  and  they  shall  be  one 
1     flesh." — Genesis  2:24 

"To   have   and   to   hold   from   this 

I  day  forward,  for  better,  for  worse, 

I  for   richer,   for   poorer,   in   sickness 

I  and  in  health,  to  love  and  to  cherish, 

I  till   death  us  do  part,   according   to 

I  God's    holy    ordinance." — The   Book 

1  of  Common  Prayer. 


liimlliiillin 


tlMIIIIIMIIUMIIIIIIIIIIUIIIItlinillllllllllllllllltllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllHIIMIIIIIIItniMIIIIIIIIIIII 


groom  should  be  the  picture  of  robust, 
perfect  health,  free  from  any  taint  of 
disease,  fit  to  be  the  parents  of  a  race 
of  supermen.  Mentally,  they  ought  to 
have  judgment,  foresight,  and  capacity 
for  planning  a  useful  program  of  life. 
Financially,  they  ought  to  be  able  to 
buy  or  build  their  own  home  and  fur- 
nish the  same  comfortably,  and  rear 
and  educate  properly  their  children. 
Spiritually,  they  ought  to  be  united  in 
the  beauty  and  mystery  of  a  growing 
faith  in  Almighty  God,  the  Heavenly 
Father.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  not  one 
marriage  in  ninety  approaches  this 
ideal.  Society  as  it  is  now  organized 
makes  difficult  if  not  impossible  some 
of  the  above  requirements;  ignorance 
and  selfishness  inhibit  others.  Even 
so,  it  is  an  ideal  toward  which  the  race 
should  strive. 

TWO     DIFFICULTIES :     TEMPERAMENTAL 
AND  FINANCIAL 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a 
happy  married  life,  speaking  by  and 
large,  may  be  reduced  to  two,  namely, 
the  temperamental  and  the  monetary. 
Selfishness,  obstinacy  and  downright 
meanness  make  happy  home  life  ex- 
ceedingly difficult.  Link  two  strong 
willed  persons  together  in  matrimony 
and  unless  there  shall  be  a  mutual  for- 
bearance and  a  fixed  purpose  to  dwell 
together  in  peace,  friction  is  certain  to 
result.  Some  husbands  are  brutes, 
and  some  wives  are  perpetual  scolds. 
Some  one  remarked  to  John  Milton 
that  Mrs.  Milton  was  a  rose;  where- 
upon the  poet  answered,  "I  suppose 
she  is,  since  I  have  often  felt  the 
thorns."  Over  against  this  remark  is 
that  exquisite  sentiment  of  Joseph 
Choate,  who,  when  asked  who  he 
would  rather  be  if  he  could  not  be  him- 
self, replied,  "Mrs.  Choate's  second 
husband." 

Recently  a  Chicago  couple  cele- 
brated their  fifty-ninth  wedding  anni- 
versary. Believing  their  long  years  of 
wedlock  had  qualified  them  as  experts 
on  the  subject,  they  drew  up  the  fol- 
lowing recipe  for  marital  happiness. 
Married  couples — both  young  and  old 
— might  profitably  follow  these  rules: 

1.  Love  each  other  all  the  time. 


2.  Keep  silent  when  she  wants  to 
argue. 

3.  Keep  silent  when  he  wants  to 
argue. 

4.  Use  common  sense  in  times  of 
depression. 

5.  Don't  blame  your  husband  when 
he  is  doing  his  best. 

6.  Don't  scold. 

7.  Have  a  few  children  playing 
around  the  house. 

Fifty  per  cent  of  matrimonial  ills 
are  traceable  to  the  money  problem. 
Debt,  extravagance  and  drink  play 
havoc  with  many  a  home.  Sixty  per 
cent  of  American  families  battle  con- 
stantly "to  make  ends  meet."  The 
matrimonial  difficulties  of  a  small  per 
cent  are  due  to  too  much  money. 
Thirty  per  cent,  perhaps,  belong  to 
the  fortunate  middle  estate  who  know 
neither  poverty  nor  great  riches.  Be- 
tween the  cost  of  high  living  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  high  cost  of  living 
on  the  other  the  domesticity  of  a  mul- 
titude is  profoundly  affected. 

HAPPY  HOMES  IN  MAJORITY 

Despite  the  difficulties  and  prob- 
lems of  the  average  married  couple,  it 
is  grandly  true  that  there  are  far  more 
happily  wedded  lives  than  the  other 
sort.  The  daily  press  boldly  head- 
lines the  scandals  and  the  tragedies. 
If  husband  and  wife  live  happily 
through  the  years,  rearing  their  fam- 
ily, and  bravely  meeting  every  trial, 
that  is  not  news.  But  divorces  among 
the  "smart"  set — unseemly  conduct  of 
either  husband  or  wife  of  any  "set" — 
that  is  news.  It  is  news  because  it  is 
unusual  and  irregular.  It  speaks  well 
for  the  stability  of  the  average  mar- 
ried pair  that  they  accomplish  so  much 
and  grow  old  so  gracefully!  God  be 
praised  that  there  are  wedded  lives  so 
beautiful  as  to  move  to  tears  those 
who  are  privileged  to  come  within  the 
charmed  circle  of  homes  effulgent  with 
romance  and  glory  even  unto  old  age. 

The  real  test  of  the  marriage  tie  is 
said  to  be  when  the  gray  hairs  begin 
to  appear.  When  age  begins  to  show 
by  a  dozen  different  indications  his 
approach  then  comes  the  testing  time 
for  both.  But  if  the  years  that  lie 
behind  have  been  lived  aright  and  high 
ideals  followed  through  weal  and  woe, 
the  testing  time  will  be  successfully, 
even  triumphantly,  passed.  There  are 
wedded  couples  who  after  fifty  years 
of  married  life  are  sweethearts  still, 
and  whose  lives  are  wonderfully 
blended  by  a  great  love.  Without  ex- 
ception, these  couples  remembered 
their  Creator  in  the  days  of  their 
youth;  in  Jesus  Christ  they  met  their 
difficulties  and  conquered  doubts;  and 


March  29,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


15 


they  lived  joyously  through  the  dark  united  in  the  Christ,  and  thus  seek  his  "As  unto  the  bow  the  cord  is, 

days  because  they  endured  as  seeing  mind  all  the  days  of  their  earthly  nil-  §£  unt.°  ^  ,man,  1S,  woman; 

him  who  is  invisible.     Young  people  gr image      He   will   make   everything  ?&  ft  ft*  ft  jMSiSl 

ought    to    begin    their    wedded    lives  beautiful  in  its  time.  Useless  each  without  the  other !" 


Business  Men  as  Christians 


WILLIAM  H.  RIDGWAY,  who 
has  been  conducting  the 
"Busy  Men's  Corner"  depart- 
ment in  the  Sunday  School  Times  for 
ten  years,  has  been  collecting  facts 
about  successful  business  men  in 
this  country  who  are  church  men,  and 
he  has  discovered  that  "men  without 
religion  don't  cut  much  ice  in  this 
world — and  surely  none  in  the  next." 
In  a  letter  recently  sent  to  the  Kansas 
City  Star  Mr.  Ridgway  says : 

I  know  that  the  workers  in  the  world, 
the  men  who  build  up  our  great  industries, 
who  run  our  great  department  stores  and 
other  stores,  the  men  who  make  two 
blades  of  grass  grow  where  only  one  grew 
before,  are  pretty  much  all  godly  men. 
The  men  of  business  are  tied  up  to  relig- 
ion tighter  than  ever  and  are  pouring  out 
millions  of  dollars  every  year  for  the  mag- 
nificent work  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  in  this  country  and  abroad. 

CHRISTIAN  BUSINESS   MEN  OF  CHICAGO 

In  his  statement  of  the  findings  of 
his  survey  to  the  Kansas  City  paper, 
Mr.  Ridgway  mentions  some  of  the  big 
business  men  of  Chicago  who  are  re- 
ligious men :  Louis  Swift  of  Swift  & 
Co.,  who  contributes  to  Lake  Forest 
College,  where  they  make  Presby- 
terian ministers,  while  his  brother  does 
the  same  for  Northwestern  University, 
where  they  make  Methodist  ministers. 
Henry  Crowell,  president  of  the 
Quaker  Oats  Company,  is  head  of  the 
Moody  Bible  Institute.     The  head  of 


By  Thomas  C.  Clark 

Sears,  Roebuck  &  Co.,  Mr.  Rosen wald, 
gives  $25,000  to  every  negro  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  that  will  raise  $75,000,  and  he 
gives  liberally  to  the  white  associa- 
tions. 

The  heads  of  Montgomery  Ward  & 
Co.  and  of  Butler  Bros.  &  Co.  are  in 
Christian  work.  Victor  Lawson, 
owner  of  the  Chicago  News;  Mr. 
Shedd,  head  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. ; 
Mr.  Forgan  of  the  First  National 
Bank;  Mr.  Patten,  the  grain  dealer; 
Mr.  Peterson,  greatest  nurseryman  in 
the  world,  are  all  professed  Christians 
and  are  active  in  various  fields  of 
Christian  philanthropy. 

OTHER   CHRISTIANS  OF   "BIG  BUSINESS" 

Among  other  leading  men  who  are 
church  workers  are  Heinz,  head  of  the 
"57  varieties,"  who  is  president  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Sunday  School  Associa- 
tion; Procter  of  Ivory  soap,  who  has 
just  given  one-half  million  dollars  to 
a  religious  school,  and  Gamble,  his 
partner,  who  is  in  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work; 
Huyler,  candy  and  chocolate  man, 
head  of  the  Jerry  McCauley  Mission 
in  New  York;  Fenn  of  the  Sherwin- 
Williams  paints,  superintendent  of  a 
Sunday  school  in  Cleveland;  Cluett, 
collar  man,  president  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  of  Troy,  N.  Y. ;  Candler,  owner 
of  the  Coca-Cola,  active  in  all  kinds  of 
Christian    work;    John    Wanamaker, 


great  Philadelphia  merchant,  superin- 
tendent of  the  largest  Sunday  school 
in  the  world  which  he  started  when  he 
was  a  boy;  Hubbell,  secretary  of  the 
Eastman  Kodak  Company,  president 
of  the  largest  men's  Bible  class  in  the 
country,  at  Rochester,  N.  Y. ;  Curtice, 
president  of  the  Blue  Label  Ketchup 
Company,  leader  in  that  same  class ; 
Calder,  manager  of  the  Remington 
Typewriter  Company,  teacher  of  a 
boys'  Sunday  school  class ;  Marvin, 
manager  of  the  National  Biscuit  Com- 
pany, elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church ;  Ayer,  president  of  the  big  ad- 
vertising concern  of  N.  W.  Ayer  & 
Son,  president  of  the  Camden,  N.  J., 
Y.  M.  C.  A. ;  Colgate,  soap  man,  a  di- 
rector of  the  International  Y.  M. 
C.  A. ;  both  the  Childses,  who  have 
restaurants  over  all  the  country,  Pres- 
byterian elders  and  maintainers  of  mis- 
sions at  their  own  expense ;  Rea,  presi- 
dent of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  a 
trustee  in  a  Presbyterian  Church; 
Johnson  and  Austin,  heads  of  the 
Baldwin  Locomotive  Works,  church 
elders.  Forty-five  of  the  forty-eight 
bankers  of  Chicago  are  officered  by 
Christian  men. 

Mr.  Ridgway  has  had  little  difficulty 
in  actually  proving  that  the  churches 
command  the  co-operation  and  support 
of  the  most  active  and  successful  men 
in  every  line  of  business  endeavor. 


Markham  on  Jesus'  Social  Vision 

Edwin  Markham,  author  of  "The  Man  With  a  Hoe,"  was  given  a  rousing  welcome  at  Ford  Hall,  in  Boston,  a  few 
evenings  ago,  as  he  spoke  to  a  crowded  house  on  "The  Social  Vision  of  Jesus."  The  audience  sang  lustily  his  hymn  on 
"Brotherhood,"  set  to  the  music  of  "The  Watch  on  the  Rhine."  Mr.  Markham,  after  characterizing  Jesus  as  the  supreme 
spiritual  genius  of  the  world,  said,  in  part: 


I  DO  not  intend  to  discuss  Jesus  or 
his  work  from  a  theological  point. 
I  leave  that  to  the  theologians. 
I  believe  Jesus  to  have  been  a  states- 
man with  *a  political  purpose  in  his 
mission.  He  knew  that  he  had  a  con- 
cept of  social  order  which,  if  put  into 
practice,  would  bring  rest  to  millions 
of  toilers. 

What  was  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
that  Christ  preached?  I  claim  it  was 
the  kingdom  of  a  new  social  brother- 
hood for  the  hope  and  happiness  of 
men.  The  first  church  of  Jesus  was 
a  little  socialist  church  started  by  Peter 
at  Jerusalem.     It  was  undoubtedly  a 


church  with  a  substantial  economic 
foundation. 

In  later  ages  the  church  as  a  whole 
has  forgotten  this  economic  founda- 
tion, without  which  Christianity  is 
nothing  but  a  floating  ghost.  Religion 
should  not  simply  go  heavenward,  but 
earthward  also. 

The  complete  life  consists  of  three 
things — bread,  beauty  and  brother- 
hood— and  since  I  am  in  Boston,  I 
suppose  I  should  add  Browning.  The 
last  words  of  Jesus  were,  "Feed  my 
sheep,"  and  in  that  one  utterance  we 
have  the  essence  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. 


Jesus  did  not  mean  to  feed  the  peo- 
ple catechisms,  but  to  feed  them  the 
intellectual,  the  spiritual  and  the  ma- 
terial, not  forgetting  the  bread  and 
butter,  for  the  bread  and  butter  ques- 
tion underlies  every  other  question. 

The  church  turns  to  philanthropy. 
but  Jesus  knew  well  that  philanthropy 
could  never  fill  the  social  and  economic 
needs  of  the  world.  He  never  accepted 
the  social  order,  the  competitive, 
selfish,  crucifying  struggle  into  which 
men  have  injected  themselves;  he  be- 
lieved in  the  happiness  of  social  joy, 
when  all  men  will  serve  society  and  so- 
ciety will  serve  men. 


Social  Interpretations 


iiiiiiiiniiiiiii 


III 

The  Benumbing  of 
Conscience 

THERE  was  a  deep  chagrin  felt  by 
all  intellectual  folk  in  this  coun- 
try when  men  like  Delbruck, 
Hamack  Eucken  and  other  great  Ger- 
man minds  issued  their  apologies  for 
the  war  and  showed  the  benumbing 
of  conscience  that  the  war  spirit 
brings  to  even  such  great  minds. 
Now,  Gustave  Le  Bon,  the  great 
French  scholar  and  student  of  univer- 
sal society,  declares  he  could  almost 
wish  Julius  Caesar  had  choked  to 
death  the  last  German  child  in  his 
time.  And  no  less  a  Christian  ex- 
positor than  Principal  Forsythe  dares 
to  write  down — so  it  can  come  back 
to  damn  him — a  perfectly  Germanized 
argument,  in  the  declaration  that  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  has  nothing  to 
do  with  international  relations  or 
morals ;  he  would  fain  become  a 
disciple  of  Bemhardi's  religious  con- 
tentions. Many  genuinely  spiritual 
people  in  England  today  have  quit 
going  to  church  because  they  are 
always  compelled  to  listen  to  a  glorifi- 
cation of  the  sword  and  the  exposi- 
tion of  an  unchristian  hate  from  the 
Christian  (?)  pulpit.  There  is  a  vast 
difference  between  the  glorification  of 
war  as  a  moral  Godsend  and  a  means 
of  strengthening  national  fiber  and 
the  glorification  of  the  sacrifice  such 
as  a  soldier  shows  when  he  fights  for 
right,  but  which  still  pronounces 
Christ's  judgment  upon  the  sword. 
For  war  does  not  strengthen  national 
fiber  but  destroys  it  by  destroying  the 
strongest  of  the  nations'  manhood  and 
by  bringing  a  reversion  to  the  morals 
of  barbarism.  And  moreover  history 
is  undeviating  in  its  testimony  to 
Christ's  judgment;  every  nation  that 
has  lived  by  the  sword  has  perished 
by  it.  Measure  the  life  of  peace-lov- 
ing China  by  the  lives  of  Babylon, 
Assyria,  Persia  and  Rome,  and  now 
add  the  doom  that  is  already  written 
above  the  head  of  the  Turk  and  that 
threatens  Germany.  The  most  de- 
plorable fact  connected  with  this 
world  sweep  of  the  military  spirit  is 
the  manner  in  which  ministers  of  The 
Prince  of  Peace  yield  to  it  and  trans- 
form their  paens  to  vicarious  sacrifice 
into  glorification  of  war  itself. 


Why  so  Little  Horror  Over 
Germany's  Starving  Children 

Why  do  we  hear  so  little  horror  ex- 
pressed over  the  starving  of  Ger- 
many's women  and  children?  All  are 
full    of    righteous    horror    over    the 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


IIIIIIIIIIMIIIIII 


massacre  of  Armenians,  the  starving 
of  Syrians  and  the  ruthless  submarine 
warfare.  Is  it  because  we  are  so  par- 
tizan  that  we  feel,  with  English  par- 
sons and  other  moral  beings,  that  the 
end  justifies  the  means?  Or  are  we 
so  legal  minded  that  we  think  it  justi- 
fied simply  because  there  is  no  law  of 
war  against  it  and  because  it  has  al- 
ways been  resorted  to  in  times  of 
war?  Not  less  than  20,000,000  Ger- 
man civilians  today  face  starvation 
and  are  already  suffering  from  under- 
feeding; the  German  spirit  seems  to 
be  at  that  stage  of  fanaticism,  born  of 
desperation,  which  will  see  a  multi- 
tude die  of  starvation  before  it  will 
yield.  Are  there  no  precedents  that 
need  breaking  in  the  name  of  human- 
ity? The  blockade  is,  at  best,  not 
according  to  the  usual  war  methods 
and  is  thus  in  itself  an  encroachment 
on  the  laws  of  war.  If  England  faced 
the  starvation  Germany  does,  would 
she  resort  to  submarine  warfare  as  a 
means  of  starving  the  nation  that  was 
attempting  to  starve  her?  Both  meth- 
ods are  horrible;  neither  can  be  justi- 
fied by  any  chivalry  of  war  nor  the 
laws  of  humanity.  The  English  call 
the  Germans  "baby-killers"  on  ac- 
count of  Zeppelin  raids  and  sub- 
marine sinkings.  Who  is  killing  the 
babies  of  Germany?  Where  is 
English  chivalry  and  the  much 
vaunted  love  of  fair  play?  Where 
is  American  humanity  and  moral 
chivalry  that  feels  righteous  horror 
over  submarine  murders  and  none 
over  the  slow  and  terrible  starvation 
of  women  and  children  as  a  means  of 
doing  the  business  of  fighting  men? 
Believing  the  cause  of  the  Allies  is 
just,  why  not  be  chivalrous  enough  to 
demand  that  they  fight  with  the 
weapons  of  soldiers  and  not  with  the 
devices  of  barbarians,  even  if  it  means 
new  precedents  and  a  longer  war? 
By  using  Prussian  methods  Prussia's 
enemies   become   Prussianized. 


What  are  the  Prospects  for 
Democracy  in  Russia? 

The  newspaper  reporters  would 
have  us  believe  that  Russia  has  passed 
through  a  bloodless  revolution — the 
most  remarkable  in  history.  If  Rus- 
sia was  really  "through"  it  would  be 
the  most  remarkable  in  history. 
France  passed  through  a  like  "peace- 
ful" revolution  only  to  have  it  fol- 
lowed by  the  bloodiest  era  in  modern 
national  annals,  ending  with  a  Na- 
poleon in  the  saddle  and  the  republic 
realized  only  after  two  generations. 
China's  story  may  not  yet  be  all  told, 


but  readers  remember  the  "bloodless" 
revolution  of  Sun  Yat  Sen,  then  the 
bloody  days  of  Yuan  Shi  Kai  and  his 
abortive  effort  to  become  a  monarch 
followed  by  his  sudden  death,  and 
now  the  republic  apparently  assured. 
China  is  a  nation  of  peaceful  ways 
and  she  had  a  well  developed  local 
democracy;  therein  rested  her  more 
peaceful  transition  to  a  form  of  na- 
tional democracy.  Russia  may  be 
able  for  a  like  reason  to  negotiate  the 
transition.  The  mir  or  local  commune 
From  it  came  the  zemstvo,  a  sort  of 
town  meeting  type  of  democracy. 
From  it  came  the  zemstvo,  a  sort  of 
state  or  provincial  type  of  representa- 
tive government.  It  was  through 
these  provincial  councils  that  the  war 
received  its  chief  impetus  and 
through  them  the  inefficiency  of  the 
bureaucracy  was  partly  remedied. 
One  of  the  first  steps  in  the  Czar's 
late  reactionary  movements  was  a 
curtailment  of  their  powers,  followed 
by  interference  with  the  Duma.  It 
was  these  provincial  assemblies  that 
really  brought  about  the  enactment  of 
national  prohibition  and  it  is  Prince 
Lvoff,  the  head  of  their  national  asso- 
ciation that  is  made  premier  and  vir- 
tual head  of  the  provisional  govern- 
ment. Their  powers  were  always 
restricted  by  the  dominance  of  the 
bureaucracy  and  it  may  be  that  very 
friction  has  brought  the  masses  up  to 
an  appreciation  of  democracy  that 
will  overcome  their  superstitious  rev- 
erence for  the  "Little  White  Father," 
the  Czar,  whose  power  was  one  part 
civil  to  three  parts  religious.  The  re- 
actionaries have  this  religious  hold  to 
realize  upon  and  they  will  soon  re- 
cover themselves  and  make  a  deter- 
mined effort  to  bring  on  a  reaction 
and  civil  war  for  the  restoration  of 
the  "holy"  monarch  and  God's  ap- 
pointed vicar  in  "Holy  Catholic 
Church."  The  stress  of  war  and 
national  defense  may  delay  the  day 
and  even  may  furnish  both  the  time 
and  the  spirit  to  fix  the  new  constitu- 
tion in  the  political  habits  of  the 
nation;  if  it  does  we  may  be  assured 
the  real  background  for  success  was 
the  democracy  cultivated  by  the  mir 
and  the  zemstvo.  The  Russians  are  a 
magnificent  people ;  give  them  educa- 
tion and  democracy  and  religious  tol- 
erance and  they  will  take  their  place 
beside  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  the  Ger- 
manic peoples  in  the  history  of  the 
new  world. 


"If  you  are  making  the  world  a  bet- 
ter race  for  having  lived  in  it,  no  one 
can  rob  you  of  your  happiness." 


mil! 


The    Larger    Christian   World 


!  A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllltllllllllllllll 


A  Church  for 
the  Immigrants 

Ground  was  broken  on  March  11 
for  a  new  church  in  Seattle,  Wash., 
especially  for  the  use  of  immigrants. 
This  new  enterprise  is  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Presbyterians.  There 
will  be  departments  of  the  work  for 
Japanese,  Chinese,  Italians  and 
Greeks.  The  Rev.  M.  A.  Matthews, 
formerly  moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly,  is  directing  the  new  work. 
The  Japanese  consul  and  some  na- 
tive Japanese  Christians  spoke  on 
the  day  of  the  cornerstone  laying. 

Forward  Movement  for 
Mexican  Methodists 

Bishop  McConnell  is  the  presiding 
bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  in  Mexico.  When  he  holds 
the  annual  conference  in  the  nation's 
capital  this  year,  he  will  have  with 
him  Dr.  S.  Earl  Taylor,  correspond- 
ing secretary  of  the  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions  of  the  denomination. 
They  are  hoping  to  go  foward  with 
advanced  work  at  this  time,  though 
the  constitution  recently  adopted  in 
Mexico  makes  the  work  of  every 
missionary,  Catholic  and  Protestant, 
subject  to  the  caprice  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

Send  City  Clergymen 
to  the  Front 

The  Bishop  of  London  has  de- 
cided to  close  twenty-one  of  the 
twenty-nine  churches  in  the  busi- 
ness district  of  London  in  order  that 
the  clergymen  of  these  churches 
may  be  released  for  service  at  the 
front.  Owing  to  the  number  of  men 
away  at  war,  these  churches  are  not 
needed  as  they  were  in  the  days  of 
peace. 

Endowment  for 
Washington's  Church 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  authori- 
ties are  securing  funds  for  the  en- 
dowment of  old  Pohick  church  in 
Virginia,  where  George  Washington 
once  served  as  vestryman.  The 
building  is  visited  by  great  numbers 
of  people  every  year  and  the  thought 
is  to  make  it  presentable  for  the 
tourist  out  of  respect  for  the  Father 
of  our  Country. 

Christian 
Discussion  Clubs 

The  Christian  Discussion  Club 
program  prepared  by  Mrs.  Frank  C. 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


Porter  of  New  Haven  for  use  in 
Lenten  services  and  for  home 
gatherings  are  apparently  meeting 
with  increasing  favor.  We  hear  of 
their  adoption  and  profitable  use  in 
New  Haven,  Providence,  Norwich, 
Andover,  Beverly,  Newton  Center, 
West  Newton,  Los  Angeles,  Ger- 
mantown,  Pa.,  and  other  places. 

Back  From  Services 
at  the  Front 

"Ralph  Connor,"  who  is  known  in 
his  church  circles  as  the  Rev. 
Charles  W.  Gordon,  has  been  at  the 
front  in  Europe  serving  as  an  army 
chaplain.  He  was  assigned  duty  on 
the  Somme  front.  He  recently 
passed  through  New  York  City, 
where  he  was  entertained  at  lunch- 
eon at  the  international  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

Sunday  School 
Evangelism 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
is  laying  great  stress  this  year  on 
Sunday-school  evangelism.  There 
are  36,176  Sunday-schools  in  Meth- 
odism. More  than  one-sixth  of  these 
did  not  have  a  single  conversion 
last  year.  Five  thousand  schools  re- 
ported less  than  ten  conversions. 
There  were  604  schools  with  more 
than  fifty  and  less  than  a  hundred 
conversions  and  only  112  schools 
had  over  a  hundred  conversions.  It 
is  estimated  that  there  are  in  the 
Methodist  Sunday  schools  nearly 
two  million  pupils  who  have  not 
taken  membership  with  the  church. 
The  great  Methodist  Decision  Day 
will  be  held  on  Palm  Sunday,  April 
1.  It  is  expected  that  the  prepara- 
tions this  year  will  bring  large  re- 
sults. 

Dr.  Jowett 
Undecided 

Few  ministerial  situations  just 
now  attract  more  attention  than  the 
call  of  Dr.  J.  H.  Jowett  to  the  West- 
minster Chapel  of  London,  recently 
vacated  by  Rev.  G.  Campbell  Mor- 
gan. Even  the  prime  minister  of 
England  has  joined  in  the  invitation 
to  Dr.  Jowett.  In  New  York  his 
church  seats  more  than  two  thou- 
sand people  and  is  always  filled.  On 
a  recent  Sunday  fifteen  hundred 
people  were  turned  away.  Dr.  Jow- 
ett is  not  greeted  with  such  crowds 
in  London,  but  his  patriotism  is  so 
intense  that  the  call  from  across  the 
water  is  receiving  a  very  serious 
consideration. 


A  Spanish  Church 
for  Chicago 

Although  there  are  a  good  many 
Spanish-speaking  people  in  Chicago, 
there  has  never  been  a  Spanish- 
speaking  Protestant  church  for  their 
use.  Recently  a  meeting  was  held 
in  Jefferson  Park  Presbyterian 
church  addressed  by  the  Spanish 
consul,  which  looks  in  the  direction 
of  a  Spanish  Presbyterian  church. 

"Quiet  Talks" 
by  S.  D.  Gordon 

The  Rev.  S.  D.  Gordon  is  known 
to  many  Evangelical  Christians 
through  his  devotional  books  known 
as  "Quiet  Talks."  He  has  been 
speaking  during  the  past  winter 
each  Sunday  evening  in  the  Garrick 
Theater  in  Philadelphia.  At  first  he 
was  heard  by  average  audiences,  but 
later  the  audiences  increased  until 
he  was  speaking  to  a  full  house  and 
many  hundreds  were  turned  away. 
Many  of  the  churches  of  the  city 
have  complained  of  decreased  audi- 
ences, but  the  "quiet  talks"  have 
succeeded  in  a  most  significant  way. 

A  Great  Advance 
for  Missions 

Protestants  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada  gave  $4.00  for  missions 
abroad  in  1916,  where  they  gave 
$3.00  in  the  preceding  year.  The 
Foreign  Missions  Conference  reports 
a  total  contribution  of  $25,554,000 
for  1916,  as  compared  with  $18,794,- 
000  in  1915.  Among  individual  de- 
nominations the  Methodists  and 
Presbyterians  stand  distinctly  in  the 
lead,  the  former  contributing  $2,764,- 
898,  the  latter,  $2,328,026.  The 
Baptist  contributions  amounted  to 
$1,700,000,  while  the  Congregation- 
alists  were  fourth  with  an  offering 
of  $1,256,737.  The  Methodists,  while 
leading  in  aggregate  giving,  are 
surpassed  by  several  denominations 
in  per  capita  giving.  The  sixty  mis- 
sionary societies  in  the  United 
States  are  maintaining  on  the  for- 
eign field  a  force  of  9,937  mission- 
aries, whose  efforts  are  supple- 
mented by  47,344  native  workers. 
These  societies  have  11,492  mission- 
ary Churches  with  1,146.145  com- 
municants. In  the  Sunday  Schools 
of  these  foreign  churches  are  about 
a  million  and  a  quarter  of  scholars 
and  teachers.  There  has  been  an 
increase  of  458  mission  churches 
during  the  year. 


I     The  Sunday  School  Lesson 


p  ......_    _...........    ..T:r.;;!;i; 


Our  Good  Shepherd 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
BY    JOHN    R.    EWERS 


PROGRESS  is  marked  as  one 
moves  on  from  the  struggle  for 
self  to  the  struggle  for  the  sake 
of  others.  Altruism  takes  the  place 
of  selfishness.  There  is  a  time  in  the 
rising  experience  of  a  young  business 

man  when  he 
asks  only  one 
question, 
"What  can  I  do 
to  build  up 
my  business  ?" 
If  he  is  big 
enough  there 
comes  a  time, 
after  a  few 
years,  when  an 
entirely  new 
question  comes  to  the  fore,  "How  can 
I  use  my  money  and  influence  for 
other  people  ?"  This  is  seen  clearly  in 
the  case  of  American  millionaires. 
First  the  terrible  battle  for  recogni- 
tion, place  and  power.  Then,  having 
attained,  the  turning  of  attention  to 
channels  of  service.  One  builds  li- 
braries— a  noble  service.  Another 
founds  a  university — a  splendid  enter- 
prise. Another  pours  his  money  into 
the  treasuries  of  his  chosen  church — 
best  of  all.  This  story  of  the  great 
transition  is  most  fascinating.  Early 
life — all  for  self ;  later  life — all  for 
others. 

You  see  it  is  essentially  the  shep- 
herd spirit — this  desire  to  help,  pro- 
tect, uplift.  No  man  reaches  his  place 
of  power  until  this  longing  to  protect 
becomes  a  passion  with  him.  Some 
men  never  rise  above  dependence — 
they  must  always  be  helped,  or  at  best, 
they  must  always  struggle  for  self 
alone.  The  man  of  power  becomes  a 
protector — a  chivalrous  knight — a 
bold  spirit.  A  strange,  new  feeling 
comes  stealing  over  the  young  man 
when  he  marries.  There  are  mo- 
ments when  he  wonders  how  that 
wonderful  girl  could  trust  herself  to 
him.  The  feeling  of  protection  is  first 
felt.  Then  the  first  child  appears  and 
he  feels  like  a  lion;  he  could  fight,  he 
could  die  for  that  little  appealing  bit 
of  humanity  that  looks  blinkingly  up 
into  his  eyes.  The  feeling  of  protec- 
tion grows.  Later  you  find  that  same 
developing  man  championing  causes; 
defending  the  weak ;  fighting  for 
groups  that  need  his  strong  help. 

*This  article  is  based  on  the  Inter- 
national Uniform  Lesson  for  April  15. 
Scripture,  John  10:1-18. 


The  shepherd  soul  is  essential  in  all 
missionary  zeal.  Time,  prayer  and 
money  are  given  freely  in  behalf  of 
the  weaker  peoples  of  the  world — the 
less  fortunate.  "The  good  shepherd 
gives  his  life  for  the  sheep."  He  sees 
the  peoples  of  heathendom  torn  by  ig- 
norance, disease  and  superstition,  and 
he  feels  for  them  pityingly;  he  helps 
generously,  strongly.  Generosity  is  a 
perfect  measure  of  strength  when  you 
stop  to  weigh  it. 

The  shepherd  soul  is  essential  in  the 
prohibition  fight.  That  is  precisely 
what  it  means.  It  is  the  knightly 
spirit  of  protection,  the  sense  of  de- 
fense that  prompts  a  man  unselfishly 
to  battle  with  the  dragon  of  intemper- 
ance. Thousands  of  white  knights 
ride  forth  in  these  days  defending 
women  and  children  as  well  as  weak 
men  from  the  ravages  of  the  drink- 
fiend. 

The  shepherd  soul  is  the  funda- 
mental element  in  the  worth  while 
Sunday  school  teacher.  Such  a 
teacher  knows  that  no  lesson,  however 
well  prepared,  can  take  the  place  of 


week-day  interest.  It  is  the  very  es- 
sence of  the  protective  spirit  that  leads 
the  teacher  to  visit  the  homes  of  the 
children  committed  to  his  or  her  trust 
in  order  to  hold  and  help  them.  If  a 
child  is  absent  from  the  class  today, 
the  shepherd  spirit  goes  in  quest. 

It  is  also  the  shepherd  spirit  that 
actuates  all  worthy  pastors  and  eld- 
ers. A  keen  sorrow  pierces  the  heart 
of  the  true  shepherd  of  souls  when 
one  young  man  or  one  older  person 
falls  from  grace.  Out  into  the  depart- 
ment stores,  the  office  buildings,  the 
side  streets  and  avenues  he  goes  in 
eager  search  for  the  one  that  appears 
to  be  lost. 

"I  am  the  good  shepherd — I  lay 
down  my  life  for  the  sheep."  That  is 
the  very  element  most  needed  in  all 
churches  and  Sunday  schools  today.  I 
have  recently  made  a  study  of  the 
leakage  of  our  school.  It  is  amazing. 
Seven  new  scholars  last  Sunday — and 
seven  discovered  who,  for  one  reason 
or  another,  have  dropped  out !  O,  for 
a  forty  shepherd  power !  Is  there  any- 
thing wrong  with  our  love?  Where 
are  these  wandering  sheep?  To  find 
them  and  bring  them  back  is  hard, 
hard  work.  But  it  is  the  shepherd 
spirit.  There  is  no  easy  way.  It  is.i 
the  old  story — laying  down  life — for 
the  sheep. 


What  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement 

Is  Teaching  Us 


By  Ellis  B.  Barnes 


That  great  causes  develop  great 
leaders. 

That  men  and  opportunities  find 
each  other. 

That  the  prophet's  mantle  is  ever 
falling  upon  the  ploughman. 

That  the  sincere  heart  sets  the 
tongue  on  fire. 

That  our  older  leaders  showed 
their  wisdom  in  selecting  their  suc- 
cessors, and  training  them  in  such  a 
Movement  as  this. 

That  we  Disciples  are  agreed  that 
at  the  end  of  one  hundred  years  of 
pioneering  we  ought  to  be  laying  the 
foundations  of  a  city 

That  where  once  we  affirmed  we 
had  the  "truth,"  we  are  thinking  es- 
pecially in  these  days  of  building  that 
truth  into  missionaries,  preachers, 
hospitals,  orphanages,  ships  for  the 
Congo,  and  various  other  benevol- 
ences. 

That  like  every  other  people  we  are 
alive  to  the  value  of  a  practical  reli- 
gion as  an  argument  in  favor  of  the 
divine  origin  of  Christianity. 


That  we  can  get  together  the  mo- 
ment we  put  the  soft  pedal  on  doc- 
trinal differences,  and  the  loud  pedal 
on  the  miracles  of  brick  and  mortar. 

That  we  can  all  appreciate  the  help- 
ful much  better  than  we  can  the  con- 
troversial spirit. 

That  if  we  can't  see  eye  to  eye  and 
face  to  face  in  matters  that  have  per- 
plexed much  greater  men  than  we,  all 
can  be  of  one  heart  and  one  soul  in 
praying,  in  giving,  in  living  the  Christ- 
life,  so  that  the  Kingdom  may  speedily 
appear. 

That  it  is  easier  to  love  the  world 
back  to  God  than  to  debate  it  back. 

That  the  real  unbelief  of  the  age  is 
to  be  found  in  the  selfish  heart  and  in 
the  unbrotherly  spirit. 

That  the  greatest  need  of  the  Church 
at  this  hour  is  consecration. 


"When  a  man  begins  to  amass 
wealth,"  says  J.  Campbell  White,  "it 
is  a  question  as  to  whether  God  is 
going   to   gain    a    fortune    or   lose    a 


man. 


March  29,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


19 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


Dr.  Maclachlan  s  Lectures 
in  Chicago 

Not  only  Disciples  of  Chicago,  but  of 
other  parts  of  the  state  and  near-by- 
states,  should  be  making  preparations  to 
hear  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan,  of  Seventh 
Street  Church,  Richmond,  Va.,  in  the 
course  of  lectures  he  is  to  deliver  at 
Haskell  Oriental  Museum,  University  of 
Chicago,  April  17-19,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Disciples  Divinity  House.  The 
lectures  will  be  given  in  the  afternoon 
at  4:30  o'clock.  This  is  the  first  formal 
series  of  lectures  to  be  given  under  the 
direction  of  the  Divinity  House,  and  the 
management  is  anxious  to  have  as  many 
in  attendance  as  possible.  Dr.  Maclach- 
lan is  one  of  the  most  interesting  speak- 
ers and  writers  in  the  brotherhood;  his 
lectures  are  full  of  meat,  and  will  be  of 
interest  to  laymen  as  well  as  to  minis- 
ters. A  reception  will  be  given  to  Dr. 
Maclachlan  on  the  evening  of  the  17th. 
Subjects  of  the  lectures  will  be  pub- 
lished at  an  early  date. 

Arkansas  State  Convention, 
Little  Rock,  April  30-May  3 

The  annual  convention  of  the  Arkan- 
sas Disciples  will  be  held  this  year  at 
Little  Rock,  April  30-May  1.  Among 
the  features  of  the  program  will  be  ser- 
mons and  addresses  by  Charles  A. 
Finch,  Mrs.  J.  McD.  Stearns,  J.  A.  Sig- 
ler  (president),  W.  G.  Alcorn,  J.  D.  Ar- 
nold, I.  N.  McCash,  J.  S.  Zeran,  C.  C. 
Cline,  F.  W.  Burnham,  A.  Homer  Jor- 
dan, S.  W.  Hutton,  J.  T.  Purvis,  Jesse  E. 
Heins,  J.  H.  Mohorter,  Gilbert  Jones  and 
several  others.  A  series  of  addresses  by 
F.  D.  Kershner  of  St.  Louis  will  be  an 
interesting  feature. 

Chico,  Cal.,  Enjoys 
Special  Features 

The  church  at  Chico,  Cal. — Galen  L. 
Rose,  minister — has  been  enjoying  some 
good  things  of  late.  On  a  recent  Sun- 
day evening  a  leading  business  man,  not 
a  church  member,  gave  a  criticism  of 
the  church  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
non-Christian  business  man.  The  fol- 
lowing Sunday  evening  the  chairman  of 
the  official  board  of  the  church,  J.  M. 
Osborne,  principal  of  one  of  the  schools 
in  Chico,  gave  a  criticism  of  the  church 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  active  Chris- 
tian. Both  addresses  were  able,  help- 
ful, and  eminently  fair.  C.  G.  Titus, 
secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Sacra- 
mento, spoke  Sunday  morning,  March 
11,  on  the  great  work  being  done  by  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  on  the  battlefields  and  in 
the  prisons  and  training  camps  of  Eu- 
rope. At  the  evening  service,  Geo.  L. 
Lobdell,  of  Eureka,  formerly  pastor  of 
the  Chico  church,  brought  a  helpful 
message.  Additions  to  the  church  are 
frequent  and  there  is  a  deepening  inter- 
est in  all  departments.  Edgar  Lloyd 
Smith,  of  Los  Angeles,  recently  led  in  a 
Bible  school  institute. 

A  two  weeks'  pre-Easter  meeting  is 
being  led  by  Morton  L.  Rose,  of  Wat- 
sonville. 

C.  A.  Brady  to  Leave 
New  York  Work 

C.  A.  Brady,  who  has  served  as  corre- 
sponding secretary  of  the  New  York 
State  Board  for  nearly  five  years,  has 
resigned,    effective    April    15.      Probably 


■I 


nothing  will  be  done  relative  to  a  suc- 
cessor in  the  office  until  the  state  con- 
vention at  North  Tonawanda,  beginning 
May  8.  Mr.  Brady's  work  has  been  prin- 
cipally evangelistic,  in  which  capacity 
he  has  been  very  successful,  and  in  which 
line  his  ability  naturally  lies. 

Emory  Ross  Praises 
Central,  New  York 

On  the  occasion  of  a  recent  visit  at 
Central  church,  New  York,  Emory  Ross, 
just  back  from  Liberia,  remarked  upon 
a  ministry  performed  by  that  congrega- 
tion as  incidental  to  its  location  in  the 
frequent  port  of  departure  or  return  of 
our  missionaries.  The  welcome  or  the 
farewell,  whichever  it  happened  to  be, 
was  very  greatly  enjoyed  by  the  re- 
turning or  departing  missionary,  and  al- 
ways found  a  place  of  particularly  deep 
appreciation  in  his  heart,  and  Mr.  Ross 
found  it  a  subject  for  remark  wherever 
he  went  on  the  mission  field. 

Features  at  Wellsville, 
New  York 

Wellsville,  N.  Y.,  is  making  a  special 
feature  of  Sunday  evening  services. 
These  are  conducted  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Pleasant  Sunday  Evening  Club, 
with  moving  pictures,  popular  music,  the 
singing  of  favorite  hymns  selected  by  the 
audience,  and  a  practical  sermon  in  har- 
mony with  the  spirit  of  the  evening. 
The  plan  often  followed  in  evangelistic 


THEY  ALL  PRAISE  THE  CHRISTIAN 
CENTURY 

"I  am  enjoying  the  'Century'  greatly." — 
Henry  C.  Armstrong,  Baltimore. 

"I  subscribe  for  the  three  leading  papers 
published  by  the  Disciples,  and  enjoy  them 
all,  but  when  it  comes  to  inspirational  mat- 
ter, none  exceeds  The  Christian  Century." — 
O.  TV.  McGaughey,  V eedersburg,  hid. 

"The  editorial  pages  of  The  Christian 
Century  are  unsurpassed  in  any  of  the  re- 
ligious weekly  journals  that  come  to  my 
desk.  The  Century  is  stimulating  and  help- 
ful. This  is  just  to  express  my  pleasure  in 
receiving  the  paper.  The  inclosed  check  is 
to  help  meet  the  high  cost  of  printing." — 
Paul  Preston,  Angola,  Ind. 

"For  The  Christian  Century  my  feeling  is 
one  of  grateful  admiration  and  affection."- — 
Miss  Virginia  Fenley,  Crittenden,  Ky. 

"Future  years  will  demonstrate  the  great 
service  The  Christian  Century  has  rendered 
to  our  movement." — Hon.  Harris  R.  Coolcy, 
Cleveland,  O. 

"The  pages  of  The  Christian  Century  are 
full  of  pure  gold." — Prof.  Charles  T.  Paul, 
College  of  Missions,  Indianapolis. 

"I  look  forward  eagerly  to  the  coining  of 
The  Christian  Century." — Rev.  Carey  E. 
Morgan,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

"A  journal  that  holds  to  the  higher 
levels." — Rev.  TV.  H.  Bagby,  Taylor,  Texas. 

"It  has  a  field  as  long  as  it  maintains  its 
open  platform  where  good  men  zuith  worthy 
messages  may  be  heard." — Rev.  E.  B. 
Barnes,  Richmond,  Ky. 

"The  Century  is  making  us  think." — Prof. 
J.  G.  McGavran,  College  of  Alissions,  In- 
dianapolis. 

"The  more  I  read  it,  the  greater  becomes 
my  delight  in  it." — Rev.  C.  M.  Small,  Beaver 
Falls,  Pa. 


campaigns,  of  setting  aside  each  night 
as  a  special  one  for  some  delegation,  is 
followed.  The  audiences  have  filled  the 
large  building,  and  the  services  are  grow- 
ing in  interest  and  appreciation  This 
congregation  has  a  band.  A  series  of 
five  concerts  have  been  given  lately  and 
taxing  the  capacity  of  the  building  to 
accommodate  those  who  attended.  Wells- 
ville has  one  of  the  largest  Bible  schools 
in  the  state,  which  makes  quite  remark- 
able the  fact  that  on  a  recent  Sunday 
morning  every  person  in  the  main  school 
brought  a  Bible  but  four. 

A  "Marvel"  in  Western 
New  York 

The  work  at  Woodlawn,  Buffalo,  N. 
Y.,  promises  to  be  one  of  the  marvels 
of  western  New  York,  writes  I.  E.  Reid, 
of  North  Tonawanda.  This  community, 
lying  outside  the  city,  in  a  hamlet  all  its 
own,  close  by  the  great  Lackawanna 
steel  mills,  and  partaking  of  much  of  the 
character  of  a  steel  mill  town,  has  only 
the  little  Disciples  congregation  as  an 
exponent  of  Protestant  Christianity, 
ministered  to  by  W.  H.  Leonard,  a  lay 
preacher,  who  can  give  them  only  the 
time  that  is  left  after  a  busy  week  in  a 
railroad  office.  But  there  is  a  loyal 
group  of  people  there.  Additions  are  re- 
ported at  almost  every  service.  Prayer 
meetings  are  well  attended  and  well  con- 
ducted. 

Easter  Features  at 
Troy,  N.  Y. 

J.  H.  Craig,  pastor  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  will 
begin  a  series  of  special  evangelistic 
services  on  April  1,  preaching  by  the 
pastor.  Mr.  Craig  will  preach  a  series 
of  special  sermons  during  the  week  pre- 
ceding Easter.  His  topics  will  be  as 
follows:  "The  Contents  of  the  Purple 
Cup."  "Christ  the  Resurrection."  "Walk- 
ing in  Newness  of  Life,"  "Who  Shall 
Roll  Us  Away  the  Stone?"  "A  Walk  into 
the  Country"  (Easter  morning),  "When 
the  Doors  Were  Shut"  (Easter  evening). 

Community  Service  Plant  at 
Butler,  Pa. 

G.  L.  Snively  will  dedicate  the  new  com- 
munity service  and  Sunday  school  plant 
at  Butler,  Pa.,  on  Easter  Sunday.  Min- 
ister F.  M.  Field,  assisted  by  J.  Wade 
Seniff,  is  conducting  a  series  of  evan- 
gelistic services.  Over  thirty  additions 
are  reported  for  the  first  fourteen  days. 
Mr.  Seniff  is  assisting  Mr.  Field  for  the 
fourth  time.  At  Butler,  a  year  ago,  194 
persons  were  added  to  the  membership 
during  the  meetings. 

Herbert  Yeuell  Closes  Wabash 
(Ind.)  Meetings 

Frank  E.  Jaynes  of  the  Wabash,  Ind., 
church,  reports  that  during  the  Bob 
Jones  meetings  at  Wabash  two  years 
ago  there  was  no  such  interest  as  there 
has  been  this  year  in  the  Yeuell  union 
meetings,  although  there  has  been  noth- 
ing of  the  sensational  in  the  present 
campaign.  Over  650  additions  to  the 
various  churches  are  reported  for  the 
five  weeks.  On  the  last  night  there  were 
123  confessions,  all  adults.  "All  Wa- 
bash is  happy,"  writes  Mr.  Jaynes. 

*     *     * 

— Central  church,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  is 
planning  a  great  Easter  service.  The 
leaders  expect  to  have  the  entire  cen- 
tral portion  of  the  building  filled  at  the 
morning  hour  with  persons  who  have 
signified  their  intention  to  take  mem- 
bership with  that  congregation,  either 
through    the    minister's    own    efforts    or 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  29,  1917 


from  the  Sunday  campaign.  They  an- 
ticipate being  obliged  to  conduct  two 
services  that  morning  in  order  to  ac- 
commodate those  who  wish  to  attend. 


uriiiunnv  A  Church  Homo  for  You. 

NEW  YORK  sjw^m't"' 

142  West  81st  St,  N.  Y. 


— J.  H.  Jones,  district  superintendent 
of  missions  for  the  Third  District,  Mis- 
souri, reports  that  the  annual  convention 
of  this  district  will  be  held  with  the 
South  Joplin  church  on  May  14-16.  W. 
P.  Shamhart  is  the  pastor  at  this  church. 
The  central  theme  of  the  program  this 
year  will  be  "The  Church."  All  the  ad- 
dresses and  discussions  will  center 
around  this  subject.  Nearly  all  the  min- 
isters of  the  district  will  have  place  on 
the  program  and  there  will  be  some 
speakers  from  other  quarters.  The  clos- 
ing session  on  Wednesday  evening  will 
be  in  the  nature  of  a  church  banquet. 

—Decatur,  Ind..  W.  P.  Marsh,  pastor, 
will  have  a  new  building,  toward  which 
the  Ladies'  Aid  has  pledged  $1,000.  A 
meeting  has  recently  been  held  at  De- 
catur, A.  L.  Martin,  state  evangelist, 
preaching,  and  J.  A.  Kay  leading  in  song. 

— Finis  Idleman,  of  Central  church,  New 
York,  has  been  taking  a  needed  rest 
in  the  Southland,  at  Wilson,  N.  C.  Mr. 
Idleman  has  been  speaking  twice  per 
Sunday,  however,  during  his  vacation. 

—The  Iowa  Christian  Ministerial  As- 
sociation was  in  session  at  University 
Place,  Des  Moines,  last  week.  Prof. 
Hugh  Black,  of  New  York,  was  the  chief 
speaker.  Professor  Black  also  gave  a 
series  of  addresses  before  the  Drake 
Ministerial  Association. 

— Iowa's  State  Convention  this  year 
will  be  held  at  Capitol  Hill  church  Des 
Moines,  May  21-24.  W.  C.  Cole  minis- 
ters at  this  church. 

—Clarence  L.  Bigelow,  who  has  been 
assistant  to  C.  S.  Medbury  at  University 
Place,  Des  Moines,  la.,  has  accepted  a 
call  to  Salina,  Kan. 

— J.  Rex  Cole,  who  served  Central 
church,  Des  Moines,  la.,  as  assistant 
pastor  while  Dr.  Idleman  was  there,  is 
now  teaching  English  in  the  public 
schools  of  Osaka.  Japan,  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

—Lee  Tinsley,  of  North  Salem,  Ind.. 
reports  a  two  weeks'  meeting  there,  with 
\\ .  D.  Bartle,  of  Salem.  Ind.,  preach- 
ing. There  were  fifteen  accessions  to 
the  church  membership. 

—Since  the  last  report  the  Church  Ex- 
tension Board  has  received  the  follow- 
ing annuities  during  January,  February 
and  March:  $2,500  from  a  friend  in  Ten- 
nessee, $1,000  from  a  friend  in  Illinois, 
$1,000  from  a  friend  in  Texas,  $500  from 
a  friend  in  Missouri,  $4,500  from  another 
friend  in  Illinois,  $200  from  a  friend  in 
Minnesota.  $500  from  a  friend  in  Massa- 
chusetts, $5,000  from  a  friend  in  Iowa, 
and  $100  from  a  friend  in  California.  It 
is  urged  that  many  send  annuity  gifts. 
Secretary  Muckley  writes  that  "it  is 
hoped  that  the  churches  will  increase 
their  gifts  to  Church  Extension  this 
year,  because  all  new  church  receipts 
are  to  be  used  in  building  a  Community 
church  in  New  York  or  Chicago,  and 
we  have  many  other  appeals  to  answer." 
Send  all  money  to  G.  W.  Muckley,  cor- 
responding secretary,  603  New  England 
building,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

— One  of  the  things  in  the  Billy  Sun- 
day campaign  at  Buffalo  that  has  at- 
tracted much  attention  was  a  delegation 


from  the  Central  church,   Buffalo,  B.  S. 
Ferrall,  minister,  made  up  of  Chinese. 

— An  unfortunate  consequence  of  the 
drain  of  Canada's  resources  by  the  war 
and  our  own  Chinese  exclusion  law  is 
the  fact  that  at  the  Bridgeburg  church, 
Ontario,  is  a  Chinese  class  whose  teach- 
ers have  nearly  all  gone  to  war.  They 
cannot  come  over  to  an  American  Sun- 
day school,  and  it  is  difficult  to  get 
American  teachers  to  go  over  and  teach 
them. 


— Riverside,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  expects  to 
dedicate  its  new  Community  house 
Easter  Sunday.  Kensington,  Buffalo, 
plans  to  dedicate  its  remodeled  building 
the  Sunday  following  Easter.  L.  N.  D, 
Wells,  of  Akron,  Ohio,  will  serve  as 
dedicator.  George  H.  Brown,  of  Cen- 
tral church,  North  Tonawanda,  will  fol- 
low the  dedication  with  a  two  weeks' 
meeting. 

— Clyde  Darsie,  of  Mt.  Sterling,  Ky., 
and    Miss   Cynthia   P.    Maus,   of   Cincin- 


Two  Real  Schools  of  Religion 


Big  Work  on  Small  Capital 
at  Baltimore 

Few  theological  seminaries  have  as 
many  students  enrolled  in  the  study  of 
theology  as  Seminary  Flouse,  at  the 
Christian  Temple,  Baltimore,  Md.,  has 
in  the  study  of  the  Bible.  This  is  the 
thirteenth  year  of  this  unique  work,  and 
Dr.  Peter  Ainslie,  pastor  at  the  Temple, 
states  that  the  attendance  keeps  up  as 
in  former  years,  "indicating  that  when 
the  Bible  is  freely  taught  people  will 
come  to  study  it."  Dr.  Ainslie  writes 
that  he  believes  there  is  not  another  in- 
stitution in  America  that  is  doing  as  big 
a  work  on  so  small  a  capital. 

Last  year  fifteen  persons  were  grad- 
uated, having  taken  the  three  years' 
Bible  courses,  those  taking  the  examina- 
tion receiving  the  gold  seal,  those  taking 
the  reading  course  the  silver  seal  and 
the  one  taking  the  post-graduate  re- 
ceiving the  second  seal.  In  the  year 
beginning  last  October  there  were  115 
students  enrolled  in  the  several  classes — 
the  Freshman  Bible  Class,  the  Junior 
Bible  Class,  the  Senior  Bible  Class  and 
the  English  and  German  Class. 

The  faculty  has  decided  that  in  the  fu- 
ture no  student  will  be  admitted  to  mem- 
bership in  the  senior  class  unless  he  has 
completed  his  Bible  reading  and  mark- 
ings of  the  freshmen  and  junior  classes, 
as  well  as  completing  all  the  work  re- 
quired by  those  classes,  and  files  his 
essay  for  his  graduation  with  the  dean 
at  the  time  of  his  matriculation  in  the 
senior  class. 

Two  reading  circles  have  met  monthly 
at  Seminary  House,  studying  the  six- 
teen books  prescribed  by  the  faculty, 
generally  reading  one  book  a  month.  In 
one  circle  there  are  nine  and  in  the  other 
five.  There  may  be  others  reading  pri- 
vately. The  list  of  the  sixteen  books  is 
as  follows:  "True  Estimate  of  Life," 
Morgan;  "Passion  for  Souls,"  Jowett; 
"With  the  Tibetans  in  Tent  and  Tem- 
ple," Rijnhart;  "God  and  Me,"  Ainslie; 
"Life  of  Christ,"  Farrar;  "The  Ideal 
Life,"  Drummond;  "The  Law  of  Friend- 
ship— Human  and  Divine,"  King;  "The 
Teaching  of  the  Books,"  Campbell-Wil- 
lett;  "The  Meaning  of  Prayer,"  Fosdick; 
"The  Personal  Life  of  David  Living- 
stone," Blaikie;  "Listening  to  God," 
Black;  "Christianity  and  the  Social  Cri- 
sis," Rauschenbusch;  "Times  of  Retire- 
ment," Matheson;  "Ministry  of  the 
Spirit,"  Gordon;  Longfellow's  poems 
and  the  Bible. 

The  Round  Table  has  had  several 
meetings  in  the  year.  Dr.  Ainslie  has 
advised  that  they  devote  their  time  to 
some  definite  mission  study,  especially 
the  work  being  done  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
and  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  in  Japan  and  South 
America. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  faculty  it 
was  decided  to  continue  the  same  finan- 
cial terms  for  matriculation  as  previ- 
ously, namely,  $1  a  term,  making  it  $2  a 
year  for  each  student. 


Working  at  Spiritual  Tasks 
at  Norfolk 

Charles  M.  Watson  is  the  minister  at' 
First  Church,  Norfolk,  Va.,  and  J.  G. 
Holladay  superintends  the  work  of  the 
Sunday  school.  This  school  is  unlike 
that  at  the  Christian  Temple,  Baltimore, 
in  that  it  is  regularly  graded  according 
to  the  international  standards.  The  two 
schools  are  securing  fine  results  in  spir- 
itual upbuilding,  but  by  different  meth- 
ods. A  few  years  ago  $60,000  was  in-" 
vested  by  First  Church  in  a  building 
which  has  been  almost  ideally  equipped 
for  the  most  efficient  conduct  of  a  mod- 
ern graded  school.  Sixty-five  teachers 
and  officers  lead  in  this  school,  and  the 
great  majority  of  them  have  received 
special  training-  for  their  work. 

The  Department  of  Education  of  First 
Church  has  recently  published  a  circular 
concerning  the  work  of  the  school.  From 
this  we  quote  the  following  sentences, 
which  indicate  in  some  measure  the  high 
ideals  which  are  being  striven  for  in: 
the  school: 

"Our  aim  is  to  help  children  grow  up 
as  Christians  and  never  know  themselves 
as  being  otherwise.  We  seek  to  save 
our  boys  and  girls  by  the  Light  House 
rather  than  by  the  Life  Saving  Station 
Method." 

"We  are  happy  not  in  that  we  have 
attained  but  that  we  are  on  the  way  to 
attain  for  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  a  big 
job  we  have  and  we  need  you  to  help 
us  in  this  kingdom  building." 

"This  school  aims  for  an  enrollment 
of  500  attending  members  by  Easter.  If 
you  are  not  enrolled  elsewhere,  we  cor- 
dially invite  you  to  become  a  member 
of  our  school.  We  are  at  present  in  a 
contest  with  five  other  schools,  all  of; 
Richmond.  In  this  campaign  we  aim  to 
interest  you,  if  you  are  not  actively  in- 
terested elsewhere.  We  want  you  to 
help  make  our  church  a  more  helpful 
force  in  a  great  and  growing-  community. 
We  want  you  to  have  a  share  in  a  great 
task.     We  challenge  you." 

"Our  great  aim  is  to  bring  the  whole 
life  under  spiritual  control.  With  other 
churches  of  the  community  we  are  aim- 
ing to  help  by  doing  our  share  of  the 
spiritual  task.  Above  all  things,  we  covet 
for  our  religious  neighbors  just  what  we 
covet  for  ourselves,  the  response  of  hu- 
man hearts  to  a  divine  task.  With  a 
hearty  good  will  for  all  that  are  builders 
of  the  kingdom  of  our  God  and  His 
Christ,  we  seek  to  enlist  you.  If  you 
are  not  a  member  elsewhere  we  chal- 
lenge you  to  enlist  and  operate  in  this 
religious  endeavor.  If  this  comes  into 
the  hands  of  anyone  whom  the  church 
can  serve — that  is  our  business.  If  this 
comes  to  the  hands  of  anyone  who  wants 
to  help  in  this  crisis  hour  of  the  world's 
life,  here  is  a  near-at-hand  opportunity 
to  get  hold  for  God  and  humanity." 


March  29,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


nati,  Ohio,  will  be  on  the  faculty  at  the 
Eleventh  District  School  of  Principles 
and  Methods  of  Kentucky,  which  will  be 
held  at  Corbin,  May  26-30.  The  Eleventh 
District  is  the  only  one  in  the  state 
which  has  had  its  own  school  of  methods 
for  five  successive  years,  and  the  year's 
meeting  will  be  an  anniversary  occasion. 

— Frank  D.  Draper,  of  Newport,  Ky., 
has  begun  work  as  pastor  at  Owosso, 
Mich. 

— S.  O.  Landis,  who  has  been  serving 
Forest  Avenue  church,  Buffalo,  during 
the  period  of  the  Sunday  campaign,  re- 
cently suffered  a  very  serious  illness,  due 
to  poisoning.  He  is  now  recovered  and 
able  to  perform  his  duties. 

— Ionia,  Mich.,  church  is  enjoying  a 
series  of  moving  pictures  on  Sunday 
evenings,  depicting  the  life  of  Christ — 
"From  the  Manger  to  the  Cross."  The 
series  will  close  on  Easter  Sunday. 

— Michigan  Disciples  will  meet  in  an- 
nual convention  this  year  at  Cadillac,  the 
date  being  June  4-6.  Mrs.  Josephine 
Stearns,  of  the  National  C.  W.  B.  M., 
will  be  a  leader  on  the  program. 

— Mrs.  A.  E.  Jennings,  well  known 
Disciple  of  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  is  spend- 
ing a  few  months  in  Los  Angeles,  Cal., 
with  the  hope  of  bettering  her  health. 

— W.  D.  Cunningham,  of  the  Yotsuya 
Mission,  Japan,  now  in  America,  will 
speak  at  Central  and  Richmond  Avenue 
churches,  Buffalo,  and  at  North  Tona- 
wanda,  N.  Y.  C.  F.  McCall,  of  Akita, 
Japan,  filled  the  pulpit  at  Sterling  Place, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  on  March  4. 

— The  Kellems  brothers  have  closed  a 
record  series  of  meetings  at  Dayton, 
Ore.,  with  102  added  to  the  membership. 
They  are  now  at  Walla  Walla,  Wash. 

— M.  C.  Hutchinson,  who  leads  in  tlie 
workat  Fulton,  Mo.,  is  speaking  on  con- 
secutive Sunday  evenings  of  the  wars 
which  America  has  fought.  He  is  in- 
terpreting the  deeper  meanings  and 
after  influences  of  these  conflicts. 

— There  were  114  persons  present  two 
weeks  ago  in  the  Twentieth  Century 
Class  of  the  school  at  First  church, 
Mexico,  Mo.  Henry  Pearce  Atkins  is 
the  teacher.  An  effort  is  being  made  for 
an  attendance  of  200. 

— An  "Every  Member  Come  to 
Church  Day  of  Days"  was  a  great  suc- 
cess at  Chickasha,  Okla.,  church,  on 
March  18. 

— March  4  was  inauguration  day  at 
Sullivan,  Ind.,  for  J.  McD.  Home,  re- 
cently come  to  the  Indiana  town  from 
Paris,  111.  A  leading  member  of  the  Sul- 
livan church  writes  most  hopefully  of  the 
prospects  of  the  work  there  under  Mr. 
Home's  leadership. 

— Burris  A.  Jenkins  of  Kansas  City 
lectured  at  the  Fortnightly  Club,  Lib- 
erty, Mo.,  on  March  23.  The  meeting 
was  held  at  the  Liberty  Christian  church. 

— The  program  for  Easter  week  at 
Liberty,  Mo.,  is  as  follows:  The  pastor, 
Graham  Frank,  will  preach  on  Monday 
and  Thursday  evenings;  George  H. 
Combs,  of  Kansas  City,  on  Tuesday 
evening;  E.  E.  Violett  on  Wednesday 
evening,  and  Dr.  J.  B.  Hunley,  of  Kan- 
sas City,  on  Friday  evening.  The  pastor 
will  preach  at  both  services  on  the  Sun- 
day preceding  and  on  Easter  Sunday. 

— It  is  reported  that  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Paul 
Wakefield,  missionaries  in  China,  have 
lost  one  of  their  children,  Mary,  by  scar- 
let fever.     Mrs.  Wakefield  and  the  chil- 


dren had  intended  to  sail  for  America  on 
March  17,  but  the  journey  has  been  post- 
poned until  late  in  May,  when  Dr.  Wake- 
field will  accompany  them. 

— C.  F.  Stevens,  of  Beatrice,  Neb.,  is 
in  a  home  force  meeting,  with  L.  B. 
Conrad  leading  the  singing. 

— D.  R.  Dungan,  with  Mrs.  Dungan, 
have  returned  to  their  home  in  Glen- 
dale,  Cal.,  after  a  few  months'  sojourn 
in  Honolulu.  Dr.  Dungan's  injury,  re- 
ceived aboard  ship  before  reaching  the 
islands,  has  been  repaired  to  some  ex- 
tent, but  he  will  be  obliged  to  use  a 
wheel-chair. 

— Kentucky  has  more  Disciples  for  the 
population  than  any  other  state.  Every 
sixteenth  person  you  meet  in  that  com- 
monwealth is  a  Disciple. 


we  have  gone  far  enough  to  assure  our- 
selves that  there  will  be  no  conflicts. 

The  program  committee  of  the  State 
Convention,  to  be  held  in  Taylorville, 
September  10-13,  has  held  its  first  pre- 
liminary meeting.  Several  matters  of 
unusual  interest  will  be  considered  in 
this  convention.  Illinois  Disciples  are 
taking  a  vital  interest  in  all  the  great  co- 
operative movements  of  the  day  and  this 
convention  will  sound  the  note  of  prog- 
ress along  all  lines. 

H.  H.  Peters, 
State  Secretary. 


ILLINOIS  NEWS  LETTER 

This  is  the  convention  season.  We 
are  getting  ready  in  Illinois  for  the  best 
district  conventions  we  have  had  in 
years.  The  secretaries  are  preparing 
splendid  programs  and  are  doing  their 
best  to  arouse  an  interest.  The  new 
plan  of  state  and  district  work  will  be 
presented  at  each  of  the  conventions. 
The  people  are  coming  to  understand 
this  proposal  and  it  looks  now  like  it 
would  have  an  enthusiastic  reception  in 
every  convention.  The  Second  District 
Convention  will  be  held  in  connection 
with  the  quarterly  rally  of  our  churches 
in  Chicago.  The  dates  of  the  conven- 
tions have  not  all  been  agreed  upon,  but 


THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE  ON  MIS- 
SIONARY EDUCATION 

Missionary  education  in  the  Sunday 
schools  is  fundamental.  Plans  for  se- 
curing an  adequate  program  of  mission- 
ary education  in  our  own  schools  are 
developing  nicely.  For  some  years  the 
American  and  Foreign  Societies  have 
united  in  the  preparation  and  promotion 
of  material  presenting  the  lives  and 
works  of  our  own  missionaries  at  home 
and  abroad.  Last  year  this  material  was 
of  a  very  high  order  and  had  a  wide  use. 

The  first  six  months  of  the  calendar 
year  are  given  to  the  presentation  of  the 
work  in  foreign  fields  and  the  last  six 
months  in  home  fields.  "Little  Journeys 
to  Far  Countries"  and  "Seeing  America" 
were  the  courses  prepared  by  Miss  Lucy 
King  DeMoss  of  the  Foreign  Christian 
Missionary  Society  and  Miss  Hazel  A. 
Lewis  of  the  American  Christian  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

With  the  year  1917  the  grading  of  the 


illllllllllllllllllllllllllltlllllllllllllllllllllllllllM 


Our  Readers'  Opinions 


PETER  AINSLIE  AND  THE 
KAISER 

Editor  The  Christian  Century  : 

In  your  issue  of  March  8  I  noticed  a 
telegram  from  Mr.  Ainslie  to  Ambassa- 
dor Bernstorff  of  Germany,  which  reads 
as  follows: 

"Convey  to  the  German  people  my 
sincere  expression  of  good  will  toward 
them  and  my  deep  desire  that  they  will 
do  what  they  can  to  prevent  war  be- 
tween their  country  and  mine  for  the 
sake  of  the  civilization  of  which  we  are 
common  parts." 

This  telegram  is  an  expression  of  self- 
ishness. It  is  an  appeal  to  the  German 
people  to  prevent  war  between  Germany 
and  the  United  States.  It  matters  not 
what  they  may  do  to  other  nations,  but 
do  not  touch  us.  Mr.  Ainslie  takes  no 
interest  in  the  poor  Belgians,  Polanders 
and  Serbians,  whose  lands  are  torn, 
homes  devastated,  women  and  children 
slaughtered  and  brutalized,  and  many 
carried  into  slavery. 

He  seems  not  greatly  concerned  for 
those  who  went  down  in  the  swirling 
waters  that  engulfed  the  Lusitania. 

This  is  the. nation  that  has  a  "common 
civilization"  with  Mr.  Ainslie's  country. 

He  pleads  with  Germany  to  keep  from 
injuring  the  United  States.  It  is  hard 
to  think  that  the  freedom-loving  people 
of  the  United  States  are  willing  to  be 
classed  with  the  civilization  of  Germany, 
under   existing   circumstances. 

Mr.  Ainslie's  appeal  is  addressed  to 
the  German  people,  and  not  to  the 
Kaiser  and  his  advisers,  if  he  has  any. 

I  doubt  if  the  telegram  to  Bernstorff 
will  ever  be  read  to  the  German  people. 
The  Kaiser  and  his  court  have  been  ig- 


■r:m 


nored.  Why  addressed  to  Bernstorff, 
who  has  been  accused  of  plotting  against 
the  interests  of  the  United  States?  The 
telegram  has  been  misdirected.  It  will 
fail  of  its  purpose.  The  German  people 
do  not  know,  nor  will  they  ever  know 
anything  of  Mr.  Ainslie. 

If  President  Wilson  and  his  cabinet 
cannot  effect  the  desired  results,  it  ill 
becomes  Mr.  Ainslie  to  attempt  to  influ- 
ence the  German  empire. 

R.  W.  Stevenson. 

Toronto,  Canada. 


ff  c  lACall  panted  in  the  current  country 
and  city  press  of  America  pertaining  to  the  sub- 
ject of  particular  interest  to  you. 

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ewspapers  wnich  would  ^0Tm  you 

exclusively  of  where  you  can  secure  new  busi- 
ness, an  order  or  a  contract;  where  a  new  store 
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service  means  more  business. 

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22 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


March  29,  1917 


material  began.  The  current  course, 
dealing  with  the  general  theme,  "How 
the  Missionary  Works,"  has  three 
adapted  sets  for  graded  schools:  "Four 
Pictures  and  Their  Stories,"  for  primary 
children:  "How  the  Missionary  Works," 
for  juniors  and  intermediates,  and  "Ten 
Lessons  on  the  Missionary  at  Work," 
for  adults.  There  is  also  a  special  ob- 
ject lesson  series,  entitled  "Knowing 
Jesus  Makes  a  Difference." 

The  plans  for  the  year,  July,  1917,  to 
June,  191S,  are  of  even  larger  signifi- 
cance. The  Christian  Woman's  Board 
of  Missions,  which  has  had  such  a  large 
place  in  the  missionary  education  of  our 
young  people  and  children,  joins  with 
the  Home  and  Foreign  Societies  in  a 
truly  joint  campaign.  A  committee  has 
been  constituted,  composed  of  Mrs.  Ellie 
K.  Payne,  Stephen  J.  Corey  and  Robt. 
M.  Hopkins,  that  will  administer  the 
preparation  of  this  material.  Several 
meetings  of  the  committee  have  already 
been  held  and  the  work  for  the  year  is 
well  under  way. 

The  general  theme  for  the  six  months 
devoted  to  Home  Missions,  Julv  to  De- 
cember, 1917,  will  be  "Early  Americans," 
in  contradistinction  to  the  work  among 
immigrants,  commonly  known  as  "New 
Americans,"  which  will  in  all  probability 
be  the  theme  for  consideration  in  1918. 
This  year  such  fields  will  be  studied  as 
the  Indians,  the  Pioneers,  the  Mountain- 
eers and  the  Negroes,  all  of  whom  are 
truly  "early  Americans,"  yet  present 
among  us.  The  Foreign  Mission  mate- 
rial, for  use  January  to  June,  1918,  will 
deal  with  the  work  in  Africa. 

In  the  selection  and  presentation  of 
this  material  the  life  needs  of  the  chil- 
dren and  the  young  people  are  the  de- 
termining factors,  not  the  promotion  in- 
terests of  any  particular  *  board.  The 
aim  is  not  the  securing  of  an  immediate 
offering,  but  the  well  rounded  mission- 
ary education  of  the  church  of  the  fu- 
ture. 

A  common  page  each  month  sets  forth 
the  work  of  this  joint  committee  in  the 
three  journals  of  these  societies— The 
Missionary  Tidings,  The  Missionary  Intel- 
ligencer and  The  American  Home  Mis- 
sionary. This  page  is  in  itself  worthy 
of  note,  being  about  the  only  material  at 
present  appearing  in  common  in  these 
three   missionary  journals. 

The  hearty  fellowship  of  all  our  Bible 
schools  is  urgently  asked  in  the  carry- 
ing out  of  these  plans. 

Robt.  M.  Hopkins, 

Chairman  Joint  Missionary  Education 
Committee. 


A  WORK  OF  FAITH  IN  TEXAS 

The  dedication  of  Magnolia  Park 
Christian  church,  Houston,  Tex.,  on  Sun- 
day, March  4,  marks  the  second  stage  in 
the  development  of  this  new  work. 
About  nine  months  ago  a  few  people 
who  were  then  members  of  South  End 
church  conceived  the  idea  of  starting  a 
Sunday  school  for  the  children  of  that 
section,  and  also  to  have  an  afternoon 
Sunday  school  specifically  for  the  Mexi- 
can children.  These  members  were  aided 
in  the  development  of  their  plans  by 
W.  S.  Lockhart,  minister  of  South  End 
church,  and  the  members  there.  Ar- 
rangements were  made  to  use  one  of  the 
old  store  buildings  on  Harrisburg  road 
and  in  a  short  time  this  building  became 
entirely  inadequate  to  the  growing  de- 
mands of  the  young  church.  A  lot  was 
purchased  and  this  lot  is  being  paid  out 
in  monthly  installments.  Be  it  said  to 
the  credit  of  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  of 
this  congregation,  that  they  have  been 
able  to  take  care  of  these  payments 
themselves. 


This  church  is  located  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  new  harbor  addition  at  the  lower 
end  of  Magnolia  Park,  a  beautiful  resi- 
dential section  that  is  rapidly  develop- 
ing. The  homes  in  this  section  are  sub- 
stantial, but  most  of  them  are  small,  be- 
ing largely  the  homes  of  working  people 
of  high  quality. 

Arrangements  were  made  the  first  of 
the  year  whereby  A.  T.  Fitts,  district 
evangelist  of  the  Christian  church,  came 
into  this  field  to  stay  three  months. 
From  the  very  first  Mr.  Fitts  has  given 
himself  enthusiastically  to  this  new 
work,  preaching  on  Sundays  and  assist- 
ing in  every  possible  way  in  .soliciting 
funds  and  directing  the  building  of  the 
church. 

Most  of  the  people  living  in  this  sec- 
tion are  paying  for  their  homes  by  the 
month,  and  only  a  few,  possibly,  have 
paid  out,  so  that  you  could  really  say 
they  own  their  homes.  Realizing  the  im- 
perative need,  the  people  of  South  End 
church  have  given  themselves  diligently 
to  the  support  of  the  mission. 

The  building  itself  represents  the 
generosity  of  the  business  men  of  Hous- 
ton. The  lumbermen,  with  few  excep- 
tions give  the  lumber.  The  paint  inter- 
ests of  the  city  have  contributed  the 
paint.  The  hardware  men  have  given 
the  hardware  and  roofing.  The  electric 
light  fixtures  were  contributed  by  the 
electric  light  fixtures  people.  Numerous 
friends  and  business  men  have  made  cash 
donations.  The  membership  of  South 
End  church  have  largely  paid  for  the 
construction,  so  that  when  the  building 
was  dedicated  March  4  it  was  dedicated 
entirely  free  of  debt. 

Credit  should  be  given  to  Mr.  A.  D. 
Milroy,  of  Bonham,  Texas,  a  high-class 
Christian  gentleman  and  a  fine  business 
man,  for  his  support  of  Mr.  Fitts.  Surely 
this  young  church  starts  off  with  a  splen- 
did equipment  and  high  hopes  for  the 
future.  Mr.  Fitts  began  a  meeting  March 
4,  to  be  continued  possibly  three  or  four 
weeks,  and  after  this  a  regular  pastor 
will  be  called.  *     *     * 


NATIONAL    BENEVOLENT    ASSO- 
CIATION   NOTES 

We  are  happy  to  report  that  Mrs.  J. 
H.  Hansbrough,  of  the  association,  who 
has  been  ill  for  the  last  two  or  three 
months,  is  showing  signs  of  improve- 
ment. She  is  able  now  to  be  in  the  office 
a  part  of  every  day.  Her  friends  will 
rejoice  in  her  recovery. 

The  annuity  department  of  the  asso- 
ciation has  recently  been  the  recipient 
of  a  number  of  good  gifts.  Eight  bonds 
were  issued  during  the  month  of  March. 
The  annuity  department  is  showing  the 
best  gain  in  the  history  of  the  associa- 
tion. The  total  receipts  for  the  first  six 
months  of  the  year  were  in  advance  of 
the  best  previous  record  for  twelve 
months. 

The  little  hospital  that  is  being  built 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Christian  Orphans' 
Home,  St.  Louis,  is  nearing  completion. 
It  is  hoped  that  it  may  be  ready  for 
service  before  many  weeks.  ,The  prob- 
lem of  its  furnishing  is  the  next  thing 
to  command  attention.  It  will  have  to 
be  furnished  anew  throughout.  We  cor- 
dially invite  the  friends  of  the  Christian 
Orphans'  Home  to  fellowship  in  pro- 
viding beds  and  bedding,  chairs  and 
other  needed  equipment. 

A  message  has  just  been  received  from 
Miss  Mary  Maher,  announcing  the  fact 
that  a  good  brother  has  informed  the 
home  at  Jacksonville,  111.,  that  he  will 
plant  a  bushel  of  potatoes  and  cultivate 
them  for  the  benefit  of  the  Jacksonville 


'£tllUIIIMIIHUIHIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIHIMIIHUIIIHIIIUIIIIIItllllll1llll11llllllllltlllllllllllMIIIIIIIII1IIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIltllin: 

|  Shall  We  Send  Them 
To  the  Poorhouse? 

This  question  is  to  the  point. 

|  If  we  do  not  provide,  by  indi- 

|  vidual  gifts  and  large  offerings 

|  through    the    Bible    Schools    on 

|  Easter  Sunday,  for  the  care  of 

|  our  aged  saints,  then  many  of 

|  them  will  be  compelled  to  go  to 

|  the  poorhouse.     I  wonder  what 

I  God  will  think  of  us  in  the  Day    I 

1  of  Judgment  when  we  see  com- 

|  ing   in  that   great   throng,   men    1 

|  and    women    who    served    the 

|  church  faithfully  in  their  youth, 

|  and  then  were  neglected  by  an 

|  ungrateful   church  in  their  old 

I  age.  \ 

|         During  a  residence  of  eleven 

|  years  as  pastor  at  Jacksonville, 

|  111.,  I  had  abundant  opportunity 

1  to    observe    the    care   bestowed    f 

I  upon  the  aged  saints  in  Israel  in 

I  the  Old  People's  Home.    In  the    \ 

|  home    were    men    and    women 

|  without    relatives    and    without 

1  homes.    Many  of  them  bore  an- 

|  gelic  faces,  and  the  story  of  their 

|  lives    would    make    fascinating 

|  reading.     The  shelter  of  these 

|  aged  ones  was  not  only  a  benefit 

1  to  them,  but  a  constant  benedic- 

1  tion  upon  the  Jacksonville  church 

|  and   the   brotherhood   at   large, 

|  who  had  made  their  care  pos-    1 

|  sible.     The  management  of  the    1 

|  home    constantly    turned    away 

I  worthy    applicants.      We    have     I 

|  been  doing  that  ever  since.  And 

|  all  over  our  land  are  aged  mem- 

|  bers   of   the   Christian   Church, 

i  poorly     fed     and     housed     in 

|  quarters   hardly   fit    for   a   dog,     1 

I  anxiously  awaiting  a  letter  telling    1 

f  them    that    a    vacancy   has    oc-    I 

|  curred  and  to  make  ready  for 

I  entrance  into  one  of  our  homes.     | 
|         Picture    in   your   own    minds    | 

|  these  dependent  ones,  here  and    f 

|  there  over  our  land,  awaiting  the 

1  call  of  the  church  to  decent  food 

|  and  shelter.    No  cause  makes  an    | 

1  appeal    upon   human   hearts   as    | 

I  does     that     of     the     National    | 

1  Benevolent     Association     when    \ 

I  properly  presented.    If  our  min-    § 

1  isters  would  inform  themselves 

f  fully,   and   then   enthusiastically 

I  and  sympathetically  present  the 

1  cause,    our    treasury    would    be 

|  full  and  overflowing.     May  the 

|  old  poem,  "Over  the  hills  to  the 

|  poorhouse,"     not     be     repeated 

1  longer  in  a  church  that  claims 

f  to    be    Christian    and   apostolic. 

Push  the  offering  on  Easter.    It 

I  will  not  only  bless  those  in  need, 

but  bring  a   blessing  upon   the 

I  local  church  that  helps. 

Russell  F.  Thrapp. 

^(IIIIIIIIIIIItllllMllltlliniHIIIlIIIIIMtlllHIIIIIitlllllllMIIIIIHIIItlllllllllilllinillllltlltlllllllMillillillllllltlllltlllllllf 


March  29,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


23 


home,  the  home  to  have  the  entire  yield. 
This  is  a  fine  suggestion.  We  wish  a 
score  or  more  of  our  farmer  brethren 
over  the  country,  in  the  vicinity  of  each 
one  of  our  institutions,  would  agree  to 
plant  a  bushel  of  potatoes  and  cultivate 
them  in  the  interest  of  our  homes. 

We  are  gratified  at  the  way  the  Bible 
schools  are  ordering  Easter  supplies,  and 
yet,  in  the  presence  of  the  large  family 
absolutely  dependent  upon  the  associa- 
tion for  support  and  the  almost  prohib- 
itive prices  of  food  supplies,  it  will  be 
necessary  for  our  Bible  schools  to  make 
the  Easter  offering  unanimous,  if  the  as- 
sociation's work  is  to  be  sustained. 
There  are  fully  600  people  in  the  homes 
now  and  others  clamoring  for  admission. 

In    making    your    remittances    of    the 
Easter  offering,  be   sure,   by  all  means, 
to  make  your  check  payable  to  Mrs.  J. 
K.    Hansbrough    and    send    it    to    2955 
North    Euclid    avenue,    St.    Louis,    Mo. 
Don't  get  the  association  confused  with 
other  appeals  that  are  being  sent  out. 
J.  H.  Mohorter, 
2955  Euclid  Ave., 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 


Women  cooks  employed  in  the  British 
army  are  paid  one  hundred  dollars  a  year 
and  their  board. 


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These  are  lithojrrapl.ed  in  four  colors  on 
muslin  of  superior  quality,  arid  measure  36x58 
inches.  Larjje  lettering' of  names  of  places  is  a 
special  feature  on  all  these  maps.  Each  map 
has  distinctive  features,  but  all  have  large  type, 
clear  and  bold  outlines. 

The  maps  are  as  follows: 
Map  of  Palestine— Illustrating    the    Old    Test- 
ament and  the  Land  as  Divided  among1  the 
twelve  tribes. 
Map    of    Palestine— Illustrating:  the  New  Test- 

«.imr.t. 
Map    of    the    Roman   Kmpire  -  Illustrating  the 

Journeys   of  the  Apostle  Paul. 
Map  of  Assyria  and  the  Adjacent  Lands— Illust- 
rating the  Captivities  of  the  Jews. 
Map  of  Egypt  and  the  Siuat  Peninsula — Illustrat- 
ing the  Jonmeyings  of  the  Israelites. 
Any  of  the  sbeve  maps  sold  singly  and  un- 
mounted at  1.00  ea  -h,  postpaid. 

These  maps  are  al^.5  furnished  in  a  set  of  5 
that  are  mounted  n  one  specially  constructed 
wooden  roller,  which  is  arranged  to  rest  securely 
on  the  top  of  the  upright  bar  of  the  stand.  The 
stand  is  collapsible  and  is  made  of  steel,  finished 
in  black  Japan. 

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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 
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WANT  A  BABY  IN  YOUR  HOME? 


:        .     . 

We  have  many  we  do 
not  need.  Great  big. 
blue-eyed,  brown-eyed 
babies.  Some  with 
hair  and  some  without. 
Smiling  and  cooing  all 
the  day  long. 


Don't  You  Want  One? 

Sweet  little  motherless,  fatherless  waifs,  taken  into  the  various 
homes  of  the 

National  Benevolent  Association 

St.  Louis — Omaha — Cleveland — Atlanta — Denver — Dallas. 

You  Can  Support  a  Baby  a 
Whole  Year  for  $150 

in  one  of  our  Homes.  This  will  provide  food,  clothing  and 
care.  Of  course,  we  strive  to  place  the  babies  in  Christian 
homes  as  soon  as  possible,  but  there  is  a  constant  stream  of 
them  coming  in  and  going  out,  so  your  support  of  a  baby  will 
always  be  welcomed. 

Make  a  Thank  Offering 
Easter  Sunday 

This  is  the  only  appeal  we  make  to  the  churches  throughout 
the  year.  Bible  schools  observing  the  Easter  Offering  will  be 
supplied  with  our  New  exercise  Free. 

Address 

NATIONAL  BENEVOLENT  ASSOCIATION 

2955  North  Euclid  Avenue 
ST.  LOUIS        ....        MISSOURI 

Please  do  not  confuse  this  Association  with  any  other  institu- 
tion.    Be  sure  to  note  the  street  address. 

Make  checks  and  drafts  payable  to  Mrs.  J.  K.  Hansbrough. 


"Whoso  receiveth  one 
such  little  child  re- 
ceiveth me." 


Just  From  The 


Dr.  Burris  A.  Jenkins'  Popular  Volume 

"The  Man  in  the  Street 
and  Religion" 

A   book   containing  the  Kansas    City  preacher's  message  and    his 
personal  philosophy  of  life. 

One  of  the  livest  and  most  readable 
statements  of  modern  faith  which  the  New 
Year  will  bring  forth.  The  following  ex- 
tract from  the  first  chapter  suggests  the 
point  of  view  and  atmosphere  of  this 
fascinating  book: 

"To  look  upon  the  seething  mass  of  men  in  the 
city  streets,  or  on  the  country  side,  the  navvy  in 
the  ditch  or  on  the  right-of-way,  the  chauffeur 
and  the  engine  man,  the  plumber  and  the  pluto- 
crat, the  man  with  the  hoe  and  the  man  with  the 
quirt,  the  clerk  and  the  architect,  the  child  of  the 
silver  spoon  and  the  child  of  the  rookery,  and  to 
declare  that  all  alike  are  religious,  naturally  re- 
ligious, seems  a  daring  stand  to  take.  But  that 
is  the  precise  position  to  which  we  are  beginning 
to  come." 


Price  $1.25   (plus  postage) 

Order  now,  inclosing  remittance,   and  book  will   be   sent    immediately. 


The  Christian  Century  Press 

700  E.  40th  Street  .\  Chicago 


•<  r         < 


■  Vol.  XXXIV 


April  5,  1917 


Number  14 


The  Breath  of 
Eternal  Life 

By  Frederick  F.  Shannon 

Can  We  Believe  in 
Immortality? 

By  John  R.  Ewers 


CHICAGO 


m 


mm 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  April  5,  1917 


Can  April  Beat  March  ? 


The  answer  rests  with  our  minister  readers. 
We  are  asking  them  to  make  special  efforts 
this  month  to  secure  three  new  subscriptions 
apiece  to  The  Christian  Century  from  among 
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normally  not  a  big  month  in  our  subscrip- 
tion department,  but  if  our  ministers  join 
in  this  specific  concerted  effort,  April  will 
"fool"  all  the  big  months  that  have  gone 
before.  March  beat  February.  February 
beat  January.  January  beat  December, 
and  December  set  a  new  record  in  receipts 
for  new  subscriptions  and  renewals  to  The 
Christian  Century.  Suppose  we  all  give 
April  a  helping  hand  in  its  ambition  to 
"fool"  its  sister  months! 

Subscription  Department 

The  Christian  Century 


April  5,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


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PUBLISHED    WEEKLY    BY   THE   DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE    INTEREST    OF    THE    KINGDOM    OF    GOD 


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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS,       ;       700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


Disciples 

Publication 

Society 


The  Disciples  Publica- 
tion Society  is  an  or- 
ganization through 
which  churches  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ 
seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *    •    * 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *     *     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
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gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  theiressential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
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lished for  the  Disciples^  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
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point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

Dear  Friends: — I  believe  in  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  The  Christian  Century  and  wish  to  be  numbered  among 
those  who  are  supporting  your  work  in  a  substantial  way  by  their  gifts. 


Enclosed  please  find 


Name..., 
Address. 


BOOKS  TO  STRENGTHEN  FAITH 

Here  are  a  number  of  books,  NEITHER  MEDIOCRE  OR  DEALING  WITH  OBSOLETE   TERMS 
OF  THEOLOGY,  but  each  chosen  to  STIMULATE  thought  and  REVIVE 
faith  in  minds  of  educated  and  devout  preachers 


First  THE  NECESSITY  OF  CHRIST 

By  W.   E.  Orchard 
$1.25 

The  book  shows  that  the  whole  modern  movement  in 
philosophy  and  religion,  so  far  from  displacing  Christ,  con- 
stitutes a  unique  revelation  of  His  necessity.  The  author's 
"The  Temple  Book  of  Prayers,"  just  published  in  a  new  edi- 
tion ($1.00),  is  dedicated  to  those  "who,  weary  of  fruitless 
quest  and  endless  argument,  are  willing  to  try  the  way  of 
prayer." 


Fifth  IS   CHRISTIANITY   PRACTICABLE? 

By  William  Adams  Brown 

Is  force  to  be  the  ultimate  word  in  human  affairs,  or  is 
there  something-  higher  and  more  compelling?  This  theme  was 
the  subject  of  Prof.  Brown's  recent  lectures  delivered  in  Tokio 
in  response  to  an  invitation  from  the  Federation  of  Japanese 
churches.  The  author's  "Modern  Theology  and  the  Preaching 
of  the  Gospel"  ($1.25)  has  already  placed  him  in  the  front 
rank  of  present  day  thinkers. 


Second  the  inner  life 

By  Rufus  M.  Jones 
$1.00 

Turn  a  little  while  from  trenches  lost  and  won  and  spend 
a  little  while  in  examining  the  less  noisy  but  no  less  myste- 
rious battle  line  inside  the  soul. 

Third   aspects  of  the  infinite  mystery 

By  George  A.  Gordon 
$1.50 
A  confession  of  faith  of  the  most  distinguished  preacher- 
theologian  of  America,  inspiring  newer  feeling",  deeper  moods 
and  surer  insight. 

Fourth  THE  MASTER'S  WAY 

By  Dean  Charles  R.  Brown,  of  Yale  School  of  Religion 

$1.75 
A  successful  study  of  the  synoptics  connecting  the  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  with  present  day  needs  and  experiences. 


Sixth  THE  ULTIMATE  FAITH 

By    A.    Chilton-Brock 

$1.00 

Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  devoted  his  leading  editorial  to  this 
book  recently  in  the  Outlook,  agreeing  fully  with  its  spirit  and 
fundamental  principles,  that  goodness,  truth  and  beauty  are 
ends  in  themselves.  "The  Expository  Times"  stamped  it  as  a 
work   of  rare  merit,   particularly   commending   its   originalitv. 


Spvpnth     JESUS  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIGHT  OF 

oevenin  psychology 

By    G.    Stanley    Hall 

2  Vols.  $7.50 

This,  the  outstanding  theological  book  of  the  moment, 
penetrates  to  the  innermost  soul  of  Jesus  and  vindicates  the 
spiritual  Christ  against  those  who  would  reduce  him  to  the 
dimensions  of  a  good  and  great  man.  It  should  prove  as 
epoch  mating  as  the  author's  famous  "Adolesence." 


Expert  advice  about  books  is  cheerfully  given.     Letters  are  often  received  asking   for   advice   on   given    topics, 
receive  prompt  attention  these  inquiries  should  be  addressed  to  L.  H.  Cary,  Literary  Department 


To 


Two  Floors  of 
Good  Books 


THE  PILGRIM  PRESS 


19  and  21  Jackson  Blvd.,  Near  State  St. 
CHICAGO 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  April  5,  1917 


THE  $6,300,000  FUND 

The  least  thing  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement  is  doing  is  to  raise  $6,- 
300,000.  This  is  well  understood  where  the  team  has  been,  but  elsewhere  the 
financial  aim  is  looked  upon  as  the  chief,  if  not  the  only,  goal.  When  there 
is  a  dollar  mark  in  sight,  it  is  hard  to  make  an  American  think  in  any  other 
terms.  But  Mr.  Long  says  concerning  his  pledge  of  a  million  dollars,  "Any 
young  man  who  goes  out  as  a  missionary  is  doing  more  than  I  am.  He  is 
giving  all,  while  I  am  simply  giving  a  part  of  my  life,  as  represented  by  a  part 
of  the  money  that  has  come  to  me." 

But  the  $6,300,000  is  a  necessary  part  of  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement, 
because  it  is  immediately  needed  in  the  work  that  seems  divinely  committed  to 
the  Disciples  of  Christ.  To  double  the  volume,  improve  the  quality  and  guar- 
antee the  integrity  of  our  college  work  within  seven  or  eight  years  is  not 
merely  a  good  thing  to  do,  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  very  existence  of  the 
schools  and  to  the  mission  of  the  Disciples.  The  $3,625,000  allotted  to  educa- 
tion does  not  complete  but  only  makes  a  good  beginning  on  this  task.  No  one 
else  will  train  leaders  for  our  work.  Without  trained  leadership  its  success  is 
impossible,  and  our  very  existence  becomes  an  impertinence,  if  not  a  crime. 

As  the  Disciples,  by  their  missionary  efforts,  have  become  an  international 
people,  their  task  has  been  multiplied  by  seven.  Schools,  churches,  hospitals 
and  homes  must  be  established,  manned  and  maintained  in  Latin  America, 
Africa,  India,  the  Philippine  Islands,  China,  Japan  and  Tibet,  as  well  as  in 
America.  Not  to  follow  up  the  marvelous  advantages  given  to  us  by  Provi- 
dence and  the  heroic  efficiency  of  our  pioneer  missionaries,  would  be  not  only 
foolish,  but  culpable.  So  the  Movement  has  assigned  $1,100,000  to  the  work 
abroad  and  $1,450,000  to  missions  and  benevolences  in  North  America.  These 
amounts,  with  the  $3,625,000  for  education  and  $125,000  for  possible  shrink- 
age, make  up  the  $6,300,000. 

As  rapidly  as  these  facts  and  conditions  are  realized,  the  money  is  being 
provided  that  will  enable  willing  young  men  and  women  to  follow  the  vanguard 
as  they  followed  the  Christ.  Already  over  $4,400,000  has  been  subscribed,  in 
sums  ranging  from  $500  (the  smallest  amount  that  is  accepted)  to  $1,000,000, 
payable  in  five  years.  Much  of  it  has  been  paid  and  is  at  work.  No  gifts  are 
asked  in  public.  The  meetings  and  addresses  are  solely  for  the  purpose  of  im- 
parting information. 

All  the  pledges  are  made  privately,  quietly  and  deliberately.  One  thou- 
sand dollars  comes  from  a  man  and  woman,  both  of  whose  children  have  be- 
come missionaries.  Another  home  gives  its  only  child  and  her  complete  sup- 
port. A  woman  thinks  of  giving  a  thousand  dollars  but,  as  she  looks  all  round 
the  proposition,  increases  it  to  five,  ten,  twenty  thousand,  that  she  may  be 
"fairly  represented  before  God."  Another's  ten  thousand  grew  to  fifty  and 
then  to  eighty-five  thousand,  just  as  anybody  who  has  found  an  extraordi- 
narily good  field  for  investment  wants  to  make  his  holdings  as  large  as  pos- 
sible. In  the  same  spirit  hundreds  of  men  and  women  have  made  pledges  of 
five  hundred  dollars,  many  of  them  at  a  sacrifice  that  puts  them  into  real  fel- 
lowship with  the  missionaries.  !.jW*ferT*IB| 

Encouraged  by  the  response  that  has  been  made  to  this  call,  June  1,  1918, 
has  been  set  as  the  date  for  the  completion  of  the  $6,300,000. 

MEN  AND  MILLIONS  MOVEMENT 

222  W.  Fourth  St.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 


CHABI.ES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT    L.    WILLETT,    CONTRIBUTING    EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


APRIL  5.  1917 


Number  14 


The  Easter  Spirit 


DOES  EASTER  MEAN  AN  EMPTY  GRAVE  OR 
A  TRIUMPHANT  LIFE? 

Many  an  historic  incident  fails  to  move  us  because 
it  is  unrelated  to  our  lives.  The  high  school  boy  fails 
to  appreciate  Caesar's  work  in  the  Gallic  wars.  He 
may  even  wish  at  times  that  Julius  Caesar  had  never 
gone  to  war  at  all.  The  only  relation  of  Caesar  to  his 
life  is  that  he  must  perforce  read  about  it  in  an  un- 
known tongue. 

Even  when  we  learn  of  historic  incidents  in  a  more 
pleasant  way,  when  the  reading  of  them  brings  genuine 
enjoyment,  it  is  often  with  a  feeling  of  detachment. 
The  only  history  that  really  grips  us  is  that  which  is 
taken  up  into  experience.  When  a  modern  reformer 
reads  the  life  of  Savonarola,  he  gets  more  than  a  his- 
torian's feeling  for  this  brave  man  of  Florence.  Savona- 
rola becomes  reincorporated  in  the  soul  of  the  reader. 
He  lives  again  in  the  life  of  the  man  who  would  attack 
the  vanities  and  sins  of  modern  life. 

There  are  two  ways  of  telling  the  Easter  story. 
One  way  concerns  itself  with  the  minutiae  of  what 
happened  one  Sunday  morning  at  the  tomb  which  had 
been  built  for  Joseph  of  Arimathea.  When  we  con- 
sider the  stories  concerning  these  happenings,  which 
have  come  down  to  us,  they  are  disordered  enough.  In 
one  gospel,  the  women  come  before  sunrise ;  in  another, 
they  come  after  sunrise.  In  one  gospel  two  women 
touch  Jesus'  feet;  in  another,"  a  woman  is  forbidden  to 
touch  him.  There  is  confusion  in  the  accounts  as  to 
the  impression  made  by  the  announcement  made  by  the 
women.  One  writer  tells  us  of  the  unbelief  of  the 
apostles ;  another  tells  of  the  departure  of  the  disciples 
for  Galilee.  There  are  more  than  twenty  such  difficul- 
ties. 

•     • 

These  critical  studies  of  the  Easter  story  have 
become  a  commonplace  in  the  Christian  world.  One 
effect  of  them  has  been  that  some  persons  have  fallen 
away  from  the  faith.  We  shall  not  say  that  a  good 
Christian  may  be  entirely  unconcerned  as  to  what  hap- 
pened on  that  first  Easter  morning.  He  will  always 
want  to  know.  We  do  insist  that  there  is  a  more  fun- 
damental way  of  treating  the  question  of  the  con- 
tinued life  of  Jesus.  What  did  it  mean  in  the  religious 
experience  of  his  near  friends?  What  can  the  Easter 
story  mean  in  our  experience  today? 

Paul  made  the  belief  in  the  resurrection  the  very 
heart  of  his  message.  This  was  his  gospel.  Yet  there 
is  only  one  place  in  his  voluminous  writings  where  he 
stops  to  consider  appearances.  He  says  Christ  was 
revealed  "in  him."  This  experience  he  places  among 
the  evidences  of  the  continued  life  of  Christ  alongside 
the  other  stories. 

Paul  in  discussing  the  Easter  hope  does  not  put 
forward   a  belief  in   resuscitated  bodies  as  being  the 


Christian   idea  of  resurrection.     He  insists   that   there 
is  a  natural  body  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body. 

The  service  which  Christ  rendered  the  world  is 
that  he  "brought  life  and  immortality  to  light."  The 
world  already  had  a  strong  hope  of  immortality;  the 
Pharisees  and  others  believed  in  the  theory  .  It  was 
Christ  who  gave  this  hope  a  great  moral  meaning.  In 
Christ  immortality  is  no  longer  a  matter  of  continued 
existence.  It  becomes  a  question  of  a  glorious  exten- 
sion of  the  personality.  The  everlasting  life  in  Christ 
is  no  mere  extension  of  years  to  infinity.  Such  ex- 
istence is  abhorrent  to  humanity.  In  the  legend  of  the 
Wandering  Jew,  who  sought  death  and  found  it  not, 
we  have  spoken  our  contempt  for  a  life  that  would  go 
on  through  the  centuries  aimlessly.  The  Easter  hope 
is  the  hope  of  such  growth,  such  power,  as  would  make 
us  ever  more  truly  a  force  in  the  universe. 

Paul's  Easter  prayer  was,  "that  I  may  know  Him 
and  the  power  of  His  resurrection."  The  resurrection 
as  a  mere  historical  episode  was  one  thing;  to  know  the 
resurrection  in  a  personal  way,  to  carry  it  up  into  re- 
ligious experience,  is  another  thing. 

Paul's  Easter  faith  was  the  mainspring  of  a  life 
of  great  activity  in  the  service  of  humanity  and  in  the 
preaching  of  the  truth.  His  faith  gave  him  strength 
to  endure  hardship  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ. 
When  at  the  end  of  his  life  he  faced  martyrdom,  he  was 
able  to  say  "I  have  fought  a  good  fight,"  for  he  had 
been  sustained  by  the  great  Easter  faith  that  his  work 
would  not  end  with  his  life. 

•     • 

What  does  Easter  mean  in  our  own  religious  ex- 
perience? We  have  made  it  a  joyous  day  with  our 
flowers  and  crowded  churches  and  hallelujahs.  It  is 
the  significantly  Christian  thing  that  the  one  day  in 
all  the  year  when  we  talk  most  about  death.  wre  are 
the  happiest  in  all  the  churches.  There  is  in  the  Chris- 
tian soul  a  great  hope  of  immortality  which  is  kept 
alive  by  our  faith  in  the  ever-living  Christ. 

Easter  is  a  great  day  for  the  optimist.  Our  Christ 
went  forward  with  his  mission  of  helpfulness  to  hu- 
manity with  the  shadow  of  the  cross  upon  his  life. 
On  that  evil  day  at  Calvary,  it  seemed  that  error  and 
hatred  and  the  hosts  of  evil  had  triumphed.  Hell  and 
its  minions  found  but  a  short-lived  triumph.  The  Risen 
Christ  was  a  more  terrible  antagonist  than  ever  had 
been  the  wayside  teacher  of  Galilee. 

Some  of  us  may  not  live  to  see  the  travail  of  our 
souls.  Error  seems  upon  the  throne.  Evil  musters 
mighty  armies.  We  may  even  follow  all  the  way  with 
our  Lord  and  close  our  eyes  upon  a  world  that  seems 
altogether  in  the  grip  of  the  evil.  Let  us  not  despair. 
We  learn  on  Easter  day  how  defeat  may  be  turned  into 
a  mighty  victory.  When  we  knoAv  the  power  of  his 
resurrection,  we  shall  know7  that  our  battles  for  God 
are  not  defeats,  though  victory  be  delayed. 


EDITORIAL 


WHY    SUPPORT    THE    CONGRESS? 

THE  Disciples  of  Christ  had  their  beginnings  in  an 
intellectual  movement.  They  produced  great  doc- 
uments such  as  the  Declaration  and  Address. 
There  was  set  up  in  the  wilderness  of  Virginia  a  print- 
ing press  which  was  the  means  of  bringing  new  views 
of  religion  into  currency  in  the  new  west  which  was 
then  forming"  across  the  Allegheny  mountains.  A  col- 
lege was  built  soon  after  the  printing  press  was  set 
up.  In  sermons  and  debates,  the  Disciple  way  of  look- 
ing at  things  in  religion  was  given  great  prominence. 

If  in  these  days  the  men  who  lead  the  movement 
imagine  that  they  can  be  good  Disciples  and  yet  be 
*  indifferent  to  the  intellectual  problems  of  religion,  they 
are  entirely  removed  from  their  historic  moorings.  The 
religious  problems  of  our  day  are  even  more  urgent 
than  those  of  the  time  of  Alexander  Campbell.  The 
movement  finds  its  motive  power  in  religious  concepts. 
When  we  are  altogether  "practical"  we  shall  find  sud- 
denly that  even  the  practicalities  of  a  great  religious 
body  have  gone  awry  for  lack  of  clarifying  religious 
ideas. 

The  Congress  of  the  Disciples  serves  the  purpose 
of  affording  a  free  discussion  of  our  intellectual  ques- 
tions, for  which  we  have  no  time  nor  atmosphere  at 
the  national  conventions.  This  meeting  is  not  the 
project  of  any  party  in  the  church.  Any  man  who 
has  a  thesis  which  he  feels  able  to  defend  finds  a  hear- 
ing here.  If  men  refuse  to  bring  their  ideas  into  the 
arena  of  discussion,  it  does  not  speak  well  for  their 
belief  in  the  soundness  of  these  ideas. 

The  meeting  of  the  Congress  this  year  in  St.  Louis 
brings  together  men  of  varying  tendencies.  The  disr 
cussions  will  be  organized  around  a  wide  variety  of 
topics.  The  men  who  speak  are  known  as  thoughtful 
men,  thoroughly  competent  to  treat  the  matters  which 
are  entrusted  to  them  for  interpretation.  The  Congress 
this  year  should  receive  the  cordial  support  of  all  our 
men  who  have  intellectual  interests. 


AFTER   THE   WAR 

WE  begin  to  speculate  already  what  will  happen 
after  the  war.  It  seems  only  a  matter  of  time 
now  until  the  great  war  machine  of  the  Kaiser, 
which  has  been  a  threat  to  the  world's  peace  for  a 
whole  generation,  will  have  been  put  on  the  scrap 
heap.  Yet,  of  course,  no  man  may  speak  safely  of  this 
until  after  the  event. 

After  the  war,  there  will  be  a  great  scarcity  of 
men  in  Europe.  Immigration  had  left  Europe  with  a 
deficiency  of  men  before  the  war.  Even  if  some  immi- 
grants return  to  the  help  of  their  stricken  families,  it 
would  be  a  hardy  prophet  who  would  talk  as  if  the 
return  wave  of  men  would  equal  the  outgoing  wave. 
In  Paraguay  a  great  war  reduced  the  number  of  men 
to  a  smaller  percentage  than  any  country  had  ever 
known  before.  For  Paraguay  it  meant  the  lowest  moral 
condition  ever  known  in  a  Christian  nation.  AVhat  will 
the  deficiency  of  men  mean  for  Europe? 

After  the  war,  there  will  be  poverty  such  as  has 
not  been  known  in  Europe  since  the  inauguration  of 
modern  methods  in  production.  Great  areas  are  ruined 
by  trenches;  some  of  them  will  never  be  completely 
reclaimed.      Houses   have   been    burned.      Cattle   have 


been  eaten  up.  It  will  be  hard  to  bring  the  war-stricken 
countries  back  to  a  normal  basis  within  a  generation. 

What  of  the  conditions  of  human  life?  Just  now 
the  children  are  growing  up  without  proper  nourish- 
ment where  they  have  not  perished  as  in  Poland.  These 
will  never  be  the  useful  members  of  society  that  their 
fathers  were.  The  next  generation  will  be  recruited 
from  a  larger  percentage  of  fathers  who  are  physically 
inferior  and  who  will  transmit  their  weakness.  The 
prospect  is  one  to  fill  our  souls  with  grief. 

It  is  not  yet  clear  to  us  just  what  we  must  do  to 
help  after  the  war  is  over.  But  the  blood  money  of  this 
terrible  struggle  is  in  our  coffers.  We  cannot  any 
longer  look  on  the  sorrows  of  Europe  with  a  provincial 
mind.    Her  burdens  must  be  ours  as  well. 

WHAT   IS   THE   FUTURE   OF   THE   RUSSIAN 

CHURCH? 

WHAT  effect  the  revolution  in  Russia  will  have 
upon  the  Orthodox  church  remains  yet  to  be 
seen;  If  it  be  proved  that  her  high  dignitaries 
shared  in  the  intrigue  with  Germany  which  is  charged 
against  the  old  government,  then  the  reaction  against 
the  church  will  be  a  violent  one.  The  present  govern- 
ment is  made  up  of  the  Intelligentsia  which  is  largely 
anti-clerical. 

It  is  often  said  in  defense  of  the  Russian  church 
that  it  is  a  more  democratic  church  than  the  Roman 
church.  There  is  far  more  of  lay  participation  in  ec- 
clesiastical affairs.  There  is  a  married  clergy  which 
guarantees  a  higher  moral  tone  than  is  usual  with  the 
celibacy.  The  church  has  clung,  however,  to  the  medie 
val  superstitions  with  more  persistence  than  most  bodies 
which  have  come  through  the  middle  ages  to  the  light 
of  our  modern  civilization. 

There  are  in  Russia  more  sects  than  are  in  Ameri 
ca.  These  are  not  all  Protestant.  Some  of  them  are 
protesting  that  the  present  church  is  too  progressive 
There  are  bizarre  sects  like  the  Doukhobors  with  various 
kinds  of  eccentricities  of  dress  and  customs  and  psy 
chology.  Some  of  the  sects  are  importations  of  Protest 
ant  movements  from  other  countries,  modified  to  suit 
the  needs  of  Russia.  No  one  of  these  dissenting  bodies 
is  numerous  enough  now  to  be  a  formidable  rival  to 
the  state  church. 

Meanwhile  the  English  church  has  been  reaching 
out  its  hands  in  a  friendly  way  to  the  Russian  state 
church.  Such  a  friendship  would  be  useful  to  Russia. 
It  would  furnish  a  means  of  bringing  some  most  valued 
reforms  to  the  Russian  church  through  an  interchange 
o'f  fellowship  between  the  two  bodies. 

Perhaps  few  of  us  are  so  extreme  as  to  deny  that 
it  is  better  for  a  state  church  to  be  reformed  from  within 
than  to  be  supplanted  with  something  from  without. 
If  the  new  democratic  government  of  Russia  succeeds, 
the  Russian  church  will  have  a  new  incentive  to  become 
modern  in  character. 

CONGRATULATIONS   TO    CHINA 

CHINA    is    accomplishing    something   this    spring 
which  may  well  give  her  a  place  among  the  most 
progressive  nations  of  the  world.    On  March  31, 
she  completed  her  enfranchisement  from  the  curse  of 
the  opium  habit. 


April  5,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


In  1906  the  empress  dowager  ordered  the  poppy 
fields  to  be  reduced  in  size  one-tenth  each  year.  Since 
1914  the  sale  of  opium  was  permitted  only  in  the  three 
provinces  of  Kiangsi,  Kwangtung  and  Kiangsu,  where 
foreign  capital  has  been  invested  in  the  fields.  These 
investors  have  made  every  effort  and  used  every  in- 
fluence to  make  the  Chinese  authorities  abandon  their 
plans,  but  all  in  vain. 

Perhaps  no  one  has  summarized  the  significance 
of  this  amazing  social  achievement  better  than  Pro- 
fessor Ross  in  his  book,  "The  Changing  Chinese" :  "The 
experience  of  the  Chinese  with  the  opium  habit  shat- 
ters the  comfortable  doctrine  that  organized  society 
need  not  concern  itself  with  bad  private  habits.  The 
hand  of  the  government  was  withheld  for  a  long  time 
in  China,  and  if  any  salutary  principle  of  self-limita- 
tion lurked  in  the  opium  vice,  it  ought  to  have  declared 
itself  long  ago.  If  it  were  in  the  nature  of  opium- 
smoking  to  confine  its  ravages  to  fools  and  weaklings, 
if  out  of  each  generation  it  killed  off  the  two  or  three 
percent  of  least  foresight  or  feeblest  self-control,  it 
might  be  looked  upon  as  the  winnower  of  chaff;  and 
society  might  safely  concede  a  man  the  right  to  go  to 
the  devil  his  own  way  and  at  his  own  pace.  But  the 
vice  is  not  so  discriminating.  Like  a  gangrene  it  ate 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  social  body,  spreading  from 
weak  tissue  to  sound  till  the  very  future  of  the  Chinese 
race  was  at  stake.  Now  liquor  is  to  us  what  opium  is 
to  the  yellow  man.  If  our  public  opinion  and  laws  had 
been  so  long  inert  with  respect  to  alcohol  as  China  has 
been  with  respect  to  opium,  we  might  have  suffered 
quite  as  severely  as  have  the  Chinese.  The  lesson  from 
the  Orient  is  that  when  society  realizes  a  destructive 
private  habit  is  eating  into  its  vitals,  the  question  to 
consider  is  not  whether  to  attack  the  habit,  but  how!" 

A    MINISTRY    WITH    A    UNIVERSAL  APPEAL 

IT  is  possible  to  find  people  who  do  no  humanitarian 
work  but  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  find 
anyone  opposed  to  such  work.  We  read  in  the 
newspaper  the  other  day  a  story  of  a  "meanest  man" 
who  was  opposed  to  charity  because  it  made  the  reci- 
pient think  worse  of  himself  than  he  ought  to  think  and 
the  donor  better  of  himself  than  he  deserved.  This 
was,  however,  the  captious  observation  of  a  clever  fic- 
tion writer.  All  of  us  believe  in  feeding  orphan  children 
and  in  making  old  age  peaceful  and  comfortable.  This 
is  the  mark  by  which  we  know  that  we  are  civilized. 

The  National  Benevolent  Association  has  no  theo- 
logical issues  to  interfere  with  its  work.  The  old-timer 
finds  it  in  the  Book  that  the  early  church  devoted  much 
of  its  energies  to  work  not  essentially  different  from 
the  activities  of  our  effective  society.  The  up-to-the- 
minute  radical  finds  it  a  beautiful  and  significant  thing 
to  care  for  little  children  and  place  them  in  homes  where 
they  will  grow  up  under  the  care  of  loving  foster 
parents. 

Though  this  organization  is  relatively  new  among 
us,  it  has  come  rapidly  into  prominence.  The  growth  of 
income  and  the  corresponding  growth  of  institutions 
has  been  a  most  gratifying  one.  It  has  taken  some 
years  to  get  the  people  of  the  Disciples  movement  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  our  benevolent  work,  but  there 
is  every  reason  to  believe  that  a  great  democratic  broth- 
erhood like  ours  will  soon  respond  with  great  generosity 
to  the  call  of  the  sick  and  the  aged  and  the  little  children. 

The  churches  which  still  hold  to  special  days  for 


offerings  for  the  various  causes  will  do  well  to  provide 
for  a  generous  treatment  of  this  splendid  work  on 
Easter  Sunday.  This  is  the  one  day  in  all  the  year 
which  is  utilized  as  an  anniversary  of  our  benevolent 

work. 

MORMONS  WORKING  IN  ENGLAND 

SINCE  the  beginning  of  the  war  it  is  said  that  there 
is  a  great  increase  of  Mormon  activity  in  England. 

There  are,  of  course,  a  large  number  of  women  be- 
reaved by  the  war,  and  the  men  in  most  households  are 
away  from  home. 

The  most  active  opponent  of  Mormonism  in  the 
United  Kingdom  is  Winifred  Graham  (Mrs.  Theodore 
Cory),  the  novelist,  who  has  written  a  number  of  books 
in  which  she  sets  forth  the  nature  of  the  Mormon  menace. 
Her  novel,  "Ezra,  the  Mormon,"  has  been  translated  into 
twelve  languages,  and  she  has  a  more  recent  story,  "Judas 
of  Salt  Lake." 

Mrs.  Cory  has  also  written  a  considerable  tractarian 
literature.  In  one  of  her  tracts  she  quotes  from  a  Mormon 
work,  their  "Book  of  Ready  Reference,"  where  they  say : 
"The  prohibition  of  polygamy  is  not  only  a  prohibition  of 
•  what  nature  permits  in  the  fullest  manner,  but  what  she 
requires  for  the  reparation  of  states  exhausted  by  war." 

That  the  Mormon  propaganda  has  been  successful  in 
some  measure  in  recent  months  is  shown  by  the  statistics 
for  April  and  May  of  last  year,  in  which  there  were 
ninety-three  people  submitting  to  the  Mormon  baptism  as 
reported  by  the  Anti-Mormon  Society  of  Liverpool. 

This  foreign  propaganda  of  the  Mormon  church  has 
been  skillfully  carried  on  by  means  of  moving  pictures 
and  every  kind  of  modern  device.  They  have  a  zeal  which 
is  worthy  of  a  better  cause. 

As  a  body  of  doctrines,  we  can  afford  to  be  as  toler- 
ant toward  Mormons  as  toward  other  groups  of  people 
who  believe  strange  things.  It  is  the  moral  and  social 
phases  of  Mormonism  which  require  that  it  shall  be  given 
no  quarter  by  the  progressive  civilization  of  the  world 
until  it  gives  up  the  abhorrent  tolerance  of  polygamy. 
When  this  is  given  up,  one  of  the  big  reasons  for  the 
growth  of  the  movement  will  have  passed  away. 

THE   MINISTER   AND   THE   COMMUNITY 

THE  diary  of  a  busy  minister  would  be  a  revelation  to 
many  people.  They  picture  him  getting  up  leisurely 
and  sitting  down  after  a  late  breakfast  to  work  on 
his  sermons  for  the  following  Sunday.  They  havt;  no 
vision  of  his  carrying  on  a  larger  correspondence  than 
many  of  his  business  friends  have. 

The  minister  has  been  called  the  trouble  clerk  of  the 
parish.  Domestic  difficulties  between  husband  and  wife 
are  often  arbitrated  by  him.  Religious  workers  who  do 
not  understand  one  another  come  to  him  for  counsel  and 
advice. 

The  mails  have  come  to  be  a  great  avenue  for  religious 
work.  It  is  not  only  used  for  purposes  of  religious  pub- 
licity, but  it  is  also  a  means  by  which  the  minister,  through 
letters  well  written,  may  direct  activities  and  carry  con- 
solation to  sick  souls.  There  comes  to  him  through  the 
mails  many  requests  for  help  for  worthy  causes.  People 
seeking  employment  give  the  minister  as  a  reference.  So 
it  happens  that  large  churches  in  these  days  employ  sten- 
ographers and  keep  them  busy  all  day  long. 

The  minister  is  expected  to  go  to  many  meetings  out- 
side his  own  parish.     If  he  does  not  do  this,  he  is  cata- 


8 


T  H  E     CHRISTIAN     C  E  N  T  U  R  Y 


April  5,  1917 


logued  as  lacking  in  community  spirit.  Tonight  he  goes 
to  the  tuberculosis  society  and  tomorrow  he  addresses  a 
woman's  club.  There  are  many  ministers  who  make  more 
addresses  outside  their  churches  than  they  do  in  them. 
Thus  the  modern  community  makes  a  great  draft  upon 
the  minister's  time. 

Years  have  established  the  custom  that  the  minister 
visit  the  sick  of  his  congregation.  This  is  often  a  real  op- 
portunity to  do  religious  work,  especially  with  men  who 
seem  to  have  no  other  leisure  time.  Charles  M.  Sheldon 
reports  that  one  winter  he  visited  every  family  in  the  parish 
calling  on  sick  people.  The  expenditure  of  time  in  this 
kind  of  work  is  considerable. 

All  of  this  is  said  to  help  any  unsophisticated  person 
to  think  through  the  problem  of  "what  a  minister  does 
with  his  time."  There  are  ministers  who  neglect  these 
things,  but  they  do  not  stay  long  in  their  parishes.  The 
minister's  community  service  is  only  one  kind  of  demand 
upon  his  energies. 

SOME  STATISTICAL  INTERPRETATION 

GA.  HOFFMAN  did  a  good  piece  of  work  in  a 
recent  issue  of  the  Christian  Standard  in  in- 
terpreting the  statistics  of  the  year  book  with 
reference  to  the  growth  of  the  Disciples  in  cities.  Mr. 
Hoffman  does  us  the  service  of  showing  that  the  year 
book  recently  published  by  the  American  Christian 
Missionary  Society  is  misleading  in  suggesting  that  the 
Disciples  are  predominantly  a  rural  people.  It  is  true 
that  82  per  cent  of  the  churches  are  in  rural  districts, 
which  means  in  the  open  country  or  in  villages  of  less 
than  2,500  population.  However,  a  majority  of  our 
members  live  in  cities  even  at  the  present  time. 

The  most  significant  feature  in  Mr.  Hoffman's 
study  is  the  grouping  of  statistics  to  show  in  what  di- 
rection we  are  moving.  Are  the  Disciples  growing 
more  urban  in  character  or  less  so?  In  twenty-five 
years  the  growth  of  the  Disciples  in  the  whole  country 
has  been  85  per  cent,  while  in  forty  leading  cities  they 
have  grown  in  the  same  period  290  per  cent.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  we  are  headed  toward  the  cities 
and  the  battle  of  our  future  is  to  be  fought  out  there. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  among  the  large  cities 
of  the  country  few  cities  have  proved  so  fertile  a  field 
as  has  Chicago.  In  this  city  central  to  the  Disciples' 
strength  the  percentage  of  gain  has  exceeded  that  in 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Pittsburgh,  Washington, 
Baltimore,  Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  New  Orleans,  and 
San  Francisco.  Los  Angeles,  Kansas  City  and  Des 
Moines  have  excelled  Chicago  in  the  rate  of  growth, 
though  these  have  hardly  been  rated  as  typical  metro- 
politan situations. 

We  must  dissent  from  Mr.  Hoffmann  in  his  con- 
clusions as  to  the  matter  with  our  rural  churches,  which 
have  confessedly  been  going  backwards.  The  remedy 
is  not  a  fresh  supply  of  poorly  trained  men.  It  is  a  type 
of  organization  that  will  support  highly  trained  men  in 
the  country.  The  farmers  are  now  in  many  cases  col- 
lege men.  YYe  can  no  longer  present  the  gospel  to  them 
through  the  uneducated  exhorter. 

USING  BIG  WORDS 

THE    negro's    frequent    inappropriate    use    of    big 
words  has  given  the  vaudeville  actor  his  chance. 
It  is  a  wonder  that  this  same  theatrical  performer 
has  never  seen  the  opportunity  of  presenting  the  sopho- 


moric  preacher  upon  the  stage.  The  Chicago  Daily 
News  prints  the  protest  of  a  foreigner  who  went  to 
church  one  day  in  Chicago.    Here  it  is: 

I  am  a  foreigner.  Last  Sunday  I  attended  services  in 
charge  of  a  person  who,  I  am  told,  is  a  "popular"  pastor  or 
lecturer.  The  opening  sentences  were  from  Emerson,  and  I 
anticipated  that  the  address  would  be  a  treat.  However,  I  was 
soon  disenchanted.  The  lecturer  seemed  to  make  a  studied 
effort  to  avoid  every  homely  English  word  of  one  or  two  syl- 
lables if  it  were  possible  to  use  words  of  three,  four  and  five 
syllables.  Will  some  one  kindly  explain  the  meaning  of  the 
following  expressions:  "The  cosmic  sense,"  "a  more  deter- 
minant oscillation,"  "a  vocabulary  dipped  in  the  nectar  of 
God's  eternal  justice,"  "the  simplicity  of  the  inner  laboratory 
of  man's  consciousness"? 

If  the  purpose  of  the  sermon  is  to  convince  the 
hearers  of  the  learning  of  the  pastor,  then  a  vocabulary 
like  that  above  is  useful — with  certain  kinds  of  hearers. 
If,  however,  the  purpose  of  the  preacher  is  to  make 
religion  plain  instead  of  obscure,  then  the  kind  of 
preaching  the  foreigner  listened  to  is  useless. 

We  would  not  advocate  the  Billy  Sunday  preach- 
ing as  a  model  by  any  means,  but  it  does  have  the  virtue 
of  simplicity.  No  one  is  ever  in  any  doubt  as  to  what 
the  preacher  means.  Not  many  people  care  to  confess 
that  the  preacher  "preached  over  their  heads  this 
morning,"  but  how  often  it  has  happened  is  known  only 
to  the  faithful. 

The  preaching  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  model  of  sim- 
plicity and  power.  Its  figures  are  those  of  common  life 
and  are  not  taken  from  the  stilted  and  artificial  models 
of  the  schools.  He  had  the  art  of  expounding  the  most 
sublime  truths  in  terms  understandable  to  the  "lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel"  who  were  unfamiliar  with 
religious  terminology.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  "the 
common  people  heard  him  gladly." 

Some  one  asked  Lincoln  why  it  was  that  he  could 
make  himself  understood  by  the  least  educated  people  as 
well  as  the  educated.  He  replied  that  as  a  boy  he  had 
made  it  a  rule,  after  he  had  heard  a  speech  delivered,  to 
go  over  it  in  his  mind  again  and  again  trying  to  put  it 
into  language  that  his  neighbors  could  understand.  This 
story  has  a  lesson  for  the  minister. 

FAITH  IN  OUR  BROTHER  MAN 

LLOYD  GEORGE,  the  premier  of  Great  Britain,  in 
discussing  the  Irish  question  recently,  declared 
that  it  was  complicated  because  of  the  Irish  sus- 
picion of  England  and  the  English  suspicion  of  Ireland, 
and,  worst  of  all,  the  suspicion  of  some  Irishmen  for 
other  Irishmen.  In  this  striking  assessment  of  the 
Irish  question,  the  premier  struck  the  tap-root  of  many 
of  our  human  difficulties.  Behind  the  great  armaments 
of  the  world  is  suspicion.  Lack  of  faith  and  friendliness 
lurks  in  households  and  neighborhoods  and  in  every 
kind  of  human  association. 

One  might  say  that  next  to  the  great  creed,  "I 
believe  in  God,  the  Father  Almighty,  maker  of  heaven 
and  earth,"  is  the  more  modern  creed,  "I  believe  in  my 
fellow  men."  This  creed  lies  at  the  base  of  our  modern 
civilized  life. 

Faith  in  our  brother  man  is  necessary  in  the  world 
of  learning.  None  of  us  may  any  longer  hope  to  cope 
with  the  increasing  wealth  of  learning.  No  man  could 
ever  read  his  way  through  the  library  of  a  great  uni- 
versity, for  there  would  not  be  years  enough  to  his  life. 
The  preacher  must  trust  the  doctor  in  medicine  and 
the  lawyer  must  trust  the  traveler  and  geographer  in 
science.     Most  of  the  things  we   say  we  "know,"  we 


April  5,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    C  E  N  T  URY 


know  on  the  reliable  testimony  of  those  of  our  fellow  domestic  tragedy.     A  suspicious  wife  often  impute:,  to 

men  whom  we  call  "authorities."  a  husband  deeds  of  which  he  is  innocent.    The  modern 

In  the  commercial  world,  faith  is  called  credit.  The  Othello  fails  in  his  domestic  life  because  he  has  not 

honest  man  of  small  resources  gets  a  loan  at  the  bank,  faith  in  his  life  companion. 

where  the  dishonest  man  of  large  resources  would  fail  It  is  better  to  be  victimized  sometimes  than  to  live 

in  securing  a  loan  at  the  same  place.     Credit  is  based  a    life   of   chronic   suspicion.     The   great-hearted   man 

on  honesty  as  well  as  on  assets.  learns  to  say  with  ever-increasing  warmth,  "I  believe 

Faith  inside  the  home  circle  would  save  many  a  in  my  fellow  men." 


Why  I  Am  a  Disciple 

Second  Article 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  BIRTH 

WHEN  I  sat  down  to  write  this  chapter  of  my 
reasons  for  being  a  Disciple  I  had  in  mind  to 
write  under  the  heading,  "The  Accident  of 
Birth,"  but  I  cannot  get  my  consent  to  admit  that  a 
matter  of  so  great  significance  to  one's  life  as  the  en- 
vironment into  which  one  is  born  is  a  mere  accident. 
As  a  Christian,  one  of  the  constant  disciplines  of  all  my 
thinking  is  to  keep  myself  aware  of  the  divine  activity 
in  all  those  great  events  and  facts  of  life  which  lie  be- 
yond my  own  decision  and  control.  I  have  a  strong 
»  vein  of  practical  Calvinism  in  me  which  makes  me  feel 
that  inevitable  things,  things  that  just  come  to  you, 
things  with  whose  origin  your  will  has  nothing  at  all  to 
do,  the  given  elements  of  our  experience — those  basic 
conditions  of  life,  like  the  time  and  environment  of 
one's  birth,  many  of  the  causes  of  sorrow  and  gladness, 
perhaps  even  some  forms  of  sin,  and  certainly  death — 
that  these  are  all  determined  in  the  providential  pur- 
poses of  the  divine  Father  who  knows  what  He  is  about, 
and  whose  will  is  best  served  by  our  recognition  of  his 
constant  and  gracious  part  in  our  existence  and  in  the 
making  of  our  character. 

This  being  so,  I  cannot  think  of  my  Disciple 
heritage  as  an  accident  without  meaning,  but  as  a  fact 
of  divine  election  at  the  core  of  which  I  should  be  able 
to  find  some  grateful  revelation  of  God's  goodness,  and 
also  some  clues  for  the  discovery  of  my  duty. 


In  holding  thus  concerning  the  providential  charac- 
ter of  my  Disciple  heritage,  I  do  not  assume  a  superi- 
ority attaching  to  that  heritage  as  contrasted  with  other 
heritages.  My  pride  in  being  born  of  Disciple  parent- 
age and  to  a  Disciple  environment  is  not  the  pride  of 
supercilious  aristocracy.  I  do  not  congratulate  myself 
that  I  was  not  born  a  Presbyterian  or  an  Episcopalian 
or  a  Dunkard.  That  would  be  the  essence  of  pharisaism. 
The  instinct  that  holds  me  with  the  people  amongst 
whom  I  believe  my  lot  was  providentially  cast  does  not 
in  any  sense  clash  with  the  instincts  of  those  whose 
heritage  is  Presbyterian,  Episcopalian  or  Dunkard.  On 
the  contrary,  I  would  insist  that  the  same  providence  I 
find  in  my  own  case  operates  in  their  cases  also.  It  is 
no  special  dispensation  of  providence  that  I  claim  for 
one  born  amongst  the  Disciples.  It  is  rather  only  a 
way  of  looking  at  one's  life,  a  way  which  I  think  is 
the  Christian  way  for  each  soul  which  has  come  to 
know  itself  as  a  child  of  God.  Our  lives  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  before  the  beginning,  and  throughout  all  our 
years,  are  in  the  keeping  and  guidance  of  the  Father. 


I  believe  in  the  particularity  of  all  good  things ;  that 
is  to  say,  things  are  not  good  or  ill  in  general,  or  in 
comparison  with  the  goods  or  ills  of  others,  but  solely 
in  their  relation  to  a  particular  life,  yours  or  mine.  And 
our  highest  good,  therefore,  is  not  found  by  seeking 
goals  that  lie  outside  of  our  own  concrete  experience 
and  lot,  but  by  accepting  our  experience  and  lot  for 
what  they  are  in  fact,  and  with  God's  help  making  the 
most  out  of  life  from  within  the  midst  of  them.  I, 
therefore,  would  not  only  concede  to  the  Dunkard,  the 
Episcopalian  or  the  Presbyterian  the  privilege  of  re- 
garding his  religious  heritage  as  a  gift  of  God,  but  I 
would  exhort  him  to  do  so,  and  to  work  out  from  within 
his  ancestral  group  whatever  ideals  are  vouchsafed  to 
him  as  an  individual. 

I  am  not  now  preaching  a  doctrine  of  smug  con- 
formity to  a  social  type.  I  am  not  implying  that  exist- 
ent groups  and  types  are  to  be  regarded  as  fixed 
structures  in  the  social  order.  On  the  contrary,  I  am 
convinced  that  many  of  these  types  and  groups  will 
gradually  disappear  and  ought  to  disappear.  Nor  do  I 
think  the  kind  of  loyalty  to  one's  group  heritage  that  I 
am  here  approving  will  tend  to  make  more  permanent 
in  society  the  present  sectarian  structure  of  religion. 
On  the  contrary,  if  the  sectarian  structure  is  to  be 
broken  down  it  must  be  broken  down  from  within  the 
various  units  by  souls  whose  vision  of  the  better  day  of 
unity  is  matched  by  this  instinctive  loyalty  to  the  asso- 
ciations and  ideals  of  the  groups  in  which  such  souls 
find  themselves  placed. 

^  jjc  >|i 

And  finally,  what  I  have  said  is  not  to  be  taken  as 
closing  the  door  of  exit  against  the  protestant,  the 
come-outer.  The  principle  of  loyalty  to  one's  own  is 
not  an  absolute  principle.  "My  country,  right  or 
wrong,"  taken  pragmatically,  is  a  valid  enough  motto 
because  it  silently  assumes  that  the  righteous  consider- 
ations that  bind  me  to  my  country  are  incomparably 
more  important  than  the  particular  difference  which 
happens  at  the  moment  to  make  a  strain  between  my 
country's  course  and  my  conscience.  Therefore,  loyalty 
holds  me  to  her  in  spite  of  what  I  may  deem  her  present 
error.  But  the  motto  is  heinouslv  unethical  if  it  is  taken 
in  an  absolute  sense.  If  with  the  fundamental  purposes 
and  policies  of  my  country  I  find  my  conscience  at  vari- 
ance, my  higher  loyalties  command  me  to  oppose  my 
country  and  do  what  I  can  to  frustrate  her  designs.  So 
with  respect  to  any  social  group,  and  clearly  with  re- 
spect to  one's  religious  heritage.  If  one  finds  oneself 
at  variance  with  the  root  purposes  and  tendencies  of 
one's    religious   group   so   that   practical   co-operation   is 


10 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


April  5,  1917 


impossible  or  heartless,  then  it  is  one's  obvious  duty  to 
protest  and  to  come  out  and  find  new  fellowships  where 
co-operation  is  unembarrassed  and  the  soul  not  stifled. 

*         *         * 

For  example,  if  I  had  been  born  a  Dunkard  and  had 
come  to  feel  as  I  do  now  feel  about  life  and  religion  I 
am  sure  that  my  duty  would  be  to  find  another  fellow- 
ship. My  present  views  and  feelings  are  too  much  at 
variance  with  the  dominant  views  and  feelings  of  the 
Dunkards  to  afford  me  the  personal  satisfactions  or  the 
kind  of  fruitage  which  I  would  deem  worthy  of  the  in- 
vestment of  my  life  in  their  community.  So,  if  they 
did  not  turn  me  out — as  they  would  more  than  likely  do 
before  I  had  a  chance  to  decide  for  myself — I  should 
voluntarily  choose  my  fellowship  elsewhere. 

The  principle  of  loyalty  is  altogether  a  matter  of 
the  individual  case  and  the  individual  conscience.. 
There  is  no  rule  that  one  can  lay  down  for  another.  My 
purpose  in  dwelling  on  the  point  at  all  in -this  connec- 
tion is  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  in  one's  spiritual 
heritage  and  environment  one  finds — in  the  normal 
order  of  things — a  body  of  assets,  a  working  capital,  so 
to  speak,  with  which  more  can  be  accomplished  than  by 
going  at  life  bare-handed.  I  am  sure  that  the  experi- 
ence of  many  men  who  have  been  lured  from  their 
earlier  religious  fellowship  (assuming,  of  course,  that 
they  had  a  really  vital  participation  in  it)  to  another  by 
considerations  that  were  not  vital  to  conscience  would 
support  me  in  this  view.  There  is  something,  some 
part  of  themselves,  which  they  have  not  been  able  to 
transplant  to  their  new  environment,  and  they  are 
drawn  toward  their  older  loyalty  as  the  heart  of  the 
wanderer  is  drawn  toward  home. 


To  me,  therefore,  the  fact  that  I  was  born  a  Disciple 
is  not  a  mere  accident,  but  a  strong  reason  for  my  con- 
tinuing to  be  one.  My  mother  and  my  maternal  grand- 
mother were  staunch  Disciples.  My  maternal  grand- 
father was  a  Baptist  minister  with  strong  tendencies  to- 
ward the  Disciples,  which  would  naturally  have  pre- 
vailed to  make  him  altogether  a  Disciple  had  not  his  life 
been  cut  off  prematurely.  My  father  was  a  Disciple 
preacher  for  thirty-five  years.  He  was  educated  at 
Bethany  College.  I  was  baptized  at  his  hands  when  I 
was  ten  years  old.  I  began  to  preach  in  Disciples'  pul- 
pits when  I  was  sixteen  and  was  pastor  of  a  church 
when  I  was  seventeen.  In  my  youth  I  conducted  the 
singing  in  evangelistic  meetings  for  some  of  the  best 
known  evangelists  among  our  people,  among  them 
George  F.  Hall  and  James  Small.  I  was  a  student  in 
Drake  University  five  years  and  was  graduated.  Dr. 
A.  I.  Hobbs  was  my  first  teacher.  Dr.  Robert  T. 
Matthews  was  the  teacher  who  in  my  undergraduate 
days  most  deeply  influenced  my  thinking.  Dr.  H.  O. 
Breeden,  whose  assistant  pastor  I  was  in  the  great  Cen- 
tral Church  of  Des  Moines,  was  the  preacher  who  set 
me  my  earlier  models  of  the  Christian  ministry,  after 
those  my  good  father  gave  me.  It  was  through  the 
mediation  of  Dr.  I.  N.  McCash  that  I  came  to  my  Chi- 
cago pastorate  nineteen  years  ago.  My  classmates  of 
college  days  are,  ninety  per  cent  of  them,  Disciples. 
Many  of  them  are  Disciple  ministers. 

I  mention  these  things,  not  because  to  the  reader 
such  personal  details  have  any  value  in  themselves,  but 
as  a  means  of  concretely  suggesting  the  way  my  life 
has  been  interwoven  with  Disciples'  lives.     What  my 


relations  with  the  Disciples  have  been  in  later  years  the 
readers  of  The  Christian  Century  already  know. 

*  ■         H*  % 

Yet  I  cannot  be  quite  fully  frank,  as  I  promised  at 
the  outset  to  be,  if  I  should  omit  to  make  a  reference 
in  this  connection  to  the  situation  created  by  the  ugly 
personalisms  that  have  strained  our  Disciples'  fellow- 
ship in  the  past  two  decades.  The  attempt  made — now 
at  last  shown  to  be  abortive  and  futile — to  organize  the 
prejudices  of  a  sensitive  brotherhood  like  ours  against 
men  of  the  liberal  school  has  been  met  with  a  quality 
of  loyalty  that  excites  my  deepest  admiration.  Liberal 
men  in  our  ranks  faced  conditions  that  often  tried  their 
souls.  College  positions  were  often  shut  in  their  faces, 
pulpits  closed,  convention  programs  arranged  so  as  to 
make  conspicuous  discrimination  against  them.  Their 
names  were  pilloried  in  the  press  with  wanton  disregard 
of  truth.  Secretaries  of  missionary  societies  were 
cowed  by  the  threatenings  of  an  impudent  journalism 
and  by  the  demands  of  a  man  or  two  who  had  great 
sums  of  money  to  give  to  our  philanthropies. 

I  am  thinking  now  of  certain  churches  whose  gifts 
to  missions  place  them  in  the  front  rank  of  the  churches, 
but  whose  pastors  are  never  asked  to  speak  at  conven- 
tions simply  because  it  is  alleged  by  the  program 
makers  that  their  presence  on  the  program  would 
alienate  certain  monies  expected  by  large  givers. 

I  am  thinking,  to  be  more  specific,  of  such  in- 
stances as  the  ironical  little  drama  enacted  at  the 
Toronto  convention  in  1913,  when  Professor  Willett 
who  had  just  returned  from  the  most  significant  mis- 
sionary journey  that  had  been  up  to  that  time  under- 
taken by  a  representative  of  our  people,  was  presented 
to  the  convention  and  allowed  to  bow !  But  even  this 
degree  of  recognition  (?)  brought  to  President  McLean 
from  Mr.  R.  A.  Long,  reputed  to  be  the  richest  man  in 
our  brotherhood,  an  indignant  protest  with  a  threatened 
imperilling  of  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement  which 
was  at  that  moment  in  the  incipient  stages  of  being  or- 
ganized. Things  like  these  have  been  too  numerous 
and  too  flagrant  to  need  recalling  here  in  any  multipli- 
cation of  instances. 

*  *         * 

It  is  no  wonder  that  under  the  pressure  and  discom- 
fiture of  similar  incidents  a  considerable  number  of  our 
liberal  ministers  and  teachers  left  the  Disciples.  Yet 
the  remarkable  thing  about  it  is  the  fact  that  the  great 
majority  of  them  have  remained,  many  of  them  in  the 
face  of  most  alluring  calls  elsewhere,  choosing  to  suffer 
whatever  embarrassment  came  to  them  rather  than 
sever  their  connections  with  a  movement  in  whose 
fellowship  they  felt  the  stirrings  of  the  deepest  loyalty, 
and  for  whose  high  ideals  they  cherished  unperturbable 
conviction. 

Time  and  a  goodly  Providence  have  wrought  their 
gracious  Avork,  and  the  air  has  at  last  been  cleared  of 
much  misunderstanding.  Prejudices  have  loosened  up, 
and  liberal  men  are  now  not  only  accorded  tolerance  at 
the  hands  of  their  brethren,  but,  according  to  their  abil- 
ity, are  looked  to  increasingly  for  actual  leadership  in 
the  forward  going  of  our  movement. 

Yet  the  change  in  the  situation  ought  not  allow  us 
to  overlook  the  strength  of  character  manifested  by 
those  men  of  culture  who  maintained  their  loyalty  in 
patience  and  quietness  in  the  face  of  a  never  more  ruth- 
less opposition.     I,  for  one,  am  proud  of  every  liberal 


April  5,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


11 


man   who   has   endured   the   persecutions   of   the   past 

twenty  years  and  kept  his  heart  simple  and  uncynical. 

And  I  believe  the  future  will  more  than  justify  this  kind 

of  loyalty,  if  it  is  not   even   already  justified   in   the 

present  hour. 

*         *         * 

In  my  humble  way  I  have  had  my  part  in  the  ten- 
sions of  these  trying  years.  Never  for  one  moment 
have  I  ceased  to  thank  God  that  I  was  born  a  Disciple. 
And  I  gladly  testify  that  my  sense  of  complete  identi- 
fication with  the  Disciples  is  so  deep  and  firm  that  I 
hold  no  resentment  against  those  whose  unbrotherly 
actions  underlay  and  fomented  the  conditions  from 
which,  happily,  we  are  now  emerging. 

No  doubt  to  Mr.  Russell  Errett,  publisher  of  The 
Christian  Standard,  more  than  to  any  other  man,  his- 
tory will  trace  the  discredit  of  having  fomented  the 
sinister  activities  which  have  come  nearer  making  ship- 
wreck of  our  brotherhood's  holy  enterprise  than  the  un- 
informed imagine.  Yet  toward  him  personally  I  feel  an 
interest  that  approaches  affection.  His  great  father's 
name  is  a  family  treasure  with  us.  What  Isaac  Errett 
said  has  always  seemed  to  me  to  be  somehow  inspired. 
And  that  instinctive  social  feeling  that  I  have  for  any 
person  or  name  connected  with  the*  making  of  our  peo- 
ple's history  makes  me  wish  for  a  genuine  brotherly 
fellowship  with  Mr.  Russell  Errett.  In  spite  of  our  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  about  theological  or  ecclesiastical 
matters,  as  fellow-craftsmen  in  the  conduct  of  Disciples' 
journalism,  there  ought  to  be  easy  access  between  us 
based  on  personal  confidence  and  common  loyalty  to  the 
same  great  cause.  . 

I  am  more  intensely  interested  in  Mr.  Errett  than 
I  could  be  in,  let  us  say,  Dr.  Washington  Gladden.  I 
am  more  interested  in  Mr.  R.  A.  Long,  and  will  continue 
to  be  until  the  end  of  the  day,  than  in,  let  us  say,  Mr. 
John  D.  Rockefeller.  I  simply  cannot  help  it !  I  was 
born  within  their  communion  and  my  heart's  first  al- 


legiance is  toward  those  with   whose  lives  the  provi- 
dence of  birth  knit  my  life. 

*         *         * 

In  what  environment  could  I  find  so  great  a  body 
of  social  stimuli  as  has  been  thus  accumulated  for  me 
in  the  fellowship  of  the  Disciples?  It  is  a  motive  ever 
present  with  me  to  fill  up  that  which  may  be  lacking  in 
these  lives  that  have  so  intimately  touched  mine,  just 
as  Paul  was  determined  to  fill  up  that  which  was  lack- 
ing even  in  the  passion  of  his  Lord.  Most  vividly  of  all 
do  I  think  of  my  father.  I  think  of  the  incompleteness 
of  his  great  though  modest  life.  I  think  of  the  undis- 
turbable  confidence  with  which  he  preached  the  things 
commonly  believed  among  us.  I  recall  the  sacrifices  he 
endured  that  he  might  round  out  the  contribution  of 
his  whole  life  to  the  high  ends  our  people  had  set  up. 
And  I  cannot  consent  to  a  course  for  my  own  life  that 
will  not  positively,  albeit  humbly,  carry  his  uncom- 
pleted effort  forward  toward  realization. 

Even  if  I  held  views  so  fundamentally  divergent 
from  the  views  my  father  held  as  to  be  irreconcilable 
with  them  on  the  deeper  levels  of  practice  and  moral 
purpose,  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  tear  the  fab- 
ric of  affection  and  establish  fellowship  elsewhere. 

I  thank  God  that  I  am  not  compelled  as  many  men 
have  been — as  Luther  was,  as  Thomas  Campbell  was, 
as  (to  use  an  illustration  that  has  been  recently  revived) 
R.  C.  Cave  was — to  test  my  convictions  over  against 
my  loyalties.  I  do  not  think  the  stuff  of  which  reform- 
ers are  made  is  in  me.  I  am  grateful  that  the  convic- 
tions that  have  grown  up  in  my  heart  seem  to  lie  so 
comfortably  alongside  the  loyalties  that  God  has  deter- 
mined for  me. 

That  is  why  I  call  my  birth  as  a  Disciple  a  provi- 
dence. 

And  I  candidly  set  down  one  of  the  reasons  why  I 
am  a  Disciple,  the  simple  fact  that  I  was  born  one. 

Charles  Clayton  Morrison. 


Our  Faith  in  the  Bible 

Thirteenth  Article  of  the  Series  on  the  Bible 

By  Herbert  L.  Willett 


THERE  is  both  truth  and  error  in  Chillingworth's 
affirmation  that  "the  Bible  and  the  Bible  alone  is 
the  religion  of  Protestantism/'  The  truth  lies 
in  the  fact  that  Christianity,  as  interpreted  by  Protest- 
ant testimony,  is  revealed  in  a  book  and  its  fortunes 
are  indissolubly  joined  with  those  of  that  book;  the 
error  consists  in  the  identification  of  our  holy  faith  with 
one  of  its  instruments  although  that  instrument  is  the 
one  most  honored  of  all.  There  is  little  danger,  how- 
ever, that  the  Bible  will  usurp  undue  dignity.  Chris- 
tianity and  the  Scriptures  go  ever  hand  in  hand.  Even 
the  prophet  of  Islam,  whose  followers  have  become 
notable  for  their  devotion  to  the  Koran,  spoke  usually 
of  the  Christians  as  the  "People  of  the  Book,"  ex- 
pressing thus  his  knowledge  of  their  fidelity  to  the 
Scriptures. 

The  Bible  exhibits  the  striking  paradox  of  a  prod- 
uct greater  than  its  producer.  Historically  it  is  the 
creation  of  the  church.  The  Old  Testament  was 
wrought  out  by  the  Hebrew  people  and  is  the  record 


of  their  religious  progress  from  the  days  when,  to  use 
Tennyson's  apt  phrase,  "beasts  were  slaying  men"  to 
the  nobler  age  when  men  began  to  slay  the  beasts. 
Yet  the  Old  Testament  is  greater  than  the  Hebrew 
people,  for  it  is  the  product  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  work- 
ing through  choice  and  elect  souls  in  that  history,  and 
is  the  record  of  an  experience  which  was  itself,  in 
some  true  sense,  the  manifestation  of  the  life  of  God. 
Viewed  as  a  literary  product  the  New  Testament 
was  given  form  and  fashion  by  the  early  church.  The 
church  existed  before  the  Book,  and  in  a  sense  might 
be  conceived  as  independent  of  it.  Though  the  Bible 
had  perished  in  early  Christian  persecutions,  the  church 
would  have  remained  and  its  testimony  to  its  Master 
would  have  been  carried  to  the  ruin  of  the  world.  Yret 
the  New  Testament  is  greater  than  the  apostolic  church, 
for  it  records  not  only  the  lives  and  words  of  those 
forceful  personalities  who  first  interpreted  the  gospel, 
but  it  reveals  in  all  his  glorious  perfection  him  who 
was  made  of  the  seed  of  David  according  to  the  flesh. 


12                                                         THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  April  5,  1917 

but  was  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power  by  periods  and  by  all  these  varying  interpreters  the  Bible 

the  resurrection  from  the  dead.     It  is  the  product  of  has  held  its  place,  as  the  Word  of  God  in  the  unique 

the  Spirit  of  God  working  in  the  noblest  souls  of  that  and  authoritative  sense  in  which  the  claim  can  be  made 

apostolic  church  to  bring  forth  a  record  which  should  for  no  other  book.     And  today,  within  the  ranks  of 

be   the   trustworthy   narrative   of   apostolic   ministries  evangelical  Christianity  several  attitudes  of  mind  are 

and  the  authoritative  literature  of  the  Christian  faith,  maintained   toward   the   Scriptures,   from   the   definite 

The  Holy  Scriptures  are  the  supreme  instrument  and  precise  claims  of  complete  historical  and  scientific 

by  which  Christ  is  revealed  to  men  and  his  work  di-  inerrancy  and  verbal  inspiration  on  the  one  hand,  to 

rected  throughout  the  world.     Successive  generations  the  less  easily  defined  but  no  less  reverent  acceptance 

of  children,  readers  and  students  advance  through  the  of  the  Scriptures  as  the  record  of  divine  revelation  to 

experience  revealed  in  the  book,  and  going  on  from  the  world,  a  complex  of  documents  with  evident  signs 

strength   to   strength,   appear   at   last   before   God,   in  of  human  workmanship  and  imperfection,  but  marked 

Zion.     Missionaries,  inspired  by  the  messages  of  the  by  such  spiritual  unity  and  such  divine  passion  as  to 

Bible,  count  not  their  lives  dear,  that  they  may  finish  be  worthy  of  no  lesser  title  than  the  Word  of  God. 

their  course  with  joy  and  the  testimony  which  they  Men  of  all  types  within  these  rather  wide  limits  find 

have  received  of  the  Lord.     And  these  words  of  life,  in  the  Scriptures  ample  attestation  to  their  sufficiency 

once  more  incarnate  in  flesh  and  blood,  are  by  them  as  the  instrument  of  revelation,  and  ample  proof  of  the 

re-translated  into  the  strange  speech  of  distant  peoples,  impregnable  nature  of  the  truths  which  they  disclose, 
through  whom  the  power  of  God  is  yet  to  be  revealed. 

The  perils  through  which  the  Bible  has  come,  and  THE  ground  of  our  faith  in  the  scriptures 

out  of  which  it  has  emerged  with  undiminished  luster  Qur  faith  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  rests  upon  their 

and  augmented  power,  point  to  the  divine  nature  of  inspiratjon!     That   claim   they   make   for   themselves, 

the    book    and    the    providential    forces    which    have  Yet  our  belief  in  their  inspiration  rests  less  upon  their 

wrought  for  its  preservation.    The  persecutions  of  im-  daim  than  upon  the  appeal  which  they  make  tQ  CQn. 

penal  power,  which  threatened  to  sweep  the  church  sdence  and  Hfe     Most  sacred  books  daim  inspiration; 

out  of  existence,  and  with  it  the  Scriptures ;  the  re-  the  Bible  manifests  it.    Of  this  spiritual  and  compelling 

pressive  measures  of  ecclesiastical  power,  which  with-  quality  resident  in  these  documents  it  is  not  easy  to 

held  the  Bible  from  popular  possession,  and  restricted  summon  words  to  form  an  adequate  definition.    Some 

its  use  to  monastic  seclusion;  the  derisive  laughter  of  there   are   who  encounter  no  difficulty  in  the   effort, 

brilliant  and  scoffing  apostles  of  materialism,  preaching  others  stand  hesitant  where  definition  is  so  constantly 

unbelief  and  predicting  the  downfall  of  Christian  faith;  outrun  by  fact      The  marvelOUs  vitality  of  the  Scrip- 

and  the  employment  of  the  instruments  of  the  coldest  ture  renders  obsolete  the  statement  of  yesterday  and 

and  most  remorseless  criticism,  whether  trained  and  compels  the  reverent  to  stand  with  uncovered  head  in 

scientific,  or  only  fantastic  and  reckless,  have  alike  re-  the  presence  Gf  a  living  power. 

vealed  the  imperishable  nature  of  these  documents  and  It  is  fitting  that  a  message  of  such  character  and 

their  ability  to  rise  phoenix-like  from  the  ashes  of  every  urgency  should  have  an  adequate  embodiment.     The 

immolation  and  to  dispel  with  their  glow  the  shadows  of  Bible  makes  nQ  daim  to  literary  primacy  among  the 

every  night.  writings  of  the  ages,  and  yet  its  charm  is  imperishable. 

many  verdicts  on  the  bible  But  our  faith  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  does  not  de- 

Not  less  wonderful  is  the  variety  of  verdicts  which  Pend  uPon  their  literary  excellence   though  that  yields 

.         ,               j      j            j-       i.u        •   •         a      *...-      t  never-ceasmg  satisfaction.     It  is  the  deeper  fountains 

have  been  rendered  regarding  the  origin  and  nature  of  ,,    ,       r      ,  °,      ,.  .     ,            ,,      ,,    ,,       *;          ,.     ,, 

,,      TT  .     c    .               &     ,.  . .  •  .      .-n  „  „  •  .      uu  that  refresh  the  thirsty  world,     further  down  he  the 

the  Holy  Scriptures,  verdicts  which  still  consist  with  .                 ,           ,    .f           ,      r              ,                       1 

,           .  J    ,  ..s  .    ,,    .     ,.  •        ,         .          j  •  „  •     .. cool  waters,  beyond  the  reach  of  even  the  masters  of 

deepening  faith  in  their  divine  character  and  inspiration.  ...                   on.       l             ..     i            lL     •     ,            ,     . 

xt     liu                    •       a        cc      a  „   a   „..«  :  ~a  „~  literature.     They  have  not  always  the  instruments  to 

No  book  has  ever  enjoyed,  suffered  and  survived  so  ,             ._,,          j    .           .,   .      ,            on.     i-  • 

many  definitions  as  the  Bible.    The  earliest  generation  £ raw,  Wlth. i™6*'  ™U  ,1S  deep.      Tt^u™?*  7*3 

of  Christians  received  the  Old  Testament  as  a  sacred  has  £ef  hf*ed  fro»  the  depths  by  the  hands  of  the 

,           ,    ,           ...        ..      ,  ,.      .      ,Ua  t-    Tr  prophets  and  apostles  who  speak  through  this  Book. 

heritage,  safeguarded  as  with  walls  of  fire  by  the  Jew-  $    r                    r                       v                  &                      i 

•  i            i      .1 l    «.     i        r  .i.     xt       t    i.  „.  it,       ~~  -~  Into  every  land  its  streams  have  gone.    Its  ethical  and 

ish  people ;  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  as  .  .      ,  f  „                       ,              °     ,         .           , 

L  v    v   ,    ,      ..             ,.           .,•           r  .u„  t„:„„Ar.  ~t  spiritual  influence  upon  the  race  has  been  beyond  con- 
vet  regarded  rather  as  the  writings  of  the  friends  of  r  \.                     T      f         ,      ,  .,   .       .       ■, , J    . 
It.     t     j  xi.             uic-4.           tu„  irU-^A  ^„f,«,-,r  ception  great.     In  every  land  it  has  been  the  mspira- 
the  Lord  than  as  Holy  Scripture.     The  third  century  ,•£%..         a  •   \-       e      a        i         i  a             ~ 
..      ,       .            .   Jc            •    "i  At.               a  4.u~  ~i„  tion  of  effort  toward  justice,  freedom,  knowledge,  prog- 
saw  the  development  of  canonical  theory,  and  the  ele-  ...                 *..         '     .     r     '        ,  ,      6  \vn  ° 
,  ^       v     ,       ,  „.,,     ,     ,r         :.     e    ...u^-:*  ress,  uprightness,  purity,  and  the  fear  and  love  of  God. 
ration  of  the  completed  Bible  to  the  seat  of  authority.  '     v,  6     ,       '  v  .    J,     ,.               -          c              t  .  , 
ti         -a  ii                      a  a  iu    u  ^    «»  <-u~  ,rQ^„  w^  Such  and  a  hundred  other  proofs  confirm  our  faith 
The  middle  ages  regarded  the  book  as  the  very  Word  .     ..      „  -     «    .  .             ,-       r     ,   .           ,.       ,     .    . 
' "Z.  j        ,    &x      .?    .  j  ..  .          .    -     .   „..    SA  „,re,  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.     Our  most  imperative  task  is 
of  God,  and  yet  subjected  it  to  such  fantastic  and  mys-  .   ,.    .    ;,       *\    .    ...      ,,        ^f               i„- 

.     ,  .  '          *   ,.       J       .  t.  ..  f..          .     r A  ,/    r  not  their  defense  but  their  study.     They  are  less  in 

tical  interpretations  as  left  it  but  scanty  fragments  of  ,                 .      .          ,              J.    .        Jrru                 1 

realitv     The  reformers  discovered  it  afresh    searched  need  of  aPol°getlc  than  of  appropriation.    The  greatest 

/,'     .           '  .       '  ,        ,            r,       u-aa    '  4.^  „o..>„  peril  which  the  Bible  faces  today  is  neither  persecution, 

it  with  the  passion  of  seekers  after  hidden  treasure,  v              .....             ...  .    -f     _    .          F 

.   .      ,      /                      ,              .,         ,  ,-         „,M-     c  suppression,  ridicule  or  criticism.    It  is  neglect, 

and  fearlessly  pronounced  upon  the  relative  value  of  L  v                                                                  & 

its  different  parts.    The  post-reformation  divines,  con-  "TIIE  SUPREME  AND  compelling  voice" 
fronted  with  the  claim  of  an  infallible  church,  fell  back 

for  defense  upon  the  dogma  of  an  infallible  Book,  and  Our  faith  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  in  the  last  issue 

unhappily  in  many  instances,  carried  that  dogma  to  ex-  the  result  of  our  faith  in  Him  of  whom  they  speak.    He 

treme  and  untenable  lengths.     The  critical  movement  is  their  central  and  commanding  figure;  his  their  su- 

has  reasserted  the  position  of  the  reformers  as  to  the  preme   and    compelling  voice.     Many  teachers   speak 

right  of  free  inquiry,  and  has  revealed  the  groundless-  through  these  pages,  but  he  excels  them  all.     Many 

ness  of  the  fears  formerly  expressed  regarding  the  dis-  men  have  part  in  the  drama  of  redemption ;  one  alone 

astrous  results  of  such  investigation.    Yet  in  all  these  is  the  Son  of  Man.    Many  have  wrought  as  servants  of 


April  5,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


13 


God ;  only  one  as  the  Strong  Son  of  God.  In  this  book 
there  are  mingled  voices  of  triumph  and  defeat,  but 
above  them  all  sounds  one  clear  word,  "Fear  not,  I 
have  overcome."  Beyond  all  other  conquests  is  his  vic- 
tory over  sin  and  death  through  which  his  followers  are 
already  more  than  conquerors.  Beyond  all  love  is  his 
that  seeks  and  yearns  and  wins  at  last  through  sheer  in- 
sistence. Beyond  all  comfort  his  that  tarries  all  the 
night  until  the  day  be  cool  and  the  shadows  flee  away. 
Many  reasons  there  are  why  the  Holy  Scriptures 
should  have  chief  place  in  the  reverence,  affection  and 
confidence  of  men,  but  the  chief  is  that  they  testify  of 
Him.  The  Father  of  whom  he  spoke  is  disclosed  in 
perfection  only  in  Him.  And  something  of  that  eter- 
nity, that  timeless  life,  which  he  had  with  the  Father 
before  the  world  was,  abides  in  the  Book.  It  rends  the 
heavens  to  reveal  the  endless  life.     It  sets  a  ladder 


from  earth  to  heaven.  It  speaks  of  life  with  God  as 
of  a  treasure  on  which  the  hand  of  death  can  never  fall. 
For  centuries  the  Bible  has  stood  as  the  revela- 
tion of  the  life  and  will  of  God.  For  centuries  and 
milleniums  yet  to  come  it  will  endure,  as  the  priceless 
possession  of  the  race,  the  inspiration  of  all  holy  living, 
the  imperishable  record  of  the  human  life  of  God,  and 
the  divine  possibilities  of  man.  From  generation  to 
generation  it  is  destined  to  guide  the  church  and  in- 
spire the  nations.  In  every  age  new  light  will  break 
out  from  its  pages.  Searching  study  will  only  reveal 
deeper  levels  of  truth  and  richer  treasures  of  knowledge. 
"Age  cannot  wither  it,  nor  custom  stale  its  infinite 
variety."  "All  flesh  is  grass  and  all  the  goodliness  there- 
of is  as  the  flower  of  the  field.  The  grass  withers,  and 
the  flower  fades.  But  the  Word  of  our  God  shall 
abide  forever." 


"Behold  the  Lamb  of  God" 

Five  Poems  by  Thomas  Curtis  Clark 


Judas 

ALLOWED  to  sit  at  His  dear  feet 
And  know  His  look  of  love, 
To  walk  with  Him  in  pastures  sweety 
And  then  a  traitor  prove! 
To  know  the  glory  of  His  light 
And  then  to  choose  the  rayless  night ! 

O  tragedy  past  tongue  to  tell, 

That  ever  mortal  should, 
By  compact  with  the  tribes  of  hell, 

Pour  out  his  Savior's  blood! 
And  that  for  just  a  bit  of  gold 
The  fleshly  hand  of  man  could  hold ! 

The  Tragedy 

HE  gave  the  world,  in  darkness  pent, 
The  boon  of  His  surpassing  light ; 
The  world  found  healing  in  its  beams, 
But  turned  Him  out  into  the  night. 

He  gave  the  world  His  heart  of  hearts, 
And  bore  the  burden  of  its  woe; 

The  world  gave  Him  the  knotted  scourge, 
The  cruel  rod's  remorseless  blow. 

He  gave  the  world  the  hope  of  heav'n, 
And  to  its  gates  the  wand'rers  led; 

The  thankless  world  could  not  find  room 
Where  He  might  lay  His  weary  head. 

He  gave  the  world  the  crown  of  life, 
His  life  accounting  but  as  dross ; 

The  world  received  the  matchless  gift, 
And  gave  to  Him — the  martyr's  cross ! 

Universal  Guilt 

I    SAW  One  greeted  with  a  kiss ; 
A  son  of  night  performed  the  deed ; 
And  then  they  led  away  my  Lord 
To  be  despised,  to  suffer,  bleed; 
And  I  stood  by,  nor  said  a  word; 
Nor  was  I  by  His  mute  grief  stirred. 


I  saw  One  wear  a  crown  of  thorns; 

They  placed  it  rudely  on  His  brow, 
And  pressed  it  down;  and  as  He  bowed 

They  cried,  "Messiah — see  him  now!" 
And  I  stood  by,  nor  moved  a  limb 
To  save  my  Lord,  or  comfort  Him. 

I  saw  One  hanging  on  a  cross; 

As  in  each  hand  they  drove  the  nail, 
He  groaned  and  cried,  "O  God,  forgive!" 

They  laughed  and  snouted,  "King,  all  hail!" 
And  I  with  them  was  standing  there 
As  He  breathed  out  His  dying  prayer. 

Resurrection 

CHRIST  is  risen !    Sing,  all  voices ! 
Earth  with  heaven  now  rejoices. 
Over  winter's  night  of  sadness 
Rises  springtime's  sun  of  gladness. 
Fields  new-clothed  with  living  glory 
Now  proclaim  the  matchless  story: 
Christ  is  risen!    All  men,  sing  ye; 
To  Him  love's  fair  tribute  bring  ye! 
Christ  is  risen,  who  once  was  dead. 
See,  the  night  of  doubt  is  fled! 
Lo!  the  grave  is  empty  now. 
Christ  is  risen!     On  His  brow 
Rests  the  crown  of  victory, 
Sign  of  immortality. 

Sing  ye,   heaven   and   earth,   rejoice! 
Praise  ye  Him,  each  mortal  voice! 
Sing,  ye  angels,  in  yon  heaven! 
Sing  in  rapture,  Christ  is  risen ! 

The  Dawn  of  Faith 

HOPE  fled  from  earth,  vanquished  by  human  sin, 
When  from  the  cross  Christ  heard  those  cries 
of  scorn; 
Faith,  with  her  angels,  straightway  entered  in 

When  from  the  tomb  He  walked,  that  April  morn. 


The  Breath  of  Eternal  Life 


IN  WHAT  is  familiarly  known  as 
Ezekiel's  vision  of  dry  bones,  we 
read.  "Thus  saith  the  Lord  God 
unto  these  bones." 

It  is  not  a  prepossessing-  audience, 
this  congregation  of  bones  that  God 
addressed.  But  bones  are  no  ob- 
stacle to  the  bonemaker.  Having 
originally  organized  carbonate,  phos- 
phate and  gelatine  into  bones,  may 
not  even  fleshless  bones  hear  the 
word  of  the  Lord?  For  Ezekiel  is 
saying  that  within  and  behind  all 
desolation  is  the  living  God.  And  is 
not  this  what  we  want  to  know, 
what  we  must  know,  if  we  are  to 
keep  our  souls  alive?  Let  a  man  be 
perfectly  sure  of  God,  and  he  can 
release  his  hold  upon  everything  else 
without  being  utterly  confounded ; 
on  the  other  hand,  let  him  grasp 
everything  else  very  tenaciously, 
with  no  certain  grip  upon  God,  and 
he  is  the  victim  of  terrible  confusion. 

THE  IDEALISM  OF  GOD 

In  one  aspect,  the  prophet  paints  a 
picture  of  starkest  realism.  In  his 
mind's  eye,  Israel  represents  deso- 
lation incarnate,  despair  in  cere- 
ments, death  uncoffined.  Search  as 
you  may,  you  will  find  no  gleam,  no 
softening  hues,  only  jagged,  ragged 
patches  of  gray  waste.  For,  mark 
you,  he  does  not  reveal  a  graveyard, 
with  its  orderly  graves  and  quiet 
walks  and  decently  buried  bones.  He 
shows  us,  if  I  may  so  express  it,  a 
graveyard  turned  upside  down,  the 
disjointed  bones  scattered  every- 
where. In  this  black  valley  of  death 
the  bones  are  many  and  very  dry. 
Scavengers  have  done  their  work — 
sinews  are  gone,  flesh  is  gone,  skin  is 
gone.  This,  then,  is  Ezekiel's  pic- 
ture— not  mine  nor  any  other  man's ; 
but  it  is  not  the  whole  picture. 

"the  breath  in  the  winds" 

Strangely  enough,  we  encounter  a 
blending  of  realism  and  idealism  in 
this  desert  of  doom.  Yes;  idealism 
is  there — only  it  is  not  of  the  alto- 
gether human  stamp.  At  the  risk 
of  being  paradoxical,  contradictory, 
even  unphilosophic,  I  will  say  it  is 
divine  idealism,  the  idealism  of  God, 
the  pure  white  truth  of  things  shin- 
ing behind  all  outward  appearances. 
"And  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man, 
can  these  bones  live?"  Who  says 
that?  Who  asks  this  question  thrill- 
ing with  life  in  the  heart  of  gloom 
and  doom  and  death?  It  is  the  ever- 
lasting God,  the  Lord,  the  Creator 
of  the  ends  of  the  earth,  who  faint- 
eth  not,  neither  is  weary. 

Ah !  when  men  say  that  the  uni- 


By  Frederick  F.  Shannon 

lilllIlllliUIIMiiiillilliiniiliililliilllllllllllllllllilllllUliiliillllllllllilllllUllllllNlHIIIIIHIIIlUlllllliilllllllllllllllM^ 
E  = 

"Conic    from    the   four   winds,    O  l 

|     Breath,  and  breathe  upon  these  slain,  | 

1      that  they  max  live." — Ezekiel  xxxvii  :  I 

|     9.  | 

Kiiutiu  unit  lauiunutnmiiuiiii  u  i  n  n  iitmuimui  m  n  ■  u  ittn  tin  i  in  mti  uitinin  mil  n  u  i  u  u  1 11  n  in  1 1  n  u  i  n  ti  1 1 1 1 1 1  ^ 

verse  is  composed  of  matter,  energy, 
and  ether,  and  nothing  else — it  is 
then  that  the  breath  in  the  winds 
breathes  from  behind  this  mental 
sterility,  this  spiritual  degradation, 
saying:  "Oh,  sons  of  men,  sons  of 
the  living  God,  your  dry  bones  shall 
live !"  Or  when  men  declare  that  the 
bottom  has  dropped  out  of  the  heav- 
ens and  the  earth,  the  breath  in  the 
winds  says :  "Thus  saith  the  Lord, 
which  maketh  a  way  in  the  sea,  and 
a  path  in  the  mighty  waters;  which 
bringeth  forth  the  chariot  and  horse, 
the  army  and  the  power;  they  lie 
down  together,  they  shall  not  rise ; 
they  are  extinct,  they  are  quenched 
as  flax.  Remember  ye  not  the  former 
things,  neither  consider  the  things 
of  old.  Behold  I  will  do  a  new  thing; 
now  shall  it  spring  forth ;  shall  ye 
not  know  it?  I  will  even  make  a 
way  in  the  wilderness,  and  rivers  in 
the  desert.  The  beasts  of  the  field 
shall  honor  me,  the  jackals  and  the 
ostriches ;  because  I  give  waters  in 
the  wilderness,  and  rivers  in  the  des- 
ert, to  give  drink  to  my  people,  my 
chosen ;  the  people  which  I  have 
formed  for  myself,  that  they  might 
set  forth  my  praise." 

'our  valley  of  dry  bones 

Then  what  shall  we  say  of  our 
present  international  valley  of  dry 
bones?  Desolation  stalks  abroad  so 
dread  and  terrible  that  the  nations 
seem  to  be  in  the  grip  of  a  kind  of 
planetary  nightmare.  Is  there  any 
hope  to  be  shed  upon  this  vast  valley 
of  despair?  Many  are  ominously 
shaking  their  heads.  "Civilization  is 
doomed,"  they  say.  "Statesmanship 
is  bankrupt.  The  young  men,  the 
flower  and  hope  of  the  race,  are  be- 
ing appallingly  decimated.  Millions 
have  been  slain,  more  millions  will 
die,  other  millions  will  go  broken  in 
spirit  and  body  to  the  grave."  Ver- 
ily, it  is  horrible,  unspeakable,  over- 
whelming. 

The  breath  in  the  winds  asserts  a 
third  truth :  That  within  death  there 
is  life.  "The  breath  came  into  them, 
and  they  lived,  and  stood  upon  their 
feet,  an  exceeding  great  army."  The 
movement  of  God  is  from  desolation 
through  order  to  conquest.  He  be- 
gins with  an  inverted  graveyard, 
welds  the  disunities  into  harmony, 
out  of  defeat  brings  victory.  "I  came 


that  they  may  have  life,  and  have  it 
abundantly."  Life— that  is  the  real- 
ity we  have  been  searching  for.  Life 
— that  is  synonymous  with  the  Gos- 
pel, the  secret  of  the  evangel,  the 
Good  News  of  Eternity  flashed  into 
the  fields  of  time.  What  have  we  to 
testify  concerning  this  Life,  which 
we  have  seen  with  our  spiritual  eyes, 
which  we  have  handled  with  our 
spiritual  hands?  Speaking  in  gen- 
eral, we  know  that  it  looks  death 
out  of  countenance,  that  it  trans- 
forms a  valley  of  dry  bones  into  a 
Garden  of  God.  .  But  let  us  be  more 
specific. 

life's  enormous  reservoir 

We_  know  that  this  life  is  abun- 
dant, inexhaustible,  incapable  of  giv- 
ing out.  Men  regard  with  awe  the 
enormous  reservoirs  of  physical  life. 
Innumerable  discoveries  have  been 
made,  but  no  man  has  yet  discovered 
a  fraction  of  space  where  life  is 
not.  Overhead,  under  foot,  within, 
around,  life  is  so  busy  that  death  has 
small  chance  of  slipping  in.  About 
the  best  that  death  can  do  in  the 
physical  realm  is  to  get  life  to 
change  its  form.  Life  is  so  amaz- 
ingly prolific  and  purposeful  that  it 
refuses  to  be  outwitted.  Apparently 
out-maneuvered,  life  invariably  re- 
turns for  another  and  more  convinc- 
ing word  with  death.  Out  there  rolls 
the  sea  today,  but  there  the  forest 
once  grew;  and  here  where  Broad- 
way pounds  and  roars  was  once  the 
sea.  Even  the  hills,  as  Tennyson  said, 
are  but  shadows  that  flow  from  form 
to  form.  Yet  both  hills  and  shad- 
ows flowingly  are  because  life  abid- 
ingly is.  Now  nothing  less  than  this 
plentitude  of  physical  life  adequately 
suggests  the  abundance  of  spiritual 
life  disclosed  in  Christ.  The  Gospels 
are  packed  full  of  it,  the  Epistles  are 
alive  with  it.  They-are  what  they 
are  because  of  what  He  was  and  is. 

WHOSOEVER  WILL  MAY  LIVE 

The  modern  mind  makes  much  of 
the  power  of  under-statement.  As 
one  studies  the  New  Testament  he 
wonders  if  this  so-called  power  was 
known  to  so  deep  and  perceiving  soul 
as  Paul.  But  if  we  are  somewhat 
superstitious  concerning  the  poten- 
cies of  the  physical,  Paul  enjoyed 
what  is  at  once  a  sober  and  an  intoxi- 
cating faith  in  the  abundant  life 
giver.  "For  I  am  persuaded,"  he 
says,  "that  neither  death,  nor  life 
nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 
things  present,  nor  things  to  come, 
nor  powers,  nor  height,  nor  depth, 
nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able 


April  5,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


15 


to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

We  know,  furthermore,  that  this 
Life  is  available.  There  are  so  many 
good  things  that  cannot  be  had  by 
multitudes.  For  example,  health, 
wealth,  learning,  comfort,  travel,  po- 
sition. These,  as  well  as  other  bless- 
ings, are  good,  yet  they  are  not  uni- 
versally available.  But  the  best 
thing  in  the  universe  is  available.  It 
is  nothing  less  than  life,  eternal  life. 
"This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might 
know  Thee,  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ,  whom  Thou  hast  sent." 
Everybody  may  have  what  every- 
body must  have  if  everybody  will 
have  it. 

Watching  various  vessels  gliding 
to  and  fro  on  the  bay,  I  said  to  a 
man :  "It  looks  to  me  as  if  they 
would  wear  the  water  out.  This  con- 
stant going  and  coming  of  all  kinds 
of  hulls — surely  the  water  must  get 
weary  and  tired  of  it."  Smiling  the 
smile  of  an  old  seaman,  and  gazing 
at  "the  clucking,  sucking  of  the  sea 
about  the  rusty  hulls,"  he  replied : 
"The  more  there  are,  the  faster  they 
go  and  come,  the  better  the  sea 
seems  to  like  it."  Ah !  the  boats 
wear  out,  but  the  sea  wears  on. 
There  have  been  many  different 
styles  of  vessels  since  man  began  to 
sail  the  deep;  there  will  be  many 
more;  boat  fashions  will  change  and 
shore  lines  will  change ;  civilizations 
will  wax  and  wane,  but  the  sea,  un- 
worn and  unwearying,  will  go  pa- 
tiently on  shaping  itself  to  all  kinds 
of  vessels,  always  yearning  to  have 
its  face  wrinkled  by  innumerable 
plunging  prows.  Is  it  not  even  so 
of  the  Water  of  Life?  It  is  available 
to  all,  it  satisfies  the  thirst  of  all,  it 
longs  to  be  appropriated  by  all. 
"Whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water 
that  I  shall  give  him  shall  never 
thirst ;  but  the  water  that  I  shall  give 
him  shall  become  in  him  a  well  of 
water  springing  up  unto  eternal  life." 

god's  all-reaching  love 

We  know  that  this  Life  is  the 
measure  of  finality.  Nothing  can  be 
added  to  it,  nothing  can  be  sub- 
tracted from  it.  It  is  full,  perfect, 
imaging,  absolute.  "Why  have  we 
only  one  Christ?"  Principal  Fair- 
bairn  used  to  ask.  There  have  been 
philosophers  many,  poets  many,  sol- 
diers many,  statesmen  many,  but  not 
a  single  one  has  merited  the  palm  of 
solitary  and  unapproachable  excel- 
lence. Christ,  and  Christ  alone, 
stands  without  compeer,  and  that  in 
the  highest  department,  the  relig- 
ious, among  all  the  sons  of  men. 

"Our  question,"  concludes  Fair- 
bairn,  "is,  Why?  Why  has  the  Cre- 
ator of  men  created  only  one  Christ, 
while  He  has  created  myriads  of  all 
other  kinds  of  men?     That  Creator 


is  infinitely  benevolent ;  He  loves 
His  creatures,  He  seeks  their  highest 
well-being.  That  well-being  Christ 
has  promoted  not  only  more  than 
any  other  man,  but  more  than  all 
other  men  that  have  ever  lived,  if 
one  Christ  has  been  so  mighty  for 
good,  what  would  a  multitude  have 
accomplished?  Yet  God  has  given 
to  our  poor  humanity  only  one,  and 
if  we  persist  in  asking,  Why?  can 
we  find  a  better  answer  than  the  an- 
swer that  stands  written  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Word  made  flesh?  God 
in  giving  one  gave  His  all ;  "God  so 
loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
belie veth  on  Him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  eternal  life."  Here  is  final- 
ity— not  the  finality  of  power,  not 
the  finality  of  will,  not  the  finality 
of  mind,  but  the  finality  of  power 
and  will  and  mind  all  fused  in  heart 
— the  broken,  bleeding,  brooding 
heart  of  redemptive  passion  and 
rescue. 

REDEMPTIVE  PASSION 

Do  you  not  remember  Norman 
Macleod's  story  of  the  Highland 
Mother?  She  was  a  widow ;  she  had 
only  one  child;  she  was  unable  to 
pay  her  rent;  she  was  threatened 
with  eviction.  Taking  her  babe,  she 
started  to  walk  across  the  mountains, 
some  ten  miles,  to  the  home  of  a 
relative.  When  she  started,  the 
weather  was  warm  and  sweet  and 
mild,  a  lovely  day  in  May.  But  a 
terrible  snowstorm  suddenly  fell 
upon  the  hills,  and  little  by  little  the 
mother's  strength  failed.  But  in  her 
failing  strength  there  seemed  to  be  a 
growing  love,  even  as  she  made  her 
grave  in  the  snow;  for  next  day, 
when  men  found  her  body,  it  was 
almost  stripped  of  clothing.  Her 
chilled  and  dying  hands  had  wrapped 
her  own  clothing  about  the  child, 
which  was  found  in  a  sheltering 
nook,  safe  and  sound. 


Easter  Day 

Words  cannot  utter 

Christ  His  returning: 
Mankind,  keep  jubilee, 

Strip  off  your  mourning, 
Crown  you  with  garlands, 

Set  your  lamps  burning. 

Speech  is  left  speechless; 

Set  you  to  singing, 
Fling  your   hearts   open   ivide, 

Set  your  bells  ringing: 
Christ,  the  Chief  Reaper, 

Comes,  His  sheaf  bringing. 

Earth  wakes  her  song-birds, 

Puts  on  her  flowers, 
Leads  out  her  lambkins, 

Builds  up  her  bozvers: 
This  is  man's  spousal  day, 

Christ's  day  and  ours. 

—Christina  Rossctti. 


THE  STORY  THAT  WINS  THE  HEART 

Years  afterward,  said  Macleod,  the 
son  of  the  minister  who  had  con- 
ducted the  mother's  funeral  went  to 
Glasgow  to  preach  a  preparatory 
sermon.  It  was  a  stormy  night,  the 
audience  was  small,  and  somehow  he 
was  reminded  of  the  story  he  had 
often  heard  his  father  tell.  Instead 
of  preaching  the  sermon  he  had  pre- 
pared, he  simply  told  the  story  of  the 
Highland  mother's  love.  A  few  days 
later  he  was  summoned  to  the  bed 
of  a  dying  man.  "You  do  not  know 
me,"  said  the  man,  whom  the  min- 
ister had  never  seen.  "But  I  know 
you,  and  I  knew  your  father  before 
you.  Although  I  lived  in  Glasgow 
many  years,  I  have  never  attended  a 
church.  The  other  day  I  happened 
to  pass  your  door  as  the  snow  came 
down.  I  heard  the  singing  and 
slipped  into  a  back  seat.  There  I 
heard  the  story  of  the  widow  and  her 
son."  The  man  paused,  his  voice 
was  choking,  his  eyes  were  filling. 
"I  am  that  son,"  he  sobbed  at  last. 
"Never  did  I  forget  my  mother's 
love,  but  I  never  saw  the  love  of 
God  in  giving  Himself  for  me  until 
now.  It  was  God  made  you  tell  that 
story.  My  mother  did  not  die  in 
vain.    Her  prayer  is  answered." 

THE   ONE    HOPE   OF    THE   WORLD 

All  that  I  have  been  trying  to  say. 
my  brethren,  is  this :  Where  every- 
thing else  ends,  God  begins,  because 
God  was  in  the  beginning  and  God 
will  still  be  God  when  the  endings 
have  all  ended.  That  is  the  message 
of  religion ;  it  is  especially  the  mes- 
sage of  the  Christian  religion ;  it  is 
the  one  hope  of  the  world,  and  beside 
it  there  is  no  hope.  For  the  voice  in 
the  winds  is  a  just  voice,  a  true  voice, 
an  honest  voice.  It  says :  "Go  round 
about  your  valley  of  dry  bones ;  see 
how  the  bosom  of  destruction  has 
swept  the  world ;  look  the  facts  in  the 
face,  if  you  are  struck  blind  while 
you  look.  But  do  not  fear — desola- 
tion cannot  harm  you.  Do  not  be 
overwhelmed — chaos  is  big  with 
order.  Do  not  despair — death  can- 
not kill  you.  Do  not  be  imposed 
upon  by  a  whole  world  of  dry  bones 
— before  there  was  any  world  or  any 
bones,  'in  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God, 
and  the  Word  was  God.' ' 

Therefore,  come  from  the  four 
winds,  O  Breath,  come  from  behind 
matter  and  energy  and  ether  and  sin 
and  death  and  hell,  and  breathe  upon 
our  slain  hopes,  our  slain  wills,  our 
slain  minds,  our  slain  ideals,  and 
cause  them  to  stand  upon  their  feet 
and  live,  an  exceeding  great  army, 
that  we  may  go  forth  conquering  and 
to  conquer  in  the  name  of  Him  who 
loved  us  and  gave  Himself  for  us. 


Can  We  Believe  in  Immortality? 

By  John  R.  Ewers 


IT  REQUIRES  some  courage  to 
face  this  question.  Men  today 
are  agitated  over  this  problem. 
Six  million  men  have  been  killed  in 
battle  and  their  relatives  want  to 
know  what  has  become  of  them.  Sir 
Oliver  Lodge  thinks  that  he  has  re- 
ceived messages,  held  conversations 
with  his  departed  son,  Raymond.  All 
of  us,  as  we  face  death  in  our  family 
circles,  seek  to  renew  our  assurances 
that  the  beloved  dead  live  on.  I 
know  an  elder  of  one  of  our  churches 
who  frankly  does  not  believe  in  im- 
mortality. He  is  a  brave,  clean,  high- 
minded  gentleman.  He  believes  that 
his  good  work  will  be  handed  on  to 
his  children  and  he  will  add  his  voice 
to  the  "Choir  Invisible."  I  know  an- 
other elder  who  used  to  say  to  me  as 
we  returned  from  a  funeral :  "I  never 
look  into  an  open  grave  but  what  I 
doubt  immortality.*' 

SCIENCE  AND  IMMORTALITY 

But  this  is  not  the  most  serious 
situation.  An  American  scientist  has 
recently  sent  out  a  questionnaire  to 
one  thousand  other  American  scien- 
tists, among  them  the  most  of  the 
leading  names  and  many  of  the  lesser 
lights.  Summing  up  that  inquiry  he 
finds  that  fifty  percent  of  these  men 
unconditionally  do  not  accept  im- 
mortality. The  percentage  is  higher 
for  disbelief  among  the  bigger  men. 
This  is  indeed  a  blow  to  our  faith. 
Moreover,  we  find  many  men  who 
believe  in  annihilation  and  many  who 
accept  conditional  immortality. 
These  latter  assert  that  God  will  use 
only  the  valuable  material  in  the  con- 


struction of  his  progressive  universe, 
and  that  therefore  the  bad  must  be 
eliminated — only  the  good  persisting. 
I  am  a  member  of  a  club  composed 
of  professional  men — ministers,  phy- 
sicians, attorneys,  editors  and  univer- 
sity professors.  At  our  last  meeting 
a  gentleman  read  a  scholarly  paper 
on  the  persistence  of  personality 
after  death.  With  sympathetic  mind 
he  considered  the  results  of  psy- 
chical research — very  little  of  which 
he  accepted,  although  he  sought  to 
maintain  the  open  mind — and  felt 
with  Sir  Oliver  Lodge  in  his  asser- 
tions about  his  son.  He  made  a 
strong  case  from  science.  Himself 
trained  in  the  Sheffield  Scientific 
School  at  Yale,  he  was  master  of 
the  evolutionary  facts.  These  he 
marshaled  in  convincing  array,  caus- 
ing us  to  see  the  upward  sweep  of 
life,  until  it  seemed  necessary  to  be- 
lieve that  life  continued  on  and  on. 
In  his  conclusion,  however,  he  ad- 
mitted that  for  him  the  resurrection 
hope  of  Jesus  was  the  foundation  of 
his  faith  in  immortality.  The  discus- 
sion which  followed  came  to  the 
same  conclusion. 

"eye  hath  not  seen" 

That  is  the  best  we  can  do.  Im- 
mortality cannot  be  mathematically 
demonstrated.  Absolute  proofs  are 
lacking.  Spiritual  things  must  be 
spiritually  discerned.  "Eye  hath  not 
seen,"  because  natural,  fleshly  eyes 
will  never  see — there  will  be  no  nat- 
ural eyes  in  heaven !  "Ear  hath  not 
heard,"  because  natural,  fleshly  ears 


will  be  left  behind  in  eternity;  there 
will  be  no  natural  ears  to  hear  then. 
"The  problem  of  heaven  is  how  to  be 
happy  without  a  body!"  If  all  our 
happiness  here  consists  in  eating, 
drinking,  smoking,  resting,  seeing, 
feeling — then  heaven  will  be  a  blank 
for  us. 

Alas  for  the  materialist  in  heaven ! 
You  cannot  feed  an  ox  upon  a  lec- 
ture on  Browning !  To  enjoy  heaven, 
mind  and  soul,  sympathy  and 
thought,  joys  of  the  spirit  must  be; 
cultivated  here.  That  is  the  reason 
why  it  seems  that  some  must  go  into 
heaven  high-up  and  others  low-down. 
Said  George  Whitfield,  "I  do  not  ex- 
pect to  see  John  Wesley  in  heaven ; 
he  will  be  so  near  the  throne  and  I 
so  far  from  it." 

the  one  great  fact 

The  universe  holds  but  one  demon- 
stration of  immortality — Jesus.  He 
died  and  lives  again.  He  lives  now, 
making  intercession  for  me.  That  is 
the  Easter  hope.  One  great  fact 
stands  clearly  out  in  my  thinking — 
all  other  questions  aside — all  hard 
doubts  obliterated — Jesus  lives  now. 
He  knows  me ;  I  know  him.  This  is 
the  truest  mysticism.  To  the  Greeks 
this  is  foolishness,  indeed,  but  such 
foolishness  as  overcomes  the  world. 
Yes,  with  all  my  soul  I  not  only  be- 
lieve that  Jesus  is  my  Saviour,  but 
that  he  is  my  Living  Lord.  Here  I 
take  my  stand — God  help  me. 

Note:_  This  article  is  based  upon  the 
International  uniform  lesson  for  Easter, 
"Jesus  Raises  Lazarus  From  the  Dead." 
Scripture,  John  2:  17-44. 


The  Glories  of  War 


COURAGE,  devotion,  endurance, 
contempt  of  death!  These  are 
glories  that  the  unmartial  may 
not  deride.  Even  the  humblest  of 
brave  soldiers  is  a  hero,  for  all  that 
his  heroism  coins  the  misery  of  oth- 
ers; but  what  does  the  soldier  know, 
see,  feel  of  the  real  "glories  of  war"? 
That  knowledge  is  confined  to  the 
readers  of  newspapers  and  books! 
The  pressman,  the  romancer,  the  his- 
torian can  with  glowing  pen  call  up 
in  the  reader  a  feeling  that  war  is 
glorious ;  that  there  is  something  in  it- 
self desirable  and  to  be  admired  in 
that  licensed  murder,  arson,  robbery 
that  we  call  war.  Glorious  war! 
Every  penny  thrill  of  each  reader  of 
the  newspaper,  every  spasm  of  each 


By  John  Galsworthy- 
one  who  sees  armed  men  passing  or 
hears  the  fifes  and  drums,  is  manu- 
factured out  of  blood  and  groans, 
wrung  out  of  the  torments  of  the 
human  heart  and  the  torture  of  hu- 
man flesh. 

When  I  read  in  the  paper  of  some 
glorious  charge  and  the  great  slaugh- 
ter of  the  enemy,  I  feel  a  thrill 
through  every  fibre.  It  is  grand,  it  is 
splendid.  That  there  should  be  lying, 
with  their  faces  haggard  to  the  stars, 
hundreds,  thousands  of  men  like  my- 
self, better  men  than  myself !  Hun- 
dreds, thousands,  who  loved  life  as 
much  as  I;  whose  women  loved  them 
as  much  as  mine  loved  me !  Grand, 
splendid!  That  the  blood  should  be 
oozing  from  them  into  the  grass  that 


once  smelled  as  sweet  to  them  as  it 
does  to  me!  That  their  eyes,  which 
delighted  in  sunlight  and  beauty  as 
much  as  mine,  should  be  glazing  fast 
with  death ;  that  their  mouths,  which 
mothers  and  wives  and  children  are 
aching  to  kiss  again,  should  be  twisted 
into  gaps  of  horror !  Grand,  splendid ! 
That  other  men,  no  more  savage  than 
myself,  should  have  strewn  them 
there!  Grand,  splendid!  That  in 
thousands  of  far-off  homes  women, 
children,  and  old  men  will  soon  be 
quivering  with  anguished  memories 
of  those  lying  there  dead. 

Pressmen,   romancers,   historians- 
you  have  given  me  a  noble  thrill  in  re- 
counting these  glories  of  war! 


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIB 


Social  Interpretations 


Sa 

»     Jill 

ifM 

'  -  liiilil»99 

St 


War  Scare  Heads 
and  Intolerance 

War  is  at  best  a  sensational  busi- 
ness; it  challenges  all  our  love  of  ad- 
venture and  is  a  prolific  source  of 
sensational  news.  The  newspapers 
of  each  of  the  warring  powers  are 
printing  the  most  incredible  things 
about  their  enemies  and  about  the 
exploits  of  their  armies.  Even  the 
English  theaters  are  featuring  the 
Roman  arena  type  of  thing  now  and 

must  give  the 
populace  sensa- 
tional, bloody 
and  melodra- 
matic stuff  to 
interest  them. 
The  writer  is 
reading  a  sup- 
posed story  of 
General  von 
Bissing's  life  in 
an  English 
paper  of  repute  that  shows  a  quality 
of  imagination  worthy  a  Poe  in  his 
most  terrible  type  of  detective-crim- 
inal story.  The  American  papers 
have  been  for  the  past  fortnight  tell- 
ing us  of  the  great  numbers  of  Ger- 
mans who  were  crossing  into  Mexico. 
In  the  evening  papers  of  one  day 
was  a  report  that  a  German  army 
was  being  mobilized  in  Mexico,  made 
up  largely  of  reservists  from  this  side 
of  the  border !  In  the  next  morning's 
papers  was  the  report  of  the  immi- 
gration department  at  Washington 
that  in  the  past  month  only  seventy- 
eight  Germans  had  crossed  the  Rio 
Grande  and  that  thirty-four  of  them 
had  recrossed  to  the  American  side. 
The  same  sort  of  thing  caused  no 
little  feeling  at  the  time  of  Ambassa- 
dor Gerard's  reported  detention  in 
Berlin.  The  German  papers  were  re- 
porting that  Count  von  Bernstorff 
was  being  detained  in  this  country. 
Now  both  ambassadors  report  to 
their  respective  peoples  that  they 
were  each  treated  with  the  utmost 
courtesy  and  that  the  reports  of  de- 
tention were  the  fabrications  of  sen- 
sation mongers  and  the  printing  of 
suspicions  as  if  they  were  facts. 
When  autocracies  make  war  they 
frequently  deliberately  fabricate  sen- 
sational and  false  news  to  inflame  the 
minds  of  their  people  and  make  them 
putty  in  their  hands ;  in  democracies 
the  fabrication  is  not  as  deliberate 
nor  directed  with  the  same  diabolical 
genius  but  the  same  state  of  mind 
that  enables  the  sensation  monger  to 
foist  it  on  the  public. 


Tin  Pan 
Patriots 

Just  now  the  land  is  full  of  tin-pan 
patriots.  Great  demonstrations  are 
being  held  in  the  larger  cities  and 
many  a  brave  man  is  fighting  Ger- 
many with  his  mouth  up  and  down 
the  street  in  broad  daylight.  A  few 
evenings  ago  a  great  demonstration 
was  staged  in  Kansas  City;  not  less 
than  17,000  persons  are  reported  to 
have  gathered  in  convention  hall,  and 
noise  and  shouting  and  flag  waving 
held  sway.  Eloquent  men  discoursed 
upon  national  "honor"  and  military 
necessity  and  at  the  close  one  of 
the  city's  most  forceful  preachers  in 
the  person  of  Dr.  Burris  A.  Jenkins 
made  an  eloquent  appeal  for  men 
who  would  volunteer  when  war  actu- 
ally came.  Mr.  Jenkins  was  the  man 
for  the  plea  because  he  is  showing  his 
convictions  by  his  works  and  will 
soon  go  to  the  front  for  any  kind  of 
work  there  is  to  do;  he  pleaded 
bravely,  rose  to  the  climacteric  oc- 
casion which  the  closing  hour  of  so 
much  patriotic  enthusiasm  wrought 
for  his  consummate  effort — and  sev- 
enty-three of  the  17,000  noisy  pat- 
riots volunteered ! 

The  writer  of  these  lines  is  with 
the  President,  but  is  compelled  to 
recognize  that  the  war  spirit  of  the 
land  is  as  yet  mostly  manufactured ; 
war-makers  have  been  clamorous  and 
they  have  had  the  press  on  their  side. 
But  the  thing  for  which  we  are  to 
fight  is  remote  and  too  much  in  the 
realms  of  the  ideal  for  the  average 
hard-working,  peace-loving  citizen ; 
he  believes  in  justice  but  interna- 
tional justice  is  a  long  way  from  him  ; 
and  he  refuses  to  get  excited  over 
the  very  un-idealistic  militarist's 
scare-heads  about  Germany's  inva- 
sion of  our  shores  and  all  the  stuff 
that  goes  with  such  moonshine ;  he 
recognizes  the  logic  that  goes  with 
the  President's  appeal  and  will  O.  K. 
it,  but  he  is  not  convinced  that  this 
war  is  any  more  our  business  than 
have  been  many  others  that  have 
concerned  civilization.  It  may  be 
that  a  war  spirit  can  be  worked  up 
or  that  some  more  untoward  event 
may  precipitate  it  but  it  looks  now 
as  if  the  President  will  have  the  na- 
tion's backing  only  in  the  defense  of 
our  rights  on  the  sea  and  in  the  up- 
holding of  international  law  where 
it  takes  human  lives  to  break  it. 


Patriotism  Not  Enough 

Edith    Cavell,    the    English    nurse 
who   was   martyred   by   the   German 


military  in  Belgium,  said  among  her 
last  words:  "Standing  in  the  presence 
of  eternity  I  begin  to  see  that  patriot- 
ism is  not  enough."  A  narrow  na- 
tionalism has  been  the  sin  of  every 
one  of  the  nations  at  war.  Germany 
erred  the  most  through  her  erection 
of  a  Machiavellian  doctrine  of  the 
state  and  through  committing  her 
rulers  to  an  ethical  theory  that  was 
little  more  than  the  old  tribal  morals 
which  limited  right  to  one's  relation  to 
fellow  tribesmen  and  denied  any 
moral  obligation  to  international  af- 
fairs. In  his  radicalism  Tolsti  used  to 
declare  that  patriotism  had  become 
the  arch  crime  of  civilization.  He 
was  thinking,  of  course,  of  the  crimes 
committed  against  humanity  in  the 
name  of  patriotism.  Some  nation 
must  lead  the  way  to  internationalism 
on  the  basis  of  a  mediating  national- 
ism. Federated  states  are  prophecies 
of  federated  nations.  The  German 
federation  yielded  to  the  persuasion 
of  its  most  warlike  member  and  by 
becoming  Prussianized  attempted  to 
utilize  its  inner  strength  for  exploita- 
tion of  other  nations.  The  United 
States  has  laid  upon  her  the  duty  of 
leading  from  her  federated  govern- 
ment into  a  federation  of  civilized 
nations. 


St.  Louis 
Facing  the  Issue 

No  city  in  America  has  been  more 
clearly  under  duress  to  the  influences 
of  the  liquor  traffic  than  has  St.  Louis. 
The  magnitude  of  the  brewing  inter- 
ests there  has  kept  big  business  and 
little  business  and  politics,  and  even 
church  people  suborned.  It  is  St. 
Louis  that  keeps  Missouri  wet.  It 
now  seems  possible  that  the  bourbon- 
istic  temper  of  the  successful  liquor 
element  may  be  hoisted  on  its  own 
petard.  Mayor  Kiel  is  not  notorious 
as  a  temperance  advocate  and  yet  be- 
cause he  supported  the  drier  of  the 
two  Republican  candidates  for  gov- 
ernor in  the  primary  and  stands  for 
woman's  suffrage,  the  liquor  element 
have  declared  war  upon  him  in  his 
campaign  for  renomination.  They 
propose  to  kill  him  politically  once 
and  for  all  because  he  has  not  accepted 
orders  from  them  to  the  last  detail. 
Let  us  hope  the  campaign  will  split 
to  the  bottom  the  forces  that  are  in- 
different or  opposed  to  the  anti-saloon 
crusade. 


"The  bigger  your  ultimate  purpose. 
the  bigger  your  chances  for  happi- 
ness." 


Ii:!!!llllili!ll!il!l!!l!; 


The    Larger    Christian   World 


|   A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


ii 


^3 

Sons  of  Bishop 
Killed 

Twenty-one  sons  of  bishops  have 
now  fallen  in  the  Avar,  and  the  num- 
ber may  be  reckoned  as  twenty-two, 
if  we  include  Lieutenant  Rupert  Ce- 
cil, son  of  the  Bishop-designate  of 
Exeter,  who  was  killed  in  July,  1915. 
Bishops'  sons  have  distinguished 
themselves  by  both  bravery  and  self- 
sacrifice,  the  Bishop  of  Liverpool's 
son  receiving  the  Victoria  Cross. 
Mr.  Legge.  son  of  the  late  Bishop 
of  Lichfield,  abandoned  a  lucrative 
motor  garage  at  Shrewsbury  in  or- 
der to  enlist  as  a  private.  Lieuten- 
ant Hugh  Robertson,  youngest  son 
of  the  retired  Bishop  of  Exeter,  also 
enlisted  as  a  private  early  in  the 
war. 

Chicago  Jewish  Rabbis 
Will  Listen  to  Christians 

The  Chicago  Rabbinical  associa- 
tion will  hold  a  conference  in  Chi- 
cago April  14-17.  Among  those  who 
will  take  part  are :  Prof.  H.  M. 
Sheffer,  Harvard  university;  Ralph 
P.  Boas,  author  of  "The  Problem  of 
American  Judaism,"  recently  pub- 
lished in  the  Atlantic  Monthly;  Prof. 
George  B.  Foster,  University  of 
Chicago ;  Prof.  Mordecai  M.  Kaplan, 
department  of  homiletics,  Jewish 
Theological  Seminary  of  America ; 
Dr.  Henry  Berkowitz,  chancellor  of 
the  Jewish  Chautauqua,  and  Prof. 
David  Neumark,  Hebrew  Union 
college. 

Chicago  Suburb  Works  at 
Religious  Education 

The  Sunday  schools  of  Austin,  a 
suburb  of  Chicago,  have  a  very  com- 
pact organization  in  religious  edu- 
cation. A  recent  Sunday  was  ob- 
served as  decision  day  in  all  the 
schools.  The  annual  convention 
was  held  the  following  week  in  the 
Disciples'  church  and  special  meth- 
ods applicable  to  the  suburb  were 
discussed. 

Christian  Endeavor  Prepares 
for  Big  Convention 

The  Christian  Endeavor  society 
has  adopted  for  its  emblem  for  the 
international  convention  to  be  held 
in  Xew  York,  July  4-9  a  reproduc- 
tion of  the  statue  of  "Liberty  En- 
lightening the  World"  and  the  mot- 
to "Let  Your  Light  So  Shine."  The 
Illinois  Christian  Endeavor  societies 
increased  their  gifts  to  missions  last 
year  $15,000.  The  United  Society 
of    Christian    Endeavor    will    begin 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiii 


soon  the  erection  of  a  national  head- 
quarters in  Boston.  The  movement 
to  own  its  building  began  twelve 
years  ago. 

Presbyterians  Will  Meet  in 
Modern  Building 

The  City  Temple,  Dallas,  Texas, 
where  the  general  assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  will  meet  next 
May,  has  a  roof  garden,  where  sum- 
mer meetings  will  be  held,  and  a 
gymnasium  in  the  basement  with 
bowling  alley.  There  are  two  other 
floors  occupied  with  the  church 
auditorium  and  Sunday  school 
rooms.  The  building  has  just  been 
completed. 

War  Heroes 
Become  Protestants 

There  are  a  number  of  Belgian 
military  men  in  prison  camps  in 
Germany  who  have  been  reading  the 
NeAv  Testament  while  they  have 
been  in  enforced  idleness.  It  would 
be  interesting  to  know  if  they  have 
had  some  of  the  volumes  sent  out 
by  the  Sunday  School  movement. 
General  Leman,  the  heroic  defender 
of  Liege,  who  was  able  to  stem  the 
German  invasion  and  give  the 
French  and  English  defense  time, 
has  joined  a  Protestant  communion 
through  a  Protestant  chaplain  who 
is  doing  duty  in  the  camp.  It  is 
stated  that  eighteen  other  Belgian 
officers  and  a  number  of  French  of- 
ficers have  also  sought  Protestant 
affiliations.  One  may  well  believe 
that  the  uncertain  and  vacillating 
course  of  the  Vatican  has  been  an 
offense  to  many  honest  Catholics  in 
these  troublesome  times. 

Methodists  Have  Good 
News  From  Petrograd 

In  these  troublesome  times,  peo- 
ple who  have  friends  in  Russia 
have  been  concerned  for  their  safety. 
The  Methodists  have  a  prominent 
mission  work  in  Petrograd.  The 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  has  re- 
ceived the  following  cable,  dated 
Petrograd,  March  19,  from  Dr. 
George  A.  Simons,  superintendent 
of  the  Russia  Mission :  "Church 
property  intact.     All  well." 

Prominent  Methodist 
Under  Fire 

Dr.  Edgar  Blake  is  the  head  of  the 
Sunday  school  department  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Unifica- 
tion committee  meeting  with  south- 


ern Methodists.  He  has  proposed 
that  the  colored  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  volun- 
tarily retire.  These  members  have 
already  offered  to  become  a  separate 
conference,  but  Dr.  Blake's  pro- 
posals seem  to  them  too  much. 
Many  prominent  Methodists  have 
signed  resolutions  censuring  Dr.  Blake 
for  his  position. 

Minister  of  Healing 
Preaches  on  War 

On  the  Third  Sunday  in  Lent,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Elwood  Worcester,  rector 
of  Emmanuel  Church,  Boston, 
preached  a  sermon  on  "Going  up  to 
Jerusalem."  Speaking  of  our  Lord's 
decision  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem  at 
the  time  of  His  last  Passover,  Dr. 
Worcester  said :  "If  entrance  into 
war  be  revealed  to  us  as  our  Jerusa- 
lem, rest  assured  we  shall  go  up  to; 
it.  If  the  cause  God  has  entrusted 
to  us,  the  destiny  for  which  He 
raised  us  up,  can  be  served  and  ful- 
filled only  by  dying  for  it,  then  it 
were  better  for  us  to  die  than  to  live 
and  see  our  country  dishonored,  its 
ideals  trampled  under  foot,  and  its 
greatness   dimmed." 

Churches  Unite  on 
Americanism 

The  churches  of  Wilmette,  111., 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  came  to- 
gether in  a  great  patriotic  service  on 
a  recent  Sunday  and  addresses  were 
made  in  behalf  of  a  "sane  American- 
ism." The  speakers  steered  their 
course  nicely  between  jingoism  and 
extreme  pacifism.  Two  resolutions 
were  adopted  at  the  meeting,  the 
first  pledging  adherence  to  the 
ideals  for  which  this  country  stands, 
and  expressing  sympathetic  loyalty 
to  the  government ;  the  second  re- 
questing that  the  government  make 
plans  for  the  eradication  of  all 
saloons  and  evil  resorts  from  the 
vicinity  of  camps  or  mobilization 
points. 

Southern  Methodists  Join 
Northern  Church 

A  few  weeks  ago  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  South,  of  Ham- 
burg, Iowa,  by  vote  of  their  quarter- 
ly conference,  discontinued  church 
services  in  Hamburg  and  recom- 
mended that  their  people  find  homes 
in  other  churches.  Thus  with  the 
permission  of  their  quarterly  con- 
ference the  pastor  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  has  interviewed  and  re- 
ceived almost  the  entire  membership 
into  his  church. 


April  5,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


Recent  Books 

Agricultural  Economics,  by  Ed- 
win G.  Nourse  of  the  University  of 
Arkansas.  896  pages.  $2.75. 
University  of  Chicago  Press. 

While  this^  book  is  compiled  pri- 
marily as  a  source  book  for  college 
classes  in  agricultural  economics  and 
allied  subjects  it  is  a  veritable  mine 
of  information  for  every  one  inter- 
ested in  rural  and  farm  affairs.  The 
author  has  gathered  from  the  whole 
rich  and  variegated  scholarly  literature 
in  this  field  of  recent  and  profound 
interest.  The  teacher,  farmer,  pas- 
tor, extension  worker,  farm  advisor 
and  every  other  promoter  of  rural 
betterment,  will  find  this  volume  a 
veritable  mine  of  information  and 
perhaps  the  most  valuable  single  book 
at  hand.  It  brings  together  in  a 
classified  arrangement  the  best  that 
has  been  written  in  each  special  field 
of  interest.  There  are  390  selections 
classified  under  seventeen  heads,  each 
with  an  introduction  by  the  author 
and  editor  of  this  volume.  These 
are  not  mere  heterogeneous  articles, 
but  expert  productions  and  so  related 
in  the  volume  as  to  give  them 
homogeneity.  Within  them  the  reader 
will  find  treated  almost  every  practi- 
cal question  that  comes  under  the 
head  of  rural  economics  and  so- 
ciology. The  advantage  of  this 
method  is  that  the  reader  has  all  the 
material  without  the  bias  of  one  mind 
but  with  the  viewpoints  of  many, 
each  a  specialist  working  in  this 
field.  The  interest  in  rural  life  is 
already  beyond  the  sentimental  stage ; 
the  future  will  bring  many  treatises 
on  specific  phases  of  rural  living  and 
working;  this  volume  is  the  best,  in 
fact  the  only,  adequate  source  book  in 

print.  a.  w.  t. 

*     *     * 

The  Man  Next  Door.  By  Emer- 
son Hough.  A  story  of  a  wealthy 
ranch  owner  who  brought  his  family 
to  Chicago  that  they  might  have  all 
the  advantages  of  the  metropolis. 
Alas,  society  snubs  them  and  the  next- 
door  neighbor  builds  a  wall  between 
the  two  houses.  A  thrilling  love  story 
between  the  daughter  of  one  neighbor 
and  the  "hired  man"  of  the  other 
fixes  things  up  and  all  go  west  to  live 
happily  ever  after.  (D.  Appleton  & 
Co.,  New  York.     $1.50  net.) 

=!<       *       * 

An  African  Trail.  By  Jean 
Kenyon  Mackenzie.  Here  is  an  ideal 
book  for  a  study  of  missions  in  Africa. 
It  is  vividly  written,  is  keenly  inter- 
esting as  a  book  of  travel  entirely 
apart  from  missionary  propaganda,  is 
well  written  from  the  literary  view- 
point. Some  of  the  author's  letters 
from  Africa  were  published  in  the 
Atlantic  Monthly  and  aroused  much 


No  Eggs,  Milk  or  Butter 

The  following  recipe  shows  how  an  appetizing, 
wholesome  cake  can  be  made  without  expensive 
ingredients. 

In  many  other  recipes  the  number  of  eggs  may 
be  reduced  one-half  or  more  by  using  an  ad- 
ditional quantity  of  ROYAL  Baking  Powder, 
about  a  teaspoon,  in  place  of  each  egg  omitted. 

EGGLESS,  MILKLESS,  BUTTERLESS  CAKE 


1  cup  brown  sugar 
1%  cups  water 

1  cup  seeded  raisins 

2  ounces  citron 

Vz  cup  shortening 


1  teaspoon  nutmeg 

1  teaspoon  cinnamon 
Vi  teaspoon  salt 

2  cups  flour 

5  teaspoons  Royal  Baking  Powder 


The  old  method  (fruit  cake)  called  for  2  eggs 

DIRECTIONS  —  Put  the  first  eight  ingredients  into  saucepan  and  boil 
three  minutes.  'When  cool,  add  the  flour  and  baking  powder  which  have  been 
sifted  together;  mix  well.  Bake  in  moderate  oven  in  loaf  pan  (round  tin  with 
hoie  in  center  is  best)  for  35  or  40  minutes.    Ice  with  white  icing. 

Booklet  of  recipes  which  economize  in  eggs  and  other 
expensive  ingredients,  mailed  free.  Address  Royal 
Baking    Powder  Co ,    135    William  Street,   New  York. 


BAKING  POWDER 

Made  from  Cream  of  Tartar,  derived  from  grapes, 
adds  none  but  healthful  qualities  to  the  food. 


No  Alum 


No  Phosphate 


interest.  (Central  Committee  of  the 
United  Study  of  Foreign  Missions. 
West  Medford,  Mass.     50  cts.  net.) 

*  *     * 

Poems.  By  Hugh  F.  Blunt.  True 
poetry  with  the  touch  that  only  the 
Irish  genius  can  -impart.  There  are 
many  poems  on  religious  themes, 
some  on  the  land  of  St.  Patrick,  many 
on  nature.  There  is  a  deep  spiritual 
tone  throughout.  CThe  Rum  ford 
Press,  Concord,  N.  H.) 

*  *     * 

War  and  Laughter.  By  James 
Oppenheim.  The  direct  antithesis  of 
the  previous  volume.  The  poems  are 
characterized  by  love  of  physical  exist- 
ence, and  reveal  the  influence  of  Whit- 
man. Some  of  them  are  written  in 
new  verse  forms.  Many  of  them  get 
away  from  the  pose  and  portray 
truths  of  life.  (Centurv  Companv, 
New  York.     $1.50.) 

•¥       *       * 

Socialism  and  the  Christian 
Viewpoint.  By  Bernard  Vaughn,  S. 
J.     Father  Vaughn,  of  New  York,  be- 


lieves that  "the  more  we  investigate 
the  matter  the  more  thoroughly  con- 
vinced we  become  that  Socialism  in  the 
United  States  needs  watching  lest  like 
a  sand-storm  or  forest  fire,  a  cyclone 
or  an  avalanche,  it  may  assume  pro- 
portions and  gather  a  momentum  al- 
most impossible  to  deal  with."  (Mac- 
millan  Company,  New  York.     50  cts.) 

^       5je        ^ 

The  Apostles  Creed  Today.  By 
Edward  S.  Drown.  A  volume  "in- 
tended for  the  layman  who  wants 
things  plainly  and  frankly  stated.'' 
The  author  discusses  the  origin  of  the 
Creed,  then  makes  an  effort  to  inter- 
pret it.  for  modern  readers.  (The 
Macmillan  Company.  New  York.  SI.) 
^     ^     ^ 

Jerry:  A  Novel.  By  Arthur 
Stanwood  Pier.  Jerry  is  a  young 
policeman  of  the  best  type.  He  has 
courage  and  humor  and  plenty  of  op- 
portunities to  show  that  he  has  both 
qualities.  A  murder  trial  is  a  promi- 
nent feature,  and  there  is  also  a  love 
story  woven  through  the  book. 
(Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  Boston. 
$1.50  net.)  t.  c.  c. 


20 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  5,  1917 


iiiiilliiii 


lllllllllilll: 


111111111 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


m 


iBinmim 


Memorial  for  Drake 
Student 

The  Foreign  Society  reports  that  the 
students  of  Drake  University  and 
Bethany  College  are  raising  a  fund  of 
$1,000  to  huild  a  memorial  printing 
press  and  publishing  house  in  our  Af- 
rican Mission.  This  will  be  built  in 
memory  of  Frank  Battson,  a  student 
volunteer,  who  was  drowned  in  the  Des 
Moines  River  last  summer,  while  try- 
ing to  save  some  companions  who  could 
not  swim.  The  church  at  West  Liberty, 
\V.  Ya..  where  Frank  Battson  preached 
while  in  Bethany,  is  giving  largely  to 
this  memorial  also. 

Disciple  Educator  Honored 
in  Massachusetts 

That  Professor  Walter  S.  Athearn  is 
succeeding  in  his  experimental  enter- 
prise at  Maiden,  Mass.,  is  evidenced  by 
a  report  of  the  work  in  the  Boston 
Transcript.  The  Maiden  School  is  an 
effort  on  the  part  of  a  hundred  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  Maiden  to  solve  the 
problem  of  the  training  of  children  in 
religion,  and  the  institution  is  headed  by 
Professor  Athearn,  who  is  at  the  head 
of  the  Religious  Educational  Depart- 
ment in  Boston  University.  The  follow- 
ing is  clipped  from  the  Transcript:  "A 
delightful  feature  of  the  closing  session 
of  the  Religious  Education  Association 
was  the  presence  of  the  Maiden  Festival 
Chorus  of  800  voices,  all  pupils  in  school 
and  one-half  small  children,  which  filled 
the  great  platform  of  Symphony  Hall. 
The   audience    was    astonished    to   hear 


these  children  sing  the  classical  music  of 
Mendelssohn's  "Elijah"  and  Gounod's 
"Messe  Solennelle"  with  spirit,  interest 
and  accuracy.  And  the  question  arose: 
'Whence  comes  this  wonder?'  The  an- 
swer is.  'From  the  Maiden  School  of 
Religious  Education.'  "  Maiden's  motto 
is:  "By  co-operative  effort  we  must 
build  here  a  holy  city." 

A~Ten  Year  Pastorate  in 
Springfield,  Mo, 

J.  H.  Jones,  Secretary  of  the  Third 
District,  Missouri,  writes  in  terms  of 
high  praise  of  Frank  L.  Moffett,  the 
quiet  but  intensely  effective  leader  of 
South  Street  Church,  Springfield,  Mo. 
Mr.  Moffett  has  served  in  this  field  for 
over  ten  years.  For  the  same  period  he 
has  been  the  President  of  the  Third 
District  Mission  Board,  and  is  faithful  to 
the  uttermost  as  a  promoter  of  this 
work.  Mr.  Jones'  appreciation  is  so 
much  deserved  by  Mr.  Moffett  that  a 
portion  of  it  is  herewith  reproduced: 
"Very  unassuming,  dignified,  quiet  but 
intensely  spiritual  and  with  great  con- 
cern about  the  things  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  Mr.  Moffett  has  led  us  wisely  and 
successfully.  He  has  built  up  a  great 
church  at  South  Street.  During  those 
ten  years  he  has  added  1,040  to  the  con- 
gregation. The  church  has  raised  and 
expended  in  this  time  for  current  ex- 
penses $35,414.69;  for  a  new  building  and 
equipment,  including  lot,  $40,597.19;  for 
missions  and  benevolences,  not  including 
all  local  benevolences,  $10,174.67;  mak- 
ing a  total  of  $86,187.52  for  all  purposes. 
He    is    indeed    a   great    manager    of   a 


splendid  church.  He  attends  all  the 
meetings  of  the  different  agencies  of  the 
church  and  makes  pastoral  calls  contin- 
uously. He  is  a  great  preacher  of  great 
truths.  He  has  endeared  himself  to  the 
men  of  the  city  in  a  splendid  way.  In 
his  kind,  manly  businesslike  methods 
he  goes  forward  day  by  day  in  the  work, 
always  keeping  himself  in  the  back- 
ground but  exalting  the  church  in  a 
most  delightful  manner."  Mr.  Jones 
speaks  also  in  praise  of  Mrs.  Moffett  and 
of  the  leaders  in  the  South  Street 
Church  who  give  undivided  support-  to 
the  work  of  their  pastor. 

Monroe  Street  Church,  Chicago, 
Faces  Bright  Future 

On  last  Thursday  evening,  March  29th, 
Monroe  Street  congregation,  Chicago, 
celebrated  the  25th  anniversary  of  the 
organization  of  the  church.  The  meet- 
ing was  also  in  celebration  of  the  pay- 
ment of  the  second  mortgage  on  the 
property.  The  money  for  this  was  re- 
ceived from  the  Sanders  estate,  and  the 
indebtedness  of  the  congregation  is  now 
$5,800.  About  125  people  were  present 
at  the  meeting,  and  great  enthusiasm 
prevailed.  A  new  spirit  of  hopefulness 
has  come  to  this  church  with  the  excel- 
lent work  that  has  been  done  by  J.  E. 
Wolfe,  who  has  served  as  a  pastor  for 
about  a  year.  The  program  at  the  cele- 
bration service  was  an  interesting  one. 
The  historical  events  in  the  church's  his- 
tory were  recited  by  C.  J.  Morris,  who 
was  one  of  the  first  members.  He  stated 
that  the  Sunday  school  was  organized 
first,  in  1888,  by  the  West  Side  church. 
The  church  was  organized  in  1892.  The 
pastors  were  as  follows,  although  not 
quite  in  the  order  named:  Ingram,  Ed- 
son,  C.  A.  Young,  Morrison,  Ott,  Lines, 
A.  T.  Campbell,  E.  M.  Haile,  R.  W. 
Gentry  and  C.  M.  Sharpe.  Some  of  these 
only  supplied  the  pulpit  for  a  time.   This 


A  Brotherhood  Agency      -      A  Brotherhood  Ministry 

Supplying  a  Brotherhood  Need 


These  thirteen  institutions  are  maintained  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
Denver,  Colorado,  Atlanta,  Georgia,  Omaha,  Nebraska,  Dallas,  Texas,  Jacksonville, 
Illinois,  East  Aurora,  New  York,  Walla  Walla,  Washington,  Long  Beach,  California, 
Valparaiso,  Indiana,  Kansas  City,  Missouri. 

Through  Thirteen  Institutions  of  Mercy 

in  which  the  Christian  Churches  are  ministering  to  the  widow,  the  orphan,  the  indigent 
aged  members  of  the  church,  and  the  sick  poor  in  every  section  of  the  country 

They  Have  Served  22,000  in  Thirty-one  Years 

SIX  HUNDRED  boys,  girls,  babies,  widows,  and  aged,  indigent  brethren,  wards 
of  our  churches,  sent  to  the  Association  by  our  churches  and  preachers,  depend 
absolutely  upon  THE  EASTER  OFFERING,  APRIL  8th,  for  food,  clothing 
and  shelter. 

EASTER  EXERCISE  AND  LITERATURE  FREE.  The  Association  has  a 
fine  line  of  literature,  coin  envelopes  and  EASTER  EXERCISES  which  it  will  fur- 
nish FREE  in  quantity  upon  application. 

If  we  are  to  maintain  the  creditable  record  of  the  past  and  meet  the  demands 
of  God  upon  us  in  this  ministry  of  apostolic  mercy 

We  Must  Have  an  Offering  of  $50,000  April  8th.     Will  Your  School  Have  Part  ? 

FOR  INFORMATION  AND  SUPPLIES  ADDRESS 

The  National  Benevolent    Association 

2955  Euclid  Avenue,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Make  all  checks  and  drafts  payable  to  Mrs.  J.  K.  Hansbrough.     Do  not  confuse  this  appeal  with  others.     Note  the  address. 


April  5,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


statement  of  historical  facts  was  given 
in  a  meeting  in  the  church  auditorium, 
at  which  also  music  was  a  feature. 
Later  in  the  evening  refreshments  were 
served  upstairs,  and  brief  speeches  were 
made  by  Austin  Hunter,  W.  F.  Shaw,  E. 
S.  Ames  and  several  of  the  older  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation.  There  was 
never  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  church 
when  the  future  looked  so  bright  at 
Monroe  Street  as  today.  There  is  abso- 
lute singleness  of  mind  on  the  part  of 
the  congregation  in  the  support  of  Mr. 
Wolfe,  and  there  is  confidence  every- 
where as  to  the  prospects.  Mr.  Wolfe 
has  been  enabled  to  accomplish  these 
unusually  fine  things  for  the  church  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  he  has  been  taking 
work  in  the  university.  He  will  com- 
plete his  course  this  spring  and  will  then 
give  his  full  time  to  the  furtherance  of 
the  interests  of  the  church. 

President  Graham  Frank 
On  the  Congress 

Graham  Frank,  of  Liberty,  Mo.,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Disciples'  Congress,  writes 
as  follows  concerning  the  feast  which 
has  been  prepared  for  Congress  attend- 
ants this  year  at  St.  Louis,  April  10-12: 
"There  has  been  provided  for  this  year 
an  interesting  and  inviting  program  deal- 
ing with  vital  questions.  It  will  sharpen 
the  minds  of  all  who  attend  and  partici- 
pate in  the  sessions.  The  Hamilton 
Hotel  has  been  selected  as  the  headquar- 
ters, and  can  take  care  of  those  who 
make  reservations.  The  central  location 
of  the  city  in  which  the  Congress  meets 
will  make  it  possible  for  many  to  attend. 
We  can  and  should  give  enough  time  to 
this  important  meeting  to  make  of  it  a 
more  decided  factor  for  mental  and 
spiritual  stimulation.  May  we  not  have 
a  large  and  representative  attendance  at 
the  St.  Louis  Congress? — Graham  Frank, 
President  of  the  Congress." 


Men  and  Millions 
Team  at  Transylvania 

One  of  the  greatest  experiences  of  the 
year  at  Transylvania  and  the  College  of 
the  Bible  community  was  the  "set-up" 
meeting  of  the  Men  and  Millions  Team 
for  a  two  weeks'  campaign  in  central 
Kentucky.  In  addition  to  the  faculty 
and   student   body  a   large   company  of 


central  Kentuckians  crowded  into  Mor- 
rison chapel.  The  rapid  fire  addresses 
by  eighteen  members  of  the  team  con- 
stituted a  unique  challenge  to  the  student 
body  and  set  up  an  inspiring  pro- 
gram for  the  whole  church.  Twenty- 
three  students  signed  volunteer  cards, 
and  a  much  larger  number,  the  life  com- 
mitment   cards.     The     chapel     meeting 


Program  of  the  Disciples  Congress 

At  the  Union  Avenue  Christian  Church,  St.  Louis,  Mo., 

April  10-12,  1917 


TUESDAY 
7:30  P.  M. 

Song  Service  and  Prayer. 

8:00  P.  M. 
Address  —  Robert      Graham      Frank, 
President. 

8:30  P.  M. 
Address — "Latin-America,     a     Modern 
Apologetic       for       Missions"  —  Editor 
Charles  Clayton  Morrison. 

WEDNESDAY 
9:30  A.  M. 

Song  Service  and  Prayer. 
9:45  A.  M. 

Paper — "Bible  Study  for  College  Stu- 
dents"— Professor  W.  C.  Gibbs. 

Review — Professor  Arthur  Braden. 

Discussion. 

Business. 

2:15  P.  M. 

Song  Service  and  Prayer. 

Paper — "Should  the  Proposed  Plan  of 
Regional  Superintendents,  Carrying 
With  It  the  Idea  of  Regional  Conven- 
tions, Be  Adopted  by  the  Disciples?" — 
Secretary  H.  H.  Peters. 


Review — Pres.  F.  W.  Burnham. 
Discussion. 

7:30  P.  M. 

Song  Service  and  Prayer. 
8:00  P.  M. 

Address— Rev.  Z.  B.  T.  Phillips,  D.  D., 
Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Episcopal  Church, 
St.  Louis. 

Review — John  L.  Brandt. 

THURSDAY 

9:30  A.  M. 

Song  Service  and  Prayer. 
9:45  A.  M. 

Paper  —  "Is  Bernard  Shaw  a  Chris- 
tian?"— H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan. 

Book  Review — "Mr.  Britling  Sees  it 
Through" — Professor  W.  J.  Lhamon. 

Discussion. 

2:15  P.  M. 

Song  Service  and  Prayer. 
2:30  P.  M. 

Paper— "Should  the  Principle  of  Tith- 
ing Be  Advocated  by  the  Disciples  of 
Christ?"— Secretary  Bert  Wilson. 

Review — Professor  H.  M.  Gam. 

Discussion. 


What  If  We  Should  Forget  Easter,  April  Eighth? 

FOUR  HUNDRED  BOYS  AND  GIRLS,  now  the  comfort- 
able, happy  wards  of  the  Church  in  the  six  Homes  of  the  Asso- 
ciation would  be  left  without  food,  without  shelter,  without  love, 
or  compelled  to  find  refuge  in  some  Catholic  institution. 

MORE  THAN  ONE  HUNDRED  BABIES,  MOTHERLESS, 

that  now  find  tender,  loving  protection  in  the  heart  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  would  be  left  to  the  cold  charity  of  the  Christless  world. 
Next  to  a  mother's  love  is  Christian  love.  Shall  the  babies  have 
it?  * 

ONE  HUNDRED  THREE  AGED,  INDIGENT  DISCI- 
PLES OF  CHRIST,  many  of  them  choice  souls,  would  suffer 
the  pain  of  hunger,  cold  and  nakedness,  or  the  keener  pain  of 
public  charity.  To  send  them  to  the  poorhouse  is  to  send  Christ 
to  the  poorhouse. 

SCORES  OF  WIDOWS  unaided  in  the  burden  of  their 
widowhood  would  break  and  go  down  to  dishonor  and  ruin. 

THE  CHURCH  WOULD  SUFFER  by  our  failure  to  pro- 
vide generously  for  her  wards.  The  lodge  and  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church  would  gain,  and  the  world  would  condemn. 

The  Children  call,  the  Aged  call,  the  Christ  calls  to  us  for 
a  great  Easter  Offering,  April  8th. 

Send  it  to 


You  answered  my  cry  for  milk  last  Easter.  I 
am  still  here  and  there  are  600  with  me  that 
depend  upon  your  Easter  offering  for  our  bread 
and  milk. 


THE  NATIONAL  BENEVOLENT  ASSOCIATION 


2955  Euclid  Avenue 


(Established  in  1886) 


St.  Louis  Missouri 


Please  do  not  confuse  this  Association  with  any  other  institution.        Please  note  street  address.        Make  checks  and  drafts  payable  to  Mrs.  J.  K.  Hinsbrouf  h. 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


April  5,  1917 


was  followed  by  a  luncheon  at  the 
Phoenix  hotel  which  was  attended  by 
250.  The  team  brought  to  this  body 
also  a  series  of  great  messages. 

Northern  Illinois  Disciple 
Ministers  to  Meet 

The  thirty-fifth  Northern  Illinois  Min- 
isterial Institute  will  convene  at  Clinton, 
April  24,  23.  This  is,  and  has  ever  been, 
a  strong  lectureship.  The  program  this 
year  is  a  good  one.  It  will  appear  soon. 
Clinton  is  easily  accessible,  has  a  strong 
church  and  a  wideawake  pastor  in  R.  V. 
Callaway,  and  all  signs  are  good  for  this 
vear's  sessions.  B.  H.  Cleaver,  of  Can- 
ton, 111.,  is  the  Secretary  of  the  Associa- 
tion. Every  minister  of  the  brother- 
hood located  in  Northern  Illinois  should 
plan  to  attend  this  meeting. 

Hyde  Park,  Chicago,  Will 
Be  Host  to  Dr.  Maclachlan 

Tuesday,  April  17,  will  be  the  day  on 
which  H.  D.  C.  Machlachlan,  of  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  will  give  his  first  lecture  be- 
fore the  Disciples'  Divinity  House  of  the 
University  of  Chicago,  and  on  the  even- 
ing of  this  date  the  Hyde  Park  Church 
will  give  a  dinner  for  the  Disciples  of 
the  University,  at  which  dinner  Dr.  Mac- 
lachlan will  be  a  special  guest  of  honor. 
An  effort  will  be  made  at  this  season  to 
have  a  full  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of 
the  Divinity  House,  including  Peter 
Ainslie,  E.  L.  Powell  and  others.  The 
dinner  at  Hyde  Park  Church  will,  be  at 
6:30. 

John  W.  Allen 
in  Chicago 

A  large  congregation  gathered  at  Jack- 
son Boulevard  Church,  Chicago,  Sunday 
morning,  March  25,  to  hear  John  W.  Al- 
len, who  for  thirteen  years  was  minister 
of  that  church.  The  auditorium  was 
filled  with  people  from  all  parts  of  the 
city  who  were  connected  with  the  work 
when  Mr.  Allen  was  here  twenty  years 
ago.  He  has  a  host  of  friends  in  Chi- 
cago who  love  him.  Austin  Hunter,  pas- 
tor at  Jackson  Boulevard,  writes  of  the 
interesting  affair:  "It  was  a  rare  treat 
to  hear  a  message  again  from  this  earn- 
est man  of  God.  We  are  in  these  days 
reaping  the  harvest  of  his  splendid  sow- 
ing years  ago.  He  did  a  fine  construct- 
ive work  on  the  West  Side.  A  reception 
was  given  to  him  at  the  home  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  S.  J.  Clarke  on  Friday  night,  March 
30th,  and  it  was  attended  by  several  of 
the  older  members  and  by  the  ministers 
who  were  in  the  city  when  Mr.  Allen 
was  here  before,  Brethren  Kindred, 
Willett  and  Ames.  Mr.  Allen  was  well 
pleased  with  the  growth  the  church  is 
making  now.  It  is  of  interest  to  know 
that  a  few  weeks  ago  a  reception  was 
tendered  Mr.  Allen  in  Los  Angeles  at- 
tended by  over  forty  former  members 
of  the  Jackson   Boulevard   church." 

University  of  Chicago  Preachers 
for  April  and  May 

Chicago  readers  of  The  Christian  Cen- 
tury will  be  interested  in  the  list  of 
preachers  at  the  University  for  the  next 
few  weeks.  This  is  a  rare  opportunity 
for  Chicagoans.  The  list  includes:  Rev. 
John  Kelmen,  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland. 
April  8;  Prof.  Edward  C.  Moore,  of 
Harvard  Divinity  School,  April  15  and 
22;  Dr.  Harry  Emerson  Fosdick,  of 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  April  29; 
Rev.  Carl  S.  Patton,  of  Columbus,  O., 
May  G;  Dr.  James  A.  McDonald,  of  the 
Toronto  Globe,  May  13;  Rev.  James  E. 
Freeman,  of  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  May 
20;  Rev.  W.  C.  Bitting,  of  St.  Louis, 
May  27;  Prof.  G.  A.  Johnston-Ross,  of 


^llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllHiillllilliilllHIifflSltii: 

5  S 

|  The  Composition  of  Coca-Cola  | 

|  and  its  Relation  to  Tea  | 

■■  tarn 

5  Prompted  by  the  desire  that  the  public  shall  5 

2  be  thoroughly  informed  as  to  the  composi-  E 

ri  tion  and  dietetic  character  of  Coca-Cola,  the 

=  Company  has  issued  a  booklet  giving  a  de-  jz 

=  tailed  analysis  of  its  recipe  which  is  as  follows :  ~j 

5  Water,    sterilized  by  boiling   (carbonated);  S 

S  sugar,  granulated,  first  quality;  fruit  flavoring  s 

s  extracts  with  caramel;  acid  flavorings,  citric 

5  (lemon)  and  phosphoric;  essence  of  tea — the 

-  refreshing  principle.  £ 

£  The  following  analysis,  by  the  late  Dr.  John  s 

|  W.  Mallet,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  and  = 

|  for  nearly  forty  years  Professor  of  Chemistry 

~  in  the  University  of  Virginia,  shows  the  com-  E 

S  parative  stimulating  or  refreshing  strength  of  - 

E  tea  and  Coca-Cola,  measured  in  terms  of  the  5 

i  refreshing  principle:  E 

E                              Black  tea — 1  cupful 1.54  ™ 

55  {hot)                            (Sfl.oz.)  :z: 

|                               Green  tea — 1  glassful 2.02  ~ 

55  (cold)                           (8  6.  oz.  exclusive  of  ice)  55 

I                               Coca-Cola— 1  drink,  8  A  oz 1.21  I 

5  {fountain)                        (prepared  with  1  ft.  oz.  Syrup)  55 

Coca-Cola— 1  drink,  8  fl.  oz 1.12  § 

S  (bottlers)                         (prepared  with  1 S.  oz.  Syrup)  55 

|  From  the  above  recipe  and  analysis,  which  are 

|  confirmed  by  all  chemists  who  have  analyzed  s 

i  these  beverages,  it  is  apparent  that  Coca-Cola 

E  is  a  carbonated,  fruit-flavored  modification  of  E 

|  tea  of  a  little  more  than  one-half  its  stimulat-  E 

S  ing  strength.  ~ 

A  copy  of  the  booklet  referred  to  above  will  i 

S  be  mailed  free  on  request,  and  The  Coca-Cola  7 

I  Company    especially    invites    inquiry    from  S 

those  who  are  interested  in  pure  food  and  s 

E  public    health    propaganda.      Address  | 

I  The  Coca-Cola  Co.,  Dept.  J.,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  U.  S.  A.  I 

siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiE 


Union  Theological  Seminary,  June  3. 
Bishop  Charles  P.  Anderson,  of  Chi- 
cago, will  deliver  the  address  on  Convo- 
cation Sunday,  June  10. 

Herbert  L.  Willett,  Jr., 
Married  at  Princeton,  N.  J. 

The  following  clipping  from  the  New 
York  Herald  of  March  28  will  be  noted 
with  interest  by  readers  of  The  Christian 
Century: 

"Princeton,  N.  J. — Miss  Clara  Bradley 
Hoskins,  now  living  here  after  having 
passed  a  long  period  in  Syria  in  mis- 
sionary and  educational  work,  was  mar- 

TELEGRAM   FROM   F.   E.   LUMLEY 

The  Disciples  Congress  headquarters  at 
St.  Louis  will  be  at  the  Hamilton  Hotel. 
Moderate  in  price.  Clean  and  wholesome. 
Near  Union  Avenue  Church.  For  accom- 
modations, write  in  advance.  Remember 
the  dates,  April  10-12.  Address  me,  F.  E. 
Lumley,  %  college  of  Missions,  Indianapolis, 
Indiana. 


ried  today  in  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  to  Mr.  Herbert  Lockwood  Wil- 
lett, Jr.,  son  of  Dr.  Herbert  L.  Willett, 
of  the  University  of  Chicago.  The 
fathers  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom  and 
the  Rev.  Sylvester  Beach,  pastor  of  the 
church,  performed  the  ceremony.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Hoskins,  his  daughter  and  her 
fiance  were  in  Syria  last  summer  during 
the  massacres.  They  escaped  overland 
to  Constantinople  and  after  many  delays 
returned  to  America  by  way  of  Copen- 
hagen. Most  of  their  personal  belong- 
ings were  lost.  The  bride's  only  at- 
tendant today  was  her  sister,  Miss  Jean- 
nette  I.  Hoskins.  Mr.  Robert  Willett, 
brother  of  the  bridegroom,  was  best 
man.  The  ushers  were  Messrs.  Harold 
B.  Hoskins,  brother  of  the  bride,  and 
William  A.  Eddy,  both  of  whom  are 
seniors  at  Princeton;  Norman  Buck,  a 
graduate  student  at  Yale,  and  Kenneth 
Oliver,  a  sophomore  at  Haverford.  Mr. 
Ellis  Hudson,  a  student  at  the  medical 
college  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  the  organist.     After  passing 


April  5,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


23 


some  time  in  the  South  Mr.  Willett  and 
his  bride  will  go  to  Chicago,  where  he 
will  resume  his  postgraduate  studies  for 
the  degree  of  Ph.  D." 

Forward  Moves  at 
Mexico,  Mo. 

The  Sunday  School  at  Mexico,  Mo., 
is  in  a  campaign  for  new  members.  The 
first  Sunday  was  called  "Get  Ready 
Sunday,"  the  second  "Every  Member 
Sunday."  On  this  day  there  was  an  at- 
tendance of  595,  with  25  visitors.  The 
third  day  of  the  campaign  was  "Bring 
Another  Sunday,"  and  on  this  day  the 
entire  community  was  reached,  there 
being  an  attendance  of  801.  In  the 
Twentieth  Century  Class  of  mothers 
there  were  199  present,  and  158  attended 
the  men's  class.  A  fourth  Sunday  was 
observed  as  "Come  Again  Sunday."  On 
this  day  began  a  week  of  preaching 
services  by  the  pastor,  Henry  Pearce 
Atkins,  this  being  Decision  week.  The 
Ladies'  Aid  Societv  recently  r.7et  and 
sewed  over  a  hundred  dresses,  beo;dPS 
other  small  garments,  for  the  St.  Louis 
Orphans'  Home.  This  congregation  has 
recently  purchased  350  copies  of  Hymns 
of  the  United  Church,  and  the  report 
comes  that  visitors  at  the  services  re- 
mark upon  the  beauty  and  deep  spiritu- 
ality of  the  hymns  contained  in  this  col- 
lection. 

Christian  University  Changes 
Name 

The  trustees  of  Christian  University, 
Canton,  Mo.,  announce  that  it  has  at 
last  been  found  practical  to  change  the 
name  of  this  school  to  "Culver-Stock- 
ton College."  Thus  the  word  "Chris- 
tian" as  being  denominational  is  elim- 
inated from  the  name,  and  also  honor  is 
given  to  two  leading  benefactors  of  the 
institution,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Culver  and 
Mr.  R.  H.  Stockton.  The  name  has  now 
been  legally  changed,  and  the  new  title 
will  obtain  after  June  16th  of  this  year. 
The  trustees  believe  that  the  word  "uni- 
versity" less  fitly  describes  the  institu- 
tion than  the  term  "college." 


— Edward  Scribner  Ames,  of  Hyde 
Park  Church,  Chicago,  gave  an  address 
at  last  Monday's  session  of  the  Disciples 
Ministers  meeting,  held  at  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  Hotel.  His  topic  was  "The  Sig- 
nificance for  Religion  of  the  Modern 
Mystical  Movement."  The  Wednesday 
evening  "Conversations  on  Religion," 
which  have  been  a  feature  at  the 
Wednesday  evening  meetings  at  the 
Hyde  Park  Church,  have  met  with  great 


The  Most  Beautiful  Hymnal  Ever  Produced  by   the    American    Church 

HYMNS  OF  THE 
UNITED  CHURCH 

The  Disciples  Hymnal 

Charles  Clayton  Morrijo   and  Herbert  L.  WiHett 
Editors 


Contains  all  the  great  hymn»  which 
have  become  fixed  in  the  affections 
of  the  Church  and  adds  thereto  three 
distinctive  features: 

HYMNS  OF  SOCIAL  SERVICE 
HYMNS  OF    CHRISTIAN    UNITY 
HYMNS  OF  THE  INNER  LIFE 

These  three  features  give  this  new 
hymnal  a  modernness  of  character 
and  a  vitality  not  found  in  any  other 
book.     This  hymnal  is  alivel 

It  sing*  the  tame  gotpel  that  is 
being  preached  in  modern  evan- 
gelical pulpitt. 

Price,  per  sins'"  <upy,  in  cloth.  $1.15- 
In  halt  leather,  $1.40.  Extraordinary 
this  book  in  the  early  days  of  the  first 
edition. 

Write  to-day  for  further  information  as 
to  sample  copies,  etc. 


T!"  Christian  Century  Press 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago 


success.  This  congregation  is  setting 
out  to  raise  $2,000  for  missions  as  its 
contribution  this  year. 


■i  fin  uAfi  •#  A  Church  Home  for  You. 
NEW  III RK  Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 

lib  II     lUIIIX    142   W(Jst  81gt   gt       N    y 


— Two  hundred  churches  of  Cleveland, 
O.,  united  for  ten  noon-day  meetings, 
from  March  26  to  April  6,  the  services 
being  held  at  a  local  opera  house.  On 
Friday,  April  6th,  W.  F.  Rothenburger, 
of  Franklin  Circle  church,  spoke  on  the 
topic,  "Fellowship  With  Christ  in  His 
Sufferings." 

— The  men  of  Jackson  Boulevard 
Church,  Chicago,  on  last  Saturday  even- 
ing, surprised  their  pastor,  Austin 
Hunter  in  celebration  of  his  birthday. 
On  last  Sunday  the  Siloam  chapter  of 
the  Eastern  Star  met  at  the  Jackson 
Boulevard  Church  and  the  pastor  spoke 
on  "Esther" — one  of  the  "points"  of 
the   "Star."     There   was   a   large   atten- 


dance and  an  attentive  hearing  was 
given  Mr.  Hunter.  The  congregation  at 
Jackson  Boulevard  will  have  another 
"Joash  Chest"  this  year,  the  money 
raised  to  be  used  for  the  decoration  of 
the   church   auditorium. 

— A.  B.  Houze,  pastor  at  Central 
Church,  Lima,  O.,  reports  the  close  of  a 
five  weeks'  meeting,  led  by  O.  E.  Hamil- 
ton, Mrs.  O.  E.  Hamilton  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  V.  P.  Brock.  Mr.  Houze  writes  in 
praise  of  each  of  the  members  of  the 
team  as  to  ability  and  devotion  to  their 
work.  As  one  result  of  the  meetings  202 
members  were  added  to  the  congrega- 
tion, thus  making  the  church  one  of  the 
strongest  of  the  city.  At  the  reception 
at  the  close  of  the  meetings  about  $1,000 
was  raised  for  the  current  expense  and 
benevolent  funds  of  the   church. 


CHURCH  |;jgj|;i  SCHOOL 


Ask   for  Catalogue  and  Special   Donation  Plan  No.  £7 

(Established  185S) 

THE  C.  S.  BELL   COMPANY        •        •        HILLSBORO,  OHIO 


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The  word  "rebuilt"  has  been  abused  and  misused  until  it  has  become  a  meaningless  trade  term 

When  we  rebuild  a  Fox  Typewriter,  we  take  it  all  to  pieces,  re-nickel  the 
nickel  parts,  re-enamel  the  frame  and  replace  all  worn  parts  with  new  ones. 
The  tame  men  who  originally  built  the  Typewriter  do  this  rebuilding  and  do  the  work  just  as  good. 

40%  NEW  PARTS  AND  THREE  YEARS'  GUARANTEE 

We  offer  a  rebuilt  Fox  Typewriter  Model  No.  24 —  Just  like  new— for  $52  JO.    These     have 
standard  carriages  taking  paper  10}  2  inches  wide,  any  kind  of   keyboard,  any  kind  of  type, 
rubber  covers,  tabulators,  back  spacers,  two-color  ribbons,  complete  with  instruction  books 
and  cleaning  outfits,  and  are  guaranteed  for  three  years  the  same  as  new  ones,  and  to  have  not 
less  than  forty  per  cent  of  new  parts. 
Send  any  amount  you  can  spare,  from  $1.00  up,  as  a  first  payment,  and  pay  the  balance 
$5.00  monthly.  5  per  cent  discount  for  all  cash.  Purchaser  must  pay  transportation.  If  $10.00 
or  more  is  sent  with  order,  we  will  include  FREE  a  Fox  Solid  Oak  Typewriter  Table  selling  at  $4.50.  ^ 
Please  order  direct  from  this  offer  and  inclose  any  amount  you  can  spare— and  BE  SURE 
AND  MENTION  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  FOR  APRIL. 

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On  This  Colossal  Work  in  51  Royal  Octavo  Volumes 

The  Pulpit  Commentary 


CDEp  for  10  Days'  Examina- 
1  I\EjEj  tion,  Carriage  Prepaid 


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most  higWy  for  the  'critical  exposition'  which  it  contains  on  every  verse  in  the  Bible.  I  have  never  regretted  the  moi 
vested  in  this  set  of  books."— Rev.  W.  A.  Guy,  (Church  of  Christ),  Union  City,  Ind. 


value  it 
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none  more  valuable;  in  fact,  I  turn 
to  it  more  frequently  than  to  all  the 
others  together."  Rev.  C.  C.  John, 
United  Brethren,  Akron,  O. 

G.  Frederick  Wright,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
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Edited  by  the  Very  Sev.  H.  D.  M.  Spence- 
Jones,  D.  B.,  Dean  of  Gloucester, 
and  the  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Exell, 
M.  A.,  of  Dartmouth 


The  Best  of  All 

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ferent sets  of  commentaries,  and  I 
do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  'The 
Pulpit  Commentary'  is  the  most 
nearly  complete  and  best  of  all." 
Rev.  William  Lloyd  Crist,  Congre- 
gational, Terre  Haute,  Ind. 

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emphatically,  'Sell  all  that  you  have, 
if  need  be  to  get  it.'  " — The  Primi- 
tive Methodist. 

Nearly  100 
Able  Contributors 


I 


A  Complete  Armory  of  Scriptural  Exposition  and  Homiletics  For  Every 
Man  Who  Would  Keep  Abreast  with  the  World-Wide  Bible  Movements 

T  GIVES  an  adeauate  command  of  criticism,  of  exegesis,  and  grammatical  analysis,  with  sufficient  historical  and  topographical  allusions  for  all  practical 
ourooses  All  difficult  passages  of  the  Bible,  which  are  so  often  missed  or  glossed  over,  are  here  accurately  and  lucidly  explained.  A  speaker  who 
studies  this  work  will  gain  that  enlightenment  of  reasoning  and  assurance  of  delivery  so  necessary  to  the  success  of  a  sermon  or  address. 


Final  Pulpit  Commentary  Club'Examination  Form 

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Street  and  No.  or  R.  F.  D. 

Date State Ch.  Century  4-7-17 


The  Great  Works,  Characteristics  and  Aims 

SCHOLARLY  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  SACRED  BOOKS— Eminent  authorities 
have  contributed  introductions  which  are  not  fragmentary  outlines  but  scholarly 
discussions 

FULL  AND  ADEQUATE  EXPOSITIONS— The  expositions  give  textual  criti- 
cism, revised  translations,  explanations,  apologetics,  references  to  ancient 
customs,  contemporary  history,  natural  history,  geographical  research, 
science    etc. 

NEEDS  OF  TEACHERS  AND  STUDENTS  FULLY  MET— Its  expositions 
aim  to  meet  every  requirement  of  the  Bible  or  theological  student  and  to 
supply  homiietic  suggestions  which  shall  offer  the  best  assistance  to  the 
Drencher 

EVERY  HELP  TO  MAKE  THE  TEXT  AVAILABLE— The  Commentary  aims 
to  offer  every  conceivable  help  which  could  tend  to  elucidate  the  text  of  the 
entire   Bible.     Many   new   side-lights   are   thrown   on  familiar  passages. 

A  WHOLE  LIBRARY  OF  HOMILETIC  LITERATURE— It  furnishes  a 
whole  library  in  itself,  giving  the  latest  results  of  scholarly  research  and 
criticism,  the  ablest  expositions  of  texts,  and  the  most  helpful  sermonio 
outlines  to  be  found  in  literature. 

HELPFUL  SERMON  OUTLINES  AND  BRIEF  HOMILIES— Comprehensive 
sermon  outlines,  embracing  the  salient  points  of  the  preceding  exposition,  are 
given,  besides  brief  homilies  from  various  contributors.  These  are  specially 
to  show  different  methods  of  treatment,  and  to  bring  into  relief  different 
aspects  of  the  passages  under  consideration.  The  treatment  is  such  that  if 
the  commentary  is  properly  used  the  preacher's  originality  is  not  endangered. 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY,  Pubs. 


354-60  Fourth  Ave. 


New  York 


HI 


Vol.  XXXIV 


April  12,  1917 


Number  15 


The  Inspiration  of 
the  Bible 

By  Herbert  L.  Willett 

The  Eternal  Sacrifice 

By  Joseph  Fort  Newton 

Things  That  Cannot 
Be  Shaken 

By  B.  A.  Abbott 


CHICAGO 


— 


i 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  April  12,  1917 


Can  April  Beat  March? 


The  answer  rests  with  our  minister  readers. 
We  are  asking  them  to  make  special  efforts 
this  month  to  secure  three  new  subscriptions 
apiece  to  The  Christian  Century  from  among 
their  parishioners  or  elsewhere.  April  is 
normally  not  a  big  month  in  our  subscrip- 
tion department ,  but  if  our  ministers  join 
in  this  specific  concerted  effort,  April  will 
"fool"  all  the  big  months  that  have  gone 
before.  March  beat  February.  February 
beat  January.  January  beat  December, 
and  December  set  a  new  record  in  receipts 
for  new  subscriptions  and  renewals  to  The 
Christian  Century.  Suppose  we  all  give 
April  a  helping  hand  in  its  ambition  to 
"fool"  its  sister  months! 


Subscription  Department 

The  Christian  Century 


April  12,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


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a  half  a  year,  payable  strictly  In 
advance.  To  ministers,  two  dollars 
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PUBLISHED    WEEKLY    BY   THE    DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE    INTEREST    OF    THE    KINGDOM     OF    GOD 


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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS,       :       700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


Disciples 

Publication 

Society 


The  Disciples  Publica- 
tion Society  is  an  or- 
ganization through 
which  churches  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ 
seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *    •    • 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *     *     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


3Z 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

Dear  Friends: — I  believe  in  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  The  Christian  Century  and  wish  to  be  numbered  among 
those  who  are  supporting  your  work  in  a  substantial  way  by  their  gifts. 


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"Speaking  of  The  Christian  Century—" 


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taking  the  'Century,'  for  I  deem  it  one 
of  the  best  edited  religious  periodicals 
in  America.  Especially  to  be  com- 
mended is  its  spirit  of  'live  and  let  live.'  " 
— Geo.  W.  Buckner,  Jr.,  Mokane,  Mo. 

"I  send  my  subscription  money  with 
pleasure.  The  'Century'  is  always  stim- 
ulating, well  edited  and  finely  balanced. 
May  its  growth  continue." — Walter  S. 
Rounds,  Taylorville,  111. 

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week.  The  editorial  pages  are  always 
an  inspiration.  Dr.  Willett's  articles  on 
the  Bible  are  first-class." — Galen  L. 
Rose,  Chico,  Cal. 

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ciated every  week.  I  am  glad  you  are 
getting  increased  support  for  it.  It  de- 
serves it." — Peter  Ainslie,  Baltimore, 
Md. 

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grows  in  the  number  of  splendid  articles 
each  week  and  also  because  your  space 
is  limited  in  the  printing  of  ministerial 
gossip." — L.  A.  Crown,  Genesee,  Ida. 


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least,  the  'Century'  is  the  peer  of  any 
paper  among  us,  in  my  estimation." — 
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strike  among  all  the  periodicals  which 
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Vincennes,  Ind. 

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of  thought  than  some  are  willing  to  con- 
cede, I  bid  the  'Centurv'  Godspeed." — 
J.  F.  Bickel,  Danville,  111". 

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est need  is  more  of  it." — A.  W.  Taylor, 
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lieve in  its  message." — L.  W.  McCreary, 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 

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try. It  is  content  with  being  a  religious 
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come a  secular  newspaper." — L.  H.  Cary, 
for  many  years  publisher  of  The  Con- 
gregationalism 


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THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  12,  1917 


An  Adequate  Church  Program 


Jfttsit  CijurcJj  of  CJrist 

L.  N.  D.  WELLS,  PASTOR 

Akron,  Ohio,    Maroh  27,    1917. 

Dear  Brother: 

In  accordance  with  your  wishes  we  secured  a 
photograph  last  Sunday  of  the  morning  offering.      The 
picture  shows  not  only  the  baskets  containing  the  offer- 
ing of  March  25th  but  also  a  comparison  of  the  empty  en- 
velopes of  March  13,    in  ray  left  hand,   with  the  average 
number  of  envelopes  previous  to  our  first  Every  Member 
Canvass  one  year  ago  last  December,    in  ray  right  hand. 

During  the  year  previous  to   the  canvass   the 
total  number  of  contributors  was  less  than  one-half  the 
total  number  of  last  year,    and  the  actual  amount  of  cash 
received  on  pledges   in  1916  showed  an  increase  of  48#  in 
the  current   expense  fund  and  10%  in  the  Missions  and 
Benevolence  Fund. 

One  hundred  and  sixty  men  made  the  first  canvass 
and  two  hundred  men  the  second  canvass.     The  average  pledge 
this  year  shows  an   increase  of  25$  in  amount. 

When  the  books  were  closed  for  the  year  1916 
between  eight  and  nine  hundred  of  our  members  had  paid 
their  pledges  in  full. 

The  church  that  neglects   to   take  the  Every  Member 
Canvass   every  year   is  failing  to  perform  its  full  duty  in 
developing  the  lives  and  usefulness  of  its  people. ( 

Cordially  yours, 

K8:>lfS  Financial  Secretary. 


IN  visiting  a  thousand  of  the  best  churches 
of  the  brotherhood  we  have  not  found  one 
that  has  an  adequate  program  either  for  its 
local  work  or  for  the  Kingdom  at  large.  A  few 
have  adequate  buildings.  A  very  few  have 
well  organized  Bible  schools.  Many  have  able 
and  devoted  ministers.  Every  one  of  the 
thousand  is  accomplishing  some  good;  most 
of  them  much.  But  not  one  is  applying  its 
full  strength  to  its  admitted  task  in  its  own 
parish  or  to  its  scriptural  obligation  and 
twentieth  century  opportunity  in  the  world  at 
large. 


The  best  method  which  has  yet  been  found 
for  improving  the  situation  is  the  Every 
Member  Canvass.  (Hundreds  of  congregations 
can  repeat  the  testimony  of  Akron.)  It  was 
considered  of  such  great  importance  that  its 
introduction  into  every  church  was  made  one 
of  the  three  great  aims  of  the  Men  and  Mil- 
lions Movement.  "What  would  it  profit  to  en- 
large the  work  of  God  by  $6,300,000  and  then 
fail  in  its  support?  What  advantage  to  enlist 
1,000  new  missionaries  and  then  lack  the  means 
for   their  permanent   employment? 


In  every  church  visited  by  the  team  a  meet- 
ing is  held  with  the  official  board,  to  impart 
the  net  results  of  other  churches'  experience 
and  to  offer  suggestions  for  revolutionary  bet- 
terment. The  object  is  not  only  to  get  the 
work  of  God  done,  but  especially  to  save  the 
people  of  God  to  the  joy  and  power  ordained 
for  them. 


Men  and  Millions  Movement 

222  W.  Fourth  St.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 


Overflowing  Baskets  After  the  Every- Member  Canvass 


CHARLES  CLAYTON  MOEBISON,  EDITOR. 


HEEBEET    L.    WHLETT,     CONTEfBUTlHQ     EDXTOl 


Volume  XXXIV 


APRIL  12.  1917 


Number  15 


A  Christian's  Duty  in  War-Time 


WAR  DOES  NOT  TAKE  AWAY  OUR  OBLIGA- 
TION TO  BE  CHRISTIAN. 

The  witness  of  Christian  conscience  has  been  par- 
ticularly strong  against  war  in  recent  years.  Now  that 
we  find  ourselves  involved  in  the  greatest  military  strug- 
gle of  Christian  history,  we  ask  ourselves  in  some  per- 
plexity what  our  duty  is. 

A  man  said  the  other  day  with  regard  to  a  personal 
altercation,  "I  would  like  to  leave  the  church  for  thirty 
minutes  and  settle  this  thing  in  the  old-fashioned  way!" 
This  was  not  a  well-advised  remark  for  a  Christian  to 
make.  We  shall  be  tempted  in  this  war  to  put  aside  for 
a  while  our  Christian  idealism  and  revert  to  the  more 
primitive  attitudes  of  the  war-time.  This  would  mean 
that  after  the  war  the  world  would  be  poor  morally  and 
spiritually  as  well  as  financially. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  will  be  those  who  will  in- 
sist that  a  Christian's  duty  in  time  of  war  is  the  same  as 
in  time  of  peace.  Some  will  weaken  the  hand  of  the  gov- 
ernment by  ill-advised  utterances  which  will  be  intended 
to  help  on  the  cause  of  peace,  but  which  by  reason  of 
their  disloyalty  will  make  the  pacifist  cause  ridiculous  in 
the  eyes  of  patriots.  If  during  the  coming  days  of  strug- 
gle, we  shall  see  the  sacred  cause  of  universal  peace  be- 
come identified  with  "copperheads"  and  cowards,,  who 
use  so-called  "conscientious  objections"  as  a  cover  for 
their  lack  of  courage,  it  will  be  a  great  misfortune  to  the 
world.    War  brings  men  duties. 

World  peace  cannot  be  practiced  by  one  nation  only. 
This  involves  a  national  suicide  that  defeats  its  own  ends. 
America  has  not  wanted  war.  We  have  deliberated  while 
those  who  have  become  our  allies  have  been  fighting  our 
battles.  At  last  the  most  peace-loving  President  of  Amer- 
ica's history  has  been  driven  to  declare  for  war.  He 
is  a  Christian  man.  He  has  believed,  as  most  of  us  be- 
lieve, that  though  war  is  a  mighty  evil,  there  are  some 

evils  even  worse. 

•    • 

A  great  temptation  is  now  to  be  faced.  It  may  seem 
to  some  that  the  dream  of  universal  peace  has  been  com- 
pletely discredited.  It  is  our  duty  to  hold  to  our  hope  of 
universal  peace,  even  in  the  midst  of  war.  Perhaps  this 
war  is  one  step  nearer  the  goal  of  a  permanent  peace. 
With  the  democracies  of  the  world  ranged  in  alliance 
against  the  outstanding  exponent  of  militarism,  we  may 
even  now  be  taking  the  first  step  in  the  program  of  a 
League  to  Enforce  Peace.  This  program  implies  that 
the  whole  world  will  join  in  punishing  the  aggressor, 
this  disturber  of  the  peace.  We  must  continue  to  hope, 
however,  that  beyond  the  stage  of  development  when  we 
must  maintain  peace  by  an  international  police  force,  we 
shall  at  last  realize  a  peace  that  rests  entirely  upon  moral  t 
feeling.  To  have  war  take  away  from  us  this  fine  faith 
would  be  to  suffer  an  irreparable  loss. 

We  shall  be  tempted  in  war-time  to  indulge  in  bitter 
and  unreasonable  hate.    There  are  nicknames  current  in 


Europe  now,  such  as  "boche"  and  "hun."  We  heard  a 
man  say  only  yesterday,  "Germans  are  like  Indians;  the 
only  good  German  is  a  dead  German."  Such  statements 
leave  scars  in  our  souls.  The  President  has  set  us  all 
a  good  example  in  discriminating  between  the  German 
government  and  the  German  people.  For  the  latter,  he 
expresses  his  respect  and  good-will,  especially  to  those 
who  are  living  in  our  own  country.  Civilization  is  deeply 
in  the  debt  of  the  German  people ;  it  has  many  a  score 
against  the  present  German  government. 

•    • 

The  war-time  involves  great  sacrifices.  It  is  a  deep 
plunge  we  are  about  to  take.  Yesterday  men  were  stand- 
ing six  deep  around  the  box  office  of  the  theaters  and 
around  the  agencies  of  the  popular  automobiles.  Well- 
to-do  people  have  had  more  money  to  spend  than  ever 
before  in  their  history.  From  our  greatest  affluence,  we 
shall  drop  quickly  to  economies  such  as  we  have  never 
known,  at  least  in  this  generation.  Our  government  will 
call  upon  us  to  sacrifice.  We  shall  be  hedged  in  with 
restrictions  of  various  kinds.  In  all  the  war-stricken 
countries,  there  are  cheats  who  evade  the  rules  that  war 
makes  necessary.  It  will  be  a  shame  for  any  Christian  to 
refuse  to  give  up  comfort  for  the  sake  of  the  nation. 

War  will  make  its  demands  for  a  more  vigorous 
honesty.  Already  there  are  echoes  of  the  horrible  scan- 
dals that  accompanied  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish-Amer- 
ican war.  Dishonest  citizens  undertake  to  secure  con- 
tracts at  unreasonable  prices  and  furnish  inferior  goods 
to  their  government.  The  church  can  contribute  to  our 
moral  preparedness  by  preaching  insistently  the  old-fash- 
ioned virtues  of  honesty  and  patriotic  duty. 

When  the  habits  of  millions  of  our  people  are  over- 
turned, there  will  be  new  moral  hazards.  Around  the 
training  camps  will  flock  the  harpies  and  the  parasites  of 
society.  The  church  will  have  a  new  challenge  to  her 
missionary  conscience.  War  has  made  moral  wrecks  of 
many  men  in  the  past.  In  Europe  during  this  present 
war  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  other 
agencies  have  used  the  occasion  as  a  time  for  aggressive 
evangelism,  so  that  many  men  will  come  back  from  the 
trenches  Christians  for  the  first  time.  We  shall  need 
our  strongest  men  for  preachers.  No  poor,  untrained  mis- 
sioner  can  interpret  Christ  to  the  rugged  young  men  who 
answer  their  country's  call. 

Is  it  not  time  to  quicken  our  faith  in  God?  Not  in 
a  millennarian  sense,  we  declare  that  the  end  of  the  age  is 
at  hand.  Our  earth  will  go  on,  but  we  are  about  to 
enter  a  new  epoch  in  human  history.  It  is  in  hours  of 
crisis  and  reconstruction  that  we  seem  to  need  God  most. 
From  this  day  forward  we  should  go  to  our  tasks  with  a 
new  consciousness  of  the  presence  of  God.  We  shall  need 
religious  faith  to  endure  the  loss  of  loved  ones.  Some  of 
us  go  forward  to  our  own  untimely  death.  We  are  con- 
cerned that  in  the  midst  of  these  personal  sacrifices,  the 
will  of  God  shall  be  done  at  last  in  our  beloved  America. 


EDITORIAL 


WHAT  DOES  YOUR  TOWN  THINK  OF  THE 

DISCIPLES? 

THERE  are  many  foolish  and  hurtful  ideas  abroad 
as   to   what   the   Disciples   believe   and   teach.     This 
misunderstanding  of  our  essential  ideas  goes  with  our 
newness  and  is  also  partly  the  result  of  the  improper  pres- 
entation of  our  message  by  a  certain  type  of  public  teacher. 

One  of  the  good  ways  for  you  to  help  your  town  to 
think  more  fairly  of  the  Disciples  would  be  to  make  your 
best  church  paper  accessible  to  the  people.  In  the  reading 
room  of  the  library  are  to  be  found  the  leading  journals 
of  most  of  the  great  religious  denominations.  We  have 
not  always  appreciated  what  an  opportunity  this  is  to 
bring  our  essential  message  to  the  public. 

You  would  not  want  to  bring  certain  kinds  of  inter- 
pretation of  Disciple  teaching  to  your  town.  A  reactionary 
journal  in  your  library  seen  to  be  engaged  in  bitter  per- 
sonal controversy  would  prove  to  be  damaging.  A  journal 
that  has  no  horizon  beyond  the  confines  of  Disciple  activity 
will  not  do.  But  the  use  of  a  weekly  periodical  which  sets 
Disciple  life  and  thought  in  relationship  to  the  whole 
Christian  world  is  of  great  significance. 

Direct  evangelism  is  highly  necessary  but  we  have  all 
too  often  lost  sight  of  the  processes  that  must  go  on  before 
direct  evangelism  can  do  its  work.  A  community  must 
be  prepared  for  the  preaching  of  a  religious  message. 
Prejudices  are  to  be  broken  down  and  right  ideas  built  up. 
In  such  a  service  we  believe  The  Christian  Century  can 
be  of  real  help.  It  should  be  placed  in  the  libraries  all 
over  the  country  that  it  may  aid  in  building  up  right 
opinion  about  our  people. 

A  DEFINITION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

WE  are  impatient  with  theory  in  religion,  but  it 
not  infrequently  happens  that  we  need  definitions 
in  order  to  proceed  with  practical  tasks.  This 
is  nowhere  better  illustrated  than  in  the  efforts  that  are 
being  made  in  the  direction  of  the  Christian  union.  The 
various  brotherhoods  seem  to  have  a  number  of  widely 
differing  conceptions  of  the  nature  and  constitution  of 
the  church. 

The  Catholic  conception  involves  a  fellowship  with 
the  Pope  to  make  a  group  of  Christians  a  church.  Assum- 
ing some  kind  of  authority  to  have  been  handed  down 
by  the  apostles,  with  regard  to  which  both  history  and 
revelation  are  silent,  they  say  that  only  the  consecrating 
hands  of  those  who  are  in  this  succession  of  authority 
can  confer  membership  in  the  church. 

The  believer  in  episcopacy  says,  "Where  the  bishop 
is,  there  is  the  church."  It  requires  the  orders  of  the 
ministry  to  make  a  group  of  Christians  into  a  church. 

The  various  kinds  of  congregationalists  say,  "Where 
three  Christians  are,  there  is  the  church."  These  view 
the  church  entirely  from  a  local  standpoint.  There  Is 
not  a  church ;  there  are  only  churches. 

Calvinism  gave  still  another  definition  of  the  church. 
It  distinguished  between  the  church  visible  and  the  church 
invisible.  Only  the  latter  was  composed  of  the  elect  and 
it  included  the  dead  as  well  as  the  living. 

Disciples  have  vacillated  between  Presbyterian  and 
Congregational  conceptions  of  the  church.     We  are  or- 


ganized locally  in  the  Presbyterian  way.  We  have  dared 
to  speak  of  the  church  and  not  always  ,of  the  churches. 
Yet,  in  fact,  we  have  provided  no  very  adequate  way 
to  express  the  fellowship  which  is  involved  in  speaking 
of  the  church. 

Because  the  church  has  been  a  growth  through  the 
centuries,  each  of  these  different  ideas  of  the  church 
has  some  support  from  a  given  section  of  church  history. 
Is  there,  then,  no  fundamental  thing  belonging  to  the 
constitution  of  the  church?  Jesus  said  he  would  build 
the  church.  It  grew  up  around  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  of"  the  Living  Christ.  Do  we  not  find  the  church 
by  this  mark,  a  faith  in  Jesus  Christ? 

CHURCHES  WILL  HELP  RED  CROSS 

THE  Red  Cross  organization  performs  a  valuable  serv- 
ice both  in  times  of  peace  and  war.  With  the  un- 
certain state  of  our  international  relationships,  it  has 
been  thought  wise  to  increase  greatly  the  membership  of 
the  Red  Cross  organization.  The  churches  have  been 
appealed  to  for  a  million  new  members  of  the  Red  Cross 
and  the  Commission  on  the  Church  and  Social  Service  of 
the  Federal  Council  is  making  an  active  campaign  in 
behalf  of  this  interest. 

In  many  large  cities  there  are  now  large  units  pre- 
paring for  Red  Cross  first-aid  work.  The  training  given 
is  of  use  to  a  woman  all  her  life,  so  the  movement  finds 
justification  no  matter  what  our  national  needs  may  be. 

The  membership  of  the  Red  Cross  is  very  democratic 
and  for  a  dollar  a  year  one  may  be  an  annual  member. 
The  subscribing  members  pay  two  dollars  a  year  and  have 
the  privilege  of  receiving  the  magazine  of  the  organiza- 
tion. There  are  also  memberships  of  various  kinds  pro- 
viding opportunity  of  helping  in  a  larger  way. 

The  Red  Cross  movement  is  comparatively  recent  in 
the  world's  history.  A  young  doctor,  wandering  over  a 
battlefield  one  day  where  men  were  dying  by  the  hundreds 
for  want  of  medical  aid,  conceived  the  formation  of  such 
a  society.  It  has  been  recognized  by  the  American  gov- 
ernment as  the  only  agency  permitted  on  the  battlefields 
in  time  of  war.  The  organization  is  international  in  scope 
and  the  wounded  men  of  an  enemy  country  are  given  the 
same  care  as  are  men  of  the  country  to  which  the  Red 
Cross  worker  may  happen  to  belong. 

The  Red  Cross  movement  is  a  bright  spot  in  the 
midst  of  the  horrors  of  war.  It  is  the  most  Christian 
thing  to  be  found  in  the  war-ridden  countries.  There 
should  be  no  differences  between  the  most  extreme  of  ^he 
militarists  and  pacifists  as  to  the  advisability  of  co-operat- 
ing in  this  splendid  humanitarian  service. 

CRITICISING  RADICALS 

IT  WILL  be  a  happy  day  for  religious  scholarship 
when  it  will  be  possible  for  a  man  to  state  a  hy- 
pothesis at  variance  with  accepted  views  and  have 
it  criticized  on  its  merits.  The  method  that  has  pre- 
vailed too  often  in  the  past  has  been  for  the  unfortunate 
scholar  to  have  his  views  heralded  to  the  world  on  the 
pages  of  a  secular  paper  by  a  cub  reporter  who  had 
but  little  knowledge  of  what  the  whole  thing  was  about. 
It  was  in  this  way  that  men  at  the  University  of 
Chicago  have  come  to  be  associated  in  the  popular  mind 


April  12,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


with  heresies  that  they  have  never  dreamed  of  holding. 
In  that  school  some  measure  of  control  is  now  exercised 
over  student  reporters  and  the  scandals  of  previous 
years  have  somewhat  abated. 

Only  a  little  while  ago  we  noted  a  criticism  of 
such  a  scholar  as  Professor  Benjamin  W.  Bacon  of 
Yale  University  in  one  of  our  national  church  weeklies. 
Because  he  stated  a  matter  of  fact,  that  the  story  of  the 
Virgin  Birth  was  not  found  in  the  Aramaic  version  of 
the  gospel  of  Matthew,  he  must  be  damned  in  the  same 
breath  with  another  man  who  takes  an  admittedly  ex- 
treme view  in  Old  Testament  criticism.  Certainly  Pro- 
fessor Bacon  does  not  say  that  the  omission  of  the 
Virgin  Birth  story  from  the  document  he  mentions  de- 
termines the  question  at  issue. 

We  should  imagine  that  a  surer  basis  for  the  con- 
servative view  of  the  New  Testament  to  rest  upon 
would  be  the  basis  of  evidence.  With  reference  to  many 
of  the  critical  problems,  we  believe  that  the  more  con- 
servative positions  may  be  maintained.  If  these  dis- 
cussions are  at  all  in  place  in  religious  weeklies,  they 
should  be  treated  in  such  a  way  and  with  such  fairness 
as  not  to  awaken  more  doubts  than  they  relieve.  More 
than  one  rather  radical-minded  young  man  in  our  fellow- 
ship first  learned  of  the  higher  criticism  in  our  con- 
servative papers  and  was  prejudiced  in  its  favor  by  the 
methods  employed  to  meet  it. 

THE  "DRYS"  SCORE  MORE  VICTORIES 

WHILE  the  "wet"  forces  have  succeeded  in  killing 
a  bill  which  would  submit  the  prohibition  of 
the  liquor  traffic  to  a  vote  in  Illinois,  they  have 
suffered  some  defeats  that  must  be  very  disturbing.  Two 
of  their  strongholds  escaped  from  them  on  April  3.  These 
were  the  state  capitals  of  Illinois  and  Wisconsin.  In  the 
Illinois  town  over  two  hundred  saloons  are  put  out  of 
business.  When  woman's  suffrage  first  came  in  Illinois 
the  Springfield  women  voted  wet,  but  this  year  they  evi- 
dently exercise  the  feminine  prerogative  of  changing  their 
minds.  The  city  has  coal  mines  and  is  full  pi  politicians 
at  certain  times  of  the  year;  these  facts  have  made  it  a 
difficult  place  to  reach. 

In  Madison,  Wisconsin,  there  was  the  motive  of  pro- 
viding a  clean  place  for  the  young  people  of  the  state 
to  attend  school.  The  great  university  in  that  city  has 
long  been  sensitive  to  the  moral  and  religious  environment 
of  the  students,  and  churches  have  been  encouraged  to 
improve  their  facilities  for  looking  after  the  students. 
It  was  difficult  for  the  churches  to  do  their  work  when  so 
much  of  it  was  being  undone  by  the  numerous  saloons  of 
the  city. 

Once  the  dry  movement  was  looked  upon  as  a  rural 
affair.  It  was  supposed  that  a  big  city  could  not  operate 
under  prohibition.  So  many  big  cities  are  finding  im- 
provement under  the  dry  regime  that  the  other  kind  will 
soon  be  hopelessly  outclassed. 

The  national  victory  for  the  great  reform  draws  near. 
The  church  has  been  fighting  this  battle  for  a  long  time. 
When  the  victory  comes,  it  will  be  a  victory  for  Christian 
idealism  and  social  vision.  There  are  other  battles  to 
fight  in  behalf  of  the  kingdom,  so  we  feel  the  need  of 
bringing  this  task  to  a  finish  that  other  great  reforms 
may  be  undertaken.  It  requires  now  only  the  long  pull, 
the  strong  pull  together,  to  finish  the  task  and  give  John 
Barleycorn  his  coup  de  grace. 


CHICAGO  AS  A  CENTER  OF  THOUGHT 

MR.  FRED  B.  SMITH  told  a  group  of  ministers 
the  other  day  that  "Chicago  is  the  most  important 
religious  center  in  America."  He  was  not  think- 
ing of  Chicago  as  typifying  any  brand  of  theology,  for  we 
have  them  all  here,  but  was  thinking  of  the  influence  the 
city  exerts  in  setting  models  of  thought  and  method  in 
church  life. 

It  is  deeply  significant  that  the  city  is  located  at  the 
very  center  of  the  thickly  populated  middle  west,  near  the 
center  of  population  of  the  United  States.  Its  daily  pa- 
pers go  by  rural  delivery  to  farm  houses  and  by  city 
delivery  to  good-sized  cities  all  over  the  Mississippi  valley. 
Within  its  borders  live  poets  and  writers  of  repute.  There 
is  an  art  colony  here.  Two  great  universities  draw  ten 
thousand  students  to  the  city  every  year  and  scores  of 
smaller  professional  and  trades  schools  bring  many  more. 
How  large  a  number  of  the  educated  people  of  the  mid- 
dle west  have  gone  to  school  in  Chicago  is  generally 
known.  The  number  will  be  far  larger  in  another  genera- 
tion ;  for  our  universities  are  to  put  into  operations  still 
larger  programs  for  the  expansion  of  their  institutions. 

The  location  of  Chicago  makes  it  the  most  important 
single  influence  in  the  life  of  the  Disciples  of  the  future. 
Shall  this  great  city  as  a  thought  center  be  the  place 
where  countless  young  people  leave  our  movement  and 
either  go  out  of  the  religious  life  or  else  find  other  re- 
ligious fellowship  ?  Will  this  city  be  a  center  from  which 
non-Christian  influences  go,  but  from  which  the  cause 
of  Christ  speaks  but  feebly? 

The  policy  of  our  home  missionary  society  shows  but 
little  awareness  of  how  vital  this  whole  problem  is  to 
our  people.  They  have  been  misled  by  certain  reactionary- 
influences  to  take  a  superficial  view  of  the  importance 
of  this  great  city.  In  neglecting  Chicago,  they  have 
forfeited  the  sympathy  of  hundreds  of  ministers  who  have 
been  trained  here  and  are  now  in  good  churches  in  other 
sections.  They  have  failed  to  kindle  the  imagination  of 
thousands  of  business  men  who  come  here  every  year. 
When  will  better  counsels  prevail  in  our  Cincinnati  office? 

AN  ACT  TO  PROTECT  UNFORTUNATE 
CHILDREN 

THERE  has  been  introduced  into  the  legislature  of 
Illinois  an  act  to  give  a  better  status  to  the  child 
born  out  of  wedlock.  The  law  proposed  is  not 
so  radical  as  that  which  was  recently  passed  by  Norway, 
but  it  is  in  many  ways  adapted  to  the  conditions  which 
prevail  in  this  state.  It  is  endorsed  by  the  Illinois  Com- 
mittee on  Social  Legislation  of  which  Dr.  James  H.  Tufts 
is  president,  and  in  which  Miss  Jane  Addams  serves  on 
the  board  of  trustees. 

The  bill  proceeds  on  the  theory  that  every  child  should 
be  given  its  chance  and  that  it  is  not  fair  to  punish  a 
child  for  the  sins  of  its  parents.  With  this  idea  in  view, 
the  new  law  would  provide  for  the  child  a  legal  status 
similar  to  that  of  an  adopted  child,  and  upon  both  parents 
would  fall  the  obligation  to  provide  for  its  support  accord- 
ing to  their  means. 

It  is  proposed  that  the  offensive  word  "bastard"  shall 
be  taken  out  of  the  law  entirely,  so  that  the  child  shall 
not  be  damned  by  a  name.  The  child  shall  be  allowed  to 
inherit  from  its  father  unless  it  is  specifically  disinherited. 
The  court  may  direct  that  the  child  be  given  its  father's 
or  its  mother's  name.     Either  the  father  or  the  mother 


8 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  12,  1917 


may  have  the  custody  of  the  child  at  the  discretion  of 
the  court.  The  new  law  would  provide  funds  for  the 
mother  to  prosecute  her  case.  At  the  same  time  provision 
is  made  to  prevent  the  blackmailing  that  goes  on  under  the 
present  law. 

The  first  reaction  of  an  uninformed  person  to  this 
legislation  may  be  to  say  that  any  tampering  with  the 
ancient  laws  dealing  with  such  cases  will  lower  the  stand- 
ards of  morality.  Probably  the  contrary  is  true.  When 
the  young  man  faces  the  certainty  that  he  must  bear  his 
share  of  the  burden  of  parenthood,  he  will  probably  be  less 
flippant  in  his  attitude  than  now. 

At  any  rate,  there  is  no  justice  in  putting  a  stigma 
upon  an  innocent  child.  One  is  compelled  to  admit  the 
justice  of  a  law  which  will  confer  upon  every  child  born 
into  the  world  an  honorable  status. 

THE  MESSAGE  OF  TAGORE  TO  THE  WEST 

THE  current  issues  of  the  magazines  contain  numerous 
articles  of  Rabindranath  Tagore,  the  famous  master 

of  India,  who  has  given  us  "Sadhana"  and  numerous 
other  books.  The  Hindu  sage  has  departed  for  his  own 
countrv  after  delivering  a  number  of  lectures  for  the  bene- 
lit  of  the  educational  institutions  with  which  he  is  con- 
nected. 

His  message  to  us  was  typically  eastern.  He  has 
urged  upon  us  the  supremacy  of  spiritual  things.  Not 
bread  and  butter,  but  soul  is  the  supreme  problem  of  life. 
He  did  not  come  to  us  to  argue  about  God  for  he  cannot 
think  of  his  world  without  God. 

There  is  one  way  in  which  Tagore  is  not  an  easterner 
but  a  westerner  and  that  is  in  his  social  interests.  He 
has  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  inner  significance  of 
the  woman  movement.  Some  of  his  poems  are  full  of 
the  democratic  spirit.  That  the  truth-teller  is  the  true 
Brahman,  is  the  doctrine  of  one  of  these.  This  is,  of 
course,  a  most  revolutionary  doctrine  among  his  com- 
patriots. 

Tagore  has  been  brutally  frank  with  us  about  the 
failure  of  our  boasted  western  civilization.  Our  science, 
our  wealth,  our  unrest  are  all  equally  delusive  in  his  eyes. 
The  war  especially  proves  to  him  that  our  western  life  is 
failing  for  lack  of  the  very  thing  which  gives  the  east  its 
quality. 

Our  famous  guest  has  not  always  seen  the  inner 
meaning  of  our  western  life  or  appreciated  its  aspirations 
to  the  full,  but  his  preachments  to  us  at  this  time  have 
been  full  of  wholesome  doctrine.  Few  of  us  would  want 
to  go  all  the  way  with  him,  but  his  influence  in  our  lives 
will  abide  and  be  powerful  for  good. 

LABOR  AND  BOOZE 

•m 

PROGRESS  has  been  made  in  labor  circles  in  breaking 
the  connection  between  the  liquor  business  and  or- 
ganized labor.    The  unions  do  not  now  so  commonly 

meet    in    saloons.      In    many    cases   organized    labor   has 

frowned  on  the  business. 

The  situation  is  complicated,  however,  by  the  fact  that 

the  brewery  workers  are  a  part  of  organized  labor  and 

they  are  demanding  the  loyal  support  of  the  other  trades 

as  a  part  of  union  ethics. 

There  has  been  a  persistent  effort  on  the  part  of  the 

liquor   interests   to    indoctrinate    labor   with   the   idea   of 

impending  disaster  in  case  prohibition  becomes  truly  effect- 


ive. Pictures  are  drawn  of  the  men  in  the  liquor  trades 
going  over  to  other  trades  and  flooding  the  labor  market. 

For  the  purpose  of  combatting  this  iniquitous  ten- 
dency, the  Rev.  Charles  Stelzle  is  going  to  insert  in  the 
various  trades  union  papers  display  advertising  which  will 
set  forth  the  facts  about  the  relation  of  the  saloon  to  labor. 
This  advertising  will  show  how  small  a  percentage  of 
the  money  received  for  liquor  goes  into  labor,  and  how 
large  a  percentage  is  profits  for  brewery  magnates. 

The  advertising  will  also  indicate  the  troubles  which 
have  come  to  European  countries,  in  their  attempts  to 
organize  national  defense  effectively,  on  account  of  liquor. 
Lloyd  George  has  said :  "We  are  fighting  Germany,  Aus- 
tria and  Drink ;  and,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  the  greatest  of 
the  three  deadly  foes  is  Drink."  Preparedness  in  America 
must  first  take  the  form  of  removing  the  causes  of  low- 
ered manhood. 

This  movement  in  labor  circles  is  only  another  of  the 
evidences  that  the  nation  is  rising  against  its  ancient  enemy. 
It  is  hard  for  even  the  liquor  men  to  be  optimistic  in  the 
face  of  the  new  enemies  to  their  business  that  spring  up 
every  day.  The  country  is  sounding  forth  continually 
the  slogan,  "The  saloon  must  go." 

THE  SPRING  GARDEN 

THERE  is  something  primitive  even  in  the  city  dweller 
which  calls  him  back  to  the  soil  in  the  spring  of  the 

year.  It  is  a  long  time  since  man  began  to  control 
nature's  processes  instead  of  simply  taking  the  food  that 
came  to  him.  For  many  thousands  of  years  the  mothers 
of  the  race  cultivated  the  garden,  until  the  men,  dis- 
appointed in  the  chase,  enlarged  the  gardens  into  fields. 

Many  cities  this  year  have  encouraged  a  definite 
revival  of  the  gardening  habit  for  economic  reasons.  The 
shortage  of  food  supply  makes  necessary  more  widely 
extended  farming  operations.  The  schools  have  provided 
garden  plots  for  the  sake  of  their  educational  influence  in 
the  lives  of  the  children.  In  some  communities  the 
churches  are  being  asked  to  help  further  the  movement 
back  to  the  soil. 

A  garden  does  a  good  deal  more  than  provide  food. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  new  movement  is  sure  to 
meet  with  success.  Tolstoi  believed  that  the  working  day 
should  be  divided  into  three  parts,  one-third  of  the  time 
to  be  given  to  the  use  of  the  large  muscles.  Although 
many  of  us  would  not  be  willing  to  carry  this  physical 
burden — for  our  conceptions  of  democracy  in  industry  are 
not  those  of  Tolstoi — yet  most  of  us  would  be  far  better 
off  physically  if  we  should  work  out  of  doors  under  the 
open  sky  and  in  the  fresh  environment  of  green  things. 

The  garden,  too,  is  full  of  scientific  interest.  The 
city  dweller  has  a  fatuous  idea  that  anybody  can  farm. 
His  bungling  efforts  to  make  a  tomato  vine  bear  fruit  soon 
convinces  him  that  there  is  a  kind  of  knowledge  necessary 
to  successful  agriculture  as  well  as  to  successful  book- 
keeping and  similar  pursuits. 

"WHY  I  AM  A  DISCIPLE" 

EDITOR  MORRISON'S  third  article  on  this  theme 
had  not  arrived  when  The  Christian  Century 
press  day  arrived.  Mr.  Morrison  is  in  the  distant 
South,  and  between  his  many  preaching  engagements 
and  a  possible  miscalculation  of  the  mails,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  account  for  our  failure  to  receive  his  manu- 
script.— Office  Editor. 


The  Inspiration  of  the  Bible 

Fourteenth  Article  of  the  Series  on  the  Bible 


By  Herbert  L.  Willett 


IN  the  Jahvist  narrative  of  creation  there  is  the  state- 
ment that  the  Lord  formed  man  out  of  the  dust  of 
the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath 
of  life,  so  that  he  became  a  living  soul.  It  is  this  im- 
pressive figure  of  speech  which  has  become  familiar  in 
the  effort  to  characterize  men  or  writings,  works  of  genius 
or  products  of  art,  which  make  unusual  appeal  to  the 
race.  There  seems  no  better  method  of  describing  them 
than  to  say  that  they  are  inspired.  And  the  picture  which 
forms  in  the  mind  is  that  of  a  divine  inbreathing,  which 
conveys  to  some  an  unique  quality  of  excellence,  urgency  or 
power. 

The  word  as  applied  to  the  Scriptures,  or  at  least 
to  certain  parts  of  them,  has  a  warrant  in  the  books 
themselves.  And  yet  it  is  so  variously  employed  that  it 
lacks  clearness  in  popular  thinking,  and  connotes  many 
different  things  to  different  people.  When  one  speaks 
of  the  inspiration  of  Dante  or  Shakespeare,  of  Raphael 
or  Fra  Angelico,  of  Handel  or  Beethoven,  the  meaning 
is  obvious.  It  is  the  unusual  gifts  of  the  men,  or  the 
significant  nature  of  their  literary  or  artistic  creations 
which  is  suggested  by  the  term.  But  when  the  inspiration 
of  the  Bible  is  the  subject  of  reflection,  it  is  less  easy 
to  propose  a  definition  that  will  abide  the  test.  Perhaps 
it  is  a  misfortune  that  the  same  word  should  have  been 
employed  to  describe  qualities  so  diverse.  Certainly  no 
description  that  serves  to  set  forth  the  unique  elements  of 
poetry,  drama,  sculpture,  painting  or  architecture  is  quite 
adequate  to  characterize  the  qualities  in  virtue  of  which 
the  Bible  is  called  inspired. 

Reference  has  been  made  more  than  once  in  this 
series  of  studies  to  the  fact  that  most  of  the  holy  books 
of  the  various  faiths  claim  some  sort  of  inspiration  and 
authority.  This  is  true  of  the  Vedic  Hymns,  the  Laws  of 
Hammurabi,  the  Avesta,  the  Pitikas,  the  Granth  and  the 
Koran.  In  each  of  the  great  religions  there  has  been 
in  the  thought  of  the  worshipers  the  conviction  that  the 
literature  produced  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  deity  or 
leader  they  revere  is  divine.  Nor  should  there  be  any 
doubt  of  this  fact  on  the  part  of  any  discerning  and 
reverent  soul.  God  speaks  to  man  by  divers  portions  and 
in  various  ways,  through  many  teachers  and  in  many 
writings.  None  of  the  sacred  books  that  have  lifted  any 
part  of  the  race  to  new  altitudes  of  thinking  and  conduct 
has  lacked  something  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  But  such 
phrases  as  one  may  with  complete  assurance  apply  to 
these  literatures  fall  short  of  a  proper  and  satisfying 
characterization  of  the  Bible. 

ARGUMENTS   FOR  INSPIRATION 

What  is  meant,  then,  by  this  term  as  it  is  used  of  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  New?  And  what  are  the  argu- 
ments advanced  to  assert  and  defend  the  claim?  In  the 
attempt  to  answer  these  questions  it  is  necessary  to  pre- 
sent the  arguments  before  attempting  the  definition. 

The  most  common  reasons  presented  for  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Bible  are  the  following: 

1.  We  of  the  Christian  nations  have  inherited  our 
belief  in  its  inspiration.    Our  ancestors  have  accepted  this 


view   without   questioning,  and  to  us   it  has   come  with 
the  sanction  of  their  lives. 

2.  The  church  has  through  all  its  history  affirmed 
the  inspired  character  of  the  Scriptures.  To  those  who 
accept  the  authority  of  the  church,  of  whatever  order, 
this  is  a  sufficient  guarantee. 

3.  The  Bible  claims  its  own  inspiration.  The  words 
of  II  Timothy  3:16  are  classic:  "Every  Scripture  in- 
spired of  God  is  also  profitable  for  teaching,  for  reproof, 
for  correction,  for  instruction  which  is  in  righteousness." 
In  the  closing  book  of  the  New  Testament  are  found  these 
solemn  words :  "I  testify  unto  every  man  that  heareth 
the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book:  If  any  man 
shall  add  unto  them,  God  shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues 
which  are  written  in  this  book.  And  if  any  man  shall  take 
away  from  the  words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy,  God 
shall  take  away  his  part  from  the  tree  of  life,  and  out  of 
the  holy  city."  (Rev.  22:18,  19). 

4.  There  is  a  certain  self-attesting  quality  in  the 
books  themselves.  When  the  Bible,  rightly  understood, 
makes  its  appeal  to  mind  and  heart,  it  requires  no  further 
validation.  Its  message  comes  with  a  sense  of  urgency 
possessed  by  no  other  literature  known  to  the  race. 

These  are  the  most  important  arguments  presented 
in  defense  of  the  doctrine  of  inspiration.  There  are  others 
that  might  be  mentioned,  but  they  are  all  in  some  man- 
ner related  to  these  or  included  in  them.  Perhaps  they 
should  be  scrutinized  somewhat  to  determine  if  possible 
whether  they  are  really  valid.  Probably  they  will  make 
differing  appeals  to  different  minds. 

THEIR   STRENGTH    AND  WEAKNESS 

The  argument  from  the  faith  of  our  fathers  has  the 
right  to  most  serious  consideration.  It  is  a  truth  past  all 
doubting  that  much  of  the  heroism,  steadfastness  and 
virtue  of  the  Christian  generations  behind  us  was  due 
to  the  faith  the  fathers  had  in  the  Bible  and  its  inspira- 
tion as  the  Word  of  God.  Lacking  that  confidence,  life 
would  have  seemed  little  worth  to  them.  Our  age  has 
learned  to  revise  many  of  their  opinions  and  discredit 
many  of  their  beliefs.  The  world  in  which  we  live  is  a 
wider,  freer  world.  Many  of  the  little  systems  of  the 
past — political,  social,  religious — have  had  their  day  and 
ceased  to  be.  But  there  was  something  majestic  and  en- 
during about  the  Christian  faith  and  character  of  those 
grand  men  of  the  past  that  we  may  well  covet.  Is  this  not 
sufficient  to  validate  their  view  of  the  Scriptures?  Some 
will  think  it  is,  but  in  the  changing  order  of  our  time 
a  more  certain  ground  is  needed.  Men  must  have  better 
grounds  of  assurance  than  the  faith  of  other  men,  even 
such  men  as  we  have  known  and  revered. 

Still  less  satisfactory  is  the  argument  from  church 
authority.  To  the  Roman  Catholic  or  the  adherent  of 
the  Greek  Orthodox  Church  it  might  be  sufficient.  Even 
to  a  Protestant  it  is  not  without  deep  significance  that 
the  religious  body  to  which  he  belongs  has  through  the 
years  maintained  a  stout  and  unwavering  faith  in  the  in- 
spiration of  the  Bible.  But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
the  Roman  Church  which  made  the  first  formal  and  offi- 


10 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  12,  1917 


cial  declaration  of  the  inspired  and  canonical  nature  of 
the  Scriptures  was  the  very  organization  that  did  most 
to  keep  the  Bible  out  of  the  hands  of  the  people.  After 
due  allowance  has  been  made  for  Protestant  overstate- 
ment on  this  theme,  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  Roman 
Church  has  never  been  favorable  to  popular  use  of  the 
Bible,  and  that  it  is  only  today  repairing  the  mistake  it 
made  in  other  centuries,  by  giving  a  version  of  the  Scrip- 
tures to  its  people.  Why  should  the  book  have  been  so 
long  withheld  if  it  was  inspired  of  God? 

At  first  glance  the  argument  from  the  statements  of 
the  Bible  itself  seems  convincing.  What  more  could  one 
wish  than  the  reference  of  an  apostolic  writer,  whether 
Paul  or  another,  to  "all  Scriptures  given  by  inspiration  of 
God*'  ?  But  a  moment's  study  of  the  text  shows  that  the 
writer  could  have  had  in  mind  at  best  only  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  only  Scriptures  the  early  Christians  knew ;  un- 
less, as  seems  not  improbable,  the  term  as  used  in  his 
day  included  also  the  apocryphal  books.  And  as  to  the 
strong  words  of  the  writer  of  Revelation,  no  one  would 
assert  that  they  refer  to  more  than  that  single  document ; 
for  in  his  day  there  could  have  been  no  collection  of  New 
Testament  books.  So  far  therefore  as  validation  for  the 
Bible  is  to  be  sought  in  its  own  words,  the  argument  lacks 
the  essential  element  of  application  to  the  books  in  which 
the  unique  quality  of  inspiration  is  most  in  evidence — 
the  great  messages  of  the  New  Testament.  Moreover,  if 
the  inspiration  of  a  work  is  to  rest  upon  its  claims  for 
itself,  then  the  Koran  should  far  outrank  the  Bible.  It 
is  apparent  that  elsewhere  must  one  look  for  the  real 
grounds  of  certainty. 

The  last  of  the  arguments  above  named  goes  much 
further  toward  an  adequate  statement  than  any  of  the 
others.  It  may  seem  at  first  that  it  is  the  least  definite 
of  the  four  reasons  urged.  Probably  this  is  true.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  eludes  exact 
definition  precisely  because  it  differs  from  any  quality 
that  bears  that  name  in  any  other  literature  or  product  of 
human  genius.  But  it  is  not  without  reason  that  one  may 
urge  the  force  of  the  appeal  which  the  Scriptures  make 
on  their  own  behalf  to  those  who  give  them  the  attention 
which  they  demand.  They  make  real  and  urgent  claim 
to  reverence  and  obedience.  They  bring  near  to  the  human 
soul  the  sanctions  of  the  divine  life  and  the  realities  of 
spiritual  experience.  They  are  self-attesting,  because  their 
demonstration  of  their  uniqueness  is  more  convincing  than 
any  arguments  the  theologian  can  frame  in  their  behalf. 

WHAT  WE  SHOULD  LIKE 

If  it  were  left  to  human  choice  to  prescribe  the  char- 
acter of  a  book  that  should  serve  as  the  supreme  reli- 
gious literature  of  the  race,  the  fullest  embodiment  in 
literary  form  of  the  divine  ideal,  what  would  such  a 
book  be,  and  what  would  it  be  proper  to  expect  of  it? 
At  first  thought  it  seems  very  easy  to  prescribe  its  quali- 
ties. For  example,  it  should  be  written  by  the  hand  of 
God,  or  by  some  group  of  men  particularly  prepared  for 
their  task  by  divine  selection  and  supernatural  endow- 
ments. The  book  thus  produced  should  be  a  clear  and 
unvarying  statment  of  the  divine  mind,  with  no  sugges- 
tion of  mistake  in  matters  of  fact,  forms  of  conduct,  or 
forms  of  expression.  Further  than  this,  its  transmission 
to  the  present  time,  both  in  copy  and  translation,  should 
be  faithful  and  inerrent,  for  there  would  be  little  value 
in  an  originally  perfect  document  that  was  spoiled  in 
the  process  of  delivery  to  the  world  of  today.  Such,  one 
would   suppose,   would   be   the  nature  of  a   satisfactory 


Bible,  to  which  one  might  with  assurance  attach  the  title 
of  the  Word  of  God. 

Yet  nothing  is  clearer  than  the  fact  that  we  have  no 
such  book  as  that.  Furthermore,  no  such  book  has  ever 
been  known.  The  claims  the  Jews  made  for  the  five 
books  of  Moses  amounted  almost  to  that,  and  the  same 
is  true  of  the  Mohammedan  assertions  regarding  tfhe 
Koran,  and  of  certain  other  religious  groups  in  behalf 
of  their  particular  scriptures.  But  no  such  claim  can  be 
maintained  for  a  moment  in  the  presence  of  the  obvious 
facts.  The  Bible  makes  no  demand  to  be  considered  a 
superhuman,  oracular  volume.  It  possesses  the  charac- 
teristics of  its  various  writers.  Each  speaks  in  his  own 
manner.  It  would  be  impossible  to  attribute  a  sermon  of 
Isaiah's  to  Jeremiah,  or  a  Pauline  epistle  to  Luke. 

This  is  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  the  doctrine  of 
verbal  inspiration  has  been  discarded  as  incapable  of  proof 
and  incompatible  with  the  evident  facts.  If  the  divine 
mind  dictated  to  the  writers  of  the  Scriptures  the  sub- 
stance and  form  of  the  writings,  there  could  not  be  the 
individuality  that  characterizes  these  documents.  There 
is  a  striking  unity  of  purpose  disclosed  in  these  books, 
but  their  style,  vocabulary  and  point  of  view  are  as  vari- 
ous as  their  names.  Each  speaks  out  of  his  own  experi- 
ence, and  uses  his  own  particular  equipment  of  knowledge 
and  skill.  Whatever  definition  of  inspiration  is  constructed 
must  include  these  facts. 

Nor  were  the  writers  of  the  Bible  safeguarded  super- 
naturally  or  in  any  other  manner  from  the  usual  historical 
and  scientific  errors  to  which  the  men  of  their  age  were 
liable.  The  Bible  is  not  a  text-book  on  either  of  these 
subjects.  They  spoke  of  events  of  the  past  as  they  under- 
stood them.  They  referred  to  the  facts  of  nature  as  they 
were  known  in  their  day.  But  the  themes  with  which  they 
were  concerned  were  not  in  these  regions.  They  used 
them  merely  as  illustrations  of  God's  purposes  for  the  race, 
and  the  truth  they  were  interested  to  affirm  was  of  vastly 
greater  import  than  any  illustration  by  which  they  sought 
to  enforce  it. 

In  the  opening  chapters  of  the  Book  of  Genesis  there 
are  two  separate  and  varying  narratives  of  creation.  They 
do  not  agree  with  each  other,  nor  do  either  of  them  agree 
with  what  scientists  would  now  regard  as  a  satisfactory 
description  of  the  origin  of  things.  Yet  both  teach  the 
truth  that  at  the  beginning,  whenever  and  whatever  it 
was,  God  was  the  Creator,  and  man  was  the  climax  of 
the  process.  The  men  who  put  these  two  varying  ac- 
counts into  the  same  book  were  not  unaware  of  their 
differences,  but  they  found  in  them  moral  and  religious 
values  which  made  their  divergences  negligible.  The  Old 
Testament  and  the  New  exhibit  many  such  phenomena. 
Whatever  doctrine  of  inspiration  be  framed,  it  must  be 
hospitable  to  facts  like  these. 

The  Bible  is  not  a  book  whose  ethical  teachings  are 
all  of  the  same  type  or  value.  It  discloses  the  depths  to 
which  human  nature  can  at  times  descend,  and  out  of 
which  it  must  be  lifted.  The  moral  levels  of  each  genera- 
tion, as  set  down  in  the  Old  Testament,  were  subject  to 
the  criticism  and  correction  of  a  later  age.  A  law  is  not 
final,  a  custom  is  not  praiseworthy,  merely  because  it  is 
found  in  the  Bible.  It  may  be  cited  for  correction,  or  as 
an  illustration  of  crude  and  discarded  usage.  Such  facts 
must  be  included  in  the  definition  of  inspiration. 

The  Bible  is  not  a  book  whose  main  purpose  is  the 
chronicling  either  of  miracle  or  fulfilled  prediction.  Miracle 
there  is,  and  prophecy  of  a  majestic  and  compelling  sort. 
But  these  are  not  the  fundamental  elements  of  the  book. 


April  12,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


11 


In  fact  every  miracle  and  every  prophecy  could  be  elimi-  In  this  book  are  found  the  personalities  most  worthy 

nated  from  the  Scripture,  and  its  supreme  values  would  of  reverence.  In  loyalty  to  ideals,  in  the  possession  of 
not  be  disturbed.  Something  would  be  lost,  it  is  true,  and  broadening  faith  and  deeper  insight,  in  the  appreciation 
we  prefer  the  books  as  they  are,  when  rightly  interpreted,  of  the  supreme  religious  values,  such  men  as  Samuel, 
But  their  purpose  lies  on  higher  levels  than  these  phases,  David,  Micah,  Ezekiel,  John  the  Baptist,  Paul  and  Peter 
however  interesting  they  may  be.     And  any  definition  of      take  rank  as  the  pioneers  in  the  vanguard  of  the  world'-, 

progress  toward  the  life  of  the  spirit. 

The  Bible  reveals  to  us,  in  glowing  hope  and  partial 


inspiration  we  may  adopt  must  meet  this  test 

,  QUALITIES  OF  THE   BIBLE 

The  Bible  disclosed  certain  features  in  virtue  of  which 
we  have  a  right  to  call  it  inspired.  It  is  a  collection  of 
books  produced  by  men  living  in  the  current  of  the  great- 
est religious  movement  known  to  history.    It  was  a  move 


realization,  that  kingdom  of  God,  that  community  of  re- 
deemed souls  and  redemptive  forces,  of  which  Jesus  was 
always  speaking.  By  its  help  we  are  able  to  find  our  way 
to  God.  By  its  direction  we  discern  his  will  for  us  as  the 
most  worthful  program  of  life.  By  the  suggestions  it 
ment  with  small  beginnings,  but  with  gradually  expanding      offers  and  the  sources  of  power  it  reveals  we  discover  that 


force.  It  began  in  the  tribal  experiences  of  a  small  group 
of  people  living  in  "the  least  of  all  lands,"  and  culmi- 
nated in  the  supreme  Life  of  the  ages,  and  the  most  vital 
and  pervasive  religious  institution  ever  known. 

The  Bible  is  a  competent  record  of  that  movement, 
and  it  presents  graphic  and  convincing  portraits  of  some 
of  those  forceful  personages  who  contributed  to  the 
unique  religious  education  thus  organized.  In  the  lives 
of  those  men  and  in  the  history  which  they  helped  to 
make,  God  was  present  as  in  no  other  experiences  of  the 
past.  That  was  the  singular  quality  in  Israel's  life.  It 
was  no  wilful  and  capricious  selection  of  a  favored  race. 
It  was  the  employment  of  the  best  available  instrument 
for  a  great  purpose.  And  that  purpose  manifests  itself 
in  the  documents  which  record  that  experience,  and  this 
quality  in  the  documents,  for  want  of  a  better  term,  we 
name  inspiration. 

The  Bible  is  the  collection  of  books  in  which  more 
evidently  than  in  any  other  literature  there  is  discovered 
the  profoundest  truths  of  religion.  There  are  pictured 
the  lives  of  men  like  Abraham  and  Moses,  who  made  sure 
of  the  reality  of  God;  men  like  Amos  and  Isaiah  who 
discovered  and  declared  God's  world-ruling  sovereignty; 
men  who  like  Hosea  and  Jeremiah  penetrated  the  secret 
of  the  love  of  God  even  for  the  most  unworthy ;  and  One 
there  was  who  knew  the  possibility  and  preciousness  of 
communion  with  God,  and  set  the  world  in  the  way  to  a 
transfiguration  of  life  by  the  discovery. 


we  can  actually  do  his  will,  and  fulfill  his  purposes.  By 
the  study  of  this  book  redemption,  atonement,  the  life  of 
trust,  the  glory  of  rewarding  service,  and  the  certainty  of 
the  life  eternal  are  brought  within  the  circle  of  personal 
possession.  Such  values  as  these  are  not  to  be  found 
in  like  degree  in  any  other  literature.  And  the  quality 
of  exhibiting  them  in  such  telling  manner  we  may  call 
inspiration. 

When  the  demand  is  made  for  a  more  definite  and 
compact  description  of  this  strange  quality,  one  has  to 
respond  that  it  is  not  to  be  compressed  into  any  neat  and 
convenient  form.  It  would  be  easy  to  define  the  sort  of 
inspiration  the  Jewish  rabbis  affirmed  of  their  torah,  but 
that  is  too  formal  and  mechanical  to  satisfy.  It  would 
be  equally  simple  a  process  to  apply  the  usual  categories 
of  literary  and  artistic  passion  to  the  books  before  us. 
But  this  is  too  pale  a  figure  to  meet  the  need.  The  most 
competent  statement  that  can  be  made  is  that  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Bible  is  the  total  spirit  and  power  it  reveals. 
In  the  last  issue  one  means  by  its  inspiration  exactly  those 
marks  of  uniqueness  and  urgency  which  it  exhibits,  and 
which  make  it  incomparably  greater  than  any  other  book 
in  the  world. 

The  wonder  is  that  the  Bible  shares  with  other  books 
so  many  of  their  marks  of  human  workmanship  and  limi- 
tation, and  yet  possesses  a  spirit  that  sets  it  in  a  place 
apart  from  all  the  rest.  It  is  this  which  baffles  definition, 
and  yet  is  so  unescapable  a  quality  of  the  Scripture.  The 
proof  that  the  book  is  inspired  is  its  power  to  inspire. 


These  articles  by  Dr.  Willett,  including  those  of  the  series  yet  to  appear  in  subsequent 
issues  of  The  Christian  Century,  were  primarily  conceived  by  the  author  as  chapters  in  a  volume 
entitled  "Our  Bible."  The  book  is  now  being  prepared  for  the  press  and  zvill  be  published  in 
May,  1917.    Orders  may  be  sent  at  any  tune.    Price  $1.35. — The  Christian  Century  Press. 

To  Love,  at  Last,  the  Victory 


T 


HERE  was  a  man  who  saw  God  face  to  face, 

His  countenance  and  vestments  evermore 

Glowed  with  a  light  that  never  shone  before, 

Saving  from  him  who  saw  God  face  to  face. 

And  men,  anear  him  for  a  little  space, 

Were  sorely  vexed  at  the  unwonted  light. 

Those  whom  the  light  did  blind  rose  angrily; 

They  bore  his  body  to  a  mountain  height 

And  nailed  it  to  a  tree ;  then  went  their  way ; 

And  he  resisted  not  nor  said  them  nay, 

Because  that  he  had  seen  God  face  to  face. 

*     *     * 

There  was  a  man  who  saw  Life  face  to  face, 
And  ever  as  he  walked  from  day  to  day, 
The  deathless  mystery  of  being  lay 

Plain  as  the  path  he  trod  in  loneliness ; 


And  each  deep-hid  inscription  could  he  trace; 
How  men  have  fought  and  loved  and  fought  again ; 
How  in  lone  darkness  souls  cried  out  for  pain ; 
How  each  green  foot  of  sod  from  sea  to  sea 
Was  red  with  blood  of  men  slain  wantonly; 

How  tears  of  pity  warm  as  summer  rain 
Again  and  ever  washed  the  stains  away, 
Leaving  to  Love,  at  last,  the  victory. 
Above  the  strife  and  hate  and  fever  pain, 
The  squalid  talk  and  walk  of  sordid  men. 
He  saw  the  vision  changeless  as  the  stars 
That  shone  through  temple  gates  or  prison  bars. 
Or  to  the  body  nailed  upon  the  tree, 
Through  each  mean  action  of  the  life  that  is, 
The  marvel  of  the  Life  that  yet  shall  be. 

— David  Starr  Jordan. 


The  Eternal  Sacrifice 


SUCH  words  as  these  are  enough 
to  strike  one  dumb.  Set  amid 
the  strange  and  solemn  visions  of 
the  Apocalypse,  in  which  unutterable 
things  are  unfolded,  they  cast  over  me 
the  hush  of  a  great  awe.  They  seem, 
indeed,  to  sum  up,  not  only  the  whole 
of  the  Bible,  but  the  whole  of  life  it- 
self, if  not  the  history  of  the  universe 
so  far  as  we  can  know  it.  No  other 
single  line  drops  a  plummet  of  light  so 
far  down  into  that  "old  dark  backward 
and  abysm  of  time,"  revealing  the 
meaning  of  the  world  and  the  red  law 
of  life  through  death  that  runs 
through  all  things.  It  gives  a  hint,  if 
nothing  more,  of  an  awful  urge,  a 
deep  Divine  necessity  which  makes  the 
life  of  God  an  eternal  sacrifice — that 
profound  and  ineffable  truth  of  which 
the  cross  is  the  symbol. 

THE  DEEPEST  TRUTH  OF  LIFE 

Let  us  walk  reverently,  for  we  are 
in  the  midst  of  a  mystery  no  mortal 
may  fathom,  but  of  which  man  has 
somehow  been  dimly  aware  from  the 
first.  When  man  climbed  up  out  of 
the  primeval  night,  he  had  a  cross  in 
his  hand.  Where  he  got  it,  what  he 
meant  by  it,  he  did  not  know.  Nor 
do  we,  save  as  we  may  divine  that  he 
grasped,  at  the  bidding  ot  instinct,  the 
deepest  truth  of  life.  At  any  rate, 
the  cross  is  the  oldest  emblem  of  hu- 
manity, as  it  is  the  most  universal. 
Older  than  Christianity,  it  is  coeval 
with  the  beginning  of  history,  and  has 
its  roots  in  pre-historic  times. 

Justin  Martyr  pointed  out  that  the 
sign  of  the  cross  is  stamped  on  all 
nature,  and  forms  a  part  of  man  him- 
self— as  if  nature  were  trying  to  tell 
us  her  deepest  secret  and  ours.  Origen 
taught  that  the  true  posture  of  prayer 
is  to  stand  with  outstretched  arms, 
which  is  the  form  of  trie  cross.  This 
we  know:  the  cross  has  its  roots  in 
the  deep  heart  of  life,  and  the  cross 
of  Christ  is  no  isolated  fact  but  a  part 
of  a  vast,  unending  sacrifice. 

VICARIOUS    SUFFERING 

Those  who  inveigh  against  the  law 
of  vicarious  suffering  as  unjust  seem 
not  to  see  that  it  is  the  one  redeem- 
ing and  revealing  force  in  the  world. 
Suppose  this  law  were  removed,  what 
then?  Then,  to  be  sure,  great  souls 
would  not  be  "toiling  up  new  Cal- 
varies ever  with  the  cross  that  turns 
not  back."  Then  the  mother-heart 
would  no  longer  ache  for  a  wayward 
boy,  nor  every  night  exhaust  itself  to 
sleep  in  the  weariness  of  grief.  Then 
the  old  father  would  not  go  to  the 
house-top  at  eventide,  with  white  hair 
and  tottering  steps,  to  catch  the  first 


By  Joseph  Fort  Newton 


JIIIIIIIillllllilllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllilllUllllliniHIIllilllllllllllllllllllllllNtllMIIHMIIIIllUllllllllllllllllllill 

s  = 

5  E 

"The  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  i 
|  of  the  world"    Rev.  13:8. 

nitu  111  miuii  inuitni  ma  iuiiuuui  urn  m  11 11  it  1  it ti  tutnii  nm  hiuh  ihuiui  1 11  ttm  1 1 11 111 1 1 11 1 11 111  iittut  iti  11  it  111 1 1 1 11  iiT 

glimpse  of  the  returning  prodigal.  No 
sister  like  Charlotte  Bronte  would 
weep  her  eyes  sore  over  a  drunken 
brother,  nor  would  a  patriot  like  Lin- 
coln feel  his  heart  ache  for  the  evil 
and  woe  of  his  country.  They  would 
be  happier,  no  doubt,  if  hard  and  un- 
feeling hearts  can  be  happy,  but  some- 
thing high  and  fine  would  fade  from 
the  earth. 

Better  is  it  to  have  a  humanity  in- 
terwoven by  silken  ties,  the  hurt  of 
one  bringing  injury  to  all,  thafr  a 
humanity  made  up  of  detaehed  souls 
each  working  out  its  unhelped  and 
lonely  destiny ;  each  an  island  in  an 
"unplumbed,  salt,  estranging  sea." 

"the  red  law"    • 

Jereriry  Taylor  pointed  out,  .in  a 
golden  passage,  how  this  red  law  runs 
all  through  the  Bible  from  end  to  end, 
like  the  scarlet  thread  in  the  ropes 
and  cables  of  the  British  navy.  The 
tragedy  of  the  "cross  of  Christ,  he  said, 
so  far  from  being  a  single  and  sudden 
event,  is  really  the  key  to  the  whole 
record  of  revelation,  the  clue  to  its 
unity,  its  passion,  and  its  purpose ;  the 
motif  of  its  marching  music. 

He  was  slain  in  Abel,  went  out  of 
his  own  country  with  Abraham,  was 
betrayed  with  Joseph,  wandered  with 
Moses  in  the  wilderness,  and  was  cast 
into  the  dungeon  with  Jeremiah ;  as, 
later,  He  was  stoned  in  Stephen,  burnt 
in  Polycarp,  and  frozen  in  the  lake 
where  stood  the  forty  martyrs  of  Cap- 
padocia.  He  is  in  the  Psalms  like  a 
haunting  undertone;  He  walks  the 
dreamy  ways  of  prophecy,  a  suffering 
servant  in  the  vision  of  Isaiah,  a  love 
yearning  to  forgive  in  Hosea ;  He 
stands  in  the  fiery  furnace  with  those 
who  dare  death  for  the  faith.  The 
sacrament  of  His  cross,  said  St. 
Hilary,  is  not  accomplished  but  by 
suffering  all  the  sorrows  of  humanity. 

THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CROSS 

When  we  open  the  New  Testament 
there  lies  the  dark  shadow  of  the  cross 
falling  over  His  youth,  and  following 
His  foot-steps  through  those  swift  and 
gentle  years — like  a  Divine  destiny. 
All  His  days  were  ordered  with  ref- 
erence to  it.    Ever, 

"A  vision  rose  before  His  eyes, 

The  cross,  the  waiting  tomb, 
The  people's  rage,  the  darkened  skies, 

His  unavoided  doom"; 

and  He  turned   neither  to  the   right 
nor  to  the  left  till  His  hour  had  come. 


One  of  the  noblest  sermons  in  our  lan- 
guage is  that  by  Alexander  MacLaren, 
the  Lord  Tennyson  of  our  pulpit,  en- 
titled "Christ  Hastening  to  the  Cross." 
Its  majestic  lines  move  to  the  rhythm 
of  the  same  high  fatalism  by  which, 
at  last,  He  was  "a  nerve  o'er  which 
do  creep  the  else  unfelt  oppressions  of 
the  earth," — the  "desperate  tides  of 
the  whole  great  world's  anguish  forced 
through  the  channels  of  a  single 
heart."  Ages  of  sorrowful  and  pro- 
phetic history  found  focus  in  the  scene 
of  the  cross,  as  in  the  drama  of  "The 
Terrible  Meek,"  the  centurion  said  to 
the  mother  in  her  anguish : 

"I  tell  you,  Woman,  this  dead  Son  of 
yours,  disfigured,  shamed,  spat  upon,  has 
built  a  kingdom  this  day  that  can  never 
die.  The  living  glory  of  Him  rules  it. 
The  earth  is  His  and  He  made  it.  He 
and  His  brothers  have  been  molding  and 
making  it  through  the  long  ages;  they 
are  the  only  ones  who  ever  did  really 
possess  it;  not  the  proud;  not  the  idle; 
not  the  vaunting  empires  of  the  world. 
Something  has  happened  this  day  to 
shake  all  our  kingdoms  of  blood  and 
fear  to  the  dust.  The  earth  is  His,  the 
earth  is  theirs,  and  they  made  it.  The 
meek,  the  terrible  meek,  the  fierce  ag- 
onizing meek,  are  about  to  enter  into 
their  inheritance." 

LIFE  FED  BY  DEATH   IN   NATURE 

As  in  the  Bible,  so  through  the 
book  of  nature  whose  leaves  are 
spread  out  before  us  in  earth  and  sea 
and  sky,  there  runs  the  same  crimson 
law  of  sacrifice.  Evermore,  in  nature, 
life  is  fed  by  death.  At  first  this  fact 
may  fill  us  with  horror,  as  it  did  Ten- 
nyson, who  saw  all  nature  red  with 
tooth  and  claw,  bound  by  a  scarlet 
law.  But  the  deeper  insight  of  St. 
Paul  read  the  age-long  tragedy  of  the 
natural  order  in  the  light  of  the  cross, 
and  found  its  meaning  as  sacrificial. 
Read  in  that  light,  the  pain  of  nature, 
its  struggle,  its  groan  and  travail  cries, 
became  a  revelation  of  "the  Lamb 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world,"  and  prophetic  of  the  final  re- 
demption of  nature  itself. 

History,  in  the  great  conception  of 
it,  falls  under  the  same  sacrificial  law, 
finding  its  epitome  in  the  Cross  of 
Christ.  Blurred  with  blood,  blistered 
with  tears,  its  records  tell  how,  in 
every  era,  the  purest  and  loftiest  souls 
have  died  for  their  fellow  men,  for 
the  truth,  for  a  future  they  could  not 
see. 

TRUTH  EVER  CALLED  TO  JUDGMENT 

In  every  age,  in  every  land,  the  truth 
has  been  called  to  judgment,  as  in  the 
days  of  Pilate,  and  with  a  like  verdict, 
as  if  doomed  always  to  submit  to  the 
same  crucifixion  and  show  itself  divine 
by  the  same  power. 


April  12,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


13 


"Wherever  through  the  ages  rise 
The  altars  of  self-sacrifice, 
Where  Love  its  arms  has  opened  wide, 
And  man  for  man  has  calmly  died, 
We  see  the  same  white  wings  outspread 
That  hovered  o'er  the  Master's  head. 
And  in  all  lands  beneath  the  sun, 
The  heart  affirmeth  Love  is  one. 
Up  from  undated  time  they  come, 
The  martyr-souls  of  heathendom, 
And  to  His  Cross  and  passion  bring 
Their  fellowship  of  suffering." 

Truly,  it  is  a  fellowship  suffering, 
in  which  all  the  world  has  a  share 
whether  it  will  or  no.  Today,  as  in 
all  the  dark  past,  the  war  among  the 
peoples  is  the  conflict  of  the  very 
forces  which  met  and  grappled  at  the 
Cross.  Surely  this  dying  of  the  brav- 
est and  most  chivalrous,  so  pitiful  on 
many  a  far-flung  field,  is  linked  with 
the  dying  of  the  Lamb,  and  these  days 
of  pain,  of  loss,  of  bitter  sorrow  are 
days  prophetic  of  a  world  redeemed. 

"And  all  through  life  I  see  a  Cross 
Where  sons  of  men  yield  up  their  breath. 
There  is  no  gain  except  by  loss, 
There  is  no  life  except  by  death." 

AN   ETERNAL   MYSTERY 

Why  it  should  be  so  it  is  not  given 
us  to  know.  What  it  is  in  the  heart 
of  God  that  makes  sacrifice  an  eternal 
necessity,  if  not  an  everlasting  joy,  is 
beyond  our  ken — unless  we  have  a 
hint  of  it  in  the  wild  joy  that  is  ours 
when  we  give  ourselves  unto  the  utter- 
most, and  reck  not  the  cost.  Life 
reaches  its  summit  in  such  a  crowned 
and  glorious  hour,  and  he  who  makes 
the  adventure  knows  a  secret  no  words 
may  tell. 

Who  can  measure  the  meaning  of 
the  words,  "Ought  not  Christ  to  have 
suffered  these  things?"     They  make 


my  heart  stand  still.  Here  is  a  sense 
of  obligation  of  a  kind  we  neither 
know  nor  can  hardly  imagine,  a  one- 
ness with  His  fellows  which  felt  their 
wrong  as  His  own,  a  kinship  and  sym- 
pathy that  outruns  our  slow  heart. 
Socrates  died  with  a  wistful  wonder, 
and  a  sober  jest  on  his  lips.  Jesus 
went  to  His  Cross,  as  a  Lamb  to  the 
slaughter,  "smitten  of  God  and  af- 
flicted," and  we  wear  the  emblem  of 
His  shame  as  a  jewel  on  our  hearts. 
And  somehow,  we  know  not  how, 
there  was  a  fathomless  joy  in  His  sor- 
row, and  a  power  in  His  death  which 
touches  us  to  this  day,  subduing  our 
minds,  softening  our  hearts,  and  sav- 
ing us  from  the  sin  that  defiles.  It  is 
a  revealed  mystery,  not  a  mystery  re- 
vealed ! 

THERE  IS  NO  ESCAPE 

Think  not  to  say  in  your  hearts  that 
the  Cross  is  a  thing  far  off  and  long 
ago.  Soon  or  late  every  man,  every 
woman,  comes  face  to  face  with  it. 
There  is  no  escape.  Our  sin,  or  the 
sin  of  another,  will  nail  us  to  it.  Life 
is  not  all  sad  and  sombre,  not  all  pain 
and  strife  and  perplexity.  There  are 
years  of  unbroken  peace,  days  of  joy 
and  gain,  hours  altogether  lovely  and 
dross-drained.  God  be  thanked  that  it 
is  so.  Yet  it  has  its  other  side  when 
its  pattern  is  torn  and  the  stitches  all 
awry.  Death  visits  us,  leaving  our 
hearts  aching  and  our  arms  empty. 
Disaster  falls  upon  us,  blighting  our 
joy,  crushing  our  hopes.  Disease 
seizes  us,  or  some  one  we  love,  work- 
ing its  hideous  will  with  no  hand  to 
stay  it.  In  some  form  or  another  we 
find  ourselves  at  the  Cross. 


What  then?  How  shall  we  meet  it 
and  bear  it?  He  who  wrote  these 
words  had  found  the  way: 

"The    listening    soul    makes    Sinai    still, 

Wherever  we  may  be, 
And  in  the  vow,  Thy  will  be  done, 

Lies  all   Gethsemane." 

THE  CROSS  THAT  LIFTS 

There  was  never  a  truer  word.  Un- 
til you  make  that  hard  vow  there  is 
no  peace,  no  rest  of  heart,  no  clear 
and  sure  insight,  no  prevailing  prayer. 
It  is  not  the  making  of  that  vow,  but 
the  failure  to  make  it,  that  breaks  the 
heart — or,  worse  still,  hardens  it.  If 
we  turn  away  from  our  cross,  it  is  to 
wander  in  a  night  that  has  no  star,  a 
maze  that  has  no  plan.  Face  it  and 
you  find,  not  the  worst,  but  the  best 
truth  life  has  to  reveal.  What  hap- 
pens, if  we  may  judge  by  the  testi- 
mony of  those  who  have  dared,  is  that 
instead  of  bearing  the  Cross,  it  bears 
us,  lifts  us  up,  saves  from  the  self- 
will  that  is  hell  and  the  fear  that  is 
weakness. 

Matheson  had  his  cross  of  blindness. 
It  was  bitter,  sad,  and  hard  to  bear. 
He  tried  to  flee  from  it,  but  it  fol- 
lowed where  he  went.  He  flung  faith 
to  the  winds,  as  many  a  man  has  done, 
but  that  did  not  end  it.  At  last,  weary 
of  heart,  he  bowed  low  to  bear  his 
cross,  and  found  that  Love  that  will 
not  let  us  go,  the  Light  that  follow- 
eth  all  our  way,  and  the  Joy  that 
seekest  us  through  pain.  It  was  thus 
that  he  wrote: 

"O  Cross  that  liftest  up  my  head, 

I  dare  not  ask  to  fly  from  thee, 

I  lay  in  dust,  life's  glory  dead, 

And  from  the  ground  there  blossoms  red 

Life  that  shall  endless  be." 


Things  That  Cannot  Be  Shaken 


EVERY  age  is  one  of  transition. 
The  old  is  ever  going,  the  new 
ever  coming.  Sometimes  the 
change  is  made  without  noise  or  strife 
— the  temple  of  the  new  humanity 
grows  heavenward  without  the  sound 
of  hammer.  Sometimes  it  can  only 
come  with  the  wrangle  and  estrange- 
ments of  debate  and  contest.  And 
sometimes,  as  in  the  terrible  present, 
by  cataclysm  and  the  fall  of  civiliza- 
tions. 

It  seems  to  many  today  that  every- 
thing is  falling.  The  world  is  on  fire. 
The  human  race  is  trying  to  commit 
suicide.  An  awful  nightmare  plagues 
the  nations. 

ETERNAL  FOUNDATIONS 

But  in  the  midst  of  it  all  we  are 
able  to  discover  the  eternal  founda- 
tions. 

There  are  things  that  cannot  be 
shaken. 


By  B.  A.  Abbott 


IMIimiMlMIIIIIIIIINIimiMlllllMlllllHHilMlll 


iittiitmiitiiiiimiiuniiuiiiiHiHiiiir 


"Yet  once  more  will  I  make 
to   tremble  not   earth   only,   but 

also  the  heaven.    And  this  zvord  l 

once  more  signiiieth  the  remov-  j 
ing   of    those    things    that    are 

shaken  as  of  things  which  have  \ 

been   made,    that    those    things  \ 

which  are  not  shaken  may  re-  f 

main." — Hebrews    12:26,  27.  I 

illlilllllMlllllllMIHIIIIIIilllltlllllllllllllllllHIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMIItlNlllllllllllltltllllllirtltlllllllltllltMlllltlllinilMtl 

One  of  them  is  the  cosmic  order. 
Man  cannot  change  that,  and  the  cos- 
mic forces — called  blind,  dumb,  in- 
evitable, red  of  tooth  and  claw,  are, 
as  far  as  we  can  discover,  on  the  side 
of  good.  Nature  is  an  optimist  and 
will  heal  the  scars  and  seams  cut  in 
the  earth  by  army  and  cannon,  and 
where  today  the  scream  of  shell  is 
heard  tomorrow  the  song  of  the  bird 
will  wake  above  the  field  and  the  long 


road  where  man  goes  forward  in  pur- 
suit of  his  ends. 

There  is  a  moral  order  which  can- 
not be  shaken.  "The  Ten  Command- 
ments will  not  budge."  Neither  will 
the  Golden  Rule.  They  are  the  ex- 
pression of  the  eternal,  and,  though 
they  may  seem  to  be  abolished  and 
forgotten,  the  period  will  be  but  brief. 
The  violation  brings  such  pain  and 
suffering  that  man  must  stop  and 
think.  The  thorn  on  the  rose  warns 
man  that  if  he  would  enjoy  it  he  must 
not  grasp  it  carelessly  or  too  rudely. 
The  way  of  the  transgressor  becomes 
too  hard  to  be  endured.  When  sin  has 
found  a  man  out  it  often  whips  him 
back  into  obedience  to  the  moral  or- 
der and  things    go    well    with    him 


again. 


THE    ANVIL    OF    GOD  S    WORD 

The  Bible,  which  is  the  revelation 
of  this  moral  order,  cannot  be  shaken. 


14 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  12,  1917 


Its  friends  have  always  welcomed 
even-  testing  and  its  enemies  have  as- 
sailed it  in  vain.  It  has  survived  the 
deep  neglect  of  its  best  friends,  the 
false  use  of  it  by  fanatics,  misunder- 
standing of  it  by  sects  and  sectarians, 
and  the  fiercest  attacks  of  atheist  and 
infidel  have  come  to  naught. 

"And  so  the  Bible,  anvil  of  God's  word, 
For  ages  skeptic  blows  have  beat  upon; 

And  though  the  noise  of  Paine,  Voltaire, 
was  heard, 
The  anvil  is  unworn,  the  hammer's  gone." 

The  church  cannot  be  shaken.  The 
church  is  brotherhood  at  its  best. 
When  the  first  shock  of  the  great  war 
came  it  was  loudly  declared  that  the 
church  had  fallen.  One  wrote  in  a 
tone  rather  triumphant  : 

"After  eighteen  hundred  years  it  is  as 
easy  for  men  to  thrust  bayonets  into  one 
another  as  it  was  in  the  heathen  world.  Is 
it  not  apparent  that  the  church  has  col- 
lapsed?" 

No;  for  the  voice  of  the  church  was 
unheeded.  We  do  not  rail  at  the 
medicine  we  refuse  to  take  as  failing 
to  cure  us.  The  people  were  beguiled 
away  from  the  church  to  militarism 
and  that  overthrew  civilization.  But 
the  church  stands. 

THE  YEARS  BELONG  TO  LOVE 

It  may  assume  many  forms,  but  its 
essential  life  of  fellowship  between 
man  and  man,  and  its  communion 
with  God  can  never  pass  away  unless 
the  soul  of  man  becomes  vastly  differ- 
ent from  what  it  is  now.  Men  need 
one  another  as  badly    as    they    need 


bread,  and  not  for  long  will  they  en- 
dure the  pangs  of  heart-hunger. 
Wherever  men  truly  find  one  another 
and  help  one  another  in  the  comrade- 
ship of  God,  there  is  the  church,  and 
that  will  never  pass  away.  Hatred 
is  for  an  hour,  but  the  eternal  years 
of  God  belong  to  love.  The  church, 
the  real  church,  is  organized  love. 

Jesus  Christ  cannot  be  shaken. 
Each  year  he  becomes  more  to  more 
people.  His  character  cannot  be  de- 
stroyed, his  words  cannot  be  denied, 
and  his  presence  is  the  daily  experi- 
ence of  millions  of  people.  His  name 
is  called  in  many  tongues,  and  to  all 
he  means  the  same.  Jesus  Christ  not 
only  answers  the  artist's  craving  for 
perfect  beauty,  and  the  saint's  longing 
for  the  perfect  ideal,  but  he  does  what 
in  some  ways  is  far  more — he  an- 
swers the  sinner's  cry  for  a  Savior 
and  shows  the  lost  the  way  home  to 
the  father.  This  world  will  not  be 
Caesarized.  It  will  be  Christianized. 
After  Nietzsche  and  Treitschke  have 
had  their  fling  of  poisoned  selfishness 
and  danced  their  carnival  of  blood  and 
death  humanity  will  turn  to  Christ  and 
cry  in  love,  "Thou  hast  conquered,  O 
Galilean !" 

GOD  IS   NOT  FAR 

Faith  in  God  cannot  be  shaken.  A 
few  persons  may  be  lost  in  the  arid 
gloom  of  unbelief,  but  the  mass  of 
mankind  will  find  this  faith  inde- 
structible. Faith  is  natural  to  the 
human  heart  and  God  is  not  far  away. 
The  hours  of  eclipse  will  be  short  and 
fitful.      In   frivolous   hours   we   may 


forget  God  and  our  hearts  be  smoth- 
ered by  too  much  of  the  material. 
The  trivial  task  may  not  seem  to  call 
for  God,  but  in  the  great  things  we 
must  have  him.  There  may  come  bad 
days  when  we  lapse  into  cynicism,  and 
in  the  delirium  of  the  lotus-life  we 
may  not  care.  But  that  cannot  last, 
and  man  will  not  long  consent  to  live 
in  the  time-shadows  bereft  of  the 
vision  of  God,  which  at  once  cleanses, 
consoles,  inspires  and  gives  courage. 

In  times  like  these  when  many 
hearts  are  filled  with  fear  and  fore- 
boding, we  must  turn  again  to  these 
eternal  verities  and  values.  They 
alone  are  steadfast,  immovable.  There 
is  peculiar  danger  that  we  may  give 
way  to  fatalism  or  be  stampeded  by 
the  evil  dreams  of  the  hour.  If  all 
other  houses  are  on  fire  we  cannot 
save  our  own  by  setting  fire  to  it  also. 
With  the  everlasting  arms  beneath  it 
is  the  time  for  calm  confidence  and 
courageous,  if  cautious,  tread. 

THE   ONLY   REALITY 

We  are  called  back  to  fundamental 
things.  The  spiritual  again  emerges 
as  the  only  reality.  We  should  be 
done  with  trying  to  make  our  heaven 
out  of  wealth,  art,  ease,  luxury — 
mere  humanism.  Let  us  turn  again 
and  build  our  lives  on  the  things  that 
cannot  be  shaken — law,  right,  truth, 
love,  forgiveness,  faith,  God.  And 
like  the  eagle  on  the  adamant  cliff  far 
beyond  the  arrows  of  the  archer,  we 
shall  not  fear  the  bolts  of  death. 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 


The  Bible  on  the  Battlefield 


By  Robert  B.  Haines 


FIFTEEN  millions  of  copies  of 
the  Scriptures,  chiefly  Testaments 
and  Gospels,  and  in  some  cases 
smaller  portions  of  the  Word  of  God, 
seem  to  be  an  almost  incredible  quan- 
tity, and  yet  it  approximates  the 
number  of  copies  which  have  been 
circulated  by  the  Scripture  Gift  Mis- 
sion since  the  European  War  began. 

The  mission  is  not  a  new  organiza- 
tion, but  was  founded  thirty  years  ago 
with  the  aim  of  placing  the  Word  of 
God  in  an  attractively  illustrated  form 
in  the  hands  of  men  of  all  nations. 
The  illustrations  used  are  all  pictures 
of  Palestine  life,  and  no  representa- 
tions of  our  blessed  Lord.  They  are 
now  issued  in  ninety  different  lan- 
guages, and  the  method  adopted  by  the 
society  is  to  make  free  grants  to  mis- 
sions of  all  denominations,  so  that  they 
have  gratuitously  the  Bread  of  Life 
for  the  hungry  multitudes,  which  they 
give  to  those  who  desire  them. 


Since  the  war  broke  out,  the  society 
has  largely  confined  its  efforts  to  the 
belligerent  nations,  and  wonderful 
open  doors  have  been  presented  to  the 
society. 

WONDERFUL   OPENING  OF  DOORS 

Do  the  men  desire  the  Scriptures, 
and  do  they  read  them?  A  lad  in 
Gallipoli  had  a  Testament  given  to  him 
by  the  Scripture  Gift  Mission  on  leav- 
ing for  the  front.  It  was  the  only  copy 
in  his  trench,  and  he  was  constantly 
being  asked  for  the  loan  of  his  book, 
so  much  so  that  it  was  rarely  in  his 
possession.  He  asked  his  comrades 
whether  they  really  wanted  to  read 
God's  Word,  because  if  so  he  would 
cut  the  book  up  in  pieces,  so  that  they 
could  exchange  the  pages  among  them- 
selves. This  was  done,  and  the  soldier 
writing  home  of  the  incident  asked  for 
sufficient  Testaments  so  that  he  might 
supply  all  his  comrades  with  a  copy. 


How  impossible  it  would  be  to  send 
enough  Christian  workers  out  to  the 
front;  yet  the  word  itself  does  the 
work.  See  yonder  officer  going  his 
round  amongst  the  trenches ;  he  comes 
across  a  young  soldier  reading  a  Gos- 
pel of  John. 

The  officer  said:  "You  don't  be- 
lieve in  that  Book,  do  you?" 

"Yes,"  replied  the  soldier,  "I  do  be- 
lieve in  that  Book;  firstly,  because  it 
has  been  the  means  of  saving  my  soul ; 
secondly,  because  it  has  taken  away 
all  fear  of  death,  and  thirdly,  sir,  when 
I  read  this  blessed  Book,  the  Lord 
graciously  encourages  me  and  feeds 
my  soul  with  the  heavenly  manna 
found  in  it." 

The  officer  had  no  reply  to  make  and 
passed  on.  Hardly  had  he  taken  two 
steps  when  a  shell  burst  near,  and 
turning  round  he  saw  the  young  sol- 
dier fall.  It  was  such  a  shock  to  him 
that  he  went  over  to  where  the  quiver- 


April  12,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


1. 


ing  body  lay,  picked  up  the  Gospel  and 
took  it  into  his  "dug-out"  and  began 
reading  it.  He  was  through  it  so  con- 
vinced of  his  need  of  a  Savior  that 
he  there  and  then  yielded  himself  to 
Christ.  He  wrote  home  to  his  wife, 
told  her  of  his  conversion  in  simple 
language  and,  through  God's  grace, 
she,  too,  was  saved,  and  their  three 
grown-up  daughters  as  well.  "My 
word  shall  not  return  unto  me  void." 

"singing  jim" 

A  young  lady,  anxious  to  get  a 
parcel  off  to  her  sweetheart  at  the 
front,  went  to  a  shop  in  the  North  of 
London,  England,  to  buy  some  com- 
forts. The  grocer  suggested  that  he 
might  be  able  to  pack  the  parcel  better 
than  she  could.  She  consented  to  his 
doing  so,  and  he  slipped  inside  a  little 
portion  of  Scripture  entitled  "The 
Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Armor  in  Peace 
and  War."  It  is  a  booklet  of  some 
ninety-six  pages,  entirely  in  the  words 
of  Holy  Scripture,  with  about  a  dozen 
hymns  at  the  end.  The  parcel  reached 
its  destination.  The  soldier  writing 
to  his  fiancee  thanked  her  for  it,  mak- 
ing special  mention  of  the  little  book- 
let inclosed.  The  young  lady,  rather 
indignant,  went  to  the  grocer  to  find 
out  what  it  was  he  had  placed  inside, 
and  on  seeing  a  copy  was  satisfied. 

The  sequel  is  touching:  the  soldier, 
who  was  one  of  the  worst  characters 
of  the  regiment,  was  truly  converted 
to  God  by  reading  this  booklet,  and 
into  his  life  came  the  radical  change. 


He  could  not  keep  the  good  news  to 
himself,  but  was  constantly  speaking 
to  others  of  his  newly  found  Savior 
and  singing  the  hymns  included  in  the 
book.  His  comrades  nicknamed  him 
"Singing  Jim."  Later  there  was  an 
engagement  between  the  two  lines  of 
trenches,  and  a  lad  was  wounded. 
Volunteers  were  asked  to  bring  the 
poor  fellow  in,  and  "Singing  Jim"  of- 
fered. He  had  reached  the  wounded 
lad  when  a  star  shell  burst  overhead 
revealing  their  position.  A  sniper 
shot,  and  the  bullet  went  through 
"Singing  Jim's"  brain.  Someone  else 
went  over  to  get  the  wounded  lad  and 
also  the  dead  body.  In  "Singing 
Jim's"  pocket  was  found  a  long  letter 
written  to  his  sweetheart,  telling  her 
how  the  little  book  had  been  the 
means  of  his  conversion. 

laid  down  his  life 

Said  the  wounded  soldier,  "Please 
let  me  have  that  letter,  and  if  I  should 
get  better  I  will  take  it  to  the  young 
lady  and  tell  her  how  'Singing  Jim' 
laid  down  his  life  for  me." 

He  was  true  to  his  word,  and  found 
the  lady  and  gave  her  the  letter.  It 
was  a  touching  interview.  Before 
leaving,  his  comrades  had  asked  him, 
when  he  returned,  to  bring  with  him 
enough  books  so  that  each  might  have 
a  copy  of  the  book  that  had  made  such 
a  change  in  "Singing  Jim's"  life. 

Many  lads  do  not  care  to  go  into 
the  trenches  without  a  copy  of  God's 
Word   on  their   person.     They   look 


upon  it  with  a  kind  of  superstition,  but 
even  this  God  uses  for  His  own  glory, 
for  often  in  idle  moments  the  men  take 
out  the  little  Testaments  from  their 
pockets  in  the  trenches  and  dug-outs 
and  read  them.  It  is  the  only  book 
they  desire,  and  all  the  armies  show 
the  same  desire  for  the  Scriptures. 
Scores  and  scores  of  Testaments  and 
Gospels  have  actually  been  the  means 
of  saving  life,  and  when  the  men  have 
seen  their  books  shot  through  or  par- 
tially through  by  a  bullet,  have  read 
them  with  an  increased  interest.  God 
has  spoken  to  them  in  this  strange 
way,  and  they  have  yielded  themselves 
to  Him. 

"the  book  of  peace" 

When  we  think  of  the  millions  upon 
millions  of  the  best  manhood  of 
Europe  being  pitted  against  each  other 
in  deadly  conflict,  surely  the  best  book 
to  provide  for  "the  man  of  war"  is 
"The  Book  of  Peace." 

How  willingly  the  soldiers  of  Rus- 
sia, Belgium,  France  and  Germany  are 
to  receive  the  word!  In  a  British 
hospital,  a  soldier  who  was  wounded 
after  having  bayonetted  a  German  sol- 
dier, told  how  the  German  pulled  out 
a  copy  of  the  Gospel  of  John  from  his 
pocket,  and  handing  it  to  him  said : 
"Take  this,  eat,  drink  and  live  for- 
ever." 

"Please  tell  me  more  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,"  wrote  a  French  soldier  to 
whom  a  comrade  had  given  a  Gospel 
in  French.  "I  do  want  more  guidance 
unto  the  way  of  Life." 


.lM1M"1 nim-ii  nun  i:r m 1 1 . m n m m 1 1 hii u n i nu j urn m n r niMiniT hf u m »i i h n n m »u mi m ih m i bi ih ■  ti i i i h i ti j n 1 1 n int n i m 1 1 u ih nrj :  j l i h j  u l i h 1 1 m i n niu HiJiuii ruui n i i j 1 1 n li m : n it ui J n n li i m kci nt< i m Titniuiru i : i m 1 1 rifi i m 1 1 1 1 ij.rn i nui i 1 1 i 


iiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiititiuitiiiinniitiw 


'■  IIIIIIIKII  !..■.:.,■  i.   i.  ■     III   :i .■  :.;:■■   nimilimiimilHIIINIIrimiminilllllllllHIIIIlllllimimitllllHIII nmimiiiuiHi 

I  On  the  Brink   ] 

Three  Poems  by  Thomas  Curtis  Clark 

JBiniiMMHiininmuinnniimim 

America's  Men 

WE  are  America's  men, 
Strong,  forceful  and  free. 
We  are  America's  men, 
Children  of  liberty: 
Ready  to  march  at  the  trumpet's  call, 
Ready  to  fight,  ready  to  fall— 
And  ready  to  herald,  "Peace  for  all!" 
We  are  America's  men. 

We  are  America's  men, 

Brave,  dauntless  and  true. 
We  are  America's  men, 

Ready  to  dare  and  do: 
Ready  to  wield  the  sword  with  might, 
Ready  the  tyrant's  brow  to  smite, — 
And  ready  to  sheathe  the  sword — for  Right! 

We  are  America's  men. 

We  are  America's  men, 

Loathing  the  despot's  rod. 
We  are  America's  men, 

Under  the  rule  of  God: 
Ready  to  battle  giants  grim, 
Ready  to  fight  till  day  grows  dim, 
But  ready  to  sheathe  the  sword — for  Him! 

We  are  America's  men. 

Chicago,  April,  1917. 


The  New  Patriotism 

FLY  the  flag  at  half-mast 
For  the  life  that  has  been  spilt, 
For  the  wealth  that  has  been  built 
On  the  bones  of  men; 
Fly  the  flag  at  half-mast 
Till  the  day  breaks  again. 

Fly  the  flag  at  half-mast 

For  the  greed  that  would  not  die, 

For  the  hate  that  scorched  the  sky 

With  envenomed  fire; 
Fly  the  flag  at  half-mast 

For  the  deeds  of  men's  ire. 

Fly  the  flag  at  half-mast 

For  the  love  that  has  been  slain, 

For  the  conflict's  bloody  stain 

On  the  hopes  of  men; 
Fly  the  flag  at  half-mast 

Till  the  day  breaks  again. 


The  Day  of  Peace 

WHEN  will  peace  come? 
When  the  lips  of  "patriots"  are  dumb 
Throughout  the  world; 
When  the  pure  zvhite  flag  of  humankind 
Shall  be  unfurled. 

When  will  war  die? 

When  from  every  land  beneatli  the  sky 

"Laws"  shall  have  passed, 
And  the  higher,  truer  Law  of  Love 

Shall  bind  men  fast. 


•"'"•"I" .iiiimiimiiijiii. nil niiiiiii immimiimiiiliim i mil I urn I n rilll maim ml hi Il mull mi miiiimilimmimimmimiimimimiiiiimimimiiiiiiumuiuiiiiiiuimiiiimmiiuiiiiiuiimm iiiiimnmroiiuiwnuiwmmiuiuumimiiuniuuMn 


■n 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


For  What  Do  We  Fight? 


To  Uphold 
International  Law 

President  Wilson's  war  address  is 
admitted  by  all  to  be  one  of  the  great 
state  papers  of  American  history.     It 

is  great  in  its 
grasp  of  essen- 
t  i  a  1  s,  in  its 
statesman  -  like 
qualities  of 
breadth  and  un- 
selfish appeal 
for  justice,  in  its 
clear,  unmistak- 
a  b  1  e  phrasing 
and  in  its  re- 
strained judg- 
ments yet  im- 
passioned d  e  - 
mauds  for  human  rights. 

Primarily  he  calls  the  nation  to 
uphold  international  law,  "that  mini- 
mum of  right,"  which,  "by  painful 
stage  after  stage,  has  *  *  *  been 
built  up  with  meager  enough  results, 
*  *  *  after  all  was  accomplished 
that  could  be  accomplished,  but  al- 
ways with  a  clear  view,  at  least,  what 
the  heart  and  conscience  of  mankind 
demanded."  It  is  because  "the  Ger- 
man government  has  swept  aside" 
this  "minimum  of  right"  that  we  must 
now  recognize  that  this  has  become 
"a  war  against  all  nations,"  for  not 
only  have  "American  ships  been  sunk 
and  American  lives  been  taken,  *  *  * 
but  the  ships  and  people  of  other  neu- 
tral and  friendly  nations  have  been 
sunk  *  *  *  in  the  same  way. 
There  has  been  no  discrimination. 
The  challenge  is  to  all  mankind."  We 
do  not  go  to  war  merely  to  defend 
American  commerce  or  any  academic 
right  to  travel  in  dangerous  areas,  but 
because  "no  nation  has  right  of  domin- 
ion" on  the  sea  "where  lay  the  free 
highway  of  the  world"  and  the  only 
place  international  law  can  be  made 
effective.  Thus  "our  motive  will  not 
be  revenge  or  the  victorious  assertion 
of  the  physical  might  of  a  nation,  but 
only  the  vindication  of  right,  of  human 
right."  England,  too,  has  strained  the 
canons  of  international  law  in  relation 
to  property  right  and  commerce  has 
suffered,  and  our  protests  have  been 
made,  but  "property  can  be  paid  for; 
the  lives  of  innocent  people  cannot  be. 
The  present  German  submarine  war- 
fare against  commerce  is  a  warfare 
against  mankind." 


We  Fight  Against  Autocracy  and 
Its  Menace  to  the  Future  of  Peace 

"A  steadfast  concert  for  peace  can 
never  be  maintained  except  by  a  part- 
nership of  democratic  nations.  No  auto- 
cratic government  could  be  trusted  to 
keep  faith  within  it  or  observe  its  cove- 
nants. It  must  be  a  league  of  honor,  a 
partnership  of  opinion.  Intrigue  would 
eat  its  vitals  away;  the  plottings  of  in- 
ner circles,  who  could  plan  what  they 
would  and  render  account  to  no  one, 
would  be  a  corruption  seated  at  its  very 
heart.  Only  free  peoples  can  hold  their 
purpose  and  their  honor  steady  to  a 
common  end  and  prefer  the  interests  of 
mankind  to  any  narrow  interest  of  their 
own. 

"Cunningly  contrived  plans  of  decep- 
tion, of  aggression,  carried  it  may  be 
from  generation  to  generation,  can  be 
worked  out  and  kept  from  the  light  only 
within  the  privacy  of  courts  or  be- 
hind the  carefully  guarded  confidences 
of  a  narrow  privileged  class.  They  are 
happily  impossible  where  public  opinion 
commands  and  insists  upon  full  infor- 
mation concerning  all  the  nations'  af- 
fairs. 

"The  world  must  be  made  safe  for 
democracy.  Its  peace  must  be  founded 
upon  the  trusted  foundations  of  polit- 
ical liberty. 

"Neutrality  is  no  longer  feasible  or  de- 
sirable where  the  peace  of  the  world  is 
involved  and  the  freedom  of  its  peoples, 
and  the  menace  to  that  peace  and  free- 
dom lies  in  the  existence  of  autocratic 
governments  backed  by  organized  force 
which  is  controlled  wholly  by  their  will, 
not  by  the  will  of  their  people.  We  have 
seen  the  last  of  neutrality  in  such  cir- 
cumstances." 

*     *     * 

We  Will  Fight  With  the  Allies 
But  Not  For  Them 

We  cannot  fight  without  fighting 
with  the  Allies,  but  we  will  make  no 
alliances  with  them.  "We  have  no 
selfish  ends  to  serve.  We  desire  no 
conquest,  no  dominion.  We  seek  no 
indemnities  for  ourselves,  no  material 
compensations  for  the  sacrifice  we 
shall  freely  make?"  We  can  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  territorial  de- 
mands of  the  Allies  nor  their  deter- 
mination to  keep  German  colonies  and 
collect  indemnities.  We  must  mani- 
fest the  same  difference  of  temper  and 
aim  we  manifested  toward  China  in 
the  settlement  of  the  Boxer  trouble 
when  we  refused  indemnity  and  asked 
that  our  losses  be  paid  by  China  in 
sending  her  brightest  youth  to  share 
our  free  education  while  the  Allies  and 
Germany  both  collected  enormous  trib- 
ute. Nor  will  we  share  their  rancor 
and  hate  if  we  follow  the  President. 
"Just  because  we  fight  without  rancor 
and  without  selfish  objects,  seeking 
nothing  for  ourselves  but  what  we 
shall  wish  to  share  as  free  peoples,  we 


shall,  I  feel  confident,  conduct  our 
operations  as  belligerents  without  pas- 
sion and  ourselves  observe  with  proud 
punctiliousness  the  principles  of  right 
and  of  fair  play  we  profess  to  be 
fighting  for."  "We  shall  be  satisfied 
when  those  rights  have  been  made  as 
secure  as  the  faith  and  the  freedom  of 
the  nations  can  make  them."  We  have 
no  more  interest  in  restoring  terri- 
tories to  France  or  Italy  that  have 
been  subjects  of  conquest  by  them  as 
well  as  their  enemies  in  times  past,  nor 
in  Britain  adding  to  her  vast  colonial 
domain  the  colonies  of  Germany  than 
we  have  in  restoring  to  Bulgaria  the 
provinces  wrested  from  her  by  the 
other  Balkan  states.  We  share  no 
traditional  European  animosity  nor 
have  aught  at  stake  in  their  balance- 
of-power  game  of  politics  and  trade. 
"We  are  at  the  beginning  of  an  age  in 
which  it  will  be  insisted  that  the  same 
standards  of  conduct  and  of  responsi- 
bility for  wrongdoing  shall  be  observed 
among  nations  and  their  governments 
that  are  observed  among  the  individ- 
ual citizens  of  civilized  states." 


We  Have  No  Quarrel 
With  the  German  People 

"We  act  without  animus,  not  in  en- 
mity toward  a  people  or  with  the  de- 
sire to  bring  any  enmity  or  disadvantage 
upon  them,  but  only  in  armed  opposi- 
tion to  an  irresponsible  government 
which  has  thrown  aside  all  considerations 
of  humanity  and  of  right  and  is  run- 
ning amuck." 

"We  have  no  quarrel  with  the  Ger- 
man people.  We  have  no  feeling  to- 
wards them  but  one  of  sympathy  and 
friendship.  It  was  not  upon  their  im- 
pulse that  their  government  acted  in 
beginning^  this  war.  It  was  not  with 
their  previous  knowledge  or  approval,  it 
was  a  war  determined  upon  as  wars 
used  to  be  determined  on  in  the  old,  un- 
happy days  when  peoples  were  nowhere 
consulted  by  their  rulers  and  wars  were 
provoked  and  waged  in  the  interest  of 
dynasties  or  of  little  groups  of  ambitious 
men  who  were  accustomed  to  use  their 
fellow  men   as   pawns  and  tools." 

Our  battles  for  democracy  will  do 
more  for  the  German  people  than  for 
our  own  by  far.  Let  us  hope  there 
will  be  no  peace  until  German  autoc- 
racy consents  to  abdicate  and  the  Ger-' 
man  and  Austrian  peoples  allowed  to 
vote,  as  the  Russians  are  to  do,  on  the 
form  of  constitutional  government 
they  desire.  The  President  has 
weighed  the  matter  well;  his  patience 
has  been  equal  to  that  of  Lincoln ;  his 
uncomplaining  willingness  to  bear 
criticism  and  to  make  all  his  mistakes 
on  the  side  of  caution,  and  the  great 
responsibility  he   feels  are  set  forth 


April  12,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


17 


in  words  that  may  some  day  rank  with 
the  Great  Emancipator's  Gettysburg 
speech : 

"It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  lead  this  great 
peaceful  country  into  war,  into  the  most 
terrible  and  disastrous  of  all  wars,  civil- 
ization itself  seeming  to  be  in  the  bal- 
ance, but  the  right  is  more  precious  than 
peace,  and  we  shall  fight  for  the  things 
which  we  have  always  carried  nearest 
our  hearts — for  democracy,  for  the  right 
of  those  who  submit  to  authority  to  have 
a  voice  in  their  own  governments,  for  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  small  nations,  for 
a  universal  dominion  of  right  by  such  a 
concert  of  free  people  as  shall  bring 
peace  and  safety  to  all  nations  and  make 
the  world  itself  at  last  free.  To  such  a 
task  we  can  dedicate  our  lives  and  our 
fortunes,  everything  that  we  are  and 
everything  that  we  have  with  the  pride 
of  those  who  know  that  the  day  has 
come  when  America  has  been  privileged 
to  spend  her  blood  and  her  might  for 
the  principles  that  gave  her  birth  and 
happiness  and  the  peace  which  she  has 
treasured. 

"God  helping  her,  she  can  do  no  other." 

T  T  T 

Will  We  Conscript  Profits 
As  Well  As  Men? 

The  President  leaves  us  with  no 
misgivings  as  to  the  solemn  meaning 
of  this  war  to  us.  He  calls  upon  us 
to  "spend  the  whole  force  of  the  na- 
tion" to  check  the  power  of  military 
autocracy  and  bring  "assured  security 
for  the  democratic  government  of  the 
world"  and  the  "privilege  of  men 
everywhere  to  choose  their  way  of  life 
and  of  obedience."  "It  will  involve 
the  organization  and  mobilization  of 
alLthe  material  resources  of  the  coun- 
try  *  *  *  m  the  most  abundant 
and  yet  the  most  economical  and  effi- 
cient way  possible."  Our  youth  will, 
no  doubt,  be  conscripted  and  a  multi- 
tude called  upon  to  face  death  and 
wounds.  Will  we  have  the  initiative 
to  conscript  profits  as  well  as  men? 
England  is  taking  all  her  able-bodied 
young  men  and  Germany  is  drafting 
her  last  human  resource;  they  leave 
their  all  and  give  their  lives.  Yet 
England  is  taking  only  sixty  per  cent 
and  Germany  only  twenty-five  per  cent 
of  the  war  profits.  Millions  give  their 
lives  and  a  few  thousands  grow  rich 
out  of  their  sacrifice.  Is  not  a  man 
of  more  worth  than  a  sheep?  Will 
we  fight  for  humanity  but  not  for 
property  and  yet  give  property  im- 
munity while  compelling  men  to  die? 
The  President  advises  taxation  instead 
of  bonds  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
war.  Why  should  any  man  make  a 
dollar  out  of  a  war  that  costs  others 
their  all?  Is  it  treason  to  withhold 
one's  life  from  duty  but  no  treason  to 
withhold  one's  money  from  the  same 
duty?  Is  it  glorious  for  one  to  die 
for  the  cause  and  honorable  for  an- 
other to  coin  profits  out  of  that  same 
cause?  Let  us  denounce  as  treason 
the  claim  of  any  man  to  profit  from  a 
war  that  demands  the  sacrifice  of 
others. 


|  The  Sunday  School 

Glorious  Extravagance 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
BY  JOHN   R.   EWERS 


NOT  an  ounce,  but  a  whole  pound 
of  the  spikenard,  very  precious. 
I  am  glad  Mary  did  not  stop  to 
figure  out  the  cost,  nor  to  ask  herself 
if  Jesus  might   not  accept  two   and 

one-half  ounces, 
and  be  just  as 
well  pleased. 
Mary  went  the 
limit  and  bought 
the  whole  pound 
—  no  matter 
what  the  cost, 
no  matter  how 
long  it  would 
take  to  earn 
enough  to  pay 
for  it.  The  di- 
vine fling  is  none  too  frequent.  Not  too 
many  people  are  wildly  extravagant 
for  God !  This  lesson  is  a  very  neces- 
sary one  and  the  gospel  writer  did  well 
to  put  it  in  the  narrative.  What  a  con- 
trast— Mary,  Judas.  Mary  with  a  heart 
filled  with  love,  seeking  an  (Oppor- 
tunity to  prove  her  loyalty  at  any  cost. 
Judas,  with  a  heart  of  ice,  seeking  an 
opportunity  to  get  what  he  could  out 
of  the  movement.  Judas — hero  of  the 
thirty  cents ! !  Judas — cheap-skate. 
Mary,  who  went  the  limit  and  did  all 
she  could.     Take  your  choice. 

Here  is  a  young  fellow  who  is  go- 
ing to  be  married.  A  diamond  is  ex- 
pensive, but  his  love  is  strong — he 
buys  the  diamond.  Love  is  the  mo- 
tive— what  a  glorious  motive !  The 
day  has  come  when  we  must  take  as 
our  motto,  "Not  How  Little,  but  How 
Much."  Here  is  a  poor,  miserable 
church  member  who  figures  out  how 
little  he  can  give  and  yet  maintain  his 
place  in  the  church.  He  can  well  af- 
ford to  give  two  dollars  a  week.  He 
goes  to  the  theatre  and  has  the  best 
seats.  He  smokes  constantly,  he  never 
stints  himself  at  the  restaurants,  he 
dresses  lavishly — and  gives  twenty- 
five  cents  a  week  to  his  church !  Good 
Lord,  deliver  us!  (Not  even  thirty 
cents.)  Do  we  not  need  this  lesson 
in  the  New  Testament?  And  here  is 
Mary.  She  is  a  stenographer.  She 
is  getting  ten  dollars  a  week.  Her 
spring  hat  is  very  plain — a  mere  bit  of 
straw  and  ribbon.  She  lives  on  the 
third  floor.  Her  lunch  costs  fifteen 
cents.     She  walks  home  to  save  car 


*This  article  is  based  on  the  Interna- 
tional Uniform  lesson  for  April  22, 
"Jesus  Anointed  at  Bethany."  Scrip- 
ture, John   12:1-11. 


fare.  She  gives  one  dollar  a  week 
to  her  church.  She  does  what  she 
can. 

The  church  abounds  in  members 
of  the  Minimum  League,  the  "How 
Little"  club.  They  lie  awake  nights 
figuring  out  how  few  times  they  can 
attend  church,  how  few  cents  they 
can  give,  how  little  service  they  can 
devote,  how  much  they  can  cut  down 
their  creeds.  They  rob  Jesus  of  his 
divinity  as  far  as  possible,  they  reduce 
the  significance  of  the  ordinances  to 
the  lowest  terms,  they  go  as  far  as 
possible  to  make  Sunday  a  day  of 
recreation — to  eliminate  from  it  the 
time  of  spiritual  uplift,  they  minimize 
the  church,  humiliate  the  preacher, 
avoid  the  Sunday  school,  refuse  to 
work  in  any  of  the  church  organiza- 
tions, are  churlish  with  their  smiles 
and  liberal  only  in  their  biting  criti- 
cisms. They  pour  ice  water  on  even- 
enthusiastic  plan.  They  shove  ball  bats 
in  the  spokes  of  every  wheel  of  pro- 
gress. They  say,  "Thousands  for  our- 
selves ;  not  one  cent  for  missions." 
These  are  the  members  of  the  "Con- 
temptible Society  of  Side-Steppers." 
*     *     * 

But  Mary,  God  bless  her,  she  asks 
always,  "How  much?  How  much?" 
She  attends  morning,  evening  and 
mid-week  services.  She  goes  in  quest 
of  a  new  member.  She  calls  upon  the 
sick.  She  encourages  the  workers 
and  stays  awake  during  the  sermon. 
She  saves  her  money  and  gives  it 
generously  for  all  benevolences.  She 
has  faith  in  large  enterprises.  She 
believes  that  Jesus  is  the  Royal  Son 
of  God  and  acts  accordingly.  She 
fills  Sunday  with  good  works.  She 
is  loyal  to  her  own  church  and  min- 
ister. She  radiates  cheer  and  optim- 
ism and  her  only  criticisms  are  sug- 
gestions for  larger  things. 

Judas  — ■  how  little ;  Mary  —  how 
much.  There  you  have  it  plain  and 
flat.  No  wonder  the  Bible  talks  about 
"An  abundant  entrance  into  Heaven." 
Here  is  a  wonderful  lesson — divine 
extravagance.  God  could  have  made 
one  star  and  one  violet,  but  he  sowed 
the  skies  with  diamonds  and  He  cov- 
ered the  meadows  with  flowers.  A 
generous  God  teaches  us  generosity. 
This  is  the  day  to  live  to  the  limit. 
Hurl  yourself,  with  the  note  of  aban- 
don, into  the  service  of  your  Master. 
Do  what  you  can — all  that  you  can. 
Be  extravagant  far  God. 


The    Larger    Christian   World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 

1 


BY  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN  ! 


Bishop  Puts 
Limits  on  Peace 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Church 
Peace  Union  in  New  York  had  a 
dramatic  moment  when  Bishop 
Greer  insisted  that  before  he  be  re- 
elected president  of  the  organiza- 
tion, he  might  tell  what  sort  of  a 
pacifist  he  was.  He  thought  they 
might  not  want  to  elect  him  if  they 
knew.  He  said :  "It  is  my  deliber- 
ate thought  now  that  it  would  be 
better  to  be  slain  than  to  become  the 
murderer  of  another  man  in  self- 
defense.  But  if  I  saw  a  big  brute  of 
a  man  slinking  up  to  attack  my  two 
little  granddaughters,  I  should  kill 
him  if  I  could  and  think  I  had  done 
God's  service.  .  .  .  And  what 
applies  to  a  man  in  his  personal  re- 
sponsibilities I  think  applies  to  all 
men  of  a  nation.  If  the  wards  of  a 
nation  are  imperiled  by  invasion — 
defenseless  women  and  children  in 
particular — it  would  be  a  Christian's 
duty  to  take  up  arms  to  protect 
them.  I  am  a  peace  man  only  with 
the  qualifications  thus  implied."  A 
gentleman  sitting  near  asked  :  "And 
among  the  wards  of  a  strong  nation, 
would  you  not  be  willing  to  include 
smaller  nations  unable  to  protect 
themselves,  Dr.  Greer?"  The  bishop 
promptly  replied :  "I  should  con- 
sider the  case  in  the  same  light." 
And  the  Church  Peace  Union  re- 
elected him  on  that  platform. 

Catholics  to  Have 
Social  Service 

The  American  Federation  of  Cath- 
olic Societies  has  brought  to  the  at- 
tention of  Archbishop  Bonzano,  the 
papal  delegate,  a  suggestion  for  a 
social  program  for  the  various  Cath- 
olic parishes  of  the  country.  The 
delegate  has  fallen  in  with  the  plans 
heartily  and  it  will  not  be  long  until 
a  social  program  will  be  in  full 
swing.  Social  service  among  the 
Catholics  is  still  a  more  restricted 
idea  than  among  Protestants,  but 
there  is  great  thoroughness  in 
Catholic  enterprises. 

Bishop  Wants 
Alcoholic  Wine 

The  "bone  dry''  laws  of  the  vari- 
ous states  have  put  certain  sacra- 
mental churches  to  great  pains  to 
secure  a  supply  of  communion  wine. 
The  Bishop  of  Georgia  of  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  fellowship  has 
urged  upon  his  clergy  that  they 
unitedly  oppose  dry  laws,  which  do 
not  exclude  from  their  operation  the 


sacramental  wine.  Recent  discus- 
sions in  papers  of  the  denomination 
show  a  strong  sentiment  that  nothing 
but  alcoholic  wine  is  "wine"  in  the 
biblical  sense. 

Church  Not  Satisfied 
With  Its  Growth 

There  is  dissatisfaction  in  Episco- 
palian circles  with  this  church's  rate 
of  gain  in  this  country.  Last  year  it 
was  two  and  one-half  per  cent.  This 
meant  that  a  parish  of  one  thousand 
members  increased  by  only  twenty-five 
and  that  a  congregation  of  one  hun- 
dred members  had  a  net  gain  of  less 
than  three.  An  Episcopalian  paper 
which  called  to  our  attention  the  novel 
campaign  to  be  inaugurated  in  the  dio- 
cese of  Quincy  reminds  us  of  this 
small  increase,  and  adds :  It  is  a  source 
of  shame  and  humiliation  to  every 
communicant  ,of  the  Church  who  has 
red  blood  in  his  veins.  The  practical 
man  of  today  estimates  the  worth  of 
a  clergyman  according  to  his  ability 
to  develop  the  spiritual  life  and  nu- 
merical strength  of  the  parish.  A  ves- 
tryman should  not  vote  to  call  a  cler- 
gyman to  be  rector  of  a  parish  unless 
he  could  show  a  net  gain  of  more  than 
two  and  one-half  per  cent  in  his  pre- 
vious work. 

Priest  Provokes  Mirth 

The  Sunday  Visitor  is  a  paper  wide- 
ly circulated  in  Roman  Catholic  homes 
and  in  appearance  does  not  look  much 
different  from  the  Menace,  which  it 
rivals  in  subscription  list.  In  its  pages 
recently  Rev.  Thomas  Coakley  of 
Pittsburgh  says,  "Christ  taught  that 
all  who  belong  to  His  church  must 
receive  the  seven  sacraments  which  He 
instituted."  However,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Coakley  has  never  received  the  sac- 
rament of  marriage.  He  says  further, 
"Christ  taught  that  His  church  must 
be  the  same  all  over  the  world."  Yet 
the  Uniat  priests  of  the  Catholic 
church  are  married,  and  in  some  coun- 
tries the  Catholic  church  grants  the 
common  people  the  chalice  and  the 
use  of  a  ritual  in  the  vernacular. 

Wants  to  Abolish 
Heaven  and  Hell 

Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot  is  quoted  as 
saying  of  the  Unitarians,  "We  believe 
that  mankind  would  get -along  better 
than  they  do  now  if  it  were  positively 
known  that  the  heaven  of  Revelation 
had  been  burnt  and  hell  quenched."  If 
Dr.  Eliot  said  this,  it  is  another  of  the 
shining  examples  of  how  Unitarians 
contrive  to  get  themselves  misunder- 


stood. The  Unitarian  teacher  may 
have  some  positive  views  on  escha- 
tology  but  if  so,  he  has  not  mentioned 
them  in  his  recently  published  creed. 

Speaks  Before 
Sunday  Evening  Club 

The  Sunday  Evening  Club  of  Chi- 
cago was  organized  by  a  group  of  well- 
to-do  laymen  for  the  purpose  of  fur- 
nishing religious  services  to  strangers 
in  the  city.  On  Sunday  evening,  April 
1,  President  Henry  Churchill  King,  of 
Oberlin  College  delivered  an  address 
on  "Friends,  How  to  Make  Them, 
Choose  Them  and  Keep  Them."  There 
are  many  evenings  when  the  theater 
where  the  Sunday  Evening  Club  meets 
is  not  able  to  accommodate  the  audi- 
ences. 

Minister  Works  for 
Death  Penalty 

It  was  rather  an  anomalous  situa- 
tion for  a  clergymen  to  work  for  the 
retention  of  the  death  penalty  in  Penn- 
sylvania. There  was  a  strong  move- 
ment in  the  legislature  looking  to  the 
abolition  of  capital  punishment.  Four 
opponents  to  the  new  idea  appeared, 
among  these  being  Rev.  Samuel  Up- 
john, D.  D.,  who  upheld  the  death 
penalty  as  a  "question  of  eminent  sac- 
redness,"  and  a  prerogative  of  the 
state  which  "rests  upon  sacred 
grounds." 

Spirit  of  Union  in 
the  Northwest 

The  spirit  of  fellowship  between  de- 
nominations is  apparently  growing, 
for  in  one  week  there  were  reported 
two  cases  of  organic  union  between 
Methodist  and  Presbyterian 
churches.  North  St.  Paul  (Minn.) 
Presbyterian  church  has  voted  to 
federate  with  the  local  Methodist 
congregations,  using  the  Methodist 
manse  and  the  Presbyterian  church 
buildings  for  worship.  The  Meth- 
odist church  at  Omena,  N.  D.,  has 
formed  an  organic  union  with  the 
Presbyterian  church. 

Six  Millions  for  Episcopalian 
Pension  Fund 

The  pension  fund  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  has  been  under  the 
direction  of  Bishop  Lawrence  this  year 
and  he  has  been  making  a  big  drive 
for  five  millions  of  dollars.  He  suc- 
ceeded better  than  he  had  at  first 
hoped  and  the  total  fund  is  now  over 
six  millions  of  dollars.  The  Carnegie 
Foundation  made  a  handsome  addi- 
tion to  the  gifts. 


April  12,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


Recent  Books 

The  Boy  Scout  Movement  Applied 
by  the  Church,  by  Richardson  and 
Loomis.  445  pages.  $1.50.  Pub- 
lished by  Scribners. 
Like  the  Sunday  school,  the  Boy 
Scout  movement  began  outside  the 
regular  channels  of  church  activity, 
but  it  has  proved  so  successful  in  its 
discernment  of  boy  interests  and  its 
adaptation  of  organized  social  and 
athletic  methods  to  the  moral  training 
of  boys,  that  the  church  would  do  well 
to  adopt  the  whole  movement  and,  if 
necessary,  make  such  adaptations  as 
will  fit  it  into  its  organized  work.  This 
volume  gives  a  history  of  the  move- 
ment, analyzes  the  steps  in  character 
building  and  the  educational  values  of 
recreation  and  furnishes  a  complete 
handbook  and  guide  for  the  conduct 
of  Scout  organizations.  The  work  of 
the  church  on  Sunday  is  frequently 
destroyed  by  the  play  of  the  boy  dur- 
ing the  week.  The  church  has  always 
had  an  interest  in  recreation,  but  it 
has  usually  been  repressive  or  at  least 
critical.  Modern  psychology,  when 
applied  to  the  ethical  question,  reveals 
the  recreational  interests  of  the  youth 
as  the  chief  channels  for  moral  educa- 
tion. Ninety  per  cent  of  the  boys 
connected  with  the  Scout  movement 
come  from  the  churches.  By  adopting 
and  adapting  the  entire  movement,  the 
church  could,  no  doubt,  retain  its  hold 
upon  the  nearly  80  per  cent  that  escape 
from  its  influences  during  the  adoles- 
cent period.  The  drill  of  the  Scouts 
is  not  necessarily  military,  but  the 
war  conditions  in  England  have  shown 
how  easy  it  can  be  conscripted  by  the 
military  mind.  The  boy  is  very  easily 
made  a  soldier.  It  is  the  business  of 
the  church  to  save  the  whole  move- 
ment from  the  military  passion  of  the 
times  and  to  put  into  it  that  "moral 
equivalent  for  war,"  which  must  be 
engineered  if  war  is  to  be  supplanted. 

A.   W.   T. 
*      *      * 

Great  Companions.  By  Edith 
Franklin  Wyatt.  If  you  like  a  book 
of  essays  on  human  topics  written  in 
a  charmingly  quiet  style,  here  is  the 
book.  Among  the  world  personali- 
ties discussed  are  DeFoe,  Henry 
James,  Whitman,  Shelley,  Fabre  and 
James  Whitcomb  Riley.  Miss  Wyatt 
has  won  the  attention  and  appreciation 
of  the  dean  of  American  literature, 
Wm.  Dean  Howells,  and  that  surely 
is  sufficient  endorsement.  ( Appletons, 
New  York,  $1.50.) 

The  Great  Poets  and  Their  The- 
ology. By  Augustus  H.  Strong.  Dr. 
Strong  is  President  Emeritus  of  Ro- 
chester Theological  Seminary,  but  is 
as  deeply  interested  in  literature  as  in 
theology.  His  range  of  knowledge  is 
wide,  and  he  brings  it  all  to  this  in- 


The   Most   Beautiful  Hymnal  Ever   Produced  by   the    American    Church 

HYMNS  OF  THE 
UNITED  CHURCH 

The  Disciples  Hymnal 

Charles  Clayton  Mtrrisao   mi  Herbert  L  Willelt 
EditoM 

Contains  all  the  great  kymni  which 
have  become  fixed  in  the  affection* 
of  the  Church  and  adds  thereto  three 
distinctive  features: 

HYMNS  OF  SOCIAL  SERVICE 
HYMNS  OF   CHRISTIAN    UNITY 
HYMNS  OF  THE  INNER  LIFE 

These  three  features  give  this  new 
hymnal  a  modernness  of  character 
and  a  vitality  not  found  in  any  other 
book.    This  hymnal  is  alivel 

It  tings  the  tame  gotpel  that  i* 
being  preached  in  modern  evan- 
gelical pulpit*. 

Price,  per  single  copy,  in  cloth,  $1.15 
In  half  leather.  $1.40.     Extraordinary 
discount  made   to   churches   adopting 
this  book  in  the  early  days  of  the  first 
edition. 

Write  to-day  for  further  information  as 
to  sample  copies,  etc. 

T!^  Christian  Century  Press 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago 


teresting  study  of  the  world  poets 
from  the  rather  unusual  viewpoint  of 
their  theological  ideas.  He  weighs  in 
his  theological  balance  Homer,  Virgil, 
Dante,  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Goethe, 
Wordsworth,  Browning  and  Tenny- 
son, and  finds  some  of  them  sorely 
wanting.  However,  he  deals  with  all 
of  them  in  a  thoroughly  sympathetic 
manner.  The  minister  who  has  missed 
that  necessary  part  of  a  modern  edu- 
cation, a  knowledge  of  literature, 
would  find  this  an  ideal  book  for 
study.  (Griffith  &  Rowland  Press, 
Philadelphia.     $1.20  postpaid.) 

American  Poets  and  Their  The- 
ology. By  Augustus  H.  Strong.  In 
this  volume  Dr.  Strong  has  continued 
his  study  of  the  poets  from  the  theo- 
logical viewpoint,  and  discusses  the 
work  of  Bryant,  Whittier,  Emerson, 
Poe,  Longfellow,  Lowell,  Holmes, 
Lanier  and  Whitman.  He  deals  rather 
savagely  with  Emerson,  Poe  and 
Whitman,  but  it  is  probably  a  helpful 
exercise  to  get  away  for  a  while  from 
our  hero-worship  point  of  view  and 
search  for  the  clay  in  these  figures  of 
gold.  (Griffith  &  Rowland  Press, 
Philadelphia.    $1.00  net.) 

Citizen  Bird.  By  Mabel  Osgood 
Wright.  Spring  is  here,  and  she  brings 
with  her  the  bird  choirs.  Now  is  the 
time  to  study  the  feathered  citizens  of 
our  back  yards  and  green  trees.  The 
story  of  the  birds  is  here  given  in 
unusually  attractive  form  and  all  ages 


can  rejoice  in  the  study  here  afforded. 
It  is  an  ideal  text.  (Macmillan  &  Com- 
pany, New  York,  $1.50.) 

Lydia  of  the  Pines.  By  Honore 
Willsie.  If  you  have  read  "Still  Jim" 
you  must  have  this  volume,  in  which 
is  given  a  study  of  developing  woman- 
hood with  a  background  of  the  upper 
Mississippi  country,  with  the  same 
power  that  revealed  itself  in  the  story 
of  Still  Jim,  who  grew  into  sturdy 
manhood  out  in  the  Rockies.  Miss 
Willsie,  who  is  a  New  York  editor, 
reveals  deep  insight  in  the  portrayal 
of  the  inner  lives  of  her  characters. 
She  bids  fair  to  become  a  modern 
George  Eliot.  (Frederick  A.  Stokes, 
New  York.    $1.40  net.) 

Tales  of  Labrador.  By  Wilfred 
T.  Grenfell.  Dr.  Grenfell's  ministry 
to  the  bleak  lives  of  the  northland 
forms  one  of  the  romances  of  these 
wonderful  modern  years.  His  tales 
are  stranger  than  fiction,  and  much 
more  elevating  than  most  of  the  fic- 
tional mush  of  the  day.  Here  are 
eleven  stories  of  shipwreck  and  peril, 
any  one  of  which  is  more  thrilling 
than  one  of  David  W.  Griffith's  much- 
advertised  films.  (Houghton  Mifflin 
Company,  Boston.    $1.25  net.) 

Women  are  People.  By  Alice  Duer 
Miller.  "A  collection  of  lively  rhymes 
for  suffrage  times  by  the  poet  laureate 
of  the  suffrage  cause."  (Doran,  New 
York.    75c  net.)  t.  c.  c. 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


April  12,  1917 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


J.  H.   McCartney  Goes 
to  Berkeley,  Cal. 

Report  comes  from  California  that  the 
congregation  at  Berkele}',  Cal.,  has 
unanimously  chosen  J.  H.  McCartney,  of 
Modesto,  Cal.,  to  succeed  H.  J.  Loken 
as  pastor.  A  thorough  canvass  of  over 
fort}'  names  was  made  before  the  deci- 
sion was  made.  Mr.  McCartney  has 
accepted  the  work  and  will  begin  his 
service  at  Berkeley  about  May  1.  The 
new  leader  is  a  Hiram  man,  and  fol- 
lowed graduate  courses  at  Western  Re- 
serve University  and  at  the  University 
of  Chicago.  He  has  held  pastorates  at 
Waynesboro,  Pa.,  and  Cleveland,  O., 
and  has  served  the  Modesto  congrega- 
tion for  four  years.  At  the  latter  place 
Mr.  McCartney  found  a  small  and  di- 
vided congregation  and  is  leaving  a 
church  with  a  membership  of  about  500 
and  with  about  300  in  the  Sunday 
school.  He  will  find  an  undivided  con- 
gregation at  Berkeley.  There  is  a 
strong  band  of  young  people  there.  The 
organization  of  Christian  Endeavorers 
has  been  in  charge  of  the  evening  meet- 
ings since  Mr.  Loken  left  a  few  weeks 
ago.  Since  January  1  a  debt  of  $1,164 
has  been  reduced  to  about  $650.  Mr. 
McCartney  is  a  man  of  pulpit  ability, 
with  vision  and  ideals,  and  is  in  thorough 
sympathy  with  the  program  for  a  united 
church. 

W.  S.  Lockhart  May  Serve 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Europe 

Some  days  ago  W.  S.  Lockhart  of 
Houston,  Texas,  received  a  letter  of  in- 
vitation from  George  Sherwood  Eddy, 
foreign  secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  to 
be  one  of  seven  American  preachers  to 
form  an  evangelistic  team  to  do  work  in 
the  British  army  camps  of  England, 
France  and  Egypt.  Burris  A.  Jenkins, 
of  Kansas  City,  has  also  been  invited  as 
one  of  this  same  party.  Mr.  Lockhart's 
friends  will  be  glad  to  know  of  this  invi- 
tation to  greater  service.  He  is  very 
anxious  to  go  and  has  the  matter  under 
advisement. 

Another  "Flying 
Squadron" 

A  "Flying  Squadron"  composed  of 
four  of  the  officers  of  the  County  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  Jasper  county,  Mo., 
has  just  completed  a  series  of  one-night 
rallies  with  eleven  of  the  smaller 
churches  of  the  county.  The  members 
of  this  "squadron"  were  C.  H.  Swift, 
Carthage;  Dr.  John  Clark,  Villa  Heights; 
W.  P.  Shamhart,  South  Joplin,  and  C.  C. 
Garrigues,  Joplin,  First.  In  visiting 
these  churches  the  team  covered  over 
490  miles  by  trolley  and  auto  or  an  ag- 
gregate of  nearly  2,000  miles.  Each 
church  visited  made  an  offering  to 
county  work.  The  purpose  of  the  visits 
of  the  team  was  to  present  the  county 
plan  of  work  adopted  at  the  last  conven- 
tion, and  to  deepen  the  interest  of  all 
the  churches  in  their  local  and  general 
work.  The  enterprises  represented  by 
all  the  National  Societies  were  pre- 
sented and  each  church  was  urged  to 
raise  its  full  apportionment.  Literature 
was  distributed  outlining  the  county  plan 
of  work,  also  giving  a  complete  statis- 
tical table  of  membership,  offerings,  ap- 
portionments, etc.,  of  all  the  county 
churches.  Features  that  were  specially 
stressed  in   these  rallies  were  a  county 


survey  and  an  Assembly  or  Camp  meet- 
ing. The  survey  is  to  be  made  within 
the  next  three  years  and  will  be  of  an 
economic,  social  and  religious  character. 
It  is  planned  to  carefully  train  at  least 
300  persons  to  make  this  Survey.  The 
Assembly  or  Camp  meeting  will  be  held 
at  Forest  Mills,  where  there  are  boating 
and  fishing  facilities.  A  large  tent  will 
be  used  for  the  Assembly  meetings;  cot- 
tages and  tents  will  be  used  for  living 
purposes.  The  Assembly  will  be  held 
from  July  24  to  Aug.  3.  Among  the 
features  will  be  an  Elders'  &  Deacons' 
Conference,  a  School  of  Methods,  a 
Rural  Church  Institute  and  nightly 
evangelistic    meetings. 

O.  F.  Jordan 

At  Bethany  Assembly 

O.  F.  Jordan  of  Evanston,  111.,  will 
give  several  lectures  at  Bethany  Assem- 
bly this  year.  His  subjects  will  be,  "A 
Man  and  His  Money,"  "The  Social 
Spirit  in  Modern  Literature,"  "Lights 
and  Shadows  in  a  Great  City"  and  "The 
History  and  Achievements  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ."  The  last  two  lec- 
tures will  be  illustrated  with  views 
which  have  been  prepared  at  great  ex- 
pense and  after  many  years  of  careful 
investigation.  The  first  of  these  two 
illustrated  lectures  will  deal  with  the 
great  social  problems  that  confront  the 
church  in  a  great  city.  The  last  will  be- 
gin with  the  Disciples  in  Ireland  and 
follow  them  over  their  trail  in  this  coun- 
try, closing  with  the  great  institutions 
that  have  been  made  possible  by  their 
labors. 

Notable  Growth  in 
St.  Louis  Church 

When  L.  W.  McCreary  came  to  the 
work  at  Hamilton  Avenue  Church,  St. 
Louis,   Mo.,   in   1905,  he   found  a   strug- 

fling  mission  with  a  property  of  about 
2,000.  Mr.  McCreary,  a  Hiram  man, 
came  to  St.  Louis  from  a  successful  work 
across  the  river  at  East  St.  Louis.  In 
about  a  year  Mr.  McCreary  had  dedi- 
cated a  $40,000  building  at  Hamilton  ave- 
nue. Since  then  the  church  has  had  a 
remarkable  development,  Mr.  McCreary 
having  fitted  into  the  needs  of  the  work 
admirably.  There  is  now  an  active  mem- 
bership of  650  with  a  Sunday  school  of 
about  the  same  number.  Last  year  this 
church  ranked  twenty-first  among  the 
churches  of  the  Disciples  in  gifts  to 
missions  and  benevolences.  The  new 
building  cost  about  $40,000  and  is 
erected  especially  for  more  efficient  Sun- 
day school  and  young  people's  work.  F. 
D.  Kershner,  of  the  Christian-Evangelist, 
gave  the  leading  address  at  the  dedica- 
tion services  on  March  25. 

Omaha  First  Church  Celebrates 
Semi-Centennial 

First  church,  Omaha,  Neb.,  to  which 
Charles  E.  Cobbey  ministers,  celebrated 
the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  their  work  last  week  with  a  four 
days  program.  Among  the  addresses 
given  was  one  by  Dean  A.  D.  Harmon, 
of  Cotner,  on  "Fifty  Years'  Growth  of 
the  Brotherhood."  William  Oeschger, 
of  the  state  organization,  also  gave  an 
address  on  "Fifty  Years'  Growth  of  the 
Brotherhood  in  Nebraska."  George  L. 
Peters,  of  North  Side  church,  and  John 
A.  Albers,  of  South  Side,  also  gave  ad- 


dresses, and  the  pastor  spoke  on  "A  Pro- 
gram for  the  Future."  Among  the  pas- 
tors of  First  church  have  been  D.  R. 
Dungan,  John  W.  Allen  and  D.  R.  Lucas. 

A.  D.  Harmon  ministered  to  the  congre- 
gation for  one  year,  1912-13. 

Some  Year-Book  Revelations 
as  to  "Unanimous  Givers" 

One  of  the  Disciple  pastors  of  Ken- 
tucky, who  asks  that  his  name  be  not 
used,  has  made  a  study  of  the  1917  year- 
book, with  special  reference  to  the  num- 
ber of  churches  whose  congregations 
and  Sunday  schools  give  to  all  causes 
of  the  brotherhood.  The  list  of  "unani- 
mous givers"  was  sent  to  the  officers  of 
the  American  Society  and  they  reported 
it  correct.  There  are  thirty-two  churches 
on  the  list.  In  consideration  of  the  fact 
that  a  distinct  note  of  the  Men  and  Mil- 
lions Movement  is  "The  Whole  Church 
Under  the  Whole  Task,"  this  is  an  in- 
teresting piece  of  investigation.  The 
following  churches  are  the  honor- 
bearers: 

State —  Church 

Colorado    Clifton 

Illinois    Virginia 

Illinois    Marion 

Indiana   Spencer 

Kansas    Hiawatha 

Kansas Highland 

Kansas     Cimarron 

Kansas    Independence 

Kansas   Nickerson 

Kansas    Rossville 

Kansas   Topeka  (Central  Park) 

Kansas    Kansas  City   (Grandview) 

Kentucky    Flemingsburg 

Missouri    Columbia 

Missouri Gallatin 

Missouri    Springfield    (South) 

Missouri  Kansas  City  (West  Side) 

Missouri    Lees   Summit 

Missouri    Warrensburg 

Missouri    Pickering 

Missouri    Slater 

Missouri    Leonard 

Missouri    Bethel 

Michigan    Detroit    (Central) 

Ohio   Geneva 

Ohio    Bellaire 

Ohio    Alliance 

Ohio    Massillon 

Ohio     Girard 

Texas  Dallas  (Central) 

Texas  San  Angelo  (First) 

Virginia   Richmond  (Seventh  St.) 

Alva  W.  Taylor  Speaks  at 
Nebraska  Ministerial  Institute 

At  the  Ministerial  Institute  of 
Nebraska  Disciple  ministers,  which  is 
being  held  this  week  at  Bethany,  Alva 
W.  Taylor  is  the  special  lecturer.  His 
general  theme  is  "Social  Service  and  the 
Rural  Church,"  and  the  following  topics 
are  being  individually  considered:  "The 
Disciples  of  Christ  and  the  Rural 
Church";  "A  Constructive  Program  of 
Social  Service  for  the  Church";  "Has  the 
Church  a  Prophetic  Message?"  Pro- 
fessor Taylor  will  also  give  evening  lec- 
tures on  the  following  topics:  "Is  the 
American  Home  Decadent?"  "Is  the 
Workingman  Getting  His  Share?"  "Pre- 
paredness  Without   Militarism." 

Program  Northern  Illinois 
Ministerial  Institute 

April  24-25  is  the  time  set  for  this 
year's  meeting  of  the  Northern  Illinois 
Christian  Ministerial  Institute,  at  Clin- 
ton, 111.  The  general  theme  for  discus- 
sion is  "Christian  Unity."  Some  of  the 
addresses  to  be  given  are  as  follows: 
"The   Historic  Schisms  of  the   Church," 

B.  J.  Radford,  Eureka;  discussed  by  J. 
R.    Golden,   Decatur.     "Hindrances    De- 


April  12,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


21 


laying  and  Factors  Promoting  the  Con- 
summation of  Christian  Unity,"  Eugene 
Davenport,  Dean  of  the  College  of  Agri- 
culture, U.  of  I.,  Champaign;  discussed 
by  H.  H.  Peters.  "Historic  Efforts  in 
Behalf  of  Conciliation,  and  the  Present 
Status  of  Christian  Unity,"  Dr.  F.  D. 
Kershner,  St.  Louis;  discussed  by  Wal- 
ter S.  Rounds,  Taylorville.  "The  Prin- 
ciples of  Protestantism  in  the  Program 
of  Christian  Unity,"  Prof.  A.  C.  Gray, 
Eureka;  discussed  by  Prof.  C.  M.  Sharpe, 
Chicago.  "The  New  Testament  Ideals 
of  Christian  Unity  and  the  Adequate  Ef- 
ficiency Possible  in  the  Unified  Church," 
Dean  Herbert  L.  Willett,  Chicago;  dis- 
cussed by  M.  L.  Pontius,  Jacksonville. 
There  will  also  be  general  discussions  of 
the  various  topics  treated.  B.  H.  Cleaver 
of  Canton,  111.,  is  secretary  of  the  In- 
stitute. 

More  New  Plans 
From  Missouri 

At  First  Church,  Joplin,  Mo.,  on  April 
1st  an  Every  Member  Visit  was  made 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Personal 
Workers'  Brotherhood.  The  men  were 
accompanied  by  their  wives  on  the  can- 
vass. There  was  no  solicitation  for 
money.  The  pre-Easter  meetings  of  the 
church  and  the  C.  W.  B.  M.  Week-of- 
Prayer  Meetings  were  the  special  ob- 
jects. Printed  programs  were  left  in 
each  home.  The  Personal  Workers' 
Brotherhood  expects  to  conduct  an 
every  member  canvass  or  visit  every 
three  months.  Joplin  expects  soon  to 
make,  united,  an  every  baby  canvass 
on  behalf  of  the  cradle  rolls  of  the  Bible 
schools. 

Transylvania  College 
and  Missions 

One  of  the  high  days  in  Transylvania 
and  the  College  of  the  Bible  at  Lexing- 
ton, Ky.,  is  Living  Link  Day.  This  day 
has  just  been  observed.  For  some 
twelve  years  the  students  and  faculty  of 
the  college  have  supported  a  missionary 
on  the  foreign  field.  The  committee  re- 
ports that  the  interest  in  Living  Link 
Day  has  never  been  so  great  as  this 
year  and  the  necessary  amount  never 
before  so  easily  subscribed.  The  col- 
lege now  has  thirty-three  missionaries 
on  the  field  and  there  is  a  very  close  tie 
between  the  college  and  the  world  task. 

A  New  Book  by  i 

Professor  Athearn 

"The  Organization  and  Administra- 
tion of  the  Church  School"  is  the  title 
of  the  latest  product  of  Prof.  W.  S. 
Athearn's  pen.  It  is  just  out,  from  the 
publishing  house  of  the  Pilgrim  Press. 
It  is  the  fourth  text  in  the  series, 
"The  New  Standard  Teacher-Training 
Course."  The  series  is  published  in  sep- 
arate volumes  and  is  syndicated  by  the 
leading  denominations.  The  present 
volume  is  an  exceedingly  helpful  one 
and  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every 
pastor,  superintendent,  teacher  and  Sun- 
day school  officer.  It  can  be  secured 
from  the  Disciples'  Publication  Society 
for  30  cents. 

One  Hundred  Christian 
Endeavor  Life-Liners 

The  number  of  Endeavor  Societies  en- 
tering the  Life  Line  list  and  supporting 
their  own  evangelist  in  mission  lands 
has  reached  almost  one  hundred  now. 
The  Endeavorers  are  taking  great  de- 
light in  this  plan  to  have  their  own 
worker  in  mission  lands  at  $50  a  year. 

*      *      * 

— Six  of  the  Jasper  County,  Mo., 
churches  have  just  closed  a  week  of  pre- 


Easter  meetings  in  which  their  pastors 
exchanged  pulpits  round,  each  pastor 
being  in  his  own  pulpit  on  Lord's  Day. 
The  subjects  used  were  based  upon  the 
events  of  Jesus'  "last  week"  and  were: 
"The  Triumph  of  Jesus,"  "The  Author- 
ity of  Jesus,"  "The  Severity  of  Jesus," 
"The  Silence  of  Jesus,"  "The  Fellow- 
ship of  Jesus,"  "The  Suffering  of  Jesus" 
and  "The  Resurrection  of  Jesus."  The 
ministers  participating  were  C.  H.  Swift, 
D.  W.  Moore,  Dr.  John  Clark,  W.  P. 
Shamhart,  E.  W.  Couch  and  C.  C.  Gar- 
rigues. 


II nil  vnn  1/  A  Church  Home  for  You. 

NtW  YUKK  Write  D«\  Rnis  Idleman, 
Ill.fi    I  UNIX  14j|  West  81gt  gt ^  N    y> 


—Ernest  W.  Elliott,  pastor  of  the 
church  at  Glasgow,  Ky.,  has  just  closed 
a  successful  meeting  with  the  assistance 
of  W.  E.  M.  Hackleman,  president  of 
Bethany  Assembly.  Mr.  Elliott  came 
from  the  church  at  Tampa,  Florida,  only 
recently.  He  is  an  excellent  preacher 
and  is  beloved  by  the  entire  church.  He 
thoroughly  appreciates  the  great  issues 
that  are  being  brought  to  the  attention 
of  the  brotherhood  in  the  columns  of 
The  Christian  Century. 

— W.  E.  M.  Hackleman  will  conduct 
the  music  for  the  Owen  County  S.  S. 
Convention,  Spencer,  Indiana,  April  Il- 
ls. He  is  much  in  demand  for  conven- 
tion work  this  season,  as  usual. 

—The  church  at  Albion,  111.,  T.  J. 
Clark,  pastor,  recently  had  what  was 
called  a  Roll  Call  social.  Nearly  all 
the  active  members  of  the  congregation 
were  present. 

—Roger  T.  Nooe,  of  Frankfort,  Ky., 
First  church,  was  called  to  the  pastorate 
at  First  church,  Birmingham,  Ala.,  but 
has  decided  to  remain  with  his  present 
fruitful   field. 

—John  L.  Brandt,  of  First  church,  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  has  just  closed  a  union 
meeting,  in  which  the  Fourth  and  Sec- 
ond Christian  churches  and  a  North  Side 
Congregational   church  participated. 

— The  announcement  is  made  that  a 
son  has  been  born  to  Editor  F.  D. 
Kershner,  of  the  Christian-Evangelist. 

— C.  C.  Morrison  will  return  this  week 
from  a  two  weeks'  visit  in  the  South- 
land. Mr.  Morrison  spent  one  Sunday 
with  First  church,  Atlanta,  where  L.  O. 
Bricker  ministers,  and  the  other  at  First 
church,  Birmingham,  Ala. 

— W.  E.  M.  Hackleman  has  been  lead- 
ing the  singing  in  a  meeting  with  E.  W. 
Elliott,  pastor,  at   Glasgow,  Ky. 

— E.  P.  Wise,  minister  at  East  Mar- 
ket Street  church,  Akron,  Ohio,  reports 
that  207  persons  have  been  added  to  the 
membership  there  during  the  year,  a  net 
gain  of  160.  The  congregation  paid 
$3,700  on  a  debt  and  for  local  needs 
$3,578;  for  missions,  $937.93.  All  organ- 
izations of  the  church  gave  to  missions 
a  total  of  $1,523.41. 

— The  Foreign  Society  reports  that  the 
receipts  for  the  first  six  months  of  the 
current  missionary  year  are  $15,000 
ahead  of  the  corresponding  time  last 
year. 

— R.  A.  Doan  recently  made  a  trip  to 
Cuba  to  confer  with  the  Matanzas  work- 
ers regarding  their  work.  S.  G.  Inman 
joined  Mr.  Doan  in  Cuba. 

—The  church  at  Ada,  Ohio,  Mart  G. 
Smith,  pastor,  held  a  series  of  pre-Easter 
meetings;  also  the  Amarillo,  Tex., 
church,  to  which  Ernest  C.  Mobley  min- 


isters.    The  Texas  church  has  recently 
paid  off  a  long-standing  debt. 

— G.  W.  Woodbury,  of  the  Alhambra, 
Cal.,  work,  writes  that  Bruce  Brown  has 
just  closed  a  series  of  successful  meet- 
ings— successful  in  spite  of  the  rival  at- 
traction of  open-air  vaudeville  shows  on 
the  public  square.  Eleven  additions  are 
reported. 

— F.  Lewis  Starbuck,  pastor  at  Howett 
Street  church,  Peoria,  111.,  writes  that 
the  article  recently  published  in  The 
Christian  Century  on  "My  America"  was 
written  on  a  Sunday  evening  after  he 
had  returned  home,  weary  from  his  day's 
work.  This  article  has  been  praised  by 
"Century"  readers.  Over  300  copies  of 
Mr.  Starbuck's  little  book,  "Dan,"  have 
been  sold   since   its  publication. 

— George  W.  Brown,  Jubbulpore,  In- 
dia, has  a  fine  class  of  Bible  College  stu- 
dents. One  class  is  taking  New  Testa- 
ment history  and  the  other  "prophecy." 

— Mrs.  H.  C.  Hobgood  reports  a  cor- 
dial reception  given  them  when  they 
reached  their  destination,  Lotumbe,  Af- 
rica. A  great  crowd  of  the  natives  had 
assembled  to  bid  them  welcome. 

— Miss  Vera  Adamson,  one  of  our  new 
missionaries  in  the  Philippines,  is  al- 
ready busy  with  the  work.  She  is  teach- 
ing the  book  of  Acts  to  the  girls  in  the 
dormitory,  and  also  has  a  class  of  high 
school  girls  and  one  in  the  Sunday 
school.  The  girls'  school  will  soon  be 
located  at  Laoag,  where  large  opportu- 
nities for  service  present  themselves. 

— W.  H.  Allen,  of  St.  Charles  Avenue 
church,  New  Orleans,  La.,  writes  that 
Edgar  DeWitt  Jones,  of  Bloomington, 
111.,  is  holding  a  brief  meeting  for  the 
New  Orleans  church,  having  begun  on 
last  Tuesday.  Mr.  Allen  also  reports 
that  the  Knight  Templars  of  New  Or- 
leans worshipped  with  St.  Charles  Ave- 
nue congregation  on  Easter  Sunday.  A 
third  very  interesting  item  of  news  is 
that  the  officers  of  this  congregation  re- 
cently presented  their  leader  with  a 
$5,000  life  insurance  policy,  prepaid  for 
one  year,  and  to  be  paid  by  the  congre- 
gation for  all  the  years  of  Mr.  Allen's 
service  in  New  Orleans. 

— Miss  Leta  C.  Davis,  secretary  to  H. 
H.  Peters,  "State  Man"  of  Illinois,  re- 
ports a  Christian  Endeavor  Institute  re- 
cently held  by  the  state  organization  of 
Christian  Endeavor.  The  hosts  of  the 
Institute  were  the  societies  of  McLean 
county,  and  the  sessions  were  held  at  the 


Ask   lor  Catalogue  and  Special   Donation  Plan  No.  27 

(Established  1858) 

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22 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  12,  1917 


Second  Presbyterian  church,  Blooming- 
ton.  A  loving  cup  was  offered  the  or- 
ganization securing  the  largest  number 
of  advance  registrations  and  was  won  by 
the  society  of  the  Normal  First  Christian 
church.  E.  P.  Gates,  the  state  leader  of 
Illinois,  presided  at  all  sessions. 

— Byron  Hester,  of  Chickasha,  Okla., 
reports  that  a  very  successful  every- 
member  canvass  has  been  completed 
there,  this  being  made  possible  by  a 
recent  visit  of  the  Men  and  Millions 
team. 

— Emory  Ross,  missionary  to  Africa, 
who  is  now  with  his  mother  at  Canton, 
Mo.,  will  be  in  Chicago  university  this 
summer  for  some  special  work. 

— C.  H.  Hamilton,  of  Nanking,  China, 
reports  that  the  first  semester's  work  in 
the  University  of  Nanking  has  closed 
and  the  second  semester  has  begun.  The 
work  is  progressing.  Some  of  the  boys 
from  the  church  in  Luchowfu  are  mak- 
ing a  fine  record  in  the  college  at  Nan- 
king.    They  are  active  in  religious  work. 

— Paulding,  O.,  recently  had  two  spe- 
cial programs  which  proved  successful. 
The  first  was  one  given  by  the  boys 
club  for  their  parents.  Essays,  singing 
and  cartoons  were  features.  On  March 
23  the  men's  class  invited  the  men  of  all 
the  churches  of  the  town  to  a  social  at 
the  church.  J.  J.  Tisdall,  of  Toledo,  was 
the  speaker,  and  enthusiasm  prevailed 
at  the  meeting,  writes  C.  L.  Johnson, 
pastor. 

— Interest  was  shown  in  the  presenta- 
tion of  the  new  Illinois  District  plan  by 
State  Secretary  H.  H.  Peters  at  the 
Quarterly  meeting  of  Chicago  Disciples 
recently.  The  Austin  church  had  the 
largest   delegation. 

— The  ministry  of  J.  Kendrick  Ballou, 
who  has  been  for  a  short  time  at  Pay- 
ette, Idaho,  where  he  was  called  to  ded- 
icate the  new  church  building  last  De- 
cember, and  conduct  a  meeting,  will 
terminate  this  spring  or  early  summer ' 
and  he  will  be  available  for  another 
work. 

— G.  W.  Muckley  reports  that  the 
Church  Extension  Fund  has  grown  to 
$1,348,190.01,  and  that  the  Board  has 
helped  to  build  1,885  churches  in  forty- 
four  states,  in  five  provinces  of  Canada 
and  in  Hawaii  and  Alaska.  Churches 
having  returned  their  loans  in  full  num- 
ber 1.237.  During  March  the  following 
churches  completed  their  buildings  and 
received  their  loans:  Edgemont,  Ark. 
(Des  Moines,  la.,  Univ.  Place  Church 
Fd.),  $300;  Pocahontas,  Ark.  (Annuity 
Fd.),  $3,000;  Greenville,  Tex.,  Clark  St. 
Colored  Ch.  (Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  M.  Rode- 
fer  Fd.),  $2,750;  Limon,  Colo.  (Akron, 
Ohio,  First  Church  Fd.),  $600;  Hunter, 
Mo.  (Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  M.  Rodefer  Fd.), 
$450;  Afton,  Okla.  (B.  S.  and  R.  J.  Chap- 
man Meml.  Fd.).  $600;  Crab  Orchard, 
Ky.  (Columbus,  Ind.,  Tabernacle  Church 
Fd.),  $800;  Eldon,  la.  (Annuity  Fd.), 
$1,500;  Bloomington,  Ind.,  Indiana  Ave. 
Ch.  (Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Holman  Fd.),  $2,500; 
Eldorado,  111.  (John  Beverly  Vawter 
Fd.),  $750. 


FROM  THE  FOREIGN  SOCIETY 

Although  there  have  been  three  suc- 
cessive stormy  Sundays  in  March,  be- 
ginning with  the  first  Sunday,  the  For- 
eign Missionary  offerings  are  coming  in 
in  a  very  encouraging  way.  Although 
the  remittances  were  slow  for  the  first 
ten  days,  they  are  speeding  up  now,  and 
every  indication  is  that  the  offerings  will 
increase   over  those   of  last  year. 

One  of  the  most  encouraging  things  is 
the  large  number  of  people  giving  in  an 


additional  way  on  the  One  Day  Income 
Plan.  News  concerning  these  gifts  are 
coming  from  every  part  of  the  country, 
and  the  words  concerning  this  plan  are 
most  encouraging. 

A  full  dozen  new  Living-Link 
Churches  have  reported  to  the  Foreign 
Society,  in  connection  with  the  March 
offering,  and  there  are  a  number  of 
other  churches  that  are  planning  for  this 
and  will  report  very  soon. 

Our  missionaries  in  Cuba  write  that 
there  has  been  a  great  deal  of  restless- 
ness during  the  revolution  which  broke 
out  in  Cuba,  some  little  time  ago,  and 
this  has  interfered  with  the  missionary 
work  somewhat.  The  people  have  been 
disturbed  and  it  has  been  difficult  to  get 
them  really  interested  in  Christian  work 
during  this  time  of  distress. 

Dr.  W.  M.  Hardy,  of  Batang,  on  the 
Tibetan  border,  states  that  communica- 
tions out  there  are  very  difficult.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  two  of  the  mail-carriers 
who  travel  between  Tachienlu,  in  West 
China,  and  Batang  were  frozen  to  death. 
He  sent  an  order  for  quinine,  for  ma- 
larial patients,  and  it  was  a  little  over 
six  months  before  the  reply  came  with 
his  medicine.  It  is  difficult  for  our  peo- 
ple to  realize  how  isolated  our  Tibetan 
missionaries  are  out  on  the  plateau  of 
Central  Asia. 

Our  African  Missionaries  are  isolated 
because  of  the  war.  The  submarine 
campaign  is  making  it  very  difficult  to 
undertake  passage  across  the  Atlantic, 
and  sailing  both  coming  and  going  will 
be  delayed  unless  the  situation  clears  up. 
E.  A.  Johnston  and  wife,  from  Longa, 
Africa,  and  Dr.  Frymire  are  all  due  at 
home  on  their  furlough  at  this  time. 

Stephen  J.  Corey, 


"MAKE  THAT  DYNAMO   HUM" 

A  dynamo  does  not  make  power.  It 
only  generates  electricity,  a  new  form 
of  energy,  from  the  power  furnished  it 
and  distributes  this  energy,  in  usable 
form,  to  the  places  in  need  of  light  or 
heat  or  power. 

This  is  precisely  the  function  of  the 
American  Christian  Missionary  Society 
in  relation  to  the  churches,  Bible  schools 
and  individual  Disciples  of  Christ  on  the 
one  hand  and  to  the  common  service 
which  these  unitedly  would  render  in 
North  America,  on  the  other.  The  so- 
ciety is  a  dynamo,  not  a  power  plant;  a 
channel,  not  a  reservoir;  a  clearing 
house,  not  a  government  mint.  It  can 
supply  to  the  needy  fields  of  worthful 
effort  only  such  transmitted  energy,  in 
the  form  of  missionaries,  pastors,  super- 
intendents, social  workers  and  experts, 
as  the  people  make  possible  by  their 
power  conveyed  through  offerings  to  its 
treasury. 

The  power  plants  are  the  churches,  the 
Bible  schools  and  individual  contribu- 
tors. The  dynamo  is  the  society.  The 
points  utilizing  the  energy  are  the  varied 
fields  and  forms  of  service  maintained 
by  the   society. 

The  society  has  no  inherent  springs  of 
wealth.  It  cannot  manufacture  dollars, 
nor  has  it  any  potency  of  magic  or  of  ec- 
clesiastical authority  to  extract  them 
from  unwilling  churches  or  people.  It  is 
a  piece  of  mechanism,  contrived  and 
maintained  by  those  co-operating 
through  its  use.  It  can  hum  with  useful 
activity  only  as  they  make  it  hum. 
When  it  hums  the  mission  fields  flourish 
and  the  work  of  the  kingdom  prospers; 
when  it  slows  down  they  languish. 

This  dynamo  hums  when  preachers 
and  Bible-school  superintendents  faith- 
fully present  the  great  home  mission 
task    and    lead    their    churches    into    the 


largest  possible  fellowship  therewith, 
and  when  individual  members  respond 
to  the  appeal  as  to  a  call  from  their 
Lord.  It  lags  and  labors  and  its  music 
dies  when  this  is  neglected. 

The  contributions  of  our  churches  and 
of  our  people  to  American  Missions 
ought  to  be  doubled  immediately.  We 
ought  to  put  a  thousand  more  preachers 
to  work  among  our  pastorless  churches 
within  the  next  five  years.  To  do  so 
would  greatly  augment  the  work  of 
every  other  agency  of  our  churches,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  strength  which  would 
be  brought  to  the  weak  and  needy  sta- 
tions. Our  Russian  Mission  and  com- 
munity center  in  Chicago  has  submitted 
a  carefully  itemized  budget  calling  for 
an  appropriation  of  $5,891.05  per  year, 
more  than  double  the  present  amount. 
It  ought  to  be  granted.  We  hold  the 
field.  The  opportunity  is  ours.  Our 
trained  leaders  are  handicapped  for  lack 
of  equipment  and  of  funds.  Will  the 
churches  release  more  power? 

The  convention  at  Des  Moines  recom- 
mended a  contribution  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  from  our  churches  this 
year  for  the  American  Society.  It  is  not 
more  than  half  enough;  but  it  is  all  we 
dare  to  ask  for.  The  churches  of  this 
great  brotherhood  ought  to  put  to  shame 
our  little  faith.  One  hundred  thousand 
dollars  would  be  a  small  amount  to  raise 
if  every  preacher  would  adequately  pre- 
sent this  great  work  to  his  people.  Last 
year  only  2,136  churches  made  contribu- 
tions to  this  cause.  Some  of  those  fail- 
ing to  make  contributions  are  among 
the  strongest  churches  of  the  land.  The 
total  amount  contributed  by  the 
churches,  as  churches,  was  $69,172.57, 
and  yet  this  was  one  of  our  best  years! 
We  must  increase  that  by  at  least  50  per 
cent  this  year.  Will  you  not  do  your 
share? 

F.  W.  Burnham. 


ILLINOIS  NEWS  NOTES 

The  State  Secretary  has  been  engaged 
to  dedicate  the  new  church  at  Roches- 
ter soon. 

W.  E.  M.  Hackleman  has  been  en- 
gaged to  take  charge  of  the  music  at  the 
forthcoming  State  Convention. 

J.  F.  Beall,  of  Niantic,  and  John  W. 
Augur,  of  Mt.  Auburn,  have  each  given 
one  hundred  dollars  to  form  a  Living- 
Link  with  our  State  Society  for  1917. 
We  are  hopeful  of  finding  several  breth- 
ren willing  to  do  this. 

Dr.  F.  W.  Burnham  and  the  State 
Secretary  are  booked  for  a  full  day  at 
Jacksonville,  April  29th.  The  church  ex- 
pects to  celebrate  the  eleventh  anni- 
versary of  their  dedication. 

Our  congregation  at  Fisher  is  plan- 
ning to  erect  a  $20,000  church  this  sum- 
mer. This  is  one  of  our  best  churches 
and  Andrew  Scott  ministers  there. 

Cecil  C.  Carpenter,  of  Princeton,  is 
celebrating  the  eleventh  anniversary  of 
his  connection  with  that  church.  These 
have  been  years  of  steady  and  substan- 
tial growth,  culminating  in  the  remodel- 
ing of  the  church  last  year. 

The  District  Conventions  will  be  held 
as  follows: 

Second — Chicago,   March  25th. 

Fifth — Chapin,  May  2nd  and  3rd. 

Fourth — Leroy,  May  3rd  and  4th. 

Third — Canton,  May  8th  and  9th. 

First— Sterling,  May  10th  and  11th. 

Sixth— Danville,  May  15th  and  16th. 

Seventh — Olney,  May  17th  and  18th. 

Eighth — Mulkeytown,  May  28th  and 
29th. 

H.  H.  Peters, 
State  Secretary. 


April  12,  1917  THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  23 


IS   THE    WORLD 
GROWING  BETTER 


or  more  materialistic?  A  study  of  actual 
events  leads  Professor  Shailer  Mathews  to  be- 
lieve that  history  does  show  spiritual  forces  at 
work  which  may  renew  our  threatened  ideal- 
ism and  our  confidence  in  the  might  of  right. 
He  sums  up  his  views  in  his  new  volume 

"THE  SPIRITUAL 

INTERPRETATION  OF 

HISTORY" 

Professor  Mathews  is  Dean  of  the  Divinity 
School  in  the  University  of  Chicago,  and  is  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  writers  in  the  field  of  re- 
ligion today.  He  is  also  the  Editor  of  the 
Biblical  World. 

Every  minister  and  every  alert  churchman 
should  possess  this  book.  It  is  essentially  a 
book  for  the  times. 

Price  of  the  Book,  $1.50 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 

FOR   SALE  BY 

DISCIPLES    PUBLICATION 

SOCIETY 

700  E.  40th  STREET,  :  :  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


NINE    DEPARTMENTS    OF    HOME    MISSIONS 

Churches,  Individuals  and  Bible  Schools  supply  the  power,  the  American  Christian  Missionary 
transforms  and  distributes  it.  The  Nine  Departments  of  Service  here  illustrated,  and  others,  are  the  re- 
sults. Every  man  and  woman  employed  in  this  great  Home  Missionary  task  is  a  live  wire.  There  are 
210  of  them.  They  include  Trained  Immigrant  Leaders,  Foreign  Pastors,  Editors  of  Papers  in  Foreign 
Languages,  Superintendent  of  Missions  in  Scandinavia,  Social  Workers,  Community  Visitors,  City  Mis- 
sionaries, City  Evangelists  and  Superintendents,  Bible-School  Experts,  Field  Workers  and  District 
Superintendents,  Frontier  Missionaries,  Pastors  and  Evangelists,  Regional  Superintendents,  State  and 
Provincial  Secretaries,  Negro  Bible-School  Evangelists,  Commission  on  Rural  Churches,  Commission 
on  Foreign  Relations,  Commission  on  Immigration,  Statistical  Secretaries  and  a  corps  of  office  clerks. 
This  work  is  vital  to  the  redemption  of  North  America  and  of  the  world.  It  is  international  and  inter- 
racial in  scope.  It  lays  the  foundations  for  all  our  work,  and  supplements  every  other  agency.  It  has 
been  too  long  neglected  and  inadequately  supported. 

— Educate  for  the  May  Offering 

CONSECRATE   THE   MONTH    OF  MAY   TO    AMERICAN    MISSIONS 


Hang  up  the  Poster 


Order  Our  New  Literature 
Budget  Churches  Need  the  Information 


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Address  The  American  Christian  Missionary  Society 

Carew  Building  -  CINCINNATI,  OHIO  ' 


Vol.  XXXIV 


April  19,  1917 


The  Disciples' 
Creed 

By  Charles  Clayton  Morrison 


Number  16 


The  Authority  of 
the  Bible 

By  Herbert  L.  Willett 


iiiiiiiiijiijiiij 


CHICAGO 


iiULi 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  April  19,  1917 


IS    THE   WORLD 
GROWING  BETTER 


or  more  materialistic?  A  study  of  actual 
events  leads  Professor  Shailer  Mathews  to  be- 
lieve that  history  does  show  spiritual  forces  at 
work  which  may  renew  our  threatened  ideal- 
ism and  our  confidence  in  the  might  of  right. 
He   sums   up   his   views   in   his  new   volume 


"THE  SPIRITUAL 

INTERPRETATION  OF 

HISTORY" 


Professor  Mathews  is  Dean  of  the  Divinity 
School  in  the  University  of  Chicago  and  is  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  writers  in  the  field  of  re- 
ligion today.  He  is  also  the  Editor  of  the 
Biblical   World. 

Every  minister  and  every  alert  churchman 
should  possess  this  book.  It  is  esssentially  a 
book   for   the   times. 

Price  of  the  Book,  $1.50 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

FOR   SALE  BY 

DISCIPLES    PUBLICATION 

SOCIETY 

700  E.  40th  STREET,  ::        ::  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


April  19,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


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Disciples 

Publication 

Society 


The  Disciples  Publica- 
tion Society  is  an  or- 
ganization through 
which  churches  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ 
seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *    •    * 

The    Disciples   Publication   Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *    *    * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

Dear  Friends: — I  believe  in  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  The  Christian  Century  and  wish  to  be  numbered  among 
those  who  are  supporting  your  work  in  a  substantial  way  by  their  gifts. 


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Address. 


Unprecedented  Response 

From  Our  Minister  Readers 


Close  to  two  hundred  of  our  minister  readers  have  gone  to  the 
trouble  to  write  us  that  they  would  secure  three  new  subscribers 
apiece  for  The  Christian  Century  during  April — or  break 
something  in  the  attempt!  This  kind  of  co-operation  is  not 
one  degree  less  than  we  expected,  knowing  the  spirit  of  our 
readers  as  we  do.  For  every  man  who  writes  us  there  is  at  least 
one  other  man  who  is  quietly  working  and  will  write  when 
he  delivers  his  three  subscriptions.  We  expect  the  next  two 
weeks  to  be  a  harvest  time,  with  our  minister  readers  as  reapers. 


Luck  to  You! 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


April  19,  1917 


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BATANC,  DISCIPLES'  HEADQUARTERS  FOR  TIBET 

Opening  a  Land  of  Marvel  and  Mystery 


Two  miracles  were  wrought  when  three  medical 
missionaries  led  the  Disciples  into  Tibet.  The  first 
was  the  opening  of  doors  that  were  absolutely 
barred  against  foreign  religions.  No  less  was  the 
enlistment  in  such  a  mission  of  a  people  who  were 
just  beginning  missionary  work  abroad  and  were 
overwhelmed  with  the  fields  already  entered. 

"Except  a  grain  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground 
and  die  it  abideth  alone."  Petrus  Rijnhart  and  his 
baby,  Charles,  lay  in  the  soil  of  Tibet,  and  Dr.  Susie 
C.  Rijnhart,  the  wife  and  mother,  did  not  plead  in 
vain  for  messengers  to  return  with  her.  Dr.  Zenos 
S.  Loftis  was  buried  on  the  road  to  Lhasa,  and  Dr. 
Shelton  made  us  see  the  necessity  of  a  statesman- 
like plan  for  occupying  the  whole  land  for  Christ. 
The  physician  who  had  died,  after  just  one  month  of 
service,  spoke  through  the  one  who  was  left  to  con- 
tinue the  work.  We  saw  the  white  grave  with  its 
inscription,  "Greater  love  hath  no  man  than — ,"  and 
we  could  not  be  indifferent. 

But  the  combination  of  zeal  and  determination 
had  many  times  before  beaten  themselves  to  tatters 
on  the  barriers  of  Tibet.  This  time  the  other  miracle 
made  the  attempt  effective.  The  life  of  a  lama  was 
saved  by  the  doctor,  and  persecution  ceased.  A 
robber  chief  was  healed  of  his  wounds,  and  im- 
munity of  travel   was   secured.     A  fractured   skull 


was  successfully  trephined,  and  great  favor  was  had 
of  all  the  people. 

Seeing  both  the  purpose  and  the  success  of  the 
Disciples,  other  missionaries  turned  over  to  them 
the  translations  and  the  hopes  of  sixty  years  and 
bade  them  enter  in  the  King's  name. 

We  have  merely  entered.  Fourteen  other 
towns  call  us  immediately.  The  whole  round  of 
missionary  activities,  schools,  presses,  hospitals, 
churches,  homes,  must  be  established  and  multi- 
plied. Out  of  native  heathenism  must  be  hewn 
the  men  who  are  to  do'  most  of  the  actual  teaching, 
preaching  and  healing.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Shelton,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Ogden,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hardy  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Baker  cannot  reach  3,000,000  people  scat- 
tered through  1,000,000  square  miles  of  mountains 
that  average  16,500  feet  above  sea  level,  with  no 
transportation  but  horses  and  yaks,  and  no  swifter 
means  of  communication. 

The  cablegram  of  Dr.  Loftis'  death  was  scarcely 
published  before  Dr.  Hardy's  telegram  volunteering 
to  fill  the  gap  was  received  in  Cincinnati.  The  chal- 
lenge still  stands.  The  four  must  become  forty. 
And  the  forty  must  not  be  left  empty  handed  to 
meet  our  exclusive  and  gigantic  task  in  Tibet.  Nor 
will  they  be,  if  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement 
succeeds. 


MEN  AND  MILLIONS  MOVEMENT 

222  West  Fourth  Street,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 


CKARXLES  OIATTON  MORRISON,  EDETOE. 


HERBERT    X..    ¥ILiETT,    OOHTRXB17TZHO    EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


APRIL  19.  1917 


Number  16 


Prejudices  Against  the  Church 


SOME  PEOPLE  STILL  SPEAK  EVIL  OF  THE 
CHURCH. 

It  is  a  sad  fact  that  after  two  thousand  years  of 
Christian  history  there  should  be  people  who  misunder- 
stand and  even  hate  the  church.  When  we  examine  the 
church  statistics,  they  seem  to  imply  that  half  the  people 
in  the  country  are  not  in  church  membership.  This  un- 
evangelized  half  is  made  up  partly  of  people  who  think 
well  of  the  church  but  cannot  accept  its  creed.  The  others 
are  people  in  various  stages  of  disaffection  and  even  hatred. 

There  is  the  old-time  infidel,  who  is  rather  a  dis- 
appearing type.  While  many  men  sadly  confess  that  they 
do  not  believe,  the  infidel  is  the  man  who  boasts  that  he 
will  not  believe.  Pie  belongs  to  a  tradition  which  goes 
all  the  way  back  to  Lucian,  who  sneered  at  the  Roman 
religion.  The  infidel  has  been  fed  by  the  mistakes  of  the 
theologians.  Only  the  coming  of  a  scientific  method  in 
theology  has  taken  away  from  him  the  opportunity  that 
gave  him  influence  in  the  world. 

Among  those  who  have  been  prejudiced  against  the 
church  has  often  been  found  the  scientist.  In  a  previous 
generation,  the  medical  colleges  formed  a  recruiting  ground 
for  anti-religious  feeling.  The  scientist  has  not  always 
been  an  infidel.  Often  he  had  a  large  measure  of  religious 
hypothesis  in  his  mind.  He  remembered,  however,  that 
for  centuries  the  church  had  hindered  investigation. 
Galileo  had  been  forced  to  recant.  Bruno  was  burned  at 
the  stake.  Even  Charles  Darwin  was  hindered  for  a  time 
by  religious  restrictions  that  got  in  the  road  of  his  work. 
The  older  theology  was  unscientific  in  its  method.  It 
opposed  its  supernaturalism  to  law.  It  supposed  a  false 
opposition  between  revelation  and  knowledge.  To  this 
day  there  are  many  devotees  of  science  who  think  they 
serve  their  mistress  best  by  tearing  down  religious  senti- 
ment. 

Unquestionably  the  friends  of  social  progress  have 
often  been  prejudiced  against  the  church  because  of  a 
belief  that  the  church  is  the  foe  of  community  uplift.  A 
Socialist  orator  stood  one  night  and,  pointing  to  a  near-by 
Disciple  church,  said:  "They  preach  a  heaven  on  the 
moon  in  the  bye  and  bye ;  I  come  to  preach  a  heaven  on 
the  earth  and  in  the  here  and  now."  The  church  has  been 
represented  as  being  the  last  fortress  of  capitalism.  The 
Socialist  orator  was  not  any  more  troubled  by  the  facts 
in  this  matter  than  in  some  other  cases.  His  assertion 
was  accepted  by  other  men  equally  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that  the  churches  are,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  made  up  of 
people  in  humble  circumstances. 

The  labor  union  man,  also,  has  felt  at  times  a  feeling 
against  the  church.  In  a  certain  city  a  beautiful  church 
was  built  with  a  thousand  more  pews  than  the  congrega- 
tion needed.  It  was  hoped  that  the  factory  men  would 
fill  these  seats.  The  day  on  which  the  owner  of  the 
factory  subscribed  ten  thousand  dollars  to  help  build  this 
church,  he  cut  the  wages  of  all  his  men.    For  twenty  years 


those  seats  have  been  empty.  Yet,  unfortunately,  the  men 
did  not  find  another  church  which  would  suit  their  ideals, 
as  they  might  easily  have  done. 

There  are  a  number  of  miscellaneous  matters  which 
irritate.  The  hostile  attitude  of  some  churches  toward 
the  fraternal  orders  of  the  country  has  been  met  with 
retaliation.  The  Roman  Catholic  church,  by  its  unreason- 
able stand,  has  turned  lodge  halls  into  centers  of  anti- 
church  sentiment.  Sometimes  Lutherans  and  some  varie- 
ties of  evangelicals  have  shared  in  this  folly.  The  church 
has  made  itself  obnoxious  in  one  community  by  ill-advised 
methods  of  begging.  In  another,  the  quarrels  of  compet- 
ing organizations  have  alienated  right-thinking  people. 

The  church  has  suffered  in  many  minds  by  a  divided 
testimony.  No  two  churches  preach  salvation  in  the  same 
way,  though  they  seem  to  come  out  at  much  the  same  point. 
A  physician  once  said  to  a  minister,  "When  you  preachers 
agree  on  religion,  I  will  join  the  church."  The  preacher 
replied :  "When  you  allopaths  and  homeopaths  agree  on 
medicine,  I  will  treat  my  rheumatism."  The  retort  was 
just,  but  the  doctor's  confusion  in  the  clash  of  creeds  was 
in  some  measure  excusable. 

How  shall  the  prejudices  of  the  community  against 
the  church  be  removed?  By  removing  the  causes,  first 
of  all.  A  scientific  method  in  theology  will  dispose  of 
much  misunderstanding.  It  is  already  noticeable  that  the 
men  from  the  better  seminaries  are  not  despised  as  clergy- 
men in  the  past  sometimes  were.  The  community  per- 
ceives already  that  "the  new  minister"  has  arrived.  The 
scientific  method  will  make  impossible  the  infidel.  It  will 
reconcile  the  man  of  science.  It  will  end  at  last  the  divi- 
sion of  testimony  in  Christendom,  for  it  will  furnish  a 
platform  on  which  all  can  stand. 

The  church's  true  attitude  toward  social  questions 
and  toward  labor  should  be  made  known.  If  all  churches 
knew  and  endorsed  the  "Social  Creed"  put  out  by  the 
Social  Service  Commission  of  the  Federal  Council,  and 
would  live  up  to  it,  much  of  the  antagonism  of  social 
workers  to  the  church  would  end. 

In  the  long  run,  the  church  will  most  effectively  end 
misunderstanding  by  promoting  mutual  acquaintance  and 
fellowship.  Some  churches  have  organized  Sunday  eve- 
ning "forums"  in  which  the  audience  can  "talk  back"  at 
the    speakers. 

As  the  church  has  served  more,  she  has  been  loved 
more.  The  old-time  churches  were  needed  chiefly  for 
christenings,  weddings  and  funerals.  The  modern  church 
is  needed  for  its  Sunday  school  work,  for  its  service  to 
young  people,  for  its  social  life  and  for  many  other  things 
besides  preaching. 

Nor  do  we  believe  that  the  church,  to  be  loved,  must 
conceal  its  religious  life.  True  religion  makes  no  enemies 
among  right-minded  people.  A  quiet  and  unostentatious 
piety  will  bring  the  respect  which  the  human  heart  has 
ever  given  in  the  presence  of  a  devout  life. 


EDITORIAL 

PUT  UP  THE  COLORS  We  are  happy  to  believe  that  in  this  ministry  he  will  not 

1~  ,  ,,  .  ,  .,,  .  ,  ,  ,  ,,  .  .  r  .,  cease  to  serve,  save,  perhaps,  in  the  severance  of  his 
T  should  not  be  possible  to  doubt  the  patriotism  01  the  .  J_.  ,.  '  , ,  %  _,  r  ' .  _  .  ,  .  ,  . 
church  iu  these  toying  times.  A  church  that  would  relatl°"  t0  £e  Board  of  Church  Extension  which  is  re- 
weaken  the  nation  in  a  time  of  national  emergency  grettable.  He  will  continue  to  be  a  good  friend  of  the 
would  forfeit  all  respect.  A  church  that  would  not  help  General  Convention  and  to  be  useful  in  the  councils  of 
in  mobilizing  the  moral  forces  of  the  community  would  the  Christian  Board  of  Publication, 
lose  its  opportunity.  Mr.  Richardson  has,  in  his  personal  views  of  religion, 

There  are  certain  external  things  the  church  can  do,  held  with  the  less  radical  of  our  brethren.  He  has,  how- 
such  as  exhibiting  the  flag  in  the  place  of  worship,  where  ever,  not  desired  to  share  in  the  sorry  business  of  hound- 
indeed  it  ought  always  to  be.  But  this  will  be  mere  empty  ing  brethren  for  heresy.  He  has  claimed  liberty  for  him- 
show  unless  our  institutions  are  utilized  for  the  strengthen-  self  and  granted  it  to  others.  He  is  now  to  dwell  on  the 
ing  of  the  nation's  life.  sunset  slope  of  our  country,  but  we  cannot  believe  he  is 

In  times  of  great  disturbance  such  as  this,  there  is  a  on  tne  sunset  siope  0f  Kfe.    We  hope  he  may  have  many 
tendency  for  weaker  men  to  turn  to  drink  and  to  various  years  yet  to  serve  in  building  up  New  Testament  Chris- 
low  forms  of  dissipation.     The  Young  Men's  Christian  tianitv  in  America 
Association  is  affording  men  setting  up  exercises  which 

will  giye  them  better  physique  in  case  they  are  called  to  LET   US   HAVE   IT   OUT! 

the  colors.    The  whole  community  needs  a  moral  "setting  . 

up  exercise"  which  will  enable  us  to  meet  the  demands  of  A    LL  friends  of  Peace  amonS  the  Disciples  of  Christ 

the  hour.                                                                                   ^  j\    are  hoping  that  the  commotion  at  Transylvania  Col- 

We'need  moral  "setting  up  exercises"  which  will  re-  '  leSe>  Lexington,  Ky.,  will  not  be  suppressed  by  corn- 
establish  the  honesty  of  our  citizens.  Graft  in  the  hastily  promises  but  settled  by  a  clean-cut  definition  of  the  policy 
let  government  contracts  can  filter  down  through  the  citi-  of  that  institution  with  reference  to  the  three  points  at 
zenship.  A  right  public  sentiment  can  make  the  army  con-  issue.  These  points,  as  we  see  them,  are : 
tract  grafter  as  odious  in  our  eyes  as  the  low  German  1.  The  question  of  academic  freedom  in  general, 
plotter  who  is  found  trying  to  poison  the  water  supplies  2.  In  particular  the  question  whether  or  not  instruc- 
in  some  of  our  cities.  tion  based  upon  such  modern  concepts  as  evolution,  his- 

This  war  calls  men  from  their  selfishness  and  indi-  torical  criticism,  etc.,  is  unacceptable  in  a  college  of  the 

vidualism  to  the  spirit  of  sacrifice  of  which  the  cross  is  Disciples  of  Christ. 

the  symbol.    We  are  called  upon  to  give  up  our  luxuries  3     And,  finally,  the  question  of  the  competence  and 

and  to  settle  down  to  quiet  lives  of  efficiency  and  economy,  trustworthiness  of  the  board  of  trustees  to  administer  the 

The   church  can   serve  as  a  recruiting  ground   for  affairs  of  the  college  without  dictation  from  without, 
courage  and  faith.     With  a  strong  consciousness  that  we 

have  stood  for  the  things  which  are  well-pleasing  to  God,  If  there  ever  was  an^  doubt  on  these  matters  now  is 

with  a  great  faith  that  right  must  prevail  in  the  world,  our  as  Sood  a  time  to  settle  the  lssues  as  we  can  hoPe  for>  and 

people  should  go  forward  with  a  strength  which  can  arise  this  particular  situation  at  Transylvania  affords  as  good  a 

only  out  of  a  spiritual  well-being  that  is  safeguarded  by  test  case  fsfcan  *>e  desiJed-     S°  we  hoPe  noth!nS  W1J  °e 

the  church  smothered,  but  that  a  full  and  thorough  inquiry  will  be 

made  by  the  board  of  trustees  into  the  charges  brought 

A  LANDMARK  REMOVED  against  the  five  members  of  the  Bible  College  faculty,  and 

THE  going  of  W.  F.  Richardson  from  First  Church,  that  **  board  ^  mfke,  itS  de?si°n  wit*i° ?  amh^uity- 

Kansas  City,  removes  one  of  the  landmarks  of  that  A  Moreover,  rt  is  to  be  hoped  that  none  of  the  professors 

community.     The  Board  of  Church  Extension  at  a  undf  fiJe  will  imagine  that  he  can  serve  either  the  college 

recent  meeting  passed   commendatory   resolutions,    from  °f  the  brotherhood  by  an  over-cautious  statement  of  his 

which  we  are  pleased  to  quote:  views  and  teaching.     The  academic  instinct  to  withdraw 

from  a  discussion  when  one  perceives  thaj  one's  utterance 

"In  accepting  the  resignation  of  W.  F.  Richardson,  has  stirred  up  hostile  prejudices  must  not  prevail  with  the 

which  was  caused  by  his  removal  to  Hollywood  church,  Lexington  professors.     Distasteful  as  it  may  be  to  them, 

Los  Angeles,  the  Board  of  Church  Extension  desires  to  it  is  their  duty  to  court  an  examination  of  their  views  and 

express  its  deep  sense  of  the  loss  it  sustains  in  his  going,  teachings  by  their  board  of  trustees,  and  they  should  give 

Mr.  Richardson  was  a  regular  attendant  at  our  meetings,  these  views  and  teachings  with  such  candor  and  indiffer- 

his  counsel  was  of  the  greatest  value,  his  judgment  was  ence  to  consequences  as  was  evidenced  by  President  Bell 

guided  by  wisdom  and  love  and  his  vision  reached  out  of  Drake  University  who  said  in  a  public  speech  recently: 

with  sympathy  for  all  the  needs  of  North  America."  «Qf  course  we  teach  the  doctrine  of  evolution  at  Drake 

The  genial  pastor  of  the  First  church  was  a  happy  University.     We  could  not  be  an  institution  of  learning  in 

combination  of  parish  minister  and  man  of  the  larger  this  age  if  we  did  not." 

ministry.     He  never  regarded  his  work  as  lying  entirely  •  The  controversy  at  Lexington  is  a  strange  anachron- 

within  the  boundaries  of  a  parish,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  ism,  and  it  is  an  occasion  of  shame  that  the  attention,  not 

he  did  not  neglect  that  parish,  as  his  record  of  achieve-  only  of  a  college  community,  but  of  the  brotherhood  itself, 

ments  abundantly  shows.    He  was  pastor  in  a  down-town  should  be  even  momentarily  diverted  from  important  and 

church  situation  and  was  compelled  to  face  the  encroach-  vital  things  to  consider  so  belated  an  issue.     In  all  the 

ments  of  building  enterprises   in  a  way  which  severely  sorry  history  of  self-appointed  heresy-hunters  there  has 

taxed  the  resourcefulness  of  his  ministry.  never  been  a  more  astonishing  and  pathetic  spectacle  than 

Most  of  us  have  known  him  in  his  larger  ministry,  this  of  a  graduate  of  Harvard  Divinity  School  bringing 


April  19,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


charges  of  "destructive  criticism"  against  the  teaching  of 
his  colleagues. 

*  We  have  strong  reasons  to  doubt  the  sincerity  of  Dean 
Calhoun  in  the  stand  he  has  taken  against  practically  the 
whole  faculty  of  Transylvania  and  eighty-seven  per  cent 
of  the  student  body. 

There  is  only  one  way  out,  and  that  is  the  way  of  full 
investigation  and  the  adoption  for  the  future  of  a  clearly 
defined  academic  policy  by  the  board  of  trustees. 

All  our  colleges  are  involved  in  Transylvania's  em- 
barrassment. In  settling  her  own  problem  satisfactorily 
Transylvania  will  settle  similar  problems  for  all  the  rest. 

The  question  is,  Are  our  colleges  to  be  colleges  or 
Phillips  Bible  Institutes? 

The  answer  our  Disciples'  brotherhood  will  make  to 
that  question  is  so  sure  that  it  seems  like  an  affront  to 
ask  it. 

FAITH  AND  EFFICIENCY 

A  RECENT  tendency  in  evangelical  churches  has  been 
toward  the  development  of  new  methods  of  work. 
The  social  service  idea  has  come,  which  has  shown 
the  churches  how  to  be  effective  in  community  work.  Re- 
ligious education  has  wrought  a  revolution  in  the  matter 
of  religious  instruction;  this  is  yet  in  its  infancy,  and  it 
will  in  time  change  for  the  better  every  Sunday  school  in 
the  land.  New  financial  methods  have  brought  material 
prosperity  to  the  church  without  any  loss  of  power.  The 
every-member  canvass  and  the  budget  system  have  all  but 
solved  the  matter  of  support  for  religious  work. 

But  after  all  this  is  said,  all  is  not  well  with  the  church. 
The  rate  of  gain  tends  to  slow  down.  In  many  sections  of 
both  city  and  country  we  hear  of  churches  dying.  It  is 
hard  to  maintain  many  of  the  services  which  were  once 
deemed  essential  to  the  well-being  of  a  well-regulated 
church.  The  church  of  today  has  efficiency,  but  it  lacks 
in  motive  power. 

Without  regretting  the  development  of  social  service 
and  religious  education  and  new  financial  methods,  one 
may  fairly  question  whether  we  do  not  now  need  more  of 
the  inner  things  of  religious  experience.  Just  now  we 
have  an  abundance  of  method,  but  not  enough  of  deep- 
going  religious  interest. 

The  church  is  more  than  a  club.  It  is  well  that  it 
should  be  organized  to  do  well  the  things  it  does  attempt 
to  do.  However,  the  church  began  as  a  comradeship  of 
the  friends  of  Jesus.  They  were  all  men  who  had  had  a 
great  experience  together.  The  church  started  with  this 
tremendous  dynamic  of  a  great  faith. 

The  church  of  today  needs  a  quickening  of  its  faith 
in  God,  a  new  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  ushering 
in  the  kingdom  of  God.  With  this  fresh  interest,  we  shall 
with  our  more  efficient  methods,  accomplish  great  results. 

THE  CZAR'S  TWO  BILLION 

THE  newspapers  have  announced  the  confiscation  of 
the  private  fortune  of  the  Czar  of  Russia  following 
his  abdication.  It  is  said  that  this  fortune  amounts  to 
two  billions  of  dollars,  a  considerable  portion  of  which  is 
in  American  securities.  Where  the  government  of  Russia 
had  been  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy,  it  now  finds  itself 
in  a  fortunate  position  relatively.  No  one  feels  his  moral 
sense  outraged  by  this  action  of  the  provisional  govern- 
ment, for  it  is  recognized  that  the  Czar  did  not  produce 
this  two  billion  of  dollars  and  that  in  reality  it  belonged  to 
the  nation. 


It  looks  as  if  military  monarchies  will  soon  be  a  thing 
of  the  past  in  the  world ;  along  with  them  will  go  the  great 
fortunes  of  the  monarchs.  That  will  leave  us  bankers  in 
place  of  autocrats.  Suppose  a  private  citizen  holds  two 
billion  dollars  worth  of  property  which  he  has  not  in 
reality  earned,  but  which  has  come  through  market 
manipulations  or  other  speculative  enterprises ;  the  social- 
ist says  we  should  do  with  this  money  the  same  thing  that 
has  been  done  with  the  Czar's  private  fortune. 

One  of  the  men  who  shared  the  million  dollars  gained 
in  the  wheat  drive  in  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade  last 
week  is  now  advising  us  to  have  meatless  days.  Already 
men  are  saying,  Let  us  save  the  money  going  to  speculators 
before  saving  the  meat  on  our  tables. 

The  problem  of  the  ethical  questions  involved  in  the 
earning  and  spending  of  money  has  not  yet  been  given  the 
study  it  deserves  at  the  hand  of  a  Christian  civilization. 
The  great  Christian  doctrine  of  stewardship  is  some  day 
to  be  applied  to  the  problem  of  property. 

A  PHYSICAL  JESUS  IN  HEAVEN 

THE  case  for  a  modern  understanding  of  Christianity  is 
almost  won.  The  great  theological  seminaries  are 
almost  without  exception  ranged  on  the  side  of  the 
historical  method  in  Bible  study  and  of  doctrinal  ideas  that 
square  with  modern  knowledge.  Outside  the  great  schools, 
however,  there  is  an  insidious  campaign  of  obscurantism 
going  on  which  is  not  even  the  old  orthodoxy.  It  is  such 
perversion  of  the  old  orthodoxy  as  to  be  judged  as  heresy, 
even  from  the  viewpoint  of  historic  Christianity. 

Some  time  ago  a  writer  in  the  Sunday  School  Times 
said :  "Jesus  has  not  discarded  his  flesh,  his  earthly  body. 
While  now  in  glory,  he  is  still  man — the  God-man — and  the 
son  of  Man.  He  has  not  laid  aside  his  body.  *  *  *  Of 
course  many  deny  this,  for  many  deceivers  are  gone  forth 
in  the  world,  even  they  that  confess  not  that  Jesus  Christ 
cometh  in  the  flesh."  This  is  quoted  with  approval  by  the 
Christian  Worker's  Magazine  of  recent  issue. 

The  scripture  used  here  is  cleverly  perverted  for  the 
purpose  of  making  it  apply  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ. 
Presumably  the  motive  for  this  materialism  grows  out  of 
a  defence  of  the  idea  of  the  resurrection  of  the  physical 
body  of  Jesus. 

Such  a  view  of  the  future  life  is  a  choice  morsel  for 
the  infidel.  The  whole  movement  of  modern  infidelity  was 
made  possible  by  such  crass  views  of  religious  matters.  We 
now  know  that  we  have  many  bodies  in  the  course  of  a 
life-time.  Why  should  the  last  one  we  have  be  dignified 
by  a  resurrection  and  a  kind  of  physical  immortality  ?  And 
then,  conceivably,  two  men  might  be  disputing  over  por- 
tions of  the  same  body  in  the  world  to  come.  If  the  dust 
of  a  Caesar  may  come  at  last  to  stop  a  beer-barrel,  so  by 
the  same  token  two  men  of  different  generations  might 
each  possess  in  part  at  least  of  the  same  atoms  of  matter. 
Whose  shall  they  be  in  the  resurrection  ? 

A  physical  Jesus  in  heaven  has  but  few  possibilities 
for  religious  faith.    The  eternal  Christ  has  many. 

THE  BEAST  OF  REVELATION 

THE  Beast  of  Revelation  is  interpreted  by  people  of 
any  particular  age  in  the  light  of  their  prejudices.  A 
most  interesting  essay  might  be  written  on  the  history 
of  the  interpretation  of  this  passage  in  the  Apocalypse.  At 
various  times  the  Beast  has  been  taken  to  represent  the 
Roman  emperor,  Mohammed,  the  pope  of  Rome  and  other 
interesting  personalities.     The  war  spirit  has  given  us  a 


s 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  19,  1917 


new  interpretation.     It  is  supported  by  the  same  kind  of 
proof  as  all  the  rest. 

Knmamoto.  a  Japanese  astrologer,  has  put  forth  in  a 
journal,  called  Industrial  Japan,  a  theory  which  interprets 
this  scripture,  and  purports  to  give  a  safe  basis  on  which 
to  figure  one's  investments  for  the  coming  year.  The 
Beast  of  Revelation  is  the  Kaiser!  The  ten  crowns  of  the 
Beast  refer  to  the  ten  kingdoms  of  the  imperial  govern- 
ment of  Germany  and  the  seven  heads  of  the  beast  refes 
to  the  seven  kings  of  that  unhappy  land.  The  Beast  is  to 
rnle  for  forty-two  months  and,  therefore,  Knmamoto  sug- 
gests that  the  war  will  close  some  time  next  autumn.  In 
this  his  arithmetic  is  at  fault,  for  if  the  prophecy  is  liter- 
allv  fulfilled,  the  Kaiser  will  continue  his  power  until  next 


February. 

It  is  easy  to  smile  at  this  kind  of  interpretation  from 
Japan,  but  it  is  no  more  ludicrous  than  much  that  is  being 
offered  us  in  our  own  country.  The  whole  millenarian 
school,  whether  found  among  Adventists,  Millennial  Dawn- 
ists,  Moody  Institute  people  or  among  the  obscurantists  of 
the  Disciples  perpetrate  interpretations  equally  silly  and 
impossible.  One  of  our  own  publishing  houses  has  offered 
a  book  which  should  stand  on  the  same  shelf  with  the 
utterances  of  Kumamoto.  The  only  cure  for  this  ob- 
scurantism is  a  zealous  propagation  of  modern  methods  of 
Bible  study.  This  alone  will  save  the  Bible  from  the  con- 
tempt of  our  generation.  The  good  book  has  suffered  most 
at  the  hands  of  its  professed  friends. 


Why  I  Am  a  Disciple 


Third  Article — Minor  Reasons" 


THEIR  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH 

THE  usual  way  of  approach  to  the  study  of  a  religious 
body  is  to  begin  at  its  creed  and  that  is  where  I  mean 
to  begin.  One  of  my  reasons,  though  a  minor  one, 
for  being  a  Disciple  is  that  I  like  their  confession  of  faith 
and  their  position  on  the  whole  question  of  creeds.  The 
Disciples  say  that  the  only  test  of  fellowship  in  the  Church 
of  Christ  should  be  a  vital  belief  in  Jesus  Christ  as  divine 
Lord  and  an  acceptance  of  him  as  personal  Saviour.  That 
suits  me.     Such  a  creed  is  both  inclusive  and  positive. 

It  is  positive.  I  feel  quite  sure  that  the  basis  of  an 
efficient  religious  fellowship  must  be  some  positive  convic- 
tion in  which  all  the  members  of  the  fellowship  share.  I 
say  "positive"  conviction  because  I  mean  something  more 
definite  and  concrete  than  a  sentimental  belief  that  good- 
ness will  at  last  prevail,  or  that  love  is  the  greatest  thing 
in  the  world,  or  that  happiness  is  a  duty,  or  some  such 
highly  generalized  formula  of  our  moral  life.  I  have  per- 
sonal friendships  with  men  and  women  who  are  unable 
to  express  their  faith  except  in  platitudes  of  that  sort,  but 
as  a  Christian  I  have  duties  and  a  program  which,  in  their 
state  of  mind,  they  cannot  share.  My  duties  and  program 
as  a  Christian  are  rooted  in  my  conviction  that  in  Jesus 
Christ  mankind  has  found  a  unique  leader,  a  revealer  and 
interpreter  of  the  spiritual  world  whose  claim  upon  us 
i-  not  simply  to  accept  his  truth  but  to  accept  himself.  He 
seems  to  me  to  deserve  to  stand  in  a  unique  relation  to 
our  human  conscience- — he  is  the  Lord  of  our  conscience. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  ways  of  proving  this  lord- 
ship of  Jesus.  There  are  those  traditional  arguments 
drawn  from  the  prophecies,  from  his  miracles,  from  a 
metaphysical  conception  of  his  relation  to  deity  as  a  super- 
natural son,  from  certain  lines  of  evidence  testified  to  in 
the  book  called  the  Bible.  These  and  other  such  methods 
of  demonstration  have  appealed  to  me  more  in  the  past  than 
they  do  now  to  give  to  Jesus  the  preeminent  mastership 
of  my  spiritual  life.     It  would  be  too  much  to  say  that  I 

*I  have  divided  my  various  reasons  for  being  a  Disciple 
into  two  sections,  (1)  Minor  Reasons,  and  (2)  The  Paramount 
Reason.  The  present  and  further  articles  in  this  series  will 
follow  this  outline.  By  minor  reasons  I  mean  those  which 
are  not  in  themselves  distinctive  or  weighty  enough  to  be 
decisive  in  my  choice  of  the  Disciples  fellowship  in  preference 
to  that  of  some  other  Protestant  communion,  but  which  do, 
nevertheless,  afford  a  certain  basis  of  congeniality  with  the 
Disciples.  The  fact  of  my  birth  amongst  the  Disciples  was 
not  included  in  either  of  these  sections  simply  because  I  do 
not  know  in  which  section  it  should  be  classified.  Therefore 
T  treated  it  in  a  chapter  outside  of  this  outline. 


have  altogether  lost  interest  in  them.  Yet  I  confess  that 
none  of  the  old  legalistic  or  philosophical  proofs  of  Jesus' 
divinity  bring  to  me  any  real  moral  conviction.  I  neither 
refer  to  them  for  reassurance  in  my  own  moods  of  doubt, 
nor  do  I  preach  them  as  reasons  why  others  should  accept 
Christ  as  king  of  their  lives. 

What  really,  grips  me  is  not  any  argument  about  Jesus, 
(Tbut  Jesus  himself.  I  seem  unable  to  get  away  from  him. 
He  seems  to  command  me  whether  I  will  or  no.  His 
authority  does  not  rest  on  this  or  that  reason — it  appears 
to  be  prior  to  all  reasons.  I  think  the  arguments  we  de- 
vise to  prove  the  divinity  of  Jesus  are  explanatory,  not 
causal.  They  rest  on  rather  than  under  the  fact  of  his 
divinity.  The  relation  of  Jesus  to  the  soul  is  an  experience 
that  takes  place  in  the  realm  of  personality,  not  in  the 
realm  of  intellectuality.  He  appears  before  us  like  any 
other  person,  standing  in  his  own  merit  as  a  person,  and 
influencing  us  by  what  he  personally  is  known  by  us  to  be. 
His  influence  upon  us  does  not  depend  upon  some  special 
theory  of  his  person  which  we  may  hold,  but  upon  the 
inherent  quality  of  his  person  itself.  And  his  power  over 
our  inner  life,  over  our  conscience,  transcends  that  ex- 
ercised by  any  other  person  we  know.  His  unique  relation 
to  us  is  a  matter  of  fact,  and  does  not  stand  in  need  of 
demonstration.  Whoever  he  is,  however  he  may  be  ex- 
plained, from  whatever  origin  he  came  to  us,  he  stands 
related  to  us  as  a  moral  norm,  an  unescapable  revelation 
of  our  own  highest  self  and  of  God's  gracious  will. 

It  was  this  point  of  view  that  Richard  Watson  Gilder 
illuminated  when  he  declared: 

"If  Jesus  Christ  is  a  man, 

And  only  a  man,  I  say 
That  of  all  mankind  I  will  cleave  to  him, 

And  to  him  will  I  cleave  alway. 

"If  Jesus  Christ  is  a  God, 

And  the  only  God,  I  swear 
I  will  follow  him  through  heaven  and  hell, 

The  earth,  the  sea  and  the  air." 

Now  I  hold  that  this  personal  attitude  toward  Jesus  is  the 
essence  of  the  evangelical  faith  in  him.  The  essence  of 
the  evangelical  faith  is  not  the  metaphysical  or  legalistic 
explanation  of  this  attitude,  but  the  attitude  itself.  There 
will  be  many  types  of  theory  adduced  to  explain  how  it 
comes  that  Jesus  is  able  both  to  awaken  such  an  attitude  of 
loyalty  and  to  sustain  it.  But  these  theories  are  individual, 
temperamental,  and  determined  by  the  modes  of  thought 
characteristic  of  the  time  in  which  one  lives.     Upon  the 


April  19,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


13 


treaty  obligations  and  seize  a  strip  of 
territory  on  the  ground  that  we  are 
righteous  and  all  others  are  scoundrels 
and  grafters.  George  Washington  de- 
clared in  his  farewell  address  that 
religion  and  morality,  no  less  than 
good  policy,  bade  his  countrymen  to 
observe  good  faith  and  justice  toward 
all  nations.  "Who  can  doubt,"  said 
he,  "that  in  the  course  of  time  and 
things,  the  fruits  of  such  a  plan  would 
richly  repay  any  temporary  advan- 
tages which  might  be  lost  by  a  steady 
adherence  to  it?" 

SERVE   RIGHTEOUSNESS   FIRST 

What  a  gigantic  task  it  is  to  per- 
suade men  to  be  willing  to  do  the  right 
though  the  heavens  fall !  For  every 
ninety-nine  men  out  of  a  hundred  De- 
catur's toast  is  true  in  international 
relations.  "My  Country,  may  it  ever 
be  right.  But,  right  or  wrong,  my 
Country!"  Religion's  moral  task  is 
to  educate  the  mind  to  say,  "My  Coun- 
try, may  it  ever  be  right.  But  when 
it  is  wrong,  I  will  do  my  bit  to  make 
it  right !" 

What  sacrifices  such  a  decision  in- 
volves, we  can  appreciate  in  this  day 
of  war  and  rumors  of  war.  The 
whole  world  is  praising  the  heroism 
and  devotion  of  the  gallant  men  who 
out  under  the  stars  are  facing  the 
reality  and  tragedy  of  conflict.  And 
they  deserve  honor.  But  I  want  to 
bear  the  tribute  of  admiration  to  those 
nameless  heroes  in  various  countries 
who  are  suffering  ignominy,  humilia- 
tion and  imprisonment  because  they 
have  chosen  to  serve  a  higher  cause 
than  the  Germany  or  England  of  to- 
day, the  cause  of  righteousness,  fra- 
ternity and  truth.  They  serve  their 
nations  best  who  serve  righteousness 
first. 

III.      SERVICE 

Religious  education  should  train  the 
international  mind  to  serve.  In  his 
words  of  golden  counsel  to  his  coun- 
trymen, Washington  bade  them  culti- 
vate peace  and  harmony  with  all  na- 
tions. "In  the  execution  of  such  a 
plan,"  he  said,  "nothing  is  more  essen- 
tial than  that  antipathies  against  par- 
ticular nations  and  passionate  attach- 
ments for  others  should  be  excluded ; 
and  that  in  place  of  them,  just  and 
amicable  feelings  toward  all  should 
be  cultivated."  There  have  been  mo- 
ments in  the  last  thirty  months  when 
many  Americans  have  seemed  to 
ignore  this  advice.  We  honor  the 
German  in  our  midst  for  his  love  of 
the  fatherland.  We  respect  the  Eng- 
lishman, sojourning  among  us,  for  his 
loyalty  to  the  British  empire.  But  by 
the  same  test  we  demand  that  during 
this  European  conflict,  whatever  their 
inveterate  antipathies  or  their  passion- 
ate attachments,  the  citizens  of  this 
nation  shall  put  America  first.    "The 


nation,"  says  Washington,  "which  in- 
dulges towards  another  an  habitual 
hatred  or  an  habitual  fondness  is,  in 
some  degree,  a  slave.  It  is  a  slave  to 
its  animosities  or  its  affection,  either 
of  which  is  sufficient  to  lead  it  astray 
from  its  duty  and  its  interests." 

ENTERING  THE  WAR 

To  throw  ourselves  into  an  Euro- 
pean conflict,  under  the  impulse  of 
antipathy  or  passionate  attachment, 
would  inextricably  entangle  our  coun- 
try in  the  politics  of  other  nations.  To 
lay  down  the  principles  of  a  world 
order  upon  which  we  would  be  will- 
ing to  unite  with  other  nations  for  the 
service  of  all,  as  President  Wilson  has 
effectively  done,  is,  it  seems  to  me,  to 
serve  the  world.  To  enter  upon  that 
difficult  task  with  clear  heads  and  un- 
selfish hearts  is  to  perform  what 
Washington  calls  "our  duty  to  man- 
kind," which  is  unevadable  and  uni- 
versal. Religion  declares  that  our 
life  is  for  service.  Better  that  we 
should  perish  than  that  we  should  con- 
tinually dwell  in  suspicion  and  fear  of 
other  nations.  Infinitely  better  that 
we  should  perish  than  that  we  should 
cause  others  to  dwell  -continually  in 
suspicion  and  fear  of  us. 

If  in  the  hour  of  peace  America 
could  bring  herself  to  give  for  the  re- 
habilitation and  reconciliation  of  the 
nations  now  at  war,  the  billions  she 
has  voted  for  battleships  and  armies, 
do  you  not  believe  that  it  would  be 
the  most  effective  and  successful  pre- 
paredness measure  ever  undertaken 
by  man?  "Millions  for  defense,"  once 
cried  a  patriot,  "not  a  cent  for  trib- 
ute !"  Millions  for  service,  and  you 
will  not  need  a  cent  for  defense. 

If  religion  is  to  educate  the  inter- 
national mind  to  believe,  to  do  right- 
eousness and  to  serve  in  the  future,  it 
must  cast  off  at  least  two  of  its  in- 
heritances from  the  past. 

PRAYING   TO   THE  GOD   OF   BATTLES 

We  must  expurgate  our  prayers.  A 
little  English  girl  wrote  a  letter  to  her 
aunt  in  this  country  in  which  she  said : 
"I  pray  every  night  for  my  dear  papa 
at  the  front.  I  ask  God  to  keep  him 
safe  and  to  kill  all  those  wicked  Ger- 
mans." Little  German  girls  are  doubt- 
less praying  to  God  to  save  their  dear 
papas,  and  to  kill  all  those  wicked 
Englishmen.  And  little  Italian  girls 
are  praying  to  God  to  save  their  dear 
papas  and  to  kill  all  those  wicked 
Austrians.  And  little  Austrian  girls 
are  praying  to  God  to  save  their  papas 
and  to  kill  all  those  wicked  Italians. 
And  the  dear  God  hears  all  the  pray- 
ers of  His  children — the  prayers  to 
kill  and  maim  their  enemies !  And 
even  churches  in  solemn  convention 
assembled  have  adopted  prayers  al- 
most as  far  removed  from  the  spirit 
of  Him  who  said,  "I  say  unto  you, 


love  your  enemies  and  do  good  unto 
them  that  hate  you."  If  we  are  to 
pray  to  the  God  of  battles,  to  the  Lord 
of  armed  hosts,  let  us  address  him  by 
his  proper  name,  not  Our  Father,  but 
Mars  or  Moloch.  And  let  us  present 
our  petitions  to  kill  our  enemies,  in 
the  name  of  Julius  Caesar,  not  Jesus 
Christ. 

THE    EXAMPLE  OF   JESUS 

Our  religious  language  needs  to  be 
expurgated  of  military  imagery.  At 
least  so  far  as  it  applies  to  all  our  re- 
lations to  others.  Must  we  not  sub- 
stitute ideals  of  peaceful  heroism  for 
ideals  of  warlike  heroism?  St.  Paul 
used  the  illustration  of  the  soldier  for 
the  struggle  of  the  man  for  right  liv- 
ing and  made  it  respectable.  The 
church  made  use  of  the  soldier  meta- 
phor when  the  great  heroes  were  sol- 
diers. That  time  has  gone.  The 
teacher,  the  thinker,  the  explorer,  the 
inventor,  the  worker,  the  preacher,  the 
physician,  and  the  nurse  are  all  finer 
types  of  the  hero  and  patriot  than  the 
soldiers,  and  yet  we  go  on  singing, 
"Onward,  Christian  Soldiers." 

Jesus  never  used  a  military  figure. 
The  woman  in  her  home,  the  fisher- 
man at  his  hazardous  trade,  the  mer- 
chant taking  risks,  the  farmer  in  his 
field,  the  carpenter  at  his  job,  the 
shepherd  in  the  hills — these  furnished 
Jesus  with  the  imagery  of  spiritual 
life.  Let  us  put  this  imagery  into  the 
worship  of  One  who  said,  "Blessed  are 
the  peacemakers." 

"killing  for  duty" 

Across  the  fair  earth  have  marched 
and  countermarched  throughout  the 
centuries  the  merciless  armies  of 
world  conquest.  Nineveh  and  Baby- 
lon, cultured  Greece  and  majestic 
Rome,  the  Turk,  the  Teuton  and  the 
Celt,  the  Anglo-Saxon,  Slav  and  Jap- 
anese have  each  in  turn  drenched  the 
world  in  blood.  Dante  pictured  vio- 
lence as  punished  in  a  river  of  boiling 
blood  which  flowed  in  a  vast  circle 
around  hell.  For  glory,  honor  and 
loot  the  violent  have  encircled  the 
world  with  a  river  of  blood.  In  these 
latter  days  multitudes,  baptized  as 
Christians,  civilized  as  men,  have  gone 
forth  to  kill  for  duty,  to  fight  for  jus- 
tice, and  to  murder  in  defense  of 
country.  Shall  we  not  reverse  the 
order  of  the  world  and  send  men  forth 
to  serve  mankind?  Would  that  from 
this  day  we  might  begin  to  raise  a 
goodly  fellowship  of  men  and  women, 
strong  in  soul  and  brave — "to  dare, 
to  do,  to  help  and  to  endure." 

They  would  go  forth  with  hands 
quick  to  find,  to  soothe,  to  bless.  Year 
by  year  their  numbers  would  increase. 
And  then  in  time — in  God's  good  time 
— they  would  reveal  the  secret  of 
eternal  harmony — the  reconciliation 
of  the  world. 


h. 


!;illl!l!llllllllllllllll!llllll!IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


Prohibition  Dependent 
Upon  Americanization 

The  wet  states  are,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  states  with  great  foreign 
populations.  The  more  purely  Amer- 
ican   states    are    found    in    the    dry 
column.    The  great  cities  are  centers 
of  congested  foreign  populations  and 
are  wet.    The  laboring  folk  are  large- 
ly foreign  or  of  the  first  generation 
and  the  majority  are  still  wet.  There 
are  wet  Americans  in  abundance  and 
they  are  people  of  foreign  birth  and 
parentage    who    are    dry,    but    the 
masses  of  the  day  voters  are  Amer- 
ican and  the  masses  of  the  wets  are 
foreign  or  of  foreign  descent.     The 
future  of  prohibition  becomes  then 
largely   a  problem   of  Americaniza- 
tion. 

The  Europeans  are  inured  to 
drinking  customs  and  their  con- 
science on  the  thing  is  where  ours 
was  a  half-century  ago.  The  trav- 
eler in  Europe  meets  liquor  every- 
where ;  it  greets  him  on  every  hotel 
table  and  at  all  places  of  popular 
amusement ;  it  is  found  in  most  pri- 
vate houses  and  sold  wherever  food 
is  sold ;  clergy,  physicians,  social 
workers  and  all  other  classes  use  it 
to  a  degree  that  is  abhorrent  to  a 
modern  American  total  abstainer. 
Lloyd  George  would  sink  it  into  the 
depths  of  the  sea  with  a  millstone 
around  its  neck  if  he  dared,  but  drink 
is  too  deeply  immured  in  English 
custom  and  he  has  to  stand  by  with  a 
sigh  and  see  its  tremendous  waste 
and  its  employment  of  a  half-million 
needed  men  go  on.  It  is  not  that 
the  foreigner  is  a  worse  man  but 
only  that  he  is  not  well  progressed 
in  his  moral  judgments;  he  is  where 
our  grandfathers  were  and  it  is  a 
question  of  education  with  him ;  he  is 
worse  off  because  of  the  effects  of 
using  intoxicants  but  he  is  not  neces- 
sarily any  less  conscientious.  It  is 
less  a  question  of  conscience  than  of 
moral  judgment,  and  that  means  that 
education  is  necessary.  But  the 
whole  process  of  Americanization  is 
one  of  popular  education  and  the  new 
temperance  council  of  the  Federal 
Council  of  Churches  is  a  move  in  the 
right  direction ;  it  supplements  the 
legislative  work  of  the  Anti-Saloon 
League  with  education. 
*     *     * 

Distillers  Versus 
Brewers 

There  is  a  tendency  in  some  states 
for  the  brewers  to  dissolve  their  alli- 
ance with  the  distillers  and  make  a 
last   stand   for   self-perpetuation   on 


;:,,,:::::!■:! I'T/^M''^::;-:  /'.ri.'       lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllli 

of  the  drinking  place  as  a  social  in- 
stitution ;  it  gathers  around  it  all  that 
is  bad.  A  hotel  proprietor  in  New 
York  City  has  removed  the  bar  from 
"his  premises  because,  as  he  says,  "it 
became  too  prosperous."  He  is  not 
a  teetotaler  and  desires  to  serve  it  to 
his  guests,  but  his  new  manager 
made  it  earn  him  $10,000  last  year 
and  he  awakened  to  the  fact  that  his 
great  profits  depended  upon  making 
men  into  beasts.  He  says  he  loves 
money  as  well  as  any  man  and  that  it 
is  not  easy  to  surrender  $10,000  per 
year,  but  that  a  saloon  at  its  best  is 
a  dirty,  immoral  hole  and  a  respect- 
able man  cannot  afford  to  profit  by  it. 

*     *     * 

A  New  Secret  Order 
for  Church  Boys 

The  Rev.  Francis  M.JWetherill,  for 

several  years  curate  of  Old  Christ 
Church  of  Philadelphia,  has  been  do- 
ing some  effective  work  among  boys. 
Out  of  this  has  grown  the  organization 
of  a  secret  order  known  as  "The 
Knights  of  St.  John."  A  very  inter- 
esting ritual  has  been  prepared  for  the 
society.  The  society  will  provide  in- 
struction in  the  prayer-book  and  is 
distinctively  Episcopalian  in  character. 


the  plea  that  brewed  and  vinous  in- 
toxicants are  mild  and  harmless 
while  distilled  liquors  are  the  source 
of  all  that  is  true  in  the  indict- 
ment of  the  liquor  traffic.  Bavaria 
is  the  largest  per  capita  beer  con- 
sumer in  the  world  and  Denmark 
holds  the  record  for  distilled 
liquor;  but  Bavaria  actually  drinks 
more  alcohol  in  its  beer  than  Den- 
mark does  in  its  distilled  liquor. 
This  would  not  bear  out  the  brewers' 
contention  that  the  drinking  of 
brewed  intoxicants  would  necessa- 
rily reduce  the  harmfulness  of  drink- 
ing. England  once  tried  the  experi- 
ment and  found  that  it  actually  so 
increased  the  consumption  of  beer 
and  vinous  liquors  as  to  greatly  in- 
crease the  consumption  of  alcohol. 
Yet  it  is  doubtless  a  great  gain  to 
have  France  and  Switzerland  pro- 
hibit such  deadly  distillations  as  ab- 
sinthe, and  in  wine  drinking  lands  it' 
would  help  to  reduce  drinking  to 
wine  alone  because  it  would  remove 
something  of  the  bestial  from  drink- 
ing customs;  but  it  will  not  solve 
the  liquor  question,  nor  will  any- 
thing else  than  the  abolition  of  al- 
cohol. 

Quite  apart  from  the  question  of 
alcoholization  there  is  the  question 


Pioneering  in  Christian  Union 


The  American  Sunday  School 
Union  is  celebrating  the  work  of  a 
century's  pioneering  on  the  frontiers; 
it  has  been  for  one  hundred  years  es- 
tablishing Christian  outposts  and  pio- 
neering for  the  religious  elements  in 
civilization.  In  that  time  it  has  found- 
ed 120,000  Sunday  schools  and  its 
work  grows  with  the  years.  Last  year 
it  founded  1,413  new  Sunday  schools, 
developed  sixty-nine  churches  out  of 
its  previously  established  schools  and 
its  agents  visited  204,000  families,  de- 
livered 24,000  sermons,  distributed 
36,000  copies  of  the  Scriptures  to- 
gether with  242,500  other  books,  tracts 
and  maps  and  made  8,441  conversions. 
In  addition  more  than  2,000,000  copies 
of  Sunday  school  lessons  were  used. 
This  Union  is  not  only  a  pioneer  for 
religion  in  frontier  communities,  and 
thus  for  civilization  itself,  but  also 
for  Christian  union.  Where  the  need 
is  greatest  there  does  Christian  union 
become  most  manifest  and  it  is  most 
easily  accomplished ;  in  the  measure 
that  the  church  faces  real  need  does 
it  practice  Christian  union.  The  rea- 
son it  does  not  practice  it  more  is 


because  it  does  not  face  and  feel  the 
real  need  of  men  and  communities. 
The  churches  exist  all  too  much  for 
themselves.  The  question  they  face 
is  not  so  much  what  is  happening  to 
the  community  as  what  is  happening 
to  the  church;  if  the  church  shows 
progress  we  are  satisfied  and  do  not 
ask  whether  it  is  being  built  up  out 
of  the  community  or  whether  it  is 
building  up  the  community.  The, 
writer  has  met  and  counseled  with 
the  Sunday  School  Union  missionaries 
in  the  West.  Their  work  is  heroic 
and  apostolic.  They  go  into  new  com- 
munities through  cold  and  waste  and 
found  their  schools  and  evangelize  and 
organize  small  groups  of  Christians 
without  reference  to  creed  or  name; 
they  unite  all  the  Christian  elements 
of  the  frontier  neighborhood.  Then 
their  greatest  trial  comes  when  sec- 
tarian intrusions  break  up  their  uni- 
fied group  and  divide  the  Christian 
forces  and  weaken  the  evangel  through 
attempts  to  build  several  churches 
where  there  should  be  only  one.  And 
the  shame  of  it  is  that  missionary 
money  is  often  used  to  do  this  work 
of  division. 


'-'NiilllllillllfllllllllliilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllM 


The  Larger  Christian  World 

A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM 


By  ORVIS  P.  JORDAN 


Clergyman  Discusses 
Faults  of  Church 

The  Church  of  England  is  under- 
going an  overhauling  in  the  minds 
of  many  of  its  leaders.  As  a  symp- 
tom of  the  unrest  in  the  church,  the 
utterances  of  Rev.  Hubert  Handley 
in  the  Guardian  may  be  mentioned. 
He  calls  the  recent  national  mission 
of  the  church  a  failure  and  then  un- 
dertakes to  account  for  the  failure. 
Mr.  Handley  contends  that  there  are 
still  demons  to  be  cast  out  of  the 
Church:  the  evil  spirits  of  caste  dis- 
tinctions, of  love  of  money,  of  party 
spirit,  and  of  what  he  calls  "dog- 
matic licentiousness."  As  might  be 
expected  from  the  coiner  of  the 
phrase  "fatal  opulence  of  bishops" 
he  takes  a  specially  strong  line  on 
the  second  point.  He  wanted  the 
Mission  to  begin  with  deeds,  not 
words,  and  let  the  abuses  of  city  liv- 
ings, ecclesiastical  slum  property, 
and  episcopal  opulence  be  dealt  with 
first.  But  he  met  with  no  support. 
He  now  returns  to  the  charge,  and 
adds  to  the  list  the  scandal  of  the 
retention  of  office,  often  well-paid, 
by  bishops,  deans  and  clergy  gen- 
erally, when  they  are  long  past  the 
age  of  effectiveness.  Mr.  Handley 
has  a  fine  contempt  for  the  theolo- 
gian with  his  definitions,  who  "has 
driven  the  child-spirit  out  of  the 
temple."  He  calls  for  a  soul-shaking 
repentance ;  but  this,  he  says,  is  im- 
possible in  the  present  mood  of  the 
Church,  "demure,  sophisticated,  nib- 
bling, suave,  marked  all  over  'Not 
too  far.' " 

Andrew  Broadus,  Pastor  for 
Ninety-three  Years 

Two  remarkable  facts  are  attached 
to  the  pastorate  of  a  Baptist  church 
in  Caroline  county,  Va.  During 
the  past  ninety-three  years  the  con- 
gregation has  had  only  three  pas- 
tors, each  named  Andrew  Broadus. 
They  were  son,  father  and  grand- 
father. 

Shall  Christians 
Work  on  Sunday? 

Church  leaders  of  England  are 
facing  the  question  whether  a  Chris- 
tian should  garden  on  Sunday  or 
not.  All  over  England  people  are 
being  encouraged  to  make  garden 
in  their  spare  time,  and  this  "spare 
time"  is  usually  Sunday.  Some  bish- 
ops have  given  approval  on  the 
ground  of  national  necessity.  Oth- 
ers have  spoken  against  it.  The 
nonconformists  seem  to  be  equally 


divided.  One  argument  against  Sun- 
day work  is  found  in  the  suggestion 
that  after  the  war  the  practice  will 
be  established  and  the  workers  will 
be  exploited.  In  some  cases  the 
church  services  will  be  arranged  for 
an  early  communion  and  a  late  ser- 
vice Sunday  evening  for  the  con- 
venience of  the  Sunday  workers. 

Chaplains  for  Army 
and  Navy 

The  statistics  of  the  chaplains  in 
the  army  as  given  last  winter  for 
the  various  denominations  are  as 
follows:  Methodist,  15;  Catholic, 
14;  Episcopalian,  10;  Presbyterian, 
9;  Baptist,  7;  Congregationalist,  4; 
Lutheran,  3,  and  one  each  for  the 
following  denominations,  Universal- 
ists,  Unitarians,  Christian  denomi- 
nation, Reformed,  United  Brethren 
and  Disciples.  The  figures  for  the 
navy  are  as  follows :  Methodist,  10 ; 
Catholic,  9;  Episcopalian,  6;  Baptist, 
5;  Presbyterian,  4;  Disciples,  2,  and 
one  each  for  the  Congregationalists, 
Christian  denomination,  Reformed 
and  Lutheran.  It  is  nowhere  stated 
upon  what  basis  the  chaplains  are 
assigned  to  the  various  denomina- 
tions, whether  by  the  preference  of 
men  who  enlist  or  by  the  denomina- 
tional strength  in  the  country  at 
large.  It  is  clear  that  upon  the  lat- 
ter basis  the  distribution  of  the  ap- 
pointments would  be  very  unfair. 

Equipment  for 
Army  Chaplains 

Bishop  Lawrence,  who  is  chair- 
man of  the  Commission  on  the  In- 
crease of  Army  and  Navy  Chaplains, 
has  issued  this  statement  to  the 
press :  "Conversation  with  the 
army  chaplains  who  have  been  on 
the  Mexican  border  and  in  the  Span- 
ish war  convinces  me  that  you  might 
as  well  send  to  camp  a  battery  with- 
out guns  as  a  chaplain  without  prop- 
er equipment  for  his  work.  The 
regimental  chaplain  of  today  is  the 
postmaster,  banker  and  purveyor  of 
clean  amusement  and  social  center, 
as  well  as  the  moral  and  religious 
guide  of  the  boys.  Mobilizing  camps 
near  towns  over  whose  commercial- 
ized vice  the  army  officers  have  no 
control  are  sources  of  great  danger. 
It  is  an  open  secret  that  in  the  early 
part  of  the  war  in  Europe  military 
efficiency  was  checked  by  vice  and 
disease.  The  men,  most  of  them, 
want  to  keep  straight,  but  without 
regimental  centers  and  amusement 
life    is   terribly   dull.     With    a   big 


tent,  a  motion  picture  machine,  a 
motor  truck  and  a  few  incidentals, 
costing  about  $1,500,  the  chaplain 
can  make  a  center  for  the  regiment." 

Christian  Science  and 
the  Church 

In  the  foreword  to  the  second  edi- 
tion of  his  study  of  Christian  Science 
(Putnam)  President  Powell  speaks 
hopefully  of  a  future  entente  between 
ideal  Christianity  and  the  followers 
of  Mrs.  Eddy.  When  rid  of  their 
dogmas,  the  Christian  Scientists  may 
be  absorbed  by  the  Christian  Church. 
In  Dr.  Powell's  opinion  the  Board 
of  Directors  who  are  managing  the 
Christian  Science  Society  are  show- 
ing caution  and  efficiency.  "Some 
of  the  bizarre  and  extravagant  in- 
terests in  Christian  Science  are  no 
longer  stressed.  It  is  not  the  habit 
of  Christian  Scientists  to  disavow 
outgrown  beliefs.  They  simply  stop 
talking  about  them.  Certain  views 
which  invited  much  ridicule  ten 
years  ago  are  rarely  mentioned  in 
these  days  and  only  by  few." 

Distinguished  Scottish  Preacher 
in  This  Country 

Rev.  John  Kelman  of  Edinburgh 
is  in  this  country  and  spoke  on  Eas- 
ter before  the  Sunday  Evening  club 
of  Chicago.  He  is  author  of  an  in- 
teresting book  on  Palestine  and  is 
a  noted  preacher.  Dr.  Kelman 
served  in  the  Ypres  salient  under 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  associa- 
tion and  he  spoke  of  what  he  saw 
in  the  trenches  and  dugouts  back  of 
the  front  line  of  battle.  Dr.  Kelman 
is  pastor  of  the  St.  George's  United 
Free  church;  Edinburgh.  Before  he 
took  his  theological  course  he  spent 
three  years  as  a  sheep  herder  in  Aus- 
tralia and  was  for  nine  years  chap- 
lain of  the  British  territorial  artil- 
lery. 

Dr.  Boynton  Exalts 
the  Church 

Dr.  Nehemiah  Boynton  of  New 
York  was  called  to  Springfield. 
Mass.,  recently  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
to  give  a  series  of  addresses  on  "The 
Obligation  of  Men  to  the  Church." 
The  well-known  preacher  with  suav- 
ity and  punch  spoke  each  day  to 
elaborate  his  thesis  that  the  church 
is  the  biggest  thing  in  sight.  Some 
men  signed  cards  to  begin  the  Chris- 
tian way  of  life  and  the  men  already 
Christian  were  given  a  new  sense  of 
the  dignity  of  the  Christian  profes- 
sion. 


16 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  19,  1917 


iilllliliililllllllililllllllliillllillllillllilillilliiilllillilliiiliillilillllilllillliilllliilllli 


The  Sunday  School 


iiiiimiiiiiiiiiinii 


iii!i;i!i!:ii!iiiiii: 


l;..ili,:ll 


"Behold  Your  King!" 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life 
BY   JOHN    R.    EWERS 


BEHOLD  him  now  where  he  comes! 
Not  the  Christ  of  our  subtle  creeds, 
But  the  lord   of   our  hearts,  of   our 
homes, 
But  the  lord  of  our  hearts,  of  our  homes, 
Of  our  hopes,  our  prayers,  our  needs; 
The  brother  of  want  and  blame, 
The  lover   of  women  and  men, 
With  a  love  that  puts  to  shame 
All  passions  of  human  ken. 

"Ah,  no,  thou  life  of  the  heart, 
Never  shalt  thou  depart! 
Not  till  the  leaven  of  God 
Shall  lighten  each  human  clod; 
Not  till  the  world  shall  climb 
To  thy  height  serene,  sublime, 
Shall  the  Christ  who  enters  our  door 
Pass  to  return  no  more." 

Burns  A.  Jenkins,  in  his  new  book, 
declares  that  every  man  must  have  a 
Messiah,  a  deliverer,  and  that  if  he 
does  not  find  him  in  Buddha, 
Mohammed  or  even  in  Jesus,  he  will, 
like  John  the  Baptist,  look  for  another. 

Men  cannot  endure  as  Stoics.  It 
is  too  hard,  too  severe.  The  phil- 
osophy has  been  tried  and  abandoned. 
Once  in  a  while  a  Henley  may  bitterly 
cry: 

"It  matters  not  how  straight  the  gate, 
How  charged  with  punishment  the  scroll : 
I  am  the  master  of  my  fate, 
I  am  the  captain  of  my  soul." 

We  may  glory  in  that  head,  "Bloody, 
but  unbowed,"  in  that  iron  will  and 
indomitable  persistence — but  it  is  too 
hard ;  we  pity  while  we  admire.  Men 
cannot  live  alone.  Stoicism  is  impos- 
sible. We  need  someone  to  come  in 
and  help  us.  Sorrow  must  be  shared 
and,  when  we  stop  to  think  of  it,  hap- 
piness is  impossible  alone.  To  tell  the 
truth,  I  work  in  order  that  I  may 
merit  and  receive  the  approbation  of 
those  whose  opinion  I  consider  worth 
while!  Why  should  we  not  all  be 
honest  and  confess  it?  The  kind  word 
of  a  friend  is  like  music  in  my  ears. 
To  be  a  hero  in  the  eyes  of  your  boys 
is  great !  And  what  must  it  be  to  hear 
Jesus  say,  "Well  done." 

I  need  a  Master.  I  need  to  sit  at 
his  feet.  I  need  his  criticism  and  his 
approval.  I  will  have  a  Master — if 
not  Jesus,  then  some  other;  shall  I 
say  Socrates,  Epictetus,  Eliot  of  Har- 
vard? It  is  good  to  ask  that  question 
so  that  Jesus  may  stand  forth.  In 
the  lesson  of  today  the  regal  Jesus 
rides  into  the  holy  city.     In  the  shout 

*This  article  is  based  on  the  Interna- 
tional uniform  lesson  for  April  29,  "Jesus 
Welcomed  as  King."  Scripture,  John 
12:  12-26. 


of  the  crowd  is  heard  this  word :  "Be- 
hold Your  King."  I  fasten  upon 
that  idea.  I  hold  it  up  for  your  con- 
templation :  He  is  my  King,  I  look  for 
no  other,  he  satisfies  me. 
*     *     * 

Now  there  are  three  ways  in  which 
my  king  must  satisfy  me.  First,  he 
must  satisfy  my  mind.  I  want  to 
know.  I  am  willing  to  pay  the  price 
to  know.  With  Paul  I  yearn  to  know 
"That  I  may  know  Him."  In  our 
Endeavor  Society  our  young  people 
sing  a  beautiful  hymn;  the  first  verse 
runs  something  like  this : 

"Open  my  eyes   that  I   may  see 
Glimpses   of  truth  thou   hast  for   me;. 
Place  in  my  hands  the  wonderful  key 
That  shall  unclasp  and  set  me  free. 
Silently  now  I  wait  for  thee 
Ready,  my  God,  thy  will  to  see; 
Open  my  eyes,  illumine  me, 
Spirit   Divine." 

Jesus  alone  of  all  the  sages  satisfies 
my  mind  as  to  the  value  and  signifi- 
cance of  my  life. 

Again  my  Master  must  satisfy  my 
heart.  I  fail  to  live  up  to  my  ideals. 
I  fall  below  my  standards.  To  tell 
the  truth,  I  commit  sin.  Only  one 
who  has  the  power,  the  love  and  the 
authority  to  say,  "Son,  thy  sins  be 
forgiven  thee,"  can  meet  my  needs. 

Finally,  my  Master  must  conquer 
my  will.  It  is  a  very  boisterous,  riot- 
ous will.  It  has  never  quailed  before 
any  man.  But  when  Jesus  looks  upon 
me  I  cry: 

"Thou  seemest  human  and  divine, 
The  highest,  holiest  manhood  thou; 
Our  wills  are  ours,  we  know  not  how, 
Our  wills  are  ours  to  make  them  thine." 

"BEHOLD  YOUR  KING." 


To  win  the  degree  of  Master  of  the 
Arts  of  Life  is  a  far  more  consider- 
able undertaking  than  to  become  a 
master  of  science.  Bulk  of  informa- 
tion might  fill  the  latter  requirement, 
but  a  mastery  of  the  finest  of  fine  arts 
— that  of  living — is  never  to  be 
achieved  in  some  study  "far  from  the 
maddening  crowd's  ignoble  strife," 
but  in  our  contacts  with  people  in  the 
friction  of  the  street  and  market 
place.  The  real  demands  of  life 
which  we  must  meet  resemble  with 
far  more  closeness  the  difficult 
achievements  of  a  circus  performer 
than  they  do  the  studious  pursuits  of 
a  library.- — Halford  E.  Luccock,  in 
"Fares,  Please!" 


IjTHMiiuniuniiuiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiHHiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiHiHmmmitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiitiiMiiiiiiiitiitiiimii 

1  Parables  ot  Safed  the  Sage  I 

By  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON 

iTnuuitiuitiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiitiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiimiiiiiimiiMitiiiutiiiiiiiiuifiniii 

The  Horse  and  the  Tricycle 

NOW  I  have  a  friend  who  is  older 
than  I,  and  he  did  his  Thinking 
nigh  on  to  Fifty  Years  Ago,  and  if 
he  hath  had  a  New  Think  Since,  it 
was  by  Accident.  And  he  wrote  a 
Book  wherein  he  Denounced  what 
he  Thought  were  the  Errors  of  the 
Day,  but  which  were  the  Errors  of 
the  Day  Before  Yesterday,  but  he 
knew  it  not.  And  some  of  them  had 
Ceased  to  be  Errors ;  and  that  also 
had  Escaped  his  Notice.  And  I  was 
reading  his  Book  as  I  rode  upon  the 
Train,  and  I  meditated  what  I 
should  say  to  him  about  it. 

Now  the  Train  Stopped  in  a  Little 
City,  and  I  saw  beside  the  Platform 
an  old  Horse  Harnessed  to  a  Mill 
Wagon,  and  the  Engines  Whanged 
and  Hooted,  but  he  moved  not. 
And  the  Automobiles  Honked  and 
he  stood  as  one  who  said,  I  Should 
Worry,  and  he  worried  not.  And  a 
Motorcycle  chugged  past,  and  he 
Slept  at  the  Switch.  But  a  little 
girl  came  by  on  a  Tricycle,  and  he 
Reared,  and  Pitched,  and  was  sore 
afraid,  so  that  he  well  nigh  brake 
the  Harness,  and  it  required  Two 
Men  to  hold  him  till  the  Little  Girl 
got  past. 

And  when  I  saw  this,  I  knew  what 
to  write  to  my  friend,  and  I  wrote  to 
him,  and  said: 

Oh,  my  friend,  well  beloved,  the 
Errors  at  which  thou  art  Affrighted 
ceased  to  scare  other  Men  about  the 
time  most  Horses  Stopped  Shying 
at  the  Locomotive,  and  some  of  them 
Ceased  to  be  discussed  about  the 
time  Other  Horses  became  Wise  to 
the  Gasoline  Buggy.  The  only  rea- 
son thou  art  alarmed  at  these  Errors 
is  that  they  are  almost  as  Bearded 
with  Moss  as  thou  art.  Oh,  my 
friend,  thou  art  a  Back  Number, 
even  an  Old  Phogy.  Thou  dost  shy 
at  a  Tricycle,  and  behold,  the  rest  of 
the  world  is  wonted  to  the  Locomo- 
tive and  the  Automobile,  yea,  and 
the  Ford,  also. 

And  I  knew  not  how  my  friend 
would  love  me  for  this  Epistle,  and 
I  feared  lest  the  Lesson  might  be 
lost  on  him.  Therefore  I  was  re- 
solved to  Profit  by  it  Myself.  And 
I  prayed  my  God  that  if  I  must  be 
Affrighted  at  anything  it  might  not 
be  at  the  things  that  already  were 
gone  by.  And  I  resolved  that  hav- 
ing Learned  to  see  some  Errors 
which  snort  like  Locomotives,  and 
tear  down  the  Pike  like  Automo- 
biles, I  would  Endeavor  to  possess 
my  Soul  in  Patience  in  the  presence 
of  Tricycles.  Yea,  I  resolved  in  my 
Soul  that  I  would  learn  to  Stand 
without  Hitching. 


April  19,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


17 


■in 


ililliiilliiiiliiiiiiiiiiiliilililliiiiiilllliiiiliiiliiiil 


Our  Readers'  Opinions 


Heed,  Transylvania! 


Transylvania,  Rah!  Rah!  Rah! 
Allegiance  to  the  august  Czar! 

Serf,  haste  to  bend  the  knee; 

Avaunt  the  hated  liberty; 

Yodel,  haste  to  bear  the  yoke; 

Yea,  hath  the  "Little  Father"  spoke- 
Christian  Standard— Thing  of  awe! 


Transylvania,  lend  thine  ear! 
Our  mighty  Lord,  the  Kaiser,  hear! 
Can  the  War  Lord  sell  his  books 
If     Truth     be     taught     within     thy 

nooks? 
Back,  ere  the  moment  is  too  late; 
Back,    ere    He    sings    his    "Song    of 
Hate,"— 
Christian  Standard— Thing  of  fear! 


Transylvania,  heed  thy  plight! 

The   "Holy   Father"   holds   the   light! 

Haste,  make  thine  obeisance  low; 

Bid  those  Martin  Luthers  go; 

O,  teach  thou  from  day  to  day 

Just  what  our  Pope  would  have  thee 
say — 
Christian  Standard — Thing  of  might! 

Transylvania,  onward  fare! 
Matters  it  little  whither  or  where, 
But  let  thy  joy  be  unrestrained; 
Remember     who     holds     thee     en- 
chained, 
Czar,    Kaiser,    Pope,   all   these   com- 
bined 
In  one  mighty  master  mind — 
Christian   Standard — Thing  of  air! 

—Mary   P.   Cossaboom. 


A  Letter  and  a  Reply 


Editor  The  Christian  Century: 

The  following  letter  received  recently 
and  the  reply  made  to  the  questions  pro- 
pounded may  possibly  be  of  interest  to 
your  readers. 

Here  is  the  letter: 

"S.  J.    Clarke, 

"Chicago. 
"Dear  Brother: 

"You  conclude  your  note  of  rejoicing 
(Christian  Century  of  February  15th) 
that  _  the  work  so  long  engaging  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  in  the  greatest  cause 
on  earth — 'Christian  Union/  with  'It 
seems  as  if  the  end  is  near.' 

"May  I  ask  that  you,  as  one  of  'our' 
stalwarts  in  the  faith,  will  let  yourself 
again  be  heard  through  the  medium  of 
the  Century,  giving  your  view  along  the 
following  lines: 

"(1)  Do  you  feel  that  said  'near'  con- 
summation and  answer  to  the  Master's 
prayer,  is  to  be  a  'union'  that  will  include 
the  restoration  to  its  divinely  appointed 
place  of  the  ordinance — immersion? 

"(2)  Do  you  conceive  that  to  be  New 
Testament  union  and  the  oneness  the 
Savior  had  in  mind,  which  does  not  so 
restore  this  missing  fundamental  in 
Christian  faith  and  practice? 

"(3)  Are  not  most  of  our  denomi- 
national friends  calling  that  'baptism' 
that  is  not  baptism? 

"(4)  Is  there  in  fact  any  other  out- 
standing obstacle  in  the  way  of  organic 
union  of  the  evangelical  bodies,  any,  save 
the  failure  to  agree  as  to  the  'one  bap- 
tism?' 

"W.  P.  Keeler, 
"6844  Normal  Boul.,  Chicago. 
The  questions  asked  by  Brother  Keeler 
might  well  puzzle  great  theologians  and 
it  can  hardly  be  expected  that  a  common 
layman  should  answer  them  to  the  satis- 
faction of  those  concerned.  I  can  only 
express  my  humble  opinion,  which  I  will 
do  as  best  I  can. 

(1)  Most  assuredly.  I  can  conceive 
of  no  union  that  does  not  completely  re- 
store apostolic  teaching  and  practice. 
That  immersion  was  the  original  and 
apostolic  method  of  Christian  baptism  is 
generally  conceded.  Right  here  let  it  be 
understood  that  it  is  Christian  union,  not 
church  union,  that  has  been  advocated 
by  those   in   the   restoration   movement. 


Church  union,  the  union  of  the  various 
churches  (denominations),  is  not  prac- 
tical. It  is  almost  impossible  to  effect 
a  union  between  those  of  the  same 
name,  but  who  are  divided  upon  some 
sectional  question  or  minor  matter. 
Union  of  Christians  upon  Christ  and  His 
Word  is  feasible,  and  such  union  is  that 
for  which  we  plead.  It  will  be  easy  for 
Christians  of  whatever  name  to  step  out 
upon  a  New  Testament  platform,  but  who 
will  not  give  one  denominational  name 
for  another,  or  compromise  upon  some 
theological  questions.  That  is  why  we 
have  urged  union  upon  Christ,  the  resto- 
ration of  apostolic  teaching  and  practice, 
and  the  adoption  of  the  motto:  "Where 
the  Scriptures  speak,  we  speak;  where  the 
scriptures  are  silent,  we  are  silent."  Upon 
no  other  plan  can  all  Christians  unite. 

(2)  No. 

(3)  Yes;  but  when  they  are  made  to 
realize  fully,  as  many  now  do,  the  sin  of 
division,  they  will  accept  the  one  bap- 
tism, "that  they  all  may  be  one"  in  an- 
swer to  the  Savior's  prayer. 

(4)  There  may  be  other  obstacles 
save  the  one  baptism,  such  as  apostolic 
succession  and  religious  prejudices  fos- 
tered for  years,  but  all  will  readily  vanish 
as  the  necessity  for  Christian  union 
grows  upon  the  followers  of  Christ.  That 
necessity  is  being  proclaimed  more  and 
more  by  representatives  of  all  the  lead- 
ing denominations,  and  it  is  the  duty  of 
those  who  choose  to  be  known  as  Chris- 
tians only  to  help  them  see  the  light  and 
hasten  the  answer  to  the  Savior's  prayer. 
Other  movements  save  that  with  which 
we  are  identified  are  doing  much  to  bring 
about  the  great  consummation,  notably 
the  Bible  Schools  and  the  Christian  En- 
deavor Societies.  Disciples  of  Christ 
should  encourage  all  such  movements, 
cooperating  with  them,  while  lovingly 
pointing  out  that  which  we  regard  as 
the  best,  if  not  the  only  way  to  bring 
about  the  union  of  all  God's  people. 

As  to  how  soon  this  union  will  be 
brought  about,  God  only  knows.  I  be- 
lieve it  very  near  for  many  reasons.  As 
stated,  representatives  of  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  all  the  leading  denominations  are 
advocating  union,  and  even  the  secular 
newspapers  are  discussing  the  subject. 
In  the  past  few  weeks  leading  papers  in 
New  York,  Boston,  Pittsburgh  and  St. 
Louis  have  written  some  very  able  edi- 


torials in  which  they  have  urged  Chris- 
tian union  along  almost  the  identical 
lines  as  advocated  by  the  Disciples.  Un- 
fortunately many  who  advocate  union  do 
not  see  clearly  how  it  may  be  brought 
about,  but  the  fact  of  their  discussing  it 
is  a  hopeful  sign.  Fully  thirty  years  ago, 
in  conversation  with  a  leading  United 
Presbyterian  minister,  he  said  to  me: 
"Why,  Brother  Clarke,  there  is  as  much 
difference  between  the  members  of  my 
church  as  there  is  between  the  members 
of  my  church  and  yours."  "Well,"  1 
replied,  "you  can  all  work  together, 
can't  you?"  "Yes."  "Then  why  can't 
we  all  work  together?"  He  then  out- 
lined to  me  his  plan,  which  was  noth- 
ing more  nor  less  than  the  federation 
of  churches  which  has  since  been  adopt- 
ed by  a  number  of  churches.  Who 
knows  what  this  federation  may  event- 
ually lead  to?  It  may,  in  the  Provi- 
dence of  God,  be  a  stepping  stone  to 
better  things.  When  denominations 
yearn  for  closer  fellowship  one  with  an- 
other, and  when  secular  papers  point  out 
the  way,  surely  the  time  draweth   near. 

While  claiming  no  prophetic  insight, 
I  cannot  help  but  believe  that  this  great 
war  convulsing  the  world  is  going  to 
bring  the  religious  world  nearer  to- 
gether. The  question  has  been  asked 
over  and  over  again,  why  it  is,  if  the 
world  is  Christianized,  and  if  Christ  is 
the  Prince  of  Peace,  that  Christians  did 
not  use  their  influence  and  prevent  the 
war.  The  only  answer  that  could  be 
made  is,  because  of  their  divisions.  If 
the  Christian  world  had  been  united,  no 
nation  would  have  dared  enter  the 
struggle  against  the  combined  Chris- 
tian protest.  This  will  have  a  tendency 
to  bring  Christians  together  and  bring 
the  nations  of  the  world  in  a  more  fra- 
ternal relation,  while  the  kingdoms  of 
this  world  will  become  the  kingdom  of 
our   Lord  Jesus    Christ. 

Again,  the  necessity  of  Christian 
union  is  made  apparent  upon  the  for- 
eign missionary  field.  Missionaries  rea- 
lize that  Christians  must  be  one  if  the 
world  is  to  be  won  for  Christ.  During 
the  World's  Fair  in  Chicago,  the  writer 
was  visited  by  Rev.  John  B.  Hail,  a  mis- 
sionary to  Japan  since  about  the  close 
of  the  Civil  war.  We  were  reared  in 
the  same  town  and  he  was  John  and  I 
was  Jim.  I  said  to  him:  "John,  are  you 
still  working  in  Japan  under  the  au- 
spices of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church?"  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "but,  say 
Jim,  we  don't  know  anything  about 
Presbyterianism  in  Japan.  It  is  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  Japan."  Then,  with 
a  peculiar  twinkle  in  his  eye,  he  con- 
tinued: "Say,  Jim,  I  guess  we  will  all 
have  to  come  to  your  platform  after 
all";  meaning  that  we  should  be  Chris- 
tians only.  And  so,  to  my  mind,  every 
sign  points  to  the  union  of  all  God's 
people  in  a  very  short  time. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  urge  upon  the 
Christian  world  what  we  regard  as  the 
only  way  in  which  union  can  be  brought 
about,  talk  it,  advocate  it  in  season  and 
out  of  season,  lovingly  and  earnestly, 
praying  our  Heavenly  Father  to  hasten 
the  day  when  we  may  all  be  one. 

S.  J.  Clarke. 

Chicago. 


The  ill-fated  steamship  Eastland,  which 
turned  over  in  the  Chicago  river  and 
drowned  more  than  eight  hundred  peo- 
ple, is  now  in  use  as  a  naval  training- 
ship. 

A  government  investigation  recent!}- 
made  revealed  the  fact  that  only  two  per 
cent  of  the  garment  workers  of  New 
York  City  are  free  from  physical  defects 
or  disease. 


IS 


r 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  19,  1917 


iHIIIIHIIIHIB 


m 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


Indiana  Ministers  Sound 
the  Spiritual  Note 

During  the  sessions  of  the  Ministerial 
Association  of  Indiana  last  year,  at  Dan- 
ville, a  committee  was  appointed  to  ar- 
range for  some  time  during  this  year  a 
"Retreat"'  where  the  ministers  of  the 
state  could  spend  a  few  days  together  in 
prayer  and  meditation.  It  was  decided 
that  it  would  be  advisable  to  lengthen 
the  meeting  of  the  Ministerial  Associa- 
tion to  three  sessions,  hold  it  in  a  quiet 
place  apart  from  the  gathering  state  con- 
vention, which  is  to  meet  at  Main  Street 
church,  Kokomo,  beginning  May  15,  and 
make  these  sessions  an  occasion  of  an 
"earnest  spiritual  seeking  after  God." 
The  meetings  will  be  held  this  year  at 
the  First  Congregational  church,  Ko- 
komo, May  14  and  15.  Dr.  Edward  L. 
Bosworth,  senior  dean  of  Oberlin  Col- 
lege, will  be  a  special  guest,  and  will 
speak  on  the  two  themes,  "Where  and 
What  Shall  We  Preach?"  and  "Jesus' 
Way  of  Finding  God."  Charles  T.  Paul, 
of  the  College  of  Missions,  will  speak 
on  "The  Disciple  and  His  Lord";  Prof. 
Jabez  Hall,  of  Indianapolis,  will  give  an 
address  on  "Personal  Reminiscences  of 
Alexander  Campbell,"  and  W.  H.  Smith, 
of  Bloomington,  Ind.,  will  speak  on  "The 
Values  of  Worship."  Devotional  serv- 
ices will  be  led  by  W.  E.  Carroll,  of 
Shelbyville,  by  C.  L.  Pyatt,  of  Gary,  and 
by  Gerald  Culberson,  of  Bedford.  The 
music  will  be  in  charge  of  W.  E.  M. 
Hackleman.  Charles  O.  Lee,  of  the  Dan- 
ville church,  is  president  of  the  associa- 
tion, and  Lee  Tinsley,  of  North  Salem, 
treasurer.  A  fee  of  50  cents  will  be 
charged,  because  of  the  outside  ex- 
penses. 

Big  Men's  Class  Leads 
Work  at  LaPorte,  Ind. 

H.  M.  Hale,  who  has  been  leading  the 
church  at  LaPorte,  Ind.,  for  a  year,  ap- 
preciates the  value  of  a  great  men's  class 
as  a  church  grower.  When  Mr.  Hale 
came  to  the  field  he  found  a  divided 
church.  During  the  year  forty-three  per- 
sons have  been  added  to  the  member- 
ship, $5,000  has  been  expended  on  the 
church  property,  and  the  Easter  services 
were  record-makers.  There  were  360 
present  at  Sunday  school,  with  225  men 
in  the  men's  Bible  class,  which  is  taught 
by  W.  W.  King,  a  former  traveling  man 
and  "Gideon."  The  class  has  been  in 
a  contest  with  classes  of  four  other 
churches,  and  came  out  second  in  the 
campaign. 

H.  H.  Peters  Praises 
Petersburg,  111.,  Church 

The  Illinois  State  Secretary  has  re- 
cently visited  Petersburg,  111.,  and  finds 
many  things  worthy  of  praise.  S.  E. 
Fisher  has  served  as  pastor  for  three 
years  and  during  this  period  over  a  hun- 
dred members  have  been  added  to  the 
congregation.  Mr.  Peters  found  a  re- 
markable class  of  women  called  the 
"Iscah  Class,"  named  after  a  young  In- 
dian woman  whom  the  class  supports. 
L.  F.  Watson,  editor  of  the  Petersburg 
Observer,  teaches  the  class.  This  organ- 
ization has  some  unusual  achievements 
to  its  credit:  It  paid  one-half  on  the 
church  pipe-organ  and  keeps  it  in  repair; 
it  gave  $500  on  the  first  million  dollar 
campaign  for  missions,  and  is  paying 
another  $500  on   the   Men   and   Millions 


movement.  There  are  also  several  fine 
men's  classes  in  the  school.  Mr.  Peters 
reports  with  pleasure  that  he  found  a 
thoroughly  graded  Sunday  school  and  a 
spiritual  atmosphere  throughout  the 
church. 

W.  P.  Bentley  Begins  New 
Work  in  San  Francisco 

The  Santa  Cruz  Surf  speaks  with  gen- 
uine regret  of  the  leaving  of  W.  P.  Bent- 
ley,  of  First  church,  Santa  Cruz,  Cal. 
Mr.  Bentley  served  this  congregation  for 
three  years  and  became  during  this  time 
a  leader  in  all  good  things  in  the  com- 
munity. Especially  strong  was  his  ad- 
vocacy of  Christian  union;  for,  having 
been  pastor  of  a  union  church  in  Shang- 
hai, China,  at  one  time,  Mr.  Bentley  un- 
derstands the  value  of  united  effort.  He 
has  already  begun  his  new  work  at  First, 
San  Francisco. 

O.  L.  Hull  Succeeds  in 
New  York  City 

Although  O.  L.  Hull  is  at  this  time 
doing  some  outside  work  in  Union  The- 
ological Seminary  and  Columbia  Univer- 
sity, he  is  winning  success  as  pastor  at 
Second  church,  on  169th  street.  Last 
winter  it  was  his  lot  to  be  chosen  to 
take  charge  of  a  district  of  40,000  people 
in  connection  with  the  city-wide  canvass 
made  by  the  Sunday  School  Association. 
He  gave  an  address  at  Peabody  Home 
last  week,  and  on  April  24th  he  will 
speak  at  the  District  C.  W.  B.  M.  con- 
vention at  Sterling  Place,  Brooklyn.  On 
Easter  day  there  were  large  audiences 
at  the  church,  with  five  accessions.  Dur- 
ing the  last  eighteen  months  $1,650  has 
been  paid  on  the  church  mortgage,  in 
addition  to  the  interest.  This  year  the 
aim  is  the  canceling  of  two  notes  of 
$1,500.  Repairs  will  be  made  this  year 
on  the  church  property,  and  an  effort 
will  be  made  to  pay  all  bills  when  due. 
The  Sunday  school  has  a  senior  depart- 
ment which  is  considered  one  of  the 
most  efficient  in  the  city.  Mr.  Hull  is 
desirous  of  knowing  the  names  and  New 
York  addresses  of  Disciples  coming  to 
the  big  Eastern  city.  He  may  be  ad- 
dressed at  1362  Fulton  avenue.  This 
church  ministers  to  Disciples  of  upper 
Manhattan  and  the  Bronx. 

Good  News  From  Ohio 
Sunday  Schools 

Wilford  H.  McLain,  of  Cleveland, 
sends  in  some  good  reports  of  achieve- 
ments of  Ohio  schools  on  Easter  day. 
Miles  avenue,  Cleveland,  had  as  its  aim 
for  Easter  500  present,  $200  offering  and 
fifty  additions;  there  were  550  present, 
with  fifty-five  additions  to  the  church 
membership  and  an  offering  of  $211.19. 
Franklin  Circle,  Cleveland,  had  an  at- 
tendance of  716,  with  an  offering  of  $84. 
There  were  eighty  additions,  fifty-one 
confessions,  twenty-nine  by  letter.  From 
all  reports,  this  was  the  biggest  Easter 
day  in  the  history  of  the  church.  Niles 
had  455  present,  with  a  special  offering 
of  $200  and  twenty-six  additions  to  the 
church.  At  Lakewood  there  were  thirty- 
seven  additions  to  the  church,  a  special 
offering  of  $73.98,  the  regular  offering 
of  $18.77,  and  532  in  attendance  at  the 
school.  Broadway,  Cleveland,  reports 
twenty-two  new  pupils  Easter  Sunday 
and  an  offering  of  $39.55  and  475  in  at- 


tendance.   Canton  had  2,307  present,  with 
an  offering  of  $539.19. 

$70,000  Building  for   Central, 
Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Central  church,  Buffalo,  B.  S.  Ferrall, 
minister,  along  with  an  avalanche  of  ad- 
ditions received  and  expected  from  the 
Sunday  meetings  and  other  sources,  cele- 
brated the  Easter  season  by  raising 
$10,000  as  an  initial  nucleus  for  the 
new  $70,000  building.  The  new  site,  al- 
ready paid  for,  has  a  large  area  and  a 
frontage  on  three  streets,  and  though 
close  to  the  old  building,  is  in  contact 
with  a  new  community,  offering  very 
great  opportunities.  This  is  the  strong- 
est Disciples  church  in  the  state,  numer- 
ically, and  in  the  new  building,  the  lead- 
ers feel  that  they  should  double  their 
present  membership  in  a  very  few  years. 

New  York's  State  Convention 
to  Meet  at  North  Tonawanda 

Central  church,  North  Tonawanda, 
N.  Y.,  will  be  the  scene  of  the  state 
meeting  of  Disciples  this  year,  the  other 
churches  of  the  Tonawandas  sharing  in 
the  entertainment.  May  8-10  is  the  date. 
Among  the  speakers  already  announced 
are:  A.  E.  Cory,  who  will  bring  a  mes- 
sage from  the  Men  and  Millions  move- 
ment; President  Burnham,  of  the  Amer- 
ican Society,  and  Dr.  W.  S.  Mitchell, 
pastor  of  Plymouth  M.  E.  church,  Buf- 
falo, who  will  make  the  address  on 
Christian  Union.  Dr.  Mitchell  is  one  of 
the  strongest  speakers  to  be  found  in 
the  pulpits  of  the  state. 

At  Central  Church, 
Rockford,  111. 

Evangelist  Harold  E.  Monser  assisted 
Central  church,  Rockford,  111.,  in  a  two 
weeks'  meeting,  bringing  the  "Call,  to 
the  Colors"  campaign  of  100  days  to  a 
successful  close  on  Easter  day  with 
twenty-two  added  for  the  two  weeks. 
Mr.  Monser's  preaching  was  most  cor- 
dially received,  writes  W.  B.  Clemmer, 
pastor  at  Central.  Many  notable  achieve- 
ments were  recorded  during  this  special 
effort  of  100  days.  The  social  activities 
of  the  church  were  unusual.  A  mid- 
winter picnic  that  exceeded  anything  of 
the  kind  ever  attempted  before  in  the 
church  was  featured,  and  a  musical 
comedy,  "The  New  Minister,"  was  given 
by  the  choir,  under  the  leadership  of 
Miss  Pauline  Clemmer,  director  of  the 
church  music.  This  was  given  before 
a  capacity  audience  and  repeated  with 
the  same  reception  of  public  favor.  The 
Carol  choir,  composed  of  twenty-five 
girls  from  eight  to  fifteen  years  of  age, 
rendered  a  special  service  of  Easter  song 
under  Miss  Clemmer's  direction.  This 
captivated  a  large  audience.  The  Rock- 
ford work,  under  the  continued  minis- 
try of  Mr.  Clemmer,  is  having  the  best 
days  of  its  history.  He  recently  cele- 
brated the  twenty-first  anniversary  of 
his  public  ministry.  He  will  go  as  a 
representative  of  the  Sovereign  Camp  of 
the  Woodmen  of  the  World  to  the  na- 
tional convention,  which  meets  in  At- 
lanta, Ga.,  next  July. 

Indiana's  Convention,  Kokomo, 
May  14-17 

C.  W.  Cauble,  corresponding  secretary 
of  the  Disciples  churches  of  Indiana, 
sends  the  program  of  the  state  meet 
which  will  convene  this  year  at  Kokomo, 
May  14-17.  The  sessions  of  the  after- 
noon and  evening  of  the  14th  and  the 
morning  of  the  15th  are  in  charge  of 
the  State  Ministerial  Association,  and 
the  program  is  given  under  another  head 


April  19,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


on  these  news  pages.  However,  at  these 
periods  the  C.  W.  B.  M.  will  have  their 
sessions  at  the  Main  Street  Christian 
ihurch,  addresses  being  given  by  Mrs. 
Maude  L.  Rumpler,  Indianapolis;  Mrs. 
|\  Boyd  Jones,  Terre  Haute;  Mrs.  T.  W. 
Grafton,  Indianapolis;  Mrs.  J.  M. 
Stearns,  Indianapolis;  Mrs.  A.  L.  Ward, 
Lebanon,  and  Mrs.  J.  D.  Case,  Rushville, 
ind  a  number  of  brief  talks  will  be  given 
)y  other  women.  On  Tuesday  after- 
loon,  May  15,  the  regular  state  conven- 
:ion  sessions  will  begin  at  Main  Street 
;hurch.  The  convention  sermon  will  be 
^reached  by  A.  L.  Ward,  Lebanon.  In 
:he  evening  addresses  will  be  given  as 
:ollows:  "The  Church  in  the  State,"  C. 
M.  Yocum,  Rushville;  "The  Church  in 
:he  World,"  R.  A.  Doan,  Cincinnati.  At 
)  o'clock  Wednesday  morning  there  will 
je  a  "Class  Room  Period,"  at  which  time 
;onferences  will  be  held  on  the  every 
nember  canvass  and  on  vatious  phases 
>f  Sunday  school  work.  On  Wednesday 
ifternoon  an  address  on  Christian  En- 
deavor will  be  given  by  J.  H.  Wilson  of 
Winchester,  and  President  Bates  of 
Hiram  will  deliver  an  educational  ad- 
dress. John  W.  Street,  of  Nashville,  on 
'The  Rural  Church,"  and  Mrs.  Anna  At- 
vater,  of  Indianapolis,  on  "Our  Imme- 
diate Task,"  will  be  leaders  at  the  even- 
ng  service.  Another  class  room  period 
las  been  set  apart  for  9  o'clock  Thurs- 
day morning.  T.  W.  Grafton,  Mrs.  Lucy 
DeMoss,  O.  E.  Tomes,  R.  M.  Hopkins, 
Elvin  Daniels  and  Myron  C.  Settle  will 
ead  in  the  conferences.  Later  in  the 
session  A.  A.  Honeywell  and  G.  W. 
Vluckley  will  speak  on  phases  of  church 
juilding.  The  College  of  Missions  will 
lave  charge  of  most  of  the  afternoon 
md  R.  A.  Doan  will  give  an  address  at 
i:15.  The  chief  feature  of  the  closing 
session,  in  the  evening,  will  be  a  mis- 
sionary play,  "Kanjundu,"  which  will  be 
?iven  under  the  supervision  of  Miss  Lucy 
K.  DeMoss.  The  Union  Traction  Com- 
>any  will  be  the  official  route  to  the  con- 
tention. _  Free  lodging  and  breakfast  will 
)e  furnished  only  to  those  who  have 
:heir  names  in  the  hands  of  the  regis- 
xation  committee  not  later  than  May 
LO.  All  names  should  be  sent  to  Mrs. 
o.  M.  Randolph,  615  East  Mulberry 
street,   Kokomo. 

Editor  to  Act  as  Pastor  of  Kansas  City 
Church  While  Pastor  Goes  to  Front 

Editor  C.  C.  Morrison  has  been  invited 
by  the  Linwood  Boulevard  Church,  Kan- 
sas City,  to  occupy  the  pulpit  during  the 
six  months'  absence  of  its  pastor,  Dr. 
Burris  A.  Jenkins,  who  goes  to  the  Eu- 
ropean front  May  1  with  Mr.  Sherwood 
Eddy,  and  Mr.  Raymond  Robbins  to 
preach  to  the  British  soldiers.  Mr. 
Morrison  has  accepted  the  invitation  and 
will  begin  his  work  on  May  6.  He  will 
practically  make  his  home  in  Kansas 
City  during  this  period,  taking  his  fam- 
ily with  him,  and  doing  his  editorial  writ- 
ing from  the  study  of  the  Linwood 
Church. 

Disciples  Board  of  Education 
Meets  at  Indianapolis 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  of 
Education  was  held  at  Claypool  hotel, 
Indianapolis,  April  4  and  5,  and  business 
af  more  than  usual  importance  was 
transacted.  The  following  officers  were 
re-elected  for  the  ensuing  year :  President 
ind  acting  general  secretary,  President  R. 
H.  Crossfield,  Transylvania  and  College 
of  the  Bible;  vice-president,  President 
T.  E.  Cramblett,  Bethany  College;  secre- 
tary, Dean  G.  D.  Edwards,  Missouri 
Bible  College;  treasurer  and  office  sec- 
retary, Professor  C.  E.  Underwood,  But- 


You  Can  Make  Excellent  Cake 
with  Fewer  Eggs 

Just  use  an  additional  quantity  of  Royal  Baking 
Powder,  about  a  teaspoon,  in  place  of  each  egg 
omitted. 

This  applies  equally  well  to  nearly  all  baked 
foods.  Try  the  following  recipe  according  to  the 
new  way: 

CREAM  LAYER  CAKE 


Old  Way 

1  cup  sugar 
54  cup  milk 

2  cups  flour 

2  teaspoons  Royal  Baking  Powder 

3  eggs 

Vi  cup  shortening 
1  teaspoon  flavoring 


New  Way 

1  cup  sugar 

1  cup  milk 

2  cups  flour 

4  teaspoons  Royal  Baking  Powder 

legg 

2  tablespoons  shortening 
1  teaspoon  flavoring 


Makes  1  Large  2-Layer  Cake 

DIRECTIONS — Cream  the  sugar  and  shortening  together, then  mix  In  the  egg. 
After  sifting  the  flour  and  Royal  Baking  Powder  together  two  or  three  times, 
add  it  all  to  the  mixture.  Gradually  add  the  milk  and  beat  with  spoon  until 
you  have  a  smooth  pour  batter.  Add  the  flavoring.  Pour  into  greased  layer  cake 
tins  and  bake  in  a  moderately  hot  oven  for  twenty  minutes.  This  cake  is  best 
baked  in  two  layers.  Put  together  with  cream  filling  and  spread  with  whiteicing 


YAL 


BAKING  POWDER 

made  from  Cream  of  Tartar,  derived  from  grapes. 

No  Alum  No  Phosphate 


ler  College.  The  following  constitute 
the  executive  committee:  President  R. 
H.  Crossfield,  President  T.  E.  Cramblett, 
President  Hill  M.  Bell,  President  Jos.  A. 
Serena,  Dean  G.  D.  Edwards,  President 
Miner  Lee  Bates,  and  President  Thos. 
C.  Howe.  Arrangements  were  effected 
for  a  meeting  of  the  board  in  conjunction 
with  the  Kansas  City  Convention. 

Disciples   Club  at  the 
University  of  Virginia 

J.  M.  Philputt,  pastor  at  Charlottes- 
ville, Va.,  writes  that  he  recently  brought 
together  thirty-five  Disciples  of  the  uni- 
versity there  and  organized  a  Disciples 
Club.  A.  M.  Jarman,  of  Tennessee,  is 
president  of  the  new  organization;  W. 
R.  Saunders,  vice-president,  and  S.  J. 
Hart,  secretary.  The  last  two  are  Vir- 
ginians. Dr.  Kent  and  Professor  Forrest 
met  with  the  organization  at  its  first 
meeting.  Mr.  Philputt  states  that  Dr. 
Kent,  who  has  served  the  university  for 
twenty-five  years,  said  he  had  never  be- 
fore seen  so  many  Disciple  students  at 
a  gathering. 

T*  T  ^* 

— Fifty-seven  new  members  have  been 
added  at  Wilkinsburg,  Pa.,  since  the 
dedication  of  the  new  $40,000  plant  in 
October  last,  writes  W.  S.  Cook,  pastor. 
There  were  thirteen  additions  on  Easter 
day.  The  choir  made  Easter  of  this 
year  memorable  by  giving  a  fine  rendi- 
tion  of  Schnecker's   "The   Risen  King," 


and  they  were  asked  to  repeat  the  pro- 
gram on  the  following  Sunday. 

— L.  E.  Sellers,  the  aggressive  secre- 
tary of  the  Temperance  Board  of  the 
Disciples,  reports  that  the  board  has 
been  invited  to  membership  in  the  "Na- 
tional Legislative  Council,"  which  will 
be  an  organization  of  all  the  temperance 
bodies  of  the  country  into  one  central 
body.  Mr.  Sellers  has  been  asked  to 
act  as  representative  of  our  board,  with 
Andrew  Wilson  of  Washington  as  alter- 
nate. Mr.  Sellers  has  recently  spent  five 
weeks  in  Ohio  in  the  interest  of  state- 
wide prohibition. 

— The  Easter  season  at  Webb  City, 
Mo.,  was  an  occasion  not  only  for  spir- 
itual uplift,  but  also  a  time  of  material 
advance.  A  debt  of  $600  was  cleared 
by  a  gift  of  $500  from  the  Dorcas  So- 
ciety and  of  $100  from  the  official  board. 
A  good  offering  for  benevolences  was 
also  made.  The  Dorcas  Society  and  the 
Sunday  school  deposited  $257  as  a  nest- 
egg  for  a  new  building  fund.  There  were 
ten  accessions  to  the  membership  on 
Easter  day,  with  an  offering  of  $206.  D. 
W.  Moore,  pastor  at  Webb  City,  is  a 
happy  man  these  days. 

— Byron  Hester  reports  ten  conver- 
sions at  a  largely  attended  sunrise 
prayer   meeting   at   Chickasha,    Okla. 

— Wallace  Tuttle,  song  evangelist,  has 
just    gone    to    Florida    on    the    Redpath 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  19,  1917 


Special  for  Jacksonville.  He  will  serve 
the  Redpath  Bureau  for  five  months  as 
director  of  comunity  singing,  but  will  re- 
turn to  the  evangelistic  field  in  Septem- 
ber. 

— Herbert  Yeuell  began  a  meeting  at 
Lake  Charles,  La.,  on  April  1,  reports 
\V.  O.  Stephens,  pastor.  I.  E.  Adams  is 
in  a  meeting  at  Shreveport. 

— The  Twentieth  Century  Class,  at 
Mexico,  Mo.,  First  Church,  had  199  in 
attendance  at  the  Easter  morning  ses- 
sion. There  were  801  present  at  the 
school's  session  on  that  day.  Of  these 
683  are  enrolled  as  members. 

— Lincoln,  Neb.,  First  church  school 
has  as  one  of  its  goals  to  maintain  an 
attendance  of  700  up  to  July  1.  The 
cradle  roll  and  home  departments  will 
endeavor  to  enroll  125  each.  Lawrence 
Dry,  the  new  assistant  pastor  at  First,  is 
making  good  over  and  over  again,  from 
reports  received  at  this  office. 

— C.  S.  Medbury,  of  Des  Moines,  re- 
cently paid  a  visit  to  Washington  City, 
on  a  vacation   and   sight-seeing  trip. 

— First  Church,  Joplin,  Mo.,  min- 
istered to  by  C.  C.  Garrigues,  has 
pledged  $600  toward  a  new  $250,000  Y'. 
M.  C.  A.  building  for  Joplin.  This  in 
addition  to  many  personal  pledges  made 
by  members  of  the  congregation. 

— South  Joplin,  Mo.,  church  will  be 
host  to  the  convention  of  the  Third  Dis- 
trict this  year.  The  date  of  the  meet- 
ings is  May  14-16. 

m  — The  Christian  Endeavor  organiza- 
tion at  Fowler,  Cal.,  has  voted  to  sup- 
port a  missionary  at  Damoh,  India. 
There  were  ten  accessions  to  the  mem- 
bership at  Fowler  on  two  recent  Sun- 
days,  reports   H.    N.   McKee,   pastor. 

— The  Kellems  brothers  will  begin  a 
meeting  at  Oakland,  Cal.,  First  church, 
on  April  22. 

— On  Easter  morning  at  the  Danville, 
Ind.,  church,  sixteen  persons  made  the 
good  confession,  sixteen  united  by  letter 
and  statement,  and  forty-tw>>  came  for- 
ward who  had  made  the  confession  at 
the  tabernacle  during  the  E.  J.  Bulgin 
union  meetings.  The  union  meeting 
closed  on  last  Sunday  evening,  and 
Charles  O.  Lee  of  the  Danville  church 
writes  that  many  other  additions  to  the 
membership  are  expected  as  a  result  of 
this   campaign. 


ii mi  unni/  A  Church  Home  for  You. 

NhW  TURK  Write  Dr- Finis  Idleman, 
libit  i  uiiix  142  Wegt  81st  gt    N  Y 


—A  report  from  H.  N.  McKee,  pastor 
at  Fowler,  Colo.,  states  that  Iwenty-eight 
accessions  to  the  church  membership 
are  one  result  of  a  very  helpful  Easter 
service.  Twenty-three  of  these  came  by 
confession  of  faith. 

— W.  P.  Shamhart,  of  South  Joplin, 
Mo.,  church,  reports  a  pre-Easter  cam- 
paign in  that  city,  with  six  preachers 
exchanging  pulpits  during  the  five  days 
of  services. 

— Ohio's  state  convention  will  be  held 
at  Bellefontaine,  May  21-24. 

— The  first  living  link  church  in  New 
England  is  reported.  First  church, 
Worcester,  Mass.,  Harry  Minnick  pas- 
tor, is  the  pioneer. 

— J.  Boyd  Jones,  of  Central  church, 
Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  was  called  to  the 
work  at  Spokane,  Wash.,  but  his  board 
at  Terre  Haute  refused  to  accept  his 
resignation. 


SlllllllllllllillllllllllilllllllllllillllllllllllllIlilllllllllBllllllllilll!lilliiiiiililliiIIHill!!«HS| 

5  | 

mm  wm 

§  The  Composition  of  Coca-Cola  | 

|  and  its  Relation  to  Tea  | 

|  Prompted  by  the  desire  that  the  public  shall  s 

5  be  thoroughly  informed  as  to  the  composi-  S 

5  tion  and  dietetic  character  of  Coca-Cola,  the 

5  Company  has  issued  a  booklet  giving  a  de-  £ 

|  tailed  analysis  of  its  recipe  which  is  as  follows :  £ 


Water,  sterilized  by  boiling  (carbonated); 
sugar,  granulated,  first  quality;  fruit  flavoring 
extracts  with  caramel;  acid  flavorings,  citric 
(lemon)  and  phosphoric;  essence  of  tea — the 
refreshing  principle. 

The  following  analysis,  by  the  late  Dr.  John 
W.  Mallet,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  and 
for  nearly  forty  years  Professor  of  Chemistry 
in  the  University  of  Virginia,  shows  the  com- 
parative stimulating  or  refreshing  strength  of 
tea  and  Coca-Cola,  measured  in  terms  of  the 
refreshing  principle: 

Black  tea — 1  cupful 1.54 

(hot)  (5  H.  oz.) 

Green  tea—1  glassful 2.02 

(cold)  (8  S.  oz.  exclusive  of  ice) 

Coca-Cola— 1  drink,  8  fJ.  oz. 1.21 

(fountain)  (prepared  with  1  S.  oz.  Syrup) 

Coca-  Cola—1  drink,  8  fJ.  oz -_-  _  1.12 

(bottlers)  (prepared  with  J  R.  oz.  Syrup) 

From  the  above  recipe  and  analysis,  which  arc 
confirmed  by  all  chemists  who  have  analyzed 
these  beverages,  it  is  apparent  that  Coca-Cola 
is  a  carbonated,  fruit-flavored  modification  of 
tea  of  a  little  more  than  one-half  its  stimulat- 
ing strength. 

A  copy  of  the  booklet  referred  to  above  will 
be  mailed  free  on  request,  and  The  Coca-Cola 
Company  especially  invites  inquiry  from 
those  who  are  interested  in  pure  food  and 
public    health    propaganda.      Address 

The  Coca-Cola  Co.,  Dept.  J.,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  U.S. A. 


t  * 


J2 


nlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllliillliiillillillliilllllllllllllllllllilllllllliR 


— Morton  L.  Rose,  of  Watsonville, 
Cal.,  has  closed  an  eleven  days'  meeting 
with  the  church  at  Chico,  to  which  his 
son,  Galen  L.  Rose,  ministers.  There 
were  fifteen  accessions  to  the  church 
membership  through  the  meetings.  Five 
others  were  added  on  Easter  Sunday. 

— "The  latest  model  of  the  most  popu- 
lar car  made"  was  an  Easter  gift  to  P. 
J.  Rice,  El  Paso,  Tex.,  from  his  congre- 
gation. This  church  raised  during  the 
pre-Easter  period  about  $800,  more  than 
$200  above  what  had  been  determined 
upon.  In  addition  to  this,  the  Sunday 
school  raised  $100.  The  largest  audi- 
ences in  the  history  of  the  church  are 
reported  for  this  period.  There  were 
thirty-two  persons  added  to  the  mem- 
bership. A  special  offering  was  taken  to 
complete  payment  on  the  church  organ. 

— C.  M.  Sharpe  of  the  Disciples  Di- 
vinity House,  Chicago,  is  supplying  the 
pulpit  at  Second  Church,  Milwaukee, 
Wis. 


— Charles  S.  Earley,  evangelist,  has  lo- 
cated his  home  at  Liberty,  Mo. 

— T.  F.  Reavis  is  studying  for  his  Ph 
D.  degree  in  the  National  University  at 
Buenos    Aires,    Argentina.      He    has 
flourishing  Sunday  school. 

— Missouri  Disciples  will  meet  in  an- 
nual convention  June  12-14,  at  Mexico. 
Madison  A.  Hart,  of  Columbia,  is  presi- 
dent of  the  state  organization,  and  R.  G. 
Frank  heads  the  state  board.  R.  B. 
Briney,  corresponding  secretary,  has 
published  an  attractive  little  booklet  on 
"Missouri  Disciples  at  Work,"  which  in- 
cudes reports  of  the  many  lines  of 
achievement   for   which   Missouri    Disci- 


[  CHURCH  B3D3  SCHOOL 


Ask  for  Catalogue  aid  Special  Donation  Plan  No.  27 

(Established  1858) 
THE  C.  S.  BELL  CO.,  HILLSBORO,  OHIO 


April  19,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


21 


plcdom  is  becoming  famous.  This  state 
is  a  veritable  mine  of  ideas  and  success- 
ful plans. 

— H.  J.  Loken  is  giving  his  stereop- 
ticon  lecture  on  "The  Land  of  the  Mid- 
night Sun"  in  some  of  the  churches  of 
Northern  Illinois. 

— Baxter  Waters,  pastor  for  eight 
years  at  Lathrop,  Mo.,  has  accepted  the 
work  at  West  End,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

— Graham  Frank,  of  Liberty,  Mo.,  will 
deliver  the  baccalaureate  sermon  this 
year  to  the  graduating  class  of  Went- 
worth  Military  Academy,  at  Lexington, 
Mo.,  the  last  Sunday  in  May.  The  serv- 
ice will  be  held  in  the  Lexington  Chris- 
tian Church.  Mr.  Frank  will  probably 
supply  the  pulpit  of  R.  W.  Wallace,  pas- 
tor at  Lexington,  on  that  day.  B.  L. 
Smith,  pastor  at  Moberly,  Mo.,  will  de- 
liver the  commencement  address  for 
the  Lexington  High  School.  These  ex- 
ercises will  also  be  held  in  the  Christian 
church. 

— During  the  two  weeks'  pre-Easter 
decision  meetings  at  the  Beatrice,  Neb., 
Church,  there  were  sixty  additions  to 
the  membership.  Easter  day  brought  52 
more  and  a  Monday  evening  service 
added  4.  So  this  period  of  evangelistic 
effort  resulted  in  the  addition  of  116  to 
the  church  membership.  The  preaching 
during  all  these  meetings  was  by  Pastor 
Charles  F.  Stevens,  and  L.  B.  Conrad 
of  Bloomington,  111.,  had  charge  of  the 
music. 

— J.  E.  Lynn,  of  Loveland,  Colo., 
Church  is  preaching  a  series  of  sermons 
on  _  "What  the  War  Is  Teaching."  A 
series  of  evangelistic  meetings  was  re- 
cently closed  at  Loveland,  with  R.  A. 
Schell,  of  Boulder,  preaching,  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  C.  M.  Howe,  of  Perry,  la.,  lead- 
ing in  the  music.  Twenty  accessions  to 
the  membership  are  reported;  still  more 
important,  the  church  life  was  broadened 
and  deepened  in  many  respects.  There 
have  been  additions  at  every  service 
since  the  meetings  closed.  Seven  per- 
sons came  forward  on  Easter  day. 

— The  Foreign  Society  reports  that 
there  have  been  more  orders  for  Chil- 
dren's Day  supplies  than  ever  before  for 
the  same  dates. 

— H.  Maxwell  Hall,  of  Broad  street, 
Columbus,  Ohio,  was  one  of  the  official 
delegates  to  the  meeting  of  the  National 
Temperance  Council,  at  Washington,  D. 
C,  on  March  28  and  29. 

— S.  G.  Inman  has  an  article  in  the 
Missionary  Review  of  the  World  on  "A 
Continental  Program  for  South  A.mer- 
ica." 


— Peter  Ainslie  will  be  the  chief 
speaker  this  year  at  the  Southern  Cali- 
fornia convention. 

— Roy  Rutherford,  of  Paducah,  Ky., 
First  church,  reports  that  the  records 
show   that   the    Christian    Endeavor    So- 


ciety of  this  church  stands  second  in  effi- 
ciency in  the  state  and  twelfth  in  the 
Southland. 

— C.  G.  Kindred,  of  Englewood,  Chi- 
cago, is  in  a  meeting  with  C.  W.  Cum- 
mings  and  the  church  at  Janesvillc,  Wis. 


The  Congress  at  St.  Louis 


A  small  group  of  teachers  and  pastors, 
with  a  sprinkling  of  thoughtful  laymen, 
gathered  at  St.  Louis  last  week  to  enjoy 
the  sessions  of  the  Disciples'  Congress. 
The  Union  Avenue  Church  was  the  meet- 
ing place.  Most  of  the  delegates  present 
stayed  at  the  Hamilton  hotel,  near  by, 
and  thus  increased  their  opportunities 
for  close  fellowship,  a  feature  of  all  such 
gatherings,  which  is  by  no  means  the 
least  attractive  or  important. 

With  but  few  changes  the  program,  as 
previously  announced  in  The  Christian 
Century,  was  carried  out.  The  discus- 
sions were  lively  and  earnest.  The 
themes  considered  dealt  with  issues  vital 
in  the  thinking  and  practice  of  Disciples 
of    Christ    and    of    all    Christian    people. 

B.  A.  Abbott,  pastor  of  the  entertaining 
church,  brought  to  the  visitors  a  warmth 
of  hospitality  that  is  characteristic  of 
him  and  added  to  the  discussions  his  own 
rich  and  helpful  views.  Graham  Frank, 
pastor  at  Liberty,  Mo.,  was  the  president 
of  the  Congress.  Among  the  problems 
discussed,  was  that  of  the  teaching  of 
the  Bible  to  college  students.     Prof.  W. 

C.  Gibbs  of  the  Bible  College  of  Mis- 
souri read  an  extraordinarily  comprehen- 
sive paper  dealing  with  the  entire  college 
situation  of  the  United  States  and  show- 
ing how  completely  the  teaching  of  the 
Bible  and  religion  by  experts  has  been 
shelved.  President  R.  H.  Crossfield  of 
Lexington,  Ky.,  reviewed  Dr.  Gibbs'  pa- 
per. 

Secretary  H.  H.  Peters  of  the  Illinois 
Christian  Missionary  Society,  read  an 
able  paper  which  argued  for  the  recon- 
struction of  our  Disciples'  convention 
system  by  the  holding  of  a  national  con- 
vention every  three  or  four  years  and 
the  creation  of  eight  regional  conven- 
tions to  be  held  annually  except  in  the 
year  of  the  national  gathering.  He  pro- 
posed regional  secretaries  and  would 
have  such  secretaries  and  the  present 
state  secretaries  represent  all  the  organ- 
ized interests  of  the  brotherhood  instead 
of,  as  state  secretaries  do  now,  the  state 
mission  work  only.  Mr.  Peters'  argu- 
ment made  a  deep  impression  and  the 
active  discussion  revealed  a  pretty  gen- 
eral agreement  with  the  main  outline  of 
his  plan.  President  F.  W.  Burnham  of 
the   American   Society  was  not  present, 


but  sent  a  written  review  of  Mr.  Peters' 
paper,  taking  issue  in  the  main  with  the 
plan  proposed. 

In  a  remarkable  review  of  "Mr.  Brit- 
ling  Sees  It  Through,"  Prof.  W.  J. 
Lhamon  of  Drury  College  dealt  with  the 
problem  of  God  and  a  suffering  world. 
He  gave  a  tolerant  interpretation  of  Mr. 
H.  G.  Wells'  idea  of  a  finite  God,  who 
is  himself  struggling  with  man  and  suf- 
fering with  him,  and  working  out  the 
goal  of  the  world  from  within  the  world 
rather   than  from   the   outside. 

The  question  of  tithing  was  discussed 
by  Secretary  Bert  Wilson  of  the  For- 
eign Society.  Mr.  Wilson  contended 
that  it  is  a  Christian  duty  to  give  one- 
tenth  of  one's  income  to  the  Lord.  Pro- 
fessor H.  M.  Garn  of  Culver-Stockton 
College  voiced  the  objections  to  the 
tithing  plan,  while  commending  its  good 
features. 

H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan,  pastor  at  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  read  a  vigorous  paper  on 
George  Bernard  Shaw,  asking  the  ques- 
tion whether  Mr.  Shaw  was  a  Christian. 
His  paper  provoked  much  discussion. 
Mr.  Maclachlan  set  forth  some  facts  con- 
cerning Shaw's  teachings,  but  left  the 
answer  to  his  question  to  be  given  by  his 
audience. 

The  subject  of  the  address  by  C.  C. 
Morrison  on  the  opening  evening  was 
changed  from  a  discussion  of  Latin 
America  to  "Present  Day  Confirmations 
of  Disciples'  Ideals." 

An  invitation  from  Indianapolis  to 
hold  the  next  Congress  there  was  pre- 
sented by  C.  H.  Winders  of  Irvington 
Church,  Indianapolis,  and  was  accepted. 
There  was  much  disappointment  that  the 
secretary  of  the  Congress,  Dr.  F.  E. 
Lumley  of  the  College  of  Missouri  could 
not  attend. 


Baptismal  Suits 

We  can  make  prompt  shipments. 
Order  Now.  Finest  quality  and  most 
satisfactory  in  every  way.  Order  by 
size  of  boot. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  St.  Ckieago,  111. 


Factory  Rebuilt  Like  New  $52.50 

The  word  "rebuilt"  has  been  abused  and  misused  until  it  has  become  a  meaningless  trade  term 

When  we  rebuild  a  Fox  Typewriter,  we  take  it  all  to  pieces,  re-nickel  the 
nickel  parts,  re-enamel  the  frame  and  replace  all  worn  parts  with  new  ones 
The  same  men  who  originally  built  the  Typewriter  do  this  rebuilding  and  do  the  work  just  as  good 

40%  NEW  PARTS  AND  THREE  YEARS'  GUARANTEE 

We  offer  a  rebuilt  Fox  Typewriter  Model  No.  24  —  just  like  new— for  $52.50.    These     have 
standard  carriages  taking  paper  10}^  inches  wide,  any  kind  of    keyboard,  any  kind  of  type, 
rubber  covers,  tabulators,  back  spacers,  two-color  ribbons,  complete  with  instruction  books 
and  cleaning  outfits,  and  are  guaranteed  for  three  years  the  same  as  new  ones,  and  to  have  not 
less  than  forty  per  cent  of  new  parts. 
Send  any  amount  you  can  spare,  from  $1.00  up,  as  a  first  payment,  and  pay  the  balance 
$5.00  monthly.  5  per  cent  discount  for  all  cash.  Purchaser  must  pay  transportation.  If  $10.00 
or  more  is  sent  with  order,  we  will  include  FREE  a  Fox  Solid  Oak  Typewriter  Table  selling  at  $4.50  I 
Please  order  direct  from  this  offer  and  inclose  any  amount  you  can  spare — and  BE  SURE 
AND  MENTION  THE  CHRISTIAN  CENTURY  FOR  APRIL. 


FOX  TYPEWRITER  CO., 


1101-1151  Front  Ave., 


GRAND  RAPIDS,  MICHIGAN. 


22 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  19,  1917 


H.  H.  Peters  Studies  Illinois  Churches 


One  of  the  privileges  of  a  secretary's 
life  is  the  opportunity  he  has  of  study- 
ing many  types  of  church  activity.  Dur- 
ing the  past  ten  days  I  have  had  some 
unusual  advantages  in  this  respect. 

A  Suburban  Church 

On  Sunday  morning,  March  25,  I  wor- 
shipped with  the  church  at  Evanston. 
This  is  a  suburban  church,  just  celebrat- 
ing its  twenty-first  anniversary.  O.  F. 
Jordan  has  been  pastor  for  ten  years. 
The  growth  of  the  church  in  numbers 
has  been  slow,  but  steady.  The  Sunday 
school  averages  one  hundred  and  the 
congregation  numbers  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  They  have  one  of  the  best  corner 
lots  in  the  city.  The  lot  alone  is  worth 
$10,000.  They  have  a  good  brick  church, 
which  was  erected  with  the  hope  that 
in  time  they  would  build  a  large  struc- 
ture and  use  the  present  edifice  for  a 
parish  house.  The  people  are  self-sac- 
rificing, devoted  and  worshipful.  The 
morning  service  was  one  of  the  richest 
it  has  been  my  privilege  to  attend.  Mr. 
Jordan  stands  high  in  Evanston  and  is 
active  in  all  the  good  things  among  our 
people  and  other  religious  bodies,  as 
well   in    Evanston   and   greater    Chicago. 

A  Larger  City  Church 

On  Sunday  evening  of  the  same  date, 
in  answer  to  an  urgent  call  from  our 
church  in  Joliet,  I  met  with  them.  Jo- 
liet  is  a  city  of  fifty  thousand,  in  a  sec- 
tion of  the  state  where  we  are  not 
strong.  The  church  has  had  a  checkered 
career.  Until  recently  they  had  two 
small  congregations,  due  to  a  division 
of  the  First  church  several  years  ago. 
The  two  congregations  have  united  and 
are  working  together  quite  harmoni- 
ously. They  have  a  new  building,  lo- 
cated in  an  attractive  part  of  the  city. 
The  church  has  extended  a  call  to  L. 
R.  Thomas,  who  will  likely  accept  the 
work. 

A    Village    Church 

On  Monday  night  following,  the 
church  at  St.  Joseph  gave  a  reception  to 
the  new  preacher,  Guy  L.  Zerby,  who 
recently  came  there  from  Donovan.  St. 
Joseph  is  ten  miles  east  of  Champaign- 
Urbana,  the  seat  of  the  University  of 
Illinois,  and  in  the  midst  of  our  nu- 
merical strength.  It  is  one  of  our 
strongest  village  churches  and  Mr. 
Zerby  is  proving  himself  a  capable 
leader.  The  church  has  a  large  number 
of  the  leading  business  men  of  the  town 
and  many  of  the  well-to-do  farmers  of 
the  vicinity.  It  has  much  wealth  and 
there  are  many  indications  of  more  lib- 
eral giving  to  missionary  enterprises. 
The  secretary  gladly  accepted  the  invi- 
tation of  the  St.  Joseph  church  to  de- 
liver an  address  on  the  occasion  of  this 
reception  and  enjoyed  the  good  things 
of  the  evening^s  fellowship. 

A  Strong  Rural  Church 

On  Friday  following  I  went  to  Alli- 
son, in  Lawrence  county,  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  new  pastor.  This  is  a  coun- 
try church,  six  miles  from  Lawrenceville. 
It  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  whole  coun- 
try. F.  A.  Scott,  who  recently  returned 
to  Illinois  from  Indianapolis,  is  the  pas- 
tor. The  church  has  a  good  house  of 
worship  and  parsonage  and  two  acres 
of  ground.  Mr.  Scott  knows  many 
things  about  farming  and  says  he  is  go- 
ing to  do  his  part  in  raising  a  big  crop 
this  year.  The  reception  was  a  great 
affair,  with  the  entire  countryside  pres- 
ent. Saturday  evening  I  delivered  my 
lecture  on  "The  Soil  and  the  Soul."    The 


church  had  made  this  a  community  gath- 
ering and  many  people  who  do  not  hold 
membership  with  the  church  were  pres- 
ent. The  Sunday  morning  worship  was 
such  as  a  good,  strong,  devout  rural 
community  always  experiences.  L.  O. 
Lehman,  of  Eureka  College,  was  with  us 
in  the  morning  service  and  we  divided 
time.  This  church  has  fellowship  with 
Eureka  College.  Leslie  Wolfe,  mission- 
ary in  the  Philippine  Islands;  C.  L.  Or- 
gan, general  evangelist,  and  Mrs.  Roches- 
ter Irwin,  who  with  her  husband  is  en- 
gaged in  evangelistic  work,  received 
their  religious  inspiration  in  this  their 
home  church. 

A  County  Seat  Church 

Sunday  evening  was  spent  with  the 
Lawrenceville  church.  Lawrenceville  is 
the  county  seat  of  Lawrence  county  and 
has  been  made  rich  by  flowing  oil  wells. 
We  have  a  strong  church  here  and  it  is 
doing  a  great  service  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  The  Sunday  school  is  large  and 
active;  the  missionary  offerings  are  good. 
T.  E.  Tomerlin  is  near  the  end  of  his 
second  year  with  the  church  and  the 
prospects  are  good  for  a  long  and  pros- 
perous pastorate.  In  addition  to  his 
work  in  Lawrenceville  he  has  held  good 
meetings  at  St.  Francisville,  Allendale 
and  Sumner  since  taking  the  work  here. 

Thus  in  a  period  of  ten  days  the  sec- 
retary has  had  the  opportunity  of  study- 
ing our  work  in  a  rich  suburb,  an  ag- 
gressive industrial  city,  a  substantial 
village,  the  open  country,  and  in  a  sturdy 
county  seat.  In  all  five  places  the  signs 
point  in  the  right  direction.  The  folks 
are  filled  with  hope  and  without  a  doubt 
good  days  are  before  us.      H.  H.  Peters, 


CHICAGO'S    RUSSIAN    CHRISTIAN 
MISSION 

Bertha  Merrill, 

Community  _  Visitor,     Chicago     Russian 

Mission  and  Social  Center 

"I  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to 
minister."  "Inasmuch  as  ye  do  it  unto  -the 
least  of  these,  my  children,  ye  do  it  unto 
me." 

Is  it  not  wonderful  to  think  that  we 
have  this  obligation  and  opportunity? 
We  must  not  underestimate  these  neigh- 
bors of  ours;  we  must  judge  them,  not 
by  the  unattractiveness  of  the  shell  of 
outward  appearance,  but  by  the  kernel 
of  ambition,  energy,  idealism  and  hope 
that  controls  their  lives.  They  come 
giving  their  best,  their  all;  and  what  do 
we  give  back  to  them?  They  are  seek- 
ing freedom  and  the  true  life.  Are  we 
as  a  church,  who  know  the  secret,  help- 
ing them  in  their  quest?  If,  in  the  past, 
we  had  done  so,  the  condition  that  I 
will  relate  would  never  have  happened. 
The  little  boy  had  died  and  I  knew  that 
the  funeral  would  be  at  the  church.  I 
asked  the  mother  where  the  church  (a 
Greek  Orthodox)  was.  She  did  not 
know.  She  had  lived  here  forty-seven 
years,  but  she  had  never  been  to  the 
church. 

Our  religion  gives  us  our  motives  in 
life,  but  we  leave  our  neighbors  with- 
out any.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  old  and 
young  want  to  come  to  the  mission,  and 
after  their  play,  social  or  industrial  hour, 
want  to  sing  the  hymns  that  have  in- 
spired and  helped  us?  By  extending  to 
them  an  effectual  sympathy  and  helping 
them  in  all  their  problems  we  give  them 
hope  and  assurance.  As  one  woman,  a 
mother,  said:  "Now  I  know  that  there 
is  a  God,  and  He  hears  my  prayers." 

I    am    supported    in    this    field   by    the 


American  Christian  Missionary  Society. 
It  is  your  work,  too.  The  work  is  grow- 
ing. Since  March  there  has  been  a  sixty 
per  cent  increase;  the  people  are  com- 
ing with  their  needs  and  problems.  For 
lack  of  equipment,  and  because  I  cannot 
give  all  my  time  to  the  work,  must  we 
fail  to  live  up  to  our  full  obligations  and 
opportunity?  One  woman,  the  mother 
of  five  children,  tells  her  friends  that 
"Miss  Merrill  is  the  best  friend  I  have." 
It  should  be  made  possible  for  me  to 
go  out  in  the  community  and  form  such 
relationships  with  many  others.  In  our 
district  there  are  thousands  who  never 
have  been  able  to  press  through  the 
throng  and  touch  the  hem  of  some  heal- 
ing garment.  What  am  I  to  do?  What 
will  you  do? 


The  Peerless  Communion  Service 


Patented 
Aug.  10, 1910 


Send  for  our  complete  circular 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  St.  Chicago,  111. 


Collection  Plates 


WOODEN   COLLECTION   PLATES 
IMITATION    BLACK    WALNUT. 

Imitation  walnut,  velvet  lined;  10 
inches  in  diameter,  Price,  $1.25  each. 
12  inches  in  diameter,  $1.50  each.  Ex- 
pressage  extra. 

OAK,  HOLLOW  RIM,  COLLECTION 

PLATES. 
Oak,  hollow  rim,  velvet  lined;  10 
inches  in  diameter,  a  handsome  plate. 
Price,  $2,00  each.  12  inches  in 
diameter,  $2.50  each.  Expressage  ex- 
tra. 

QUARTERED  OAK  AND  BLACK  WAL- 
NUT HOLLOW  RIM  COLLEC- 
TION PLATES. 
A   finer   grade   plate,   made    of   light, 
quartered   oak,    or    solid   black    walnut, 
plush  lined.    The  rim  is  hollow,  giving  a 
rich   appearance.     Two   sizes,   10  inches 
in  diameter,  $2.50  each;  expressage  ex- 
tra.    12  inches  in  diameter,  $3.00  each; 
expressage  extra. 

DISCIPLES   PUBLICATION 
SOCIETY 


700  East   40th   St. 


Chicago 


OUR  ATTACK  UPON  THE  CITIES 

In  U.  S.  and  Canada  there  are  131  cities  of  50,000  population  or  over. 
In  90  of  these   (68.4%)  the  American  Society   has  fostered  Churches. 

Not  one  city  of  50, 000  population  or  more,  west  of  Pittsburgh, 
has  been  overlooked.    The  Disciples  have  churches  in  every  one. 

In  33  cities  of  50,000  population  (36%%)  the  Disciples  have  no  church. 
These  are  all  east  of  Pittsburgh.     13  have  a  population  of  100,000  or  more. 

Help  this  great  Home  Missionary  Agency  in  its  work  of  foster- 
ing churches  in  strategic  centers 

Inform  the  churches 

Distribute  the  Budget 

Remember  the  May  offering 

Send  for  supplies  now 

— Address — 

THE  AMERICAN  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 


Carew  Building, 


CINCINNATI,  OHIO 


Acme  S.  S.  Register  Board 


REGilSTEHi 

.AWENDMGE^QFrMlNfr 


NUMBW 

mmmmm 


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MAGGIE 


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213 


iii 


A  practical  and  inexpensive  board 
with  which  comparative  records  may- 
be made.  Is  of  ash.  Size,  30  inches  high, 
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outfit:  Register  of  Attendance  and 
Collection,  Register  of  Attendance  and 
Offering,  Number  on  the  Roll,  Atten- 
dance Today,  Attendance  a  Year  Ago 
Today,  Collection  Today,  Offering  To- 
day, Collection  a  Year  Ago  Today, 
Offering  a  Year  Ago  Today,  Collection 
Last  Sunday,  Offering  Last  Sunday, 
Attendance  Last  Sunday,  Hymns, 
Record  Collection,  Record  Offering, 
Record  Attendance,  Psalm.  Also  six 
each,  of  figures  1  to  0,  inclusive.  Let- 
ters and  figures  are  white  on  black 
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"To  look  upon  the  seething  mass  of  men  in  the 
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T 


a  ■■    <    iwwam     r&+M> 


Vol.  XXXIV 


April  26,  1917 


Number  17 


A  Letter  to 
A.  McLean 

By  Edward  Scribner  Ames 


CHICAGO 


lli!llllliiliiil!!i 


2                                                          THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  April  26,  1917 

^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiimimiiminiiniiii liliimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin^E 


The  Wisdom  of 
God's  Fools" 


AN  INSPIRING 
BOOK  BY  A  SPIR- 
ITUAL PREACHER 


Prof.  Arthur  S.  Hoyt,  D.D., 
°f  Auburn  Theological  Semi- 
nary, N.  Y.,  writes  as  follows 
of  Edgar  De  Witt  Jones  in  a 
recent  (iHomiletic  Review"  arti- 
cle on ' '  Three  A  merican  Preach- 
ers/' Dr.  J.  H.  Jowett,  Dr. 
Frederick  F.  Shannon  and  Dr. 
Edgar  DeWitt  Jones: 

"Dr.  Jones  feels  our  mysterious 
and  complex  life,  and  holds  that 
Christ  is  fitted  to  every  side  of 
our  nature,  and  must  rule  in  every 
province  and  institution  of  hu- 
man life.  He  is  a  man  of  imagi- 
nation and  feeling.  His  sermons 
are  full  of  life,  and  they  are  a 
word  to  real  life." 


ul'MniNiM>niiinininiiuinniiiiinHiiiiiii)Mniiiiiiii!iiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiiiiuii>i>HMMMHiiiiHniniiiiM>iiiiiHiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiMiiiiiiiniM.iHHiiiiiiiiniiii^ 

I  I 

-  = 

Professor  Hoyt  says  of  Dr.  Jones' 
1  recent  book —  1 

I     "The  Wisdom  of  God's  Fools"     \ 

=  niiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiniiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiuiitiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiifitiJiii  = 

=  s 

"The  Wisdom  of  God's  Fools"  is  a 
book  of  vital  arid  practical  interpre- 
tations of  Christian  truth  adapted  to 
the  popular  mind.  Here  we  have  the 
word  to  the  personal  life  through  its 
social  relationships.  There  is  no 
blurring  of  the  personal  nature  of  sin 
and  responsibility,  no  hiding  behind 
society,  no  impossible  dream  of  a  | 
redeemed  society  without  the  change 
fn  individual  life ;  but  also  the  clear 
recognition  that  the  individual  cannot 
be  understood  or  fulfill  his  life  apart 
from  his  social  environment.  The 
individual  and  the  social  are  kept 
together,  as  they  are  in  fact  and  in 
the  gospel  of  Christ."  I 


i 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiii 


iiMuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiR: 


Every  preacher  should  possess  a  copy  of  this  unusual  book,   price  $1 .00  net 


Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  40th  Street  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


^llllllllIllllllllllIllllllllllllllllIIIllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIBIllllllllllllllIllllllllllllllIlllll3>IIBBBBIiaiilIISIBIIIIBIIIIItllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIBlllllII fc^f 


April  26,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


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Disciples 

Publication 

Society 


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tion Society  is  an  or- 
ganization through 
which  churches  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ 
seek  to  promote  un- 
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.  Christianity, 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
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regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
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ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
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fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
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gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
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ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
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may  reveal  to  all  theiressential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
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published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


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THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  26,  1917 


AMERICA'S  STAKE  IN  NEW  RUSSIA 

For  all  Americans,  in  many  ways,  the  revolution  of  Russia  is  momentous  beyond  expression,  but  to  the  Dis- 
ciples of  Christ  it  is  doubly  so.  The  traditional  friendship  between  the  two  countries  has  been  one  of  the  puzzles 
of  history.  Now  indeed  we  understand  that  it  was  not  the  governments,  but  the  peoples,  that  were  of  one  mind 
and  heart. 

We  have  felt  that  nowhere  but  in  America  could  have  arisen  Thomas  and  Alexander  Campbell,  Barton  W. 
Stone  and  Walter  Scott,  and  nowhere  else  could  their  message  have  been  received  with  such  marked  favor.  But 
just  a  few  years  ago  we  discovered  in  the  heart  of  Russia  a  free  people  who  had  not  only  sought  in  the  New 
Testament  alone  their  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  but  had  found  in  the  book  precisely  what  our  fathers  did,  and 
organized  a  group  of  New  Testament  churches  exactly  like  the  best  we  have  in  America.  Indeed,  with  the  greater 
obstacles  which  they  had  to  overcome  and  the  severe  persecution  which  they  had  to  meet,  their  faith  found  more 
exalted   and    consistent   expression    than   ours. 

So  this  work  was  included  in  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement  for  $100,000  to  be  appropriated  by  the  Amer- 
ican Christian  Missionary  Society,  through  the  Commission  on  Foreign  Relations,  in  fostering  the  free  churches 
of  Russia.  , 

Our  mission  among  the  Russians  in  New  York  City,  under  the  efficient  and  devoted  leadership  of  John 
Johnson  and  the  assistants,  like  C.  Jaroshevich,  whom  he  has  developed  in  the  work,  was  the  medium  through 
which  wc  discovered  our  brethren  in  Russia.  This,  with  one  in  Chicago,  is  the  base  from  which  we  must  move  out 
rapidly  to  other  Russian   settlements  in  the  United  States  in  this  hour  when  their  hearts  are  quick  and  responsive. 

Now  that  the  revolution  has  removed  the  heavy  hand  of  state-church  intolerance  from  the  little  groups  of 
Disciples  that  have  been  formed  in  scores  of  places,  there  is  such  a  chance  as  never  before  for  expansion  and  mul- 
tiplication among  our  Russian  brethren.  The  completion  of  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement  will  come  at  the  hour 
of  destiny  for  Russian  Christians  and  yield  results  beyond  all  possible  imagination. 

MEN  AND  MILLIONS  MOVEMENT     Cincinnati,  Ohio 


CHAM.ES  CLAYTON  MOREISOH,  EDITOR. 


EEEBEET    X..    WI1LETT,    CONTRIBUTING    EDITOR, 


Volume  XXXIV 


APRIL  26,  1917 


Number   17 


Are  the  Disciples  Intellectual? 


RELIGION  SHOULD  SATISFY  THE  INTEL- 
LECT. 

No  one  would  insist  that  the  intellectual  phases  of 
religion  were  the  only  ones  of  value.  The  intellect  has 
burned  martyrs  at  the  stake,  as  well  as  brought  light  and 
rationality  into  the  church.  We  prize  in  religion  the  de- 
velopment of  the  affections,  a  warming  of  the  emotions, 
a  deepening  of  the  intuitions  and  an  energizing  of  the  will. 
No  one  would  want  a  religion  which  was  exclusively  in- 
tellectual. On  the  other  hand,  few  of  us  would  choose  a 
religion  which  asked  us  to  dwarf  our  intellects  or  to  reject 
continually  the  results  of  our  rational  processes. 

The  early  Disciples  would  probably  be  described  as 
rationalists  in  religion.  They  had  propositions  and  syllo- 
gisms. Though  these  men  lived  in  the  wilderness,  they  had 
come  from  good  Scotch  universities  and  they  had  carried 
their  libraries  out  to  the  edge  of  the  world.  Here  they 
built  a  college  and  set  up  a  printing  press.  They  wrote 
and  debated  as  well  as  preached.  There  was  a  searching 
of  the  scriptures  and  assembling  of  evidence. 

The  men  that  followed  immediately  after  were  also 
men  of  intellectual  ability.  Richardson's  Memoirs  of 
Campbell  is  one  of  the  great  biographies.  Isaac  Errett 
was  a  great  editor.  In  the  days  of  these  men  there  were 
the  beginnings  of  a  tendency  to  crystalize  the  tenets  of  the 
movement  into  dogma  and  to  formulate  them  into  an  un- 
written creed  which  should  be  used  to  measure  the  or- 
thodoxy of  those  who  were  to  come  afterwards. 

•    * 

Living  as  we  do  after  a  century  of  Disciple  history, 
we  sorrowfully  confess  that  we  do  not  have  the  zeal  for 
scholarship  nor  the  respect  for  intellectual  processes  which 
once  made  us  a  glorious  people.  There  is  no  need  of 
proof,  for  we  seem  to  be  agreed  about  it.  Why  our  in- 
tellectual life  has  declined,  and  how  it  may  be  revived  are 
matters  of  the  deepest  concern  to  the  movement. 

For  a  long  time  our  colleges  disregarded  the  academic 
standards  prevailing  in  America.  Living  in  various  iso- 
lated centers,  these  educational  groups  made  use  of  their 
own  students  to  form  the  next  faculty.  Among  these 
teachers  of  limited  training  were  men  of  real  power,  but 
they  lacked  the  world-view  in  most  cases  of  men  who  had 
lived  with  great  books  'and  great  men.  Happily  our  col- 
leges are  much  changed  for  the  better. 

Our  ministers  have  been  busy  with  pragmatic  situa- 
tions. They  have  been  organizing  new  churches,  erecting 
buildings,  holding  evangelistic  meetings,  and  in  other  ways 
doing  the  necessary  ground  work  of  a  rapidly  growing 
religious  body.  While  this  was  going  on,  it  did  not  seem 
possible  for  many  of  these  men  to  cultivate  scholarship. 
Living  in  the  rather  raw  and  undeveloped  sections  of  the 
middle  west,  they  did  not  feel  the  need  of  the  intellectual 
life  which  they  now  feel,  surrounded  as  they  are  by  uni- 
versity-trained men  even  in  small  communities. 

These  influences  would  have  been  easily  overcome, 


had  there  not  come  into  our  history  an  insidious  journalism 
which  waged  an  active  campaign  against  the  higher  cul-  - 
ture.  Making  its  appeal  to  the  remnant  of  untrained  peo- 
ple of  the  country,  this  movement  sought  to  enforce  an 
embargo  against  all  intellectual  goods  that  were  made 
either  in  Chicago,  Harvard  or  Yale.  Young  men,  realiz- 
ing their  need  of  more  training,  secured  it  only  to  find  that 
professionally  they  had  not  advanced,  they  came  out  of  a 
high-grade  university  to  take  a  poorer  pulpit  than  they  had 
before  they  went  away  to  the  university.  It  is  a  credit  to 
our  young  men  that  so  many  of  them  have  suffered  loss 
of  caste  and  of  professional  standing  with  their  eyes  wide 
open,  so  great  has  been  their  hunger  for  truth. 

The  temporary  check  we  have  received  in  our  growth 
is  a  fortunate  one.  It  provides  an  occasion  for  examining 
anew  our  foundation  principles.  We  shall  not  go  for- 
ward again  until  we  make  our  peace  with  the  world  of 

ideas. 

•     • 

How  shall  we  find  our  place  again  among  the  people 
of  this  country  who  cherish  true  learning  and  a  rational 
faith? 

Our  colleges  must  be  freed  from  every  vestige  of  * 
dogmatism ;  they  must  be  groups  of  free  people  engaged 
in  a  real  search  for  truth.  These  colleges  are  not  set  to 
teach  "our  plea,"  unless  the  thing  we  call  "our  plea"  is  true. 
None  of  us  can  any  longer  believe  in  our  plea  if,  to  main- 
tain it,  we  must  hound  our  teachers  into  silence  about 
their  real  conceptions.  Most  of  us  believe  this  plea  can 
live  on  in  a  perfectly  free  academic  atmosphere. 

The  men  of  light  and  leading  must  forsake  their  , 
present  attitude  of  reticence.  What  was  once  a  virtue  is 
now  in  danger  of  becoming  a  vice.  Too  few  Disciples  are 
writing  books.  There  are  reactionary  books  on  Revela- 
tion. There  are  practical  books  on  methods*  There  are 
missionary  books  on  propaganda.  Why  should  we  not 
have  deeper  books  which  shall  give  us  our  intellectual 
footing  in  this  new  age?  We  need  brave  men  to  write 
them  and  a  loyal  people  to  buy  them  and  read  them. 

Our  ministers  must  form  a  new  taste  for  intellectual 
comradeship.  There  are  city  ministers  who  stay  away 
from  the  ministers'  meeting  when  a  solid  paper  is  pre- 
sented. They  want  method,  they  want  to  feel  a  new  thrill 
of  enthusiasm,  but  as  for  the  reasoned  papers,  they  will 
have  none  of  them.  This  attitude  must  be  shown  up  in 
its  true  light.     It  must  become  unpopular. 

The  churches,  too,  can  do  much  to  bring  back  our 
intellectual  glory.  Count  your  minister's  sermons  a  suc- 
cess whether  the  front  seat  is  filled  with  converts  or  not. 
The  sermon  that  grounds  the  faith  of  Christians  and  keeps 
them  from  falling  away  is  of  equal  importance  with  the 
one  that  first  draws  them  to  Christ. 

The  Disciples  may  degenerate  until  at  last  they  at-  - 
tract  the  kind  of  people  that  follow  Mormonism  or  Dowie- 
ism.     On   the  other  hand,   they  may  afford   a  congenial 
home  for  real  prophets  to  our  age. 


EDITORIAL 


RELIGION  MOBILIZING  FOR  THE  WAR 

THE  call  for  troops  had  no  sooner  gone  out  than  the 
aggressive  organizations  allied  with  the  church  began 
to  plan  for  their  service  to  the  soldier  boys. 

The  American  Bible  society  has  sent  out  a  call  for 
fifty  thousand  dollars  for  khaki  new  testaments  for  the 
camp  life.  One  hundred  thousand  of  these  appropriately 
bound  volumes  were  distributed  on  the  Mexican  frontier. 
It  will  require  more  funds  for  the  society  to  continue  this 
significant  service. 

The  largest  single  religious  enterprise  in  connection 
with  the  war  is  the  call  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation for  a  million  dollars  with  which  to  provide  for 
the  camp  life  of  the  soldiers.  The  Association  will  use 
this  money  to  establish  in  the  camps  and  at  the  front  the 
comfort  stations  which  the  government  is  not  organized 
to  care  for.  Here  the  soldiers  can  write  letters,  hold  re- 
ligious meetings,  have  the  facilities  of  a  reading  room  and 
in  many  other  ways  be  made  comfortable. 

In  England,  early  in  the  war,  the  camps  were  infested 
with  the  evil  elements  of  society  which  preyed  upon  the 
young  men  who  were  in  many  cases  away  from  home  for 
the  first  time.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  was  found  to  be  a  power- 
ful factor  in  making  the  soldiers  of  England  efficient. 
There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  organization  in 
this  country  may  be  able  to  perform  the  same  distinguished 
service  for  our  own  boys. 

There  are  churches  which  are  organizing  to  produce 
Red  Cross  supplies  and  still  other  churches  which  are  using 
their  facilities  for  the  purpose  of  recruiting  the  personnel 
of  the  great  Red  Cross  organization.  Other  churches  will 
find  a  significant  task  in  watching  with  jealous  care  over 
those  families  from  which  one  of  the  bread-winners  has 
gone  into  the  country's  service  leaving  the  economic  sup- 
port of  the  family  insecure. 

THE  WAR  AND  MISSIONS 

THERE  are  certain  definite  ways  in  which  the  war  has 
affected  missions.     It  was  at  first  predicted  that  there 

would  occur  on  the  foreign  field  a  great  reaction  in 
the  interest  of  alien  peoples.  This  has  not  happened.  In 
many  missionary  centers  the  prospective  converts  are  tax- 
ing the  ability  of  the  missionaries  to  instruct  them  properly. 

It  has  been  found,  however,  that  the  war  has  seriously 
affected  the  supply  of  new  missionaries.  There  is  not  left 
a  single  missionary  volunteer  in  Great  Britain,  for  all  have 
answered  the  call  to  the  colors  of  their  country.  This 
means  a  gradually  decreasing  force  on  the  foreign  field. 
We  shall  need  to  be  on"  guard  in  America  lest  the  same  fate 
befall  us.  Many  colleges  are  giving  up  their  choicest 
young  people  for  service  in  the  war.  Out  of  America's 
millions,  however,  it  is  not  too  much  to  ask  for  some  thou- 
sands with  which  to  recruit  the  Lord's  army  for  the  entire 
world. 

The  missionaries  also  report  that  the  prices  which 
make  living  difficult  here  have  made  it  almost  impossible 
abroad.  The  missionaries  have  to  import  many  things 
from  America  for  their  common  use,  as  these  are  unobtain- 
able in  the  mission  lands.  Salaries  have  remained  the 
same,  save  for  one  year  when  it  was  cut,  but  the  expenses 
have  soared  steadily  upward.  It  will  be  a  shame  if  the 
offerings  of  the  churches  do  not  permit  the  missionary  so- 
cieties to  increase  substantially  the  stipend. 


Though  Great  Britain  has  gloriously  kept  up  her  con- 
tributions to  her  great  missionary  work  in  the  world,  Amer- 
ica has  already  begun  to  retrench.  It  is  a  shame  to  our 
people  that  several  hundred  Disciple  churches  took  no 
offering  at  all  this  year. 

The  world  never  before  so  needed  the  missionary 
spirit  and  point  of  view.  War  or  no  war,  our  missionary 
work  must  not  suffer. 

THE  WORK  OF  HOME  MISSIONS 

ONE  needs  no  proof  from  statistics  to  admit  that  the 
work  of  home  missions  is  not  finished  in  America. 
So  long  as  there  are  any  people  left  unsaved,  so 
long  as  there  are  great  numbers  of  Christians  out  of  touch 
with  the  organized  church,  there  will  be  a  task  for  home 
missions. 

This  task  must,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  vary  with 
the  changing  conditions  of  our  national  life.  Alexander 
Campbell  spent  much  of  his  life  as  a  home  missionary  with- 
out salary,  as  did  other  men  whose  names  are  not  so  well 
known  to  us.  Their  work  was  done  almost  exclusively 
in  the  country  and  among  English-speaking  peoples. 

The  new  America  presents  to  missionary  administra- 
tion a  much  more  baffling  problem.  We  have  had  great 
cities  grow  up  too  rapidly  to  be  adequately  cared  for  in 
religion.  The  old  country  communities  have  lost  their 
former  religious  leadership  and  now  languish  for  the  lack 
of  new  methods  and  modern  leadership.  The  immigrant 
groups  are  waiting  to  be  Americanized  and  more  adequately 
Christianized.  Organized  infidelity  still  stalks  through 
the  land  in  certain  places  and  other  organized  forces  hostile 
to  the  church  tend  to  the  breaking  down  of  faith. 

Under  the  stress  of  these  circumstances  the  methods 
of  missionary  societies  have  gradually  changed  from  the 
simple  mass  meeting  evangelism  of  the  past  to  the  larger 
evangelism  which  uses  many  methods  in  accomplishing  its 
purpose.  In  making  this  change,  it  has  been  necessary  to 
educate  the  constituency  and  to  secure  funds  for  the  much 
more  expensive  methods. 

The  Disciples  of  Christ  do  not  have  a  record  of  con- 
tribution to  home  missions  that  is  creditable.  The  Baptists 
spend  one  and  a  half  millions  annually  through  various 
societies.  The  Methodist  expenditure  is  still  more  for  all 
bodies.  The  Presbyterian  bodies  spend  over  two  million. 
Congregational  expenditures  run  over  a  million.  By  the 
side  of  these,  the  half  million  credited  to  various  Disciple 
agencies  is  pitiably  small.  The  American  Christian  Mis- 
sionary Society  reported  $153,228.54  for  last  year.  It 
should  be  more. 

APPRECIATE    THE    PROTESTANT    HERITAGE 

THIS  year  marks  the  close  of  the  four  hundred  years 
of  Protestant  history  since  Martin  Luther  posted 
the  ninety-five  theses  on  the  church  door  of  Witten- 
berg. The  year  is  to  be  celebrated,  not  by  the  kind  of 
denunciation  of  Catholics  which  is  sometimes  practiced 
by  so-called  "patriotic"  speakers,  but  by  a  positive  setting 
forth  of  the  protestant  attitude  in  religion.  The  back 
page  of  the  church  bulletin,  which  is  now  used  in  many 
churches  for  a  list  of  the  officiary  which  no  one  looks  at, 
might  here  be  turned  into  a  preaching  page  where  short 
sermonettes  would  help  in  stating  the  big  facts  of  the 
Reformation. 


April  26,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


The  pulpit  will  find  that  some  of  the  cardinal  con- 
tentions of  the  Reformation  are  still  worth  preaching.  A 
leading  church  historian  summarizes  them  as  follows : 
The  value  of  the  Christian  scriptures,  the  popular  use  of 
the  scriptures,  justification  hy  faith,  the  value  of  works 
in  the  gospel  scheme,  the  definition  of  the  church,  the 
headship  of  Christ  in  the  church,  the  priesthood  of  be- 
lievers, the  nature  of  the  ministry,  and  the  rights  of  the 
laity. 

Concerning  many  of  these  matters  there  is  not  as 
clear  a  conception  as  there  might  well  be.  So  far  have 
we  swung  away  from  doctrinal  preaching,  that  many  con- 
gregations have  lost  their  sense  of  fellowship  with  the 
church  of  the  past  ages  and  of  various  nations.  The 
church  of  this  sort  has  lost  the  "communion  of  the  saints," 
so  significant  to  us  all. 

Some  very  excellent  and  serviceable  books  are  being 
issued  for  special  use  this  year.  One  is  a  child's  life  of 
Luther.  The  public  library  in  each  town  is  likely  to 
have  books  which  will  be  serviceable  in  bringing  more 
Protestant  knowledge  to  the  "people.  It  will  be  the  duty 
of  the  minister  to  discover  and  point  these  out. 

The  Disciples  have  been  deeply  conscious  of  their 
place  in  the  Protestant  movement.  We  have  ventured  to 
call  our  position  "ultimate  Protestantism."  A  study  of 
the  Reformation  is  a  good  preparation  for  a  later  study  of 
our  own  history. 

THE  MINISTER  AND  HIS  FRIENDS 

WHEN  monastic  orders  were  first  created,  they  were 
organized  for  laymen,  not  for  ministers.  When 
the  priests  first  began  to  join,  they  were  rebuked 
by  their  superiors  for  this  desire  to  evade  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  ministry.  The  Protestant  minister,  of  all 
men,  has  the  opportunity  to  be  rich  in  his  friendships.  He 
is  no  monk  nor  recluse.    He  is  a  friend  to  all  his  people. 

Friendship  has  its  burdens.  Young  people  will  come 
to  the  minister  and  ask  what  kind  of  studies  to  take  or 
what  profession  to  choose.  Men  will  ask  advice  on  busi- 
ness ventures.  If  he  is  a  man  of  family,  women  will  even 
ask  him  to  diagnose  the  baby's  sickness.  His  touch  with 
his  people  will  make  many  and  strange  demands.  In  spite 
of  this,  because  of  this,  he  will  want  to  be  a  good  friend. 

One  of  the  dangers  of  the  minister's  friendships  is 
that  of  partiality.  Perhaps  a  human  minister  will  always 
have  his  preferences.  Our  Lord  had  one  disciple  whom  He 
especially  loved.  He  had  the  three  to  whom  were  accorded 
a  particular  intimacy.  But  the  minister  must  as  far  as 
possible  avoid  manifesting  preferences.  It  ought  to  be 
possible  for  any  man,  woman  or  child  to  find  him  and 
claim  his  help. 

There  is  the  further  danger  that  in  the  minister's 
friendship  he  will  relax  a  certain  finer  sort  of  dignity  that 
goes  with  his  holy  calling.  The  man  who  preaches  the 
gospel  has  a  unique  position  in  the  world.  Instead  of 
lamenting  this  uniqueness  or  trying  to  exploit  it,  he  should 
seek  to  live  in  the  way  to  make  his  life  most  effective. 

Every  true  minister  has  friends  scattered  over  the 
land.  Ten  years  scatters  a  congregation  widely  these  days. 
It  is  his  joy  to  reflect  that  in  many  parts  of  the  nation  he 
would  find  an  open  door  and  a  glad  welcome  in  time  of 
possible  need. 

Thus  the  reward  of  the  minister  is  to  be  found  partly 
in  the  richness  of  his  social  relations.  In  no  calling  does 
a  man  get  so  close  to  his  fellow  man  as  in  the  work  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ. 


NEWSPAPERS  AND  RELIGIOUS  NEWS 

IN  days  gone  by  the  churches  had  frequent  complaints  to 
make  of  the  way  religious  news  was  handled  by  the 
secular  press.  The  reporter  visited  the  church  where 
the  minister's  sermon  subject  indicated  something  of  inter- 
est to  the  general  public  and  brought  back  a  report  that 
was  as  garbled  and  incorrect  as  his  unfamiliarity  with  such 
matters  necessitated  it  to  be. 

These  same  reporters  were  accustomed  to  visit  univer- 
sity class  rooms,  and  their  reports  brought  university  pro- 
fessors to  book  before  the  public  for  opinions  that  they 
never  dreamed  of  holding. 

There  was  exaggeration  in  religious  news  which  often 
led  ministers  into  disrepute  as  making  false  claims  for  their 
work.  A  church  was  building  a  modest  house  of  worship 
to  cost,  say,  ten  thousand  dollars.  The  minister  explained 
the  plans  of  the  building  to  the  reporter  and  the  next  day 
read  with  amazement  that  the  house  was  to  be  a  fifty  thou- 
sand dollar  structure.  When  the  reporter  was  asked  why 
he  printed  such  a  statement,  he  replied,  "I  could  never  have 
gotten  my  paper  to  print  the  story  of  a  ten  thousand  dollar 
church." 

A  few  of  the  metropolitan  dailies  have  adopted  a  new 
policy.  They  have  engaged  religious  editors  who  not  only 
gather  much  religious  news  but  who  also  interpret  the  reli- 
gious news  that  comes  in  from  various  sources.  This  means 
that  a  man  with  religious  interests  can  read  these  papers 
and  not  be  shocked  continually  with  mis-statements  about 
things  that  are  very  important  to  him. 

There  are  some  ways  in  which  newspaper  men  have  a 
right  to  complain  of  the  preachers.  After  a  newspaper  has 
made  itself  ready  to  print  religious  news  it  has  a  right  to 
expect  cooperation  from  the  men  who  presumably  are  most 
interested  in  circulating  correct  statements  of  religious 
progress.  Yet  many  ministers  fail  to  send  in  their  news, 
and  then  criticise  the  newspapers  for  failing  to  report 
things  of  real  importance. 

In  up-to-date  newspaper  offices  there  is  no  lack  of  in- 
terest in  religious  news.  But  there  is  much  lack  of  co- 
operation on  the  part  of  the  men  who  stand  nearest  to 
the  source  of  this  news. 

WHAT  SHOULD  WE  DO  WITH  SUNDAY 
AFTERNOON? 

AMERICA  has  traveled  a  long  way  from  the  Puri- 
tan Sabbath.  This  has  been  due  partly  to  our 
temperament  and  partly  to  the  large  influx  of 
immigrants  from  continental  Europe  where  people  have 
a  far  different  way  of  observing  Sunday  from  ours. 

There  is  now  a  well-defined  movement  in  Con- 
necticut to  co-operate  heartily  with  the  present  law  of 
the  state  which  permits  the  opening  of  public  play- 
grounds on  Sunday.  At  the  same  time,  the  Federation 
of  Churches  opposes  commercialized  amusements  on 
Sunday  and  pledges  itself  to  work  actively  for  the  Sat- 
urday half-holiday. 

The  point  of  view  of  some  ministers  favoring  lib- 
eral legislation  is  that  they  are  personally  opposed  to 
Sunday'  amusements,  but  since  this  is  essentially  a  re- 
ligious attitude  it  should  not  be  enforced  by  law.  It 
is  not  the  function  of  the  state  to  compel  religious 
observance  from  the  people. 

The  Disciples  of  Christ  learned  from  Alexander 
Campbell  that  the  Old  Testament  Sabbath  and  the 
Christian  Lord's  Day  were  two  distinct  institutions, 
with   different   ideas   in   them.     The   Christian   Lord's 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


April  26,  1917 


Day  was  never  commanded,  and  grew  up  as  a  volun- 
tary expression  Gff  love  and  loyalty  to  Jesus  Christ.  At 
the  same  time,  we  have  been  as  desirous  as  others  that 
our  fellow  citizens  might  be  persuaded  to  observe  the 
day  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  given. 

What  to  do  with  a  Sunday  is  a  real  problem  in  more 
than  one  family.  A  wife  in  an  unsigned  article  in  the 
Vox  Populi  department  of  a  secular  paper  complains 
of  a  husband  who  leaves  her  and  the  children  on  Sun- 
days while  he  plays  billiards  all  day.  There  are  busi- 
ness men  who  go  to  the  office  and  open  the  mail,  with- 
out any  real  need  for  so  doing.  "Where  the  members  of 
the  family  are  together  they  often  fail  to  use  this  family 
fellowship  to  the  best  advantage.  The  house  may  be 
overrun  with  guests  for  a  big  dinner  party.  Will  not 
some  wise  person  tell  us  what  to  do  with  Sunday  when 
we  are  not  at  church? 

ECONOMY  IN  WARTIME 

AMERICA  has  the  reputation  the  world  over  for 
wasteful  habits  of  living.  The  garbage  pails  of  a 
big  hotel  contain  every  day  more  wholesome  food 
than  is  required  for  the  actual  needs  of.  the  people  who  live 
in  one  of  these  places  of  public  entertainment.  Nor  is 
this  waste  incident  to  the  kitchen  of  the  hotel  only;  it  is 
often  found  in  the  kitchen  of  the  householder  as  well. 

The  advance  in  price  of  print  paper  revealed  the  fact 
that  the  American  people  were  burning  and  otherwise 
wasting  tons  and  tons  of  scrap  paper  which  was  entirely 
capable  of  being  worked  up  again  into  usable  paper  fit  for 
various  kinds  of  service. 

In  the  days  which  are  ahead,  the  world  will  need  food 
and  fuel  and  clothing.  We  are  challenged  to  study  in  every 
way  proper  methods  of  economy  so  that  we  shall  be  able 
to  provide  all  with  the  necessaries  of  life. 

Our  banquets,  our  expensive  social  functions,  our  use- 
less display  in  dress  are  things  which  invite  the  pruning 
knife.  The  new  automobile  for  pleasure  may  well  wait 
till  another  season. 

The  churches  are  being  urged  to  take  an  interest  in 
the  gardening  movement  which  is  spreading  throughout 
the  cities  of  the  country.  The  vacant  land  in  many  cities 
would  supply  the  entire  population  with  vegetables ;  more- 
over, the  families  in  raising  these  would  enjoy  an  interest- 
ing fellowship  in  working  close  to  Nature. 

The  war,  if  indeed  it  continues,  may  have  many  by- 
products that  will  be  useful.  The  seven  billions  we  voted 
away  the  other  day  would  soon  come  back  to  us  if  we 
stopped  our  national  vices,  including  those  of  the  saloon, 
and  instituted  into  the  program  of  the  household  a  system 
of  reasonable  economy.  We  have  a  text  for  these  en- 
deavors in  the  story  of  the  feeding  of  the  thousands,  when 
the  fragments  were  gathered  together  at  the  command  of 
the  Lord  that  nothing  be  wasted. 

FINDING  A   SERMON   SUBJECT 

THERE  is  a  kind  of  preacher  who  agonizes  over  his 
sermon  subjects.  When  the  subject  is  at  last  chosen, 
it  bears  all  the  marks  of  its  slow  birth.  Some  men 
are  tickled  by  mere  alliteration.  The  subject  will  look 
well  when  announced  in  the  newspaper.  These  men  lay 
up  trouble  for  themselves,  for  not  all  sermon  topics  that 
are  easily  pronounced  are  easy  to  develop. 

There  are  other  men  who  preach  through  a  doctrinal 
system.  When  they  are  once  through,  they  turn  around 
and  preach  through  it  again.     Time  was  when  a  disciple 


preacher  made  it  his  custom  to  preach  every  year  on  "The 
Two  Covenants,"  "The  Typology  of  the  Tabernacle,"  and 
"The  Law  and  the  Gospel,"  besides  doing  extra  duty  with 
Faith,  Repentance  and  Baptism.  In  those  days  when  peo- 
ple were  ready  to  hear  these  venerable  sermons  preached 
again  and  again,  it  was  not  hard  to  find  a  topic.  In  these 
latter  days  our  public  asks  of  the  preacher  a  more  extended 
repertoire. 

The  modern  trained  man  sometimes  chooses  the  wrong 
subject.  He  is  in  a  great  hurry  to  sermonize  his  theo- 
logical lectures.  Many  of  these  will  never  make  sermons, 
but  he  does  not  know  it. 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  was  never  at  a  loss  to  find  a 
topic.  He  told  the  Yale  students  how  he  picked  out  ser- 
mon subjects.  He  went  down  the  list  of  his  members 
thinking  of  their  various  problems.  His  object  was  to 
help  them.     He  found  his  topic  in  their  needs. 

An  even  better  way  is  to  get  one's  topic  from  the 
people  themselves.  Go  out  calling  some  afternoon  and 
talk  religion.  Look  deep  into  the  hearts  of  the  folks  you 
meet.  You  may  be  astonished  to  find  a  godly  grand- 
mother who  has  lost  her  faith  in  immortality  at  a  time  in 
life  when  she  needs  it  most.  You  will  find  sin  to  rebuke 
and  incipient  righteousness  to  be  commended  and  fostered. 
You  will  go  with  your  eyes  open  to  human  needs.  When 
you  return  you  will  have  more  sermons  than  you  can  ever 
find  audiences  for. 

Preaching  is  not  getting  something  out  of  your  sys- 
tem. It  is,  with  apologies  to  Socrates,  playing  the  part  of 
spiritual  mid-wife  to  the  souls  that  are  just  beginning  to 
apprehend  spiritual  reality. 

RECREATION  AND  THE  CHURCH 

PREACHERS  complain  sometimes  that  this  is  an 
amusement-mad  age.  Perhaps  it  is.  But  the  amuse- 
ment-mad person  is  not  altogether  wrong.  He  has 
discovered  that  play  is  a  means  of  fellowship  and  fellow- 
ship is  not  an  evil.  He  finds  that  amusement  rests  him 
more  quickly  than  sloth. 

The  attitude  of  the  church  toward  play  was  deter- 
mined by  the  character  of  the  amusements  that  were  so 
much  present  in  England  in  the  days  of  Puritan  leadership. 
The  theater  was  obscene,  and  today  we  read  the  plays  of 
that  time  in  expurgated  editions.  Many  of  the  amusements 
were  coarse  and  brutal  and  lacking  in  educational  value. 

Because  of  this,  the  church  took  on  a  negative  attitude 
toward  all  amusement.  Such  an  attitude  is  to  be  found  in 
the  older  writers  of  Christianity.  Augustine  looked  on  the 
amusements  of  his  time  as  being  worldly  and  a  waste  of 
time.  In  our  own  day  we  have  evangelists  like  "Billy" 
Sunday  going  around  and  denouncing  certain  amusements 
which,  in  the  language  of  the  evangelist,  "lead  straight  to 
hell." 

Meanwhile,  the  social  workers  charge  that  the  church 
is  missing  an  opportunity  in  taking  a  merely  negative  atti- 
tude toward  one  of  the  great  elements  of  life.  We  know 
now  that  play  is  necessary  alike  to  children  and  adults. 
The  church  cannot  afford  to  take  a  cold  and  unsympathetic 
attitude  toward  the  big  human  things. 

Just  what  the  contribution  of  the  church  toward  recre- 
ation should  be  in  any  given  community  must  be  worked 
out  according  to  the  conditions  and  needs  of  that  commu- 
nity. Already  there  is  appearing  among  the  Disciples  the 
"parish  house"  as  some  would  call  it,  a  building  separate 
from  the  sanctuary,  in  which  the  play  instincts  of  the  com- 
munity can  be  carried  out  without  impropriety. 


April  26,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


Some'  of  the  old-time  devices  of  the  church  for  the 
amusement  of  the  young  people  still  have  usefulness  if 
they  can  be  divorced  from  the  money-grabbing  features 
that  once  characterized  them.  We  welcome  new  literature 
which  is  making  clear  the  opportunity  of  the  church  to 
make  a  constructive  contribution  to  the  human  need  for 
play. 

WANTED:    A    SENSE    OF    HUMOR! 

SOME  people  misunderstand  the  Disciples  because  they 
take  us  too  seriously.  Our  spiritual  ancestor  was  an 
Irishman,  and  one  must  have  the  chuckle  that  goes 
with  some  of  their  utterances  if  he  would  get  the  point. 
An  outsider  would  be  sure  to  be  misled  by  the  seven  pages 
of  small  type  in  a  recent  issue  of  our  highly  humorous 
journal,  the  Christian  Standard. 

One  brother  writes  with  seeming  seriousness  demand- 
ing that  an  "unbiased"  committee  be  appointed  to  investi- 
gate the  heresy  charges  in  connection  with  the  College  of 
the  Bible  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  and  suggests  the  names  of 
J.  B.  Briney  and  Zachary  T.  Sweeney  as  two  likely  mem- 
bers of  it.  This  is  really  very  funny.  In  the  same  spirit 
we  suggest  that  Theodore  Roosevelt  be  asked  to  write  the 
biography  of  William  Jennings  Bryan  and  that  George  P. 
Rutledge  be  selected  to  deliver  the  oration  at  the  next 
birthday  of  the  Pope. 

A  connection  between  German  militarism  and  the 
higher  criticism  is  suggested  by  O.  H.  Truman.  We  have 
heard  of  higher  criticism  causing  dry  baptistries  and  empty 
churches,  and  still  the  big  churches  of  the  brotherhood 
continue  to  be  deluded.  If  the  higher  criticism  caused  the 
war,  it  is  also  the  cause  of  the  high  price  of  flour  and  of 
the  Russian  revolution.  We  fear  farmers  and  Russians 
will  favor  this  vile  heresy  when  the  connection  is  estab- 
lished. 


L.  W.  vSpayd  says  the  Campbell  Institute  is  to  blame 
for  the  trouble,  though  not  a  single  teacher  in  Lexington 
belongs  to  that  organization.  When  we  joke  we  always 
take  things  by  opposites,  so  we  join  in  the  merriment  this 
brother  wishes  to  create. 

We  agree  heartily  with  H.  L.  Hayes.  "I  do  not  know 
what  would  become  of  the  Christian  Church  ff  it  were 
not  for  the  Standard."  Life  would  become  unutterably 
dull.  We  would  have  nothing  to  do  but  teach  and  preach 
the  gospel  and  save  sinners.  We  are  Irish  enough  to  want 
the  excitement  that  goes  with  a  "wake,"  so  here  are  our 
best  wishes  to  the  funniest  paper  in  America. 

VACATION  AT   LAKE   GENEVA 

DISCIPLES  have  not  yet  adequately  appreciated  Lake 
Geneva  and  its  missionary  education  conference 
each  summer  as  a  center  from  which  goes  powerful 
missionary  influences.  This  year  it  is  planned  to  have  six 
hundred  people  camp  on  the  shores  of  this  beautiful  Wis- 
consin lake.  It  is  said  that  a  party  of  one  hundred  from 
Cincinnati  has  already  been  arranged  for. 

The  Disciples  of  Christ  will  be  represented  in  the  con- 
ferences by  several  missionaries  and  secretaries,  among 
whom  will  be  Bert  Wilson  and  Emory  Ross. 

The  conference  this  year  will  be  held  July  27th  to 
August  5th.  The  program  calls  for  forenoons  of  a  chau- 
tauqua  character  in  the  work  of  missions,  the  afternoons 
being  given  over  to  sports  and  the  evenings  to  social  life. 

"WHY  I  AM  A  DISCIPLE" 

EDITOR  MORRISON'S  fourth  article  on  this  theme 
had  not  arrived  when  the  Christian  Century  press 
day  arrived.  Mr.  Morrison  is  in  the  East  and  wrote 
from  Philadelphia  that  the  manuscript  had  been  mailed, 
but  at  noon  Monday  it  has  not  arrived. — Office  Editor. 


J"""""1""""""""""""" «"i ""'""> miiiiiiiniiiiiimimiimii i i miimium , unmin 


lfliiiillliniiiiiitiiitititliiiilliiltltiiiiilllrliiuillliiuitltl]|ili[itniilMll]Mililillliii[iiiMiilliillliiil m.mimimmmmmmmmmimu.imimumimu.mtmmuilliliiiiiumiimmiimiiiiimmiii.iumiiiiimini 


Two  Poems  for  the  Times 


The  Day  of  the  People  Is  Dawning 

WE  knelt  before  kings;  we  bent  before  lords; 
For  theirs  were  the  crowns,  and  theirs  were 
the  swords; 
But  the  times  of  the  bending  and  bowing  are  past, 
And  the  day  of  the  people  is  dawning  at  last. 

We  cringed  before  gold;  we  deified  wealth; 

We  laid  on  its  altar  the  life  and  the  health 

Of  manhood  and  womanhood,  childhood  and  youth; 

But  its  lordship  is  doomed  in  this  day  of  the  truth. 

The  strength  of  the  State  we  '11  lavish  on  more 
Than  making  of  wealth  and  making  of  war; 
We  are  learning  at  last,  though  the  lesson  comes  late, 
That  the  making  of  man  is  the  task  of  the  State. 

Great  Day  of  Jehovah,  prophets  and  seers 
Have  sung  of  thy  coming  for  thousands  of  years; 
Thank  God  for  each  sign  that  the  dark  night  is  past; 
And  the  day  of  the  people  is  dawning  at  last! 

—W.  P.  Merrill. 


Brother  of  All  the  World 

A      BROTHER  of  all  the  world  am  I; 
Over  the  world  I  find  mine  own, 
The  men  zuho  come  from  the  lands  that  lie 
In  the  bitter  belt  of  the  frozen  zone, 
The  men  who  come  from  the  dreamy  lands 

Under  the  glowing  sun's  caress, 
With  swarthy  skin  and  busy  hands — 
All  brothers  mine  in  a  bond  to  bless. 

I  know  the  land  that  gave  me  birth, 

I  thrill  with  joy  when  the  Hag's  unfurled, 
But  the  gift  she  gives  of  the  supremest  worth 

Is  the  brother's  heart  for  all  the  ivorld. 
So  come,  ye  sons  of  the  near  and  far, 

Teuton  and  Latin,  Slav  and  Jew, 
For  brothers  beloved  of  mine  ye  arc — 

Blood  of  my  blood  in  a  ivorld  made  new. 

— Author  Unknown. 


""" ' mmimlnumimum nun mill Ilmillm I llinillllllllllllliwillllll Illllllinuimillimmim I 1.1..1111.11...1, inn. ......... h mill mum u Ill iiimn i .miriiiui.iim.mT miiimtmmummmMmiuimimimmuummm. .m.miiiiinmmmm 


The  Authority  of  the  Bible 

Fifteenth  Article  of  the  Series  on  the  Bible* 

By  Herbert  L.  Willett 

THE  authority  of  the  Bible  resides  in  its  enlightening  men  have  so  claimed;  and  others  have  sought  to  com- 
and  compelling  power,  which  lays  upon  the  soul  the  pile  from  its  contents  such  an  anthology  of  thinking 
imperatives  of  pure  and  sacrificial  living.  It  is  not  and  behavior.  But  this  is  futile.  The  first  essential 
an  authority  which  inheres  in  an  institution  or  a  book,  of  the  holy  life  is  the  responsibility  of  a  discriminating 
but  in  the  sense  of  Tightness  created  within  the  soul  choice  among  the  options  offered  by  life.  If  someone 
by  all  gracious  influences,  and  chiefly  by  the  Bible  itself,  could  draw  up  for  us  such  a  schedule  and  guarantee 
The  Book  does  not  claim  to  be  a  carefully  prepared  us  salvation  on  terms  of  compliance  with  it,  there  would 
manual  of  conduct.  It  refuses  to  accept  responsibility  be  strong  temptation  to  close  with  the  proposal.  So 
for  the  claim  that  all  of  its  utterances  are  rules  to  be  strong,  indeed,  that  some  who  claim  the  right  have 
followed.  Rather  it  records  the  story  of  the  most  offered  just  such  a  bargain  in  the  name  of  the  church, 
notable  movement  in  history  for  the  enfranchisement  But  salvation  cannot  be  purchased  upon  any  such  cheap 
of  the  human  soul  from  the  bondage  of  ignorance,  super-  and  easy  terms.  Salvation  is  character.  Character 
stition,  lust,  hatred  and  pride,  and  it  tells  us  something  can  be  gained  only  by  the  agony  of  deliberate  and  con- 
of  the  men  who  were  leaders  in  that  movement  which  vinced  choice,  and  the  struggle  to  make  that  choice  con- 
found its  full  expression  in  Jesus.  It  asks  us  to  study  trolling  in  life.  So  in  the  end  of  the  day,  the  authority 
the  lives  and  ideals  of  these  great  souls,  and  make  them,  of  the  Bible  is  just  the  appeal  which  it  makes  to  us  to 
as  far  as  they  find  us  with  their  majestic  appeal,  our  close  with  the  supreme  opportunity,  as  Jesus  did,  and 
friends  and  examples.  In  some  of  them,  early  in  the  live  his  life  after  him.  The  authority  of  the  Bible  is 
movement,  we  shall  find  little  to  admire  or  imitate.  Yet  the  authority  of  the  supreme  Life  of  which  it  speaks, 
every  one,  in  the  measure  of  his  knowledge  and  power,  And  linked  with  it  are  all  the  other  forceful  lives  in 
was  a  pioneer  in  the  great  adventure  of  making  a  new  that  same  group,  in  the  measure  in  which  they  make 
world.                                                                                 ai£i*j"  to  us  tne  appeal  of  character  and  teaching. 

THE  AUTHORITY  OF  CHRIST 

REAL    SEAT    OF*   AUTHORITY 

The  life  of  Jesus,  which  is  exhibited  only  in  this  For  this  reason  the  authority  of  the  Bible  cannot 
hterature,  is  the  climax  of  this  process.  We  do  not  be  formal>  arbitrary  or  capricious.  It  cannot  consist 
know  very  much  about  him,  as  compared  with  that  in  oracular  words  and  phrases.  It  cannot  inhere  in 
which  we  should  bke  to  know  All  the  records  of  his  rules  of  ,ivi  These  all  may  have  value>  but  the 
life  would  not  fill  an  issue  of  the  morning  paper.  Fur-  r  of  the  Bible  in  human  Hfe  Hes  in  its  abiHty  to 
thermore,  the  only  records  we  have  of  his  life  come  ;  ire  in  those  whom  it  reall  reaches  a  principle  of 
to  us  through  the  writings  of  men  who  did  not  them-  thought  and  life  which  makes  them  a  law  unto  them- 
selves fully  understand  the  character  they  were  seek-  sdves  0ut  of  the  best  that  the  prophets  and  apostles 
ing  to  make  known.  They  could  only  do  the  best  have  spoken  one  may  organize  a  norm  of  living  which 
they  were  able  in  making  their  contemporaries  and  beC0mes  compelling.  To  him  the  character  and  mes- 
those  who  should  follow  them  comprehend  something  sage  o£  the  Lord  beCome  final.  He  has  in  some  com- 
of  that  life  that  to  them  was  past  all  language  wonder-  petent  measure  the  mind  of  Christ.  Within  the  en- 
ful.  In  the  final  issue  of  facts,  it  is  that  life  which  iightened  and  loyal  soul  itself  there  is  set  up  a  standard 
has  become  the  authoritative  form  of  conduct  for  the  of  ethics  and  religion  to  which  the  appeal  Gf  every  de- 
race.  Imperfectly  presented  as  it  is,  and  not  fully  cision  must  be  referred.  Into  the  creation  of  this  stan- 
understood  either  by  its  first  interpreters  or  any  of  dard  many  factors  enten  But  it  must  be  confeSsed 
later  time  the  life  of  Jesus  is  increasingly  the  disclosure  that  the  Bible  is  the  most  impressive.  And  in  this  fact, 
of  the  soul  of  God,  the  exhibition  of  a  normal,  perfect  and  the  control  which  issues  from  it  into  the  lives  of 
human  character  and  the  center  of  the  world's  desire.  the  saints  of  all  the  yearSj  lies  its  unique  authority. 

The  Book  that  can  present  a  life  like  that,  under  A  few  days  ag0  a  friend  sent  me  a  copy  of  a  book 
whatever  limitations  is  certain  to  have  a  unique  note  of  which  had  come  into  his  hand>  and  which  purported 
authority  for  all  who  have  the  east  sensitiveness  to  to  tell  the  truth  about  the  Bible>  The  author  assumed 
moral  idea  s.  It  finds  us  and  holds  us.  It  follows  us  that  the  church  and  the  world  have  long  been  imposed 
through  all  the  ways  in  which  we  try  to  find  rest  in  b  a  book  which  is>  to  say  the  least>  very  com. 
our  search  for  life  abundant.  It  waits  for  us  at  the  monpiace,  and  at  the  worst  very  misleading  and  dan- 
partings  of  ways.  It  beckons  to  us  when  we  turn  into  us>  The  text  of  the  volume  was  Mr>  ingersoll>s 
bypaths  where  we  think  to  find  another  sort  of  good.  ■  "Somebody  ought  to  tell  the  truth  about  the 
It  pursues  us  with  swift  insistent  feet  all  the  long  day  Bible>»  It  devoted  several  chapters  to  the  familiar  facts 
of  life.  It  will  not  let  us  go.  It  is  this  divine  and  of  the  origin  and  literar  character  of  the  Bible,  taking 
terrible  authority  which  ollows  us  with  the  whips  and  it  for  granted  that  if  one  became  aware  that  the  book 
scourges  of  the  eternal  love,  until  we  dash  ourselves  possesses  those  features  of  human  composition,  which 
into  the  abysses  of  unreturning  refusal,  or  take  with  are  the  commonplaces  of  all  intelligent  Bible  study 
gladness  the  cup  of  life  from  the  hand  of  God.  today>  and  have  been  set  forth  at  some  length  in  the 

It  is  conceivable  that  we  could  have  had  a  book  of  studies  in  this  series>  he  wouid  at  once  abandon  his 

rules,  which  would  have  been  a  final  and  infallible  guide  faith  in  the  inspiration  and  authority  of  the  Bible.    Then 

to  conduct.     But  the  Bible  is  not  that,  though  some  he  preSented  a  long  list  of  quotations  from  Christian 

*This  is  a  continuation  of  the  article  on  "The  Authority  of  the  writers>  setting  forth  the  evident  marks  of  the  process 

Bible"  which  began  in  last  week's  issue.  by  which  the  Bible  came  into  being  and  has  been  trans- 


April  26,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


11 


mitted  to  us,  which  he  had  carefully  taken  out  of  their 
context,  and  exhibited  as  confessions  and  admissions 
on  the  part  of  friends  of  the  Bible  that  it  was  untrust- 
worthy and  self-condemning.  From  this  he  proceeded 
to  a  minute  examination  of  the  book  to  discover  errors 
of  historical  or  scientific  statement.  Still  assuming  that 
the  Bible  makes  claim  to  be  an  infallible  and  inerrant 
authority  upon  all  matters  included  in  its  pages,  he 
drew  the  conclusion  that  it  was  fraudulent  and  mislead- 
ing. But  not  content  with  this,  he  proceeded  to  cite 
the  instances  of  lying,  cheating,  stealing,  murder,  war, 
bloody  sacrifices,  cannibalism,  witchcraft,  slavery,  poly- 
gamy, lust,  obscenity,  intemperance,  injustice  to  women, 
tyranny  and  intolerance  and  without  attempting  to  dis- 
criminate between  the  many  cases  in  which  the  types 
of  conduct  are  held  up  to  scorn  and  condemnation,  and 
the  few  in  which  they  exhibit  the  crude  state  of  an 
early  social  order,  he  insisted  that  all  alike  illustrated 
the  immoral  and  pernicious  nature  of  the  book,  and  the 
reason  why  it  should  be  banished  from  the  world. 

ATTACKS  UPON  THE  BIBLE 

There  are  circles,  doubtless,  in  which  a  book  of 
this  sort  might  find  welcome  and  even  applause.  But 
they  would  have  to  be  among  such  as  have  only  a  be- 
lated idea  of  what  the  Bible  really  is  and  what  it  is 
daily  doing  for  the  race.  It  is  only  a  totally  false 
theory  regarding  the  Bible  that  can  give  an  instant's  sig- 
nificance to  such  a  book.  Mr.  Ingersoll  was  able  to 
succeed  in  his  attacks  upon  the  Bible  because  most  of 
the  people  in  his  audiences  still  held  the  mechanical, 
obsolete  view  of  the  supernatural  character  of  the  book, 
and  its  infallible  reliability  on  all  matters  which  it  dis- 
cussed. The  breath  of  the  fresh  study  of  the  Bible 
which  came  with  the  critical  method  blew  away  all 
chance  of  appeal  in  that  manner  to  the  outworn  ideas 
of  the  past,  and  today  Mr.  Ingersoll's  type  of  attack 
upon  the  Bible  is  as  dead  as  its  author.  Those  who  in 
the  manner  of  this  writer  follow  that  line  of  argument 
are  dealing  with  a  generation  which  knows  too  much 
as  to  the  actual  nature  of  the  Bible  and  the  claims  made 
for  it  by  its  interpreters  to  be  misled  or  disturbed. 

It  is  like  ridiculing  a  man  for  the  weaknesses,  the 
ignorance  and  the  freakish  behavior  of  his  childhood. 


The  facts  are  all  there  if  one  wishes  to  spend  the  time 
to  compile  them.  But  what  is  their  value?  It  is  like 
visiting  a  hospital,  not  to  learn  of  its  remedial  and  in- 
spiring service  to  the  community,  but  to  take  note  only 
of  its  sewage,  to  rake  over  its  garbage,  and  to  peer  into 
its  repulsive  evidences  of  the  wastage  wrought  by  medi- 
cation and  surgery.  Every  intelligent  person  knows 
that  a  hospital  has  this  necessary  and  unpleasant  side. 
It  is  no  discredit  to  its  work.  But  such  are  the  things 
for  which  none  but  scavengers  search.  The  Bible  has 
also  these  features.  It  has  the  evidences  of  the  imma- 
ture and  false  ideas  out  of  which  it  was  the  task  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  to  lead  the  race.  It  has  some  terrible 
chapters,  proofs  of  the  depths  to  which  the  race  can 
fall.  But  no  true  picture  can  be  drawn  of  the  long  and 
slow  evolution  of  moral  ideals  without  hints  of  the 
primitive  life  out  of  which  escape  was  at  last  made. 
The  Bible  reveals  with  a  frankness  which  is  at  once 
startling  and  undeniable  the  sins  that  war  against  the 
soul  and  the  low  standards  of  morals  prevailing  in  ages 
when  those  sins  were  counted  virtues.  But  no  one  with 
power  to  discriminate  between  childhood  and  maturity 
would  betray  himself  into  the  disingenuous  assertion 
that  all  alike  meet  the  approval  of  the  Book. 

A  volume  that  made  any  such  impression  upon  its 
readers  could  not  hold  for  a  moment  the  place  which 
the  Bible  has  in  the  regard  of  the  race.  Its  overwhelm- 
ing vindication,  its  ground  of  right  to  reverence,  are 
found  in  its  appeal  to  the  intelligent  and  sensitive  spirit, 
its  illustrious  history  as  the  guide  of  those  movements 
which  are  bringing  in  the  new  day,  its  ability  to  change 
the  current  of  history  out  of  its  former  channels  in  the 
direction  pointed  out  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  its  power  to 
transform  nations  from  savagery  and  superstition  to 
intelligence  and  virtue,  and  its  daily  record  of  trans- 
figured lives,  the  real  "twice-born"  men  of  our  age.  In 
such  fruits  its  best  defense  will  ever  be  found.  And 
after  all  the  superficial  theories  of  its  origin  and  nature 
have  faded  from  remembrance,  and  all  assaults  upon  its 
character  have  fallen  by  their  own  futility,  it  will  still 
continue  on  its  beneficent  way,  the  enlightener  of  the 
nations,  the  record  of  the  divine  struggle  in  behalf  of 
the  soul  of  man,  the  authoritative  literature  of  the  holy 
life. 


HiiiinnmritmiTiiimnmmiimmnunuiimiiHiimiuiiiminMii^ 

III     April       Two  Poems :    By  Thomas  Curtis  Clark 


iiuiiuiimiimuiimimtimnnnmiiimimimi 


Spring  Song 

WITH  my  ear  pressed  to  the  earth, 
Long  I  held  my  breath  and  listened, 
Till  the  last  snowy-flurry  fled, 
And  the  last  frost-blossom  glistened ; 
And  I  heard  it,  yes,  I  heard  it, 

Heard  her  voice  of  mirth  and  laughter; 
And  I  saw  her  tripping  toward  me 

With  her  rose-girls  coming  after — 
Spring,  the  queen  of  love  and  longing, 
With  her  nymphs  of  beauty  thronging. 

As  she  sped  along  the  path, 

Sunbeams  hastened  to  caress  her; 
And  the  gentle  winds,  long  prisoned, 

Vied,  impassioned,  to  possess  her; 
Violets,  forget-me-nots, 

Larkspurs  and  anemones, 
Sprang  from  every  spot  she  touched, 

And  the  waking  apple-trees 
Burst  again  in  tinted  glory 
Freed  from  Winter's  scepter  hoary. 


Revelation 

I  SAID  in  my  heart, 
My  lonely  heart, 
"All  love  is  dead"; 
But  behold !  a  friend 
Brought  a  wealth  of  cheer, 
And  gave  me  bread. 

I  said  in  my  heart, 
My  aching  heart, 

"God  sends  but  night"; 
Then  the  sun  shone  forth 
And  enwrapped  the  earth 

In  golden  light. 

I  said  in  my  heart, 
My  breaking  heart, 

That  death  is  king; 
And  behold !  the  earth 
Felt  the  south  wind's  warmth, 

And  lo!  'twas  spring! 

— From  Christian  Endeavor  World. 


A  Letter  to  A.  McLean 


My  Dear  Friend: — I  have  been 
reading  in  the  church  papers 
that  it  is  thirty-five  years  ago 
today  since  you  became  an  officer  of 
the  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 
That  is  a  long  time  for  continuous 
service  with  one  religious  organiza- 
tion, and  especially  in  such  a  period 
as  this  has  been.  I  have  been  read- 
ing that  no  other  officer  of  any  mis- 
sionary society  of  any  denomination 
has  served  so  long.  This  letter  is 
to  congratulate  you  upon  so  notable 
a  service  and  to  assure  you  that  it  is 
deeply  appreciated  by  many  of  us 
who  perhaps  do  not  take  pains  to 
tell  you  so.  No  doubt  you  have  long 
since  learned  to  find  comfort  through 
the  indirect  expressions  of  interest 
in  your  work  and  approval  of  it. 

At  this  time,  however,  on  so  nota- 
ble an  anniversary,  your  friends  will 
not  be  able  to  refrain  from  express- 
ing their  admiration  and  affection 
with  genuine  enthusiasm. 

*     *     * 

I  am  glad  I  have  had  the  privilege 
of  knowing  you  so  long.  It  has 
been  at  least  twenty-five  years  and 
I  remember  a  number  of  our  con- 
versations from  our  earliest  acquaint- 
ance. It  increases  my  affection  for 
you  that  those  conversations  were 
not  always  about  missions,  much  as 
we  were  interested  in  them.  Nor 
were  they  sure  to  be  on  religion  in 
any  of  its  phases.  It  was  an  aston- 
ishment to  me  to  see  an  old  bachelor 
make  up  with  the  children  the  way 
you  did,  and  it  was  very  reassuring 
to  know  what  a  variety  of  books 
you  bought  for  your  own  library, 
and  how  much  time  you  found  in 
your  busy  life  to  read  them.  Your 
tenacious  Scotch  mind  and  deep, 
warm  heart,  have  included  many  in- 
terests and  these  doubtless  have 
cushioned  your  soul  against  vicissi- 
tudes of  fortune  which  might  other- 
wise have  proved  too  violent. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  surprise 
and  a  certain  kind  flattery  I  felt 
once  when  you  took  me  into  your 
confidence  so  intimately.  The  sur- 
prise was  all  the  greater  because  you 
did  not  hesitate  nor  condescend  in 
doing  so,  in  spite  of  the  difference 
in  our  years  and  outlook.  We  were 
riding  from  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
to  Cincinnati.  You  were  inquiring 
about  my  experience  as  a  college 
professor  upon  which  work  I  had 
just  entered.  You  had  lately  been 
serving  as  president  of  a  college, 
supplying  that  position  temporarily 
without  giving  up  your  work  for 
the  missionary  society.  I  could  see 
how  attractive  the  academic  life  was 


By  Edward  Scribner  Ames 

to  you.  You  saw  its  opportunities 
for  moulding  youth  to  noble  lives 
and  you  also  appreciated  its  com- 
panionships. The  quiet  fascination 
of  those  cloistered  halls  was  strong 
upon  you.  But  at  the  same  time 
there  flamed  up  in  your  conversa- 
tion the  passion  for  the  mighty  mis- 
sionary enterprise'  with  which  you 
had  become  so  familiar. 

I  have  always  been  glad  you  kept 
on  with  the  administration  of  the 
missionary  society  and  I  have  had 
far  more  confidence  in  your  direc- 
tion of  its  affairs  just  because  I 
knew  your  interests  were  so  numer- 
ous and  diverse.  The  books  and 
addresses  you  have  written  could 
not  have  been  produced  by  a  man 
who  was  entirely  absorbed  in  rais- 
ing money  or  in  disposing  of  prob- 
lems on  the  field.  I  like  to  think 
you  will  write  still  more  now  that 
you  are  in  possession  of  all  these 
years  of  rich  and  vivid  experience 
and  observation. 


You  certainly  have  had  enough 
discouragements  during  these  thirty- 
five  years,  but  your  knowledge  of 
history  has  enabled  you  to  see  that 
real  progress  has  been  made  and 
that  there  is  a  gathering  momentum 
in  your  work.  The  rate  of  increase 
of  gifts  to  missions  and  of  adherents 
to  the  cause  is  of  greater  importance 
than  total  results  to  date. 

It  is  comforting,  too,  that  those 
members  of  churches  who  know 
most  about  missions  and  mission- 
aries are  the  most  active  supporters 
of  them.  If  this  work  were  so  use- 
less and  impractical  as  some  critics 
think,  one  wonders  why  the  mis- 
sionaries themselves,  who  have  the 
best  opportunity  to  know  the  facts, 
should  continue  loyal  to  it.  If  they 
are  deeply  unhappy  in  their  work, 
and  really  skeptical  about  its  value, 
why  do  they  return  to  the  foreign 
country  when  they  are  once  allowed 
to  come  home  on  furlough?  They 
are  free  to  resign  at  any  time.  It 
is  also  true  of  the  churches  at  home 
that  those  which  do  the  most  for 
the  enterprise,  and  come  into  closest 
contact  with  all  its  problems  and 
projects  are  the  most  devoted  to  it. 

This  does  not  mean,  I  am  sure 
you  would  agree,  that  they  are  blind 
to  the  defects  and  limitations  of  the 
system.  They  are  discriminating 
and  judicious  and  yet  loyal.  The 
success  of  missions  has  forcibly  il- 
lustrated the  interaction  of  effort  and 
results.  The  results  have  stimulated 
interest  and  increased  the  contribu- 
tions.   The  more  generous  gifts  have 


brought  larger  and  finer  achieve- 
ments, and  these  in  turn  continue  to 
bring  ampler  supplies  of  money  and 

workers. 

*     *     * 

I  like  to  hear  you  tell  about  those 
modern  apostles,  William  Carey  and 
Adoniram  Judson  in  India,  Robert 
Morrison  in  China,  Robert  Moffat 
and  David  Livingstone  in  Africa, 
and  John  Coleridge  Patterson  and 
John  Hunt  among  the  South  Sea 
Islands. 

I  do  not  wonder  any  more  that 
you  have  a  peculiar  explosive  man- 
ner of  public  speech.  You  used  to 
almost  frighten  me  when  I  first  heard 
you.  After  you  had  been  speaking 
in  your  low,  earnest,  conversational 
manner,  your  tone  would  suddenly 
explode  with  a  shout  which  was  at 
once  a  cry  of  pathos  and  a  command 
of  duty,  a  burst  of  indignation  and  a 
defiance  of  the  world.  I  have  seen 
your  hearers  startled  and  shaken  by 
your  moral  challenge.  I  havecome 
to  believe  that  this  eccentricity  of 
your  speech  was  really  an  index  to 
your  soul's  deepest  moods.  You 
were  yourself  so  full  of  enthusiasm 
and  anxiety  and  conviction  concern- 
ing the  cause  of  missions  that  it  was 
difficult  for  you  to  talk  long  to  an 
ordinary  audience  without  a  sort  of 
subconscious  earthquake  at  the 
thought  of  their  indifference  and  in- 
action. I  can  imagine  that  the  sight 
of  expensive  feathers  on  ladies'  hats 
and  jewels  on  their  fingers  acted 
like  irritants  to  your  soul  without 
your  always  being  aware  of  the 
source  of  your  discomfort. 
*     *     * 

I  notice  that  when  you  make  out 
that  graphic  poster  of  how  Ameri- 
cans spend  their  money  you  never 
fail  to  mention  millinery  and  jew- 
elry. Seventeen  millions  for  missions 
and  ninety  millions  for  milli- 
nery; seventeen  millions  for  mis- 
sions and  eight  hundred  millions  for 
jewelry  and  plate.  More  for  chew- 
ing gum  than  for  the  cause  of  Christ 
among  the  heathen,  and  seventy  dol- 
lars for  tobacco  for  every  dollar  giv- 
en to  missions.  I  do  not  wonder  any 
longer  that  you  cried  out  in  a  kind 
of  horrified  and  involuntary  appeal, 
for  you  were  thinking  of  the  great 
heroes  of  a  sacrificial  cause  over 
against  the  easy  comfort  and  self- 
indulgence  of  the  Christians  at 
home.  I  see  that  you  have  now 
added  automobiles  to  your  poster 
and  it  reads  for  last  year  seventeen 
millions  for  missions  and  five  hun- 
dred millions  for  autos,  or  thirty 
dollars  to  one. 


April  26,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


13 


It  used  to  puzzle  me  to  under- 
stand how  you  could  endure  so  much 
indifference  in  your  own  churches 
as  you  traveled  all  over  this  coun- 
try trying  to  interest  them  in  for- 
eign missions.  I  remember  how  you 
felt  at  the  close  of  an  Endeavor 
meetnig  one  Sunday  night.  The  pas- 
tor announced  that  you  would  speak 
at  the  evening  service  immediately 
following  on  world  wide  evangel- 
ism. But  as  you  described  it,  "The 
young  people,  who  had  just  pledged 
themselves  anew  to  God,  took  their 
wraps  and  paired  off  and  left  the 
house  and  did  not  come  back  to  the 
service." 

At  such  a  moment  I  think  your 
soul  must  have  turned  on  its  bear- 
ings with  a  hard  grinding  friction 
which  would  have  quite  overcome 
you  if  you  had  not  been  able  to  re- 
member William  Carey  and  David 
Livingstone. 

*     *     * 

I  congratulate  you  on  having 
worked  so  faithfully  all  these  years 
in  the  presence  of  all  the  need  which 
the  world  presented  to  your  imagina- 
tion, and  in  the  face  of  all  the  half 
heartedness  of  nominal  Christians 
around  you,  without  losing  your 
spirit  or  your  vision.  You  now  have 
the  rare  privilege  of  being  able  to 
see  the  fruits  of  your  labors.  Some 
of  the  men  and  women  who  went 
out  to  foreign  shores  under  your 
inspiration  did  not  live  to  see  any- 
thing accomplished  by  their  efforts. 

When  you  entered  the  service  of 
the  Foreign  Society  there  were  no 
missionaries  in  heathen  countries. 
There  were  only  six  employed  and 
they  were  on  the  American  conti- 
nent or  in  Europe.  Today  the  so- 
ciety has  workers  in  China,  Japan, 
Africa,  and  Tibet.  Tibet  is  the  last 
land  in  the  world  to  become  acces- 
sible to  missionaries  and  you  have 


seen  your  workers  become  the  pio- 
neers there. 

The  entrance  of  the  missionary 
spirit  into  the  churches  has  lifted 
them  out  of  much  of  their  old  theol- 
ogy and  brought  them  into  vital  re- 
lation wtih  more  human  and  more 
urgent  problems.  It  has  given  you 
opportunity  to  see  the  futility  of 
abstract  discussions  of  religion. 

I  have  been  impressed  by  the  way 
in  which  you  have  sometimes  stood 
apart  from  little  groups  of  minis- 
ters at  conventions  when  they  were 
absorbed  in  some  speculative  or  in- 
cidental question.  There  always 
seemed  to  me  to  hover  about  you 
the  atmosphere  of  things  more  im- 
portant and  far  more  urgent.  It  is 
interesting  to  know  that  the  mis- 
sionaries in  China  and  India  and 
Africa  are  compelled  by  the  great- 
ness of  the  practical  demands  upon 
them  to  relinquish  much  of  their 
doctrinal  inheritance  and  make  re- 
adjustment of  their  thinking  in  keep- 
ing with  greater  efficiency  in  minis- 
tering to  desperate  human  needs. 

■i*       *P       H" 

You  have  lived  to  see  what  is  per- 
haps the  most  significant  develop- 
ment of  all,  the  tendency  of  the 
native  Christians  to  establish  their 
own  congregations  and  to  employ 
their  own  native  pastors.  That  is 
notably  true  in  Japan  and  to  some 
extent  in  India.  I  have  just  read  in 
one  of  your  latest  bulletins  this  note : 

"The  church  at  Harda,  India,  has  be- 
come self-supporting  and  has  called  a 
Hindu  pastor  from  Damoh.  This  church 
has  made  contributions  during  the  year 
to  their  own  Indian  Missionary  Asso- 
ciation, the  Tract  and  Bible  Society,  and 
the  work  of  our  Indian  brethren  at  Kota, 
India.  The  church  has  fifteen  Sunday 
schools,  with  an  enrollment  of  972. 
There  are  five  evangelists  working 
through  this  church  for  the  district." 

There  will  thus  gradually  come 
about  a  better  understanding  of  the 


native  faiths  and  of  the  relation 
Christianity  to  them.  Perhaps  much 
finer  and  more  adequate  types  <a 
Christianity  will  develop  in  the 
orient  than  the  world  has  yet  seen. 
Possibly  in  a  few  generations  the 
native  scholars  from  these  very 
countries  will  bring  back  to  the  west 
more  profound  and  more  illuminat- 
ing interpretations  of  Christianity 
than  have  ever  been  known.  It  is 
a  great  thing  to  have  stood  so  near 
to  the  heart  of  this  wonderful  de- 
velopment as  you  have  done.  Be 
assured  that  the  future  will  appre- 
ciate what  you  have  done  better  than 
any  of  us  now  living  can  do. 
*     *     * 

It  is  a  sign  of  popular  favor  when 
the  poets  begin  to  take  up  a  cause 
and  it  is  with  pleasure  that  I  find 
these  lines  from  our  Illinois  poet, 
Vachel  Lindsay,  whose  sister  is 
working  in  China  under  your  Board : 

The  World  Shall  Be  Reborn 

An  endless  line  of  splendor, 

These  troops  with  heaven  for  home! 
With  creeds  they  go  from  Scotland, 

With  incense  go  from  Rome. 
These  in  the  name  of  Jesus 

Against  the  dark  gods  stand; 
They  gird  the  earth  with  valor, 

They  heed  the  King's  command. 

Onward  the  line  advances, 

Shaking  the  hills  with  power; 
Swaying  the  hidden  demons, 

The  lions  that  devour. 
No  bloodshed  in  the  wrestling, 

But  souls,  newborn,  arise; 
The  nations  growing  kinder, 

The  child  heart  growing  wise. 

What  is  the  final  ending? 

The  issue,  can  we  know? 
Will  Christ  outlive  Mohammed? 

Will  Kali's  altars  go? 
This  is  our  faith  tremendous, 

Our  wild  hope  who  shall  scorn? 
That  in  the  name  of  Jesus 

The  world  shall  be  reborn. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Edward  S.  Ames. 


TtMIHIMIIMUItMIHIINIIIIIMIIIIItltlllHItlllllHIMIIIIIIHUIUHIIMII Milium [  1 1 1 11 1 1 1 11 1  Ml  I  i  I  M  I  IIHl  1 1 1 II 1 1 1  n  11 1 1 1 1  III  lllU!  1 1  m  I  HI  1 1 1 1 1 1]  ll  11(11  II II  lllll  Mlllllll  1111 II  III  II II 11111111111 IIII1M1IIII1I 1 1(  1 1 1 11 II M II  (f  i  n  f  1 II M I II M II 1 1 1 1  HI  M  H 11 1  lit  1 1 U 1 1 U 1 1 M I  HI  I II II  LI  II  111  1 1  till  II 1 1 1 H 1 1  DIM  M II 1  llll  11 1  Ul  lilt  1  Ml  1 1 II  t  Ullllt  t  IUII1I  IllUni  MUII  j  1 1 1 1 1  Hilt  llllll  t  TUTIT  >t 


A  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

I  would  be  true,  for  there  are  those  who  trust  me ; 
I  would  be  pure,  for  there  are  those  who  care; 
I  would  be  strong,  for  there  is  much  to  suffer; 
I  would  be  brave,  for  there  is  much  to  dare. 
I  would  be  friend  to  all — the  foe,  the  friendless; 
I  would  be  giving,  and  forget  the  gift; 
I  would  be  humble,  for  I  know  my  weakness; 
I  would  look  up,  and  laugh,  and  love,  and  lift. 

— Howard  Arnold  Walter. 


iTniiiiiiimMiniiHiHMiiiitmitiiiniiiiiiiimiiimimiiiimmi iiimiiiiiiiiiimiiimmiiiiiiiiiiiilinilllllllllllllimuillllHiitilllil miiiijiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiMiiiiiiiitimmim.iiiNiiumiiimuniimiiNiiimim 


Illllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilli 


The  Larger  Christian  World 

A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE  By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 

iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiM 


Will  Have  a 
Presbyterian  Day 

There  is  a  movement  on  among 
the  Presbyterians  to  hold  a  Presby- 
terian day  in  each  church  some- 
time during  the  week  of  May  20  to 
27.  Dr.  William  Chalmers  Covert 
will  prepare  the  program  for  the 
churches  which  will  be  largely  in 
the  way  of  presenting  facts  about  or- 
ganized Presbyterian  agencies. 

Dr.  Jowett  Will 
Leave  America 

Dr.  J.  H.  Jowett,  who  has  had 
such  a  successful  career  in  New 
York  has  finally  decided  to  go  back 
to  the  land  of  his  birth.  The  pres- 
sure there  even  took  the  form  of  a 
personal  invitation  to  return  from 
the  king.  He  will  be  in  America 
about  a  year  more  when  he  will  be- 
gin the  pastorate  of  Westminster 
Chapel  in  London.  This  is  the  pul- 
pit vacated  by  Rev.  G.  Campbell 
Morgan.  Dr.  Jowett  is  writing  for 
several  American  papers  but  it  is 
stated  that  some  of  this  ministry 
will  continue  after  his  return  to 
England. 

Billy  Sunday 
Meets  Critics 

The  New  York  campaign  of  Billy 
Sunday  was  preceded  by  consider- 
able criticism  of  his  methods  in  se- 
curing the  "personal"  offerings  at 
the  close  of  his  meetings.  Mr.  Sun- 
day has  met  this  criticism  squarely 
by  offering  to  give  away  every  cent 
he  gets  in  New  York  to  the  Red 
Cross  and  to  the  Army  and  Navy 
departments  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  This 
generous  facing  of  a  real  problem 
has  won  many  friends  for  him  in  the 
metropolitan  city. 

Unite  Under  Baptist 
Leadership 

Wolsey,  S.  D.  had  a  small  Metho- 
dist and  an  equally  small  Presby- 
terian church  and  they  sought  union. 
This  has  been  accomplished  under 
the  ministry  of  a  Baptist  minister. 
It  is  proposed  to  reconstruct  one  of 
the  houses  of  worship  into  a  modern 
religious  plant. 

Will  Honor 
Martin  Luther 

The  Presbyterians  are  going  to  do 
their  utmost  to  make  this  year 
memorable  as  the  four  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  Protestant  refor- 


mation. The  General  Assembly 
committee  has  sent  out  to  all  the 
ministers  of  the  denomination  an  ap- 
peal that  a  sermon  on  Luther  should 
be  preached.  A  bibliography  of  the 
reformation  literature  is  appended  to 
the  letter.  The  Presbyterians  have 
prepared  a  paper-bound  edition  of 
Boehmer's  Life  of  Luther,  which 
sells  for  twenty-five  cents,  and  this 
little  book  will  be  circulated  widely 
in   Presbyterian   churches. 

"Ad"  Men  Welcome 
Preachers 

The  Associated  Advertising  Clubs 
of  the  World  will  meet  in  St.  Louis 
June  3  to  7  and  the  church  pub- 
licity section  will  be  a  feature. 
Preachers  are  welcome  at  all  the 
sessions.  W.  B.  Ashley  is  secretary 
of  the  church  publicity  section. 

Christian 
Faith  Healing 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
has  done  most  in  producing  a  counter 
movement  to  Christian  Science. 
The  Rev  H.  B.  Wilson  has  inaugu- 
rated the  Christian  healing  move- 
ment. The  society  of  the  Nazarene 
represents,  he  says,  a  movement  to 
revive  and  quicken  simple  faith  in 
Christians  in  every  locality  and  in 
every  Christian  congregation.  It  is 
founded  on  the  belief  in  our  Lord's 
continued  interest  in  the  health  of 
the  body,  as  well  as  the  salvation 
of  the  soul ;  and  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  about  a  restoration  of  the 
gift  of  healing  universally  practiced 
in  the  early  Church.  It  aims  to 
deepen  the  spiritual  life  and  impart 
strength  to  body  and  soul  by 
prayer  and  intercession.  "An 
earnest  appeal  is  made,  therefore, 
for  at  least  two  clergymen  in  each 
city,  who  will  be  willing  to  extend 
such  ministry,  sympathetically  and 
in  faith,  as  it  may  be  sought  by  the 
faithful  who  appeal  for  it.  There 
are  lambs  and  sheep  of  the  flock  de- 
siring to  be  fed.  What  can  be  said 
when  the  shepherd's  hands  are 
empty?" 

Community  Loyalty 
Inculcated 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
in  the  village  of  Roscoe,  111.,  has 
found  a  good  idea.  This  church  re- 
cently held  a  Sunday  evening  serv- 
ice in  behalf  of  community  loyalty, 
and      representatives      of      lodges, 


schools  and  other  uplift  organiza- 
tions were  present  and  spoke.  Some 
of  the  subjects  discussed  were:  "In- 
fluences that  Break  up  the  Com- 
munity," "Value  of  Loyalty  to  the 
Churches,"  "Business  Ethics,"  and 
"The  Larger  Brotherhood."  A  com- 
munity conference  on  a  larger  scale 
is  being  planned  for  the  early  sum- 
mer, and  will  be  held  under  the 
leadership  of  the  church. 

Chicago  Students 
Study  Neighborhood 

Theological  study  is  no  longer  a 
matter  of  dry-as-dust  libraries.  Mc- 
Cormick  Theological  Seminary,  Chi- 
cago, represents  the  modern  ten- 
dency to  bring  theological  students 
face  to  face  with  reality.  The  stu- 
dents have  done  careful  research 
work  in  their  own  community.  They 
find  two  Presbyterian  churches  with 
members  in  one  house  and  within 
a  block  four  of  these  churches  had 
members.  Under  the  direction  of 
Rev.  W.  Clyde  Smith  they  have 
studied  118  blocks  and  the  most 
serious  problem  met  with  was  the 
overlapping  of  the  churches.  The 
students  found  thirty-two  nationali- 
ties and  only  fifty-two  per  cent  of 
the  population  was  American.  The 
percentage  of  Americans  in  the 
whole  city  is  less  than  25  per  cent. 

A  Home  Mission 
Boat 

Mission  boats  are  familiar  in  the 
foreign  field  but  the  Baptists  have 
established  such  a  boat  in  the  Hood 
River  country  of  Washington.  Ten 
Sunday  schools  are  under  the  charge 
of  the  captain  missionary.  A  circu- 
lating library  is  at  the  disposal  of  all 
the  schools. 

Invites  Pastors  to 
Yale  Lectures 

Ministers  of  the  country,  par- 
ticularly those  living  in  Connecti- 
cut, are  invited  by  Yale  School  of 
Religion  to  attend  the  annual  con- 
vocation of  alumni  and  ministers, 
April  16  to  19.  Dr.  Arthur  J. 
Brown  will  lecture  on  missions, 
Bishop  W.  F.  McDowell  on  "Min- 
isters and  Jesus  Christ,"  Dr.  Wal- 
ter Rauschenbusch  on  "A  Theol- 
ogy for  the  Social  Gospel,"  Dr.  H. 
O.  Pritchard  on  "Some  Weak- 
nesses of  Modern  Preaching"  and 
numerous  other  leaders  on  vital 
themes  of  the  day. 


1    Social  Interpretations 

liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


!"::-.':':i':''<::-:;:i^v'::'^ 

nirai&ral 

MHHBH 

1        ! 

f|%  ;    'ShMB 

it 

91 

Overwork  in 
War  Time 

THE  federal  government  has 
suspended  all  rules  regulating 
hours  of  work  in  navy  yards, 
arsenals  and  other  federal  works. 
There  is  a  tendency  to  demand  the 

suspension  of 
all  those  gains 
i  n  industrial 
legislation  that 
register  pro- 
gress for  the 
human  factor 
i  n  industry. 
England  d  i  d 
this  along  with 
her  other  emer- 
gency methods 
and  now  finds 
that  it  was  a  gross  mistake. 
It  has  been  well  verified  by  inves- 
tigations that  there  is  a  limit  beyond 
which  the  working  man  cannot  go 
and  keep  up  his  working  strength. 
It  was  the  recognition  of  this,  by 
the  argument  of  Louis  Brandeis,  that 
led  the  supreme  court  to  reverse  all 
precedents  and  overthrow  the  sacred 
"right  of  contract"  theory  and  make 
laws  limiting  hours  and  fixing  mini- 
mum wages  constitutionally. 

The  war  has  suspended  all  the 
good  work  Lloyd-George  was  do- 
ing for  social  progress  in  England; 
the  war  method  is  itself  a  denial  of 
social  progress  in  that  it  turns  the 
dial  back  for  democracy.  To  call 
an  army  "democratic"  is  at  the  best 
a  relative  use  of  the  term,  meaning 
that  it  is  less  autocratic  than  the 
average  army.  Democracy  is  large- 
ly suspended  in  England  and  France 
while  the  war  is  on  and  such  demo- 
cratic leaders  as  Lloyd-George  and 
Briand  do  not  hesitate  to  say  so  but 
promise  its  resumption  on  a  grander 
scale  as  a  result  of  the  war  sacrifices 
of  the"  masses  and  the  overthrow  of 
autocracy  throughout  the  world. 

Our  army  will  necessarily  be  gov- 
erned autocratically  simply  because 
there  is  no  other  way  to  make  an 
effective  fighting  force.  There  will 
also  be  an  unavoidable  intrusion  of 
social  caste  if  it  is  long  in  the  field 
or  camp,  because  not  even  the  most 
democratic  body  of  soldiers  can  pre- 
vent the  caste  lines  that  army  offi- 
cialdom brings.  But  there  is  no  ex- 
cuse for  the  suspension  of  democracy 
and  its  counterpart  in  social  progress 
in  our  civil  life  while  the  whole  na- 
tion is  not  under  such  duress  to  mili- 
tary expediency  as  are  England  and 
France.  To  seek  to  suspend  hu- 
manitarian laws,  call  it  traitorous  to 


argue  the  wage  question  and  put 
industry  under  a  military  regime  is 
not  required  in  this  war  by  this 
land. 

sjc         yfi         iff 

War 
Bread 

The  winter  wheat  is  only  three- 
fourths  a  crop  and  England  will 
commandeer  all  the  coming  Cana- 
dian crop,  the  main  supply  of  spring 
wheat.  With  wheat  selling  around 
the  unprecedented  price  of  $2.50  and 
up  per  bushel  it  is  time  to  talk  about 
"war  bread."  Dean  Waters  of  the 
Kansas  Agricultural  College  says 
that  raising  the  milling  from  73  per 
cent  to  81  per  cent  of  the  wheat 
would  add  18,000,000  barrels  of  flour 
per  year — and  it  would  be  better 
bread.  If  we  are  going  to  be  scien- 
tific in  our  efforts  to  conserve  food 
supplies  and  thus  evade  the  mis- 
takes of  England's  "blundering 
through"  and  meet  Germany  with 
anything  like  German  thoroughness 
and  foresight  we  will  begin  now  and 
not  only  add  to  the  output  from  the 
mills  in  this  manner  but  we  will, 
also  shut  up  every  brewery  and  dis- 
tillery in  the  land.  Every  year  there 
are  some  600,000,000  bushels  of  good 
food  producing  materials  turned  into 
drink;  it  is  thus  not  only  waste, 
from  food  standpoint,  but  worse  than 
waste  through  turning  food  values 
into  a  product  that  makes  for  in- 
efficiency both  industrially  and  so- 
cially. 

The  French  government  an- 
nounces, through  its  famous  posters, 
that  millions  are  being  saved  through 
the  curtailment  of  every  kind  of 
drinking  and  the  abolition  of  all 
strong  drinks.  Germany  has  done 
something  of  the  same  thing,  but 
Russia  and  Bulgaria  furnish  the 
most  striking  examples  of  this  kind 
of  fore-mindedness.  Little  Denmark 
is  the  latest  to  join  the  "bone-dry" 
prohibition  ranks.  It  will  be  diffi- 
cult to  accomplish  either  prohibition 
or  the  making  of  "war  bread" 
through  milling  operations  under 
our  federal  system,  but  federal  ac- 
tion plus  a  national  appeal  ought  to 
so  join  law  and  moral  forces  as  to 
bring  it  about. 

Another  needed  action  is  that  of 
fixing  prices  on  staples  that  run  into 
high  prices.  The  wheat  crop  has 
been  out  of  the  hands  of  the  pro- 
ducers for  months  and  not  one  cent 
has  been  added  to  the  cost  of  wheat 
in  the  meantime,  but  the  cost  of 
bread  is  climbing  alarmingly.  The 
increase  is  all  going  into  the  pock- 
ets of  millers  and  middlemen  and  the 


consumer  is  being  taxed  on  this  most 
necessary  article  of  diet  to  fatten 
the  purse  of  men  who  have  not  added 
a  penny  to  its  value  or  spent  a  penny 
to  produce  it. 

*     *     * 

Shall  We  Tax  Dives  or  the 
Man  With  the  Hoe? 

Frank  Vanderlip,  president  of  the 
largest  bank  in  the  United  States, 
protests  against  taxing  incomes  as  a 
means  of  raising  war  funds  and  ad- 
vises that  expenditures  be  taxed  in- 
stead. Mr.  "Dives"  Vanderlip  thinks 
that  taxing  the  precious  incomes  of 
men  with  millions  might  discourage 
industry  but  that  the  masses  need 
the  inhibition  of  taxation  to  keep 
them  from  prodigal  expenditures. 
Will  this  modern  Croesus  admit  that 
men  with  big  incomes  are  not  patri- 
otic enough  to  keep  business  going 
unless  they  can  see  their  regular 
cent-per-cent  on  the  balance  sheet? 
It  is  a  queer  twist  of  insight  that 
leads  a  big  business  man  to  ask  that 
the  expense  of  living  to  the  average 
family  among  his  fellow  countrymen 
be  raised  to  still  greater  heights  by 
the  artifice  of  taxation  while  the  bal- 
ance sheets  of  rich  men  are  left  un- 
touched. Mr.  Vanderlip  would  have 
us  believe  that  the  business  world  is 
a  sort  of  natural  complex  of  forces 
that  is  so  delicately  adjusted  that 
the  slightest  interference  will  unbal- 
ance it;  he  would  discount  all  those 
human  forces  that  so  deftly  mani- 
pulate business  as  to  make  success 
or  failure  according  to  the  ability  of 
the  business  man  and  the  efficiency 
of  the  system  or  organization. 

Let  us  away  with  this  artifice  and 
all  that  hides  behind  it.  If  big  busi- 
ness can  be  patriotic,  now  is  the 
time  to  show  it  and  for  it  to  ask 
that  the  burden  of  war  debt  be 
thrust  upon  its  shoulders.  The  rich 
can  give  of  their  surplus  and  pay 
it  all  without  missing  a  meal  or 
even  a  luxury;  the  masses  will  have 
no  luxuries  and  millions  will  miss 
many  of  the  comforts  and  even  the 
necessities  of  life.  Long  time  bonds 
put  the  burden  of  taxation  on  the 
producer.  A  tax  on  expenditures, 
in  form  of  tariffs  and  internal  reve- 
nue taxes,  puts  the  burden  on  the 
consumer  and  is  thus  a  tax  on  the 
very  right  to  live  itself.  War  time 
taxes  on  excess  incomes  takes  the 
cost  of  national  exigency  from  stored 
up  accumulations  and  their  imme- 
diate earning  power  and  thus  com- 
pels those  who  are  able  to  meet  the 
emergency  to  do  so.  It  is  the  only 
justly  human  way  to  do  it. 


16 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  26,  1917 


The  Sunday  School 


■ 


!!;;i:i::i!i!;i;:i:ii!i:ii!:!isii!i!S!iiiii!ii 


The  Honor  of  Serving 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
By  J.  R.  EWERS 


illOIlllllllM^^^  him   to  come.     He  served.     He  is 

great. 

Here  also  is  a  strong  word  of 
cheer  for  the  unappreciated  Mother 
in  the  grinding  duties  of  a  home. 
Here  is  a  word  of  cheer  for  the 
workman  who  seems  drudging  his 
life  out  in  the  mill.  The  minister 
also  takes  this  lesson  to  his  heart  in 
the  day  when  his  toil  seems  for 
naught.  And  here  also  is  the  man 
or  woman  who  has  been  faithfully 
working  in  the  church  ranks  for 
years,  but  no  recognition  has  come. 
The  honors  are  all  bestowed  else- 
where. The  fine  words  of  praise 
are  for  other  and  often  less  deserv-- 
ing  ears.  The  chief  seats  are  occu- 
pied by  others  seemingly  more 
favored.  But  wait,  some  day  the 
greatest  voice  in  the  universe  will 
say,  "Come  up  higher,  faithful  in? 
few  things,  I  make  thee  ruler."  Ini 
the  last  day  one  thing  alone  will  tell 
— service. 


"W" 


HOSOEVER  would  be 
■st  among  you,  shall  be 
servant  of  all."  We  have 
difficulty  in  seeing  that.  It  seems  to 
us  that  if  we  can  command  servants 

we  are  great. 
It  seems  to  us 
that  if  Ave  have 
many  working 
for  us  in  our 
offices,  a  chauf- 
fer driving  our 
limousine,  sev- 
e  r  a  1  maids 
keeping  the 
house  in  order, 
a  nurse  looking 
after  the  little 
tots,  a  lot  of  flunkies  dancing  about 
us  in  the  big  hotels,  porters  antici- 
pating our  every  want  in  Pullman 
cars,  a  pastor  coming  to  eat  out  of 
our  benevolent  hand,  and  a  hundred 
men  hanging  upon  our  philanthropic 
decisions — then  we  are  indeed  great. 
But  what  did  the  Teacher  say? 

Was  Jesus  wrong  in  his  judg- 
ment? "Here  is  a  doctor.  His  of- 
fices are  crowded,  not  with  people  to 
wait  upon  him,  but  with  the  people 
upon  whom  he  can  wait.  Recently 
a  doctor  said  to  me,  "I  cannot  re- 
member when  I  have  been  rested." 
He  is  a  servant.  His  brain,  his  skill, 
his  time  are  involved  in  his  service. 
His  home  is  neglected.  His  recrea- 
tion hours  are  cut  short.  But  he 
heals  thousands.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  know  of  a  lawyer  who  some 
years  ago  confessed  to  me  that  he 
made  fifty-five  dollars  in  a  whole 
year.  He  belonged  to  a  rich  New 
York  family  which  sent  him  through 
Harvard,  bought  him  a  house,  estab- 
lished him  in  offices,  gave  him  an 
allowance — he  had  everything  but 
clients!  Was  he  great?  His  wait- 
ing room  was  empty ;  his  mahogany 
desk  perfectly  in  order.  He  could 
play  golf  Monday,  fish  Tuesday,  go 
to  the  theatre  Wednesday,  visit  an- 
other city  Thursday,  entertain  a 
friend  all  day  Friday,  and  .Saturday 
go  away  for  a  week-end  to  "rest  up." 
If  Froebel  was  a  great  teacher  it 
was  because  he  served.  If  Lloyd- 
George  is  the  greatest  Englishman 
alive  it  is  because  he  serves  most. 


*This  article  is  based  on  the  Interna- 
tional Uniform  Lesson  for  May  6,  "Jesus 
the  Servant  of  All."  Scripture,  John  13: 
1-17. 


If  the  Mayo  brothers  are  great  sur- 
geons it  is  because  they  give  relief 
to  so  many  people.  If  R.  A.  Long 
is  a  great  business  man  it  is  because 
he  is  willing  to  give  a  million  to  his 
church  in  one  shot.  If  Abe  Cory 
and  Rafe  Miller  are  great  preachers 
it  is  because  they  are  firing  the 
hearts  of  Disciples  to  generosity.  A 
visit  to  Westminster  Abbey  con- 
vinced me  of  this  truth.  Some  way 
society  does  not  build  monuments 
to  selfish  men  and  women.  Wesley 
is  there — I  know  why.  Ruskin  is 
there — he  gave  his  fortune  to  the 
poor.  Livingstone  is  there — you 
can  tell  why.  Gladstone  is  there. 
Soldiers,  statesmen,  preachers,  mis- 
sionaries, poets,  philanthropists — 
those  who  flung  away  their  lives 
and  the  world  found  them — such  are 
remembered. 

*     *     * 

What  a  beautiful  picture:  Jesus 
washing  his  disciples'  feet.  He 
washes  the  feet  of  John — anyone 
could  do  that ;  the  feet  of  Peter — not 
a  difficult  task ;  the  feet  of  Judas !  ah, 
there  is  the  test,  to  wash  the  feet 
of  that  scheming,  sneering,  cynical 
disciple.  I  remember  in  the  Passion 
Play  at  Oberamergau  how  tears 
filled  my  eyes  as  Jesus  was  repre- 
sented washing  his  disciples'  feet. 
What  does  it  all  mean?  Why,  that 
you  and  I  must  greatly  serve.  Here 
is  a  Sunday  school  teacher  about  to 
give  up  because  she  is  unappre- 
ciated ;  the  boys  talk  all  the  time ; 
they  fidget  and  trade  stamps  in 
class;  their  parents  don't  seem  to 
care.  What  comfort  this  lesson 
bears.  Some  day  that  whole  class 
will  join  the  church.  They  are 
listening  and  watching  all  the  time. 
I  heard  a  Cleveland  man  tell  how 
he  accepted  a  class  of  eleven  boys 
in  a  distant  mission  church.  For  a 
full  year  never  more  than  two  boys 
showed  up  at  any  one  time.  Yet  he 
didn't  miss  a  night,  nor  a  good  les- 
son. At  the  end  of  the  year  the 
whole  eleven  came  one  night  and 
confessed  that  they  had  been  trying 
him  out.  Every  other  teacher  had 
failed  them.  They  endorsed  him  be- 
cause he  had  the  nerve  and  grace  to 
stick.  Those  boys  were  his  from 
that  hour.  There  were  many  nights 
when  those  boys  hid  behind  trees  to 
see  if  their  teacher  had  the  stuff  in 


A  two-room  house  on  wheels  is  used 
by  a   Kentucky   school   official   to   teach 
domestic  science  all  over  the  rural  dis- 
trict of  which  he  is  superintendent. 
*     *     * 

The  Japanese  Missionary  Society  of 
the  Pacific  Coast,  known  as  Dendo  Dan, 
is  planning  to  take  up  work  soon  among 
the  Hindus  of  California. 

Kent  and  Madsen  Maps 

A  New  Series  of  Historical 
Maps  a 

For   Sunday  Schools,  Bible  Classes  and  Individ- 
ual Students 


Because  of  the  combined  attractiveness,  ac- 
curacy, adaptability,  compactness  and 
cheapness  of  these  maps,  the  series  should 
find  a  place  promptly  in  the  classrooms  of 
every  progressive  Sunday  School.         © 

The  maps,  both  in  detail  of  drawing  and  coloringr, 
are  superb.  Size,  about  17x25  inches.  Not 
sold  separately.  Complete  set  mounted  on 
wooden  roller,  to  fit  on  music  stand  tripod. 
The  low  price  of  $5.00  includes  maps,  tripod, 
boxing  and  delivery  charges  in  continental 
United  States. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

700  East  Fortieth  Street, 

CHICAGO 


April  26,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


17 


ItJIIIIIItllllltfJilllMIIHIIIIIIIIIIIMMIIIIIlrlllHIIIIIItlllllltllllMlllllllllllimMltfllllllllllMllllllllllllMtllllilllltllllllllll 

Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage 

By  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON  ' 

iTiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiuiiiiniiiiitiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiitiiiitiiHiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiilii 

The  Unopened  Window 

NOW  there  came  to  me  a  man 
with  a  Sad  Countenance,  and  he 
said,  O  Safed,  thy  words  of  wisdom 
are  known  to  all  men,  and  thy  vir- 
tue exceedeth  even  thy  wisdom ; 
may  thy  days  be  long  among  men. 

And  I  heard  him,  and  I  answered 
not ;  for  the  man  who  cometh  unto 
me  with  a  Little  Too  Much  Taffy 
and  Then  Some  hath  an  Axe  to 
Grind.  And  I  said,  If  thou  hast 
Business,  say  on;  for  Time  Passeth. 

And  he  said,  O  Safed,  I  have  a 
neighbor,  and  he  is  an  Undesirable 
Citizen.  His  house  joineth  hard  un- 
to mine  upon  the  North,  and  he  an- 
noyeth  me  continually.  He  and  his 
Kids  keep  up  a  continual  Rough 
House,  which  greatly  annoyeth  us. 
And  he  hath  Daughters,  and  there 
come  to  see  them  Young  Men,  who 
sit  with  them  on  the  Porch  till  Any 
Old  Time  at  Night,  and  they  Laugh 
and  Raise  Ned  so  that  sleep  is 
driven  from  our  eyes,  and  slumber 
from  our  eyelids.  Yea,  and  when 
we  look  that  way  we  see  things  that 
Vex  our  Righteous  Souls. 

And  I  said,  Are  they  Immoral? 
If  so  thou  mayest  call  the  Police. 

And  he  said,  They  are  not  what 
you  might  call  Immoral,  for  my  wife 
hath  watched  them  much  through 
the  Window ;  she  hath  a  place  where 
.she  sitteth  and  .watcheth  while  she 
Darneth  Stockings ;  yet  are  they 
noisy;  yea,  they  are  the  Limit. 

And  I  said  unto  him,  How  many 
windows  hath  thy  house? 

And  he  said,  My  house  standeth 
Foursquare,  and  it  hath  windows  to- 
ward the  North,  the  South,  the  East 
and  the  West. 

And  I  said  unto  him,  Move  thou 
over  to  the  South  side  of  thy  House ; 
thou  shalt  have  more  Sleep  and  Sun- 
shine. Yea,  moreover,  speak  thou 
unto  thy  wife  that  she  Darn  her 
Stockings  where  she  hath  less  to  see. 

And  he  went  away  angry. 

But  I  counted  it  among  my  Good 
Deeds. 

And  I  meditated  thereon,  and  I 
considered  that  there  are  many  peo- 
ple who  live  on  the  North  Side  of 
their  own  Souls;  yea,  they  curse, 
God  that  they  hear  the  racket  and 
are  sad;  and  behold,  their  South 
Windows  are  unopened. 

PRAYER  OF  A  CLUB  WOMAN 

"O  Lord,  as  I  stand  at  the  beginning 
of  another  club  year,  teach  me  anew 
the  meaning  of  friendliness,  fellow- 
ship, kindness  and  love. 

"Show  me  my  duty  of  usefulness, 
not  according  to  my  desires,  but  ac- 


cording to  my  powers.  May  I  be  an 
inspiration  of  strength  to  those  whose 
lives  are  touched  by  mine. 

"May  I  not  arouse  in  any  woman 
the  thought  of  fear,  discord,  hate  or 
revenge.  Keep  me  from  prejudice, 
which  hinders  and  makes  afraid. 

"Let  me  not  judge  any  woman  by 
trivial  standards  but  by  a  broader 
vison  which  shall  give  just  due  to  her 
untiring  efforts  to  throw  a  charm  upon 
the  homely  and  familiar  duties ;  to  her 
courage ;  to  her  faithfulness  in  little 
things,  and  to  her  silent  acceptance  of 
the  hard  facts  of  life. 

"Make  me  considerate  and  liberal- 
minded,  and  grant  that  I  may  learn  the 
kindness  of  silence  when  distress  and 
defeat  have  humiliated  those  with 
whom  I  am  associated. 

"Keep  me  steadfast,  O  Lord,  when 
the  choking  dust  of  ambitious  office- 
seeking  blinds  my  ideals  of  justice  and 
truth. 

"Heavenly  Father,  teach  me  to 
recognize  the  responsibility  I  share  in 
the  universal  sisterhood  of  this  great 
nation,  and  strengthen  me  for  life's 
finest  duties  that  I  may  fill  my  place 
nobly  in  Thy  wondrous  plan.  Amen." 
— Edith  Markham,  in  Club  Woman's 
Magazine. 


Where  His  Faith  Broke  Down 

The  late  Jiishop  Hare  once  told 
about  a  Philadelphia  business  man  of 
skeptical  tendencies  who  said  to  him : 
"My  dear  Mr.  Hare,  I  do  not  refuse 
to  believe  in  the  story  of  the  ark.  I 
can  accept  the  ark's  enormous  size,  its 
odd  shape,  and  the  vast  number  of 
animals  it  contained,  but,  when  I  am 
asked,  my  dear  Doctor,  to  believe  that 
the  children  of  Israel  carried  this  un- 
wieldy thing  for  forty  years  in  the 
wilderness — well,  there  I'm  bound  to 
say,  my  faith  breaks  down." — Chris- 
tian Register. 


"f  wish  you  every  success  in  the  pro- 
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The   Most   Beautiful  Hymnal  Ever   Produced  by   the    American  "  Church 


HYMNS  OF  THE 
UNITED  CHURCH 

The  Disciples  Hymnal 

Charles  Clayton  Morrison  and  Herbert  L.  Willed 
Editors 


Contains  all  the  great  hymns  which 
have  become  fixed  in  the  affections 
of  the  Church  and  adds  thereto  three 
distinctive  features: 

HYMNS  OF  SOCIAL  SERVICE 
HYMNS  OF    CHRISTIAN    UNITY 
HYMNS  OF  THE  INNER  LIFE 

These  three  features  give  this  new 
hymnal  a  modernness  of  character 
and  a  vitality  not  found  in  any  other 
book.     This  hymnal  is  alive! 

It  sings  the  same  gospel  that  is 
being  preached  in  modern  evan- 
gelical pulpits. 

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THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  26,  1917 


irJ!IlI!M!ll!!llll!l!!ll!lllii!illI!llillllll!IIIIIIII!l 


is 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


Son  of  Alexander  Campbell  in 
Dying  Condition 

William  Campbell,  the  only  surviving 
son  of  Alexander  Campbell,  was  taken 
ill  on  Easter  Sunday  at  his  home  at 
Evanston,  111.  His  physicians  hold  forth 
no  hope  for  his  recovery  and  his  demise 
is  to  be  expected  at  an  early  date.  He 
has  been  a  loyal  attendant  in  the  Evans- 
ton  church  and  kept  the  memory  of  his 
father  alive  among  all  his  friends.  In 
his  possession  are  many  priceless  me- 
mentoes of  his  father's  life.  In  his  few 
conscious  moments  he  is  inquiring  about 
the  new  members  of  the  Evanston 
church  and  about  his  old  home  at  Wells- 
burg,  W.  Va.,  which  he  had  expected  to 
visit  in  May. 

Disciple  Young  People  Wanted  at 
Lake  Geneva,  Wis. 

The  Lake  Geneva  (Wis.)  Fellowship 
has  set  as  its  aim  for  this  year  "Fifty 
Young  People  from  the  Disciples,"  and 
Howard  Spangler,  of  Cleveland,  O.,  and 
Elva  L.  Abbott,  of  Chicago,  form  a  com- 
mittee to  promote  the  success  of  this 
worthy  plan.  Lake  Geneva^  forms  an 
ideal  place  for  a  summer  outing,  and  in 
addition  a  part  of  each  day  is  devoted  to 
study  and  conferences  on  church  work, 
Sunday  school  work,  missions,  etc.  This 
year  our  mission  boards  will  be  repre- 
sented by  Emory  Ross,  missionary  to 
Liberia;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  P.  Hedges,  of 
Bolenge,  Africa;  Miss  Myrta  Pearson, 
under  appointment  for  the  Congo;  Sec- 
retary Bert  Wilson,  foreign  secretary, 
and  Robert  McQuary,  assistant  foreign 
secretary.  This  is  the  strongest  repre- 
sentation of  missionary  leaders  ever 
gathered  together  at  the  lake.  If  you 
are  interested  write  to  Howard  Span- 
gler, Euclid  Avenue  Christian  Church, 
Cleveland,  O.,  or  Elva  L.  Abbott,  Met- 
ropolitan Christian  Church,  Chicago. 

Baxter  Waters  Makes  Record  in 
Missouri  Church 

Baxter  Waters,  who  is  now  taking  up 
his  new  work  at  West  End  Church,  At- 
lanta, Ga.,  leaves  at  Lathrop,  Mo.,  a 
record  of  unusual  achievement.  He  ac- 
cepted the  pastorate  at  Lathrop  in 
December,  1909,  and  served  seven  and 
one-third  years.  He  found  the  congre- 
gation worshiping  in  a  small  frame 
structure  erected  back  in  the  early  sev- 
enties; he  leaves  the  present  members 
with  a  beautiful  brick  church  home, 
costing  $20,000,  and  quite  adequate  to 
the  new  needs  to  which,  under  his  wise 
and  patient  instruction,  they  have 
learned  to  put  their  church  home.  He 
also  leaves  the  church  with  a  good  par- 
sonage. The  church  is  wholly  free  from 
debt.  Most  of  the  present  membership 
of  the  church,  which  is  greatly  increased 
in  numbers,  have  been  added  during  the 
period  of  Mr.  Waters'  ministry,  nineteen 
on  the  last  two  Sundays.  The  church 
is  greatly  increased  in  spiritual  power 
and  in  Christian  charity.  Only  two 
series  of  evangelistic  services  have  been 
held  during  the  period,  but  the  evangel 
has  been  preached  and  has  borne  fruit. 
The  Lathrop  church  has  been  served  by 
such  men  as  A.  B.  Jones,  the  Creasons, 
W.  T.  Henson,  E.  B.  Redd,  J.  E.  Dunn, 
E.  W.  Thornton.  The  congregation  is 
now  on  the  point  of  calling  another  suc- 
cessful man  to  serve  in  this  field. 


W.  A.  Shullenberger  Closes 
First  Year  at  Des  Moines 

Central  Church,  Des  Moines,  has 
come  to  the  end  of  a  happy  and  fruitful 
year  of  work.  The  third  Sunday  of 
April  marked  the  end  of  the  first  year 
of  the  present  pastorate  of  W.  A.  Shul- 
lenberger. Numerous  results  are  noted 
within  the  twelve  months.  The  build- 
ing has  been  redecorated  throughout, 
and  the  social  quarters  of  the  church 
have  been  enlarged  in  capacity  and  im- 
proved in  appearance  and  convenience. 
Twenty  thousand  dollars  has  been  raised 
and  secured  in  notes  to  cover  the  im- 
provement campaign.  The  Sunday 
school  has  carried  on  its  graded  work 
to  a  high  degree  of  efficiency,  and  in 
the  Sunday  afternoon  social  hours  and 
luncheons  900  young  men  and  women 
were  cared  for.  The  missionary  organ- 
izations and  interests  of  the  church  have 
experienced  a  decided  impetus,  and  have 
combined  in  the  budget  system.  With- 
out a  revival  there  have  been  117  addi- 
tions to  the  church  during  the  year;  on 
Easter  Sunday  morning  twenty-six  re- 
sponded to  the  invitation,  of  whom 
twenty  were  by  confession  of  faith. 
Practically  all  were  young  business  men 
and  women  or  heads  of  families.  Mr. 
Shullenberger  has  made  his  first  year 
count  largely,  both  with  Central  con- 
gregation and  in  the  wider  field  of  Des 
Moines  and  environment. 

Fifty  Years  of  Service  as 
Primary  Teacher 

On  April  20  a  reception  was  given  at 
Broadway  Church,  Lexington,  Ky.,  to 
Mrs.  Fannie  Killgore,  of  Louisville,  who 
has  just  closed  fifty  years  of  service  as 
a  teacher  in  the  primary  department  of 
the  Sunday  school.  Mrs.  Killgore  has 
taught  many  children  who  have  come  to 
be  leaders  among  the  Disciples.  Among 
these  are  Mrs.  Florence  Miller  Black; 
Miss  Kate  Gait  Miller,  a  returned  mis- 
sionary from  China;  Myron  C.  Settle, 
noted  for  his  splendid  Sunday  school 
work  in  Gary,  Ind. ;  and  many  others 
who  are  making  good  wherever  they  are. 
They  reach  from  Honolulu  on  the  west 
to  New  York  on  the  east,  and  possibly 
in  every  state  and  territory  in  the  United 
States. 

Successful  Ohio  Pastor 
Goes  to  Kentucky 

A.  B.  Houze  has  served  Central 
Church,  Lima,  O.,  only  five  years,  but 
during  this  time  the  membership  has 
been    doubled.      There    were    about    5C0 


members  when  he  came,  and  now  the 
roll  contains  fully  1,000  names.  Mr. 
Houze  has  received  a  call  to  the  work 
at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  and  has  decided 
to  accept  it,  to  begin  his  new  service  on 
June  1.  Just  before  the  call  to  Ken- 
tucky came,  his  congregation  had  issued 
him  an  unanimous  call  to  remain,  and 
at  an  increased  salary.  He  is  leaving 
the  Ohio  field  simply  because  he  believes 
the  church  at  Bowling  Green  needs  him, 
and  because  a  larger  service  will  be  pos- 
sible to  him  there.  Bowling  Green  has 
the  largest  congregation  among  the  Dis- 
ciples in  that  part  of  Kentucky;  it  is  a 
pretty  little  city  of  12,000. 

Great  Purdue  Bible  Class  at 
First  Annual  Banquet 

Robert  Knight  is  the  student  pastor 
at  Purdue  University,  at  LaFayette, 
Ind.,  and  promotes  a  great  Bible  class 
of  Disciples  and  other  interested  mem- 
bers of  the  university.  Recently  the 
class  gave  its  first  annual  banquet.  It 
was  the  unanimous  expression  of  the 
people  present  that  the  banquet  was  one 
of  the  finest  social  events  of  the  entire 
year.  Prof.  C.  R.  George,  the  teacher 
of  the  class,  acted  as  toastmaster,  and 
brief  toasts  were  responded  to  by  a 
number  of  the  people  present.  Among 
those  who  responded  were  Dr.  Stone, 
president  of  the  university;  Prof.  Shoe- 
maker, dean  of  women  of  the  univer- 
sity, and  Prof.  Alford,  director  of 
religious  work  in  the  university.  Dr. 
Stone  made  special  mention  of  the 
change  of  sentiment  that  had  come  in 
recent  years  among  the  students  toward 
the  church.  "Some  years  ago,"  he  said, 
"such  a  gathering  would  have  been  im- 
possible. The  sentiment  of  the  student 
body  was  adverse  to  all  church  work. 
And  students  who  would  have  attended 
such  an  affair  would  have  been  sub- 
jected to  the  ridicule  of  the  big  majority. 
Now  all  is  changed.  The  almost  unan- 
imous sentiment  of  the  student  body  to- 
day is  on  the  side  of  the  church.  There 
is  no  longer  fear  of  ridicule.  Both  stu- 
dents and  members  of  the  faculty  are. 
among  the  most  militant  of  church  lead- 
ers." The  student  pastor  has  come  to 
the  conviction  that  the  state  has  no  more 
fruitful  field  than  the  field  presented  by 
the  twenty-five  hundred  young  people 
who  attend  yearly  the  Purdue  Univer- 
sity. 

*      *      * 

— "A  Sunday  school  of  646,  with 
twelve  members  added  to  the  congrega- 
tion," is  a  good  report  from  a  town  of 
2,500  people.  That  is  the  message  sent 
in  by  Bert  E.  Stover,  pastor  at  Norton, 
Kan.  This  was  the  greatest  Sunday 
school  ever  assembled  in  northwest 
Kansas,  reports  Mr.  Stover. 

— Lin  D.  Cartwright  of  Ft.  Collins, 
Colo.,  is  preaching  a  series  of  sermons 
on  "Christian  Statesmanship."     His  sub- 


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History  of  the  Great  War. — Conan  Doyle.    Vol.  I.    Every  scholarly  man  will 

wish  to  possess  this  great  history.     Purchase  Vol.  I  now $2.00net 

Aspects  of  the  Infinite  Mystery. — Gordon.     A  profoundly  spiritual  volume, 

interestingly   written    $1.50  net 

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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  E.  40th  Street,  Chicago 


April  26,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


jects  for  four  current  Sundays  are: 
"Jesus,  the  World  Man,"  "The  Early 
Church  upon  a  World-Conquest,"  "Be- 
ginning from  Jerusalem,"  "Exemplars  of 
the  World-View,"  "Christianizing  Amer- 
ica for  a  World-Task,"  "The  Church  and 
World  Problems,"  and  "The  Church  and 
the  World  Crisis." 


■■piiiunni/  A.  Church  Home  for  You. 

NFW  YIiRK  Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
Ilk II   I  Ulll\  U2  w<Jst  81gt  Sfcj  N  Y 


— The  third  week  of  Bethany  Assembly 
will  be  devoted  to  the  problems  of  so- 
cial service  as  related  to  the  city  and 
rural  church.  A  good  program  is  being 
prepared.  Lectures  will  be  given  by  Dr. 
Walfred  Lindstrom,  Prof.  A.  W.  Tavlor, 
Prof.  E.  E.  Snoddy,  O.  E.  Kelley,  Elvin 
Daniels,  O.  F.  Jordan,  John  Christopher- 
son,  Prof.  Perry  Pointer  and  others. 
The  ministers  of  Indiana  and  contiguous 
states  should  make  note  of  this  program 
and  make  an  earnest  effort  to  attend; 
the  date  is  August  7-11. 

— D.  H.  Shields,  of  Main  Street,  Ko- 
komo,  Ind.,  will  preach  the  baccalaure- 
ate sermon  for  the  Kokomo  and  Green- 
town,  Ind.,  schools  this  year.  Mr. 
Shields  reports  twenty-seven  persons 
added  to  the  membership  at  Kokomo  on 
Easter. 

— From  seven  of  the  Cleveland,  O., 
churches  come  reports  of  248  additions 
to  the  congregations  during  Easter 
week,  160  confessions  and  88  by  letter. 

— Peter  Ainslie  is  conducting  a  series 
of  evangelistic  services  at  First  Church, 


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700  E.  40th  Street,  CHICAGO 


Akron,  O.,  to  which  L.  N.  D.  Wells 
ministers.  The  meetings  will  extend 
over  into  May. 

— J.  McD.  Home,  new  pastor  at  Sul- 
livan, Ind.,  delivered  the  address  at  a 
"Wake  Up,  America,"  celebration  cele- 
brated there  on  Thursday  of  last  week. 
A  local  paper  reprinted  the  address  in 
full. 

— During  the  six  years  of  service  of 
A.  R.  Liverett  at  First  Church,  Jeffer- 
son City,  Mo.,  there  have  been  703  mem- 
bers added  to  the  congregation.  The 
church  debt  has  also  been  greatly  re- 
duced. A  pre-Easter  evangelistic  cam- 
paign was  promoted  at  Jefferson  City, 
with  Harvey  B.  Smith  of  Marshall,  Mo., 
preaching.  There  were  twenty-seven  ac- 
cessions to  the  membership  through 
these  meetings. 

— Wallace  R.  Bacon  of  First  Church, 
Keokuk,  la.,  writes  that  this  congrega- 
tion found  the  pre-Easter  messages  of 
George  A.  Campbell  "heartening,  help- 
ful and  deeply  spiritual." 


TWO    BOOKS 

By  Professor  W-  S.  Athearn 

Every  Pastor,  Superintendent  and 

Teacher  Should  Have 

The  Church  School.  $1.00  net. 
Organization  and  Adminis- 
tration of  the  Church  School. 

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— The  annual  convention  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  of  the  Fourth  Dis- 
trict, Illinois,  will  meet  at  LeRoy,  May  3 
and  4.  Guy  B.  Williamson  is  president 
of  the  organization,  C.  J.  Robertson, 
vice-president,  and  H.  H.  Jenner,  secre- 
tary. Persons  intending  to  be  present 
should  notify  LeRoy  F.  Sargent,  LeRoy, 
Illinois. 

— The  church  at  Ashtabula,  O.,  C.  W. 
Flewelling,  pastor,  at  its  recent  annual 
meeting    reported    twenty-six    members 


. 


A  Look-in  on  the  Alaska  Work 

By  Harry  Munro 


ope   is   a   wonder.     On  my  last  ar- 
rival there,  March  24,  word  was  passed 
around  that  I  was  there  and  we  had  a 
fine  service  that  night.     The  next  morn- 
ing the  Sunday  school  convened  and  the 
entire  session  was  carried  through  with- 
out any  help  from  me.    An  epidemic  has 
prostrated   almost   the   entire   town    and 
many  were   still   unable   to   be   out.     In 
spite    of    conditions    which    might    have 
closed    a    Sunday    school    in    a    less    de- 
termined    community,     the     attendance 
during    this    first    month    had    averaged 
twenty-four,  or  one-third  the  total  popu- 
lation.    The   music  was  led  by  a  choir 
and  organ  and  two  mandolins.   An  adult 
class  of  thirteen  was  taught  with  splen- 
did  ability   by  "a    Disciple    who,    though 
formerly  a  worker  of  great  ability,  well 
educated    and    brother    of    one    of    the 
prominent     educators    of    the     Brother- 
hood, had  fallen  into  careless  ways  and 
become  a  heavy  drinker  and  kept  very 
worthless    associates.      This    often    hap- 
pens in  this  land  so  full  of  temptations 
and  so  void  of  adequate  church  advan- 
tages.     This    brother    pledged    himself 
anew  to  a  clean  life  of  service.     He  has 
now  a  fine  class  systematically  studying 
the    Book    and    paving    the    way    for    a 
strong    New   Testament   Church   in   this 
little  mining  town.     I  had  simply  made 
the  leaders  responsible  for  conducting  a 
school    in    my    absence,    but    they    went 
the  second  mile.     They  have  also  held  a 
well  attended  evening  service  each  Sun- 
day   night,    at    which    time    the    brother 
above     mentioned     delivered     Bible    lec- 
tures.     Many   told   me   that   the   change 
in  this  one  man's  life  alone  was  worth 
all  the  efforts  the  school  has  cost. 

After    the    school    session    I    preached 
and  then  called  a  meeting  of  the  Sunday 


school  cabinet  for  reports  and  advice. 
The  fourth  Sunday  there  were  over  six 
dollars  in  the  treasury.  I  asked  what 
equipment  could  best  be  supplied  by  the 
University  Church  (Seattle)  Endeavor 
Society,  which  had  offered  twenty-five 
dollars  toward  equipping  this  new 
school.  Here  was  the  request  without 
any  prompting  from  me,  either:  Thirty- 
five  American  Revised  Version  New 
Testaments,  twenty  more  song  books, 
and  three  good  teachers'  Bibles.  Their 
only  pews  were  backless  benches,  their 
organ  decidedly  wheezy,  and  their  kero- 
sene lamps  very  inadequate.  When  I 
suggested  some  of  these  things,  they 
smiled  and  said  they  were  used  to  those 
and  would  get  along  splendidly  if  they 
just  had  the  books.  They  need  the  song 
books,  for  I  have  seen  the  entire  choir, 
the  organist  and  two  mandolin  players 
all  using  the  same  book  at  once.  I'll 
tell  you,  I  think  a  glimpse  into  this  little 
log  hall  some  Sunday  morning  would 
shame  some  of  the  half-hearted  workers 
in  some  well  equipped  schools. 

We  had  another  fine  service  on  Sun- 
day night.  I  had  hoped  to  cross  Turn- 
again  Arm  by  launch  and  return  this 
time  by  way  of  Cirdwood,  where  there  is 
no  school.  However,  the  Arm  was  full 
of  ice  and  navigation  impossible,  so  I 
returned  by  Moose  Bass  trail.  This  re- 
turn trip  was  the  greatest  adventure  I 
have  had.  Twelve  inches  of  new  snow 
fell  while  I  was  at  Hope,  and  I  had  to 
break  the  trail  nearly  the  whole  distance 
of  forty-seven  miles  back  to  the  rail- 
road. I  will  not  tire  you  with  the  de- 
tails of  this  trip.  Although  I  lost  the 
trail  frequently,  came  near  going  snow- 


blind,  and  gave  one  of  my  feet  a  close 
call  when  the  temperature  suddenly 
dropped  to  fifteen  below  and  I  neglected 
to  change  the  wet  footwear  for  dry  as 
soon  as  I  should,  I  came  through  little 
the  worse  for  wear  and  rather  enjoyed 
it.  This  was  exceedingly  heavy  snow- 
shoeing,  as  the  loose  snow  piled  up  on 
the  shoes  and  made  them  drag  like  an- 
chors. However,  I  made  the  trip  in  the 
usual  time,  eighteen  miles  the  first  day 
and  twenty-nine  miles  the  second.  A 
little  over  ninety-four  miles  may  seem 
like  quite  a  walk  to  preach  three  ser- 
mons, but  I  wish  that  all  efforts  put 
forth  in  the  work  of  the  Kingdom  could 
yield    such    relatively    large    fruitage    as 

this  seems  to. 

*     ♦     >fc 

All  public  gatherings  for  children  in 
Seward  are  now  forbidden  in  a  rigid 
quarantine  on  account  of  measles,  so  our 
school  is  at  a  standstill  for  a  while.  Mrs. 
Munro  has  charge  of  an  elaborate  Easter 
musical  program  to  be  rendered  in  a 
Union  Easter  service  with  the  Methodist 
church.  Our  work  has  just  suffered  an- 
other, and  perhaps  the  heaviest,  loss  by 
removal  in  the  return  to  the  States  of 
our  splendid  kindergarten  teacher,  Mrs. 
Morse.  She  has  been  one  of  our  best 
all-round  boosters  from  the  start. 

I  wish  to  visit  Latouche  this  week  with 
a  view  of  establishing  a  school  there,  for 
there  is  a  good-sized  town  with  a  public 
school,  and  so  far  I  can  learn  no  reli- 
gious work  of  any  kind.  This  will  be 
easily  reached  from  here,  as  it  is  only 
forty  miles  out  by  boat. 

rlARRv  C.  Munro. 
A.  C.  M.  S.  Circuit  Musher. 

Seward,  Alaska,  April  2. 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  26,  1917 


M.  M.  Amunson]  \  John  Johnson 
New  York     /  \    New  York 


LIVE  WIRES  connected  with  the  Dynamo 

A  Few  of  the  Two  Hundred  and  Ten 

Whose  work  is  made  possible  by  power  transmitted  by  your  offerings. 

They  Are  Hummers 

By  their  efforts,  and  others,  the  plea  you  love  and  live  is  being  established  in  all  the 
cities  of  America,  and  supported  throughout  the  world. 

They  Need  Reenforeements 

Will  you  supply  added  power?  See  that  your  Missionary  Budget  is 
equably  apportioned.  Educate  for  the  May  Offering— take  it!  Strengthen 
the  Home  Base. 

Remit  to 

THE  AMERICAN  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 


Ray  Manley 
West  Pennsylvania 


added  during  the  year  at  regular  serv- 
ices; $5,725  was  raised  during  the  year, 
of  which  about  $1,000  went  for  missions 
and  benevolences.  Extensive  repairs 
were  made  on  the  building  and  $300  of 
long-standing  notes  was  paid.  The  de- 
cision service  on  Easter  day  brought 
eight  confessions.  Mr.  Flewelling  has 
made  1,005  calls  during  the  twelve 
months. 

— F.  E.  Smith,  of  Jackson  Street 
Church,  Muncie,  Jnd.,  reports  204  per- 
sons added  to  the  church  membership 
through  a  series  of  meetings  just 
closed.  Mr.  Smith  preached,  and  was 
assisted  in  the  singing  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Owen  M.  Walker.  The  meeting  was 
planned  for  four  weeks,  but  it  was  so 
successful  that  it  went  over  another 
week.  A  hundred  new  families  have 
been  added  to  the  congregation,  with 
seventy  men,  fourteen  boys;  there  were 
165  adults  among  the  new  members. 
Home  prayer  meetings  were  a  feature 
of  the  season  of  evangelism. 

— A.  F.  Hensey  of  Bolenge,  Africa, 
writes  that  the  Bible  College  has  been 
started  with  twenty-one  students  en- 
rolled. The  day  school  is  doing  well. 
On  a  recent  trip  to  the  Ubangi  country 
W.  H.  Edwards  and  A.  F.  Hensey  bap- 
tized twenty  persons. 

— Dr.  Mary  McGavron  of  Damoh,  In- 


dia, reports  25,235  attendances  at  the 
dispensaries  and  hospital  throughout  the 
year.  According  to  the  latest  letters 
written  from  India,  bubonic  plague  is 
prevalent  in  the  central  provinces.  The 
people  were  leaving  the  towns  and  go- 
ing into  the  country,  hoping  to  escape 
the  scourge. 

— George  A.  Campbell  of  Hannibal, 
Mo.,  is  in  Manitoba,  at  the  bedside  of 
his  mother,  aged  93,  who  is  seriously  ill. 
Mr.  Campbell's  father  died  about  a  year 
ago  at  the  age  of  97. 

— Liberty,  Mo.,  church  was  recently 
left  a  bequest  of  $2,000  by  the  will  of 
Mrs.   F.  B.  Burns. 

— Verle  W.  Blair,  of  the  Eureka,  111., 
church,  had  a  busy  day  two  weeks  ago. 
He  preached  a  brief  sermon  at  the  Sun- 
day morning  service,  John  W.  Allen  of 
Spokane  also  speaking;  then  at  the  close 
of  the  service  Mr.  Blair  performed  the 
wedding  ceremony  of  Rev.  Emmett 
Francis,  of  Perry,  Mo.,  and  Miss  Bertha 
Lacock  of  Eureka;  a  missionary  service 
at  4:30  left  him  free  for  the  evening,  so 
he  took  along  some  singers  and  held 
service  at  the  mission  church,  Secor,  111., 
preaching  for  Osceola  McNemar,  the 
pastor.  The  day  brought  twenty-four 
additions  to  the  Eureka  church  mem- 
bership, and  Mr.  Blair  writes  that  sev- 
eral more  will  be  added  in  a  few  weeks. 


—I.  H.  Beckholt  of  the  Moline,  111., 
church,  writes  that  the  sacred  cantata, 
"The  Galilean,"  was  given  at  this  church 
on  Easter  evening,  under  the  leadership 
of  Mrs.  Beckholt.  The  cantata  will  be 
repeated  at  Second  Church,  Rock  Island, 
111.  Mr.  Beckholt  recently  preached  at 
Davenport,  Iowa,  on  account  of  the  ill- 
ness of  the  pastor,  R.  D.  Brown.  Mr. 
Brown's  daughter  preached  at  Moline 
in  the  morning  of  the  day  of  Mr.  Beck- 
holt's  absence,  and  her  message  was 
greatly  appreciated.  Three  were  added 
to  the  membership  at  Davenport  at  the 
evening  service.  On  Easter  Sunday  four 
were  added  at  Moline,  Mr.  Beckholt  re- 
ports. 

— F.  W.  Burnham  of  the  Home  So- 
ciety recently  visited  Youngstown,  O., 
with  view  to  beginning  Christian  settle- 
ment work  among  the  city's  foreigners. 
I.  J.  Cahill,  Ohio  state  secretary,  accom- 
panied Mr.  Burnham. 

— Fred  D.  Kershner  of  St.  Louis  ;vas 
elected  president  of  the  Disciples  Con- 
gress for  the  coming  year.  The  meeting 
will  be  held  in  Indianapolis. 

— Orvis  F.  Jordan  of  the  Evanston, 
111.,  church  is  having  many  opportuni- 
ties to  deliver  Christian  messages  before 
various  Illinois  chapters  of  the  Odd 
Fellows  and  Knights  of  Pythias  lodges. 
Mr.    Jordan    preached    last    Sunday    at 


April  26,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


Evauston  on  "Democracy  and  the 
Church"  and  "What  Will  the  War  Do  to 
Religion?"  Mr.  Jordan  has  a  real  mes- 
sage for  the  church  in  these  history- 
making  days. 

— Frank  Waller  Allen,  pastor  of  First 
Church,  Springfield,  111.,  will  lecture  at 
Bethany  Assembly  on  "The  Contagion 
of  the  Golden  Ride,"  "The  Woodworker 
of  Galilee"  and  "Personality   Plus." 

— W.  F.  Rothenburger  of  Franklin 
Circle,  Cleveland,  O.,  reports  fifty-one 
additions  by  confession  of  faith  and 
twenty-nine  by  letter  on  Easter  day. 

— Harry  D.  Smith  of  Dallas,  Tex.,  has 
accepted  a  professorship  in  Phillips  Uni- 
versity, Enid,  Okla.  He  will  occupy  the 
chair  of  homiletics. 

— W.  C.  Prewitt  reports  six  confes- 
sions at  Bowling  Green,  O.,  on  the 
morning  of  Easter  Sunday,  and  one  in 
the  evening.  An  offering  of  $60  for  ben- 
evolences was  made. 


THE  MACLACHLAN  LECTURES 

During  the  past  week  there  was  inaug- 
urated the  Disciples  Lectureship  at  the 
University  of  Chicago.  Under  the  auspi- 
ces of  the  Disciples  Divinity  House,  Rev. 
H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan  of  Richmond,  Va., 
gave  three  notable  addresses  on  the  gen- 
eral subject,  "Modern  Aids  to  the  Minis- 
try." The  occasion  was  important  as 
the  first  appearance  of  a  lecturer  at  the 
university  under  distinctly  Disciple  di- 
rection. For  several  years  Disciples 
have  been  invited  to  preach  in  the  Uni- 
versity pulpit,  but  the  inauguration  of 
this  lectureship  marks  a  new,  and  it  is 
hoped,  a  permanent  departure  in  the  pro- 
gram of  our  people  at  this  seat  of  learn- 
ing. 

The  three  subjects  chosen  by  Mr. 
Maclachlan  dealt  with  the  value  of  phi- 
losophy, psychic  research  and  literature 
respectively  as  aids  to  the  ministry.  The 
first  was  a  convincing  statement  of  the 
fundamental  importance  of  philosophical 
studies  as  a  basis  for  a  discriminating 
interpretation  of  life  and  religion.  The 
second  was  a  courageous  defense  of 
modern  studies  in  the  field  of  psychic 
inquiry,  so  long  disdained  by  most  of  the 
scientists  and  psychologists,  but  today 
attracting  serious  attention  as  yielding 
certain  unmistakable  results,  and  appar- 
ently capable  of  offering  assistance  at 
some  of  the  impressive  points  in  re- 
ligious experience.  The  third  was  a 
charming  and  informing  survey  of  the 
resources  of  literature  for  the  enrichment 
of  the  soul  of  the  minister,  and  a  brief 
consideration  of  some  of  the  writers 
whose  messages  have  been  most  signif- 
icant. 

The  audience  attracted  by  these  lec- 
tures included  not  only  the  Disciples  at 
the  university,  but  ministers  from  the 
city  and  a  competent  representation  of 
the  student  body  at  the  institution.  The 
judgment  was  freely  expressed  that  the 
annual  lectureship  of  the  Disciples  has 
been  given  a  fitting  and  dignified  inaug- 
ural. The  intellectual  level  of  the  lec- 
tures was  high,  the  treatment  of  the 
themes  adequate,  and  the  personal  im- 
pression made  by  the  lecturer,  both  in 
his  addresses  and  in  social  intercourse, 
such  as  to  make  greatly  desirable  his 
early  return  to  Chicago  and  the  uni- 
versity. 


PRAYER  OF  AN  AFRICAN 
EVANGELIST 


"O  God,  have  you  no  more  white 
teachers  left  in  America?  We  need  a 
teacher  with  need  itself.  We  have  only 
one  white  man  for  all  the  work.  If  there 
are  some  there  still,  let  them  come  soon, 
that  they  may  quickly  teach  us  thy  Gos- 
pel." 

More  than  1,000,000  people  in  Central  Africa  are  waiting  for  the  Chris- 
tian Churches  to  send  them  the  Gospel.  A  great  Children's  Day  offering 
will  help  answer  the  above  prayer. 

Free  supplies  are  now  ready.  Programs,  coin  pockets,  leaflet  for  teach- 
ers.   State  average  attendance  of  your  school,  when  ordering  supplies. 

Send  all  orders  to 

FOREIGN    CHRISTIAN    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY 

Box    884,    CINCINNATI,    OHIO 


IS  THE  HOME  SOCIETY  A 
SUCCESS? 

This  question  presents  itself  with  such 
frequency  that  the  officers  of  the  society 
have  been  saving  letters  which  come  to 
them  from  men  on  the  field.  The  Amer- 
ican Christian  Missionary  Society  is  an 
unqualified  success,  as  will  readily  be 
seen  from  this  letter  from  Evangelist 
Hiram  N.  Van  Voorhis,  written  from 
Cadillac,  Mich.: 

"After  spending  three  weeks  on  the 
field  here  as  an  evangelist,  I  am  con- 
vinced that  you  are  spending  $300  per 
year  nowhere  to  a  better  advantage  than 
at  Cadillac.  The  work  here  is  coming 
on  in  splendid  shape.  Eighteen  months 
ago  the  church  was  pastorless.  Today  it 
has  a  good  preacher,  who  is  making  300 
calls  a  month,  giving  the  people  a  vision, 
and  securing  their  unbounded  loyalty. 
Eighteen  months  ago  there  were  fifteen 
in  the  Bible  school.  Yesterday  there 
were  157  present.  This  is  a  gain  of  1,100 
per  cent.  Eighteen  months  ago  there 
were  ten  in  the  preaching  service.  Last 
night  there  was  an  audience  of  200  by 
actual  count.  During  the  three  weeks 
of  meeting,  despite  bad  weather,  we  had 
twenty-one  additions,  among  them  sev- 
eral men  who  will  be  of  great  value  to 
the  work.  The  pastor  is  talking  a  new 
church  building.  The  American  society 
should  stand  behind  this  work  yet  a 
while  longer.  There  are  still  some  deli- 
cate problems  to  overcome.  Since  see- 
ing what  the  Home  Missionary  money  is 
doing  here,  I  have  a  higher  regard  than 
ever  for  the  work  of  the  American 
Christian  Missionary  Society."  (Signed) 
Hiram  N.  Van  Voorhis. 

The  first  Sunday  in  May  is  Home  Mis- 
sion Day  in  all  the  churches.  A  great 
big  home  missionary  offering  should  be 
taken  in  every  church,  and  those 
churches  having  the  budget  system 
should  not  overlook  the  observance  of 
the    day    for    educational    purposes.      Of 


course,  every  pastor  knows  about  Amer- 
ican Missions.  Some  new  literature  is 
available.  It  is  free.  This  year's  trade- 
mark is  the  dynamo.  Help  to  make  it 
hum.  Send  to  headquarters  for  every- 
thing relating  to  Home  Missions.  Grant 
K.  Lewis,  Secretary,  Carew  Building, 
Cincinnati,  Ohio. 


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and  city  press  of  America  pertaining  to  the  sub- 
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exclusively  of  where  you  can  secure  new  busi- 
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has  been  started,  a  new  firm  incorporated  or  a 
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and  try  them  on  your  class.  They  will  build  up  and  keep  up 
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1 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


April  26,  1917 


A  Multitude  of  Ministers 

Agree  to  Work  for  Three  New  Subscribers 

During  April 

Responding  to  our  announcement  calling  upon  our  minister  readers  to  secure 
three  new  subscribers  apiece  for  The  Christian  Century  before  the  close  of  April,  over 
two  hundred  have  written  us  their  glad  promise  to  do  so  and  are  already  sending  in  the 
subscriptions.  Many  who  have  not  made  any  promises  are  quietly  at  work,  and  the 
good  results  of  their  efforts  are  apparent  in  the  receipts  of  the  office.  'April  will  have 
a  hard  time  to  beat  March.  She  is  not  quite  up  with  March  at  this  date,  but  we  look 
for  a  great  rush  of  new  subscriptions  as  the  month  comes  to  a  close — such  a  rush  as 
may  put  April  ahead  of  its  great  rival. 

It  seems  as  if  there  was  never  a  time  when  subscriptions  could  be  so  easily  gotten 
for  The  Christian  Century  as  right  now.  The  words  of  approval  and  praise  sent  to 
us  by  those  who  agree  to  co-operate  in  our  three-new-subscription  campaign  show  the 
way  our  ministers  feel  as  to  the  importance  of  getting  the  thoughtful  men  and  women 
of  their  churches  interested  in  reading  the  "Century."  Here  are  some  of  the  good 
things  they  say: 


ARTHUR  BRADEN,  LAWRENCE,  KANSAS: 

"For  the  broadening,  deepening  and  vitalizing  of 
our  movement,  nothing  is  more  needed  just  now 
than  the  constant,  sympathetic  reading  of  The 
Christian  Century." 


O.  F.  JORDAN,  EVANSTON,  ILL.: 

"There  is  such  interest  in  the  Century  these  days 
that  I  shall  suspect  my  ability  as  solicitor  if  I  do  not 
succeed  in  getting  three  new  subscribers  during  your 
April   Campaign." 

GEO.  T.   PURVES,  TUCSON,  ARIZ.: 

"God  speed  The  Christian  Century  for  its  con- 
structive and  fearless  policy,  its  really  great  corre- 
spondents, its  charitable  spirit  and  its  goal." 

HERBERT    MARTIN,    DES    MOINES,    IOWA: 

"No  young  preacher  should  be  without  the  'Cent- 
ury'." 

T.  L.  LOWE,  COLUMBUS,  OHIO: 
"I  enjoy  your  paper  much.     It's  stimulating." 

JOHN  P.  SALA,  BUFFALO,  N.  Y.: 

"I  relish  the  stimulus  the  many  splendid  thought- 
provoking  articles  bring." 

L.  J.  MARSHALL,  KANSAS   CITY,  MO.: 
"Every  reader  of  The  Christian  Century  becomes  a 
more    intelligent    Christian     and     more     sympathetic 
friend  to  all  the  Church  of  God." 

GEO.  W.  KNEPPER,  ANN  ARBOR,  MICH.: 
"The   'Century'   has   vision   and   the  'kick'   that  be- 
tokens life." 


SHERMAN  KIRK,  DES  MOINES,  IOWA: 

"The  'Century'  deserves  a  place  in  every  Disciple 
home." 

W.  A.  ROBERTS,  BARTLETT,  KANSAS: 

"There  is  no  other  religious  paper  that  portrays 
the  ideals  of  Jesus  so  beautifully  as  does  The  Christ- 
ian Century." 

S.  T.  WILLIS,  ST.   PAUL,  MINN.: 

"I  enjoy  the  mental  stimulus  that  comes  from 
reading  the  spicy  articles  and  editorials  of  the 
'Century'." 

L.   G.  BATMAN,   YOUNGSTOWN,  OHIO.: 

"The  'Century'  is  inspirational  and  spiritual  and 
abreast  of  the  times  in  thought  and  spirit." 

R.  W.  LILLEY,  KIRKSVILLE,  MO.: 

"The  'Century'  is  always  full  of  good  strong 
meat." 

D.  ROY  MATHEWS,  CHICAGO,  ILL.: 

"The  'Century'  grows  constantly  better,  the  finest 
sign  of  a  live  and  constructive  religious  newspaper. 
I  consider  it  indispensable." 

WALTER  M.  WHITE,  MEMPHIS,  TENN.: 
"I  hold  'The  Christian  Century'  as  the  most  spirit- 
ually helpful  and  thought-provoking  paper  which 
comes  to  my  desk.  One  lives  in  God's  presence  and 
in  His  world  of  today  as  he  goes  through  its  pages. 
I  wish  for  the  'Century'  a  universal  reading." 

C.  M.  SMAIL,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.: 

"The  Christian  Century  is  a  real  spiritual  boon  to 
the  minister  and  laity." 


April  26,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


23 


W.  F.  ROTHENBURGER,  CLEVELAND,  OHIO: 

"I  wish  you  all  possible  success  in  the  campaign 
to  enlarge  the  number  of  readers  of  the  'Century.'  I 
deem  it  worthy  of  the  heartiest  cooperation  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  and  shall  be  very  glad  to  become 
a  part  of  the  plan." 

A.   D.    HARMON,   BETHANY,   LINCOLN,   NEB.: 

"I  like  your  initiative,  freedom  of  expression  and 
willingness  to  tackle  the  modern  problems  of  the 
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E.   F.   DAUGHERTY,  VINCENNES,   IND.: 

"For  mental  and  spiritual  stimulus,  I  count  the 
'Century'  a  weekly  12-strike  among  all  the  periodicals 
which  come  to  my  hands." 

GRAHAM   FRANK,   LIBERTY,   MO.: 

"With  many  other  friends,  I  am  glad  to  know  of 
the  fine  growth  of  the  circulation  of  'The  Christian 
Century." 

W.  E.  CARROLL,  SHELBYVILLE,  IND. 

"I  am  indeed  glad  to  contribute  to  the  campaign 
in  hand.  I  am  heartsick  of  controversies  that  are 
divisive  and  pray  for  unity  among  our  own  forces 
that  may  make  an  impression  on  the  war-ridden 
world." 

J.  E.  WOLFE,  CHICAGO,  ILL.: 

"I  find  great  profit  in  'The  Christian  Century'  be- 
cause of  its  high  scholarly  standing,  its  statesman- 
like vision  and  program,  its  fine  religious  character 
and  its  courageous  Christ-like  faith  in  the  Kingdom 
of  God." 

B.  H.  SEALOCK,  ILLIOPOLIS,  ILL.: 

"The  character  of  'The  Christian  Century'  and  the 
place  it  fills  in  our  movement  make  it  a  great  pleas- 
ure to  speak  to  intelligent  Christians  about  their 
subscription." 

E.    P.   WISE,   AKRON,   OHIO.: 

"The  'Century'  is  doing  a  much  needed  work  in 
leading  us  out  into  a  broader  view  and  a  deeper  in- 
sight concerning  the  mission  and  achievements  of 
the  Disciples." 

J.  T.  BLOOM,   PALMYRA,   MO.: 

"The  'Christian  Century'  is  growing  bigger  and 
better  every  week." 

JOHN  W.  GRATTON,  DES  MOINES,  IOWA.: 

"The  'Century'  grows  better  each  week." 

IRVING   S.   CHENOWETH,    PHILADELPHIA, 

PA. 

"The  'Century'  is  so  much  worth  while  that  I  can 
with  pleasure  ask  people  to  take  it." 

A.  L.  WARD,  LEBANON,  IND.: 

"I  am  delighted  with  the  constructive  policy  of 
the  'Century'." 

L.   O.   BRICKER,   ATLANTA,   GA.: 

"To  my  mind  the  'Century'  incarnates  the  very 
spirit  that  originated  and  perpetuates  today  our 
religious  movement." 


J.   N.   JESSUP,    LOS   ANGELES,   CALIF.: 
"I    come    nearer    reading    'The    Christian    Century' 
from  'kiver  to  kiver'  than  any  other  paper  that  comes 
to  my  desk." 

EARLE  M.  TODD,  CANTON,  MO.: 

"You  are  giving  us  a  paper  that  is  great  in  every 
sense." 

J.    F.   BICKEL,    DANVILLE,   ILL.: 

"In  the  interest  of  a  greater  liberty  of  thought  than 
some  are  willing  to  concede  I  bid  the  'Century'  God- 
speed." 

O.   L.  HULL,  NEW  YORK   CITY.: 

"The  'Century'  brings  each  week  a  spiritual  mes- 
sage." 

E.   W.   McDIARMID,   LEXINGTON,   KY.: 
"The  'Century'  is  always  stimulating." 

ROGER  T.  NOOE,  FRANKFORT,  KY.: 

"The  'Century'  is  attractive  in  form,  is  provocative 
of  thought,  possesses  to  a  marked  degree  that  fine 
quality  of  readableness  and  that  finer  quality  of 
spirituality." 

GEO.  W.  WISE,  SALEM,  MO.: 

"It  is  a  pleasure  to  read  the  strong,  vigorous  pages 
of  the  'Century'." 

ALVA  W.  TAYLOR,  COLUMBIA,  MO.: 

"The  'Century'  is  good  stuff.  Greater  need  is  more 
of  it." 

TOLBERT  F.  WEAVER,  DALLAS,  TEXAS: 

"I  like  the  tolerant  spirit  of  'The  Christian  Cent- 
ury' in  its  discussions  and  its  open  forum." 

JOHN  H.  LeGRAND,  MORRIS,  OKLA.: 

"I  always  feel  nearer  God  after  reading  'The 
Christian  Century'." 

H.    H.    GUY,    BERKELEY,    CALIF.: 

"The  'Century'  is  the  only  religious  paper  in  Amer- 
ica that  I  really  read." 

V.  W.  BLAIR,  EUREKA,  ILL.: 

"The  'Century'  has  quality,  both  literary  and 
spiritual." 

T.  H.  TEEPLE,  TUSCALOOSA,  ALA.: 

"I  am  convinced  that  the  'Century'  extends  the 
vision  and  enlarges  the  ability  of  the  reader." 

GEO.  L.  PETERS,  OMAHA,   NEB.: 

"You  are  giving  us  a  fine  paper." 

F.  B.  THOMAS,  DANVILLE,  ILL.: 

"The  Century  has  the  most  heartening  note  of 
them  all!" 

WALTER   B.   ZIMMERMAN,    DES   MOINES, 

IOWA: 

"I  always  read  'The  Christian  Century'  with  more 
than  ordinary  pleasure   and  profit." 


The  time  is  short.     April  is  almost  gone.     If  you  have 
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IS    THE   WORLD 
GROWING  BETTER 


or  more  materialistic?  A  study  of  actual 
events  leads  Professor  Shailer  Mathews  to  be- 
lieve that  history  does  show  spiritual  forces  at 
work  which  may  renew  our  threatened  ideal- 
ism and  our  confidence  in  the  might  of  right. 
He   sums   up   his   views   in   his  new   volume 


"THE  SPIRITUAL 

INTERPRETATION  OF 

HISTORY" 


Professor  Mathews  is  Dean  of  the  Divinity 
School  in  the  University  of  Chicago  and  is  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  writers  in  the  field  of  re- 
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FOR   SALE  BY 

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mm 

f 


Vol.  XXXIV 


May  3,  1917 


Number  18 


The  Martial  Mind 
of  New  York 

By  Finis  S.  Idleman 


CHICAGO 


- 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  May  3,  1917 


IS    THE   WORLD 
GROWING  BETTER 


or  more  materialistic?  A  study  of  actual 
events  leads  Professor  Shailer  Mathews  to  be- 
lieve that  history  does  show  spiritual  forces  at 
work  which  may  renew  our  threatened  ideal- 
ism and  our  confidence  in  the  might  of  right. 
He   sums   up   his  views   in   his  new  volume 


"THE  SPIRITUAL 

INTERPRETATION  OF 

HISTORY" 


Professor  Mathews  is  Dean  of  the  Divinity 
School  in  the  University  of  Chicago  and  is  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  writers  in  the  field  of  re- 
ligion today.  He  is  also  the  Editor  of  the 
Biblical   World. 

Every  minister  and  every  alert  churchman 
should  possess  this  book.  It  is  esssentially  a 
book   for   the   times. 

Price  of  the  Book,  $1.50 


1 1 1  r  1 1 1 1 1 1  i  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  i  1 1 1 1 1  f  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  ?  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  i  1 1 1  >  1 1 1  i  1 1 1 1  i  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  e 

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n-     .  ...  The  Disciples  Publica- 

lnSCipiGS  tion   Society  is  an  or- 

PubliCatiOn     sanation    through 
cA«3A4»  which  churches  of  the 

SOCiety  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. •    •    * 

The    Disciples    Publication   Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *     •     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such^  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

Dear  Friends: — I  believe  in  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  The  Christian  Century  and  wish  to  be  numbered  ameag 
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save  money.  We  have  a  large  stock  of  these  titles  from  which  your 
selection  can  be  made. 


Reconstruction  in  Theology 
H.  C.  King 

Theology  in  the  Social  Consciousness 
H.   C.  King 

The  Blessed  Life 
W.  A.  Quale 

The  Preacher 
A.  S.  Hoyt 

The  Motherhood  of  God 
L.  A.  Banks 

Representative    Modern    Preachers 
L.   O.   Brastow 

The   Modern  Pulpit 
L.  O.  Brastow 

Jesus  Christ  and  the   Christian 

Character 

F.   G.   Peabody 

THE 

Two  Floors  of  Good  Books. 


Science  of  Christianity 
H.  Bettex 

Men  in  the  Making 
A.  Shepherd 

The   Epistle  of  James 
R.  W.  Dale 

Miracles  and  Christianity 
J.  Wendland 

A  Guide  to  Preachers 
A.  E.  Garvie 

The  Heritage  of  the  Spirit 
Mandell 

Aspects  of  Christ 
W.  B.  Selbie 

Speaking  Good  of  His  Name 
Basil    Wilberforce 

Following  on  to  Know  the  Lord 
Basil    Wilberforce 


The  Religion  of  the  Son  of  Man 
E.  J.  Gough 

Half   Hours   in    God's    Older    Picture 

Gallery 

J.  G.  Greenhough 

Epicurus  to  Christ 
W.  DeW.  Hyde 

Christian  Faith  in  an  Age  of  Science 
W.  N.  Rice 

Via  Sacra 
T.  N.  Darlow 

The  Jewish  Temple  and  the  Christian 

Church 

R.  W.  Dale 

Heroes   and    Martyrs    of    Faith 
A.  S.  Peake 


Christ  Is  All 
H.  C.  G.  Moule 


PILGRIM    PRESS 


19-21  JACKSON  BLVD.,  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  3,  1917 


STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  BAND  OF  DRAKE  UNIVERSITY,  1917 

(21  OF  THE  35  MEMBERS) 

Educational  Responsibility  of  the  Disciples 

There  is  no  place  today  for  the  slacker  in  either  patriotism  or  religion.  The  young  people  of  our 
churches  are  proving  their  mettle  and  their  faith.  A  thousand  are  in  college  preparing  for  the  ministry. 
Several  hundred  of  these  have  volunteered  for  missionary  service.  Seven  thousand  High  School  students  have 
signed  cards  that  put  them  in  line,  both  for  college  and  for  service,  wherever  their  lives  will  count  for  most. 
All  these  are  a  silent  but  irresistible  challenge  to  the  older  members  of  the  churches  who  hold  God's  money  in 
trust. 

The  colleges  were  assigned  the  larger  share  of  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement's  $6,300,000  fund,  in  appre- 
ciation of  the  necessity  of  thorough  training  for  every  minister  and  missionary  that  is  enlisted,  as  well  as  the 
importance  of  Christian  education  for  all  our  sons  and  daughters.  The  great  war  has  given  terrible  emphasis 
to  the  way  preparation  multiplies  power.  It  was  always  unwise  to  send  unready  men  to  great  tasks;  hence- 
forth it  is  seen  to  be  both  insane  and  criminal. 

As  certainly  as  the  Disciples  of  Christ  have  great  and  definite  opportunities  for  the  extension  and  perfec- 
tion of  essential  Christianity  in  America  and  in  Tibet,  China,  Japan,  the  Philippines,  India,  Africa  and  Latin 
America,  we  have  inescapable  and  sharply  defined  responsibilities  for  the  education  of  those  who  are  to  do 
the  work  on  our  behalf.  The  Pearsons,  father  and  mother,  did  not  stop  with  merely  paying  the  tuition  and 
board  of  the  son  and  daughter  who  were  going  to  Africa,  but  helped  to  endow  Eureka  College  for  their 
training.  It  became  easier  for  Miss  Adamson  to  go  to  the  Philippines  when  her  father  and  mother  lifted  her 
support  from  the  society. 

What  these  and  other  families  have  done  the  brotherhood  as  a  whole  is  doing  through  the  Men  and  Mil- 
lions Movement.  For  every  one  of  the  thousand  of  our  younger  members  enlisted  for  the  service  there 
comes  $6,000  from  those  who  are  older,  to  enable  the  schools  to  train  them  for  their  tasks  and  then  to  pur- 
chase the  tools — hospitals,  chapels,  homes,  books,  presses — with  which  they  are  to  work.  Furthermore,  a 
thousand  churches,  through  the  Every  Member  Canvass,  are  marshalling  their  full  strength  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  workers  at  the  front.  After  this  first  line  will  come  all  the  rest,  as  fast  as  they  have  efficient 
leadership  for  the  advance. 


Men  and  Millions  Movement,  222  W.  Fourth  St.,  Cincinnati,  O. 


CHARLES  OLATION  H0BIU80H,  EDITOR. 


X..    WILLBII,    OOHTUDBUTIHO     EDITOH. 


Volume  XXXIV 


MAY  3,  1917 


Number   18 


Faith  for  Trying  Times 


LIFE  NEEDS  STEADYING  JUST  NOW. 

The  plunge  into  war  came  to  this  country  at  a  time 
when  we  were  spiritually  the  least  prepared.  We  had  be- 
come very  wealthy  and  were  very  lacking  in  many  of  the 
deeper  things  of  life.  There  was  no  wonder,  then,  that 
we  should  suffer  various  kinds  of  panic  at  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities. 

In  many  cities  there  was  a  run  on  the  food  supplies. 
A  certain  broker  found  that  his  wife  had  bought  fourteen 
sides  of  bacon,  which  must  inevitably  spoil  before  it  was 
used.  Mail  order  houses  which  had  always  taken  pride 
in  their  promptness  were  compelled  to  send  notices  to  their 
customers  that  grocery  orders  would  be  delayed  for  three 
or  four  weeks.  There  was  need,  of  course,  to  cultivate  a 
sentiment  for  economy  and  thrift,  but  that  is  a  vastly  dif- 
ferent thing  from  a  food  panic  and  hoarding.  The  panic 
only  gave  speculators  a  chance  to  raise  prices  inordinately 
and  had  no  really  useful  result. 

•    • 

Strange  rumors  sometimes  pass  over  communities  and 
bring  sudden  fear.  The  country  is  by  this  time  familiar 
with  the  marriage  panic  in  Chicago.  Hundreds  stood  in 
line  every  day  for  more  than  a  week  in  a  frantic  effort  to 
secure  marriage  licenses.  There  had  been  a  rumor  that  the 
government  would  forbid  issuing  of  licenses  during  the 
war.  This  long  line  was  interpreted  as  a  "slackers'  "  move- 
ment. There  were  doubtless  some  "slackers"  in  the  line, 
but  for  the  most  part  it  was  made  up  of  couples  who  had 
before  the  war  arranged  to  marry  and  were  afraid  their 
plans  would  be  unduly  delayed.  The  whole  story  helps  to 
indicate  the  need  we  have  for  a  moral  and  spiritual  fly- 
wheel to  regulate  our  activities. 

There  is  no  steadying  influence  in  war-time  of  more 
value  than  the  spirit  of  religion.  "All  things  work  together 
for  good  to  those  who  love  the  Lord."  The  necessary 
burdens  of  the  war  will  be  heavy  enough.  We  shall  grow 
poorer.  Some  of  us  will  lose  loved  ones.  We  shall  see 
certain  lines  of  business  disturbed  by  war  conditions.  After 
we  have  taken  up  the  necessary  burdens  of  war,  there  is  no 
need  that  we  should  in  addition  carry  the  load  of  panic 
and  of  strange  fears  which  are  successively  exploded. 

There  are  for  such  times  as  these  the  counsel  of  rea- 
son and  the  counsel  of  faith.  Reason  tells  us  that  in  a 
number  of  ways  we  are  destined  to  suffer  less  from  the 
war  than  the  nations  at  whose  side  we  struggle.  Our  mate- 
rial prosperity  at  the  time  we  entered  the  war  was  the 
greatest  we  have  ever  known.  With  these  resources  at 
the  beginning  it  requires  only  a  wise  use  of  our  opportuni- 
ties to  go  through  the  next  few  years  with  no  more  sacri- 
fice than  may  be  good  for  us  in  the  end. 

We  are  relatively  remote  from  the  scene  of  the  con- 
flict. Though  our  sailors  are  already  in  the  field  of  danger, 
and  though  we  send  two  million  men  to  the  trenches,  the 
great  body  of  our  population  will  never  know  war  as 
France  knows  it.    Between  us  and  our  enemies  are  forces 


that  may  be  regarded  as  invincible.  No  one  can  doubt 
that  with  the  western  world  united  in  its  opposition  to 
militarism,  victory  will  at  last  come  to  our  arms.  The 
horrors  of  war  will  be  much  less  real  to  us  in  these  days 
than  they  were  in  the  time  of  the  civil  war,  even  though 
our  speculators  have  succeeded  in  giving  us  prices  in  excess 
of  those  prevalent  during  those  unhappy  times. 

The  counsel  of  reason  tells  us,  therefore,  that  we 
shall  not  face  burdens  greater  than  those  which  have  been 
borne  by  our  fathers.  Unless  we  are  weaker  than  they 
were,  we  shall  be  able  to  go  through  these  troublesome 
times. 

It  is  the  counsel  of  faith,  however,  which  best  helps 
us  to  live  in  the  midst  of  the  present  perils. 

Let  us  not  believe  that  the  present  war  is  an  "insane 
war."  We  have  been  saying  this  to  ourselves,  but  has  it  not 
revealed  the  shallowness  of  our  own  thinking?  Great  his- 
toric movements  are  never  insane.  There  is  a  deeper 
meaning  in  this  struggle  which  we  shall  fully  apprehend 
after  it  is  over.  God  is  ever  at  work  in  human  history. 
He  makes  even  the  wrath  of  men  to  praise  him.  The  colos- 
sal struggle  of  the  great  civilized  nations  must  eventuate 
at  last  in  some  clearer  understanding  of  what  civilization 
is.  Let  faith  save  us  from  that  deep  pessimism  which 
would  say  of  the  war  that  it  is  meaningless. 

Nor  should  we  settle  down  to  any  weary  belief  that 
the  present  struggle  indicates  that  war  is  a  permanent  part 
of  the  life  of  nations.  Struggle  there  will  always  be,  for 
struggle  and  competition  are  a  significant  part  of  the  fabric 
of  life.  The  present  war  is  so  expensive  that  it  will  be  a 
long  time  before  the  nations  involved  could  make  ready  for 
another  one.  If,  as  Bishop  Brent  suggests,  the  allies  in 
this  war  are  the  beginning  of  a  League  to  Enforce  Peace, 
then  the  friendships  formed  upon  the  field  of  battle  will 
be  the  guarantee  that  war  shall  at  last  come  to  an  end 
as  a  method  of  settling  international  problems. 

*    • 

We  need  not  believe  that  the  finer  things  of  life  will 
suffer  in  these  days.  We  are  being  rescued  from  the  bru- 
talities of  peace.  This  may  not  have  been  the  only  method 
of  rescue,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  individualism,  the  mate- 
rialism, the  selfishness  of  ante-bellum  days  are  over  for 
another  generation.  In  the  coming  days  there  will  be  more 
seriousness  and  more  appreciation  of  the  things  of  perma- 
nent value. 

Church  people  need  not  fear  that  religion  will  suffer. 
When  we  see  literary  men  with  materialistic  antecedents 
turning  to  God  we  have  much  reason  to  believe  that  there 
will  come  into  the  heart  of  the  race  a  new  hunger  and 
thirst  to  know  Him  who  is  the  source  of  our  life.  Some 
church  activities  may  fall  into  disuse,  but  the  great  funda- 
mental task  of  the  church  will  be  brought  forward  to  a 
successful  culmination.  The  war  will  teach  us  that  it  is 
impossible  to  live  in  any  real  way  without  religion. 


EDITORIAL 


A  SLOTHFUL  EVOLUTIONIST 

IN  general  one  would  say  that  the  evolutionary  hy- 
pothesis tends  toward  optimism,  for  it  represents 
life  continually  making  adjustments  and  reaching 
higher  levels.  The  iellv-hsh  and  the  earth-worm  and 
the  tiger  are  successively  higher  types  of  adjustment 
to  conditions.  This  evolutionist  has  a  comfortable  con- 
viction that  things  will  work  themselves  out  by  the 
natural  operations  of  nature.  Our  little  enthusiasms 
are  scarcely  needed  to  bring  about  the  results. 

A  study  of  the  process,  however,  reveals  the  decay 
and  death  of  many  species.  In  the  museums  are  to  be 
found  the  skeletons  of  creatures  which  once  lived  upon 
the  earth  and  are  now  extinct.  Even  now  many  kinds 
of  wild  game  are  becoming  practically  extinct  and  will 
doubtless  altogether  disappear.  The  final  triumph  of 
the  good  in  humanity  is  not  a  foregone  conclusion.  The 
survival  of  the  fittest  is  not  the  survival  of  the  ethically 
desirable.  Understanding  the  forces  of  the  world,  the 
intelligence  of  man  diverts  the  course  of  evolution  to 
ends  pleasing  to  himself. 

To  make  the  matter  more  concrete,  we  cannot  sloth- 
fully  say,  "Let  the  drunkard  and  the  debauchee  destroy 
themselves ;  after  they  are  gone  we  will  have  a  better 
world."  Moral  evil  is  a  contagious  thing.  It  does  not 
attack  only  the  weak.  It  involves  in  its  consequences 
many  who  are  absolutely  innocent  of  wrongdoing.  In- 
stead of  trusting  to  evolution  to  win  our  victories,  we 
must  take  the  effective  weapons  and  fight. 

In  the  same  way  we  may  speak  of  the  evolution  of 
human  society.  New  knowledge  and  conditions  make 
imperative  a  reconstruction  in  society.  One  type  of 
theorist  believes  in  letting  nature  work  out  its  own 
result.  The  better  advised  man  sees  that  intelligence 
is  better  than  a  blind  trust  in  the  developmental  process. 

The  Christian  believes  that  God  works  and  that  he 
must  be  a  fellow-laborer  with  God.  Only  a  strong 
effort  of  the  men  and  women  of  good-will  will  bring 
the  victory. 

A  DRY  NATION  DURING  THE  WAR 

ALL  over  the  country  there  is  a  demand  that  our 
nation  shall  be  dry  during  the  war.  England  has 
temporized  with  the  evil,  owing  to  the  enormous 
influence  of  the  brewers,  and  in  spite  of  the  number  of 
men  in  the  trenches  the  amount  spent  on  alcoholic 
drinks  has  actually  increased.  We  are  hearing  in  these 
days  that  we  should  profit  by  England's  mistakes.  Let 
us  not  take  the  course  England  did  with  the  liquor 
traffic. 

There  is  the  need  that  we  shall  conserve  the  food 
supplies  of  the  nation.  There  is  not  very  much  signifi- 
cance in  asking  everybody  to  get  out  and  make  garden 
after  work  hours  if  we  are  to  continue  to  permit  an 
economic  leak  in  our  nation  which  costs  more  than  our 
big  war  taxes  will  amount  to.  The  millions  and  millions 
of  bushels  of  grain  should  feed  children  instead  of  being 
used  to  intoxicate  the  morally  weak  in  days  when  all 
should  be  strong. 

The  problem  of  public  order  is  also  a  serious  one 
in  war-times.  Both  in  England  and  Germany  there  have 
been  mobs  and  strikes.  Drink-inflamed  crowds  have 
affected  the  morale  of  the  nation  unfavorably.  In  Rus- 
sia, the  least  advanced  of  the  nations  engaged  in  the 


struggle,  a  revolution  has  occurred  without  disorder 
and  bloodshed  and  the  secret  of  this  is  to  be  found  in 
the  fact  that  in  that  country  the  sale  of  vodka  had  been 
abolished. 

President  Wilson  is  at  this  time  making  up  a  most 
extraordinary  war  program.  He  must  be  guided  in 
some  measure  by  public  sentiment.  If  he  could  be  sure 
that  the  nation  would  support  him,  there  would  be 
little  doubt  that  he  would  choose  to  lead  the  nation 
through  the  war  without  the  handicap  of  the  liquor 
traffic.  He  waits  for  the  voice  of  the  people.  Churches 
are  voting  resolutions  and  individuals  are  telegraphing. 
It  is  a  time  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  men  whose 
sympathies  may  be  counted  on  the  right  side. 

OUR  RELIGIOUS  DUTY  TO  RUSSIA 

THE  newly  arrived  freedom  in  Russia  carries  with 
it  religious  opportunities  not  less  significant  than 
the  political  one.  There  are  in  that  country  twelve 
million  dissenters  from  the  state  church  and  five  million 
Jews.  The  dissenters  are  not  all  Protestants,  some  of 
them-  insisting  that  the  state  church  is  too  progressive. 
Many  of  the  dissenting  bodies,  however,  have  a  true 
evangelical  life. 

The  help  given  by  Great  Britain  and  America  to 
Russia  should  be  in  the  direction  of  encouraging  native 
movements.  The  Continent,  a  Presbyterian  paper,  is 
generous  enough  to  make  this  suggestion  with  regard 
to  native  evangelical  movements :  "Moreover,  being  al- 
most all  immersionist  bodies,  they  have  the  valuable 
strategic  advantage  of  raising  no  dispute  among  Rus- 
sians over  the  form  of  baptism — for  the  established 
Russian  church  has  made  everybody  familiar  with  bap- 
tism by  immersion.  The  wise  thing,  therefore,  is  for 
all  American  Protestants  to  come  to  an  understanding 
that  Russia  is  essentially  a  field  to  be  cultivated  by 
immersionist  workers." 

After  the  war,  there  will  be  special  opportunities 
for  Evangelical  Christians  in  Russia,  for  they  were 
English  in  origin,  and  not  German  as  were  the  Baptists 
of  Russia.  This  group  of  Christians  needs  many  things, 
but  especially  will  it  need  an  adequate  system  of  train- 
ing for  the  ministry.  We  cannot  do  much  good  by  send- 
ing preachers  to  Russia,  or  by  sending  money  without 
ideas.  If  we  could  send  young  men  with  the  very  best 
of  educational  equipment  and  give  them  funds,  they 
might  be  of  enormous  service  to  the  growth  of  that 
form  of  evangelical  teaching  in  Russia  with  which  we 
are  most  closely  allied. 

NEWSPAPER  EVANGELISM 

ANEW  way  of  preaching  the  gospel  effectively  is 
presented  in  the  use  of  the  newspapers  for  the 
carrying  of  gospel  messages.  A  Christian  man, 
not  a  Methodist,  has  left  to  the  foreign  missions  board 
of  that  denomination  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars 
as  the  beginning  of  a  fund  which  shall  be  used  to  propa- 
gate the  faith  the  world  over  through  the  printed  page. 
The  mission  board  would  like  to  see  the  fund  grow 
to  a  million  dollars  so  that  its  use  might  extend  to  all 
the  mission  fields  of  the  world  where  newspapers  are 
published. 

There  are  a  number  of  the  smaller  sects  which  have 
proved  it  possible  to  use  the  public  press  with  great 


May  3,  1917                                    THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  7 

effectiveness  as  an  agency  for  the  disseminating-  of  the  posed  to  be  a  part  of  the  mental  furniture  of  these  re- 
views of  the  organization.  The  Christian  Scientists  ligious  bodies.  It  would  be  worth  while  using  the  press 
buy  whole  pages  even  in  metropolitan  dailies  in  order  service  of  the  world  to  declare  just  what  the  great 
to  give  publicity  to  the  utterances  of  their  lecturers,  evangelical  bodies  do  hold  and  teach. 
The  late  Pastor  Russell  had  a  boiler  plate  service  The  printed  page  has  this  value:  that  it  gets  more 
which  carried  his  sermons  to  all  parts  of  the  country,  careful  and  painstaking  attention  than  do  the  words  of 
These  organizations  have  found  that  the  press  service  a  public  speaker  where  the  emotional  atmosphere  of  the 
is  worth  while.  meeting  may  interfere  somewhat  with  the  effectiveness 
Evangelical  denominations  rest  under  the  burden  of  the  presentation  of  the  truth.  There  is  also  a  certain 
of  a  great  misunderstanding.  Views  are  imputed  to  element  of  permanency  about  the  message  in  print 
them  which  they  have  never  held.  Other  ideas,  which  which  makes  it  a  more  or  less  durable  influence  in  the 
they  once  held   but   have  given   up,   are   popularly   sup-  world  for  the  truth. 

Why  I  Am  a  Disciple 

Fourth  Article — Minor  Reasons 

THEIR    GREAT    MOTTOES  signs  and  the  value  I  set  upon  them  as  leading  to  the 

highway  of  Christian  progress  and  the  fair  uplands  of 

1AM  drawn  to  the  Disciples  of  Christ  by  the  great  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
mottoes   or    slogans   which    head    and    adorn   their 

literature  and  which  symbolize  the  structural  con-  !• 

ceptions   on  which   their  movement  is  based.     These  «WHERE  THE  SCRIPTURES  SPEAK  WE  SPEAK)  AND  WHERE 

mottoes   are   the  guide  _signs   for   Disciples    practice.  THE  SCRIPTURES  ARE  SILENT  WE  ARE  SILENT» 

It  it  is  objected  by  some  critic  that  the  actual  prac-  ^s- 

tice  of  the  Disciples  is  far  from  conforming  to  these  We  can  begin  with  the  oldest  and  most  classic  of 

slogans  which  are  so  generally  current  among  them,  our  mottoes,  that  formulated  by  Thomas  Campbell  him- 

such  an  objection  does  not  lessen   for  me  the  value  self  at  the  very  dawn  of  our  Disciples'  history,  "Where 

and  significance  of  the  slogans  themselves,  nor  damp-  the  Scriptures  speak  we  speak,  and  where  the  Scriptures 

en  the  ardor  of  my  attachment  to  the  people  holding  are  silent,   we   are   silent."     From   the   beginning  the 

them.  Disciples  have  set  the  Bible  in  the  very  front  of  all 

The  effect  of  such  a  criticism  is   quite  the  con-  their  thinking,  and  have  sought  with  a  diligence  that 

trary.     In  so  far  as  it  seems  to  me  a  valid  criticism  was  often  pertinacious  to  ground  their  practices  on  the 

in  any  given  case  my  enthusiasm  seems  to  be  stirred  teaching  of  the  divine  word. 

with    renewed    determination    not    only    to    propagate  This  motto  was  formulated  in  the  contest  waged 

the  ideals  represented  by  the  mottoes  but  to  call  my  against  human  creeds  which  prescribed  doctrinal  be- 

own  people  back  to  them  for  such  correction  and  recon-  liefs  and  limited  the  fellowship  of  the  churches.     The 

struction  of  their  practice  as  may  be  necessary.    To  be  fathers  revolted  at  the  slavery  to  human  opinion  which 

aware  of  shortcomings  among  the  Disciples  does  not  these  creeds  represented,  and  in  the  interest  of  liberty 

alienate  me  from  them,  for  I  hardly  expect  to  find  an-  of  mind  and  elasticity  of  procedure,  as  well  as  for  the 

other  communion  of  Christians  whose  practice  meas-  sake  of  a  larger  fellowship  than  creedal  conformity  per- 

ures  up  to  its  mottoes  better  than  Disciples'  practice  mitted,  they  held  aloft  the  Scriptures  as  alone  worthy 

measures  up  to  theirs,  and  even  if  I  could  find  a  com-  to  guide  men's  thoughts  or  bind  their  practice, 

munion    quite    consistent   with    its   own    standards    it  Such  a  standard  as  they  raised  had  in  it  the  pos- 

would  by  no  means  follow  that  my  duty  called  me  to  sibility  of  grave  abuses,  as  subsequent  developments 

cast  in  my  lot  with  them.                             .  within   the   Disciples'   movement   sadly  disclosed.     By 

My  reasons  for  being  a  Disciple  are  found  not  so  some   the   Scriptures   were  made   to  "speak"   authori- 

much  in  the  Disciples  as  in  the  ideals  of  the  Disciples,  tatively  on  all  kinds  of  church  details — against  the  use 

It  is  not  what  they  are  but  what  they  are  consciously  of  instrumental  music  in  worship,  for  a  certain  fixed 

striving  to  be  that  draws  me  to  them.     I  do  not  say  type  of  organization  in  the  local  church,  against  general 

this  to  imply  that  anything  invidious  would  result  from  societies  for  the  propagation  of  missions,  for  the  prac- 

a  comparison  of  Disciples  and  other  religious  bodies.    I  tice  of  baptism  by  immersion,  against  a  salaried  min- 

believe  they  will  measure  up,  take  them  all  around,  to  istry,  for  a  weekly  observance  of  the   Lord's  Supper 

about  the  same  standard  of  excellence  as  Presbyterians,  with    a   prescribed   order   of   administration,   etc.,   etc. 

Baptists  and  the  rest.     It  would  be  a  species  of  phari-  These  became  tests  of  fellowship  among  sister  congre- 

saism  for  me  to  claim  that  my  own  people  are  better  gations  and  between  the  congregations  and  individual 

than  other  Christian  groups  and  to  urge  their  superior  candidates  for  membership. 

excellence  as  a  reason  for  my  attachment  to  them.  Such  a  use  of  the  Scriptures  was,  of  course,  a  carica- 
So  when  I  speak  of  their  great  mottoes  I  am  under  ture  of  the  Campbellian  motto.  Freed  from  the  yoke 
no  inhibitions  due  to  their  inconsistency  in  the  practice  of  the  historic  creeds  those  Disciples  who  made  this 
of  them.  It  is  enough  for  me  that  these  mottoes  are  application  of  their  principle  of  guidance  by  the  Scrip- 
historically  interwoven  into  the  conscious  purposes  of  tures  found  themselves  wearing  a  heavier  yoke  than 
the  Disciples,  and  that  they  represent  the  high  goals  the  one  their  fathers  were  unable  to  bear.  But  it  speaks 
toward  which  this  movement  strives.  My  personal  duty  volumes  for  the  healthy-mindedness  of  the  vast  ma- 
in relation  to  the  Disciples  is  determined  by  whatever  jority  of  the  Disciples  that  they  refused  to  allow  their 
insight  I  may  have  into  the  meanings  of  these  guide  movement   to  be   crushed   under  the   dead   weight   of 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


such  a  legalistic  and  rabbinical  interpretation  of  their 
motto.  Though  the  character  of  the  movement  as 
a  whole  was  pathetically  injured  by  this  visionless  and 
mechanical  perversion  of  their  motto,  the  present  com- 
plete sloughing  oft"  of  the  "anti"  section  from  the  main 
body  has  set  the  main  body  free  to  develop  in  the  direc- 
tion indicated  by  the  broader  construction  of  the  prin- 
ciple oi  loyalty  to  the  Scriptures. 

In  view  of  my  statements  in  the  first  article  of  this 
scries,  it  is  not  necessary  to  confess  again  my  conviction 
that  the  Bible  is  a  unique  revelation  of  the  will  and 
character  of  God.  To  me  it  holds  and  will  continue  to 
hold  a  place  of  pre-eminent  importance  and  authority  in 
the  life  of  the  church  and  of  the  soul.  Its  revelation  of 
the  principles  of  a  spiritual  order  is  to  be  matched  nowhere 
else.  I  feel  sure  that  no  progress  in  science  is  going  to 
displace  the  Bible  by  a  better  book  of  religion.  For  this 
reason  I  believe  we  ought  to  call  humanity  back  again  and 
a  jain  to  the  Scriptures. 

The  motto  of  Thomas  Campbell  is  as  apt  and  applica- 
ble today  as  a  century  ago.  Qualified  by  the  Protestant 
principle  of  the  right  of  private  interpretation  of  the  Bible, 
a  principle  the  neglect  of  which  is  mainly  responsible  for 
the  perverted  use  of  the  Bible  among  reactionary  Disci- 
ples, our  age  can  have  no  richer  blessing  than  to  sit  again 
in  expectant  awe  awaiting  the  breaking  forth  of  ever  new 
light  from  the  sacred  page. 

II. 

"IN    FAITH    UNITY,    IX    OPINIONS    LIBERTY,    IN    ALL   THINGS 

CHARITY." 

A  second  motto  which  adorns  the  literature  of  the 
Disciples  is  a  formulation  which  they  Jx>rrowed  from  a 
prior  source  and  have  made  their  very  own.  "In  faith 
unity,  in  opinions  liberty,  in  all  things  charity."  These 
words  never  get  old  to  me.  They  do  not  wear  out.  They 
hive  a  contemporaneousness  that  thrills  me  as  a  statement 
of  the  true  basis  of  unity  and  efficiency  in  the  church  of 
Christ.  Xo  one  would  think  of  claiming  that  the  Disciples 
have  succeeded  in  embodying  in  their  practice  the  ideals 
expressed  in  this  legend.  Certainly  much  yet  remains  to 
be  done  before  we  can  be  satisfied  with  the  progress  made 
toward  the  ideal  expressed  in  the  third  term  of  the  motto 
— '"in  all  things  charity."  But  boasting  is  equally  inappro- 
priate in  respect  to  the  first  and  second  terms. 

I  believe  the  distinction  between  faith  and  opinion  is 
a  valid  distinction.  Our  fathers  started  out  with  much 
clearer  ideas  as  to  this  distinction  than  we  have  today. 
Unfortunately  it  was  not  long  before  the  movement  began 
to  blur  the  line  between  faith  and  opinion,  and  the  lack  of 
clear  thinking  allowed  many  items  of  opinion  to  creep  over 
into  the  sphere  originally  held  sacred  to  faith.  In  our  day 
we  are  witnessing  many  troubles  in  our  Zion,  most  of 
which  are  the  weedy  crop  springing  up  from  our  careless- 
ness in  keeping  clear  the  things  of  opinion  from  the  one 
essential  of  faith. 

As  I  showed  in  the  previous  article,  faith  is  not  pri- 
marily intellectual,  but  personal  and  practical.  It  is  the 
personal  attitude  of  love  and  loyalty  toward  Jesus  Christ 
as  the  soul's  Lord.  Upon  the  basis  of  that  kind  of  faith  we 
inqy  have  unity.  But  we  cannot  hope  to  have  unity  upon 
that  basis  unless  we  make  place  for  liberty  in  the  field  of 
■pinion.  This  means  a  spirit  of  tolerance  and  mutual  con- 
sideration, it  means  breadth  of  view,  a  wide  range  of  vari- 
ety in  the  church's  thought  life,  a  readiness  to  consider  new 
st:tements  of  reality,  a  discipline  of  faith  that  precludes 


May  3,  1917 

shock  in  the  presence  of  new  scientific  discoveries  or  fresh 
hypotheses  of  higher  criticism. 

I  hold  that  we  are  in  profound  need  throughout  the 
whole  church  of  a  practical  application  of  this  great  motto. 
And  I  feel  no  more  deep-seated  passion  for  my  own  peo- 
ple than  that  they  might  so  faithfully  live  up  to  these  famil- 
iar words  that  the  rest  of  the  church  would  take  knowledge 
of  them  as  a  beautiful  example  of  unity  and  liberty  and 
love,  and  desire  themselves  to  live  by  the  same  rule. 

III. 

"DEVOTED  TO  THE  RESTORATION  OF  PRIMITIVE  CHRISTIANITY 
IN   FAITH,  ORDINANCES  AND  FRUITS." 

A  third  motto,  and  one  about  which  there  is  a  divided 
mind  among  Disciples  of  today,  is  that  which  sets  forth  the 
aim  of  the  movement  in  terms  of  a  restoration  of  primi- 
tive Christianity.  With  those  who  are  doubtful  of  the 
value  of  this  ideal  I  agree  so  far  as  to  admit  that  it  is  capa- 

( ble  of  very  great  abuse,  and  may,  if  its  terms  are  not  rightly 
interpreted,  be  the  means  of  smothering  in  a  corner  of  the 
world  the  religious  group  that  cleaves  to  it.  That  it  should 
be  the  tombstone  epitaph  of  many  an  impotent  and  dying 
church  among  us  and  of  the  whole  lifeless  "anti"  defection 
there  can  be  no  doubt. 

In  this  age  of  progress,  of  forward  looking,  an  age 
dominated  by  the  evolutionary  concept,  it  is  a  suicidal  thing 

{ to  turn  to  a  primitive  period  to  find  there  the  names  and 
forms  for  the  church  of  today.  The  dominant  mood  of  a 
conquering  church  must  be  not  restoration  but  realization. 
The  church  must  feel  that  the  best  is  yet  to  be,  that  the 
ideal  has  been  realized  in  no  golden  age  of  the  past,  but 
that  it  remains  for  us  yet  to  realize  it.  Only  such  an  atti- 
tude will  stimulate  the  church  to  make  those  constant  read- 
justments necessary  to  keep  in  vital  touch  with  the  ever 
changing  order  of  the  world  and  really  to  guide  the  world 
toward  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

How  pathetic  are  those  sterile  groups  of  religionists, 
obsessed  with  this  or  that  conception  of  the  primitive 
church,  who  feel  that  it  is  their  duty  to  go  off  in  an  isolated 
corner  of  society  and  try  to  reproduce  that  primitive 
church !  The  unrelatedness  of  it  all  to  the  real  problems 
of  humanity  seems  not  to  occur  to  them  as  a  reason  for 
challenging  their  procedure. 

But  this  kind  of  primitiveness  does  not  seem  to  me  to 
be  of  the  essence  of  our  great  motto.  The  faith,  ordi- 
nances and  life  of  the  early  church  may  be  restored  to  us  in 
a  way  that  is  not  slavish  nor  mechanical,  but  vital  and 
inspiriting.  The  constant  danger  of  organized  and  historic 
religion  is  institutionalism  and  hollow  formalism;  what 
once  was  a  palpitant  experience,  hot  with  passion  and  vivid 
w:ith  joy  and  hope,  tends  to  become  a  mere  round  of  ritual, 
or  a  custom,  or  an  empty  form  of  words.  From  this  point 
of  view  it  becomes  our  duty  to  restore  primitive  Christian- 
ity— to  take  our  Christianity  as  if  its  glad  message  were 
spoken  first  to  our  souls  among  all  mankind,  and  to  admin- 
ister the  ordinances  in  this  spirit,  and  to  bear  such  fruits  as 
such  a  first-hand  contact  with  Christian  things  should  natu- 
rally bring  forth. 

I  do  not  believe  the  time  has  come  to  apologize  for 
this  historic  motto  of  our  people,  but  to  reinterpret  it  and 
to  reinforce  it  in  our  practice. 

IV. 

"back  to  christ!" 

The  fourth  motto  or  slogan  whose  imperative  charac- 
ter holds  me  to  the  fellowship  of  the  Disciples  is  the  cry, 


May  3,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


"Rack  to  Christ !"  This  again  is  not  original  with  the  Dis- 
ciples, but  has  been  caught  up  and  woven  into  their  think- 
ing, as  part  and  parcel  of  their  thinking,  until  its  outside 
origin  has  been  almost  forgotten.  There  is  no  motto  that 
sets  for  me  so  comprehensively  and  with  such  unescapable 
goading  of  conscience  the  great  task  of  my  own  personal 
life  as  a  Christian  and  that  of  the  modern  church  as  does 
this  laconic  formula.  I  have  little  interest  in  the  verbal 
contention  as  to  whether  we  should  say,  "Back  to  Christ," 
or  "Forward  to  Christ."  Wherever  Christ  is — back  of  us 
in  history,  or  ahead  of  us  in  ideal  and  spiritual  leadership 
— let  us,  I  say,  go  to  him ! 

How  eloquent  are  the  pages  of  Disciples  literature  in 
their  plea  for  the  church  to  go  back  of  the  creeds,  back  of 
the  councils,  back  of  the  Reformation,  back  of  hierarchies, 
back  of  all  that  has  taken  place  since  the  great  redemption 
clays,  and  sit  again  at  the  feet  of  the  Redeemer  himself, 
drinking  in  his  words  as  Mary  drank  them  into  her  thirsty 
soul  at  Bethany  in  the  long  ago!  And  with  all  that  this 
motto  has  meant  to  us  and  done  for  us  as  a  people,  how 
far  we  are  from  entering  into  the  fullness  of  its  meaning 
even  yet ! 

With  a  motto  like  this  it  is  incumbent  on  the  Disciples 


to  prove  themselves  in  a  distinctive  way  the  ally  of  all 
rational  modern  movements  for  the  reconstruction  of  the 
social  order  on  the  basis  of  social  justice,  for  this  idea  of  a 
social  Kingdom  of  God  was  one  of  the  big  ideas  in  the 
mind  of  Christ.  And  if  a  religious  group  sets  itself  to  go 
back  to  him,  to  know  his  mind,  to  see  life  and  God  and 
man  as  he  saw  them,  how  could  such  a  group  fail  to  bring 
his  mind  to  bear  upon  the  issue  of  peace  and  war  through 
the  recent  discussion  of  which  we  Disciples  passed  with  the 
same  divided  and  unsure  testimony  as  that  which  char- 
acterized the  church  in  general. 

I  remember  reading  once  a  remark  of  Pastor  Charles 
Wagner,  the  author  of  "The  Simple  Life,"  in  which  he  said 
it  was  our  duty  as  Christians  to  try  to  read  the  words  of 
our  Lord  as  though  he  were  uttering  them  for  the  first 
time,  and  uttering  them  to  us. 

That  is  what  it  means  to  me  to  go  back  to  Christ,  and 
to  restore  primitive  Christianity.  To  invest  Christ's  words 
with  their  virgin  character,  to  redeem  them  from  the  cor- 
ruption and  bias  with  which  our  historic  Christianity  has 
subverted  them,  this  is  to  go  back  to  Christ  and  learn  afresh 
his  message  of  God  and  of  a  human  world  filled  with  love. 

Charles  Clayton  Morrisox. 


[          The  Beauty  of  the  Bible 

Sixteenth  Article  of  the  Series  on  the  Bible 

[                                                           By  Herbert  L.  Willett 

AMONG  the  books  that  make  up  the  carefully  gathered  scription  of  the  Bible  as  literature.     The  first  is  that  sort 

libraries  of  real  lovers  of  literature — from  the  hand-  of  literary  connoisseurs  whose  limited  acquaintance  with 

ful  of  prized  volumes  which  our  fathers  were  able  the  Bible  has  never  given  them  awareness  of  its  wonderful 

to  secure,  on  through  the  sifted  lists  that  comprise  the  richness  of  prose  and  poetry.    One  occasionally  meets  such 

"five  feet  of  the  world's  classics,"  to  the  vast  stores  of  people,  and  finds  in  them  the  real  Philistine  spirit  of  dis- 

treasured  lore  assembled  in  the  famous  libraries — the  Bible  sent  from  any  appreciative  estimate  of  the  Scriptures  as 

has  taken  an  assured  and  unquestioned  place.    So  impres-  worthy  of  inclusion  among  the  great  literatures  of  the  race, 

sive  is  the  position  which  it  holds  among  the  world's  great  For  such  people  one  can  only  feel  the  sympathy  which  is 

books  that  men  of  eminent  literary  authority  have  not  hesi-  merited  by  the  unfortunate  who  have  missed  something  of 

tated  to  affirm  that  if  all  the  volumes  now  known  to  men  the  supreme  joy  of  life.     The  second  group  is  made  up  of 

could  be  placed  in  one  scale  of  a  vast  balance,  and  a  copy  those  who  are  so  convinced  of  the  religious  values  of  the 

of  the  Bible  in  the  other  it  would  outweigh  them  all ;  or  Bible  that  any  effort  to  bring  to  attention  its  literary  beauty 

that  if  the  hard  choice  were  necessary  between  the  destruc-  seems  to  them  an  act  of  sacrilege.     They  say,  "This  book  is 

tion  of  this  book  and  of  the  remainder  of  the  literature  the  Word  of  God.     Why  then  reduce  it  to  the  level  of  your 

of  the  race,  the  decision,  though  reluctant,  would  be  inevit-  Homers,  Virgils  and  Shakespeares  by  regarding  it  as  a 

able.    The  world  might  get  on  without  even  the  best  of  the  mere  masterpiece  of  literature?"     Here  also  one  must  keep 

other  books,  but  without  the  Bible,  not  at  all.  a  sympathetic  mind.     If  the  choice  were  really  to  be  made 

For  this  supremacy  of  the  Scriptures  many  reasons  between  the  Bible  on  the  one  hand  as  the  supreme  work  in 

have  appeared  in  the  course  of  these  studies.     But  one  the  field  of  morals  and  religion,  and  on  the  other  as  a 


more  deserves  consideration.  The  Bible  includes  the  most 
beautiful  of  literature.  Its  books  contain  some  of  the 
most  unquestioned  masterpieces  of  writing.  Its  charm  of 
poetry,  narrative,  spoken  word  and  character  study  is  un- 
escapable. In  lyric  beauty  and  solemn  grandeur  it  sur- 
passes all  other  products  of  the  pen  of  man.  Those  who 
have  attained  familiarity  with  its  hidden  treasures  of  word 
and  line,  and  have  surrendered  themseves  to  its  ever- 
growing attractiveness,  know  the  sure  bases  on  which  its 
literary  supremacy  rests.  There  is  no  volume  so  fasci- 
nating in  all  the  cloistered  libraries  where,  hidden  away 


charming  collection  of  ancient  poems  and  narratives,  then 
the  decision  would  be  without  question.  But  as  matter  of 
fact,  both  values  are  found  in  this  set  of  documents,  and  it 
is  no  discredit  to  the  inspiration  and  authority  of  the  Bible 
to  find  that  it  is  also  a  collection  of  human  documents  some 
of  which  possess  imperishable  beauty. 

Anyone  who  is  sensitive  to  the  appeal  of  great  litera- 
ture finds  himself  debtor  to  the  great  spirits  of  the  past  who 
have  left  behind  them  songs  that  live  and  words  that  burn. 
To  enter  through  the  gates  of  literature  into  the  enchanted 
world  of  Homer,  iEschylus,  Sophocles,  Pindar,  Sappho, 


hoTrd aU  bUt  l0Ving  CyeS'  ^  ^^  thC  PaStS  inCakulable     virg»l  Horace,  Dante,  Tasso,  Goethe,  Moliere,  Chaucer, 

Shakespeare,  Tennvson,  Longfellow,  Whitman,  and  their 
is  the  bible  literature.  .  thousand  companions  of  the  magic  pen  is  to  touch  spirits 

There  are  two  classes  of  people  who  demur  to  the  de-     with  the  immortals,  and  catch  glimpses  of  that  light  that 


10  THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  May  3,  1917 

never  was  on  sea  or  land.     It  is  even  so  with  the  Bible,  works  of  literature.     Its  stately  prose  prologue,  with  the 

It  sweeps  the  horizon  of  man's  life.     It  sounds  the  deep  swift  involvement  of  the  hero  in  tragedy,  and  the  rapid 

abvsses  of  experience.     In  its  voices  are  the  great  rolling  hammer-strokes  of  fate  that  proclaim  the  four-fold  dis- 

thunder  tones   of   destiny.     Over  its  uplands  blows  the  aster  that  befalls  him;  the  solemn  curse  upon  the  day  that 

breath  of  new-breaking  days.    Out  of  all  its  sorrows  there  betrayed  him  into  life,  (chap.  3)  ;  the  shuttlelike  weaving 

comes  the  calm  assurance  of  a  quenchless  hope.     These  of  the  argument  in  the  three-fold  cycle  of  debate  between 

qualities  it  shares  with  the  master  books  of  the  race,  and  it  Job  and  his  friends  (chaps.  4-30)  ;  Job's  tremendous  Oath 

outreaches  them  all.     In  the' field  of  the  spirit's  eternal  of   Vindication    (chap.    31);   the    Interruption    of    Elihu 

conflict  for  freedom  and  for  life  the  Bible  stands  unique,  (chaps.  32-37)  ;  the  Voice  of  Jehovah  out  of  the  storm 

supreme.     But    there    are    quieter    scenes,    softer   voices,  (chaps.  38-41)  ;  and  finally  the  prose  epilogue  (chap.  42), 

There  is  the  love  of  nature,  the  charm  of  moving  lights  and  all  constitute  a  succession  of  chapters  that  search  heaven 

shadows,  the  flocks  pasturing  on  the  hillside,  and  the  songs  and  earth  for  the  rich  materials  of  argument  and  illustra- 

of  shepherds  on  mountain  paths.     Music  and  poetry  are  tion  which  they  lavish  upon  the  reader.     Single  chapters, 

found  in  many  of  the  modest  places  of  this  great  literature,  like  the  Mine  of  Wisdom  (28),  the  War  Horse  (39),  and 

And  this  variation  of  theme  and  tone  invests  the  book  with  the  Sea  Monster  (41)  are  sufficient  alone  to  place  the  book 

an  immortal  beauty  which  the  ages  have  not  been  slow  to  in  the  company  of  the  great  poems  of  the  world, 
discover.  But  in  the  Psalms  the  highest  levels  of  lyric  beauty  are 

bible  stories  reached.     Here  are  the  voices  of  poets  to  whom  Palestine 

.  was  the  most  beautiful  of  lands,  and  they  never  tired  of 

The   stories   of   the   Bible   have   become   the   prized  singing  its  praise  in  their  ad0ration  of  the  God  who  made 

possession  of  the  children  of  every  race.     Every  people  has  it  SQ  ]ovdy      The  starry  heavens  at  night  were  almost  a 

its  narratives  of  adventure  gathered  about  its  cherished  Hving  wonder  to  poets  like  the  men  who,  composed  Psalms 

heroes.     But  the  stories  of  the  Bible  do  service  for  the  g  and  lg     From  the  mountain  tops  of  the  long  central 

universal  childhood  mind.     In  every  generation  Abraham  range  they  looked  with  awe  upQn  the  siQrm>  wh{(±  ros£  QUt 

goes  out  from  his  country  toward  an  unknown  land ;  Joseph  of  the  sea  m<e  the  man,g  hand  o£  Elijah>s  seaward  i00k  at  j 

is  sold  by  his  envious  brothers,  and  by  the  providence  of  Carmel>  swept  onwar(i  aiong  the  mountain  glens  till  the 

God  becomes  the  viceroy  of  Egypt  and  the  savior  of  his  yery  cedarg  of  Lebanon  fell  crashing  before  it,  and  then 

people;    Moses,    saved    from    royal    persecution    by    the  passed  on  its  majestic  way  far  out  over  the  eastern  up- 

audacity  ot  his  mother,  grows  up  to  be  the  deliverer  of  his  landg  (Psalm  2o,)     Who  that  has  read  with  attention  the 

brethren,  leads  them  across  the  shallows  of  the  sea  amid  1Q4th  Pgalm  can  fail  tQ  be  impressed  with  its  delight  in  the 

darkness  and  tempest,  gives  them  oracles  for  their  direc-  hillg  and  valleyg  and  far.stretching  sea  of  Palestine.     Not 

tion,  smites  the  rock  for  their  refreshing,  and  leaves  them  legs  did  the  gingers  of  ^  great  collectiorij  ^^  became 

at  last  with  his  benediction  within  sight  of  the  land  on  the  hymil.book  of  the  later  temple>  delight  in  the  great 

whose  soil  he  was  never  to  stand;  Absalom,  the  hand-  moments  of  Israers  history.    Imagination  plays  about  the 

some,  wayward  prince,  rides  through  the  streets  with  his  arriyal  of  the  ark  .Q  jerusalem  to  the  singing  of  the  24th 

chariot  and  fifty  men  to  run  before  him,  or  sits  with  calcu-  Psalm .  or  the  exultation  of  Jerusalem  over  the  deliver- 

lating  friendship  at  his  father  s  palace  gates  to  win  the  ance  frQm  Sennacherib)  in  Psalm  46;  or  the  departure 

hearts  of  the  men  of  Israel;  and  Elijah  climbs  the  steep  of  the  exiles  tQWard  Babylon>  as  hinted  in  Psalm  42j  in  } 

sides  of  Carmel  to  confront  the  leagued  opposition  of  the  whkh  the  yery  highest  levds  of  lyHc  beauty  are  reached .  or 

land  and  overthrow  the  priests  of  Baal,  and  then  girds  the  heartbreak  and  anger  of  captivity  in  the  137th  Psalm;  or 

himself,  sure  of  the  coming  storm,  to  run  before  the  horses  the  bitterness  of  Maccabean  martyrdom  in  the  74th.    Nor 

of  Ahab  across  the  plain  to  the  gates  of  Jezreel.       And  does  Qne  wonder  that  the  51st  and  32nd  Psaims  have  be- 

what  shall  one  say  more?    For  time  would  fail  to  speak  of  come  the  WQrld,s  confessionalj  nor  that  the  90th  is  woven 

Gideon,  of  Barak,  of  Samson,  of  Jephthah;  of  David  and  intQ  eyery  Ut  for  the  dead;  nQr  that  Lmher  made  the 

Samuel  and  the  prophets ;  who  through  faith  subdued  king-  46th  his  own>  and  composed  upon  its  lines  the  battle-hymn 

doms,  wrought  righteousness,  obtained  promises,  stopped  of  the  Reformatiori)  nor  that  Cromwell  taught  his  troops 

the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched  the  power  of  fire    escaped  tQ  charge  tQ  the  strains  of  the  6gth>  «Let  God  arise>  and  let 

the  edge  of  the  sword,  from  weakness  were  made  strong,  yg  enemjes  be  scattered  " 
waxed  mighty  in  war,  turned  to  flight  armies  of  heathen." 
Children  at  the  impressionable  age  are  made  what  one  voices  of  the  psalms 

wishes  to  make  them,  less  by  direct  command  than  by  the  D- .  ,,     ,-.    ,  ,  ,    ,        t  _    M  .  nn 

.  '.    ...    TJ  ,.  L    .  ..  J      .  But  the  Psalms  were  not  composed  alone  for  great  oc- 

power  of  great   stones.     In   listening  to   a   narrative   ot  n    .  ,ru  ,,  „,  -\  •  i       t  *.u~  ~  i:„:~„r. 

rfe.  ,  .  ,  ,-i  •  ,  i  .i  casions.     I  hey  were  the  common  vehicle  of  the  religious 

courage,    faithfulness,   chivalry,   virtue  and   sincerity   the  ..,       ™,    .      J       ..  .  .    .      .    ..  ,.  °     .1 

.  .,  .  b       .  .       ,,  .     '       .        •",  ,,     ,  j  .         ,    ,  .  life.     1  heirs  are  the  voices  of  simple  lives,  as  well  as  ot 

child  puts  himself  in  the  place  of  the  hero,  and  invests  him-  ,,  ,.       ah    u  j        r  •  *.        a  •„  4-u:„\ 

,,.,,.  ...        v      .i  •  11        .1    •  the  great.     All  shades  of  experience  are  portrayed  in  this 

self  with  his  qualities.     For  this  reason,  as  well  as  their         11° ,.  T  .        ,,         K    ,,.         , ,    ,         'n  «„„^- 

....     7  .  .        r  .1     -o-t-1    i         i-        .i  collection.     In  goinp-  through  this  anthology  one  passes 

imperishable  charm,  the  stories  of  the  Bible  have  been  the  ,  ,         ,  ?,     &  °.        £  „        ,     T '„.    ,,      ,    J 

.  .'  ,  .  .  f       1         ,     A   .  ,    .         ...  ,  homes  where  bitter  sorrow  has  fallen;  he  hears  the  low 

chief  material  for  the  entertainment  and  the  religious  edu-  ,  r        ,,         ,     .,  ..       ,*    . .     .  ., ,  .,,  ,„     r 

,  *  a  tones  of  mothers  hushing  their  children  with  a  song  ot 

quiet  trust  in  God ;  he  finds  saints  bowed  over  baffling  prob- 

poetry  of  the  bible  lems  of  seeming  mistake  on  the  part  of  Providence ;  or  he  ; 

More  attractive  still  is  the  poetry  of  the  Bible.     In  joins  a  ^nd.of  P?f ims  journeying  in  holy  joy  up  to  the 

fragments  it  breaks  out  from  the  life  of  early  Israel  in  feast  at  the  city  of  the  great  King.     Psalms  like  these  come 

proverb  and  refrain,  or  takes  more  elaborate  form  in  such  f°  "Hi  not  on  y  with  the  emotions  of  their  first  singers,  but 

war  chants  as  "The  Song  at  the  Sea,"  (Ex.  15),  and  the  laden  as  wrel!  wl1tVh"  glad"eSS  and  SOrJ°W  °f  aU   he  gT 

"Song  of  Deborah,"  ( Jud.  5.)     The  Book  of  Job  is  one  of  erat.,ons  of/h£  ^-hearted  or  weary  travellers  along  the 

the  unchallenged  masterpieces  of  universal  literature.     It  roadway  of  the  years. 

has  been  well  said  that  no  literary  critic  of  any  race  or  age  "Such  songs  have  power  to  quiet  the  restless  pulse  of  care,  j 

could  fail  to  include  this  great  poem  among  the  six  greatest  And    come   i;ke    the   benediction    that    follows    after    prayer." 


May  3,  1917                                     THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  11 

And  other  beautiful  poetry  there  is  in  the  Bible,  such  as  most  splendid  characters  in  history.     In  sheer  perfection 

the  Proverbs,  jewels  five  words  long,  that  on  the  stretched  of  spirit  and  behavior  the  lives  of  Joseph  and  Jonathan 

fore-finger  of  all  time  sparkle  forever;  the  lovely  lyrics  of  excel  all  that  we  know  of  antiquity.     As  examples  of 

the  Song  of  Songs,  that  panegyric  of  true  love,  rich  with  courage  and  high  purposefulness  in  an  age  which  at  best 

scented  winds  from  gardens  of  spices ;  or  the  plaintive  lines  was    far    from    enlightened,    Abraham,    Moses,    Samuel, 

of  dirges,  like  the  "Song  of  the  Bow"   (2  Sam.  1)  and  David,  Solomon,  Hezekiah,  Josiah  and  the  great  prophets 

Lamentations;  or  the  holy  gratitude  of  young  and  happy  who  have  been  named  make  up  a  galaxy  of  brilliant  and 

mothers  over  their  first-born  sons,  as  in  Hannah's  song  of  outstanding  men.     In  the  apostles  and  friends  of  Jesus 

praise  and  the  Magnificat  (Luke  1.)     The  prophets,  too,  a  similar  greatness  is  discovered.     They  are  not  without 

have   much   impressive   poetry.     The   solemn   refrain   of  their  limitations,  but  in  comparison  with  any  like  number  of 

Amos,  "For  three  transgressions  of  Damascus,  yea  for  men  in  history  they  have  the  precedence.     And  in  all  these 

four"    (chap.    1);  the  hopeful   dialogue  between  Jahveh  regards  their  lives  have  the  attractiveness  which  inheres  in 

and  the  wayward  nation  in  Hosea  (chap.  14)  ;  the  glorious  great  achievement.     It  would  be  difficult  to  think  of  the 

picture  of  peace  presented  by  Isaiah  (chap.  11)  ;  the  terri-  world  without  these  men.     And  it  is  in  this  book  alone  that 

fying   oracles    of    Jeremiah    regarding    the    approaching  their  lives  are  conveyed  to  us.     This  of  itself  might  well 

Scythian  invasion  (chap.  4)  ;  and  Ezekiel's  somber  vision  entitle  it  to  the  supreme  place  in  literature.     But  beyond 

of  the  dead  kings  entering  Sheol  (chap.  32),  are  a  few  of  all  this  the  one  Life  before  which  all  centuries  stand  with 

many  fragments  of  poetry  which  are  found  all  along  the  uncovered  head,  the  One  whose  words  hang  in  the  air  like 

way   from  the   Hymn  of   Creation  at  the  beginning  of  banners,  and  whose  sentences  walk  through  all  the  earth 

Genesis,  past  the  Hymn  of  the  Suffering  Servant  (Isa.  52,  like  spirits,  is  described  only  in  this  book.     Such  a  life 

53)  and  Paul's  Hymn  of  Love  (1  Cor.  13)  to  the  Hymn  makes  the  crown  and  consummation  of  this  book.     To 

of  the  River  of  Life  at  the  end  of  Revelation.  have  spoken  no  other  message  than  this  would  have  been 

enough.     To  have  painted  no  other  face  would  have  con- 

BIBLICAL  ELOQUENCE  ferred  jmmortality. 

Hardly  less  impressive  from  the  artistic  point  of  view  Xt  is  doubtless  desirable  that  as  far  as  possible  the 
is  the  eloquence  of  the  Bible.  We  are  accustomed  to  speak  motive  for  the  reading  and  study  of  the  Bible  should  be 
of  men  like  Demosthenes,  Cicero,  Chrysostom,  Burke,  that  of  interest  in  its  ethical  and  religious  ideals.  But  it 
Webster  and  Phillips  Brooks  as  the  masters  of  the  spoken  must  be  confessed  that  there  are  many  to  whom  these  con- 
wftrd.  Their  orations  and  sermons  have  been  studied  by  siderations  make  no  appeal.  They  are  not  necessarily 
seekers  after  the  secret  of  persuasive  public  speech.  Yet  without  ethical  and  religious  concern,  but  they  may  think 
judged  by  every  canon  of  effectiveness,  the  orators  of  the  themselves  sufficiently  provided  with  such  material  from 
Bible  stand  in  a  place  above  all  other  public  speakers.  In  other  sources.  In  such  cases  one  is  glad  to  find  that  the 
the  orations  of  Moses  as  they  are  set  down  in  the  Book  literary  appreciation  of  the  Bible  provides  an  inducement 
of  Deuteronomy,  the  sermons  of  Isaiah,  the  burning  words  sufficient  to  lead  to  a  study  of  its  contents.  It  is  often  true 
of  John  the  Baptist,  the  addresses  of  the  apostles  Peter  that  men  and  women  who  would  not  be  sensitive  to  their 
and  Paul,  and  most  of  all  in  the  teachings  of  our  Lord,  ignorance  of  the  Bible  as  the  supreme  book  of  religion 
there  are  presented  examples  of  effective  eloquence  which  would  be  ashamed  to  confess  that  they  were  unacquainted 
outrival  all  others  that  we  know.  When  it  is  remembered  with  the  greatest  of  literary  masterpieces.._It  is  greatly  de- 
that  the  masterpieces  of  oratory  of  which  the  world  most  sirable  therefore  that  by  any  and  all  means  an  increasing 
speaks  have  been  preserved  to  us  in  practically  unabbrevi-  number  of  intelligent  people  may  be  led  to  give  to  the  Bible 
ated  form,  while  we  have  to  depend  upon  mere  fragments  some  portion  of  the  attention  which  it  demands.  And  no 
of  biblical  sermons  for  our  knowledge  of  their  content  and  matter  what  the  avenue  of  approach,  whether  that  of  liter- 
movement,  the  contrast  is  still  more  effective.  ature,  or  history,  or  archaeology,  once  in  that  domain  of 

What  charm  there  is  in  the  elaborate  picture  of  the  biblical  literature,  they  are  sure  to  meet  somewhere  the 

choice  of  a  wife  for  Isaac  (Gen.  24),  an  incident  that  is  Kmg  face  to  face-     For  this  reason  it  is  possible  to  say 

given  larger  space  than  any  other  in  Genesis ;  who  that  has  that  any  sincere  effort  at  Bible  study  is  in  some  true  sense 

read  the  tender  plea  of  Judah  to  the  unrecognized  Joseph  an  act  of  worship. 

for  his  little  brother  Benjamin  (Gen.  44)  has  been  able  to  And  so  it  is  a  satisfaction  to  insist  that  the  greatest 
keep  back  the  tears  ?  Is  there  not  a  strange  stirring  of  of  books  is  also  the  most  attractive.  Beyond  all  gratitude 
the  heart  as  Isaiah  of  Jerusalem  falls  into  his  solemn  re-  to  God  for  the  volume  itself,  as  it  came  from  the  hands  of 
frain,  "For  all  this  his  anger  is  not  turned  away,  and  his  its  first  writers,  we  ought  to  be  grateful  for  that  wealth  of 
hand  is  stretched  out  still,"  and  proceeds  to  describe  that  loving  and  scholarly  service  rendered  to  it  through  the  cen- 
terrible  onset  of  the  Assyrian  army  that  shall  leave  the  turies  in  the  progress  of  its  translation  and  revision  as  an 
city  desolate  (chap.  5.)  The  charm  of  the  friendship  of  English  classic.  Such  passages  as  the  Eulogy  of  Love 
David  and  Jonathan  is  undying;  the  idyl  of  Ruth  is  unsur-  (Cant.  8:6,  7),  or  the  Vow  of  Ruth  (chap.  1 :16),  or  the 
passed  in  literature;  the  portrait  of  the  Perfect  Woman  in  Last  Sigh  of  the  Departing  Exile  (Ps.  42),  or  Paul's  im- 
Proverbs  (chap.  31)  is  classic;  and  the  seven  songs  of  the  mortal  Hymn  of  Love  are  not  only  revelations  of  the  mar- 
Book  of  Revelation  are  full  of  stately  magnificence.  velous  beauty  of  the  Bible,  but  as  well  the  disclosures 

biblical  characters  of  the  rich  resources  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  mother  tongue. 

And  this  but  illustrates  what  Macauley  has  said  of  the 

Beyond  all  other  beauty,  however,  which  this  Book  of  English  Bible— "A  book  which  if  everything  else  in  our 

books  reveals,  is  that  of  character.     Here  in  spite  of  all  the  language  should  perish,  would  alone  suffice  to  show  the 

limitations  of  the  age  in  which  they  lived,  are  shown  the  whole  extent  of  its  beauty  and  power." 

These  articles  by  Dr.  Willett,  including  those  of  the  series  yet  to  appear  in  subsequent  issues 
of  The  Christian  Century,  were  primarily  conceived  by  the  author  as  chapters  in  a  volume  entitled 

"Our  Bible."     The  book  is  now  being  prepared  for  the  press  and  will  be  published  at  an  carlv 
date.   Orders  may  be  sent  at  any  time.    Price,  $1.35.— The  Christian  Century  Press. 


The  Martial  Mind  of  New  York 


LIKE  any  congested  population. 
New  York  City  is  quickly  re- 
sponsive  to  the  immediate  present. 
Its  yesterdays  are  too  old  to  claim 
attention.  The  present  moment  is 
all  absorbing.  Particularly  do  those 
interests  which  have  movement,  ac- 
tion, engage  the  supreme  attention. 
Most  readily,  therefore,  does  the 
city  lend  itself  to  the  spirit  of  patri- 
otic impulses  at  such  an  hour  as  this. 
When  one  considers  the  complex 
character  of  New  York's  population, 
with  its  vast  majority  of  foreign- 
speaking  and  unassimilated,  it  is  all 
the  more  remarkable  to  observe  the 
universal  sweep  of  the  patriotic 
demonstration.  There  are  1,250,000 
citizens  of  New  York  City  who  have 
never  taken  out  naturalization  pa- 
pers; are  of  alien  birth  and  allegi- 
ance. Yet  so  forceful  is  the  patriotic 
impulse  that  not  only  are  men  being 
jailed  and  fined  for  disrespectful 
words  concerning  the  flag,  but  a 
failure  to  show  proper  respect  for 
the  national  hymn  by  rising  when  it 
is  sung  is  not  only  taken  as  a  cause 
for  suspicion,  but  often  an  object 
for  overt  attacks  (which  leave  this 
composed  and  comfortable  citizen 
quite  changed  in  personal  appear- 
ance). Even  if  one  goes  to  the  mov- 
ies, he  must  rise  and  "uncover"  so 
many  times  it  seems  like  an  Angli- 
can liturgy.  Every  public  official  is 
greeted  by  such  public  graciousness 
of  standing  and  saluting,  both  as  he 
enters  and  as  he  retires,  that  it  sa- 
vors of  the  good  old  days  of  kings 
and  courts. 

KEEPING  THE  FIRES  BURNING 

The  presence  in  the  city  of  so 
many  who  are  immediately  from  the 
scenes  of  war  keeps  the  fires  burning. 
English  officers  and  French  soldiers 
are  always  coming  or  going.  Their 
utterances  stir  audiences  to  wildest 
enthusiasm.  Recitals  of  German 
atrocities  create  deep  indignation 
while  instances  of  sacrifices  and  he- 
roism thrill  all  classes. 

Xot  the  least  among  these  incen- 
tives to  patriotism  is  the  presence 
of  Ambassador  Gerard  from  Berlin. 
He  is  so  quiet,  so  unoratorical,  so 
matter  of  fact  that  he  stuns  you 
with  his  statements.  It  is  as  if  he 
had  lived  for  so  many  months  in  the 
presence  of  the  vandalism  of  Europe 
that  nothing  more  is  capable  of  stir- 
ring him  to  vengeance.  Yet  the  even 
tempered  recital  of  his  experiences 
seems  to  give  all  the  more  credence 
to  them  and  the  total  effect  upon  the 
public  mind  is  one  of  Peter  the  Her- 
mit stirring  the  sotll  of  a  nation  to 
another  Crusade. 


By  Finis  S.  Idleman 

Imagine  what  your  feelings 
would  be  to  hear  him  say  in  a  most 
matter  of  fact  way  that  he  had  to 
protest  continually  against  the  per- 
mitted practice  of  German  boys 
shooting  arrows  barbed  with  nails 
through  the  wire  enclosure  where 
prisoners  were  densely  crowded ; 
that  prison  guards  kept  and  trained 
shepherd  dogs  to  bite  the  prisoners 
within  the  enclosures ;  that  when 
typhus  fever  broke  out  among  the 
Russian  prisoners  the  English  and 
French  prisoners  were  transferred 
to  that  enclosure  on  the  plea  that 
the  Allies  "ought  to  be  together 
now,  since  they  fought  together"; 
that  for  three  years  prisoners-  in 
Germany  had  had  nothing  to  eat 
which  they  could  not  eat  with  a 
spoon ;  that  even  German  citizens 
were  fined  who  sought  to  relieve 
passing  prisoners  who  gave  signs  of 
thirst  and  hunger. 

"RALPH    CONNOR"    STIRS   INTEREST 

No  less  a  stirring  character  is 
"Ralph  Connor"  of  Winnipeg.  He 
has  spoken  often  during  the  past 
few  days  and  he  carries  his  audi- 
ences with  deep  religious  feeling. 
He  left  his  church  in  Winnipeg  and 
took  five  hundred  men  from  his  con- 
gregation to  enter  the  trenches 
"Somewhere  in  France."  His  pres- 
ent mission  in  Canada  is  to  comfort 
the  widows  and  mothers  of  those 
slain  and  to  recruit  the  broken  ranks 
of  his  company.  He  said  that  when 
he  called  the  wives  and  mothers  and 
sweethearts  of  his  "boys"  together 
in  the  church  in  Winnipeg  he  was 
overcome  with  his  emotion  until  one 
Scotch  mother  arose  and  said,  "Din- 
na  weep,  Dominie,  we  would  na  hae 
them  back."  When  asked  what  the 
men  thought  about  the  duration  of 
the  war,  he  said,  "The  men  have 
lost  all  knowledge  of  time.  There 
is  no  calendar,  no  clock.  They  rec- 
ognize the  fact  that  they  are  there 
to  finish  a  hard  job  and  until  then 
there  is  no  calendar."  He  brings  his 
audiences  to  their  feet  with  the 
statement  that  "my  men  believe 
they  are  fighting  the  war  against 
war." 

The  ministers  of  New  York  City 
are  universally  and  aggressively  pa- 
triotic. Flags  fby  from  every  church 
and  the  pulpits  are  draped  with  "old 
glory."  Enlistment  papers  are  pre- 
sented in  many  churches.  All  sem- 
blance of  pacifism  has  vanished.  Yet 
it  is  all  imbued  with  deep  spiritual 
passion,  without  vengeance.  Newell 
Dwight  Hillis  was  quoted  as  saying 
on  last  Sunday  evening  that  he 
would  like  to  see  the  Kaiser  hung, 


but  doubtless  this  was  only  a  mental 
telepathic  dispatch  to  the  reporter, 
rather  than  a  public  declaration.  Dr. 
Jowett  has  been  clear  and  emphatic 
in  his  appeal.  "It  almost  amounted 
to  enlistment  day,"  said  a  hearer  of 
his  on  a  recent  Sunday. 

BILLY  SUNDAY   ENTERS 

While  all  this  religious  fervor  for 
the  national  alliance  with  "demo- 
cracy against  autocracy"  moves 
"too  strong  for  sound  and  foam," 
Billy  Sunday  enters  the  scene!  He 
made  his  debut  Easter  Sunday  and 
the  flag  waving  that  afternoon  and 
night  would  have  cheered  the  heart 
of  the  most  rabid.  The  German 
Kaiser  almost  supplanted  the  Devil 
as  the  object  of  vituperation.  Stand- 
ing with  both  feet  on  the  pulpit  and 
waving  two  flags  and  calling  to 
"Rhody"  to  lead  in  "Our  God  goes 
marching  on"  (while  one  enthusias- 
tic preacher  shouted  "Let  her  go!") 
surrounded  by  a  shouting  host  that 
seemed  to  fade  away  into  a  blur  in 
the  hazy  distance — all  this  is  typical 
of  the  thing  New  York  is  these  days. 

There  is  nothing  changed  in  the 
city's  outward  appearance.  Guards 
along  the  great  bridges  that  span 
the  East  River  and  up  the  long 
aqueduct  that  supplies  the  city  with 
water  from  the  Catskills  give  slight 
token  of  war.  The  armories  are 
crowded  with  men  drilling  and  en- 
listment tents  are  everywhere.  Al- 
most ridiculous  are  the  companies 
of  women  who,  jaded  with  "much 
ado  about  nothing,"  drill  and  coun- 
ter-march and  charge  with  bayonets 
against  an  anticipated  foe.  But  hos- 
pitals and  yachts  and  private  homes 
and  wealth  are  being  offered  to  the 
government. 

FIRST    IMPRESSIONS    OF    SUNDAY    CAM- 
PAIGN 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  be- 
neath the  light  and  gay  life  of  the 
city  is  this  quick  response  to  need 
and  this  unflinching  patriotism.  One 
is  not  even  in  good  social  standing 
unless  some  member  of  the  family 
is  conducting  a  hospital  in  Europe 
or  supporting  an  ambulance  corps 
or  offering  some  private  luxury  to 
the  Government.  One  capitalist  em- 
ploying a  large  number  of  men  said, 
"No  man  need  apply  to  me  for  a 
position  who  has  not  done  some- 
thing to  relieve  the  suffering  of  Eu- 
rope." It  may  be  that  the  carnage 
of  war  may  give  America  that  price- 
less virtue  of  unselfishness  which 
we  had  almost  lost  in  the  hoarded 
gains  of  the  past  decade.    John  R. 


May  3,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


13 


Mott  said  recently  at  a  conference 
here,  "1  saw  not  in  all  Europe  a  self- 
ish man,  woman  or  child."  Such  a 
spirit  seems  even  now  to  brood  over 
the  city  and  the  nation. 

It  is  too  early  to  give  any  judg- 
ment concerning  Billy  Sunday's  re- 
ception in  New  York.  Very  natu- 
rally the  Athenian  spirit  that  "seeks 
some  new  thing"  drew  immense  au- 
diences the  first  day.  The  days  im- 
mediately following  have  been  test- 
ing days.  Doubtless  the  campaign 
will  swing  into  a  momentum  which 
has  characterized  it  in  other  cities. 
We  are  hearing  all  the  vitriolic  lan- 
guage that  belongs  to  the  early 
stage  of  the  meeting.  While  criti- 
cism is  abundant  the  heart  of  it  was 


taken  out  by  Mr.  Sunday's  an-, 
nouncement  the  first  day  of  the 
campaign  that  he  would  not  accept 
anything  for  his  services  in  New 
York,  but  would  divide  the  offering 
between  the  Red  Cross  Association 
and  the  prison  work  done  by  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

A   SUPREME   EFFORT 

He  has  already  assigned  New 
York  ministers  to  their  respective 
places  in  purgatory  for  refusing  to 
cooperate  in  revivals  or  for  preach- 
ing the  Fatherhood  of  God  or  for 
believing  in  evolution.  But  as  the 
shock  of  this  first  judgment  passes 
there  are  evidences  that  the  great 
host  of  evangelical  Christians  are 
expecting  valuable  results  to  come 


to  the  city  in  a  quickened  religious 
conscience  and  in  the  assault  it  will 
make  upon  the  liquor  traffic. 

The  finances  are  embarrassing  the 
committee,  but  Mr.  John  Rockefel- 
ler, Jr.,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Finley  J. 
Shepard  as  well  as  other  wealthy 
men  and  women  are  giving  full  sup- 
port to  the  campaign  and  will  doubt- 
less guarantee  it  financially.  The 
current  expenses  are  about  $150,000. 
The  tabernacle  will  admit  about 
15,000,  including  standing  areas. 
The  meeting  will  last  twelve  weeks. 
It  is  the  supreme  effort  of  this 
unique  character  who  is  better 
known  than  any  preacher  of  any 
age. 
Central  Christian  Church, 

New  York  City. 


China  Needs  Us  Now! 


EDUCATION  is  one  of  China's 
greatest  needs.  She  greatly  needs 
the  technical  and  scientific  train- 
ing, and  this  the  Christian  church  can 
wisely  seek  to  promote.  Missions 
should  not  seek  to  continue  the  old 
lines  of  education  which  we  are  dis- 
carding in  America  for  something  bet- 
ter. Our  formal  education  has  been 
of  benefit  to  something  like  25  per  cent 
of  the  people,  those  who  have  clerical 
jobs  and  the  leisure  class,  while  the 
mass  of  the  people,  who  do  the  work, 
are  given  no  special  preparation  that 
fits  them  for  the  places  they  are  to  oc- 
cupy. There  will  soon  be  made  gov- 
ernment grants  to  every  high  school 
that  has  in  connection  with  it  an  in- 
dustrial school.  These  schools  should 
be  a  part  of  our  educational  system  in 
China ;  then  the  graduates  of  our  mis- 
sion schools  would  be  able  to  fill  po- 
sitions as  skilled  laborers  or  even  in 
clerical  positions  in  the  development 
of  China's  resources,  industries  and 
communications.  With  these  schools 
we  must  carry  the  pre-vocational  idea 
of  fitting  the  right  man  to  the  right 
place  by  special  teachers  whose  sole 
business  is  to  look  for  and  to  draw 
out  special  tendencies  of  the  pupil  at 
school.  Pre-vocational  training  to  fit 
boys  .and  girls  where  they  belong,  and 
to  equip  them  with  the  technique,  the 
respect  for,  the  love  of  and  the  inspira- 
tion for  their  job,  is  the  youngest  idea 
in  American  education,  though  it  is  old 
in  Germany,  and  is  the  secret  of  the 
phenomenal  growth  that  Germany  has 
made  industrially  in  the  last  few  years. 
Here  is  the  chance  for  missions  to 
take  this  most  desirable  and  sorely 
needed  advance  and  bring  it  to  the 
waiting  masses. 

A  second  opportunity  that  offers  it- 


By  F.  C.  Buck 

self — that  the  people  stand  open- 
mouthed  and  yearning  for — is  that 
capital,  not  predatory  interests,  such 
as  the  quintuple  group  of  bankers  rep- 
resent, but  capital,  friendly,  interested, 
consecrated  capital,  shall  come  and 
lend  a  hand  and  blaze  the  way  to  prog- 
ress and  to  happiness  for  the  masses. 
Great  things  are  going  to  be  doing, 
and  the  church,  with  its  wealth  and 
power,  ought  to  lead  in  tendering  the 
services  that  the  greedy  and  crafty  na- 
tion, whom  China  fears,  is  more  than 
anxi,ous  to  offer.  We  have  already 
seen  too  much  of  this  greedy  sort  of 
helpfulness  to  have  very  much  confi- 
dence that  the  slogan  of  the  warring 
nations — when  they  say  they  are  fight- 
ing for  true  principles  of  democracy — 
will  be  carried  with  equal  zeal  and 
punctiliousness  to  the  helpless  Chinese 
nation's  need. 

A  third  great  opportunity  that  can 
challenge  the  united  efforts  of  the 
church  is  the  placing  at  Pekin  of  a 
dozen  or  twenty  Christian  men,  ex- 
perts in  sociology,  in  economics,  in  ag- 
riculture, in  industry,  in  education,  in 


sanitation,  hygiene,  etc.,  who  shall 
keep  in  touch  with  all  the  latest  move- 
ments in  America,  who  shall  make  a 
national  survey  of  the  needs  and  con- 
ditions of  China,  and  who  shall  make 
it  their  business  to  lobby,  or  to  act  as 
a  friend  at  court,  in  the  interests  of  a 
healthy  and  a  rapid  development  in  all 
the  varied  avenues  of  a  twentieth  cen- 
tury people's  life.  No  nation  ever  did 
a  better  thing  for  any  people  than  the 
American  Red  Cross  Society  did  for 
China  when  it  made  a  survey  of  the 
Hwai  River,  with  a  view  to  utilizing 
its  flood-tide  waters  and  obviating  the 
sort  of  depredation  that  it  brought  to 
thousands  of  homes  six  years  ago,  and 
again  this  year. 

China !  an  opportunity  to  work  out 
a  new  nation,  educationally,  govern- 
mentally,  economically. 

China!  A  nation  in  which  any 
democratic  institution  will  become  in- 
digenous, for  it  is  the  finest  and  largest 
tract  of  virgin  soil  that  democracy  and 
free  institutions  ever  had  from  which 
to  develop. 

Luchowfu,  China. 


illlltlllllltllllllllllllllllllllllMtlllllllllllMlltllMIIUUlI 


IIMIinillllltllMtHHIIItlHIIllillUIIIIIIMIItllllilllMlilllllUlllllllllUUtlllllHIIIIIIIltlllMlllllMIHIIIIIIIIillllll 


iiiiiiiHiiiiiiiHiiiniiiMMiinniiiiiuiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinui"^ 


COMRADES 

It  is  my  joy  in  life  to  find 

At  every  turning  of  the  road 
The  strong  arms  of  a  comrade  kind 

To  help  me  onward  with  my  load ; 
And  since  I  have  no  gold  to  give, 

And  love  alone  must  make  amends, 
My  only  prayer  is,  while  I  live — 

God  make  me  worthy  of  my  friends. 

— Frank  Dempster  Sherman. 


linn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiMtiiMiiiiiMiiiitiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiuitiuiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiuiii 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


The  By-Products  of 
the  War 


Minium 


w 


HEX  we  read  of  the  incon- 
ceivable sums  being  spent 
in  the  great  war  and  of  the 
almost  incon- 
ceivable num- 
bers of  m  e  n 
who  are  being 
killed 
wounded 
have    only 


beginning 
the    war's 
told.     The 
product    of 
destruction 


and 
we 
the 
of 
toll 
by- 
its 
i  s 


even  greater 
than  the  direct  product.  Interna- 
tional law  is  supposed  to  make  war 
civilized,  though  the  use  of  the  term 
civilization  in  relation  to  war  is 
somewhat  ironical.  The  world  is 
waking  up  to  the  fact  that  war  is 
not  a  normal  necessity  of  human 
life  but  like  other  atavistic  returns 
of  nature  to  primitive  forms  is  a 
slipping  back  of  civilization  into  sav- 
agery. The  abject  destitution  which 
afflicts  no  less  than  24,000,000 
around  the  battle  lines  is  the  main 
by-product  of  this  war.  In  Belgium 
3,000,000  are  suffering.  In  northern 
France  2,000,000  are  practically  bare- 
foot and  shivering.  In  Serbia  an  en- 
tire people  of  5,000,000  are  destitute. 
In  Poland,  most  pitiable  perhaps  of 
all  these,  there  are  11,000,000  among 
whom  few  children  under  five  years 
can  be  found  because  poverty  and 
suffering  and  the  inhumanity  of 
mankind  to  man  have  made  a  nation 
destitute.  In  eastern  Prussia,  where 
the  armies  have  trampled  back  and 
forth,  are  another  million  and  a  half 
whose  fortune  is  perhaps  only  a  lit- 
tle better  because  they  are  within 
reach  of  their  countrymen.  A  mil- 
lion are  left  in  Armenia  unmassa- 
cred  but  destined  to  the  slow  death 
of  starvation  unless  help  can  reach 
them ;  while  in  Albania,  least  talked 
of  but  perhaps  even  more  desperate- 
ly pitiable  than  any,  are  a  million 
and  a  half  slowly  perishing  of  star- 
vation. Here  is  a  total  of  more  than 
25,000,000  people  rendered  helpless 
by  the  great  war  machine.  In  some 
of  these  lands  where  corn  is  a  com- 
mon product  it  is  now  selling  for 
$50  a  bushel,  flour  for  $80  a  sack  and 
macaroni  for  $5  a  pound.  Ambassa- 
dor Morgenthau  startled  us  when 
he  returned  from  Armenia  and 
asked  for  $5,000,000,  but  now  the 
Jews  are  raising  $16,000,000  for  their 
fellow  sufferers  alone.   England  and 


France  have  already  contributed  in 
the  past  year  more  than  $25,000,000 
and  there  is  a  movement  under  way 
in  this  country  to  ask  the  people 
who  have  profited  so  tremendously 
by  war's  necessities  to  give  fifty  or 
even  a  hundred  million  dollars  to 
save  that  innocent  civilian  popula- 
tion that  is  destined  to  death  if  re- 
lief does  not  come.  With  our  na- 
tional wealth  through  war  business 
approaching  the  $200,000,000  mark, 
$50,000,000  would  be  a  small  sum 
for  American  philanthropy,  but 
tragic  as  it  is  the  men  who  are  mak- 
ing their  millions  out  of  the  war  are 
the  men  who  can  look  on  with  grim 
fearlessness  while  the  multitudes 
die  for  the  lack  of  the  succor  they 
might  give.  It  is  gratifying  to  re- 
port that  the  Armenian  Syrian  fund 
is  nearing  the  $2,000,000  mark  and 
that  a  great  Christmas  ship  was  be- 
ing sent  from  this  country,  but  our 
gratification  turns  to  sadness  when 
we  realize  that  this  munificence  is 
niggardly  in  sight  of  the  remarkable 
wealth  the  war  has  brought  to  our 
shores,  and  is  only  a  beggarly  pit- 
tance in  the  light  of  the  need  of  the 
war's  sufferers. 


War  Chaplains 
of  Today 

The  old  type  of  army  chaplaincy 
did  not  appeal  greatly  to  energetic, 
red-blooded  Christian  workers.  If 
one  wished  a  soft  snap  with  good 
pay  and  little  to  do,  the  chaplaincy 
looked  to  him  like  an  opportunity, 
but  if  he  desired  real,  vital  service, 
he  found  much  better  opportunities 
in  other  fields.  The  intrusion  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  into  the  army  camps, 
with  its  all-round  program  of  min- 
istering to  the  men  physically,  in- 
tellectually, morally,  and  socially 
has  given  the  chaplaincy  a  new 
scope  and  vision.  There  is  perhaps 
no  field  of  Christian  service  that 
could  be  made  more  vital  in  terms  of 
social  service  than  the  army  chap- 
laincy. Equipped  with  a  large  tent, 
pictures,  magazines  and  writing  ma- 
terial, stereopticon  and  moving  pic- 
ture machine,  and  an  abundance  of 
energy,  the  army  chaplain  becomes 
one  of  the  chief  factors  of  the  army 
camp,  and  in  none  of  it  does  he 
need  to  neglect  the  old  elements  of 
personal  contact  and  direct  moral 
suasion.  By  furnishing  entertain- 
ment, sociability  and  instruction,  he 
is  not  only  able  to  prevent  many  of 
the  evils  that  gather  about  the  army 
camp,  but  to  promote  the  making  of 


manhood    in    a    rarely    vital    way.  I 
Where  could  the  churches  do  a  bet-  I 
ter  evangelistic  service  than  in  fur-  • 
nishing  adequate   equipment  to  all  I 
the  chaplains  in  the  new  army? 


Will  Americans 
Volunteer? 

The  President  is  doubtless  world- 
ly-wise in  insisting  upon  selective 
conscription,  as  it  is  called,  for  there 
is  little  doubt  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  get  an  army  of  volun- 
teers. The  war  issue  has  not  been 
formulated  by  an  uprising  of  popular 
sentiment,  but  by  what  might  be 
called  "the  intellectuals"  of  our  pop- 
ulation. The  average  American  out 
upon  the  farm  and  in  the  workshop 
is  not  yet  convinced  that  he  ought 
to  go  and  fight.  He  will  admit  the 
logic  of  the  President's  statement  of 
the  case,  but  the  war  is  too  far  away, 
the  danger  is  too  theoretical,  to  his 
mind.  The  justice  of  the  case  is 
too  idealistic  for  the  average  man 
to  be  thrilled  by  it  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  he  will  volunteer  or  con- 
sent for  his  son  to  do  so.  And  all 
this  is  many  times  more  true  of  the 
mothers.  We  must  recall  that  even 
when  England  declared  war  the  av- 
erage of  enlistments  for  weeks  ran 
only  from  4,000  to  5,000,  and  it  was 
only  when  the  imminence  of  the 
danger  to  the  homeland  took  hold  of 
the  minds  of  the  people  that  volun- 
teers came  in  great  numbers.  Many 
of  the  Congressmen  reflect  this 
rather  narrow  attitude  of  the  aver- 
age American  as  stated  by  Senator 
Kirby,  for  instance,  and  reiterated 
in  other  words  by  many  others, 
when  he  said,  "We  are  not  going 
into  a  world  war  to  establish  a  de- 
mocracy for  the  nations  of  the  world, 
but  to  protect  the  lives  of  our  peo- 
ple upon  the  seas,  and  our  com- 
merce." How  differently  this  reads 
from  the  statement  of  a  prominent 
Frenchman  when  he  says  that  the 
Frenchmen  will  not  surrender  when 
they  simply  have  accomplished  the 
protection  of  their  homeland,  but 
will  fight  on  until  certain  principles 
are  established  in  relation  to  democ- 
racy and  the  future  of  peace,  and 
then  adds,  "If  Americans  go  to  war, 
it  will  be  for  similar  principles  and 
not  only  to  avenge  some  submarine 
commander's  bloody  fantasy,"  and 
then  nobly  holds  up  before  the  world 
that  "in  the  end  we  shall  see  Ger- 
many falling  in  line,  however  un* 
willingly,  and  that  will  be  revenge 
for  all  of  the  evil  she  has  done." 


Illlllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllffl 


The  Larger  Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllli 


By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


Boy  Scouts 
and  the  Church 

Ninety  per  cent  of  the  boys  that 
join  the  Boy  Scouts  are  recruited 
from  church  circles,  it  is  stated. 
There  is  real  interest  on  the  part  of 
boy  workers  in  relating  the  work  of 
the  Scouts  more  definitely  to  the 
church.  A  book,  "The  Boy  Scout 
Movement  Applied  to  the  Church," 
has  proved  useful  to  those  who  are 
making  this  effort. 

The  Largest  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
in  the  World 

The  largest  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  in  the  world  is  that 
of  the  West  Side,  New  York,  which 
has  7,976  full-paid  members,  with  a 
total  budget  of  $367,160.  During  the 
past  year  over  300,000  men  attended 
the  religious  meetings  of  this  organi- 
zation. 

Presbyterians 
and  Baptists  Unite 

In  Dixon,  Cal.,  there  were  too 
many  churches,  so  the  Baptist  and 
Presbyterian  organizations  have 
united  to  form  a  United  Dixon  Prot- 
estant church.  It  is  said  that  the 
Methodist  church  is  considering  join- 
ing the  new  merger. 

Want  Endowment 
for  City  Missions 

The  resignation  of  Dr.  E.  P.  Hill, 
the  veteran  superintendent  of  Pres- 
byterian missions  in  Chicago,  calls 
attention  to  the  effective  work  that 
denomination  has  been  doing.  Dur- 
ing ten  years,  fifteen  churches  and 
eight  missions  have  been  organized. 
Twenty-eight  per  cent  of  all  the  ac- 
cessions to  Presbyterian  churches  in 
the  city  came  from  the  organizations 
under  the  care  of  the  city  mission  ad- 
ministration. The  board  has  $70,000 
in  hand  and  holds  title  to  $100,000 
in  real  estate,  but  it  has  started  a 
movement  for  a  very  much  increased 
endowment.  The  organized  city  mis- 
sion work  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
in  Chicago  is  only  ten  years  old. 
The  accomplishments  in  that  period 
have  been  little  short  of  phenomenal. 

A  Federated 
Church  Hotel 

The  Federated  Churches  of  Minne- 
apolis, says  the  Northwestern  Chris- 
tion  Advocate,  have  erected  a  new 
fireproof  hotel,  the  St.  James,  of 
twelve  stories,  two  blocks  from  the 
Union  depot.     It  is  first  class  and 


caters  to  first-class  trade  at  about 
half  usual  rates.  An  auditorium  on 
the  second  floor  affords  opportunity 
for  Sunday  afternoon  services,  espe- 
cially for  guests  of  the  hotel.  The 
entire  profits  from  the  operation  of 
this  hotel  are  devoted  exclusively  to 
the  maintenance  of  a  mission  on  the 
same  block,  where  services  are  held 
daily  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  C. 
M.  Stocking,  the  ministers  of  the  city 
preaching  in  rotation,  the  music  pro- 
vided by  choruses  from  the  various 
churches. 

Churches  Give 

Sunday  Evening  Dinners 

The  city  church  has  a  difficult  time 
on  Sunday  evenings.  One  of  the  ex- 
periments being  tried  now  in  a  num- 
ber of  churches  is  Sunday  evening 
dinners  or  teas.  St.  Mark's  Episco- 
pal church,  in  Milwaukee,  serves  a 
dinner.  Concerning  this,  Rev.  E. 
Reginald  Williams  says :  "The  cross- 
currents of  the  city  and  its  perplexity 
keep  us  apart.  There  is  only  a  little 
family  life  left  and  that  is  going.  So 
we  have  conceived  the  idea  of  giving 
these  Sunday  night  dinners,  so  fami- 
lies may  meet  with  their  neighbors 
and  friends."  The  Grace  M.  E. 
church  of  Chicago  is  on  the  north 
side  in  the  center  of  a  rooming  house 
territory  of  fifteen  thousand  people. 
Here  the  Epworth  League  serves  a 
simple  meal  Sunday  evening  for  ten 
cents.  In  connection  with  this  is  a 
social  hour  and  following  this  is  the 
regular  devotional  meeting  of  the 
league. 

Whole  Parish  Takes 
Temperance  Pledge 

Christ  Episcopal  church  of  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  had  a  congregation  of 
17,385  at  the  Easter  morning  service. 
They  arose  and  took  the  total  absti- 
nence pledge,  to  be  effective  during 
the  war.  The  rector  is  Rev.  John 
Moore  McGann.  The  congregation 
interpreted  this  act  as  a  part  of  the 
war  duty  of  Americans. 

President  King 
Favors  the  War 

President  King,  of  Oberlin,  re- 
cently spoke  before  the  Chicago  Con- 
gregational ministers.  He  showed 
careful  preparation  in  handling  the 
problems  of  the  war.  He  holds  that 
whatever  wrongs  the  allies  may  have 
done  the  fortunes  of  democracy  are 
absolutely  bound  up  with  their  inter- 
ests and  that  as  much  as  he  hates  war 


llllllliilillilllllllllffllllllll 


he  believes  that  there  are  times  when 
it  is  the  court  of  last  resort  and  this 
is  one  of  them.  "The  worst  calamity 
that  could  happen  to  the  world  would 
be  to  have  Germany  dictate  peace 
terms.  Freedom  and  democracy 
would  become  a  mockery.  Ideals 
would  fall  and  the  long,  hard  conflict 
for  world  principles  and  the  rights 
of  humanity  would  have  to  be  fought 
over  again.  America  must  get  into 
the  war  in  order  to  save  the  world. 
The  truest  friend  of  Germany  is  the 
one  who  wishes  her  defeat  and  the 
absolute  annihilation  of  her  present 
philosophy  which  made  possible  her 
hymn  of  hate.  It  would  seem  that 
the  allies  are  fighting  our  war  as  well 
as  their  own ;  they  are  fighting  for  a 
decent  world,  civilization,  democracy 
and  freedom." 

Hands  Across 
the  Sea 

A  great  public  service  took  place  in 
St.  Paul's  cathedral,  London,  during 
the  week  of  April  15-21,  to  com- 
memorate America's  entry  into  the 
war  on  the  side  of  the  Entente  allies. 
The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rt. 
Rev.  C.  H.  Brent,  D.  D.,  bishop  of 
the  Philippines.  All  government 
and  municipal  officials,  members  of 
the  Entente  diplomatic  corps,  Ameri- 
can residents  and  Americans 
wounded  in  the  Canadian  army  were 
present. 

Discuss 
Evil  Spirits 

There  is  a  great  revival  of  interest 
in  religious  questions  in  England. 
Much  of  the  interest  is  of  an  unortho- 
dox character.  The  Christian  Com- 
monwealth  describes  the  situation  in 
these  words :  "Young  officers  dash 
round  to  know  what  is  the  proper 
answer  to  Mrs.  Besant.  Bewildered 
mothers  phone  for  tracts,  and  star- 
tled clerics  dive  into  dictionaries  of 
heretical  sects.  Over  us  all  there  is 
this  pressure  of  diseased  beliefs, 
tainting,  and  unbalancing,  and  turn- 
ing aside  silly  souls.  There  are  sin- 
ister and  evil  agents  at  large  doing 
their  devilish  work."  Sir  Oliver 
Lodge's  remarkable  book,  "Ray- 
mond." is  provoking  much  discus- 
sion. Lord  Halifax  has  delivered  an 
address  on  the  subject  and  describes 
the  phenomena  as  the  work  of  evil 
spirits.  The  Master  of  the  Temple, 
Dr.  E.  Barnes,  deprecates  this  ten- 
dency, saying,  "We  must  not  meet 
one  superstition  by  creating  an- 
other." 


16 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  3,  1917 


■■■111 


The  Sunday  School 


= 


iii"n 


Abiding 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
By  J.  R.  EWERS 


DID  you  ever  try  to  wrench  a 
grape  branch  from  the  vine? 
You  never  can  understand  this 
lesson  until  you  try  that.  You  can 
bend   back   an   apple   sprout   and   it 

will  split  off 
clean,  but  try  to 
get  that  grape 
branch  loose 
and  unless  you 
use  a  knife  you 
can  twist,  bend, 
pull  until  you 
are  tired.  The 
branch  is  abid- 
i  n  g.  Jesus 
knew  the  vine- 
yards. Often  he 
had  leaned  over  the  wall  watching 
the  vine-dresser  at  work.  He  had 
seen  the  branches  laid  in  heaps 
awaiting  the  fire.  Sharp  knives  had 
cut  them  off.  No  fruit  can  mature 
upon  a  branch  which  has  been  sepa- 
rated from  the  source  of  sap. 

The  lesson  which  Jesus  reiterates 
here  is  the  necessity  of  abiding. 
How  can  we  bear  fruit  if  various 
sharp  knives  have  severed  us  from 
him?  Here  is  the  dull  knife  of  self- 
ishness that  presses  closer  and  clos- 
er upon  the  fibers  until  all  the  sap 
is  shut  off  and  the  branch  dies. 
Here  is  the  keen  knife  of  a  sudden 
temptation  which  in  a  moment  snips 
the  branch  off  slick  and  clean.  It 
matters  very  little  in  the  end  wheth- 
er we  are  slowly  choked  off  or  swift- 
ly hacked  off — we  are  off,  and  being 
off  fruitage  is  impossible. 

A  healthy  grape  vine  is  prolific. 
Notice  the  number  of  great,  purple 
clusters  —  every  grape  stored  with 
delicious  richness.  How  miracu- 
lously that  vine  has  co-operated 
with  that  branch  to  change  soil  and 
sunshine  into  wine.  The  Christian 
teacher,  the  Christian  missionary, 
the  Christian  doctor,  the  Christian 
business  man.  the  Christian  pastor, 
has  the  same  opportunity,  if  he 
abides  in  the  vine. 

That  is  the  trouble — we  do  not 
abide.  It  is  as  if  we  were  located 
about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  from  the 
vine  and  now  and  then  shot  over  a 
filament  and  drew  in  a  bit  of  sap. 
Then  the  little  fiber  would  wither 
and  after  awhile  we  would  send  tim- 


idly out  another  little  struggling 
aspiration  and  make  another  short 
connection  with  the  vital  source. 
We  ought  to  be  so  firmly  knit  into 
the  very  life,  heart  and  soul  of  Jesus 
that  temptations  might  pull  us  and 
trials  might  twist  us,  and  sorrow 
might  bend  us,  but  we  would  never 
let  loose. 

*     *     * 

"What  is  the  test  of  discipleship? 
Orthodoxy?  Freedom  from  suspi- 
cion of  ever  having  an  original  idea? 
Ability  to  mouth  without  lisping  the 
tribal  shibboleths?  Puttylike  con- 
formity to  prescribed  molds?  Lis- 
ten :  "So  shall  you  be  my  disciples 
if,  if,  if  ye  bear  much  fruit."  Purple 
cluster  hanging  thick  —  rich,  ripe, 
luscious,  life-giving  fruit.  Here  is  a 
disciple  who  is  sweet,  clean,  grac- 
ious, bright,  kind,  unselfish,  high- 
souled  who  wins  many  to  the  Mas- 
ter. He  is  a  disciple  indeed.  Here 
is  a  snarling,  back-biting,  heresy- 
hunting,  venomous,  creature  who 
singularly  fails  to  win  strong  men 
and  women ;  what  shall  we  say  of 
him?  There  is  one  Christ-imposed 
test — the  only  infallible  one — the 
quality  and  the  amount  of  the  fruit. 
Grapes  do  not  grow  without  sap  and 
the  fruitage  of  Christian  character 
does  not  appear  apart  from  Jesus. 
"Apart  from  me  you  can  do  noth- 
ing." How  can  the  fibers  of  my 
heart  and  soul  be  knitted  into  the 


Saviour's  very  being?  How  can  we 
be  one? 

A  man  traveling  in  Europe  wrote 
back  to  his  wife,  "Two  pairs  of  eyes 
look  at  these  wonderful  pictures." 
He  was  abroad,  she  was  in  America, 
but  he  saw  with  her  eyes  also.  A 
common  taste — that  is  the  first 
thing.  Never  until  I  want  what 
Christ  wants  can  I  abide  in  him. 
What  does  he  want?  He  wants  the 
lives  of  men,  he  wants  them  to  have 
his  spirit,  to  walk  in  his  way.  I  must 
want  that.  It  will  make  me  evan- 
gelistic and  missionary.  My  love 
and  my  money  must  be  lavished 
upon  securing  men  for  Christ. 

Reading  the  New  Testament  care- 
fully will  send  back  and  forth  the 
fibers  that  shall  bind  our  souls  into 
indissoluble  union.  Earnest  prayer 
will  tie  us  into  unity.  Working  with 
him  will  strengthen  the  cords  that 
bind.  The  church  is  filled  with  dead 
branches,  withered,  dry — ready  only 
for  the  fire.  Christ's  hope  is  in  the 
live  branches  —  only  there  can  fruit 
appear  and  only  in  fruit-bearing  can 
the  vine  be  justified.  The  vine  is 
glorified  by  its  fruit.  Today  a  dozen 
influences  twist,  pull  and  tear  at 
these  branches,  but  we  must  not  al- 
low them  to  be  wrested  away.  The 
word  for  today  is  "Abide."  We  must 
save  these  tender  branches  to  the 
vine.  Prune  them,  yes.  Clean  them, 
yes,  but  after  all  by  prayer,  Bible- 
study  and  working  with  the  Master 
to  hold  them  firmly  to  him.  Abide, 
abide,  let  nothing  tear  you  from  the 
living  vine. 


Good  news  comes  to  the  widows  of  Civil 
War  veterans  in  the  shape  of  a  bill  which 
grants  widows  who  have  reached  the  age 
of  seventy  years  pensions  of  $20  a  month 
instead  of  the  present  $12.  Widows  of 
Civil  War  soldiers  dropped  because  of  mar- 
riage to  another  person  are  restored  to  the 
roll  by  the  bill. 


Don't  Let  Your  School  Slump! 

Send  75c  for  100  assorted  "Attendance  Builder"  post  cards, 
and  try  them  on  your  class.  They  will  build  up  and  keep  up 
your  attendance. 

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♦This  article  is  based  on  the  Interna- 
tional Uniform  lesson  for  May  13,  "Jesus 
the  True  Vine."    Scripture,  John  15:1-16. 


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THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


17 


.( iliUlliiiililiJiiiiiiitiJdi riiiimit t tiiiiik«**i*iiii* J innini n» 

1  Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage  I 

By  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON   . 

^iiiiiiiiiuiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiitiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiriiiriiiiii 

The  Flower  Catalogue 

NOW  the  Storms  of  Winter  blew 
Cold,  and  the  Snow  of  Winter 
lay  Deep,  when  the  Postman 
brought  a  Catalogue  of  Flower 
Seeds  and  Bulbs.  And  Keturah 
opened  it,  and  gazed  therein  with 
Great  Admiration.  And  she  said, 
Safed,  my  lord. 

And  I  answered,  Here  Am  I, 
Keturah. 

And  she  said,  Didst  thou  ever  see 
Flowers  so  Beautiful  as  these  in  this 
Catalogue  ? 

And  I  answered,  Neither  have  I 
seen  such  nor  hath  any  another  man ; 
such  flowers  are  not  in  Nature,  but 
in  Art. 

Nevertheless,  said  she,  I  like  to 
look  on  them,  and  some  of  them 
will  I  buy. 

And  I  said,  Behold  the  house 
wherein  we  live  is  not  our  own,  and 
it  lately  was  a  Place  of  Weeds,  and 
there  is  a  Row  of  Flats  hard  by. 

But  she  said,  We  will  make  it 
More  Attractive.  Thou  hast  thy 
Hollyhocks;  I  will  have  Phlox  and 
Chrysanthemums  and  Cockleshells 
and  Silver  Bells  and  Cowslips  all  in 
a  Row. 

So  she  wrote  to  the  man  whose 
Vivid  Imagination  had  produced  the 
Catalogue,  and  sent  him  Money,  and 
he  wrote  that  he  would  send  the 
Plants  in  the  Spring. 

And  it  came  to  pass  on  a  day  that 
they  came  by  Express.  And  I  digged 
in  the  Ground  with  a  Spade,  and  I 
set  them  out  that  they  should  grow. 
And  the  Roots  were  wondrous 
things  wherewith  to  lay  hold  on  the 
Earth  and  transform  it  into  Beauty, 
so  that  the  one  kind  of  Root  might 
make  earth  and  water  into  Roses, 
and  another  into  Lilies.  And  as  I 
digged  in  the  Earth  I  thought  much 
of  the  Wonder  of  Life  as  God  had 
placed  it  in  the  world. 

And  I  said  to  her,  Keturah,  we 
might  not  have  done  this  had  not 
some  Benefactor  of  the  Human  Race 
sent  us  a  Seed  Catalogue. 

And  she  said,  Told  I  not  thee  it 
would  be  well  that  we  should  do 
this? 

And  I  answered,  Whether  we 
tarry  here  a  year  or  ten  years,  still 
am  I  glad  to  have  planted  some 
Flowers.  Yea,  though  we  live  not 
to  enjoy  them,  yet  will  others  be 
glad.  Keturah,  thou  hast  done  well. 
And  so  did  the  man  who  sent  the 
Catalogue. 

And  I  called  down  from  Heaven 
a  Blessing  upon  all  men,  be  they 
Ministers  or  Merchants,  who  sug- 
gest to   men   the  good   things  they 


ought  to  do,  and  who  make  the  do- 
ing of  them  Lovely. 

For  I  myself  am  a  distributor  of 
Catalogues  of  Assorted  Virtues,  and 
I  say  to  people,  Behold  how  lovely 
is  Goodness !  Go  to,  even  now  in 
the  winter  of  thy  Depravity,  and 
break  up  the  fallow  ground  of  thy 
heart  against  the  time  when  thou 
shalt  plant  goodness,  and  it  shall 
Blossom  in  Beauty. 


"Religion  is  the  first  thing  and  the 
last  thing,  and  until  a  man  has  found 
God  and  been  found  by  God,  he  be- 
gins at  no  beginning  and  works  to  no 
end.  He  may  have  his  friendships, 
his  partial  loyalties,  his  scraps  of 
honor.  But  all  these  things  fall  into 
place  and  life  falls  into  place  only 
with  God.  Only  with  God." — H.  G. 
Wells. 


Baptismal  Suits 

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Order  Now.  Finest  quality  and  most 
satisfactory  in  every  way.  Order  by 
size  of  boot. 

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Tie  Peerless  Series  of  Suodaf  School  Map 

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From  the  latest  explorations  and  discoveries 

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IS 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  3,  1917 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


Madison  A.  Hart  May  Go  to 
Dallas,  Texas 

Madison  A.  Hart,  who  has  led  the 
church  at  Columbia,  Mo.,  for  many 
years,  has  been  tendered  the  pastorship 
at  Central  Church,  Dallas,  Tex.,  from 
which  held  Harry  D.  Smith  was  recently 
called  to  the  faculty  of  Phillips  Uni- 
versity at  Enid,  Okla.  The  offer  came 
unsolicited,  and  Mr.  Hart,  at  last  report, 
had  not  decided  whether  he  would  ac- 
cept or  not. 

Kansas  City  to  Be  Temporary  Western 
Editorial   Office  of  The   Christian 
Century 

Begining  with  next  Sunday,  May  6,  the 
editor  of  The  Christian  Century  will 
make  Kansas  City  his  home  during  the 
period  of  the  absence  of  Dr.  Burris  A. 
Jenkins  at  the  European  front.  Dr. 
Jenkins  is  expected  to  sail  with  Dr. 
Sherwood  Eddy  and  others  on  Saturday, 
the  5th.  Mr.  Morrison  is  to  supply  the 
pulpit  of  Linwood  Boulevard  Church 
until  Dr.  Jenkins  returns.  Mr.  Morri- 
son wishes  to  make  his  temporary  resi- 
dence in  Kansas  City  an  occasion  of 
coming  into  close  contact  with  the  pas- 
tors and  churches  of  Western  Missouri 
and  Eastern  Kansas.  The  study  of  Lin- 
wood church  will  be  a  sort  of  western 
editorial  office  of  the  Century  during 
this  period,  and  Mr.  Morrison  will  be 
glad  to  receive  calls  from  any  readers 
of  the  Century  who  may  be  passing 
through  the  city.  In  addition  he  hopes 
to  find  time  to  accept  an  occasional  in- 
vitation to  meet  audiences  and  smaller 
groups  of  Disciples  on  week  days  and 
evenings  in  the  cities  of  the  surround- 
ing region,  to  discuss  the  problems  of 
progress  in  connection  with  our  move- 
ment. Mr.  Morrison  will,  of  course, 
continue  his  editorial  work,  writing  from 
the  western  city.  Personal  correspond- 
ence may  be  addressed  to  him  either  in 
Chicago  or  Kansas  City,  but  all  matters 
of  business  should  be  taken  up  with  the 
office  in  Chicago. 

Dr.  Willett  at  Indianapolis 
Church  Federation  Meeting 

The  Church  Federation  of  Indianapo- 
lis reached  its  fifth  milestone  on  last 
Monday.  The  event  was  fittingly  cele- 
brated on  the  evening  of  that  day  by  the 
Indianapolis  churches  at  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  of  the  city,  and 
the  speaker  of  the  evening  was  Dr.  Her- 
bert L.  Willett,  who  discussed  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Church  to  the  Great  War. 
Dr.  Willett  was  entertained  at  dinner  on 
Monday  evening  by  the  Disciples  Min- 
isterial Association  of  the  city.  A.  B. 
Philputt  presided.  C.  G.  Baker,  of  West 
Park  Church,  had  charge  of  the  pro- 
gram. 

Features  of  Texas 
State   Convention 

May  7-10  is  the  date  set  for  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Texas  Disciples,  and  the 
place  Austin.  Judge  J.  F.  Holt,  of  Sher- 
man, is  president  of  the  convention;  S. 
H.  Austin,  of  Comanche,  secretary.  In 
addition  to  the  messages  of  the  secre- 
taries, state  and  national,  the  following 
among  others  will  deliver  addresses: 
Ada  McNeill  Gordon,  India;  J.  C. 
Welch,  Brvan;  H.  C.  Garrison,  Ft. 
Worth;  Harry  D.  Smith,  Dallas;  Chal- 
mers   McPherson,     Ft.    Worth;     P.    H. 


Welshimer,  Canton,  O.;  and  a  number 
of  addresses  will  be  given  also  on  the 
state  work.  Interesting  features  will 
be  Bible  school  conferences  and  ses- 
sions, led  by  Mr.  Welshimer;  a  banquet 
for  tithers  and  others  interested;  an 
educational  session,  presided  over  by  S. 
J.  McFarland,  business  man  of  Dallas; 
and  a  "veteran  camp  fire,"  in  charge  of 
A.  J.  Bush.  The  Christian  Courier, 
which  has  won  a  reputation  for  bigness 
and  vision,  makes  the  following  appeal 
to  Texas  Disciples  looking  forward  to 
the  state  meeting:  "The  Austin  con- 
vention will  be  no  place  for  personali- 
ties, bickering,  piddling  and  strife,  but  a 
place  to  pray  and  plan  and  purpose  for 
a  work  worthy  of  our  great  people." 

New  York's  Annual 
Meeting  of  Disciples 

The  New  York  state  convention  will 
meet  this  year  at  Central  Church,  North 
Tonawanda,  the  Payne  Avenue  Church 
and  the  Tonawanda  Church  cooperating 
with  Central  in  its  entertainment.  The 
preparations  surpass  anything  pre- 
viously done  in  getting  ready  for  a  New 
York  convention.  It  has  been  given 
wide  publicity.  A  program  of  remark- 
able strength  has  been  made  up.  The 
meeting  place,  within  thirty  minutes' 
ride  of  fifty  per  cent  of  the  membership 


in  the  state,  and  with  close  proximity 
to  the  always  attractive  Niagara  Falls, 
and  other  peculiar  advantages,  encour- 
ages the  promoters  to  look  forward  to 
a  record  meeting.  The  date  of  the  con- 
vention is  May  8-10.  Some  of  the 
leaders  on  the  program  are  as  follows: 
George  H.  Brown,  North  Tonawanda; 
A.  E.  Cory,  Cincinnati;  M.  M.  Amunson 
(president's  address) ;  D.  H.  Bradbury, 
Syracuse;  John  Johnson,  New  York; 
Mrs.  L.  C.  McPherson;  Mrs.  Laura  G. 
Craig;  Mrs.  F.  A.  Higgins,  Tonawanda; 
Mrs.  Anna  R.  Atwater;  E.  W.  Allen, 
Auburn;  John  P.  Sala,  Buffalo;  F.  M. 
Gordon,  Brooklyn;  B.  S.  Ferrall,  Buf- 
falo; W.  A.  Haushalter,  East  Orange, 
N.  J.;  Ira  L.  Parvin,  Niagara  Falls;  W. 
E.  Fowler,  Buffalo;  William  A.  Young, 
Wellsville;  J.  H.  Craig,  Troy.  An  ad- 
dress on  "Christian  Union"  will  be  given 
by  Dr.  W.  S.  Mitchell,  of  Plymouth  M. 
E.  Church,  Buffalo.  Secretaries  Lewis, 
W.  J.  Clarke,  Fred  Cline,  Miss  Kather- 
ine  Staub  and  others  will  also  be  present. 

Indiana  Disciples  Will 
Gather  at  Kokomo 

C.  W.  Cauble,  who  leads  the  organ- 
ized work  of  the  Indiana  churches, 
writes  that  a  large  convention  is  ex- 
pected at  Kokomo,  May  14-17.  Few 
cities  in  the  state  have  better  transpor- 
tation than  Kokomo.  Entertainment 
will  be  on  the  Harvard  plan.  Registra- 
tions will  be  at  the  Main  Street  Church. 
Trains  will  be  met  by  guides  and  auto- 
mobiles. Names  of  persons  intending 
to  be  present  should  be  sent  not  later 
than  May  10  to  Mrs.  C.  M.  Randolph, 
615  East  Mulberry  Street,  Kokomo. 


Disciples  Ministers  Discuss  War 


M.  L.  Pontius,  Central  Church, 
Jacksonville,  111.,  Sees 
Falling  Monarchies 

"While  the  insistent  demands  of 
democracy  have  not  caused  the  war,  I 
believe  the  present  war  will  push  the 
cause  of  world  democracy  ahead  a  hun- 
dred years.  Place  your  ear  to  the  earth 
and  you  may  hear  the  noise  of  the  fall- 
ing monarchies  of  Europe.  In  this  war 
God  has  written  above  every  European 
throne  the  words,  'Thou  art  weighed  in 
the  balance  and  found  wanting.'  We 
need  in  this  country  a  bold  patriotism 
that  will  honor  the  stars  and  stripes,  up- 
hold the  dignity  of  our  nation  and  sus- 
tain the  president  in  these  troublous 
times.  The  victory  will  mean  a  world 
democracy  and  a  citizenship  that  will 
not  be  selfish  or  national  but  human  and 
world-wide." 

A.  B.  Philputt,  Central  Church, 
Indianapolis,  Says  Cause 
Is  Just  One 

"We  went  into  the  war  for  the  cause 
of  liberty  and  democracy,  without  any 
desire  for  acquisition  of  territory  or  in- 
demnity. I  believe  that  our  cause  is  a 
just  one,  and  that  our  President  has 
moved  with  great  caution  and  patience." 
Mr.  Philputt  urged  his  hearers  to  show 
no  personal  feeling  against  their  Ger- 
man friends  and  neighbors,  but  to  as- 
sume, until  facts  show  otherwise,  that 
they  are  loyal  to  the  country  of  their 
adoption.  He  repeated  President  Wil- 
son's statement  that  "We  make  no  war 
upon  the  German  people,  only  upon  im- 
perialism and  militarism."  He  con- 
cluded by  expressing  the  hope  that  per- 
haps in  the  catastrophe  of  the  times  "a 
new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  were  al- 
ready born   and  that  soon  would  come 


to  the  light  a  better  day  for  the  peoples 
of  all  nations." 

W.  H.  Allen,  of  New  Orleans, 
Says  Jesus  Will  Not 
Be  Forgotten 

"In  the  darkest  hour  of  international 
strife,  the  world  will  not  entirely  forget 
Jesus.  Across  the  dark  background  the 
blood-red  passion  cross  will  shine  re- 
splendent. The  teachings  of  Jesus  must 
prevail.  They  are  at  the  top  of  the 
wisdom  of  time.  For  many  generations, 
though  His  physical  voice  has  been 
stilled,  to  this  hour  He  has  marvelous 
power  to  compel  and  hold  the  thought 
of  man.  He  deals  with  the  common- 
place things  of  life,  and  yet  with  truths 
that  are  Alpine.  Questions  of  truth, 
authority,  love;  of  life,  death  and  immor- 
tality; on  all  these  He  speaks  as  one 
having  authority." 

F.  W.  Allen,  First  Church, 
Springfield,  111.,  Says,  "Fight 
for  Better  Living  Conditions" 

"While  the  soldier  with  musket  and 
cannon  is  fighting  the  battle  for  democ- 
racy, let  the  patriot  of  the  fireside  carry 
on  the  fight  for  better  living  conditions. 
We  always  hate  the  things  that  are  far- 
thest from  us,  the  things  we  do  not  un- 
derstand. That  explains  our  hatred  of 
Germany's  militarism,  but  the  industrial 
situation  in  England,  like  our  own  indus- 
trial situation  in  some  of  our  large  cities, 
is  just  as  deadly  to  democracy.  I  am 
unlike  most  Americans,  for  I  do  not  see 
Germany  as  the  villain  in  this  piece. 
Rather  Germany  is  the  sharp  knife  that 
lanced  the  festering  ulcer — a  dangerous 
cure  for  a  terrible  disease,  and  that  dis- 
ease is  lust  for  power  and  riches." 


May  3,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


— W.  B.  Clemmer,  of  Central  Church, 
Rockford,  111.,  is  preaching  on  Sunday 
afternoons  at  Freeport,  111.,  until  a  per- 
manent pastor  shall  have  been  secured 
for  this  work. 

— A  Men  and  Millions  team  of  twenty 
men  is  now  working  in  Pittsburgh  and 
surrounding  towns.  Early  in  the  cam- 
paign an  all-day  meeting  was  held  which 
was  attended  by  representatives  of  most 
of  the  churches  of  western  Pennsylva- 
nia. Ray  Manly,  home  missionary 
worker,  and  J.  T.  T.  Hundley,  of  Lynch- 
burg Christian  College,  are  taking  active 
part  in  the  work  of  the  team. 

— First   Church,   Kansas   City,   Mo.,  J. 

E.  Davis,  minister,  report  a  flag  unveil- 
ing at  a  recent  Sunday  evening  service. 
Two  Boy  Scouts  unveiled  a  fine  silk 
flag,  which  will  have  a  permanent  place 
in  the  church  auditorium. 

— During  the  recent  meetings  at  Jack- 
son Street  Church,  Muncie,  Ind.,  the 
pastor,  F.  E.  Smith,  delivered  a  Sunday 
afternoon  sermon  on  "Jesus  and  the 
War."  Over  200  conversions  resulted 
from  this  series  of  services. 

— Miami  (Okla.)  Church  will  dedicate 
its    new    $40,000   building   next    Sunday, 

F.  D.  Kershner  of  St.  Louis  having 
charge  of  the  service.  A.  L.  Jones  min- 
isters at  Miami. 

— Levi  Marshall,  who  for  fifteen  years 
has  served  as  pastor  at  First  Church, 
Nevada,  Mo.,  but  who  has  resigned,  has 
been  called  to  Greencastle,  Ind.,  and 
has  accepted  the  call. 

— Vincennes,  Ind.,  will  try  to  secure 
the  1918  Indiana  State  Convention,  un- 
der the  leadership  of  E.  F.  Daugherty 
of  Vincennes  First  Church.  Strong 
claims  to  the  meeting  will  be  made  at 
this  year's  convention,  which  is  to  be 
held  this  month  at  Indianapolis,  date 
May  14-17. 

— The  churches  of  southwest  Iowa 
held  their  annual  convention  April  24- 
26  at  Council  Bluffs. 

— The  Central  Church  property  at  Co- 
lumbus, Ind.,  has  been  purchased  by 
the  German  Lutheran  people  and  will 
be  transformed  into  a  home  for  the  aux- 
iliaries of  their  organization.  The  price 
paid  was  $8,000. 

— On  Sunday  afternoon,  April  15,  a 
flag-raising  exercise  was  held  at  Cen- 
tral Church,  Indianapolis,  at  which  Pres- 
ident W.  L.  Bryan  of  Indiana  Univer- 
sity gave  the  address.  The  men's  Bible 
class,  of  which  U.  Z.  Wiley  is  teacher, 
presented  the  church  with  a  large  flag. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  A.  B.  Philputt,  the 
pastor,  preached  a  patriotic  sermon. 

— S.  R.  Hawkins,  of  Valparaiso,  Ind., 
district  evangelist  of  the  northwest  dis- 
trict of  the  state,  has  accepted  a  call 
from  the  church  at  Warsaw,  Ind.,  to 
serve  as  temporary  pastor. 

— Frank  E.  Welton  of  Moweaqua,  111., 
has  been  called  to  the  pastorate  at  Ar- 
eola, 111. 

— S.  S.  Lappin,  of  Bethany,  W.  Va., 
gave  an  address  at  the  latest  meeting  of 
the  Disciples  Union,  at  Wheeling,  W. 
Va.,  in  which  union  six  other  churches 
besides  the  one  at  Wheeling  have  mem- 
bership. 

— J.  W.  Underwood,  of  Anderson 
(Ind.)  Central  Church,  is  suffering  from 
another  attack  of  heart  trouble,  result- 
ing in  an  extremely  high  blood  pressure. 
Mr.  Underwood  was  similarly  stricken 
about  a  year  ago. 

— Clay  Trusty,  of  the  Seventh  Street 
Church,   Indianapolis,   gave   the   address 


Fewer  Eggs  are 
required  with 

DfWAI   BAKING 

liUTAL  POWDER 

In  many  recipes  the  number  of  eggs  may  be  reduced 
with  excellent  results  by  using  an  additional  quantity 
of  Royal  Baking  Powder,  about  a  teaspoon,  for  each  egg 
omitted.    The  following  recipe  is  a  practical  example: 

Chocolate  Sponge  Roll 


1)4  cups  flour 
Vi  teaspoon  salt 

1  cup  sugar 

2  eggs 

2  squares  melted  chocolate 


2  tablespoons  melted  shortening 
J4  cup  hot  water 

1  teaspoon  vanilla 

2  teaspoons  Royal  Baking 

Powder 


The  old  method  called  for  4  eggs  and  no  baking  powder 

DIRECTIONS — Sift  flour,  baking  powder  and  salt  together  three 
times.  Beat  whole  eggs.  Add  slowly  sugar,  then  boiling  water 
slowly;  add  next  vanilla,  melted  chocolate  and  melted  shortening, 
without  beating.  Sift  in  dry  ingredients,  and  fold  in  as  lightly  as 
possible.  Pour  into  large  baking  pan  lined  with  oiled  paper,  and 
bake  in  slow  oven  twenty  minutes.  When  done,  turn  out  on  a 
damp,  hot  cloth,  spread  with  white  icing  and  roll. 

Booklet  ot  recipes  which  economize  in  eggs  and  other 
expensive  ingredients  mailed  free. 

Address  ROYAL  BAKING  POWDER  CO.  135  William  St.,  New  York 


at  an  impressive  flag  raising  held  by  the 
employes  of  the  Udell  Works,  Indian- 
apolis. 

— George  T.  Smith,  of  Lewistown,  111., 
has  accepted  the  work  at  Paxton,  111. 

— F.  M.  Warren  has  resigned  from  the 
Vinton,  la.,  pastorate  to  accept  the  work 
at  Keota,  la. 

— Edgar  DeWitt  Jones,  of  First 
church,  Bloomington,  111.,  who  has  been 
ill  with  quinsy,  is  fully  recovered  and 
in  his  pulpit  again. 

— Pastor  I.  H.  Beckholt,  of  Moline, 
111.,  has  suffered  loss  in  the  death  of  his 
three-year-old  son,  Robert.  The  Chris- 
tian Century  extends  its  sympathy  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beckholt  in  this  time  of 
sorrow. 


— H.  F.  Kern,  who  graduates  this  year 
at  Eureka,  has  been  called  to  the  pas- 
torate at  Augusta,  111.,  and  will  begin 
regular  pastoral  service  there  after  his 
graduation. 

— The  Rock  Island  (111.)  Christian  En- 
deavorers  are  busy  these  days  getting 
ready  to  entertain  the  State  Christian 
Endeavor  Convention,  beginning  June 
30.  They  are  planning  to  care  for  more 
than  1,000  live-wire  Endeavorers. 

— The  Tri-City  (Davenport,  Rock 
Island  and  Moline,  111.)  Evangelistic 
Association  banqueted  at  Memorial 
Church,  April  17.  J.  H.  O.  Smith  of 
Chicago  was  the  speaker  and  gave  a 
most  inspiring  and  helpful  address. 

— On  the  second  day  of  March,  J.  B. 


A  Card  From  President  McLean 


In  my  absence  and  without  my  knowl- 
edge my  associates  and  other  friends  ar- 
ranged to  celebrate  the  completion  of 
thirty-five  years  of  service  for  the  So- 
ciety. Never  before  in  our  history  has 
there  been  such  a  celebration  as  was 
held  in  the  Central  Christian  Church  in 
Cincinnati,  on  the  4th  day  of  March.  I 
trust  it  was  a  harbinger  of  a  better  day, 
a  day  in  which  public  servants  will  be 
honored  in  their  own  country  and  by 
their  own  people  and  in  their  own  life- 
time. To  my  associates  in  office,  to  the 
friends  who  sent  their  congratulations 
by  mail  and  by  wire,  to  the  men  and 
women  who  came  from  other  cities  and 
other  states,  to  the  representatives  of 
all  our  organized  missionary  and  benev- 
olent and  educational  and  temperance 
work,  and  to  the  leaders  of  the  Men  and 
Millions  Movement  who  made  it  a  point 


to  be  present  and  to  assist,  all  I  can 
say  is  this,  "I  thank  you,  and  may  God 
reward  you,  for  I  can  make  no  suitable 
return  for  the  evidence  of  your  confi- 
dence and  affection."  Wordsworth  said 
what  I  feel: 

"I've  heard  of  hearts  unkind,  kind  deeds 
with  coldness  still  returning; 
Alas!  the  gratitude  of  men 

Hath  oftener  left  me  mourning." 

I  am  amazed  at  the  numerous  ex- 
pressions of  kindness  and  good-will  that 
have  come  from  men  and  women  and 
churches  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

To  each  and  all  who  helped  to  make 
the  celebration  a  delightful  episode  in  a 
long  and  busy  life,  I  say  with  Tiny  Tim, 
"God  bless  you  every  one." 

Archibald  McLean. 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  3,  1917 


• 


CONSECRATE  MAY  TO  HOME  MISSIONS 

The  conservation  of  our  Churches  and  Missions  all  over 
America  and  the  starting  of  others  at  strategic  places  con- 
stitute the  most  effective  missionary  work  to  be  done  on 
earth  today — a  work  devolving  so  much  on  the  American 
Christian  Missionary  Society  that  no  wise  and  loyal  disciple, 
or  church,  of  Christ,  will  fail  to  support  it.  The  fact  is  that 
no  missionary  enterprise  among  us  is  so  fundamental  and 
essential  and  far-reaching  as  the  work  of  the  American 
Christian  Missionary  Society  in  all  its  scope.  I  mean,  not 
a   mere  organization,    but    that  for   which   it   stands.     Shall 

we  then   be  alert  to  supply  men  and  means  to  hold  what  we  have,  and  to  make 

what  we  have  more  efficient? — L.  C.  McPherson. 

Educate  the  Church 

Budge  the  Budget 

Take  the  Offering 


REMIT  TO 

AMERICAN  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 

CINCINNATI  ::  ::  ::  :: 


OHIO 


Daugherty,  of  Manila,  P.  I.,  died  from 
blood  poisoning.  Before  coming  to  the 
Foreign  Society  he  had  been  a  captain 
in  the  Philippine  Constabulary  and  be- 
fore that  he  had  been  a  teacher  there  in 
the  employment  of  the  United  States 
Government.  He  spoke  Spanish  and 
Tagalog  as  fluntly  as  he  spoke  English. 
He  instituted  and  edited  a  paper  that 
had  the  largest  circulation  of  any  paper 
in  the  Philippines. 

— In  a  six  days'  meeting  with  home 
forces  Howett  Street  Church,  Peoria, 
111.,  added  fourteen  to  its  membership 
and  four  more  the  Sunday  following 
Easter.  C.  A.  Brown,  choir  leader  at 
the  church,  lead  the  singing;  F.  Lewis 
Starbuck.  the  minister,  did  the  preach- 
ing. Over  fifty  members  have  been 
added  since  January  1. 

— The  cornerstone  of  the  new  build- 
ing of  First  Church,  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  was 
laid  on  April  15.  The  exercises  were  in 
charge  of  the  pastor,  C.  M.  Chilton.  It 
is  hoped  that  the  building  can  be  ded- 
icated in  October. 

— Guy  B.  Williamson,  recently  re- 
signed from  the  Paxton,  111.,  work,  has 
begun  his  new  service  at  El  Paso,  111. 

— Burris  A.  Jenkins,  of  Linwood  Bou- 
levard Church,  Kansas  City,  gave  a  lec- 
ture on  "Birds  of  the  Bible"  at  a  meeting 
held  at  this  church  under  the  auspices 
of  the  local  humane  society. 

— Sterling  Place  Church,  Brooklyn, 
M.  M.  Amunson,  minister,  is  making 
preliminary  plans  for  a  new  church 
plant.  It  will  probably  not  be  on  the 
present  lot,  but  near  it,  several  sites 
being  under  consideration,  and  the  build- 
ing plans  contemplate  a  parsonage 
apartment  and  garage  for  the  pastor's 
car  in  the  structure. 


H.  O.  Pritchard  at  Yale  School  of 

Religion 


E.  K.  Higdon,  of  the  Yale  School  of 
Religion,  writes  that  the  Disciples  were 
represented  on  the  convocation  program 
of  the  school  this  year  by  Professor 
Athearn,  of  Boston,  and  by  President 
H.  O.  Pritchard,  of  Eureka.  Professor 
Athearn  was  unable  to  be  present  be- 
cause of  illness,  but  Dr.  Pritchard  was 
present  and  delivered  the  alumni  ad- 
dress, speaking  on  "Some  Weaknesses 
in  Modern  Preaching."  Mr.  Higdon 
praises  the  address  in  enthusiastic  terms, 
reporting  that  it  was  well  prepared, 
showed  a  wide  knowledge  of  prevailing 
conditions  and  wise  judgment  in  dealing 
with  them.  It  elicited  much  favorable 
comment.  Speaking  more  in  detail  of 
the  address,  Mr.  Higdon  writes: 

"President  Pritchard  pointed  out  the 
fact  that  present  day  preaching  does  not 
grip  men,  does  not  convince  them  and 
convict  them  of  sin,  does  not  inspire 
them  and  enthuse  them  for  service  as  it 
should.  He  cited  statistics  to  show  the 
meagerness  of  the  results  of  the  work 
of  the  ministers  in  the  leading  denomi- 
nations of  the  United  States,  and  gave 
other  tests  to  prove  that  thousands  of 
preachers  are  delivering  lifeless,  inef- 
fective messages.  He  named  four  spe- 
cific weaknesses  and  discussed  the 
causes  of  each:  Modern  preaching  lacks 
conviction;  it  lacks  adaptation;  it  lacks 
unction,  and  it  lacks  spiritual  intuition." 

On  the  evening  of  April  19  thirty 
members  of  the  Campbell  Club  sat  down 
to  a  banquet  given  in  honor  of  the  vis- 
iting Disciples.  Besides  having  a  good 
feast  and  social  time,  the  club  enjoyed 
brief    talks   by   J.    C.   Archer,    Professor 


B.   W.    Bacon   and   President   Pritchard. 

At  the  convocation  this  year  Bishop 
William  F.  McDowell  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  delivered  the  Lyman 
Beecher  Lectures  on  the  subject,  "Good 
Ministers  of  Jesus  Christ."  The  eight 
lectures  of  the  series  will  appear  soon 
in  book  form.  Some  of  the  chapter  ti- 
tles are,  "The  Ministry  of  Revelation," 
"The  Ministry  of  Redemption,"  "The 
Ministry  of  Reconciliation,"  "The  Min- 
istry of  Rescue,"  "The  Ministry  of  In- 
spiration." 

Dr.  Walter  Rauschenbusch  of  the 
Baptist  Church  gave  the  Nathaniel  W. 
Taylor  Lectures.  This  series  will  also 
be  published  within  the  next  two  or 
three  months.  The  book  will  be  enti- 
tled "A  Theology  for  the  Social  Gos- 
pel" and  the  chapters  will  deal  with 
"The  Reaction  of  the  Social  Gospel  on 
Dogmatic  Theology,"  "The  Expansion 
of  the  Doctrine  of  Sin,"  "The  Expan- 
sion of  the  Doctrine  of  Redemption," 
and  "The  Influence  of  the  Social  Gospel 
on  Doctrines  Related  to  Redemption." 
Men  qualified  to  judge  say  that  this  will 
be  the  greatest  book  Dr.  Rauschenbusch 
has  yet  written. 

A  new  feature  of  convocation  this 
year  was  the  introduction  of  a  course 
of  lectures  on  missions.  Dr.  Arthur  J. 
Brown  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  gave 
three  very  interesting  addresses  on  the 
"Problems  of  the  Far  East."  The  first 
dealt  with  the  situation  in  Russia,  the 
next  with  the  place  of  Japan  in  the  prob- 
lem of  the  Far  East,  and  the  last  with 
Christian  missions  in  the  problem  of 
the  Far  East. 


May  3,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


— A  new  Men's  Club  has  been  added 
to  the  activities  of  the  Flatbush  Church, 
Brooklyn,  where  F.  M.  Gordon  is  in  a 
thriving  ministry.  This  church  is  al- 
ready launched  in  a  series  of  shortened 
services,  limited  to  a  maximum  length 
of  sixty  minutes,  to  run  through  the 
summer. 

— State  Evangelist  and  Corresponding 
Secretary  C.  A.  Brady,  of  New  York 
will  close  his  work  this  week,  at  which 
time  he  undertakes  the  ministry  of  Cecil 
Street  Church,  Toronto.  He  recently 
concluded  a  short  meeting  with  the 
Glenwood  Church,  Buffalo,  Harvey 
Bream,  minister,  resulting  in  twenty-five 
additions. 

— For  the  first  time  in  many  years  the 
church  at  Connellsville,  Pa.,  closed  its 
fiscal  year  on  March  31  free  of  debt.  A 
step  in  advance  has  recently  been  made 
by  the  organization  within  the  church 
of  a  Christian  Women's  Union,  the  pur- 
pose of  which  will  be  to  see  that  all 
members  of  the  congregation  are  sys- 
tematically called  on  during  the  year, 
and  to  give  especial  attention  to  the 
spiritual  development  of  the  people. 
Clark  Buckner  has  just  completed  his 
third  year  at  Connellsville.  A  week's 
meeting  recently  held  resulted  in  the 
addition  of  fourteen  members  to  the 
congregation. 

— The  superintendent  of  public  schools 
of  Altoona,  la.,  writes  in  high  praise  of 
Arthur  Dillinger,  who  has  recently  been 
called  from  the  pastorate  there  to  Salina, 
Kan.  He  appreciates  greatly  the  serv- 
ices Mr.  Dillinger  performed  for  the 
community  and  especially  for  the 
schools  of  the  town.  Last  autumn  Mr. 
Dillinger  presented  a  gold  medal  to  the 
winner  in  a  local  oratorical  contest,  and 
at  various  times  made  inspiring  talks 
before  the  schools.  He  served  also  as  a 
scout  master,  having  organized  a  scout 
organization  of  twenty  boys  who  were 
devoted  to  him  as  leader. 

— Richmond  Avenue  Church,  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  has  inaugurated  a  novel  feature 
for  deepening  the  spiritual  tone  of  the 
services.  A  men's  prayer  meeting  is 
held  beginning  a  half  hour  before  the 
service,  and  the  door  is  locked  five  min- 
utes after  the  prayer  meeting  is  sched- 
uled to  begin.  The  prayer  meeting  is 
held  in  the  minister's  study,  but  if  it 
grows  past  the  capacity  of  that  room 
the  men  will  seek  larger  quarters.  Sun- 
day school  services  after  morning  wor- 
ship make  this  possible.  John  P.  Sala 
ministers  at  Richmond  Avenue. 

— Since  March  25  there  have  been 
forty-three  additions  to  the  membership 


at    Fowler,    Cal.,    where    H.    N.    McKce 
ministers,  twenty-seven  of  these  by  con- 


fession of  faith.  On  the  evening  of  April 
22  there  were  twelve  added,  of  these,  in 


gllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillilllllllllllllllll^ 

§  The  Composition  of  Coca-Cola       | 

|  and  its  Relation  to  Tea                  | 

s  Prompted  by  the  desire  that  the  public  shall            E 

~  be  thoroughly  informed   as  to  the  composi-            E 

S  tion  and  dietetic  character  of  Coca-Cola,  the 

E  Company  has  issued  a  booklet  giving  a  de- 
tailed analysis  of  its  recipe  which  is  as  follows :            E 

E  Water,    sterilized   by  boiling    (carbonated); 

~  sugar,  granulated,  first  quality;  fruit  flavoring            E 

s  extracts  with  caramel;  acid  flavorings,  citric 

E  (lemon)  and  phosphoric;  essence  of  tea — the            E 

■5  refreshing  principle.                                                            E 

5  The  following  analysis,  by  the  late  Dr.  John            E 

1  W.  Mallet,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  and  g 
E  for  nearly  forty  years  Professor  of  Chemistry  E 
Si  in  the  University  of  Virginia,  shows  the  com-  E 
?:  parative  stimulating  or  refreshing  strength  of 

E  tea  and  Coca-Cola,  measured  in  terms  of  the 

ii  refreshing  principle:                                                              S 

E  Black  tea — 1  cupful 1.54 

j=  (hot)                            (5  fl.  oz.) 

S  Green  tea — 1  glassful 2.02 

--•  (cold)                             (8  fl.  oz.  exclusive  of  ice)                                                     SZ 

|  Coca-Cola— 1  drink,  8  H.  oz 1.21 

55  (fountain)                         (prepared  with  1  fl.  oz.  Syrup)                                           S 

|  Coca-Cola— 1  drink,  8  fl.  oz 1.12  = 

55  (bottfera)                         (prepared  with  1  fl.  oz.  Syrup)                                           S5 

2  From  the  above  recipe  and  analysis,  which  are 

E  confirmed  by  all  chemists  who  have  analyzed            E 

~  these  beverages,  it  is  apparent  that  Coca-Cola           E 

E  is  a  carbonated,  fruit-flavored  modification  of            E 

s  tea  of  a  little  more  than  one-half  its  stimulat-           E 

s  ing  strength. 

A  copy  of  the  booklet  referred  to  above  will 

E  be  mailed  free  on  request,  and  The  Coca-Cola 

s  Company    especially    invites    inquiry    from            E 

E  those  who  are  interested  in  pure  food  and 

E  public    health    propaganda.      Address 

The  Coca-Cola  Co.,  Dept.  J.,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  U.  S.  A. 
illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllE 


Factory  Rebuilt  Like  New  $65.00 

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THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  3,  1917 


one  family  being  a  father,  mother,  four 
sons  and  two  daughters.  More  than 
half  of  the  recent  converts  in  this  church 
have  enlisted  in  a  win-one  campaign. 

— Charles  O.  Lee,  who  leads  at  Dan- 
ville, Ind.,  reports  seventy  more  acces- 
sions during  the  past  two  weeks.  This 
makes  a  total  of  143  who  have  come  as 
a  result  of  the  Bulgin  Tabernacle  cam- 
paign. These  new  recruits  are  prac- 
tically all  from  representative  homes  of 
the  community.  Mr.  Lee  baptized  115 
of  the  143  persons  who  came  forward. 


wrui  \in ni/  A.  Church  Home  for  You. 

NFW  YnHK  Write  Dr.  Fhiis  Idleman, 
nun    i  u  1 1 1\  142  West  glst  gt   N  y 


— Russell  H.  Conwell,  noted  preacher 
and  lecturer,  was  called  to  give  his  lec- 
ture. "Acres  of  Diamonds,"  for  a  second 
time  at  First  Church,  Chattanooga, 
Tenn. 

— On  April  15  there  were  nine  addi- 
tions to  South  Park  Church,  Los  An- 
ereles,  Cal.,  where  Bruce  Brown  is  now 
ministering.  Thirty-two  new  members 
have  been  added  during  the  last  few 
weeks. 

— At  a  great  rally  day  service  at  First 
Church.  LaFayette,  Ind.,  on  April  22,  a 
goal  of  1.000  present  was  set  for  the 
Sunday  school  service.  Robert  Knight, 
student  pastor,  aimed  at  a  Purdue  stu- 
dents' class  of  300.  George  W.  Watson, 
pastor  at  First  Church,  preached  in  the 
morning  on  "What  Is  the  Supreme  Task 
of  Religion?"  and  in  the  evening  on  "Is 
Christianity  a  Luxury  or  a  Necessity?" 
On  two  recent  Sundays  thirty  persons 
were  added  to  the  congregation. 

— T.  H.  Adams  preached  his  last  ser- 
mon at  Ceneral  Church,  Richmond,  Ind., 
on  April  28,  and  has  begun  his  new  work 
at  Milroy,  Ind. 

— Since  C.  B.  Reynolds  came  to  the 
work  at  Alliance,  O.,  669  persons  have 
been  added  to  the  church  membership. 

— E.  F.  Daugherty,  of  First  Church, 
Yincennes,  Ind.,  has  tendered  his  serv- 
ices to  Indiana's  governor,  expressing 
his  willingness  to  serve  as  chaplain  of 
one  of  the  Indiana  regiments. 

— The  churches  of  the  Third  District, 
Illinois,  will  meet  in  annual  convention 
at  Canton,  111.,  May  8  and  9.  W.  D. 
Endres  is  president  of  the  district  board, 
and  H.  G.  Waggoner,  secretary.  The 
Canton  congregation  will  provide  lodg- 
ing and  breakfast  for  all  who  attend.  B. 
H.  Cleaver  is  pastor  at  Canton. 

— Claris  Yeuell,  who  has  been  supply- 
ing the  pulpit  at  Killbuck,  Ohio,  closed 
his  work  there  on  April  29.  Mr.  Yeuell 
reports  the  baptism  there  of  a  man 
nearly  eighty  years  of  age  who  had  been 
a  notorious  unbeliever. 

— Last  July  the  church  edifice  at 
Rochester,  111.,  burned  down,  but  the 
aggressive  congregation  there,  led  by 
the  pastor,  T.  W.  Shaw,  at  once  set 
about  planning  a  new  home,  and  H.  H. 
Peters,  state  secretary,  reports  its  dedi- 
cation on  April  22.  Mr.  Peters  had 
charge.  The  new  building  is  valued  at 
about  $7,000.  More  than  the  amount 
required  was  raised.  Rochester  is  about 
eight   miles   from   Springfield. 

— The  Dallas  (Tex.)  Pastors  Associa- 
tion set  April  29  as  "Meet  Your  Obliga- 
tions Sunday,"  and  the  Disciple  ministers 
preached  on  paying  debts. 

— J.  C.  Archer  of  the  missionary  de- 
partment of  the  School  of  Religion  at 
Yale,  reports  that  three  of  the  Disciple 


men  of  the  school  were  ordained  on 
April  26.  Mr.  Archer  was  assisted  in 
the  ceremonies  by  J.  J.  Castleberry,  of 
the  Mayfield,  Ky.,  church,  and  by  Dean 
Charles  R.  Brown,  of  the  School  of  Re- 
ligion. The  candidates,  as  usual,  brought 
from  their  home  churches  the  necessary 
recommendations  for  the  ordination: 
Hugh  Shields  with  recommendation  of 
Hazelwood,  Ind.,  church;  Frederick 
Harvey  Jacobs,  from  Bargersville,:  Ind., 
church,  and  Arthur  George  Scrambler, 
from  University  church,  Des  Moines,  la. 
Mr.  Archer  reports  that  President  H.  O. 
Pritchard  made  a  very  strong  impres- 
sion at  the  Yale  School  in  his  Alumni 
address  before  the  convocation. 

— F.  M.  Warren  has  resigned  from  the 
work  at  Vinton,  la.,  to  accept  the  pas- 
torate at  Keota.  Mr.  Warren  has  had 
a  successful  pastorate  of  four  years  at 
Vinton. 

— During  the  present  quarter  the  Dis- 
ciple Sunday  schools  of  Kentucky  are 
endeavoring  to  increase  the  enrollment 
of  the  state's  schools  from  80,000  to 
100,000.  An  increase  of  25  per  cent  on 
the  part  of  every  school  will  assure  the 
goal  being  reached. 

— Russell  F.  Thrapp  reports  that  the 
meeting  at  First  church,  Los  Angeles, 
held  by  R.  W.  Abberly,  Southern  Cali- 
fornia evangelist,  left  the  church  in  fine 
condition,  and  added  thirty  new  mem- 
bers to  the  congregation.  The  meeting 
extended  over  fifteen  evenings.  The 
Easter  offering  at  this  church  amounted 
to  over  $100. 

— There  have  been  over  300  additions 
to  the  congregation  at  Butler,  Pa.,  since 
the  coming  of  Frank  M.  Field  to  the 
pastorate  there  fifteen  months  ago.  The 
community  influence  of  the  church  has 
been  greatly  increased.  A  new  Sunday 
school  and  community  house  was  dedi- 
cated on  Easter  Sunday  at  Butler,  the 
services  being  in  charge  of  G.  L.  Snively. 
Above  $16,000  was  raised  in  cash  and 
pledges,  exceeding  obligations  by  $4,000. 
On  that  day  also  a  series  of  meetings 
was  closed  in  which  Mr.  Field  was  as- 
sisted by  J.  Ward  Seniff,  song  evangelist. 
Oyer  100  members  were  added  through 
this  series. 

— The  Arkansas  State  Convention  is 
being  held  this  week  at  Little  Rock,  First 
church.  Governor  Brough  gave  the  ad- 
dress of  welcome  to  the  convention. 
The  convention  sermon  on  "A  Conquer- 
ing Christ"  was  delivered  by  C.  A.  Finch, 
of  Fayetteville.  About  200  delegates 
were  expected  by  the  leaders. 

— L.  E.  Brown,  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Connersville,  Ind.,  recently  delivered  his 
lecture  on  "Uncle  Sam"  to  a  large  audi- 
ence in  his  own  church.  He  will  give 
his  lecture,  "Seeing  the  Elephant"  at 
Bethany  Assembly,  August  1.  This  lec- 
ture is  exceedingly  practical,  dealing,  as 
it  does,  with  the  things  of  the  every-day 
life. 

— Six  new  missions  have  been  organ- 
ized during  the  past  year  by  the  Ohio 
State  Society,  under  the  leadership  of  I. 
J.  Cahill.  Two  of  the  mission  points 
are  Chicago  avenue,  Columbus,  and  New 
Boston.  Mart  Gary  Smith  is  the  new 
missionary  at  Ada,  O.  The  convention 
of  Ohio  Disciples  to  be  held  at  Belle- 
fontaine,  May  21-24,  is  the  center  of  at- 
tention just  now,  writes  Mr.  Cahill.  An- 
nuity gifts  of  $1,000  and  $5,000  are  re- 
ported for  the  state  society,  and  Mr. 
Cahill  has  received  word  from  five  per- 
sons that  the  organization  has  been  re- 
membered in  their  wills. 

— W.  E.  M.  Hackleman  will  lead  the 
music  in  the  Whitley  county  (Ind.)  Sun- 


day school  convention,  June  6-7.  Re- 
cently he  led  the  music  for  the  Owen 
Co.  (Ind.)  convention,  which  was  the 
largest  county  Sunday  school  conven- 
tion ever  held  in  the  state,  there  being 
967  registered  delegates.  This  attend- 
ance was  largely  due  to  the  untiring 
energies  of  Frank  Davison,  the  pastor 
of  the  Christian  church  at  Spencer,  the 
county  seat. 


ILLINOIS  NEWS  LETTER 

A  conference  was  held  at  Freeport, 
Friday  evening,  April  20,  in  the  interest 
of  the  work  there.  Those  in  attendance 
were  W.  B.  Clemmer,  of  Rockford;  S.  A. 
Cooke,  D.  F.  Seyster  and  Daniel  Wolfe, 
of  Polo;  C.  C.  Carpenter,  of  Princeton; 
together  with  the  state  secretary.  Ar- 
rangements were  made  for  Pastor 
Clemmer  of  Rockford  to  temporarily 
supply  the  pulpit  of  the  Freeport  church 
on  Sunday  afternoons.  The  Freeport 
church  is  one  of  our  living-link  mis- 
sions. 

In  the  recent  pre-Easter  campaign 
First  Church,  Decatur,  R.  E.  Henry, 
pastor,  secured  twenty-four  additions  to 
its  membership. 

The  church  at  Blandinsville,  where 
Ward  E.  Hall  ministers,  has  recently 
enjoyed  a  church  efficiency  campaign 
with  "Sunny  Jim"  Scofield. 

Martin  Sorensen  of  Princeton,  Ky.,  is 
on  the  field  as  pastor  of  the  Metropolis 
Church.  He  would  be  glad  to  exchange 
meetings  with  another  minister-evangel- 
ist during  the  latter  part  of  May  or 
June. 

The  Bellmont  Church  has  secured  the 
services  of  Loyd  Van  Lovell. 

B.  W.  Tate  has  just  closed  his  first 
year  with  the  Mt.  Vernon  Church.  Some 
worth-while  achievements  have  been 
made  during  this  time.  A  splendid  new 
church  was  built,  there  were  forty-four 
additions  at  regular  services  and  the 
Sunday  school  has  enlarged  in  numbers 
and  influence.  This  congregation  re- 
cently entertained  the  Southern  Minis- 
terial Institute. 

Memorial  Church,  Rock  Island,  ob- 
served its  forty-ninth  anniversary  March 
23.  Supper  was  served  at  7  o'clock, 
after  which  a  varied  program  was  ren- 
dered and  the  history  of  the  congrega- 
tion was  read.  M.  E.  Chatley  is  in  his 
fifth  year  of  service  with  this  church. 
In  the  post-Easter  week  of  services  six 
young  people  took  their  stand  for  Christ 
and  the  church.  Herman  Peiper,  of 
Davenport,  assisted  as  singing  evangel- 
ist. For  three  years  Mr.  Chatley  has 
been  prelate  of  the  Rock  Island  Com- 
mandery  No.  18,  Knights  Templar,  and 
delivered  the  Easter  sermon  at  Geneseo 
for  this  organization. 

The  Mechanicsburg  congregation  has 
recently  secured  Charles  Williams  of 
Kewanee  for  full  time.  He  will  begin 
work  there  about  the  middle  of  May. 

H.  H.  Peters,  Sec. 

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THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 


23 


Here  is  the  only  book  that  tells  the  story  of  the 
Disciples  movement  from  first-hand  observation. 
Dr.  W.  T.  Moore  is  the  only  man  now  living  who 
could  perform  this  task,  and  Dr.  Moore  has  told  his 
story  in  his 

"Comprehensive  History 
of  The  Disciples  of  Christ" 

You  cannot  afford  to  let  this  opportunity  slip  to  se- 
cure this  book  for  your  library  at  practically  half  price! 

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are  more  than  worth  the  price  of  the  book.  Here 
is  a  real  portrait  gallery  or  the  men  who  have  made 
the  Disciples  movement,  from  the  earliest  days  to 
the  present  living  minute. 

Here  is  the  Extraordinary  Proposition 
We  are  Making  on  the  Few  Copies 
of  the  Book  Now   Remaining 

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Society,  700  E. 40th St., 

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This  Book  Takes 
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Disciples 


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1 ,000  COPIES  SOLD 

IN  KANSAS  CITY  ALONE 

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"The  Man  in  the  Street 
and  Religion" 

A   book   containing  the  Kansas    City  preacher's  message  and    his 
personal  philosophy  of  life. 

One  of  the  livest  and  most  readable 
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extract  from  the  first  chapter  suggests  the 
point  of  view  and  atmosphere  of  this 
fascinating  book: 


"To  look  upon  the  seething  mass  of  men  in  the 
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r 


i"1        m 


Vol.  XXXIV 


May  10,  1917 


Number  19 


Armageddon: 
It  is  at  Hand! 

By  Edgar  DeWitt  Jones 


CHICAGO 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  May  10,  1917 


IS    THE   WORLD 
GROWING  BETTER 


or  more  materialistic?  A  study  of  actual 
events  leads  Professor  Shailer  Mathews  to  be- 
lieve that  history  does  show  spiritual  forces  at 
work  which  may  renew  our  threatened  ideal- 
ism and  our  confidence  in  the  might  of  right. 
He   sums   up   his   views   in   his  new   volume 


"THE  SPIRITUAL 

INTERPRETATION  OF 

HISTORY" 


Professor  Mathews  is  Dean  of  the  Divinity 
School  in  the  University  of  Chicago  and  is  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  writers  in  the  field  of  re- 
ligion today.  He  is  also  the  Editor  of  the 
Biblical   World. 

Every  minister  and  every  alert  churchman 
should  possess  this  book.  It  is  esssentially  a 
book   for   the   times. 

Price  of  the  Book,  $1.50 


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FOR   SALE  BY 

DISCIPLES    PUBLICATION 

SOCIETY 

700  E.  40th  STREET,  ::        ::  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


May  10,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


Subscription  Price— Two  dollars  and 
a  half  a  year,  payable  strictly  In 
advance.  To  ministers,  two  dollars 
when  paid  in  advance.  Canadian 
subscriptions,  60  cents  additional  for 
postage.  Foreign,  $1.00  additional. 
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PUBLISHED    WEEKLY    BY   THE    DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE    INTEREST    OF    THE    KINGDOM     OF    GOD 


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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS,       :       700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


nj     *  I  The   Disciples   Publica- 

lllSCipiGS  tiori  Society  is  an  or- 

PllbliCatiOn     Sanation     through 
cA»;A4ir  which  churches  of  the 

aOCieiy  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. «    •    * 

The    Disciples   Publication   Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *     *     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such^  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

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April  Wins  and  Loses 


fj  The  month  of  April  fell  considerably  short  of  the  month 
of  March  in  subscriptions  to  The  Christian  Century.  That 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at  when  it  is  remembered  that  March 
marked  the  highest  point  in  a  series  of  four  months,  every 
one  of  which  outstripped  the  best  month's  record  in  the 
history  of  the  "Century". 

^  But  April's  receipts  for  new  subscriptions  and  renewals 
were  nearly  double  the  receipts  for  April  of  last  year ! 

•J  Of  the  readers  who  agreed  to  send  three  new  subscrip- 
tions during  April  but  failed  to  do  so,  a  number  have  written 
that  we  could  expect  to  hear  from  them  early  in  May. 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  10,  1917 


Orphans  Being-  Reared  by  the  Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Missions  at  Bilaspur,  India. 


THE  AGONY  OF  INDIA 

''The  greatest  subject  empire  in  the  world,"  1,900  miles  from  tip  to  tip,  either  north  and  south, 
or  east  and  west,  its  1,766,000  square  miles  of  territory  unsurpassed  in  fertility,  and  its  315,000,000 
people,  largely  of  Aryan  stock,  and  so  closely  akin  to  their  English  rulers,  unexcelled  in  natural  worth, 
is  the  saddest  of  all  known  lands,  having  neither  the  enjoyment  of  the  life  which  now  is  nor  the  hope 
of  that  which  is  to  come. 

There  are  a  few  great  cities,  Calcutta,  with  1,222,000  people,  Bombay  979,000,  Madras  518,660, 
Hyderabad  500,000,  but  most  of  the  people  live  in  villages  and  are  agricultural.  There  are  a  small 
number  of  native  princes  and  others  of  dazzling  wealth,  but  the  mass  of  the  population  is  wretchedly 
poor.  Starvation  is  common,  millions  never  have  enough  to  eat,  and  the  majority  are  ready  prey 
for  famine  or  pestilence.    They  are  hedged  in  by  caste,  paralyzed  by  fatalism,  and  enfeebled  by  hunger. 

As  a  sample  of  the  simple  elements  of  their  poverty  which  must  pass  away  with  the  coming 
of  Christian  enlightenment,  note  their  100,000,000  cattle.  We  have  thought  of  their  holding  the  cow 
sacred  as  an  idle,  innocent  and  amusing  superstition.  It  is  a  national  and  age-long  calamity.  They 
will  not  eat  the  flesh  of  cattle,  nor  will  they  sell  a  cow  or  ox  to  anyone  else  to  slaughter,  even  after 
it  is  old  and  absolutely  useless.  So  they  not  only  lose  the  value  of  their  cattle  but  have  their 
pastures  eaten  up  by  aged  and  idle  beasts,  to  the  starvation  of  the  productive  animals  and  of  the 
people  themselves. 

A  Christian  teacher  here  and  there,  hospitals  and  orphanages  at  strategic  points,  and  a  few 
Christian  women  quietly  threading  their  way  through  the  homes,  it  has  been  demonstrated,  will 
multiply  enlightenment,  initiative,  self-reliance  and  efficiency  among  the  people  until  both  suffering 
and  despair  flee  away.  It  has  taken  a  hundred  years  of  infinite  effort  and  patience  to  open  the  way 
for  India's  healing.  But  at  last  the  gospel  has  free  course  and  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement 
is  to  hasten  and  double  our  acceptance  of  our  opportunity. 


MEN  AND  MILLIONS  MOVEMENT 

222  W.  Fourth  Street  CINCINNATI,  OHIO 


CHAELES  CLAYTON  MOEEIBON,  EDITOK. 


HERBEET    t.    WU.LETT,     OOHTECTUTI50     EDtTOl 


Volume  XXXIV 


MAY  10,  1917 


Number   19 


The  Meaning  of  Mother's  Day 


MOTHER'S  DAY  IS  RAPIDLY  GROWING  IN 
POPULARITY. 

The  history  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  holidays  is  full 
of  significance  for  social  students.  The  fact  that  the 
Fourth  of  July  has  come  into  a  lesser  place  in  our 
calendar  does  not  imply  a  diminished  respect  for  the 
forefathers  of  1776.  It  is  probably  due  to  the  spread- 
eagle  oratory  of  former  days,  which  inoculated  hatred 
for  England,  and  because  of  the  growing  use  of  dan- 
gerous explosives.  The  day  failed  both  as  a  time  of 
spiritual  elevation  and  as  a  time  of  pleasure.  It  will 
not  be  revived  until  we  find  a  new  way  to  celebrate  it. 
On  the  other  hand,  Memorial  Day  has  come  into  very 
general  observance.  Fundamentally  a  day  in  which 
the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  civil  war  are  remem- 
bered, it  has  at  last  come  to  be  a  day  on  which  all  may 
renew  the  memory  of  their  sacred  dead.  The  appeal 
of  such  a  day  is  to  universal  experience. 

The  reason  Mother's  Day  has  come  into  such 
popularity  is  that  it  also  appeals  to  the  almost  universal 
human  experience  of  reverence  for  elders,  of  which 
there  has  been  all  too  little  in  America  during  the  last 
generation.  America  with  her  flippancy  and  China  with 
her  ancestor  worship  have  been  at  opposite  poles. 
China  has  been  nearer  the  truth  than  America. 

Not  every  mother  is  an  ideal  mother.  The  failure 
of  motherhood  is  one  of  our  modern  cries.  We  know 
that  parental  affection  depends  for  its  beginnings  upon 
physical  contact  and  service.  The  child  reared  by  a 
nurse  will  often  give  the  nurse  a  dearer  place  in  its  heart 
than  the  mother.  Mothers  in  rich  families  have  often 
missed  the  deeper  meanings  of  motherhood  because 
they  have  not  been  willing  to  pay  the  price. 

•     • 

Motherhood  has  failed  through  ignorance.  We 
now  know  that  most  of  the  infants  that  die  during  the 
summer  are  but  victims  of  the  ignorance  of  their 
parents,  especially  of  their  mothers.  Just  now  we  are 
keenly  aware  of  the  need  of  scattering  a  saving  intelli- 
gence through  the  cities  that  the  annual  death  list  of 
innocents  may  be  curtailed. 

The  juvenile  court  assures  us  that  mothers  often 
fail.  We  are  told  of  girls  who  grow  up  without  the 
knowledge  which  would  guide  their  steps  aright.  One 
by  one  the  functions  of  the  home  have  been  taken  over 
by  the  state,  but  the  state  has  hesitated  to  take  over 
the  instruction  of  children  in  the  things  fundamental  to 
the  family  life.  It  has  seemed  that  here  the  family 
should  learn  to  act  and  not  delegate  its  educational  task 
to  others. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  on  the  day  when  the  white 
carnation  is  everywhere  in  evidence,  it  is  not  physical 
motherhood  that  commands  our  reverence.  There  is  a 
spiritual  wealth  which  we  associate  with  true  mother- 
hood which  is  the  real  source  of  our  enthusiasm. 


It  has  taken  the  slow  processes  of  God  a  long  time 
to  perfect  the  beautiful  mothers  we  now  have  in  every 
community.  In  the  long  ago  men  were  hunters  and 
fighters  and  loafers.  Their  kind  of  life  gave  them  in- 
ventiveness and  physical  strength  and  minds  that  could 
comprehend  a  wide  range  of  facts.  It  brought  the  de- 
fects of  an  excessive  quarrelsomeness,  and  a  lack  of  the 
finer  spiritual  qualities. 

Women  by  the  nature  of  their  life  were  compelled 
to  remain  in  one  place  and  care  for  their  children.  They 
were  the  core  of  ancient  society  as  they  are  the  leaders 
of  society  today.  In  the  care  of  children,  they  devel- 
oped the  graces  of  kindness  and  sympathy  and  in  the 
relative  seclusion  of  their  lives  they  had  time  for  medi- 
tation and  for  the  discovery  of  their  own  souls.  It  is 
for  this  reason  that  women  to  this  day  are  more  intro- 
spective than  men.  Their  intuition  strikes  the  matter- 
of-fact  man  of  today  as  something  almost  uncanny. 


Our  reverence  for  women  is  not  the  result  of  any 
survival,  however.  It  is  in  fact  a  relatively  new  thing 
in  the  world.  The  age  of  chivalry  gave  men  the  roman- 
tic attitude  toward  the  women  they  were  to  marry,  who 
had  previously  been  bought  and  sold.  In  these  days 
when  so  many  women  live  outside  of  homes,  we  have 
put  a  new  premium  on  motherhood. 

We  realize  that  the  intelligent,  educated  woman  of 
today  who  for  sweet  love's  sake  makes  a  home  and  fills 
that  home  with  bright-faced  children  has  made  a  vica- 
rious sacrifice  for  her  loved  ones  and  for  the  race.  She 
is  not  likely  to  be  known  in  the  circles  of  artists  or  lit- 
erary lights.  The  true  mother  has  become  akin  to 
Jesus  Christ  in  giving  up  for  the  sake  of  her  dear  ones. 

Women,  however,  do  not  spend  all  their  lives  in  the 
seclusion  of  their  homes.  As  the  children  grow  older, 
and  the  state  claims  them  for  most  of  the  day  in  the 
schools,  there  is  opportunity  for  mothers  to  participate 
somewhat  in  the  community  life.  It  is  because  so  much 
of  our  legislation  these  days  is  really  community  house- 
keeping that  state  after  state  has  given  women  the  bal- 
lot. When  we  argue  the  subject  of  woman's  rights,  we 
most  often  speak  of  the  single  woman  "taxed  without 
representation."  When  we  speak  of  a  woman's  contri- 
bution to  the  state  at  the  ballot  box,  it  is  the  mother  we 
think  of  most. 

Motherhood  has  made  its  chief  contribution  to  the 
life  of  the  race  in  the  field  of  religion.  The  Catholic 
has  prayed  to  the  Madonna  because  of  his  admiration 
of  the  mother  principle  in  life.  The  Protestant  has 
dared  to  say,  "Father-Mother  God."  Since  we  are  sure 
that  God  is  the  incarnation  of  all  good,  we  are  sure  that 
He  not  only  has  the  strong  love  of  our  fathers  but  that 
He  embodies  as  well  the  sympathy  and  tenderness  of 
our  mothers. 


I 


EDITORIAL  I 

PATRIOTISM  IN  THE  CHURCH  home  of  the  modern  municipal  playground  and  Chicago 

..   .              ,.«.                A,  •        r               .  •   .•        4.1,^+  still  leads  the  world  in  this  splendid  piece  of  uplift  work, 

b  religion  so  different  a  thing  from  patriotism  that  .  ,  „        y             K          .,    ",        .... 

.       f       ,          ,,                               r      : %       ,    ,     •     +1-  1  he  ten  millions  of  dollars  invested  in  south  side  settle- 

the  church  need  have  no  concern  for  the  state  in  this  ..            ,                         . 

.            ,         1^     T-i      t         j- j         xi  •   1         •     j„    „  ments  alone  testily  to  the  humanitarian  interest  of  a 

its  hour  ot  need?     1  he  Tews  did  not  think  so  in  days  ,.  ,    .            v        ., 

.,         ...           j      i  •  i«              ..ir        ^  „;^~  city  which  is  not  yet  sold  out  to  commercialism, 

gone  bv.  for  religion  and  patriotism  are  to  he  found  side  J               .           J     ,                      .  .               . 

•j           iL                    r  u„i     w~:+  „„a  „^  ™-,,-,   r^n,-i  lhere  is  something  to  be  said  for  Chicago  as  a  ht- 

bv  side  on  the  pages  of  Holy  Writ  and  no  man  can  ,-,.     ,*             ,           .  _,          to 

,  erary  center.     Ihe  old-time  glory  of  Boston  may  even 

'  -X     i       i  '  r      i  •             , u™i  o+o+0  ;,-.  +i-,o  r,-^,,  now  be  slipping  away  from  her.     Even  Amy   Lowell, 

Paul,  who  lived  in  a  monarchical  state  in  the  gov-  r£    &          /                                          /                ' 

,,.,,,,             .            .      „,.     „    in^f.r  Boston  prophet  of  the  so-called    new  poetry,    confesses 

eminent  of  which  he  had  no  voice,  yet  wrote  a  chapter  „V>     i  .•         „    •                       <•     ,      i        A 

,     ,.           .     .,     ,  •   i                         TT   „.„  „,:+i-,  +v,0  that   our      Porktown      is    in   very   fact   the    American 

to  urge  obedience  to  the  higher  powers.     Even  with  the  '<     ™         .,,, 

u   j           r  i-             •               *.     ^       *_•»*.„  I.;,   <,™,1    ha  hub,    so  far  as  poetry  is  concerned.     The  middle  west 

shadow  of  his  coming  martyrdom  across  his  soul,   he  '                     *         ■>                                               .  . 

never  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  writer  of  the  Apo-  has  a  h  e  all+  »*  ow">  and  hterary  men  are  arising  to 

calypse.    He  was  not  constrained  to  oppose  the  govern-  m*JPJ*  ^at  J**     A  f  °?P  of  Chlca^°  Poets  r/cently 

-  *      .           .  .         ,  .     .       ,                •     j  published  the  Chicago  Anthology,  a  collection  of  verse, 

ment  whose  citizenship  he  always  prized.  %.  .           .     .     .        b    ,        .    ■*>•'> 

Those  who  live  under  a  republic,  where  the  govern-  Ch«*go  «8  the  home  of  an  important  art  center,  as  well, 
ment  is  "of  the  people,  for  the  people  and  by  the  people,"  .  We  have  ^et  \°  say  that  this  city  is  in  any  pre- 
have  much  more  reason  than  Paul  ever  had  for  loyalty  eminent  way  a  religious  city.  The  church  of  Jesus 
and  patriotism.  The  church  will  fail  of  its  duty  in  these  Chnst  has  a  challenge  in  the  growth  of  this  miracle 
trying  days  if  it  does  not  cooperate  with  the  state  in  the  Clty-  Before  Chicago  comes  to  have  a  soul  that  is  hard 
ta'sk  of  freeing  our  world  from  despotism.  and  materialistic,  we  should  give  her  a  soul  that  re- 
Patriotism  has  its  external  symbol.  All  over  the  sPonds  to  religious  idealism, 
nation  the  flag  is  found  in  rather  unusual  places.  It 
ought  to  be  prominently  displayed  in  the  church.    Sym-  FREAK  RELIGION   IN  WAR-TIME 

bols  are  of  importance  in  determining  our  religious  atti-     

tudes.  The  civil  war  veterans  recently  presented  Old  r"pHE  present  emergency  finds  us  unprepared  spirit- 
South  Church,  Boston,  with  a  flag  with  these  words:  |  ualIy  for  the  things  that  we  face.  It  is  for  this 
"It  is  presented  with  happy  memories  of  our  comrades,  reason  that  we  are  confronted  with  various  kinds 
living  and  dead;  in  ever  deepening  loyalty  to  our  be-  of  reactionary  and  freak  religious  tendencies.  It  is  an! 
loved  country ;  in  the  sure  faith  that  Old  South  Church  abnormal  thing  for  certain  English  Episcopalians  to 
will  continue  to  be  what  it  has  ever  been—  a  prophet  of  consecrate  the  loaf  in  the  Lord's  Supper  and  then  carry 
the  integrity  and  freedom  of  the  United  States  of  Jt  around  to  their  sick,  saying  "Jesus  has  come."  The 
America  "  Roman  Catholic  with  his  service  of  the  mass  would  not 

There  are  many  churches  which  are  already  at  work  usually  speak  so  carelessly, 
on  war  supplies.  Some  are  making  comfort  bags  and  .  .  Every  kind  of  conservative  and  long-forgotten  re- 
distributing them  through  the  Woman's  Christian  Tern-  hgious  practice  will  find  revival  in  these  days  when  a 
perance  Union.  Some  are  engaged  in  making  Red  PeoPle  which  has  neglected  God  suddenly  finds  that  it 
Cross  supplies.  Some  already  sense  the  need  of  relief  needs  religion.  The  millennial  interest  is  undoubtedly 
funds  for  stricken  families  and  are  getting  ready  to  do  increasing,  fed  by  the  war  crisis.  The  colored  people  of 
their  part.  Chicago  were  recently  terrified  by  the  light  from  a 
The  minister  in  these  days  has  an  opportunity  to  blast  furnace  into  thinking  that  the  end  of  the  world 
make  his  pulpit  prophetic  in  the  midst  of  our  confusion,  had  come.  People  are  quoting  with  unction  the  words 
We  need  the  clear  word  of  Christian  patriotism.  of  Holy  Scripture,  "There  shall  be  wars  and  rumors 

of  wars,"  without  giving  the  remainder  of  the  verse, 

A  CITY  WITH  A  SOUL  ' '^ut  tbe  enc*  ^s  not  yet-"     It  is  a  time  for  saying  boldly 

that  the  Christian  church  of  today  does  not  share  the 

THERE  are  many  cities  in  the  history  of  the  world  beliefs  of  Jewish  Messianism. 
which  have  come  to  have  a  well-defined  character.  The  Christian  Scientists  have  been  prompt  in  offer- 
Sodom  stands  for  iniquity,  Babylon  for  revelry,  ing  to  give  away  (an  unusual  thing)  copies  of  their 
Athens  for  culture  and  Rome  for  power.  What  do  our  book,  of  "Science  and  Health"  to  the  soldiers.  However, 
American  cities  stand  for?  Some  have  lived  long  we  do  not  hear  of  any  considerable  number  who  care 
enough  to  have  a  soul,  but  many  have  not.  They  are  to  trust  metaphysical  healing  to  take  care  of  infected 
like  babies ;  they  do  not  have  character  but  are  only  wounds.  Probably  legitimate  surgical  practice  will 
candidates  for  character.  score  victories  in  these  days  when  nearly  all  will  admit 

The  aspirations  of  Chicago  reveal  the  soul  of  a  city  its  great  value, 

in  the  process  of  being  born.     It  has  been  known   in  There  is  also  an  undoubted  resurgence  of  interest 

other   parts   as   the   city   of   pork-packers,   or   the   city  in   the   doctrines   of   spiritualism.      Sir   Oliver   Lodge's 

where  murder  is  frequent  or  the  city  where  municipal  communications,  alleged  or  real,  from  his  son  Raymond, 

corruption  is  shameless.     It  is  not  believed,  however,  have  been  given  the  widest  publicity.    With  many  scien- 

that  any  of  these  unfavorable  assessments  will  stand  in  tific  minds  admitting  the  possibility  of  a   spiritistic  hy- 

the  end.     There  is  too  much  here  that  makes  for  the  pothesis  as   possible,   the  commercialized   spiritualism   of 

higher  life  of  man.  our  country  will  reap  a  new  harvest. 

Chicago  might  almost  be  called  the  home  of  the  Do  not  the  times  demand  a  more  aggressive  presen- 
modern  social  idea.  Jane  Addams  and  Graham  Taylor  tation  of  the  truths  of  progressive  orthodoxy?  By  ad- 
worked  out  here  for  the  first  time  a  thoroughly  success-  dresses  outside  the  church,  by  tract  and  newspaper 
ful  model  of  a  settlement  house.     This  is  indeed  the  article,  we  should  be  bearing  our  witness. 


y 


May  10,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


o 


A  TRAGEDY  FOR  THE  MINISTER 

NE  of  our  exchanges  has  this  terse  note :  "Hogs, 
$16.05  a  hundred ;  flour,  $14  a  barrel ;  potatoes,  $4 
a  bushel — preaching  at  the  same  old  rate."  This 
tells  the  tragedy  of  the  manse  in  these  days.  Children 
are  welcome  in  these  households  and  the  children  grow 
up  in  an  intellectual  atmosphere,  hungry  for  the  higher 
learning.  When  war-time  comes  and  everybody  gets 
a  raise  but  the  preacher,  there  is  a  hidden  tragedy. 

If  it  is  true  that  living  expenses  have  increased  fifty 
per  cent  in  this  country  and  in  the  same  period  churches 
have  not  increased  the  salary  of  their  ministers,  it  is 
very  simple  arithmetic  to  figure  out  just  how  much  less 
the  church  is  paying  than  it  used  to.  An  elder  or  a 
deacon  who  gets  more  for  his  labor  and  his  economic 
goods  but  does  not  raise  his  church  pledge  has  in  reality 
cut  it,  for  we  are  living  in  days  when  gold  has  depre- 
ciated in  value  all  over  the  world. 

Very  often  the  minister  would  like  to  speak  of  his 
needs  to  the  official  board,  but  he  is  usually  a  bad  busi- 
ness man.  He  does  not  walk  into  the  presence  of  his 
employers  like  union  labor  does  and  demand  a  living, 
with  the  alternative  of  a  strike.  He  makes  excuses  in 
his  mind  for  the  members.  He  even  comes  to  believe 
that  they  could  not  give  any  more  than  they  do,  and  he 
goes  home  from  board  meeting  to  plan  a  new  economy. 

There  are  desperate  economies  these  days  around 
the  manse,  and  these  economies  cost  the  church  a  lot  of 
money.  The- bright  preacher's  wife  who  is  taken  out 
of  religious  work  to  slave  at  household  drudgery  is  one 
loss.  The  preacher  who  does  without  necessary  books 
and  journals  is  practicing  another  fruitless  economy, 
one  expensive  to  the  church.  Shabby  children  from 
the  manse  in  attendance  at  the  public  school  reflect  upon 
religion  in  the  minds  of  other  children,  for  this  kind  of 
asceticism  is  not  understood  in  the  modern  world. 

It  will  help  a  little  to  figure  things  out.  A  twelve 
hundred  dollar  church  will  have  to  raise  to  eighteen 
hundred  to  pay  as  much  as  it  did  three  years  ago.  The 
same  ratio  applies  all  the  way  through.  Shall  we  give 
our  ministers  a  chance  to  be  efficient? 

IMPROVEMENT  IN  TEACHER  TRAINING 

WITH  the  coming  of  the  educational  method,  now 
the  most  important  item  in  the  program  of 
most  local  churches,  the  improvement  of  the 
teaching  force  in  the  Sunday  school  becomes  a  matter 
of  prime  importance.  The  older  teacher  training  move- 
ment arose  out  of  a  perception  of  the  need  but  it  did  not 
operate  in  accord  with  the  best  modern  pedagogical 
methods. 

Its  point  of  view  was  to  begin  teaching  lesson  mate- 
rial as  if  the  prospective  teacher  had  learned  nothing  in 
the  old  uniform  lessons.  This  was  an  astonishing  con- 
fession of  the  inadequacy  of  the  older  Sunday  school 
methods.  The  new  teacher  training  movement  assumes 
that  the  lesson  material  has  come  to  the  teacher  in 
large  measure  in  his  previous  experience  in  the  Sunday 
school. 

The  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  Denom- 
inations and  the  International  Sunday  School  Associa- 
tion have  prepared  a  new  teacher  training  course  which 
will  supersede  the  previous  courses.  It  will  cover  three 
years  of  forty  lessons  each  year. 

The  course  is  built  on  the  needs  of  the  developing 


child  pupil.  The  science  of  psychology  is  given  to  the 
new  teacher  and  the  whole  point  of  view  of  the  course  is 
to  set  the  child  in  the  midst  and  make  him  the  object  of 
study. 

The  new  teacher  training  work  will  recognize  the 
division  of  the  school  into  departments,  and  teachers 
will  be  asked  to  specialize  in  the  several  departments; 
so  that  the  church  will  eventually  have  teacher  special- 
ists just  as  the  public  school  does. 

The  new  teacher  training  material  has  been  syndi- 
cated and  each  denomination  will  have  an  imprint  edi- 
tion of  its  own,  after  having  made  any  changes  in  the 
work  which  may  seem  desirable.  Since  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  Presbyterian  psychology  or  Methodist 
pedagogy,  such  a  course  is  eminently  wise  and  econom- 
ical. The  study  manuals  are  written  by  experts  and 
printed  cheaply  in  paper  bound  editions. 


NEGRO  DEVELOPMENT  IN  CHICAGO 

THE  first  house  ever  built  in  Chicago  was  built  by 
a  negro  who  had  lived  formerly  in  San  Domingo. 
Since  then,  Chicago  has  become  a  favorite  haven 
of  refuge  for  the  black  man.  Estimates  of  the  colored 
population  in  this  city  vary  considerably,  but  it  would 
seem  conservative  to  say  that  there  are  now  75,000 
negroes  here,  since  there  has  been  a  great  increase  lately 
by  immigration  from  the  southern  states.  Once  the 
Pullman  company  was  the  the  largest  employer  of  col- 
ored labor.  Now  the  stock  yards  have  an  even  larger 
number. 

The  negroes  of  Chicago  have  had  their  own  alder- 
man, whose  record  is  none  too  good.  There  is  a  negro 
bank  and  there  are  a  number  of  negro  real  estate  houses, 
which  do  business  with  the  colored  people.  In  the  large 
negro  section  on  the  south  side,  one  will  find  negro 
stores,  and  even  where  there  is  white  ownership  it  has 
become  necessary  to  employ  negro  clerks.  In  profes- 
sional life  there  have  been  a  number  of  doctors  and 
lawyers  of  color. 

While  there  are  all  these  evidences  of  thrift  and 
self-reliance,  there  is  also  the  story  of  the  negro's  vices. 
The  under-world  has  developed  some  of  the  most  vicious 
resorts  of  the  city  among  the  negroes.  Gambling  is 
a  most  popular  vice  and  sexual  morality  is  low.  Negro 
vice  follows  the  example  of  the  white  man's  vice  in  its 
alliance  with  low  politicians.  These  influences  in  Chi- 
cago threaten  to  turn  the  negro  aside  from  the  fine 
development  which  he  has  been  making  in  education 
and  thrift. 

Forty-two  per  cent  of  Chicago's  negroes  belong 
to  churches,  two-thirds  of  them  to  the  Baptist  and 
Methodist  denominations,  between  which  they  are  dis- 
tributed in  almost  equal  numbers.  Their  attendance 
at  the  churches  averages  better  than  for  the  whites. 
There  is  a  diminishing  interest  in  religion  for  the  negro 
of  the  big  city. 

The  city  mission  program  of  the  great  cities  has  in 
the  negro  a  very  complex  problem  and  one  challenging 
earnest  attention. 

The  growth  of  the  negro  population  on  the  south 
side  in  Chicago  has  driven  many  white  churches  out  of 
business.  The  old  Central  church  of  the  Disciples 
stands  in  the  very  center  of  the  present  negro  district. 
It  cannot  be  doubted  that  other  churches  of  whites  will 
be  sacrificed  to  this  movement.  In  some  denominations, 
the  negroes  have  secured  possession  of  the  old  buildings 


8 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  10,  1917 


once  used  by  the  whites.     This  would  seem  to  be  a     the  level  of  education  in  the  laity  being  greatly  raised, 

desirable  solution  of  one  phase  of  the  problem.  there  is  need  of  a  colored  ministry  which  will  be  able 

The  negro  needs  a  better  educated  ministry.    With     to  interpret  the  gospel  to  people  of  higher  intelligence. 


Why  I  Am  a  Disciple 


Fifth  Article — Minor  Reasons 


THEIR    RATIONALIST   CONCEPTION   OF   THE 
SPIRITUAL  LIFE 

IN  their  way  of  thinking  of  the  spiritual  life  there  is 
among  the  Disciples  a  certain  rationalist  temper  which 

makes  my  fellowship  with  them  particularly  congenial. 
To  claim  this  rationalist  temper  as  a  virtue  and  an  asset 
is  somewhat  contrary  to  the  style  in  vogue  today  in  dis- 
cussing religion.  It  is  usually  assumed  that  the  farther 
we  can  keep  religion  from  the  rationalizing  faculties  the 
better  it  will  be  for  religion.  The  feeling  prevails  that  the 
rational  stands  in  the  way  of  the  spiritual,  that  the  inner 
life  of  fellowship  with  God  is  to  be  realized  in  some  sort 
of  emotion,  in  ecstasy,  in  ununderstood  rapture,  and  that 
when  reason  comes  in  God  goes  out. 

Science,  according  to  this  view,  is  incompatible  with 
religion. 

Hence  we  find  churchmen  not  a  few  who  respond  with 
unction  to  the  attacks  made  by  the  pulpit  upon  scholarship, 
upon  science,  upon  what  is  loosely  covered  by  the  blanket 
term  "higher  criticism,"  upon  the  method  of  education  in 
religious  work — in  short,  upon  any  of  the  manifestations 
of  the  quiet,  humble,  controlled  and  open-minded  determi- 
nation to  know  and  to  impart  truth. 

Truth,  the  stuff  out  of  which  a  firm  and  rich  inner 
life  is  made,  is  not  the  subject  matter  of  popular  religion 
today.  It  is,  indeed,  quite  a  stranger  in  the  revivalism 
which  is  so  characteristic  an  expression  of  the  religious 
standards  of  our  time.  This  revivalism  has  seized  upon 
the  emotional  and  voluntaristic  elements  in  religious  ex- 
perience and  seeks  to  excite  them  into  activity  by  other 
means  than  by  the  quiet  impartation  of  truth  to  the  soul. 
Revivalism  is  the  organized  effort  to  reach  the  individual 
soul  through  an  artificially  created  mass  situation.  It 
brings  to  bear  upon  the  individual  will  the  stimulating 
pressure  of  the  "crowd,"  the  "crowd"  that  has  been  highly 
magnetized  by  the  manipulations  of  an  expert  called  an 
evangelist.  This  revivalism,  so  rampant  among  all  evan- 
gelical churches  today,  is  the  most  conspicuous  sign  of  the 
low  ebb  of  real  spiritual  life  in  the  churches.  The  more 
conspicuous  instances  of  its  success — as  for  example,  such 
a  work  as  that  of  Mr.  Sunday,  or  among  Disciples,  that 
of  Mr.  Scoville — do  but  make  more  obvious  the  poverty 
of  the  church's  inner  life.  The  more  successful  it  is  the 
more  disheartening  it  should  be  to  those  who  have  learned 
at  the  feet  of  Jesus  that  it  is  truth  that  makes  men  free. 

Galvanizing  the  soul  is  not  saving  it.  Galvanizing  a 
community  is  not  saving  it.  The  method  of  bringing  to 
bear  upon  the  individual  the  pressure  of  a  highly  excited 
social  situation  may  be  legitimate  enough  in  getting  recruits 
for  war,  or  in  carrying  through  an  anti-saloon  campaign, 
but  it  is  alien  and  hostile  to  the  infinitely  delicate  task  of 
reconstructing  the  inner  life  of  the  soul. 

For  the  inner  life  of  the  soul  is  reconstructed  and 
nourished  by  truth,  by  truth  appropriated  in  the  one  way 
that  truth  can  be  appropriated — through  intelligence.  Real 
spiritual  life  is  spread  abroad  from  soul  to  soul  through 


the  medium  of  truth,  not  through  the  medium  of  a  highly 
charged  emotional  organization  which  grips  and  pulls  the 
will  into  some  more  or  less  arbitrary  public  committal. 
Religion  has  no  affinity  with  any  form  or  hypnotism  or 
artificial  sensationalism.  In  a  still  small  voice  it  speaks 
of  the  truth  it  sees  and  has  experienced,  and  it  patiently 
lays  foundations  in  other  souls  for  an  answering  percep- 
tion and  experience. 

^K  "r  *** 

Holding  to  this  rational  conception  of  the  spiritual 
life,  as  I  do,  I  find  much  substantial  comfort  in  the  historic 
(  attitude  of  the  Disciples  toward  the  revivalistic  procedure 
and  its  implications.  I  am  compelled  to  say  "historic" 
attitude  because  their  earlier  characteristic  attitude  has  be- 
come obscured  and  blurred  in  later  years.  The  Disciples 
have  forgotten  their  testimony  and  have  fallen  in  with  the 
revivalism  which  in  some  of  its  features  is  of  essentially 
the  same  sort  as  that  against  which  their  earlier  preaching 
was  a  stern  and  effectual  protest.  So  that  the  point  I  am 
making  in  this  article  as  a  reason  for  my  attachment  to  the 
Disciples  lies,  as  I  said  at  the  beginning  many  of  my  rea- 
sons would  be  seen  to  lie,  in  the  realm  of  the  Disciples' 
Z1  ideals  more  than  in  the  realm  of  their  actual  practice  and 
character.  Nevertheless,  I  am  confident  that  as  a  people 
we  have  by  no  means  altogether  shaken  off  the  rationalist 
heritage  which  we  received  from  the  fathers  and  founders 
of  our  movement.  And  I  cherish  the  hope  that  it  is  yet 
possible,  and  easily  possible,  for  our  people  to  reconstitute 
their  evangelistic  procedure  on  a  basis  that  will  funda- 
mentally distinguish  it  from  the  revivalism  which  we  have 
so  carelessly  and  inconsistently  adopted  from  the  practices 
of  the  Christian  churches  around  us. 

In  discussing  this  rationalist  temper  of  the  Disciples, 
I  shall  confine  myself  to  two  points : 

Their  rational  conception  of  the  conversion  experience, 
and  their  rational  conception  of  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

To  any  one  at  all  familiar  with  our  history  the  dis- 
tinctive character  of  our  thinking  on  both  these  subjects 
is  well  known. 

4-  sN  % 


When  the  Disciples  came  into  existence  one  hundred 
years  ago,  they  found  a  conception  of  conversion  dominant 
in  the  revivalism  of  the  time  which  they  could  not  endure. 
In  both  Calvinistic  and  free-will  churches  a  highly  emo- 
tional and  hysterical  state  of  mind  was  induced  in  the  con- 
gregation by  the  more  or  less  hypnotic  exhortation  of  the 
preacher.  Devices  for  manipulating  the  feelings  of  the 
people,  and  especially  the  unsaved,  were  utilized.  The 
"mourners'  bench"  was  typical  of  these  devices.  The  un- 
saved were  gathered  around  it  and  exhorted  to  pray  in 
penitent  anguish  for  God  to  vouchsafe  his  pardon  and  to 
signalize  his  grace  by  some  token — a  vision,  a  voice,  an 
inner  feeling  of  some  unmistakable  sort.     Such  a  token 


May  10,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


would  certify  to  the  soul  that  its  prayer  was  heard  and 
that  its  sin  was  forgiven.  The  scenes  at  these  mourners' 
benches  were  repugnant  to  the  sane  intelligence  of  the 
Campbells,  to  Scott  and,  after  he  became  acquainted  with 
the  Disciples,  to  Barton  W.  Stone  himself,  though  his 
earlier  ministry  partook  strikingly  of  the  character  of  this 
hysterical  revivalism. 

These  pioneers  saw  the  essential  immorality  of  this 
whole  procedure  both  in  its  bearing  upon  the  soul  and  in 
its  implications  as  to  the  character  of  God.     They  saw 

£men  agonizing  night  after  night,  and  often  year  after  year, 
at  these  revivals,  assailing  heaven  with  their  tears,  striving 
for  a  blessing  which  came  not.     They  saw  many  a  soul 

^turned  into  the  way  of  cynicism  and  infidelity  as  a  result 
of  its  failure  to  secure  the  requisite  token  of  God's  pardon- 
ing grace.  And  they  were  sagacious  enough  to  see  that 
when  the  "blessing"  was  received  it  was  subjective  and 
quite  as  likely  to  be  a  fanciful  illusion  as  not.  To  the 
canny  minds  of  these  Disciple  reformers  the  thing  that 
went  by  the  name  of  Christian  "experience"  was  a  thing 
that  belonged  in  large  part  in  the  realm  of  unreality,  and 
they  exposed  its  illusions  with  scorn  and  ridicule  and 
earnest  argument. 

?  Moreover  they  revolted  at  the  conception  of  God  which 

this  revivalism  presupposed.     Is  God  so  unwilling  to  par- 

/don   that  He  must  .be   persuaded  by   man's   groans   and 

^anguish?  Does  He  hold  the  soul  at  bay  night  after  night 
and  year  after  year,  refusing  to  grant  forgiveness  and  some 
clear  token  of  it?  The  idea  was  intolerable.  Turning  to 
the  Scriptures  these  early  Disciples  found  there  a  God  the 
very  genius  of  whose  nature  it  was  to  forgive  man's  sins. 
Why  should  He  wait  when  man  penitent  and  broken  be- 
seeched  Him  for  grace?  And  why  should  man  be  kept 
waiting  in  anguish  for  a  sign  if  God  is  so  willing  to  save? 
Their  answer  to  these  questions  came  like  a  shaft  of 
light  from  the  Scriptures  themselves.  They  saw  that  sal- 
vation or  conversion  involved  not  alone  the  pardoning 
grace  of  God,  but  the  fulfillment  of  certain  conditions  by 
man,  conditions  which  were  within  the  power  of  man's 
intelligence  clearly  to  know  and  of  his  will  promptly  to 
perform.  Those  conditions  through  which  God's  forgive- 
ness is  mediated  to  the  soul  of  man  are:  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  repentance  for  sin,  and  baptism  into  the  body  of 
Christ.  With  this  insight,  these  reformers  declared  that 
though  they  would  not  abate  in  any  degree  the  penitent 
soul's  contrition  for  its  sin,  nevertheless  when  the  soul  had 
faithfully  fulfilled  these  conditions  of  pardon  it  had  the 
right  to  go  forward  rejoicing,  assured  by  faith — not  by 
some  token  of  the  senses — that  sin  was  washed  away. 


With  what  eagerness  they  proclaimed  this  new-found 
gospel !  It  was  indeed  a  gospel,  the  tidings  of  good  news 
brought  to  thousands  of  souls  seeking  God  and  knowing 
not  why  they  could  not  find  Him,  and  to  thousands  of 
Christians  who  felt  the  uncertainty  of  the  sign  they  had 
regarded  as  a  token  of  God's  forgiveness  and  in  whose 
hearts  the  question  of  their  acceptance  with  God  was, 
therefore,  forever  being  raised  with  haunting  fear.  To 
such  souls  the  idea  of  performing  the  simple  conditions  of 
pardon  and  leaving  the  pardoning  act  with  God  came  like 
a  revelation  from  heaven,  dispelling  their  gloom  and  de- 
spair and  chasing  the  shadows  away  from  their  hearts. 
Having  fulfilled  the  conditions  God  himself  had  set  down, 
they  saw  that  it  would  be  essential  infidelity  to  doubt  that 
God  had  forgiven  their  sin  and  sheer  sacrilege  to  ask  Him 
for  a  sign. 


The  contrast  between  the  prevalent  conception  of 
conversion  and  the  new  doctrine  taught,  by  the  Disciples 
was  the  contrast  between  the  suj>erstitious  and  the  rational, 
between  the  magical  and  the  practical,  between  the  super- 
natural and  the  psychological.  The  Disciples  brought  the 
conversion  experience  into  the  realm  of  the  psychological 
where  it  could  be  controlled  by  practical  action  and 
checked  up,  so  to  speak,  by  the  sanctions  of  reason.  To 
the  confirmation  of  their  position  modern  scientific  psychol- 
ogy brings  its  testimony  in  a  fashion  that  further  enriches 
the  earlier  Disciple  view,  but  without  invalidating  any 
essential  feature  of  it. 

The  full  force  and  illumination  of  this  rationalist  and 
practical  conception  of  conversion  cannot  be  grasped  by 
our  generation  because  we  are  so  unacquainted  with  the 
neurotic  and  superstitious  procedure  which  it  has  now 
almost  entirely  displaced.  With  the  coming  of  Mr.  Moody 
and  Henry  Drummond,  the  conception  of  conversion  as 
waiting  on  nothing  but  the  acceptance  by  the  soul  of  the 
conditions  through  which  alone  God's  pardon  may  be 
mediated,  was  carried  into  the  evangelism  of  all  the 
churches.  In  theory  it  obtains  everywhere  today,  save  in 
the  most  unprogressive  communities,  though  the  revival- 
istic  concomitants  of  the  old  superstition  still  remain  in  the 
evangelical  churches  and  have  been  taken  over,  sad  to  say, 
in  large  measure  by  Disciples  themselves. 


II. 

Closely  akin  to  the  conversion  superstition  against 
which  the  Disciples  historically  revolted,  was  the  equally 
repugnant  conception  as  to  the  manner  of  working  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  In  the  revivalism  of  the  time  it  was  as- 
sumed that  the  Spirit  operated  arbitrarily,  touching  this 
soul  into  life  and  leaving  that  soul  dead  in  its  sins.  This 
conception,  of  course,  was  theoretically  related  to  Calvinis- 
tic  theology,  but  practically  it  obtained  in  free-will  circles 
as  well. 

Moreover,  the  Spirit  operated  directly  upon  the  soul — 
and  it  was  against  this  view,  with  all  its  inherent  and  ac- 
companying obscurantism,  that  the  rationalist  temper  of 
the  Disciples  asserted  itself  in  a  fashion  which  I  am  anxious 
to  see  them  revive  against  similar  forms  of  obscurantism 
in  our  own  day. 

The  attack  of  the  Disciples  upon  the  prevailing  con- 
ception of  the  Holy  Spirit's  activity  had  the  effect  of 
(rationalizing  that  conception.  Mr.  Campbell,  following  the 
psychology  of  John  Locke,  in  which  he  had  been  brought 
up  and  which  underlay  his  whole  theological  system,  taught 
(^that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  the  direct  operation  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  the  soul,  but  that  He  touched  the  soul 
through  the  truth,  that  He  was  mediated  to  the  soul 
through  intelligent  perception.  This  doctrine,  of  course, 
excited  the  wildest  opposition  among  the  orthodox  saints. 
The  whole  gamut  of  heretical  epithets  was  drawn  upon  for 
characterization  of  these  innovators.  They  were  called 
Unitarians,  infidels,  "rationalists,"  unspiritual.  It  was 
said  that  they  denied  the  existence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  be- 
cause they  refused  to  accept  the  doctrine  of  His  arbitrary 
and  direct  operation. 

Probably  no  doctrinal  point  of  view  adopted  by  the 
fathers  of  the  Disciples'  reformation  excited  such  hostile 
reaction  in  orthodox  circles  as  did  this.  And  probably 
no  doctrinal  point  of  view  brought  more  comfort  and  light 
to  the  thousands  of  men  and  women  who  came  under  the 
sway  of  these  reformers. 


10 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  10,  1917 


The  position  they  assumed  was  a  very  difficult  one 
to  maintain  in  the  face  of  a  type  of  spiritual  life  which 
thrived  on  obscurantism,  which  was  happier  in  the  dark 
than  in  the  light,  which  assumed  that  God  abides  where 
things  are  not  understood  and  that  He  takes  his  departure 
from  things  that  are  understood.     It  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at,  therefore,  that  some  of  the  pioneer  Disciples  were  driven 
'  into  rationalism  of  a  very  abstract  and  wooden  type.  Asked 
^  to  define  what  they  meant  by  the  "truth"  through  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  operates,  they  were  often  caught  in  the  trap 
■  of  defining  it  in  terms  of  the  mere  letter  of  Scripture,  or 
;  in  the  legalistic  terms  of  the  evidence  supporting  the  his- 
toric facts  of  Christianity.     The  Holy  Spirit's  operation 
was.  therefore,  restricted  to  those  to  whom  the  Bible  had 
been  given,  or  at  most  to  those  who  had  had  a  chance  to 
weigh  the  evidence  furnished  by  Scripture  to  prove  the  life, 
death  and  resurrection  of  our  Lord. 

This  unspiritual  rationalism,  legalistic  and  literalistic, 
could  not  defend  itself  against  the  charge  that  it  kept  the 
Holy  Spirit  imprisoned  within  a  book.  To  Disciples  them- 
selves, recoiling  from  the  imputation  of  holding  to  such  a 
grotesque  view,  the  vital  and  spiritual  construction  of  the 
rationalist  conception  with  which  they  started  soon  suf- 
fered eclipse.  The  rich  possibilities  of  their  rationalism, 
once  the  term  "truth"  is  properly  defined,  seem  to  have 
gone  unregarded.  The  Disciples — at  least  those  of  the 
main  body — fell  in  with  the  traditional  ways  of  thinking 
about  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  though  the  popular  nomen- 
clature is  somewhat  awkward  in  their  mouths,  it  is  used 
for  the  lack  of  a  better. 


I  cannot  help  wondering  what  mighty  differences  it 
would  have  made  in  Disciples'  history  and  in  that  of  the 
American  church  had  our  people  grasped  and  developed 
in  spiritual  and  vital  terms  the  rationalist  position  taken 
by  Alexander  Campbell. 

It  would  have  kept  us  free  from  the  obscurantism 
which   we  have  taken  on  from  other   Christian  groups, 


taken  on  more  or  less  unwittingly,  probably  from  a  good- 
natured  desire  born  of  our  fundamental  passion  for  Chris- 
tian unity  to  share  as  much  as  possible  in  common  with 
our  brethren  of  many  names. 

Had  we  clung  consciously  to  this  rationalist  point  of 
view,  we  would  have  been  kept  perennially  asking  the  soul's 
(great  question,  What  is  truth?  What  is  the  truth  that 
makes  men  free,  the  truth  lacking  which  the  inner  life  is 
dull  and  hollow  and  impotent  ?  What  is  the  truth  through  ^ 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  mediated  to  our  hearts  to  make 
His  home  with  us?  Had  we  kept  explicit  the  character- 
istic attitude  of  our  fathers  toward  this  whole  matter,  we 
Disciples  could  have  had  today  a  much  more  positive 
religious  message  than  we  are  now  conscious  of  having; 
a  message  which  would  stand  in  sharp  contrast  to  the 
obscurantist  unreality  of  much  that  passes  for  religious 
truth. 

Moreover,  with  such  a  message,  addressed  to  the 
intelligence  of  men,  we  would  have  developed  from  our 
own  earlier  and  characteristic  method  of  propaganda  an 
evangelism  of  dignity  and  sanity,  appealing  to  the  emotional 
through  the  rational  side  of  the  soul,  and  thus  producing 
results  continually  in  the  stern  realm  of  character.  Such 
an  evangelism  would  be  more  akin  to  a  great  system  of 
lectureships  than  to  the  mesmeric  revivalism  with  which 
our  propaganda  has  been  corrupted.  The  evangelist  would  j 
be  among  the  most  honored  of  the  churches'  servants,  in- 
stead of  as  now  an  object  of  apology. 

I  wish  we  Disciples  had  kept  on  in  the  way  we  started. 
I  wish  we  had  developed  our  evangelism  from  tne  rational- 
ist Campbell-Scott  root  instead  of  from  the  more  revival- 
istic  Barton  W.  Stone  root. 

And  yet  my  confidence  in  the  reemergence  and  domi- 
nance of  that  sane  rationalism  which  the  Campbells  illus- 
trated is  growing  with  the  years.  Instead  of  being 
apologetic  for  such  a  heritage,  it  is  my  deep  desire  to  see 
the  Disciples  of  Christ  appropriate  it  as  one  of  the  richest 
and  most  fertile  of  their  spiritual  assets. 

Charles  Clayton  Morrison. 


The  Beauty  of  the  Bible 

Seventeenth  Article  of  the  Series  on  the  Bible 

By  Herbert  L.  Willett 


ONE  of  the  most  learned  and  eloquent  of  American 
preachers  of  a  former  generation  wrote  of  the 
Bible  in  these  words :  "This  wonderful  collection 
of  works  has  taken  such  a  hold  upon  the  life  of  man  as 
no  other.  The  literature  of  Greece,  which  goes  up  like 
incense  from  the  land  of  temples  and  heroic  deeds,  has  not 
half  the  influence  of  this  book  from  a  nation  alike  despised 
in  ancient  and  modern  times.  It  is  read  on  a  Sabbath  in 
all  the  ten  thousand  pulpits  of  our  land.  In  all  the  temples 
of  Christendom  is  its  voice  lifted  up  week  by  week.  The 
sun  never  sets  on  its  gleaming  page.  It  goes  equally  to 
the  cottage  of  the  plain  man  and  the  palace  of  the  king. 
It  is  woven  into  the  literature  of  the  scholar  and  colors 
the  talk  of  the  street.  Some  thousand  famous  writers  come 
up  in  this  century  to  be  forgotten  in  the  next.  But  the 
silver  cord  of  the  Bible  is  not  loosed  nor  its  golden  bowl 
broken  as  time  chronicles  his  tens  of  centuries  passed  by. 
Time  sits  as  a  refiner  of  metals.     The  dross  is  piled  in 


heaps,  but  the  pure  gold  is  reserved  for  use,  passes  into 
the  ages,  and  is  current  a  thousand  years  hence  as  well  as 
today.  Some  of  the  greatest  of  human  institutions  seem 
built  on  the  Bible.  Such  things  will  not  stand  on  heaps  of 
chaff,  but  on  mountains  of  rock." 

The  Bible  is  the  most  influential  of  books.  Doubtless 
within  the  circle  of  their  devotees  other  books  might  claim 
a  more  intense  loyalty,  as  the  Koran  among  the  Moslems, 
or  the  teachings  of  Confucius  among  the  Chinese.  But 
in  the  breadth  and  significance  of  its  influence,  not  only 
upon  its  own  adherents  but  upon  the  much  wider  world  of 
its  outreaching  control,  the  Bible  leads  all  other  holy  books. 
From  the  beginnings  of  its  history,  tribes  and  nations  that 
hardly  knew  of  its  existence  were  unconsciously  brought 
under  its  spell  by  contact  with  its  interpreters.  And  out 
into  the  regions  far  beyond  the  Christian  frontiers  today 
its  line  is  going  and  its  words  are  repeated. 


May  10,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


11 


INFLUENCE   UPON   LAW 

Upon  law  and  government  it  has  exerted  such  an  influ- 
ence as  no  other  book.  If  the  Laws  of  Hammurabi,  com- 
piled in  ancient  Babylon,  went  far  in  their  effect  upon  the 
political  institutions  of  later  civilization,  including  the 
Mosaic  legislation,  the  institutes  of  Greece,  and  the  Twelve 
Tables  of  Rome,  even  more  significant  has  been  the  influ- 
ence of  biblical  ethics  and  government  upon  the  nations 
that  came  within  their  reach.  The  first  great  recodifica- 
tion of  Roman  law  was  made  by  Justinian,  and  was  shaped 
throughout  after  the  form  of  biblical  institutions.  Upon 
that  foundation  rests  the  constitution  of  nearly  every 
European  state.  The  Puritans  of  England  very  nearly 
approached  what  to  them  seemed  the  ideal  political  pro- 
gram— the  substitution  of  the  Hebrew  codes  for  all  exist- 
ing laws.  When  the  fathers  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
Colony  organized  their  little  state,  they  decided,  naively 
but  quite  seriously,  to  take  the  Bible  as  their  constitution, 
"until  they  had  time  to  frame  a  better  one."  And  no  one 
need  be  told  of  the  influence  which  the  teachings  of  the 
prophets  and  of  Jesus  are  exerting  upon  governmental 
policies  in  progressive  lands  on  both  sides  of  the  oceans. 
The  passion  for  social  righteousness,  democracy,  industrial 
liberty,  universal  education,  equal  suffrage,  child  welfare, 
civic  purity  and  international  brotherhood  are  all  inspired 
by  the  Bible.  The  reformatory  movements,  which  have 
removed  much  of  the  blight  of  inhumanity  to  children, 
women,  criminals,  and  animals,  of  intemperance,  and  the 
social  vices  that  gnaw  at  the  vitals  of  the  world,  owe  their 
inception  and  progress  to  the  same  book. 

INFLUENCES  UPON  ART 

In  the  domain  of  art  the  Bible  is  likewise  the  most 
influential  of  books.  It  erected  the  temples  which  were 
the  glory  of  the  Hebrew  race  and  the  pride  of  every  Jewish 
heart.  It  changed  Roman  basilicas  into  Christian  churches, 
and  set  a  new  type  of  architecture,  which  prevailed  for  a 
thousand  years.  It  inspired  the  gothic  cathedral,  whose 
ascending  arches  and  spires  are  symbols  in  stone  of  the 
heavenward-climbing  spirit  of  worship.  And  it  is  taxing 
the  resources  of  designers  and  builders  at  this  moment  to 
keep  pace  with  the  advancing  needs  of  churches  for  suit- 
able sanctuaries. 

The  best  sculpture  of  the  ages  has  been  the  product 
of  genius  inspired  by  the  Bible.  From  Michael  Angelo's 
"Moses"  to  Thorwalden's  "Christ"  the  noblest  creations 
in  marble  and  bronze  have  celebrated  the  supreme  char- 
acters of  the  Scriptures.  The  masterpiece  of  non- 
Christian  art  was  the  Laocoon  group  of  the  old  Rhodean 
sculptors,  buried  for  centuries  on  the  sides  of  the  Esquiline 
Hill,  and  now  the  pride  of  the  Capitoline  at  Rome.  It  tells 
the  story  of  the  priest  of  Apollo  who  with  his  sons  was 
crushed  in  the  folds  of  the  two  serpents  that  came  up  from 
the  deep.  It  is  the  symbol  of  the  suffering  race,  caught 
in  the  embraces  of  the  twin  monsters,  sin  and  suffering. 
It  is  the  picture  of  the  heathen  world,  without  the  hope 
which  the  Bible  has  brought.  It  is  the  portrayal  of  the 
long  struggle,  the  sublime  despair,  the  wild  and  weary 
agony  of  man.  Christian  sculpture  depicts  no  such 
tragedies.  Its  master  figures  are  the  heroes  who  win,  the 
saints  who  minister,  and  the  little  children  who  rejoice. 

To  the  painters  of  all  the  centuries  the  Bible  has 
furnished  the  subjects  of  a  thousand  canvasses.  This  was 
in  part  due  to  the  fact  that  the  churches  were  the  chief 
patrons  of  art  in  its  first  days.  It  was  also  true  that 
both  the  artists  and  their  audiences  were  more  familiar 
with  biblical  scenes  and  incidents  than  with  those  drawn 


from  any  other  literature.  But  this  was  not  the  chief 
reason.  The  greatest  artists  have  always  been  interpreters 
of  the  moral  life.  No  one  can  be  a  really  great  artist  who 
lacks  the  fundamental  quality  of  moral  and  religious 
earnestness.  And  such  men  have  always  found  the  best 
material  for  their  messages  in  the  biblical  narratives.  If  it 
is  true  that  the  earliest  painters,  like  Cimabue,  Fra 
Angelico  and  Raphael,  were  limited  in  their  subjects  by 
the  religious  conventions  of  their  age,  those  limitations 
have  long  since  passed  away.  And  still  the  great  artists 
find  their  inspiration  in  the  Bible,  as  one  is  assured  by 
Munkaczy's  "Christ  Before  Pilate,"  Bougereau's  "Ma- 
donna," and  Sargent's  "Prophets." 

And  for  the  best  music  of  the  ages,  it'  can  hardly  be 
questioned  that  it  has  found  its  suggestions  and  impulses 
in  the  Scriptures.  The  great  hymns  have  been  for  the 
most  part  transcripts  of  biblical  utterances.  The  majestic 
music  of  the  church,  with  its  rolling  anthems  and  its 
Gregorian  chants,  has  been  the  work  of  the  Christian  spirit. 
The  oratorios  like  Haydn's  "Creation,"  Handel's  "Elijah" 
and  "Messiah"  are  musical  paraphrases  of  biblical  themes. 
And  even  the  best  of  the  operas  are  profoundly  religious, 
though  their  subjects  may  be  secular,  as  witness  Saint 
Saens'  "Samson,"  and  Wagner's  "Parsifal." 

INFLUENCES    UPON    LITERATURE 

But  more  than  in  any  other  manner,  the  Bible  has 
spread  its  influence  through  the  common  speech  of  the 
world,  and  has  shaped  both  the  ideas  and  the  phrasing  of 
the  greatest  literature.  In  whatever  lands  versions  of  the 
Scriptures  have  been  possessed,  they  have  become  to  large 
extent  the  standard  of  literary  expression.  We  are  best 
able  to  appreciate  this  fact  in  the  field  of  our  English 
tongue.  The  greatest  works  in  the  language  reveal  the 
influence  of  the  Bible.  Chaucer,  at  the  dawn  of  the  day 
of  English  letters,  shows  the  profound  effect  which  the 
Bible  had  upon  his  thinking  and  poetry.  Spenser's  "Faery 
Queene"  is  really  a  biblical  allegory.  Everyone  is  familiar 
with  the  extent  to  which  Shakespeare  employs  the  Bible 
in  the  plays.  This  is  well  set  forth  in  Bishop  Wordsworth's 
volume  on  "Shakespeare  and  the  Bible,"  where  citations 
are  given  at  length,  and  the  statement  is  made  that  his 
works  contain  more  than  five  hundred  and  fifty  biblical 
allusions,  and  that  not  one  of  the  thirty-seven  plays  is  with- 
out some  such  reference.  One  recalls  many  passages,  like 
the  words  of  Adam  to  Orlando  in  "As  You  Like  It" : 

"He  that  doth  the  ravens  feed, 
Yea,  providently  caters  for  the  sparrow, 
Be  comfort  to  my  age." 

Many  times  in  "The  Merchant  of  Venice"  the  reader  is 
reminded  of  the  poet's  familiarity  with  the  Scriptures. 
And  the  speech  of  the  king  in  the  opening  of  "Henry  IV" 
is  an  example  of  scores  of  references.  Henry  wishes  to  go 
on  the  crusade, 

"To  chase  the  pagans  in  those  holy  fields, 
Over  whose  acres  walked  those  blessed  feet, 
Which  fourteen  hundred  years  ago  were  nailed 
For  our'  advantage  to  the  bitter  cross." 

Milton's  majestic  poems,  both  the  "Paradise  Lost"  and 
its  great  sequel,  are  but  the  artistic  transcript  of  Old  and 
New  Testaments  respectively,  and  so  constant  is  the  biblical 
and  classical  reference  and  phrasing  that  they  seem  like 
some  gorgeous  fabric  elaborately  embroidered  with  the 
literary  wealth  of  the  ages.  Byron,  although  he  was  one 
of  the  apostles  of  revolt  against  the  conventions  of  a 
Christian  order,  yet  shows  frequently  the  influence  of  the 


12 


md 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  10,  1917 


Bible  upon  his  writing,  not  alone  in  the  beautiful  "Hebrew 
Melodies."  which  cover  so  many  episodes  of  biblical  story, 
but  as  well  in  much  else  that  he  wrote.  And  even  Shelley, 
who  proudly  subscribed  himself  an  atheist,  could  not  avoid 
the  forms  of  biblical  speech,  as  when  he  says  of  some  of 
the  literary  men  of  the  past:  "Their  errors  have  been 
weighed  and  found  to  have  been  dust  in  the  balance;  if 
their  sins  were  as  scarlet,  they  are  now  white  as  snow; 
they  have  been  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  mediator  and 
redeemer,  Time." 

Wordsworth's  writings  are  saturated  with  biblical 
ideas  and  expressions.  Matthew  Arnold  shares  with 
Swinburne  and  Rossetti  the  impress  of  the  Bible.  Long- 
fellow, Lowell  and  Whittier  make  evident  the  place  the 
same  book  had  in  their  education.  R.  L.  Stevenson,  Kip- 
ling and  Stephen  Phillips  display  a  like  acquaintance  with 
Scripture.  Readers  of  George  Eliot's  "Adam  Bede," 
Thackeray's  "Newcomes"  and  Dickens'  ''Tale  of  Two 
Cities"  need  not  be  told  that  these  authors  knew  their 
Bibles.  Scott,  Hawthorne  and  Walt  Whitman,  strangers 
in  all  else,  meet  on  the  common  ground  of  the  Hebrew 
writings.  Ruskin,  the  acknowledged  master  of  English 
prose  style,  says,  "Whatever  I  have  done  in  my  life  has 
simply  been  due  to  the  fact  that  when  I  was  a  child  my 
mother  daily  read  with  me  a  part  of  the  Bible,  and  daily 
made  me  learn  a  part  of  it  by  heart."  And  with  this  Daniel 
Webster  agrees  when  he  says,  "If  there  be  anything  in 
my  style  or  thought  to  be  commended,  the  credit  is  due 
to  my  kind  parents  in  instilling  into  my  mind  an  early  love 
of  the  Scriptures." 

GREAT    WRITERS 

Emerson,  both  in  his  essays  and  poetry,  makes  fre- 
quent use  of  biblical  ideas  and  sentences.  And  his  great 
contemporary  and  friend,  Carlyle,  shows  the  same  influ- 
ence. For  example,  in  "Past  and  Present"  there  is  an 
extended  simile  drawn  from  the  story  of  Gideon  in  the 
Book  of  Judges:  "In  very  truth,  for  every  noble  work 
the  possibilities  will  lie  diffused  through  Immensity ;  in- 
articulate, undiscoverable  except  to  faith.  Like  Gideon 
thou  shalt  spread  out  thy  fleece  at  the  door  of  thy  tent ; 
see  whether  under  the  wide  arch  of  Heaven  there  be  any 
bounteous  moisture,  or  none.  Thy  heart  and  life-purpose 
shall  be  a  miraculous  Gideon's  fleece,  spread  out  in  silent 
appeal  to  Heaven ;  and  from  the  kind  Immensities,  what 
from  the  poor  unkind  Localities  and  town  and  country 
Parishes  there  never  could,  blessed  dew-moisture  to  suffice 
thee  shall  have  fallen."  Lord  Macauley  may  well  be 
ranked  among  the  most  distinguished  of  English  writers, 
and  great  numbers  of  Scriptural  allusions  might  be  chosen 
from  his  writing,  of  which  the  following  may  be  given : 

"If  the  English  Jews  really  felt  a  deadly  hatred  to  England, 
if  the  weekly  prayer  of  their  synagogues  were  that  all  the 
curses  denounced  by  Ezekiel  on  Tyre  and  Egypt  might  fall 
on  London,  if,  in  their  solemn  feasts,  they  called  down 
blessings  on  those  who  should  dash  our  children  to  pieces  on 
the  stones,  still,  we  say,  their  hatred  to  their  countrymen 
would  not  be  more  intense  than  that  which  sects  of  Christians 
have  often  borne  to  each  other."  (Civil  Disabilities  of  the 
Jews.) 

"He  did  not  perceive  that,  though  St.  Paul  had  been 
scourged,  no  number  of  whippings  however  severe,  will  of 
themselves  entitle  a  man  to  be  considered  as  an  apostle." 
("Sadler's   Refutation    Refuted.) 

"We  laughed  at  some  doggerel  verses  which  he  cited,  and 
which  he  never  having  seen  them  before,  suspected  to  be  his 
own.  We  are  now  sure  that,  if  the  principle  on  which  Solomon 
decided  a  famous  case  of  filiation  were  correct,  there  can  be 
no  doubt,  as  to  the  justice  of  our  suspicion."    (Idem.) 

The  frequent  use  of  Scripture  words  and  illustrations 

by  Tennyson  is  familiar  to  all  students  of  this  favorite 


among  the  poets  of  our  language.  Professor  Cook  has 
compiled  a  volume  of  nearly  a  hundred  pages  filled  with 
biblical  allusions  and  phrases  from  Tennyson.  These  run 
all  the  way  from  brief  allusions,  like  "Aramathean  Joseph" 
in  the  "Holy  Grail,"  to  such  passages  as  this  from 
"Locksley  Hall" : 

"Follow  light  and  do  the  right — for  man  can  half  control  his 

doom — 
Till  you  find  the  deathless  angel  seated  in  the  vacant  tomb." 

Hardly  less  sensitive  to  the  Bible,  though  less  given  to 
quotation,  was  Browning.  But  in  many  beautiful  lines  his 
knowledge  of  the  Book  is  shown,  as  in  these  from  "By 
the  Fireside" : 

"Think,  when  our  one  soul  understands 

The  great  Word  which  makes  all  things  new, 

When  earth  breaks  up,  and  heaven  expands, 
How  will  the  change  strike  me  and  you 

In  the  house  not  made  with  hands?" 

INFLUENCE  UPON   CHARACTER 

The  supreme  influence  of  the  Bible,  however,  has  been 
exerted  upon  character.    As  Coleridge  says : 

"In  the  Bible  there  is  more  that  finds  me  than  I  have 
experienced  in  all  other  books  put  together;  the  words  of  the 
Bible  find  me  at  greater  depths  of  my  being;  and  whatever 
finds  me  brings  with  it  an  irresistible  evidence  of  its  having 
proceeded  from  the  Holy  Spirit." 

John  Selden,  an  illustrious  English  publicist,  wrote : 

"I  have  surveyed  most  of  the  learning  that  is  among  the 
sons  of  men,  yet  at  this  moment  I  can  recall  nothing  in  them 
on  which  to  rest  my  soul,  save  one  from  the  sacred  scriptures, 
which  rises  much  on  my  mind.  It  is  this:  'The  grace  of  God, 
which  bringeth  salvation,  hath  appeared  unto  all  men.' ' 

And  William  Wilberforce,  the  emancipator,  has  said: 

"I  never  knew  happiness  until  I  found  Christ  as  a  savior. 
Read  the  Bible.  Read  the  Bible.  Through  all  my  perplexities 
and  distresses  I  never  read  any  other  book,  I  never  knew  the 
want  of  any  other." 

To  this  sentiment  our  own  great  liberator  adds  his  testi- 
mony.    Lincoln  writes: 

"Take  all  of  this  Book  upon  reason  that  you  can  and  the 
balance  on  faith,  and  you  will  live  and  die  a  better  man." 

The  four  men  who  stood  nearest  to  the  outgoings  of 
human  liberty  and  progress  were  John  Wyclif,  the 
translator  of  the  Bible ;  John  Hus,  the  martyr  who  died  to 
vindicate  its  right-to  be  studied ;  Johannes  Gutenburg,  who 
first  printed  it,  and  Martin  Luther,  who  made  it  the  theme 
of  his  preaching.  The  Bible  is  the  Magna  Charta  of  human 
liberty ;  the  Declaration  of  Independence  from  the  oppres- 
sion of  ignorance  and  superstition ;  the  Emancipation  Pro- 
clamation of  the  soul  of  man.  John  Stuart  Mill  says :  "The 
most  important  point  in  the  history  of  liberty  was  the  cross 
of  Christ."  Queen  Victoria  said  of  the  Bible,  to  a  visitor 
from  across  the  sea:  "That  Book  is  the  secret  of  Eng- 
land's greatness" ;  and  Andrew  Jackson  pointed  to  a  copy 
of  the  Scriptures  as  he  remarked  to  a  European  states- 
man, "That  Book,  sir,  is  the  rock  on  which  the  republic 
rests."  William  Henry  Seward  uttered  only  a  mild  state- 
ment of  the  truth  when  he  said:  "The  whole  hope  of , 
human  progress  is  suspended  on  the  ever-growing  influ- 
ence of  the  Bible."  And  John  Marshall,  our  first  great 
chief  justice,  affirms: 

"If  we  abide  by  the  principles  taught  in  the  Bible  our 
country  will  go  on  prospering  and  to  prosper;  but  if  we  and 
our  posterity  neglect  its  instructions  and  authority  no  man 
can  tell  how  sudden  a  catastrophe  may  overwhelm  us  and 
bury  all  our  glory  in  profound  obscurity." 


Shall  History  Repeat  Itself? 

The  universal  feeling  prevailing  in  Lexington,  Ky.,  concerning  the  charges  recently  made  against  five 
professors  of  Transylvania  College  of  the  Bible  is  reflected  in  the  following  editorial  from  the  Lexington 
Herald,  which  paper  is  the  leading,  journal  of  the  home  town  of  the  college.     It  is  a  cheering  report  that 

comes  to  the  effect  that  every  Disciples'  church  in  Lexington  has  passed  strong  resolutions,  expressing  un- 
qualified approval  of  the  five  men  upon  whom  the  recent  attack  was  made. 

TO  write  a  history  of  Lexington  newed    vigor.      From    an    uncertain  debtedness.       The     endowment     of 

and  leave  out  of  it  the  story  of  and  meager  existence  the  attendance  $200,000  was  not  only  raised,  but  a 

Transylvania  College  would  be  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  in  sum    almost   equal   to  that   amount 

like  writing  a  story  of  English  litera-  a  few  years  it  numbered  among  its  was  raised  in  addition,  and  has  been 

ture  and  leaving  out  of  it  the  name  students  representatives  from  nearly  spent  for  the  g°od  °f  the  institution, 

of  Shakespeare.     It  was  the  first  in-  every  state  in  the  West  and  South.  Encouraged  by  the  success  he  has 

stitution  of  learning  established  west  jnto  tbe  woric  0f  tbjs  p-reat  man  met'  enclowed  with  indomitable  cour- 

of  the  Allegheny  mountains.    It  was  howe         there  came  the  shadow  Q'{  age    and    a    faith    in    mankind    that 

the  pride  of  those  who  founded  the  ,        ■  ..'   jnfnwPnrP      a    Unitarian  never  fails  him,  he  has  so  managed 

city.     It  drew  its  support  from  men  doSmatlc.  intolerance .     A   Unitarian  the  finances  of  the  school  that  there 

of  all  creeds  and  nationalities.  Those  ln  ms  private  belief,  but  in  no  way  is  aiready  in  sight  an  additional  fund 

who  founded  the   city  and   gave   it  connected  with  his  college  work   all  for  the   college   as  great  as  &n   the 

course    and    direction    believed    the  of  th,e  orthodox  churches,  so  styled,  other    donations    combined.       Shall 

most  potent  factor  in  its  upbuilding  fouS^}  to  have  him  removed  because  the  influenCe  of  this  man,  and  the 

and  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  com-  he  dld  not  believe  as  they  believed  work  he  is  doing,  be  lost  to  this  an- 

munity    was    this    seat    of    learning  Immersed  in  the  great  work  he _  had  cjent   seat   Qf   learning-,   and    to   the 

which    has    been    established    in    its  undertaken,     broad-minded,     liberal  cause    0f    education    through    some 

midst.     It  had  for  its  patrons   and  and  tolerant  in  all  his  personal  re-  trivial,    nonessential,    differences    of 

benefactors  men  of  every  walk  and  lations,  to  find  his  work  threatened  opinion? 

station  in  life,  from  President  Wash-  with  destruction  because  of  his  own  We    have    not    entered    into    the 

ington  down  to  the  humblest  artisan.  beliefs,  wholly  disassociated  with  his  merits    or   demerits    of   the    present 

life  work   great-minded  man  that  he  misunderstanding.     We  know  noth- 

a  shadow  has  fallen  was,  he  felt  the  necessity  of  with-  ing  of  their  bearings  u         the          t 

As   the  earliest   seat  of   Western  Rawing    from    a    community    that  work  the  school  is  doi        exc     f  as 

learning    it    turned    from    its    class  would  for  this  reason  withhold  its  we  have  been  advised  through  the 

rooms  some  of  the  most  prominent  support  from   him  in  the  work  he  published  accounts.     We  live  in  an 

men  that  have  appeared  in  any  of  w*f.  Coring  to  build   up,   and   so  age  of  tolerance.     There  would  be 

the  several  walks  of  life,  whether  in  feelmg,  he  resigned  and  turned  the  no  place  in  the  worId  tod      for  dther 

medicine,   law,   politics,   religion   or  w°rk  £e   had   thus   begun    over   to  Calvin  or  Knox>  great  as  may  have 

literature.     The  nation  would  have  otner  nanas.  been  tbejr  {nfluence  on  the  ages  in 

suffered    an    irretrievable    loss    had  AN  EArly  blight  which  they  lived.    One  might  stand 

there  been  eliminated  from  its  de-  '                             ...  by  the  stake  and  see  another  burned 

velopment  those  who  may  be  num-  For    fifty    years    the    institution  to   death   because   he   differed   with 

bered  among  the  alumni  of  this  time-  struggled    to    regain    the    prestige  him  in  opinion,  the  other  might  thun- 

honored  seat  of  learning.     What  it  which    it    had    attained    under    this  der  against  the  religious  convictions 

once  was  to  Lexington  it  has  recent-  great    man.    _  That    position    it    has  of   an    imprisoned    queen,    with   the 

ly  bid  fair  to  again  be.     But  across  never  yet  quite  regained,  but  under  evidence   of   his   own   dereliction   in 

its  line  of  progress  there  has  recently  the  management  and  control  of  that  sight    of    her   prison    house,    in    the 

fallen  a  shadow,  let  us  trust  only  a  other  great  executive,  John  B.  Bow-  days  of  Calvin  and  Knox,  but  not 

shadow,  that  might,  if  not  arrested  man,  a  man  himself  cast  in  heroic  today. 

by  the   manly   courage   and   broad-  mold,    it    more    nearly   regained    its  prfsfxt  mscrssrov 

mindedness    of   those    having   it   in  former   position   than   it    had    done  THE  present  disclsskxn 

charge,    result    in   permanently   im-  under    any    administrator    between  We  trust  that  no  narrow,  partisan, 

pairing  the  work  that  has  been  con-  himself    and    Dr.    Holley.  _   Himself  self-sufficient,    intolerant    spirit    will 

ducted  so  successfully  for  the  past  having  in  mind  the  creation  of  an  take  possession   of  those  who  now 

several  years.  institution    of    learning   that    would  have  this  great  institution  in  their 

attract    to    its    halls    men    of    every  keeping.      We   trust   they   will   rise 

a  high  tide  for  the  institution  denominational  .  inclination,     cast  abo;e  Iny  mere  differences  of  opin- 

In  repeating  itself,  history  is  no  upon  tolerant,  liberal  lines,  he  suf-  ions,  and  emerge  into  the  broad  day- 
respector  of  persons.  Transylvania  fered,  in  great  measure,  from  his  light  of  an  enlightened  and  forward- 
College  never  had  a  more  consistent  own  people,  the  same  fate  that  had  looking  people,  who  would  allow  in 
and  disinterested  friend  than  Henry  befallen  his  distinguished  predeces-  others  that  which  they  claim  for 
Clay.  At  the  close  of  the  second  sor.  themselves.  We  believe  such  will  be 
war  with  England  the  school  had  de-  DD„cin„,IT  rPAccuTCTn'c  pi?™™  the  outcome  of  the  present  mis- 
chned  in  influence  and  personal  understanding,  and  that  in  a  spirit 
worth,  to  such  an  extent  that  those  When  Dr.  Crossfield  became  its  of  toleration  and  charity  each  will 
who  had  its  future  welfare  at  heart  president  there  was  an  outstanding  respect  the  convictions  of  the  other, 
sought  some  means  of  extricating  it  indebtedness  of  $44,000.  He  told  the  and  out  of  it  all  will  emerge  a  better 
from  what  seemed  a  certain  decline,  present  curators  that  if  they  would  and  more  determined  purpose  on  the 
In  the  year  1818,  largely  through  the  pay  off  that  debt  he  would  raise  an  part  of  all  to  go  forward  with  the 
influence  of  Mr.  Clay,  Dr.  Horace  endowment  of  $200,000,  but  that  he  work  that  has  been  so  successfully 
Holley,  an  Eastern  collegiate,  was  would  not  undertake  to  raise  an  en-  conducted  thus  far  by  Dr.  Crossfield. 
chosen  for  president.  There  was  not  dowment  fund  for  a  college  that  was  Any  other  outcome  would  be  a 
at  the  time  an  abler  college  president  then  in  debt.  In  this  there  was  wis-  calamity,  nor  would  censure  lightly 
in  all  America.  Under  his  manage-  dom.  Inspired  by  faith  in  this  man  fall  upon  those  who  might  produce 
ment  the  institution  took  on  a  re-  the  board  of  curators  paid  this  in-  a  different  result. 


Armageddon:  It  is  at  Hand! 


THIS  closing  volume  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  is  a  veritable  field  of 
the  cloth  of  gold.  That  the  de- 
vout characters  who  glorify  the 
pages  of  "Beside  the  Bonnie  Briar 
Bush"  should  reserve  the  word 
"magnificent"  for  the  book  of  Reve- 
lation is  not  surprising.  Quite  apart 
from  its  theological  significance,  the 
book  is  a  wonder.  Considered  as  a  co- 
lossal canvas  for  the  brush  of  the 
Almighty,  it  is  bewildering  in  gor- 
geous coloring.  Regarded  as  a  vast 
augmented  orchestra,  it  is  a  suc- 
cession of  Hallelujah  choruses  with 
melodious  interludes.  As  poetry  it 
is  epic,  lyric,  ode,  and  hymn  in  un- 
forgettable combination. 

VARIOUSLY    INTERPRETED 

No  book  in  the  Bible  has  afforded 
a  more  fascinating  field  for  specula- 
tion than  the  Revelation  of  John,  the 
Beloved  Disciple.  There  are  three 
chief  schools  of  interpretation  and 
a  fourth  of  a  minor  nature.  These 
schools  are:  First,  the  "Futurist," 
which  regards  the  book  as  dealing 
with  the  end  of  the  world  and  with 
events  and  persons  which  will  im- 
mediately precede  that  end ;  second, 
the  "Historical,"  which  sees  in  the 
book  a  summary  of  the  church's  his- 
tory from  early  days  until  the  end; 
third,  the  "Preterist,"  which  looks 
back  to  the  past  and  interprets  the 
book  as  having  principally  to  do 
with  the  times  in  which  it  origi- 
nated ;  fourth,  the  "Symbolic,"  which 
sees  in  the  majestic  figures  and  pass- 
ages metaphors  and  similes  of  spir- 
itual value  pertaining  to  the  church 
in  all  ages. 

MEANING   OF    ARMAGEDDON 

Personally,  I  incline  to  the  "Pre- 
terist" view  with  some  modifications. 
The  sixteenth  chapter  in  particular 
has  aroused  the  interest  of  tens  of 
thousands.  The  chapter  might  ap- 
propriately be  called  "The  Vision  of 
God's  Wrath  in  the  Seven  Bowls." 
The  chapter  is  exceeding  solemn  and 
impressive.  God's  wrath,  long  pent 
up,  is  poured  out  at  last  in  terrible 
tide  upon  the  earth.  Angels,  water, 
fire,  frogs,  false  prophets,  emerge; 
then  the  kings  meet  at  Armageddon 
in  mortal  combat.  The  Scripture 
describes  a  tremendous  upheaval 
and  a  world  conflict,  and  the  place 
of  the  battle  is  Armageddon. 

The  word  Armageddon  has  a  his- 
tory. It  means  "mount  of  battle." 
The  reference  is  to  Megiddo,  later 
known  in  Biblical  history  as  the 
"plain  of  Esdraelon."  It  was  a  fa- 
mous battle  ground.  Sometime  dur- 
ing   the    fifteenth    century    before 


By  Edgar  DeWitt  Jones 

nniiMMiiiiiiHiHitiiiiiitiniiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiitiiriiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiHiHiiiiinitiniiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiii) 

"And  they  gathered  them  to-  I 

I    gcthcr  into   the  place   zvhich  is  f 

1    called  in  the  Hebrezv  tongue  Ar-  I 

I    mageddon." — Revelation  16:16.  f 

Ciimimtuiinnui  i  iui  until  tun  iiiuiiiiiiititiniitiitiiiiiii  miiutm  uiimi  11 11  rim  i  n  t  mti  i  n  1 1 1  n  11T11  tin  1 1 1  n  1 1  itimi  iC 

Christ  a  king  of  Egypt  defeated  on 
that  field  the  confederated  princes  of 
Palestine.  Herodotus  refers  to  a 
noted  battle  fought  at  Megiddo. 
Joshua  fought  seven  battles  at  this 
place.  Here  also  Barak  gained  a  sig- 
nal victory  over  the  Caananites. 
About  the  year  623  B.  C,  Pharaoh 
Necho,  king  of  Egypt,  fought 
against  Josiah,  in  which  conflict  the 
latter  king  lost  his  life. 

While  crossing  the  plain  of  Me- 
giddo, Napoleon  encountered  a  Mo- 
hammedan army  which  numbered 
thirty-five  thousand  men.  With  only 
four  thousand  men,  the  French  gen- 
eral gained  a  complete  victory.  The 
word  Armageddon  signifies  a  great 
conflict,  a  battle  in  which  tremen- 
dous issues  are  at  stake,  a  battle  in 
which  the  forces  of  evil  and  the 
hosts  of  righteousness  war  to  the 
bitter  end. 

A  POPULAR  INTERPRETATION 

Some  students  of  the  Scripture, 
taking  this  passage  in  Revelation  to- 
gether with  others  in  the  book  of 
Daniel,  believe  that  there  is  a  spe- 
cific prediction  here  of  the  great 
world  war  now  raging  so  terribly, 
and  that  the  time  of  the  return  of 
the  Christ  is  at  hand.  The  fifteenth 
verse,  as  they  believe,  clearly  indi- 
cates His  coming:  "Behold,  I  come 
as  a  thief.  Blessed  is  he  that  watch- 
eth,  and  keepeth  his  garments,  lest 
he  walk  naked,  and  they  see  his 
shame."  Moreover,  it  begins  to  look 
as  if  the  Mohammedans  would  soon 
be  driven  out  of  Palestine ;  and  those 
interested  in  the  return  of  the  Jews 
to  their  own  country  see  the  prob- 
ability of  an  early  fulfillment  of  a 
remarkable  prophecy.  There  is 
much  to  give  us  pause,  much  to  in- 
terest, much  to  reflect  upon. 

Undoubtedly,  such  an  interpreta- 
tion is  fascinating,  and  no  one  can 
dogmatically  affirm  that  it  is  errone- 
ous. At  the  same  time  it  is  well  to 
remember  that  the  specific  predic- 
tions that  are  now  made  with  con- 
fidence have  been  as  confidently 
affirmed  during  the  progress  of 
practically  every  great  war  that  has 
raged  during  the  Christian  era. 
Literally,  these  predictions  have  not 
been  fulfilled ;  spiritually,  I  believe 
they  have — at  least  in  part.  It  is 
a  fact  that  the  "beast"  so  promi- 
nently   mentioned    in    the    book    of 


Revelation,  and  his  number,  "666," 
have  been  variously  and  ingeniously 
applied  to  various  institutions  and 
personalities.  Some  have  made  the 
application  to  certain  Roman  em- 
perors; others  to  certain  popes  of 
Rome ;  still  others  to  Napoleon  Bon- 
aparte ;  still  others  to  Mohammedan- 
ism, the  year  666,  and  just  now  the 
application  is  made  to  the  kaiser. 
That  there  is  a  cipher  and  cryptic 
meaning  throughout  the  book  of 
Revelation  is  probable.  The  first 
century  Christians  had  the  key  to 
this  cipher,  but  that  any  living  soul 
has  discovered  that  key  is  highly 
improbable.  The  most  natural  and 
primary  interpretation  of  these 
Scriptures  is  their  reference  to  pagan 
Rome  and  the  conflicts  of  the  young 
church  with  her  arch-enemies,  the 
pagan  emperors,  or  Caesars. 

In  a  secondary  sense,  however, 
and  with  a  spiritual  significance, 
these  passages  in  Revelation  have 
had  and  are  now  having  remarkable 
fulfillment.  Spiritually,  every  de- 
cisive battle  for  intellectual  and  re- 
ligious freedom  is  an  Armageddon. 

ARMAGEDDON    IS   AT   HAND ! 

No  wonder  thousands  are  finding 
so  great  an  interest  in  the  relation 
of  this  passage  of  Scripture  to  the 
great  conflict  now  on.  More  nearly 
than  any  other  war  this  seems  to  fill 
out  fully  the  canvas  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse. And  some  things  are  reason- 
ably certain.  Jesus  Christ  may  not 
come  shortly  in  physical  person ; 
but  in  spiritual  power  He  is  coming; 
and  every  institution  and  mankind 
everywhere  will  be  the  beneficiaries. 
This  physical  world  of  ours  is  not 
likely  to  pass  away;  but  this  world, 
this  present  world  with  its  ideals 
of  autocracy  and  power  of  sword, 
will  pass  away.  A  new  world  is 
about  to  be  born  and  is  struggling 
now  in  birth  pangs. 

The  literal  interpretation  of  these 
passages  and  the  working  out  of 
acrostics,  the  finding  of  minute  ful- 
fillments of  specific  predictions,  is 
more  or  less  unsatisfactory.  But  of 
the  spiritual  fulfillment  of  these 
great  sweeping  passages,  where 
there  is  conflict  between  rival  forces 
of  good  and  evil  and  the  ushering 
in  of  a  new  era,  I  verily  believe.  We 
must  look  for  these  developments  to 
emerge  from  within  rather  than  to 
break  upon  us  from  without.  The 
gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation wherever  it  gets  a  chance; 
the  Gospel  has  not  failed ;  men  have 
failed  to  accept  it  in  fullness.  Man- 
kind has  never  been  willing  to  give 
Christianity  a  fair  test.    The  sword 


May  10,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


15 


has  seemed  surer  to  man  and  more 
potent  than  love.  The  teaching-  of 
Christ  has  been  good  to  preach,  but 
hard  to  practice. 

OUR    PRESENT    DUTY 

Our  duty  in  these  days  of  shock 
and  suffering  is  to  be  found  in  Jesus' 
words  to  His  three  intimates  in  the 
garden  of  Gethsemane,  "Watch  and 
pray."  By  watching  is  not  meant, 
of  course,  standing  still  and  gazing 
into  the  skies,  or  sitting  about  spec- 
ulating on  possible  results  of  these 
epoch-making  events  of  which  we 
are  part  and  parcel.  There  is  in  the 
term  "Watch"  the  idea  of  prepara- 
tion, both  individual  and  social.  To 
watch  is  to  be  ready.  There  is  a 
second  meaning  to  the  term,  and 
that  is  the  idea  of  guarding  or  pro- 
tection. A  "watch"  is  a  guard,  and 
signifies  vigilance  and  caution. 
Surely  these  are  times  to  be  watch- 
ful, to  be  prepared,  to  be  vigilant. 

To  pray  is  to  commune  with  the 
Unseen,  is  to  fellowship  with  the 
eternal.  Prayer  is  "the  Christian's 
native  air,"  according  to  the  poet 
Montgomery.  Prayer  is  seeking 
to  merge  the  human  will,  which  is  so 
often  contrary  to  the  Divine,  into 
oneness  with  the  Heavenly  Father. 
Few  of  us  have  learned  to>  pray.  We 
know  how  to  beg  God  for  some 
darling  gift,  but  to  pray  "Thy  will 
be  done,"  few  of  us  have  done  that. 
To  pray,  really  pray,  is  to  become 
a  channel  for  streams  of  grace  and 
mercy,  is  to  become  a  medium  for 
the  Spirit  of  the  Almighty.  The 
world  is  in  Gethesemane  and  it  be- 
comes every  Believer  to  watch  and 
pray. 

"WRESTLING  FOR  CHRIST" 

There  is  a  story  that  has  been 
cherished  by  Christians  since  the 
early  days  of  the  church — a  story 
that  bears  repeating  now  that  the 
church  is  tried  as  by  fire.  It  narrates 
how  news  one  day  came  to  the  reign- 
ing Roman  emperor  that  all  his 
gladiators,  forty  in  number,  had  ac- 
cepted Christ  and  had  made  a  profes- 
sion of  their  faith  in  Him  as  their 
Savior.  The  emperor  was  enraged 
and  immediately  gave  orders  that 
these  men  be  required  to  recant.  In 
the  event  of  their  failure  to  do  so, 
they  were  to  be  transported  to  the 
bleakest  and  dreariest  spot  in  all  the 
bleak  and  dreary  Alpine  mountains 
of  northern  Italy,  and  there  without 
food  and  shelter  they  were  to  be 
turned  out  to  die.  The  message  was 
carried  to  the  gladiators  and  to  a 
man  they  refused  to  disown  their 
Savior.  In  company  with  a  guard  of 
Roman  soldiers,  they  were  taken 
north,  up  among  the  Alpine  sum- 
mits, among  the  eternal  snows ;  and 
there  in  the  bleakest,  dreariest,  and 
wildest   spot   that   could   be   found, 


without  food  or  shelter,  the  poor 
wretches  were  turned  out  into  the 
wintry  night  to  die  of  starvation  and 
exposure.  That  night  as  the  Roman 
officer  lay  in  his  tent,  he  was  dis- 
turbed by  a  chant  that  was  borne 
in  upon  him  by  the  night  winds. 
Listening,  this  is  what  he  heard : 
"Forty  wrestlers,  wrestling  for 
Christ,  ask  of  Him  the  victory,  and 
claim  for  Him  the  crown."  He  sat  up 
and  listened  again.  There  was  borne 
in  more  distinctly:  "Forty  wrest- 
lers, wrestling  for  Christ,  ask  of 
Him  the  victory,  and  claim  for  Him 
the  crown."  He  began  to  think 
about  the  devotion  of  these  men  to 
their  leader.  He  knew  something  of 
the  devotion  of  a  Roman  soldier  to 
the  empire,  but  he  realized  that  the 
breast  of  a  human  soldier  was 
stranger  to  a  devotion  like  this.  As 
he  marveled  at  it,  suddenly  a  poor 
wretch  came  stumbling  through  the 
flap  of  his  tent  and  fell  on  his  knees 
and  begged  permission  to  recant. 
The  officer  looked  down  on  him  and 
said,  "Art  thou  the  only  one  of  thy 
number  that  durst  ask  this?"  And 
he  said,  "The  only  one."  Tearing 
his  cloak  from  him,  he  threw  it  over 
the  poor  wretch  and  said,  "Then  I 


will  have  thy  place,"  and  out  into 
the  night  he  went,  and  the  chant  un- 
broken again  rose,  "Forty  wrestlers, 
wrestling  for  Christ,  ask  of  Him  the 
victory,  and  claim  for  Him  the 
crown." 

"THE  TWILIGHT  OF  THE  KINGS" 

Mankind's  proneness  to  use  the 
sword  has  brought  on  at  last  a  cata- 
clysm such  as  the  world  has  never 
known.  It  is  the  twilight  of  the 
kings.  Democracy  versus  autocracy 
meets  on  the  mighty  field  of  Arma- 
geddon. 

There  have  been  darker  days  and 
sadder  seasons  than  this  present 
age;  but  it  is  doubtful  if  there  has 
ever  been  a  period  in  the  world's  his- 
tory when  more  momentous  issues 
were  at  stake  than  in  this  year  of 
our  Lord,  Nineteen  Hundred  and 
Seventeen.  A  couplet  of  Ralph 
Waldo  Emerson's  applies  most  ap- 
propriately to  the  issues  of  the  hour: 

God  said,  I  am  tired  of  kings, 

I  suffer  them  no  more; 
Up  to  my  ears  each  morning  brings 

The  outrages  of  the  poor. 

First  Christian  Church,  Blooming- 
ton,  111. 


fj  u  i  j  ri  i  m  [  i  tii  j  i  ii  ci  n  1 1 1 1  j  1 1 1  j  1 1 1  ii  1 1  ii  1 1 1  n  ni  u  u  1 1  l  1 12 1  u  li  n  1 1 1 1 : 1 1 1 1  n  1 1 1  n  t  j  n  M  Li  i  m  i  J  t  ]  i  u  i  n  1 1 1 1 1 1  c  1 1 1  m  1 1 1  i  i  u  i  i  ti  1 1 1 1 1 1 1  m  i  1 1 1 1  m  ci  1 1 1  in  1 1 1  l  1 1 1 1  r  i  ii n  1 1  l  1 1 J 1 1 1  u  r  1 1  ^  i  ^  i  j  1 1 1 1 1 1  c  i  m  1 1 1 1 1  r  i  m  :  4 1  l  i  j  i  r  1 1 1  m  i )  i  l  1 1 1 1 1 1  i  ]  i  j  n  1 1 1 1  ■  t  J )  1 1 1  m  i  [  i  i  i  1 1  tt  1 1 1  iu : ;  [  l  1 1 1  cs  e  l  e  i  ri  1 1  ^ 


God's  Dreams 

By  Thomas  Curtis  Clark 

DREAMS  are  they — but  they  are  God's  dreams! 
Shall  we  decry  them  and  scorn  them? 
That  men  shall  love  one  another, 
That  white  shall  call  black  man  brother , 
That  greed  shall  pass  from  the  market-place, 
That  lust  shall  yield  to  love  for  the  race, 
That  man  shall  meet  with  God  face  to  face — 
Dreams  are  they  all, 

But  shall  we  withstand  them — 
God's  dreams ! 


Dreams  are  they — to  become  man's  dreams ! 
Can  we  say  nay  as  they  claim  us? 
That  men  shall  cease  from  their  hating, 
That  war  shall  soon  be  abating, 
That  the  glory  of  kings  and  lords  shall  pale, 
That  the  pride  of  dominion  and  power  shall  fail, 
That  the  love  of  humanity  shall  prevail — 
Dreams  are  they  all, 

But  shall  we  withstand  them — 
God's  dreams ! 


'l7l(IIJlrTI1tlltllUILllL1JtlUiritll(ltirMIIUIIIijniLILinMllllHLIlltlll »tlLtl(IIHIilJ[|[MIIUII)ntlLtltliniLlltItllllltlltllllLUJIUntllllMllllllLtUJlIiUlitttlttltJllt[tIJliUIIitlIIIlIlIJUtIltlllJliIIJIIUlJiiiIl. 


lllililllllinillllllillilllllB 


The  Larger  Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


!l!!I!!IIII!!lllll[||IIIIII!llll!lllllll!lllll!llll!IIIIIIIIIII!llllli 


Moody's  Son  in 
Religious  Work 

Rev.  Paul  Dwigfat  Moody  has  been 
until  recently  pastor  of  North  Con- 
gregational church,  St.  Johnsbury, 
Yt.,  but  has  accepted  a  call  to  be  the 
associate  of  Dr.  Henry  Sloane  Coffin, 
in  the  Madison  Avenue  Presbyterian 
church.  New  York.  He  is  a  son  of 
Dwight  L.  Moody  and  has  studied 
under  Marcus  Dods  and  A.  B.  David- 
son. He  is  a  teacher,  a  preacher 
and  a  literary  man. 

Chicago  Tract 
Society  Separate 

The  Chicago  Bible  Society  has 
been  for  two  years  separate  from  the 
American  Tract  Society.  The  latter 
publishes  tractarian  literature  and 
distributes  these  through  colpor- 
teurs. The  Chicago  organization 
rents  halls  and  undertakes  to  local- 
ize its  work  among  certain  races  with 
a  settled  missionary,  as  among  the 
Poles. 

World  Alliance 
of  Presbyterianism 

The  Presbyterians  of  the  world 
are  organized  into  an  Alliance  and 
Dr.  William  Park,  who  has  been  for 
forty-three  years  minister  of  Rose- 
mary church,  Belfast,  Ireland,  is  the 
president  of  the  organization.  At  a 
meeting  held  in  his  town  recently 
Dr.  Park  was  given  a  present  of  war 
scrip  to  the  value  of  $5,000  and  was 
presented  also  with  a  complimentary 
address  from  the  Presbyterians  of 
the  world.  There  are  420  men  of  his 
congregation  in  the  army. 

The  Church 
Socialist  League 

The  Church  Socialist  League  (in 
America),  which  accepts  the  prin- 
ciples of  Socialism — Fabian,  Utopian, 
Marxian,  Scientific — has  taken  on  a 
new  lease  of  life  under  the  Secretary- 
ship of  the  Rev.  A.  L.  Byron-Curtiss, 
whose  address  is  Utica,  N.  Y.  The 
declared  object  of  this  League  is 
"not  to  make  Churchmen  more  so- 
cialistic, but  more  Churchmen  social- 
ists." Its  official  organ  is  known  as 
the  Social  Preparation,  of  which  Mr. 
Byron-Curtiss  is  editor.  The  presi- 
dent of  the  League  is  the  Bishop  of 
Utah,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Paul  Jones,  and 
the  Bishop  of  Maine,  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Benjamin  Brewster,  D.D.,  is  one  of 
the  vice-presidents.  Among  the 
members  of  the  executive  committee 
are  the  Very  Rev.  Bernard  I.  Bell 


of  Fond  du  Lac,  William  F.  Cochran, 
Miss  Vida  D.  Scudder,  all  three  of 
whom  are  members  of  the  Joint 
Commission  on  Social  Service,  and 
Miss  Ellen  Gates  Starr  of  Hull 
House. 

Honors  for 
"Ralph  Connor" 

Rev.  C.  W.  Gordon,  known  to  the 
world  under  his  pen  name  of  "Ralph 
Connor,"  has  been  visiting  a  num- 
ber of  cities  in  the  United  States. 
From  his  congregation  in  Winnipeg, 
500  men  have  gone  into  service  and 
fifty  have  paid  the  extreme  penalty 
for  their  loyalty.  The  pastor  has 
been  a  true  "sky  pilot"  in  the 
trenches,  winning  many  men  to  a 
closer  walk  with  Christ.  Recently, 
a  hundred  ministers  gathered  at  the 
clergy  club  in  New  York  to  do'  him' 
honor.  He  was  also  entertained  by 
Chicago  ministers  with  honors.  Dr. 
Gordon  preached  in  St.  James  M.  E. 
church  while  in  Chicago'. 

Church  Plants 
Potatoes 


ton  Gladden  Club,  though  they  had 
never  seen  his  face.  Last  month, 
Dr.  Gladden,  who  is  now  supplying 
First  Congregational  church  of  Los 
Angeles,  went  to  Long  Beach  as  the 
guest  of  the  club  and  was  elected  an 
honorary  member  of  it.  Dr.  Glad- 
den spoke  to  a  large  audience  that 
evening  on  "Some  High  Lights  of 
Memory."  His  address  closed  with 
the  assurance  that  this  war  is  the 
beginning  of  the  era  of  world  peace. 

Bishop  Clashes 
With  the  Germans 

Bishop  Mitchell  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  fellowship  returned  the 
other  day  to  Chicago'  to  speak  on 
"The  Marks  of  a  Methodist."  He 
praised  the  democracy  of  some  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  contrasting  this  with 
conditions  in  Germany.  He  was 
interrupted  by  some  Germans  who 
asserted  that  they  loved  the  Kaiser. 
The  Bishop  finally  told  his  hecklers 
that  they  must  "shut  their  mouths." 
The  incident  has  created  consider- 
able excitement  in  certain  branches 
of  Methodism. 


At  the  close  of  the  recent  revival 
services  in  the  Baptist  church  at  Church  College 
Hutsonville,  111.,  the  members  of  the  Interests  Organized 
church  and  Sunday  school  assembled 
on  the  corner  lot  owned  by  the 
church,  plowed  the  land,  and  planted 
it  to  potatoes  in  accordance  with  the 
request  of  President  Wilson.  A 
reasonable  yield  will  be  150  bushels, 
or  $300  in  cash  even  quoted  at  half 
the  price  potatoes  are  now  bringing. 
A  patriotic  demonstration  followed. 


The  denominational  colleges  have 
found  fellowship  in  recent  years 
through  the  Council  of  Church 
Boards  in  America.  The  Board  of 
Education  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ 
is  represented  in  the  inter-denomina- 
tional body.  The  Council  of  Church 
Boards  in  America  has  recently 
called  to  the  secretaryship  President 


The  Rev.  J.  W.  Patterson,  pastor,     Robert  L  Kdly  of  ^j*^  College 


was  in  charge. 


Baptists  Get  Best  Results 
From  Sunday  Revival 

The  evangelistic  meetings  held  by 
Billy  Sunday  in  Boston  brought 
more  help  to  Baptist  churches  than 
to  any  other.  This  indicates  the 
strength  that  this  denomination  has 
developed  in  Boston  in  recent  years. 


(Friends).  President  Kelly  has  been 
prominent  in  educational  and  social 
service  organizations  as  well  as  in 
the  work  of  preaching  within  his 
denomination. 

Federal  Council 
Meeting  in  Washington 

The  Federal  Council  will  hold  k 
The'otVerdenominationVprofitedlTn  sPecial  meeting  in  Washingtoh 
the  following  order:  Methodist,  Con-  Ma^  8  and  ?'  m  ,whlcrJ  they.wl1!  c4 
gregational,  Episcopal,  Presbyterian,  together  all  the  denominational 
Evangelical,  Christian,  Friends,  representatives  to  counsel  concern- 
Catholic,  Lutheran,  Unitarian,  Uni-  mS  a  church  program  during  the 
versalist,  Christian  Science  and  He-  war:  In  th?  cal1  some  °*  the,ob^ts 
brews,   tyjl.ti  Jk.fi'SB     ,        ?   th?  mettmS  aI7  stated  to  be :    To 

^      ~,  AA  fare    of    the    navy,"      to    formulate 

Dr   Gladden  at       fs»  H^  h,   ■  Christian  dutjes  r£ative  tQ  conserva. 

Oladden  Club  tion  of  the  economic>  social)  morai 

Dr.  Washington  Gladden  had  ad-  and  spiritual  forces  of  the  nation," 
mirers  on  the  Pacific  coast  who,  and  "to  plan  and  provide  for  works 
years  ago,  organized  the  Washing-    of  mercy." 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

I    Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

Books  on  the  Changing  Order 


The  Abolition  of  Poverty,  by  Jacob 
H.  Hollander,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of 
Political  Economy  in  Johns  Hop- 
kins University.  122  pages.  75c. 
Published  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  Co. 

A  big  little  book  upon  the  most  im- 
portant social  issue  that  faces  modern 
civilized  communities.  Poverty  is 
literally  a  social  crime.  Its  extent  and 
the  reasons  for  it  in  this  country  are 
skilfully  analyzed  and  remedies  that 
the  author  feels  scientifically  warrant- 
ed in  proposing  are  outlined.  He  finds 
the  national  dividend  adequate  to  sup- 
port all  and  thinks  there  is  nothing 
inherent  within  the  competitive  sys- 
tem that  prohibits  adequate  distribu- 
tion. But  he  finds  it  is  inadequately 
distributed  and,  therefore,  a  poverty 
that  is  menacing.  His  remedies  are 
collective  bargaining,  a  minimum 
wage,  compulsory  social  insurance,  vo- 
cational training,  employment  agen- 
cies managed  by  government,  unem- 
ployment insurance  —  in  short,  the 
modern  social  program.  All  these 
findings  are  set  forth  with  precision 
and  in  a  scientific  temper. 
*     *     * 

Poverty  and  Riches,  by  Scott  Near- 
ing.  261  pages.  $1.00.  Published 
by  Jno.  C.  Winston  &  Company, 
Philadelphia. 

Scott  Nearing  is  one  of  the  outstand- 
ing prophets  of  the  new  industrial  or- 
der. He  is  commonly  adjudged 
radical,  but  the  Old  Testament  proph- 
ets were  much  more  radical.  Nearing 
never  makes  a  statement  that  is  not 
based  upon  an  undeniable  statistical 
fact ;  in  other  words,  he  is  scientific 
as  an  economist  before  he  is  an  ad- 
vocate of  reform.  His  advocacy  of 
reform  follows  his  findings  in  the  in- 
dustrial order  and  comes  through  con- 
sideration of  the  "human  factor,"  that 
newly  considered  factor  in  the  indus- 
trial world.  Dr.  Nearing  does  little 
more  than  ask  what  is  to  be  done  about 
the  human  beings  involved  in  the  light 
of  certain  facts  brought  to  light.  The 
old  economics  looked  upon  the  labor 
as  a  cog  in  the  machine,  talked  about 
it  as  a  "commodity"  and  denied  any 
ethical  consideration  being  involved 
in  its  science ;  the  new  economics  de- 
nies that  labor  is  a  commodity,  de- 
mands that  the  man  be  lifted  from 
among  the  machinery,  and  believes 
itself  to  be  primarily  an  ethical  science. 
Dr.  Nearing  is  a  prophet  of  the  new 
economy — the  economy  that  builds 
upon  a  Ruskin's  demand  that  life  and 
human   welfare   be   put    before    divi- 


dends and  material  wealth  and  upon 
Christ's  promise  of  a  "more  abundant 
life."  In  this  volume  he  gives  the 
facts  about  the  profits  of  industry,  the 
dividends  to  capital  and  the  wages 
paid,  and  puts  them  into  comparison 
with  the  amount  actually  needed  to 
support  a  decent  standard  of  living 
without  sacrificing  the  mother's  posi- 
tion in  the  home,  the  children's  right 
to  an  education  or  the  right  to  rest  in 
old  age  or  to  care  for  one's  own  in 
times  of  sickness.  He  shows  that  75 
per  cent  of  the  working  men's  families 
have  to  surrender  some  of  these  things 
in  order  to  live  upon  present  wages. 
The  fault  is  in  the  system  rather  than 
in  any  individual,  though  every  in- 
dividual who  does  not  try  to  right  the 
system  is  at  fault.  The  demand  is  for 
an  industrial  democracy  that  will  com- 
port with  our  ideas  of  political  dem- 
ocracy. 

*     *     * 

Operative  Ownership,  by  Jas.  J. 
Finn.  301  pages.  $1.50.  Pub- 
lished by  Langdon  &  Co.,  Chicago. 

This  is  a  radical  protest  against  so- 
cialism, but  a  constructive  protest  as 
well  in  that  it  offers  a  plan  for  solving 
the  industrial  problem  through  parti- 
cipation in  the  profits  by  the  employes. 
The  author  objects  to  profit-sharing 
schemes  as  paternalistic  and  inade- 
quate, and  to  socialism  as  confiscatory 
and  contrary  to  "natural"  rights  to 
property.  His  plan  is  to  have  the 
workingmen  own  the  plant  and  oper- 
ate it  through  salaried  overseers  just 
as  stockholders  do  at  the  present  time 
in  the  railroad  world.  To  obtain  pos- 
session of  the  plants  he  would  have 
the  government  adopt  a  system  like 
unto  that  used  by  the  British  govern- 
ment in  acquiring  the  land  for  Irish 
farmers,  i.  e.,  advance  the  funds,  exer- 
cise the  right  of  eminent  domain  to 
take  over  the  properties  and  discharge 
the  debt  out  of  accruing  profits  until 
paid.  He  believes  the  fact  of  owner- 
ship would  make  most  properties  pay 
through  increased  skill  and  interest  of 
the  workmen  and  little  risk  would  be 
involved.  He  does  not,  however,  pro- 
vide against  the  new  corporation  of 
labor  becoming  a  closed  corporation 
of  stockholders  and  hiring  other  labor- 
ers when  stock  became  profitable.  His 
defense  of  "property  right"  carries 
him  to  the  extremity  of  doubting  the 
right  of  society  to  pay  its  way  by  tax- 
ing excess  fortunes  through  income, 
inheritance  and  excess  profits  taxes. 
It  is  a  stimulating  and  thought-pro- 
voking book. 


Essays  in  Social  Justice,  by  Thomas 
Xixon  Carver,  Professor  of  Poli- 
tical Economy  in  Harvard  Univer- 
sity. 429  pages.  $2.00.  Published 
by  the  Harvard  University  Press. 

Prof.  Carver  is  a  stimulating  thinker 
and  a  lucid  writer.  He  belongs  to  that 
modern  school  of  economists  that  re- 
fuses to  consider  their  science  apart 
from  the  human  factors  involved. 
This  volume  is  an  ethical  treatise  in 
political  economy.  The  main  thesis  is 
set  forth  in  the  chapter  on  "How 
Ought  Wealth  to  be  Distributed?"; 
indeed  that  question  is  the  one  upon 
which  the  question  of  social  justice 
pivots  in  our  time.  He  adopts  what 
he  chooses  to  call  the  "democratic"  or 
"liberalistic"  basis  in  contradistinction 
to  the  socialistic  formula.  Competi- 
tion is  an  individual  necessity.  But 
the  individual  tends  to  prey  upon  his 
fellow-man  and  society  must  prevent 
him  doing  so ;  this  requires  the  aban- 
donment of  "individualism"  and  the 
adoption  of  "service"  as  the  normative 
basis  of  all  social  and  industrial  activ- 
ity and  transfers  competition  from 
"get-as-get-can"  to  service  rendered 
with  law  regulating  the  conditions 
under  which  operations  are  carried  on. 
Rewards  should  be  according  to  serv- 
ice rendered,  not  according  to  effort 
put  forth.  There  is  no  wray  to  abso- 
lutely adjust  rewards  of  service,  but 
they  can  be  much  better  approximated 
by  demanding  they  be  given  on  this 
basis.  Law  must  protect  consumer 
as  well  as  producer ;  indeed,  the  pres- 
ent need  is  that  the  consumer  shall 
receive  attention.  Prof.  Carver  treats 
the  question  of  social  justice  on  the 
basis  that  human  conflict  is  traceable 
largely  to  economic  competition  and 
that,  therefore,  questions  of  social 
justice,  whether  considered  by  religion 
or  from  any  other  viewpoint,  must  be 
settled  in  the  light  of  economic  science. 
It  is  when  men  lack  the  commodities 
of  life  that  friction  comes  and  it  is 
because  some  receive  an  undue  largess 
of  profits  and  others  too  little  that  we 
have  the  modern  industrial  conflict. 
Exception  might  be  taken  to  the  broad 
application  of  the  author's  formula  to 
religious  questions,  but  religion  would 
profit  by  accepting  the  facts  it  in- 
volves. 


Whether  any  particular  day  shall 
bring  to  you  more  of  happiness  or 
suffering  is  largely  beyond  your 
power  to  determine.  Whether  each 
day  of  your  life  shall  give  happiness 
or  suffering  rests  with  yourself. — 
George  S.  Mcrriam. 


18 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  10,  1917 


The  Sunday  School 


B    prophet  Isaiah — and  calling  a  spade 
jj     a  spade ! 

"Self-control  in  all  things !"  To  be 
sure.     Present   days,   as  they   pass, 


llll!ll!llli!lll!!l!li:illlillllllllli 


Self  -  Control 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
By  E.  F.  DAUGHERTY 


THERE'S  a  tent — soldier's  tent — 
on  the  Indiana  side  of  the  rail- 
road bridge  here  at  Yincennes 
these  days;  it  houses  some  of  Uncle 
Sam's  patrols,  and  the  orders  they 
have  are  to  cry  "Halt!"  to  any 
trespasser  twice,  and  if  unheeded 
on  a  third  call,  when  the  second  line 
is  crossed,  to  shoot  to  kill !  Last 
Wednesday  night,  a  farmer  of  con- 
vivial habits  started  across  and  was 
challenged.  But  on  he  want,  and 
at  the  third  challenge  turned  in 
drunken  rage,  to  receive  a  bullet 
through  his  vitals  and  die  in  fifteen 
minutes.  It's  war  times  we  are  liv- 
ing in — and  the  voice  of  authority  is 
speaking  in  our  land ! 

The  train  was  pulling  out  of  the 
Union  Station  last  Friday  night, 
when  another  drunken  farmer 
boarded  it — and  in  accord  with  the 
law  was  ejected  when  it  stopped ;  he 
flared  in  wrath — and  got  aboard 
again ;  was  thrust  off — and  fell ; 
arose  again,  staggering  for  a  grip  on 
the  accelerating  train,  stumbled  and 
fell  with  his  head  across  the  rails, 
and  his  soul  went  hence. 

It  was  mobilization  time  last  sum- 
mer, looking  toward  the  Mexican 
border.  In  Ft.  Benjamin  Harrison 
the  first  death  in  the  ranks  was  regis- 
tered— and  the  inquest's  verdict  was 
"Acute  alcoholism"!  The  first  lad 
of  Indiana's  contingent  to  fall — and 
his  death  attributed  to  booze!  And 
it  will  be  near  a  year  before  Hoosier- 
dom  gives  all  her  lads  a  better 
chance  at  self-control  by  the  total 
elimination  of  the  saloon. 

The  importance  of  self-control? 
In  all  ages,  among  all  people,  "the 
fading  flower  of  his  glorious  beauty" 
may  be  seen  among  "them  that  are 
overcome  with  wine."  Ephraim's 
state,  as  presented  in  the  first  verse 
of  the  lesson,  is  the  unvarying,  un- 
escapable  state  of  John  Barleycorn's 
pals. 

"Line  upon  line,  precept  upon  pre- 
cept," the  lessons  of  the  utter  vacuity 
and  futility  of  booze  cultivation  have 


been  pressed  on  truth  seekers,  until 
today  we  can  gird  up  our  loins  and 
be  cheerful  in  the  prospect  of  the 
demolition  of  the  business  our  land 
throughout,  and  the  world  around. 
It's  a  pretty  picture  we  have  in 
this  lesson  of  old-time  dissipation ! 
The  priest  and  prophet,  along  with 
other  outstanding  citizens  of  Eph- 
raim,  reeling  and  rioting  and  wal- 
lowing in  uncleanness  about  the 
banquet  tables  of  dissipation!  A 
pretty  picture !  Is  this  "Billy"  Sun- 
day speaking?    No,  it  is  the  old-time 


give  us  opportunity  for  self-control 
in  speech.  The  tendency  will  deepen 
and  widen  and  strengthen  to  open 
the  epithetical  keg  and  fling  its  bill- 
ingsgate at  the  enemy !  Let's  throw 
in  the  clutch  of  self-control !  Eng- 
land and  Germany  seethe  with  vitu- 
perative denunciations  of  the  enemy 
— no  less  than  strain  at  keeping  the 
ammunition  piles  replenished.  It  is 
liberty,  justice  and  democracy  for 
which  we  fight — and  our  enemy  is 
barbarous  —  wherefore  we  have 
snatched  his  gauntlet.  But  let  us 
put  control  on  speech,  and  direct  the 
energy  it  requires  toward  the  food 
army's  efforts,  the  recruiting  office's 
appeal,  and  the  tactical  efficiency  of 
the  lives  and  the  treasure  we  have 
laid  on  the  nation's  cause.  That's 
the  self-control  for  the  hour. 


lilMIIIMMIIIIIlllimUll]!millllllllU1MIII!|:PM1IIM!i;.'nl[|IIIHiMMINMIIINIIII,li 


IIIIIIIIIIlllUlllllinillHIIIIIIHIllllllllll 


llllllllllllMlllllllllilllltlllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllMIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIilllllllllltlHIIIlllllHIIIIIII 


Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage 

By  William  E.  Barton 


[iirmiimumiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiuiiiitiMiiimiiiiMiii 


millllMMIIHIIHM 


IHIIIllUI1IHIIIIIIIIIini[|lll[IIIIMIII[llll[ll1lt1IHI1l1tllllllllll1llll1IIIIIIIIIItll]IIIMIIltHiHIIIII1IIIIIIIIMIIIIItllMIIHHIItllMIIIIIIItllllllllinilllll 


*This  article  is  based  on  the  Interna- 
tional uniform  lesson  for  May  20,  "The 
Importance  of  Self-Control,"  Isa.  28:  1-13. 
Mr.  Daugherty,  who  leads  at  First  church, 
Yincennes,  Ind.,  has  kindly  consented  to 
write  these  lesson  talks  during  the  next 
few  weeks.  Mr.  Ewers  has  been  com- 
pelled to  leave  his  work  at  Pittsburgh 
for  a  brief  rest,  and  during  this  period 
he  does  not  feel  able  to  perform  this 
task,  which  he  so  much  enjoys. 


The  White  Elephant 

NOW  the  Women  of  the  City 
where  I  live  sought  how  they 
might  secure  a  sum  of  money  for  a 
Children's  Hospital,  and  they  de- 
vised a  White  Elephant  Sale.  And 
the  meaning  of  the  words  was  this, 
that  when  any  Woman  had  in  her 
house  something  which  she  wished 
to  Get  Rid  Of,  she  called  it  a  White 
Elephant,  and  gave  it  to  the  Sale. 

Now  as  I  walked  in  the  City,  I 
drew  nigh  unto  the  place,  and  I 
went  within.  And  there  were  Books 
and  Bonnets  and  Baskets  and  Clothes 
and  Candlesticks,  and  Pots  and  Pic- 
tures, and  divers  kinds  of  Tools,  and 
Many  Things  of  Other  Sorts.  And 
a  Damsel  said  to  me,  Wilt  Thou  not 
buy  of  me  something?  And  in  her 
Booth  were  Earthen  Vessels  and 
Vessels  of  Brass.  And  she  said,  Be- 
hold this  Lovely  Vase.  Thou 
couldest  not  buy  it  at  Marshall 
Field's  for  Fourteen  Dollars,  but 
here  it  is  Only  a  Dollar. 

And  I  took  from  my  purse  a  Dol- 
lar, and  she  wrapped  the  Vase  in 
the  Part  of  an  old  Newspaper  that 
hath  Colored  Pictures,  and  I  bore 
it  Home. 

And  my  wife,  Keturah,  met  me  at 
the  door,  and  she  spake  to  me  and 
said,  Whence  comest  thou,  my  lord, 
and  what  dost  thou  bring? 

And  I  said,  I  come  from  the  White 
Elephant  Sale,  and  I  have  brought 
to  thee  a  Lovely  Present. 

And  I  set  the  Vase  upon  the  Table, 
and  removed  the  Covering,  and  Ke- 
turah looked  upon  the  Vase,  and  her 
countenance  fell;  and  then  she 
laughed. 


And  I  answered  and  said  unto  her, 
Wherefore  dost  thou  laugh? 

And  she  said,  Safed,  dost  thou 
remember  the  Hopkins  family  that 
lived  nigh  unto  us  when  we  were 
First  Married? 

And  I  said,  Yea,  I  remember  them, 
to  my  sorrow. 

And  she  said,  Dost  thou  remem- 
ber which  of  many  evil  things  they 
did  to-  us  first? 

And  I  spake  to  her  of  the  time 
they  borrowed  the  Lawn-mower, 
and  how  they  Didn't  Do  a  Thing  to 
it  save  to  Ruin  it;  and  of  the  time 
their  Spoiled  Kid  threw  his  Ball 
through  the  Window,  and  what  his 
Fond  Mother  said  to  me  when  I 
rebuked  him,  and  about  their  Chick- 
ens and  their  Clotheslines. 

And  she  said,  All  these  things  they 
did,  and  many  more ;  but  the  first 
of  all  the  evil  things  they  did  to  us 
was  the  Present  they  Wished  on  us 
at  our  Wedding.  Dost  thou  remem- 
ber what  it  was? 

And  my  heart  fell  within  me,  and 
I  answered,  I  think  it  was  a  Vase, 
but  Very  Unlike  This  One. 

And  she  laughed  again,  till  she 
wept.  And  she  said,  Safed,  my  lord, 
thou  art  a  wise  man,  but  no  man  is 
wise  enough  to  visit  a  White  Ele- 
phant Sale  save  his  Wife  be  with 
him.  Twenty  years  hath  that  Hor- 
rid Vase  been  in  our  Attic,  and  I 
never  had  a  chance  to  Get  Rid  of  it 
till  Yesterday,  when  I  sent  it  to  the 
White  Elephant  Sale.  And  now,  be- 
hold, thou  hast  brought  it  back 
again.     And  again  she  laughed. 

But  some  women  would  ha\e 
scolded. 


May  10,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


Graham  Frank  Goes  to 
Central,  Dallas 

Graham  Frank,  who,  for  fourteen 
years,  has  served  the  Liberty,  Mo., 
church  as  pastor,  will,  in  four  months, 
assume  the  pastorate  at  Central  church, 
Dallas,  Tex.  The  call  to  Dallas  came 
unsolicited.  Mr.  Frank  writes  to  his 
congregation  in  the  weekly  church  pa- 
per, telling  of  his  regret  at  leaving  the 
Missouri  field  and  the  Liberty  congrega- 
tion, and  closes  his  message  with  these 
words:  "Let  it  be  known  to  everyone 
that  the  pastor  is  making  the  change  not 
because  of  any  dissatisfaction  on  his  part 
with  the  dear  old  Liberty  church,  but 
wholly  because  the  call  to  Dallas  appeals 
to  him  as  offering  a  larger  opportunity 
both  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  for 
himself." 

Churches  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  Uphold 
Lexington  Professors. 

Absolutely  overwhelming  is  the  sup- 
port that  has  come  for  President 
Crossfield  and  Professors  Snoddy,  For- 
tune, Bower  and  Hemry  from  all  the 
Disciple  churches  of  Lexington.  The 
churches  have  passed  resolutions  of  en- 
tire confidence  in  the  constructive  char- 
acter of  their  teachings  in  Transylvania 
College;  they  also  declare  that  they 
have  been  loyal  to  the  "plea  of  the  Dis- 
ciples of  Christ."  The  committee  from 
Central  Church,  of  which  Professors 
Snoddy  and  Bower  are  elders,  includes 
in  its  resolutions  these  words,  which 
refer  also  to  Professor  Hemry,  who  is 
also  a  member  of  the  congregation: 
"Their  influence  has  been  constructive 
and  the  fruits  of  their  labors  have  been 
a  greater  interest  in  and  appreciation  of 
the  Bible,  and  a  stronger  faith  in  the 
Great  Teacher.  They  have  been  loyal 
to  the  fundamentals  of  Christianity  and 
to  the  plea  of  the  Disciples.  The  growth 
of  Christianity  in  our  hands  demands 
freedom  for  our  teachers.  While  cer- 
tain essentials  cannot  be  surendered  or 
compromised  and  for  their  propagation 
our  institutions  exist,  yet  once  they  have 
been  accepted  by  a  teacher  he  must  be 
free  to  teach  the  truth  as  he  sees  it." 
Resolutions  from  all  the  churches  in  be- 
half of  all  five  men  are  fully  as  strong 
as  those  of  Central.  The  Twentieth 
Century  Bible  Class  at  Central,  which 
Professor  Snoddy  teaches,  at  a  recent 
banquet  came  forward  in  enthusiastic 
support  of  the  teachings  of  its  leader. 

Chicago  Church  Will 
Farm  for  War  Benefit 

Patriotism  was  expressed  on  last  Sun- 
day at  Englewood  church,  Chicago,  by 
the  raising  of  a  flag  on  the  church 
building  and  by  the  announcement  of  a 
plan  to  cultivate  a  ten  acre  field  by  the 
members  of  the  church  and  devote  the 
proceeds  to  the  Red  Cross.  The  ten- 
acre  field  is  a  donation  from  the  Chi- 
cago &  Western  Indiana  railroad.  J.  B. 
Middaugh  was  made  chairman  of  a  com- 
mittee of  six  who  are  to  arrange  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  ground.  Work  has 
already  begun.  A  garden  expert  will 
visit  the  land  and  recommend  how  it 
can  best  be  utilized.  A  regular  gardener 
will  be  hired  by  the  church  to  supervise 
the  work  and  the  members  will  work 
under  his  direction.  "Every  war  the 
United    States    has    fought,"    said    C.    G. 


Kindred,  the  pastor,  at  the  flag  raising, 
"has  been  for  democracy.  We  fought 
the  British  and  they  are  now  our  friends. 
We  fought  the  Spanish  and  they  are  now 
friendly.  We  will  fight  the  Germans 
and  some  day  they  will  be  our  friends." 

Death  of 
William  Campbell 

William  Campbell,  youngest  son  of 
Alexander  Campbell  of  Disciple  history, 
was  reported  sick  in  a  recent  issue  of 
The  Christian  Century.  He  was  taken 
to  Wellsburg,  W.  Va.,  his  old  home, 
leaving  Evanston,  111.,  on  April  26.  He 
arrived  at  Wellsburg,  but  passed  away 
April  29.  The  only  remaining  child  of 
Alexander  Campbell  is  Mrs.  Barclay  of 
Bethany,  W.  Va.  William  Campbell 
joined  the  church  some  years  ago  and 
has  been  devoted  and  loyal  in  his  sup- 
port to  it  ever  since.  He  spent  much 
time  with  his  father's  books  and  keep- 
sakes. 

New  $40,000  Church  for 
Baltimore 

"The  best  news  item  among  the  Dis- 
ciples in  the  East"  is  what  Peter  Ains- 
lie  calls  the  story  of  the  corner-stone 
laying  of  the  new  $40,000  home  of 
Twenty-fifth  Street  church,  Baltimore, 
B.  H.  Melton  minister.  The  building  will 
be  completed  in  about  six  months.  Most 
of  the  funds  required  have  already  been 
raised,  reports  Mr.  Melton.  The  struc- 
ture will  be  of  Port  Deposit  marble  and 
will  be  modern  in  every  detail.  A  large 
Sunday  school  of  about  1,000  will  be 
taken  care  of  in  the  building.  This  work 
has  shown  rapid  growth  under  Mr.  Mel- 
ton's ministry,  and  the  present  frame 
structure  is  much  too  small  to  accom- 
modate the  worshipers.  Twenty-fifth 
Street  church  is  located  in  the  finest 
residential  section  of  the  city,  with  Johns 
Hopkins  University  and  Goucher  Col- 
lege for  women  only  a  few  blocks  away. 

Ernest  H.  Reed  Achieves 
in  Important  Field 

Ernest  H.  Reed  is  completing  his 
third  year  at  Pontiac,  111.,  church.  The 
importance  of  this  field  is  realized  when 
it  is  considered  that  there  is  not  a  single 
large  Disciples  church  between  Joliet 
and  Pontiac,  the  Methodists  leading  in 
this  section,  along  with  the  Roman 
Catholics.  From  Pontiac  south  there 
are  numerous  churches  of  the  brother- 
hood. Mr.  Reed  is  appreciated  in  the 
Pontiac  community.  He  is  serving  as 
president  of  the  Livingston  County  Min- 
isterial Association  and  is  a  member  of 
the  executive  council  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  the  city.  The  Pontiac 
church  is  a  child  of  the  State  society, 
but  is  now  self-sustaining. 

How  a  Great  Ohio  Church 
Works  at  Evangelism 

During  the  pre-Easter  season  at 
Euclid  Avenue,  Cleveland  O.,  eighty-two 
new  members  were  received  into  the 
membership,  fifty  by  confession  of  faith; 
but  here  is  a  church  which  works  at 
soul-winning  throughout  the  year,  not  in 
spectacular  methods  but  quietly.  During 
this  especial  period  of  activity  prayer 
was  placed  first  m  importance  among 
the  means  at  hand  to  accomplish  the 
desired  results.    Cottage  prayer  meetings 


were  held  in  five  districts  of  (be  parish, 
on  Tuesday  afternoons  for  women  and 
on  Friday  evenings  for  men  and  women. 
Many  of  these  meetings  were  held  in 
the  homes  of  shut-ins,  and  competent 
leaders  were  in  charge.  Study  was  made 
of  Fosdick's  "The  Meaning  of  Prayer." 
Wednesday  evening  prayer  meetings 
were  made  centers  of  evangelistic  activ- 
ity and  the  women  held  Thursday  after- 
noon prayer  circles  with  the  same 
definite  purpose.  Personal  work  was 
not  neglected,  every  member  of  the 
church  and  Sunday  school  having  some 
definite  task  to  accomplish.  During  the 
campaign  the  sermons  preached  were 
"typical  Goldner  sermons,"  writes  T.  E. 
Hann,  of  Euclid  avenue  church.  J.  H. 
Goldner,  pastor  of  this  great  church,  is 
given  absolute  support  by  his  generous 
and   devoted   people. 

Dedication  of  Province, 
Ky.,  Church 

Six  miles  from  Lexington,  Ky.,  on  the 
Nicholasville  Pike,  stood  until  recently 
a  little  one-room  brick  church  founded 
just  one  hundred  years  ago.  During 
these  hundred  years  the  church  has  been 
ministered  to  at  various  periods  by  such 
men  as  J.  W.  McGarvey,  I.  B.  Grubb, 
Moses  E.  Lard  and  B.  C.  DeWeese. 
The  present  minister,  Hall  L.  Calhoun, 
has  inspired  and  led  the  congregation 
in  the  building  of  a  mode"rn  plant  with 
the  great  aim  of  the  highest  usefulness 
to  the  large  community  within  its  reach. 
Since  Professor  Calhoun  has  been  with 
the  church  there  has  been  a  remarkable 
growth,  there  being  now  a  membership 
of  more  than  250.  Providence  contrib- 
utes to  all  the  national  and  state  organi- 
zations in  a  way  that  compares  favorably 
with  the  largest  churches  of  Lexington. 
At  a  banquet  given  in  the  new  church 
building  to  the  Men  and  Millions  team 
recently  one  of  the  party  said:  "We 
have  traveled  all  over  the  country  and 
this  is  the  finest,  most  perfectly  equipped 
rural  church  we  know  anything  about 
in  the  United  States."  The  edifice  is  of 
pure  Doric  architecture  in  terra  cotta 
brick  with  massive  columns  and  trim- 
mings in  white.  It  contains  a  large 
auditorium  and  seventeen  class  rooms, 
also  a  separate  assembly  room  for  the 
Sunday  school.  C.  W.  Cauble,  of  In- 
dianapolis, will  have  charge  of  the  dedi- 
cation service,  which  will  be  held  on 
May  27. 

Missionary  Writes  of 
Mary  Wakefield 

Mrs.    Eva    Raw 
Luchowfu,  China, 
Mary   Wakefield, 
and   Mrs.   Paul  YY 
owfu  Station.     Sh 
on  the  very  day 
field    and    the    chi 
start  for  America 


Baird,  missionary  at 
writes  interestingly  of 
little  daughter  of  Dr. 
akefield,  of  the  Luch- 
e  died  of  scarlet  fever 
on  which  Mrs.  Wake- 
ldren  had  planned  to 
on  furlough. 

"She  was  the  Station's  child,  at  least 
it  seemed  as  if  she  belonged  to  us  all.  a 
quaint  cheery  little  girl,  who  would 
come  all  by  herself  to  visit  any  of  her 
station  'aunties.'  And  if  you  were  close 
enough  to  the  child-heart  she  would  give 
you  her  confidence  and  tell  you  perhaps 
how  the  babies  at  home  came  to  be  sis- 
ters, and  not  brothers,  because  she 
'prayed  harder'  than  Vachel.  From 
babyhood  she  was  rather  frail,  but  the 
last  year"  she  had  seemed  to  blossom 
out  into  a  happy  little-girl-hood.  Per- 
haps a  bit  lonesome  for  girls  of  her  own 
age,  she  loved  to  talk  last  spring  of  fan- 
ciful games  she  'made  up.'  The  Chinese 
school-girls  loved  her.  and  she  was  a 
loyal  little  member  of  their  Christian 
Endeavor  Society.     Among  the  summer 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  10,  1917 


community  of  missionaries  in  the  moun- 
tains, it  was  a  joy  to  watch  her;  no 
party,  no  picnic,  no  outing  of  the  chil- 
dren seemed  complete  without  her,  and 
remembering  the  lonesome  spring,  we 
were  glad  that  Mary  had  come  into  her 
own.  Then  back  in  the  station  in  the 
fall  she  longed  to  be  in  school  in  Shang- 
hai with  her  brother  Yachel.  But  it  isn't 
easy  to  send  a  little  girl  of  eight  away 
to  school,  and  it  was  put  off  until  Christ- 
mas. Then,  with  the  thought  of  fur- 
lough coming  in  the  spring  she  was  sent 
to  Shanghai  for  one  term  of  school  to 
prepare  her  for  the  American  schools. 
It  was  cold  when  they  went  and  the 
first  day's  journey  had  to  be  made  over- 
land by  chair,  but  the  little  mite  went 
happily — she  was  going  to  school.  We 
knew  we  should  not  see  her  until  after 
furlough  and  we  missed  her.  And  now, 
after  that  little  term  of  school,  when  she 
was  just  read\r  to  start  for  America  (that 
wonderland  to  all  missionary  children), 
came  the  call  to  that  farther  country, 
which,  perhaps,  was  quite  as  real  to 
Mary  as  America.  Of  such  is  the  King- 
dom .  .  .  hut  our  hearts  in  Luchow- 
fu  are  aching." 

At  Kokomo,  Indiana, 
Next  Week 

Commodore  W.  Cauble,  correspond- 
ing secretary  of  the  Indiana  State  Work, 
urges  the  opportunity  afforded  Hoosier 
Disciples  at  the  state  meeting  at  Koko- 
mo, May  14-17.  Sessions  will  be  held  at 
Main  street  church,  except  the  meet- 
ings of  the  State  Ministerial  Associa- 
tion, which  will  be  held  at  the  Congre- 
gational church  near  by.  At  the  latter 
sessions,  which  are  set  for  Monday  after- 
noon and  evening,  there  will  be  inspiring 
addresses  by  President  Paul,  of  Indian- 
apolis College  of  Missions;  Prof.  Jabez 
Hall,  of  Butler;  W.  H.  Smith,  of  Bloom- 
ington,  and  Dr.  Edward  I.  Bosworth, 
dean  of  Oberlin  College.  The  sessions 
of  the  C.  W.  B.  M.  will  be  held  at  these 
same  periods  in  the  Main  Street  church. 
From  Tuesday  afternoon  on  joint  ses- 
sions will  be  held  at  the  Main  Street 
building. 

— The  baccalaureate  sermon  at  Wil- 
liam Woods  College  this  year  will  be 
preached  by  President  J.  A.  Serena,  the 
date  of  the  service  being  May  27.  In 
the  evening  of  the  same  day  will  also  be 
preached  a  sermon  to  undergraduates 
by  M.  C.  Hutchinson,  of  Fulton,  Mo. 
The  commencement  address  will  be  de- 
livered on  May  30,  by  Dr.  F.  D.  Kersh- 
ner,  of  St.  Louis. 

— A.  E.  Ewell,  pastor  of  First  Church, 
Palestine,  Texas,  gave  the  address  at  a 
flag-raising  in  that  city  ten  days  ago. 

— J.  P.  Rowlison,  of  Hannibal,  Mo., 
delivered  a  series  of  lectures  recently 
before  the  students  of  William  Woods 
College,  his  subject  being  "Religious 
Education." 

— F.  W.  Lynch,  who  ministers  at 
Sharon,  Kan.,  has  been  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  Wisner  Library  of  that  city. 
He  has  been  chosen  to  preach  the  bac- 
calaureate sermon  to  the  senior  class  of 
the  Hazleton,  Kan.,  high  school  on  May 
13. 

— W.  P.  Shamhart  surprised  the  South 
Joplin,  Mo.,  congregation  a  few  days 
ago  by  tendering  his  resignation  the 
first  of  May,  to  take  effect  August  1. 
The  congregation  has  not  yet  agreed 
to  accept  it.  Mr.  Shamhart's  plans  are 
not  reported. 

— Finis  S.  Idleman,.  of  New  York 
City,    will    deliver    the    commencement 


address  for  Seminary  House,  Christian 
Temple,  Baltimore,  on  May  10.  Dr. 
Ainslie  preached  the  baccalaureate  ser- 
mon last  Sunday. 

— Beginning  in  the  autumn  the  church 
board  of  Wellington,  Kan.,  will  give  a 
half-hour  study  each  board  meeting 
evening  to  subjects  especially  adapted 
to  aid  them  in  their  work.  The  pastor 
of  the  church,  H.  W.  Hunter,  asked  the 
various  audiences  that  assembled  on 
April  29  to  choose  tho  subjects  for  the 
evening  sermons  of  May  and  June  from 
an  available  list  presented  to  them.  At 
the  prayer  meeting  services  a  feature  is 
being  made  of  "Character  Studies  in  the 
Old  Testament."  The  studies  next  year 
will  probably  be  of  the  parables  'of 
Jesus.  This  church  boasts  a  very  fine 
Christian  Endeavor  Society,  and  reports 
an  offering  for  benevolencd  for  Easter 
of  nearly  $200. 

— J.  Thos.  Luckey  has  been  selected 
for  both  the  Memorial  Day  sermon  and 
the  Decoration  Day  address  at;  Cicero, 
Ind.,   where   he  ministers. 

— Christian  College,  Camden  Point, 
Mo.,  will  have  its  commencement  sea- 
son May  27-31.  E.  F.  Leake,  pastor  at 
Independence,  Mo.,  will  preach  the  bac- 
caulaureate  sermon  this  year  and  J.  E. 
Davis,  of  First  Church,  Kansas  City, 
will    give    the    commencement    address. 

— The  sermon  of  Dr.  Jones  on  "Arma- 
geddon: It  Is  Now  Here,"  which  is 
published  in  this  issue  of  The  Christian 
Century,  was  preached  at  First  Church, 
Bloomington,  111.,  two  weeks  ago  to  a 
capacity   audience. 

■ — About  250  persons  have  been  added 
to  the  membership  at  Normal,  111.,  dur- 
ing the  five  years'  ministry  of  E.  A.  Gil- 
liland.  Mr.  Gilliland  will  continue  to 
serve  in  this   field. 

— A  feature  of  the  Arkansas  state  con- 
vention, which  was  held  at  Little  Rock 
last  week  was  the  unveiling  of  a  por- 
trait of  "Raccoon"  John  Smith,  presented 
to  First  Church,  Little  Rock,  by  Claude 
Ringo,  an  evangelist.  C.  C.  Cline  gave 
an  address  on  the  life  and  work  of  Smith. 


FRIENDLY  TOWN 

By  Thomas  Curtis  Clark. 

"Real    heart-music." — Chicago    Herald. 

"Breathes  a  spirit  of  joyous  living." — 
Chicago    Examiner. 

"Every  line  makes  for  love  and  kindli- 
ness and  better   living." — The  Advance. 

"Has  an  elusive  charm." — St.  Louis 
Times. 

"Full  of  good  things." — Christian  En- 
deavor   World. 

"Breathes  a  spirit  of  content."- — Sara 
Teasdale. 

"Full  of  inspiration". — Charles  G. 
Blanden,  Editor  of  "The  Chicago  Authology 
of  Verse." 

"Charming." — People's    Home    Journal. 

Of  the  author  of  "Friendly  Town,"  J.  H. 
Garrison,  Editor-Emeritus  of  the  Christian- 
Evangelist,     says: 

"Now  and  then  God  raises  up  a  singer 
among  the  people  who  is  endowed  with  a 
rare  gift  of  poetic  vision,  poetic  feeling 
and  poetic  expression.  Thomas  Curtis 
Clark  is  finely  endowed  in  all  these  re- 
spects." 

"Friendly  Town,"  printed  in  art  type 
and  bound  in  attractive  green,  makes  an 
ideal  gift.  If  you  have  a  friend^  who 
needs  cheering  up,  send  her  "Friendly 
Town." 

Price   of  the   booklet,    35   Cents. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  Street,  Chicago 


Dr.  Kershner,  of  St.  Louis,  delivered  a 
course  of  five  lectures  during  the  con- 
vention. 

— At  Central  Church,  Springfield,  Mo.,  G. 
W.  McQuiddy,  pastor,  the  evening  serv- 
ice on  the  fifth  Sunday  of  each  month  is 
given  over  to  the  Brotherhood  class  of 
the  Sunday  school.  The  laymen  of  the 
church  have  entire  charge  of  the  serv- 
ice including  the  sermon  and  the  sing- 
ing. 

— Dr.  Ada  McNeil  Gordon,  medical 
missionary  of  India,  was  the  principal 
speaker  at  a  missionary  rally  held  a  week 
ago  at  First  Church,  Sioux  City,  la. 

— L.  N.  D.  Wells,  of  Akron,  O.,  served 
as  master  of  ceremonies  at  the  rededica- 
tion  of  Kensington  Church,  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  on  April  15.  The  entire  Frontier 
was  represented  at  the  services.  Over 
$3,500   was   raised,   although   only   $2,500 


-cfSiiftdaf 

OMBpa  on  Steel  Folding.  Stead  fa*  only  $* J».  .( 


The  special  feature  of  thig  excellent  set 
)  of  maps,  are,  their  clearness.  The  names  ^ 
of  places  in  large  print,  feint  mountains, 
various  styles  of  lettering  so  as  to  be  pleasing 
to  the  eye  and  the  tone  of  the  colors,  which 
are  both  attraactive  and  harmonious. 
From  the  latest  explorations  and  discoveries 

This  grand  set  of  six  Maps  consists  of 
the  following: 

New  Testament  Palestine  —  Old  Test- 
ament Palestine  —  Roman  Empire 
showing  Pauls  Travels  —  Bible  Lands 
of.  the  Old  Testament  —  The  Exodus, 
Egypt  to  Canaan  —  Ancient  Jerusalem. 

Printed  on  linen  finish  cloth  in  6  colors 
Btze  19x27.  Mounted  on  folding  steel 
Btand,  can  be  raised,  lowered  or  turned  in 
any  direction  on  the  revolving  frame  so  the 
largest  classes  can  see  them,  being  on  a 
line  with  the  faces  of  Scholars  when  seated. 
Making  them  the  most  practical  Helps  in 
Student  and  Class  Work.  When  not  in 
use  can  be  easily  folded  up  Price  $3.50 
net  and  for  30c  extra  will  be  sent  prepaid 
to  any  Express  office.  Single  maps  of  the 
above  sent  prepaid  on  receipt  of  60  cents. 

Simi&r  to  abov  on  a  larger  Scale  are 
5  E^ers  Sunday  School  Maps  on  a  very  strong 
Revolving  Adjustable  Steel  Stand  about 
614  feet  high,  36x48  to  36x57  on  linen 
finished  ioth.  These  Five  thoroughly  up 
to  date  Maps  Consist  of  the  following. 

New  TestamentPalestine, — Old  Testament 
Paiestine^—lloraan  empire  and  Bible  Lands, 
showing  Pau!3  Travels  by  Colored  lines. — 
Lands  of  the  Old  Testament,  from  the 
Great  Sea.  to  the  Persian  Gulf —The 
Exodus,  Egypt,  showing  by  Colored  lines 
the  wanderings  of  the  Isreaiites.  Price  of 
any  single  Maps  $1.00  • 

On  account  of  Hs  portability,  this  Stand 
and  Maps  are  the  most  helpful  aids  in 
teaohrng  Bible  History.  To  avoid  errors 
Sn  ordering,  specify  Eilers  Maps  on  Revolving 
Steel  Stand  Price  $6.50  will  be  sent 
prepaid  to  anv  Express  office  for  60  cents 
additional. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

700  E.  40th  St.,  :  Chicago,  111. 


rray  iv,  iyi/ 


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V^  yLi  lil    i     v-;   xv    A 


■is  needed  to  care  for  the  remodeling 
Ipenses.  W.  C.  Fowler  leads  at  Kens- 
Kton. 

I — At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  trustees 
I  Cotner  University  held  in  Lincoln, 
fcb.,  A.  D.  Harmon  was  elected  Dean, 
lie  Christian  Messenger,  of  First 
iiurch,  Lincoln,  reports  that  "Mr.  Har- 
lon  has  done  splendid  work  during  the 
list  year.  The  students  and  the  preach- 
ls  of  the  state  and  the  people  generally 
Ive  confidence  in  him  and  in  his  ability 
I  direct  the  internal  affairs  of  the  col- 
Ige  in  such  a  way  as  to  bring  success 
J>  the  institution." 

I — The  congregation  of  Auburn,  N.  Y., 
parch,  to  which  E.  W.  Allen  ministers, 
I  now  worshipping  in  its  new  building, 
laving  organized  with   208  members. 

I — Riverside  Church,  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 
ilarris  Miller,  minister,  will  soon  dedi- 
ate  a  new  community  house,  in  which 
ver  $20,000  has  been  invested. 

— Twelve  chapters  of  the  Odd  Fel- 
)ws  Lodge  attended  Jackson  Boulevard 
!hurch,  Chicago,  on  the  evening  of 
ipril  29,  in  celebration  of  the  ninety- 
ighth  anniversary  of  the  order.  Austin 
lunter,  pastor  at  Jackson  Boulevard, 
elivered  an  address  on  "The  Three 
.inks."  The  auditorium  was  crowded 
nd  many  persons  were  turned  away. 

— J.  H.  O.  Smith,  of  Metropolitan 
Church,  Chicago,  gave  an  address  to  the 
nen  of  the  LaPorte,  Ind.,  church  a  week 
go. 

— Harry  Philippi  took  charge  of  the 
/ork  at  Streator,  111.,  on  last  Sunday. 
,fr.  Philippi  comes  to  Streator  from 
lilroy,   Ind. 


iipiiiwnnii  A  Church  Home  for  You. 

NEW  YORK  Write  Dr-  Ftois  Idleman, 
tiki?   I  UNIX  142  West  81gt  gt    N  Y 


— The  second  week  of  Bethany  As- 
embly  at  Bethany  Park,  Ind.,  is  to  be 
Voman's  Week.  Domestic  Science  will 
e  taught  by  experts  from  Purdue  Uni- 
ersity.  Woman  Suffrage,  Temperance, 
/fissions,  and  Woman's  part  in  the 
lome  and  the  Church  will  be  discussed 
y  Mrs.  S.  C.  Stimson,  Terre  Haute, 
nd.;  Mrs.  Culla  J.  Vayhinger,  State 
'res.,  W.  C.  T.  U.;  Mrs.  Edward  Frank- 
in  White,  Mrs.  Felix  T.  McWhirter, 
/liss  Charity  Dye,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Thornton, 
Irs.  David  Ross,  Mrs.  O.  H.  Griest,  R. 
I.  Doan,  and  others  of  state  and  national 
eputation. 

— Memorial  Church,  Rock  Island,  111., 
I.  E.  Chatley,  minister,  voted  unani- 
nously  to  send  a  night  letter  to  Presi- 
ent  Wilson,  to  the  congressman  from 
he  district,  and  to  the  two  United  States 
enators  from  the  state  of  Illinois,  urg- 
ng  the  enforcement  of  national  prohibi- 
ion  as  a  war  measure  to  conserve  the 
ood  supply  of  the  United  States. 

— Carr-Burdette  College,  at  Sherman, 
rex.,  which  has  been  closed  the  past 
■ear  for  repairs  and  for  the  installation 
if  new  equipment,  will  be  reopened  in 
Jeptember.  Announcement  is  made  that 
Drof.  R.  J.  Cantrell  and  Jas.  A.  Crain, 
low  of  Texas  Christian  University,  will 
.ssume  the  joint  management  of  the 
chool,  which  is  the  only  school  in  Texas 
naintained  for  girls. 

— A  number  of  the  churches  of  East 
rexas,  including  the  churches  at  Long- 
riew  and  Palestine,  have  organized  to 
lo  mission  work  on  an  independent  plan, 
^n  effort  will  be  made  to  build  church 
lomes  for  a  number  of  the  East  Texas 
owns.  During  this  month  Roy  L. 
Brown  and  E.  C.  Tuckerman  will  assist 


Robert  E.  Speer  Says: 

"30,000,000  half  fed  Chinese  chil- 
dren will  cry  themselves  to  sleep 
tonight." 


The  children  of  your  Sunday  School 
will  help  relieve  this  distress  if  you  will 
give  them  a  chance.  A  great  Children's 
Day  offering,  the  first  Sunday  in  June, 
will  help  the  suffering  children  of  China. 
Free  supplies  are  now  ready.  Programs, 
coin  pockets,  leaflet  for  teachers.  State 
average  attendance  of  your  school  when 
ordering  supplies.     Send  all  orders  to 

FOREIGN  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 

BOX  884,  CINCINNATI,  OHIO 


in  a  campaign  of  evangelism  in  this  dis- 
trict. 

— At  the  latest  meeting  of  the  Dallas 
(Tex.)  Pastors'  Association  the  chief 
speaker  was  Evangelist  Crayton  S. 
Brooks,  who  spoke  on  Billy  Sunday. 
Mr.  Sunday  will  come  to  Dallas  next 
year  and  deep  interest  was  shown  in  Mr. 
Brooks'   address. 

— On  a  late-April  Lord's  day  at  Met- 
ropolitan Church,  Chicago,  the  Sunday 
school  attendance  was  increased  from 
125  to  328  and  the  Christian  Endeavor 
organization  from  12  to  42. 

— The  Ministerial  Association,  of  Gal- 
veston, Tex.,  reports  Pastor  J.  B. 
Holmes,  has  passed  resolutions  asking 
among  other  things  for  national  prohibi- 
tion. A  resolution  concerning  economy 
in  food  consumption  is  included. 

— Richmond  Avenue  Church,  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  is  contributing  $300  per  year  to 
the  support  of  the  work  at  Kensington 
Church,  Buffalo,  making  Kensington  the 
living  link  of  the  larger  church.  Over 
fifty  persons  have  been  added  at  this 
mission  in  the  last  eight  months. 

— First  Church,  Lincoln,  Neb.,  has  a 
Brotherhood  class  of  nearly  a  hundred 
members  and  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  class  of  over 
fifty. 

— At  First  Church,  LaFayette,  Ind., 
G.  W.  Watson  minister,  the  record  was 
broken  on  April  22,  when  the  Sunday 
school  registered  an  attendance  of  1,234, 
although  the  aim  had  been  only  for  1,000 
present.  Pastor  Watson  conducted  an 
all-adult  class  of  over  900.  Over  $200 
was  taken  in  the  offerings. 

— The  new  officers  of  the  Sacramento 
Valley  District  Conference  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  of  California,  are:  Presi- 
dent, Ellis  Purlee;  vice-president,  R.  C. 
Davis;  secretary  and  treasurer,  Charles 
McHatton;  superintendent  of  Sunday 
school,  J.  A.  Emrich. 

— Clay  Trusty,  of  Seventh  Church,  In- 
dianapolis, read  a  paper  at  the  last  meet- 
ing of  the  Christian  Ministers'  Associa- 
tion of  the  city  on  "The  Church  Reach- 
ing the  Community." 

— Orvis  F.  Jordan,  of  Evanston,  111., 
has  been  honored  by  being  appointed 
university  preacher  at  the  University  of 
Chicago  for  May  27.  On  May  13  Dr. 
James  A.  McDonald,  editor  of  the  To- 
ronto Globe,  will  serve  in  this  capacity. 
The  University  preachers  for  June  will 
be  Prof.  G.  A.  Johnston  Ross,  of  Union 


Theological  Seminary,  on  June  3,  and 
Bishop  Charles  P.  Anderson,  of  Chicago, 
on  June  10. 

— Dr.  H.  L.  Willett  will  deliver  an  ad- 
dress at  Howett  Street  Church,  Peoria, 
111.,  in  the  autumn,  reports  F.  Lewis  Star- 
buck,  pastor.  Mr.  Starbuck  was  greatly 
pleased  with  Dr.  Willett's  address  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Northern  Illinois  Min- 
isterial Institute,  which  was  held  at  Clin- 
ton two  weeks  ago.  The  address  was 
on  "The  New  Testament  Ideals  of 
Christian  Unity  and  the  Adequate  Effi- 
ciency Possible  for  the  Church."  The 
next  meeting  of  the  Institute  will  be 
held  at  Champaign. 

— I.  N.  McCash  dedicated  the  new 
$6,000  building  at  Piano,  Tex.,  on  May  6. 

— The  annual  convention  of  the 
churches  of  Western  Kentucky  was  held 
on  April  25-26  at  Henderson. 

— Dan  Trundle  recently  began  the 
seventh  year  of  his  pastorate  at  High- 
land Park  Church,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 
This  record  makes  Mr.  Trundle  dean  of 
the  Los  Angeles  ministers. 

— There  have  been  over  200  accessions 
to  the  membership  at  First  Church,  Al- 
toona,  Pa.,  since  the  coming  to  the  pas- 
torate of  W.  G.  Walker  three  years  ago. 
The  third  anniversary  of  his  coming  to 
Altoona  was  made  a  time  of  enthusiastic 
celebration  by  the  congregation.  Since 
Mr.  Walker  took  up  this  work  several 
notes  against  the  church  have  been  lifted 
and  a  number  of  improvements  made  on 
the  building.  The  work  is  now  in  ex- 
cellent condition. 

— F.  A.  Higgins  and  the  Tonawanda, 
N.  Y.,  church,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
Crawford  sisters,  of  Martinsville,  O.,  re- 
cently concluded  a  three  weeks'  meeting 
with  one  hundred  additions.  On  the  day 
after  the  close  of  the  meeting  Mr.  Hig- 
gins, with  two  other  members  of  the 
congregation,  was  taking  the  Crawford 
sisters  to  an  early  morning  train  in  an 
automobile  and  the  car  collided  with  a 
train,  with  the  result  that  every  occu- 
pant of  the  car  was  injured,  one  of  them 
fatally.  Mr.  Higgins  received  a  deep  cut 
over  the  head. 

— What  Cheer,  la.,  congregation  will 
erect  a  new  building  this  summer.  M. 
M.  Mitchem  is  pastor  at  that  point. 

— A.  R.  Adams,  who  went  to  the  For- 
est Avenue  work,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  from 
Memphis,  Term.,  was  tendered  a  recep- 
tion recently  at  which  were  present, 
among  others,   S.   B.   Lindsay,   secretary 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  10,  191 


Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage 

By  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON 

What  are  the  Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage? 
They  are  little  narrative  discourses  in  the  first 
person  by  a  genial  philosopher  who  talks  most 
interestingly  of  all  sorts  of  things.  But  they  are 
all  related  to  life.  Whether  the  writer  picks  up 
his  story  on  a  trolley  car  or  in  his  garden  or 
out  of  the  visit  of  a  crank  or  book  agent,  he 
always  says  something  that  relates  to  some 
practical  experience.  You  will  agree  to  that, 
if  you  are  reading  the  Parables  as  published 
each  week  in  The  Christian  Century. 

Some  readers  say  the  Parables  are  the  best 
bits  of  humor  now  appearing  in  any  magazine  in 
America.  They  poke  fun  at  all  sorts  of  follies 
and  foibles,  but  they  have  a  strong  element  of 
good  sense,  and  their  laugh  is  always  on  the 
right  side.  They  have  been  copied  into  many 
papers ;  have  served  as  themes  for  sermons  and 
addresses;  have  pointed  many  morals  and 
adorned  many  tales. 

The  Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage  is  a  handsome 
volume  of  nearly  200  pages,  and  the  Parables 
are  printed  in  large,  clear  type  on  excellent 
paper.    More  than  fifty  parables  are  included. 

Price  per  copy,  $1.25 

Order  today. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION   SOCIETY 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago,  III. 


The  Life  of  Jesus 

By  Dr.  LOA  E.  SCOTT 

A  fine  course  for  summer  study.  Send 
for  a  copy  and  consider  it  for  your  class. 
There  are  several  reasons  for  the  popu- 
larity of  this  course:  (1)  It  is  a  treatment 
of  the  ever-popular  subject  of  study,  the 
life  of  the  Master;  (2)  It  is  a  question  and 
answer  study;  (3)  It  requires  constant 
use  of  the  Bible  itself. 

Many  classes  have  been  transformed 
into  real  study-classes  by  the  use  of  this 
book.    Why  not  try  it  in  your  class? 

Price  per  copy,  50  cents ;  in  lots  of  10  or 
more,  40  cents  each. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago,  111. 


of  the  Niagara  Frontier  Christian  Mis- 
sionary Association,  and  Harris  Miller 
and  B.  S.  Ferrall,  both  Buffalo  ministers. 

— C.  O.  Stuckenbruck,  of  Lake  City, 
la.,  has  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate 
at  Council  Bluffs,  and  will  begin  his 
work  there  June  1.  Mr.  Stuckenbruck  is 
a  Drake  man. 

— Drake  University,  through  its  trus- 
tees, has  voted  unanimously  to  adopt 
compulsory  military  training  for  all  its 
able-bodied  students  who  have  no  con- 
scientious scruples  against  such  training. 

— At  a  patriotic  service  held  at  the 
church  at  Adel,  la.,  two  weeks  ago,  the 
speakers  were  Ex-Governor  Clarke;  J. 
B.  White,  law  partner  of  Governor 
Clarke,  and  W.  E.  Silver,  a  commis- 
sioned officer  of  the  federal  army. 

— Miss  Ruth  Bell,  daughter  of  Presi- 
dent Bell,  of  Drake,  will  be  the  May 
Queen  at  the  annual  May  festival  to  be 
held  at  Des  Moines  under  the  direction 
of  the  Woman's  League  of  the  city  on 
May  17.  The  affair  will  be  held  on  the 
campus. 

— A  recent  issue  of  the  Ottumwa  (la.) 
Courier  devotes  two  columns  to  the 
story  of  the  third  annual  banquet  of 
the  Workingmen's  Triangle  Brotherhood 
of  the  Davis  Street  church,  to  which  I. 
S.  Bussing  ministers. 


BOOKS  ON  EVANGELISM 

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with  Men.     $1.00  net. 
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NOTES  ON  CHILDREN'S  DAY 

Children's  Day  this  year  is  June  3. 

More  orders  have  been  received  for 
Children's  Day  supplies  up  to  date  than 
ever  before  in  the  history  of  the  Foreign 
Society. 

Our  little  school  at  Union,  Cuba,  has 
taken  the  Children's  Day  offering  and 
sent    their    check.      They    raised    $18.50. 


Don't  Let  Your  School  Slump! 

Send  75c  for  100  assorted  "Attendance  Builder"  post  cards, 
and  try  them  on  your  class.  They  will  build  up  and  keep  up 
your  attendance. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION   SOCIETY 

700  E.  40th  St.,  Chicago 


May  10,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


23 


This  should  be  a  challenge  to  our  Amer- 
ican schools  to  do  their  very  best.  Word 
is  being  received  in  every  mail  that  a 
large  number  of  schools  will  give  their 
greatest  offering  this  year.  One  super- 
intendent writes:  "We  will  raise  $75.00 
this  year."  Another  says  their  offering 
will  be  $100.  Another  writes  they  will 
raise  $400  and  one  card  just  received 
says  they  will  get  $600  on  June  3. 

The  slogan  for  Children's  Day  this 
year  is  $125,000.  This  is  the  amount  set 
by  the  Des  Moines  Convention  for  our 
schools  for  this  year. 

If  all  the  schools  will  do  their  full  duty, 
the  $125,000  can  be  raised  and  we  will 
reach  the  full  amount  to  be  raised  by 
September  30  of  $600,000. 

We  have  an  order  from  a  Mexican 
school  at  Ft.  Worth,  Tex.,  asking  us  to 
have  the  program  printed  in  Spanish, 
as  they  want  to  use  it  and  take  an  offer- 
ing for  Foreign  Missions. 

Last  year  one  of  the  Sunday  schools  in 
Japan  observed  Children's  Day  and 
raised  $5.00  and  forwarded  it  to  Box  884 
for  Foreign  Missions. 

The  Foreign  Society  furnishes  the  Chil- 
dren's Days  supplies  free  to  all  schools 
that  will  observe  Children's  Day  and  take 
an  offering  for  foreign  missions.  The 
supplies  consist  of  programs,  "Jesus' 
Forest  Children,"  coin  pocket  collectors 
and  leaflets  for  teachers.  In  ordering 
supplies,  state  the  average  attendance  of 
your  Sunday  school. 

A  number  of  schools  last  year  aver- 
aged $1.00  per  pupil  for  their  Children's 
Day  offering.  Every  school  should  aim 
this  year  to  average  $1.00  for  each  pupil 
in  the  school.  This  is  not  a  great  sacri- 
fice for  the  American  children. 

FOR  SALE 

Twenty-eight-acre  farm,  V/z  miles 
east  of  Hiram  College;  well  built  seven- 
room  house,  furnace,  split  cobblestone 
chimney  and  fireplace;  fine  water,  good 
shade,  fruit,  alfalfa;  8  A.  sugar  bush  and 
equipment;  $3,600.  Paul  L.  Wilson,  Gar- 
rettsville,  Ohio. 


M I  WW 


SCHOOL 


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(Established  1858) 
THE  C.  S.  BELL  CO.,  HILLSBORO,  OHIO 


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We  can  make  prompt  shipments. 
Order  Now.  Finest  quality  and  most 
satisfactory  in  every  way.  Order  by 
size  of  boot. 

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VJ  .  D..J   and  clip  for  you  daily  everything 
c  lVCall  printed  in  the  current  country 
and  city  press  of  America  pertaining  to  the  sub- 
ject of  particular  interest  to  you. 

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k<vn«|iu|>viii  which  would  inform  you 
exclusively  of  where  you  can  secure  new  busi- 
ness, an  order  or  a  contract;  where  a  new  store 
has  been  started,  a  new  firm  incorporated  or  a 
contract  is  to  be  let.  A  daily  press  clipping 
service  means  more  business. 

For  YOU     Send  Stamp  for  Booklet 

The  Consolidated  Press  Clipping  Company 

MANHATTAN  BUILDING,  CHICAGO 


The  Bethany 

Graded  Lessons 


Afford  the  very  best  study  material  for  the  work  of  the  mod- 
ern Sunday  school.  Their  growing  popularity  is  notable. 
Some  of  our  leading  schools  have  used  them  for  years ;  othc 
are  coming  to  use  thern  as  they  learn  of  their  merits.  Here  is 
what  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  church  say  of  this  unsur- 
passed body  of  literature: 


Rev.  G.  W.  Knepper,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.:  "We  sought  the 
BEST,  and  we  use  the  BETHANY  GRADED." 

Rev.  P.  L.  Schuler,  Cedar  Rapids,  la.:  "No  course  so  satis- 
factory for  Primaries  and  Juniors." 

Rev.  J.  J.  Tisdall,  Toledo,  O.:  "Especially  fine  for  Interme- 
diates." 

Rev.  I.  S.  Chenoweth,  Philadelphia:  "Superior  to  anything 

we  have  seen;  have  used  it  for  years." 
Rev.  E.  H.  Wray,  Steubenville,  O.:   "None  better." 
Rev.  L.  O.  Bricker,  Atlanta,  Ga. :   "Absolutely  satisfactory; 

a  triumph  of  religious  educational  enterprise." 

Rev.  Frank  Waller  Allen,   Springfield,  111.:     "Without  a 

peer." 
Rev.  Chas.  M.  Watson,  Norfolk,  Va.:  "The  best  published." 
Rev.  Edgar  D.  Jones,  Bloomington,  111.:  "Gives  entire  satis- 
faction." 

Rev.  Finis  Idleman,  New  York:  "Means  a  new  day  in  re- 
ligious education." 

Rev.  E.  B.  Shively,  Paris,  Mo.:  "Produces  character  in  the 
Sunday-school." 

Rev.  H.  H.  Harmon,  Lincoln,  Neb.:  "Makes  the  teacher's 
work  a  real  joy." 

Rev.  Graham  Frank,  Liberty,  Mo.:  "School  is  delighted 
with  it." 

Rev.  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan,  Richmond,  Va.:  "Makes  teach- 
ing and  learning  easy." 

Rev.  L.  J.  Marshall,  Kansas  City,  Mo.:  "Thoroughly 
edited." 

Rev.  P.  J.  Rice,  El  Paso,  Texas:  "Nothing  that  compares 
with  it." 

Rev.  E.  M.  Waits,  Ft.  Worth,  Texas:  "The  best  published 
anywhere." 

Rev.  T.  E.  Winter,  Philadelphia:    "A  delight  to  all." 

AND  THERE  ARE  OTHERS.  YOUR  SCHOOL 
SHOULD  HAVE  THE  BETHANY.  SEND  FOR  RE- 
TURNABLE SAMPLES.    ADDRESS 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago 


' 


^■Illllltflllllllllllllllllllllllllfllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllltllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll^ 


The  Wisdom  of 
God's  Fools" 


AN  INSPIRING 
BOOK  BY  A  SPIR- 
ITUAL PREACHER 


Prof.  Arthur  S.  Hoyt,  D.D., 
°f  Auburn  Theological  Semi- 
nar}), N.  Y.,  writes  as  follows 
of  Edgar  DeWitt  Jones  in  a 
recent  ftHomiletic  Review*9  arti- 
cle on  'Three  American  Preach- 
ers," Dr.  J.  H.  Jowett,  Dr. 
Frederick  F.  Shannon  and  Dr. 
Edgar  DeWitt  Jones: 

"Dr.  Jones  feels  our  mysterious 
and  complex  life,  and  holds  that 
Christ  is  fitted  to  every  side  of 
our  nature,  and  must  rule  in  every 
province  and  institution  of  hu- 
man life.  He  is  a  man  of  imagi- 
nation and  feeling.  His  sermons 
are  full  of  life,  and  they  are  a 
word  to  real  life." 


iiii>uuiiiiiiiiiiiii!niiiiiii(iii!iiiHiiiHiii>iMi>n!ii,iniiiHniiiiiiiiniiinnHiuiiiui[i!Miiiinnn>niiiiiniuuuiHUMiiiiHiiiniiHiiiii!uiiiiiiuniiiiiiMUiuiiiniiiu 

3 

3 

Professor  Hoyt  says  of  Dr.  Jones' 
recent  book — 

"The  Wisdom  of  God's  Fools"     I 


AimmiimiiiiiiiiimiHiniiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiMHHHHiimi 


iiMiiMHiiiiiiniimiinmiiinuii 


HiumniiiMimiiiriimiKiiiiimiiiii 


"The  Wisdom  of  God's  Fools"  is  a 
book  of  vital  and  practical  interpre- 
tations of  Christian  truth  adapted  to 
the  popular  mind.  Here  we  have  the 
word  to  the  personal  life  through  its 
social  relationships.  There  is  no 
blurring  of  the  personal  nature  of  sin 
and  responsibility,  no  hiding  behind 
society,  no  impossible  dream  of  a 
redeemed  society  without  the  change 
in  individual  life ;  but  also  the  clear 
recognition  that  the  individual  cannot 
be  understood  or  fulfill  his  life  apart 
from  his  social  environment.  The 
individual  and  the  social  are  kept 
together,  as  they  are  in  fact  and  in 
the  gospel  of  Christ." 
I  i 

iilinHUIUUItlUUIIIinillUlillllllMIIIIUiniUlllllllllHMHIIIUIMnMllinilUIIIMMItltllllllNIIHUinillMHnnMIIIMMIIIIHIIlllllllUMIMIIIIINIMMMINIUMIIiniMniMllln 


Every  preacher  should  possess  a  copy  of  this  unusual  book,   price  $1.00  net 


Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  40th  Street  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


^niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiifliaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiEiiiiiiiiijif  f  iimiif  r? 


P5"- ^ 


Vol.  XXXIV 


May  17,  1917 


Number  20 


Is  Bernard  Shaw 
a  Christian? 

By  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan 


illilt 


CHICAGO 


i 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  17,  1917 


STUDENT  NURSES,  SENIOR  AND  JUNIOR  CLASSES,  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  HOSPITAL,  KANSAS  CITY,  MISSOURI 

THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN  OF  TODAY 

This  is  literal  and  real  obedience  to  the  Savior's  "Go  and  do  thou  likewise."  It  is  even  an  improvement  upon 
the  parable,  as  it  ought  to  be  after  nineteen  centuries  of  Christian  progress.  It  multiplies  the  Good  Samaritan's 
deed  by  thousands,  brings  it  to  the  highest  efficiency  that  modern  science,  transfigured  by  Christian  compassion, 
can  achieve,  and  guarantees  its  perpetual  repetition. 

The  generosity  of  R.  A.  Long  in  giving  over  $150,000  that  a  third  of  the  institution's  service  might  forever  be 
free,  the  readiness  with  which  the  people  of  Kansas  City  and  of  Missouri  supplied  more  than  $200,000  for  the 
initial  investment  challenge  the  interest  of  the  entire  brotherhood. 

Eventually  $1,000,000  or  more  will  be  invested  in  this  institution  and  what  is  now  the  entire  plant  will  be 
the  Administration  Building.  The  cost  of  the  property  today  is  $300,000,  and  $150,000  is  held  as  perpetual  en- 
dowment. There  are  134  beds  in  the  hospital,  and  from  40  to  60  graduate  and  student  nurses  are  employed.  Every 
detail  in  construction,   equipment  and  operation,  conforms  to  the  highest  standards  of  the  day. 

Dr.  Jabez  Jackson,  earnest  in  his  church  and  eminent  in  his  profession,  is  Chief  Surgeon,  and  Dr.  Frank  D. 
Dickson,  a  distinguished  specialist,  is  in  charge  of  the  Orthopedic  Ward,  which  was  specially  equipped,  and  is 
being  maintained  by  a  Christian  of  another  Communion  in  Kansas. 

Three  needs  are  insistent:  First.  For  Christion  young  women  who  have  had  at  least  a  full  High  School 
course,  to  take  the  training  as  nurses,  for  which  the  hospital  offers  unusual  advantages.  Second.  For  $1,800  to 
$2,000  per  month  of  additional  income  to  meet  the  cost  of  operation.  Third.  For  additional  buildings  to  meet 
the  growing  demands. 

Contrasting  in  size  and  cost,  but  not  otherwise,  is  the  $20,000  Christian  Hospital  of  the  National  Benevolent 
Association  at  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  which  has  twenty  beds  and  renders  especially  important  service  among  the 
thousands  of  students  who  attend  Valparaiso  University. 

One  of  the  most  urgent  needs  of  the  National  Benevolent  Association  is  a  suitably  located  hospital  for  in- 
curables. The  success  of  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement  will  not  only  provide  this,  and  meet  other  of  the 
needs  mentioned  above,  but  will  open  the  way  for  the  establishment  of  additional  hospitals  at  strategic  points. 

Men  and  Millions  Movement 

222  W.  Fourth  Street  CINCINNATI,  OHIO 


May  17,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


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PUBLISHED    WEEKLY    BY   THE    DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE    INTEREST    OF    THE    KINGDOM     OF    GOD 


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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS, 


700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


Disciples 

Publication 

Society 


The  Disciples,  Publica- 
tion Society  is  an  or- 
ganization through 
which  churches  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ 
seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. «    •    * 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *    *    ♦ 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

Dear  Friends: — I  believe  in  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  The  Christian  Century  and  wish  to  be  numbered  among 
those  who  are  supporting  your  work  in  a  substantial  nay  by  their  gifts. 


Enclosed  please  find 
S 


Name..., 
Address. 


Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage 

By  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON 

What  are  the  Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage? 
They  are  little  narrative  discourses  in  the  first 
person  by  a  genial  philosopher  who  talks  most 
interestingly  of  all  sorts  of  things.  But  they  are 
all  related  to  life.  Whether  the  writer  picks  up 
his  story  on  a  trolley  car  or  in  his  garden  or 
out  of  the  visit  of  a  crank  or  book  agent,  he 
always  says  something  that  relates  to  some 
practical  experience.  You  will  agree  to  that, 
if  you  are  reading  the  Parables  as  published 
in  The  Christian  Century. 

Some  readers  say  the  Parables  are  the  best 
bits  of  humor  now  appearing  in  any  magazine  in 
America.  They  poke  fun  at  all  sorts  of  follies 
and  foibles,  but  they  have  a  strong  element  of 
good  sense,  and  their  laugh  is  always  on  the 
right  side.  They  have  been  copied  into  many 
papers;  have  served  as  themes  for  sermons  and 
addresses;  have  pointed  many  morals  and 
adorned  many  tales. 

The  Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage  is  a  handsome 

volume  of  nearly  200  pages,  and  the  Parables 

are   printed   in   large,   clear  type   on   excellent 

paper.    More  than  fifty  parables  are  included. 

Price  per  copy,  $1.25 

Order  today. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago,  111. 


The  Life  of  Jesus 

By  Dr.  LOA  E.  SCOTT 

A  fine  course  for  summer  study.  Send 
for  a  copy  and  consider  it  for  your  class. 
There  are  several  reasons  for  the  popu- 
larity of  this  course:  (1)  It  is  a  treatment 
of  the  ever-popular  subject  of  study,  the 
life  of  the  Master;  (2)  It  is  a  question  and 
answer  study;  (3)  It  requires  constant 
use  of  the  Bible  itself. 

Many  classes  have  been  transformed 
into  real  study-classes  by  the  use  of  this 
book.    Why  not  try  it  in  your  class? 

Price  per  copy,  50  cents ;  in  lots  of  10  or 
more,  40  cents  each. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago,  111. 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  17,  1917 


1 ,200  COPIES  SOLD 

IN  KANSAS  CITY  ALONE 


Dr.  Burr  is  A.  Jenkins'  Popular  Volume 

"The  Man  in  the  Street 
and  Religion" 

A   book   containing  the  Kansas    City  preacher's  message  and    his 
personal  philosophy  of  life. 

One  of  the  livest  and  most  readable 
statements  of  modern  faith  which  the  pres- 
ent year  has  brought  forth.  The  following 
extract  from  the  first  chapter  suggests  the 
point  of  view  and  atmosphere  of  this 
fascinating  book: 

"To  look  upon  the  seething  mass  of  men  in  the 
city  streets,  or  on  the  country  side,  the  navvy  in 
the  ditch  or  on  the  right-of-way,  the  chauffeur 
and  the  engine  man,  the  plumber  and  the  pluto- 
crat, the  man  with  the  hoe  and  the  man  with  the 
quirt,  the  clerk  and  the  architect,  the  child  of  the 
silver  spoon  and  the  child  of  the  rookery,  and  to 
declare  that  all  alike  are  religious,  naturally  re- 
ligious, seems  a  daring  stand  to  take.  But  that 
is  the  precise  position  to  which  we  are  beginning 
to  come." 

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The  Christian  Century  Press 

700  E.  40th  Street  .\  Chicago 


hristian  Century 


CHARLES  C1AYTON  MORBIEON,  EDITOR. 


MEET    J..    WIILBR,    OOHTEXBVTDrO    EDITOR. 


-■    I..   '.'JS 


Volume  XXXIV 


MAY  17.  1917 


Number  20 


-■        ■-'■■»  ■- '  i^~ 


The  Church's  Hour 


NEW  OPPORTUNITIES  HAVE  COME  TO 
CHRISTIAN  PEOPLE. 

In  times  past  the  church  has  not  always  seen  its  op- 
portunities until  it  was  too  late.  Today  the  nation  faces 
the  supreme  hour  of  its  history,  and  it  will  undoubtedly 
appreciate  and  respond  to  any  organization  that  strengthens 
its  hands. 

Will  the  church  recognize  this  day? 

The  church  has  two  things  to  consider,  the  message 
it  shall  deliver  and  the  service  which  it  shall  render.  Both 
are  "practical"  in  the  present  situation. 

There  are  a  few  preachers  who  are  misinterpreting  the 
war  and  using  their  pulpits  for  unpatriotic  utterances.  To 
'  call  the  present  war  "a  war  for  Wall  street,"  as  a  few  have 
done,  is  to  show  a  lamentable  ignorance  of  historic  move- 
ments. Economics  is  important,  but  our  economic  preju- 
dices should  not  obscure  our  historic  judgment.  The 
.  present  war  is  a  war  in  behalf  of  democracy.  If  it  fails, 
democracy  will  be  retarded  five  hundred  years.  The  church, 
which  is  essentially  a  democratic  organization,  cannot 
quietly  witness  the  hazard  in  which  free  nations  are  placed. 

Not  only  are  there  a  few  radical  pulpits  which  have 
erred  by  manifesting  a  sour  and  critical  spirit  toward  the 
•  nation,  but  there  are  many  more  conservative  pulpits  in 
which  there  has  been  no  recognition  of  the  new  problems 
arising  out  of  the  war.  These  days  demand  from  us  a 
fresh  interpretation  of  faith  in  God,  the  use  of  prayer,  the 
principle  of  sacrifice,  the  hope  of  the  kingdom  and  the  hope 
of  everlasting  life.  The  close  relationship  of  patriotism 
and  religion  is  not  to  be  obscured,  but  emphasized. 

•     • 

There  are  obvious  responsibilities  resting  upon  the 
church  with  regard  to  her  own  men  who  are  going  into 
service.  A  church  of  our  acquaintance  held  a  special  serv- 
ice in  honor  of  the  boys  of  the  congregation  who  had  en- 
listed. These  young  men  will  not  soon  forget  the  interest 
and  love  of  their  home  church- 
Army  life  is  full  of  grave  moral  perils,  as  we  all  know, 
The  present  administration  has  put  into  effect  drastic  orders 
with  regard  to  liquor  and  other  immoral  influences  about 
training  camps.  It  is  impossible,  however,  for  the  govern- 
ment to  do  everything.  The  church  that  acts  wisely  will 
remember  its  men  in  service  with  sympathetic  letters  which 
will  serve  to  keep  up  their  religious  enthusiasm  and  key 
them  up  for  the  moral  fight  they  must  make  within  the 
ranks.  We  have  a  right  to  appeal  to  every  one  of  these 
men  to  do  his  bit  for  Jesus  Christ. 

Cooperation  with  the  Red  Cross  ought  to  be  possible 
for  every  citizen,  no  matter  how  thorough -going  a  pacifist 
he  may  think  he  is.    The  Friends  of  England,  although  they 


have  protested  against  war  for  hundreds  of  years,  and  al- 
though their  men  have  refused  to  enlist  even  in  this  war  for 
the  liberty  of  the  world,  have  found  honorable  place  m  the 
active  service  of  the  Red  Cross.  Churches  are  in  some 
cases  setting  up  a  standard  of  "half  the  membership  en- 
listed in  the  Red  Cross  as  contributing  members." 

•    • 

There  will  also  be  hard  work  aplenty  which  must  be 
done  to  furnish  the  Red  Cross  with  necessities.  Comfort 
bags  containing  material  for  simple  bandages,  mending  ma- 
terials and  a  Bible  are  to  be  distributed  to  all  soldiers  and 
sailors.  Some  of  these  bags  will  be  sent  out  by  other  or- 
ganizations with  cigarette  material  included,  but  no  Bible. 
The  church  has  the  opportunity  to  turn  Aid  societies  into 
sewing  circles  where  splendid  Christian  work  can  be  done 
for  the  comfort  of  soldiers  and  sailors.  Many  of  us  need 
to  give  our  hands  to  some  act  of  toil  to  realize  fully  the 
Christian  sympathy  the  times  demand.  The  labor  of  our 
women's  hands  will  bring  to  the  community  a  realizing 
sense  of  the  great  emergency  that  is  upon  us. 

In  these  trying  days  many  families  will  be  left  with 
meager  support,  through  the  loss  of  strong  men.  However 
wisely  the  conscription  bill  is  enforced,  there  will  be  mis- 
takes and  disasters  just  as  there  have  always  been  with  the 
volunteer  system.  This  will  create  a  new  need  for  relieving 
the  wants  of  the  poor.  The  reign  of  high  prices  will  bring 
problems  to  families  which  have  no  men  in  the  war. 

It  is  for  these  reasons  that  the  church  must  now  take 
a  new  interest  in  preventing  poverty,  if  possible,  and  in 
relieving  it  when  it  occurs.  Each  church  should  find  joy  in 
caring  for  its  own  families. 

With  our  men  in  the  ranks,  our  women  in  the  Red 
Cross  service,  our  ministers  generously  volunteering  for 
religious  work  among  the  enlisted  men  and  women,  and 
with  an  adequate  war  program  for  the  local  church,  no  one 
will  be  able  to  accuse  the  church  of  being  a  "slacker." 

Yet  let  us  not  think  that  these  things,  splendid  as  they 
will  be  if  we  can  do  them,  constitute  the  church's  greatest 
service  in  war-time.  We  are  to  bring  to  the  whole  citizen- 
ship such  conceptions  of  religion  as  shall  steady  the  people 
and  make  them  ready  for  any  evil  thing  that  shall  happen. 
No  prudent  man  at  this  hour  would  attempt  to  say  whether 
the  cause  we  represent  shall  immediately  triumph.  No  one 
knows  what  reverses  we  may  suffer  along  the  way.  If, 
however,  our  people  are  in  right  spirit,  they  will  neither 
gloat  over  a  fallen  enemy,  nor  will  they  on  the  other  hand 
grow  panicky  in  times  of  reverses.  We  are  to  bring  the 
sense  of  God's  presence  to  our  people  and  give  them  the 
overwhelming  .desire  to  do  God's  will  as  it  shall  be  revealed 
to  us. 


EDITORIAL 


MOBILIZING    OUR   NATIONAL    ENERGY    FOR 

THE  WAR 

IT  IS  a  new  experience  for  prodigal  America  to  be  short 
of  food.     In  spite  of  the  garden  movement  and  the 

conservation  movement,  we  shall  probably  continue  to 
lack  sufficient  food  supplies.  The  submarine  is  sending 
to  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  large  stores  which  this  country 
had  consigned  to  the  allies. 

The  economic  argument  alone  would  be  sufficient  to 
convince  a  thoughtful  citizen  that  we  should  close  our 
distilleries  and  saloons  during  the  war.  The  millions  of 
bushels  of  grain  now  being  wasted  to  lower  the  efficiency 
of  our  citizens  should  be  diverted  to  building  it  up.  War 
brings  great  moral  strain,  and  England  has  found  to  her 
sorrow  that  liquor  has  been  her  most  serious  enemy.  She 
has  temporized  with  this  ancient  enemy  by  cutting  down 
the  production  of  liquor  one-half.  In  this  country  we 
should  go  all  the  way  and  abolish  this  source  of  national 
weakness. 

The  liquor  people  are  alert  to  meet  the  national  demand 
for  prohibition  by  the  proposal  to  levy  an  additional  tax  on 
their  business.  They  are  wise  enough  to  know  that  the 
larger  the  holdings  of  Uncle  Sam  in  the  business,  the  more 
unwilling  he  will  be  to  sell  out  his  interest. 

We  are  happy  to  endorse  entirely  the  proposal  of  the 
American  Temperance  Board  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ : 

The  American  Temperance  Board  urges  upon  all  our  churches 
and  leaders  the  imperative  duty  of  immediate  action.  Let  every 
congregation,  Sunday  school,  Christian  Endeavor  society,  all  con- 
ventions, large  or  small,  send  at  once  a  ringing  appeal  to  their 
congressmen  and  senators  and  to  President  Wilson,  urging  prohi- 
bition for  the  war.  Save  the  food  and  feed  the  nations;  use  the 
distilleries  to  make  commercial  alcohol ;  use  the  breweries  to  pack 
meat  and  fruits,  make  vinegar,  ice  and  other  useful  products ;  turn 
the  big  army  of  men  now  employed  by  the  liquor  trade  into  lines 
of  work  that  are  clamoring  for  help,  notably  the  farm,  or,  even 
where  an  employe  is  physically  fit,  let  him  show  his  patriotism  and 
enlist  in  the  army. 

THE  MINISTRY  OF  PRAYER 

PROTESTANT  churches  must  now  become  aware  that 
the  ministry  of  prayer  will  shortly  come  into  larger 

appreciation.  In  some  churches  it  has  been  the  habit 
to  count  the  time  wasted  until  the  beginning  of  the  sermon. 
Scores  of  people  can  be  seen  entering  the  churches  at  the 
earlier  stages  of  the  service.  The  importance  of  the  ser- 
mon will  be  eclipsed  in  days  to  come  by  the  glory  of  the 
hour  of  worship,  if  we  shall  indeed  be  able  to  satisfy  the 
heart-hunger  of  our  people. 

In  Scotland  there  was  a  certain  hard-headed  infidel 
who  had  all  his  life  spoken  ill  of  religion.  When  his 
boy  went  into  the  army  he  began  attending  the  church 
for  the  sake  of  the  prayers.  When  asked  by  his  friends 
why  he  changed,  he  said  sorrowfully,  "It  is  all  I  can  do." 
He  was  driven  from  his  spiritual  rebellion  by  the  awful 
emergencies  of  the  present  struggle. 

Cardinal  Mercier  has  described  the  prayer-life  in  Eu- 
rope in  these  significant  words :  "Men  long  unaccustomed 
to  prayer  are  turning  again  to  God.  Within  the  army, 
within  the  civil  world,  in  public  and  within  the  individual 
conscience,  there  is  prayer.  Nor  is  that  prayer  today  a 
word  learned  by  rote,  uttered  lightly  by  the  lip;  it  surges 
from  the  troubled  heart,  it  takes  the  form  at  the  feet  of 
God  of  the  very  sacrifice  of  life."  Pray  God  that  such  a 
spirit  may  fall  upon  our  America  and  her  soul  be  saved 
from  the  devastations  of  wealth  and  ease. 

There  is  no  more  reason  why  the  minister  should  go 


in  the  pulpit  unprepared  to  pray  than  that  he  should  go 
there  unprepared  to  preach.  We  can  no  more  easily  find 
noble  thoughts  for  the  prayer  hour  than  for  the  sermon 
hour.  The  levity,  the  smartness  of  many  an  evangelical 
minister  must  give  way  to  seriousness  in  the  presence  of 
the  deep  things  of  God. 

The  noble  prayer  thoughts  of  all  the  past  should  be- 
come known  to  us,  not  that  we  should  be  bound  by  them, 
but  that  we  may  be  inspired  by  them.  We  may  well  turn 
to  twenty  centuries  of  Christian  history  and  to  our  Lord 
who  has  lived  through  them  and  say,  "Teach  us  to  pray." 

PUBLICITY  AND  RELIGIOUS  WORK 

THE  meeting  of  the  Associated  Advertising  Clubs  of 
the  World  in  St.  Louis  will  have  as  one  of  its  sec- 
tions a  study  of  the  problem  of  church  publicity. 
This  was  organized  as  a  department  last  year  and  Rev. 
D.  F.  Weigle  of  Philadelphia  was  chosen  secretary.  Dr. 
Christian  F.  Reisner  is  president.  Men  of  various  de- 
nominations will  participate  in  the  discussions  at  St.  Louis, 
O.  F.  Jordan  representing  the  Disciples. 

The  highly  organized  religious  bodies  already  take  care 
of  their  publicity  interests  in  a  national  way,  and  the 
gatherings  of  Methodists  and  Episcopalians  are  particu- 
larly well  reported.  The  publicity  consciousness  among 
churches  of  congregational  polity  is  remarkably  low.  It 
was  many  days  before  Chicago  dailies  knew  that  Dr. 
Shailer  Mathews  was  elected  president  of  the  Northern 
Baptist  convention,  and  then  they  learned  of  it  by  accident ! 
Some  men  have  so  manifestly  hurt  their  reputations 
by  an  unwise  use  of  publicity,  that  many  preachers  blos- 
som by  the  roadside,  unseen  and  unheard  of,  rather  than 
commit  the  same  error.  Just  becausq  some  man  has 
become  ridiculous  by  sending  a  post  card  to  the  newspapers 
every  time  somebody  joins  his  church  on  statement,  is  no 
reason,  however,  why  the  wise  pastor  may  not  help  him- 
self, his  church  and  the  kingdom  by  letting  the  world  know 
of  interesting  things  happening  in  his  parish. 

Newspapers  are  rapidly  opening  up  their  pages  to 
religious  matter.  They  demand  a  type  of  news  that  will 
be  read.  They  do  not  want  the  bromide  of  academic  dis- 
cussion, nor  on  the  other  hand  do  they  want  the  personal 
puffs  of  some  egotist.  They  will  print  the  live  human 
things  that  happen  in  connection  with  religion.  _ 

We  need  a  publicity  consciousness  among  the  Disci- 
ples, both  in  the  parish  and  in  the  nation. 

MINISTERS  GOING  INTO  BUSINESS 

WE  ARE  indebted  to  the  American  Home  Mission- 
ary for  pointing  out  to  us  the  alarming  drift  of 
Disciple  ministers  into  business.  The  figures  from 
the  year-book  indicate  that  in  1914  there  were  519  minis- 
ters in  business;  in  1915,  770;  1916,  832;  and  in  1917,  987. 
In  a  five-year  period  we  shall  probably  see  a  doubling  of 
the  number  of  ministers  going  into  business.  Why  is 
this  so? 

In  the  first  place,  powerful  influences  among  the  Disci- 
ples have  opposed  an  adequate  training  of  the  ministry. 
They  have  tried  to  make  our  colleges  say  Shibboleth  with 
their  peculiar  pronunciation.  As  a  result,  hundreds  of  men 
have  gone  into  the  ministry  from  short-course  institutions 
and,  working  by  the  side  of  highly  trained  men  in  other 
communions,  they  have  fallen  by  the  wayside.  The  remedy 
for  this  condition  is  too  obvious  to  mention. 


May  17,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


In  the  second  place,  even  well-trained  ministers  have 
been  known  to  leave  the  ministry,  though  in  a  much 
smaller  percentage.  There  has  been  an  enormous  increase 
in  living  expenses,  but  the  churches  have  not  kept  pace  in 
the  way  of  salary.  In  Chicago,  a  carpenter  has  an  income 
of  fifteen  hundred  a  year;  many  ministers  accept  less,  with 
all  of  those  expenses  which  are  incident  to  public  life. 
Men  devoted  to  their  families  sometimes  quit  the  ministry 
in  order  to  rescue  their  wives  from  drudgery  and  to  give 
their  children  an  education.  A  little  more  liberality  among 
the  churches  would  prevent  this. 

While  these  two  explanations  will  hold  for  a  majority 
of  cases,  can  it  be  possible  that  the  worldly  spirit  has  en- 
tered into  some  ministers?  Have  they  proved  unwilling 
to  forsake  riches  for  the  sake  of  the  kingdom  of  God? 
It  will  be  a  sorry  time  for  the  churches  when  a  large  num- 
ber of  ministers  become  commercialized,  trying  at  the  same 
time  to  serve  God  and  mammon.  A  minister,  of  course, 
has  a'  duty  to  provide  for  his  own,  as  does  every  other  man. 
It  is  to  be  doubted  whether  the  pursuit  of  this  world's 
goods  to  any  further  extent  than  this  increases  a  minister's 
power  for  good. 


A  VICTORY  AT  YALE 


THE  overturning  of  ancient  custom  is  a  difficult  thing 
in  academic  circles.     In  a  great  old  university  like 

Yale,  they  rightly  hold  to  many  practices  that  the 
continuity  of  life  in  the  school  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion may  be  kept  up. 

It  is  clear,  however,  that  with  the  growth  of  moral 
sentiment  there  is  sure  to  be  a  survival  of  customs  which 
are  detrimental.  It  requires  the  courage  of  some  re- 
former to  break  old  customs  and  replace  them  with  new 
ones. 

Ex-President  Taft  has  not  been  known  as  particularly 
keen  on  the  matter  of  prohibition,  and  therefore  his  recent 
request  that  Yale  reunions  should  be  "dry"  this  year  is  the 
more  noteworthy.  He  has  sent  out  a  request  to  21,500 
graduates  of  the  institution  making  the  request  that  no 
alcoholic  drinks  should  be  served  at  the  class  reunions. 

The  reason  assigned  for  this  action  on  the  part  of 
Mr.  Taft  is  even  more  remarkable  than  the  request.  He 
wishes  to  influence  sentiment  in  the  nation  favorably  to- 
ward prohibition  during  the  war.  This  it  but  one  of  the 
many  interesting  evidences  that  the  nation  is  growing  rest- 
less over  the  enormous  economic  waste  of  using  liquor  in 
war-times.  The  alternative  is  whether  we  shall  have  drink 
for  the  fathers  or  bread  for  the  babies.  Really,  the  nation 
should  not  long  hesitate  between  these  alternatives. 

GETTING  STARTED  ON  THE  MINISTERIAL 

PENSION 

THE  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief  is  proceeding  actively 
with  its  plans  looking  in  the  direction  of  a  system  of 
ministerial  pensions.  The  old  charity  plan  of  caring 
for  dependents,  from  which  every  minister  prayed  God  to 
be  delivered,  is  to  be  superseded  by  the  new  system  in 
which  pensions  will  be  given  on  retirement  for  age  or 
disability.  As  the  minister  will  help  to  provide  his  own 
pension  by  making  a  personal  contribution  to  the  fund 
every  year,  the  stigma  of  charity  is  being  taken  away  from 
the  whole  enterprise. 

A  questionnaire  has  been  sent  to  all  our  ministers, 
seeking  information  as  to  family,  salary  now  received, 
other  compensation  received  and  other  facts  of  interest 


to  the  commission  having  the  matter  in  charge.  When  the 
returns  are  in  it  will  be  possible  to  fix  on  a  scientific  basis 
the  plans  for  the  future.  The  minister  is  to  be  asked  to 
provide  one-fifth  of  his  pension,  and  the  churches  four- 
fifths. 

Other  religious  bodies  have  been  raising  funds  running 
into  many  millions  of  dollars,  the  interest  on  which  will 
provide  for  ministerial  pensions.  The  Disciples  are  already 
late,  but  not  too  late  to  render  justice  to  our  ministers. 

As  soon  as  the  church  makes  adequate  provision  for 
the  servants  of  the  altar,  it  will  be  easier  to  secure  recruits 
for  the  ministry.  While  men  do  not  go  into  the  ministry 
for  mercenary  reasons,  it  is  right  that  they  have  some 
assurance  that  their  families  will  not  come  to  sorrow  be- 
cause  of  their  entering  the  service  of  the  church. 

The  efficiency  of  the  men  during  their  ministry  will 
also  be  increased.  Fear  of  the  future  and  the  economies 
sometimes  practiced  in  order  to  get  ready  for  the  rainy 
day  have  sometimes  proved  disastrous  to  a  successful  min- 
istry. The  ministerial  pension  assures  every  man  that  he 
and  his  family  will  have  subsistence,  at  least. 

The  gain  which  the  church  will  have  in  the  eyes  of 
the  public  will  be  enormous.  ,  How  can  the  church  urge 
old-age  pensions  on  secular  concerns,  if  she  fails  in  this 
duty  herself? 

PROTESTANTISM  SINCE  LUTHER 

IN  THESE  days  when  Protestant  journals  are  remem- 
bering with  gratitude  the  work  of  Martin  Luther,  there 
are  found  in  a  number  of  Catholic  journals  criticisms 
of  the  reformer  and  the  system  of  religious  thought  which 
he  originated.  Some  of  these  are  quite  as  captious  and 
superficial  as  some  Protestant  criticism  of  Roman  Catholic- 
ism. 

We  have  been  interested  in  the  suggestion  of  the 
Catholic  World,  however,  that  Protestantism  has  aposta- 
tised and  gone  back  to  a  doctrine  of  works,  though  not  to 
the  Catholic  doctrine.  Luther  taught  justification  by  faith 
alone.  The  writer  in  the  World  suggests  that  in  these 
days  there  is  a  general  lack  of  interest  in  faith  among 
Protestants,  and  that  in  place  of  faith  has  come  a  humani- 
tarianism  with  its  new  emphasis  upon  works,  which  are 
not  necessarily  related  to  faith.  It  is  then  represented 
that  Catholicism  is  a  combination  of  faith  and  works. 

This  is  the  distorted  statement  of  a  writer  who  prob- 
ably has  but  little  acquaintance  with  evangelical  churches. 
Protestantism  has  changed  since  Luther's  day.  We  have 
not  exchanged  one  static  religion  for  another.  This  change 
is  the  evidence  of  the  vitality  of  our  religion,  for  living 
things  always  change.  There  is  today  a  new  interest  in 
humanitarianism,  but  it  can  hardly  be  described  as  eclips- 
ing the  religious  interests  of  our  churches.  We  are  so  far 
from  this  extreme  that  we  still  have  to  exhort  a  good  deal 
to  secure  the  funds  for  our  philanthropic  work. 

Nor  have  the  evangelical  churches  lost  interest  in  faith. 
Faith  with  us  is  not  acceptance  of  dogma,  but  the  practice 
of  a  living  fellowship  with  God  and  Christ.  Our  faith 
may  not  be  as  strong  as  it  should  be,  but  we  still  have  faith 
in  faith. 

The  chief  change  in  Protestantism  is  that  among  intel- 
ligent people  it  has  long  since  lost  its  negative  quality.  We 
are  far  less  interested  in  showing  up  the  errors  of  Rome 
than  in  finding  the  truth  and  in  giving  it  to  others. 


Why  I  Am  a  Disciple 


Sixth  Article — Minor   Reasons 


THEIR  VIEW  OF  THE  BIBLE 

A  VIEW  of  the  Bible  has  always  obtained  among  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  which  predisposes  their  move- 
ment favorably  toward  the  modern  scientific  view  of 
the  Scriptures.  I  heartily  accept  the  scientific  view  of  the 
Scriptures  and  therefore  find  myself  particularly  enthu- 
siastic as  to  this  traditional  view  held  by  the  Disciples.  It 
affords  a  basis  for  congeniality  of  mind  which  I  hardly 
think  I  could  find  in  any  other  communion. 

Before  proceeding  further  to  discuss  the  point,  let  me 
remind  the  reader  that  I  am  not  urging  any  of  their  minor 
reasons  for  being  a  Disciple  as  though  they  were  decisive 
reasons.  They  are  not  decisive,  either  separately  or  taken 
altogether.  They  are  incidental  considerations  which  make 
my  fellowship  with  Disciples  congenial  and  intellectually 
comfortable.  Xor  are  they  the  reasons  I  would  urge  upon 
others  for  becoming  Disciples.  My  paramount  and  de- 
cisive reason  for  being  a  Disciple  is  found  on  the  level  of 
a  common  purpose  with  them,  not  on  the  level  of  intel- 
lectual affinity  with  them  in  this  or  that  doctrine  or  theory. 
Nevertheless,  any  such  affinity  has  a  value  of  its  own  and 
deserves  to  be  mentioned  as  part  of  the  explanation  of  my 
relation  to  the  Disciples.  So  with  the  particular  view  of 
the  Bible,  which  obtains  among  them.  I  could  be  a  Disciple 
if  they  held  the  same  orthodox  tradition  as  Presbyterians, 
for  example,  hold. 

Yet  I  count  it  a  good  fortune  that  I  find  the  Disciples 
from  the  beginning  committed  to  a  view  of  the  Bible  which 
to  me  seems  to  be  an  adumbration  of  the  modern  critical 
view  if  it  was  not  in  essence  and  principle  the  same  thing. 
At  any  rate,  the  fathers  of  the  Disciples  got  for  them- 
selves the  kind  of  odium  that  heresy  always  gets.  They 
were  called  infidels  on  account  of  their  free,  critical  use 
of  the  Bible.  They  were  cast  out  of  the  synagogue  of 
orthodox  fellowship  for  their  views  of  the  Scripture.  Had 
our  present-day  vocabulary  extended  back  into  their  time 
they  would  have  been  known  to  religious  history  as  "higher 
critics,"  if  not  "destructive  critics." 

Taking  it  in  large  outlines  and  disregarding  matters  of 
detail,  the  modern  science  of  historical  criticism  as  applied 
to  the  Bible  is  characterized  by  three  presuppositions  on 

the  basis  of  which  all  its  work  is  done. 

*     *     ^ 

First,  modern  criticism  takes  the  Bible  as  a  normally 
human  book,  written  by  real  men  at  definite  times  and 
places,  and  under  normal  human  conditions  and  circum- 
stances. It  can  be  understood  in  many  of  its  parts,  says 
modern  criticism,  only  if  it  is  taken  in  connection  with  its 
actual  historical  background.  To  assume  to  understand  it 
apart  from  this  historical  context  leaves  one  a  prey  to 
caprice  and  personal  bias  and  obscurantism.  This  critical 
or  scientific  view  of  the  Bible  is  contrasted  with  the  view 
which  regards  the  book  as  without  historic  origin,  a  sort 
of  literary  Melchisedek,  having  neither  father  nor  mother 
nor  any  genealogy  at  all.  In  a  sort  of  child-like  way  the 
latter  view  assumes  that  the  book  may  have  been  written 
in  heaven  by  the  fingers  of  God  himself,  and  passed  down 
to  man  in  a  more  or  less  miraculous  fashion.  The  re- 
sult of  such  a  view  is  that  the  Bible  becomes  more  than  a 
literary  medium  or  carrier  of  divine  truth ;  it  becomes  a 
sort  of  idol  or  fetish,  a  thing  which  in  itself  is  worthy  of 
worship. 

The  second  principle  of  modern  critical  study  of  the 


'  Bible  is  that  it  is  a  progressive  book.  It  grew.  It  not  only 
grew  in  the  accretion  of  its  literary  materials,  but  it  grew 
in  the  development  of  its  fundamental  ideas.  What  it 
started  with  is  not  the  same  as  that  with  which  it  ends. 
As  the  historical  development  of  the  Bible  goes  on  it  is 
continually  achieving  higher  and  higher  ground  of  knowl- 
edge and  interpreting  God  and  all  spiritual  realities  in 
fairer  and  richer  terms.  Modern  criticism  has  freed  us 
from  the  delusion  of  a  level  Bible,  a  Bible  all  of  whose 
parts  are  equal  in  value  or  authority  to  all  other  parts.  It 
shows  us  a  Bible  whose  earliest  parts — though  far  superior 
to  all  other  contemporary  religious  writing — are  ethically 
crude  in  comparison  to  the  later  portions  of  the  Bible  itself. 
As  the  Bible  develops  it  gets  better,  it  gets  truer,  it  reveals 
a  better  God,  a  more  open  and  more  ethical  pathway  to 
Him  and  it  touches  more  spiritual  motives  in  our  hearts  to 
draw  us  to  Him  in  fellowship,  worship  and  service.  The 
last  part  of  the  Bible,  says  the  higher  criticism,  is  the  judge 
and  standard  of  the  first.  The  New  Testament,  containing 
the  interpretation  of  God  which  Jesus  brought  to  men,  not 
merely  supplements  the  older  portions,  but  in  many  par- 
ticulars displaces  and  supersedes  them.  Thus  the  higher 
criticism  breaks  up  the  dead  level  of  the  Bible  and  teaches 
us  to  interpret  the  book  by  the  principles  of  growth  and 
progress. 

T*  *K  T* 

In  the  third  place,  modern  criticism  challenges  the 
correctness  of  the  particular  translations  of' the  Bible  to 
which  we  are  accustomed  and  seeks  to  make  the  most  clear 
'  and  adequate  translations,  at  the  same  time  investigating 
also  the  purity  and  authenticity  of  the  text  itself.  It  is 
very  easy  for  us  to  fall  under  the  spell  of  a  particular  trans- 
lation of  the  Scriptures  and  let  ourselves  uncritically  imag- 
ine that  the  translation  itself  is  somehow  inspired  and 
authoritative.  Likewise  we  all  tend  to  take  the  text  of  the 
Scripture  as  tradition  has  handed  it  down  to  us,  without 
questioning  as  to  how  it  came  to  be  in  just  this  form,  and 
whether  a  more  correct  arrangement  of  its  parts,  based 
on  thorough  historical  study,  is  possible.  These  are  lines 
of  investigation  into  which  Biblical  study  has  gone  far  in 
our  day,  in  many  cases  confirming  tradition  and  in  many 
cases  upsetting  it  and  giving  us  new  arrangements  of 
materials. 

In  my  study  of  the  history  and  character  of  the 
Disciples  I  have  been  impressed  for  many  years  with  the 
essential  likeness  of  their  characteristic  way  of  taking  the 
Bible  to  this  modern  scientific  way  of  taking  it.  The  simi- 
larity is  particularly  vivid  in  the  case  of  Alexander  Camp- 
bell, whose  originality  in  the  field  of  Biblical  interpretation 
was  his  most  distinguishing  characteristic.  My  thesis  in 
the  present  article  is  that  the  views  of  Mr.  Campbell  fore- 
shadowed the  views  of  modern  Biblical  scholarship  in 
these  three  particulars,  which  I  have  described  as  the  basic 
presuppositions  of  the  higher  criticism.  In  a  word,  I  like 
to  say  that  Mr.  Campbell  was  the  pioneer  higher  critic  of 
the  American  church,  that  he  was  a  higher  critic  before 
the  days  of  higher  criticism  and  that  the  Disciples  who  took 
their  basic  conceptions  of  the  Bible  from  Mr.  Campbell 
should  be,  as  I  am  inclined  to  think  they  are,  more  favor- 
ably disposed  toward  the  work  of  modern  Biblical  scholar- 
ship than  any  other  evangelical  communion. 

Mr.  Campbell's  fundamental  contention  about  the 
Bible  was  that  it  should  be  read  with  the  same  common 


May  17,  1917                                     THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  9 

'  sense  as  we  bring  to  the  study  of  any  other  body  of  liter-  the  literature  of  the  Judaic  dispensation  superseded  the 
ature.  He  could  not  think  of  it  as  a  magical  book  to  be  literature  of  the  patriarchal  and  the  literature  of  the  Chris- 
considered  apart  from  the  complex  historical  situations  tian  superseded  the  literature  of  the  Judaic.  These  sue- 
out  of  which  its  several  portions  came.  It  must  be  inter-  cessive  dispensations  were  called  the  starlight,  the  moon- 
preted  in  the  light  of  its  historical  setting.  He  was  light  and  the  sunlight  ages  of  the  world  respectively,  and 
continually  insisting  that  there  were  four  initial  questions  the  revelations  of  God  for  the  earlier  ages  were  not  only 
that  had  to  be  asked  about  a  given  portion  of  Scripture  supplemented,  but  often  annulled  by  the  revelations  of  the 
before  we  were  prepared  to  give  its  meaning:  Who  wrote  later  age.  We  Christians  living  in  the  Christian  dispensa- 
it?  To  whom  did  he  write  it?  Under  what  circumstances  tion  are  under  the  New  Testament  alone  and  not  under 
did  he  write  it?  What  purpose  was  in  his  mind  when  he  the  Old.  It  was  the  preaching  of  this  doctrine  before  the 
wrote  it?  Redstone  Association  of  Baptist  Churches  in  a  sermon  that 

These  inquiries  all  point  the  student  of  Scripture  to-  afterward  became  famous  that  led  to  the  tension  between 
ward  an  orientation  in  the  historical  situation  out  of  which  the  Campbellian  reformers  and  their  Baptist  brethren,  with 
the  particular  portion  under  examination  was  written.  It  whom  they  had  united  after  they  left  the  Presbyterian 
would  be  too  much  to  say  that  this  way  of  treating  the  household.  Mr.  Campbell  said  straight  out  that  we  were 
Scripture  was  original  with  Mr.  Campbell,  but  it  is  not  not  bound  by  the  law  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  only  by 
too  much  to  say  that  he,  more  than  his  contemporaries,  the  teaching  of  the  New.  This  proved  to  be  "destructive 
made  this  historical  method  conscious  and  fundamental  and  criticism"  with  a  vengeance,  to  the  minds  of  orthodox  Bap- 
systematic  in  his  own  thinking  and  teaching.  Mr.  Camp-  tists,  and  they  hurried  together  after  the  sermon  to  take 
bell's  method  carried  him  far  away  from  the  pseudo-super-  action  against  the  then  youthful  heretic, 
natural  view  of  the  Bible  prevalent  in  his  day  and  carried  From  that  day  to  this  the  Disciples  have  held  clearly 
him  just  as  far  in  the  direction  modern  criticism  has  gone  and  pertinaciously  to  that  view  of  the  Scripture.  It  has 
as  the  limited  historical  knowledge  possessed  by  his  genera-  been  basic  in  all  our  interpretations,  and  has  given  us  pre- 
tion  would  allow.  Had  Mr.  Campbell  had  at  his  com-  eminence  in  opposing  certain  religious  movements  based 
mand  the  great  fund  of  historical  resources  gathered  in  the  on  Old  Testament  authority,  as,  for  example,  the  Seventh 
past  seventy-five  years  his  own  principles  would  have  car-  Day  Adventist  movement.  From  the  standpoint  of  a  level 
ried  him  to  the  point  where  the  free  and  reverent  Christian  Bible  it  is  difficult  to  meet  the  Adventists  with  their  "Thus 
scholarship  of  today  stands.  saith  the  Lord."     But  the  Disciples,  holding  that  the  old 

Moreover,  Mr.  Campbell  was  particularly  unawed  by  law  and  the  whole  old  covenant  was  "nailed  to  the  cross" 

the  venerableness  of  any  particular  translation  and  felt  of  Christ,  are  able  to  silence  the  claims  of  Sabbatarianism 

quite  at  liberty  not  only  to  make  a  new  translation  of  his  where  none  else  can. 

own — as  he  did  in  the  volume  entitled  "The  Living  Oracles"  This  view  has  greatly  simplified  Christianity  and 
— but  to  critically  challenge  the  text  of  a  particular  por-  Christian  duty  for  thousands  of  souls.  There  is  no  doubt 
tion  of  the  Scripture — as  to  its  proper  place  in  the  con-  that  the  Old  Testament,  while  a  rich  asset  to  Christianity, 
text,  its  authorship  and  the  quality  of  its  teaching.  Here  is  also  a  considerable  liability.  It  helps  us  to  understand 
more  than  at  any  other  point  in  Mr.  Campbell's  method,  Christianity  when  once  we  are  made  to  distinguish  it  from 
he  fell  short  of  positive  fruitful  results,  due  to  the  utter  Christianity,  but  so  long  as  it  is  given  a  place  on  a  level 
lack  of  those  materials  which  scholarly  diligence  has  gath-  with  the  New  Testament  it  unduly  complicates  Christian 
ered  since  his  day.  I  do  not  wish  to  claim  too  much  for  truth  and  obscures  the  simple  Christian  way  of  life, 
him  at  this  point,  but  I  am  impelled  by  his  whole  attitude  Let  me  repeat — I  am  not  saying  that  Mr.  Campbell's 
to  say  that  he  was  facing  it  in  precisely  the  same  direction  view  of  the  progressiveness  of  the  Bible  is  the  same  as  the 
as  higher  criticism.  He  would  have  been  of  all  men  most  modern  view.  It  is  not  the  same.  His  covenant  or  dispen- 
able  without  a  tremor  to  consider  such  questions  as  the  sational  concept  was  a  legalistic,  clumsy  and  artificial  device 
composite  authorship  of  the  Pentateuch,  or  the  literary  as  compared  to  the  concept  of  a  vital  and  gradual  unfold- 
rather  than  the  historical  character  of  the  book  of  Jonah,  ing  of  the  knowledge  of  God  in  the  experience  of  the 
or  the  dual  authorship  of  Isaiah.  He  would  have  been  as  Hebrew  people  and  through  the  teaching  of  their  prophets 
fearless  as  Ewald,  or  Wellhausen,  or  Driver,  assured  all  and  seers.  But  it  is  like  the  modern  view  in  that  it  de- 
the  time  that  his  faith  in  the  Bible  could  not  be  disturbed  cisively  abandons  the  static,  level  concept  for  the  growing, 
by  the  might  of  the  evidence  no  matter  on  which  side  it  dynamic,  progressive  concept,  and  that  after  all  is  the 
might  fall.  essential  and  chief  thing.    Had  Mr.  Campbell  lived  in  an 

*     *     *  age  in  which  the  more  vital  evolutionary  concepts  were 

T      ,       :  .   ,     ,              ,             .                     ,     „    , ,  known  he  would  undoubtedly  have  thought  of  the  Bible  in 

In  the  third  place,  and  most  important  of  all,  Mr.  .        terms 

Campbell  and  the  early  reformers  with  him  conceived  of 

5fc  lit  5*C 

the  Bible  as  a  progressive  book,  not  a  book  of  one  level, 

but  of  many  levels,  a  book  which,  growing  in  history,  was  All  this  makes  me  glad  that  I  am  a  Disciple.  I  cannot 
continually  rising  to  higher  levels  of  truth  and  authority,  think  of  this  eminent  Biblical  critic,  Alexander  Campbell, 
It  is  true  that  he  did  not  express  this  view  in  the  evolution-  and  of  the  principles  of  Biblical  interpretation  with  which 
ary  terms  to  which  we  are  today  accustomed.  These  he  so  saturated  the  thinking  of  the  whole  Disciples'  move- 
terms  and  this  concept  of  evolution  were  not  formed  yet.  ment,  without  blushing  with  shame  in  the  presence  of  such 
But  he  broke  away  from  the  old  static  conception  of  a  level  reactionism  as  we  see  illustrated  among  us  occasionally, 
Bible  as  radically  as  modern  criticism  has  broken  away  and  now  rather  conspicuously  at  the  "trial"  of  certain 
from  it.  Biblical  professors  in  Transylvania  College  for  alleged 
Mr.  Campbell  and  the  early  Disciple  reformers  saw  in  teaching  of  "destructive  criticism."  All  such  attacks  upon 
the  Bible  three  distinct  bodies  of  literature  interpreting  free,  reverent  Christian  scholarship  are  but  a  reversion  to 
three  successive  dispensations — the  patriarchal,  the  Judaic  the  very  type  of  thing  which,  in  principle  if  not  in  fact,  Mr. 
and  the  Christian.  As  the  Judaic  superseded  the  patriarchal  Campbell  and  the  Disciples  have  ever  stood  strongly 
and  the  Christian  superseded  the  Judaic  dispensations,  so  against.                           Charles  Clayton  Morrison. 


Is  Bernard  Shaw  a  Christian? 


TO  a  certain  type  of  mind  our  ques- 
tion is  answered  as  soon  as  asked. 
Indeed,  it  has  no  business  to  be 
asked.  Everybody  knows  that  Ber- 
nard Shaw  is  not  a  member  of  any 
church,  adheres  to  no  form  of  Chris- 
tian confession,  writes  plays  that  the 
censor  refuses  to  license,  holds  dan- 
gerous views  about  marriage,  is  a  so- 
cialist, makes  fun  of  the  martyrs, 
writes  such  sentences  as  this:  "(The 
Apostle  Paul)  is  no  more  a  Christian 
than  Jesus  was  a  Baptist."  There- 
fore, it  is  concluded  that  he  is  not  only 
not  a  Christian,  but  an  enemy  against 
which  Christianity  would  do  well  to  be 
on  its  guard. 

But  the  question  is  not  as  easily  set- 
tled as  that,  and  it  occurs  to  me  that 
the  best  way  to  settle  the  matter  is  to 
let  Shaw  settle  it  for  us.  "He  that  is 
of  age  ask  him." 

PARADOXICAL,   ELUSIVE 

A  difficulty,  however,  presents  it- 
self. Shaw  at  his  best  and  truest  is  a 
playwright,  and  everyone  knows  how 
hard  it  is  to  determine  the  personal  be- 
liefs of  a  dramatist  from  those  of  the 
people  in  his  plays.  The  better  the 
dramatist,  the  more  objective,  and 
while  undoubtedly  even  Shakespeare 
sometimes  speaks  in  propria  persona, 
one  can  seldom  say  quite  positively : 
"This  is  Shakespeare  and  this  is  Ham- 
let or  Prospero." 

Furthermore,  Shaw  is  the  most 
paradoxical  of  writers  and  takes  a 
whimsical  delight,  as  he  himself  puts 
it,  in  puzzling  "journeyman  brains." 
To  the  dogmatically  minded  he  is  as 
elusive  as  the  flea  of  his  native  coun- 
try. He  is  the  original  "three-card- 
monte"  man  of  literature.  This  is 
true  even  of  his  prefaces,  which  are 
supposed  to  justify  and  explain  his 
plays,  but  which,  while  they  always 
interest,  amuse  and  shock  us,  do  not 
always  leave  us  clear  as  to  how  far 
we  can  take  them  at  their  face  value. 

Bearing  these  difficulties  in  mind, 
let  us  see  what  we  can  discover,  bear- 
ing on  our  question,  about  Bernard 
Shaw,  the  man,  his  theological  opin- 
ions, his  ethical  faiths,  his  social  mes- 
sage. 

SHAW  THE  MAN 

It  is  somewhat  of  a  paradox  that 
so  little  is  known  of  the  private  his- 
tory of  a  figure  who  has  been  so  much 
in  the  limelight  for  the  last  twenty 
years.  Yet  what  is  known  reveals  a 
strong,  self-reliant,  courageous  and 
honorable  character.  His  home  life 
has  been  clean  and  happy — which, 
when  we  remember  Shelley,  Byron, 
Ruskin,  Carlyle,  Dickens  and  John 
Wesley,  is  something  to  the  credit  of 


By  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan 

genius.  Always  an  indefatigable 
worker,  at  one  time,  as  he  tells  in  his 
preface  to  "Three  Plays  for  Puri- 
tans," he  once  "dealt  with  music  and 
pictures  together  in  the  spare  time  of 
an  active  revolutionist  and  wrote  plays 
and  books  and  other  toilsome  things 
into  the  bargain."  His  personal  hab- 
its are  almost  ascetic. 

Add  to  this  the  fact  that  he  thinks 
of  life  in  terms  of  service  and  prac- 
tices his  creed.  From  the  days  when 
a  young  man  he  spoke  to  the  Hyde 
Park  rabble  on  socialism  and  single- 
tax,  to  his  recent  war  articles  he  has 
put  himself  at  the  service  of  the  peo- 
ple, not  always  to  their  satisfaction, 
but  generally,  I  think,  for  their  good. 

I  have  made  these  brief  jottings 
about  the  man's  private  life  and  char- 
acter because  I  cannot  conceive  of  the 
question  of  his  Christian  status  being 
decided  without  that  evidence  in.  For, 
after  all,  life  is  the  final  creed. 

THEOLOGY 

Coming  to  his  theological  opinions 
we  have  more  material  to  work  on; 
for,  as  it  happens,  Shaw  has  con- 
descended in  the  preface  to  "An- 
drocles  and  the  Lion"  to  enlighten  us 
as  to  his  views  about  Jesus  and  the 
beginnings  of  Christianity.  It  is  a 
long  document,  covering  127  pages  and 
along  with  the  play  itself  is,  despite 
the  inevitable  Shavian  paradox,  un- 
doubtedly meant  to  be  a  sincere  ap- 
praisement of  Christianity  for  the 
needs  of  the  modern  world. 

The  sub-title  of  the  Preface  is  sig- 
nificant :  "Why  not  give  Christianity 
a  trial?"  It  was,  I  believe,  Matthew 
Arnold  who  once,  on  being  asked  if 
Christianity  was  a  failure,  replied: 
"I  did  not  know  it  had  ever  been 
tried."  Evidently,  Shaw,  the  Re- 
former, agrees  with  Arnold,  the  Critic. 
But  this  raises  the  question,  What  is 
Christianity?  to  which  the  Preface  is 
an  attempted  answer — more  stimulat- 
ing and  practical,  I  venture  to  think, 
and  not  less  true,  on  the  whole,  than 
Harnack's  or  Loisy's  essays  in  the 
same  field,  both  of  whom,  by  the  way, 
call  themselves  Christians. 

MIRACLES 

Miracles  "in  the  sense  of  phenom- 
ena we  cannot  explain,"  he  finds  on 
the  whole  not  only  credible,  but  com- 
mon. Specific  miracles  will  be  accept- 
ed or  rejected,  according  to  taste. 
Christ's  miracles  of  healings  are  no 
more  to  be  rejected  than  the  similar 
results  of  Christian  Science.  He  rec- 
ognizes the  fact  which  is  a  common- 
place of  modern  thought,  that  its 
miraculous    accompaniments    are    the 


gravest  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
acceptance  of  Christianity  by  culti- 
vated people.  The  whole  question, 
however,  he  concludes  is  irrelevant. 
Miracle  may  demonstrate  power  and 
good  will,  but  not  the  truth  of  a  doc- 
trine or  the  divinity  of  a  person. 
About  the  "person"  of  Jesus  he  is 
far  less  in  line  with  any  possible  or- 
thodoxy. He  denies  categorically  any 
theological  divinity  save  that  which  all 
men  possess  in  their  degree.  He  uses 
such  language  as  this :  "Jesus  now  be- 
came obsessed  with  a  conviction  of 
His  divinity."  The  man  Jesus,  how- 
ever, elicits  his  unqualified  admiration. 
The  "meek  and  lowly"  tradition  rouses 
his  ire.  He  cannot  even  find  that  pic- 
ture of  him  in  the  gospels.  On  the 
contrary,  he  finds  him  the  most  red- 
blooded  of  men,  the  type  of  all  right- 
minded  militancy,  not  disdaining  the 
use  of  physical  force  when  it  was 
necessary  to  conserve  his  ideals. 

LITTLE  SYMPATHY  WITH   PAUL 

He  is  much  less  sympathetic  towards 
Paul,  whom  he  declares  to  be  an  "in- 
corrigible Roman  rationalist,"  wholly 
misunderstanding  the  mission  of  Jesus. 
Especially  severe  is  his  criticism  of 
the  Adam  and  Eve  theory  of  the  fall 
and  the  whole  religion  of  magical  re- 
demption which  Paul  builds  thereon. 

In  a  word,  he  insists  that  there  are 
two  "Christian"  religions  in  the  world 
— one  the  religion  of  Jesus  that  has 
never  been  tried,  and  the  other  the 
religion  of  Paul,  the  only  one  that  has 
been  tried — and  failed.  Of  course, 
he  is  too  hard  on  Paul ;  but  his  berate- 
ment  of  him  seems  almost  worth  while 
when  you  come  by  way  of  contrast 
upon  this  description  of  the  mission 
of  Jesus  as  conceived  by  Himself: 
"He  was  to  take  away  the  sins  of  the 
world  by  good  government,  by  justice 
and  mercy,  by  setting  the  welfare  of 
little  children  above  the  pride  of 
princes,  by  casting  all  the  quackeries 
and  idolatries  which  now  usurp  and 
malversate  the  power  of  God  into 
what  our  local  authorities  quaintly  call 
the  dust  destructor,  and  by  riding  on 
the  clouds  of  heaven  in  glory  instead 
of  a  thousand-guinea  motor  car." 

Such  is  Shaw's  Christology  set  forth 
for  the  most  part  in  his  own  Shavian 
words.  Traditional  it  is  not;  icono- 
clastic and  irreverent  towards  most  of 
what  you  and  I  believe,  it  certainly  is. 
But  is  it  Christian?  I  think  not,  un- 
less we  agree  with  Shaw  that  the  real 
Christianity  was  entirely  side-tracked 
by  the  Apostolic  College  before  it  got 
begun.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
not  anti-Christian.  It  is  pro-Christ 
and  infinitely  nearer  the  kingdom  than 
the  religion  of  many  modern  Phari- 


May  17,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


11 


sees  who  cry,  "Lord,  Lord,"  when  they 
do  not  the  thing  that  he  says. 

We  pass  now,  I  think,  to  less  de- 
batable ground — Shaw's  ethical  ideals. 

SHAW'S    ETHICAL    IDEALS 

He  has  Carlyle's  own  hatred  of 
cant.  He  abominates  the  lie  ancient 
and  modern.  Sincere  himself,  he 
wants  others  to  be  as  sincere  as  he. 
Especially  he  wages  war  against  the 
false  romanticism  which  makes  peo- 
ple say  and  do  things  they  do  not  really 
mean.  In  "The  Devil's  Disciple"  he 
satirizes  the  idea  that  people  do  not  do 
heroic  deeds  unless  for  a  bribe — even 
though  it  be  that  of  love  itself. 

"Candida"  is  a  kindly  skit  on  self- 
conscious  goodness.  I  say  "kindly" 
for  the  picture  of  the  Socialist  Parson 
of  the  Kingsley  type  is  one  of  the 
most  sympathetic  things  Shaw  has 
ever  done.  But  in  spite  of  his  evident 
liking  for  Morell,  he  helps  you  to 
laugh  at  him  as  being  a  victim  of  his 
own  catchwords  and  conventions. 
Over  against  him  he  shows  us  Candida, 
straightforward,  unsubtle,  motherly. 
The  scene  in  which  she  strips  him  to 
the  spiritual  bone,  so  to  say,  and  lets 
him  understand  what  she  really  loves 
him  for — his  weakness,  his  irrespon- 
sibility, his  need  of  "mothering,"  is 
one  of  the  most  illuminating  things  in 
modern  literature  and  I  will  commend 
it  to  every  "uplift"  parson  I  know, 
including  myself. 

SHAW  A  PURITAN 

Again,  Shaw  is  essentially  a  Puri- 
tan. It  will,  of  course,  at  once  be  ob- 
jected that  no  Puritan  could  have  writ- 
ten "Mrs.  Warren's  Profession"  or 
"Man  and  Superman"  with  its  leit- 
motif of  sex.  But  that  is  a  superficial 
criticism.  It  is  the  very  puritanism 
of  the  man  that  demands  frank  treat- 
ment of  the  most  fundamental  of  all 
human  instincts.  Shaw  goes  deeper 
than  historic  puritanism.  He  preaches 
the  clean  mind  as  well  as  the  clean 
deed.  He  wants  the  cup  to  be  scoured 
inside  as  well  as  out.  His  criticism  of 
the  modern  theatre  is  just  that,  while 
wrapped  in  the  swaddling  bands  of 
Philistine  morality,  it  appeals  furtively 
to  the  low  and  the  base. 

But  Shaw's  puritanism  is  more  than 
negative.  He  is  an  Idealistic  Round- 
head. He  demands  not  only  the  clean 
life,  but  the  high  life.  He  is. an  anti- 
hedonist  to  the  marrow  of  his  bones. 
He  repudiates  the  ideal  of  happiness 
as  unworthy  of  man.  "This  is  the 
true  joy  of  life :  the  being  used  for  a 
purpose  recognized  by  yourself  as  a 
mighty  one ;  being  a  force  of  nature, 
instead  of  a  feverish,  selfish  little  clod 
of  grievances,  complaining  that  the 
world  will  not  devote  itself  to  making 
you  happy." 

GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS 

In  the  third  place,  his  ethics   are 


shot  through  with  God-conscious- 
ness. I  have  ventured  to  give  it  that 
name,  since  it  seems  to  me  that  God 
is  what  he  intends  by  his  "lifeforce" 
and  what  not. 

He  is  never  tired  of  insisting  that 
we  are  at  every  moment  of  our  lives 
in  the  grip  of  a  Necessity  higher  and 
stronger  than  any  of  earth  which  bears 
us  along,  it  may  be  to  difficulty,  danger 
and  death,  but  at  least  in  the  direction 
o'f  its  own  eternal  purposes  for  which 
it  first  laid  hands  upon  us;  and  that 
the  greatest  event  that  can  happen  to 
a  soul — call  it  conversion  or  what  you 
will — is  to  come  into  recognition  of 
that  Necessity.  Says  Blanco  in  "The 
Showing-Up  of  Blanco  Posnet" : 

"What's  this  game  that  upsets  our 
game?  For  it  seems  to  me  there's  two 
games  being  played.  Our  game  is  a  rot- 
ten game  that  makes  me  feel  that  I'm 
dirt  and  that  you're  all  as  rotten  as  me. 
T'other  game  may  be  a  silly  game,  but 
it  ain't  rotten." 

And  he  goes  on  to  express  his  faith 
in  God: 

"You  bet  he  didn't  make  us  for  noth- 
ing; and  he  wouldn't  have  made  us  at  all 
if  he  could  have  done  his  work  without 
us.  By  gum,  that  must  be  what  we're 
for!  He'd  never  have  made  us  to  be 
rotten,  drunken  blackguards  like  me,  and 
good-for-nothing  rips  like  Feemy.  He 
made  me  because  he  had  a  job  for  me. 
He  let  me  run  loose  till  the  job  was 
ready;  and  then  I  had  to  come  along  and 
do  it,  hanging  or  no  hanging.  And  I  tell 
you  it  didn't  feel  rotten:  it  felt  bully,  just 

bully I  played  the  rotten 

game;  but  the  great  game  was  played  on 
me,  and  now  I'm  for  the  great  game 
every  time." 

How  does  that  sort  of  morality 
strike  you?  It  seems  to  me  that  it 
has  at  least  the  makings  of  Christian- 
ity in  it.  Would  that  all  Christians 
were  as  Christian  in  their  ethics  as 
Shaw. 

SHAW'S    SOCIAL   MESSAGE 

We  omitted  Shaw's  social  message 
in  considering  his  ethical  ideals,  be- 
cause it  is  so  prominent  in  all  his  work 
as  to  call  for  special  treatment.  Here, 
too,  Shaw  is  most  like  a  Christian. 
You  will  recall  that  the  sub-title  of  the 
Preface  to  Androcles  is  "Why  Not 
Give  Christianity  a  Trial  ?"  That,  from 
one  point  of  view,  is  the  text  of  all 
Shaw's  preaching.  He  passionately, 
fervently  desires  to  see  society  and 
government  Christianized  in  the  sense 
of  being  inspired  by  the  ideals  and 
regulated  by  the  principles  of  Jesus. 
Beginning  his  career  as  secularist  hu- 
manitarian, he  has  worked  his  way  to 
what  is  indistinguishable  from  Chris- 
tian Socialism.  If  he  does  not  believe 
in  the  theological  divinity  of  Jesus,  he 
does  believe  in  his  practical  Lordship 
to  such  an  extent  that  he  is  militantly 
contemptuous  of  every  profession  of 
loyalty  to  Jesus,  which  consigns  the 
sayings  of  Jesus  to  the  scrap-basket 
of  unpractical  dreaming.  Bernard 
Shaw  believes,  as  many  of  us  do  not, 


in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  He  be- 
lieves that  it  has  a  meaning  for  prac- 
tical politics.  He  believes  that  Christ's 
kingdom  is  one  to  be  realized  here  and 
now  through  the  machinery  of  state- 
craft and  the  organization  of  parish 
councils  and  police  boards. 

"BLESSED  ARE  YE  POOR" 

He  shares  all  Christ's  indignation 
against  the  well-to-do  Phariseeism 
which  mouths  religious  phrases  while 
it  grinds  the  faces  of  the  poor.  He 
believes  in  the  beatitude,  "Blessed  are 
ye  poor" — not  "poor  in  spirit,"  as  one 
of  the  evangelists  misreports  it.  In 
play  after  play  his  motive  is  to  create  a 
sound  social  conscience  to  make  men 
feel  that  they  are  responsible  for  their 
brother  man.  He  knows  of  no  neces- 
sary evils.  He  is  pitiful  towards  the 
outcast,  the  downtrodden,  the  victim 
of  social  exploitation.  He  pities  Mrs. 
Warren,  the  Procuratress,  more  than 
he  condemns  her.  He  is  sorry  for 
Lickcheeze,  the  tool  of  the  slum  land- 
lord. He  not  only  says  to  the  Mag- 
dalene, "Go  and  sin  no  more,"  but  to 
her  accusers — and  here  scorn  and  in- 
dignation take  the  place  of  pity — "He 
that  is  without  sin  amongst  you  cast 
the  first  stone."  Like  Christ  he  knows 
they  dare  not;  for  the  woman  is  the 
very  flesh  and  blood  creation  of  their 
own  sins. 

THE  QUESTION   OF   MONEY 

On  the  money  question  he  is  very 
explicit.  "Jesus  was  a  first-rate  poli- 
tical economist."  He  believes  he  spoke 
of  a  realizable  condition  of  society 
when  he  said,  "Take  no  thought,  say- 
ing in  full" ;  which  he  would  interpret 
in  modern  terms  as  meaning  that  even* 
worker  has  a  right  to  an  income  that 
shall  lift  him  above  the  fear  of  want  ; 
otherwise,  all  the  preachments  in  the 
world  will  never  keep  men  from  mak- 
ing money  their  treasure.  He  points 
out  that  the  present  organization  of 
society  on  the  basis  of  unlimited  com- 
mercial competition,  is  the  exact  op- 
posite of  the  kind  of  kingdom  Jesus 
preached,  based  on  real  equality  and 
freedom.  So  long  as  the  great  ma- 
jority of  men  are  economically  depend- 
ent, it  is  idle  to  talk  about  their  being 
Christians  in  the  sense  of  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  or  the  parables.  And 
for  those  who  are  economically  inde- 
pendent, while  they  may  be  charitable, 
they  can't  be  just.  The  environment 
is  wrong.  The  conditions  make  the 
thing  impossible.  If  men  are  to  be 
what  Jesus  meant  them  to  be,  society 
must  be  re-organized  on  the  basis  of 
economic  justice. 

And  so  we  might  go  on  indefinitely ; 
but  the  point  is  that  Bernard  Shaw 
believes  that  Jesus  held  the  secret  of 
social  well-being,  and  that  the  only 
salvation  for  human  society  is  to  ac- 
cept that  secret  as  he  gave  it  and 
apply  it  to  the  immemorial  diseases  of 


12 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  17,  1917 


civilization.  That  it  has  to  be  trans- 
lated in  modern  terms  doesn't  change 
its  nature.  It  is  still  Jesus'  teaching, 
his  program  for  a  regenerated  world. 
Here  you  have  the  crux  of  the  case 
for  Shaw's  Christianity.  He  believes 
in  the  social  message  of  Jesus  and 
preaches  it  as  best  he  can  to  a  more 
or  less  skeptical  world.  He  tries  to 
do  the  things  Jesus  says.  Many  peo- 
ple accept  the  supernatural  message 
of  Christianity  and  reject  the  social ; 
Shaw  rejects  the  supernatural  and  ac- 


cepts the  social.  Which  is  the  better 
Christian?  Many  people  would  burn 
you  at  the  stake  for  not  believing  their 
formula  for  the  divinity  of  Jesus, 
while  making  their  living  by  paying 
non-living  wages  to  their  working- 
girls.  Shaw  would  burn  you  at  the 
stake  for  the  latter,  but  he  cares  not 
a  jot  for  the  former.  Which  is  nearer 
the  kingdom?     Think  it  over! 

Of  course,  two  blacks  do  not  make 
a  white.  All  Christians  are  not  op- 
pressors of  the  poor;  all  socialists  are 
not    anti-supernaturalists.       A    third 


type  is  possible.  I  think  it  is  the  real 
Christian  type.  Bernard  Shaw  is  not 
that. 

And  yet — : 

"John  answered  him  saying,  Master, 
we  saw  one  casting  out  devils  in  thy 
name,  and  he  followeth  not  us;  and  we 
forbade  him,  because  he  followeth  not  us. 
And  Jesus  said,  "Forbid  him  not  for  there 
is  no  man  which  shall  do  a  miracle  in  my 
name,  that  can  lightly  speak  evil  of  me. 
For  he  that  is  not  against  us  is  on  our 
part.  For  whosoever  shall  give  you  a 
cup  of  water  to  drink  in  my  name,  be- 
cause ye  belong  to  Christ,  verily  I  say 
unto  you,  he  shall  not  lose  his  reward." 


A  Poet  With  a  Program 

By  Edgar  DeWitt  Jones 

Editor's  A>otc:  Our  contemporary,  the  Christian -Evangelist,  of  St.  Louis,  published  recently  the  follow- 
ing article  by  Edgar  DeWitt  Jones  in  appreciation  of  the  poetry  of  Mr.  Thomas  Curtis  Clark,  office  editor  of 
The  Christian  Century.  In  his  introductory  note,  at  the  head  of  Dr.  Jones'  article,  the  editor  said:  "We  count 
it  a  special  pleasure  and  privilege  to  be  able  to  present  our  readers  a  study  of  one  of  the  foremost  of  the 
younger  American  poets  by  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  new  prose  writers  of  the  day."  Dr.  Jones'  inter- 
pretation is  so  gracious  and  so  just  that  it  ivould  be  a  real  injustice  not  to  give  it  to  the  readers  of  The  Chris- 
tian Century,  to  whom  Mr.  Clark's  poetry  has  become  not  only  a  taste  and  a  habit,  but  a  continually  increas- 
ing inspiration. — C.  C.  M. 


THIS  is  the  day  and  the  hour  of 
the  poet.  More  readable  verse  is 
being  written  these  days  than  for 
many  a  year.  Volumes  of  poetry  are 
coming  off  the  press  in  a  steady 
stream ;  and  what  is  still  more  signifi- 
cant, these  volumes  are  finding  ready 
purchase.  The  "world  war"  has  much 
to  do  with  the  revival  of  interest  in 
poetry,  and  has  undoubtedly  quickened 
the  imagination  of  those  who  possess 
the  poetic  genius.  Much  of  the  new 
verse,  however,  is  equivocal  and  with- 
out a  definite  purpose  unless  it  be  to 
create  a  sensation  by  its  unconven- 
tionality  either  in  subject  matter  or 
vehicle.  Thomas  Curtis  Clark,  of  Chi- 
cago, however,  is  a  poet  with  a  pro- 
gram, a  definite  purpose,  and  a  lofty 
goal.  Indeed,  I  should  say  that  Mr. 
Clark's  motif  is  finely  expressed  in 
one  of  his  brief  stanzas  entitled,  "A 
Thought  for  Today." 

Not  for  the  eyes  of  men 

May  this  day's  work  be  done, 

But  unto  Thee,  O  God, 
That,  with  the  setting  sun, 

My  heart  may  know  the  matchless 
prize 

Of  sure  approval  in  Thine  eyes. 

*     *     * 

Mr.  Clark  is  a  poet  of  the  inner  life, 
an  interpreter  of  the  soul,  a  seer  of 
the  realm  spiritual.  Quietly  and  un- 
assumingly, though  emphatically,  he 
avers  a  mission  for  his  Muse,  and  ex- 
plains that  this  mission  is  epitomized 
in  a  memorable  verse  from  the  forty- 
sixth  Psalm,  to  wit,  "Be  still  and  know 
that  I  am  God."  This  text,  as  the 
preacher  would  say,  falls  naturally 
into  two  divisions;  and  that  is  pre- 


cisely what  this  poet  says.  Thus  per- 
force much  of  his  verse  is  that  of  the 
brooding,  woosome  kind.  He  keeps 
calling  us  apart,  he  bids  us  be  still,  but 
not  simply  for  the  sake  of  being  still. 
He  bids  us  be  quiet  for  a  lofty  reason. 
Listen  to  our  poet  now  as  he  sings 
"A  Song  of  Quietness." 

Be  still,  my  heart,  and  let  the  world  rush 
onward; 
Be  still  awhile,  that  we  may  be  with 
God. 
Why   should  we   follow,  follow  still   in 
madness? 
Why  should  we  bow  to  Mammon's  ty- 
rant rod? 
Be   still,   be   still!     Now  let   us   wander 
backward, 
Through  flowery  fields  that  we  have 
hurried  by. 
Let    us,    as    children,    pluck    again    the 
daisies 
That  fleck  the  fields  as  stars  the  mid- 
night sky. 

Be  still,  my  heart!     What  profiteth  this 
fretting, 
This  ceaseless  strife,  by  proud  ambi- 
tion stirred? 
What  gain  shall  come  from  all  this  greed 
for  getting? 
Be  still,  my  heart,  while  God  declares 
His  word. 
More  truly  speaks  the  lily  of  the  valley 
Than    busy    marts,    with    spirit-killing 
roar. 
Be    still,    be    still,    let    Silence    be    your 
teacher, 
Be  still,  my  heart,  and  heed  the  world 
no  more. 

Wordsworthianlike,  our  poet  would 
lead  us  by  the  still  waters,  and  across 
the  verdant  fields,  and  through  fra- 
grant orchards ;  that  partially,  at  least, 
the  lesson  of  quietness  may  be  learned 
in  God's  great  out-of-doors.  Mr.  Clark 


writes  of  "Spring,"  of  "Roses,"  of 
"Gardens,"  of  "Crocuses,"  of  "Violets 
strewn  on  the  hill,"  of  the  "Frost  blos- 
som" that  "glistened,"  of  "Forget-me- 
nots,  Larkspurs,  and  Anemones,"  of 
"Waking  apple  trees."  Here  is  his  phil- 
osophy o'  life  among  homespun  sur- 
roundings ;  here  it  is  in  short,  staccato 
lines : 

Same  old  sunshine, 

Same  old  flowers; 
Same  old  home  nest 

For  quiet  hours: 

Same  old  home  folks, 

Plain,  but  true; 
Same  old  garden, 

Grass  and  dew: 

Same  old  meadows, 

Daisy-strewn; 
Same  old  blue  sky, 

Same  old  June: 

Same  old  hearthstone, 

Same  old  friends, 
Same  old  loving 

Till  living  ends. 


Not  only  would  Mr.  Clark  lead  us 
to  God  by  way  of  Nature's  stillness 
and  the  trysting  hours  of  the  soul, 
but  also  by  way  of  childhood's  joyous 
troubadours.  Here  are  three  stanzas 
from  his  lovely  "How  Far  Is  It  to 
Childhood  Town?" 

How  far  is  it  to  Childhood  Town? 

A  small  one  asked  of  me, 
Not  knowing  of  the  pain  she  gave — 

My  heart  she  could  not  see; 
For  as  I  sought,  in  simple  words, 

To  please  her  eager  ears, 
A  tear  broke  past  unwilling  eyes, 

As  they  looked  on  other  years. 


May  17,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


13 


How  far  is  it  to  Childhood  Town? 

Oh,  many  miles,  my  child! 
Beyond  the  Mountains  of  Defeat, 

Where  blasted  hopes  are  piled; 
Beyond  the  Vale  of  Sorrow,  where 

The  trees  with  blight  are  brown, 
Far,  far  away  that  happy  place 

We  once  called  Childhood  Town. 

And  yet  your  heart,  my  happy  child, 

Feels  naught  of  human  woe; 
No  mount,  no  vale,  no  stormy  sea 

Your  simple  life  can  know. 
For  you  a  river,  passing  fair, 

Flows  evermore  adown 
By  that  rare  realm,  sweet  Fairyland, 

Your  own  dear  Childhood  Town. 


Mr.  Clark  is  deeply  interested  in 
our  knowing  God.  The  great  goal  of 
his  verse  toward  which  his  thoughts 
move  is  that  his  readers  may  come 
to  know  the  Good  Father.  Therefore, 
it  seems  that  his  poem  entitled  "God 
Is  Not  Far,"  reveals  the  poet  at  his 
highest  and  best.  His  text  for  this 
verse  is,  of  course,  St.  Paul's  oft- 
quoted  line  from  the  seventeenth  chap- 
ter of  Acts.    Here  is  the  poem: 

God  is  not  far  from  any  one  of  us: 
The  wild  flower  by  the  wayside  speaks 

His  love; 
Each  blithesome  bird  bears  tidings  from 

above; 
Sunshine  and  shower  his  tender  mercies 

prove, 

And  men  know  not  His  voice! 

God  is  not  far  from  any  one  of  us: 
He  speaks  to  us  in  every  glad  sunrise; 
His   glory  floods   us   from  the   noonday 

skies; 
The  stars  declare  His  love  when  daylight 
dies, 

And  men  know  not  his  voice! 


God  is  not  far  from  any  one  of  us: 

He   watches   o'er   His  children  day   and 

night; 
On   every   darkened   soul   He  sheds  His 

light; 
Each     burdened    heart    He    cheers,    and 

lends  His  might 

To  all  who  know  His  voice. 

And  now  a  comment  or  two  on  Mr. 
Clark's  style.  It  is  very  simple,  direct, 
and  lyric  to  the  core.  He  reminds  me 
at  times — particularly  in  his  ■  short, 
single-stanza  poems — of  John  B.  Tabb, 
the  blind  poet-priest,  whose  verses, 
brief  though  they  were,  used  to  glorify 
the  pages  of  the  Sunday  School  Times 
and  occasionally  bejewel  the  Atlantic 
Monthly.  There  is  also  a  suggestion 
in  some  of  his  familiar  and  conversa- 
tional verse  of  certain  productions  of 
Frank  L.  Stanton  of  Georgia.  Now 
and  then  I  have  fancied  some  resem- 
blance in  style  to  that  of  Richard  Wat- 
son Gilder.  Thomas  Curtis  Clark's 
verse  has  individuality  of  style ;  not 
stridently  so,  but  impressively  so,  nev- 
ertheless. I  know  of  no  poet  nowa- 
days with  whose  writings  I  have  any 
acquaintance,  who  breathes  so  insist- 
ently and  continuously  the  still-small- 
voice  quality,  and  who  woos  so  per- 
suasively the  heart  toward  God,  up- 
ward and  onward  forever. 


Best  of  all,  Mr.  Clark  is  only  at 
the  threshold  of  his  career.  His  work 
shows  marked  progress.  He  is  a 
growing  poet.  Already  his  verse  is 
finding  a  cordial  welcome  in  the  pages 


of  journals  and  magazines  of  high 
standing.  The  name  "Thomas  Curtis 
Clark"  is  coming  to  have  a  familiar 
sound.  Thus,  this  young  poet,  son  of 
the  Manse,  thoroughly  and  genuinely 
religious,  is  coming  into  his  glorious 
own.  And  the  religious  communion 
in  which  his  father  has  long  been  an 
able  and  beloved  minister — the  reli- 
gious body  that  bore  him  and  nour- 
ished him,  is  proud  of  him  today.  In 
fine,  thousands  of  his  admirers  the 
land  over  look  upon  his  steady  rise 
with  pardonable  pride  and  great  ex- 
pectations. 

Lastly,  listen  to  Thomas  Curtis 
Clark's  tribute  to  the  poet,  and  there- 
by learn  how  well  he  is  wedded  to  his 
Muse.  He  entitles  the  lines,  "The 
World-Builders" : 

Give  me  the  poet's  vision; 

Grant  me  the  gift  of  song; 
Life  and  the  things  eternal 

All  to  the  bards  belong. 

They  are  the  true  world-builders; 

Theirs  are  the  deathless  years; 
They  hold  the  ageless  scepter — 

Wielders  of  dreams  and  tears. 

Where  is  the  soldier's  glory? 

Where  is  the  monarch's  name? 
Theirs  is  a  bloody  story — 
Theirs  is  a  blighted  fame. 

Where  is  the  statesman's  grandeur?" 
Where  is  the  courtier's  pride? 

Lo,  in  the  tombs  they  rest  them, 
By  the  wild  ocean-side. 

Give  me  the  poet's  vision; 

Grant  me  the  gift  of  song; 
Life  and  the  things  eternal 

All  to  the  bards  belong. 


Is  the  Church  Making  Good? 


WHENEVER  I  hear  a  man  de- 
clare, with  emphasis,  that  the 
church  is  a  failure;  that  it  is 
a  waning  power ;  that  it  is  an  effete  in- 
stitution which  will  soon  be  supersed- 
ed by  another  organization,  I  am  re- 
minded of  the  anvil  that  wore  out 
many  a  hammer.  The  church  is  the 
anvil  and  the  "knocker" — well,  he  is 
another  hammer. 

CHURCH   SHOULD  BE  CRITICIZED 

We  will  admit,  at  once,  that  the 
church  needs  to  be  criticized — severely 
criticized,  sometimes.  But  there  are 
certain  facts  of  which  we  must  not 
lose  sight.  When  it  is  said,  for  ex- 
ample, that  the  "church  having  failed, 
outside  agencies  have  arisen  and  today 
they  are  taking  the  place  of  the 
church,"  it  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  religious  institutions  which 
are  supposed  to  rival  the  church  are 
all  of  them  supported  by  the  church. 


By  Charles  Stelzle 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, for  example,  is  the  church  at 
work  among  men.  The  rescue  mis- 
sion of  the  Salvation  Army  is  the 
church  specializing  upon  certain  class- 
es of  people.  Whatever  one  may  think 
of  the  value  of  these  agencies  and  of 
their  effectiveness,  they  are  not  really 
rivals  of  the  church  in  the  sense  that 
they  have  been  organized  because  the 
church  has  failed  to  make  good. 

Not  every  church  can  be  run  as  the 
Salvation  Army  is  being  conducted, 
for  instance.  In  ministering  to  the 
spiritual  needs  of  the  world,  the 
church  has  simply  learned  to  adapt  it- 
self to  various  classes.  And  the  work- 
ingman,  who,  for  social  reasons  which 
are  perfectly  legitimate,  does  not  care 
to  go  to  the  rich  man's  church  for  fear 
of  being  patronized — and  I  don't 
blame  him  much  for  this — greatly 
prefers  a  church  made  up  of  his  own 


class,  where  he  can  hold  his  own  with 
the  rest  of  the  people. 

CLASS  DEMOCRACY 

There  is  such  a  thing  as  "class 
democracy,"  and  the  church  in  its 
dealings  with  men  has  learned  to  rec- 
ognize this  very  human  fact.  We 
may  theorize  about  it  as  we  please 
and  wish  that  conditions  were  other- 
wise, but  we  must  take  people  as  we 
find  them. 

When  it  is  asserted  that  the  church- 
es are  not  doing  anything  in  the  work 
of  caring  for  the  unfortunate  in  our 
great  cities  who  are  outside  of  the 
church,  I  recall  a  very  extensive  study 
which  was  recently  made  among  the 
social  workers  in  the  United  States. 
This  study  revealed  the  fact  that  while 
the  church  membership  in  this  coun- 
try is  only  about  one-third  of  the  en- 
tire population,  it  furnishes  75  per 
cent  of  the  social  workers. 


The  Larger  Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


■idiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiih 


Report  on  the 
Chicago  Federation 

The  Chicago  Church  Federation  has 
been  under  fire  this  spring.  Mr.  A.  G. 
Fegert,  who  is  the  religious  editor  of 
the  Chicago  Herald,  brought  out  a 
letter  in  which  there  were  some  in- 
sinuations and  one  or  two  charges 
which  affected  the  honor  of  the  secre- 
tary of  the  federation,  Rev.  W.  B. 
Millard.  He  also  charged  that  the 
Church  Federation  was  inefficiently 
managed.  A  committee  of  ministers 
and  laymen  have  spent  many  weeks  on 
the  matter  and  have  published  a  re- 
port which  has  received  the  unanimous 
endorsement  of  the  federation.  In  this 
report  they  vindicate  the  character  of 
Mr.  Millard  but  admit  that  the  federa- 
tion needs  to  improve  its  method.  A 
commission  is  now  busy  studying  the 
city  federations  of  the  country  with  a 
view  to  planning  for  Chicago  one  bet- 
ter than  any  of  them. 

Church  Federation 
in  the  Cities 

Church  Federation  in  many  cities 
has  been  accomplishing  results  that  are 
satisfactory  to  the  Christian  forces  in 
these  cities.  San  Francisco  Federa- 
tion has  been  carrying  on  an  anti-vice 
campaign  which  has  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  the  whole  nation.  In  Louis- 
ville there  has  been  a  fight  on  the 
pari-mutuel  companies.  The  leading 
feature  of  the  federation  work  in 
Indianapolis  is  a  simultaneous  evange- 
listic campaign  with  local  forces  each 
spring. 

Church  Advertising 
Convention 

The  Associated  Advertising  Clubs 
of  the  World  have  generously  given 
the  church  entree  to  their  annual  con- 
ventions and  there  is  now  a  section  on 
church  publicity.  The  convention  is 
in  St.  Louis  this  year  the  first  week  in 
June  and  several  days  will  be  given  to 
a  careful  consideration  of  the  various 
problems  connected  with  church  pub- 
licity. 

Episcopalians  Protest 
Union  Church 

The  Living  Church,  high-church 
organ  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church,  which  is  much  agitated  over 
what  it  calls  Pan-Protestantism  which 
it  regards  as  a  danger  to  the  coming 
( ?)  Catholicism,  is  now  protesting 
against  the  work  of  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil in  asking  for  funds  for  a  union 
church  in  Panama.  This  is  regarded 
as  an  invasion  of  the  parish  of  a  little 


Episcopal  church  down  there  which 
everybody  seems  to  have  overlooked. 
The  people  of  this  little  church  are 
commended  for  continuing  to  hold  the 
field. 

Churches  for 
the  Deaf 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
Chicago  has  for  a  number  of  years 
had  a  congregation  of  deaf  mutes 
which  met  in  First  church  and  "lis- 
tened" to  sermons  by  a  preacher  who 
could  reach  these  people.  Now  we 
hear  that  the  Roman  Catholics  of 
Chicago  will  build  a  church  for  deaf 
mutes  and  Archbishop  Mundelein  has 
donated  a  thousand  dollars  for  this 
purpose  on  condition  that  ten  thou- 
sand be  raised. 

Methodists  Talk 
About  Chaplaincies 

The  bishops  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  met  in  Detroit  recently 
and  held  a  conference  over  the  ques- 
tion of  chaplaincies  in  the  army. 
Methodist  chaplains  must  have  the 
recommendation  of  a  bishop  to  enter 
the  service.  Bishops  McDowell, 
Cranston  and  Hamilton  will  look  after 
Methodist  interests  in  Washington. 
The  Methodist  bishops  have  also  in- 
terviewed John  R.  Mott  concerning 
co-operation  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in 
its  work  for  the  army. 

Y.  M.  C.  A.  Gets 
the  Money 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation asked  the  nation  for  three 
millions  of  dollars  as  soon  as  the  war 
was  declared  by  this  country  and  with 
characteristic  energy  they  have  gone 
after  the  money  and  gotten  it.  They 
will  build  "tabernacles"  for  each  bri- 
gade so  that  there  will  be  an  associa- 
tion for  every  five  or  six  thousand 
men  and  two  hundred  tabernacles  to 
a  million  men.  The  standard  staff  for 
each  tabernacle  is  intended  to  be  five 
men,  one  secretary  in  general  in 
charge,  one  assigned  especially  to 
religious  work,  one  to  athletics,  one  to 
good  fellowship  and  personal  helpful- 
ness and  one  to  manage  a  moving  pic- 
ture outfit.  The  work  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  on  the  Mexican  border  at- 
tracted nation-wide  attention  through 
the  secular  papers  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  the  service  will  be 
quite  as  efficient  now. 

Catholic  Party 
Threatened  with  Schism 

An  English  writer  in  an  American 
Episcopalian  paper  says  of  the  peti- 


tion of  1,000  clergymen  to  allow  the 
reservation  of  the  sacrament  and  its 
use  in  worship  by  the  sick:  "Noth- 
ing less  than  a  schism  within  the 
Catholic  party  is  threatened."  The 
bishop  of  Oxford  is  vigorously  op- 
posing the  innovation,  while  the 
bishop  of  London  is  a  mediating  in- 
fluence. Some  present  this  argu- 
ment :  "If  it  comforts  stricken  souls, 
why  interfere  ?"  Others  declare  their 
duty  to  support  the  doctrine  and 
discipline  of  the  church.  Some  are 
zealous  for  the  truth. 

Wish  Disestablishment 
Postponed 

The  royal  assent  was  given  to  a 
bill  to  disestablish  the  Welsh  church 
(Episcopalian)  on  September  14, 
1914.  Since  then  another  bill  has 
been  passed  asking  that  the  disestab- 
lishment be  postponed  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  The  ecclesiastical  lead- 
ers of  the  Welsh  church  are  now  be- 
fore parliament  asking  for  still  more 
delay  on  account  of  the  war  condi- 
tions. It  is  said  that  Mr.  Lloyd- 
George  is  willing  that  the  delay  till 
one  year  after  the  war  as  now  re- 
quested shall  be  granted. 

Moslems  Impressed  by 
Armenian  Steadfastness 

The  Moslem  persecution  of  the 
Armenians  has  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion upon  the  persecutors.  Dr.  Bar- 
ton reports  as  follows :  "The  faithful 
adherence  of  such  a  vast  proportion 
of  the  Armenians  to  their  belief  in 
Jesus  Christ,  and  their  refusal  to 
deny  Him  in  order  to  save  their  lives, 
has  been  a  mighty  object-lesson  to 
their  persecutors,  and  has  made  a 
deep  and  abiding  impression  upon 
the  Mohammedans  who  have  wit- 
nessed this  loyalty.  It  is  true  that 
some — although  comparatively  few 
— have  accepted  Islam  in  order  to 
save  the  lives  of  their  families,  yet 
in  many  cases  these  new-made  Mos- 
lems have  met  with  but  little  mark 
of  respect  from  the  Mohammedans, 
thus  showing  that  the  Mohamme- 
dans themselves  despise  the  man 
who  changes  his  religion  in  order 
to  save  his  property  or  his  life.  On 
the  other  hand,  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands have  not  only  refused  to  give 
up  their  belief  in  Christ  for  a  reward, 
but  have,  with  cheerfulness  and 
courage,  singing  hymns  and  in 
prayer,  started  upon  their  long 
journey  towards  the  desert  and  to 
probable  death." 


Churches  Consider  Need  of  the  Hour 


A  NOTABLE  meeting  of  the 
Christian  forces  of  America  oc- 
curred recently  when  the  Fed- 
eral Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ 
met  in  Washington,  May  8th  and  9th 
to  attempt  to  relate  the  churches  to  the 
need  of  the  hour, — the  work  to  be 
done  on  account  of  the  nation  being  in 
a  state  of  war. 

The  call  to  the  constituent  bodies  of 
the  Council,  besides  its  thirty  denom- 
inations, included  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and 
Y.  W.  C.  A.,  the  Federation  of 
Women's  Mission  Boards,  both  home 
and  foreign,  the  Home  Missions 
Council,  the  Foreign  Missions  Confer- 
ence, the  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.,  the  American 
Bible  Society,  the  Prohibition  Move- 
ment, and  the  World  Alliance  for 
Promoting  International  Friendship 
Through  the  Churches. 

An  imposing  array  of  names  made 
up  the  roster  of  delegates  from  these 
various  bodies,  there  being  at  least  a 
dozen  bishops,  a  famous  governor,  the 
Belgian  minister,  and  one  saw  such 
famous  names  as  John  R.  Mott,  Rob- 
ert Speer,  Dr.  Frank  Mason  North, 
Presidents  King  of  Oberlin  and 
Faunce  of  Brown,  Dr.  John  Henry 
Jowett,  Mrs.  Henry  W.  Peabody,  Miss 
Holmquist  of  the  National  Y.  W.  C. 
A.,  and  many  others  of  national  and 
international  repute  in  church  and 
kindred  organizations. 

DISCIPLES  PRESENT 

Of  our  own  people  Presidents 
Cramblett  and  Pritchard,  Peter  Ains- 
lie,  Finis  Idleman,  Editor  Kershner,  A. 
E.  Cory,  R.  H.  Miller,  E.  M.  Bowman, 
and  all  of  the  Washington  pastors 
were  there  with  greetings  and  ready 
hospitality. 

The  great  thing  involved,  however, 
was  of  such  magnitude  that  no  name, 
however  famous  it  might  be,  seemed 
great  enough  to  promise  solution  of 
the  terrible  difficulty  confronting  us  as 
a  church.  And  the  part  the  church  is 
able  to  do  in  this  struggle,  as  a  church 
— as  an  organization,  was  at  the  final 
meeting  of  the  congress  left  almost  as 
vague  as  at  the  beginning. 

Since  all  the  avenues  of  mercy  and 
practical  assistance  to  our  soldiers  and 
sailors  as  well  as  to  the  people  them- 
selves are  already  covered  by  splendid 
organizations  like  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the 
Red  Cross  and  like  completely 
equipped  and  working  units,  now,  too, 
backed  by  the  government  in  whole- 
hearted terms  of  highest  appreciation 
and  satisfaction,  giving  to  them  every 
power  within  the  province  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  give,  it  seems  as  if  the 
church  must  realize  that  she  has  fallen 
short  of  her  great  opportunity  save  in 
one  respect — she  is  organically  allied 
to  the  great  movement  for  promoting 


World  Friendship,  and  after  all,  that  is 
the  most  vital  point. 

PROMOTING    WORLD    FRIENDSHIP 

If  in  the  quarter  century  just  past 
the  organization  which  has  been  re- 
cently formed  within  the  churches  of 
the  world  known  as  the  Alliance  for 
Promoting  International  Friendship 
Through  the  Churches,  had  been 
working  at  its  task  which  is  an  ob- 
viously necessary  and  essentially 
churchly  one,  the  present  world  con- 
flagration could  not  have  taken  place, 
since  the  majority  of  those  forces  now 
employed  in  destroying  each  other  are 
professedly  Christians. 


For  this  reason  some  of  us  who 
were  present  at  the  recent  conference 
feel  it  our  duty  to  urge  upon  the 
Church  of  Christ,  everywhere,  her 
present  great  opportunity  toward 
making  future  wars  impossible  by  pro- 
moting in  both  great  and  simple  ways 
the  fullest  confidence  and  friendship 
between  all  nations,  especially  toward 
alien  representatives  who  happen  to  be 
among  us  here  in  America,  thus  af- 
fording all  an  opportunity  to  share  in 
the  plan,  from  the  youngest  to  the  old- 
est member  of  any  church,  a  piece  of 
work  in  Christian  unity  which  opens 
no  loophole  for  controversy  or  discus- 
sion of  opinion.  B. 


The  Duty  of  the  Church 

IN  THIS  HOUR  OF  NATIONAL  NEED 

A  Message  to  the  Church  of  Christ  from  the  Federal  Council  of  the 

Churches  of  Christ  in  America  :    Special  Session  Assembled 

at  Washington,  D.  C,  May  8-9,  1917. 


AFTER  long  patience,  and  with  a 
solemn  sense  of  responsibility,  the 
government  of  the  United  States 
has  been  forced  to  recognize  that  a  state 
of  war  exists  between  this  country  and 
Germany,  and  the  president  has  called 
upon  all  the  people  for  their  loyal  sup- 
port and  whole-hearted  allegiance.  As 
American  citizens,  members  of  Christian 
churches  gathered  in  Federal  Council, 
we  are  here  to  pledge  both  support  and 
allegiance   in   unstinted  measure. 

We  are  Christians  as  well  as  citizens. 
Upon  us,  therefore,  rests  a  double  re- 
sponsibility. We  owe  it  to  our  country 
to  maintain  intact  and  to  transmit  unim- 
paired to  our  descendants  our  heritage  of 
freedom  and  democracy.  Above  and 
beyond  this,  we  must  be  loyal  to  our  di- 
vine Lord  who  gave  his  life  that  the 
world  might  be  redeemed,  and  whose 
loving  purpose  embraces  every  man  and 
every  nation. 

As  citizens  of  a  peace-loving  nation, 
we  abhor  war.  We  have  long  striven  to 
secure  the  judicial  settlement  of  all  in- 
ternational disputes.  But  since  in  spite 
of  every  effort  war  has  come,  we  are 
grateful  that  the  ends  to  which  we  are 
committed  are  such  as  we  can  approve. 
To  vindicate  the  principles  of  righteous- 
ness and  the  inviolability  of  faith  as  be- 
tween nation  and  nation;  to  safeguard 
the  right  of  all  the  peoples,  great  and 
small  alike,  to  live  their  life  in  free- 
dom and  peace;  to  resist  and  overcome 
the  forces  that  would  prevent  the  union 
of  the  nations  in  a  commonwealth  of 
free  peoples  conscious  of  unity  in  the 
pursuit  of  ideal  ends;  these  are  aims  for 
which  every  one  of  us  may  lay  down  our 
all,  even  life  itself. 

We  enter  the  war  without  haste  or 
passion,  not  for  private  or  national  gain, 
with  no  hatred  or  bitterness  against 
those  with  whom  we  contend. 

No  man  can  foresee  the  issue  of  the 
struggle.  It  will  call  for  all  the  strength 
and  heroism  of  which  the  nation  is  cap- 
able. What  is  the  mission  of  the  church 
in  this  hour  of  crisis  and  danger?  It  is 
to  bring  all  that  is  done  or  planned  in 
the  nation's  name  to  the  test  of  the  mind 
of  Christ. 

That  mind,  upon  one  point,  we  do  not 
all  interpret  alike.  With  sincere  con- 
viction some  of  us  believe  that  it  is  for- 
bidden the  disciple  of  Christ  to  engage 


in  war  under  any  circumstances.  Most 
of  us  believe  that  the  love  of  all  men 
which  Christ  enjoins,  demands  that  we 
defend  with  all  the  power  given  us  the 
sacred  rights  of  humanity.  But  we  are 
all  at  one  in  loyalty  to  our  country,  and 
in  steadfast  and  whole-hearted  devotion 
to  her  service. 

*    *     * 

As  members  of  the  church  of  Christ, 
the  hour  lays  upon  us  special  duties: 

To  purge  our  own  hearts  clean  of  ar- 
rogance and  unselfishness; 

To  steady  and  inspire  the  nation; 

To  keep  ever  before  the  eyes  of  our- 
selves and  of  our  allies  the  ends  for 
which  we  fight; 

To  hold  our  own  nation  true  to  its 
professed  aims  of  justice,  liberty  and 
brotherhood; 

To  testify  to  our  fellow-Christians  in 
every  land,  most  of  all  to  those  from 
whom  for  the  time  we  are  estranged,  our 
consciousness  of  unbroken  unity  in 
Christ; 

To  unite  in  the  fellowship  of  service 
multitudes,  who  love  their  enemies  and 
are  ready  to  join  with  them  in  rebuild- 
ing the  waste  places  as  soon  as  peace 
shall  come; 

To  be  diligent  in  works  of  relief  and 
mercy,  not  forgetting  those  ministries 
to  the  spirit,  to  which  as  Christians  we 
are  especially  committed; 

To  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  prayer,  that 
in  these  times  of  strain  and  sorrow,  men 
may  be  sustained  by  the  consciousness 
of  the  presence  and  power  of  God; 

To  hearten  those  who  go  to  the  front, 
and  to  comfort  their  loved  ones  at  home; 

To  care  for  the  welfare  of  our  young 
men  in  the  army  and  navy,  that  they 
may  be  fortified  in  character  and  made 
strong  to  resist  temptation; 

To  be  vigilant  against  even*  attempt 
to  arouse  the  spirit  of  vengeance  and 
unjust  suspicion  toward  those  of  foreign 
birth  or  sympathies; 

To  protect  the  rights  of  conscience 
against   every   attempt   to   invade   them; 

Above  all,  to  call  men  everywhere  to 
new  obedience  to  the  will  of  our  Father 
God,  who  in  Christ  has  given  himself  in 
supreme  self-sacrifice  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  world,  and  who  invites  us  to 
share  with  him  his  ministry  of  recon- 
ciliation. 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


mil!: 


ill!: 


The  "Good  Old 
German  God" 

THE  Kaiser  recently  exhorted  his 
people  to  invoke  the  help  of  the 
"good  old  German  God"  in  their 
warfare,  and  his  talk  is  always  of  the 
victories  that  "onr  God"  will  give  "our 
glorious  arms."  This  "good  old  Ger- 
man God"  was  a  god  of  war  and  the 
glory  of   his   followers   was   in   their 

arms.  The  Kai- 
ser's recent  com- 
mendation of  the 
example  of  Attila, 
the  barbarous 
conqueror  and 
devastator  of  na- 
tions, is  in  good 
keeping  with  his 
prayers  and  ex- 
hortations. Attila 
believed  in  his 
"good  old  Ger- 
man God"  implicitly  and  fought  for 
him  and  with  him  in  all  good  con- 
science and  murdered  multitudes  af- 
ter the  battle  was  over  and  the  sacking 
began.  God  was  his  God  and  not  the 
God  of  the  conquered.  This  "good 
old  German  God"  is  the  ancient  ethnic 
or  tribal  god  of  heathen  Prussia;  this 
conception  of  him  is  a  return  to  the 
days  of  the  barbarian  and  the  tribal 
consciousness  of  early  history.  In  an- 
cient times  all  tribes  fought  in  the 
name  of  their  god  and  the  battle  was 
between  the  gods  of  the  warring  tribes 
as  well  as  between  their  armies.  The 
Prussians  gave  up  their  tribal  god  and 
the  pagan  customs  that  went  with  him 
very  loathly.  Long  after  southern 
Germany  had  yielded  to  Christianity, 
Prussia  held  out ;  an  attempt  to  con- 
vert them  in  the  tenth  century  met 
with  such  savagery  that  the  mission- 
aries were  slain  and  no  one  dared 
another  missionary  excursion  to  them 
for  two  hundred  years,  and  even 
when  they  did  come  to  consider  the 
plea  at  last  they  desired  to  reserve 
the  rights  to  keep  up  such  barbarous 
practices  as  the  destruction  of  their 
aged  and  of  deformed  children.  The 
Prussians  have  never  ceased  to  be  a 
warlike  people;  they  never  submitted 
to  the  Popes  as  did  Bavaria,  and 
Luther  found  them  ready  adherents 
to  his  cause,  much  less  from  a  relig- 
ious than  a  political  reason.  Bis- 
marck's successful  coalition  of  the 
Germanic  states  was  accomplished 
under  war  conditions  and  by  imposing 
the  will  and  the  King  of  Prussia  on 
the  other  states ;  and  now  all  Germany 
fights  under  Prussia's  domination  and 
the  world  wars  to  end  "Prussianism." 


Kultur,  Imperialism,  "Benevolent 
Assimilation,"  Etc. 

The  Prussian  idea  of  Kultur  is  not 
different  in  kind  but  only  in  degree 
from  the  age-long  imperialism  of  na- 
tions whose  military  power  enabled 
them  to  coerce  the  smaller  peoples  for 
their  own  advantage;  it  is  a  sort  of 
scientific  application  of  the  same  no- 
tion. England  could,  with  all  good 
"Christian"  conscience,  coerce  the 
small  and  backward  peoples  on  the 
plea  that  as  she  forwarded  her  com- 
merce and  world-power  she  also  did 
them  good ;  the  good  to  them  was  a 
sort  of  by-product  of  profit  to  herself, 
to  be  sure,  but  good  was  done  them  by 
imposing  peace,  justice  and  the  ma- 
terial fruits  of  a  higher  civilization, 
and  the  end  justified  the  means.  It 
was  not,  and  the  English  rule  of  others 
than  Englishmen  is  not  democratic, 
but  Britannia  rules  the  waves  and  the 
"workshop  of  the  world"  must  have 
markets  that  are  advantageous ;  and 
then  comes  the  philosophy  and  the 
religion  of  it  all,  born,  "as  it  is  liable  to 
be,  of  the  national  interest,  that  the 
Anglo-Saxon  is  a  sort  of  a  chosen  of 
the  Lord  to  bring  benefits  to  the  child 
peoples  of  the  race.  This  is  the  re- 
ligion of  such  as  Rudyard  Kipling. 
In  our  own  land — a  democracy  with- 
out monarchical  implications — many 
still  believe  in  the  "destiny  of  nations" 
with  ours  as  the  nation  and  are  badly 
infected  with  the  idea  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  being  the  modern  Israel  of  the 
Lord.  We  found  a  sort  of  consistency 
between  democracy  and  imperialism 
by  coining  the  philosophy  of  "benev- 
olent assimilation";  this  phrase  was  a 
compromise  between  our  fundamental 
democratic  conscience  and  belief  in  the 
rights  of  "government  being  founded 
on  the  consent  of  the  governed"  and 
those  frankly  imperialistic  elements 
among  us  that  did  not  believe  in  our 
fundamental  democracy  except  for 
ourselves.  Happily,  democracy  has 
won  and  our  "outlying  possessions" 
are  becoming  "territories"  as  a  transi- 
tion stage  to  "statehood"  and  the 
Philippines  are  promised  independ- 
ence with  the  same  faith  that  gave 
Cuba  independence.  The  drive  of 
principle  in  this  war  is  that  of  our 
type  of  democracy  and  the  doctrines 
of  Bryce  and  Wilson  regarding  the 
rights  of  small  nations  against  the 
whole  old-world  type  of  imperialism 
as  represented  in  its  extremity  by 
Kultur. 

Who  Shall  Pay 
the  Piper? 

War  exigencies  have  brought  us  the 


most  revolutionary  action  of  a  half- 
century  in  the  voting  of  conscription. 
Volunteer  armies  have  been  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  way  of  making  war  for  centu- 
ries, with  the  draft  as  a  last  desperate 
resort.  Congress  seems  less  willing  to 
adopt  revolutionary  methods  of  as 
radical  a  type  in  raising  the  cash  to 
support  these  conscripted  armies. 
With  the  vast  accumulations  of  wealth 
in  the  hands  of  a  few  and  with  the 
great  profits  of  war  going  to  a  few 
and  with  the  experience  of  the  other 
nations  at  war  before  them,  Congress 
proposes  very  conservative  action 
when  it  comes  to  conscripting  wealth. 
It  is  the  old  story  of  the  man  and  the 
dollar,  with  the  dollar  able  to  claim 
the  strongest  forces.  The  man  with  a 
thousand  a  year  will  add  a  special  war 
tax  to  the  heightened  cost  of  living  and 
his  usual  taxes  and  thus  pay  a  larger 
share  of  his  small  savings  than  the 
man  with  millions.  The  man  with  mil- 
lions will  add  millions  through  war 
prices,  perhaps,  and  give  up  not  more 
than  one-third  of  his  income.  The 
plea  is,  of  course,  that  business  will 
suffer  and  be  deranged.  The  farmer, 
the  workingman,  the  housewife  and  all 
common  folk  will  find  business  de- 
ranged through  war  prices  and  war 
taxes,  but  patriotism  is  expected  to 
make  them  work  harder,  save  more 
and  live  for  the  common  cause;  not 
so  apparently  with  "business."  The 
workingman  must  suspend  all  laws 
and  rules  governing  his  work,  the 
farmer  must  work  into  the  night  to 
provision  the  world,  but  this  precious 
"business"  must  go  on  "as  usual." 
Congress  even  refuses  to  take  more 
than  16  per  cent  of  the  excess  profits 
of  the  munition  makers;  their  work- 
ingmen  must  suspend  the  nine-hour 
law,  but  the  manufacturer  must  not 
even  suspend  excess  profits.  Then,  as 
a  last  resort,  we  must  have  a  10  per 
cent  tax  put  on  our  daily  food  and  all 
necessary  articles  of  life,  which  means 
that  all  goods  can  go  up  an  extra  10 
per  cent,  whether  imported  or  not,  and 
the  consumer  pay  billions  in  order 
that  Uncle  Sam  may  collect  millions 
from  such  part  of  our  consumable 
goods  as  happens  to  be  imported. 
While  taking  young  men  from  all 
walks  of  life  into  the  army,  at  risk  to 
life  and  limb,  for  a  mere  $25  per 
month,  why,  in  the  name  of  humanity 
and  equity  and  all  that  is  just,  not  also 
take  all  the  excess  profits  and  most  of 
the  greater  incomes  ? 

The  Toiler  Speaks — 

"I  will  give  my  hands — my  hands 
Knotted  with  strain  and  toil, 
Torn  with  the  labor  of  all  the  lands, 
But  you — will  you  give  your  spoil?" 


May  17,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


17 


The  Student  Speaks — 

"I  will  give  my  brain  and  soul, 
I  will  not  wince  at  pain; 
I  will  pay  to  the  full  the  toll, 
And  you — will  you  give  your  gain?" 

The  Clerk  Speaks — 

"I  will  give  my  life — nay,  breath, 
O,  God,  I  have  no  more; 
I  will  laugh  at  a  grisley  death, 

But  you — will  you  give  your  store?" 

The  Poet  Speaks— 

"I  will  give  my  dreams  and  my  songs, 

I  will  write  with  the  sword; 
I    will    challenge    kings    for    these 
wrongs, 
And  you — will  you  give   your 
hoard?" 


The  Young  Man  Speaks — 

"I  will  give  my  youth — this  youth, 
The  glad,  full  flush  of  health; 
I  will  kindle  the  torch  of  truth, 
And  you — will  you  give  your 
wealth?" 


The  Mother  Speaks — 

"I  will  give  my  sons — these  sons, 
All— all  that  I  hold; 
I  will  give  my  flesh  for  the  guns, 

And  you — will  you  give  your  gold?" 

—From    "The    Challenge,"    by    Paul 

Lyman  Benjamin  in  "The  Survey." 


SECULARIZING  THE  PULPIT 

The  American  Lutheran  Survey 
gives  a  partial  list  of  themes  that  were 
announced  in  the  New  York  and  Bos- 
ton papers  recently  as  subjects  for 
pulpit  discourses.  The  list  could  be 
lengthened  out  indefinitely  to  show, 
first,  that  in  some  preachers'  minds  it 
is  more  important  that  current  events 
should  determine  what  a  man  is  to 
preach  than  that  the  Word  should  de- 
cide; second,  that  the  Scriptures  are 
seemingly  regarded  as  incapable  of 
furnishing  themes  with  which  to  inter- 
est men ;  and,  third,  that  many  preach- 
ers are  willing  to  dishonor  the  Scrip- 
tures and  discount  the  power  of  the 
gospel.    Here  are  a  few  of  the  themes : 

"Are  We  a  Nation  of  Dough-faces?" 
"Is  the  Pope  the  Antichrist,  or  Is  He  a 
Coming  Kaiser?"  "Is  Neutrality  a 
Farce?"  "At  the  Sign  of  Old  Glory," 
"The  Feminist  Movement,"  "Ruskin's 
'Unto  This  Last,' "  "The  Message  of 
Shakespeare,"  "Labor  and  Capital," 
"The  Fools  in  the  Bible  and  the  Fools 
in  Greater  Boston,"  "Plays  that 
Preach :  'The  Eternal  Magdalene,' " 
"National  Preparedness,"  "Dr.  Jekyll 
and  Mr.  Hyde,"  "The  League  to  En- 
force Peace,"  "Preparedness  the  Crisis 
of  Our  Day,"  "Getting  Home  from 
Third,"  "Charlie  Chaplin's  Half-Mil- 
lion," "The  Restriction  of  Immigra- 
tion," "When  Mr.  Sunday  Comes  to 
Boston,"  "How  to  End  Race  Preju- 
dice," "The  Path  to  Prosperity,"  "Hy- 
phens and  Adjectives." 


Tells  Road  to  Happiness 

Professor  Hugh  Black  of  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  New  York 
City,  author  of  "Happiness"  and 
other  books,  gave  Ford  Hall  the  fol- 


lowing epigrams  telling  of  that  state : 

"If  you  can't  get  what  you  want, 
want  what  you  can  get." 

"If  you  can't  paint  pictures,  do 
something  equally  worth  while." 

"Happiness  is  not  a  matter  of  in- 
come, but  of  output." 

"Life  is  rich  or  poor  according  to 
your  relationships." 


"Enjoy  your  pleasures  while  they 
last." 

"Appreciate  your  blessings  before 
they  are  gone." 

Professor  Black  is  a  graduate  of 
Glasgow  University  and  has  b':':n 
awarded  degrees  of  D.  D.  by  Yale 
and  Princeton.  He  has  been  in  Amer- 
ica ten  years. 


§>!!lllllllll!llllllllllllllilllllllllillllilllllllll!lllll!li:!!lllllllllllll!ll!IIIIIIIIIII 

|   The  Sunday  School 

The  Spirit  of  Truth 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
By  E.  F.  DAUGHERTY 


THAT  "upper  room"  is  memorable 
for  several  significant  things,  but 
for  none  of  more  significance  and 
consequence  to  the  Kingdom  of  God 
on  earth  than  its  expressions  respect- 
ing the  "Spirit  of  Truth."  It  is  an  out- 
standing thing  in  this  story  that  He 
was  "to  convict  the  world  of  sin,  of 
righteousness  and  of  judgment." 

How  goes  the  thought  of  the  times 
on  sin  ?  Since  the  days  when  Dr.  Ed- 
ward A.  Ross  published  "Sin  and 
Society"  it  has  been  increasingly  hard 
for  any  sinner  to  hide  in  the  mazes  of 
"syndication" ;  corporate  responsibil- 
ity for  bad  conditions  in  human  living 
is  being  as  unerringly  fixed  in  these 
days  as  ever  individual  responsibility 
was  fixed.  The  trust,  the  combine,  the 
corporation,  the  magnate  council  are 
one  today  in  facing  the  fact  that  they 
are  servitors  rather  than  exploiters  of 
the  general  public.  Human  welfare  is 
the  supreme  value.  Whatever  minis- 
ters to  it  deserves  place ;  whatever 
blocks  it  will  soon  come  to  displace- 
ment under  the  present  day  ministry 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the  world.  He 
is  "making  all  things  new" ;  overt  acts 
have  long  been  taboo,  when  criminal ; 
surreptitious  negligence  in  drainage, 
ventilation,  food  supply  or  water  may 
be  pilloried  as  "sin"  today,  because  the 
Spirit  of  God,  guiding  men  "into  all 
truth"  is  working  by  the  side  of  and 
around  no  less  than  in  the  Church  of 
the  Living  God,  where  the  Word  is 

heard. 

h<     *     * 

And  about  righteousness?  Slavery 
went  down  after  several  centuries  of 
Christian  leavening,  and  polygamy, 
judicial  torture  and  other  iniquities, 
which  once  were  in  vogue.  War  will 
so  go  in  time,  because  the  reign  of  the 
Spirit  of  Truth  will  make  it  an 
anachronism.  None  of  the  peoples 
locked   in   sanguinary   struggle   today 

*This  article  is  based  on  the  Interna- 
tional Uniform  Sunday  school  lesson  for 
May  27,  "The  Holy  Spirit  and  His 
Work."     Scripture,  John  15:  26-16:14. 


wanted  war;  all  loathed  it  in  fact, 
though  many  for  a  half-century  past 
have  been  zealously  preparing.  War 
is  the  fount  of  all  inhuman  and 
malodorous  iniquities ;  the  ages  past 
have  had  no  moral  monstrosity  in 
action  that  has  not  been  revived  and 
brought  forth  in  a  disheartening 
renaissance  on  war's  fields  today.  Yet 
the  multitudes  of  participating  lives 
revolt  from  the  exigencies  of  their  sit- 
uation, and  their  soul  revolt  is 
prophetic  of  the  time  when  "right- 
eousness" will  so  fill  the  earth  that  war 
will  be  taboo. 

And  judgment?  Well,  the  judg- 
ment day  of  old-time  theology  is 
hardly  as  effective  as  in  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards' time,  and  then  its  main  issue 
was  fear,  rather  than  reformation. 
The  Spirit  of  Truth  in  the  life  of  the 
present  world  is  impressing  on  indi- 
viduals and  nations  the  fact  that 
wrong  cannot  be  gotten  away  with 
eternally ;  the  law  of  the  harvest  is 
inexorable  in  the  spiritual,  no  less  than 
the  physical  realm.  Every  day  is  a 
judgment  day  in  the  unfolding  of 
destiny,  and  woe  to  man  or  nation 
which  elects  to  do  wrong!  Judgment 
has  already  begun  in  the  terrible  mis- 
choice,  and  it  is  the  judgment  of 
condemnation. 

4:       sfc       ♦ 

The  "fruits  of  the  spirit"  are  more 
in  the  world  today  than  ever  before. 
The  love,  joy,  peace,  long  suffering, 
patience,  temperance,  etc.,  which  are 
budding  in  human  realms  of  thought, 
will  blossom  in  human  relations,  when 
it  comes  to  be  recognized  that  no 
church,  nor  creed,  nor  ritual,  nor 
dogma,  nor  modus  operandi  of  relig- 
ious work  has  a  monopoly  on  the 
truth  of  God.  He  hath  not  left  Him- 
self without  a  witness  among  any 
people,  and  wherever  the  disposition 
of  human  helpfulness  in  the  spirit  of 
Christ  is  operating,  there  the  work  of 
His  eternal  Spirit  is  being  construct- 
ively done. 


18 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  17,  1917 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


Wabash,   Ind.,   Pastor  a 
'"Municipal  Asset" 

The  Wabash  (Tnd.)  Times-Star  con- 
tains an  editorial  concerning  the  service 
which  F.  E.  Jaynes  of  the  Christian 
church  of  Wabash  is  rendering  the  com- 
munity. Mr.  Jaynes  was  called  to  de- 
liver a  patriotic  address  at  a  local  thea- 
ter on  Easter  day  to  an  audience  of 
about  two  thousand  people  of  all  creeds 
and  of  none;  a  few  days  later  about 
forty  thousand  people  assembled  at  an 
outdoor  gathering  to  hear  another  mes- 
sage of  patriotism  from  the  same 
speaker;  and  a  few  days  ago  at  a  flag- 
raising  promoted  by  a  local  fraternity 
Mr.  Jaynes  made  the  principal  address. 
The  Wabash  minister  is  being  called  on 
continuously  for  speeches;  last  week  he 
delivered  six  commencement  addresses. 
The  Times-Star  closes  its  editorial  trib- 
ute with  the  words,  "Mr.  Jaynes  is  a 
municipal  asset." 

Frank  Waller  Allen  Resigns 
at  Springfield,  111. 

After  three  years  of  ministry  at  First 
church,  Springfield,  111.,  Frank  Waller 
Allen  presented  his  resignation  on  Sun- 
daj',  May  6,  to  become  effective  August 
1.  Mr.  Allen's  work  has  been  successful 
in  a  most  notable  degree,  both  in  the 
church  and  in  the  community.  He  will 
continue  to  reside  in  Springfield  for  the 
time  being,  doing  literary  work  and  lec- 
turing. 

Ohio's  Hosts  to  Assemble 
at  Belief ontaine,  May  21-24 

The  Disciples  of  the  progressive  state 
of  Ohio  seem  to  have  no  fear  of  the 
soundness  of  Professors  Snoddy  and 
Bower  of  Transylvania  College;  these 
leaders  are  programed  for  addresses  on 
live  topics  at  the  state  meeting  of  the 
churches  to  assemble  at  Bellefontaine, 
May  21-24.  Professor  E.  E.  Snoddy 
gives  an  address  on  the  morning  of  the 
23d,  his  theme  being  "Christianity  and 
the  World  of  Today,"  and  he  speaks 
again  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day 
on  "Christianity  in  America."  Profes- 
sor W.  C.  Bower  is  the  chief  speaker  for 
the  evening  of  the  23d,  with  the  theme, 
"Makers  of  Men,"  and  he  speaks  again  on 
the  following  morning  on  "Religious 
Education  in  a  Democracy."  Professor 
Snoddy  also  speaks  at  this  same  session 
on  "The  Disciples  of  Christ."  The  after- 
noon of  the  first  day  of  the  convention 
and  the  morning  of  the  second  will  be 
given  over  to  the  sessions  of  the  C.  W. 
B.  M.,  with  E.  H.  Wray,  of  Steubenville, 
Mrs.  Laura  D.  Garst,  of  Indianapolis, 
and  President  Paul  of  Indianapolis,  as 
leading  speakers.  The  state  president 
will  also  give  her  address  and  brief  talks 
will  be  given  after  lunch  by  Miss  Hetty 
Rosenberger,  Mrs.  O.  C.  Williams  and 
Miss  Jessie  Jerome  of  Hiram  College. 
The  College  of  Missions  Quartet  will 
sing  at  all  these  sessions.  On  Tuesday 
afternoon,  the  men's  session,  W.  R.  War- 
ren will  speak  on  "The  New  Pension 
Plan";  J.  A.  White,  superintendent  of 
the  Ohio  Anti-Saloon  League,  will  give 
an  address,  and  Geo.  P.  Rutledge,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, will  speak  on  "The  Church  and 
War."  The  evening  of  Tuesday  will  be 
given  over  to  the  state  work,  addresses 
being  given  by  Secretary  I.  J.  Cahill  and 
President  C.  B.  Reynolds.  The  state 
board  will  hold  a  meeting  on  Wednes- 


m 


day  morning,  and  a  class  room  period 
lias  been  arranged  for  the  same  period, 
with  the  following  speakers:  J.  H.  Gold- 
ner,  on  "The  Church  and  the  Preacher"; 
President  M.  L.  Bates,  of  Hiram,  on 
"Young  People  and  Life  Work";  Mrs. 
G.  C.  Neil,  of  Toledo,  on  "New  Graded 
Missionary  Material,"  and  Marion  Ste- 
venson, of  St.  Louis,  on  "The  New 
Standard  Teacher-Training  Course."  W. 
H.  Boden  will  speak  on  "Our  Obliga- 
tion to  the  Country,"  W.  F.  Rothen- 
burger  on  "An  Adequate  Policy  for  City 
Problems,"  and  Professor  Snoddy  will 
begin  his  series  of  addresses.  In  the 
afternoon  speakers  will  be:  C.  M.  Rode- 
fer,  of  Bellaire,  on  "The  Business  Man's 
Ministry";  Mrs.  Lillian  Burt  of  Colum- 
bus, on  "The  Immigrant";  F.  W.  Burn- 
ham  on  "Home  Missions,"  and  Pro- 
fessor Snoddy.  Evening  speakers  will 
be  Professor  Bower  and  a  Men  and  Mil- 
lions representative.  On  Thursday 
morning,  a  class  room  period,  speakers 
will  be  Howard  Spangler,  of  Cleveland; 
Miss  Abbott,  of  Lima;  President  Bates; 
C.  A.  Hanna  of  Cleveland;  C.  A.  Pearce, 
of  Marion;  and  Professors  Snoddy  and 
Bower.  In  the  afternoon  Secretary  Bert 
Wilson,  Dr.  Fred  Kline,  G.  W.  Muckley 
and  President  Bates  will  speak. 

Ashland,  Ky.,  Church 
Getting  Out  of  Debt 

W.  A.  Fite,  minister  at  First  Church, 
Ashland,  Ky.,  writes  that  this  congre- 
gation has  just  finished  a  campaign  to 
reduce  the  church  debt.  The  indebted- 
ness on  the  church  March  1  was  $11,100; 
today  it  is  $5,000.  The  amount  raised 
during  the  campaign  was  $6,100.  When 
the  present  $75,000  church  property  was 
dedicated,  on  December,  1913,  there  was 
an  indebtedness  of  over  $28,000.  Pledges 
to  be  paid  in  annual  installments  cover- 
ing five  years  were  secured  to  meet  this 
indebtedness.  The  last  of  these  pledges 
is  not  due  until  next  February.  The 
program  of  the  campaign  was  to  secure 
all  delinquent  payments  possible,  to  get 
all  who  could  to  make  last  payment  on 
their  pledge  in  advance  and  to  secure  as 
many  new  payments  as  possible.  Con- 
sidering   the    high    prices    of    all    things 


purchasable,  and  the  fact  that  the  church 
membership  is  only  about  400,  with  no 
great  wealth  in  the  congregation,  Mr. 
Fite  feels  that  the  campaign  has  been  a 
genuine  success.  The  church  debt  at  the 
beginning  of  his  pastorate,  in  September, 
1915,  was  $16,400.  Thus,  within  the  last 
year  and  eight  months,  there  has  been 
raised  on  the  debt  $9,400,  exclusive  of 
interest.  The  pastor  is  an  ardent  advo- 
cate of  "Tithing"  and  finds  that  this 
method  of  financing  works  most  success- 
fully in  his  field. 

Indianapolis  to  Have  New 
Community  House 

Clay  Trusty  is  now  in  the  tenth  year 
of  his  ministry  at  Seventh  church,  In- 
dianapolis, and  he  celebrated  this  fact 
by  the  dedication  on  last  Sunday  of  an 
$18,000  Community  House  as  an  addi- 
tion to  the  already  elaborate  equipment 
of  this  church.  Charles  A.  Bookwalter, 
former  mayor  of  the  city  and  leading 
citizen,  delivered  the  principal  address. 
Governor  Goodrich  also  gave  a  brief 
talk.  C.  W.  Caudle  dedicated  the  build- 
ing. The  structure  measures  72  by  58 
feet,  and  has  a  removable  stage  14  by  28 
feet.  This  enables  the  building  to  be 
used  either  as_  an  auditorium  or  gym- 
nasium. The  library  and  reading  rooms 
of  Seventh  church  will  be  used  in  con- 
nection with  the  community  building. 
This  enterprise  is  an  outgrowth  of  the 
efforts  of  the  church  to  minister  to  the 
needs  of  the  young  people  of  the  com- 
munity. The  church  is  a  half-hour's  car 
ride  from  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  fully 
50,000  people  are  within  walking  dis- 
tance of  the  church.  This  is  the  only 
building  of  the  sort  in  this  section  of 
the  city.  Although  the  new  structure  is 
under  the  control  of  the  church,  all  finan- 
cial responsibility  for  it  is  assumed  by 
the  men's  organization,  which  is  incor- 
porated as  the  "Seventh  Christian  Asso- 
ciation." This  organization  will  encour- 
age all  sorts  of  wholesome  activities  for 
young  people — games,  dramatic  clubs, 
minstrel  entertainments,  community  meet- 
ings, etc.  All  young  people  will  be  wel- 
comed, without  regard  to  creed.  The 
larger  part  of  the  money  that  is  to  pay 
for  the  building  will  come  from  the 
pockets  of  men  who  are  not  members  of 
Seventh  church.  The  erection  of  the 
building  makes  an  addition  to  the 
church's  property  during  three  years  of 
$25,000  value.  This  congregation  is 
wide-awake  in  respect  to  all  phases  of 
church    work.      Church    college    classes 


Missionary  Narrowly  Escapes  Torpedo 

Note:     The  following  letter  has  just  been  received  by  the  Foreign  Society  from 
Mrs.  Johnston,  who  has  just  returned  to  America  from  her  Congo  work. 


Falmouth,  England, 

April  22,  1917. 
I  think  you  will  be  glad  to  hear  that 
we  have  made  this  journey  from  Congo 
in  safety.  We  have  much  to  thank  God 
for.  They  told  us  that  on  Friday  morn- 
ing we  were  an  hour  ahead  of  having 
been  torpedoed.  Two  vessels  went 
down  an  hour  later  where  we  had  passed 
— no  one  saved  on  either  ship.  Friday 
evening  we  picked  up  two  life  boats  of 
twenty-six  sailors  from  a  torpedoed  boat. 
They  were  all  saved.  One  old  man 
may  die,  as  they  had  been  out  twenty- 
two  hours,  and  it  was  very  cold.  So  far 
Congo  boats  have  been  very  fortunate. 
But  I  shall  not  advise  anyone  to  come 
this  way  again  until  the  war  is  over.  I 
am  not  looking  forward  to  my  trip 
across  the  Atlantic  with  much  pleasure. 
We  had  quite  a  rough  sea,  and  very  cold 
after  the  Canaries.     Many  of  us  suffered 


somewhat  of  colds.  I  am  feeling  very 
well  now.  The  C.  B.  M.  missionaries, 
with  whom  I  came  this  far,  have  been 
such  pleasant  companions  for  me,  also 
some  other  English  people  of  Lever's 
Company.  Ten  English  grown-ups  and 
three  children  besides  myself,  in  all.  We 
had  General  Tombeier  and  his  staff  on 
board  from  East  Africa,  and  eighty  Ger- 
man prisoners.  Plenty  of  interest,  but 
not  of  the  really  enjoyable  kind. 

I  went  to  church  today — the  first  time 
in  nearly  four  years,  to  an  English  serv- 
ice, I  mean,  of  course.  And  strange,  the 
organ  voluntary  was  American  airs — 
the  National  anthem  and  others.  The 
English  are  greatly  rejoicing  over  Amer- 
ica's advent  into  the  war.  They  were 
wondering  what  they  were  going  to  do 
for  food,  etc.,  now  they  seem  to  feel 
America  has  come  as  a  friend  indeed. 
Lillian  P.  Johnston. 


May  17,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


19 


have  been  successfully  conducted  at  the 
church  every  Thursday  evening  for  over 
two  years.  A  community  paper  is  pub- 
lished weekly,  and  this  has  not  only  been 
self-sustaining,  but  has  also  paid  the  sal- 
ary of  Mr.  Trusty's  assistant  and  for 
office  expenses.  More  than  1,200  mem- 
bers have  been  added  to  the  congrega- 
tion since  Mr.  Trusty  has  been  leading, 
and  this  without  the  aid  of  an  evangelist, 
except  singers.  There  is  a  Sunday 
school  of  nearly  500  attendance,  and  an 
active  church  membership  of  800.  R.  S. 
MacLeod,  who  is  now  in  Yale,  will  go 
out  to  Tibet  in  the  autumn  as  the  living 
link  of  Seventh  church.  A  box  of  sup- 
plies valued  at  $100  has  just  been  sent 
to  Tibet,  the  gift  of  the  congregation  to 
the  mission  there.  Four  young  men  of 
the  membership  have  decided  for  the 
ministry  in  the  last  two  years  and  three 
of  them  are  preaching  regularly  now. 
Several  young  men  of  the  congregation 
are  volunteering  for  war  service. 

New  York  Disciple  Secretary 
Goes  to  Toronto 

For  five  years  state  secretary  of  the 
New  York  Disciple  churches,  C.  A. 
Brady  has  now  moved  across  the  line 
and  will  give  his  time  to  preaching  serv- 
ice in  Toronto.  C.  M.  Kreidler,  record- 
ing secretary  of  the  state  organization, 
writes  of  Mr.  Brady  as  follows:  "It  has 
been  a  long  time  since  the -Empire  State 
has  had  a  man  in  the  field  who  so  well 
knew  the  actual  conditions  of  the  varied 
church  fields  and  who  was  such  a  friend 
of  all  the  churches,  especially  mission 
churches."  Mr.  Brady  held  a  large  num- 
ber of  evangelistic  meetings  and  was 
very  successful  in  this  branch  of  his 
work. 

Iowa's  Convention 

to  Be  Held  at  Des  Moines 

May  21-24  is  the  date  of  the  state 
meeting  of  the  Iowa  Disciples,  and  the 
place  is  Des  Moines.  The  C.  W.  B.  M. 
will  hold  its  sessions  beginning  Monday, 
May  21,  and  closing  Tuesday  evening 
with  a  "Circle"  banquet.  At  the  state 
missionary  society  sessions,  which  be- 
gin on  Tuesday  evening,  the  following 
are  some  of  the  speakers  programmed: 
H.  E.  Van  Horn,  Oklahoma  City,  Okla.; 
W.  C.  Cole,  Des  Moines;  William  Baier, 
Spencer;  F.  W.  Mutchler;  B.  W.  Garrett 
and  C.  S.  Medbury,  Des  Moines;  W.  A. 
Shullenberger,  Des  Moines;  W.  T. 
Fisher,  Mason  City;  B.  W.  Pettit,  Albia 
and  A.  McLain,   Cincinnati. 

Dr.  Willett  Again 
Seriously  111 

Readers  of  The  Christian  Century 
will  regret  to  learn  of  the  illness  of  Dr. 
Herbert  L.  Willett.  Two  years  ago  Dr. 
Willett  suffered  a  severe  attack  of  rheu- 
matism, and  he  has  been  in  great  pain 
from  the  same  trouble  for  the  past  week. 
However,  he  is  much  better  at  the  pres- 
ent writing,  and  it  is  hoped  he  may  be 
reported  .much  improved  in  next  issue. 
It  is  also  hoped  that  Dr.  Willett's  helpful 
series  on  the  Bible  may  be  continued  in 
that  issue.  From  the  letters  coming  to 
the  office,  it  is  evident  that  these  articles 
are  proving  very  popular. 

W.  F.  Rothenburger  Leads  Franklin 
Circle,  Cleveland,  in  Large  Achievement 

The  annual  meeting  of  Franklin  Circle 
church,  Cleveland,  O.,  was  held  on 
Wednesday  evening,  April  16,  with  R. 
A.  Doan  as  guest  of  honor.  The  reports 
showed  the  following  accomplishments: 
145  additions,  71  of  which  were  by  con- 
fession of  faith ;  an  average  Sunday  school 
attendance  of  552;  an  average  weekly  at- 
tendance  at  all   functions   of  from   1,400 


to  1,800,  with  a  high  water  mark  of  2,501; 
$3,500  to  missions  through  the  regular 
societies,  $2,405  through  the  C.  W.  B.  M. 
and  local  organs — a  total  of  $5,965; 
$10,043  for  current  expenses;  %'.);z'M) 
through  the  building  fund — a  grand  total 


of  $25,298.  The  living  links  of  the 
church  arc  C.  R.  Lemon  at  Sandusky  in 
the  Ohio  Society;  C.  W.  Dean  in  the 
Rocky  Mountain  District  through  the 
American  Society,  and  sixteen  native 
workers  at  Nantungchow,  China,  in  the 


A  Report 


The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  College 
of  the  Bible  met  in  special  session  at 
Lexington,  Ky.,  May  1st,  1917.  This 
meeting  was  in  response  to  the  call  of 
the  executive  committee  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  considering  the  published 
charges  of  Dean  H.  L.  Calhoun  and 
certain  students  that  destructive  criti- 
cism is  being  taught  in  this  institution. 
At  the  beginning  of  this  investigation  the 
Board  considered  maturely  what  is  its 
jurisdiction  and  what  should  be  the 
nature  of  its  investigation.  The  Board 
recognized  from  the  beginning  that  it 
is  in  no  sense  a  tribunal  for  conducting 
a  heresy  trial,  but  that  it  is  responsible 
to  the  friends  of  the  college  for  the  fit- 
ness of  the  men  selected  to  teach  therein, 
the  subject  matter  of  their  teaching  be- 
ing an  essential  part  of  their  fitness. 

*      *     * 

The  Board  decided  unanimously  to 
make  a  thorough  investigation  of  condi- 
tions existing  in  the  college.  After  pro- 
longed consideration  and  informal  con- 
ferences with  Dean  Calhoun  and  the 
other  members  of  the  faculty  on  method 
of  procedure,  the  Board  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing program  of  procedure. 

1.  Resolved:  that  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees of  the  College  of  the  Bible  is  com- 
petent to  conduct  the  investigation  of 
the  conditions  in  the  College  of  the 
Bible. 

2.  That  we  request  Dean  H.  L.  Cal- 
houn to  appear  before  the  Board  and 
present  his  charges  against  the  members 
of  the  faculty  of  the  college  in  their 
presence. 

3.  That  all  parties  shall  be  given  full 
opportunity  to  present  all  testimony  in 
support  and  defense  of  the  charges. 

4.  That  all  members  of  the  Board 
may  interrogate  all  parties  to  their  satis- 
faction, and  that  the  members  of  the 
Board  may  call  for  any  witnesses  or 
students  for  examination  as  to  the 
charges. 

5.  That  the  chairman  of  the  Board 
shall  rule  on  the  relevancy  of  all  ques- 
tions with  right  of  appeal  to  the  Board. 

6.  That  all  questions  put  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  faculty  shall  be  put  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Board,  but  all  parties  may 
interrogate  any  other  witnesses. 

7.  That  the  Board  in  executive  ses- 
sion shall  then  come  to  its  conclusions 
and  formulate  its  report. 

Dean  Calhoun  objected  to  this  program 
of  procedure,  but  later  waived  his  objec- 
tions. The  program  of  procedure  being 
finally  accepted  by  all  parties  concerned,  the 
investigation  was  begun.  Dean  Calhoun 
appeared  before  the  Board  and  made 
formal  charges  that  destructive  criticism 
was  being  taught  in  the  College  of  the 
Bible,  and  declared  that  he  had  three 
sources  of  information  from  which  he 
could  prove  his  charges.  He  was  granted 
liberty  to  use  all  three  sources  in  sup- 
port of  his  charges.  Before  the  ex- 
amination of  his  first  witness  was 
completed,  Dean  Calhoun  stated  that  he 
was  dissatisfied  with  the  method  of  in- 
vestigation and  declined  to  proceed  any 
further  and  tendered  his  resignation. 

The  Board  then  invited  before  it  the 
students  who  had  petitioned  it  to  make 
investigation.      Only    two    of   these    ap- 


peared and  both  refused  to  produce  any 
testimony  unless  Dean  Calhoun  con- 
ducted the  investigation.  The  Board 
then  called  before  \t  all  students  named 
in  the  Battenfield  letter  and  others  whose 
names  had  been  mentioned  to  the  Board 
as  having  had  their  faith  undermined  by 
the  teachings  of  the  college.  The  Board 
then  called  before  it  every  member  of 
the  faculty  and  the  president  of  the  col- 
lege for  lengthy  statements  and  ex- 
amination. These  men  gladly  came  be- 
fore the  Board,  ready  to  answer  every 
question  put  to  them  by  the  Board.  This 
investigation  continued  until  the  Board 
was  thoroughly  satisfied. 

The  Board  has  found  no  teaching  in 
this  college  by  any  member  of  the 
faculty  that  is  out  of  harmony  with  the 
fundamental  conceptions  and  convictions 
of  our  brotherhood  which  relate  to  the 
inspiration  of  the  Bible  as  the  divine 
word  of  God,  divinely  given,  and  of 
divine  authority,  or  to  the  divinity  of 
Jesus  Christ  or  to  the  plea  of  our  people. 

The  Board  has  found  no  student  whose 
faith  in  any  of  these  things  has  been 
shaken,  but  has  had  evidence  that  the 
faith  of  many  students  has  been  strength- 
ened. 


The  Board  believes  that  the  disposi- 
tion to  preserve  the  good  of  the  past, 
combined  with  the  ability  to  improve  for 
the  tasks  of  the  present  should  be  the 
underlying  principle  of  its  trusteeship  of 
this  institution. 

The  Board  further  believes  that  it  is 
impossible  to  have  agreement  among 
members  of  the  faculty  on  all  points  re- 
lating to  the  interpretation  and  applica- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  and  to  God's 
methods  of  working,  nor  is  it  important 
that  there  should  be  such  agreement. 

The  Board  prayed  most  earnestly  for 
the  guidance  of  our  heavenly  Father  in 
its  investigations  and  conclusions,  and 
believes  that  He  has  answered  these 
prayers  and  gives  Him  the  praise  and 
looks  to  Him  to  bless  with  His  leader- 
ship this  institution  which  is  so  dear  to 
the  hearts  of  our  people. 

That  the  brotherhood  may  know  from 
their  own  statements  something  of  the 
vital  teachings  of  these  brethren  in  their 
classrooms,  we  have  invited  them  to  sub- 
mit a  brief  statement  of  their  teachings 
on  the  points  in  question. 

Mark   Collis,    Chairman. 
Robt.  N.  Simfson,  Secretarv. 

May  9,  1917. 


The  Divinity  School 

OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

Courses  will  lie  offered  in  the  Old  Testament  by 
Professors  Smith  (J.  M.  P.).  Luekenbill.  Willett. 
Sprengling.  and  Gordon;  New  Testament  by  Professors 
Burton,  Norton.  Goodsneed.  and  Case:  Systematic 
Theology  by  Professors  Mathews.  Smith  (G.  B.i.  and 
Youtz:  Church  History  by  Professors  Moncrief  and 
Christie:  Religious  Education  by  Professors  Scares  and 
Ward;  HomileUcs  and  Pastoral  DuUes  by  Professor 
Hoyt :  Practical  Sociology  by  Professor  Burgess :  Public 
Speaking  by  Professor  Blanehard;  Music  by  Mr.  Stev- 
ens. Courses  in  other  departments  of  the  University 
are  open  to  students  in  the  Divinity  School. 

Summer  Quarter,   1917. 
1st  Term  June  lS-Ju]y  23 — 2d  Term  July  26-Aug.  31. 
Detailed   announcement  sent   upon   application   to   the 

Dean  of  the  Divinity  School 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


20 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  17,  1917 


Foreign  Society.  The  staff  of  workers 
consists  of  William  F.  Rothenburger, 
pastor;  Miss  Norma  Williams,  assistant; 
Mr.  Reece  Jones,  social  director,  and  Mr. 
Jesse  Van  Camp,  director  of  music.  In 
the  last  few  years  this  down-town 
mother  church  of  the  Disciples  in  the 
Sixth  district  has  increased  its  member- 
ship by  53  per  cent  (resident  member- 
ship, 950).  its  Bible  school  by  100  per 
cent,  its  budget  by  77  per  cent,  its  equip- 
ment by  $41,000  and  will  soon  close  sev- 
enty-five years  of  interesting  history, 
during  which  time  it  has  contributed 
twenty-two  lives  to  distinctly  Christian 
service. 

Father  and  Sons  Banquet 
at  Jacksonville,  111. 

Myron  L.  Pontius,  pastor  at  Central 
Church.  Jacksonville,  111.,  reports  a  most 
successful  Father  and  Sons  Banquet  at 
this  church,  with  225  persons  present; 
each  man  in  attendance  brought  a  boy 
with  him  as  his  guest.  Five  reels  of 
motion  pictures  were  shown  after  the 
feast.  Mr.  Pontius  reports  that  26  mem- 
bers were  added  to  the  membership  at 
Central  on  Easter  Day,  making  a  total 
of  over  fifty  added  since  January  1.  On 
April  29.  the  eleventh  anniversary  of  the 
dedication  of  the  present  building  was 
celebrated  with  F.  W.  Burnham,  H.  H. 
Peters,  Miss  Lela  Davis  and  Miss  Lillie 
Faris  present.  Mr.  Burnham  and  Mr. 
Peters  gave  addresses  in  the  auditorium 
and  Misses  Davis  and  Faris  held  a  meet- 
ing for  children  under  twelve  in  the 
junior  room.  Central  church  is  already 
a  living  link  in  the  state  work,  and  is 
endeavoring  to  become  a  living  link  in 
the  Home  Society  this  year. 

♦  ♦  !|S 

— A  telegram  from  Seventh  church, 
Indianapolis,  reports  $8,500  more  than 
was  expected  raised  on  last  Sunday,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the  new 
community  house  of  the  church,  de- 
scribed elsewhere  in  these  columns.  C. 
W.  Cauble  led  in  this  successful  effort. 
This  church  already  has  a  very  fine  edu- 
cational   building    costing    $15,000. 

— C.  F.  Evans  has  resigned  at  Santa 
Clara  Avenue,  Dayton,  O.,  to  which 
work  he  came  as  a  missionary  pastor 
four  years  ago.  During  the  period  of  his 
service  129  members  have  been  added 
to  the  congregation.  A  recent  evangel- 
istic meeting,  with  La  Verne  Taylor,  of 
Hillsboro,  O.,  leading,  added  seven  mem- 
bers. 

— President  Jos.  A.  Serena,  of  William 
Woods  College,  is  representing  the  Men 
and  Millions  movement  in  several  Mis- 
souri district  conventions.  He  spoke  re- 
cently at  Mongomery  City  and  Marshall. 

— Central  church,  Pueblo,  Colo.,  has 
called  to  its  pulpit  J.  E.  Henshaw,  of 
Arkansas  City,  Kan.  If  he  accepts  the 
work  he  will  begin  service  about  the 
middle  of  June.  W.  T.  Hilton  resigned 
at  Pueblo  March  1. 

— Claude  E.  Hill  has  just  completed 
his  first  year  at  First  Church,  Chat- 
tanooga, Term.,  and  reports  189  added  to 
the  membership  without  outside  help, 
$1,000  of  repairs  on  building,  increase  in 
Sunday  school  membership  to  second 
largest  in  the  city,  the  largest  regular 
morning  audience  in  the  city,  and  pas- 
tor's salary  increased  $600  per  year.  A 
city  mission  board  has  been  organized 
and  a  city  missionary  will  be  employed. 

— The  church  at  Palestine,  Tex.,  will 
make  an  addition  to  its  building  for 
Sunday  school  purposes.  Ten  additions 
to  the  membership  are  reported  for  a 
recent  morning  service.     This  church  is 


enthusiastic  over  a  new  purchase  of  200 
copies  of  "Hymns  of  the  United  Church." 

— The  annual  convention  of  the  New 
Mexico-West  Texas  Missionary  Society 
will  be  held  at  Clovis,  N.  M.,  May  22-24. 
It  is  hoped  a  full  report  will  be  at  hand 
for  a  later  issue. 

— Marion  Elizabeth  Sarvis  arrived  at 
the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Guy  W.  Sar- 
vis at  Nanking,  China,  on  January  26. 

— F.  E.  Jaynes,  pastor  at  Wabash, 
Ind.,  writes  that  his  mid-week  prayer- 
meeting  has  been  quadrupled  in  attend- 
ance since  Dr.  Willett's  book,  "Moral 
Leaders    of    Israel,"    was    adopted    as    a 


■■mi  if  an  if  A  Church  Homo  for  You. 

NEW  YORK  Write  Dr-  Fi*s  Idleman, 
llL.il   I  UIIIX  M2  West  81st  g      N  Y» 


text  for  study.  He  also  sends  word 
that  this  plan  for  the  meetings  has  won 
the  interest  of  the  younger  and  more 
alert  members  of  the  congregation. 
Here  is  a  suggestion  for  other  churches. 

— C.  J.  Armstrong,  formerly  a  Disciple 
minister,  but  for  the  past  four  years 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  at 
Superior,  Wis.,  has  accepted  a  call  to  the 
Congregational  pulpit  at  Gary,  Ind.  He 
will  begin  work  June  24. 


They  Appreciate  the  "Century" 


"I  am  a  regular  reader  of  The  Chris- 
tian Century  and  have  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  is  the  best  paper  in  the 
brotherhood." — H.  L.  Pickerill,  Lexing- 
ton, Ky. 

"I  am  a  constant  reader  of  the  Cen- 
tury and  should  be  very  lonely  without 
its  weekly  visit.  It  contains  each  week 
great  and  vital  messages  pertaining  to 
vital  Christianity." — E.  M.  Waits,  presi- 
dent Texas  Christian  University. 

"The  Century  is  one  of  the  best-edited 
journals  in  the  brotherhood." — F.  Lewis 
Starbuck,  Peoria,  111. 

"I  consider  The  Christian  Century  a 
distinctive  religious  periodical.  It's 
clear,  candid  and  thoughtful  handling  of 
the  vital  religious  problems  of  today  is 
admirable." — W.  G.  Eldred,  Eminence, 
Ky. 

"Strong,  fearless  editorials,  clear-cut 
articles  and  well-edited  news  pages. 
Every  page  of  every  issue  is  readable 
and  valuable." — C.  E.  Lemmon,  Hast- 
ings, Neb. 

"I  read  the  Century  with  increasing 
interest.  You  are  doing  a  valuable  serv- 
ice for  the  Disciples  and  the  church  at 
large." — Peter  Ainslie,  Baltimore,  Md. 

"Snappy,  newsy  and  well-edited.  I 
read  the  Century  with  much  interest." 
— H.  E.  Sala,  Peoria,  111. 

"I  liked  Dr.  Willett's  article  on  'In- 
spiration' in  the  Century.  I  have  never 
gone  through  a  clearer  and  saner  state- 
ment and  I  am  sure  it  will  help  many  a 
struggling  young  man  to  get  a  new  grip 
on  the  vitals  of  the  Bible.  The  sweet 
reasonableness  of  these  articles  cannot 
fail  to  command  the  respect  of  all  sober- 
minded  and  thoughtful  people  who 
weigh  things  before  they  get  panicky." — 
F.  E.  Lumley,  College  of  Missions,  In- 
dianapolis. 

"The  Century  is  a  fine  tonic  for  those 
who  have  felt  the  weariness  produced  by 
threadbare  discussions  and  common- 
place utterances  long  since  discarded  by 


so  many  as  inadequate  to  our  growing 
life." — Chas.  A.  Lockhart,  Helena,  Mont.  I 

"I    find    The    Christian    Century    so 
helpful   that    I   always   take   pleasure   in  1 
bringing  it  to  the   attention  of  others." 
— Wilford  H.  McLain,  Niles,  O. 

"From  a  literary  viewpoint  the  Cen-  | 
tury  has  no  peer  in  our  Brotherhood. 
From  a  theological  viewpoint  it  is  lib- 
eral. One  is  deeply  impressed  with  its 
desire  to  serve  the  Disciples  of  Christ." 
— J.  L.  Fisher,  Hicksville,  O. 

"The    Century    is    the    greatest   paper  ] 
I  know." — Carl  Agee,  Lexington,  Ky. 

"The  chief  feature  of  the  Century  | 
which  commends  it  to  me  is  its  devo-  I 
tion  to  freedom  and  progress.  For  dead 
theological  systems  it  has  but  little  affin- 
ity. It  brings  the  soul  to  the  Fountain 
of  living  waters  and  leaves  it  there  with 
its  God." — J.  W.  Lanham,  Madison,  Ind. 

"I  consider  The  Christian  Century 
one  of  the  leading  religious  journals  of 
our  day." — Thos.  Penn  Ullom,  Winona 
Lake,  Ind. 

"I  am  never  ashamed  nor  afraid  to 
place  copies  of  the  Century  in  the  hands 
of  my  most  intelligent  and  cultured  non- 
Christian  friends.  A  gentleman  of  rare 
culture,  but  not  a  church  man,  said  to 
me  recently  that  the  Century  is  the  high- 
est class  religious  periodical  he  had  ever 
seen." — W.  O.  Stephens,  Lake  Charles, 
La. 


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shade,  fruit,  alfalfa;  8  A.  sugar  bush  and 
equipment;  $3,600.  Paul  L.  Wilson,  Gar- 
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History  of  the  Great  War. — Conan  Doyle.   Vol.  I.    Every  scholarly  man  will 

wish  to  possess  this  great  history.     Purchase  Vol.  I  now $2.00  net 

Aspects  of  the  Infinite  Mystery.— Gordon.     A  profoundly  spiritual  volume, 

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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  E.  40th  Street,  Chicago 


May  17,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


— H.  J.  Loken,  formerly  of  Berkeley, 
Cal.,  church,  is  now  working  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Union  Theological  College, 
Chicago,  where  he  is  associated  with  C. 
A.  Young. 

— R.  L.  Handley  has  resigned  at  Vir- 
den,  111.,  to  take  a  position  as  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  Christian  Board  of  Pub- 
lication, with  headquarters  at  Springfield, 
111. 

— Professor  O.  B.  Clark  of  Drake  Uni- 
versity, recently  read  a  paper  before  the 
Chicago  Historical  Society  on  the  sub- 
ject, "Abraham  Lincoln  and  the  Poor 
White  Tradition."  Professor  Clark 
gave  ample  proof  that  the  Great  Eman- 
cipator was,  in  fact,  a  man  of  "blue 
blood,"  being  descended  from  English- 
men of  character  and  standing. 

— About  sixty  members  have  been 
added  to  the  congregation  at  Hyde  Park, 
Chicago,  since  October  1. 

— Charles  O.  Lee,  of  the  church  at 
Danville,  Ind.,  reports  that  with  seven 
more  additions  to  the  membership  on 
May  6,  there  have  been  added  a  total  of 
153  since  Easter  Sunday. 

— Edgar  DeWitt  Jones,  of  Blooming- 
ton,  111.,  was  to  be  chief  lecturer  on  the 
State  Ministerial  program  at  Kokomo, 
Ind.,  this  week,  in  place  of  Dr.  Edward 
I.  Bosworth,  of  Oberlin  College.  Dr. 
Bosworth  has  been  called  to  important 
war  work  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Dr. 
Jones'  subjects  are  "Preacher  Poets  and 
Poet  Preachers,"  and  "The  Ancient 
Gospel  in  Modern  Fiction." 

— Byron  Hester,  who  leads  at  Chick- 
asha,  Okla.,  writes  that  four  persons 
made  confession  of  faith  at  the  church 
there  on  May  6. 

— Arthur  Braden,  of  Lawrence,  Kan., 
will  supply  in  the  pastorate  at  Salina, 
Kan.,  during  the  summer  months.  Ar- 
thur Dillinger,  new  pastor  at  Salina,  will 
spend  the  summer  in  Chautauqua  work. 
There  have  been  five  accessions  at  Salina 
since  Mr.  Dillinger's  coming.  He  writes, 
"This  is  the  best  unworked  field  I  know 
of  in  the  brotherhood." 

— A  union  evangelistic  meeting  at  Ply- 
mouth, Ind.,  resulted  in  a  number  of  ad- 
ditions to  the  membership  of  the  Dis- 
ciples church  there,  to  which  John  F. 
Stubbs  ministers.  Eleven  persons  were 
received  by  baptism  on  April  29  and  one 
by  letter  on  May  6. 

— Frank  Lowe,  Jr.,  Christian  En- 
deavor field  man  for  the  Disciples,  will 
be  one  of  the  drawing  cards  at  the  Ar- 
kansas Christian  Endeavor  Convention 
this  year,  which  is  dated  for  June  22-24. 


T/eer 


INDIA 


Sad  India  is  calling  for  the  Gospel  of  Christ 


IN  INDIA  THERE  ARE 
333,000,000  GODS 

The  Christian  God  is  the  unknown 
God  of  India 

The  children  of  America  will  help 
send  missionaries  to  India  if  you  will 
enlist  them. 

Children's  Day  is  the  first  Sunday 
in  June.  Free  supplies  are  now 
ready.  Programs,  coin  pockets, 
leaflet  for  teachers.  State  average 
attendance  of  your  school  when  or- 
dering supplies. 

Send  all  orders  to 

Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society 

BOX  884,  CINCINNATI,  OHIO 


— O.  F.  Jordan,  of  Evanston,  111.,  is 
booked  for  June  6,  at  the  world's  con- 
vention of  the  Associated  Advertising 
Clubs.  Mr.  Jordan's  address  will  fall 
under  the  "Church  Publicity  Section," 
and  he  will  speak  on  "What  Goods  Have 
We  to  Advertise?" 


Norfolk  Churches  to  Aid  Soldiers 

I  am  informed  that  there  are  5,000 
men  at  the  St.  Helena  Training  Station 
at  this  port.  A  great  many  of  these  are 
Disciples  coming  from  all  parts  of  the 
Union.  If  there  is  any  service  that  our 
churches  of  this  community  may  render 
we  will  be  glad  to  do  so. 

Mr.  J.  G.  Holladay,  superintendent  of 
the  Bible  School  of  the  First  Church,  is 
secretary  of  the  Navy  Y.  M.   C.  A. 

The  pastors  are:    G.  H.  Combs,  Ports- 
mouth, Va.;   E.   E.   Manley,  South   Nor- 
folk, Va.;   C.   M.  Watson,    Norfolk,  Va. 
Chas.  M.  Watson, 
Minister. 


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satisfactory  in  every  way.  Order  by 
size  of  boot. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  St.  Ckicago,  111. 


FRIENDLY  TOWN 

By  Thomas  Cuetis  Clark. 

"Real    heart-music." — Chicago    Herald. 

"Breathes  a  spirit  of  joyous  living." — 
Chicago   Examiner. 

"Every  line  makes  for  love  and  kindli- 
ness and  better  living." — The  Advance. 

"Has  an  elusive  charm." — St.  Louis 
Times. 

"Full  of  good  things." — Christian  En- 
deavor  World. 

"Breathes  a  spirit  of  content." — Sara 
Teasdale. 

"Full  of  inspiration". — Charles  G. 
Blanden,  Editor  of  "The  Chicago  Authology 
of  Verse." 

"Charming." — People's   Home   Journal. 

Of  the  author  of  "Friendly  Town,"  J.  H. 
Garrison,  Editor-Emeritus  of  the  Christian- 
Evangelist,     says: 

"Now  and  then  God  raises  up  a  singer 
among  the  people  who  is  endowed  with  a 
rare  gift  of  poetic  vision,  poetic  feeling 
and  poetic  expression.  Thomas  Curtis 
Clark  is  finely  endowed  in  all  these  re- 
spects." 

"Friendly  Town,"  printed  in  art  type 
and  bound  in  attractive  green,  makes  an 
ideal  gift.  If  you  have  a  friend  who 
needs  cheering  up,  send  her  "Friendly 
Town." 

Price   of  the  booklet,   35   Cents. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  Street,  Chicago 


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nickel  parts,  re-enamel  the  frame  and  replace  all  worn  parts  with  new  ones. 
The  tame  men  who  originally  bull  the  Typewriter  do  this  rebuilding  and  do  the  work  just  as  good. 

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We  offer  a  rebuilt  Fox  Typewriter  Model  No.  24  —  just  like  new — for  $65.00.     These     have 
standard  carriages  taking  paper  1 0J  j  inches  wide,  any  kind  of  keyboard,  any  kind  of  type, 
rubber  covers,  tabulators,  back  spacers,  two-color  ribbons,  complete  with  instruction  books 
and  cleaning  outfits,  and  are  guaranteed  for  three  years  the  same  as  new  ones,  and  to  have  not 
less  than  fifty  per  cent  of  new  parts. 
Send  any  amount  you  can  spare,  from  $5.00  up,  as  a  first  payment,  and  pay  the  balance 
$5.00  monthly.  5  per  cent  discount  for  all  cash.  Purchaser  must  pay  transportation.  If  $  1 0.00 
or  more  is  sent  with  order,  we  will  indude  FREE  a  very  fine  Metal  Case,  in  addition  to  the  rubber 
cover,  together  with  a  high-class  brass  padlock  for  locking  case  when  typewriter  is  not  in  use.       Please  order 
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2? 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  17,  1917 


Illinois  News  Notes 

Major  K.  Griffith,  the  pastor  at  Ver- 
sailles, will  preach  the  baccalaureate  ser- 
mon for  the  local  high  school  on  the 
evening  of  June  3rd.  He  recently  de- 
livered a  lecture  in  the  opera  house  with 
moving  pictures  on  "The  Life  of  Our 
Saviour." 

The  Franklin  church,  where  James 
Todd,  Jr.,  ministers,  will  adopt  the  uni- 
fied service  soon.  The  Endeavor  So- 
ciety expects  to  contribute  ten  dollars 
to  the  work  the  Illinois  Christian  Mis- 
sionary Society  is  doing  among  the  col- 
ored people  of  Bloomington. 

Palmyra  takes  two  offerings  for  mis- 
sions each  year  in  the  church,  March 
and  October;  and  two  in  the  Bible 
school,  June  and  November.  The  total 
amount  is  apportioned  to  the  various 
boards  on  a  percentage  basis.  The  of- 
fering in  March  was  $100.  C.  H.  Earen- 
fight  took  the  work  at  this  church  a 
few  months  ago. 

Floyd  B.  Taylor  reports  that  the 
Chambersburg  church  expects  to  im- 
prove the  interior  of  the  building  soon. 
Mr.  Taylor  finds  the  stereopticon  helpful 
and  uses  it  often,  especially  for  mission- 
ary purposes. 

The  church  at  Chapin,  under  the  lead- 
ership of  L.  Hadaway,  is  rendering  a 
community  service.  The  church  is  be- 
ing remodeled. 

The  Salem  church,  J.  F.  Rosboro,  pas- 
tor, recently  celebrated  the  payment  of 
an  old  debt  of  $5,400  on  the  church 
property. 

A.  J.  McClees,  who  has  charge  of  the 
pastoral  unity  of  Ludlow  and  the  nearby 
country  church  of  Mt.  Olivet,  is  arrang- 
ing for  an  all-day  meeting  sometime  this 
summer  of  all  the  churches  in  his  neigh- 
borhood and  is  introducing  the  budget 
system  for  missions. 

J.  M.  Francis,  having  spent  about 
thirty-five  years  as  a  pastor  in  Central 
Illinois,  passed  away  at  his  home  in 
Knoxville,  Friday,  April  20th.  The  fu- 
neral services  were  conducted  at  the 
home  by  Brother  Chas.  D.  Hougham, 
pastor  at  Dana.  The  remains  were  taken 
to  Saybrook. 

H.  H.  Peters, 
State  Secretary. 


TWO    BOOKS 

By  Professor  W-  S.  Athearn 

Every  Pastor,  Superintendent  and 

Teacher  Should  Have 

The  Church  School.  $1.00  net. 
Organization  and  Adminis- 
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30c  net. 

Disciples   Publication   Society 

700  E.  40th  St.,  CHICAGO 


tivated  the  people  and  in  return  was 
captured.  He  will  take  up  the  work 
about  July. 

Roy  K.  Roadruck,  our  new  Bible 
school  superintendent,  has  already  fallen 
in  love  with  the  Northwest  and  with  his 
work  and  we  have  learned  to  love  and 
appreciate  him. 

R.  Lee  Bussabargar  has  taken  up  his 
duties  as  field  secretary  of  Spokane  Uni- 
verse and  fits  in  well.  It  was  the  first 
time  the  writer  had  seen  the  face  of  Mr. 
Bussabarger  since  he  was  among  the 
football  players  of  "Transylvania." 

The  student  preachers  of  the  Univer- 
sity are  doing  some  remarkable  things 
in  the  church  around  Spokane. 

Evangelist  C.  L.  Organ  and  wife  are 
in  a  good  meeting  at  Deer  Park,  twenty- 
five  miles  out.  A  promising  church  has 
been  organized.  This  means  another 
church  to  be  served  by  a  student  or  a 
member  of  the  faculty  from  the  Univer- 
sity. 

The  writer's  services  as  pastor  of  Dean 


Avenue  church  are  being  greatly  blessed. 
This  is  the  third  year  I  have  served  this 
church,  at  the  same  time  being  at  the 
head  of  the  Department  of  Oratory  and 
Dramatic  Art  of  Spokane  University. 
Arno  Hammer,  a  promising  young  man, 
has  succeeded  S.  S.  Bowsher  as  super- 
intendent of  our  Bible  school  and  the 
work  is  progressing.  Next  Sunday  is 
"Go  to  Sunday  School  Day"  for  the 
Northwest,  proclamation  having  been 
issued  by  the  three  governors  of  the 
Northwest. 

LeRoy  St.  John  has  succeeded  W.  B. 
Kenny  as  our  chorister.  He  has  just  re- 
turned from  Baker,  Ore.,  where  he  as- 
sisted Mr.  Hilton  in  a  meeting  which  re- 
sulted in  many  additions'  and  great 
strength  to  this  worthy  church.  The 
writer  had  the  pleasure  of  serving  as 
pastor  at  Baker  before  coming  to  Spo- 
kane. \ 

I  have  time  for  a  meeting  in  June  or 
July  and  if  a  song  leader  is  desired",  per- 
haps, Mr.  St.  John  could  be  secured. 

J.  Quincy  Biggs. 


SIflBIEBBIIBIIIBSiaiBlllllllI3IIIBiIBI&flaEBCB6IBBBBSGaBBBIieEB5iaS£SaSE5&3S££3tti2e£6£ieaB:i^E£&£e&;iesaSgQSSS^ 


The  Comp 
and  its 


of  Coca- 
to 


Doings    at    Sunny   Spokane 

A  great  work  is  being  accomplished  in 
Spokane  and  the  Inland  Empire.  Just  s 
now  we  are  pushing  Home  Missions 
with  A.  O.  Ishmeal  as  superintendent. 
He  is  doing  excellent  work  in  connec- 
tion with  his  pastorate  in  Kenwood 
church.  5 

Ellis  B.  Harris,  an  instructor  in  Spo-         a 
kane   University,   is   ablv   serving   North  = 

Hill  church.  Glen  B.  Hutton,  the  "boy" 
preacher,  is  stirring  things  at  Jackson 
Avenue.  Hardy  G.  Koen  is  being  felt 
for   great  good  at  Pacific  Avenue. 

G.  W.  Knepper,  of  Ann  Arbor,  Mich., 
made  Central  church  a  visit  in  response 
to  a  call   extended  to  him  and  he  cap- 


Prompted  by  the  desire  that  the  public  shall 
be  thoroughly  informed  as  to  the  composi- 
tion and  dietetic  character  of  Coca-Cola,  the 
Company  has  issued  a  booklet  giving  a  de- 
tailed analysis  of  its  recipe  which  is  as  follows : 

Water,  sterilized  by  boiling  (carbonated); 
sugar,  granulated,  first  quality;  fruit  flavoring 
extracts  -with  caramel;  acid  flavorings,  citric 
(lemon)  and  phosphoric;  essence  of  tea — the 
refreshing  principle. 

The  following  analysis,  by  the  late  Dr.'  John 
W.  Mallet,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  and 
for  nearly  forty  years  Professor  of  Chemistry 
in  the  University  of  Virginia,  shows  the  com- 
parative stimulating  or  refreshing  strength  of 
tea  and  Coca-Cola,  measured  in  terms  of  the 
refreshing  principle: 

Black  tea — 1  cupful 1.54 

(hot)  (5i?.  oz.) 

Green  tea — 1  glassful 2.02 

(cold)  (8  fl.  oz.  exclusive  of  ice) 

Coca- Cola — 1  drink,  8  fl.  oz 1.21 

(fountain)  (prepared  with  1  fl.  oz.  Syrup) 

Coca-Cola— 1  drink,  8  fl.  oz. 1.12 

(bottlers)  (prepared  with  1  fl.  oz.  Syrup) 

From  the  above  recipe  and  analysis,  which  arc 
confirmed  by  all  chemists  who  have  analyzed 
these  beverages,  it  is  apparent  that  Coca-Cola 
is  a  carbonated,  fruit-flavored  modification  of 
tea  of  a  little  more  than  one-half  its  stimulat- 
ing strength. 

A  copy  of  the  booklet  referred  to  above  will 
be  mailed  free  on  request,  and  The  Coca-Cola 
Company  especially  invites  inquiry  from 
those  who  are  interested  in  pure  food  and 
public    health    propaganda.      Address 

The  Coca-Cola  Co.,  Dept.  J.,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  U.S. A. 


illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllR 


May  17,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


23 


Great  Books 
of  Today 

ON  RELIGION 

Psychology  of  Religion 
By  George  A.  Coe 

$150  net 
Aspects  of  the  Infinite 

By  George  A  Gordon 

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Applied  Religion  for  Everyman 
By  Nolan  R.  Best 

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The  Spiritual  Interpretation  of 
History 

By  Shailer  Mathews 

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The  Manhood  of  the  Master 
By  H.  E.    osdick 

50c  net 
The  Bible  and  Modern  Life 
By  Clayton  S.  Cooper 

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The  Man  in  the  Street  and 
Religion 

By  Burris  A.  Jenkins 

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The  Wisdom  of  God's  Fools 
By  Edgar  D.  Jones 

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The  Social  Principles  of  Jesus 
By  Walter  Rauschenbusch 

50c  net 
The  Syrian  Christ 

By  A.M.  Rihbany 

$1.50 
ON  THE  WAR 

What  the  War  is  Teaching 
By  Charles  E.  Jefferson 

$1.00  net 
The  Christian  Ethic  of  War 
By  Principal  P.  T.  Forsyth 

$2.00  net 
New  Wars  for  Old 

By  John  H.  Holmes 

$1.25 
The  Challenge  of  the  Future 
By  Roland  G.  Usher 

$1.75 
Preparedness :  The  American 
versus  the  Military  Program 
By  W.  I.  Hull 

$1.25  net 
History  of  the  Great  War.  Vol.  I 
By  A.  Conan  Doyle 

$2.00  net 
Poems  of  the  Great  War 

$1.50 
FICTION 
Mr.  Britling  Sees  It  Through 

By  H.  G.  Wells 

$1.60 
El  Supremo 

By  E.  L  White 

$1  90 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Life  of  Booker  T.  Washington 

By  E.  J.  Scott 

$2.00  postpaid 
A  Handy  Guide  for  Beggars 

By  Vachel  Lindsay 


Fruit  Gathering 

By  Rabindranath  Tagore 


$1.25 


$1.25 


Rhymes  of  a  Red  Cross  Man 

By  Robt.  W.  Service 

$1.00  net 

For  Sale  by 

Disciples  Publication 
Society 

700  E.  40th  St.,  CHICAGO 


The  Bethany 

Graded  Lessons 


Afford  the  very  best  study  material  for  the  work  of  the  mod- 
ern Sunday  school.  Their  growing  popularity  is  notable. 
Some  of  our  leading  schools  have  used  them  for  years;  others 
are  coming  to  use  them  as  they  learn  of  their  merits.  Here  is 
what  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  church  say  of  this  unsur- 
passed body  of  literature: 

Rev.  G.  W.  Knepper,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.:  "We  sought  the 
BEST,  and  we  use  the  BETHANY  GRADED." 

Rev.  P.  L.  Schuler,  Cedar  Rapids,  la.:  "No  course  so  satis- 
factory for  Primaries  and  Juniors." 

Rev.  J.  J.  Tisdall,  Toledo,  O. :  "Especially  fine  for  Interme- 
diates." 

Rev.  I.  S.  Chenoweth,  Philadelphia:   "Superior  to  anything 

we  have  seen;  have  used  it  for  years." 
Rev.  E.  H.  Wray,  Steubenville,  O.:   "None  better." 

Rev.  L.  O.  Bricker,  Atlanta,  Ga. :  "Absolutely  satisfactory; 
a  triumph  of  religious  educational  enterprise." 

Rev.  Frank  Waller  Allen,  Springfield,  111.:  "Without  a 
peer." 

Rev.  Chas.  M.  Watson,  Norfolk,  Va.:  "The  best  published." 

Rev.  Edgar  D.  Jones,  Bloomington,  111.:  "Gives  entire  satis- 
faction." 

Rev.  Finis  Idleman,  New  York:  "Means  a  new  day  in  re- 
ligious education." 

Rev.  E.  B.  Shively,  Paris,  Mo.:  "Produces  character  in  the 
Sunday-school." 

Rev.  H.  H.  Harmon,  Lincoln,  Neb.:  "Makes  the  teacher's 
work  a  real  joy." 

Rev.  Graham  Frank,  Liberty,  Mo.:  "School  is  delighted 
with  it." 

Rev.  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan,  Richmond,  Va.:  "Makes  teach- 
ing and  learning  easy." 

Rev.  L.  J.  Marshall,  Kansas  City,  Mo.:  "Thoroughly 
edited." 

Rev.  P.  J.  Rice,  El  Paso,  Texas:  "Nothing  that  compares 
with  it." 

Rev.  E.  M.  Waits,  Ft.  Worth,  Texas:  "The  best  published 
anywhere." 

Rev.  T.  E.  Winter,  Philadelphia:    "A  delight  to  all." 

AND  THERE  ARE  OTHERS.  YOUR  SCHOOL 
SHOULD  HAVE  THE  BETHANY.  SEND  FOR  RE- 
TURNABLE SAMPLES.    ADDRESS 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago 


IS    THE   WORLD 
GROWING  BETTER 


or  more  materialistic?  A  study  of  actual 
events  leads  Professor  Shailer  Mathews  to  be- 
lieve that  history  does  show  spiritual  forces  at 
work  which  may  renew  our  threatened  ideal- 
ism and  our  confidence  in  the  might  of  right. 
He   sums   up   his   views   in   his  new  volume 

"THE  SPIRITUAL 

INTERPRETATION  OF 

HISTORY" 


Professor  Mathews  is  Dean  of  the  Divinity 
School  in  the  University  of  Chicago  and  is  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  writers  in  the  field  of  re- 
ligion today.  He  is  also  the  Editor  of  the 
Biblical   World. 

Every  minister  and  every  alert  churchman 
should  possess  this  book.  It  is  esssentially  a 
book   for   the   times. 

Price  of  the  Book,  $1.50 


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FOR   SALE  BY 

DISCIPLEr     PUBLICATION 

700  E.  40th  STREET,  ::       ::  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


Vol.  XXXIV 


May  24,  1917 


Number  21 


Commission 

By  Jane  Addams 


ip 


CHICAGO 


"= 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  24,  1917. 


Great  Books 
of  Today 

ON  RELIGION 

Psychology  of  Religion 
By  George  A.  Coe 

$1.50  net 
Aspects  of  the  Infinite 

By  George  A.  Gordon 

$1.50  net 
Applied  Religion  for  Everyman 
By  Nolan  R.  Best 

$1.00  net 
The  Spiritual  Interpretation  of 
History 

By  Shailer  Mathews 

$1.50  net 
The  Manhood  of  the  Master 
By  H.  E.  1  osdick 

50c  net 
The  Bible  and  Modern  Life 
By  Clayton  S.  Cooper 

$1.00  net 
The  Man  in  the  Street  and 
Religion 

By  Burris  A.  Jenkins 

$1.25  net 
The  Wisdom  of  God's  Fools 
By  Edgar  D.  Jones 

$1.00  net 
The  Social  Principles  of  Jesus 
By  Walter  Rauschenbusch 

50c  net 
The  Syrian  Christ 

By  A.M.  Rihbany 

$1.50 
ON  THE  WAR 

What  the  V/ar  is  Teaching 
By  Charles  E.  Jefferson 

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The  Christian  Ethic  of  War 
By  Principal  P.  T.  Forsyth 

$2.00  net 
New  Wars  for  Old 

By  John  H.  Holmes 

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The  Challenge  of  the  Future 
By  Roland  G.  Usher 

$1.75 
Preparedness:  The  American 
versus  the  Military  Program 
By  W.  I.  Hull 

$1 .25  net 
History  of  the  Great  War.  Vol.  I 
By  A.  Conan  Doyle 

$2.00  net 
Poems  of  the  Great  War 

$1.50 
FICTION 
Mr.  Britling  Sees  It  Through 

By  H.  G.  Wells 

$1.60 

El  Supremo 

By  E.  L.  White 

$1.90 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Life  of  Booker  T.  Washington 

By  E.  J.  Scott 

$2.00  postpaid 
A  Handy  Guide  for  Beggars 
By  Vachel  Lindsay 

$1.25 
Fruit  Gathering 

By  Rabindranath  Tagore 

$1.25 
Rhymes  of  a  Red  Cross  Man 
By  Robt.  W.  Service 

$1.00  net 

For  Sale  by 

Disciples  Publication 
Society 

700  E.  40th  St.,  CHICAGO 


The  Bethany 

Graded  Lessons 


Afford  the  very  best  study  material  for  the  work  of  the  mod- 
ern Sunday  school.  Their  growing  popularity  is  notable. 
Some  of  our  leading  schools  have  used  them  for  years ;  others 
are  coming  to  use  them  as  they  learn  of  their  merits.  Here  is 
what  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  church  say  of  this  unsur- 
passed body  of  literature : 

Rev.  G.  W.  Knepper,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.:  "We  sought  the 
BEST,  and  we  use  the  BETHANY  GRADED." 

Rev.  P.  L.  Schuler,  Cedar  Rapids,  la.:  "No  course  so  satis- 
factory for  Primaries  and  Juniors." 

Rev.  J.  J.  Tisdall,  Toledo,  O. :  "Especially  fine  for  Interme- 
diates." 

Rev.  I.  S.  Chenoweth,  Philadelphia:  "Superior  to  anything 
we  have  seen;  have  used  it  for  years." 

Rev.  E.  H.  Wray,  Steubenville,  O. :  "None  better." 

Rev.  L.  O.  Bricker,  Atlanta,  Ga. :  "Absolutely  satisfactory; 
a  triumph  of  religious  educational  enterprise." 

Rev.  Frank  Waller  Allen,  Springfield,  111.:  "Without  a 
peer." 

Rev.  Chas.  M.  Watson,  Norfolk,  Va.:  "The  best  published." 

Rev.  Edgar  D.  Jones,  Bloomington,  111.:  "Gives  entire  satis- 
faction." 

Rev.  Finis  Idleman,  New  York:  "Means  a  new  day  in  re- 
ligious education." 

Rev.  E.  B.  Shively,  Paris,  Mo.:  "Produces  character  in  the 
Sunday-school." 

Rev.  H.  H.  Harmon,  Lincoln,  Neb.:  "Makes  the  teacher's 
work  a  real  joy." 

Rev.  Graham  Frank,  Liberty,  Mo.:  "School  is  delighted 
with  it." 

Rev.  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan,  Richmond,  Va.:  "Makes  teach- 
ing and  learning  easy." 

Rev.  L.  J.  Marshall,  Kansas  City,  Mo.:  "Thoroughly 
edited." 

Rev.  P.  J.  Rice,  El  Paso,  Texas:  "Nothing  that  compares 
with  it." 

Rev.  E.  M.  Waits,  Ft.  Worth,  Texas:  "The  best  published 
anywhere." 

Rev.  T.  E.  Winter,  Philadelphia:    "A  delight  to  all." 

AND  THERE  ARE  OTHERS.  YOUR  SCHOOL 
SHOULD  HAVE  THE  BETHANY.  SEND  FOR  RE- 
TURNABLE SAMPLES.    ADDRESS 

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700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago 


May  24,  1917. 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


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The  Disciples  Publica- 
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ganization through 
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Disciples  of  Christ 
seek  to  promote  un- 
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The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
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Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage 

By  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON 

What  are  the  Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage? 
They  are  little  narrative  discourses  in  the  first 
person  by  a  genial  philosopher  who  talks  most 
interestingly  of  all  sorts  of  things.  But  they  are 
all  related  to  life.  Whether  the  writer  picks  up 
his  story  on  a  trolley  car  or  in  his  garden  or 
out  of  the  visit  of  a  crank  or  book  agent,  he 
always  says  something  that  relates  to  some 
practical  experience.  You  will  agree  to  that, 
if  you  are  reading  the  Parables  as  published 
in  The  Christian  Century. 

Some  readers  say  the  Parables  are  the  best 
bits  of  humor  now  appearing  in  any  magazine  in 
America.  They  poke  fun  at  all  sorts  of  follies 
and  foibles,  but  they  have  a  strong  element  of 
good  sense,  and  their  laugh  is  always  on  the 
right  side.  They  have  been  copied  into  many 
papers ;  have  served  as  themes  for  sermons  and 
addresses;  have  pointed  many  morals  and 
adorned  many  tales. 

The  Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage  is  a  handsome 

volume  of  nearly  200  pages,  and  the  Parables 

are    printed    in   large,    clear   type    on   excellent 

paper.    More  than  fifty  parables  are  included. 

Price  per  copy,  $1.25 

Order  today. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION   SOCIETY 

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The  Life  of  Jesus 

By  Dr.  LOA  E.  SCOTT 

A  fine  course  for  summer  study.  Send 
for  a  copy  and  consider  it  for  your  class. 
There  are  several  reasons  for  the  popu- 
larity of  this  course:  (1)  It  is  a  treatment 
of  the  ever-popular  subject  of  study,  the 
life  of  the  Master;  (2)  It  is  a  question  and 
answer  study;  (3)  It  requires  constant 
\ise  of  the  Bible  itself. 

Many  classes  have  been  transformed 
into  real  study-classes  by  the  use  of  this 
book.    Why  not  try  it  in  your  class? 

Price  per  copy,  50  cents;  in  lots  of  10  or 
more,  40  cents  each. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION   SOCIETY 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago,  111. 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  24,  1917. 


SENIOR  CLASS,  COLLEGE  OF  MISSIONS,  INDIANAPOLIS,  1916 

Left  to  right,  back  row: — Miss  Neva  Nicholson,  Miss  Tobitha  Alderson  (Mrs.  H.  C.   Hobgood),   Mr.  Ben  F.  Holroyd,  Miss  Annie  Louise 
Filmore,  Mr.  C.  Manly  Morton,  Mrs.  Ida  Jeans  Dameron,  Miss  Laura  Lynne  Major. 

Front  row: — Mr.  Roderick  A.  McLeod,  Miss  Esther  Wilson,  Mrs.  Florence  Thompson,  Miss  Idella  Wilson   (Mrs.  Higdon),  Mr.  T. 
Newton  Hill.    [Note :    By  an  error  the  above  cut  was  used  last  week  in  connection  with  the  story  of  the  nurses  class  of  the  Kansas  City  hospital.] 

THE  SUPERMAN  OF  THE  CHURCH 

Nothing  was  more  strongly  emphasized  at  the  Edinburgh  World  Conference  on  Missions  in  1910  than  the 
necessity  of  large  calibre  and  thorough  training  among  missionaries.  There  was  an  insistent  cry  from  every 
land  for  more  men  and  women,  but  always  with  the  qualification,  "Whether  few  or  many,  send  no  half-baked 
mediocrities."  The  new  day  demands  not  merely  leaders,  but  leaders  of  leaders;  not  merely  teachers,  but 
teachers  of  teachers;  not  merely  preachers,  but  makers  of  preachers.  Every  convention,  conference  and  report 
since  1910  has  reiterated  the  same  cry.  If  additional  enforcement  of  the  lesson  were  needed  it  has  come  with 
hundredfold  volume  in  the  Great  War. 

Not  only  does  all  missionary  work  now  require  extraordinary  training,  but  each  field  exacts  special  prep- 
aration. Each  has  its  own  problems  as  certainly  as  its  own  language.  Africa  wants  civilization-builders — India, 
philosophers  who  are  masters  of  abstract  thought;  China,  scholars  and  statesmen;  Japan,  saints  and  scientists; 
South  America,  Christian  courtiers — all  of  them,  men  and  women  of  the  utmost  refinement  and  keenest  sensi- 
bilities. 

Only  Providence  can  explain  how  this  overwhelming  demand  was  anticipated  by  the  building  of  the  College 
of  Missions  at  Indianapolis.  A  few  women  of  the  Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Missions  simply  realized  that 
something  of  the  sort  had  to  be  and  set  about  providing  a  superb  house  for  it,  as  one  of  the  Centennial  achieve- 
ments, before  the  program  of  the  school  was  formulated  or  the  teaching  staff  chosen!  Then  the  Edinburgh 
recommendations  were  taken  as  a  chart  and  the  faculty  was  appointed  with  specific  reference  to  the  task.  God 
had  the  men  and  women  ready  to  do  the  work. 

Without  hesitation  it  was  made  a  graduate  school,  with  all  its  energies  devoted  exclusively  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  missionaries.  It  refuses  to  duplicate  ordinary  college  work.  If  there  is  an  academic  language,  science 
or  Bible  course  which  the  student  needs  it  is  provided  by  Butler  College  across  the  street. 

When  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement,  another  providential  leading  of  the  Disciples,  was  incorporated, 
there  was  no  question  as  to  requiring  that  each  one  of  its  thousand  new  missionaries  should  have  at  least  one 
year  of  graduate  study  in  the  College  of  Missions  or  some  equivalent  institution.  Now  the  success  of  the 
movement  will  provide  $150,000  toward  perpetual  endowment  for  the  work  which  its  triumphant  recruiting  is 
multiplying  upon   the  College. 

Men  and  Millions  Movement, 

222  W.  Fourth  St.,  CINCINNATI,  O. 


stian  Century 


CHABLES  CLAYTON  MOBEISOS,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT    L.    WILLETT,     CONTRIBUTING     EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


MAY  24.  1917 


Number  21 


Remembering  Our  Dead 


OUR  DEAD  MAY  LIVE  AGAIN  IN  US. 

Though  Christians  would  not  be  entirely  satisfied 
with  an  immortality  of  influence  such  as  that  set  forth 
Dy  George  Eliot  in  "The  Choir  Invisible,"  we  may  not 
disregard  the  place  held  in  our  life  by  those  who  have 
passed  out  of  the  earthly  existence. 

We  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  the  evil  influence 
of  those  who  lived  before  us.  The  social  student  com- 
plains of  the  "dead  hand  of  the  past"  which  controls 
our  institutions.  There  is,  of  course,  a  kind  of  rever- 
ence for  leaders  of  other  ages  which  has  proved  to  be 
a  reactionary  influence. 

It  is  equally  true  that  the  memory  an'd  influence 
of  the  dead  have  served  to  sadden  many  lives.  A 
thousand  weary  pilgrimages  to  the  cemetery  to  place 
the  futile  offering  of  flowers  upon  a  grave  takes  the 
youth  out  of  a  woman's  heart,  or  robs  a  lover  of  his 
chance  of  life. 

Once  we  are  free  from  the  pagan  fear  of  death,  our 
sacred  dead  may  become  a  power  in  our  lives,  not  to 
destroy  us,  but  to  build  us  up. 

Memorial  Day  began  as  a  time  for  the  decoration 
of  the  graves  of  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  civil  war. 
At  this  season  of  the  year  many  fraternal  orders  also 
decorate  the  graves  of  their  comrades.  The  churches 
may  well  use  Memorial  Sunday  as  a  day  on  which  to 
set  forth  the  constructive  influence  which  our  dead 
may  have  upon  us. 

Let  no  one  think  that  the  subject  is  not  one  of 
keen  interest  to  our  people.  The  masses  for  the  dead, 
spoken  daily  at  great  expense  throughout  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  testify  to  the  in- 
terest felt  by  the  living  in  those  who  have  departed. 
Every  meeting  of  spiritualists  bears  a  pathetic  testi- 
mony of  the  same  sort.  The  Protestant  minister  is 
urged  again  and  again  to  answer  the  question,  Shall 
we  know  each  other  over  there? 

•     • 

One  of  our  scandals  in  America  is  our  early  for- 
getfulness  of  our  dead.  In  China  the  family  history  is 
inscribed  on  race  stones  for  a  thousand  years.  A  man 
knows  the  history  of  his  ancestors.  Such  practice  may 
indeed  be  only  a  foolish  superstition  with  some,  or  an 
empty  pride,  as  when  some  son  of  a  passenger  on  the 
historic  Mayflower  claims  a  dignity  for  his  idle  life  on 
account  of  his  family  history. 

Remembering  our  dead  in  the  family  circle  may 
warn  us  of  weakness,  may  inspire  us  to  great  exploits, 
and  above  all  may  give  us  a  sense  of  kinship  with 
eternity. 

The  nation,  too,  does  well  to  remember  its  dead. 
The  present  war  has  sent  us  all  back  to  our  school  his- 
tories. Though  we  are  now  making'  history  with  unac- 
customed  speed,   we   are   anxious  to   draw   inspiration 


from  the  great  deeds  of  the  past.  In  our  great  chic-, 
there  have  been  seen  processions  of  men  in  the  garb 
of  the  continental  soldiers  of  revolutionary  war  days. 
This  historic  pageantry  has  brought  vividly  to  our  at- 
tention the  fact  that  we  are  the  heirs  of  a  great  history 
and  the  fact  also  that  this  history  places  obligations 
upon  us. 

In  the  revolutionary  war  we  fought  for  freedom 
and  democracy.  Washington  lives  again  today  in  many 
of  our  patriotic  impulses.  It  was  no  mere  formalism 
that  led  the  French  and  English  leaders  who  visited 
us  recently  to  go  to  the  tomb  of  the  great  general  and 
leave  a  wreath  there.  In  this  war  we  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  make  effective  in  the  larger  world  what  Ham- 
ilton and  Jefferson  saw  in  vision  for  their  own  country. 
The  thirteen  colonies  in  their  dav  became  the  United 
States  of  America.  Are  we  now  approaching  the  fed- 
eration of  the  United  States  of  the  World? 

•     • 

The  church  has  been  peculiarly  negligent  in  keep- 
ing alive  the  memory  of  her  dead,  conservative  though 
she  has  always  been.  Alexander  Campbell  is  a  semi- 
mythical  figure  to  hundreds  of  young  Disciples.  A  few 
days  ago  an  intelligent  young  woman  picked  up  a  his- 
torical tract  from  the  literature  table  in  her  church  and, 
after  reading  it,  said  it  was  the  first  statement  she 
had  ever  seen  of  the  historic  origins  of  our  movement. 

Congregations  with  twenty-five  or  fifty  years  of  his- 
tory have  lost  many  members  to  the  other  country. 
Many  of  these  were  people  of  piety  and  worthy  of 
emulation  in  the  things  of  the  spirit.  Should  not  a 
church  print  those  names  on  the  calendar  once  a  year. 
or  read  them  from  the  pulpit?  One  funeral  oration  is 
not  enough  for  some  men.  We  might  well  preach  their 
virtues  again  and  again. 

The  church  comes  into  its  greatest  sense  of  catho- 
licity from  an  understanding  of  its  total  history.  St. 
Augustine  was  in  fact  father  of  both  Protestantism  and 
Catholicism.  His  wonderful  mind  gave  the  world  "The 
City  of  God,"  from  which  sprang  Catholic  imperialism, 
and  his  "Confessions,"  from  which  came  our  modern 
evangelical  attitude.  The  two  conceptions  were  har- 
monized in  his  own  mind.  Could  they  be  harmonized 
today?  Could  we  have  one  holy  catholic  church  in 
which  should  dwell  the  hatred  of  sin  and  the  quest  for 
God  ? 

We  are  not  always  to  turn  our  eyes  backward. 
We,  must  be  posterity  worshipers  as  well  as  ancestor 
worshipers.  But  wre  have  lost  much  by  our  undue  ex- 
altation of  our  modernity.  Lord  Bacon  continually 
spoke  in  pompous  pride  of  what  "we  moderns  think." 
Our  lack  of  interest  in  our  sacred  dead  speaks  of  a 
similar  pride  and  spiritual  emptiness  in  ourselves. 

Let  us  claim  fellowship  with  all  noble  souls. 


ITORIAL 


CHURCHES  SHOULD  NOT  BE  SLACKERS 

IT  will  be  a  shame  for  any  congregation  to  neg- 
lect to  adjust  itself  promptly  to  the  new  duties 
resting  upon  all  the  churches  in  these  stirring 
times.  All  philanthropic  bodies  are  being  put  to 
the  test.  The  church  will  now  be  judged  prag- 
matically. It  is  by  our  deeds  that  we  are  to  be 
known. 

Every  church  should  keep  accurate  trace  of  the 
men  of  its  parish  circles  who  go  out  to  war  service. 
These  should  not  be  forgotten  in  the  prayers  of  the 
congregation.  Members  should  send  them  not  only  the 
literature  of  the  parish,  but  personal  letters  as  well. 
The  spiritual  ministry  of  a  congregation  to  its  enlisted 
men  may  be  of  a  most  significant  sort. 

\\  e  should  suggest  to  the  men  who  enlist  in  the 
fighting  units,  and  also  to  the  women  who  enlist  for 
Red  Cross  service,  that  they  are  to  serve  as  living 
representatives  of  Christ  in  a  situation  of  great  sig- 
nificance. Our  young  people  who  go  out  to  do  their 
duty  to  the  nations  should  with  the  same  idealism  seek 
to  advance  the  cause  of  Christ  among  their  associates. 
whether  in  the  trench  or  by  the  side  of  the  sick  in  the 
hospitals. 

The  churches  should  not  fail  in  their  duty  to  the 
Red  Cross.  There  will  be  need  of  comfort  bags,  band- 
ages and  other  supplies.  The  enlisting  of  a  great  army 
oi  Red  Cross  members  is  planned,  for  large  funds  will 
be  needed  to  carry  on  the  great  humanitarian  tasks  in 
the  times  of  need  that  lie  ahead. 

The  spirit  of  economy  and  thrift  is  to  be  cultivated 
throughout  the  churches.  The  garden  movement,  the 
movement  looking  toward  simpler  living,  can  be  helped 
enormouslv  bv  the  assistance  that  can  be  rendered  bv 
the  church. 

There  is  a  place  for  Christian  theory,  but  now  we 
are  needing  sen-ice  rather  than  theories.  Events  have 
gotten  beyond  our  control.  We  feel  ourselves  being 
carried,  like  Paul,  whither  we  would  not.  As  the 
nation  staggers  under  its  heavy  responsibilities,  the 
church  must  serve  as  a  Good  Samaritan  to  the  whole 
community. 

PROGRAMS  FOR  THE  WAR-TIME 

THE  mails  are  full  of  plans  just  now  for  the  co-op- 
eration of  the  church  with  our  nation  in  its  present 

need.  These  plans  are  sometimes  very  practical 
and  sometimes  they  deal  with  the  more  spiritual  phases 
of  the  church's  work. 

Rev.  Francis  E.  Clark  has  offered  prizes  to  the 
young  people  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  societies  for 
the  best  garden  raised.  The  notes  that  are  being 
sounded  by  this  movement  are  industry,  economy  and 
thrift.  It  is  at  once  recognized  that  these  plans  of  the 
veteran  leader  of  the  young  people  are  practical  and 
wholesome. 

The  International  Sunday  School  Association  pro- 

:s  to  have  a  Patriotic  Sunday  on  July  1,  when  the 
schools  shall  invite  such  organizations  as  the  G.  A.  R.. 
the  Spanish  War  Veterans  and  others  who  have  served 
in  army  or  navy.  Flag-raising  exercises  are  to  be  par- 
ticipated in  by  the  Boy  Scouts.  Older  people  will  be 
urged  to  join  the  Red  Cross  and  all  will  participate 
in  an  offering  for  the  army  service  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 


The  whole  intent  of  the  day  is  to  bring  to  vivid  con- 
sciousness the  patriotic  emotions  of  this  religious  group. 

The  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  has 
just  concluded  a  most  significant  meeting  in  Washing- 
ton. D.  C.  in  which  has  been  urged  the  fact  that  certain 
spiritual  attitudes  are  appropriate  to  the  time  as  well 
as  practical  duties.  We  are  urged  ''to  purge  our  own 
hearts  clean  of  arrogance  and  selfishness."  "to  hold  our 
own  nation  true  to  its  professed  aims  of  justice,  lib- 
erty and  brotherhood."  Dr.  Jowett.  preaching  before,: 
the  assembled  ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  said :  "If  ever  I 
the  gospel,  the  whole  gospel,  and  the  whole  Christ 
was  needed,  it  is  now.*' 

These  are  wholesome  intimations  that  the  Chris-I 
tian  forces  are  making  rapid  adjustments  to  the  new 
situation  in  which  we  find  ourselves.  They  help  to 
justify  the  prediction  that  before  the  war  is  over  relig- 
ion will  have  come  into  a  new  place  of  power  in  the 
hearts  of  our  people. 

DANDELIONS   AND    SOCIAL   RESPONSIBILITY 

MOST  cities  now  have  the  lawns  properly  cleaned 
up  for  the  summer  months  and  the  green  grass 
has  already  painted  the  landscape  in  the  new  and 
beautiful  color  of  the  spring-time.  In  the  midst  of  the 
grass  is  coming  an  unwelcome  intruder  which  threatens 
the  appearance  of  the  lawns,  the  dandelion.  It  grows 
from  a  seed  which  floats  in  the  air  and  may  be  wafted 
long  distances.  One  careful  householder  was  greeted 
with  "You  are  digging  up  your  dandelions,  I  see."  "No," 
replied  the  householder,  "I  am  digging  up  my  neighbor's 
dandelions."     Herein  is  a  parable. 

In  cur  religious  work  we  used  to  look  at  things 
from  the  viewpoint  of  individualism.  We  tried  to  get 
men  saved  one  by  one,  without  studying  community 
conditions  bearing  upon  the  problem  of  salvation.  Tem- 
perance work  was  done  by  getting  individuals  to  sign 
pledges.  In  these  latter  days  we  are  seeing  that  indi- 
vidual salvation  does  not  work  very  well  with  the  idle 
sons  of  millionaires  or  with  the  overworked  men  of 
certain  industrial  operations. 

The  man  who  digs  dandelions  all  alone  will  have  it 
to  do  every  year.  However  painstaking  the  work  may 
be,  it  is  never  permanent  in  its  nature.  The  church 
which  does  nothing  more  than  save  the  wreckage  of 
humanity  is  working  on  a  perpetual  task  and  can  never 
hope  for  a  redeemed  world.  When  we  create  a  com- 
munity concience  concerning  the  dandelion,  and  civic 
pride  impells  every  man  to  do  his  part,  the  community 
can  make  effective  the  work  of  the  one  man  who  had 
hitherto  toiled  in  vain. 

The  church  is  deeply  interested  in  social  action 
against  the  saloon  and  every  haunt  of  vice.  It  is  con- 
cerned with  housing,  public  health,  wages,  and  many 
other  matters  which  were  once  thought  to  be  devoid  of 
religious  significance.  By  creating  a  public  conscience 
in  the  community  to  secure  right  conditions  of  living, 
personal  salvation  becomes  a  more  workable  sort  of 
enterprise. 

SIN    IN    WAR    TIME 


T 


HE   effect  of   the   great   world   struggle   upon   the 
private  lives  of  the  people  has  been  two-fold.   Many 
have  reacted  to  the  call  of  community  service,  and 
their  lives  are  being  ennobled  by  sacrifice  and  devo- 


May  24,  1917. 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


tion  to  great  human  enterprises.  With  others,  how- 
ever, there  is  a  brutalizing  effeet. 

The  English  poet  Noyes  in  his  "A  Belgian  Christ- 
mas Eve"  has  drawn  a  terrible  pieture  of  German 
atrocity,  and  this  picture  is  found  to  be  true  to  docu- 
mentary evidence.  The  very  soldiers  who  committed 
these  outrages  may  have  been  rather  decent  men  while 
at  home  among  their  neighbors. 

The  Chicago  Tribune  states  editorially  that  there 
are  three  million  illegitimate  children  in  Germany,  born 
since  the  war  began,  and  the  state  has  been  compelled 
to  make  provision  for  these  children.  It  is  proposed 
that  the  state  adopt  them,  bringing  Plato  up  to  date. 

In  every  country  it  will  take  a  long  time  to  live 
down  the  loose  standards  that  have  come  to  prevail 
in  this  war.  The  family  life  is  menaced,  and  govern- 
ments which  are  anxious  for  more  human  cannon  fod- 
der will  not  care  very  much  how  the  children  are  born. 

The  drink  evil  grows  very  much  worse  unless 
curbed  by  the  strong  hand  of  the  law.  Lloyd  George 
is  quoted  as  saying  that  England  has  three  enemies, 
Germany,  Austria  and  drink,  and  the  greatest  of  these 
is  drink.  Yet  in  the  face  of  this  assertion  the  govern- 
ment of  neither  England  nor  America  has  yet  dared  to 
adopt  war-time  prohibition. 

These  dark  facts  show  why  the  governments  of 
Europe  have  taken  a  fresh  interest  in  religion.  Sin 
would  destroy  the  nations  but  for  the  moral  and  spir- 
itual power  generated  in  religious  institutions.  It  takes 
more  than  rations  and  ammunition  to  make  an  army. 
Great  armies  are  made  up  of  clean  men.  Cromwell's 
soldiers  went  into  battle  singing  psalms.  The  religious 
spirit  means  clean  habits  and  the  sense  of  a  cause. 

THE  FUTURE  OF  PALESTINE 

HE  British  armies  in  Palestine  continue  to  ad- 
vance. This  is  not  a  new  crusade  to  rescue  the 
tomb  of  our  Lord,  but  only  one  of  the  features 
of  the  great  world  war.  However,  the  historic  hopes 
of,  the  Crusaders  may  come  to  be  realized  at  last 
through   this   army. 

What  possibilities  for  the  prophecy-monger ! 
Great  Britain  has  been  called  "the  lost  tribes  of  Israel" 
by  one  daring  prophet.  The  Jews  in  the  person  of 
these  British  soldiers  are  reclaiming  the  land  of  their 
fathers. 

More  sober  students  of  world  events  see  the  pos- 
sibility of  the  redemption  of  Palestine  from  the  eco- 
nomic misrule  which  has  afflicted  it  for  centuries.  The 
country  was  called  a  "land  of  milk  and  honey"  in  the 


long  ago.  This  was  a  relative  term,  of  course,  and 
the  comparison  was  made  with  the  desert  from  which 
the  Hebrews  had  come.  Yet  it  is  possible  with  mod- 
ern methods  to  make  the  fertile  plains  of  Palestine 
blossom  again. 

There  are  sentimental  reasons  why  Palestine 
should  have  a  change  of  rule.  The  pilgrims  who  go 
there  by  the  thousand  go  with  the  poetry  of  religion 
in  their  souls.  They  find  the  holy  places  of  Bible  his- 
tory dirty  and  ill-kept.  Most  pilgrims  go  home  again 
with  a  deep  sense  of  disappointment. 

We  would  like  to  see  Palestine  under  an  interna- 
tional control,  in  order  that  men  of  all  nations  and 
all  creeds  might  freely  visit  the  spots  made  sacred 
by  religious  tradition. 

Some  people  are  interested  in  the  Zionist  mo\e- 
ment  to  transport  the  Jews  back  to  their  native  land. 
Most  of  the  Jews  do  not  want  to  return,  and  even  sci- 
entific agriculture  would  not  permit  more  than  one  in 
ten  of  them  to  live  there.  Yet  it  will  be  worth  while 
to  remove  every  bit  of  hindrance  now  in  the  way  of 
the  Zionist  movement. 

The  Christian  scholar  watches  events  in  Palestine 
with  interest.  It  will  be  a  wonderful  thing  to  have 
there  a  new  government  friendly  to  research  in  Pales- 
tine, for  then  the  spade  may  uncover  many  facts  of  the 
greatest  significance  to  us  all. 

tMMiiiiiiit.iijutiirMititiiiiiiiititkiMir<nif  tiiiiKiMiniiit jpirif  iMiJinMMMitiMiii(ilTiitliiiitiirtiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiitiiirtiiiiiiinrti:iiiiMiutiiitiiinriitiiMtiiif*ir»iif»ii«u*«t»OT*wanM 


Work  thou  for  pleasure, 
Paint  or  sing  or  carve 

The  thing  thou  lovest, 
Tho'  the  body  starve. 

Who  works  for  glory 

Misses  oft  the  goal. 
Who  works  for  money 

Coins  his  very  soul. 

Work  for  the  work's  sake 
Then,  and  it  may  be, 

That  all  these  things  shall 
Be  added  unto  thee. 

— Kenyan  Fox. 


TiiliiiiiiniliMMliilltiMilllinMtiliniMiiiiuiMiiHiiiliiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiniiMiiiiiiiinHiiiiiiiiii!i>iiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiii!iin!iiiniiiiiiiHini:iiiiitii!iuiiiiiiii 


Why  I  Am  a  Disciple 


Seventh  Article — Minor  Reasons 


THEIR  PRACTICE  OF  BAPTISM  BY  IMMERSION 

AMONG  my  other  minor  reasons,  I  like  the  Disciples 
because  they  practice  baptism  by  immersion.  I  like 
immersion  and  prefer  it  to  any  other  mode  of 
baptism.  For  several  considerations  which  I  shall 
enumerate  in  this  article  I  believe  immersion  to  be  the 
most  appropriate  form  for  the  administration  of  baptism 
and  delight  to  practice  it.  In  saying  this,  however,  I  am 
impelled  by  the  spirit  of  candor  in  which  this  series  of 


articles  is  being  written  to  state  at  the  outset  that  the 
dogma  of  immersion-baptism  as  held  traditionally  by  the 
Disciples  and  Baptists  is  thoroughly  repugnant  to  me.  I 
distinguish  between  the  practice  of  immersion  and  the  tra- 
ditional dogma  of  immersion.  I  believe  in  the  practice, 
but  I  utterly  reject  the  dogma  by  which  the  practice  is 
usually  defended. 

By   the   dogma    of    immersion-baptism    I    mean    two 
things:  first,  the  contention  that  immersion  and  baptism 


- 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  24,  1917. 


arc  equivalent  terms — that  baptism  is  immersion  and  im- 
mersion is  baptism :  and  secondly,  the  contention  that  im- 
mersion is  authoritatively  imposed  upon  the  church  by  the 
\e\v  Testament  or  by  the  command  of  Jesus.  Both  of 
these  contentions  I  unqualifiedly  reject. 

As  to  the  first  contention.  I  can  only  say  that  to  me 
it  is  unthinkable.  Making  immersion  and  baptism  equiva- 
terms  brings  confusion  into  the  Scripture  passages 
which  refer  to  baptism,  and  cannot  be  defended  on  any 
but  the  most  wooden  and  mechanical  construction  of  the 
linguistic  data  involved.  In  holding  this  view  1  know,  of 
course,  that  1  am  out  of  harmony  with  the  teaching  of 
Alexander  Campbell  whose  fundamental  contention  in  his 
long  life  of  debating  the  baptism  question  was  that  the 
Creek  word  baptiso  as  used  in  the  New  Testament  meant 
the  act  of  immersion.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  argue  the 
point  in  this  article.  The  only  thing  ]  can  take  space  at 
this  time  to  say  is  that  the  scholarship  of  the  world  dis- 
«s  with  Mr.  Campbell's  linguistic  position,  and  that  it 
is  a  simple  and  easy  task  to  expose  the  fallacies  into  which 
his  great  mind  fell  when  treating  of  this  problem. 


Xor  am  I  unaware  of  the  widespread  adoption  of  Mr. 
Campbell's  position  by  the  Disciples.  So  deeply  has  the 
Disciple  mind  been  moulded  by  his  way  of  thinking  on 
baptism  that  it  is  not  easy  to  get  even  those  who  have 
become  discouraged  in  the  attempt  to  impose  the  immer- 
sion dogma  on  the  Christian  world  to  subject  their  tradi- 
tional forms  of  statement  to  thoughtful  criticism.  1  was 
taiking  the  other  day  with  the  pastor  of  one  of  the  greatest 
churches  in  our  brotherhood,  a  man  who  is  himself  one  of 
the  most  trusted  leaders  of  our  organized  life,  on  whom 
the  suspicion  of  heresy  has  never  rested.  He  was  frankly 
confessing  his  aversion  (to  be  exact.  I  ought  to  say  his 
disgust )  for  the  Disciples'  baptismal  procedure,  and  I  was 
arguing  the  case  with  him.  I  picked  up  a  copy  of  his 
church  bulletin  which  carries  a  standing  note  concerning 
the  things  the  Disciples  stand  for.  In  it  I  found  him  say- 
ing. "We  believe  that  baptism  is  immersion  in  water."  Now 
the  truth  was  he  believed  no  such  thing,  and  admitted  it 
when  1  called  his  attention  to  it.  Moreover,  it  was  not 
difficult  to  show  him  that  the  Disciples  in  general- — cer- 
tainly those  who  have  any  decent  degree  of  catholicity — C 
do  not  believe  any  such  thing,  even  though,  like  myself, 
they  keep  on  saying  it.  To  believe  that  baptism  is  immer- 
sion in  water  is  to  condemn  as  unbaptized  the  larger  por- 
tion of  the  Christian  world,  a  position  none  save  the  most 
relentlessly  consistent  "Campbellite"  has  the  gracelessness 
to  take. 

Jn  spite,  therefore,  of  their  never  having  critically 
reconsidered  the  Campbellian  dogma,  the  actual  attitude  of 
the  Disciples  and  their  practical  belief  are  entirely  incon- 

Jtent  with  it.  And  there  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that 
they   are   moving   steadily   toward   a   deliberate   and   con- 

ious  repudiation  of  the  intolerable  position  in  which  Mr. 
Campbell's  fallacious  reasoning  on  this  subject  unfor- 
tunately placed  them. 

*     *     * 

The  same  is  true  of  the  other  half  of  the  immersion 
dogma — the  contention  that  the  will  of  Christ  and  the 
teaching  of  the  Scriptures  positively  fix  immersion  as  an 
obligation  upon  the  church.  Of  course  if  the  linguistic 
argument  falls,  much  of  the  ground  is  cut  away  from  this 
appeal  to  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  as  the  appeal 
rests  r>"  the  wooden  assumption  that  where  Jesus  or  any 


Scripture  writer  uses  the  word  baptism  he  means  immer- 
sion. Here  again,  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  argue  the  case, 
but  only  to  state  my  own  view,  referring  the  reader  for 
specific  facts  and  arguments  to  my  book  on  "The  Mean- 
ing of  Baptism,''  especially  to  Chapter  XIY,  on  "Did  Christ 
Command  Baptism?"  In  addition  to  the  great  weight  of 
scholarship  against  the  identification  of  baptism  with  im- 
mersion, as  used  in  the  Scriptures,  there  are  coming  to  be 
other  considerations  not  connected  with  a  linguistic  or 
literalistic  dispute  which  make  it  seem  highly  improbable 
that  our  Lord  or  his  apostles  were  diverted  from  their 
spiritual  and  moral  task  to  bind  by  authoritative  sanction 
a  particular  physical  act  upon  the  practice  of  the  church. 

We  now  know  that  Jesus  found  immersion  in  vogue. 
He  did  not — nor  did  John — introduce  it.  He  used  it ;  he 
did  not  invest  it  with  any  unique  importance  by  authorita- 
ive  sanction.  In  giving  the  great  commission,  the  thing 
that  he  commanded  was  baptism,  not  immersion.  And 
while  it  is  unlikely  that  any  other  mode  of  administering 
baptism  save  immersion  occurred  to  his  mind,  it  is  equally 
improbable  that  the  particular  mode  was  an  essential  part 
of  the  thing  he  had  in  mind  when  he  commissioned  his 
disciples  to  baptize.  What  he  commissioned  them  to  do 
was  to  preach  the  gospel,  to  incorporate  into  an  organic 
body — baptize — those  who  believed  and  repented  of  their 
sins,  and  to  teach  them  all  the  things  his  disciples  had  been 
taught  by  him.  By  what  physical  symbol  they  were  to 
perform  their  baptismal  function  he  does  not  concern  him- 
self, any  more  than  if  he  had  commissioned  them  to  per- 
form the  marriage  service  would  have  necessarily  carried 
with  it  the  inseparable  use  of  a  ring.  The  giving  and  re- 
ceiving a  ring  is  not  marriage :  neither  is  immersion  in 
water  baptism. 


I  seem  to  be  far  enough  removed  in  my  thinking  from 
the  Disciples'  traditional  way  of  defending  immersion  to 
excite  my  readers'  wonder  that  I  should  suggest  the  sub- 
ject at  all  as  a  reason  fordoeing  a  Disciple.  To  which  I 
reply  two  things : 

First,  that  the  Disciples  themselves  are  abandoning 
their  old-time  legalistic  apologetic  for  immersion.  There 
are  at  least  a  thousand  pulpits  among  us  where  the  immer- 
sion dogma  is  never  preached.  These  pulpits  were  wearied 
and  ashamed  of  the  old  legalism.  Hundreds  of  pastors, 
too  disgusted  with  the  subject  to  give  it  a  rethinking,  have 
dropped  back  into  the  policy  of  simply  telling  inquirers 
and  applicants  for  membership  who  object  to  being  im- 
mersed that  immersion  "happens  to  be  the  practice  of  this 
church  and  there's  no  need  of  looking  for  reasons  pro  or 
con,  but  simply  to  submit  to  it  as  a  bit  of  the  ritual  of 
becoming  a  church  member."  Without  always  knowing 
it,  these  pastors  are  following  the  apostolic  procedure 
more  closely  than  are  those  who  make  people  think  that  in 
being  immersed  they  are  obeying  a  positive  command  of 
Christ.  For  in  apostolic  times  there  was  no  consciousness 
that  immersion  had  any  such  relation  to  the  will  of  Christ 
as  the  modern  immersion  dogma  makes  out.  It  was  ac- 
cepted as  a  customary  and  therefore  unchallenged  way  of 
being  initiated — baptized — into  a  religious  group.  My  ob- 
servation is  that  among  more  intelligent  people  these 
pastors  who  treat  immersion  in  this  way,  as  a  part  of  a 
customary  ritual,  are  far  more  successful  in  persuading 
their  converts  to  be  immersed  than  are  those  who  try  to 
support  it  by  the  legalistic  dogma. 

The  second  thing  I  wish  to  reply  to  those  who  wonder 
how   1  can  find  in  the  Disciples'  practice"  of  immersion  a 


May  24,  1917. 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


reason  for  being  a  Disciple  myself,  is  that  I  have  reasons 
of  my  own  for  preferring  the  practice  of  immersion  to 
any  other  mode,  reasons  which  it  seems  to  me  should  appeal 
to  all  Christian  churches  to  persuade  them  to  practice  it 
too.  These  reasons  are  not  compulsory ;  they  are  not 
(mandatory ;  they  have  no  legalistic  authority  behind  them. 
With  the  abandonment  of  the  immersion  dogma  the  bap- 
tismal discussion  shifts  from  the  field  of  dogma  and 
authority  to  the  field  of  practicality  and  preference.  Re- 
jecting the  traditional  contentions  of  immersionists  it  does 
not  follow,  as  some  imagine,  that  all  modes  of  baptism  are 
of  equal  value.  It  yet  remains  to  ask  whether  there  are 
any  considerations  of  a  practical  or  aesthetic  sort  which 
should  determine  the  church  to  practice  immersion  only, 
in  preference  to  any  other  form  or  mode.  I  believe  there 
are  such  considerations,  and  that  the  sum  total  of  them 
makes  a  more  convincing  case  than  has  been  made  by  the 
awe-exciting  appeal  to  the  authority  of  Christ  or  the 
Scriptures.  I  will  take  up  the  rest  of  this  article  in  sug- 
gesting what  these  reasons  are. 


First  of  all,  something  is  to  be  said  for  custom  and 
historical  precedence.  Things  that  were  done  in  the 
founding  days  of  the  church  are  not  authoritative,  to  be 
sure,  in  any  statutory  sense.  But  there  is  a  certain  aesthetic 
value  attaching  to  them  which  suggests  that  they  should 
be  perpetuated  where  practicable.  The  reason  the  marriage 
service  of  the  Church  of  England  is  universally  preferred 
among  Protestants  of  many  denominations  is  not  that  no 
new  service  can  be  formulated  equal  in  literary  excellence 
to  that,  but  because  that  is  the  service  by  which  the  great 
ones  of  our  English  speaking  world,  including  kings  and 
queens,  have  been  wedded ;  and  in  its  use  each  new  pair 
has  a  certain  subconscious  sense  of  fellowship  with  all  who 
have  entered  the  holy  estate  by  that  way.  In  like  manner 
the  use  of  immersion  is  the  ceremony  of  initiation  into  the 
church,  coming  down  to  us  from  the  classic  period  of  the 
church,  brings  to  each  new  convert  the  sense  of  participa- 
tion in  the  life  of  the  early  disciples. 


A  second  reason  is  the  natural  symbolism  which  im- 
mersion possesses.  The  cleansing  of  the  soul  portrayed  by 
the  cleansing  bath,  gives  to  the  practice  of  immersion  a 
precedence  over  any  other  device,  and  when  to  this  natural 
symbolism  is  added  the  specific  Christian  symbolism  with 
which  Paul  invested  the  rite,  immersion  is  seen  to  possess 
a  dignity  and  richness  of  content  which  should  give  pause 
to  the  church  that  would  substitute  anything  else  for  it. 


A  third  consideration  in   favor  of  immersion   i . 
that  is  often  urged  against  its  use,  namely,  its  difficulty  and 
relative  inconvenience.     It  is  a  debatable  point,   I   admit, 
but   something   is   to   be   said   in    favor  of   launching  the 
Christian  life  by  the  use  of  an  impressive  ritualistic  device 
\  in  conferring  church  membership  upon  the  convert.     1 
value  of  elaborate  ritual  at  the  initiation  of  a  candidate 
into  a  lodge  or  other  fraternal  society  is  generally  r< 
nized.     It  is  very  doubtful  if  the  church  gains  anything  by 
making  admission  to  its  membership  too  casual  an  affair. 
The  physically  impressive  act  of  being  immersed  in  water 
tends  to  register  deep  in  the  soul  the  fact  of  a  complete 
break  with  the  old  life  and  to  make  vivid  in  memory  the 
holy  vows  involved  in  becoming  a  Christian. 


A  fourth  consideration  in  favor  of  immersion  is  its 
relation  to  the  growing  cause  of  Christian  unity.  Immer- 
sion is  the  only  catholic  mode  of  baptism.  That  is  to  say, 
it  is  the  device  which  is  everywhere  acceptable  in  the 
Christian  world.  It  therefore  lends  itself  as  an  available 
solution  of  the  baptism  controversy  to  those  who  desire  to 
practice  Christian  unity.  It  is  exclusively  the  practice  of 
the  Greek  Orthodox  church.  It  is  practiced  optionally  by 
practically  all  pedo-baptist  Protestant  denominations.  It 
is  acknowledged  by  the  Roman  church  to  be  the  apostolic 
and  even  now  acceptable  practice.  In  the  interest,  there- 
fore, of  Christian  unity  the  practice  of  immersion  has  a 
strong  and  unique  claim. 

A  final  consideration  is  the  fact  that  to  adopt  a  single 
universally  acceptable  mode,  and  to  practice  that  mode 
alone,  is  a  sure  way  to  end  the  controversy  over  baptism. 
A  sure  way  to  keep  alive  the  controversy  and  the  division 
which  grows  out  of  it  is  to  keep  two  or  three  modes  of 
baptism  at  hand  for  the  candidate  to  choose  from.  Xot 
until  the  mode  is  made  single  and  identical  will  it  pass 
from  the  level  of  controversy  and  conscience  to  the  matter- 
of-course  level,  where  it  belongs.  The  thing  to  be  con- 
scious of  in  baptism,  and  to  have  a  conscience  upon,  is 
baptism  itself,  not  immersion  nor  sprinkling  nor  any  mere 
physical  act.  The  implication  in  the  practice  of  plural 
modes  is  that  the  mode  chosen  by  the  candidate  is  held  to 
be  superior  in  virtue  to  the  others.  This  implication  diverts 
attention  in  greater  or  less  degree  from  the  essential  vir- 
s  tue  of  baptism  itself. 

For  these  reasons  I  like  immersion,  and  prefer  it.  and 
believe  it  should  be  universally  practiced  in  the  church. 
The  fact  that  the  Disciples  do  so  universally  practice  it  adds 
to  the  congeniality  of  my  connection  with  them. 

Charles  Clayton  Morrison. 


Misuses  of  the  Bible 

Eighteenth  Article  of  the  Series  on  the  Bible 

By  Herbert  L.  Willett 


THE  Bible  has  had  varied  and  strange  experiences.  It 
has  run  the  gauntlet  of  every  sort  of  hostility,  from  the 
persecutions  of  Antiochian  and  Roman  tyrants  to  the 
ribald  calumnies  of  the  latest  scepticism.  But  these  attacks 
are  of  small  moment.  The  Scriptures  have  never  been  en- 
dangered by  even  the  most  envenomed  assaults.  After  all 
the  centuries  in  which  they  have  endured,  both  open  offense 


and  secret  detraction,  they  occupy  today  a  position  of  im- 
pregnable strength,  and  take  their  place  by  the  side  of  the 
race  of  weary  and  troubled  spirits  "like  a  strong  man, 
ready  to  run  his  course." 

But  the  Bible  has  suffered  in  the  house  of  its  friends. 
Indifferent  to  the  assaults  of  external  opposition,  and  un- 
marred  by  the  clumsy  handling  of  morbid-minded  per- 


10 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  24,  1917. 


verters  of  its  contents  and  purpose,  it  is  yet  sensitive  to 
the  manifold  misinterpretations  of  its  spirit  and  meaning 
which  ignorant  piety  has  persisted  in  practicing  through  all 
the  ages  of  the  Christian  society.  No  book  has  ever  been 
subjected  to  such  torturing  manipulation  in  order  to  make 
it  fit  the  Proerustian  bed  of  erroneous  systems  of  thinking 
and  conduct.  No  document  has  ever  been  put  to  such 
painful  rearrangement  to  make  it  an  aid  in  the  propaga- 
tion of  fantastic  schemes. 

The  reasons  for  this  experience  are  easy  to  trace.  The 
Bible  is  the  most  impressive  work  in  the  world's  literature. 
In  regions  where  the  Christian  faith  prevails,  it  is  the  au- 
thoritative manual  of  the  holy  life.  Its  assistance  in  the 
propagation  of  ideas  or  plans  of  activity  is  a  leading  con- 
sideration with  the  promoters  of  such  plans.  To  enlist  it 
as  an  ally  is  to  have  already  half  won  the  campaign.  In 
this  manner  numberless  customs,  practices,  institutions, 
notions  and  guesses  have  attempted  to  gear  themselves 
into  the  machinery  of  the  Scriptures  in  order  that  they 
might  secure  the  power  afforded  in  no  other  way.  If  a  total 
catalogue  of  these  various  forms  of  propaganda  could  be 
given,  it  would  more  than  occupy  this  study.  One  must 
be  contented  with  a  few  examples,  and  a  word  of  comment 
upon  each.     From  a  few  it  is  possible  to  judge  of  all. 

"citing  scripture"  for  a  purpose 

The  myriad-minded  Shakespeare  was  an  amused  ob- 
server of  this  tendency  to  bring  erratic  and  unsubstantial 
schemes  under  the  protecting  wings  of  the  Bible  for  popular 
recommendation.  In  the  "Merchant  of  Venice"  he  puts 
into  the  mouth  of  Bassanio  a  dissertation  upon  the  tricks 
men  employ  in  various  areas  of  human  interest  to  promote 
their  selfish  devices,  and  adds: 

"In  religion,  what  damned  error, 
But   some   sober   brow   will   bless   it,   and   approve  it  with   a 

text; 
Hiding  the  grossness  with  fair  ornament." 

In  the  same  play,  in  commenting  upon  Shylock's  appeal  to 
the  story  of  Jacob  for  vindication  of  his  own  shrewd  prac- 
tices, one  of  the  characters  says : 

"The  devil  can  cite  Scripture  for  his  purpose. 
An  evil  soul,  producing  holy  witness 
Is  like  a  villain  with  a  smiling  cheek — 
A  goodly  apple,  rotten  at  the  heart." 

The  cases  in  which  the  Bible  is  deliberately  employed 
to  recommend  known  errors  are  few  in  comparison  with 
those  in  which  well-meaning  but  superficial  people  attempt 
to  use  it  in  defense  of  enterprises  in  which  they  are  sin- 
cerely interested.  Occasionally,  as  in  the  temptation  of 
our  Lord,  resort  is  had  to  the  words  of  the  Bible  with 
malicious  intent.  But  such  instances  are  usually  fairly 
apparent  and  self-correcting.  It  is  rather  the  wrong  ideas 
and  institutions  in  which  good  men  have  enlisted,  that 
work  havoc  by  appropriating  biblical  words  as  their  de- 
fense. 

No  institution  is  a  better  illustration  of  this  principle 
than  the  once-defended  practice  of  human  slavery.  From 
the  times  of  imperial  Rome  it  was  everywhere  recognized 
as  a  part  of  the  established  order  of  society.  It  came  by 
inheritance  into  our  modern  world.  It  was  practiced 
among  Christian  nations  without  consciousness  of  its  un- 
social character.  When  the  mind  of  the  American  people 
became  sensitive  to  the  subject  through  the  addresses  of 
Wendell  Phillips,  the  sermons  of  Plenry  Ward  Beecher 
and  the  pages  of  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  the  inheritors  of 


the  system  turned  to  the  Bible  for  defense.  No  one  could 
question  the  fact  that  the  Old  Testament  recognized  slavery 
as  a  legitimate  social  institution  in  ancient  Israel.  On  the 
doctrine  of  a  level  Bible,  all  portions  of  which  are  of  equal 
authority  at  all  times,  the  defenders  of  slavery  had  a  clear 
case.  And  perhaps  no  experience  of  modern  times  did 
more  to  disclose  the  progressive  character  of  the  Bible 
than  the  contest  over  slavery.  It  became  apparent  that  it 
is  not  enough  to  discover  that  a  line  of  conduct  or  an  in- 
stitution is  approved  in  the  Bible.  One  has  to  go  further 
and  inquire,  When — in  what  period  of  biblical  teaching — 
did  it  have  that  approval,  and  can  it  maintain  itself  in  the 
light  of  the  highest  and  fullest  utterances  of  the  Scripture? 
Most  of  all  must  one  ask,  How  does  it  stand  in  the  light  of 
the  teachings  of  Jesus?  By  that  standard  alone  can  any 
system  finally  vindicate  itself. 

THE  DEFENSE  OF   POLYGAMY 

Another  ancient  abuse,  which  takes  its  way  with  re- 
luctance into  the  limbo  of  discarded  social  custom  is 
polygamy.  Once  it  was  a  clearly  recognized  and  tolerated 
stage  on  the  road  to  progress  from  primitive  practice  to 
complete  monogamy.  Among  the  Hebrews  it  was  every- 
where accepted  as  permissible.  There  is  no  word  in  the 
Old  Testament  that  forbids  it.  If  a  man  could  afford 
more  than  one  wife,  he  was  free  to  take  as  many  as  he 
chose.  In  spite  of  this  fact,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the 
usual  practice  was  monogamy.  Economic  reasons  usually 
put  their  own  limitations  upon  the  size  of  the  household. 
Judaism  was  a  higher  stage.  There  polygamy  was  all  but 
unknown.  And  such,  without  explicit  injunction,  was  the 
practice  in  the  early  church.  Probably  good  taste  by  that 
time  regulated  the  marital  habits  of  the  Christian  com- 
munities. None  the  less,  the  apostolic  advice  limits  the 
offices  of  elder  and  deacon  to  such  as  were  husbands  of  one 
wife.  And  very  early  in  the  history  of  the  church  polygamy 
ceased  to  be  recognized  as  in  any  manner  permissible. 

Yet  through  the  centuries  sporadic  efforts  have  been 
made  in  isolated  communities  to  revive  polygamy  under 
sanction  of  Scripture.  The  total  number  of  such  efforts 
would  run  to  some  length.  Some  of  them,  by  reason  of 
contiguity  of  location,  were  influenced  by  Mohammedan 
practice.  Some  of  them,  in  instances  where  the  community 
was  isolated  and  small,  were  led  to  the  practice  for  pur- 
poses of  rapid  enlargement  of  the  group,  an  early  and 
widely  recognized  motive  for  the  practices  of  exogamy 
and  polygamy.  In  a  few  instances,  and  these  strangely 
enough  usually  found  in  the  heart  of  older  and  more  pro- 
gressive communities,  the  motive  has,  without  doubt,  been 
some  form  of  moral  perversion.  The  most  conspicuous 
example  of  this  practice  in  recent  times  has  been  the 
Mormon  community.  No  one  motive  led  to  the  adoption 
of  polygamy  in  this  case.  There  were  many  reasons  why 
it  seemed  to  the  founders  of  this  vigorous  and  persistent 
sect  that  the  patriarchal  practice  of  plural  marriage  was  a 
useful  device.  And  there  is  no  question  that  it  has  been 
deemed  essential  to  the  growth  and  strength  of  that  com- 
munity. Placed  under  ban  of  the  law,  and  publicly  pro- 
claimed as  no  longer  the  practice  of  the  body  of  believers, 
there  are  clear  evidences  that  it  has  never  been  disapproved 
in  instances  where  it  is  able  to  escape  detection. 

And  what  is  the  defense  of  this  system?  The  Bible. 
Its  apologists  recall  the  stories  of  Abraham,  Jacob,  David 
and  Solomon,  and  place  themselves  under  the  protection  of 
these  worthy  names  of  the  past.  To  any  plea  that  poly- 
gamy was  a  stage  in  the  social  progress  of  the  race,  they 
are  deaf.     God  approved  it,  they  say,  in  the  times  of  these 


May  24,  1917.  THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  11 

men  of  faith.  A  social  .system  which  was  right  in  one  age  and  along  the  margins  of  this  sublime  literature  materials 
cannot  be  wrong  in  another.  There  is  not  the  least  hos-  on  which  to  satisfy  their  craving  for  portent  and  marvel. 
pitality  to  the  idea  of  an  unfolding  or  developing  order  of  A  few  examples  of  this  sort  of  mi  iu  <■  of  the  Bible 
truth.  The  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God,  and  all  its  utter-  must  suffice,  h'onnerly  there  was  a  discipline  in  the  field 
ances  are  final.  Here  is  a  view  at  once  naive  and  useful,  of  biblical  study  known  as  "typology."  Its  cla 
It  requires  no  mental  exertion  to  comprehend  it,  and  no  is  that  massive  three-volume  work  of  Patrick  Fairbairn's 
moral  discipline  to  put  it  in  practice.  Wherever  it  is  pos-  called  "Biblical  Typology."  The  task  of  this  sort  of  study 
sible  to  assemble  a  company  of  men  and  women  whose  was  to  prove  that  all  the  events  and  institutions  of  the  Old 
intelligence  is  limited  to  a  mere  capacity  to  understand  the  Covenant  were  laboriously  prearranged  by  God  to  illus- 
language  of  the  Bible  without  the  power  to  comprehend  trate  the  Christian  system.  The  warrant  for  this  was  be- 
lts larger  meaning,  coupled  with  a  moral  sense  sufficiently  lieved  to  be  found  in  the  New  Testament  itself.  The  writ- 
primitive  to  be  undisturbed  by  a  practice  which  the  intelli-  ers  of  that  literature,  particularly  Paul  and  the  author  of 
gent  portion  of  the  race  has  long  since  left  behind,  it  is  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  lived  in  the  midst  of  a  society 
still  possible  to  propagate  such  views  and  to  organize  such  whose  outstanding  interest  was  the  temple  and  its  ritual, 
groups  of  people.  These  are  examples  of  that  intellectual  They  wrote  their  messages  to  men  and  women  more  or  less 
and  moral  atavism  which  leaves  significant  manifestations  familiar  with  the  same  sort  of  thing.  Whatever  analogies, 
on  the  surface  of  even  progressive  periods.  therefore,  they  discovered  between  the  ancient  cultus  and 

the  new  faith  were  to  that  extent  useful  as  suggestions  for 

DEFENSES   OF   PRIMITIVE   ETHICS  t     r    r  ,  ,  Tl_   .  ,,  •  ■         ,.,.  iU 

belief  and  conduct,     it  is  one  thing  to  perceive  this  truth 

In  precisely  the  same  manner  one  might  record  other  and  its  pedagogical  value.     It  is  quite  another  thing  to 

survivals  of  the  early  ethics  of  the  race  in  the  defenses  of  assert  that  the  ancient  practices  of  the  sanctuary  were  de- 

the  war  spirit ;  the  lust  of  conquest ;  the  practice  of  cruelty  vised  of  God  for  the  purpose  of  becoming  school-room 

such  as  we  might  have  supposed  belonged  to  the  dark  ages  apparatus  for  Christian  education. 

of  Assyrian  and  Tartar  savagery;  the  perpetuation  of  the  The  serious  student  of  history  and  of  the  Bible  has 

blood-feud ;  the  humiliation  and  torture  of  prisoners  of  only  to  ask  himself  and  his  sources,  Where  did  the  ancient 

war;  the  depopulation  of  provinces  and  expatriation  of  Hebrew  obtain  these  forms  of  architecture,  these  priestly 

their  people ;  the  defense  of  the  drink  traffic  and  of  personal  rites  and  these  ceremonial  institutions  ?     When  he  answers, 

indulgence  in  strong  drink,  and  other  abuses  too  many  to  as  he  must,  if  he  is  honest  with  the  facts,  that  these  forms 

be  named  at  this  time.     Let  it  be  clearly  understood  that  and  services  were  inherited  or  borrowed  from  other  people, 

every  one  of  these  crimes  against  the  social  order  of  our  and  that  they  can  be  traced  almost  to  the  last  detail  in  these 

time  can  be  defended  from  the  examples  given  in  the  Bible,  older  and  contemporary  civilizations,  his  card  house  of 

provided  one  does  not  care  how  he  uses  the  Bible.     All  "typology"  tumbles  into  ruin.     Then  if  he  sets  himself  to 

these  perversions  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus  and  the  ethics  of  find  the  real  significance  of  this  relationship  of  the  Hebrews 

our  holy  faith  can  be  found  in  the  pages  of  this  marvelous  with  older  and  often  richer  cultures,  he  comes  to  see  that 

book.     And  why  are  they  there?     Either  as  express  warn-  it  is  never  the  task  of  a  spiritual  religion  to  invent  forms 

ings  against  the  cruel  and  inhuman  conduct  which  is  por-  of  worship.     Of  these  the  world  has  enough  and  quite 

trayed,  or  as  equally  impressive  illustrations  of  primitive  enough.     It  is  rather  the  work  of  great  moral  leaders  to 

morals,  which  it  is  the  recognized  task  of  the  Bible  to  cor-  select  from  the  wealth  of  older  ritual  and  form  the  few 

rect.     Any  use  of  the  Scripture  in  apology  for  any  of  customs  that  have  permanent  value  for  the  holy  life.     This 

these  abuses  is  due  either  to  ignorance  of  their  meaning  is  what  Moses  and  his  successors  did.     This  is  what  Jesus 

or  wilful  perversion  of  their  purpose.  and  the  apostles  did. 

But  after  all,  these  are  minor  dangers.  The  moral  If  the  sanctuary,  the  altar,  the  priesthood,  the  sacri- 
iense  of  the  world,  educated  by  many  centuries  of  Christian  fices,  the  feasts  and  the  other  elements  of  the  Hebrew 
teaching,  warns  away  from  most  of  these  aberrations,  cultus  were  devised  of  God  to  teach  men  the  great  re- 
People  cannot  go  permanently  wrong  when  they  have  in  demptive  lessons  of  the  later  Christian  faith,  what  shall 
their  hands  the  corrective  instructions  of  Jesus  and  his  be  said  of  the  origin  and  purpose  of  those  identical  struc- 
interpreters.  There  is,  however,  another  class  of  error  in  tures,  offices,  and  observances  among  nations  much  older 
the  use  of  the  Bible  which  is  more  subtle,  and  to  that  ex-  than  Israel?  Doubtless  there  was  a  value  in  many  of 
tent  more  damaging.  This  is  the  employment  of  the  Book  these  forms  as  illustrations  of  features  in  the  Christian 
as  in  some  sense  a  magical  or  wonder-working  volume,  message.  But  one  will  wish  to  examine  well  his  ground 
capable  of  performing  strange  and  astonishing  tricks  in  before  affirming  that  they  were  divinely  ordered  for  that 
its  uncanny  manipulation  of  historical  events,  or  its  ability  purpose.  This  has  grown  clearer  as  the  facts  of  ancient 
to  forecast  the  future.  There  are  people  who  appear  quite  Hebrew  life  and  its  relations  with  other  Semitic  custom 
unsatisfied  with  a  Bible  that  sets  forth  in  the  convincing  have  become  known.  And  today  men  no  longer  search  for 
terms  of  great  human  experiences  the  mind  and  will  of  deep  theological  meanings  in  the  sacrifice  of  Abel,  the 
God  for  us,  but  insist  that  it  must  also  show  its  divine  origin  crimson  cord  of  Rahab,  the  boards  and  coverings  of  the 
and  nature  by  performances  like  those  of  the  fortune-teller  tabernacle,  or  the  scape-goat  sent  into  the  desert.  Intelli- 
and  the  clairvoyant.  And  so  opulent  is  the  book  in  its  rec-  gent  study  of  the  Bible  has  thrown  light  upon  these  and  a 
ord  of  the  hopes  of  troubled  spirits  in  the  past,  as  well  as  hundred  other  features  of  the  older  national  experience  as 
its  definite  insistencies  upon  the  great  verities  of  the  faith,  interesting,  and  useful  for  purposes  of  instruction,  but  in 
that  even  the  manipulators  of  the  marvelous  and  the  spec-  no  sense  divinely  ordered  or  magical, 
ulators  in  the  erratic  stock  of  prediction,  find  in  the  corners  (To  be  continued  next  week) 

These  articles  by  Dr.  Willett,  including  those  of  the  series  yet  to  appear  in  subsequent  issues 
of  The  Christian  Century,  were  primarily  conceived  by  the  author  as  chapters  in  a  volume  entitled 
"Our  Bible."  The  book  is  now  being  prepared  for  the  press  and  will  be  published  at  an  early 
date.   Orders  may  he  sent  at  any  time.    Price,  $1.35. — The  Christian  Century  Press. 


. 


For  an  International  Commission 


By  Jane  Addams 


//;  a  remarkable  speech  upon  "Patriotism  and  Pacifists"  before  the  Chicago  Woman's  Club,  Miss  Jane 
Addams,  of  Hull  House,  Chicago,  gave  her  first  presentation  of  her  zvar  views  since  Congress  voted  the 
existence  of  a  state  of  war  between  Germany  and  the  United  States.  Miss  Addams  declared  that  it  is  still 
the  duty  of  the  United  States  to  -work  for  an  international  "political  organisation  enabling  nations  to  obtain 
without  war  those  high  ends  which  they  now  seek  to  obtain  upon  the  battlefield."  She  suggested  that  the 
United  States  should  not  willingly  allow  the  women  and  children  of  any  nation  to  starve  and  that  it  nozv 
propose  the  creation  of  an  international  council  to  sit  at  Athens  and  have  charge  of  feeding  all  dependent 
populations. 


WE  pacifists  contend  that  this 
great  world  crisis  should  be 
utilized  for  the  creation  of 
international  government  able  to 
make  the  necessary  political  and 
economic  changes  when  they  are 
due.  We  feel  that  it  is  unspeakably 
stupid  that  the  nations  should  have 
failed  to  create  an  international  or- 
ganization through  which  each 
one  without  danger  to  itself  might 
recognize  and  even  encourage  the 
impulse  toward  growth  in  other  na- 
tions 

The  very  breakdown  exhibited  by 
the  present  war  re-enforces  the  paci- 
fists' contention  that  there  is  need  of 
an  international  charter — a  magna 
charta  indeed  —  of  international 
rights,  to  be  issued  to  the  nations 
great  and  small,  with  large  pro- 
visions for  economic  treaty. 

As  conceived  by  the  pacifist,  the 
constructive  task  laid  upon  the 
United  States  in  this  crisis  called  for 
something  more  than  diplomacy  and 
the  old  type  of  statesmanship.  It 
demanded  a  penetration  which  might 
discover  a  more  adequate  moral  basis 
for  the  relationship  between  nations 
and  the  sustained  energy  to  translate 
the  discovery  into  political  action. 
The  exercise  of  the  highest  political 
intelligence  we  hoped  might  not  only 
establish  a  new  scale  of  moral  values, 
but  might  hasten  to  a  speedy  com- 
pletion for  immediate  use  that  inter- 
national organization  which  has  been 
so  long  discussed. 

HOPE    FROM    FOREIGN    BORN 

We  had  also  hoped  much  from  the 
varied  population  of  the  United 
States,  for  whether  we  will  or  not, 
our  very  composition  would  make 
it  easier  for  us  than  for  any  other 
nation  to  establish  an  international 
organization  founded  upon  under- 
standing and  f^ood  will,  did  we  but 
possess  the  requisite  courage  and 
intelligence  to  utilize  it. 

There  are  in  this  country  many 
thousands  of  emigrants  from  the  cen- 
tral powers  to  whom  a  war  between 
the  United  States  and  the  fatherland 
means  exquisite  torture.  They  and 
their  inheritances  are  part  of  the 
situation  which  faces  us.  They  are 
a  source  of  great  strength  in  an  in- 
ternational venture,  as  they  are  un- 


doubtedly a  source  of  weakness  in 
a  purely  nationalistic  position  of  the 
old-fashioned  sort.  These  ties  of 
blood,  binding  us  to  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  afford  a  unique  equip- 
ment for  a  great  international  task  if 
the  United  States  could  but  push 
into  the  shifting  area  of  internation- 
alism. 

The  multitude  of  German  subjects 
who  have  settled  and  developed  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  United  States  had, 
it  seems  to  me,  every  right  to  be 
considered  as  an  important  factor 
in  the  situation  before  war  was  de- 
clared. President  Wilson  himself 
said,  in  February,  after  the  U-boat 
campaign  had  been  announced,  that 
he  was  giving  due  weight  to  the 
legitimate  rights  of  the  American 
citizens  of  German  descent. 

Pacifists  hoped  that  the  revolution 
of  international  relationship  which 
has  been  steadily  approaching  for 
300  years,  and  is  long  overdue,  might 
have  been  obtained  without  our  par- 
ticipation in  the  war;  but  we  also 
believe  that  it  may  be  obtained 
through  the  war  if  the  United  States 
succeeds  in  keeping  the  international 
point  of  view. 


!"IJIIf|l|||1|l||fl!|IMIIII1l1ll 


III1I1I1MIIIIIIIIIIIII 


A  Prayer  of  Washington 

"I  now  make  it  my  earnest  \ 

|    prayer  that  God  would  keep  the  | 

I    United  States  in  His  holy  pro-  | 

f    tection,  that  He  would  incline  f 

|    the  hearts  of  the  citizens  to  cul-  f 

I    tivate  a  spirit  of  subordination  | 

I    and  obedience  to  government ;  | 

|    to  entertain  a  brotherly  affec-  | 

I    tion  and  love  for  one  another,  i 

|    for  their  fellow-citizens  of  the  | 

f    United  States  at  large,  and  par-  | 

I    ticularly  for  their  brethren  who  1 

1    have  served  in  the  field.     And,  | 

1    finally,    that    He    would    most  f 

1    graciously   be    pleased    to   dis-  § 

pose  us  all  to  do  justice,  to  love  I 

mercy,  and  to  demean  ourselves  | 

with    that    charity,    humanity,  f 

|    and    pacific    temper    of    mind  f 

1     which    were    the    characteriza-  j 

|    tion   of  the   Divine   Author  of  1 
our  blessed  religion  and  with- 
out    a     humble     imitation     of 

whose  example  in  these  things  I 

I     we    can    never    hope    to   be    a  § 
I    happy  nation." 

niiiiiiiiui in mmii in  iiiiiniiii i iiuiHimimm i ininiiiiiiiiiiii innr 


We  feel  that  the  exalted  sense  of 
patriotism  in  which  each  loses  him- 
self in  the  consciousness  of  a  national 
existence  has  been  enlarged  by  an 
alliance  with  nations  across  the  At- 
lantic and  across  the  Pacific  with 
whom  we  are  united  in  a  common 
purpose. 

PROGRAM   FOR  UNITED  STATES   NOW 

Let  the  United  States  by  all  means 
send  a  governmental  commission  to 
Russia ;  plans  for  a  better  fiscal  sys- 
tem to  bewildered  China;  food  to  all 
nations  wherever  little  children  are 
starving ;  but  let  us  never  forget  that 
the  inspiring  and  overwhelming 
sense  of  a  common  purpose,  which 
an  alliance  with  fifteen  or  sixteen 
nations  gives  us,  is  but  a  forecast 
of  what  might  be  experienced  if  the 
genuine  international  alliance  were 
achieved,  including  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth. 

In  so  far  as  we  and  our  allies  are 
held  together  by  the  consciousness 
of  a  common  enemy  and  the  fear  of 
a  common  danger,  there  is  a  chance 
for  the  growth  of  the  animosity  and 
hatred  which  may  yet  overwhelm 
the  attempt  at  international  organi- 
zation to  be  undertaken  after  the 
war,  as  it  has  defeated  so  many  high- 
hearted attempts  in  the  past. 

DUTY   TO   WOMEN   AND   CHILDREN 

It  has  been  officially  declared  that 
we  are  entering  this  war  for  the  sake 
of  democracy.  While  we  are  still 
free  to  make  terms  with  our  allies, 
are  we  not  under  obligation  to  assert 
that  the  United  States  owes  too 
much  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
whose  sons  have  developed  our  raw 
prairies  into  fertile  fields,  to  allow 
the  women  and  children  of  any  of 
them  to  starve? 

Could  we  not  insist  upon  an  in- 
ternational commission  sitting  at 
Athens  during  the  rest  of  this  war, 
as  an  international  commission  sat 
in  London  during  the  Balkan  wars? 
Such  a  commission  might  at  once 
insist  upon  a  more  humane  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war,  at  least  so  far  as 
civilian  populations  are  concerned, 
a  more  merciful  administration  of 
the  lands  occupied  and  distribution 
of  foodstuffs  to  all  conquered  and 
besieged  people. 


How  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Will  Aid  in  War 


TWO  weeks  ago  there  was  held 
at  the  Yale  Club  in  New  York 
City  the  first  meeting  of  the  re- 
cently constituted  War  Work  Coun- 
cil of  the  International  Committee 
of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tions, under  the  chairmanship  of 
Mr.  William  Stone. 

This  Council  of  one  hundred  men 
representing  the  Continental  leader- 
ship of  the  Associations  has  as  its 
immediate  task  the  raising  of  the 
$3,000,000  necessary  for  the  support 
of  Association  activities  in  army 
camps,  naval  stations,  munition 
plants,  and  hospitals  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  year  1917  and  the 
enlistment  and  training  of  at  least 
1,100  secretaries  to  carry  on  this 
work.  With  a  large  experience  in 
such  activities  during  the  Spanish- 
American  War  and  along  the  Border 
during  the  recent  trouble  with 
Mexico  the  American  Associations 
now  face  the  vast  task  of  promoting 
this  work  among  enlisted  men  who 
are  likely  soon  to  number  double  the 
regular  membership  of  all  the  Amer- 
ican Association  brotherhood. 

A   LETTER   FROM   THE   PRESIDENT 

The  men  who  met  at  the  Yale 
Club  to  formulate  plans  to  meet  this 
perhaps  the  greatest  opportunity 
that  has  come  to  the  Associations  in 
all  their  history  were  cheered  by  the 
following  letter  from  President  Wil- 
son to  Dr.  John  R.  Mott,  General 
Secretary  of  the  International  Com- 
mittee and  of  the  War  Work  Coun- 
cil: 

The  White  House,  Washington,  D.  C, 

25  April,  1917. 
My  Dear  Doctor  Mott: 

May  I  not,  in  view  of  the  approaching 
meeting  of  the  War  Work  Council,  ex- 
press to  you  the  very  high  value  I  have 
attached  to  the  work  which  has  been 
accomplished  by  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  in  behalf  of  our  own 
Army  and  Navy,  as  well  as  in  behalf 
of  the  prisoners-of-war  and  the  men  in 
the  training  camps  of  Europe,  and  may 
I  not  express  also  my  sincere  personal 
interest  in  the  large  plans  of  the  War 
Work  Council  for  the  work  which  is 
still  ahead  of  the  Association? 

Cordially   and    faithfully   yours, 

[Signed]   Woodrow  Wilson. 

President  Wilson  has  recently 
signed  an  executive  order  instructing 
officers  of  the  War  Department  of 
the  Government  "to  render  the  full- 
est practicable  assistance  and  co- 
operation in  the  maintenance  and 
extension  of  the  Association,  both 
at  permanent  posts  and  stations  and 
in  camp  and  field." 

SOME  BIG  PLANS   MADE 

It  is  proposed  by  the  newly  organ- 
ized War  Council  to  erect  about  two 
hundred  Association  buildings  in  the 


army  camps  throughout  the  country, 
each  building  to  serve  a  brigade  and 
to  have  a  staff  of  five  secretaries. 
The  buildings  will  provide  large 
meeting  rooms  for  moving  picture 
entertainments  and  concerts,  corre- 
spondence facilities,  rooms  for  edu- 
cational classes,  also  games,  pianos 
and  phonographs.  The  buildings 
will  be  available  for  Roman  Catholic 
and  Hebrew  services  as  well  as  for 
services  under  the  direction  of 
Protestant   chaplains. 

The  raising  of  the  $3,000,000  neces- 
sary for  the  present  year  has  been 
apportioned  to  the  various  states  ac- 
cording to*  their  probable  ability  and 
this  distributed  load  had  already 
largely  been  accepted  by  the  groups 
of  Associations  of  the  various  states, 
certain  states  offering  to  raise  even 
more  than  their  assigned  sums.  It 
is  hoped  that  the  fund  may  be  in 
hand  by  early  summer.  One  gift  by 
the  United  States  Steel  Corporation 
of  $50,000  toward  the  fund  was  an- 
nounced, this  having  followed  indi- 
vidual gifts  averaging  $4  each  from 
more  than  5,000  of  the  Steel  Cor- 
poration employes. 

MEN    WANTED 

The  secretaries  for  this  service  are 
to  be  sought  among  the  present  em- 
ployed officers  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can Associations,  ministers,  profes- 
sional and  business  men,  upper  class 
students  of  colleges,  theological  and 
other  professional  schools,  who 
qualify  on  the  highest  physical,  edu- 
cational and  social  standards,  who 
show  leadership  for  work  of  this 
kind  and  have  the  sacrificial  purpose. 
Where  necessary,  men  will  be  given 
special  preparation  for  the  work  be- 
fore being  assigned  to  definite  re- 
sponsibility. Special  effort  will  be 
made  to  have  the  Association  secre- 
taries work  in  close  co-operation 
with  the  Army  and  Navy  chaplains. 

Not  a  little  attention  was  given  to 
the  need  for  Association  activities 
for  the  men  of  all  industries  especial- 
ly related  to  the  war,  as  a  service 
tending  to  stabilize  labor  conditions, 
and  to  keep  workers  contented  and 
well.  Even  the  groups  of  boys  go- 
ing from  cities  or  schools  to  farms 
will  not  be  left  without  attention 
from  the  rural  work  of  the  Associa- 
tions. 

THE   EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE 

The  War  Work  Council  organized 
for  its  further  activities  by  arrang- 
ing for  bureaus  on  personnel,  ma- 
teriel finance,  publicity,  physical 
work,  educational  work  and  religious 
work,  and  with  departments  corre- 
sponding to  the  six  areas  into  which 
Continental  United  States  is  divided 


in  the  administration  of  the  United 
States  War  Department  and  also  de- 
partments for  the  navy,  for  transport 
forces  and  for  expeditionary  for 

The  Executive  Committee  con- 
sists of:  William  Sloane,  Chairman; 
William  Fcllowes  Morgan,  \ 
chairman ;  Richard  M.  Colgate,  L. 
A.  Crossett,  W.  T.  Diack,  C.  E. 
Dodge,  Ralph  W.  Harbison,  John 
Sherman  Hoyt,  William  G.  Low, 
George  W.  Perkins,  Harold  Pratt, 
John  L.  Severence,  W.  P.  Sidley,  F. 
Louis  Slade. 

The  Finance  Committee  consists 
of:  George  W.  Perkins,  chairman; 
John  Sherman  Hoyt,  Alba  Johnson, 
F.  J.  Kingsbury,  William  M.  Kings- 
ley,  C.  W.  McAlpin,  William  Fel- 
lowes Morgan,  Mortimer  Schiff,  A. 
M.  Shoyer,  F.  Louis  Slade. 

DR.    AINSLIE   A    LEADER 

A  Co-operating  Committee  on  re- 
ligious work  was  appointed,  this  to 
consist  of  the  following:  Dr.  Peter 
Ainslie,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  Dr.  Clar- 
ence A.  Barbour,  Rochester,  X.  Y. ; 
Dean  C.  R.  Brown,  New  Haven, 
Conn.;  Bishop  Charles  S.  Burch, 
New  York  City ;  Dr.  S.  Parkes  Cad- 
man,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  Bishop  Earl 
Cranston,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Dr. 
S.  H.  Greene,  Washington,  D.  C. : 
Bishop  Eugene  R.  Hendrix,  Kansas 
City ;  Bishop  William  Lawrence, 
Boston,  Mass. ;  President  W.  D. 
Mackenzie,  Hartford,  Conn. ;  Dr. 
William  H.  Roberts,  Philadelphia, 
Pa. ;  Dr.  Robert  E.  Speer,  New  York 
City;  President  J.  Ross  Stevenson, 
Princeton,  N.  J. ;  Dr.  J.  Timothy 
Stone,  Chicago,  111. ;  Dr.  George  W. 
Truett,  Dallas,  Texas ;  Dr.  James  I. 
Vrance,  Nashville,  Tenn. ;  Bishop 
Luther  B.  Wilson,  New  York  City. 

The  work  of  this  Co-operating 
Committee  will  be  to  advise  with 
the  War  Work  Council  on  the  pro- 
motion of  all  its  religious  activities 
in  the  camps,  on  the  selection,  pro- 
duction and  circulation  of  Christian 
literature,  on  the  relation  between 
the  Chaplains  and  the  Association 
Secretaries,  on  the  choice  of  religious 
work  secretaries,  on  the  enlistment 
of  clergymen  and  other  religious 
speakers  to  visit  training  camps  for 
addresses  and  personal  religious  in- 
terviews, and  in  general  on  all  mat- 
ters involving  the  correlation  of  its 
work  with  that  of  the  churches. 


"Let  the  Church  return  to  the  life 
of  prayer  and  give  proof  that  she  is 
willing  to  trust  spiritual  means  alone 
for  success,  and  in  that  same  hour  the 
era  of  enduring  conquest  will  begin. "' 
— William  J.  Dazcson,  in  The  Forgot- 
ten Secret. 


May  Christians  Go  to  War? 


THE  question  is  not  one  of  fact, 
for  several  million  professed 
Christians  are  at  war.  The  real 
issue  is  whether  Christians  can  go  to 
war  without  ceasing  to  be  Christians. 
There  are  those  who  say  they  can- 
not— that  only  those  are  Christians 
who  literally  obey  the  recorded  com- 
mands of  Jesus  and  the  implication 
that  since  he  did  not  advise  the  Jews 
to  fight  the  Romans  he  intended  to 
teach  that  his  followers  should  never 
go  to  war. 

There  are  others  who  picture  Jesus 
as  a  militant  reformer  who,  having  at- 
tempted pacifism,  finally  directed  his 
followers  to  carry  weapons  even  if 
they  sold  their  coats  to  buy  swords. 

There  are  still  others  who  hold  that 
Jesus  gave  social  questions  no  atten- 
tion, expected  the  speedy  end  of  the 
world,  and  taught  his  disciples  to  save 
themselves  from  a  doomed  genera- 
tion. 

*     *     * 

Which  of  these  three  views  really 
answers  the  question? 

None  of  them.  To  understand  the 
morality  of  the  gospel  we  must  cease 
to  play  with  literalism.  The  sayings 
of  Jesus  about  non-resistance  must  be 
applied  in  the  same  way  as  we  apply 
his  teaching  about  lust  and  violence. 
Let  us  look  to  his  teaching,  not  to  his 
mere  words ;  to  his  principles,  not  to 
their  specific  application. 

First  of  all,  we  must  distinguish  be- 


By  Shailer  Mathews 

In  The  Biblical  World 

tween  the  use  of  force  to  extend  moral 
ideals  and  the  use  of  force  to  protect 
societies  embodying  moral  ideals.  The 
first  is  un-Christian ;  the  second  is 
Christian,  for  without  it  civilization 
would  be  as  impossible  as  the  purity 
of  the  home  without  laws  backed  by 
policemen. 

To  defend  the  spiritual  achieve- 
ments of  society  is  one  expression  of 
love.    And  love  is  of  God. 

But  to  extend  Christian  idealism  by 
force  is  to  commit  altruistic  suicide. 
You  cannot  make  men  social-minded 
by  pounding  their  heads  or  by  kill- 
ing their  children. 

But  you  can  prevent  them  from 
beating  those  who  possess  social-mind- 
edness. 

What  should  the  Good  Samaritan 
have  done  if  he  had  come  down  the 
road  while  the  robbers  were  robbing 
the  traveler? 

What  should  a  nation  do  if  another 
nation  undertakes  to  rob  a  people  of  its 
liberties,  its  honor,  and  its  hopes,  even 
in  the  name  of  enforced  idealism? 

A  man  can  endure  evil  done  to  him- 
self which  it  would  be  rank  selfishness 
for  him  to  permit  done  to  others. 

Do  you  think  it  is  more  Christian 
to  permit  the  Turks  to  massacre  Ar- 
menians than   to   attempt  to   prevent 

them? 

*     *     * 

Christians  in  war  need  not  sully 
their  sense  of  duty  by  hatred.     We 


can  pray  for  our  enemies'  true  wel- 
fare even  while  we  prevent  their  de- 
stroying our  own.  We  can  refuse  to] 
believe  unauthenticated  stories  of  bri- 
gandage and  rapine  even  while  we  ex- 
pose national  plots,  treachery,  terror- 
ism, and  the  elevation  of  militarism  as 
a  support  of  irresponsible  govern- 
ment. 

Such  ethical  poise  is  difficult,  but  it 
is  indispensable.  As  Christians  we 
can  justify  participation  in  war  only 
as  it  is  in  defense  of  values  greater 
than  those  that  would  survive  submis- 
sion to  their  destruction. 

*     *     * 

This  is  not  to  say  that  war  is  good. 
It  is  rather  to  say  that  war  in  the  pro- 
tection of  the  good  is  a  less  evil  than 
the  destruction  of  the  good;  and  that 
war  in  the  prevention  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  democracy  is  a  less  evil  than 
the  destruction  of  democracy.  It  is 
not  an  attempt  to  plead  Jesus  in  de- 
fense of  war,  any  more  than  it  is  an 
attempt  to  plead  him  in  defense  of 
robbers  because  his  teaching  as  to  love 
implies  that  the  Good  Samaritan 
would  be  a  protector  from  robbers. 
It  is  rather  to  say  that  in  a  world  such 
as  ours  his  ideals  work  when  even  im- 
perfectly they  draw  men  toward  them- 
selves. 

To  think  otherwise  is  to  mistake 
peace  for  the  giving  of  justice  and  non- 
resistance  for  love. 


a""' 


iHMmiitirirni'i'innni 


MiiiiiiHMMiiiriiiiMiiiiiiitHiiMiiiiMiniiniti(iMiMiiiitiiiitriiiiiiitiifitiuiiMititiititiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiliiiiiiitiriiitiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiniitiiiiiiiiiiiiii 


iimiMiiiiiMiii'HiiiifitiiuHiimiiiimii 


immiiMMiiiiimtiiiiiiiiMimiiihimmiiii 


Two  Poems  for  the  Times 


By  Thomas  Curtis  Clark 


Awake,  America! 

A  WAKE,  America! 
y^i   Let  not  the  night  hold  you; 
Let  sleep  no  more  fold  you; 
Awake! 

The  fates  of  God  call; 
Let  nothing  appall; 
Forth  to  your  task, 
America!    A xvak e ! 

Awake,  America! 

The  whole  world  waits  for  you; 

God  opes  His  gates  for  you; 

Awake  I 

Oh,  dream  not,  but  do! 

Now  prove  your  heart  true; 

Forth  to  your  task, 

America!  Awake! 

Awake,  America! 

Shall  terror  rule  the  world, 

The  flag  of  right  be  furled? 

Awake! 


Shall  justice  thus  die? 
Hear,  hear  the  earth's  cry! 
Forth  to  your  task, 
America!    Awake! 


The  Dawn  of  Liberty 

AROUND   the  world  truth  speaks  in  new-found  voices; 
y~#   The  darkness  -flees  and  all  the  world  rejoices. 
The  people's  God  has  heard  the  people's  plea; 
It  is  the  dawn — the  dawn  of  liberty. 

God  shakes  all  thrones;  the  jeweled  crowns  are  falling. 
"To  serve,  to  serve!" — this  is  the  clear  cry  calling. 
The  hosts  of  earth  shall  see  a  world  set  free; 
It  is  the  dawn — the  dawn  of  liberty. 

No  longer  shall  the  war  lords  strike  with  terror; 
The  end  has  come  for  darkness  and  for  error. 
The  light  of  truth  shall  rest  on  land  and  sea; 
It  is  the  dawn — the  dawn  of  liberty. 


iHiitrnmiiHiiiiifirmitmiifniiiiTmiftMiimtHiiiiifuiiHimiiuiitiiiiiiiMimiiijiin iiiinn ,  i,r,*ipi,iritMtiuiiii«iM,r,i»,iii  hitii,i,iti*i*i  iiiiiuifif  JMiiiirii  MMiiiiiiiif  i,ii,i,Mriniti  tiuiiiiniiiii  tiiiiin  irn  riiitiiniiif  itii  Mtiiiiti  i  rini  11  iriMiu  m  iiiiiiiniru  11 IMMI  liiniiiiiiinriititiiiiiti  1 11  ii  iiitn  11  li  iijiiiiirn  iiiijtiiii  iini,ii  1T1 


pillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllU^ 

I    Social  Interpretations 


Hy  ALVA  VV.  TAYLOR 


How  England  Conscripts 
Wealth  as  Well  as  Men 

CONGRESS  proposes  to  take 
only  16  per  cent  of  the  excess 
profits  of  war  industries  and 
to  ask  for  less  than  one-third  of  in- 
comes of  a  quarter  million  or  more, 
yet  to  take  at  once  1,600,000  young 
men  and  later  millions  more  if  re- 
quired.     "Big   Business"   pleads   that 

to  make  heavier 
levies  on  income 
will  disrupt  busi- 
ness. Let  us  see 
how  it  works  in 
England.  We  are 
learning  a  lot  of 
things  from  Eng- 
land's e  x  p  e  r  i- 
ence ;  perhaps  it 
will  be  worth 
while  to  profit  by 
her  experiments 
in  taxation  also.  Britain  today,  with 
less  than  one-half  our  wealth,  is  rais- 
ing $2,600,000  by  taxation  annually. 
At  this  rate  we  would  raise  the  whole 
$7,000,000  first  voted  by  taxation  this 
year.  There  the  exemptions  are  put 
just  above  the  laborer's  income,  but 
so  as  to  catch  the  skilled  artisan  and 
small  business  man ;  then  after  $3,500 
income  is  reached  there  arejio  exemp- 
tions. The  tax  is  graduated  as  the 
income  increases  until  the  man  with  a 
quarter  of  a  million  per  year  pays  40 
per '  cent  of  it  to  help  his  country. 
This  is  certainly  a  small  draft  com- 
pared to  that  made  upon  the  man  who 
gives  his  limb  and  his  life  or  even 
risks  them.  Then  if  the  same  man  is 
profiting  by  the  excess  profits  of  a 
war-time  industry  he  gives  up  80  per 
cent  of  this  excess ;  it  is  certainly 
generous  enough  for  the  nation  whose 
life  is  at  stake  to  allow  any  man  to 
make  20  per  cent  extra  profits  out  of 
the  war  that  is  requiring  millions  of 
men  to  give  up  all  business  and  suffer 
both  wounds  and  death  at  the  front. 
And  England  reports  that  business 
has  not  suffered  this  "disruption."  If 
homes  are  disrupted  for  the  time  be- 
ing in  order  that  fathers  and  sons  may 
fight,  and  if  young  lives  have  all 
their  plans  disrupted  in  order  that 
their  country  may  be  saved,  and  if 
business  can  stand  the  disruption  that 
comes  through  drawing  millions  out 
of  its  regular  channels  of  work,  is  it 
reasonable  to  believe  either  that  busi- 
ness or  the  country  will  suffer  through 
such  conscription  laid  upon  wealth — 
for  it  is  not  a  conscription  of  business 
but  of  wealth  and  of  excess  wealth  at 
that. 


Illlll 


Are  Liberals 
Liberal? 

The  word  "liberal"  is  often  appli- 
cable to  certain  circumscribed  schools 
of  thought  more  than  to  an  intellectual 
and  human  viewpoint.  We  know  men 
in  plenty  who  are  very  "liberal"  on 
the  matter  of  Old  Testament  criti- 
cism, for  instance,  or  in  their  theo- 
logical ideas,  yet  very  conservative  on 
any  modern  use  of  the  social  preach- 
ment of  the  prophets  and  in  their 
whole  attitude  toward  the  social 
gospel ;  they  are  intellectual  radicals 
and  social  conservatives.  It  thus  falls 
out  that  one  interested  in  Christian 
phases  of  social  reform  finds  little  in 
common  with  the  intellectuals  of 
these  rarified  cultural  realms  and 
much  in  common  with  the  practical 
conservatives  who  cling  to  the  law 
but  warm  with  sympathy  to  humanity. 
In  fact  the  tendency  of  all  that  schol- 
arship which  operates  in  fields  remote 
from  common  human  intercourse  is  to 
become  aristocratic  in  its  attitude  to- 
ward common  humanity  and  to  be- 
lieve devoutly  in  any  social  order  of 
which  it  happens  to  be  a  part,  pro- 
viding that  social  order  produces  and 
promotes  foundations  for  its  learning 
and  has  no  quarrel  with  its  type  of 
investigation.  The  head  of  a  certain 
super-liberal  divinity  school  recently 
declared  that  five  minutes'  listening 
to  Scott  Nearing  would  convince  any 
respectable  board  of  trustees  that  he 
should  not  be  turned  loose  on  even  a 
class  of  freshmen.  Yet  Dr.  Nearing 
was  certified  by  his  teaching  col- 
leagues, and  Ids  considerable  list  of 
books  are  authorities  in  their  fields 
for  facts  and  learning,  and  moreover 
if  this  learned  and  liberal  gentleman 
is  right,  then  the  students  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  who  thronged 
Dr.  Nearing's  class  rooms,  and  most 
students  of  social  problems,  are  dead 
wrong  in  thinking  him  a  leader  and 
thinker  of  first  rank  in  the  markedly 
liberal  field  to  which  he  is  devoted. 
His  field  is  that  of  the  welfare  of 
common  humanity  and  to  promote  it 
he  searches  multitudinous  documents 
and  explores  actual  living  conditions. 
His  learned  critic  lives-  the  "cultural 
life"  with  books  and  other  cultured 
folk. 

*     *     * 

A  New  War 
Horror 

The  Liverpool  Post  numbers  among 
its  writers  one  who  signs  himself 
"Lionel."  He  is  usually  a  very  enter- 
taining and  fairly  reliable  writer ;  the 


writer  of  this  page  has  read  him  more 
or  less  for  fifteen  years  with  pleasure 
and  profit.  His  letters  are  now  ex- 
cellent reflections  of  what  a  sustained 
war  will  bring  to  the  minds  of  a  peo- 
ple. In  a  late  issue  he  details  what 
he  claims  to  be  an  accurate  report  of 
the  latest  German  war  horror;  it  is 
nothing  less  than  a  revolting  story  to 
the  effect  that  "efficient"  Germany, 
now  deplorably  short  of  oils  and  fats, 
is  no  longer  burying  its  killed,  but 
tying  them  into  bundles  of  three, 
after  stripping  and  passing  of  their 
clothes  on  to  their  successors  in  the 
battle  line,  and  shipping  them  to  a 
rendering  factory  where  the  bodie- 
are  ruthlessly  turned  into  fats  and 
oils  by  the  same  process  that  turns 
the  carcasses  of  hogs  into  lard.  He 
tells  how  they  have  figured  out  that 
each  body  will  render  twenty  pounds 
of  oil  and  just  how  far  this  will  go  to 
meet  the  national  deficit.  Then,  as  if 
this  were  not  enough,  he  asserts  that 
the  residue  is  ground  up  for  pigs'  food 
and  thus  the  German  patriot  gives  the 
last  ounce  of  his  mortal  being  to  sus- 
tain the  Fatherland  and  bring  victory 
for  "Kultur."  He  asserts  that  official 
announcement  of  this  has  been  made 
in  Germany  and  that  the  work  is  done 
by  a  corporation  chartered  by  the 
government  and  called  the  "Kadaver- 
verwertungsangstalt"  or  Corpse  Ex- 
ploitation Establishment.  This  ac- 
count of  the  latest  efficiency  plan  is 
begun  with  a  quotation  from  a  grim 
and  conservative  Scotchman  who  as- 
serted that  he  "believed  there  is  not  a 
German  man,  woman  or  child,  who 
is  not  a  born  devil."  and  concludes 
with  these  words:  "I  suggest  to  you 
that  there  will  be  no  safety  for  the 
human  family  until  the  entire  German 
race  has  been  ground  down  for  pigs' 
food  and  even  then  the  poisonous 
vermin  will  corrupt  our  bacon  as  they 
would  corrupt  the  multitudinous  seas 
if  we  should  cast  their  remains  into 
the  ocean,"  and  quotes  Poe's  lines : 
"They  are  neither  man  nor  woman. 
They  are  neither  brute  nor  human. 
They  are  ghouls."  Where  is  the  hor- 
ror? May  it  not  be  in  war-burdened 
minds  "seeing  things"? 


It  is  not  difficult  to  get  away  into 
retirement  and  there  live  upon  your 
own  convictions :  nor  is  it  difficult  to 
mix  with  men  and  follow  their  con- 
victions ;  but  to  enter  into  the  world 
and  there  live  out  firmly  and  fear- 
lessly according  to  your  own  con- 
science— that  is  Christian  greatness. — 
F.  IF.  Robertson. 


Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 


The  Larger  Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


]l!;ill!IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIilllllllllllllll!IIIN 


Baptists  Hold 
National  Convention 

The  Northern  Baptist  convention 
met  this  year  at  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
The  social  service  commission  of 
the  denomination  recommended  that 
churches  be  taxed.  The  recommenda- 
tion aroused  acrimonious  debate  and 
action  on  the  report  was  deferred. 
The  question  of  education  was  the 
principal  topic  before  the  convention 
one  day  of  the  sessions.  Dean  Shailer 
Mathews  of  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago, speaking  in  behalf  of  the  com- 
mittee on  religious  education,  urged 
church  members  to  stop  arguing  and 
"form  gospel  teams  and  prayer  regi- 
ments." The  report  of  the  Rev. 
Frank  W.  Padelford  of  Boston  on 
Baptist  colleges  stirred  up  heated  de- 
bate. The  Rev.  E.  A.  Hanley  of  New 
York  and  President  Harry  Pratt  Jud- 
son  of  the  University  of  Chicago  also 
spoke. 

Presbyterians  Meet 
in  the  South 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  the  north- 
ern branch  of  the  denomination,  met 
in  Dallas,  Tex.,  this  year.  This  loca- 
tion was  chosen  deliberately  with 
reference  to  the  problem  of  reuniting 
the  two  great  divisions  of  Presby- 
terianism.  The  subject  of  union  quite 
overshadows  every  other  question  be- 
fore the  assembly.  The  election  of  a 
moderator  introduces  some  interesting 
church  politics  this  year  and  a  dark- 


horse  candidate  seems  to  have  been 
elected  in  the  person  of  the  Rev.  J. 
Wilbur  Chapman,  the  well-known 
evangelist. 

The  Soldier's 
Text-book 

This  is  the  title  of  a  very  popular 
publication  of  the  American  Tract 
Society  especially  designed  for  the 
fighting  men  of  our  army.  Dr.  S. 
Parkes  Cadman  distributed  10,000 
copies  during  his  three  months  of 
service  as  chaplain  on  the  Mexican 
border  last  summer.  The  Rev.  Paul 
D.  Moody,  chaplain  of  the  First  Ver- 
mont Infantry,  has  ordered  a  thou- 
sand  for  his  regiment.  The  book 
contains  selected  Bible  texts  with 
appropriate  comments  for  each  day  in 
the  month,  also  appropriate  prayers, 
and  some  practical  sanitary  sugges- 
tions. 

Endow  New  Chair 
at  Princeton 

Pledges  of  an  endowment  of  $125,- 
000  for  a  New  Testament  chair  were 
announced  at  the  commencement  of 
Princeton  Seminary  May  6-8.  Miscel- 
laneous gifts  totaling  over  $50,000 
also  were  announced,  including  the 
$3,000  John  Scott  Gilmore  scholar- 
ship, founded  in  honor  of  a  member 
of  the  class  of  1859  by  his  two  daugh- 
ters. The  bequest  made  by  W.  W. 
Borden  of  the  class  of  1912,  which 
now  amounts  to  nearly  $50,000,  by 
action  of  the  board  of  directors,  will 
be  devoted  to  the  department  of  mis- 
sions. 


Irish  Church  Loses 
Great  Scholar 

Dr.  John  Gwyn,  Regius  Professor 
of  Divinity,  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 
of  the  Irish  Episcopal  church,  has 
been  known  as  a  prominent  Irish 
scholar.  His  achievements  in  lan- 
guage study  have  been  marked,  espe- 
cially in  the  old  Irish  language 
and  in  the  Syriac.  He  died  recently, 
lamented  by  a  large  company  of 
students  who  had  sat  under  him  in 
days  gone  by. 

Patriotic  Day  in  the 
Sunday  School 

The  International  Sunday  School. 
Association  announces  July  1  as 
Patriotic  Sunday,  on  which  day  will 
be  promoted  in  all  the  schools  the  idea 
of  Christian  patriotism.  On  Patriotic 
Sunday  we  are  urged  to  give  thanks 
to  God  for  our  nation ;  to  cherish  feel- 
ings of  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  na- 
tion ;  to  enlist  all  members  of  the 
schools  in  some  form  of  patriotic 
service.  The  full  plan  is  being  sent 
out  from  the  headquarters  of  the 
association  in  Chicago. 

Moody  Institute  Represented 
on  the  Field 

The  Moody  Bible  Institute  of  Chi- 
cago has  loaned  one  of  its  professors, 
E.  C.  Sellers,  to  the  International  Y. 
M.  C.  A.  for  evangelistic  work  in  the 
English  camps.  The  Institute  is  de- 
sirous of  living  up  to  its  claim  of  be- 
ing "The  West  Point  of  Christian 
Service." 


Echoes  from  the  Washington  Meeting 

Striking  Utterances  of  Christian  Leaders  at  the  Conference  of  Christian  Forces  Held  Last 
Week  in  the  Capital  City,  Under  the  Auspices  of  the  Federal  Council  of  Churches 


Nuggets  from  Mott  and  Speer 

The  world  must  be  one  in  Christ  or  it  will  never  be  one 
at  all. — Robert  E.  Speer. 

/  fear  more  for  the  temptations  in  the  training-camps 
than  those  in  the  trenches. — John  R.  Mott. 

There  is  life  enough  in  our  nations  to  carry  on  all  our 
great  and  necessary  tasks. — Robert  E.  Speer. 

//  is  the  function  of  Christians  in  the  darkest  nights 
t'j  proclaim  the  coming  dawn. — John  R.  Mott. 

It's  my  notion  that  this  war  will  be  over  by  Christmas, 
provided  this  nation  is  sufficiently  serious.  Whether  we 
are  going  to  be  serious  enough  is  still  the  question. — John 
R.  Mott. 

The  Great  Commission  was  not  given  in  any  time  of 
ease. — Robert  E.  Speer. 


The  Churches  and  the  Crisis 

The  churches  should  be  chief  factors  in  insuring  to 
our  nation  that  stem  self7discipline  that  may  thoroughly 
re-invigorate  the  whole  range  of  its  life. 

The  time  for  slovenliness  in  national  life  in  any  realm 
is  gone. 

It  particularly  concerns  us  to  make  sure  that  the  con- 
duct of  the  war  shall  match  our  original  aim. 

To  abandon  or  lessen  spiritual  agencies  now  is  folly 
unspeakable. 

There  must  be  no  Bertrand  Russells  in  this  country, 
no  harrying  of  genuine  conscientious  objectors. 

The  ultimate  issue  is  zuhether  nations  as  well  as  in- 
dividuals are  to  be  held  to  moral  and  Christian  standards 
— From  the  Address  of  Henry  Churchill  King. 


May  24,   1917. 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


17 


:^'    ■  ■; :: :.:: : ,.; : ■; ;;; :i.i  i :  i.i  i ;  ri :  ■;: i  : , : :  i ,::i :' ! ;■ - 1 ;■ ! i; :. i'' i,' i;; i !  i : ;.: j.!,;';1.; i ■ ;:::y:|;; i: ii'iri: :i, I'u'.jiii::!!;:;!!!;;!;::!1!.. 

|  The  Sunday  School 

Trust  Assassinated 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 

By  E.  F.  DAUGHERTY 

THE  crowning  act  of  smirking,  The  other  point  of  thrill  in  this  nar- 
obseqnious  diabolism  in  historic  rative  comes  with  the  play  of  Peter's 
annals  appears  here  in  the  kiss  of  sword.  A  disciple  of  peace — gun- 
Judas.  John  passes  it  by,  but  the  toting!  Exactly.  And  receiving  the 
synoptists  spread  it  on  the  record  profound  warning  through  Matthew's 
and  there  has  never  been  a  heart  of  record,    "They    that    take    the    sword 


faith  that  did  not  shudder  in  its 
perusal.  The  sweetest  and  most 
sacred  act  of  human  relation  is  here 
smirched  by  profane  lips  on  the 
cheek  of  innocence  and  purity.  And 
in  the  act,  Judas  acquired  his  own — 
kingship  over  the  perfidious ;  an  Arn- 


shall  perish  by  the  sword."  And  we 
are  nationally  taking  it  today !  But 
only  for  self-defense,  let  it  be  seen. 
For  conquest,  Caesar,  Charlemagne, 
Alexander,  Napoleon  and  their  ilk 
have  taken  it — as  has  the  kaiser  to- 
day— and  it  is  now  Christ  vs.  Kaiser, 


old  may  creep  about  the  throne's  feet,     though    the    Kaiser's    spokesmen    are 
a     Brutus     stalk     with     braggadocio      likening  him  and  his  people  to  Christ 


athwart  its  side,  a  Blennerhasset  be 
seen  in  its  shadow — but  the  throne  of 
perfidy,  the  supreme  place  of  con- 
tumaciously contemptible  villainy 
without  question  is  universally  ac- 
corded Judas.     Why  not? 


in    the    Gethsemane    that    is    drawing 
near  for  Germany. 

The  final  point  of  shame  stands  out 
in  Peter's  denial.  "Safety  first"  he 
was  thinking — for  self.  Principle, 
for  the  moment,  has  slipped  from  him 


Present  day  life  gives  its  closest  — but  he  came  back,  thank  God,  as 
parallel  in  the  betrayal  of  maiden-  can  any  man  to  new  grip  on  it. 
hood  by  seducing  Lotharios.  Their  Two  points  of  shame,  the  betrayal 
act,  next  to  that  of  Judas,  takes  the  and  denial ;  two  points  of  thrill,  the 
palm,  sounds  the  heights  or  depths,  as  collapse  of  the  corporal's  guard  and 
you  may  want  to  measure,  of  villainy,  the  flash  of  the  sword  of  Peter.  How 
Language  is  incapable  of  bearing  the  true  to  the  ways  of  human  life !  Ex- 
sting  their  act  deserves.  This  is  con-  altation  and  degradation  ever  in  con- 
centrated hypocrisy — the  act  of  Judas  trast ;  the  steps  toward  heaven,  the 
and  the  way  of  the  Lothario — -the  toboggan  toward  hell,  ever  at  the 
meanest  and  most  despicable  sin  in  its  command  of  human  hands  and  feet, 
premeditated  assassination  of  trust.  human  heads  and  hearts.  Always  a 
*     *     *  chance,  while  the  streams  of  life  flow 

"They  went  backward  and   fell  to  by,    for  souls   to   reveal  the   stuff   of 

the     ground"— a     perfectly     natural  which    they    are    made!       That's    all 


action  before  the  majesty  of  His  per- 
sonality. It  must  have  been  the  same 
thing  which  put  the  temple  thieves  to 
flight  before  his  swirling  whip  of 
cords.  Craven  hearts,  suddenly  con- 
fronted with  the  majestic  object  of 
their  machinations,  shrivel,  while  that 
object  towers;  are  bewilderingly  con- 
fused in  facing  the  calmness  of  their 
incomparable  Superior.  Mature  in- 
nocence and  purity,  such  as  held  per- 
fectly the  poise  of  Christ,  disconcerts 
and  upsets  tumultuously  the  pica- 
yunish  souls  which  plot  injury  to  it, 
when  it  looks  out  on  their  attitude 
from  the  eyes  of  unselfishness.  It  is 
the  finest  possible  demonstration  of 
Christ's  being  past  the  need  of  any 
legion  of  angels  had  he  chosen  to  tri- 
umph by  any  mere  assertion  of 
might;  instead,  he  chose  to  lay  down 
his  life  for  the  redemption  of  many. 

*This  article  is  based  on  the  Interna- 
tional Uniform  Sunday  school  lesson  for 
June  3,  "Jesus  Betrayed  and  Denied." 
Scripture,  John   18:1-18. 


And  the  testing  times  of  human  worth 
were  never  so  universal  as  today 
when  the  "slacker"  and  the  "worker" 
in  every  circle  of  trust  are  revealing 
as  did  these  of  the  lesson,  their 
worth. 

MIIUlllllllllllllllllMMIIIIlllllIlllllIMl|IIIIUII]IUIIIIUIIIIIIIIMIIIIII>l|||ttMMtliriMIII1llllllllllltllltlllllllllllHlllllllll 

I  Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage  I 

|  By  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON 


iiiummiiMiiniiuHHMiiiJMiimimnii 


llllltlllllHIIIMIIl 


The  Minister  and  the  Saw 

NOW  there  came  to  me  one  of  the 
sons  of  the  prophets,  even  a 
young  minister,  and  he"  said,  My 
church  treateth  me  harshly. 

And  I  said,  What  hast  thou  done  to 
thy  church? 

And  he  said,  I  upbraided  them,  and 
I  told  them  they  were  Miserable  Sin- 
ners. 

And  I  answered,  Thou  didst  speak 
truthfully  and  unwisely. 

And  he  said,  Is  it  not  wise  to  speak 
the  truth? 


And  I  -aid,  it  is  not  wise  to  -peak 
anything  else;  but  truth  is  precious, 
and  should  be  used  with  Economy. 

And  he  said,  There  were  Great 
Reforms  that  need  to  be  wrought  in 
that  Town,  and  a  Great  Work  to  be 
done,  and  I  had  hoped  to  Inspire  the 
Church  to  I ->o  Those  Things, 
they  are  Stiff-necked,  and  they  seek 
to  hire  me. 

And  I  said  to  him,  Come  with  me 
into  my  Garden. 

And  we  went  out  into  the  Garden, 
and  I  took  with  me  a  Saw. 

And  1  said,  Climb  thou  this  tree,  for 
thou  art  younger  than  f. 

And  he  climbed  the  Tree,  and  sat 
upon  a  Limb  thereof  as  I  showed  him. 

And  I  said,  That  limb  needeth  to  be 
Cut  Off.  Take  thou  the  saw  and  Cut 
it  Off. 

And  he  began  to  saw  beyond  him. 

And  1  said,  Saw  on  the  other  side. 

And  he  began  to  saw,  but  he 
stopped,  and  he  said,  If  I  saw  the  limb 
between  myself  and  the  Tree,  I  shall 
surely  fall. 

And  I  said  unto  him,  The  minister 
who  pusheth  a  Reform  faster  than  his 
Church  will  follow  him,  and  findeth 
himself  Fired,  is  like  unto  the  man 
who  Ascendeth  a  Tree,  and  Saweth  off 
a  Limb  between  himself  and  the  Tree. 

And  I  left  him  there,  and  I  went 
into  mine  House.  And  he  sat  there 
Some  Little  Time  in  Deep  Meditation. 

And  he  Climbed  Down,  and  re- 
turned to  his  own  Church.  And  he 
called  the  elders  thereof  together,  and 
lie  said,  I  have  been  foolish,  and  have 
sought  to  Bring  in  the  Millennium  Be- 
fore Sundown.  Be  patient  with  me. 
and  I  will  strive  to  be  more  patient 
with  the  Church. 

And  they  answered  and  said.  Xow 
thou  art  Talking  like  a  man  of  Sense. 
Continue  thou  to  chasten  us  for  our 
sins  and  show  us  how  to  be  better,  but 
expect  not  the  Impossible,  and  lo.  we 
will  stand  by  thee  till  the  Cows  Come 
Home. 

And  the  minister  whom  the  Church 
was  about  to  Fire  took  thought,  and 
added  a  Cubit  to  his  Stature ;  and  his 
Church  Rallied  about  him,  and  the  last 
I  heard  some  of  the  things  he  wanted 
to  Get  Done  were  being  done. 

And  he  wrote  me  a  letter,  saying: 

O  Safed,  thou  didst  have  me  Up  a 
Tree,  but  behold  I  am  down  and  on 
the  Job,  and  if  thou  wouldst  see  a 
happy  and  united  and  hustling  church, 
where  the  people  love  their  minister, 
and  the  minister  loveth  his  people,  and 
where  everything  is  up  and  moving, 
and  °ood  is  being:  done,  come  over  and 
see  us. 

And  I  read  the  letter  and  rejoiced. 
For  there  are  Ministers  who  have 
learned  How  to  Saw,  but  neither 
When  nor  Where.  And  if  they  will 
Climb  my  Apple  Tree  I  will  teach 
them  wisdom. 


Transylvania  Professors  Bear 

Testimony 

77;r  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  College  of  the  Bible  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  met  in  special  session  a  fezv  days  ago  in  response 
to  a  call  of  the  executive  committee  and  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  published  charges  of  Dean  H.  L.  Calhoun  and 
eerto.in  students  that  destructive  criticism  is  being  taught  in  the  institution.  In  this  meeting  an  examination  ivas  con- 
ducted of  the  professors  charged  with  teaching  destructive  criticism.  A  report  of  the  meeting  was  published  in  last  week's 
issue  of  The  Christian  Century.  The  Board  of  Trustees,  in  closing  its  report,  made  the  following  statement;  "That 
the  brotherhood  may  know  from  their  ozvn  statements  something  of  the  vital  teachings  of  these  brethren  in  their  class- 
rooms, we  have  invited  them  to  submit  a  brief  statement  of  their  teachings  on  the  points  in  question."  The  Christian 
Century  m  pleased  to  print  in  its  columns  the  testimony  of  all  these  men,  as  prepared  in  accordance  zvith  the  wish  of  the 
Trustees  of  the  Bible  College. 


President  R.  H.  Crossfield 

AFTER  serving  Transylvania  for  more 
than  three  years,  the  presidency  of 
the  College  of  the  Bihle  was  rendered  va- 
cant by  the  death  of  Brother  J.  \V.  Mc- 
Garvey,  with  whom  I  sustained  the  most 
cordial  relations.  Almost  immediately 
my  resignation  as  president  of  Transyl- 
vania was  presented  to  the  Executive 
Committee,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
new  endowment  campaign  for  $200,000 
was  nearing  completion,  and  because  of 
my  great  desire  to  re-enter  the  regular 
ministry,  together  with  the  purpose  of 
rendering  it  possible  for  the  two  insti- 
tutions on  the  same  campus  to  have  one 
executive  head.  My  resignation  was  not 
accepted,  but  the  executive  committees 
of  both  institutions  urged  my  acceptance 
of  the  presidency  of  the  College  of  the 
Bible,  a  proposition  not  seriously  consid- 
ered until  it  was  urged  upon  the  ground 
of  duty. 

Soon  after  entering  upon  the  duties  of 
this  additional  responsibility,  it  became 
necessary  for  me  to  recommend  two  men 
for  faculty  positions.  From  many  sources 
came  the  suggestion  of  the  names  of 
A.  W.  Fortune  and  W.  C.  Bower.  After 
careful  inquiry  into  their  fitness,  in- 
cluding essential  Christian  faith  and 
character,  these  men  were  appointed. 
Professor  Snoddy  was  selected  to  suc- 
ceed Professor  Jefferson  on  the  record 
of  eighteen  years  of  most  successful  and 
satisfactory  teaching  in  Hiram.  Profes- 
sor Hemry  came  later  as  a  supply  and 
was  retained  because  of  his  eminent  fit- 
ness and  usefulness.  All  of  these  men 
have  proved  pre-eminently  constructive 
in  their  teaching. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  results 
that  have  been  achieved  under  the  present 
administration.  Notwithstanding  the  fact 
of  the  passing  of  the  venerable  McGar- 
vey,  Grubbs,  Loos  and  others,-  and  pro- 
nounced opposition  from  certain  sources, 
the  attendance  has  averaged  152;  the 
number  of  bona  fide  college  and  gradu- 
ate students  has  greatly  increased;  the 
main  building  has  been  improved  and 
new  buildings  erected;  the  long  standing 
indebtedness  is  to  be  liquidated  within 
a  few  months  and  the  endowment  in- 
creased by  about  $200,000;  Education 
Day  has  been  established,  yielding  Tran- 
sylvania and  the  College  of  the  Bible 
more  than  $2,500  annually  for  current  ex- 
pense, and  the  educational  standing  of 
the  college  maintained  and  strengthened. 

Professors  Snoddy,  Bower,  Fortune, 
Hemry  and  myself  are  members  in  good 
standing  and  full  fellowship  of  the  Broad- 
way, Central  and  Maxwell  churches  of 
this  city,  and  the  official  boards  of  these 
congregations  have  recently  declared 
their  unqualified  confidence  and  support. 
The  faculty  of  Transylvania  College  has 
spoken  in  the  strongest  terms  of  ap- 
proval. The  churches  for  which  the  four 
professors    preach    believe    in    them    and 


have  officially  registered  their  testimony. 

The  student  body  most  highly  values 
these  teachers,  and  has  every  confidence 
in  their  Christian  faith  and  life.  Eighty- 
seven  per  cent  of  them  recently  signed  a 
vigorous  statement  denouncing  the 
charge  that  these  men  were  guilty  of 
destructive  criticism.  A  number  of  the 
ten  students  who  signed  a  petition  to 
the  board,  asking  that  an  investigation 
be  made,  have  since  withdrew  their 
names.  Almost  without  exception  the 
old  students  who  have  gone  out  since 
the  present  professors  began  their  work 
have  expressed  their  indignant  protest 
against  the  charges  preferred. 

The  college  has  never  enjoyed  a  more 
successful  session.  The  large  group  of 
students  who  go  out  to  preach  in  ad- 
jacent communities  are  vitalizing  their 
churches,  and  are  constantly  baptizing 
believers,  as  a  result  of  their  contact  with 
these  great  teachers  who  believe  in  God 
as  revealed  through  His  son,  in  the  Bible 
as  containing  a  record  of  that  revela- 
tion, and  in  the  unique  plea  for  Christian 
union  to  which  the  Disciples  of  Christ 
are  committed. 

•      • 

Professor  A.  W.  Fortune 

F  HAVE  been  a  teacher  in  the  College  of 
*  the  Bible  for  five  years,  and  during  that 
time  I  have  done  my  best  to  help  pre- 
pare young  men  and  women  to  do  Chris- 
tian service  in  this  modern  world.  I  ac- 
cepted the  position  in  this  institution  as 
a  call  from  God  to  help  carry  out  His 
plan  for  humanity.  I  have  realized  the 
responsibility  that  is  placed  upon  those 
who  help  to  train  the  leaders  of  the 
church,  and  I  have  sought  to  the  best 
of  my  ability  to  bear  my  part  of  it.  I 
have  ever  sought  to  be  constructive,  and 
not  destructive,  in  my  teaching. 

My  department  is  Christian  history  and 
doctrine.  In  my  historical  courses  I  seek 
to  acquaint  the  student  with  the  New 
Testament  world.  In  this  world  as  a 
background,  we  study  the  life  and  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  as  the  basis  for  Christian- 
ity. We  show  how  the  church  resulted 
from  his  mission,  and  developed  under 
the  leadership  of  the  apostles,  and  ex- 
panded throughout  the  Mediterranean 
world.  We  trace  the  great  movements 
of  the  church  through  the  succeeding 
centuries  to  our  own  time,  and  close  with 
a  semester's  study  of  the  part  which  the 
disciples  have  performed  in  the  great  for- 
ward  movement   of  the   church. 

In  my  doctrinal  courses  I  emphasize 
the  great  fundamentals  of  our  faith.  I 
teach  that  God  is  a  personal  spirit  who 
is  our  Father;  that  this  is  His  world, 
created  by  Him.  I  teach  that  man  is  a 
child  of  God,  and  that  sin  is  a  reality 
and  destroys  this  filial  relationship.  I 
teach  that  Jesus  was  the  divine  Son  of 
God,  and  revealed  Him  to  the  world; 
that  He  is  the  Savior  of  men,  and  gives 


them  victory  over  sin.  I  emphasize  im- 
mortality, and  base  my  hope  upon  Jesus 
who  rose  from  the  dead.  I  teach  that 
God  is  in  His  world,  and  that  He  is 
leading  men,  and  that  He  wants  them  to 
have  fellowship  with  Him  through  prayer. 
I  teach  that  the  church  is  a  divine  in- 
stitution, and  that  it  is  Christ's  agency 
for  the  bringing  in  of  His  kingdom.  I 
teach  that  the  Bible  is  the  record  of  the 
revelation  of  God,  and  that  it  is  the  spir- 
itual guide  of  the  race.  I  teach  that  the 
men  who  wrote  the  books  of  the  Bible 
possessed  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that  they 
wrote  out  of  the  fullness  of  their  lives. 
I  teach  that  these  men  wrote  down  the 
revelation  of  God  as  they  comprehended 
it.  Some  men  saw  God  afar  off,  and 
others  caught  a  clearer  vision  of  Him. 
The  complete  and  full  revelation  was 
made  in  Jesus.  He  alone  could  say:  "He 
that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father." 
That  being  true,  I  teach  that  we  should 
measure  all  other  revelation  by  Him. 

I  have  dedicated  my  life  to  the  ministry 
of  the  gospel,  and  the  Bible  is  the  Book 
I  preach.  I  regard  the  task  of  training 
young  men  for  the  ministry  as  a  sacred 
privilege,  and  I  rejoice  that  my  part  of 
the  task  takes  me  into  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  especially  to  the  life  and  teach- 
ings of  Jesus.  I  was  reared  as  a  Dis- 
ciple, and  I  believe  in  the  mission  and 
position  of  the  Disciples,  and  it  is  my 
aim  to  help  make  the  College  of  the  Bible 
a  mighty  factor  in  the  future  of  our 
movement  and  in  the  religious  life  of  the 
world. 

•      • 

Professor  E.  E.  Snoddy 

IWIY  aim  as  a  teacher  is  the  creation  and 
*v*  conservation  of  a  vital  and  intelligent 
Christian  faith  in  my  students  by  con- 
structive methods  only.  The  best  evi- 
dence I  can  offer  of  fidelity  to  my  trust 
is  the  large  number  of  laymen,  teachers, 
social  workers,  ministers  and  mission- 
aries whose  lives  I  have  had  a  part  in 
forming. 

My  special  task  in  philosophy  is  to  help 
the  student  make  whatever  reconstruc- 
tion in  his  religious  conceptions  are  made 
necessary  by  the  larger  world  revealed 
to  him  in  his  college  course. 

The  difficult  problems  arise  out  of  the 
student's  contact  with  science  and  evo- 
lution. In  my  teaching  I  give  a  large 
place  to  science  and  seek  to  evoke  active 
appreciation  for  it.  I  hold  that  there 
cannot  be  any  contradiction  between 
science  and  religion. 

In  dealing  with  miracles  I  emphasize 
their  ethical  significance,  I  put  them  in 
the  larger  context  of  Christ's  life  and 
purpose,  and  finally  show  how  my  own 
belief  in  miracles  has  been  strengthened 
by  the  contribution  of  modern  historical 
science  in   the  field  of  biblical  criticism. 

I  teach  that  the  creation  accounts  in 
Genesis  are  religious  in  purpose  and  con- 
tent rather  than  scientific,  and,  therefore, 


May  24,  1917. 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


19 


there   can   he   no   disagreement   hetween 
them  and  geology. 

In  common  with  modern  scholars  I 
accept  the  conception  of  evolution,  but 
hold  that  this  conception  and  theistic 
faith  are  not  inconsistent.  It  does  not 
fall  to  my  field  to  prove  it  or  to  expound 
it.  I  simply  take  it  as  it  comes  to  me 
in  the  thought  of  our  age  and  also  in 
the  life  of  the  student,  and  try  to  show 
how  the  modern  man  can  accept  the 
theory  of  evolution  and  at  the  same  time 
hold  his  Christian  faith.  Evolution  is 
not  a  substitute  for  God,  but  is  itself  a 
product  of  the  Divine  activity.  It  origi- 
nates nothing,  but  is  itself  only  the 
process  through  which  God  originates 
everything.  It  is  a  method  of  Divine  crea- 
tion. For  me  it  means  a  growing  world 
and  therefore  one  infinite  in  its  possibili- 
ties. It  lightens  the  burden  of  the  prob- 
lem of  evil,  it  gives  new  insight  into  the 
purpose  of  God,  and  dignifies  man,  not 
only  by  making  him  the  goal  of  creation, 
but  a  coworker  with  God  in  the  realiza- 
tion of  His  purpose.  Without  the  con- 
ception I  would  be  helpless  in  my  work. 

Finally,  I  am  glad  to  say  that  thirty 
years  of  experience  and  service  have  only 
served  to  strengthen  my  faith  in  the  in- 
spiration of  the  Bible  and  the  revelation 
made  in  it,  in  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  in 
the  presence  of  God  in  human  life 
through  His  Spirit,  and  in  the  church  as 
the  institution  through  which  Christ's 
purpose  is  to  be  realized  in  the  world. 

After  so  long  a  period  of  service  it 
would  be  inappropriate  for  me  to  offer 
any  proof  of  my  loyalty  to  the  cause  of 
the  Disciples  other  than  the  fruits  of 
my  labors.  I  care  only  to  say  that,  of 
all  times  in  our  history,  I  consider  that 
now  is  the  one  time  in  which  God  has 
given  us  the  supreme  opportunity  of 
bringing  to  the  world's  need  our  historic 
conception  of  Christ's  divine  Sonship  and 
our  plea  for  Christian  unity  under  his 
leadership. 

•     • 

Professor  W.  C.  Bower 

IWIY  field  being  education,  religious  edu- 
*'*  cation   and   Sociology,   including   the 
psychology  of  religion  and  the  history  of 
religion,    my   approach    to    the    study    of 
religion  is  scientific  rather  than  theologi- 
cal.    My  philosophy  of  religious   educa- 
tion is  based  upon  the  nature  of  religion, 
and  religion,  in  turn,   is   studied   against 
the  larger  background  of  human  society. 
The  following  statement  is  a  summary 
of  the  fundamental  points  of  view  from 
which  the  subject  matter  of  the  courses 
involved  is  presented.     God  is  the  Crea- 
tor of  the  world  and  of  the  human  race. 
Evolution  is  only  one  of  His  methods  of 
working.     God  has  never  for  a  moment 
been    absent    from    His    world    or    from 
human    history,    but    through    these    His 
divine    activity    is    continuous    with    His 
first  creative  act  and  the  progress  of  the 
world  is  moving  forward  toward  the  con- 
summation of  His  purpose.     Psychologi- 
cal   analysis    and    historical    study    show 
that    religion    is    fundamental    in    human 
experience,   and  that   in   order  to  be  rid 
of    it    both    society    and     the     individual 
would   have  to   be   destroyed.     The   ten- 
dency  in   modern   psychology   is   toward 
the  personal  viewpoint  in  which  the  su- 
preme place  of  intelligence  and  the  will 
in   human   experience   is   affirmed.      In   a 
world   such  as  ours,  a   self-revelation  of 
God  is  not  only  possible,  but  a  necessity. 
In    such    a    world,   prayer,   as   associated 
desire   and   activity   with    God,   is   effica- 
cious   in    securing    objective    as    well    as 
subjective   results.      A    study   of   the    re- 
ligion    of     the     Hebrews     discloses      its 
incomparable  superiority  to  the  contem- 
poraneous religions.     Christianity,  as  em- 


bodying the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ, 
is  pre-eminently  the  only  religion  that 
can  support  human  life  under  the  str< 
of  modern  civilization.  Jesus,  its  foun- 
der, is  divine,  and  His  gospel  is  the  power 
of  God  to  save  men's  lives.  The  Holy 
Scriptures  reveal  the  character  and  the 
purpose  of  God,  and  the  church  is  the 
divine  institution  for  the  interpretation 
and  execution  of  Christ's  program. 

The  historic  plea  of  the  Disciples  of 
Christ  for  the  union  of  all  Christians 
upon  the  basis  of  the  restoration  of  the 
Christianity  of  Christ  as  recorded  in  the 
Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  has 
been  fundamental  in  my  thinking,  and  I 
emphasized  it  in  my  teaching  and  preach- 
ing. I  have  rejoiced  in  the  freedom  of 
men  who  were  loyal  to  the  fundamentals 
of  Christianity  to  look  into  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ  and  to  report  what  they  see 
there  without  the  constraint  of  credal 
statement.  Beyond  loyalty  to  the  truth 
as  I  see  it  through  faith  in  Christ,  I  seek 
no    further    liberty. 

It  has  been  my  aim  to  teach  in  a  con- 
structive manner,  to  conserve  and  en- 
large faith,  not  to  destroy  it. 

•      • 

Professor  George  W.  Hemry 

IT  is  a  privilege  to  record  my  faith  in 
the  great  fundamentals  of  Christianity. 
The  divine  sonship  of  Jesus  Christ  as  ac- 
cepted at  my  baptism  is  still  my  faith. 
The  inspired  character  of  the  Scriptures 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  I  have 
never  called  in  question.  The  church  as 
Christ's  body,  constituted  to  carry  on 
His  work  in  the  world,  preaching  His 
gospel  to  all  men  and  bring  in  the  king- 
dom in  its  fullness,  has  always  had  all 
the  strength  and  talent  I  had  to  give. 

Nevertheless,  such  faith  is  not  held  in 
such  a  way  as  to  preclude  one's  rights 
to  think  on  all  these  great  themes.  Wc 
should  attain  constantly  a  larger  concep- 
tion of  Christ  and  His  saving  grace.  The 
church  in  the  person  of  its  leaders  must 
be  a  constant  critic  of  its  work,  else  fail- 
ure, wrong  and  inadequacy  will  become 
sacred  through  long  establishment.  The 
Scriptures  have  in  them  light  to  an  ap- 
preciation of  which  we  have  not  fully  at- 
tained. Immortality  is  a  conception  cap- 
able of  new  refinements  and  new  proofs 
as  time  goes  on. 

Our  theories  of  inspiration  will  prob- 
ably fail  fully  to  represent  the  facts  of 
inspiration,  as  our  theories  of  biology  fail 
to  contain  the  whole  of  life.  The  theory 
must  be  constantly  readjusted  so  as  to 
fit  the  facts  that  are  apparent  in  the 
Scriptures. 

Some  few  facts  must  be  recognized. 
The  men  who  wrote  the  various  portions 
of  Scripture  were  inspired  in  such  a  way 
that  they  were  free  to  make  known  their 
messages  in  writings  that  represent  prac- 
tically all  literary  forms.  Moreover,  each 
man  wrote  in  his  own  peculiar  style. 
John  does  not  write  at  all  like  Paul,  and 
yet  they  were  both  making  known  the 
Christian  message.  Amos  is  quite  differ- 
ent from  Isaiah  in  his  manner  of  saying 
things,  and  less  rangy  in  thought,  but 
both  were  true  prophets  of  Jehovah. 
These  and  other  facts  have  convinced  me 
that  the  revelation  of  God  took  place  in 
the  souls  of  men  just  to  the  extent  that 
they  were  one  in  mind  and  heart  with 
Him.  The  truth  of  which  they  became 
conscious  they  set  forth  in  the  phrases 
and  in  the  literary  form  best  adapted  to 
their  talents  and  the  purposes  they  wished 
to   accomplish. 

In  the  New  Testament,  we  have  the 
gospels,  the  Acts  of  Apostles,  the  epistles 
to  Christian  individuals  and  churches, 
and  the  Revelation. 


The  Divinity  School 

OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

CoiKMt    will    I  <j    ofT',T<:'l    In    the    OU    TV.  tan.- 
ITttfeasiorH     Hrnlth     (J.     M.     I'.).     LuclunbUL     WlJIKt, 
BprengUafc  and  Gordon;  New  Teatament  ly  i'rof«eori 
Burton,    Norton,    Good  peed,    end    Caw;    8>«.>/sinaxJc 
Theology  by  Pfofeaeoi  it  B 

Voutz;  Church  Hi  tory  by  I'rofewiora  WtmtTH*  and 
Chrl  tie;  BeUftoua  Education  by  ProfiMon  Koar«s  and 
Ward;  HoffliletleJ  a/id  f'antoral  Iftitle*  by  Prtfemor 
lloyt;  IVa'tl'-a.!  Sociology  by  PMfCMOf  BtOttmj  Public 
Hpeaklni;  by  Professor  Blancbard;  MimIc  by  Mr.  Ht*»- 
prm.  Course*  In  other  departments  of  the  L'nlrerslty 
are  op'.-n  to  students  In  the  Divinity  Hcbool. 

Siunnv-r   Quarter    K>17. 
lit  Term   JlUM   18-July  2"— 2d  Term  July   21-Auk.   XI. 

Detailed   announcement  ■umi  upon   application   u>  the 

Dean  of  the  Divinity  School 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


The  gospel  was  a  long  time  an  oral 
message,  many  churches  being  called  into 
existence  before  the  gospels  were  written. 
As  we  learn  from  Luke,  many  writings 
more  or  less  complete  were  composed  to 
narrate  the  life  and  work  of  Christ.  Of 
these  four  have  been  preserved  to  us. 
They  differ  in  many  respects,  and  yet 
present  a  united  message  in  essentials. 

The  Acts  was  written  as  a  sequel  to 
Luke.  Its  aim  was  to  show  how  the 
work  begun  by  Jesus  was  carried  on  after 
His  death   and  resurrection. 

The  epistles  are  really  just  missionary 
letters  to  new  converts  and  churches.' 
Every  one  of  them  was  written  in  re- 
sponse to  a  practical  need.  They  are  of 
value  to  us  because  our  problems  continue 
to  be  similar  to  those  met  by  the  early 
church. 

The  books  of  the  New  Testament,  at 
first  possessed  by  a  few  churches,  be- 
came known  to  all  and  later  possessed 
by  all  by  a  process  of  exchange  and  copy- 
ing. The  beginning  of  such  a  process  is 
indicated  in  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians. 
Churches  of  importance  having  come  into 
possession  of  the  recognized  books,  later, 
through  their  bishops,  published  lists  or 
catalogs  of  the  books.  The  rise  of  here- 
sies, and  consequent  debate,  called  forth 
an  emphasis  on  the  recognized  books  and 
a  sharp  distinction  between  them  and 
others. 

When  finally  general  church  councils 
made  decision  concerning  books  to  be 
recognized,  in  the  main  they  simply  reg- 
istered the  belief  that  had  long  prevailed 
in  the  church.  In  some  cases,  however, 
books  that  had  been  held  in  doubt  were 
confirmed. 

In  all  my  teaching  on  these  subjects. 
I  have  never  at  any  time  been  destructive, 
either  in  spirit  or  word,  but.  on  the  con- 
trary, constructive. 


Advertise 
Presbyterian  Work 

The  Presbyterians  in  their  Assem- 
bly in  Dallas,  Tex.,  will  be  well  taken 
care  of  so  far  as  publicity  is  con- 
cerned. Mr.  James  B.  "Wootan  has 
been  chosen  as  chairman  of  the  pub- 
licity committee  and  much  of  the  ma- 
terial is  worked  up  iiv  advance  in 
newspaper  style  to  fit  the  needs  of  the 
reporters  who  call  for  news.  In  this 
way  the  public  may  expect  to  get  ade- 
quate interpretations  and  a  correct 
statement  of  the  facts.  The  move- 
ment for  denominational  cooperation 
with  the  news  agencies  of  the  nation 
is  spreading  from  denomination  to  de- 
nomination. 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  24,  1917. 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


Death  of 

Miss  Mattie   E.  Pounds 

John  E.  Pounds,  of  Hiram.  0.,  writes 
that  a  cablegram  brings  news  of  the 
death  of  his  lister.  Miss  Mattie  E. 
Pounds,  at  Shanghai.  China,  on  May  5. 
Miss  Pounds  was  formerly  seeretary  of 
the  voting  people's  department  of  the 
C.  VY.  B.  M.  and  went  to  the  Orient 
three  years  ago  to  visit  the  mission  sta- 
tions and  study  the  work  at  first  hand. 
Miss  Pounds  is  kindly  remembered  b}r 
thousands  of  Disciples  for  her  devoted 
service  in  the  cause  of  world-wide  mis- 
sions. 

Missouri's  Convention, 
Mexico,  June  12-14 

Madison  A.  Hart,  of  the  church  at 
Columbia,  Mo.,  is  the  president  of  the 
1917  state  convention  of  Missouri  Dis- 
ciples, which  is  to  be  held  at  Mexico, 
June  12-14.  Mr.  Hart  urges  representa- 
tion at  this  state  meeting-  of  as  many 
churches  of  Missouri  as  possible.  It  is 
hoped  that  The  Christian  Century  may 
have  program  on  hand  for  next  week's 
news  pages. 

Michigan's  Disciples  to 
Meet  at  Cadillac 

June  4-7  is  the  date  set  for  this  year's 
convention  of  the  Disciples  of  Michigan. 
Cadillac  is  the  place.  Among  the  fea- 
tures are  the  following:  Monday  even- 
ing to  Tuesday  afternoon,  C.  W.  B.  M. 
sessions,  with  addresses  by  A.  W.  Higby, 
Grand  Rapids;  Mrs.  O.  H.  Greist,  In- 
diana; Miss  Emma  Ennis.  Bilaspur;  Mrs. 
A.  E.  Jennings,  Ann  Arbor.  Interesting 
features  will  be  a  symposium  on  district 
work,  conferences  on  young  people's 
work  and  a  banquet.  On  Tuesday  even-  * 
ing  will  begin  the  sessions  of  the  State 
Missionary  Society,  with  the  following  ad- 
dresses: "Aim  of  the  Disciples  of 
Christ,"  G.  W.  Knepper;  "Coming  to  the 
Stature  of  the  Fullness  of  Christ,"  R.  B. 
Chapman,  Ionia.  Other  addresses  at 
these  sessions  will  be:  "Influence  of 
the  Disciples  of  Christ,"  Lloyd  H.  Mil- 
ler, Detroit;  "Educational  Work  Among 
the  Disciples."  John  E.  Pounds,  Hiram. 
O.:  "Responsibility  of  the  Disciples  of 
Christ,"  W.  V.  Nelson,  Grand  Rapids. 
There  will  also  be  secreterial  addresses 
by  Fred  Kline,  Illinois;  Bert  Wilson, 
Cincinnati,   and   others. 

Kentucky's  Disciples  in 
Annual  Summer  School 

Last  year  137  persons  received  diplo- 
mas from  the  summer  school  of  the 
Kentucky  Christian  Bible  School  Asso- 
ciation. This  year  will  be  the  sixth  an- 
nual meeting.  The  sessions  will  be  held 
at  the  College  of  the  Bible  and  Tran- 
sylvania College,  the  date  being  June  14- 
22.  The  total  expense  of  the  school  to 
persons  in  attendance  will  be  $11  plus 
railroad  fare.  The  faculty  is  composed 
of  the  following  aide  leaders:  Walter 
E.  Frazee,  state  secretary:  A.  W.  For- 
tune, W.  C.  Bower,  G.  W.  Hemry  and 
H.  L.  Calhoun,  of  Transylvania;  Miss 
Cynthia  Maus  and  Miss  Hazel  Lewis, 
of  the  national  Bible  school  organiza- 
tion: Mrs.  Katheryn  E.  Hodgdon  and 
Miss  Muriel  White,  St.  Louis;  W.  A. 
Fite,  W.  H.  McLain,  R.  X.  Simpson,  E. 
B.   Barnes,   E.  T.   Edmonds,  J.   H.   Mac- 


Neill,     well-known     Disciple     ministers, 
and  Secretary  Bert  Wilson. 
*     *     * 

— Professor  C.  E.  Underwood  of  But- 
ler College,  who  -was  seriously  ill,  is 
reported   greatly   improved. 

— The     Butler     College     students     re-_ 
cently  presented  the  college  with  a  large 
flag.      Judge    Orbison,    of    Indianapolis, 
gave  a  patriotic  address  on  the  occasion 
of   the   raising   of   the   flag. 

— The  religious  work  with  public 
schools  at  Gary,  Ind.,  is  being  success- 
fully prosecuted  under  the  leadership  of 
C.  L.  Pyatt  and  assistants  of  Central 
Church.  Myron  C.  Settle,  of  Glen  Park 
Church,  is  getting  good  results  in  his 
work  with  boys  and  girls  of  the  south 
part  of  the  city.  Nearly  200  pupils  are 
under  instruction  in  the  classes  of  Mr. 
Pyatt  and  Mr.  Settle. 

— The  largest  Women's  Bible  Class  in 
Indiana  is  that  of  Mrs.  T.  W.  Grafton, 
wife  of  the  pastor  of  Third  Church,  In- 
dianapolis. On  the  afternoon  of  last 
Sunday  week  nearly  two  thousand 
women  came  together  in  a  rally  at  the 
Roberts  Park  M.  E.  Church,  and  Mrs. 
Grafton  made  the  address.  Almost 
every  school  in  the  city  and  surround- 
ing country  was  represented.  W.  E.  M. 
Hackleman   conducted   the   music. 

— A.  W.  Conner,  founder  of  the  Boy- 
Friend  Movement,  held  a  campaign  at 
Madisonville,  Ky.,  last  week.  He  will 
lecture  this  summer  through  the  West 
under  the  direction  of  one  of  the  large 
Chautauqua  systems,  being  under  con- 
tract for  200  lectures. 

— C.  C.  Morrison,  editor  of  the  Chris- 
tian Century,  will  deliver  a  series  of 
lectures  this  year  at  Bethany  Assembly 
during  the  Bible  Conference  on  "The 
Disciples   and    Christian    Unity." 

— At  Clarksville,  Ind.,  J.  Thos.  Luckey 
has  increased  the  Sunday  school  in  a 
year  from  an  attendance  of  123  to  194, 
with  increased  offerings  from  average  of 
$2.58  to  average  of  $21.56.  At  Cicero, 
where  Mr.  Luckey  also  preaches,  there 
has  been  an  increase  of  attendance  from 
79  to  126;  this  is  a  mission  church.  Both 
these  churches  are  promoting  success- 
fully the  continuous  morning  service. 

— George  W.  Schroeder  will  preach 
the  baccalaureate  sermon  of  '  the  Ru- 
dolph, O.,  high  school  this  year.  Mr. 
Schroeder  reports  the  banner  attend- 
ance in  years  at  the  Rudolph  Sunday 
school,  with  209  present  on  May  13.  The 
school  is  striving  for  300  present  on 
July  1.  This  organization  recently  sent 
four  cases  of  eggs  to  the  N.  B.  A. 

— R.  W.  Lilley,  of  Kirksville,  Mo., 
preached  the  baccalaureate  sermon  for 
the  high  school  there  on  May  13,  and 
delivered  the  commencement  address  at 
Fulton,  Mo.,  on  the  18th,  and  at  Paris, 
Mo.,  on  the  25th. 

— Chancellor  Homer  W.  Carpenter,  of 
Transylvania,  delivered  the  commence- 
ment address  at  the  Morehead  Normal 
School.  This  is  one  of  the  C.  W.  B.  M. 
schools  and  is  doing  a  good  work  in  the 
semi-mountainous   district    of   Kentucky. 

— First  Church,  Sioux  City,  la.,  led  by 
the  pastor  J.  R.  Perkins,  recently 
burned    an    eleven    year    old    mortgage. 


Mr.  Perkins  is  in  his  fifth  year  there — 
the  longest  pastorate  in  the  church's  his- 
tory. 

— First  Church,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  held 
its  last   meeting   in   the   old   building   on  \ 
May  13.     The  congregation  will  meet  in 
temporary  quarters  until  the  new  home 
is  completed. 

— P.  L.  Schuler  has  resigned  from  the 
work   at   Second   Church,   Cedar   Rapids, 
la.,  and  will  take  up  evangelistic  service 
October  1.     Mr.  Schuler  will  continue  at  ] 
Cedar  Rapids  until  August  1. 

— President  H.  H.  Crossfield,  Chan-  ] 
cellor  Carpenter,  Dr.  Fortune,  Profes- 
sors Bower  and  Snoddy  and  Dean  Mac- 
cartney,  of  Transylvania  College,  are 
busy  delivering  commencement  addresses 
in  the  high  school  commencements  of 
Kentucky. 

— John  E.  Pounds  has  served  nearly 
eight  years  at  Hiram,  O.,  church. 

—Granville  Snell,  superintendent  of 
missions  of  Seventh  District  of  Missouri, 
gave  an  address  at  the  annual  convention 
of  Northeast  District  on  May  24.  Mr. 
Snell  has  raised  $3,556  in  his  field  since 
November  1,  having  also  reorganized 
four  churches  and  organized  two  Sun- 
day schools.  This  is  but  a  small  part 
of  his  work  for  this  period. 

— At  the  recent  India  convention,  which 
was  held  at  Damoh  rather  than  at  Jub- 
bulpore,  because  of  plague  conditions 
there,  the  following  missionaries  took 
part  on  the  program:  J.  N.  Bierma,  Miss 
Kingsbury,  C.  G.  Elsam,  H.  Schaefer, 
G.  E.  Miller,  W.  H.  Scott,  G.  W.  Brown, 
H.  C.  Saum,  D.  O.  Cunningham,  C.  H. 
Thompson,  and  M.  J.  Shah.  George  E. 
Miller  sends  an  interesting  report  of  the 
meeting  from  Mungeli,  Central  Province. 

— G.  W.  Muckley,  of  the  Church  Ex- 
tension Board,  is  spending  the  month  of 
May  in  the  conventions  of  Arkansas, 
Texas,  Oklahoma,  Indiana  and  Ohio.  Mr. 
Muckley  reports  for  April  a  falling  off 
of  receipts  of  $6,086  from  individuals  and 
$472  from  the  churches. 

— The  new  building  of  the  church  at 
Peru,  Ind.,  was  dedicated  early  this 
month  by  C.  W.  Cauble,  of  Indianapolis. 
About  $11,000  was  raised.  T.  J.  Brock 
serves  as  pastor  at  Peru.  The  new  struc- 
ture cost  about  $30,000  and  is  now  prac- 
tically paid  for. 

— Harry  C.  Ice  has  begun  his  service 
as  pastor  at  Beaver  Falls,  Pa.,  succeed- 
ing in  the  work  there  C.  M.  Smail,  who 
was  called  to  a  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  pulpit 
several  months  ago. 

— J.  E.  Henshaw,  of  Arkansas  City, 
Kan.,  has  accepted  the  First  Church  pas- 
torate at   Pueblo,   Colo. 

— Paul  Rudy,  son  of  J.  M.  Rudy,  Dis- 
ciple pastor  and  evangelist,  has  enlisted 
for  European  service.  Young  Mr.  Rudy 
has  been  in  attendance  at  Wisconsin  Uni- 
versity. 

— A.  C.  Smither  had  charge  of  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  newly  completed  $25,000 
building  of  the  Miami,  Okla.,  congrega- 
tion. 

— It  is  reported  that  over  $35,000  has 
been  raised  at  First  Church,  Kansas  City, 
Mo.,  for  the  purposes  of  community  cen- 
ter work. 

— Charles  O.  Lee,  of  the  Danville,  Ind., 
'  church,   preached   the   baccalaureate   ser- 
mon this  year  for  the  local  high  school. 

— Cotner  University's  commencement 
exercises  will  be  held  June  1  to  June  8. 
W.    P.    Aylsworth    will    preach    the   bac- 


May  24,  1917. 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


21 


fcalaureate  sermon  and  Charles  F.  Stevens 
pf  Beatrice  will  deliver  the  commence- 
Inent  address.' 

— The  1918  Texas  State  Convention  will 
he  held  at  Sherman.  New  officers  elected 
kt  the  late  convention  at  Austin  are:  H. 
King  Pendleton,  Houston,  president; 
Senator  S.  B.  Cowcll,  Whitesboro,  vice- 
hresident;  F.  M.  O'Malley,  Bonham,  re- 
cording secretary;  Ernest  C.  Mobley, 
kmarillo,  reelected  reporter.  John  W. 
Kerns,  of  Austin,  Geo.  F.  Cuthrell,  of 
Sherman,  and  T.  C.  Morgan,  of  Long- 
knew,  were  elected  to  serve  on  the  state 
board. 

— H.  W.  Hunter,  of  Wellington,  Kan., 
s  preaching  during  May  and  June  a 
series  of  Sunday  evening  sermons  on 
'Bible  Types  of  Men  and  Women." 


II r ill  vn  n  u  A-  Church  Home  for  You. 

NhW  YUHK  Write  Dr-  Fin's  Idleman, 
Ilk  II    I  U!ll\  142  West  81gt  gtj  £  y| 


—The  eightieth  birthday  of  D.  R.  Dun- 
ran  was  celebrated  on  May  15.  His 
xiends  at  his  present  hometown,  Pasa- 
dena, Cal.,  and  those  over  the  country 
emembered  Dr.  Dungan  in  various  ways, 
lis  friends  in  Iowa  having  sent  him  for 
that  day  a  shower  of  postcard  greetings. 

— A.  D.  Milroy,  of  Brenham,  Tex.,  in- 
dividually supports  Albert  T.  Fitts  in 
home  missionary  work  in  Texas.  The 
plan  Mr.  Fitts  has  adopted  is  to  go  to 
i  new  point  and  stay  with  the  job  until 
the  success  of  the  mission  planted  is  as- 
sured. 

—First  Church,  Norfolk,  Va.,  has  be- 
afun  work  on  a  church  garden,  a  large  lot 
haying  been  secured  back  of  the  church 
Duilding.  Through  the  generosity  of  one 
?f  the  members  of  the  congregation  the 
ground  has  been  plowed  and  harrowed, 
ind  various  classes  and  other  organiza- 
tions are  being  asked  to  "stake  a  claim." 
Chas.  M.  Watson  is  anxious  that  every 
member  of  this  church  have  some  definite 
>art  in  the  support  of  the  present  great 
war  for  universal  peace. 

— There  will  be  held  at  Lansing,  Mich., 
Jn  July  5-12,  a  great  meeting  of  rural 
leaders  in  church  life.  Disciple  minis- 
:ers  of  the  state  are  planning  to  co-oper- 
ite  in  this  effort  for  more  efficient  rural 
:hurch  activities.  The  conference  is  to 
)e  held  at  Michigan  Agricultural  Col- 
lege. 

— A  few  days  ago  the  daily  papers  were 
Reporting  that  the  wife  of  James  Couch, 
Christian  minister  at  Wanette,  Okla.,  had 
)een  shot  in  Germany  as  a  spy,  but  later 
■eports  deny  the  truth  of  the  statement. 

— The  new  officers  of  the  First  district, 
Illinois  Missionary  Society,  elected  at  the 
■ecent  convention  held  at  Sterling,  are: 
I  W.  Robbins,  Sterling,  president;  F.  H. 
Devol,  Walnut,  vice-president;  C.  C.  Car- 
penter, Princeton,  secretary. 

— R.  S.  Rains,  of  Brownstown,  Ind., 
las  been  called  to  the  pastorate  at  Rock 
Falls,  111.;  E.  L.  Frost,  of  Timewell,  111., 
las  accepted  a  call  to  the  work  at  Ply- 
mouth,  111. 

— O.  E.  Tomes,  of  First  Christian 
Zhurch,  Ft.  Wayne,  Ind.,  along  with  the 
ather  ministers  of  Ft.  Wayne,  is  co-oper- 
iting  in  the  effort  to  "feed  the  world"  dur- 
ng  the  present  war.  Some  of  the  city's 
ministers,  including  Mr.  Tomes,  have 
eased  a  plot  of  ground  for  gardening. 

— The  newspapers  report  that  an  audi- 
ence of  about  250  ministers  assembled 
it  the  late  annual  convention  of  the  In- 
diana Christian  Ministerial  Association  at 


Give  the  Dollar  a  Chance  Next  Sunday 


Money  talks  and  money  works. 

Harness   up   your   dollars    and 

put    them    to    work    for    the 

Kingdom. 


We  want  $125,000  on 
Children's  Day,  June 
3rd.  Every  pupil  in  every 
school  should  make  his  great- 
est offering  to  Foreign  Mis- 
sions this  year. 


Send   all    Children's  Day 
offerings  at  once  to 


The  Sanctification  of  the 
dollar  means  the  salvation 
of  the  world. 


Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society,  Box  884,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 


Kokomo  adjourned  their  meeting  sum- 
marily and  went  in  a  body  to  Indianapolis 
to  offer  their  services  to  the  governor 
for  the  mobilization  of  the  church's  in- 
fluence in  support  of  the  nation  in  her 
war  need. 

— Walter  F.  Alt,  of  Richmond  Avenue 
Christian  Church,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  has  been 
elected  president  of  the  Buffalo  Assembly 
of  Christian  Endeavor. 

— The  congregation  of  First  Church, 
Tulsa,  Oka.,  will  build  a  very  fine  church 
home,  with  every  modern  feature.  An 
interesting  feature  of  the  building  will  be 
a  huge  glass  dome  immediately  over  the 
great  auditorium. 

— The  1918  convention  of  Oklahoma 
Disciples  will  be  held  at  Ardmore.  At 
the  1917  meeting  at  Enid  Judge  A.  Eddie- 
man  of  Ardmore  was  elected  president  of 
the  state  association.  Money  was  pro- 
vided at  the  Enid  meeting  for  a  boys' 
dormitory  at  Phillips  University,  located 
at  Enid,  for  a  home  for  the  president  of 
that   institution   and   for  an   athletic   sta- 


dium.   These  buildings  are  to  be  erected 

this  year. 

— Levi  Marshall  was  given  a  royal  wel- 
come by  Greencastle,  Ind.,  citizens,  upon 
his  coming  to  his  new  charge  at  First 
church.  At  a  reception  given  for  the 
new  pastor,  among  those  present  were 
A.  M.  Hootman,  former  pastor;  J.  C. 
Todd,  of  Bloomington  Bible  Chair,  and 
C.   H.  Winders,  of  Indianapolis. 

—Dr.  Charles  T.  Paul,  of  the  College 
of  Missions,  Indianapolis,  called  by 
Charles  R.  Brown,  dean  of  Yale  Divinity 
School,  "the  greatest  living  authority  on 
foreign  missions,"  was  one  of  the  speak- 
ers at  a  recent  banquet  of  the  alumni  of 
the  University  of  Indiana,  held  at  Clay- 
pool  Hotel,  Indianapolis.  W.  J.  Bryan 
was  also  present  and  spoke. 

— C.  F.  Stevens,  pastor  of  the  church 
at  Beatrice,  Neb.,  will  give  the  com- 
mencement address  at  Cotner  University 
on  June  7. 

— A  very  successful  evangelistic  series 
is    reported    at    Oakland,    Cal.,   with    the 


Graham  Frank  a  Kingdom  Man  as  Well  as  a 

Church  Man 


The  resignation  of  Graham  Frank  at 
Liberty,  Mo.,  to  accept  the  pastorate  of 
Central  Church,  Dallas,  Tex.,  has  brought 
out  many  interesting  interpretations  of 
his  fourteen-year  pastorate  in  Liberty. 
In  addition  to  the  many  testimonials  of 
affection  from  his  congregation  there  are 
many  sidelights  thrown  upon  his  ministry 
from  sources  outside  his  church.  The 
local  newspaper  calls  attention  to  the 
universal  good  feeling  obtaining  among 
the  churches  of  all  denominations  in  Lib- 
erty and  says  that  to  Mr.  Frank  is  due 
more  than  to  any  other  individual  the 
credit  of  bringing  in  the  new  era  of 
fraternity.  That  this  estimate  is  not  over- 
drawn would  seem  to  be  indicated  by  a 
paragraph  appearing  in  the  calendar  of 
the  local  Baptist  church  in  which  the  pas- 
tor, Rev.   Cousins,  says: 

"Dr.  Frank's  Resignation 

"Dr.  Frank  has  resigned  the  pastorate 
of  his  church  here  to  accept  a  call  to  one 
of  the  leading  churches  in  Dallas,  Texas. 
The  news  of  his  intention  to  leave  Lib- 
erty will  come  as  a  surprise  and  shock 
not  only  to  his  immediate  parishioners, 
but  to  the  entire  community  as  well.  Dr. 
Frank  has  labored  so  long,  so  faithfully 
and   so   successfully   in   Liberty  that   it's 


difficult  to  think  of  the  community-  and 
the  work  without  his  presence.  We  hoped 
he  might  feel  led  to  remain  in  Libert}-, 
for  he  has  so  often  resisted  the  lure  of 
very  inviting  and  much  more  lucrative 
fields.  If  he  decides  that  he  must  go 
he  will  certainly  carry  with  him  the  af- 
fectionate regard  and  esteem  of  this  town. 
He  is  a  gifted  man — a  royal  soul,  a 
preacher  of  rare  power  and  charm.  He 
holds  a  conspicuous  position  in  his 
church,  but  he  is  more  than  a  churchman, 
he  is  a  Kingdom  man.  He  will  be  missed 
here — genuinely  missed — and  no  group  of 
people  will  give  him  up  more  reluctantly 
than  the  preachers.  He  richly  deserves 
all  the  good  things  that  may  come  to 
him.  He  and  his  family  will  be  a  valu- 
able acquisition  to  an}-  community  where 
their  lot  may  be  cast.  This  pastor  is 
greatly  indebted  to  Dr.  Frank  for  many 
kindnesses,  and  he  wishes  here  to  regis- 
ter his  personal  appreciation  of  the  man — 
his  ministry  and  his  message.  May  God's 
own  blessing  continue  to  be  his  in  abun- 
dant measure." 

Mr.  Frank  will  not  begin  his  new  pas- 
torate at  Dallas  until  Sept.  1.  His  call  to 
Dallas  stipulates  that  his  services  for  the 
General  Convention,  as  secretary,  will  not 
need  to  be  discontinued. 


-r> 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  24,  1917. 


Kellems  brothers  leading.  H.  A.  Van 
Winkle,  now  pastor  at  Oakland,  is  be- 
coming a  real  force  for  srood  in  the 
community's  life. 

— The  Hopkinsville,  Ky..  church  had 
a  membership  of  over  1,000  before  the 
recent  Fife  brothers'  meeting,  and  F.  F. 
Walter,  pastor  there,  reports  that_  he 
baptized  eighty-five  persons  coming  into 
the  fellowship' during  the  meetings.  Sev- 
enteen were  added  by  letters.  Fifty-one 
persons  were  baptized  on  Wednesday 
evening  following  the  close  of  the  meet- 
ings. 

— C.  R.  Piety,  pastor  of  the  church 
at  Scottsburg,  Ind.,  has  a  new  volume 
of  verse  out  with  the  title,  "A  Lot  o' 
Lovin'."  Mr.  Piety's  poem,  "Brother- 
hood." was  printed  and  reprinted  in 
many  of  the  city  dailies.  This  is  one 
of  the  opening  poems  of  the  present  at- 
tractive  collection. 

— The  First  Church,  Mexico,  Mo.,  had 
the  pleasure,  on  May  16,  of  hearing  an 
address  from  the  church's  living  link 
missionary,  Charles  P.  Hedges,  of 
Longa,  Africa.  He  was  accompanied  by 
Mrs.   Hedges. 

— Byron  Hester,  of  Chickasha,  Okla., 
First  Church,  reports  three  confessions 
at  this  church  on  the  morning  of  Moth- 
ers' day  and  eight  baptisms  at  night.  At 
the  evening  service  the  students  of  the 
Oklahoma  State  College  for  Women 
attended  in  a  body  to  hear  Mr.  Hester 
speak. 

— It  is  probable  that  Dr.  Hugh  T. 
Morrison,  of  Springfield,  111.,  will  enter 
the  war  service  in  the  medical  depart- 
ment. 

— The  arrival  of  Dr.  Burris  A.  Jen- 
kins in  France  is  reported  by  the  steam- 
ship line  with  which  Dr.  Jenkins  took 
passage  three  weeks  ago.  The  Kansas 
City  pastor  will  spend  six  months  in  re- 
ligious work  among  the  soldiers  of  the 
Allies  under  the  direction  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A. 

— J.  S.  Miller,  chairman  of  the  official 
board  of  the  church  at  Berkeley,  Cal., 
reports  that  great  enthusiasm  is  being 
manifested  over  the  prospects  of  the 
work  there  under  the  leadership  of  J. 
H.  McCartney,  the  new  pastor.  On  a 
recent  Sunday  the  financial  slate  was 
very  nearly  cleaned  by  the  raising  of 
several  hundred  dollars. 

— Henry  C.  Kendrick,  new  pastor  at 
University  Church,  Los  Angeles,  Cal., 
held  a  successful  series  of  evangelistic 
meetings  recently  at  this  church,  the 
pastor  doing  the  preaching. 

— June  24  will  be  observed  by  the 
Christian  Endeavorers  of  the  Disciples 
as  a  special  day  for  Home  Missions. 
The  topic  for  discussion  is  "  Mission 
Work  in  Our  Cities."  Programs  and 
literature  will  be  sent  free  by  the  Home 
Society  to  societies  who  will  agree  to 
take  an  offering  for  Home  Missions 
on  this  special  day. 

— The  annual  commencement  week  at 
Transylvania  College  will  be  dispensed 
with  this  year,  owing  to  the  large  num- 
ber of  students  who  have  left  the  col- 
lege for  the  army,  the  navy,  the  officers' 
reserve  training  corps  and  the  farm.  The 
baccalaureate  sermon  will  be  preached 
by  President  Crossfield  on  Sunday  even- 
ing, June  3,  and  the  degrees  will  be 
conferred  and  diplomas  granted  on  the 
same  occasion.  It  is  reported  that  Pro- 
fessor George  W.  Hemry,  who  has 
served  for  three  years  in  the  College 
of  the  Bible,  has  resigned  and  will  re- 
enter   the    ministry.      Professor    Hemry 


came  to  the  college  as  a  supply  teacher 
during  the  absence  of  Professor  W.  C. 
Bower,  who  was  sent  as  one  of  the 
commissioners  to  the  Orient  by  the  For- 
eign Society. 

— The  Church  Extension  Board  on 
May  4  granted  the  church  at  Glasgow, 
Mont.,  $2,000;  First  Church,  Phoenix. 
Ariz.,  $15,000;  Puyallup,  Wash.,  $500; 
Lake  Harriett  Church,  Minneapolis, 
Minn.,  $2,500;  Kansas,  Okla.,  $230;  Har- 
lingen,  Tex.,  $400;  Second  Church,  New 
York  City,  N.  Y.,  $10,000;  Waukomis, 
Okla.,  $1,000;  Bloomington,  111.,  Third 
Church,  $700;  Ambia,  Ind.,  $1,000;  Elm 
Grove,  W.  Va.,  $4,000;  Graham,  Va., 
$2,000;  Anita,  Iowa,  $1,500;  Grand  Rap- 
ids, Mich.,  Plainview  Ave.  Church, 
$1,500;  San  Luis  Obispo,   Cal.,  $1,750. 

— Prof.  E.  E.  Snoddy,  Lexington,  Ky., 
will  deliver  two  series  of  lectures  at 
Bethany  Assembly  this  year.  His  theme 
for  the  first  series  will  be  "The  Psychol- 
ogy of  Human  Behavior,"  and  that  of 
the  second  will  be  "The  Apostolic 
Church."  Professor  Snoddy  was  at 
Bethany  Assembly  two  years  ago,  and 
his  work  was  so  well  received  by  all 
that  the  Assembly  considers  itself  for- 
tunate in  securing  him  for  these  two  se- 
ries, beginning  Aug.  7  and  closing 
Aug.  17. 


Notes  from  First  Church,  Norfolk,  Va. 

The  treasurer  of  the  building  fund,  Mr. 
J.  H.  Schlegel,  announced  to  the  congre- 
gation of  First  Church  that  the  building 
note  had  been  curtailed  $2,000,  which 
leaves  a  balance  on  the  note  of  $5,000. 

An  appeal  has  been  made  for  a  "set-up 
program"  which  will  definitely  harness 
the  whole  congregation  to  the  biggest 
load  possible  in  near-at-hand  and  world- 
wide helpfulness  to  meet  the  present  war 
crisis. 

The  Sunday  school,  J.  G.  Holladay, 
superintendent,  is  passing  all  previous 
records.  The  average  attendance  for 
March  was  291;  the  average  for  April 
was  340. 

A  short  meeting  was  held  ten  days 
previous  to  Easter,  led  by  Rev.  E.  B. 
Bagby  of  Washington,  D.  C,  in  which 
sixteen    members    were    added. 

Five  have  made  the  good  confession 
and  eight  have  been  received  by  state- 
ment and  letter  the  past  two  Sundays. 
There  have  been  a  total  thus  far  in  the 
year  of  54,  31  by  confession  and  23  by 
letter  or  statement. 

Earnestly  solicitous  of  serving  espe- 
cially the  boys  who  go  into  the  navy, 
attention  is  again  called  to  pastors  who 
have  boys  who  have  enlisted  and  began 
their  training  at  Norfolk.  There  are  many 
grave  moral  problems  to  be  faced,  and 
because  of  our  Sunday  school  superin- 
tendent, Mr.  J.  G.  Holladay,  being  sec- 
retary of  the  Navy  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  we  are 
in  position  to  serve  if  we  are  advised 
about  the  boys.  This  applies  to  not  only 
C.  M.  Watson,  pastor  of  the  First  church, 
but  to  Rev.  E.  E.  Manley,  South  Norfolk, 
Va.,  and  Rev.  H.  C.  Combs,  Portsmouth, 
Va. 


Death  of  George  W.  Nance 

George  W.  Nance  of  Bloomington,  111., 
died  Sunday  morning,  April  29,  1917,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  Mr.  Nance 
was  born  in  Floyd  county,  Indiana,  but 
for  practically  all  his  life  he  has  been 
a  resident  of  Illinois.  He  became  a 
Christian  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years 
and  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  was  a 
lover  of  his  Lord,  a  kind  and  lovable 
man.     Mr.  Nance  was  a  regular  and  in- 


terested attendant  at  all  services  in  the 
House  of  God.  He  was  a  loyal  friend 
of  all  preachers  and  liked  much  to  be, 
in  the  company  of  ministers.  His  in- 
terest in  the  church  was  unflagging  and 
he  especially  enjoyed  our  great  religious 
gatherings,  both  state  and  national.  For 
many  years  he  had  been  a  member  and 
officer  of  First  Church,  Bloomington. 
He  was  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War  and 
an  alumnus  of  Eureka  College.  He  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Cora  Beach 
Demorest,  October  22,  1879.  Two  chil- 
dren were  born  to  this  union,  Olive  Lin- 
coln and  David,  the  latter  dying  at  the 
age  of  two  and  one-half  years.  Funeral 
services  were  held  in  First  Church, 
Tuesday  afternoon,  May  1,  the  following 
ministers  taking  part:  J.  H.  Wright; 
T.  T.  Holton,  W.  D.  Deweese,  S.  M 
Zendt  and  Mr.  Nance's  pastor,  Edgar 
DeWitt  Jones.  One  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture in  particular  epitomizes  the  life  of 
George  W.  Nance,  Acts  11:24:  "For 
he  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  of  faith."      E.  DW.  J. 


FRIENDLY  TOWN 

By  Thomas  Curtis  Clark. 

"Real    heart-music." — Chicago    Herald. 

"Breathes  a  spirit  of  joyous  living." — 
Chicago   Examiner. 

"Every  line  makes  for  love  and  kindli- 
ness and  better  living." — The  Advance. 

"Has  an  elusive  charm." — St.  Louis 
Times. 

"Full  of  good  things."— Christian  En- 
deavor  World. 

"Breathes  a  spirit  of  content." — Sara 
Teasdale. 

"Full  of  inspiration". — Charles  G. 
Blanden,  Editor  of  "The  Chicago  Authology 
of  Verse." 

"Charming." — People's   Home   Journal. 

Of  the  author  of  "Friendly  Town,"  J.  H. 
Garrison,  Editor-Emeritus  of  the  Christian- 
Evangelist,     says : 

"Now  and  then  God  raises  up  a  singer 
among  the  people  who  is  endowed  with  a 
rare  gift  of  poetic  vision,  poetic  feeling 
and  poetic  expression.  Thomas  Curtis 
Clark  is  finely  endowed  in  all  these  re- 
spects." 

"Friendly  Town,"  printed  in  art  type 
and  bound  in  attractive  green,  makes  an 
ideal  gift.  If  you  have  a  friend^  who 
needs  cheering  up,  sen'd  her  "Friendly 
Town." 

Price   of  the  booklet,  35   Cents. 

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/fay  24,  1917.  THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY  23 


IS    THE    WORLD 
GROWING  BETTER 


or  more  materialistic?  A  study  of  actual 
events  leads  Professor  Shailer  Mathews  to  be- 
lieve that  history  does  show  spiritual  forces  at 
work  which  may  renew  our  threatened  ideal- 
ism and  our  confidence  in  the  might  of  right. 
He   sums   up   his   views   in   his  new   volume 


"THE  SPIRITUAL 
INTERPRETATION  OF 

ISTORY" 


Professor  Mathews  is  Dean  of  the  Divinity 
School  in  the  University  of  Chicago  and  is  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  writers  in  the  field  of  re- 
ligion today.  He  is  also  the  Editor  of  the 
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book   for   the   times. 

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It  is  certainly  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  our  lives  in 
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DISCIPLES    PUBLICATION    SOCIETY 


700  East  Fortieth  Street 


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II  III 


May  31,  1917 


Number  22 


The  Church  in  the 

New  World 

Situation 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  31,  1917 


A  Great  Book  for  the  New  Day 

In  this  day  of  tremendous  issues  in  national  and  international  life,  of  the 
remaking  of  the  entire  civilized  world,  there  is  need  for  a  reconsideration 
of  the  great  messages  of  the  prophets  of  Israel,  those  spokesmen  of  God  to 
nations  and  men.  Dr.  Willett  makes  these  wise  seers  live  and  speak 
anew  for  the  modern  world  in  his 

"Moral  Leaders  of  Israel" 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH 

Here  are  some  of  the  qualities  of  Dr.  Willett's  book  as  seen  by  well-known  publications: 
"Ripe  scholarship",  "Popular  interpretation"  {The  Advance,  Chicago).  "Comprehen- 
sive", "Popular"  {The  Continent,  Chicago).  "Vital","  Lucid"  {Christian  Endeavor  World, 
Boston).  "Definite"  {Christian  Work,  New  York).  "Brilliant",  "Clear  and  sane",  "Win- 
some and  sincere"  {Heidelberg  Teacher,  Philadelphia).  "Vivid",  "Simple  and  clear", 
{The  Living  Church,  Milwaukee).     "Clear  and  interesting"  {Christian  Advocate). 

The  book  is  in  two  volumes.         Volume  I  is  out  at  $1.00,  postpaid.  Order  your  copy  today. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


700  E.  FORTIETH  STREET, 


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"THE  MEANING  OF  BAPTISM" 

By  CHARLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  Editor  of  "The  Christian  Century" 


a 


This  is  probably  the  most  important  book  in  English  on  the  place  of  baptism  in 
Christianity  written  since  Mozley  published  his  'Baptismal  Regeneration'  in  1856" 

That  is  what  the  New  York  Christian  Advocate  says  of  this  remarkable  volume 


Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty  (Christian  Denomination) : 
"Mr.  Morrison  is  leading  a  movement  for  larger  liberty  in 
matters  of  opinion  among  the  people  of  God." 

The  Advance  (Congregationalist):  "We  believe  the 
position  herein  advocated  is  one  that  the  Disciples  will  be 
driven  ultimately  to  adopt." 

The  Christian  Union  Quarterly  (Disciple) :  "The  author 
has  a  brilliant  style  and  thinks  along  ingenious  and  fas- 
cinating lines." 

The  Religious  Telescope  (United  Brethren):  "The 
significance  of  this  work  is  new  and  remarkable.  It  may 
help  the  immersionists  and  affusionists  to  get  together, 
which  would  be  a  great  achievement." 

Central  Christian  Advocate  (Methodist):  "A  profound 
scholar,  a  deeply  spiritual  follower  of  the  Master,  a  man 
among  men,  something  of  a  mystic,  we  could  well  believe 
that  if  any  person  could  show  the  way  to  Christian  unity, 
Charles  Clayton  Morrison  belongs  to  the  select  few." 

The  Presbyterian  Advance:  "The  editor  of  this  paper 
welcomes  the  appearance  of  this  volume,  for  it  enables  him 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  to  answer  a  question  which  has 
often  been  asked  of  him  by  correspondents  and  readers — 
'What  is  the  best  book  on  baptism?'" 


The  Christian  Intelligencer  (Reformed):  "The  argu- 
ment seems  logical  and  the  spirit  of  the  writer  is  certainly 
as  gentle  in  statement  as  it  is  urgent  in  appeal." 

The  Continent  (Presbyterian) :  "It  required  courage 
to  publish  this  book.  It  is  by  a  minister  of  the  Disciples 
church,  which  has  been  peculiarly  strenuous  in  behalf  of 
the  scriptural  necessity  of  immersion,  and  he  writes  that 
'the  effect  of  our  study  is  absolutely  to  break  down  the 
notion  that  any  divine  authority  whatsoever  stands  behind 
the  practice  of  immersion.'  " 

The  Congregationalist:  A  daring  and  splendidly  Chris- 
tian piece  of  work." 

The  Homiletic  Review:  "The  spirit  of  the  book  is  de- 
lightful and  raises  new  hopes  where  none  had  seemed  pos- 
sible." 

The  Churchman  (Episcopal):  "An  interesting  sum- 
mary of  the  topic,  especially  as  it  is  related  to  the  history 
of  modern  sectarianism." 

Baptist  Standard  (Dallas,  Tex.):  "This  is  a  very  in- 
teresting work;  as  much  so  as  any  volume  of  fiction  we 
have  read  this  year!" 

The  Christian  Endeavor  World:  "A  thorough  treatise 
from  the  immersion  point  of  view,  but  building  a  bridge 
toward  the  affusionist  view." 


Every  member  of   the   Disciples'  fellowship  should  own  this  book 
which  is  stirring  the  denominations.    Price,  $1.35  per  copy,  postpaid 

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The  Disciples  Publica- 
tion Society  is  an  or- 
ganization through 
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Disciples  of  Christ 
seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
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The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
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ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
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desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
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ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
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"The  Training  of  Church  Members " 

By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN  an  d  CHARLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON 

IS   THE    TEXT    BOOK 
YOU  ARE  LOOKING  FOR 

IF  you  have  a  Sunday-School  class  of  young  people  or  adults  whom  you  wish  to  inform 

concerning  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  own  movement. 
IF  you  are  desirous  of  making  your  mid-week  prayer  meetings  worth  while.     Don't  let 

your  prayer  meetings  languish.     Give  your  people  something  to  really  study.     Try  this 

helpful  little  book. 
IF  your  Christian  Endeavor  Society  needs  something  definite  to  work  at  this  year.     Why 

not  teach  these  impressionable  young  people  the  things  they  should  know  concerning 

the  church? 
IF  you  are  planning  to  organize  a  Pastor's  class  for  special  study. 
IF  you  are  organizing  a  teacher-training  class. 


Why  not  make  a  feature  of  your  evening  preaching  service  this  summer  a  brief  study  from 

this  important  little  book? 
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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

700  EAST  40th  STREET  CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  31,  19U 


Miss  Kelley  and  Miss  Fillmore  with  Chinese  Women  at  South  Gate,  Nanking,  China 

China's  Test  of  the  Church's  Harvest  Sense 

It  is  not  merely  an  opportunity  that  faces  the  Church  of  Christ  in  China,  it  is  a  white  harvest 
for  which  her  heroes  have  plowed  and  sowed  in  prayer  and  tears  for  a  hundred  years.  Not  to 
gather  this  harvest,  incomparable  as  it  is  in  the  vastness  of  its  extent,  the  excellence  of  its  quality 
and  the  supreme  cost  of  its  production,  would  be  a  crime  against  humanity,  infidelity  to  the 
apostles  and  martyrs  of  the  East,  rebellion  against  God,  and — unspeakable  stupidity. 

When  we  see  a  regiment  of  a  thousand  men  march  through  the  streets,  it  looks  like  all  man- 
kind is  moving.  Fourteen  times  that  many  gave  their  lives  for  their  faith  in  Christ  in  the  Boxer 
uprising  in  China.  When  we  spend  days  "seeing  Chicago,"  our  minds  reel  and  balk  in  the  vain 
effort  to  grasp  the  multitude  of  two  million  human  beings.  Two  hundred  cities  like  Chicago, 
stretching  in  a  solid  line  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco,  could  be  peopled  out  of  China.  "A 
million  a  month  in  China  are  dying  without  God!" 

For  four  thousand  years  the  Chinese  have  magnified  learning  and  multiplied  books.  They  in- 
vented printing  five  hundred  years  before  the  Germans  and  also  anticipated  the  West  with  gun- 
powder and  the  mariner's  compass.  They  were  pioneers  in  silk  production  and  manufacture  and 
have  never  been  equaled  in  embroidery  or  porcelain.  No  race  has  ever  met  their  competition  in 
either  industry  or  trade.  They  have  thrice  conquered  their  conquerors  and  absorbed  them,  and 
now,  disappointed  in  a  thousand  emperors,  they  are  giving  their  hearts  to  the  true  Son  of  God. 

We  could  well  afford  to  furnish  teachers  for  the  whole  land,  but  we  need  only  supply  super- 
intendents of  education  for  cities  and  provinces  and  teachers  of  teachers  for  colleges  and  univer- 
sities. In  Nanking  University  we  have  united  with  the  Methodists,  Baptists  and  Presbyterians  to 
make  one  of  the  great  central  institutions  of  the  East,  training  teachers,  preachers  and  physicians 
who  will  multiply  Christianity  to  the  ends  of  the  land. 

The  successful  progress  of  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement  is  a  most  heartening  exhibition  of 
harvest  sense  among  the  Disciples  of  Christ,  for  it  begins  the  doing  of  our  share  in  the  redemp- 
tion of  China. 

MEN  AND  MILLIONS  MOVEMENT,  222  W.  Fourth  St.,  CINCINNATI,  0. 


OKAJUES  OlAYTOK  H0EBI80N,  EDITOK. 


EEBBEET    L.    WILLBTf,    OOXTXAZBUTXHO    EDITOl 


Volume  XXXIV 


MAY  31.  1917 


Number  22 


Bringing  Up  a  Child 


RELIGION'S  FUTURE  IS  WITH  THE  CHILD. 

It  does  not  take  long  for  one  generation  to  yield  the 
scepter  to  another.  Before  we  are  quite  aware  of  it,  we 
who  now  hold  the  reins  of  power  will  he  relegated  to 
rocking  chairs  and  a  new  generation  will  take  our  place. 
Who  are  these  young  usurpers?  What  will  they  do  to 
the  things  that  we  hold  dear?  We  still  have  it  in  our 
hands  to  determine  in  some  measure  just  what  kind  of 
people  they  shall  be. 

The  Old  Testament  was  deeply  concerned  with  the 
business  of  training  children.  The  pile  of  stones  erected 
just  after  the  children  of  Israel  crossed  the  Jordan  into 
the  promised  land  was  continually  to  be  the  occasion  of 
i  story  to  the  children.  The  book  of  Deuteronomy  pro- 
dded that  its  commandments  and  injunctions  should  be 
taught  to  the  children.  Poor  David,  in  his  doddering  old 
age,  cuts  a  sorry  figure  dealing  with  his  wayward  son 
Absalom.  The  Old  Testament  gave  a  later  generation 
the  injunction  about  sparing  the  rod  and  spoiling  the  child, 
rhere  was  the  great  hope  expressed,  which  is  still  valid, 
'Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go  and  when  he 
is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it." 

American  methods  of  child-training  are  radically  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  any  other  nation  in  the  world.  Our 
:onceptions  of  democracy  have  invaded  the  home  life, 
iffecting  the  freedom  of  the  child  even  more  than  the 
iberty  of  women.  Rearing  children  in  freedom  has  pro- 
duced a  nation  of  resourceful  men  and  women  who  know 
low  to  think  for  themselves.  The  old  repressive  author- 
ty  produced  hired  men.  The  new  method  gives  us  lead- 
ers and  captains  of  industry. 

•     • 

Good-natured  American  parents  who  suffer  every 
cind  of  impertinence  from  their  children,  even  to  being 
:alled  by  their  first  names,  need  to  be  made  to  realize  that 
here  are  various  kinds  of  freedom  for  the  child  in  the 
lome.  It  is  one  thing  for  a  child  to  grow  up  like  Topsy. 
[t  is  another  thing  for  parents  to  adopt  the  kindergarten 
ittitude,  which  gives  the  child  freedom  but  directs  it  to 
jseful  ends.  The  unreasoned  freedom  of  some  American 
lomes  produces  tramps  and  ne'er-do-wells.  Boys  and 
jirls  who  grow  up  with  no  respect  for  elders,  with  no 
sense  of  subordination  to  rightful  authority,  will  not  make 
jood  citizens.  Children,  on  the  other  hand,  may  have  an 
ntelligently  directed  freedom  which  means  happiness  in 
:he  days  of  their  childhood  and  efficiency  in  all  the  days 
:o  come. 

The  nursery  and  the  playground  are  training  schools 
for  the  future  citizens.  Tyranny  tolerated  in  the  nursery 
,vill  reappear  in  later  years  in  uglier  form.  It  is  just  here 
hat  respect  for  personality,  and  the  spirit  of  team  work, 
ire  to  come  into  life. 

Many  American  parents  are  no  longer  on  their  jobs. 
rhe  day  schools  provide  for  secular  study.  The  Young 
Men's   Christian   Association   provides   physical   exercise. 


The  Sunday  school  trains  in  ethics  and  religion.  A  music 
teacher  adds  to  the  refinements  of  life.  What  do  the  par- 
ents do?  In  many  homes  their  contribution  to  the  life 
of  the  child  is  much  more  than  matched  by  some  outside 
influence. 

The  parent  has  a  unique  opportunity  to  train  the  child 
in  ethical  principles.  The  teaching  cannot  be  given  in  any 
formal  way,  but  must  arise  naturally  out  of  events  in  the 
home  life.  The  public  school  teacher  would  usually  miss 
the  best  of  opportunities  to  influence  the  child  in  this  way. 
Those  who  live  with  children  in  their  hours  of  freedom 
may  build  up  the  conceptions  which  will  regulate  conduct 
through  all  future  years. 

•     • 

By  Old  Testament  writers  the  training  of  the  child  in 
religion  was  regarded  as  the  task  of  the  father  and  the 
mother.    It  ought  still  to  be  regarded  in  this  way. 

Teaching  of  the  children  in  religion  may  be  introduced 
in  simple  and  informal  ways.  It  is  much  easier  to  tell  a 
story  when  it  is  asked  for  than  to  impose  it  at  some  time 
when  the  child  mind  is  occupied  with  other  matters.  It  is 
for  this  reason  that  the  opportunity  of  the  parent  as  a 
teacher  of  religion  is  so  much  better  than  that  of  the  Sun- 
day school  teacher. 

The  child  gets  his  religious  instruction  largely  in  the 
form  of  stories.  The  Homeric  age  in  Greece  learned  of 
the  gods  through  the  medium  of  an  epic  poem.  The  Old 
Testament  has  much  of  story  material,  as  we  know,  and 
it  is  a  late  age  that  uses  the  reasoned  oratory  of  the  writing 
prophets  or  the  reflective  writings  of  the  sages.  The  child 
in  our  home  may  thus  hear  of  the  great  characters  of  relig- 
ious history  in  story  form  and  so  enter  by  an  easy  and 
natural  method  into  the  religious  life  of  the  race. 

Many  of  our  leaders  in  religious  education  believe 
that  the  home  cannot  properly  influence  children  for  relig- 
ion without  the  practice  of  family  worship.  So  modern 
a  writer  as  Cope  contends  for  this.  Once  every  father  was 
a  priest.  The  child  entered  into  religion  by  participating 
in  the  sacrificial  feasts  of  the  elders. 

It  may  be  that  the  formal  scripture  reading  and 
prayer  of  the  older  evangelicalism  needs  some  modifica- 
tion. Some  families  might  need  the  guide  of  printed  pray- 
ers and  meditations.  But  it  is  a  sorry  home  that  has  no 
ritual  for  the  expression  of  its  respect  for  its  own  history 
and  its  reverence   for  Almighty  God. 

We  are  just  now  passing  through  a  period  in  which 
much  interest  is  taken  in  the  bodies  of  our  children.  The 
science  of  eugenics  declares  that  they  must  be  well  bom. 
Nursing  manuals  set  forth  how  they  should  be  fed.  All 
this  is  well,  but  when  we  go  only  so  far  we  have  failed. 

Our  task  in  the  training  of  children  is  to  give  the 
coming  generation  the  right  to  boast  of  being  the  noblest 
race  of  men  that  ever  walked  the  earth.  The  kingdom  is 
to  be  ushered  in  by  training  its  citizens,  in  their  formative 
years,  in  the  principles  of  the  Kingdom. 


EDITORIAL 


THE   SHAME  OF  A  GREAT   CITY 

AFTER  Chicago  had  heen  governed  for  years  by  the 
Carter  Harrison  family,  until  some  were  led  to 
think  that  the  city  had  firmly  established  a  Harri- 
son dynasty,  there  came  a  political  upheaval  which  landed 
a  "business  man"  in  the  mayor's  chair.  The  American 
people  in  these  glorious  plutocratic  times  have  had  a  tend- 
ency to  regard  business  men  as  more  honest  and  efficient 
than  other  men,  and  much  was  therefore  expected  when 
William  Hale  Thompson  took  office  and  began  his  admin- 
istration. 

Temperance  forces  looked  askance  at  "Big  Bill,"  as 
he  is  familiarly  called  by  the  Chicago  newspapers.  Yet 
he  came  out  for  Sunday  closing,  through  what  pressure 
only  the  initiated  know.  Yet  this  Sunday  closing  for  a 
long  time  was  only  partially  accomplished.  We  were  still 
in  doubt  just  how  to  catalogue  our  "business  man"  mayor. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  how  he  is  to  be  catalogued  now, 
for  three  Chicago  newspapers  of  different  political  com- 
plexions bave  recently  united  in  exposing  a  "power  be- 
hind the  throne"  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Fred  Lundin.  A 
row  on  the  school  board  has  led  the  politicians  to  talk  and 
there  will  undoubtedly  be  no  end  of  revelation. 

It  seems  clear  that  an  effort  was  made  to  pack  the 
school  board  with  tools  so  that  a  new  form  of  loot  might 
be  carried  off.  The  public  schools  have  levied  in  their 
behalf  a  large  amount  of  money  in  taxes.  Even  a  rela- 
tively small  per  cent  of  this  would  enrich  any  gang  which 
could  control  the  system  for  private  profit. 

One  Chicago  newspaper  declares  that  Chicago  is  the 
worst-governed  city  in  America.  We  need  to  be  a  little 
slow  in  claiming  that  distinction,  for  we  would  have  to  be 
pretty  bad  to  establish  that  title. 

What  is  wrong  with  city  government  in  America? 
One  thing  fundamentally  wrong  is  that  church  people  do 
not  participate  actively  in  politics  as  they  should  do.  Thou- 
sands of  Christian  men  do  not  vote,  declaring  with  much 
pessimism  and  show  of  worldly  wisdom  that  it  is  "no  use, 
as  it  is  all  fixed  up  anyway."  The  first  reform  must  reach 
the  voter  himself,  if  we  are  to  have  good  government  in 
the  cities. 

CHILDREN'S  DAY  IS  NEAR 

CHILDREN'S  DAY  is  one  of  the  high  festivals  in 
our  fellowship.    On  that  day  many  parents  of  Sun- 
day school  children   will  come  to  church  perhaps 
for  the  only  time  in  all  the  year.    The  interest  in  children  at 
this  season  is  well-nigh  universal. 

Children's  Day  is  not  only  a  time  to  emphasize  the 
importance  of  the  child  in  the  church  program,  it  is  a 
day  when  we  emphasize  also  the  part  the  child  is  to  play 
in  the  redemption  of  the  world.  Feeling  that  all  religious 
education  must  express  itself  in  activity,  we  not  only  teach 
our  children  about  the  missionary  heroes,  but  we  also  give 
the  children  an  opportunity  to  contribute  to  mission  work. 
Thus  a  generation  of  Christians  is  being  reared  to  whom 
no  arguments  in  behalf  of  missions  will  be  necessary. 

The  Foreign  society  reports  that  two  hundred  and 
fifty  more  schools  have  ordered  supplies  this  year  than 
formerly.  "Business  as  usual"  ought  to  be  the  motto  of 
the  church,  especially  in  its  missionary  work.  While  Amer- 
ica is  assuming  heavy  war  burdens,  our  people  are  em- 
ployed more  generally  than  usual  and  the  people  of  the 
rural  districts  will  raise  a  crop  this  year  for  which  they 


will  receive  an  unprecedented  price.    This  is  just  the  tiril 
to  make  a  fine  advance  in  our  missionary  work. 

Our  Foreign  society  has  a  record  of  efficiency  in  Chri  I 
tian  service  which  enables  one  to  speak  of  its  activitiJ 
with  the  greatest  degree  of  enthusiasm.  The  Society  h;l 
the  converts  and  the  institutions  to  show  for  the  monq 
and  lives  that  have  been  invested  in  this  big  enterprise.  P  j 
Disciples,  we  are  proud  of  our  Society  and  here  is  wislj 
ing  for  it  the  best  and  most  fruitful  Children's  Day  ev<| 
— just  to  show  that  we  can  do  it  even  in  war-time! 

THE  GOVERNMENT  CENSUS 

THE  United  States  Government  is  now  engaged  if 
the  business  of  taking  a  census  of  religious  inst 

tutions.  Blanks  are  being  sent  out  by  mail  anl 
returns  will  be  collected  by  the  same  method.  Man! 
preachers  are  indeed  burdened  with  requests  for  staj 
tistics  from  various  sources,  but  it  will  be  a  misforl 
tune  if  any  fail  to  co-operate  heartily  with  the  gov- 
ernment in  this  enterprise. 

Especially  have  certain  Disciples  complained  thaj 
we  have  not  been  reported  at  our  proper  strength 
Since  each  church  and  minister  does  his  own  reporting 
in  the  current  Government  Census,  it  will  be  our  owr 
fault  if  we  do  not  make  the  desired  showing.  Ou 
men  can  all  appreciate  the  importance  of  not  allowing 
an  understatement  of  the  Disciple  strength  to  be  giveij 
to  the  American  public. 

We  are  impressed  with  the  fact  that  all  religious 
statistics  are  collected  along  rather  antiquated  lines; 
Such  facts  as  the  financial  and  numerical  strength  01 
the  organizations  are  given,  but  there  is  almost  entin 
lack  of  statistics  with  regard  to  many  of  the  more  mod- 
ern phases  of  religious  work. 

It  would  be  impressive  to  see  some  statement  with 
regard  to  the  social  activities  of  the  church,  for  in- 
stance. Much  more  is  being  done  in  community  work 
than  the  general  public  realizes.  It  would  be  helpful 
to  the  church  to  have  the  people  know  the  facts. 

It  would  have  been  easy  for  the  government  to 
make  the  questions  on  the  education  of  the  ministers 
more  significant,  so  they  could  be  worked  over  and 
made  to  yield  important  results. 

The  church  can  wait  for  the  tabulation  of  its  work 
in  recent  years  with  a  considerable  degree  of  confi- 
dence. Though  we  have  been  living  through  a  time 
of  great  ease  and  worldliness,  which  have  affected  all 
of  our  cultural  interests,  the  church  has  been  so  re- 
sourceful that  she  has  been  able  in  large  measure  to 
withstand  these  tendencies. 

CONFISCATION  IN  MEXICO 

THE  new  constitution  of  Mexico  seems  to  be  drawn 
in  such  a  way  as  to  make  all  Protestant  mission 
work  in  the  country  impossible.  It  is  now  impos- 
sible for  a  religious  society  to  own  property  in  that 
unhappy  country,  and  it  is  also  impossible  for  any 
one  not  a  Mexican  to  preach  the  gospel  there.  It  is 
said  that  the  latter  condition  was  included  in  order 
that  the  Spanish  orders  of  the  Catholic  church  might 
be  excluded  from  the  country.  It  is  to  be  doubted 
whether  this  restriction  is  aimed  solely  at  Roman  Cath- 
olics. Missionary  societies  of  America  have  invested 
large  amounts  of  money  in  schools  and  philanthropic 


May  31,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


institutions  in  Mexico.  All  of  these  fall  into  govern- 
ment ownership  and  management  unless  the  provisions 
of  the  constitution  fail  in  execution. 

It  was  at  first  supposed  by  missionary  adminis- 
trators that  the  new  law  would  be  like  many  an  old 
one,  administered  according  to  the  personal  wishes  of 
the  dictator.  In  this  case  there  is  not  much  promise 
that  Carranza  will  decide  to  interpret  the  law  favorably 
to  the  Protestant  interests. 

The  new  constitution  makes  Mexico  the  most  reac- 
tionary country  on  the  hemisphere,  so  far  as  its  treat- 
ment of  the  religious  question  is  concerned.  But  a 
few  years  ago  the  last  of  the  South  American  countries 
opened  its  doors  to  every  kind  of  religious  faith.  Many 
South  American  countries  are  still  Roman  Catholic  in 
the  sense  of  having  a  state  religion,  but  none  of  these 
republics  refuse  religious  commerce  with  the  entire 
world. 

It  is  clear,  of  course,  that  Mexico  will  not  be  able 
to  maintain  its  present  attitude.  The  world  has  be- 
come too  small  for  any  nation  to  imitate  old-time  China 
even  in  the  matter  of  religion.  The  citizens  of  Mexico 
will  miss  a  thousand  kindly  ministries  of  teachers  and 
social  workers  and  preachers,  if  these  are  compelled  to 
leave  the  country. 

About  the  political  questions  of  Mexico,  the  church 
need  not  have  opinions.  This  action  with  regard  to 
religion,  however,  is  indicative  of  the  reactionary  con- 
dition of  the  country. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CITY  FEDERATIONS 

THE  successful  launching  of  the  national  federation 
of  churches  is  now  being  followed  by  the  develop- 
ment of  local  and  city  federations  which  are  feel- 
ing their  way  into  efficiency.  In  various  cities  of  the 
country  we  hear  of  local  federations  that  have  won  vic- 
tories for  religion  and  righteousness.  The  Louisville, 
Ky.,  federation  has  successfully  fought  the  gambling 
evil.  The  San  Francisco  federation  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  religious  workers  all  over  the  country  by  their 
fight  on  the  vice  interests  of  their  city.  The  Minneap- 
olis federation  has  established  a  hotel. 

The  national  federation,  through  its  Commission 
on  Inter-Church  Federations,  has  completed  plans  for 
holding  a  Congress  on  Purpose  and  Methods  of  Inter- 
Church  Federations  at  Pittsburgh  October  1-4,  1917. 
This  gathering  will  be  addressed  by  such  eminent  men 
as  Dr.  John  R.  Mott,  Mr.  Raymond  Robins,  Dr.  Robert 
E.  Speer,  Rev.  James  E.  Freeman,  Gov.  Carl  E.  Milliken, 
Mr.  Daniel  A.  Poling  and  Dr.  James  A.  MacDonald. 
With  these  strong  men  promising  addresses  the  Con- 
gress is  sure  to  prove  helpful.  The  results  of  the 
Congress  are  to  be  published  in  a  well-digested  manual. 
It  is  already  decided  that  there  will  be  recognized 
at  least  eight  departments  of  work  for  a  city  federation. 
These  will  be  the  departments  of  Community  Evangel- 
ism, World  Evangelism,  Religious  Education,  Social 
Betterment,  Religious  Publicity,  Church  Comity,  Inter- 
national Justice  and  Good-will  and  Methods  of  Organ- 
ization. Men  of  outstanding  ability  are  preparing 
reports  on  these  different  types  of  activity. 

Every  city  must  prepare  its  own  program  of  activi- 
ties, which  must  be  born  out  of  local  conditions,  but  it 
will  prove  very  helpful  to  have  some  standard  or  form 
by  which  city  federations  may  be  judged.  The  time  is 
near  at  hand  when  no  large  city  will  be  satisfied  to  hold 
union  ministers'  meetings  and  pass  resolutions  and  then 


call  this  federation.  The  federation  idea  involves  a 
real  assembling  of  the  forces  of  a  city  to  develop  through 
cooperative  effort  the  religious  life  of  a  community. 

SUNDAY  FUNERALS 

THE  labor  unions  of  Chicago  have  been  making  an 
effort  to  abolish  Sunday  funerals.  In  these  efforts 
they  have  been  supported  by  the  diocesan  conven- 
tion of  Chicago  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  It 
is  curious  to  note  that  the  labor  unions  have  of  late 
shown  more  aggressive  action  in  defending  the  Christian 
Lord's  Day  from  the  encroachments  of  unnecessary 
labor  than  have  the  churches. 

Behind  the  custom  of  Sunday  funerals  are  some 
underlying  conceptions  which  are  far  from  worthy.  The 
old-time  notion  of  a  successful  funeral  was  a  big  crowd. 
Certain  immigrant  groups  still  hire  a  brass  band  and 
the  family  impoverishes  itself  with  a  long  line  of  car- 
riages. It  is  possible  to  get  a  bigger  crowd  together  on 
Sunday,  and  for  this  reason  Sunday  funerals  have  been 
popular. 

Sometimes,  too,  the  undertaker  and  the  minister 
have  enjoyed  the  larger  crowd  of  a  Sunday  funeral  for  its 
advertising  value.  The  big  "turn-out"  made  these  two 
functionaries  a  center  of  large  interest.  The  undertaker 
who  handles  the  big  funeral  thinks  he  will  be  called 
again. 

Objections  to  the  practice  are  many.  A  Sunday 
funeral  makes  a  hard  day  for  the  hack-drivers  and  other 
men  who  have  work  to  do  in  connection  with  the 
funeral. 

The  reasons  for  Sunday  funerals  have  passed  away 
with  rapid  transportation  and  the  perfection  of  the 
embalming  art.  With  the  growth  of  refinement  among 
the  people,  a  funeral  will  not  be  set  for  an  idle  day  as 
if  it  were  some  kind  of  odd  chores,  but  will  be  given 
one  of  the  busy  days  of  the  week,  when  the  friends  of 
the  deceased  can  leave  their  business  for  a  few  hours  to 
contemplate  the  mysteries  of  life  and  death. 

This  is  only  one  of  the  many  reforms  which  our 
growing  religious  feeling  should  bring  to  our  funeral 
customs,  but  it  is  an  important  one.  Ministers  will 
everywhere  come  into  new  appreciation  with  the  leaders 
of  the  labor  movement  if  they  will  join  hands  with  labor 
by  protecting  Sunday  from  the  encroachment  of  un- 
necessary toil. 

umilinmiiiimiimimiimimimiimtiHiimmmnimiinimiiHiim 

=  s 

I  | 

The  Pilgrimage 

=  = 

I       T    MADE  a  pilgrimage  I 

|        J     To  find  the  God  : 

|  I  listened  for  His  voice  at  holy  tombs, 

|       Searched  for  the  print  of  His  immortal  feet  in 

|  dust  of  broken  altars, 

I       But  turned  back  with  empty  heart ;  1 

|       But  on  the  homeward  road  a  great  light  came 

|  upon  me. 

|       And  I  heard  God's  voice  singing  in  a  nestling 

i  lark ; 

Felt  His  sweet  wonder  in  a  swaying  rose ; 

|       Received  His  blessing  from  a  wayside  well ; 
Looked  on  His  beauty  in  a  lover's  face, 
Saw  His  bright  hand  send  signals  from  the  sun. 

|       I  made  a  pilgrimage 

1       To  find  the  God.  I 


iiMMiHiiiinuiiiMiuinniunHiiMniiiMNiiiiuiiuinnMiiiiMNiiHiiiiiiMnitiniuiiiiiHnniiiiuiHiiiiiiiiuiitirtitiiiii.iiiniiititiiHui^uiiitiiiiutuiiKiiKitLiiiL.i 


Why  I  Am  a  Disciple 


Eighth  Article — Minor  Reasons 


THEIR  NAME 


1FIND  myself  strongly  attracted  to  the  Disciples 
of  Christ  by  the  beautiful  name  they  wear.  I  think 
the  name  question  has  received  greatly  exaggerated 
emphasis  in  our  traditional  discussions.  There  is  neither 
SO  much  virtue  nor  so  much  mischief  in  a  particular 
name  as  many  of  us  have  assumed.  Yet  the  question 
of  a  name  for  the  church  has  an  importance  of  its  own 
which,  without  unduly  magnifying  it,  we  ought  to  take 
into  account. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that,  while  the  name  "Dis- 
ciples of  Christ"  was  explicitly  preferred  by  Alexander 
Campbell  and  those  directly  associated  with  him,  the 
'majority  of  our  people,  especially  in  the  west,  bear  the 
title.  "Christian  Church,''  to  designate  both  our  local 
churches  and  our  movement  itself.  Mr.  Campbell 
specifically  objected  to  the  use  of  that  name  as  smack- 
ing of  monopoly,  if  not  of  effrontery,  and  set  forth  his 
reasons  with  some  elaboration  for  the  use  of  the  more 
modest  title,  "Disciples  of  Christ."  The  reason  for  the 
apparent  disregard  of  Mr.  Campbell's  wish  in  the  matter 
is  not  hard  to  find.  In  looking  over  the  map  one  ob- 
serves that  it  is  in  the  eastern  and  middle-eastern  states 
— Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  New  York, 
Michigan,  Ohio — that  the  name  "Disciples"  has  been 
commonly  used.  In  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Missouri, 
Indiana,  southern  Illinois,  and  most  of  the  farther  west- 
ern and  southwestern  states  each  congregation  calls 
itself  "The  Christian  Church,"  and  not  until  recently 
has  the  name  "Disciples"  found  its  way  into  the  current 
vocabulary  at  all. 

The  explanation  of  this  sectional  difference  in  cus- 
tom is,  of  course,  perfectly  simple  to  those  who  know 
the  history  of  our  movement.  The  section  in  which 
the  name  "Disciples"  is  chiefly  used  was  the  scene  of 
the  labors  of  Thomas  and  Alexander  Campbell.  The 
section  in  which  the  name  "Christian  Church"  is  chiefly 
used  was  either  the  scene  of  the  labor  of  Barton  W. 
Stone,  or  was  influenced  by  emigration  from  the  portion 
of  country  where  he  labored,  chiefly  Kentucky. 


It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  we  Disciples  are  the 
product  of  the  union  of  two  separate  movements — that 
of  the  Campbells,  originating  in  1809  in  western  Penn- 
sylvania, and  that  of  Barton  W.  Stone,  originating  a 
few  years  earlier  in  Kentucky.  The  Campbell  move- 
ment came  to  be  called  "Disciples."  The  Stone  move- 
ment called  itself  "The  Christian  Church."  Discovering 
each  other,  these  two  movements  were  united  in  1830- 
1834.  Upon  the  united  movement  the  Campbells  im- 
pressed their  thought-system,  but  were  never  able  to 
standardize  the  name  of  their  choice.  With  the  passing 
of  Isaac  Errett,  who  maintained  the  Campbellian  tra- 
dition in  the  journalistic  literature  of  our  people,  our 
journalism  found  itself  in  the  hands  of  editors  accus- 
tomed to  the  nomenclature  of  the  Stone  movement — 
Mr.  Errett's  successor  on  the  Christian  Standard  hailing 
from  Missouri — and  the  result  was  that  the  name  used 
by  the  Stone  wing  in  Kentucky  and  in  the  states  largely 
settled  by  emigration  from  Kentucky  was  given  a  popu- 
lar vogue  even  in  the  section  where,  in  the  classic  days 
of  the  Campbells  and  Errett,  it  was  quite  unknown. 


In  my  judgment,  this  turn  of  events  was  as  re-l 
grettable  as  it  was  fortuitous.  That  it  was  purely  fortuH 
tous  there  is  no  doubt.  The  question  of  standardizing! 
either  of  the  names  in  use  by  the  two  uniting  groupsi| 
was  never  seriously  considered.  New  congregational 
took  whichever  name  they  happened  to  find  at  hand.j 
Through  the  accident  that  the  journals  propagating  the! 
movement  were  edited  chiefly  within  the  geographical- 
area  of  the  Stone  influence  and  by  men  accustomed  to-! 
the  Stone  nomenclature,  the  name  "Christian  Church"! 
was  given  a  popular  currency  in  excess  of  the  Campbel-< 
lian  preference,  "Disciples  of  Christ." 

And  as   I   say,  this  is  regrettable.     For  it  must  be< 
remembered  that  by  no  means  the  whole  of  the  move- J 
ment  with  which  Barton  W.  Stone  was  connected  was 
merged  with  the  Campbell  movement.    There  remained: 
a  considerable  group  unwilling  to  follow  the  Stone  lead- 
ership.    This  group  now  numbers  about  200,000  com- 
municants  in   the   United   States  and   calls   itself   "the 
Christian  denomination,"  designating  its  local  churches 
with  the  title,  "The  Christian  Church."     In  Ohio,  Indi- 
ana, Kentucky,  Virginia  and  other  states  there  is  much' 
confusion  due  to  this  duplication  of  names.     This  con- 
fusion might  be  a  thing  to  be  grateful  for,  tending,  as 
it  would,  to  obliterate  denominational  distinctions.    But 
in  this  particular  case  the  confusion  is  resented  on  both 
sides. 

The  "Christian  denomination"  conceives  its  use  of 
the  name  "Christian"  in  a  strictly  denominational  serv- 
ice in  the  same  sense  as  "Methodist,"  "Presbyterian," 
"Baptist,"  and  such  names  are  used.  It  therefore  re- 
sents, and  bitterly,  the  use  of  the  name  "Christian"  by 
our  churches,  claiming  the  right  of  exclusive  use  based 
upon  historical  priority  in  its  adoption.  This  all  sounds 
preposterous  and  ridiculous  to  our  Disciple  ears,  for  our 
adoption  of  the  catholic  name,  "Christian,"  was  in- 
tended, historically,  not  in  any  exclusive  denominational 
sense  at  all,  but  rather  as  a  means  of  avoiding  a  de- 
nominational title.  We  not  only  claim  no  monopoly 
of  the  name  "Christian,"  but  we  plead  with  all  churches 
now  wearing  denominational  and  exclusive  names  to 
abandon  them  and  be  content  to  be  called  Christians  or 
Disciples  of  Christ  like  ourselves. 


Nevertheless,  I  think  the  time  has  long  since  come 
when  we  should  face  the  fact  that  the  name  "Christian" 
is  too  generic,  too  catholic,  too  much  the  common  prop- 
( erty  of  all  the  churches  for  our  movement  to  succeed  in 
persuading  the  Christian  world  of  our  sincerity  when 
we  claim  for  our  use  of  it  an  undenominational  motive. 
I  know  of  no  finer  exhibition  of  the  grace  of  Christian 
courtesy  than  is  afforded  by  the  fact  that  our  Christian 
neighbors  have  at  last  formed  the  habit  (in  sections 
where  the  term  "Disciples"  is  not  so  common)  of  speak- 
ing of  us  as  "the  Christian  Church."  That  is  a  hard 
thing  to  do.  If  I  were  a  Presbyterian  or  a  Methodist 
I  could  not  be  persuaded  to  do  it.  But  by  affecting  to 
be  insulted  at  the  use  of  certain  other  names  we  have 
literally  browbeaten  the  Christian  public  into  the  appli- 
cation to  us  of  the  name  "Christian."  Yet  even  in 
the  section  of  country  where  "the  Christian  Church" 
takes  precedence  of  all  others  in  numerical  strength,  as 


May  31,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


in  Missouri  and  Kentucky,  and  where,  consequently, 
the  Christian  public  has  a  chance  to  grow  accustomed 
to  the  restrictive  use  of  the  name  of  the  whole  Church — 
even  here  the  name  chokes  in  the  throat.  And  it 
ought  to. 

I  was  introduced  the  other  day,  at  a  missionary 
meeting,  composed  of  a  great  body  of  women  represent- 
ing many  denominations.  The  president,  a  brilliant 
and  gracious  woman,  an  Episcopalian,  began  her  intro- 
duction thus :  "We  heard  this  morning  from  a  Metho- 
dist and  a  Presbyterian.  We  have  just  listened  to  a 
representative  of  the  Baptist  Church.  Our  next  speaker 
represents  the  Christian  Church."  I  got  up  boiling.  I 
knew  there  was  not  the  slightest  intention  on  her  part 
to  be  ironical.  She  fumbled  for  the  last  word  when 
she  said  it,  and  showed  clearly  that  she  was  conscious 
of  the  invidiousness  of  the  nomenclature,  but  she  knew 
no  other  word  to  use  except,  perhaps,  "Campbellite," 
and  she  was  too  much  a  gentlewoman  to  use  that.  Be- 
fore getting  into  my  address  I  took  occasion  to  resent 
the  use  of  the  name  "Christian"  in  a  context  that  left 
open  the  formality  of  invidious  inferences.  I  assured 
that  body  of  Christian  women  that  we  Disciples  tried 
to  use  the  word  "Christian"  in  no  denominational  sense, 
but  that  I  regarded  it  as  ill-advised  on  our  part  to  call 
our  churches  "Christian"  churches  in  contradistinction 
from  Methodist  and  Baptist  churches,  and  not  only 
ill-advised  but  a  positive  affront  to  the  rest  of  Christen- 
dom to  call  our  Disciples'  movement  "the  Christian 
Church" !  I  asked  them  not  to  call  us  the  Christian 
Church,  even  if  the  practice  of  some  of  our  churches  did 
seem  to  indicate  that  we  wished  to  go  by  that  name. 
The  grateful  assent  I  received  from  all  parts  of  the 
house,  and  from  the  president  afterward,  showed  me 
how  heavy  a  demand  we  make  upon  the  courtesy  of  our 
Christian  neighbors  when  we  force  them  to  use  their 
own  generic  name  in  a  way  that  excludes  them  from  the 
connotation  of  it. 


The  claim  that  is  made  for  the  use  of  the  name 
"Christian  Church"  on  the  ground  that  it  will  keep  us 
from  becoming  a  denomination,  is  disproved  by  a  multi- 
tude of  facts.  That  the  name  "Christian"  has  been  sec- 
/farianized  by  us,  almost  as  much  as  by  the  preposterous 
^'Christian  denomination,"  is  obvious.  Take,  for  ex- 
ample, the  custom  to  which  we  are  quite  insensitive,  of 
calling  our  congregations  in  large  cities  "First  Christian 
Church,"  "Second  Christian  Church,"  etc.  I  was  once 
pastor  of  a  "First  Christian  Church,"  but  it  was  not 
really  the  first  Christian  church  of  that  community. 
The  Presbyterian  Christian  church  was  older,  as  was 
also  the  Methodist  Christian  church.  Yet  in  adopting 
and  using  that  name,  and  in  compelling  others  to  use  it, 
the  members  of  "The  First  Christian  Church"  seemed 
to  be  quite  unaware  of  anything  invidious. 

I  often  marvel  how  the  founders  of  the  American' 
Christian  Missionary  Society  could  have  passed  the 
article  in  the  constitution  of  that  organization  which 
provides  that  any  member  of  "the  Church  of  Christ" 
may  become  a  member  of  the  Society !  Of  course,  they 
meant  any  member  of  a  church  identified  with  the  Dis- 
ciples' movement.  They  really  were  not  planning  for  a 
Christian  union  missionary  society,  including  in  its 
membership  any  who  belong  to  the  body  of  Christ.  I 
think  the  logic  of  our  plea  and  the  effective  prosecution 
of  it  demanded  that  our  missionary   societies   should 


have  been  so  organized.  Had  they  been  projected  on 
the  level  of  the  undenominational  Church  of  Christ  they 
would  have  been  the  most  potent  force  in  Christendom 
today  for  Christian  unity.  But  this  vision  was  not 
vouchsafed  to  our  fathers.  This,  however,  is  another 
story  to  which  we  will  return  in  a  later  article.  The 
point  I  am  making  now  is  simply  that  the  use  of  the 
most  catholic  name  in  the  whole  range  of  Christian 
nomenclature  did  not  restrain  our  fathers  from  denomi- 
nationalizing  it. 


*     *     * 


I  am  writing  this  article  in  Kansas  City,  where  each 
of  our  local  churches  is  called  a  "Christian  Church,"  and 
where  our  brotherhood  is  called  in  common  speech,  "the 
Christian  Church."  I  have  attended  several  meetings 
of  our  ministers  and  leading  church  workers,  and  am 
impressed  with  the  inevitable  gravitation  of  our 
language  to  the  sectarian  level.  I  heard  yesterday  from 
several  of  the  most  orthodox  leaders  the  expressions 
"our  denomination"  and  "the  Christian  denomination," 
referring,  of  course,  to  ourselves.  I  have  visited  re- 
cently many  of  our  large  cities  and  shared  in  the  con- 
ferences of  our  brethren.  I  am  compelled  to  testify  to 
my  surprise  at  the  apparently  unconscious  facility  with 
which  Disciple  lips  pronounce  the  term,  "the  Christian 
denomination."  Coming  from  Chicago,  as  I  do,  where 
some  specially  conscious  efforts  are  made  to  preserve, 
and,  if  possible,  to  fulfill  the  undenominational  pur- 
poses of  our  movement,  I  cannot  help  noticing  this 
strange  development  in  the  speech  of  my  brethren.  I 
am  not  here  raising  the  question  as  to  whether  we  Dis- 
ciples are  or  are  not  a  denomination.  That  question 
will  get  a  whole  chapter  to  itself  presently.  But  I  am 
simply  pointing  out,  from  the  standpoint  of  our  history, 
the  incongruity  of  Disciple  lips  acknowledging  that  we 
are  a  denomination  and  distinguishing  us  from  other 
denominations  by  the  word  "Christian"! 

No,  we  neither  convince  the  Christian  world  of  our 
non-denominational  character  by  the  use  of  the  generic 
name  of  the  universal  church,  nor  do  we,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  by  such  use  of  the  name  "Christian"  guarantee 
our  movement  against  taking  on  a  denominational  char- 
acter. We  can  be  a  denomination  under  the  catholic 
name  "Christian  Church,"  just  as  easily  as  under  any 
other  name,  and  we  could  avoid  being  a  denomination 
under  such  names  as  Methodist  or  Presbyterian  as 
easily — or  about  as  easily — as  under  any  of  the  names 
by  which  we  are  accustomed  to  be  called.  This  being 
true,  it  is  hard  to  imagine  any  good  excuse  for  continu- 
ing the  confusion  and  the  impertinence  as  well  as  the 
self-deception  involved  in  calling  ourselves  "The  Chris- 
tian Church." 

&        ^        sK 

Happily  the  term  "Disciples  of  Christ"  is  being 
generally  revived  in  all  parts  of  our  brotherhood,  and 
was  never  so  widely  used  as  today.  It  has  all  the  scrip- 
ture backing  that  the  name  "Christian"  has — and  per- 
haps more — but  has  never  been  taken  up  into  common 
speech  to  designate  the  church  universal.  Thus  it  serves 
for  our  movement  the  double  purpose  of  distinguishing 
us  as  a  movement  and  yet  leaving  open  the  question  of 
our  relation  to  the  denominational  order. 

I  like  the  name  "Disciples  of  Christ,"  as  applied 
to  individual  Christians,  and,  for  a  movement  in  behalf 
of  such  ends  as  we  have  espoused,  I  think  it  is  the 
richest  and  most  satisfactory  name  that  could  be  found. 

Charles  Clayton  Morrison. 


Misuses  of  the  Bible  ? 

Eighteenth  Article  of  the  Series  on  the  Bible 

By  Herbert  L.  Willett  1 

(Continued  from  last  week) 

misuses  of  apocalypse  the  visible  likenesses  of  Mohammed,  Timurlane,  and  the  J 

„        .  ,     .  ,  .  c  i  i      r  ^  i  ^  various  heretics  of  the  mediaeval  as;e.     The  reformers  were  "I 

But  the  most  truitful  field  of  erratic  speculation  is  ,    ,  ,,    ,  {.  ,,       ,?  a  ±i 

......         ...  T         ,  ,  X      ,       ,  persuaded  that  one  after  another  the  popes  and  the  enemies 

biblical  prediction      In  a  former  study  attention  has  been  Qf  the  Reformation  were  r     resented  by  the  man  of  sin": 

given  to  the  great  forward-looking  ideals  of  the  Bible,  and  and  the  ^  hom      The  Romjm  CathoUc  ecclesiastics  of  j 

their  realization  in  the  advancing  kingdom  of  God.      Mes-  the  same        }od  returned  the  liment  b     nam}       the 

sianic  prophecy  is  now  understood  and  appreciated  as  never  beastg  of  these  Jurid  yolumes  ^  the  refo  with 

before      But  apparently  this  does  not  satiny  some  of  those  Martin   Luther  a§  stionabl     the  Httle  horn>     The 

who  affirm  their  faith  in t  the  Word  of  God.     Something  commentaries  on  these  apocalypSes  teem  with  the  names 

more  is  needed      The  Bible  is  be heved  to  be  a  mysterious  of  fc.        and  cardinals  es  and  emperorS)  generals  and 

compendium  of  prediction,  in  which  not  only  the  events  state  philosophers  and  sceptics,  who  have  been  clearly 

of  the  Christian  dispensation  were  clearly  foreseen  and  •     .,  ■     ,        ,,       •     ,,  .        c  ,,         , 

..      ,   ,  ,  r         ,  ,  ,  •  ,  i     t    i  recognized  by  one  and  another  in  the  pages  of  these  long- 

outhned,  but  a  scheme  of  world  history  to  the  end  of  the  sufferinp-  works 

acres  was  unfolded.     Since  the  true  books  of  prophetic  T,   ~.  ,,      '      ,,       ,,.     ,.        .       .        — ■  '.     ,.    , 
f»                  .       ..^.       .«                 ,        ^     A,.          xi     i      r              It  miight  seem  that  this  diversion  is  sufficiently  harm- 
character  give   little   aid   or  comfort  to  this   method  ot  ,  '         .  ,  Tj_  .  .  ,      J  .. 
,.,,.,.  °         .    .                  .     .              ..      ,   .         ,       ,,  less  to  pass  without  comment.     It  is  certainly  self-cor- 

bibhcal    interpretation,    resort    is    usually    taken    to    the  .  ,  .      ,  ,      ,,         ..  .,    .  »    ,       , 

apocalyptic  works,  such  as  Daniel  and  the  Book  of  Reve-  rec;,ve  f d  f  ^^  self-annihilating.     A  few  hours  of 

lation/in  order  to  make  good  the  effort.  real  study  of  the  Blble  in  the  hSht  of  hlstory  and  literature 

Now  it  is  precisely  these  books  for  which  the  church,  blows  away  a11  these  vagaries  like  the  fine  dust  of  the  bal- 

both   Jewish  and  Christian,  has  had  the  least  use.     The  ance-     When  once  the  reader  of  the  Scriptures  is  willing 

Jews  rightly  excluded  the  former  from  the  list  of  prophetic  t0  Pay  the  price  of  sane  and  sober  investigation  of  their 

documents,  both  because  it  was  of  too  late  an  origin  to  be  contents,  he  perceives  that  they  have  other  and  higher  pur-: 

recognized  in  that  group,  and  because  it  revealed  an  en-  poses  than  to  map  out  schemes  of  future  events  for  those 

tirely  different  spirit.     And  the  Book  of  Revelation,  as  whose  curiosity  makes  them  willing  to  exchange  the  sim- 

we  have  seen,  was  excluded  from  most  of  the  early  collec-  pie  duties  of  the  Christian  life  for  the  fantastic  guesses  of 

tions  of  Christian  documents,  or  received  with  question  futuristic  speculation.     The  authors  of  Daniel  and  Reve- 

and  misgiving.     The   reason   for  this  is  apparent  to   all  lation  deal  with  their  own  respective  ages  and  with  no~ 

careful  students  of  biblical  and  contemporary  literature  other.     They  were  not  peering  into  any  distant  future. 

today.     Neither  book  is  prophetic.     But  both,  after  the  They  were  attempting  to  aid  their  tortured  and  wavering 

manner  of  that  class  of  writings  to  which  they  belong,  brethren  to  live  through  a  present  full  of  bitterest  anguish. 

employ  freely  the  devices  of  prediction  for  purposes  of  The  speedy  triumph  of  the  right  was  their  one  hope  and 

affording  encouragement  to  the  believers  in  the  terrible  assurance.     In  this  they  were  not  mistaken.     Upon  that 

days  of  Antiochian  and  Roman  persecution.     Their  au-  one   confident  utterance   they  lavished   the   treasures  of 

thors  believed,  and  rightly,  that  deliverance  was  soon  to  apocalyptic  eloquence.     And  in  the  glowing  language  of 

come  in  the  struggle  of  the  saints  against  oppression.    And  hope  which  they  thus  employed,  the  saints  of  all  the  cen- 

they  exhausted  the  vocabulary  of  picturesque  description  turies  have  found  comfort ;  not  because  the  experiences  of 

in  the  effort  to  make  clear  that  comforting  truth.     Soon,  their  own  times  were  foreseen  and  described,  but  because 

said  the  author  of  Daniel,  Antiochus,  the  madman,  would  that  first  earlier  conquest  of  evil  by  good,  of  the  world 

perish  and  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  God  come  to  their  powers  by  the  King  of  Saints,  was  the  prelude  and  token 

own.     Soon,   said   the  writer  of   Revelation,   would   the  of  all  future  victories  of  the  faith. 

Empire  of  Rome,  lately  believed  by  Paul  to  be  the  friend  This  misuse  of  the  Bible  by  the  attempt  to  read  into 

and  defender  of  the  church,  but  now  seen  to  be  its  most  its  pages  the  events  of  our  own  time  is  sure  to  recur  as  long 

dreaded  foe,  perish  in  a  ruin  which  would  be  the  wonder  as  the  world  endures.     Particularly  does  it  find  its  re- 

of  the  world.     Both  were  pleas  for  constancy  in  the  light  crudescence  in  days  of  war  and  commotion  like  our  own. 

of  a  deliverance  near  at  hand.  Those    who    eagerly    search    these    vivid    pages    of    the 

apocalypses  for  descriptions  of  the  great  struggle  in  Eu- 

FUTURIST    EXPLANATIONS  '  j    r  .      -f      £  ,&.\.        t.    ,    ^ 

rope,  and  for  portraits  of  some  of  its  chief  figures,  are 

Yet  no  such  simple  and  obvious  explanation  satisfies  harmlessly  and  happily  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  in  every 

those  who  demand  of  the  Bible  the  exhibition  of  portent  previous  convulsion  of  human  society  in  the  past  there  have 

and  wonder.     We  are  told  that  in  these  mysterious  books  been  those  who  in  the  same  spirit  searched  the  same  pages, 

the  history  of  the  ages  is  unfolded.     Then  begins  at  once  and  with  the  same  success.     There  is  no  corrective  for 

the  search  for  the  characters  who  have  played  or  are  play-  this  waste  of  time  except  a  more  intelligent  view  of  the 

ing  their  part  in  the  drama  of  the  world.     Here  the  freest  Bible  as  a  whole.     And  as  this  comes  with  the  recognition 

fancy  can  be  indulged.     There  is  no  scheme  of  interpreta-  of  those  helpful  principles  which  are  now  at  the  disposal 

tion  so  erratic  that  it  cannot  find  sober-faced  exponents,  of  every  well-informed  person,  there  will  be  seen  less  of 

The  fathers  of  the  church  indulged  the  same  childish  habit,  the  unprofitable  search  for  the  marvelous  and  fantastic, 

They  looked  through  the  gallery  of  vivid  pictures  in  which  and  more  satisfaction  in  the  deeper  and  abiding  truths 

the  scenes  of  late  Hebrew  and  early  Christian  experience  made  known  to  us  by  our  Lord  and  those  prophets  and 

were  displayed,  and  professed  their  ability  to  find  there  apostles  who  stood  nearest  him  in  spirit  and  purpose. 


The  Soul  and  the  Crowd 


TAKE  any  page  in  the  Life  of 
Jesus,  and  one  has  always  the  feel- 
ing that  it  might  have  been  writ- 
ten yesterday,  or  today.  He  was  so  in 
touch  with  life,  and  so  in  tune  with  the 
Infinite,  that  we  can  hardly  think  that 
He  moved  to  and  fro  in  a  day  far  gone. 
Nor  is  the  reason  far  to  seek.  Out- 
ward changes  have  been  many,  but  in 
its  essential  realities  life  remains  today 
what  it  was  then,  and  what  it  will  be 
ages  hence.  Because  Jesus  lived  the 
Eternal  life  in  time,  He  is  a  citizen 
of  every  age  and  every  land — just  as 
when  a  poet,  like  Homer  or  Burns, 
sings  of  love  or  death  and  the  wayside 
flower,  his  song  is  immortal  and  never 
goes  out  of  date.  No  other  life  has  the 
same  quality  in  anything  like  the  same 
degree.  That  is  why,  when  we  read 
the  story  of  His  days,  He  seems  to 
draw  near  and  walk  with  us  along  the 
way — every  act  a  parable,  every  scene 
a  symbol. 

THE  TYRANNY  OF  THE  MANY 

What  a  parable  of  the  life  of  our  day 
is  that  scene  of  the  multitude  thronging 
Jesus,  pressing  upon  Him,  crowding 
Him,  yet  not  touching  Him !  "Crowds" 
is  the  title  of  the  book  in  which  Stan: 
ley  Lee  describes  so  brilliantly  the  clut- 
ter of  modern  life,  its  clatter  and  its 
confusion.  Never  were  human  beings 
so  jostled  and  jammed  as  they  are  to- 
day; never  was  life  so  teeming  and 
turbulent.  Our  great  cities,  like  New 
York  and  London,  are  human  oceans 
in  which  the  individual  is  no  more  than 
a  tiny,  lonely  wave  on  a  remote  sea. 
Humanity  moves  in  multitudes.  Men 
think  in  mass.  Often  they  huddle  to- 
gether in  a  way  to  suggest  weakness 
rather  than  strength,  ruled  by  the 
tyranny  of  the  Many,  yielding  to  the 
pressure  of  Numbers,  mistaking 
massed  ignorance  for  wisdom. 

No  wonder  meditation  is  a  lost  art, 
since  there  is  so  little  time  to  practice 
it,  thronged  as  we  are  by  a  thousand 
things.  Even  our  religious  life  is  in- 
fluenced by  the  crowd-spirit,  and  if  a 
census  is  not  more  eloquent  than  a  ser- 
mon, it  sometimes  seems  to  be. 

INFLUENCE  OF   CROWDS 

Few  can  resist  the  contagion  of  a 
crowd.  Either  we  are  exalted  or  de- 
graded, owing  to  the  crowd  we  are  in, 
which  may  be  a  congregation  at  prayer 
or  a  mob  in  riot.  At  any  rate,  we  do 
and  think  things  we  should  hardly 
think  or  do  alone.  However  mixed  its 
motives  may  be,  gaping  curiosity  walk- 
ing side  by  side  with  yearning  need,  it 
means  much  to  be  in  a  crowd  that  is 


By  Joseph  Fort  Newton 

Of  the  City  Temple,  London. 


>1[llllllllllllililltlllillll[l>MMlllllllMMllMIIIIMIIII1llflHllUII)lllllltlllinill>IIMIIMIIIIIIIIIIIItlIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMtlim 

"Jesus  said,  Who  touched  me? 
I  Peter  said,  Master,  the  multitude 
1  throng  Thee,  and  Thou  sayest 
f     Who  touched  me?" — Luke,  8:45. 

HlllllllllIiniMJIIIIlUUHIIIIIIIIIlllMHIItltltllllllliniliriltlllllllMtllllllllllllllllMIIIIIIIllllllllllMltlllltlllllllllMllltTl 

following  Jesus.  At  least  we  are  going 
in  the  right  direction,  and,  swept  along 
by  the  bustle  and  presence  of  the 
crowd,  we  may  be  carried  further  than 
we  otherwise  would  go.  But  crowd- 
religion  is  not  enough,  as  we  learn 
sooner  or  later,  in  time  of  trial  and 
tragedy  if  in  no  other  way. 

MR.   BRITLING 

Here  again  the  parable  fits  the  need 
and  situation  of  our  time.  Nearly  all 
of  us  grew  up  in  the  atmosphere  of 
Christian  ideas  and  accept,  in  some  de- 
gree, the  facts  about  Jesus  and  the 
teaching  of  His  words.  That  is  to  say, 
we  are  in  the  crowd  that  is  following 
Him  in  a  general  way.  Most  of  us, 
however,  are  like  the  man  in  the  Wells 
story— "Mr.  Britling  Sees  It  Through" 
— to  whom  God  was  a  thing  of  intelli- 
gence, a  theory,  a  report,  something 
told  about  but  not  realized.  His  think- 
ing about  God  was  like  some  one  who 
had  found  an  empty  house,  very  beau- 
tiful and  pleasant,  and  full  of  the 
promise  of  a  fine  personality.  He  had 
wandered  through  the  house,  making 
many  curious  explorations,  but  had 
never  met  the  Master  of  it.  Then  came 
war,  with  its  measureless  woe  and  bit- 
ter tragedy.  Amidst  the  darkness  and 
confusions,  the  nightmare  stupidities 
and  the  hideous  cruelties  of  it  all,  he 
heard,  downstairs,  dear  and  friendly, 
the  voice  of  the  Master  coming  in. 
Mayhap  the  man  in  the  story  is  Wells 
himself,  whose  mind  is  like  a  crowded 
city,  and  who  may  yet  press  through 
the  throng  of  his  thoughts  and  find 
God ! 

THROUGH   THE  CROWD  TO  THE   HEALER 

Of  all  those  who  followed  Jesus  that 
day,  only  one  sick  woman  pushed  her 
way  through  the  crowd  and  touched 
Him.  Nor  did  she  do  it  because  of  the 
crowd,  but  in  spite  of  it.  For  years, 
St.  Mark  tells  us,  she  had  "suffered 
many  things  of  many  physicians,  and 
had  spent  all  that  she  had,  and  was 
nothing  bettered,  but  rather  grew 
worse."  St.  Luke,  himself  a  physician, 
spares  his  profession  this  severe  satire 
but  he  admits  the  fact.  She  heard  of 
Jesus  and  "kept  saying  over  and  over 
to  herself" — such  is  the  force  of  the 
imperfect  tense  of  the  verb — "if  I  but 


touch  His  garments,  I  shall  be  made 
whole." 

Such  a  story  represents  a  vast  chap- 
ter in  the  book  of  human  life.  How 
many  there  are  who  languish  in  weak- 
ness, pursued  by  pain,  hoping  against 
hope,  as  year  drags  after  year!  If  all 
such  were  gathered  together  at  one 
pool  of  Bethesda,  what  a  scene  it 
would  be  to  stir  the  heart  and  break  it. 
Yet  illness  need  not  be  an  unmixed 
evil,  unless  we  make  it  so.  It  makes 
us  think  of  many  things  we  often  for- 
get. Day  by  day  the  perspective 
changes  and  we  learn  to  estimate  all 
the  world  offers  at  its  proper  value. 
Happy  are  we  if  it  leads  us  through 
the  crowd  to  the  Healer  of  our  souls ! 

In  answer  to  a  deep  need,  there  has 
come  a  new  health  mysticism,  of  which 
we  need  to  take  account.  James  ana- 
lyzed this  movement  years  ago,  point- 
ing out  the  elements  entering  into  it, 
describing  it  as  a  product  of  America. 
It  takes  many  shapes,  but  at  bottom  it 
is  an  effort  to  realize  religion  and  ap- 
ply it  to  both  body  and  mind.  Crude 
it  may  often  be  in  its  thought — lacking, 
as  some  one  has  said,  the  strength  of 
true  simplicity  and  the  wealth  of  true 
profundity — but  it  is  a  force  to  be 
reckoned  with  none  the  less.  Nothing 
is  easier  than  to  indicate  its  limitations 
- — its  tendency  to  make  health  an  end 
instead  of  a  means,  its  evasive  opti- 
mism, its  lack  of  liberating  self-forget- 
fulness  and  sweet  humility.  But  that 
is  not  the  whole  of  the  matter.  They 
are  blind  who  do  not  see  in  it  a  human 
need  reaching  out  after  spiritual  laws 
and  divine  forces,  seeking  to  put  them 
to  the  uses  of  life. 

The  result  is  a  recovery,  in  some 
sort,  of  a  truth  known  to  the  early 
church,  and  which  the  church  today  is 
guilty  of  unfaith,  as  of  folly,  in  losing. 
Instead  of  being  angry  at  its  own  fail- 
ure, the  church  ought  to  be  glad  that 
so  many  have  been  blessed,  and  ask 
why  it  is  so. 

SPIRITUAL  DISCORD 

Many  of  our  ills — many  more  than 
we  think — as  we  now  know,  have  their 
roots  less  in  physical  disorder  than  in 
spiritual  discord,  and  when  that  dis- 
cord is  removed  the  body  becomes 
more  normal.  An  old  truth,  to  be  sure, 
but  a  great  truth  all  the  same,  and  one 
that  we  had  lost  sight  of  along  with 
much  else.  Through  it  thousands  in 
our  day  have  found  their  way  to  fel- 
lowship with  the  Love  that  will  not  let 
us  go,  rejoicing  in  deliverance  from 
haunting  fears  and  false  sorrows 
which  made  life  one  long  misery.  Gen- 


12 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  31,  1917 


tleness  and  kindness  have  taken  the 
place  of  dread  or  discontent,  and  they 
see  life  as  a  sunny  upland  where  once 
it  was  a  valley  of  shadows,  drab,  drear 
and  desolate. 

IN  WEAKNESS  MADE  STRONG 

But  if  health  of  soul  should  be  our 
first  concern,  and  is  always  attainable, 
it  is  not  so  of  physical  health.  Not  a 
few  of  the  noblest  and  sweetest  souls 
have  become  such  because  in  the  exi- 
gencies of  pain  and  trouble,  they  have 
been  driven  back  to  the  soul  within  the 
soul,  and  there  have  found  the  secret 
of  strength  and  peace.  Some  of  the 
saints  came  to  their  heritage  of  spiri- 
tual power,  being  made  perfect 
through  suffering.  In  weakness  they 
were  made  strong,  in  sorrow  they  were 
sanctified. 

St.  Paul  prayed  earnestly  that  his 
thorn  in  the  flesh  might  be  removed, 
but  it  was  not  to  be  so.  In  spite  of  it, 
perhaps  because  of  it,  he  became  the 
mighty  and  tender  spirit  that  he  was, 
rich  in  sympathy,  radiant  in  power. 
Stevenson  lived  with  death  at  his  el- 
bow, in  the  faith  that  "The  truest 
health  is  to  be  able  to  do  without  it." 
Such  bodily  ills  as  cannot  be  healed  can 
be  overcome  by  a  high  and  daring  faith 
which  lays  hold  of  the  love  of  God, 
realizes  it,  and  rests  in  it. 

THE  TOUCH  FACULTY 

There  is  in  each  of  us,  did  we  but 
know  how  to  make  use  of  it,  what 
Ruskin  called  a  "touch  faculty,"  by 
which  we  may  have  access  to  vast,  un- 


guessed  powers  that  are  always  and 
everywhere  near  us. 

Some  have  no  doubt  read  that  story 
called  "The  Saint,"  by  Forgazzaro,  in 
which  the  whole  of  modern  Italy  is 
spread  before  us  in  a  picture.  It  is  a 
new  version  of  the  life  of  Francis  of 
Assisi,  written  with  rare  insight  and 
art,  bringing  back  the  glow  and  wonder 
of  days  of  old.  Many  gather  about  the 
Saint  and  are  healed,  the  while  he 
speaks  very  plainly  of  their  sordid  sel- 
fishness in  seeking  ease  of  body  and  re- 
maining sick  or  unclean  of  soul. 
Modestly  he  disclaims  all  power,  all 
magic,  save  such  as  every  man  has  in 
his  own  soul  if  he  will  only  make  use 
of  it — the  power  of  faith  by  which  we 
may  touch  the  hem  of  a  flowing  gar- 
ment vast  and  white,  and  find  purity 
and  health  of  spirit. 

"You  exalt  me  because  you  are  blind. 
If  this  girl  is  healed,  not  I  have  healed 
her,  but  her  faith  has  made  her  whole. 
This  power  of  faith  is  in  God's  world, 
everywhere  and  always,  like  the  power 
of  terror,  which  causes  us  to  tremble  and 
fall  down.  It  is  a  power  in  the  soul,  like 
the  powers  which  are  in  the  water,  and 
in  fire.  Therefore,  if  the  girl  is  healed, 
it  is  because  God  has  put  this  great 
power  into  His  world;  praise  Him  for  it, 
not  me.  And  now,  listen!  You  offend 
God  by  believing  His  strength  and 
bounty  to  be  greater  in  miracles.  His 
strength  and  bounty  are  everywhere,  and 
always  infinite.  It  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  faith  can  heal,  but  it  is  im- 
possible to  understand  how  these  flow- 
ers grow.  It  is  well  to  pray  for  health, 
but  pray  still  more  fervently  to  be  able 
to  adore  the  will  of  God,  when  it  gives 
you  death,  as  when  it  gives  you  life." 


THE  HEALER  STILL  WITH  US 

There  speaks  a  sweet  voice  telling 
us  the  old  truth  taught  by  Jesus  on 
the  hills  of  Galilee.  The  church  has  all 
the  sources  of  infinite  power,  without  a 
mutilated  gospel,  if  it  will  but  realize 
and  make  use  of  what  it  has.  No  man 
need  give  up  the  gospel  in  order  to  be 
healed ;  he  need  only  to  practice  it. 
Still,  as  of  old,  the  Teacher,  the  Heal- 
er, moves  to  and  fro  in  the  midst  of 
our  crowded  modern  life,  seeking  to 
save  us  from  ourselves  and  from  the 
troops  of  ills  that  beset  us.  He  is  no 
dead  fact  lost  in  the  mists  of  time,  but 
a  living  presence  to  be  known  and 
loved  as  truly  as  in  the  days  of  His 
flesh,  if,  like  the  woman  in  her  need, 
we  make  our  way  to  Him  through  the 
throng  and  touch  His  seamless  robe. 
Legend  tells  that  her  name  was  Veron- 
ica, and  that  she  lived  at  Caesarea- 
Philippi.  Eusebius  says  that  he  him- 
self had  seen  at  the  gate  of  her  reputed 
residence  in  that  city  a  group  of  stat- 
uary, representing  her  kneeling  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus,  who  was  stretching 
out  His  hand  toward  her. 

Also,  there  is  a  lovely  tradition  that 
when  Jesus  was  on  His  way  to  the  hill 
outside  the  city  gate,  fainting  under 
the  burden  of  His  cross,  that  it  was 
Veronica  who  pressed  through  the 
crowd,  as  she  had  done  on  a  day  long 
gone,  and  gave  Him  a  handkerchief 
to  wipe  His  brow — ministering  to  Him 
in  His  tragedy  with  tender,  womanly 
touch,  as  He  had  ministered  to  her  of 
His  grace  and  power. 


The  Church  in  the  New  World 

Situation 


HOW  important  it  is  that  the 
Church  realize  that  it  is  in  a 
new  world,  that  it  is  a  new 
world  situation.  It  has  been  my 
serious  responsibility  to  make  world 
journeys  for  many  years,  and  with- 
out design  it  has  worked  out  so 
that  I  have  made  one  of  those  jour- 
neys approximately  every  five  years, 
which  has  a  certain  advantage  in  that 
it  enables  one  to  get  a  line,  as  it  were, 
upon  the  world's  tendencies  and  to 
observe  contrasts. 

A  SHAKEN'   WORLD 

Those  successive  world  journeys 
have  caused  me  to  believe  and  to  say 
that  the  outstanding  contrast  is  that 
today  it  is  a  shaken  world.  It  is 
shaken  to  its  very  base.  All  the 
foundations  are  heaving — yes,  more, 
they  are  slipping.  It  is  likewise  a 
world  that  is  overburdened.     It  is  a 


By  John  R.  Mott 

world  that  has  always  had  its  burdens 
to  bear,  but  how  light  those  old  bur- 
dens seem  in  contrast  with  the  bur- 
dens that  come  upon  this  generation! 
The  interest  on  the  new  debts  asso- 
ciated with  this  war  will  very  soon 
exceed  the  total  of  the  net  income  of 
the  same  nations  before  the  war.  The 
burdens  hung  around  the  necks  of 
these  nations  are  impossible  burdens. 
It  is  not  surprising  to  my  mind  that 
there  is  a  snapping  in  nation  after  na- 
tion. It  is  an  impossible  strain.  It  is 
not  in  man  that  walketh  to  maintain 
it,  and  the  nation  does  not  exist  that 
can  sustain  it. 


Oh,  what  a  suffering  world  it  is !  I 
think  I  have  known  something  of  the 
sorrows  of  the  people.  I  have  tried, 
as  the  Quaker-discerning  phrase  put  it, 
to  let  myself  be  baptized  into  a  sense 


of  all  conditions,  that  I  might  respond 
to  the  sufferings  of  all ;  but  I  shall  not 
trust  myself  now  to  express  my  emo- 
tions concerning  the  sufferings  of 
those  peoples  which  I  have  seen.  I 
shall  revert  to  them.  I  can  never  es- 
cape them.  They  are  with  me  by  day 
and  by  night. 

NEWLY   REALIZED  ENERGIES 

It  is  a  very  serious  world,  no  part 
of  it  more  so,  than  that  part  that  tries 
to  give  you  the  opposite  impression. 
And  what  a  teachable  world  it  is,  what 
a  teacher  the  world  is,  and  what  les- 
sons are  being  enforced  and  how  re- 
sponsive we  find  whole  nations,  whole 
peoples!  And  happily  it  is  a  world 
which  is  revealing  comparatively 
latent  capacities,  capacities  the  like  of 
which  we  had  not  dreamed  existed — 
undiscovered,  newly  realized  energies, 
that  make  possible  all  that  I  am  going 


May  31,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


13 


to  now  say  in  the  way  of  a  summons 
to  the  Christian  Church  as  it  fronts 
this  absolutely  unique  and  unprece- 
dented world  situation. 

I  have  no  doubt  whatever  in  my 
mind  that  the  Christian  Church  is  be- 
ing summoned  today  to  get  ready  for 
that  vast,  that  overpowering,  con- 
structive and  reconstructive  task  that 
is  coming  apace.  Oh,  it  will  be  on  us 
all  too  soon !  How  poorly  we  are  pre- 
pared in  vision!  How  still  more 
poorly  we  are  prepared  in  leadership ! 
And  yet  more  how  sadly  we  are  pre- 
pared in  the  discipline  of  our  souls  for 
these  great  reconstructive  tasks  that 
are  right  at  our  hands ! 

WHEN   THE  WAR   WILL   CLOSE 

It  is  a  belief  of  mine  that  this  great 
war  will  close  by  Christmas,  provided 
this  Nation  becomes  sufficiently  se- 
rious in  time.  I  do  not  say  yet  that  I 
see  the  evidence,  but  it  is  my  hope  that 
we  will  be  serious  in  time.  We  will 
not  facilitate  the  end  of  this  struggle 
by  treating  it  as  we  are  now  doing. 
But  as  that  thought  arises  with  true 
solemnity  and  seriousness  of  the  prices 
that  must  be  paid  in  these  awful 
months  that  are  right  in  front  of  us, 
it  is  my  firm  belief  that  the  struggle 
will  be  ended  by  the  end  of  this  year. 

Oh,  that  great,  that  vast  recon- 
structive task!  Some  of  you  have 
heard  me  go  back  over  these  early 
journeys,  not  the  first  journey  around 
the  world,  or  even  the  second,  but 
from  subsequent  journeys,  to  speak 
of  those  nations  of  the  Far  East,  that 
were  once  fixed  like  plaster  on  the 
wall,  as  plastic ;  that  the  old  molds  had 
been  broken;  that  those  civilizations 
were  being  recast  and  were  ready  to 
be  recast  in  new  molds,  and  you  heard 
me  press  the  question,  Shall  they  be 
recast  in  Christian  molds  or  in  pagan 
molds  ? 

THE  FAR  EAST  PLASTIC 

I  may  say  in  passing  that  there  is 
some  danger  that  we  lose  sight  of  the 


fact  that  the  Far  East  is  still  plastic ;  it 
can  still  be  molded;  and  among  the 
tasks  that  press  in  these  days,  we 
should  not  cease  to  press  the  great 
missionary   task   as   it   confronts   the 

Far  East. 

Again,  I  would  remind  you  that  not- 
withstanding this  fateful  war,  that  is 
still  a  fact,  it  will  be  determined 
within  half  a  generation  whether 
Africa  is  to  be  a  Mohammedan  or 
Christian  continent. 

Some  of  you  heard  your  delegates 
that  came  back  from  the  Panama 
Congress  of  Christian  Work  a  year 
ago  last  February,  report  in  oral  ad- 
dress and  likewise  in  written  state- 
ments, that  all  of  these  Latin-Amer- 
ican republics  that  lie  to  the  south  of 
us  are  today  peculiarly  accessible  and 
responsive  to  the  constructive  minis- 
try of  pure  Christianity. 

Those  facts  have  not  changed,  but 
the  man  or  the  woman  is  not  here  who 
three  years  ago  ever  expected  to  live 
to  see  the  day  that  he  would  hear  a 
witness  come  among  us  and  say,  "All 
Europe  is  in  the  melting  pot."  And 
yet  that  is  precisely  what  I  in  accu- 
racy must  here  declare.  It  has  been 
my  lot  to  go  over  to  Europe  each  year 
for  over  twenty-five  years,  and  some 
of  those  years  more  than  once.  I  am 
free  to  say  that  I  have  never  known 
Europe  until  these  last  journeys  which 
I  have  made  since  this  war  began. 

RELIGIOUS    RUSSIA 

The  nations  over  there  that  you  as- 
sociate most  with  the  unchangeable 
and  with  the  conservative,  are  today 
the  most  plastic  of  all  these  nations. 
If  I  had  entered  into  discussion  two 
years  ago,  as  I  many  times  did— yes, 
a  year  ago— with  reference  to  my  im- 
pressions in  those  countries,  and 
given  faithful  answers  to  the  different 
inquiries,  I  did  not  find  anyone  and 
still  less  I  think  did  I  believe  myself 
that  the  land  over  there  that  would 
witness  the  most  stupendous  changes 
of  all  of  them  would  be  Russia.     I 


have  not  found  the  person  that  ex- 
pected that,  even  the  most  observing 
and  intimate  student  of  things  Rus- 
sian. 

I  think  there  is  no  land  more  than 
Russia  that  holds  the  fate  of  the  com- 
ing year's  situation,  as  it  is  in  the  belt 
of  power  where  we  find  Japan  and 
China,  Germany,  France  and  England, 
this  country  and  Canada,  blending  the 
strongest  strains  in  Europe  and  Asia, 
having  the  three  most  powerful   re- 
ligions   of    the    world,    Christianity, 
Judaism  and  Mohammedism;  having 
a  people  with  marvelous  capacities  for 
vicariousness,   for   suffering,   for  ad- 
venture and  heroism;  having  what  I 
regard  a  people  the  most  religious  of 
any  people,   unless   it  be  the  British 
Indians,  and  I  do  not  know  that  I 
should  make  that  exception.    I  see  on 
the  horizon  no  land  with  larger  possi- 
bilities for  the  coming  day. 

EUROPE  IN  THE  MELTING  POT 

Is  it  not  highly  significant  that  the 
Church  today  is  facing  a  new  world 
in  which  lands  like  Russia  are— yes, 
and  Turkey !    It  is  going  to  be  an  ab- 
solutely new  Turkey.     We  are  going 
to  see  changes  in  the  next  ten  years 
that  will  transcend  all  that  has  hap- 
pened in  Turkey  in  the  centuries.    We 
are  going  to  see  a  new  Balkans,  that 
great   tinder-box   which   kindled  -  this 
world   conflagration.     We   are  going 
to  see  a  new  Austria-Hungary— and  I 
could  enumerate  others  in  the  list. 

All  Europe  is  in  the  melting  pot. 
Old  things  are  passing  away.  Notice 
my  language :  All  things  may  become 
new,  not  as  a  result  of  magic,  not  be- 
cause of  chance,  not  because  of  this 
war,  but  because  throughout  all  Chris- 
tian churches  there  shall  be  sufficient 
leadership  to  take  hold  of  these  na- 
tions of  the  Near  East,  of  all  Europe 
that  may  need  our  ministry,  as  well 
as  the  Far  East  and  Southern  Asia  and 
Africa  and  Latin-America,  to  lead 
them  out  into  this  new  age. 


A  Letter  from  Dr.  E.  L.  Powell 

tution,  and  with  the  recognized  testimony  of  f^/^^^f^  college! as  the  properly  constituted 
these  matters  were  to  be  inquired  into  by  the  Bofdot^ntV.eef  °Jh    ltter  WaS  sent 
body  for  such  procedure.    To  that  group,  through  the  President,  the  letter  aas  sent. 


MY  DEAR  BROTHER:  I  do 
not  wish  to  intrude  on  the  de- 
liberations of  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  as  they  shall  give  themselves 
to  a  serious  and  prayerful  considera- 
tion of  certain  charges  which  have 
been  made  against  yourself  and  oth- 
ers of  your  faculty  involving  the  ques- 
tions of  authority,  liberty,  and  faith. 


These  are  vital  matters.  Our  construc- 
tion of  these  three  words  determines 
whether  or  not  we  have  a  right  con- 
ception of  the  whole  genius  and  spirit 
of  the  Disciples  of  Christ.  Our  his- 
tory as  a  religious  people,  as  I  con- 
strue it,  would  be  stultified  and  brought 
into  open  shame  if  in  the  first  place 
any  Board  of  Trustees,  whether  of 


college,  local  congregation,  or  mission- 
ary society,  should  presume  by  any 
formal  action,  which  would  be  eccle- 
siastical action,  to  pronounce  judgment 
and  to  inflict  penalty  upon  any  of  its 
employees  where  the  question  involved 
is  not  one  of  character,  ability,  or  spir- 
itual consecration  but  only  departure 
in  conviction  concerning  matters  which 


14 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  31,  1917 


do  not  pertain  to  the  one  essential 
faith,  namely :  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as 
the  Son  of  God,  and  conscious  loyalty 
to  His  authority  as  the  individual  soul 
shall  construe  that  authority. 

We  have  always  fought  every  form 
or  manifestation  or  expression  of  ec- 
clesiasticism.  The  one  thing  which 
makes  ecclesiasticism  repulsive,  hate- 
ful, and  devilish  is  its  claim  to  exercise 
authority  in  matters  of  faith  over  the 
individual  conscience.  We  have  al- 
ways insisted  that  the  invisible  author- 
ity of  Jesus  Christ  alone  shall  be  rec- 
ognized in  matters  of  faith.  That  au- 
thority must  be  interpreted  by  the  in- 
dividual soul.  It  must  be  self-imposed. 
If  it  is  not  self-imposed  it  becomes 
external,  and  when  it  becomes  exter- 
nal in  the  realm  of  religion  it  becomes 
an  ecclesiasticism. 

In  other  words,  a  few  men  consti- 
tute themselves  and  their  opinions  and 
convictions  as  the  standard  by  which 
the  loyalty  of  others  shall  be  deter- 
mined. Either  we  should  accept  a  writ- 
ten creed  with  its  thirty-nine  articles, 
more  or  less,  and  admit  that  we  are 
and  shall  be  creed-bound  and  creed- 
governed,  or  we  must  claim  our  Prot- 
estant right  which  we  have  always 
claimed — the  right  of  private  interpre- 
tation, with  all  of  its  weaknesses  and 
blunders,  but  with  its  glorious  oppor- 
tunity to  be  led  out  into  larger  and 
richer  revelations  of  God's  truth. 

It  is  absurd  that  the  most  Protestant 
body  among  the  Protestants,  the  Dis- 
ciples of  Christ,  should  at  a  time  when 
other  religious  bodies  have  thrown  off 
their  creeds,  attempt  to  fasten  upon 
any  company  of  teachers  or  preachers 
or  the  humblest  disciple  the  personal 
and  individual  views  and  interpreta- 
tions of  a  few  men — should  attempt, 
I  say,  to  constitute  themselves  an  ec- 
clesiastical court  to  sit  in  judgment  on 
this  matter  of  orthodox  faith. 


Secondly,  in  the  selection  of  teach- 
ers of  a  Bible  School,  or  a  Theological 
Seminary,  or  in  the  employment  of 
missionaries  for  the  foreign  field, 
either  in  their  selection  or  in  their  con- 


tinued employment,   concerning  what 
matters  has  such  a  Board  the  right  to 
inquire?    If  a  teacher  is  to  be  chosen 
it  is  certainly  right  to  ascertain  con- 
cerning his  health,  his  fitness  for  the 
particular    work,    his    mental    attain- 
ments, and  whatever  information  may 
reveal  his  personal  worth  and  charac- 
ter as  a  Christian  man.    I  affirm,  how- 
ever,   that    among    the    Disciples    of 
Christ  no  Board  of  any  sort  has  the 
right  to  require  of  any  employee  more 
than  is  required  of  the  humblest  Dis- 
ciple   when    he    is    received    into    the 
membership  of  the  church.    Anything 
more  required  is  outside  the  realm  of 
faith  and  orthodoxy.    The  most  that  is 
required   concerns  the   fitness  of  the 
man  to  do  the  work  for  which  he  is 
employed.     To  ask  him  what  he  be- 
lieves   about    the    inspiration    of    the 
Bible,  about  the  atonement,  about  bap- 
tism for  the  remission  of  sins,  about 
imputed    righteousness,    about    evolu- 
tion, or  a  hundred  other  questions,  is 
to  make  it  fair  and  just  that  those  who 
are  asking  such  questions  should  have 
put  down  in  stereotyped  form  certain 
interpretations  of  Scripture  as  infalli- 
ble and  inspired,  and  to  which  con- 
formity  is  demanded  on  the  ground 
that  such  creedal  propositions  and  in- 
terpretations are  the  divinely  author- 
ized standard  by  which  to  measure  all 
teachers  and  preachers  and  all  disci- 
ples of  Jesus  Christ.     We  are  driven 
inexorably   to   the   conclusion   that   a 
creed  and  an  ecclesiastical  court  alone 
could  justify  such  procedure. 

For  my  own  part  I  would  fight  to 
the  last  ditch  any  such  impertinence 
and  any  such  violation  of  all  that  we 
as  a  people  have  stood  for  for  more 
than  a  hundred  years,  and  all  that 
makes  Protestantism  to  be  differenti- 
ated from  Romanism.  In  fact,  it  is  the 
sharp  dividing  line  between  Romanism 
with  its  persecutions  and  cruelties,  its 
suppression  of  the  rights  and  liberty  of 
mind  and  conscience,  and  Protestant- 
ism with  its  glorious  combination  of 
liberty  and  loyalty.  In  God's  name, 
have  we  lived  and  wrought  for  a  hun- 
dred years  to  be  brought  to  the  humili- 
ating confession  that  we  do  not  know 


exactly  what  it  is  that  makes  the  Dis- 
ciples of  Christ  the  most  glorious  Prot- 
estant fellowship  in  the  world  ? 


Thirdly,  I  sincerely  hope  that  the 
Board  of  Trustees  will  not  allow  them- 
selves to  be  put  in  the  company  of 
Inquisitors  at  the  bidding  of  a  small 
company  of  men,  who,  however  loyal 
to  their  understanding  of  Protestant 
Christianity,  are  carrying  us  back  to 
the  16th  Century  battle  fought  and 
won  by  Luther  and  re  fought  and  won 
by  the  Disciples  of  Christ  when  our 
own  great  movement  was  inaugurated. 

If  the  Board  should  fail  unani- 
mously to  sustain  and  to  support  the 
men  against  whom  these  charges  have 
been  made,  a  blow  would  undoubtedly 
be  inflicted  of  a  very  serious  charac- 
ter against  our  own  religious  body, 
and  we  would  be  made  a  spectacle, 
almost  a  laughing  stock  for  the  great 
religious  bodies  who  have  but  recently 
come  into  their  heritage  of  Christian 
liberty,  and  who  at  this  moment  would 
regard  a  heresy  trial  as  an  anachro- 
nism and  religious  absurdity. 

Democracy  is  breaking  loose 
throughout  the  world.  Bureaucracies 
are  perishing  under  the  glare  of  battle- 
fields. Let  us  not  have  in  the  free 
church  of  Jesus  Christ  any  miniature 
— the  very  thing  in  the  religious  realm 
which  is  being  smitten  with  the  wrath 
of  God  on  the  battlefields  of  Europe 
and  in  which  free  America,  thank  God, 
is  taking  her  part.  Both  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty  make  it  worth  while  to 
be  alive  at  all.  For  we  do  not  live 
in  our  intellectual  accuracies  but  in 
our  loyalties,  and  the  supreme  loyalty 
which  involves  all  others  is  loyalty  to 
Jesus  Christ. 

As  J.  S.  Lamar  used  to  say,  "'We 
ask  not  one  question  concerning  your 
faith  in  anything  in  the  Bible  or  out 
of  the  Bible,  but  only  concerning  your 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  If  you  get  right 
in  relation  to  Him  you  will  get  right 
in  all  other  matters." 

Yours  sincerely, 

Louisville,  Ky.       E.  L.  Powell. 


After  the  War 


DISCUSSION  of  navigation  is 
easy  for  those  standing  on  the 
shore.  For  the  crew  of  a  storm- 
wracked  vessel  it  is  a  matter  of  life 
and  death.  We  call  the  one  group 
academic,  the  other  vital  and  practical. 
But  books  on  navigation  are  not  writ- 
ten during  storms,  and  the  compass 


By  Shailer  Mathews 

In  The  Biblical  World 

was  not  invented  while  men  fought 
shipwreck. 

Nor  do  storms  and  shipwreck  pre- 
vent the  study  of  weather  and  wind, 
tides  and  currents,  steam  and  electri- 
city. 

Similarly  men  should  prepare  for 
hours  of  national   storm  in  days  of 


peace.  War  no  more  shows  the  futility 
of  preparation  for  peace  than  storms 
argue  against  navigation  laws  or  quar- 
antine against  sanitation.  In  moments 
of  sanity  we  should  organize  thought 
and  social  attitudes  as  a  protection 
again  possible  hysteria  in  moments  of 
crisis.    Peace,  not  war,  is  normal. 


May  31,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


15 


Can  we,  as  Christian  people,  thus 
train  ourselves  in  days  of  indecision, 
when  the  fate  of  nations  is  in  the  bal- 
ance? 

If  we  cannot,  we  have  not  yet 
learned  the  full  meaning  of  faith  in 
God. 

A  DANGER  IN  FAITH 

True,  there  is  moral  danger  even  in 
a  nation's  faith  in  God.  For  a  nation, 
like  a  man,  may  so  unblinkingly  believe 
in  the  justice  of  its  cause  as  to  identify 
its  motives  and  methods  with  divine 
Providence.  But  such  confidence  is 
not  true  faith  in  the  God  of  Jesus.  To 
believe  that  God  is  on  our  side  may 
mean  only  bescriptured  brutality. 

True  Christian  faith  does  not  seek 
to  persuade  God  to  work  with  us;  it 
seeks  rather  to  work  with  God. 

And  if  God  is  like  Jesus,  then  love 
and  not  hate,  justice  and  not  physical 
force,  forgiveness  rather  than  injury, 


are  the  ultimate  bases  of  national 
greatness. 

Has  any  nation  yet  given  full  con- 
sent to  that  sort  of  faith  in  God  ?  Can 
Christian  patriots  yet  pray  that  God's 
rather  than  their  government's  will 
shall  be  done? 

A  war  in  the  defense  of  the  spiritual 
precipitate  of  civilization  is  justifiable  ; 
in  the  last  resort  it  is  a  duty.  For  it 
is  a  less  evil  than  the  loss  of  spiritual 
achievements.  War  to  preserve  ideals 
is  better  than  moral  anarchy,  however 
scientific  or  euphemized. 

"remember  tyre  and  nineveh" 

But  it  is  an  evil  none  the  less.  Its 
grandeur  is  given  it  only  by  those  who 
dare  sacrifice  life  to  preserve  the 
moral  achievements  of  the  race. 

And  after  war  has  done  its  worst  or 
its  best,  there  still  remains  God — the 
God  of  Love  and  Law — to  reckon 
with. 


The  laws  of  the  spiritual  order  are 
as  final  as  those  of  the  physical.  Civili- 
zation consists  very  largely  in  ordering 
our  life  in  accordance  with  them.  The 
spiritual  forces  which  such  laws  de- 
scribe will  remain  long  after  the  wrath 
of  man  with  all  its  miseries  has  passed. 
To  violate  them  is  to  suffer. 

Justice,  established  not  by  might,  but 
operative  in  the  structure  of  the  world, 
is  one  of  these  forces. 

Love,  as  terrible  as  it  is  merciful,  is 
another. 

And  on  Justice  and  Love  a  nation, 
like  individuals,  depends.  When  it 
obeys  them  it  builds  firmly;  when  it 
disobeys  them  it  suffers. 

Remember  Tyre  and  Xineveh. 

Nations  of  today,  like  them,  have 
their  Day  of  Judgment. 

War  cannot  destroy  our  moral  uni- 
verse. 

After  the  war  there  will  still  be  God. 


Recent  Books 


The  New  Poetry  :  an  Anthology. 
Edited  by  Harriet  Monroe  and  Alice 
C.  Henderson.  Undoubtedly,  it  is  a 
good  thing  as  often  as  possible  to 
bring  a  wealth  of  poetry  and  near- 
poetry  within  the  covers  of  a  book  for 
general  consideration;  and  there  is 
much  good  poetry  in  this  collection. 
For  Masefield,  Lindsay,  Sara  Teas- 
dale,  William  W.  Gibson  and  de  la 
Mare  are  here  represented.  One  does 
wonder  how  much  of  the  contents  will 
have  been  eliminated  after  twenty 
years.  It  happens,  interestingly 
enough,  that  the  first  poem  in  the 
book,  one  of  Conrad  Aiken's,  is  as 
solidly  old-fashioned  as  the  most  con- 
servative of  university  professors 
could  wish  for.  There  is  enough  of 
the  "old  poetry"  in  the  collection  to 
make  it  feel  at  home  with  volumes  of 
Shelley,  Keats  or  Tennyson.  (Mac- 
millan  Company,  New  York.     $1.75 

net.) 

*     *     * 

The  Altar  of  Freedom.  By  Mary 
Roberts  Rinehart.  This  is  "An  Ap- 
peal to  the  Mothers  of  America."    As 


Mrs.  Rinehart  has  a  son  in  actual 
service  in  Europe,  she  is  saved  from 
any  sentimentality  in  her  vigorous  ap- 
peal to  other  mothers.  This  little 
volume  will  aid  in  making  America's 
war  for  permanent  peace  a  success. 
(Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  Boston. 

50  cts.  net.) 

*     *     * 

The  Yukon  Trail.  By  William 
MacLeod  Raine.  The  story  of  the 
rival  loves  of  a  college  graduate  and  a 
successful  miner  for  a  very  lovable 
girl,  with  the  great  Yukon  country 
as  the  background  of  their  adven- 
tures. Rapid  action,  bold  adventure. 
(Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  Boston. 
$1.35  net.) 

SfC         IfC sp 

Anne  of  the  Island.  By  L.  M. 
Montgomery.  Mark  Twain  said  of 
"Anne  of  Green  Gables"  by  the  same 
author:     "In  'Anne  of  Green  Gables' 


iiii'iiHiiimiimi mnmtiiiiimiHifimiiimiimiiiMMiiJiiMiiitiiiiimtiijiiii 


itiiimuiitii'iiiiiiiiitnii 


All  books  reviezved  in  these  columns  may 
be  secured  at  price  listed  from  Disciples 
Publication  Society,  700  East  40th  Street, 
Chicago. 

iiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiHiinuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuniiiiMiitiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiitiiiiiititiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiuiiiiii 


you  will  find  the  dearest  and  most 
moving  and  delightful  child  since  the 
immortal  Alice."  This  is  the  same 
Anne,  but  older  grown.  The  new 
story  tells  of  her  college  life  and  her 
romance.  (The  Page  Company,  Bos- 
ton.   $1.25  net.) 

*     *     * 

Burns  :  How  to  Know  Him.  By 
William  Allan  Neilson.  Because  of 
the  humanity  of  the  great  Scotch 
singer,  this  will  no  doubt  prove  one 
of  the  most  popular  of  this  very  useful 
series  of  books.  It  reproduces  all  the 
favorite  poems  of  Burns,  with  many 
others  it  is  well  to  know.  (Bobbs 
Merrill  Company,  Indianapolis.  $1.50 
net.) 

♦       ♦      4s 

Poems  of  American  Patriotism. 
Selected  by  Frederick  Lawrence 
Knowles.  This  collection  contains 
all  the  great  poems  of  patriotism  pro- 
duced in  our  country  from  the  Revo- 
lution to  the  Spanish  War.  'Well 
worth  having  for  reading  in  these 
tumultuous  times.  (L.  C.  Page  & 
Company,  Boston.) 


The  Torch-Bearers 


By  E.  J.  Gillman 


GOD  send  us  men  whose  aim  'twill  be, 
Not  to  defend  some  ancient  creed, 
But  to  live  out  the  laws  of  Right 
In  every  thought  and  word  and  deed. 

God  send  us  men  alert  and  quick 

His  lofty  precepts  to  translate, 
Until  the  laws  of  Right  become 

The  laws  and  habits  of  the  State. 


God  send  us  men  of  steadfast  will, 
Patient,  courageous,  strong  and  true ; 

With  vision  clear  and  mind  equipped. 
His  will  to  learn,  his  work  to  do. 

God  send  us  men  with  hearts  ablaze, 
All  truth  to  love,  all  wrong  to  hate: 

These  are  the  patriots  nations  need. 
These  are  the  bulwarks  of  the  State. 

— The  Survey, 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


What  Can  the  Churches 
Do  in  War-Time? 

There  are  multitudes  who  cannot  be- 
lieve war  is  compatible  with  Christian- 
ity and  many  are  raising  the  question 

as  to  whether 
one  can  be  a 
Christian  and 
fight.  Whatever 
the  conclusion  to 
theseissues 
there  is  one  fact 
undeniable,  and 
that  is  that  we 
are  soon  to  be  in 
the  fight  and  that 
we  are  already  in 
the  war.  There 
is,  therefore,  one  practical  question  that 
faces  the  churches  and  that  is :  "What 
can  we  do  to  meet  the  emergency  and 
apply  the  Gospel  to  things  as  they 
are?"  Humanity  is  being  wrecked 
wherever  war  reaches  and  Christianity, 
in  many  hearts  behind  the  battle  lines, 


^      '  ; 

11 

J 

1E^ 

."' 

i&ijk 

IS 


meeting  a  like  fate. 


The  churches  can  hold  up  the  eter- 
nal verities  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  and 
show  his  spirit  and  lift  up  in  the  hearts 
of  men  those  unused  portions  of  his 
Gospel  that  might  have  kept  the  world 
from  war  had  they  been  used  even 
through  the  past  century;  in  the  very 
midst  of  war  they  can  proclaim  the 
principles  of  brotherhood  and  peace, 
with  war  as  a  horrible  illustration  of 
the  folly  of  trying  to  live  without  them. 

Then  the  churches  can  follow  the 
great  Physician  in  binding  up  the 
wounds  of  the  soldier  and  all  others 
who  suffer  in  the  war.  Shall  it  be 
said  of  the  living  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  that  it  was  so  busy  and  absorbed 
and  conventionalized  in  keeping  its 
own  machinery  going  that  it  could  not 
arise  heroically  to  the  calls  of  distress 
from  the  millions  at  the  battle  fronts 
and  the  still  greater  numbers  in  the 
war  areas? 

Here  is  the  cry  of  dying  Armenia — 
a  Christian  nation  dying  at  the  hand  of 
the  Turk — and  the  one  great  Christian 
institution  as  an  institution  takes  no 
action  to  mobilize  its  vast  resources, 
but  leaves  it  to  other  organizations  to 
act  in  the  name  of  Christ. 

Why  is  the  Church  of  Christ  so  in- 
ert and  passive  in  the  presence  of  such 
a  cry  of  distress? 


The  Churches  and  the 
American  Red  Cross 

The  church  as  a  whole  is  inert  be- 
cause there  is  no  homogeneous  or- 
ganization of  the  church  as  a  whole 


llllillllllillliilllllill 


and  because  it  is  so  thoroughly  institu- 
tionalized and  conventional  that  it 
seems  difficult  to  turn  from  the  usual 
program  and  do  extraordinary  things. 
But  this  is  the  most  extraordinary  hu- 
man crisis  that  has  confronted  the 
modern  church,  and  it  must  arise  to  it 
or  suffer  itself  for  its  immobility  and 
remissness.  It  is  not  enough  to  say 
that  Christians  do  thus  and  so  to  meet 
the  crisis ;  it  would  be  quite  as  honest 
for  the  government  to  leave  the  fight- 
ing to  the  Americans  who  have  volun- 
teered under  other  flags  and  then  say, 
"but  Americans  did  it."  It  will  be 
cowardly  in  the  churches  to  say,  "It 
was  our  influence  in  individuals"  that 
bound  up  the  wounds  when  they  have 
as  churches  done  nothing.  So  we  face 
the  practical  issue,  "What  can  the 
churches  do?" 

The  Federal  Council  offers  the  only 
chance  for  homogeneous  action  and 
their  recent  meeting  in  Washington  of- 
fered suggestions  to  the  local  congrega- 
tions ;  that  was  the  best  they  could  do 
with  our  present  heterogeneity.  But 
there  is  one  very  practical  thing  every 
local  church  can  do;  it  can  support  the 
American  Red  Cross.  The  Red  Cross 
is  Christianity  at  work  in  both  the 
name  and  the  spirit  of  the  Great  Physi- 
cian— the  compassionate  Christ  who 
went  about  doing  good.  It  flies  his 
emblem  and  carries  the  sacred  sym- 
bolry  of  the  Cross  by  the  side  of  all  the 
flags,  whether  pagan  or  Christian;  it 
knows  neither  race  nor  creed  but  only 
mercy  under  the  sacrificial  cross.  It 
furnishes  the  homogeneous  organiza- 
tion and  scientific  efficiency  and  com- 
bines all  the  necessary  elements  for  the 
most  practical  and  efficient  and  merci- 
ful administration  of  Christian  help  in 
times  of  emergency.  Japan  has  1,800,- 
000  members.  Shall  pagan  Japan  out- 
run Christian  America  in  fealty  to  this 
Sign  of  the  Cross  at  a  time  when  hu- 
manity perishes  ? 

Every  pastor  can  give  his  people  a 
rousing  sermon  on  the  matter  and  en- 
list members  while  his  plea  rings  in  the 
ears  of  his  people ;  and  he  can  organize 
his  women  members  to  make  Red 
Cross  supplies.  Here  is  a  concrete, 
tangible  service  for  every  church.  If 
specific  directions  are  desired,  write 
the  editor  of  this  page  at  Columbia, 
Mo. 

*     *     * 

The  Soil— 
The  Gift  of  God 

With  the  cause  of  humanity,  democ- 
racy and  the  future  peace  of  the  world 
seeming  to  hang  on  the  productivity  of 
our  American  farms  we  are  brought  to 


see  the  soil  as  the  very  gift  of  God, 
something  as  the  dweller  in  Judea 
looks  upon  water  in  that  "dry  and 
thirsty  land"  until  the  water  carriers 
cry  in  the  streets  "the  gift  of  God." 

Our  American  soil  has  been  little 
treated  as  God's  gift  for  the  sustenance 
of  humanity.  It  has  been  robbed  of  its 
fertility  to  enrich  the  man  who  tilled 
it  for  the  time  being ;  it  has  been  traded 
upon  as  if  it  were  a  thing  made  by  the 
hands  of  the  man  who  happened  to 
possess  a  title  deed  to  it;  it  has  been 
flung  out  in  dominions  to  railroads  and 
corporations  and  other  speculators, 
who  have  held  it  until  time  and  fortune 
would  add  to  human  need  for  it 
enough  to  compel  homeseekers  to  pay 
a  large  profit  for  it;  but  seldom  has 
anyone  arisen  to  name  it  as  God's  gift 
to  the  human  race  as  a  means  to 
answering  our  prayer  for  daily  bread ; 
and  now  the  starving  world  cries  for 
bread  and  the  American  farmer  must, 
in  God's  name,  answer  the  prayer. 

And  this  farmer  faces  inflated  prices 
on  the  land  that  are  all  too  often  mani- 
fested to  him  in  the  language  of  chattel 
mortgages  and  high  rates  of  interest; 
or  as  a  tiller  of  the  soil  nature  is  pro- 
hibited by  the  title  deeds  of  others 
from  furnishing  him  a  homestead  of 
his  own  and  the  main  fruits  of  his 
toil  must  go  to  pay  small  interest  upon 
the  artificial  values  our  land  arrange- 
ments foist  upon  the  holder  of  the 
deed.  He  turns  to  the  banker  to  get 
funds  for  the  larger  sowing  the  gov- 
ernment asks  and  is  met  by  the  "busi- 
ness as  usual"  slogan  in  the  form  of 
the  "usual"  rates  of  interest  with  the 
"usual"  ironclad  security  which  good 
business  demands. 

What  if  the  soil  were  sacred  to  the 
uses  of  humanity  and  held  inviolate  to 
the  homemaker  and  breadwinner  and 
then  this  homemaker  and  breadwinner 
looked  upon  it  as  a  trust  from  the  Cre- 
ator and  preserved  its  fertility  inviolate 
and  devoted  it  zealously  to  furnishing 
the  world  its  daily  bread  without  the 
interference  of  wheat  speculator  and 
the  traitorous  war  manipulator  of 
food  ?  The  world  would  be  fed  by  the 
soil  as  the  Gift  of  God  where  humanity 
may  perish  with  it  used  as  the  pawn 
of  speculation. , 


God  is  continually  giving.  He  will 
not  withhold  from  you  or  me.  I 
hold  up  my  little  cup;  He  fills  it  full. 
If  yours  is  greater,  rejoice  in  that,  and 
bring  it  to  the  same  Fountain.  Were 
your  little  cup  to  become  as  large  as 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  He  still  would  fill 
it. — Theodore  Parker. 


J 


llllllllllllllllllii 


■ 


The  Larger  Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 

Willi 


By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


Farewell  to 

Joseph  Fort  Newton 

The  New  York  Federation  of 
Churches  brought  together  forty  lead- 
ing ministers  of  the  city  on  May  5  for 
a  farewell  dinner  to  Rev.  Joseph  Fort 
Newton,  who  was  passing  through  the 
city  on  his  way  to  London  where  he 
will  be  the  spiritual  successor  to  Jo- 
seph Parker  and  the  Rev.  Reginald  J. 
Campbell.  Dr.  Newton  was  toasted  by 
his  confreres  of  the  Universalist  min- 
istry, which  fellowship  he  is  leaving, 
and  by  the  Congregationalists,  into 
which  fellowship  he  is  going.  Men  of 
the  other  denominations  were  present, 
and  Dr.  Newton  in  his  reply  expressed 
earnest  appreciation  of  his  experiences 
in  the  Baptist  church  where  he  began 
the  Christian  life.  Truly,  the  business 
of  changing  denominations  is  attended 
with  more  courtesy  than  in  the  old 
days.  This  farewell  dinner  is  some- 
thing rather  new  in  the  experience  of 
evangelical  churches. 

Presbyterians 
Vote  for  Union 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  in  the  U.  S.  A.  in  ses- 
sion at  Dallas,  Texas,  has  voted  with 
the  greatest  enthusiasm  to  make  over- 
tures to  their  southern  brethren  for 
union.  The  southern  body  is  a  very 
conservative  one,  but  it  is  thought  that 
the  union  may  be  consummated.  The 
Methodists  still  have  their  union  prop- 
osition pending.  The  Baptists  alone 
are  divided  on  sectional  lines  and  at 
present  have  made  no  significant  moves 
in  the  direction  of  restoring  harmony 
in  their  fellowship.  When  religion  is 
no  longer  divided  north  and  south, 
the  nation  will  have  a  better  chance  to 
forget  the  sectional  spirit. 

Leading  Methodist  to  Be 
Social  Service  Secretary 

Rev.  Worth  M.  Tippy  had  until  re- 
cently the  distinction  of  preaching  in 
the  Methodist  church  which  paid  the 
largest  salary  received  in  that  denomi- 
nation. He  resigned  his  pulpit  to  ac- 
cept the  position  of  secretary  to  the 
social  service  commission  of  the  Fed- 
eral Council  of  Churches.  He  is  also 
in  the  rank  of  associate  secretary  of 
the  Council  itself. 

Bishop  of  London 
Is  Unconventional 

The  Bishop  of  London  is  regarded 
as  unconventional  by  some  of  his  dig- 
nified confreres.  He  recently  walked 
on  foot  through  the  metropolitan  area 


■Hill 


of  London,  stopping  at  frequent  inter- 
vals to  preach.  It  is  said  he  talked 
plainly  on  plain  things.  He  arraigned 
England  for  spending  350,000,000 
pounds  on  alcoholic  liquor  during  the 
war.  He  also  spoke  with  great  plain- 
ness about  many  other  matters  of  a 
moral  nature.  Among  other  things  he 
denounced  the  salacious  tendencies  in 
the  theaters  and  spoke  of  the  immod- 
est dress  of  the  women  of  London. 
All  of  which  marks  him  as  rather  more 
of  a  Puritan  than  an  Episcopalian. 

English  Sunday  Schools 
Going  Down 

The  evangelical  churches  of  Great 
Britain  are  living  in  difficult  times. 
Even  before  the  war  they  were  suf- 
fering decline,  especially  in  the  matter 
of  Sunday  school  membership.  The 
condition  has  grown  so  bad  lately  that 
the  churches  are  asking  if  the  Sunday 
school  can  continue.  With  the  decline 
of  Sunday  school  work,  there  has  been 
a  corresponding  decline  in  the  number 
of  confessions  of  faith  in  the  churches. 
The  free  churches  are  facing  this  prob- 
lem with  great  earnestness. 

Congregationalists  Change 
Meeting  Place 

The  Congregationalists  had  planned 
to  go  to  the  coast  in  the  fall  for  their 
National  Council,  but  as  a  measure  of 
war  economy  they  have  decided  to  hold 
the  Council  in  Columbus  beginning  Oc- 
tober 10. 

Theological  Education 
Inefficient 

A  recent  clerical  "round  robin"  ad- 
dressed to  "the  leaders  of  the  Church 
of  England"  says  this  of  the  present 
status  of  theological  education :  "The 
National  Church  does  not  provide  a 
system  of  theological  training  which 
can  be  compared  in  thoroughness  with 
that  provided  by  the  Presbyterian  or 
the  majority  of  the  Free  Churches. 
Our  colleges  represent  sectional  inter- 
ests and  lack  adequate  endowments. 
Consequently,  the  education  is  meagre 
and  one-sided,  and  while  the  clergy 
have  seldom  been  more  industrious 
and  devout,  they  tend,  as  a  whole,  to 
be  out  of  touch  with  the  life  and 
thought  of  the  people.  The  teaching 
of  the  Church  fails  to  grip  and  con- 
vince the  modern  mind,  chiefly  because 
it  is  not  expressed  in  intelligible  and 
living  terms.  Will  the  bishops  appoint 
a  small  commission,  men  and  women, 
of  various  classes,  to  investigate  and 
to  remedy  the  evil?" 


Mobilizing 
the  Church 

The  following  is  the  message  of  Dr. 
J.  H.  Jowett  to  the  American  Church 
concerning  its  duty  in  this  time  of  war : 
"The  Church  must  mobilize  her  pow- 
ers of  intercession.  She  must  nourish 
her  ideals  by  the  inspiration  of  the 
Word  of  God.  She  must  enthuse  her 
own  courage  and  the  courage  of  the 
people  by  proclaiming  the  most  exalted 
conception  of  the  national  cause.  She 
must  call  upon  her  sons  and  daughters 
to  count  it  a  glorious  privilege  to  rally 
to  the  nation  in  the  service  of  the  King 
of  righteousness.  In  a  word,  the 
Church  must  be  the  Church  militant, 
the  burning  antagonist  of  established 
iniquity,  and  she  must  travel  to  her 
end  if  need  be  through  peril,  toil,  and 
pain." 

Evolution  or  Honesty 
the  Test? 

To  the  question  propounded  recently 
whether  a  man  could  be  a  Christian 
and  still  fail  to  believe  the  generally 
accepted  theory  of  the  creation  as  re- 
corded in  Genesis,  Dr.  S.  Parkes  Cad- 
man  replied  with  striking  effect:  "He 
can  take  any  account  of  the  creation 
he  pleases,  and  be  a  Christian,  but  he 
cannot  be  a  Christian  and  put  sand  in 
the  sugar."  In  other  words,  faith 
without  works  may  be  dead ;  but  faith 
with  wicked  works  is  sinfully  alive. 

Endow  a 
City  Church 

All  church  leaders  know  that  the 
down  town  churches  in  the  great 
cities  must  be  endowed  or  else  be 
driven  back  into  the  suburbs.  It  is 
gratifying  to  hear  the  announcement 
of  a  gift  of  $100,000  for  Second  Pres- 
byterian church,  Chicago,  of  which 
Rev.  John  W.  Maclvor  is  pastor. 
Mrs.  Margaret  L.  Butler  is  the  donor. 
It  is  stated  that  the  funds  will  be  in- 
vested in  such  way  as  to  produce  an 
income  of  six  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

Russian  Monk  Preaching 
in  This  Country 

George  Philipsky  is  a  former  Rus- 
sian monk  who  was  banished  to  the 
Ural  mountains  because  of  his  Chris- 
tian activities.  He  later  escaped  to 
America  and  is  now  at  work  among 
the  munition  workers  at  Hopewell, 
Va.  While  he  is  supported  by  the 
Presbyterian  board,  he  declares  it  is 
his  purpose  to  work  among  his  coun- 
trymen in  such  way  as  "to  make 
Christians — not  Presbyterians  or  Bap- 
tists or  Methodists,  but  Christians." 


18 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  31,  191S 


£■    .  :.  :.r:. .;'..:..  \.::::i::: 


iil!!ll!!IIIIIIIIIII!Iiilillll!i 


The  Sunday  School 


iiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiniiii 


initiiiiiii 


Love's  Way  on  the  Cross 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
By  E.  F.  DAUGHERTY 


llillll!lll!,7s 


i  i  I ESUS  died  for  our  sins !" 
Men  and  angels  have  never, 
**-'  will  never  cease  to  wonder 
at  the  fact.  When  the  fact  got  under 
the  skull  of  Paul  and  stormed  his 
heart,  it  swept  him  to  the  pinnacle 
of  determination  to  "know  nothing 
but  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified  !" 
Though  it  was  as  "King  of  the  Jews" 
he  met  that  ignominious  death,  it  is 
as  King  of  the  Hearts  of  Men  that 
he  persists  the  ages  through,  for  he 
grips  them  as  no  other  personage 
ever  did  or  can,  whether  they  be 
Jew  or  Gentile,  bond  or  free.  Any 
life  of  any  age  in  the  world,  accept- 
ing Jesus'  claims,  must  tremble  be- 
fore the  marvel  of  "he  loved  me  and 
gave  himself  to  die  for  me" — must 
say  in  words  like  those  of  the  song, 
"I  stand  all  amazed  at  the  love 
Jesus   offers   me." 

There  it  is — L-O-V-E — incarnate, 
universal,  yet  personal,  exemplifying 
its  essential  nature  in  the  last  life 
test  of — death.  "He  saved  others, 
himself  he  could  not  save" — and  love 
never  has  saved  itself  first,  but  al- 
ways others  first,  and  in  that  "other- 
ism"  finds  its  own.  So  was  exempli- 
fied the  deepest  law  of  the  immortal 
spirits  of  men,  "Except  a  grain  of 
wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die, 
it  abideth  alone." 

*     ♦     * 

How  the  curious  minds  of  time 
have  shrouded  this  fact  of  love's  na- 
ture with  theological  dogma,  philo- 
sophic vagary,  and  casuistical  sophis- 
try! The  exact  place  of  the  cruci- 
fixion, the  particular  and  certain 
day,  the  hour  in  that  day,  the  height 
of  the  cross,  the  reason  for  the 
"words"  therefrom,  the  states  of 
mind  in  the  various  beholders — 
about  these  matters  and  other  inci- 
dental things,  tomes  of  wisdom  have 
been  printed — but  wise  hearts  and 
simple,  great  hearts  and  small, 
young  hearts  and  old,  miserly  hearts 
and  generous — yea,  hearts  of  all 
types — feel  the  thrill  of  the  out- 
standing fact  in  the  earth-born 
career  of  Jesus  Christ.  "He  died  for 
our  sins."  The  innocent  for  the 
guilty,  the  pure  for  the  splotched, 
the   mighty   for  the   impotent. 


*This  article  is  based  on  the  Interna- 
tional Uniform  Sunday  school  lesson  for 
June  10,  "Jesus  Crucified."  Scripture, 
John  19:  16-30. 


At-one-ment  with  God  is  the 
thing  in  this  fact  that  makes  it  su- 
preme over  all  other  facts  in  human 
thought.  Taking  Jesus  for  what  he 
was  and  is,  any  soul  can  come  forth- 
with to  peace,  and  there's  the  deep, 
persistent  passion  of  the  universal 
human  heart — the  passion  for  peace. 
Nowhere  can  it  ever  be  had  by 
either  the  individual  conscience  at 
war  with  itself  and  God,  nor  amid 
the  nationalistic  rivalries  where  in 
war's  way  soldiers  and  sailors  and 
civilians  sacrifice  their  all  to  Mars — 
nowhere  can  peace  ever  come  save 
at  the  foot  of  the  cross  whereon 
"Jesus  died  for  our  sins." 
*     *     * 

Here — at  the  foot  of  the  Cross — 
some  day,  nations  no  less  than  indi- 


viduals and  righteousness  -  loving 
groups,  will  sit  enthralled  by  the 
marvel  of  the  love  which  ever  could 
but  never  does  "save  itself"  first ! 

On  the  scientific  pronunciamento 
that  "self-preservation  is  the  first 
law  of  life"  the  nations  fight  today; 
on  it  the  hordes  of  earth  have  builded 
their  vast  achievements ;  by  it  clear- 
ance is  had  ofttimes  when  murder 
is  charged  by  courts ;  in  it  the  world 
seems  unanimously  to  acquiesce  on 
the  last  resort.  It  is  scientific  evo- 
lution's heart  and  core — and  but- 
tresses the  reign  of  the  "survival  of 
the  fittest." 


Let  us  take  pause  today  in  con- 
templation of  the  "fittest"  who  are 
dying  on  war's  fields  by  that  law's 
operation.  Then  pause  with  longer 
thought  of  love's  way  on  the  cross. 
Is  there  eternal  incompatability 
here?  Some  how,  some  way,  some 
day  the  clashing  in  our  lines  of 
thought  will  be  straightened,  and 
the  world  will  see  clearly  all  items  of 
reconciliation  in  world  paths  of  love. 
Surely  the  Lord  God  Almighty  will 
make  them  plainer  when  the  present 
days  of  strife  shall  have  passed. 


BOOKS  ON  EVANGELISM 

Recruiting   for   Christ — John   Timothy  Stone.     Hand-to-Hand  Methods 

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The  Real  Billy  Sunday— "Ram's  Horn"  Brown.    $1.00  net. 
The  Soul- Winning  Church — Len  G.  Broughton.    50c  net. 
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THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


19 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


Commencement  Program  at 
Hiram  College 

The  commencement  program  at  Hi- 
ram will  be  carried  out  as  usual  this  year. 
Sunday  morning,  June  10,  the  baccalau- 
reate sermon  will  be  preached  by  Presi- 
dent .M.  L.  Bates.  On  Monday  evening, 
June  11,  an  opera,  "The  Sorcerer,"  will 
be  presented  by  the  Musical  Art  Society 
of  the  college.  On  Tuesday  morning, 
June  12,  the  commencement  exercises 
will  be  held  and  Dr.  Hugh  Black  of  New 
York  City,  will  give  the  address  on  this 
occasion.  On  Tuesday  evening  the  liter- 
ary societies  will  present  the  play,  "The 
Passing  of  the  Third  Floor  Back."  The 
senior  class  this  year  at  Hiram  numbers 
forty-six  and  is  one  of  the  largest  classes 
ever  graduated  from  the  school.  There 
is  also  one  post  graduate. 

Founders  Day  at  Drake 
University 

May  8th  was  observed  this  year  at 
Drake  as  Founders  Day.  Thirty-six 
years  ago  the  articles  of  incorporation 
were  filed.  President  Bell  delivered  a 
congratulatory  address;  C.  O.  Denny, 
having  been  a  member  of  the  faculty 
since  1889,  paid  tribute  to  the  founders 
of  the  school;  Geo.  A.  Jewett  recounted 
incidents  connected  with  the  founding 
of  the  institution,  and  Edward  Scribner 
Ames,  of  Chicago  (Drake,  '89),  delivered 
the  principal  address,  which  is  highly 
spoken  of  by  the  Christian  Worker,  of 
Des  Moines.  In  the  evening  a  banquet 
was  served  at  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. There  were  toasts  and  re- 
sponses, and  Dr.  Ames  was  again  chief 
speaker.  During  the  banquet  hour  Presi- 
dent Bell  received  telegrams  from  vari- 
ous gatherings  of  the  alumni  at  other 
places,  who  were  also  celebrating  the 
day.  s  *!  |  g 

Indiana's  1918  Convention  to 
Meet  at  Newcastle 

Newcastle,  Ind.,  won  over  Vincennes 
by  a  close  vote  in  the  contest  for  the  en- 
tertainment of  the  1918  Indiana  conven- 
tion. The  new  officers  of  the  state  or- 
ganization of  Disciples,  elected  at  the  re- 
cent Kokomo  convention,  are  as  follows: 
President,  Paul  Preston,  Angola;  vice- 
president,  Clay  Trusty,  Indianapolis; 
secretary,  Carl  Burkhart,  Franklin.  The 
advisory  board  is:  Cecil  J.  Sharp,  Ham- 
mond; C.  E.  Underwood,  Indianapolis; 
G.  B.  Davis,  North  Salem;  W.  E.  Carrol, 
Shelbyville;  C.  H.  Winders,  Indianapo- 
lis; H.  G.  Connelly,  New  Albany,  and  W. 
E.    M.    Hackleman,    Indianapolis. 

Community  Plans  at  First 
Church,  Kansas  City 

"The  Task  of  the  Down-Town 
Church"  is  a  booklet  gotten  out  by  First 
church,  Kansas  City,  of  which  J.  E.  Da- 
vis is  pastor.  It  contains  the  pictures 
of  T.  P.  Haley,  who  was  pastor  of  the 
church  from  1881  to  1894,  W.  F.  Richard- 
son, who  was  pastor  from  1894  to  1917, 
and  J.  E.  Davis,  who  assumed  the  pas- 
torate, February  1,  1917.  "The  Task  of 
the  Down-Town  Church"  sets  forth  the 
history  of  the  old  First  Church  and  its 
accomplishments,  together  with  the  out- 
look and  plans  for  the  future.  The  plan 
is  to  make  the  church  not  only  a  preach- 
ing center,  but  a  social  service  center  as 
well.      The    church    is    located    "within 


mil 


three  blocks  of  the  retail  center,  in  a  ter- 
ritory filled  with  rooming  houses"  and 
in  close  proximity  to  many  of  Kansas 
City's  educational  institutions. 

Disciples  in  Convention 
at  Waynesboro,  Pa. 

The  Christian  Missionary  Society  of 
Maryland,  Delaware,  and  the  District  of 
Columbia  celebrated  the  close  of  the 
best  year  in  its  history  at  its  fortieth  an- 
nual convention  held  at  Waynesboro, 
Pa.,  May  21  to  24.  The  society  received 
$3,366.07  during  the  year.  The  contribu- 
tions from  churches  were  $350  more  than 
for  the  preceding  year.  Mission  churches 
were  assisted  to  the  extent  of  $2,642.53. 
Expenses  of  operation  were  only  $166.04. 
The  balance  in  the  treasury  was  $766.34. 
Reports  from  46  out  of  48  churches  in 
the  territory  of  the  society  showed  a 
membership  of  9,356,  with  1,135  addi- 
tions including  636  baptisms.  The 
churches  raised  $133,826  for  all  purposes. 
Special  items  of  progress  were  reported 
by  several  churches  in  spite  of  the  stress 
of  the  times.  The  program  included 
"preachers'  day"  and  sessions  devoted  to 
the  work  of  the  Bible  schools,  Christian 
Endeavor  Societies,  and  the  C.  W.  B. 
M.  auxiliaries,  besides  the  general  ses- 
sions. Some  addresses  of  high  charac- 
ter were  made  by  J.  M.  Philputt,  R.  H. 
Miller,  Grant  K.  Lewis,  P.  A.  Cave  and 
Peter  Ainslie.  The  music  was  in  charge 
of  Joyce  H.  Thomas.  A  tone  of  progress 
and  optimism  pervaded  the  whole  con- 
vention. Francis  H.  Scott,  of  Baltimore, 
was  elected  president  of  the  society  for 
the  coming  year.  The  Waynesboro 
church,  under  the  ministry  of  C.  A. 
Frick,  has  made  good  growth  and  has 
enlarged  and  improved  its  building. 

Program  of  Missouri's 
State  Convention 

The  date  of  the  annual  convention  of 
the  Missouri  Disciples  is  June  12-14,  and 
the  place  Mexico.  The  C.  W.  B.  M.  ses- 
sions will  occupy  the  Tuesday  afternoon 
and  evening  periods,  Mrs.  Ralph  Lat- 
shaw,  president,  being  in  charge.  Mrs. 
Bertha  Lacock  will  give  an  address  at 
the  evening  session.  On  Wednesday 
morning  county  and  district  work  will 
be  discussed,  and  the  convention  sermon 
will  be  delivered  by  E.  F.  Leake,  of  In- 
dependence, his  theme  being  "The 
Church  and  the  Community."  A  feature 
of  Wednesday  afternoon  will  be  a  series 
of  "Parallel  Conferences  on  the  Local 
Church."  E.  M.  Todd,  of  Christian  Uni- 
versity, will  give  an  address  on  "Re- 
ligious Education."  M.  A.  Hart,  state 
president,  will  give  his  address  on 
Wednesday  evening.  A.  E.  Cory  will 
speak  on  the  "Men  and  Millions  Move- 
ment." C.  Emerson  Miller,  of  Mary- 
ville,  will  deliver  an  address,  represent- 
ing all  the  missionary  interests,  on 
Thursday  morning.  In  the  afternoon 
Geo.  E.  Roberts,  of  Trenton,  will  speak 
on  the  "Every  Member  Canvass,"  and 
four  fifteen-minute  addresses  will  be  given 
by  R.  E.  Emberson,  Columbia,  on  "The 
Rural  Church":  Prof.  W.  H.  Pommer. 
Columbia,  on  "Church  Music";  M.  C. 
Hutchinson,    Fulton,    on    "The    Relation 

lUtlliltrlHIIIIHtHlllllllltllllHIilllllMllllllUllilllllMIIIIMIIIIIHIinilllllirillllltlllllirilllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllU 

"To  my  mind  the  'Century'  incarnates 
the  very  spirit  that  originated  and  that 
perpetuates  today  our  religious  move- 
ment."— L.  O.  Bricker,  Atlanta,  Ga. 


of  the  Bible  School  and  the  Morning 
Service,"  and  Ellmore  Sinclair,  Kansas 
City,  on  "Continuous  Evangelism."  At 
a  men's  banquet  at  5:30,  speakers  will  in- 
clude R.  F.  Lozier,  Carrollton;  J.  Kelly 
Pool,  Jefferson  City,  and  Hon.  Champ 
Clark  of  Washington,  D.  C.  At  the  wo- 
men's banquet  at  the  same  hour  speak- 
ers will  be  Miss  Serena  Atchison,  Miss 
Ida  M.  Irvin  and  Mrs.  E.  E.  Francis. 
On  Thursday  evening  C.  C.  Morrison  • 
will  speak  on  "The  Church  in  the  Midst 
of  a  World  War,';  and  P.  H.  Baker,  of 
Westerville,  O.,  will  consider  the  theme, 
"A  Dry  Nation."  An  especially  fine  fea- 
ture of  this  convention  is  the  emphasis 
being  placed  on  "the  reverent  attitude" 
in  relation  to  various  phases  of  church 
activity.  Brief  talks  emphasizing  rever- 
ence in  work  and  worship  of  the  church, 
Sunday  school,  etc.,  will  be  given  by  H. 
P.  Atkins,  J.  E.  Davis,  E.  B.  Shively,  R. 
M.  Talbert,  J.  H.  Coil,  E.  E.  Francis 
and  B.  A.  Abbott.  It  should  be  noted 
that  the  State  Ministerial  Association 
has  arranged  a  program  for  Monday 
evening  and  Tuesday  morning,  with  the 
following  features:  Address,  "The 
Young  and  the  High  Cost  of  Amuse- 
ment," Prof.  W.  A.  McKeever,  Univer- 
sity of  Kansas;  President  B.  L.  Smith's 
address,  "The  Rising  or  the  Setting 
Sun?";  paper,  "The  Student's  Side  of  a 
Preacher's  Life,"  F.  L.  Moffett.  Spring- 
field; address,  "The  Church  and  Con- 
structive Child  Welfare,"  Professor  Mc- 
Keever. All  persons  expecting  to  be 
present  at  the  convention  sessions  should 
write  to  Mrs.  O.  A.  Adams,  chairman 
registration   committee,    Mexico,    Mo. 

"Temperance  Sunday"  at 
Bloomington,   111.,   First 

First  church  Sunday  school  at  Bloom- 
ington, 111.,  observed  Temperance  Sun- 
day on  May  20,  with  a  playlet  entitled, 
"The  Children's  Tribute  to  the  Prohibi- 
tion States,"  a  production  of  the  Na- 
tional Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union  of  Evanston.  The  program  was 
in  charge  of  Miss  Grace  Peck,  temper- 
ance superintendent  and  office  secretary 
of  the  church  and  school,  and  was  wit- 
nessed by  more  than  500  persons.  A 
large  American  flag  was  borne  to  the 
platform  by  a  Junior  boy.  and  the  wreath 
bearer  was  a  little  girl  from  the  same 
department.  The  readings  by  an  Inter- 
mediate young  lady  as  Miss  Columbia, 
and  the  appeal  from  a  "son  of  Illinois" 
were  especially  effective.  A  trio,  "The 
Children's  Happy  Day,"  was  sung  by 
three  young  ladies  and  assisted  on  the 
chorus  by  the  states.  Nineteen  young 
ladies  in  white  representing  as  many 
prohibition  states,  were  present;  and 
Illinois  in  her  robe  of  black  gave  the 
voters  another  chance  to  think.  The 
regular  Sunday  school  organist,  Mr. 
Elmo  Dillon,  was  in  charge  of  the  music 
and  played  "Home  Sweet  Home"  and 
"Dixie"  during  the  readings  by  Miss 
Columbia.  The  program  closed  with  an 
organ  number,  "The  Star  Spangled  Ban- 
ner." In  the  course  of  the  drilling  for 
the  program  Miss  Peck  learned  that  in 
her  corps  of  states  was  a  local  barten- 
der's daughter  taking  the  part  of  Wash- 
ington; and  that  the  gown  Miss  Colum- 
bia was  to  wear  was  being  made  by  a 
bartender's  wife  and  aunt  of  the  young 
lady  assuming  that  part. 

Old  Soldier  of  Christ 
Fights  for  Country 

S.  D.  Martin  of  Portland,  Ore.,  a  Cu- 
ban war  veteran,  and  who  claims  to  be 
the  first  Disciple  preacher  in  Alaska, 
having  preached  for  a  year  (1901-2),  up 
and  down  the  Yukon,  is  now  busy  again 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


May  31,  1917 


as  a  soldier  of  the  legion,  as  well  as  of 
the  Cross.  He  has  just  organized  in  a 
farming  community  a  company  of  the 
1st  Oregon  reserves,  was  unanimously 
elected  its  captain,  and  now  drills  the 
unit  "regularly  and  frequently."  Al- 
though primarily  a  minister,  having  been 
educated  at  Drake  University  under  the 
tutelege  of  A.  I.  Hobbs  and  Chancellor 
Carpenter,  and  having  held  good  pasto- 
rates, at  each  outbreak  of  war  he  has 
resigned  the  local  pulpit  and  volunteered 
to  shoulder  a  rifle  and  go  into  the 
trenches.  In  1S98  he  went  to  Cuba  and 
to  Porto  Rico,  and  after  eight  months  of 
active  service  was  mustered  out.  A  few 
days  later  the  Philippine  insurrection  be- 
gan, and  he  immediately  re-enlisted  "for 
the  period  of  war,"  and  put  in  three 
years  more  of  hard  service.  Then,  after 
IS  years  of  quiet  home  life  and  church 
work  he  last  year  enlisted  in  the  3rd  Ore. 
X.  G..  going  to  the  border  and  remaining 
with  the  regiment  six  months  until  dis- 
charged. This  year,  when  his  regiment 
was  called  out  in  view  of  the  German 
crisis,  he  at  once  offered  himself  again, 
but  was  rejected  because  of  an  order  to 
not  enlist  any  married  men.  This  was 
the  fourth  time  in  20  years  that  he  had 
answered  the  call  to  the  colors  on  the 
very  day  that  it  was  issued  by  the  presi- 
dent. 

*     *     * 

— One  of  the  forward  steps  at  Transyl- 
vania for  the  new  year  is  the  buying  of 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  commodi- 
ous residences  in  Lexington  for  a  girl's 
residential  hall.  The  home  is  on  spa- 
cious grounds  just  opposite  the  campus. 

— A.  LeRoy  Huff,  new  pastor  at 
Charleston,  111.,  is  planning  a  course  of 
five  lectures  to  be  given  before  a  hun- 
dred or  more  normal  students  in  attend- 
ance at  Charleston  during  the  summer. 
Mr.  Huff  preached  the  memorial  sermon 
at  Charleston  last  Sunday  by  invitation 
of  the  local  G.  A.  R.  organization. 

— Franklin  Circle  Church,  Cleveland, 
O.,  made  its  third  contribution  to  the 
starving  peoples  of  war-ridden  Europe  a 
week  ago,  after  a  presentation  of  condi- 
tions by  the  pastor,  W.  F.  Rothenburger. 
This  offering  amounted  to  over  $717. 
This  congregation  holds  that  the  Chris- 
tians of  America  have  an  immediate  duty 
to  perform  in  saving  the  lives  of  the 
unfortunates  of  the  war  lands.  The  late 
offering  will  go  to  the  Belgian  sufferers. 

— O.  W.  McGaughey,  pastor  at  Vee- 
dersburg,  Ind.,  reports  that  last  Sunday 
week  he  ordained  to  the  Christian  min- 
istry George  C.  Warren,  a  grandson  of 
the  late  Luke  C.  Warren,  a  pioneer 
preacher  of  Western  Indiana,  and  a  son 
of  O.  P.  Warren,  of  Veedersburg.  Young 
Mr.  Warren  is  a  good  preacher,  Mr.  Mc- 
Gaughey writes,  a  graduate  of  Wabash 
College;  he  has  had  also  two  years'  train- 
ing in  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New 
York.  If  he  should  not  be  accepted  by 
the  Government  for  Red  Cross  service, 
Mr.  Warren  plans  to  return  to  Union  in 
the  autumn  to  complete  work  for  his 
degree.  Mr.  McGaughey  reports  seven 
added  at  Veedersburg  since  last  report. 

— Harry  L.  Ice,  who  was  called  to  suc- 
ceed C.  M.  Smail  at  Beaver  Falls,  Pa., 
began  his  new  work  on  May  6.  On  May 
24,  an  informal  reception  and  installation 
was  held  at  the  church.  J.  M.  Scholes, 
pastor  at  Johnstown,  gave  the  charge 
to  the  pastor;  C.  H.  Bloom,  of  Beaver, 
Pa.,  the  charge  to  the  church. 

— George  W.  Schroeder,  of  Rudolph, 
O.,  church,  gave  the  Memorial  Day  ad- 
dress at  Jerry  City,  O.,  this  year.  He 
also  received  invitation  to  give  the  ad- 
dress at  Custer,  O.,  for  same  date. 


— Byron  Hester,  Chickasha,  Okla., 
preached  the  baccalaureate  sermon  for 
the  local  high  school  on  May  27. 

— The  church  at  Beaver,  Pa.,  Charles 
H.  Bloom,  pastor,  has  given  $1,500  for 
the  Men  and  "Millions  Movement,"  as 
well  as  being  on  record  as  "unanimous" 
for  missions.  The  congregation  has 
been  making  inroads  also  on  a  very 
heavy  debt.  There  have  been  sixty  ac- 
cessions to  the  church  membership  dur- 
ing the  20  months  pastorate  of  Mr. 
Bloom. 

— F.  Lewis  Starbuck,  of  Howett  Street 
church,  Peoria,  111.,  is  chairman  of  the 
newly  elected  arbitration  committee  of 
the  local  Association  of  Commerce. 

— Stephen  J.  Corey  has  been  with  the 
Men  and  Millions  Team  in  North  Caro- 
lina for  the  last  three  weeks. 

— The  conference  of  all  the  mission- 
aries on  furlough  and  the  outgoing  mis- 
sionaries of  both  the  Foreign  Society 
and  the  C.  W.  B.  M.  will  be  held  at  In- 
dianapolis in  the  College  of  Missions, 
June  19-22. 

— The  special  mothers'  day  service  at 
East  Union  in  Nicholas  county,  Ky., 
was  a  great  success,  writes  Paul  M. 
Trout,  minister.  There  were  265  in  at- 
tendance at  Sunday  school  and  over  500 
present  at  preaching  service.  It  was  an- 
nounced that  the  offering  of  the  day 
would  go  toward  the  painting  of  the 
church.  The  offering  amounted  to 
$120.20.  This  congregation  has  just 
completed  the  building  of  Sunday  school 
rooms.  The  treasurer  reports  that  the 
church  is  free  from  debt. 

— Orvis  F.  Jordan,  of  Evanston,  111., 
church,  preached  at  the  University  of 
Chicago  on  last  Sunday  morning,  using 
as  his  theme,  "Religion  and  Today's 
Needs."  In  the  afternoon  he  addressed 
a  mass  meeting  of  the  Odd  Fellows  of 
Austin,  Chicago,  and  vicinity.  About 
800  men  were  present  at  the  Austin  gath- 
ering. 

— Frank  W.  Lynch,  minister  at  Sharon, 
Kan.,  will  again  deliver  the  Memorial  day 


American    Series    of    Five 
Maps 

These  are  lithographed  in  four  colors  on 
muslin  of  superior  quality,  and  measure  36x58 
inches.  Large  lettering  of  names  of  places  is  a 
special  feature  of  all  these  maps.  Each  map 
has  distinctive  features,  but  all  have  large  type, 
clear  and  bold  outlines. 

The  maps  are  as  follows: 
Map  of  Palestine— Illustrating    the   Old    Test- 
ament and  the  Land  as  Divided  among  the 
twelve  tribes. 
Map   of    Palestine— Illustrating  the  New  Test- 
ament. <* 
Map    of    the    Roman  Empire— Illustrating  the 

Journeys  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 
Map  of  Assyria  and  the  Adjacent  Lands— Illust- 
rating the  Captivities  of  the  Jews. 
Map  of  Egypt  and  the  Sinai  Peninsula— Illustrat- 
ing the  Journoyings  of  the  Israelites. 
Any  of  the  above  maps  sold  singly  and  un- 
mounted at  1.00  each,  postpaid. 

These  maps  are  also  furnished  in  a  set  of  S 
that  are  mounted  on  one  specially  constructed 
wooden  roller,  which  is  arranged  to  rest  securely 
on  the  top  of  the  upright  bar  of  the  stand.  The 
stand  is  collapsible  and  is  made  of  steel,  finished 
in  black  Japan. 

Entire  Outfit,  $6  50  Net. 
By  Express  or  Freight  at  Purchaser  s  Exoeoie. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 
709  E.  40th  St.,  Chicago,  111. 


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address  at  Sharon  this  year.  Mr.  Lynch 
also  delivered  the  baccalaureate  sermon 
to  the  Sharon  and  Hazelton,  Kan.,  gradu- 
ating classes. 

— The  quarterly  convention  of  the  Chi- 
cago Union  of  the  Christian  Woman's 
Board  of  Missions  will  be  held  at  Irving 
Park  church,  on  Thursday,  June  7. 
There  will  be  a  devotional  and  business 
session    in    the    morning,    beginning    at 


Disciple  Ministers  Consider  War 


The  Prince  of  Peace  Will 
Bring  World  Peace,  Says 
Chas.  E.  Cobbey,  of  Omaha 

"In  our  boasted  civilization,  every 
dream  of  world  peace  has  been  swept 
away  and  we  are  not  going  to  see  the 
end  of  war  until  all  nations  have  partici- 
pated in  it.  Men  have  felt  that  peace 
might  be  brought  about  by  power,  but 
it  has  failed.  Liberty  and  democracy 
have  failed  in  establishing  world  peace. 
The  dream  that  that  end  would  be  at- 
tained through  knowledge  has  vanished. 
World  peace  cannot  be  established  until 
the  Prince  of  Peace  reigns." 

No  Nation  Can  Now  Live 
Apart,  Says  W.  D.  Endres, 
of  Quincy,  Illinois 

"This  war  is  a  conflict  of  the  idea  that 
'right  makes  might,'  with  the  idea  that 
'might  makes  right.'  This  spirit  of 
'might  makes  right,'  with  the  brutality 
accompanying  it,  knows  no  restraint.  It 
is  the  conflict  of  gross ;  materialism 
against  idealism.  This  spirit  must  be 
eradicated  from  the  world.  Brutality  is 
worthy  only  of  savages.  A  nation  can 
no  longer  live  apart.  A  nation  must  ac- 
cept responsibility  and  have  a  part  in 
international  peace  and  justice.  If  two 
nations  fall  out,  their  conflict  jeopardizes 


the  rights  of  other  nations.  We  have 
been  drawn  into  this  war  on  the  side  of 
humanity  and  for  the  rights  of  mankind. 
We  must  fight  the  foe  of  the  freedom  of 
mankind." 

Preach  Brotherhood,  the 
Goodness  of  God:  Program 
of  B.  A.  Abbott,  St.  Louis 

"I  have  mapped  out  a  course  for  my- 
self as  a  minister  and  pastor.  I  shall 
preach  brotherhood,  the  goodness  of 
God,  the  Saviourhood  of  Jesus  Christ. 
I  shall  try  to  make  the  people  see  that 
worldliness  will  always  get  us  into  such 
trouble  and  that  to  be  spiritually  minded 
is  life  and  peace.  I  shall  try  to  make 
the  people  believe  in  one  another  and  in 
all  men  according  to  the  teaching  of 
Christ.  And  whatever  war-mad  men 
may  say,  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Prince  of 
Peace  and  His  program  for  the  world  is 
peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  men. 
Christianity  is  a  system  of  reconciliation. 
Here  I  take  my  stand  and  when  the  war 
is  over  there  will  be  no  torn  places  in 
Union  Avenue  church  to  be  fixed  up.  As 
for  myself  I  have  never  seen  so  clearly 
the  necessity  of  Jesus  Christ  as  I  do  now 
and  I  have  never  been  so  ardently  a  dis- 
ciple. He  is  the  way  out  and  the  race 
will  suffer  and  bleed  until  it  follows 
Him." 


May  31,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


21 


10:30.  Mrs.  Laura  V.  Porter,  state  presi- 
dent, will  conduct  a  "Topical  Hour." 
After  a  luncheon,  which  will  be  served 
for  25  cents,  there  will  be  an  afternoon 
session,  with  an  address  on  "Church, 
Women  and  the  War,"  by  Miss  Winifred 
L.  Chappell,  assistant  superintendent  of 
the  Methodist  Training  School  of  Chi- 
cago, and  Mrs.  Porter  will  continue  the 
Topical  Hour.  Mrs.  S.  J.  Russell  is 
president  of  the  Chicago  Union. 


„.,.,  .,A  ...A  Church  Home  for  You. 

HEW  YORK  TCiSftm 


— H.  W.  Hunter,  of  Wellington,  Kan., 
church,  has  sent  a  postcard  to  every 
member  of  his  congregation  asking  faith- 
ful attendance  at  church  services,  espe- 
cially during  the  period  of  the  war. 

— The  Los  Angeles  Tribune  recently 
featured  a  write-up  of  First  church,  Los 
Angeles,  Cal.,  labelling  it  as  "a  great  city 
factor."  The  article  also  traces  the  de- 
velopment of  the  Disciples  movement 
in   Southern   California. 

— The  annual  "Old  People's  Dinner" 
was  served  at  University  Place  church, 
Des  Moines,  a  week  ago.  Readings,  mu- 
sic and  brief  talks  were  features  of  the 
occasion.  All  members  of  the  congre- 
gation over  70  are  invited  to  these  yearly 
feasts. 

— Two  interesting  features  of  the  Iowa 
state  program  last  week  at  Des  Moines 
were  addresses  by  Emory  Ross  and  Miss 
Pearson,  missionary  and  to-be-mission- 
ary. It  is  reported  that  Miss  Pearson 
will  soon  be  married  to  Mr.  Ross  and 
accompany  him  back  to  his  field  in 
Africa. 

— The  death  is  reported  of  James  R. 
Shaw,  superintendent  of  the  great  Sun- 
day school  at  Frankfort,  Ky.  Mr.  Shaw 
began  his  service  as  a  superintendent  at 
the  age  of  19;  he  was  69  at  his  death. 

— J.  A.  Canby,  of  the  church  at 
Uhrichsville,  O.,  preached  the  baccalau- 
reate sermon  this  year  for  the  local  high 
school. 

— Finis  Idleman  recently  made  an  au- 
tomobile trip  from  New  York,  through 
Trenton,  Princeton,  Philadelphia  and 
Baltimore  "on  to  Washington." 

— Hill  M.  Bell  has  served  as  president 
of  Drake  University  for  twenty  years, 
having  come  to  the  Des  Moines  school 
from  the  presidency  of  Cotner. 

— "Bible  University  Day"  at  Eugene 
Bible  University  was  observed  on  May 
4,  on  which  occasion  a  large  American 
flag  presented  to  the  school  was  dedi- 
cated to  service. 

— R.  M.  Talbert,  of  Butler,  Mo.,  has 
accepted  the  work  at  Chillicothe,  Mo. 

— R.  W.  Wallace,  of  the  church  at 
Lexington,  Mo.,  occupied  the  pulpit  at 
Liberty,  Mo.,  on  last  Sunday. 

— Charles  S.  Medbury,  of  Des  Moines, 
will  preach  the  baccalaureate  sermon  at 
Drake  on  June  3.  On  June  7  Hon.  Theo- 
dore P.  Shonts,  of  New  York  City,  will 
deliver  the  commencement  address. 

— First  Church,  Bloomington,  111.,  re- 
ports seven  young  men  of  the  congrega- 
tion enlisted  for  service  either  in  the 
army  or  navy.  The  Christian  Century 
would  be  pleased  to  hear  from  other 
churches. 

— It  is  reported  that  E.  M.  Todd  has 
resigned  the  presidency  of  Stockton- 
Culver  College,  Canton,  Mo. 

— Dr.  Irene  T.  Myers,  Professor  of 
History  in  Transylvania  College,  has  re- 


signed from  this  position  to  accept  the 
responsibility  of  Dean  of  Women  and 
Professor  of  History  at  Occidental  Col- 
lege, Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

—Roy  Rutherford,  pastor  at  First 
church,  Paducah,  Ky.,  received  a  letter 
from  his  Congressman,  in  reply  to  his 
inquiry  as  to  the  advisability  of  his  en- 
listing in  the  army,  stating  that  Con- 
gress had  exempted  ministers  from  mili- 
tary service,  believing  that  they  would 
be  of  more  value  at  home  than  with  the 
army.     Mr.  Rutherford  will  not  enlist. 

— W.  G.  Oram  has  resigned  from  the 
work  at  West  Side,  Dayton,  O.,  because 
of  throat  trouble. 

— A  new  automobile  presented  to  W. 
V.  Nelson,  pastor  at  First  church,  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.,  by  his  congregation,  is 
making  Mr.  Nelson's  service  more  ef- 
fective. 

—A.  L.  Hill,  of  Bethany,  Neb.,  will  as- 
sume the  pastorate  at  Havelock  next 
week. 


— A     mass     delegation     from     First 
church,    Louisville,    Ky.,   headed    by   the 


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Editors 


Contains  all  the  great  hymns  which 
have  become  fixed  in  the  affections 
of  the  Church  and  adds  thereto  three 
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HYMNS  OF  SOCIAL  SERVICE 
HYMNS  OF   CHRISTIAN    UNITY 
HYMNS  OF  THE  INNER  LIFE 

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Price,  per  single  copy,  in  cloth,  $1.15 
In  half  leather,  $1.40.  Extraordinary 
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this  book  in  the  early  day*  of  the  first 
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22 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


May  31,  1917 


pastor,  E.  L.  Powell,  called  recently  on 
the  mayor  of  the  city  and  asked  him  to 
close  the  red  light  district  of  Louisville. 

— B.  A.  Abbott,  pastor  at  Union  ave- 
nue, St.  Louis,  Mo.,  has  been  elected 
president  of  the  Church  Federation  of 
St.  Louis. 

— C.  H.  Winders  and  his  congregation 
at  Downey  Avenue  church,  Indianapolis, 
observed  May  20  as  Patriotic  day. 
Among  the  speakers  were  President  T. 
C,  Howe,  of  Butler,  and  Hilton  U. 
Brown,  of  the  Indianapolis  News.  Mr. 
Winders  has  a  son  who  has  enlisted  for 
service  in  the  army. 

— W.  E.  M.  Hackleman,  president  of 
Bethany  assembly,  has  prepared  a  large 
number  of  stereopticon  slides  covering 
the  history  of  the  assembly,  various 
views  of  the  grounds  and  buildings,  and 
the  personnel  of  the  1917  program. 
These  were  shown  at  the  Indiana  State 
Convention  at  Kokomo,  and  will  be 
shown  also  in  many  of  the  churches  of 
the  state.  The  board  is  preparing  an  un- 
usually strong  program  this  year,  and 
is  expecting  a  record-breaking  attend- 
ance, as  are  all  Chautauquas  of  the  coun- 
try. 


ILLINOIS  NEWS  LETTER 

On  a  recent  Sunday  the  mission 
church  at  Ottawa  received  five  members. 
W.  W.  Vose  of  Eureka  is  ministering  to 
this  congregation. 

Reports  from  the  Carterville  church 
indicate  a  very  encouraging  condition. 
The  Bible  school  is  especially  strong.  A 
class  of  young  men,  and  another  of 
young  ladies,  are  enlisting  all  available 
material  in  the  town  and  are  accom- 
plishing much  good.  Geo.  E.  Owen  is 
the  pastor  at  the  present  time. 

A  new  building  is  being  erected  at 
Smith's  Grove  in  Marion  county,  and  the 
state  secretary  has  been  asked  to  dedi- 
cate same  July  15.  W.  J.  Simer  of  Kin- 
mundy  is  serving  this  church. 

J.  Ralph  Roberts,  pastor  of  First 
church,  Robinson,  has  organized  a  mis- 
sion in  the  north  part  of  that  city. 

The  church  at  Barry  has  secured  S.  J. 
Burgess  as  minister.  He  will  begin 
work  about  the  middle  of  June,  after 
completing  a  course  of  study  at  Yale. 

Wm.  A.  Askew,  the  pastor  at  Kansas, 
and  Miss  Ruth  Genung  of  Rantoul  were 
married  Sunday  evening,  May  20.  The 
state  secretary  performed  the  ceremony 
at  the  hour  of  the  regular  service  in  the 
church  at  Kansas. 

The  pastorate  of  L.  R.  Thomas  is 
starting  off  nicely  with  the  Joliet  church. 
Mr.  Thomas  is  planning  for  an  installa- 
tion service  on  Sunday  morning,  June  3. 

C.  H.  Hands  will  begin  work  at  once 
with  the  Athens  church. 

The  Rock  Falls  congregation  has  se- 
cured the  services  of  R.  S.  Rains  of 
Brownstown,  Ind.,  and  he  took  charge 
May  27. 

W.  B.  Slater,  a  former  pastor  at  Mo- 


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line,   will   return   to   the  state   soon  and 
will  serve  the  church  at  Mackinaw. 

This  is  the  season  for  district  conven- 
tions and  the  attendance  has  been  good 
in  each  case.  Great  interest  is  mani- 
fested in  the  new  plan  of  state  and  dis- 
trict work,  which  is  presented  at  each 
convention.  Seven  of  the  conventions 
have  been  held  and  each  one  has  en- 
dorsed the  new  program. 

H.  H.  Peters,  State  Secretary. 


NOTES  FROM  FOREIGN  FIELDS 

Word  has  just  been  received  from  the 
Indian  Mission  reporting  the  annual 
convention.  It  was  held  at  Damoh  in- 
stead of  Jubblepore  on  account  of  the 
plague.  The  missionaries  at  Damoh  en- 
tertained the  whole  group  of  about 
forty. 

Clarence  H.  Hamilton,  of  Nanking 
University,  reports  that  the  number  of 
Christian  Mission  boys  is  increasing 
from  term  to  term.  We  have  about 
fifty  boys  now  in  the  different  depart- 
ments. 

The  missionaries  from  Nanking, 
China,  report  that  a  young  American 
aviatrix  has  been  giving  exhibition 
flights  over  Nanking.  Great  crowds  of 
Chinese  turn  out  to  see  the  machine. 

P.  A.  Davey,  of  Tokyo,  reports  that 
about  forty  children  are  in  the  class  of 
Mrs.  Davey,  being  taught  along  kinder- 
garten lines.  Mr.  Davey  has  a  class  of 
young  men  that  meets  every  Saturday 
night  to  sing  religious  songs.  Eighteen 
were  present.  He  has  five  Bible  classes 
organized. 

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Dr.  Shelton  reports  progress  on  the 
building  of  a  hospital  at  Batang.  When 
he  sent  the  port  the  building  was  about 
two-thirds  completed.  This  is  the  first 
hospital  building  in  all  the  land  of  Tibet. 

Children's  Day  orders  are  still  coming 
in  in  a  steady  stream.  It  looks  as  if 
every  previous  record  of  the  Society 
would  be  broken  this  time. 

The  Society  is  receiving  a  number  of 
personal    gifts.       Individual    checks    for  I 
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E  Immediate  help  is  neces-  E 

S  sary  to  save  the  remnants  E 

3  of  peoples  once  happy  and  H 

5  prosperous  in  Armenia,  E 

2  Syria,  Caucasus,  Persia,  E 

3  Egypt,  Palestine.  g 

E  Christian  America  is  E 

3  called  upon  to  pro  videbare  5 

S  necessities  for  2,144,000  E 

3  homeless  dependent  people  | 

E  in  these  lands.  Thousands  E 

S  of  them  are  orphans.  E 

E  War  with  Turkey  cannot  3 

E  prevent  distribution  of  re-  E 

3  lief  since  many  of  these  E 

3  people  are  refugees  in  Rus-  | 

E  sian  and  British  spheres  jjjj 

E  of  influence.  E 

3  The  story  of  their  depor-  E 

E  tations  and  sufferings  is  I 

E  harrowing  in  its  details.  E 

3  Regular  continuous  con-  § 

E  t ributions  are  needed.  All  E 

S  money   handled    without  E 

3  expense  by  the  American  E 

S  Committee  for  Armenian  g 

E  and  Syrian   Relief,  Chas.  E 

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I  a  life.    GIVE  NOW !  § 

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May  31,  1917  THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  23 


IS    THE    WORLD 
GROWING  BETTER 


or  more  materialistic?  A  study  of  actual 
events  leads  Professor  Shailer  Mathews  to  be- 
lieve that  history  does  show  spiritual  forces  at 
work  which  may  renew  our  threatened  ideal- 
ism and  our  confidence  in  the  might  of  right. 
He   sums   up   his   views   in   his  new   volume 


"THE  SPIRITUAL 

INTERPRETATION  OF 

HISTORY" 


Professor  Mathews  is  Dean  of  the  Divinity 
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The  Bethany 

Graded  Lessons 


Afford  the  very  best  study  material  for  the  work  of  the  mod- 
ern Sunday  school.  Their  growing  popularity  is  notable. 
Some  of  our  leading  schools  have  used  them  for  years;  others 
are  coming  to  use  them  as  they  learn  of  their  merits.  Here  is 
what  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  church  say  of  this  unsur- 
passed body  of  literature: 

Rev.  G.  W.  Knepper,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.:  "We  sought  the 
BEST,  and  we  use  the  BETHANY  GRADED." 

Rev.  P.  L.  Schuler,  Cedar  Rapids,  la.:  "No  course  so  satis- 
factory for  Primaries  and  Juniors." 

Rev.  J.  J.  Tisdall,  Toledo,  O. :  "Especially  fine  for  Interme- 
diates." 

Rev.  I.  S.  Chenoweth,  Philadelphia:  "Superior  to  anything 
we  have  seen;  have  used  it  for  years." 

Rev.  E.  H.  Wray,  Steubenville,  O.:  "None  better." 

Rev.  L.  O.  Bricker,  Atlanta,  Ga. :  "Absolutely  satisfactory; 
a  triumph  of  religious  educational  enterprise." 

Rev.  Frank  Waller  Allen,  Springfield,  111.:  "Without  a 
peer." 

Rev.  Chas.  M.  Watson,  Norfolk,  Va.:  "The  best  publfshed." 
Rev.  Edgar  D.  Jones,  Bloomington,  111.:  "Gives  entire  satis- 
faction." 

Rev.  Finis  Idleman,  New  York:  "Means  a  new  day  in  re- 
ligious education." 

Rev.  E.  B.  Shively,  Paris,  Mo.:  "Produces  character  in  the 
Sunday-school." 

Rev.  H.  H.  Harmon,  Lincoln,  Neb.:  "Makes  the  teacher's 
work  a  real  joy." 

Rev.  Graham  Frank,  Liberty,  Mo.:  "School  is  delighted 
with  it." 

Rev.  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan,  Richmond,  Va.:  "Makes  teach- 
ing and  learning  easy." 

Rev.  L.  J.  Marshall,  Kansas  City,  Mo.:  "Thoroughly 
edited." 

Rev.  P.  J.  Rice,  El  Paso,  Texas:  "Nothing  that  compares 
with  it." 

Rev.  E.  M.  Waits,  Ft.  Worth,  Texas:    "The  best  published 

anywhere." 
Rev.  T.  E.  Winter,  Philadelphia:    "A  delight  to  all." 

AND  THERE  ARE  OTHERS.  YOUR  SCHOOL 
SHOULD  HAVE  THE  BETHANY.  SEND  FOR  RE- 
TURNABLE SAMPLES.    ADDRESS 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

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A  Look-in  on 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  June  7,  1917 

FE ffl 

HA  VE    YOU  READ 

FAIRHOPE 

A    NEW    NOVEL 
BY  EDGAR  DEW1TT  JONES 


Fairhope  folks  are  mighty  human,  but  you 
will  like  them  all  the  better  for  that. 

Major  Menifee  may  remind  you  of  Colonel 
Carter  of  Cartersville.  You  will  love  Jacob 
Boardman,  the  modern  Enoch.  And  even 
Giles  Shockley  will  not  repel  you,  "Hound 
of  the  Lord"  though  he  was. 

Everyone  knows  that  the  old  style  of 
country  church  is  passing  forever.  But 
what  type  of  church  will  take  its  place? 
Read  the  chapter  entitled  "The  Old  Order 
Changeth"  and  meet  the  Reverend  Roger 
Edgecomb,  Prophet  of  the  new  order. 

Do  you  like  birds  and  stretches  of  meadows, 
glimpses  of  lordly  river,  and  the  glory  of 
high  hills?  Do  you  like  young  preachers  and 
old  time  country  folks,  their  humors,  their 
foibles  and  their  loyalties?  If  you  do,  then 
you  should  read 

"Fairhope,  the  Annals 
of  a  Country  Church" 

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Order   NOW,   enclosing   remittance 

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\e a 


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PUBLISHED    WEEKLY    BY    THE    DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE    INTEREST    OF    THE    KINGDOM     OF    GOD 


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Disciples 

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The  Disciples  Publica- 
tion Society  is  an  or- 
ganization through 
which  churches  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ 
seek  to  promote  un- 
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The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
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The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


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In  Bible  Literature  no  more  im- 
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regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
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ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
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ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
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desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

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3E 


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THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  7,  191J 


Wet  and  Dry  Map  of  the  United  States,  1917 

O  indicates  election  to  be  held  November,  1917. 
X  indicates  pending  legislation. 


Tidal  Wave  of  Temperance 

Since  1851,  when  Prohibition  went  into  effect  in  Maine,  there  has  been  a  rising  tide  of  temperance  sentiment 
crystallizing  into  law  in  the  United  States.  Since  the  present  war  began  the  movement  has  become  a  tidal 
wave,  irresistible  in  its  sweep. 

After  Maine,  Kansas  became  the  stronghold  of  Prohibition.  Elsewhere  Local  Option  was  utilized,  and  such 
whiskey-cursed  States  as  Kentucky  and  Texas  cleaned  up  nine-tenths  of  their  territory.  Abandoned  distilleries  in 
Bourbon  County,  Ky.,  are  conspicuous  milestones  of  progress. 

Following  the  example  of  North  Dakota,  Oklahoma  came  into  the  Union  with  Prohibition  in  her  Constitu- 
tion. She  had  too  many  Indians  and  Negroes  to  dare  risk  anything  else.  Inevitably  the  South  argued,  "If  liquor 
is  such  a  bad  thing  for  the  black  man,  how  can  it  be  good  for  the  white?"  And  so  we  have  another  "Solid 
South."  About  the  same  time  the  West  inquired,  "If  red  whiskey  is  so  bad  for  the  red  man,  how  can  it  benefit 
the  white?" 

At  last  the  movement  is  national.  The  Federal  government  has  abandoned  its  connivance  in  violating  state 
laws,  and  even  outlawed  the  liquor  traffic  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  With  not  only  the  majority  of  the  states 
wholly  dry,  but  so  much  of  the  others  in  the  same  class  by  counties  that  the  majority  of  the  people  are  now 
enjoying  exemption  from  the  curse,  we  are  ready  for  complete  war-time  National  Prohibition  whenever  the  ad- 
ministration says  the  word,  without  the  painful  and  wasteful  delay  that  England  has  suffered  before  reducing 
her  beer  output  from  36,000,000  barrels   per  year  to   10,000,000. 

Now,  the  church,  the  home  and  the  school  must  unitedly  do  their  utmost  to  so  undergird  and  consolidate 
these  gains  that  there  shall  be  no  reaction  and  that  no  worse  evil  shall  come  upon  us.  The  success  of  the  Men 
and  Millions  Movement  will  prove  of  the  greatest  moment  in  this  achievement. 

MEN  AND  MILLIONS  MOVEMENT 

222  West  Fourth  Street  CINCINNATI,  OHIO 


CHAKI.ES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT    J..    WILLETT,    CONTRIBUTING    EDITOR. 


Volume  XXXIV 


JUNE  7,  1917 


Number  23 


Be  of  Good  Cheer! 


THE  CHURCH  IS  THE  SPIRITUAL  DEFENCE 
OF  THE  NATION. 

There  is  a  preparedness  for  a  great  national  emer- 
gency which  is  even  more  fundamental  than  the  gather- 
ing of  armies  and  the  manufacture  of  the  munitions  of 
war.  The  morale  of  a  people  is  now  known  to  be  of 
the  greatest  importance  to  any  great  national  enterprise. 
It  was  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  down  German  morale 
that  daring  birdmen  flew  over  the  lines  to  scatter  copies 
of  President  Wilson's  declaration  of  war.  In  France, 
the  war  leaders  have  been  clamoring  for  even  the  smallest 
detachment  of  our  troups,  for  psychological  reasons. 

Since  the  declaration  of  war,  there  has  been  much 
anxiety  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  We  were  anxious 
about  food  and  raiment,  with  petty  panics  developing 
here  and  there.  With  conscription  soon  to  begin  its 
operations,  anxious  parents  already  see  their  dear  boy 
on  a  stretcher.  Before  long  we  shall  be  inclined  to  fall 
into  a  strained  attitude  of  watching  and  waiting,  which 
attitude  will  but  make  us  powerless  and  ineffective  for 
our  work.  One  of  the  great  tasks  of  the  church  today 
is  to  inspire  cheer  in  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

Probably  this  should  always  be  one  of  the  chief  func- 
tions of  religion.  A  minister  once  assessed  his  ministry 
at  its  close  by  declaring  that  if  he  were  to  preach  for 
another  life-time,  he  would  preach  more  comfortably. 
The  lesson  of  his  ministry  was  that  religion  has  the  task 
of  teaching  men  and  women  to  face  all  that  is  involved 
in  both  life  and  death  without  fear  and  with  a  heavenly 
philosophy. 

•     • 

Many  people  do  not  really  know  what  it  means  to 
be  of  good  cheer.  There  is  a  difference  between  mirth 
and  cheer.  One  writer  expresses  the  distinction  thus : 
"Mirth  is  like  a  flash  of  lightning  that  breaks  through 
the  gloom  of  the  clouds  and  glitters  for  a  moment.  Cheer- 
fulness keeps  up  a  daylight  in  the  mind,  filling  it  with 
steady  and  perpetual  serenity."  Some  people  seek  relief 
in  times  of  great  stress  by  drink  or  by  various  forms  of 
foolish  amusement.  Such  relief  is  but  for  the  moment 
and  there  follows  it  a  deeper  night  than  was  at  first 
dispelled. 

Some,  too,  have  the  appearance  of  cheerfulness  which 
arises  from  a  cheap  view  of  life  or  from  general  shiftless- 
ness.  The  immortal  Micawber  whom  we  first  met  in 
Dickens'  "David  Copperfield"  is  always  looking  for  some- 
thing to  turn  up.  Such  an  attitude  knows  nothing  of 
what  real  cheerfulness  is. 

Good  cheer  is  that  state  of  mind  which  enables  a 
man  to  examine  all  his  problems  and  difficulties  from  the 
view-point  of  a  firm  faith  that  his  strength  will  be  adequate 
for  every  situation  and  that  all  things  work  together  for 
good  to  those  that  love  the  Lord. 

In  our  souls  there  are  some  reciprocal  relationships. 
It  may  be   said   that   physical   health   ministers   to   good 


cheer,  but  the  converse  is  even  more  true — cheer  ministers 
mightily  to  health.  It  may  be  said  that  good  cheer  arises 
out  of  wisdom  and  at  the  same  time  it  may  be  said  that 
cheer  makes  wisdom  possible. 

The  Bible  is  full  of  injunctions  to  be  of  good  cheer. 
The  unknown  sage  of  Ecclesiates  admonishes  us,  "Let  thy 
heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth."  The  disciples 
toiling  far  into  the  night  over  their  oars  were  told :  "Be 
of  good  cheer;  it  is  I.  Be  not  afraid."  One  of  the  most 
astonishing  examples  of  good  cheer  was  the  example  of 
Paul  eating  on  board  the  storm-tossed  ship  with  men  who 
had  taken  no  regular  nourishment  in  two  weeks.  His 
example  was  contagious.  One  man's  confident  faith  in 
God  brought  good  cheer  to  all  the  people  on  board  that 
ship. 

•     • 

The  secret  of  good  cheer  is  nothing  else  than  a 
mighty  faith  in  God.  This  faith  assures  us  that  we  are  not 
living  in  an  impersonal  world  which  goes  on  without  chart, 
compass  or  rudder.  The  religious  attitude  makes  us 
believe  in  "a  power  not  ourselves  that  makes  for  righteous- 
ness." Faith  in  God  has  been  the  mighty  stay  of  people 
in  times  of  persecution,  calamity  and  every  kind  of  trouble. 
It  may  be  really  doubted  whether  anybody  can  be  truly 
cheerful  in  these  trying  days  except  he  be  a  Christian. 
For  others  there  remains  only  a  mirth  as  empty  as  an  echo. 
The  mind  which  is  most  open  to  levity  will  likely  be  the 
one  that  is  found  to  be  a  stranger  to  real  cheerfulness. 

We  Christians  of  America  are  of  good  cheer  because 
God  has  a  high  and  worthy  use  for  our  wonderful  nation. 
Our  early  policy  of  isolation  was  only  to  make  us  ready 
for  the  time  when  we  should  carry  our  share  of  the 
world's  burden.  No  great  nation  could  live  in  indifference 
to  the  present  sorrows  of  humanity.  God  has  raised  us 
up  for  a  time  like  this,  that  we  should  be  a  strong  defence 
to  liberty  and  humanity  in  a  time  of  need.  America's 
spiritual  destiny  is  a  greater  thing  than  any  submarine. 
There  is  no  obstacle  big  enough  to  defeat  the  historical 
movement  of  which  we  are  a  part  and  of  which  God  is 
the  Author. 

We  have  looked  our  losses  in  the  face.  We  shall  be 
poorer,  but  we  shall  also  at  the  same  time  be  richer.  We 
shall  struggle,  but  we  shall  grow  strong.  We  shall  lose 
the  lives  of  men  we  could  ill  afford  to  lose,  but  after  all 
none  of  these  men  could  live  forever.  It  is  the  business 
of  us  all  to  spend  our  lives  to  accomplish  some  worthy 
end  in  human  history.  Our  losses  will  seem  great  for 
the  moment,  but  they  will  at  the  last  be  as  infinitely  worth 
while  as  were  those  of  1776  and  1861. 

Upon  the  coin  of  the  American  people  is  a  motto 
which  must  now  find  new  emphasis  and  meaning.  "In 
God  we  trust"  goes  with  every  dollar  we  spend  in  our 
new  preparedness.  We  are  soon  to"  learn  that  the  motto 
brings  us  even  more  strength  than  the  dollar.  God  is 
our  fortress  and  our  high  tower. 


EDITORIAL 


A  TIME  FOR  ACTION 

IT  IS  more  than  ever  a  time  for  thought — prayerful 
thought.  It  is  supremely  a  time  for  prayer — thoughtful 
^jayer.  But  it  is  also  a  time  for  action — immediate 
action. 

It  is  no  longer  a  question  for  parleying  which  we  have 
before  us.  as  to  whether  we  should  or  shall  enter  the  war. 
A  big  fact  for  our  consideration  stares  us  in  the  face — 
the  fact  that  we  are  now  at  war,  according  to  the  wisdom 
and  act  of  our  leader,  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  only  question  we  have  to  consider  now  is,  what 

shall  be  our  part  in  the  war  in  which  we  are  now  involved  ? 

*    Shall  we  be  "conscientious  objectors"  or  loyal  Americans? 

Promptness  of  action,  according  to  that  Christian 
statesman,  John  R.  Mott,  will  be  the  factor  which  will 
determine  whether  the  war  will  be  a  long  one.  He  declares 
that  he  firmly  believes  that  if  the  American  people  will  take 
the  war  seriously  now  the  conflict  will  be  over  before  Jan- 
uary 1. 

The  best  way,  practically  the  only  way,  for  us  to  give 
evidence  of  our  seriousness  is  to  take  certain  actions  which 
our  government  declares  will  further  the  progress  of  its 
plans.  Two  shining  opportunities  are  open  to  us :  To  sub- 
scribe to  the  war  bond  issue — that  is,  to  make  the  war  an 
effective  one,  and  quickly  over;  and  to  become  a  sub- 
scriber to  the  work  of  the  Red  Cross — that  is,  to  aid  in 
binding  up  the  wounds  of  the  boys  who  are  showing  them- 
selves willing  to  go  to  the  front  and  fight  our  fight. 

There  is  one  sure  way  to  prolong  the  war — to  make  it 
impossible  for  the  government  to  fight  effectively  by  with- 
holding onr  financial  support.  There  is  one  sure  way  to 
increase  the  sufferings  of  our  boys  at  the  front — by  refus- 
ing to  contribute  to  the  Red  Cross. 

Have  you  subscribed  for  a  Liberty  Bond?  Have  you 
taken  membership  with  the  Red  Cross  ? 

H.  G.  WELLS  AND  HIS  NEW  RELIGION 

THE  pronounced  success  of  "Mr.  Britling  Sees  it 
Through"  has  made  anything  that  H.  G.  Wells  writes 
a  matter  of  considerable  interest.  His  latest  book, 
"God  the  Invisible  King"  is  an  attempt  to  formulate  a 
new  religion  around  the  conception  of  a  finite  God  as 
discovered  by  "Mr.  Britling."  We  have  already  noted 
the  spiritual  adventures  of  Mr.  Wells.  He  left  the  estab- 
lished religion  of  his  country  when  thirteen  years  of  age. 
His  education  was  in  science  and  his  early  writings  were 
of  the  Jules  Verne  order.  Later  he  became  deeply  in- 
terested in  socialism  and  now  we  find  him  writing  most 
zealously  on  religious  topics,  not  to  formulate  an  ethical 
system  or  to  promote  a  social  service  religion,  but  to  win 
converts  to  a  new  conception  of  God. 

Those  clergymen  who  were  careless  enough  to  hail 
the  conversion  of  Mr.  Wells  after  his  last  novel  appeared 
are  now  able  to  learn  the  real  drift  of  his  religious  develop- 
ment. With  the  trenchant  style  characteristic  of  him,  he 
repudiates  with  some  heat  the  notion  that  we  can  hold 
any  longer  to  the  old  confessional  orthodoxy  of  the  past 
He  thinks  it  will  be  necessary  to  leave  Christianity  behind 
ond  to  gather  together  the  modern  spirits  in  every  land 
and  make  them  conscious  of  their  fellowship  in  a  faith 
in  a  finite  but  active  God.  He  finds  a  measure  of  fellow- 
feeling  for  Bahaism,  the  Brahmo-Somaj  and  other  modern 
movements  in  religion. 

Mr.  Wells  confesses  that  his  "finite  God"  was  first 


made  known  to  him  in  the  writings  of  William  James,  the 
philosopher  of  pragmatism  in  America.  James'  state- 
ments about  God  are  given  a  systematic  treatment  by  Wells. 
Like  ail  systems,  this  system  of  Mr.  Wells  has  weak 
points. 

The  book  is  virulently  critical  of  Christianity.  Yet 
the  things  most  offensive  to  Mr.  Wells  are  not  to  be  found 
in  very  considerable  measure  in  the  modern  evangelicalism. 
The  latter  statement  of  religion  still  uses  the  Trinitarian 
formula  which  is  the  bete  noir  of  the  novelist  but  the 
formula  is  not  used  in  the  old  way,  nor  in  a  way  impos- 
sible of  acceptance  by  men  who  hold  to  the  pragmatist 
philosophy. 

As  is  usual  with  those  not  accepting  Christianity,  the 
Doctrine  of  the  Virgin  Birth  is  also  indignantly  rejected, 
and  when  Wells  has  gotten  rid  of  the  Trinity  and  the 
Virgin  Birth  he  seems  to  believe  that  he  has  eliminated 
the  larger  portion  of  Christianity.  The  Christian  will  note 
with  deep  interest  that  when  Mr.  Wells  undertakes  a  con- 
structive statement  of  his  religious  beliefs,  almost  every 
element  is  borrowed  from  the  teachings  of  Jesus.  Having 
thrown  the  gospel  out  at  the  front  door,  he  brings  impor- 
tant parts  of  it  in  at  the  back  door.  This  but  helps  us  to 
see  the  sufficiency  of  the  Christian  religion,  at  least  for 
this  generation — and  we  believe  for  all  generations. 

To  our  minds,  the  most  illogical  heresy  and  the  one 
perhaps  least  likely  to  be  given  adequate  treatment  by 
critics  is  Mr.  Wells'  rejection  of  the  idea  of  a  church. 
He  hopes  to  get  his  new  religion  going  with  no  meetings 
and  no  organization,  though  he  concedes  a  little  of  this 
sort  of  thing  to  the  weakness  of  the  flesh.  For  a  social 
enthusiast  like  Wells  to  plead  for  individualistic  religion 
is  the  grossest  inconsistency.  When  we  reflect  that  he 
has  been  trying  to  democratize  God  and  make  Him  a 
person  to  work  and  struggle  with,  it  seems  absurd  to  talk 
of  abolishing  the  sort  of  organization  we  have  called  a 
church.  If  religion  ever  were  the  great  experience  the 
novelist  describes  as  possible,  that  fact  would  compel  some 
sort  of  church. 

The  finest  chapter  in  Mr.  Wells'  systematic  theology 
of  the  finite  God  is  called  "The  Religion  of  an  Atheist." 
In  this  chapter  it  is  most  effectively  demonstrated  that 
thoughtful  men  cannot  remain  pure  atheists,  but  must 
confess  God,  even  if  in  other  terms  and  definitions  than 
those  current  in  the  church. 

Mr.  Wells'  book  is  an  evidence  of  the  stirring  of  a 
wonderful  new  interest  in  religion.  We  hope  the  novelist 
will  yet  find  and  appreciate  the  modern  evangelicalism 
with  which  he  has  so  much  kinship. 

THE  WAR  AND  PLUTOCRACY 

THERE  is  now  going  the  rounds  the  rather  foolish 
rumor  that  the  present  war  is  in  reality  a  war  in 
behalf  of  Wall   Street.     The   famous   street   where 
so  much  has  happened  inimical  to  public  welfare  is  just 
now  charged  with  the  responsibility   for  American  par- 
ticipation in  the  world  war. 

If  this  is  a  plutocratic  war,  it  is  operating  in  a  peculiar 
way.  The  first  thing  the  administration  did  after  the 
declaration  of  a  state  of  war  was  to  raise  the  taxes  on 
some  men  until  they  should  be  paying  one-half  of  their 
incomes  besides  general  taxes.  Then  conscription  came, 
and  the  rich  man's  son  no  longer  loafs  at  home  while  the 
poor  boy  dies  in  the  trenches.     Side   by  side  they  will 


June  7,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


march  out  into  the  great  conflict  and  the  spirit  of  demo- 
cracy in  the  training  camps  and  the  field  will  make  these 
Bsoldiers  more  democratic  than  they  were  before. 

Then,  when  it  comes  to  paying  for  the  war,  no  banker 

autocrat  is  allowed  to  put  up  the  money.     The  loan  the 

government  desired  might  have  been  found  in  New  York 

City  among  a  score  of  interests.    Instead,  the  liberty  bond 

lis  being  sold  in  the  post  offices  and  in  small  hamlets  all 

jover  the  country;  thus  the  administration  will  not  be  in 

jthe  least  under  obligation  to  any  money  king.     From  this 

popular  loan,  scattered  over  the  country,  there  will  arise 

la  new  sense  of  national  loyalty  born  out  of  interest. 

Thus  the  facts  ought  to  be  sufficient  answer  to  the 
jsemi-treasonable  gossip  that  has  been  going  the  rounds. 
It  ought  to  be  possible  for  the  people  to  read  the  declara- 
tion of  war  made  by  a  great  Christian  president  and  find 
there  the  motives  which  led  us  into  the  present  struggle. 

This  war  may  be  the  very  means  by  which  our 
plutocrats  will  be  weakened  and  made  relatively  less 
powerful.  This  will  not  be  the  purpose  of  the  war,  but 
it  is  conceivable  that  it  will  be  one  of  its  beneficent 
by-products. 

SOCIAL  SERVICE  DURING  THE  WAR 

SOCIAL  service  leaders  of  America  are  alive  to  the 
new  interests-  of  their  cause  arising  from  our  war 

conditions.  There  will  be  held  in  Pittsburgh,  June 
6-13,  the  annual  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction. 
Professor  Edward  T.  Devine  of  New  York  says,  "Charity 
and  social  work  cannot  go  on  in  the  usual  way  during  the 
war."  The  treatment  of  the  families  of  soldiers,  a  topic 
of  great  concern  to  councils  of  defence  in  all  sections  of 
the  country,  will  be  discussed  at  length. 

It  is  significant  that  among  the  problems  to  be  dis- 
cussed is  that  of  prohibition.  For  a  long  time  social 
leaders  seemed  to  fear  to  speak  out  on  the  temperance 
issue,  but  in  these  days  it  requires  no  courage  for  any- 
one to  state  facts  as  to  liquor  and  the  saloon. 

Mobilizing  rural  communities  will  be  a  prominent 
topic  of  the  conference.  Dr.  Warren  H.  Wilson  of  New 
York,  an  authority  on  rural  life  problems,  has  arranged 
for  a  series  of  round  table  meetings  on  this  subject.  Major 
R.  R.  Moton,  president  of  Tuskegee  Institute,  will  be  the 
leading  speaker.  The  demands  of  public  health  during 
the  war  will  be  voiced  by  a  committee  under  the  chair- 
manship of  Dr.  C.  E.  A.  Winslow  of  Yale  University. 
Mobilization  of  the  brain  power  of  the  nation  will  be  the 
subject  of  an  address  by  Dr.  Stewart  Patton  of  Princeton 
University.  Food  and  drug  control  will  be  discussed  by 
Dr.  C.  L.  Alsberg  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

There  are  meetings,  entailing  expense,  which  might 
well  be  dispensed  with  this  summer  as  a  measure  of 
economy.  With  such  work  as  social  service,  it  is  different. 
Few  things  are  more  fundamental  just  now  than  a  proper 
understanding  of  social  forces  with  a  view  to  their  con- 
trol. The  social  students  of  the  country  now  have  the 
challenge  of  the  most  tremendous  issues  they  have  ever 
faced. 

A  NEW  FOREIGN  SECRETARY 

THE  appointment  of   Prof.   Rodney   L.   McQuary  to 
become  an  assistant  secretary  of  the  Foreign  Chris- 
tian Missionary  Society  will  be  gratifying  to  all  who 
are  acquainted  with  Mr.  McQuary.    He  has  been  a  teacher 


of  Old  Testament  in  Eureka  College  during  the  past  year, 
and  has  been  very  popular  with  the  students. 

Mr.  McQuary  has  come  up  the  Disciple  way  and 
knows  our  people.  Most  of  his  early  life  was  spent  in 
Nebraska.  He  was  educated  at  Cotner  University  and 
took  a  Bachelor  of  Divinity  degree  at  Yale,  which  fact 
guarantees  the  quality  of  his  training. 

The  work  of  the  Foreign  Society  has  been  rapidly 
growing  and  the  burdens  of  administration  have  been  in- 
creased accordingly.  The  continued  ill  health  of  Mr. 
Rains  prevents  his  carrying  as  heavy  responsibility  as 
formerly,  though  he  is  still  heart  and  soul  in  the  cause. 
The  Foreign  Society  has  shown  great  discernment  in  the 
selection  of  its  leaders  and  to  this  fact  in  considerable 
measure  is  due  the  splendid  success  of  the  organization. 
With  Mr.  R.  A.  Doan  in  the  Orient,  representing  the 
board  on  the  field,  and  with  a  young  and  competent  office 
force,  the  mission  work  of  the  Disciples  should  now  enter 
a  new  era  of  development  and  expansion. 

Within  a  single  life-time  there  has  come  a  change  in 
the  whole  outlook  of  the  missionary  movement.  We  are 
no  longer  engaged  in  snatching  a  few  brands  from  the 
burning.  The  missionary  enterprise  is  no  longer  pre- 
sented on  the  legalistic  basis  of  divine  command.  There 
is  no  longer  the  hard  and  fast  line  between  the  true  religion 
and  all  "false"  religions. 

There  has  come  into  missionary  work  a  fine  apprecia- 
tion of  other  faiths,  such  as  Paul  manifested  on  Mars 
Hill.  We  now  know  that  it  is  no  disloyalty  to  God  to 
find  that  He  has  gone  on  before  us  and  done  many  things 
in  mission  lands  to  prepare  for  the  gospel.  Into  the  work 
of  missions  has  come  a  social  passion  and  a  conception 
of  building  up  a  better  civilization.  For  such  noble  tasks 
we  need  thoroughly  competent  men. 

THEOLOGY   AND    BASE   BALL 

WE  HEAR  that  the  Chicago  Disciple  ministers  will 
spend  Saturday  this  week  at  Lincoln  Park  with 
their  wives  and  children.  These  doughty  cham- 
pions of  the  various  theological  view-points  will  attempt 
to  settle  their  differences  on  the  diamond.  It  would  be 
worth  a  trip  to  the  city  for  some  of  the  brethren  to  see 
a  battery  of  E.  S.  Ames  and  Will  F.  Shaw  strike  out 
C.  G.  Kindred  and  catch  W.  G.  Winn  at  first  base.  We 
doubt  if  anyone  will  be  able  to  hit  out  a  home  run.  At 
least,  no  one  ever  has  in  the  preachers'  meetings  of  the 
past.  Fortunately  in  the  great  American  game  if  a  man 
is  hit  and  hurt,  he  takes  his  base,  which  is  so  much  more 
humane  than  is  doctrinal  controversy. 

Chicago  has  been  thought  of  by  more  than  a  million 
of  Disciples  as  a  theological  issue.  Some  of  the  brethren 
have  been  widely  advertised  for.  heresy  and  some  are 
equally  well  known  for  their  defence  of  the  faith.  What 
is  not  so  generally  known  are  the  heresies  of  the  orthodox 
and  the  orthodoxies  of  the  heretics.  The  fellowship  in 
the  preachers'  meetings  this  year  has  been  particularly 
delightful.  There  has  been  manly  difference  of  opinion, 
there  has  been  marshaling  of  the  evidence,  but  fellowship 
and  good-will  withal.  Only  one  or  two  men  have  remained 
aloof  from  the  meetings  and  perhaps  these  have  been 
parish-minded,  rather  than  hostile. 

We  could  wish  that  these  dignitaries  who  bring  their 
difficulties  to  issue  in  base  ball  might  enter  more  com- 
pletely into  the  spirit  of  American  sportsmanship.  Oppos- 
ing base  ball  teams  eat  together  afterwards  and  talk  over 
the  game.     Even  a  theological  contest  ought  not  to  lose 


s 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  7,  1917 


this  fraternal  quality,  but  rather  take  on  an  even  more 
intimate  fellowship ;  for  these  out-standing  men  are  en- 
gaged in  the  biggest  struggle  in  all  the  world,  to  find  God's 
truth.    Let  us  have  more  base  ball  with  our  theology,  both 


in  Chicago  and  elsewhere. 


KEEPING  UP  CHURCH   PROPERTY 

THE  appearance  of  a  house  has  much  to  do  with  its 
market  value.  A  coat  of  paint  may  be  worth  five 
hundred  dollars  more  than  it  costs.  It  is  a 
well-known  fact  that  it  is  difficult  to  sell  a  property 
which  has  a  lawn  grown  up  with  weeds.  If  the  appear- 
ance of  private  property  is  important,  the  appearance 
of  church  property  is  much  more  so.  There  are  com- 
munities where  the  church  buildings  appear  to  be  the 
worst  things  in  town. 

There  should  be  no  rubbish  piles  around  church 
property.  The  corner  which  has  been  used  in  this  way 
should  be  cleared  away. 

Then  the  lawn  should  be  prepared  for  the  summer. 
It  is  worth  while  to  seed  its  bare  spots  and  get  it  ready 
for  the  lawn  mower,  which  will  be  needed  a  little  later 


in  the  season.  Some  city  churches  now  have  a  hedge 
to   separate  the  church   property  from  that  adjoining. 

Flowers  about  the  place  help  to  make  things  look 
homelike.  It  has  sometimes  been  assumed  that  a 
church  flower-bed  would  not  be  respected  by  the  chil- 
dren of  the  town.  That  cannot  be  taken  as  fact  until 
it  is  tried.  Flowers  growing  on  the  church  lawn  make 
the  stranger  stop  and  look  at  it  with  approval.  There 
are  some  city  churches  which  have  large  stone  vases 
near  the  entrance,  with  vines  and  flowers. 

The  church  needs  the  spring  housecleaning  on  the 
inside  quite  as  much  as  does  the  private  home.  The 
person  who  lifts  his  eyes  in  religious  contemplation 
only  to  see  a  cob-web  is  brought  suddenly  to  earth 
again.  Dirty  windows  and  dusty  carpets  make  it  diffi- 
cult to  cultivate  the  devotional  spirit. 

May  we  not  often  tell  by  the  appearance  of  the 
church  building  just  how  much  people  think  of  their 
religion?  A  rundown  property  i?  a  pretty  good  index 
of  a  run-down  religious  life.  The  church  which  wants 
to  be  respected  must  clean  up,  for  cleanliness  is  next 
to  godliness,  even  in  churches. 


Why  I  Am  a  Disci 


Ninth  Article — Minor  Reasons 


THE    LORD'S   SUPPER 

1LIKE  the  Disciples'  habit  of  observing  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per weekly.  I  have  some  suggestions  to  make  about 
our  manner  of  observing  it,  but  as  to  the  weekly  practice 
I  am  in  hearty  accord  with  the  Disciples'  procedure.  I  do 
not  take  any  stock  in  the  argument  that  the  Communion 
becomes  common  by  a  frequent  observance,  and  that  its 
sacredness  is  protected  by  observing  it  monthly  or  quar- 
terly. Amongst  Episcopalians  and,  of  course,  Roman 
Catholics,  the  weekly  celebration  does  not  seem  to  rob  it 
of  its  sanctity. 

My  reason  for  favoring  the  weekly  observance  is  not, 
however,  the  alleged  scriptural  authority  that  is  usually 
put  behind  it.  As  I  see  it,  there  is  nothing  in  the  Scripture 
enjoining  any  particular  time  for  the  "breaking  of  bread." 
Our  Lord  said,  "As  oft  as  ye  eat,"  and  the  early  disciples 
probably  commemorated  their  Lord's  death  in  this  cere- 
monial whenever  they  came  together,  which  of  course  was 
much  more  frequently  than  once  a  week.  Indeed  it  is 
quite  likely  that  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  Supper  ante- 
dated by  some  years  the  fixing  of  the  first  day  of  the  week 
as  a  day  of  particular  significance  to  the  young  church. 
The  Lord's  Supper  grew  out  of  Christ's  own  explicit  sug- 
gestion. The  Lord's  Day  grew  up  almost  imperceptibly 
under  the  cumulative  suggestion  of  its  greater  appropriate- 
ness for  Christ's  followers  than  the  Jewish  Sabbath  which 
it  finally  displaced. 

At  the  beginning  the  Lord's  Supper  was  not  only  ob- 
served on  a  weekly  schedule  but  it  was  not  observed  in  the 
same  fashion  that  we  have  grown  accustomed  to.  It  was 
not  a  formal  ceremonial,  but  an  integral  part  of  a  regular 
meal.  The  inability  of  the  Gentile  churches  to  drink  the 
wine  temperately  led  Paul,  many  years  after  the  founding 
of  the  church,  to  separate  the  memorial  loaf  and  cup  from 
the  regular  meal  and  thus  establish  the  symbolic  meal  as 
an  institution  by  itself.  After  some  time,  this  purely  sym- 
bolic meal  came  to  displace  even  among  Jewish  Christians 


the  regular  meal  at  which  the  Lord's  death  was  commemo- 
rated. The  development  of  the  Roman  Catholic  "mass" 
from  this  symbolic  meal  is  a  chapter  in  church  history  well 
known  to  my  readers.  I  refer  to  this  now  only  to  free 
our  minds  from  the  erroneous  notion  that  we  are  strictly 
following  the  example  of  the  early  church  in  our  modern 
mode  of  celebrating  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  Lord's  Sup- 
per was  originally  an  "Agape,"  or  love-feast — a  social  meal 
and  a  real  meal  and  this  was  quite  certainly  what  our  Lord 
had  in  mind  when  he  first  suggested  to  his  disciples  that 
they  should  so  remember  him.  Afterward  it  became  the 
"Eucharist" — the  mere  symbol  of  a  meal,  a  portion  of  the 

Christian  ritual. 

*         *         * 

Remembering  this  historic  modification  in  the  inherent 
character  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  approving  of  it,  it  ill 
becomes  anyone  to  be  dogmatic  about  this  or  that  fine  point 
as  to  the  way  the  institution  should  be  observed  in  our 
time.  And  certainly  it  is  the  height  of  presumption  for  any 
group  of  Christians  to  make  their  particular  fashion  of 
observing  it  a  test  of  fellowship  or  to  claim  for  it  a  peculiar 
orthodoxy.  In  respect  to  the  Lord's  Supper  there  is  no 
orthodoxy  save  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  observed.  Our 
whole  orthodox  procedure  is  altogether  unorthodox  when 
judged  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  primitive  interpreta- 
tion of  what  our  Lord  had  in  mind  when  he  instituted  the 
commemorative  feast. 

We  are  left  free,  then,  to  consider  the  Lord's  Supper, 
so  far  as  frequency  and  method  are  concerned,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  its  usefulness  and  appropriateness  in  our 
Christian  worship  and  our  Christian  experience.  We  can 
judge  it — may  I  say? — pragmatically.  If  it  helps  us,  and 
in  so  far  as  it  helps  us,  we  should  use  it.  For  my  own 
part,  I  am  convinced  that  one  of  the  elements  lacking  in 
our  modern  Protestant  worship  is  the  element  of  symbolism. 
Symbols  gather  up  and  express  for  collective  groups  the 
emotion  and     aspiration  which  no  speech  can  interpret. 


June  7,  1917  THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  9 

Those  symbols  that  are  historic,  that  have  lived  long  in  the  of  making  the  Communion  a  sort  of  adjunct  to  the  morn- 
practice  of  a  social  group,  that  have  come  to  be  established  ing  service,  either  preliminary  or  subsequent  to  it.  Time  is 
deep  in  custom  and  habit,  are  the  carriers  of  a  rich  social  of  the  essence  of  our  problem  in  organizing  a  church  service 
content.  They  are  freighted  with  an  almost  racial  expe-  in  these  days.  A  Sunday  morning  congregation  cannot  be 
rience  and  cannot  be  substituted  for  by  any  new,  made-to-  held  regularly  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half.  If,  therefore, 
order  symbols.  'he  Communion  can  be  made  an  integral  part  of  the  public 
Certainly  the  Lord's  Supper  is  such  a  symbol.  Ob-  worship  by  making  that  entire  portion  of  the  service  which 
served  in  the  simple  way  in  which  most  Protestants  are  precedes  the  sermon  partake  of  the  spirit  and  quality  of 
accustomed,  stripped  of  the  magical  dogma  of  transubstan-  the  Communion  itself,  the  act  of  returning  thanks  and 
tiation,  and  regarded  as  a  feast  of  memory  and  of  the  passing  the  emblems  may  be  carried  out  as  expeditiously  as 
living  presence  of  our  Lord,  it  surely  needs  no  argument  taking  the  offering. 

to  demonstrate  its  value.     Happily  the  Supper  has  never  Notwithstanding  my  satisfaction  in  such  a  complete 

been,  among  Protestant  churches,  a  subject  of  bitter  con-  integration  of  the  Communion  with  the  Sunday  morning 

troversy,  such  as  has  been  waged  over  baptism,  for  ex-  worship,  I  keep  wondering  whether  there  is  not  for  modern 

ample.    In  a  general  way  all  Protestant  denominations  have  Christians  a  more  distinctive  use  to  which  we  are  called 

agreed  upon  the  memorial  and  symbolic  conception  of  the  to  put  this  beautifully  simple  memorial  by  observing  it  as 

Communion  and,  if  we  make  an  exception  of  the  close-  a  service  quite  apart  from  the  public  service.     I  keep  ask- 

communion  practice  of  the  Baptists,  it  may  be  said  that  the  ing  myself  whether  we  have  not  unduly  magnified  what  is 

Communion  has  been  practically  the  only  item  in  the  entire  called  the  "monumental"  character  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 

catalogue  of  church  policy  and  ritual  that  has  had  a  unify-  It  is  argued,  as  my  readers  know,  by  those  who  insist  upon 

ing  rather  than  a  divisive  influence  in  Protestantism.  "spreading  the  table"  in  the  general  public  service,  that  to 

#         #         #  do  so  is  part  of  the  original  intention,  making  the  Supper 

thus  a  public  testimony  to  the  fact  of  our  Lord's  redemptive 

My  feeling  in  favor  of  the  weekly  observance  is  based  death.    It  is  a  "monument"  before  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

upon  the  conviction  that  our  churches  need  to  utilize  more  Those  who  argue  thus  would  object,  I  suppose,  to  observ- 

freely  than  has  been  their  custom  those  elements  of  ritual-  {ng  the  Communion  in  a  service  especially  arranged  for 

(jsm  and  symbolism  of  which  the  Lord's  Supper  is  so  typical  Christians.    Yet  I  doubt  if  they  have  either  Scriptural  or 

,  an  illustration.    We  have  too  little  quiet,  too  little  medita-  pragmatic  justification  for  their  "monumental"  conception, 

tion,  in  our  worship.    Protestantism  has  lost  much  by  its  The  Scripture  words,  "ye  do  shew  forth  the  Lord's  death 

unbalanced  emphasis  on  discursive  preaching  and  its  dis-  untii  he  come,"  do  not  necessarily  mean  show  forth  to  unbe- 

'  regard  of  the  more  mystical  influence  of  symbols.     The  nevers.    And,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Communion  service 

discourse  is  necessary  if  our  religion  is  to  be  kept  whole-  is  not  a  particularly  convincing  argument  or  even  reminder 

some  and  intelligent  and  progressive.     But  no  church  can  t0  trie  non-Christian  portion  of  the  congregation.    It  bores 

afford  to  stake  the  whole  value  of   its   worship   service  tnemj  and  they  would,  as  a  rule,  prefer  to  go  to  church 

upon  the  variable   and   perhaps   erratic  ministry   of   one  wnen  the  Communion  is  not  imposed  upon  the  non-partici- 

man,    be    he    ever    so    gifted    with    spiritual    grace    and  pating  attendants.     Moreover,  it  is  highly  probable  that 

power.     Yet  that  is  what  many  protestant  churches  do.  the  presence  of  a  mixed  congregation  dissipates  for  the 

When   the    minister   is    dull    or   unedifying,    the    service  communicants   themselves  a  considerable   portion   of   the 

bores  and  is  unfruitful.     If,  however,  the  congregation  value  of  the  Communion. 

conceives     its    church-going    in    terms    of    worship    by  On  these  grounds  I  would  like  to  see  the  Lord's  Table 

means    of    an    ancient     and    beautiful    ritual — as  Epis-  spread  in  a  room  apart  from  the  public  service,  either  before 

copalians    do,    or   by   means   of    the    suggestive   mystical  or  after  the  public  service,  as  may  be  more  convenient,  to 

_  symbolism  of  the  Lord's  Supper — as  Disciples  do,  there  which  those  would  repair  who  really  care  to  remember 

is  a  constant  and  unvarying  value  to  be  derived  from  the  their  Lord  at  that  time  in  that  way.     Those  who  come 

service,  whether  the  minister  falls  down  in  the  delivery  would  come  on  their  own  initiative.     The  emblems  would 

of  a  real  message  or  not.  not  be  enforced  upon  them.     The  idea  of  keeping  tryst 

My  criticism  of  the  Disciples  with  respect  to  the  Lord's  with  the  Lord  would  be  more  vivid  and  tender,  and  the 

Supper  is  not  that  they  make  too  much  of  it  but  that  they  mellowing  influences  of  such  an  observance  more  profound 

do  not  make  enough  of  it.     Too  often  they  seem  content  and  grateful.     Congregations  with  well  appointed  church 

with  an  observance  that  is  mechanical  and  hollow,  as  if  edifices  could  set  a  room  apart  as  a  Communion  Chapel 

they  were  saying  to  themselves,  "This  was  commanded  by  especially  for  this  purpose.     Some  of  the  most  impressive 

Jesus,  and  we  must  of  course  observe  it,  but  let  us  get  it  and  inspiring  celebrations  of  the  Communion  in  which  I 

out  of  the  way  as  quickly  as  we  can  and  go  on  to  the  things  have  ever  participated  have  been  of  this  character.     The 

we  came  to  church  for."    This  legalistic  conformity  to  the  great  Communion  services  at  our  General  Conventions  are 

letter  of  a  supposed  command  leaves  the  Communion  a  bare  essentially  of  this  character, 
piece  of  routine  in  the  observance  of  which  the  element  of  *         *         * 

real  worship  is  reduced  to  the  minimum. 


In  this  connection  I  make  bold  to  offer  a  yet  more 
radical  but  to  me  thoroughly  practicable  suggestion.  I  be- 
There  are  two  ways  of  solving  the  problem  of  making  lieve  that  the  spirit  of  the  primitive  observance  of  the 
the  Communion  more  truly  helpful  in  our  churches.  I  am  Xord's  Supper  should  suggest  to  us  the  spreading  of  the 
not  sure  which  of  the  two  I  prefer.  One  way  is  to  com-  Hable  at  the  mid-week  service.  I  am  not  sure  but  that 
pletely  merge  the  Communion  into  the  service  of  worship —  both  the  mid-week  service  and  the  Communion  are  needing 
or  better  stated  perhaps,  to  merge  the  service  of  worship  just  this  union  with  each  other  in  order  to  take  on  a  charac- 
into  the  Communion.  The  other  is  to  observe  the  Com-  ter  that  will  fully  justify  each  of  them  in  our  modern  church 
munion  in  a  service  apart  from  the  regular  service  of  life.  All  over  the  land  the  mid-week  sen-ice  is  weak  and 
public  worship.  The  first  plan  is  coming  into  more  general  hollow,  or  altogether  abandoned.  It  lacks  substance,  why 
use  among  our  better  churches.    It  has  superceded  the  plan     should  it  not  become  instead  of  a  prayer  meeting,  the  Com- 


10 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  7,  19i; 


munion  Service — communion  with  our  Lord  and  with  one 
another? 

The  art  of  personal  Christian  testimony  is  heing  lost. 
And  its  loss  is  due.  as  I  think,  to  a  lack  of  a  personal  spir- 
itual life  about  which  to  testify.  This,  as  I  see  it,  is  the 
ominous  weakness  in  our  whole  Christian  orthodoxy  today. 
Whether  certain  novel  cults  which  have  somewhat  in  their 
inner  life  whereof  to  testify  are  destined  to  displace  our 
churches,  depends  upon  our  success  or  failure  in  the  crea- 
tion of  a  positive  spirituality  in  the  inner  life  of  our  people. 
The  joining  of  the  Lord's  Supper  with  the  social  meeting  in 
the  mid-week,  making  it  the  very  heart  of  that  meeting, 
would  rescue  the  Supper  from  the  invidious  place  to  which 
even  our  best  churches  allow  it  to  gravitate  in  the  Sunday 
morning  service,  and  would,  at  the  same  time,  provide  the 
most  appropriate  and  suggestive  atmosphere  for  social 
intercourse  in  the  things  of  the  soul.  I  believe  that  a  new 
order  of   Christian  testimony  could  be  developed  under 


conditions  such  as  this  would  induce,  a  sort  of  testimony 
far  removed  from  the  revivalistic  unrealities  which  we 
usually  think  of  when  the  term  "testimony  meeting"  is  used. 
The  fact  that  the  mid-week  service  is  held  at  night  is 
an  argument  for  rather  than  against  making  it  a  Com- 
munion Service.  It  was  on  the  night  on  which  he  was 
betrayed  that  our  Lord  instituted  the  Supper,  and  it  was 
probably  more  usually  celebrated  at  night  in  the  early 
church — and  on  week  nights,  too — than  in  the  daytime. 
What  I  have  written  in  the  latter  portion  of  this  article  are 
my  thoughts  rather  than  my  convictions.  I  believe  the 
Lord's  Supper  is  a  precious  heritage  which  we  Protestants 
are  not  utilizing  as  we  should.  But  I  like  the  estimate  the 
Disciples  set  upon  it,  and  I  find  in  their  attitude  toward  it 
not  only  a  minor  reason  for  being  a  Disciple  myself,  but  a 
pledge  that  they  will  yet  more  adequately  interpret  the 
Supper  in  the  enrichment  of  their  own  observance  of  it. 

Charles  Clayton  Morrison. 


Story  of  One  Version  of  the  Bible 

By  Herbert  L.  Willett,  Jr. 

The  continued  indisposition  of  Professor  Willett  has  prevented  the  preparation  of  his  article  in  the  series 
on  "Our  Bible/'  In  its  place  we  are  using  the  following  narrative  prepared  by  his  son,  who  is  directing  the 
Syrian  and  Armenian  Relief  Work  for  the  State  of  Illinois.  This  story  of  the  preparation  of  the  various  edi- 
tions of  the  Bible  in  the  Arabic  language,  the  most  zvidely  used  tongue  in  the  Levant,  and  the  classic  speech 
of  the  Mohammedan  world,  gives  some  idea  of  the  very  great  labor  involved  in  all  mission  lands  in  the  task 
of  supplying  the  people  with  the  Scripture  in  their  common  language. 


I 


T  WAS  my  good  fortune  during  the  years  that  I  spent  in     manded  a  more  scholarly  translation  than  the  one  already  ' 
Beirut,  Syria,  to  see  the  final  steps  in  the  preparation     extant.    But  so  great  was  the  task  which  this  would  involve 

that  it  was  not  decided  until  1847  that  Dr.  Smith  should 
devote  the  rest  of  his  life  to  the  work  of  the  translator. 
He  chose  two  assistants,  a  famous  Arabic  and  Hebrew 
scholar,  who  knew  no  European  tongue,  to  translate  the 


of  a  new  edition  of  the  Bible  in  Arabic.  All  of  us,  I 
presume,  have  thought  with  admiration  of  the  devotion 
of  missionaries  who  gave  years  of  their  lives  to  the  work  of 
putting  into  the  language  of  the  people  to  whom  they  min 


istered,  our  Book  of  books.    Yet  I  suppose  it  is  safe  to  say  Old  Testament  from  the  one  Semitic  tongue  to  the  other, 

that  few  of  us  ever  realize  the  real  magnitude  of  the  task,  and  an  equally  famous  grammarian  to  help  revise  the  trans- 

But  before  I  tell  of  this  final  edition,  let  me  say  a  few  lated  text.     Dr.   Smith  himself   undertook  the  work   of 

words  of  the  former  work  which  has  been  done  in  this  putting  into  Arabic  the  New  Testament  on  the  basis  of. 

field.  the  original  Greek. 

It  was  as  early  as  1837  that  the  missionaries  in  Syria  The  results  of  this  work  were  put  into  printed  form, 

felt  the  urgent  necessity  of  preparing  a  new  version  of  the  book  by  book,  and  when  Dr.  Smith  died,  in  1857,  the  entire 

Bible  in  the  best  modern  form  of  spoken  Arabic.    As  a  pre-  New  Testament  and  about  twelve  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 

liminary  to  the  work,  it  was  necessary  to  devote  "careful  ment  had  come  from  the  presses.    Dr.  Cornelius  Van  Dyke 

study  to  the  Arabic  characters  used  by  the  great  masters,  took  up  the  task,  carefully  revised,  in  the  light  of  a  new 

in  order  to  reduce  the  almost  countless  forms  which  Arabic  edition  of  the  Greek  Testament,  the  work  already  done,  and 

letters  take,  to  a  number  within  the  scope  of  the  printing  in  1865  the  first  completed  Bible  was  ready  for  distribution, 

types.    Dr.  Eli  Smith  undertook  this  task,  in  itself  almost  The  edition  printed  at  that  time,  using  the  type  prepared  by 


herculean,  and  was  able  within  a  few  years  to  set  out  for 
Germany  with  a  manuscript  copy  of  the  letters  and  combi- 
nations of  letters  suitable  for  the  printing  of  classical 
Arabic.     But  off  the  coast  of  Karamania  the  ship  was 


Dr.  Smith,  consisted  of  1,000  copies,  which  were  not  ex-j 
hausted  until  1885. 

When  the  need  of  new  copies  was  felt,  a  second  edi- 
tion of  3,000  volumes  was  printed  from  the  same  types,  but 


wrecked  and  Dr.  Smith  barely  escaped  with  his  life,  losing  on  a  slightly  larger  page,  and  this  edition  lasted  for  another! 

every  scrap  of  the  work  upon  which  he  had  spent  so  many  eighteen  years.     In  1903,  the  time  came  when  another  re-j 

years.    Instead  of  being  daunted  by  the  disaster  he  returned  printing  was  necessary,  and  Dr.  F.  E.  Hoskins,  editor  of| 

to  Beirut,  reproduced  all  that  he  had  previously  done,  and  the  Beirut  Press,  urged  that  electro  plates  be  made,  which| 


this  time  himself  made  the  punches  and  drove  the  matrices 
by  hand.  Thus  in  1843  the  first  font  of  the  famous  Beirut 
type  was  ready  for  use. 

A    NEW   TRANSLATION    NEEDED 

Now  they  were  able  to  print  the  new  edition  of  the 
Bible,  but  after  careful  consultation  it  was  decided  that 
the  quality  of  the  characters  to  be  used  in  the  printing  de- 


would  obviate  the  repeated  necessity  of  typesetting  anc 
infinitely  careful  proof-reading.  It  was  estimated  that  the 
process  of  making  the  plates  would  involve  an  expenditure 
of  some  $15,000.  The  Bible  Society,  however,  felt  unable 
to  meet  this  expense,  and  so  the  third  edition,  like  its  prede- 
cessors, had  to  be  set  up  in  type.  The  same  type-setter 
who  had  done  this  work  twice  before  again  undertook  the 
task,  the  magnitude  of  which,  after  the  type  is  at  hand 


June  7,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


11 


and  the  translation  made,  may  be  faintly  realized  when  we 
note  that  while  English  printing  requires  less  than  500 
separate  pieces  of  type,  good  Arabic  demands  the  constant 
use  of  over  3,000.  By  1906  this  edition  was  finished.  Six 
thousand  copias  were  printed  of  the  entire  Bible,  and  an 
extra  thousand  of  the  New  Testament  alone.  But  so  in- 
creased was  the  demand  that  within  five  years  the  supply 
was  exhausted,  and  since,  of  course,  so  much  type  could 
not  be  kept  year  after  year  from  the  daily  work  of  the 
press,  it  was  again  necessary  to  consider  work  on  a  fourth 
edition. 

A  NEW  REFERENCE  BIBLE 

In  1905  plans  were  completed  for  a  piece  of  work 
which  would  involve  infinitely  more  toil  than  even  the 
setting-up  and  correction  of  former  editions  had  done.  It 
was  felt  that  the  old  reference  which  had  done  service  for 
nearly  fifty  years,  should  be  replaced  by  the  more  modern 
references  based  upon  the  English  Revised  Bible  and  the 
American  Standard  Bible,  and  that  the  entire  manuscript 
should  then  be  put  into  electro  plates.  It  was  a  monumental 
task,  but  was  entered  upon  by  Dr.  Hoskins  in  the  early 
months  of  1906.  The  preliminary  study  occupied  two  years 
before  the  writing  of  copy  was  begun.  Correction  of  the 
first  proofs  began  in  1909,  and  by  Christmas,  1910,  the  final 
proofs  of  the  New  Testament  were  ready.  To  satisfy  the 
demand  for  the  New  Testament  bound  alone  it  was  decided 
to  print  a  separate  edition  of  3,000  copies  without  waiting 
for  the  completion  of  the  plates  of  the  Old  Testament.  In 
1912  this  edition,  which  represented  the  continuous  work 
of  editor,  Arabic  scholars,  proofreaders  and  pressmen  for 
over  five  years,  was  completed  and  given  to  the  world. 

The  work  on  the  Old  Testament,  in  the  meantime,  was 
going  on,  and  in  February,  1915,  the  actual  writing  of  the 
manuscript  was  brought  to  a  close.  By  May  of  the  same 
year  the  last  sheet  of  proof  had  been  corrected,  and  the 
entire  Bible  was  ready  to  be  printed.  While  the  third 
edition  had  covered  1,567  pages,  this  final  edition  has  been 
reduced  to  1,424,  which  will  make  possible  for  all  future 
time  a  less  expensive  printing  of  the  book.  The  original 
estimate  of  the  cost  of  the  work,  $15,000,  was  found  to  be 
almost  exactly  correct,  and  friends  of  the  mission  have 
subscribed  nearly  the  whole  amount. 

A  few  words  as  to  the  scope  of  the  work  may  not  be 
out  of  place.  There  are  cardinal  references  connecting  the 
appearances  of  every  proper  name  throughout  the  sixty-six 
books.  Another  series  of  marks,  classified  into  groups, 
indicates  parallel  quotations  such  as  occur  in  the  Gospels, 
similarities  of  thought,  and  more  remotely  connected  pas- 
sages. Thus  it  is  both  a  reference  Bible  and  a  harmony  of 
the  Gospels,  and  it  should  be  remembered  that  every  scratch 
of  the  pen  is  original  work  based  upon  the  English  ver- 
sions already  cited,  the  former  Arabic  editions,  and  a  large 
mass  of  personal  notes  and  data  compiled  by  the  Editor. 
The  man  who  has  done  such  a  piece  of  work  with  the  care 
and  precision  which  makes  possible  the  assertion  that  there 
is  not  a  flaw  between  the  two  covers,  may  well  feel  that 
his  life  has  been  put  into  a  task  the  value  of  which  is  beyond 
computation. 

MINUTE  AND  EXACTING  LABOR 

As  I  have  already  said,  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  see 
some  of  the  last  stages  of  the  work  on  the  Old  Testament. 
Day  after  day  I  have  watched  Dr.  Hoskins  and  the  scholars 
who  were  helping  him,  pore  over  the  proof  sheets,  which 
formed  the  fourth  stage  of  their  work;  the  selection  of 
references,  revision  of  texts,  and  writing  of  manuscript 
having  already  been  completed.  I  have  listened  to  discus- 
sions as  to  the  exact  character  to  be  chosen  from  half  a 


dozen  almost  identical  symbols  in  order  that  the  most  per- 
fect form  of  a  word  might  result.  And  I  have  seen  the 
infinite  care  with  which  these  men  worked  through  the 
dictionaries  in  order  to  find  precisely  the  word  or  the 
grammatical  form  best  suited  to  the  need.  My  first  view 
of  the  work  was  in  connection  with  the  reading  of  the 
third  proof  sheets.  They  were  almost  errorless,  but,  to  my 
surprise,  I  learned  that  four  more  proofs  must  be  read, 
word  by  word,  vowel  by  vowel,  reference  by  reference, 
before  the  editors  would  be  satisfied.  Truly  the  work  was 
monumental,  and  I  could  easily  understand  how  it  required 
nine  years  of  unremitting  toil  to  bring  it  to  completion. 

Unfortunately,  the  completion  of  the  plates  did  not 
make  possible  the  immediate  printing  of  this  new  edition, 
for  paper,  ink,  machine  oil,  and  rubber  press  rollers  were 
almost  impossible  to  obtain  as  a  result  of  the  war.  On 
June  26,  1916,  the  day  we  left  Beirut,  the  first  complete 
copies  of  the  Bible  were  shown  to  us,  a  small  number 
assembled  so  that  Dr.  Hoskins  might  have  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  his  work  in  final  form  before  he  left.  It  is  our 
ardent  hope  that  ere  long  conditions  may  make  it  possible 
for  the  entire  edition  to  be  ready  for  distribution.  It  would 
be  a  matter  of  lifelong  regret  if  the  disorders  produced  by 
the  present  world  struggle  should  make  possible  the  de- 
struction of  the  plates  so  carefully  made,  by  a  hostile 
soldiery.  Similar  crimes  have  been  perpetrated,  but  our 
prayers  go  up  for  the  preservation  of  this  noble  piece  of 
work. 


MMifiiiiuifiiMiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiutiitiimtiitniiiiii 


intiiiiii iimi  iiimiinimmtiiiiimimiiittiiiiimiimm iniiiiiiiiiiiniiinr 


Take  Time  to  Live 

Take  time  to  live ; 

The  world  has  much  to  give 

Of  faith  and  hope  and  love. 

Of  faith,  that  life  is  good, 

That  human  brotherhood 

Shall  no  illusion  prove ; 

Of  hope,  that  future  years 

Shall  bring  the  best,  in  spite 

Of  those  whose  darkened  sight 

Would  stir  our  doubts  and  fears ; 

Of  love,  that  makes  of  life, 

With  all  its  grief,  a  song; 

A  friend,  of  conquered  wrong; 

A  symphony,  of  strife. 

Take  time  to  live, 

Nor  to  vain  Mammon  give 

Thy  fruitful  years. 

Take  time  to  live ; 

The  world  has  much  to  give 

Of  sweet  content;  of  joy 

At  duty  bravely  done ; 

Of  hope,  that  every  sun 

Shall  bring  more  fair  employ. 

Take  time  to  live, 

For  life  has  much  to  give, 

Despite  the  cynic's  sneer 

That  all's  forever  wrong. 

There's  much  that  calls  for  song! 

To  fate  lend  not  thine  ear. 

Take  time  to  live; 

The  world  has  much  to  give. 

—Thomas  Curtis  Clark,  in  "Friendly  Town. 


iiniiiiiriMiiMtiiiiimimiiiTiniiiiuuiitiiiHuiiiniiuuirM(lllulMMiiitiiiiiiMttllMltllmTiiiiMririiiimiiiii!iMiniiHiiiiitiin!i'rii:iuriiiiitiiriiiiimHntwi 


A  Look-in  on  Mexico 


I 


HAVE  just  spent  four  weeks 
among  my  old  friends  in  Mexico. 
Entering  at  Piedras  Negras,  I  had 
several  days  at  that  city,  in  Saltillo 
and  Monterey,  eight  days  in  the  capi- 
tal and  in  Vera  Cruz.  As  soon  as 
I  had  succeeded  in  getting  away  from 
all  the  fears  incurred  as  a  result  of 
two  years  residence  in  the  United 
States  and  the  reading  of  our  papers 
about  the  conditions  in  Mexico,  I 
traveled  about  as  usual.  And  here  at 
Havana  I  get  my  first  New  York  pa- 
pers and  find  on  the  first  page  "Wash- 
ington Rumor  of  Mexican  Revolt — 
Concerned  Over  Report  Carranza  Has 
Been  Overthrown,"  and  an  editorial 
talks  about  the  need  of  "Watching 
Mexico,"  as  Carranza  is  due  to  aid  the 


Germans.     It 


gives 


one  a  feeling:  of 


absolute  hopelessness  about  the  United 
States  ever  understanding  the  Mexi- 
can question  if  we  are  to  depend  on 
such  false  reports  as  these.  One  dis- 
patch says  that  Washington  has  been 
out  of  communication  with  Mexico 
City  for  several  days.  On  that  very 
day  the  papers  in  Mexico  City  were 
reporting  the  details  of  the  war  dis- 
cussions in  Washington  and  its  final 
declaration  by  the  United  States  Con- 
gress, and  were  giving  splendid  press 
dispatches  from  the  war  zone  in 
Europe  as  well  as  publishing  news  of 
the  attitude  of  the  other  Latin-Amer- 
ican countries  toward  Germany  in 
view  of  the  declaration  of  war  by  the 
United  States ! 

NO    SYMPATHY    WITH    GERMANY 

As  regards  indications  of  sympathy 
with  Germany,  I  was  unable  to  find  it 
then  or  at  any  other  time.  I  under- 
stand that  the  German  consul  in  Chi- 
huahua is  spending  money  freely  in 
entertainment  and  has  a  wide  circle  of 
friends,  but  in  Monterey  the  Ger- 
man colony,  which  used  to  be  quite 
influential,  is  very  quiet.  A  reliable 
American,  prominent  in  the  oil  busi- 
ness in  Tampico,  said  to  me  that  there 
were  not  over  a  dozen  Germans  in 
that  city  and  probably  not  over  fifty 
in  the  district.  American  papers  are 
reporting  two  thousand  reservists 
there,  ready  to  seize  the  oil  wells !  In 
Mexico  City  I  could  find  no  one,  not 
even  those  Americans  who  swallow 
every  rumor  afloat,  that  felt  that  there 
was  anything  in  the  reported  German 
influence  with  the  Mexican  govern- 
ment. As  for  Japanese,  there  are  only 
two  hundred  and  fifty  in  Mexico  City 
and  about  2,500  in  the  whole  country. 

As  far  as  the  "Overthrow  of  Car- 
ranza" is  concerned,  it  is  absolutely 
ridiculous.  The  newspapers  in  the 
United  States  are  insistent  that  Obre- 
gon,  the  leader  of  the  military  party 


By  S.  G.  Inman 

as  they  call  him,  is  bound  to  break 
with  Carranza  because  he  has  been 
the  most  successful  general.  So  I  took 
particular  pains  to  find  out  the  situa- 
tion in  this  regard.  I  was  not  able  to 
get  the  least  evidence  that  Obregon 
has  any  idea  of  breaking  with  Car- 
ranza. In  fact,  if  there  is  one  thing 
that  all  those  on  the  inside  of  the 
present  administration  seem  to  be  sure 
of,  it  is  that  the  Secretary  of  War  of 
all  men  may  be  counted  as  loyal  to 
the  Constitutionalist  cause.  He  real- 
izes too  deeply  that  Carranza  is  the 
only  hope  for  the  country,  to  consider 
turning  against  him. 

HAS    CARRANZA    CHANGED? 

But  people  are  beginning  to  expect 
the  impossible  of  this  quiet,  stern  man, 
who  with  a  set  jaw  and  a  determined 
look  has  for  the  last  five  years  pursued 
an  undeviating  course  of  no  com- 
promise with  the  reactionaries,  a  com- 
plete victory  for  constitutional  govern- 
ment. I  had  been  anxious  to  see  the 
General  again  and  learn  whether  he 
had  really  changed,  as  some  insisted, 
since  the  time  when  as  governor  of  the 
State  of  Coahuila  and  at  the  beginning 
of  the  present  revolution,  I  knew  him 
at  Saltillo  and  Piedras  Negras.  Then 
we  talked  over  the  problems  of  educa- 
tion and  taxation  by  the  hour,  when 
nothing  was  further  from  his  mind 
than  becoming  a  soldier.  His  faith  in 
the  common  Mexican  seemed  to  me 
then  to  be  ideal. 

Our  families  visited  back  and  forth 
and  the  Carranzas  were  as  good  neigh- 
bors as  we  ever  had.  Sra.  Carranza 
and  the  two  young  lady  daughters 
were  quiet,  unpretentious  people  of 
what  we  would  call  the  upper  middle 
class.  When  the  fighting  got  so<  bad 
that  the  General  had  to  put  himself 
at  the  head  of  his  troops  and  it  was 
no  longer  safe  for  the  rest  of  his 
family  to  stay  in  Mexico,  it  was  our 
sad  privilege  to  take  them  in  our  car- 
riage across  the  International  bridge 
into  Texas.  In  its  center,  where  the 
granite  stone  marks  the  boundary  be- 
tween the  two  nations,  the  husband 
and  father  bade  good-bye  to  his  loved 
ones.  After  witnessing  that  scene,  I 
could  never  believe  the  stories  attack- 
ing his  moral  character. 

So  it  has  been  one  of  the  greatest 
pleasures  of  my  life  to  find  him  here 
as  the  President-elect  of  the  nation, 
the  same  simple,  honest  man  with  the 
same  quiet  purpose  and  the  same 
clogged  determination  that  I  had 
known  before.  And  his  calmness !  It 
makes  no  difference  how  excited  those 
around  him  become,  how  much  it  looks 
like  a  crisis  has  been  reached,  he  is 
as  calm  as  the  morning.    Friends  told 


me  they  had  seen  him  when  some 
strong  general  had  come  in  to  com- 
plain against  some  other  man  and  that 
the  general  and  his  staff  would  rave 
and  flourish  their  arms  in  the  wildest 
kind  of  a  way,  but  the  old  man  would 
never  so  much  as  move  a  muscle. 
This  calmness,  this  steady  unswerving 
purpose,  so  different  from  what  the 
Mexican  character  generally  is,  seems 
to  me  to  be  the  reason  for  his  having 
been  so  thoroughly  misunderstood. 
But  he  is  coming  to  be  understood. 
Many  Americans  as  well  as  Mexi- 
cans and  Spaniards  who  have  lived 
always  in  Mexico  City  and  have  not 
understood  the  northern  part  of  Mex- 
ico and  its  liberal  tendencies,  which 
find  their  expression  in  a  man  like 
Carranza,  have  come  to  regard  the 
First  Chief,  since  his  present  resi- 
dence in  the  Capital,  as  the  one  man 
who  is  strong  enough  to  restore  order 
to  the  country. 

RETURN   TO    CIVIL   AUTHORITY 

Naturally  the  return  from  military 
to  civil  authority  will  be  the  greatest 
test  of  General  Carranza's  leadership. 
His  generals  have  been  allowed  at 
times  quite  large  liberty.  Many  of 
them  have  enriched  themselves  by 
graft  and  spoils.  One  officer  told  me 
that  he  believed  there  were  eight  hun- 
dred generals  in  the  Mexican  army. 
Most  of  these  men  are  doing  a  great 
deal  better  in  a  financial  way  than  they 
ever  did  before.  They  will  not  easily 
give  up  this  order  of  things.  An  en- 
couraging sign  is  found  in  such  men 
as  General  Cos.  Without  knowing 
who  he  was,  I  fell  to  talking  with  him 
on  the  train.  He  was  returning  from 
the  little  ranch  he  had  owned  before 
the  revolution.  He  had  resigned  his 
commission  a  few  weeks  before,  was 
to  be  married  in  a  few  days,  and  was 
busy  fixing  up  his  house  for  his  bride 
and  putting  his  farm  under  cultivation. 
On  the  other  hand  there  are  many  of 
these  generals  who  are  occupying  other 
men's  ranches  and  they  would  rather 
fight  than  give  them  up. 

It  is  dangerous  to  cross  an  army 
officer  here,  as  it  was  in  Germany,  and 
is  in  all  countries  where  the  army  is 
first.  Hearing  shots  outside  my  win- 
dow at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Mexico 
City,  I  investigated  to  find  that  a  man 
had  come  along  the  street  accompanied 
by  two  women.  An  army  officer  had 
come  out  of  the  barracks  nearby  and 
laid  violent  hands  on  one  of  the 
women.  She  had  screamed  for  help 
and  a  man  coming  in  the  opposite  di- 
rection had  gone  to  her  rescue.  He 
and  the  officer  had  a  pistol  duel  and 
one  was  carried  off  dead  and  the  other 
mortally  wounded.    Yet  this  was  the 


June  7,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


13 


only  time  I  heard  the  sound  of  a  gun 
during  my  entire  trip  from  the  border 
to  Vera  Cruz. 

THE  EVER-PRESENT  VILLA 

Of  course  there  is  the  ever-present 
Villa  around  Chihuahua.    While  I  was 
not  near  his  territory,  I  did  talk  with 
many   people    from   that   part   of   the 
country     and     the    almost    universal 
opinion  is  that  he  is  no  longer  a  force 
that  can  be  counted  as  menacing  the 
power  of  the  government.     It  will  be 
a  long  time,  no  doubt,  before  he  and 
other  chiefs   can   be  captured  or  en- 
tirely  put  out  of   business,   but   they 
are  not  powerful  enough  to  do  more 
than  nag  and  pillage  in  their  own  dis- 
tricts.     The    country    in    general    is 
settling  down  to  normal  life.     Farms 
are  cultivated,  mines  and  factories  are 
being     opened     again,     schools     are 
flourishing,    railroads    are    busy.      A 
concession   has   just  been  granted   to 
one  company,  allowing  them  one-third 
of  the  duty  off,  to  bring  in  a  thousand 
automobiles  to  be  used  as  taxicabs  in 
Mexico    City   and   other   cities.     The 
custom  house  at  Laredo  did  ten  mil- 
lions of  business  in  February. 

Streets  are  being  paved  and  parks 
beautified,  and  new  sanitary  measures 
are  being  taken  for  the  health  of  the 
people.  In  Saltillo,  the  progressive 
administration    of    Governor    Nireles, 


the  city  is  being  beautified  in  a  re- 
markable way.  He  is  putting  educa- 
tion first  in  his  program,  was  most 
cordial  in  praise  of  our  mission  schools 
and  offered  to  give  us  a  monthly  sub- 
sidy for  two  of  them.  This  is  only  an 
illustration  of  the  cordiality  I  found 
everywhere  in  regard  to  the  work  of 
Protestant  Missions.  This  is  natural 
when  so  many  of  the  officials  have 
been  educated  in  our  schools.  I  found 
men  occupying  prominent  positions 
everywhere  I  went,  who  had  been  our 
pupils  or  who,  like  Governor  Mireles, 
had  known  our  work  and  had  reason 
to  be  thankful  for  what  it  had  done. 

THE   HOPE   OF   THE   FUTURE 

It  is  in  the  hands  of  these  young 
fellows  that  one  finds  the  destinies  of 
Mexico  at  the  present  time.  They 
are  often,  very  often,  without  experi- 
ence, yet  they  are  forward-looking 
fellows.  The  present  young  mayor  of 
Piedras  Negras  came  to  our  night 
classes  in  the  People's  Institute  not 
over  six  years  ago,  when  he  could 
scarcely  read.  It  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,  to  find  that  he  has  all  kinds 
of  schemes  in  hand  for  night  classes, 
public  baths,  reading  rooms,  and  simi- 
lar facilities  along  the  lines  he  saw 
worked  out  at  the  Institute.  And  he 
is  not  only  willing  but  anxious,  really 
hungering,  to  be  led  by  those  who  can 


show  him  how  to  improve  his  people 
by  these  modern  means. 

1  fere  is  a  thing  that  one  notices  im- 
mediately on  getting  to  Mexico  these 
days.  The  country  is  in  the  hand 
a  very  different  class  of  people  from 
those  who  ruled  it  in  the  old  days. 
The  intelectuales  are  no  longer  in 
evidence.  The  common  people  are 
having  their  day.  Will  this  last? 
Quien  sabe?  What  will  probably  hap- 
pen is  that  the  best  of  these  will  be- 
come more  efficient  and  more  cultured 
and  the  best  of  the  intelectuales  will 
become  more  democratic,  and  in  the 
years  to  come  there  will  develop  a 
combination  of  these  elements  that 
will  make  the  best  and  most  efficient 
public  servants  that  Mexico  has  ever 
known.  This  will  take  time.  I  only 
hope  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  realize  the  necessity  of  this 
time  element,  giving  the  Carranza 
government  strong  backing  in  dealing 
with  the  tremendously  difficult  and 
multitudinous  problems  confronting 
it,  and  with  sympathetic  understanding 
will  encourage  our  friends  in  their 
long  period  of  reconstruction,  which 
will  be  as  trying  for  them  no  doubt 
as  were  our  days  following  the  Civil 
War.  It  will  help  wonderfully  to 
challenge  every  sensational  report 
about  Mexico  seen  in  the  newspapers. 

Havana,  Cuba. 


Vanishing  Littleness 


THE  world  of  today  is  once  again 
a  big  world.  For  years  writers 
and  lecturers  have  been  telling  us 
that  the  world  was  growing  con- 
stantly smaller  by  reason  of  discovery, 
invention  and  travel.  So  accustomed 
have  we  all  become  to  this  view  of 
things  that  it  has  sometimes  seemed 
as  if  men  were  about  ready  to  take 
our  world  and  hold  it  in  their  hands 
as  an  interesting  toy — marvelous,  of 
course,  but  still  a  toy.  But  once  again 
our  world  has  become  the  "big  world" 
we  studied  about  with  vague  Teach- 
ings of  the  childish  mind  to  compass 
its  dimensions  in  the  early  days  of 
school  geography. 

NEW    AND   BIG   PROBLEMS 

It  is  big  with  present  problems  and 
future  conditions.  It  may  have  been 
a  very  respectable  problem  to  have  fed 
a  flourishing  family  of  four,  or  six, 
or  eight  persons  with  the  price  of 
foodstuffs  soaring  to  heights  un- 
known, but  now  we  face  the  gigantic 
task  of  feeding  millions  as  whole  na- 
tions balance  tremulously  on  the 
brink  of  starvation. 

And  was  the  sky  ever  so  high  as 


By  W.  A.  Shullenberger 

today  when  the  airman  sails  and 
hovers  far  above  the  clouds  in  the 
boundless  leagues  of  space?  Was  the 
ocean  ever  so  deep  as  now  when  car- 
goes of  precious  stuffs  settle  in  the 
waves  at  the  roar  of  the  torpedo? 
Was  human  strength  ever  so  feeble 
as  now,  when  the  hands  of  myriads 
of  patriots  tingle  to  lay  hold  on  the 
steel-willed  autocrat  who  demands 
war,  and  perpetuates  war,  while  all 
the  while  the  contending  armies  slay 
one  another  in  vain  attempt  to  go  be- 
hind the  lines  and  "get"  the  little  group 
that  has  littered  the  world  with  fire- 
brands? 

Aye,  it  is  a  big  world !  With  the 
greatest  minds  and  strongest  hearts 
prostrate  before  its  tremendous  ap- 
peal! 

A    NOBLER    LIFE    COMING 

But  the  agony  of  the  hour  is  accom- 
plishing something.  "At  sea,  when 
the  ship  is  in  great  peril,  the  passen- 
gers crowd  together."  The  big  world 
with  its  big  challenges,  and  immeasur- 
able responsibilities  is  slaying  little- 
ness. When  the  cataclysm  is  ended, 
and  the  last  shot  has  reverberated 
and  echoed  itself  into  nothingness,  a 


grander  and  nobler  life  will  set  itself 
up  on  earth. 

The  President  has  called  upon  every 
American  to  count  his  own  particular 
affairs  second  to  the  universal  wel- 
fare. Littleness  has  ceased  in  politics, 
and  men  are  asking,  "What  ought  to 
be  done?"  In  commerce  the  man 
who  is  little  enough  to  indulge  in  food 
hoarding  and  food  speculation  will  be 
reckoned  a  traitor  to  the  common 
good.  In  human  life  American  and 
English  mothers  are  giving  up  their 
sons  that  they  may  hold  trenches  or 
charge  barricades  in  the  name  of  hu- 
man freedom,  and  that  "the  world 
may  be  made  safe  for  democracy." 

PATRIOTS    AT    HOME 

In  these  days  there  is  no  distinction 
between  the  brave  at  home  and  the 
brave  at  the  front. 

"The  mother  who  conceals  her  grief 

While  to  her  breast  her  son  she  presses, 
Then  breathes  a   few  brave  words  and 
brief. 

Kissing  the  patriot  brow  she  blesses, 
With  no  one  but  her  secret  God 

To  know  the  pain  that  weighs  upon 
her, 
Sheds  holy  blood  as  e'er  the  sod 

Received  on  Freedom's  field  of  honor." 


14 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


June  7,  1917 


So  littleness  is  vanishing.  Let  it 
go  from  every  heart  and  every  life. 
Let  it  go,  and  with  it  sectarian  shibbo- 
leths, national  prejudices,  suicidal  sel 


that  have  hampered  the  world  a  thou-  thought  and  lived  and  prayed  in  world 

sand  years.     "Ring  out  the  old :  ring  terms  could  save  the  world.     Chris- 

in  the  new."    For  Christ  is  coming  in.  tian,  your  day  is  dawning.     Are  youi 

He  it  was  who  was  great  enough  cen-  big    enough    and    noble    enough    tc 


fishness,  and  the  traditions  and  forms      turies  ago  to  know  that  only  they  who      qualify  for  citizenship? 


After  This  Life- What? 

By  W.  R.  Nicoll 

England  is  thinking  seriously  in  these  terrible  days  of  war  and  catastrophe.  The  great  popularity  of  the 
JVells  book,  "Mr.  Britling  Sees  It  Through,"  is  evidence  of  this  fact.  So  also  the  intense  interest  mani- 
fested in  Sir  Oliver  Lodge's  late  work  in  which  he  claims  to  tell  of  messages  received  from  his  deceased  son 
zi'ho  w'as  lost  in  battle  several  months  ago.  The  folio  whig  article  was  published  recently  in  the  British 
Weekly,  of  London.     It  treats  especially  the  question  of  "Reunion  in  Eternity." 


IT  IS  Christian,  though  not  fully 
Christian,  to  rest  the  hope  of  re- 
union in  eternity  on  the  faith  that 
God  is  love,  that  He  is  the  Author 
of  love,  and  that  He,  being  the 
Author,  is  also  the  Finisher  of  love. 
He  does  not  betray  the  soul  that  has 
found  Him,  so,  neither  will  he  put 
to  shame  the  hopes  that  have  been 
built  on  His  faithfulness. 

browning's  message 

Perhaps  the  chief  representative  of 
this  school  is  that  great  prophet  of 
love  and  immortality  and  reunion, 
Robert  Browning.  Browning  was  a 
keen  dialectician  and  a  very  subtle 
reasoner.  But  he  always  appealed 
from  the  intellect  to  that  which  is  be- 
yond intellect.  Feeling  and  intuition 
he  held  to  be  far  above  knowledge. 
Mere  knowledge  will  not  enable  us  to 
reach  God.  In  one  of  his  profounder 
passages  he  says: 

"Wholly    distrust    thy    knowledge    then, 

and  trust 
As  wholly  love  allied  to  ignorance! 
There  lies  thy  truth  and  safety. 

Consider  well! 
Were    knowledge    all    thy    faculty,    then 

God 
Must    be    ignored:    love    gains    Him    by 

first  leap.' 

These  words,  "Love  gains  Him  by  first 
leap,"  hold  the  very  heart  of  Brown- 
ing. He  holds  that  the  object  of  life 
is  to  know  God,  and  that  it  is  only 
in  knowing  love  that  we  learn  to  know 
God.  Love  is  the  meaning  of  life, 
and  whosoever  does  not  learn  it,  who- 
ever does  not  live  for  it,  must  be 
eternally  lost. 

It  might  be  said  truly  enough  that 
Shelley  is  also  a  believer  in  love  as 
the  supreme  secret  and  the  master- 
key  of  life.  But  the  difference  be- 
tween Shelley  and  Browning  is 
unbridgable.  Shelley's  God  is  not  per- 
sonal, and  he  has  no  belief  in  individ- 
uality. What  he  expects  is  not  an 
immortal  life,  but  a  mystic  merging 
of  his  own  personality  with  the 
universe.      On    the    other    hand,    in 


Browning  the  sense  of  individuality 
was  supreme.  He  held  with  utter  and 
unshaken  conviction  that  there  is  for 
each  man  and  woman  a  persistent  life 
on- its  upward  way,  distinct  from  the 
temporary  coverings  it  makes  use  of. 

"From  first  to  last  of  lodging,  I  was  I, 
And  not  at  all  the  place  that  harbored 
me." 


PERSONAL   IDENTITY 

Browning  had  that  recognition  of 
personal  identity,  the  bewildering  con- 
sciousness of  the  "I"  beneath  all  the 
marvelous  changes  of  body  and  mind 
which  is  so  powerfully  expressed  by 
Fitz james  Stephen  in  his  reply  to  John 
Stuart  Mill:  "All  human  language, 
all  human  observation,  implies  that 
the  mind,  the  T,'  is  a  thing  in  itself, 

yiniiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiitiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiniMiM(iiiiiiiiniiiiittiiiiiiiiiitniiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiii 

!       A   MESSAGE  FROM   TAGORE      \ 

MY  brothers,  when  the  red  light  of  | 

conflagration  sends  up  its  crackle  1 

|     of  laughter  to   the  stars,  keep  your  | 

1     faith  upon  those  stars  and  not  upon  | 

1     the    fire    of   destruction.    For   when  § 

|     this  conflagration  consumes  itself  and  | 

|     dies   down,   leaving  its  memorial  in  | 

|     ashes,    the    eternal    light   will   again  % 

|     shine   in   the   East — the   East   which  | 

1     has  been  the  birthplace  of  the  morn-  f 

|     ing  sun  of  man's  history.    ...  | 

/  know  my  voice  is  too  feeble  to  \ 

|     raise  itself  above  the  uproar  of  this  \ 

1     bustling  time,  and  it  is  easy  for  any  | 

|     street  urchin  to  fling  against  me  the  | 

|     epithet  of  "unpractical"    .    .    .     Yet  X 

1     when,  one  day,  standing  on  the  out-  1 

1     skirts   of   Yokohama  town,   bristling  \ 

|     with  its  display   of  modern   miscel-  | 

|     lanies,  I  watched  the  sunset  in  the  I 

1     southern  sea,  and  saw  its  peace  and  I 

1     majesty    among    the    pine-clad    hills,  \ 

|     with    the    great    Fujiyama    growing  | 

|     faint  against  the  golden  horizon,  like  | 

|     a  god  overcome  with  his  own  radi-  1 

1     ance — the   music   of   eternity   welled  \ 

1     up  through  the  evening  silence,  and  \ 

1     /  felt  that  the  sky  and  the  earth  and  \ 

|     the  lyrics  of  the  dawn  and  the  dayfall  | 

1     are  with  the  poets  and  the  idealists,  I 

and  not  with  the  marketsmen  robustly  \ 

|     contemptuous  of  all  sentiments — that,  \ 

|     after   the  forgetfulness  of  his   own  \ 

divinity,   man   will   remember   again  \ 

that  heaven  is  always  in  touch  with  1 
|     his  world. 

TrMlllllltlltllllllllllllllllllllltlllllllllMIIIIIIHIIIHIIMIKIinHIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKIIIIIIIIIIItltllllllKIIIII Illllllllll 


a  fixed  point  in  the  midst  of  a  world; 
of  change,  of  which  world  of  change 
its  own  organs  form  a  part.  It  is  the 
same  yesterday,  today  and  tomorrow." 
Stephen  goes  on  to  say,  "It  seems  to 
me  that  we  are  spirits  in  prison,  able 
only  to  make  signals  to  each  other, 
but  with  a  world  of  things  to  think 
and  speak  which  our  signals  cannot 
describe  at  all." 

Given  then  a  personal  God,  a  God 
who  is  love,  who  bestowed  love  on 
His   creatures   and   made   them   love 
Him  in   return,  a  God  who  can  bej 
reached  only  by  the  stair  of  love,  and 
given  also  the  persistent  individuality  | 
which    maintains    itself    through    all] 
tamings  and  subduings  and  discipline 
and  purifying,  and  we  have  a  doctrine 
of  recognition  and  reunion  in  eternity 
which,  properly  understood  and  for- 
tified, defies  denial. 

browning's  faith  illustrated 

As  illustrations  and  confirmation  of 
the  doctrine  expounded  above  we  make 
a  few  extracts  from  Browning.  We 
take  the  first  from  that  mournful 
drama  "A  Blot  on  the  'Scutcheon." 
Mildred  says  to  Tresham,  who  has 
killed  her  lover,  Henry  Merton: 

"Oh    true!      There's   nought   for   me    to 

pardon!     True! 
You   loose  my   soul   of  all  its   cares   at 

once. 
Death  makes  me  sure  of  him  for  ever! 

You 
Tell  me  his  last  words?     He  shall  tell 

me  them, 
A.nd  take  my  answer." 

In  "The  Ring  and  the  Book,"  the  dy- 
ing Pompilia  says  of  her  one  friend, 
Caponsacchi : 

"O  lover  of  my  life,  O  soldier-saint, 

No    work    begun    shall    ever    pause    for 

death! 
Love  will   be  helpful   to   me  more   and 

more 
I'   the   coming  course,   the   new   path    I 

must  tread — 
My  weak  hand  in  thy  strong  hand,  strong 

for  that!" 

Again  in  "La  Saisiaz": 

"Yes,  I  knew — but  not  with  knowledge 
such  as  thrills  me  while  I  view 


June  7,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


15 


Yonder  precinct  which  henceforward 
holds  and  hides  the  Dear  and  True. 

Grant  me  (once  again)  assurance  we 
shall  each  meet  each  some  day, 

Walk — but  with  how  bold  a  footstep!  on 
a  way — but  what  a  way!" 

And  then  take  the  familiar,  dear  and 
immortal  lines  from  "By  the  Fire- 
side" : 

"Think,  when  our  one  soul  understands 
The  great  word  which  makes  all  things 
new, 
When   earth  breaks  up  and   heaven   ex- 
pands, 
How  will  the  change  strike  me  and  you 
In  the  house  not  made  with  hands? 

"Oh,  I  must  feel  your  brain  prompt  mine, 
Your  heart  anticipate  my  heart, 

You  must  be  just  before,  in  fine, 

See  and  make  me  see,  for  your  part, 

New  depths  of  the  divine!" 

MRS.  BROWNING'S  VIEW 

Browning's  views  were  passionately 
shared  by  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Barrett 
Browning-,  who  in  one  of  her  love 
letters  referred  to  the  views  of  a 
friend  who  had  declared  herself  a 
materialist.  She  wrote :  "In  the  face 
of  those  conclusions,  she  said,  she  was 


calm  and  resigned.  It  is  more  than 
I  could  be,  as  I  confessed.  My  whole 
nature  would  cry  aloud  against  the 
most  pitiful  result  of  the  struggle  here 
— a  wrestling  only  for  the  dust,  and 
not  for  the  crown.  What  a  restless 
melancholy  would  fall  upon  me  if  I 
had  such  thoughts — and  what  a  dread- 
ful indifference !  All  grief,  to  have 
itself  to  end  in !  All  joy,  to  be  based 
upon  nothingness !  All  love,  to  feel 
eternal  separation  under  and  over  it! 
Dreary  and  ghastly  it  would  be.  I 
should  not  have  strength  to  love  you, 
I  think,  if  I  had  such  a  miserable 
creed.  And  for  life  itself — would  it 
be  worth  holding  on  such  terms,  with 
our  blind  Ideals  making  mocks  and 
mows  at  us  wherever  we  turned?  A 
game  to  throw  up,  this  life  would  be, 
as  not  worth  playing  to  an  end !" 

Tennyson's  testimony 

Thus  Browning  sees  human  love, 
deep  and  quenchless  and  strong  in 
God.  Can  we  pass  beyond  that?  We 
may.  Tennyson  goes  beyond  it  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  "Holy  Grail" : 


"Let  visions  of  the  night  or  of  the  day 

Come,  as  they  will;  and  many  a  time  they 
come 

Until  this  earth  he  walks  on  seems  not 
earth, 

This  light  that  strikes  his  eyeball  is  not 
light, 

This  air  that  strikes  his  forehead  is  not 
air, 

But  vision — yea,  his  very  hand  and  foot — 

Jn  moments  when  he  feels  he  cannot  die, 

And  knows  himself  no  vision  to  him- 
self, 

Nor  the  high  God  a  vision,  nor  that  One 

Who  rose  again." 

Speaking  of  these  last  three  lines 
Tennyson  says  they  are  "the  C spirit- 
ually; central  lines  in  the  'Idylls.'" 
The  heart  of  it  all  is  here — "that  One 
Who  rose  again." 


Every  day  is  a  little  life;  and  our 
whole  life  is  but  a  day  repeated. — 
Bishop  Hall. 


First,  keep  thyself  in  peace,  and 
then  shalt  thou  be  able  to  make  peace 
among  others. — Thomas  a  Kcmpis. 


A  Prayer  for  War  Times 


T~  AT  HER  of  Mercies  and  God  of 
j*  All  Comfort,  with  whom  there 
is  no  variableness,  neither 
shadow  of  turning,  we  rest  our  weary 
souls  in  Thee.  In  the  midst  of  world 
disaster  and  zvreck  of  all  that  men 
deem  secure,  we  draw  nigh  unto 
Thee  trustfully,  hopefully,  and  in 
contrition  of  heart.  Thou  and 
Thou  alone  canst  deliver  us  from 
despair  and  despondency.  Thou 
who  didst  not  fail  Abraham  wilt  not 
fail  us.  Thou  zvho  assuaged  the  grief 
of  David  will  dry  our  tears.  Thou 
who  didst  keep  the  heart  of  Jesus  in 
perfect  peace  wilt  in  the  day  of  trou- 
ble hide  us  in  Thy  pavilion.  0  Father, 
we  confess  our  utter  need  of  Thee. 
Strengthen  our  wavering  purposes  to 
follow  the  gleam.  Turn  us  back  from 
pursuing  false  gods.  Stay  our  dis- 
position to  become  panic-stricken  and 
our  tendency  to  abandon  all  that  we 
have  counted  dear,  just  because  the 
dark  night  has  come  upon  us  so  over- 
whelmingly.   Why  art  thou  cast  down, 

0  my  soul?    Hope  thou  in  God,  for 

1  shall  yet  praise  Him  who  is  the  light 

of  my  countenance  and  my  God. 
*     * 

God  of  our  Fathers,  bless  our  coun- 


ty Edgar  DeWitt  Jones 

try  which  has  such  dire  need  of  Thee 
as  we  pass  through  the  ordeal  of  fire. 
Be  Thou  the  Stay  of  those  who  carry 
the  responsibility  of  public  office.  Be 
Thou  the  Guide  and  Support  of  the 
President  of  These  United  States  dur- 
ing this  season  of  solemn  and  epochal 
decisions.  Grant  him  light  and  lead- 
ing amidst  the  perplexities  and  diffi- 
culties that  harass  him  on  all  sides. 
May  our  citizenry  cherish  the  patriot- 
ism of  peace  amidst  the  preparations 
for  zmr. 

*     * 

0  help  us  all  to  preserve  the  faith 
of  Jesus  even  while  all  about  us 
there  is  a  crumbling  and  falling  of 
what  zve  believed  was  stable  and  se- 
cure. Raise  us  up  dreamers  and 
prophets  zvho  will  proclaim  the 
grander  day  and  the  universal  brother- 
hood with  all  the  freshness  and  pas- 
sion of  the  Nazarene.  We  pray  for 
our  fellozv  citizens  of  foreign  birth 
zvhose  portion  is  pain  and  sorrozv  in 
these  tortuous  times  which  put  to  test 
the  patriotism  of  us  all.  May  zve  not 
zuound  their  feelings  by  ill-tempered 
speech;  but  may  zve  be  considerate, 
patient  and  kind.  Grant  that  the  fires 
that    light    up    our    country    nozv    in 


mighty  conflagration  may  but  serve 
to  fuse  us  into  a  spiritual  unity,  a 
people  whose  purpose  is  to  serve  the 
cause  of  humanity  and  justice  evcry- 
zvhere.  Bless  those  whom  zve  call  our 
enemies,  and  help  us  to  think  of  them 
as  brothers  still.  Hasten  the  day  when 
hands  that  nozv  grasp  guns  and  szvords 
in  mortal  combat  may  clasp  hands  in 
fraternal  warmth. 

We  pray,  also,  for  the  suffering 
millions,  the  hungry,  the  homeless 
and  the  friendless.  Move  Thou 
upon  our  hearts  until  zve  shall  pas- 
sionately desire  fcllozvship  in  the 
world's  sorrozv,  and  thus  enter  into 
the  suffering  of  Our  Lord.  Strengthen 
us  that  zve  may  be  able  to  renounce, 
if  need  be,  much  that  zve  have  come 
to  think  of  as  necessary  to  our  com- 
fort, and  so  share  out  of  our  abun- 
dance with  the  needy,  the  naked,  the 
homeless  and  the  afflicted.  Forgive 
us  the  sins  that  separate  us  from  Thee 
and  from  one  another,  and  amid  the 
lurid  glozv  that  envelops  the  world 
may  zve  discern  Calvary  and  ponder 
anew  the  mystery  and  the  pain.  He 
suffered  there.  In  the  Xame  of  the 
Saviour  of  us  all.    Amen. 


16 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


June  7,  1917 


m  u  i  ■  i :  r?i  <  i  i  1 1 ;  1 1  r  1 1 1 1 1 1 1  r  l  1 1 1  r  i  t  1 1  n  1 1  r  t  n  n  m  1 1  u  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  ii  •  i  n  1 1  r  i  u  1 1 1]  1 1 1 M  m  i  u  1 1  •  i  it  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  n  i  n  1 1 1  u  i  m  1 1 1  u  n  1 1  j  n  ii  m  m  i  < 1 1 1 1  m  1 1 1 1 1 1  i  n  i  m  r  1 1 1  u  *  m  1 1  m  i  n  n  n  i  m  i  n  i  •  i  •  1 1  m  1 1 1 1 1  m  i  n  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  f  i 1 1  ■  i  ti 


Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage 

By  William  E.  Barton 

Miminiinuiiintiummmiiii tniiiiiiTiititiiiiHinniiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilMtiitiiniitimMiiiiiiiiiniiiiiUMitiiiiiuiiNintiMiiiniiiiniiiiiikiMiuiiiiiitiiiinitiiiiiiiiii in citiitiMiiiMiuiiiiiuiiiiMiMiiT 


Concerning    Vacations 

NOW  I  dwelt  in  a  city  and  the 
labor  of  the  weeks  was  heavy,  so 
it  came  to  pass  as  Summer  Ap- 
proached, that  every  year  I  went 
on  a  Vacation.  And  ofttimes  I  rode 
upon  a  Stage  in  the  hills  of  Ver- 
mont, the  Driver  whereof  was  a 
man  of  experience.  And  he  spake 
to  me  ofttimes,  and  every  year  this 
was  the  burden  of  his  complaint : 

Behold,  thou  comest  here  again 
on  thy  vacation,  being  a  man  who 
toilest  not,  nor  spinnest,  nor  gather- 
est  into  barns,  and  the  Greater  Part 
of  those  who  ride  on  my  Stage  in 
the  Good  Old  Summer  Time  come 
Likewise ;  but  I  drive  this  Con- 
demned Old  Stage  Year  in  and  Year 
out,  Wet  or  Dry,  Hot  or  Cold,  and 
for  Forty  Years  I  have  had  no  Va- 
cation. 

Now  when  I  had  heard  this  many 
times,  I  wrote  to  the  Manager  of  the 
Stage  Route,  saying: 

Behold  this  Driver  of  thy  Com- 
pany hath  served  long,  and  hath 
never  had  a  Vacation ;  give  him  Two 
Weeks,  that  he  may  have  a  Vaca- 
tion like  unto  the  Rest  of  Mankind. 

And  they  did  as  I  made  request  of 
them ;  and  they  sent  Another  Driver 
to  Drive  the  Stage  for  Two  Weeks, 
that  he  might  have  a  Vacation. 

And  the  Next  Summer  as  I  came 
that  way,  I  asked  him  concerning 
his  Vacation,  and  where  and  how  he 
had  Spent  it. 

And  he  relieved  himself  of  a  bur- 
den he  had  been  carrying,  namely, 
a  mouthful  of  Tobacco  Juice,  and 
thus  he  made  answer: 

The  first  Day,  being  Monday,  I 
rode  with  the  New  Driver  to  show 
him  the  Road;  and  because  he  was 
slow  to  Learn  I  rode  with  him  also 
on  Tuesday.  And  on  Wednesday  I 
feared  lest  the  Bay  Mare  should  cast 
a  Shoe,  and  I  rode  with  him  again, 
and  stopped  at  the  Blacksmith  Shop 
in  the  place  midway,  for  there 
dwelleth  the  only  Smith  who  know- 
eth  how  to  Shoe  Horses  as  they 
ought  to  be  shod.  And  on  Thurs- 
day Widow  Skiles  was  going  to 
Town,  and  I  knew  her  Trunk  must 
go,  and  I  feared  lest  that  Substitute 
Driver  should  have  forgotten  it. 
And  on  Friday  it  looked  as  if  it 
would  Rain,  and  was  no  kind  of 
Day  for  a  man  to  be  starting  on  his 
Vacation,  so  I  rode  on  the  stage 
that  Day  also.  And  on  Saturday  it 
did  Rain,  and  was  no  kind  of  Day 
for  a  man  to  be  sitting  around  in- 
side the  House  with  Nothing  to  Do, 
so  I  rode  again  that  day.  And  on 
Monday   there   were   a   lot   of   City 


Folks  who  had  been  out  in  the  Hills 
for  the  Week-End,  going  back  to  the 
City,  and  some  of  them  were  a 
Leetle  Mite  p'tic'lar,  and  I  thought 
I  might  as  well  Go  Long,  and  see 
them  git  on  the  Train.  And  Tues- 
day I  realized  that  the  Time  was 
more'n  Half  Gone,  and  a  Feller 
couldn't  do  Nothing  in  One  Week 
Nohow,  so  I  just  continnered  to 
Ride  on  the  Stage  with  the  Substi- 
tute Driver,  and  Show  him  How. 
And  by  the  End  of  the  Second  Week 
he  was  a  Pretty  Good  Driver,  and  if 
I  could  have  had  a  Vacation  then, 
I  could  have  trusted  him  to  run  the 
Stage. 

Thus  spake  to  me  the  Driver,  who 
had  always  complained  that  he  never 
had  a  Vacation. 

And  I  meditated  much  concern- 
ing what  he  had  said  to  me. 

And  I  said,  O  my  God,  let  me  not 
be  one  of  those  who  constantly  com- 
plain of  the  blessings  they  do  not 
have,  and  who  Would  not  Know 
What  to  Do  with  them  if  they  had 
them.        ■ 

Recent  Books 

Recreation  and  the  Church.  By 
Herbert  W.  Gates.  The  author  of 
this  new  volume  is  superintendent  of 
Brick  Church  Institute,  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  and  understands  thoroughly 
the  problems  of  recreation  as  con- 
nected with  the  church  and  church 
school.  One  of  the  most  valuable 
chapters  is  that  on  "Some  Typical 
Church  Programs,"  and  an  appendix 
including  an  elaborate  bibliography 
will  make  the  book  of  great  value. 
(University  of  Chicago  Press,  Chi- 
cago, 111.  Price  $1,  plus  postage.) 
*     *     * 

Autobiography  of  a  Super- 
Tramp.  By  William  H.  Davies.  This 
unusual  narrative  is  the  more  interest- 
ing because  it  is  not  the  product  of  a 
"purposeful"  adventure,  but  is  the 
plain  story  of  a  downright  hobo  of 
several  years'  standing.  Mr.  Davies 
knows  the  heart  of  the  "regular" 
tramp  and  tells  plainly  the  why  of 
that  remarkable  phenomenon.  From 
the  early  chapters  narrating  some 
hard  adventures  capped  with  the  loss 
of  one  leg  in  a  railroad  mishap,  to 
Mr.  Davies'  story  of  his  final  success 
in  getting  the  attention  of  the  world  to 
his  poems  through  the  advocacy  of 
Bernard  Shaw,  this  tale  of  a  life  is 
intensely  interesting.  (A.  A.  Knopf, 
New  York,  $2.50  net.) 

9f£         9fC         4s 

Collected  Poems  of  Wm.  H. 
Davies.    Simplicity  of  style  and  genu- 


ine poetic  insight  are  characteristics 
of  this  group  of  verses.  Mr.  Davies 
is  almost  childlike  in  his  point  of  view 
with  regard  to  life — and  for  that  very 
reason  the  more  truly  a  poet.  (A.  A. 
Knopf,  New  York.    $1.50  net.) 

*  *     * 

Men  Who  Missed  the  Trail.  By 
George  C.  Peck.  Stories  of  Biblical 
characters  but  with  a  modern  tone. 
Dr.  Peck  sets  these  frail  men  of  the 
Bible  down  among  our  "men  who 
miss  the  trail"  today.  The  Kaiser 
comes  in  for  attention.  Characters  of 
great  literature  are  presented  very  im- 
pressively. For  the  minister  who  is 
planning  next  winter's  or  this  sum- 
mer's sermon  course,  here  is  a  sug- 
gestive volume.  (The  Abingdon 
Press,  New  York.     ($1.25  net.) 

*  *     * 

China  Inside  Out.  By  George  A. 
Miller.  Not  China  as  seen  from  a 
car  window,  but  as  it  appeared  to  a 
man  who  traveled  on  foot  over  Chi- 
nese roads,  lived  in  Chinese  inns,  ate 
and  slept  as  the  Chinese  do — the 
author  having  served  as  an  evangelist 
in  China  for  many  months.  (The  Ab- 
ingdon Press,  New  York.    $1  net.) 

■P         *P         ■? 

Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address. 
By  Orton  H.  Carmichael.  A  vivid 
account  of  the  circumstances  under 
which  Lincoln  wrote  and  delivered  the 
classic  address  which  spoke  for  all 
time  the  thoughts  and  emotions  of  the 
American  nation  at  the  time  of  the 
Civil  War.  (The  Abingdon  Press, 
New  York.    85  cents  net.) 

Give  My  Love  to  Maria.  By 
Florence  G.  Tuttle.  A  volume  of  ex- 
cellent stories  most  of  which  have  ap- 
peared in  high  class  magazines,  three 
of  them  being  prize-winning  stories. 
Delightfully  true  to  life,  with  much 
rich  humor.  (The  Abingdon  Press, 
New  York.    $1  net.) 

*  *     * 

St.  Paul  the  Hero.  By  Rufus  M. 
Jones.  Here  is  the  book  you  have 
been  seeking  for  that  lively  class  of 
Junior  boys.  It  is  the  story,  vividly 
told,  of  the  career  of  the  great  Apos- 
tle from  the  age  of  ten  until  his  death 
as  a  "hero."  It  will  prove  an  exceed- 
ingly useful  volume.  (Macmillan 
Company,  New  York.    $1.) 

*  *     * 

The  Way  of  the  Gate  and  The 
Way  of  the  Green  Pastures  are 
two  other  helpful  texts  for  substantial 
Sunday  school  work  published  by 
Macmillans  under  the  general  title 
"The  King's  Highway  Series."  These 
two  books  are  designed  for  use  with 
children  of  eight  to  ten.  Both  of 
them  are  well  adapted  to  develop  a 
religious  point  of  view  in  children. 
(The  Macmillan  Company,  New 
York.    Each  65  cts.) 


I    Social  Interpretations 

Illinium iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii nun iuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiuiiii iiiiunninuinuuiuuuiuiuiiuuiuuiiiuuiiiniiiiiiuniiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 


Ideal  Politics  vs. 
the  "Real-Politik" 

It  is  interesting  to  take  up  such  a 
book  as  "Politics  and  Crowd  Moral- 
ity"* at  this  time.  Its  able  Danish  auth- 
or lived  near  enough  to  the  smoulder- 
ing volcano  of  European  politics  to 
study  it  first-hand,  yet  under  a  flag  tbat 
was  so  far  immune  from  the  conflicts 
of  the  "Powers"  that  his  study  could 
be  unbiased.  Plis  book  is  not  a  study  of 
war  or  of  probable  war,  but  of  crowd 
psychology  in  its  significance  to  state 
politics  and  morality.  He  did  not  find 
the  "Real-Politik"  confined  to  Prussia 
(neither  did  we  until  we  became  parti- 
zan  to  the  Allies),  but  rather  a  type  of 
state  theory  that  went  with  all  "Na- 
tionalism." Even  since  the  war  began 
a  leading  London  journal  has  said  edi- 
torially: "The  absurd  talk  about  this 
being  a  war  against  militarism  has  now 
subsided" ;  then  after  much  talk  about 
the  British  Empire  being  built  upon 
good  fighting  and  more  about  "cor- 
rupting peace"  when  social  reform, 
land  reform,  etc.,  are  uppermost  and 
sublime  national  ideals  are  lost,  it  con- 
cludes by  declaring  that  Democracy  is 
no  longer  in  evidence  and  neither  indi- 
vidual nor  class  counts  for  much  and 
"what  really  counts  is  the  nation."  Our 
author  defines  the  "Real-Politik"  thus : 
"The  interests  of  our  own  state  takes 
precedence  of  everything!  it  is  natur- 
al and  right  that  we  should  employ 
violence  and  cunning  to  compass  our 
state's  profit  at  the  expense  of  other 
states,  without  troubling  our  heads 
about  nebulous  ideas  of  humanity." 
Over  against  this  ideal  of  the  "Real- 
Politik,"  with  Prussia  as  its  arch-expo- 
nent, we  can  place  President  Wilson's 
great  utterances  in  calling  this  nation 
into  the  war  on  behalf  of  humanity 
and  to  end  the  autocracy  upon  which 
alone  the  "Real-Politik"  can  thrive. 
This  author  does  not  blink  the  fact  that 
Germany  is  the  arch-exponent  of  this 
theory,  neither  does  he  fail  to  note  that 
it  was  the  prevailing  theory  of  recent 
times  and  that  its  partizans  exist  in 
every  nation.  Again  we  may  note  that 
English  public  opinion  of  this  type  said 
of  the  late  Italian  conquest  of  Turkish 
territory  in  Tripoli  that  "right  never 
prevails  in  international  politics  and  it 
would  be  very  inconvenient  for  all  the 
great  powers  for  it  to  prevail  at  this 
time,"  with  strong  intimations  that  the 
"right"  involved  was  sentimental. 


""'Politics  and  Crowd  Morality,"  by 
Arthur  Christensen.  Translated  by  A. 
Cecil  Curtis.     $2.50.     E.  P.  Dutton  &  Co. 


The  Predatory  vs. 
the  Social  Instincts 

Mr.  Christensen  defines  the  "human 
community"  as  "the  offspring  of  the 
dualism  between  the  predatory  instinct 
and  the  social  instinct,  between  war 
and  association."  The  "Real-Politik" 
is  built  upon  the  predatory  instinct  as 
collectively  represented  in  the  last  and 
largest  of  human  groups,  that  of  the 
nation.  He  calls  state  morality  "a  mum- 
mified primitive  morality  which  be- 
lieves itself  throned  on  an  Olympus 
high  above  all  development."  It  thrives 
upon  such  undefined  slogans  as  "na- 
tional honor,"  "the  flag,"  "national  des- 
tiny," etc.,  which  can  be  used  as  crowd 
suggestions  to  fan  the  dying  coals  of 
the  primitive  into  flames  of  fanaticism. 
The  average  politician  and  diplomat  is 
not  flattered  by  compliments  that  point 
to  his  work  in  a  philanthropic  way  for 
the  weal  of  other  nations,  but  proud  of 
insinuations  that  he  served  his  own 
state  by  cheating  or  taking  something 
from  another.  The  active  principles  of 
"Nationalism"  he  sums  up  as  follows : 
Every  state  may  order  its  internal  af- 
fairs as  it  pleases,  e.  g.,  the  Turks  may 
massacre  the  Armenians ;  there  must 
be  no  interference  to  prevent  abuses 
within  another  state.  Germany  pro- 
tests her  nationalistic  doctrine  in  de- 
claring piously  that  she  will  not  inter- 
fere with  Russia's  internal  affairs 
while  at  the  same  time  practicing  "mili- 
taristic" strategy  in  diplomacy  by  at- 
tempting to  stir  up  war  and  sedition  in 
peaceful  states  as  a  means  of  prose- 
cuting her  campaign.  Our  author  finds 
the  evolution  out  of  the  predatory  into 
the  state  of  greater  peacefulness  de- 
pends upon  public  opinion  and  asso- 
ciation ;  these  arise  to  power  in  inter- 
national affairs  very  slowly  and  less 
by  diplomacy  and  the  exertion  of  pub- 
lic opinion  at  the  time  of  war  than 
through  the  building  up  of  "crowd 
psychological  imponderabilia,"  by 
which  he  means  collective  human  sen- 
timent such  as  now  prevails  in  such 
democratic  lands  as  our  own,  Great 
Britain  and  France  notwithstanding 
the  presence  of  our  advocates  of  the 

"Real-Politik." 

*     *     * 

Pastor  Becomes  Home 
Mission  Secretary- 
Rev.  Rodney  W.  Roundy  has  been 
called  to  become  the  secretary  of  the 
American  Missionary  Association  of 
the  Congregationalists.  He  has  had 
special  interest  in  religious  educa- 
tion and  the  governor  of  New  Hamp- 
shire appointed  him  on  the  commis- 
sion for  war  relief. 


Mr.  Roundy  was  born  in  Rock- 
ingham, Vt.,  April  17,  1875.  In  1899 
he  graduated  from  Amherst  College, 
and  after  teaching  two  years  at  Obi 
Lyme,  Ct,  entered  the  Yale  School 
of  Religion,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated   in    1904. 

*     *     * 

The  Challenge  of  Facts  and 
Other  Essays,  by  Wm.  Graham 
Sumner.  Edited  by  Professor  Al- 
bert G.  Kellar  of  Yale  University. 
449  pages.  $2.25.  Published  by 
Yale  University  Press. 
The  name  of  Professor  Sumner  is 
one  of  the  great  memories  at  Yale.  He 
was  one  of  the  greater  pioneers  in  the 
academic  field  of  the  social  sciences 
in  this  country,  living  and  working  in 
the  later  days  of  Herbert  Spencer  and 
being  his  foremost  exponent  in  Amer- 
ica. This  series  of  heretofore  unpub- 
lished essays  is  a  sort  of  memorial  to 
him  by  one  of  his  successors.  Prof. 
Sumner's  frank  challenge  of  facts  was 
a  distinct  contribution  to  social  think- 
ing in  the  earlier  days  of  social  agita- 
tion. His  swing  from  the  idealistic 
to  the  factual  led  to  an  emphasis  upon 
social  laws  and  forces  that  admitted 
little  place  to  legislation,  idealism  or 
even  the  influence  of  ideas  in  reform ; 
he  believed  social  forces  were  as 
powerful  and  invulnerable  as  those  of 
the  physical  world,  and  that  all  we 
could  do  was  to  study  and  obey  them. 
This  led  him  perilously  near  to  hypoth- 
ecating that  "whatever  is,  is  right" ; 
indeed,  in  writing  upon  "The  Concen- 
tration of  Wealth"  he  does  say  "it 
ought  to  be  because  it  is,"  and  that  it 
is  because  it  has  been  made  inevitable 
by  the  forces  that  mould  modern  in- 
dustrial enterprise  and  progress.  He 
taught  that  all  progress  came  through 
the  acquisition  of  power  and  that 
power  came  through  economic  forces 
in  the  final  analysis ;  this,  of  course, 
led  to  a  denial  of  any  power  in  ideas 
as  such  to  promote  progress :  thus  we 
are  fixed  in  a  determinism  that  is  as 
inescapable  as  the  coming  and  going 
of  the  seasons.  Prof.  Sumner's  spe- 
cial abhorrence  was  socialism :  it  is  the 
bete  noir  of  nearly  all  these  essays. 
He  did  not  believe  even  in  industrial 
democracy,  regarding  it  as  a  sort  of 
self-evident  contradiction  because  effi- 
ciency demanded  the  assertion  of  au- 
thority, superior  will  and  arbitrary 
government ;  republicanism,  he  said, 
might  be  possible  in  it.  but  democracy 
never,  and  he  frankly  said  we  were 
"befooled  by  democracy."  His  writ- 
ings are  thought  provoking  by  the  very 
antagonism  they  arouse  and  his  frank- 
ness in  both  thought  and  expression 
is  most  engaging. 


IllliUIIII 


The  Larger  Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 

rammiira 

the  Congregationalists  $52,260,  Epis- 
copalians $29,000,  Methodists  $43,109, 
and  Presbyterians  $62,256.  Services 
in  foreign  languages  are  held  by  the 
various  denominations  as  follows : 
Baptists,  fourteen ;  Episcopalians, 
two ;  Congregationalists,  four ;  Meth- 
odists, twelve  ;  Lutherans,  ten  ;  Pres- 
byterians, thirteen,  and  Disciples,  one. 
The  Episcopalians  have  just  opened 
a  new  parish  on  North  Sawyer  ave- 
nue. The  men  have  built  an  altar  and 
the  altar  linens  were  made  by  the 
women.  While  old  churches  die,  the 
organization  of  churches  in  new  neigh- 
borhoods by  aggressively  organized 
city  missionaries  societies  keeps  most 
of  the  demonstrations  from  losing 
ground  in  the  city. 

Immigrants  in  the 
City   Church 

The  Congregationalists  through 
their  Boston  City  Missionary  Socety, 
the  oldest  in  the  country,  have  de- 
veloped an  interesting  center  for  the 
races.  In  the  Highland  Congrega- 
tional church  there  are  twenty-four 
nationalities.  A  recently  published 
picture  shows  that  the  children  of  the 
various  racial  groups  are  much  alike 
in  appearance.  The  work  of  city  mis- 
sions affords  a  melting  pot  for  the 
fusion  of  the  races.  Where  the  chil- 
dren speak  English,  many  nationali- 
ties can  often  be  housed  in  one  plant, 
though  not  every  neighborhood  will 
respond  to  this  sort  of  treatment. 

Y.  M.  C.  A.  Men 
Take  Long  Trip 

Mr.  Sherwood  Eddy  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  will  spend  part  of  the  summer 
in  the  trenches  in  France  breaking  in 
sixty  men  of  Northwestern  and 
Princeton  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  war 
work.  Then  he  will  go  to  Russia  and 
hold  some  meetings.  Following  this 
he  will  continue  east  to  China  where 
he  is  due  in  October.  Meanwhile, 
John  R.  Mott  is  sailing  from  a  Pacific 
port  for  Russia  by  the  Siberian  route. 
Pie  is  being  sent  by  President  Wilson 
on  an  important  mission.  The  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  men  have  been  acquitting  them- 
selves well  in  this  war. 

Chicago  Churches 
"Doing  Their  Bit" 

The  Chicago  churches  are  doing 
their  bit.  Last  Sunday,  in  response 
to  a  request  from  the  Chicago 
Church  Federation  Council,  in  every 
Protestant  church,  so  far  as  can  be 
ascertained,  in  a  circuit  including 
Waukegan,  Elgin  and  Joliet,  The 
Liberty  Loan  was  announced,  circu- 


By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


Women   Getting   Ready 
for  War 

This  war  has  revealed  the  strength 
of  the  "new  woman."  The  women 
of  the  war-stricken  countries  have 
taken  the  places  of  the  men  "and  have 
shown  unsuspected  talent  in  many 
lines  of  industry.  The  Woman's 
Church  Federation  of  Chicago  pro- 
poses to  co-operate  with  the  Commit- 
tee of  National  Defense  in  getting  a 
complete  enrollment  of  the  women  of 
the  church.  It  is  expected  that  min- 
isters' wives  will  be  the  leaders  in 
getting  this  result  accomplished. 

The  Election  of 
a  Moderator 

The  election  of  a  moderator  is  the 
big  political  thrill  of  the  annual  ses- 
sion of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America.  In  the  recent 
meeting  at  Dallas,  the  candidacy  of 
Dr.  Wilbur  Chapman  was  opposed  by 
his  own  presbytery  of  New  York  on 
the  ground  that  if  that  presbytery  fur- 
nished a  moderator  it  should  be  its 
own  moderator,  Dr.  Harlan  G.  Men- 
denhall.  There  were  three  candidates 
and  the  veteran  evangelist  won  on  the 
first  ballot  in  a  most  decisive  way. 
The  election  reveals  the  state  of  sen- 
timent in  the  Presbyterian  church 
toward  the  popular  evangelism.  A 
large  number  of  the  successful  union 
evangelists  belong  to  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

Hard   Times  in 
Labrador 

Dr.  Grenfell  and  his  work  in  the 
Labrador  country  are  known  through- 
out the  Christian  world.  The  tidings 
comes  that  the  valiant  missionary  has 
been  facing  unusually  urgent  needs 
among  his  people.  The  experiment 
in  raising  reindeer  has  not  yet  come 
to  any  success.  The  catch  of  fish 
was  large  this  year  but  lack  of  bar- 
rels and  the  high  price  of  salt  pre- 
vented this  good  fortune  from  bene- 
fiting the  fishermen  materially.  The 
trappers  got  many  furs,  but  the  mar-, 
ket  for  furs  is  dead  on  account  of  the 
war.  There  is  increased  cost  of  all 
provisions  and  the  poor  people  who 
have  lived  on  the  inhospitable  shores 
of  that  country  face  great  needs. 

City   Missions 
in  Chicago 

A  comparison  of  the  missionary  re- 
ports for  1916  for  the  city  of  Chicago 
shows  that  the  Baptists  spent  for  city 
missions  last  year  the  sum  of  $34,214, 


lars  distributed,  and  people  urged  to 
subscribe.  No  other  business  propo- 
sition in  the  world  could  command 
such  free  and  cordial  advertising 
from  our  pulpits. 

The  Sunday  previous  to  the  Red 
Cross  Movement  was  advertised 
throughout  the  same  great  circuit. 
Reports  from  the  Red  Cross  Head- 
quarters indicate  that  the  member- 
ships from  the  churches  are  pouring 
in  at  a  most  gratifying  rate. 

The  Primate  and 
Dr.  Horton 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and 
Dr.  Horton,  a  prominent  minister  of 
the  Congregational  fellowship,  have 
lately  had  a  tilt  over  the  question  of 
Sunday  labor.  The  matter  of  Sun- 
day gardening  was  put  up  to  the  Arch- 
bishop and  he  decided  that  the  pres- 
ent emergency  demanded  Sunday 
labor.  Dr.  Horton  as  a  descendent  of 
the  Puritans  looked  upon  this  innova- 
tion with  no  favor  and  wrote  to  the 
Archbishop  asking  for  how  long  a 
period  the  ten  commandments  were 
to  be  suspended.  The  Archbishop  in- 
sisted that  Dr.  Horton  took  an  atti- 
tude towards  Sunday  more  in  accord 
with  the  Old  Testament  than  with  the 
teachings  of  Jesus. 

Preparations  for  Church 
Publicity  Convention 

The  three-day  conference  on  church 
publicity  in  connection  with  the  con- 
vention of  the  World's  Advertising 
Clubs  at  St.  Louis,  June  4  to  7,  was 
the  occasion  of  assembling  over  fif- 
teen thousand  pieces  of  printed  matter 
besides  scores  of  signs,  photographs, 
etc.  There  is  much  evidence  of  in- 
terest in  this  convention. 

"Catch  My-Pal"  Patterson 
Goes  Home 

The  Rev.  R.  J.  Patterson  of  the 
"Catch-My-Pal"  temperance  move- 
ment, who  has  been  in  this  country 
for  some  months,  has  returned  to 
England.  He  expresses  himself  as 
greatly  pleased  by  the  grip  of  the  tem- 
perance   movement    upon   all    classes. 

Father  Endeavor  Clark 
Will  Make  Garden 

Father  Endeavor  Clark  says  he  is 
going  to  have  a  big  garden  this  year 
on  which  he  may  lose  some  money, 
for  he  must  hire  the  labor,  but  he 
wants  to  do  his  part  to  help  feed  the 
nation  in  this  critical  time.  He  has 
offered  prizes  for  the  best  gardens 
raised  by  the  young  people  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  fellowship. 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CEN  T  U  R  Y 


19 


June  7,  1917 

^i -:i '.  i;!:'!.:!.'!:'!^!:!!'!.:!-!,  i,m  i!:i:!ii:ji.!iii,!i:i.L:,  i  i'i  i,  i  ■  J  i : !  i  i  i  ■' I ! ;  I ;  i  i :  1 1 :  i :  i  I  mm:i; Lii:iiii:!i;i  ;i !  -i  i:  i  :■  i :  i :  i  i::ii.ii;i  :i'i. !i!.;[ii  :if!;ii:i:!i  ;i:iM!:!i:i,ii;M!iui;iMi:iiS!i  j;:::l.'-i  ;i-,m: 

I  The  Sunday  School   | 

r::\:i":  :i':  :;;::':,■:■!,  -i  t'  v1  r ! ':  v;  i ', : '.';  i  :i;;,|:i;"-i;  ;::i'; 'r:; ;  Tn:i  ti:';  ': -  r" !  ■ ;: ;;' '; ! ! ;!':;:: ■i'lri:!.::1 ,:.1:::  i  vi:i;  li'ii'ii1:;!::;:1;'--!:'.1!::.:::". "" :  ■. —-^ 

I  First  Fruits  of  Triumph 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
By  E.  F.  DAUGHERTY 

U  T  F  Christ  be  not  risen  from  the     ecclesiastic,  whether  pope  or  preach- 

•     dead,"  says  Paul,  "then  is  your     er,  but  evident  to  any  discerning  mind     fulb^nspirauotial   of   those   who  are 
1    hope  vain,"   and   the   believing     which  can  read  well  the  signs  of  the     °Ur- 


Mattie  Pounds — going  home  to  be 
with  God  and  his  beloved  from  the 
midst  of  her  study  of  China;  Helen 
Moses,  with  whom  in  pastime  hours 
she  talked  the  growth  of  Kingdom  in- 
terests from  neighbor  door-,  at  Irving- 
ton;  Dr.  Loftus,  pressing  with  joy 
toward  the  fields  of  service  in  Tibet, 
yet  being  translated  forthwith  upon 
arrival ;  Ray  Eldred  and  his  dear  wife 
from  the  midst  of  Congo's  achieve- 
ments in  the  name  of  Christ,  taken 
on  to  "rest" — aye,  the  list  is  wonder- 


world  has  made  the  resurrection  the 
keystone  in  the  arch  of  Christian 
truth,  denominating  it  the  greatest 
fact  in  human  experience.  But  how 
could  omnipotence  in  self-abnegation, 
as  incarnated  in  Christ,  do  anythng 
else  than  come  out  from  the  tomb  it 
entered  voluntarily  in  behalf  of  a 
hopeless  humanity? 

The  startling  thing,  the  amazing, 
incredible  thing  in  Christ's  career  on 
earth  is  the  love  he  exemplified.  The 
love  expressed  in  the  "little  gospel" 
of  John  3:16  is  antecedent  to  and  sig- 
nificantly superior  to  the  triumph  of 
the  resurrection  morn.  Let  us  put 
ourselves  in  the  grip  of  that  love, 
bring  the  world  under  its  sway,  and 
then  indeed  the  King  of  terrors — 
Death — will  have  lost  its  sting  and 
will  have  been  swallowed  up  in  "vic- 
tory." 

*     *     * 

Nov/,  it  is  the  "resurrected"  love- 
life  of  Christ  that  has  been  earth's 
best  agency  for  moral  and  spiritual 
elevation  the  ages  down.  The  lovers 
of  humanity,  the  servants  of  truth,  the 
champions  of  human  rights,  the  de- 
fenders of  God's  claims  on  men  the 
Christian  ages  down — these  are  the 
outstanding  and  supremely  interesting 
personalities  on  historic  pages,  simply 
because  they  were  "fruits  of  triumph" 
in  the  resurrection  path.  Call  the 
roll  of  the  immortals  in  any  age  since 
Jesus  lived,  and  the  really  significant, 
consequential  personages  were  they  in 
whose  midst  Jesus  moved  as  Master. 

And  the  Christ  still  moves  as  Mas- 
ter in  the  midst  of  men ;  he  is  re- 
incarnated in  every  worth-while  life 
of  the  present  age ;  his  spirit,  his 
deathless  spirit  of  loving  helpfulness 
toward  human  need  is  embodied  in  all 
the  altruistic  tendencies,  movements, 
organizations  of  our  present  age 
which  plan,  labor  and  sacrifice  for  bet- 
ter conditions  of  life.  The  present- 
day  "fruits  of  triumph"  from  the  tomb 
are  in  the  incalculable  and  immeasur- 
able tendencies  which  conspire  toward 
furthering  the  Kingdom  of  God  on 
earth ;  monopolized  by  no  one  church, 
presided  over  and  directed  by  no  one 

*This  article  is  based  on  the  Interna- 
tional Uniform  lesson  for  June  17,  "The 
Risen  Lord."     Scripture,  John  20:1-18. 


times  and  see  that  still  "God's  in  His 
Heaven  and  all's  well  with  the  world. 


*     * 


The  proof  of  the  resurrection   for 


us  the  "resurrection  truth" ;  but  about 
us  now — in  our  bands  of 'faithful,  de- 
pendable, capable  workers  for  God 
and  a  better  world — we  see  and  know 
and  believe  without  an  iota  of  reserva- 
tion that  Christ  lives  and'  moves  and 


hosts  may  lie  in  the  testimony  of  the  will  not  be  denied  his  sovereignty  over 

actual  witnesses  of  the  stirring  fact ;  the   kingdoms   of  earth's  teeming  in- 

those      evidences      are      impregnable,  terests.     He  is  conquering  yet  and  is 

though  with  every  new-born  doubter,  still  to  conquer! 

assailable.     The  historicity  of  the  fact  


is  as  well  established  as  that  of  any 
other  fact.  But  the  supreme  proof 
of  the  resurrection  today  is  in  the 
lives,  both  large  and  small,  which  in 
conduct  and  disposition  evince  ac- 
quaintanceship and 
with  Jesus. 


"Until  the  Church  learns  to  bury  its 
'dead'  it  will  not  prosper." — Agar. 

*     * 

"The  nearer  I  walk  with  God  the 
companionship      longer  is  my  prayer  list." — John  K. 
McChtrkin. 


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20 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  7,  1917 


_.   .•.  liuii^BKf&tiffiKmHHiiitauiHiflQmnimniffinn ■mnwiiim^^ 

Disciples  Table  Talk 


Disciple   Families   Destitute 
at  Mattoon,  111. 

J.  C.  Mullins,  pastor  at  Mattoon,  111., 
the  center  of  the  district  devastated  by 
the  recent  storms,  writes  that  100  fam- 
ilies of  the  Disciples  church  there  are 
destitute.  The  church  building  is  re- 
ported not  damaged.  The  Red  Cross  or- 
ganization is  doing  a  prodigious  work  at 
Mattoon,  Mr.  Mullins  writes,  but  he  sug- 
gests that  help  from  outside  may  be  sent 
to  E.  C.  Craig,  or  if  it  is  the  wish  that 
money  sent  ,be  used  to  render  assistance 
to  members  of  the  Christian  church,  it 
ma}'  be  mailed  direct  to  Mr.  Mullins. 

Disciples  Have  Commission  on 
International  Friendship 

Peter  Ainslie,  president  of  the  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Promotion  of  Christian 
Unity,  writes  that  this  organization  has 
appointed  a  Commission  on  International 
Friendship  to  be  composed  of  the  fol- 
lowing persons:  F.  D.  Kershner,  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  chairman;  I.  J.  Spencer, 
Lexington,  Ky. ;  Carey  E.  Morgan,  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.;  T.  C.  Howe,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.;  H.  C.  Armstrong,  Baltimore,  Md., 
and  I.  S.  Chenoweth,  Philadelphia. 

"Roll  of  Honor"  at 
Central,  North  Tonawanda 

George  H.  Brown  writes  that  Central 
Church,  North  Tonawanda,  has  a  roll  of 
honor  of  nine  young  men  who  have  en- 
listed in  government  military  service. 
Some  are  already  at  the  front,  others  are 
enlisted  and  ready.  The  church  is  pre- 
paring an  "Honor  Roll"  which  will  be 
placed  in  the  church,  the  roll  to  contain 
the  names  of  all  boys  of  the  congrega- 
tion who  have  gone  to  the  colors.  The 
local  G.  A.  R.  organization  met  with  Mr. 
Brown  and  Central  Church  on  Memorial 
Sunday  morning,  and  the  Junior  Order 
of  the  United  American  Mechanics  in 
the  evening. 

Iowa  Disciples  in  Annual 
Convention 

Wallace  R.  Bacon,  of  Iowa,  sends  a 
report  of  the  recent  meeting  of  the  Iowa 
Disciples  of  Christ,  which  was  held  at 
Capitol  Hill  Church,  Des  Moines,  May 
21-24.  Steps  were  taken,  writes  Mr. 
Bacon,  towards  unifying  the  state  work. 
The  district  organization  remains  intact 
but  a  state  secretary  was  appointed  who 
will  have  general  supervision  of  the  work 
throughout  the  state,  add  to  the  endow- 
ment fund,  and  collect  and  disseminate 
information  concerning  work  in  the  state 
through  a  central  office  maintained  at 
Des  Moines.  A.  M.  Haggard  was  elected 
by  the  convention  to  do  this  work,  but 
it  is  not  announced  whether  he  has  ac- 
cepted the  office.  The  convention  at- 
tendance was  good.  H.  E.  Van  Horn 
of  Oklahoma  City  and  A.  McLean  were 
the  only  speakers  on  the  program  from 
outside  the  state.  Governor  Harding 
and  Attorney-General  Havener  each  ad- 
dressed the  convention  and  were  given  a 
very  appreciative  hearing.  Mr.  Bacon 
speaks  most  enthusiastically  of  the  ad- 
dress of  Dean  Caldwell  of  Drake, 
in  defense  of  the  higher  institu- 
tions of  learning  of  the  Disciples. 
Dean  Caldwell  pointed  out  that  the 
reformers  of  the  church  have  been 
practically  all  university-trained  men  and 
declared  that  the  Campbells,  Walter 
Scott  and   Barton   W.   Stone,  with  their 


fellow-laborers,  were  university  men, 
and  "dared  to  think  for  themselves  and 
even  to  differ  widely  in  many  things. 
While  pleading  for  unity  in  matters  of 
faith,  they  contended  for  large  liberty 
in  matters  of  opinion,  with  charity  in  all 
things."  W.  M.  Baker,  L.  C.  Harris  and 
C.  S.  Medbury  were  elected  at  this  year's 
convention  to  the  board  of  managers. 
The  convention  officers  for  the  ensuing 
year  were  elected  as  follows:  Ex-Gover- 
nor Geo.  W.  Clark,  chairman;  C.  O. 
Stuckenbruck,  first  vice-chairman;  W.  C. 
Cole,  second  vice-chairman;  Wallace  R. 
Bacon,  convention  secretary;  George 
Henry,  first  assistant  secretary;  Paul 
Becker,  second  assistant  secretary.  The 
State  C.  W.  B.  M.  sessions  were  held  in 
conjunction  with  I.  C.  M.  S.  sessions  and 
are  reported  as  the  very  best  ever  held 
by  the  organization  in  Iowa. 

lltllllll1lillMtlll1llllllllltlllilltllllll1tlll1IIMIIIII[llilll1lltlllllllMII1MIIIIUITIIItllllllHIIIIITIIIIIIIIIII1lltllllllll1ll(III 

A  TELEGRAM 

Cincinnati,  O.,  June  4,  1917. 
The  Christian  Century, 
Chicago. 
First  news  from   Children's  Day  most 
encouraging.    Evanston,  Cincinnati,  $275; 
Seventh   Street,   Indianapolis,  $234;   Ver- 
mont Avenue,   Washington,   D.   C,  $396. 
Norwood,   O.,   Sunday   school   became   a 
living-link,    supporting    one    of    its    own 
members,     Annie     Louise     Fillmore,     in 
China. 

Bert  Wilson,  Secretary. 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniti(iiiitiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiitiiiMiiiiiiiiiitifiiiHiiiiiiiiiiititiiiiiiiiMiiiiiniiiiiiiiiii) 

Commencement  Week 
at  Eureka 

June  10-15  will  be  the  dates  of  com- 
mencement season  at  Eureka  College 
this  year.  On  Sunday  morning,  June  10, 
-the  baccalaureate  sermon  will  be 
preached  by  V.  W.  Blair,  of  Eureka 
church;  in  the  evening  Prof.  Rodney  L. 
McQuary,  of  Eureka,  will  preach  a  ser- 
mon in  connection  with  the  exercises  of 
the    Department    of     Sacred     Literature. 


class  play  on  Tuesday  evening.  On 
Wednesday  morning  the  graduation  ex- 
ercises of  the  Preparatory  school  will 
be  held,  with  R.  A.  Doan  giving  the  ad- 
dress; the  president's  reception  will  be 
held  in  the  afternoon.  On  Thursday  will 
be  featured  the  Senior  class  day  exer- 
cises, the  Class  reunion  program  and  the 
Girls'  Pageant.  Comencement  exer- 
cises will  be  held  on  Friday  morning, 
Dean  K.  C.  Babcock  delivering  the  ad- 
dress. 

Men  and  Millions  Ads 
Attract  Attention 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  adverl 
tisements  being  featured  by  the  Men  and 
Millions  organization  in  the  brotherhood 
papers  are  "different."  They  are  read- 
able, and  say  something  instructive.  In- 
dicative of  the  interest  that  is  being 
shown  in  these  advertisements  is  the  fol- 
lowing letter  which  came  to  the  office  of 
the  Men  and  Millions  movement  from 
H.  W.  Hunter,  pastor  at  Wellington, 
Kan.:  "I  am  sending  you  this  sugges- 
tion that  may  be  of  service  elsewhere  if 
you  give  it  publicity.  I  cut  from  our 
church  papers  the  page  educational  ad- 
vertisements of  the  Men  and  Millions 
movement  and  put  them  on  our  church 
bulletin  boards  week  by  week.  We  have 
a  board  in  each  of  the  vestibules  of  the 
church.  I  change  these  announcements 
every  week.  I  am  certain  that  some  peo- 
ple read  them,  perhaps  more  than  I  have 
thought,  and  thus  I  am  getting  the  big 
things  of  the  Kingdom  before  the  people. 
I  think  many  other  churches  would  do 
this  if  their  attention  was  called  to  it.  It 
will  be  a  blessing  to  them." 

Jasper  County,  Mo.,  Disciples 
to  Have  Summer  Assembly 

The  Disciples  of  Jasper  County,  Mo., 
will  inaugurate  a  new  movement,  the 
holding  of  a  summer  assembly  at  Forest 
Mills,  July  24-August  4.  Camp  life  and" 
a  school  of  methods,  such  as  was  held 
at  Carthage  last  December,  will  be  fea- 
tures. No  fees  will  be  charged  and  those 
doing  the  required  amount  of  work  will 
receive  a  certificate.  A-  W.  Taylor,  of 
Columbia,  will  conduct  an  institute  on 
the  Rural  Church.  An  elders'  and  dea- 
cons' conference  will  be  held,  with  spe- 


The  Department  of  Music  program  will      cialists   on   the   program.      Each   evening 
be  given  on  Monday  evening,  the  Senior      a  lively  camp  meeting  will  be  conducted 

Kansas  City  Convention  News 


The  committee  of  arrangements  of  the 
Kansas  City  Convention  met  with  the 
local  committee  on  June  1st.  It  is  an- 
nounced that  the  meeting  will  be  held 
in  Convention  Hall,  the  largest  audito- 
rium in  the  city.  Reduced  rates  on  the 
railroads  have  been  secured  from  prac- 
tically all  points  in  the  country.  Every 
detail  of  the  convention  will  be  looked 
after  by  competent  workers.  The  build- 
ing is  to  be  decorated  gorgeously. 

The  committee  voted  to  use  the  Chris- 
tian Conquest  flag  instead  of  handclap- 
ping  in  the  convention.  Each  attendant 
will  be  supplied  with  a  flag  which  will 
be  convenient  size  to  carry  in  the  hand. 
In  securing  attendance  a  unique  plan 
will  be  undertaken.  The  attendance 
committee  will  encourage  attendance 
from  the  churches  as  usual.  The  mis- 
sionary societies  will  make  a  campaign 
to  secure  the  attendance  of  State  Sec- 
retaries and  members  of  state  boards, 
Life  directors  and  members  of  the  so- 
cieties. The  National  C.  W.  B.  M.  is 
asked  to  secure  a  large  attendance  from 
the  women  of  the  church.  The  trans- 
portation committee  will  assist  by  send- 


ing out  announcements  through  the  rail- 
roads of  the  rates,  routes  and  accom- 
modations. In  this  way  it  is  hoped  to 
secure  a  very  large  attendance  at  the 
convention. 

Headquarters  hotels  have  been  as- 
signed for  the  various  organizations,  in 
which  the  officers,  members  of  the 
boards  and  friends  will  be  housed.  Reg- 
istration and  information  quarters  will 
be  arranged  at  the  Union  Station,  so 
that  attendants  may  go  direct  from  the 
station  to  their  stopping  places.  An 
army  of  pages  and  Boy  Scouts  will  be 
on  hand  for  assistance  of  attendants. 

The  program  committee  announces 
that  there  will  be  an  agreeable  change 
in  the  character  of  the  program,  more 
time  being  given  to  the  business  of  the 
enterprises  and  not  so  much  speech 
making.  The  printed  program  will  con- 
tain the  hymns  of  the  convention  as 
usual. 

The  dates  of  the  convention  are  Octo- 
ber 24th  to  31st,  inclusive,  from  Wednes- 
day to  Wednesday,   inclusive. 

E.  E.   Elliott, 
Chairman  Press  Committee. 


June  7,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


21 


in  the  big  tent.  Evangelist  Knowles,  of 
Nebraska,  will  preach.  C.  H.  Swift,  of 
Carthage,  Mo.,  will  furnish  other  infor- 
mation concerning  the  assembly.  Jasper 
County  has  twenty  churches  of  4,000 
members,  the  county  having  a  popula- 
tion of  over  100,000 — a  rich  field  for 
home  missionary  work.  Great  things  are 
being  achieved  now  by  the  Disciples 
county  organization,  under  the  leadership 
of  C.  C.  Garrigues,  of  Joplin,  Mo. 

South  Dakota  Convention, 
Claremont,  June  14-17 

S.  C.  Stevenson,  of  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D., 
is  president  of  the  state  organization  of 
Disciples  of  South  Dakota,  which  will 
meet  in  annual  convention  this  year  at 
Claremont,  June  14-17.  Some  of  the 
speakers  programed  are  the  following: 
W.  J.  Clarke,  Cincinnati;  F.  B.  Sapp, 
Minor,  S.  D.;  E.  S.  Muckley,  Portland, 
Ore.;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arthur  D.  George, 
Watertown,  S.  D.;  J.  H.  Booth,  Kansas 
City;  F.  W.  Burnham,  Cincinnati,  and 
L.  C.  McPherson. 


— Perry  L.  Schuler,  of  Second  Church, 
Cedar  Rapids,  la.,  preached  the  sermon 
at  the  Memorial  service  of  that  city, 
which  was  held  at  Second  Church,  with 
the  patriotic  organizations  of  Cedar  Rap- 
ids in  attendance.  The  auditorium  was 
filled  to  overflowing.  During  the  last  two 
weeks  there  have  been  seven  additions  to 
the  membership  of  this  church;  there  are 
accessions  at  almost  every  service.  In 
October  Mr.  Schuler  plans  to  enter  the 
evangelistic  field,  having  resigned  from 
the  Cedar  Rapids  pastorate,  his  resigna- 
tion to  take  effect  August  1. 

— Prof.  George  W.  Hemry,  who  has  re- 
signed the  chair  at  Transylvania,  which 
he  has  occupied  for  three  years,  writes 
that  his  plans  for  the  future  are  not  suf- 
ficently  mature  to  be  announced.  During 
his  term  at  the  college  Professor  Hemry 
has  preached  regularly  for  churches  near 
Lexington. 

— Byron  Hester,  of  the  Chickasha, 
Okla.,  church,  delivered  the  Memorial  ad- 
dress at  the  annual  state  convention  of 
the  firemen  of  Oklahoma,  on  May  29. 

— I.  E.  Reid  has  closed  his  ministry  of 
two  years  at  Payne  Avenue,  North  Tona- 
wanda,  and  has  gone  to  Russellville,  Ky. 

— Edward  H.  Clifford,  pastor  at  Law- 
renceburg,  Ind.,  preached  the  Memorial 
day  sermon  at  the  union  service  of  the 
city's  churches,  held  in  the  city  hall. 
The  Sunday  school  attendance  at  Law- 
renceburg  church  has  been  increased 
during  the  last  month,  and  a  teacher- 
training  class  is  now  studying  the  new 
course. 


iiniiwnni/  A  Church  Home  for  You. 

HEW  YI1RK  Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
nt.li  i  uiiix  lfi  West  81st  gt  ^  ^ 


— Hillside  Church,  Indianapolis,  has 
given  its  pastor,  Charles  M.  Fillmore, 
leave  of  absence  to  hold  meetings  or 
act  as  pastoral  supply  during  July  or 
August.  He  will  be  pleased  to  hear 
from  churches  desiring  such  services. 

— O.  F.  Jordan  has  been  invited  to  de- 
liver the  address  at  the  alumni  banquet 
at  Eureka  this  year.  J.  P.  Lichtenberger, 
who  is  teaching  sociology  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia,  has 
been  invited  to  preside  at  the  alumni  roll 
call. 

— Herbert  Yeuell  is  making  his  series 
of  evangelistic  meetings  at  Frankfort, 
Ind.,  an  efficiency  campaign;  all  sermons 


and  lectures  deal  with  church  and  com- 
munity problems.  A  Sunday  school  cam- 
paign is  being  conducted  by  Mary  E. 
Hughes  at  the  same  time.  Mr.  Yeuell 
left  the  meetings  two  evenings,  on  one 
occasion  to  deliver  a  baccalaureate  ser- 
mon at  Elwood,  Ind.,  and  on  the  other  to 
give  a  lecture  at  Winchester,  Ky.,  in 
behalf  of  the  battleship  Kentucky. 

— H.  O.  Breeden,  of  Fresno,  Cal.,  will 
dedicate  the  new  building  of  First 
Church,  Richmond,  Cal.,  on  June  10. 
Thomas  A.  Boyer  is  pastor  in  this  field. 

— H.  H.  Peters,  Illinois  state  secre- 
tary, reports  the  dedication  by  him  of 
a  remodeled  building  three  miles  south 
of  Danville.  The  church  was  formerly 
known  as  Brooks  Chapel,  but  the  name 
has  now  been  changed  to  Central  Park 
Church  of  Christ.  Sherman  Neathery,  of 
Ridgefarm,  preaches  for  the  congrega- 
tion. J.  F.  Bickel  and  H.  B.  Bruner, 
pastors  of  First  and  Third  churches,  re- 
spectively, of  Danville,  assisted  Mr. 
Peters  in  the  dedication  exercises. 

— The  local  paper  at  Kent,  O.,  printed 
in  full  Pastor  B.  F.  Hagelbarger's  war 
sermon  recently  preached  on  the  sub- 
ject, "God's  Hand  in  History." 

— A  grand  three-day  patriotic  celebra- 
tion will  be  held  the  opening  week  at 
Bethany  Assembly,  July  20-28.  Promi- 
nent men  like  President  Stone,  Purdue 
University,  President  Bryan,  Indiana 
University,  Secretary  of  State  Jackson, 
Hon.  Winfield  Miller,  Judge  W.  H. 
Eichorn,  and  others,  will  speak.  On  the 
closing  day  there  will  be  a  flag-raising 
and  Governor  Goodrich  will  speak.  Music 
will  be  by  the  Indianapolis  News  News- 
boys' Band. 

— President  G.  W.  Brown,  of  the  Bible 
College  of  Jubbulpore,  India,  is  return- 
ing to  America  because  of  ill  health. 

— Richard  Heilbron,  of  the  Front 
Rank,  St.  Louis,  has  been  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  St.  Louis  Sunday  School  As- 
sociation. 

— W.  Garnett  Alcorn  has  closed  his 
work  at  Hot  Springs,  Ark.,  and  has  al- 
ready begun  a  new  task  at  Lathrop,  Mo., 
church. 

— Robert  Willett,  second  son  of  Dr. 
H.  L.  Willett,  will  enter  the  ambulance 
service  for  the  war  period.     Two  other 


The  Divinity  School 

OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

Course*  will  be  offered  In  the  Old  Testament  br 
Vrotw,™  Hmlth  (.(.  M.  1'./.  iAiekenbUl,  WllleU, 
Hprengllnjr,  an']  Gordon;  Ncvr  Tortainent  by  ProfeMOra 
Burton,  Norton,  <;oodii>«ed,  and  Ca»e;  Brstematlc 
Theology  l>y  i'r>>t<*virn  Mathews.  Hrollh  (O.  Bj,  and 
Foutz;  Omreh  History  by  J'rofossors  Honcrlef  and 
,;  K';ll(flou»  Education  by  Professor*  fioares  and 
Ward;  Jfomlletlcs  and  Pastoral  Duties  by  Profeesor 
Boyt;  Practical  BodolOfl  by  Professor  Burgess;  Public 
Hoeaking  by  Professor  JSlanchard;  Music  by  Mr.  Bter- 
ens.  Courses  In  other  departments  of  the  Unlrersity 
are  open  to  students  In  the  Divinity  School. 

Summer  Quarter,   1917. 
1st  Term  June  18-JuIy  29— 2d  Term  July  2C-Aug.  31. 
Detailed   announcement  sent  upon  application  to  the 

Dean  of  the  Divinity  School 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


FRIENDLY  TOWN 

By  Thomas  Curtis  Clark. 

"Real    heart-music." — Chicago    Herald. 

"Breathes  a  spirit  of  joyous  living." — 
Chicago   Examiner. 

"Every  line  makes  for  love  and  kindli- 
ness and  better   living." — The  Advance. 

"Has  an  elusive  charm." — St.  Louis 
Times. 

"Full  of  good  things." — Christian  En- 
deavor  World. 

"Breathes  a  spirit  of  content." — Sara 
Teasdale. 

"Full  of  inspiration". — Charles  G. 
Blanden,  Editor  of  "The  Chicago  Authology 
of  Verse." 

"Charming." — People's   Home   Journal. 

Of  the  author  of  "Friendly  Town,"  J.  H. 
Garrison,  Editor-Emeritus  of  the  Christian- 
Evangelist,     says: 

"Now  and  then  God  raises  up  a  singer 
among  the  people  who  is  endowed  with  a 
rare  gift  of  poetic  vision,  poetic  feeling 
and  poetic  expression.  Thomas  Curtis 
Clark  is  finely  endowed  in  all  these  re- 
spects." 

"Friendly  Town,"  printed  in  art  type 
and  bound  in  attractive  green,  makes  an 
ideal  gift.  If  you  have  a  friend  who 
needs  cheering  up,  send  her  "Friendly 
Town." 

Price   of   the   booklet,   35   Cents. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  Street,  Chicago 


R.  BRITLING  SPEAKS  AGAIN 

Mr.  H.  G.  Wells'  New  Book 

"God,  the  Invisible  King" 

Mr.  Wells,  the  author  of  Mr.  Britling,  says : 

"The  time  draws  near  when  mankind  will  awake  .  .  . 
and  then  there  will  be  no  nationality  in  all  the  world 
but  humanity,  and  no  king,  no  emperor,  nor  leader, 
but  the  one  God  of  mankind." 

AMERICA  IS  FIGHTING  FOR  THIS  GOD ! 

"God,  the  Invisible  King" 

"The  Religion  of  Mr.  Britling" 

Price,  $1.25 

—FOR  SALE  BY— 

Disciples  Publication  Society,  700  E.  40th  St.,  Chicago 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


June  7,  191/ 


sons  of  University  of  Chicago  profes- 
sors have  enlisted  for  the  same  service, 
and  all  three  left  for  the  East  this  week 
with  nearly  a  hundred  other  men.  They 
will  go  to  France  in  about  two  weeks. 


Norfolk,  Virginia,  Notes 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  letter  re- 
ceived  regarding  a   boy   going   into   the 
Navy: 

"Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  am  writing 
to  ask  a  slight  favor.  Yesterday  my 
18-year-old  boy— all  I  have  in  the  world 
—enlisted  in  the  U.  S.  Navy  and  left  last 
night  for  the  training  station  at  Norfolk. 
My  heart  nearly  broke  when  I  kissed 
him  good-bye,  but  I  tried  to  smile  for 
his  sake.  J 

"The  poor  boy  never  knew  his  mother 
— she  died  when  he  was  three  months 
old.  He  is  my  baby  and  my  chum.  No 
cleaner  boy  ever  went  into  the  navy.  I 
baptized  him  five  years  ago.  If  you  can 
find  time  from  your  many  duties  to  see 
him  and  say  a  kindly  encouraging  word 
both  he  and  I  will  appreciate  it  very 
much.  And  if  you  could  put  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  in  touch  with  him,  please  do  so. 

"Thanking  you  in  advance" — 

The  above  letter  bears  its  own  mes- 
sage. It  is  typical  of  many  cases.  Per- 
haps a  little  unique,  but  still  where  a  boy 
leaves  the  home  surroundings  there  is 
something  of  the  same  heart-break  and 
uniqueness. 

A  few  days  ago  it  was  my  privilege  to 
address  about  125  of  the  boys  who  had 
recently  enlisted  in  the  navy  at  St.  Hel- 
ena Station,  this  port.  It  was  "liberty" 
night,  which  means  that  the  crowd  was 
small.  Yet  at  the  conclusion  of  the  serv- 
ice 19  young  men  came  forward  declar- 
ing themselves  for  Christ  and  signing 
cards  to  indicate  that  they  meant  busi- 
ness. 

The  above  letter  and  this  experience  at 
the  Naval  Training  Station,  makes  me 
wonder  if  as  churches  we  are  as  sensi- 
tive as  we  ought  to  be  to  the  increas- 
ingly grave  conditions  which  face  the 
lives  of  our  young  men  of  our  homes 
and  of  our  nation. 

C.  M.  Watson, 
Pastor  First  Christian  Church  (Disciples') 

Norfolk,  Va. 
*     *     * 

The  War  and  Home  Missions 

If  you  were  the  manager  of  a  great 
corporation  conducting  annually  a  busi- 
ness of  a  half  million  dollars  or  more 
and  held  responsible  by  the  stockholders 
for  getting  results  and  your  balance  sheet 
for  a  single  month  showed  a  notable  loss 
over  same  period  of  last  year,  what 
would  you  do? 

This  is  practically  the  situation  in  the 
office  of  the  American  Christian  Mission- 
ary Society.  Our  receipts  from  church 
offerings  are  $2,356.56  short  compared 
with  31  days  of  May  last  year. 

Probably  there  are  many  reasons,  chief 
among  which  is  "the  war  situation."  The 
public  mind  is  so  charged  with  the  great 
national  undertaking  and  its  burdens  and 
problems  that  other  very  important  mat- 
ters have  been  lost  to  view. 

It  is  conceded  by  all  that  the  main- 
tenance of  the  church  and  its  work  in 
America  is  secondary  to  no  other  obliga- 
tion. To  force  upon  the  American  So- 
ciety a  policy  of  retrenchment  by  with- 
holding its  customary  offerings  would  be 
short  sighted  indeed. 

We  urge  upon  the  ministers  and 
churches  everywhere  the  importance  of 
taking  the  Home  Missionary  offering  and 
remitting  it  promptly  to  the  American 
Christian  Missionary  Society,  Carew 
building.  Grant  K.  Lewis. 


£JllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllliaBlliailti!lllllllllll9!31u 

S  = 

|       The  Composition  of  Coca-Cola  | 

|      and  its  Relation  to  Tea  | 

I                             Prompted  by  the  desire  that  the  public  shall  ^ 

=                             be  thoroughly  informed  as  to  the  composi-  § 

i                             tion  and  dietetic  character  of  Coca-Cola,  the  H 

E                             Company  has  issued  a  booklet  giving  a  de-  E 

I                             tailed  analysis  of  its  recipe  which  is  as  follows :  ^ 

|                               Water,   sterilized  by  boiling  {carbonated);  -S, 

E                               sugar,  granulated,  first  quality;  fruit  flavoring  E 

s                               extracts  with  caramel;  acid  flavorings,  citric  ~ 

~                              (lemon)  and  phosphoric;  essence  of  tea — the  ~ 

E                              refreshing  principle.  £ 

E                            The  following  analysis,  by  the  late  Dr.  John  % 

|                             W.  Mallet,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  and  | 

s                             for  nearly  forty  years  Professor  of  Chemistry  E 

S                             in  the  University  of  Virginia,  shows  the  com-  E 

?                             parative  stimulating  or  refreshing  strength  of  ~ 

E                            tea  and  Coca-Cola,  measured  in  terms  of  the  E 

s                             refreshing  principle:  ~ 

E                              Black  tea — 1  cupful 1.54  E 

3j                                                      {hot)                            (5  fl.  oz.)  ^ 

I                               Green  tea — 1  glassful 2.02  I 

S                                                         (cold)                             (8  ft  oz.  exclusive  of  ice)  — 

Coca-Cola— 1  drink,  8  fi.  oz 1.21  I 

(fountain)                         (prepared  with  1  fl.  oz.  Syrup)  S 

I                               Coca-Cola — 1  drink,  8  fl.  oz. 1.12  1 

S5                                                  (bottlers)                        (prepared  with  1  fl.  oz.  Syrup)  IZ 

From  the  above  recipe  and  analysis,  which  are  E 

E                             confirmed  by  all  chemists  who  have  analyzed  E 

these  beverages,  it  is  apparent  that  Coca-Cola  g 

|                             is  a  carbonated,  fruit-flavored  modification  of  S 

tea  of  a  little  more  than  one-half  its  stimulat-  S 

S                            ing  strength.  | 

A  copy  of  the  booklet  referred  to  above  will  S 

be  mailed  free  on  request,  and  The  Coca-Cola  f 

|                             Company    especially    invites    inquiry    from  | 

i                             those  who  are  interested  in  pure  food  and  i 

E                             public    health    propaganda.      Address  E 

I                             The  Coca-Cola  Co.,  Dept.  J.,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  U.S. A.  I 

imiimmiiiiiiiiimiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiimimmiiiiiimiiimiiiiE 


Mount  Hermon  Federate  School  of 
Missions 

The  summer  sessions  of  the  Mount 
Hermon  Federate  School  of  Missions 
will  be  held  at  beautiful  Mount  Hermon 
in  the  Santa  Cruz  mountains,  California, 
July  16-21.  Hallie  Linn  Hill  of  New 
York  City  will  be  with  us  again  this 
year,  teaching  the  daily  classes  in  the 
two  text-books,  "An  African  Trail,"  by 
Jean  Mackenzie  and  "Missionary  Mile- 
stones," by  Margaret  Seebach.  Besides 
this,  Mrs.  Hill  will  give  an  evening  lec- 
ture on  "Central  America."  Those  who 
heard  Mrs.  Hill's  wonderful  lecture  last 
year,  on  her  trip  to  Peru  and  Bolivia, 
illustrated  by  so  many  pictures,  will  be 
eager  to  hear  her  this  year  on  "Central 
America." 

There  will  be  a  daily  normal  class, 
taught  by  Mrs.  O.  P.  Bell  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, who  conducted  the  normal  work 
last  year.  The  children's  class  will  be 
taught  daily  by  Miss  Beatrice  Davis  of 
Oakland,  an  accomplished  kindergartner, 
who    will    use    the    two    junior     books, 


'African  Adventures"  and  "Bearers  of 
the  Torch." 

There  will  be  fine  illustrated  evening 
lectures,  free  to  the  public.  Dr.  Gilbert 
N.  Brink,  who  has  made  a  special  study 
of  some  southern  schools,  will  speak  on 
"The  American  Negro."  Dr.  Silas  John- 
son of  the  Kamerun  district,  West 
Africa,  is  expected  to  speak.  Dr.  John- 
son passed  through  some  thrilling  experi- 
ences with  the  soldiers,  after  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  war  in  the  Kamerun  dis- 
trict. 

Mrs.  J.  C.  Alter,  field  worker  of  the 
United  Presbyterians,  with  the  able  as- 
sistance of  the  young  ladies  at  Mount 
Hermon,  will  give  an  impersonation 
called  "An  Open  Door  in  India,"  being 
real  experiences  in  the  life  of  a  mission- 
ary there. 

Mrs.  J.  W.  Aldrich  will  give  an  illus- 
trated lecture  on  "Alaska,"  using  pic- 
tures taken  by  herself  while  on  her  trip 
to  Alaska. 

The  interdenominational  "rally"  will 
take  place  Wednesday  afternoon,  July  18. 


une  7,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


23 


Seven  denominations  are  now  affiliated  in 
he  Mount  Hermon  Federate  School  of 
Missions.  The  four  ladies  of  the  Dis- 
iiples  on  the  executive  committee  of 
Vlount  Hermon  Federate  School  are  Mrs. 
N.  E.  Galloway  (first  vice-chairman), 
Mrs.  J.  N.  Lester,  Mrs.  H.  C.  Ingram 
md  Mrs.  Chas.  G.  Titus  (president  of 
he  Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Mis- 
;ions,  California,  North. 

Mary  E.  Bamford, 

Press    Secretary    Mt.    Hermon    Federate 

School  of  Missions. 

The  Illinois  Disciples  Foundation 

Several  years  ago  the  Illinois  Christian 
Missionary  Society  began  a  work  in  con- 
lection  with  the  University  of  Illinois 
vhich  has  grown  to  be  a  very  consider- 
lble  enterprise.  With  from  four  hun- 
dred to  five  hundred  students  in  Cham- 
jaign-Urbana  from  Christian  church 
lomes  there  was  presented  a  rare  oppor- 
:unity.  The  University  Place  Church  of 
3hrist  has  always  been  a  strong  factor 
n  the  religious  life  of  the  State  Univer- 
sity as  well  as  the  community,  but  the 
ask  of  caring  for  four  hundred  students 
n  addition  to  a  large  local  program  is 
:oo  great  for  any  one  church.  Because 
)f  this  the  state  board  took  up  the  mat- 
:er  of  supporting  two  student  helpers  for 
lalf-time. 

That  work  was  carried  on  for  some 
:ime  and  the  interest  grew.  About  a  year 
igo  a  group  of  persons  vitally  interested 
n  the  welfare  of  our  young  people  or- 
ganized and  incorporated  what  is  known 
is  the  Illinois  Disciples'  Foundation.  The 
object  of  this  foundation  as  set  forth  in 
:he  constitution  is  "to  teach  the  prin- 
:iples  of  the  Christian  religion,  to  pro- 
vide a  wholesome  center  for  student  life, 
:o  co-operate  with  other  similar  agencies 
n  the  cultivation  of  the  moral  and  spir- 
tual  life  and  to  extend  such  activities  as 
exigencies  arise  and  opportunities  offer." 
rhe  board  of  directors  of  the  foundation 
ire  S.  E.  Fisher,  president;  Geo.  R. 
rrenchard,  vice-president;  John  R. 
Solden,  secretary;  F.  J.  Parr,  treasurer, 
ind  Campbell  Holton,  F.  K.  Robeson, 
F.  B.  Vennum,  A.  B.  Dennis,  Mrs.  Ella  S. 
Stewart,  Mrs.  Anna  Colegrove  and  H.  H. 
Peters. 

Miss  Luceba  E.  Miner  was  elected  field 
secretary  and  is  prosecuting  a  very  vig- 
Drous  campaign.  She  has  secured  in 
:ash  and  pledges  since  the  first  of  last 
September  something  like  $15,000.  The 
foundation  is  an  assured  success,  if  the 
interest  the  people  are  displaying  in  the 
matter  is  a  guarantee.  This  is  not  a 
Bible  college,  nor  a  Bible  chair,  nor  a 
lectureship;  in  fact,  the  foundation  re- 
fuses to  be  known  as  anything  except 
an  institution  honestly  striving  to  work 


The  Most  Beautiful  Hymnal  Ever  Produced  by   the    American    Church 

HYMNS  OF  THE 
UNITED  CHURCH 

The  Disciples  Hymnal 

Charles  Claylon  Mtrritti  tod  Herbert  L.  WJItil 
Editor! 

Contains  all  the  great  hymns  which 
have  become  fixed  in  the  affections 
of  the  Church  and  adds  thereto  three 
distinctive  features: 

HYMNS  OF  SOCIAL  SERVICE 
HYMNS  OF   CHRISTIAN    UNITY 
HYMNS  OF  THE  INNER  LIFE 

These  three  features  give  this  new 
hymnal  a  modernness  of  character 
and  a  vitality  not  found  in  any  other 
book.     This  hymnal  is  alivel 

It  lingt  the  »ame  goipel  that  is 
being  premchmd  in  modern  evan- 
gelical pulpits. 

Price,  per  single  copy,  in  cloth,  J  1. 1  5 
In  half  leather,  $1.40.  Extraordinary 
discount  made  to  churches  adopting 
tM«  book  in  the  early  days  of  the  first 
edition. 

Write  to-day  for  further  information  as 
to  sample  copies,  etc. 

T!l?  Christian  Century  Press 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago 


at  the  problem  of  the  religious  care  of 
the  young  people  of  our  great  state  uni- 
versity. The  matter  will  be  developed  as 
opportunities  arise  and  the  program  will 
grow  as  the  needs  increase. 

H.  H.  Peters. 


FROM  THE       FOREIGN  SOCIETY 

The  missionaries  in  India  write  that 
the  greatest  evangelistic  ingathering  in 
the  history  of  our  mission  is  on.  Every- 
where there  seems  to  be  an  increasing 
movement  toward  Christianity.  Our 
own  field  is  expecting  a  mass  movement 
toward  the  church  before  long.  The 
great  problem  is  to  meet  this  emergency 
with  several  missionaries  and  native 
evangelists  to  care  for  the  new  converts. 

The  Canadian  Missionary  Societies 
state  that  as  a  rule  there  has  been  no 
decrease  in  the  offerings  during  the 
period  of  the  war,  great  as  this  sacrifice 
has  been  in  Canada.  It  is  hoped  that 
our  own  people  will  be  raised  to  do 
their  greatest  work  for  missions,  as  our 
country  faces  this  patriotic  duty  with 
regard  to  the  race. 


The  missionaries  at  Bolenge  and  Lo- 
tumbe,  Africa,  report  a  large  number  of 
baptisms  during  the  recent  conference 
there.  H.  C.  Hobgood  and  his  new  wife 
were  welcomed  back  to  Lotumbe  by  a 
great  throng  of  people,  who  sang  joy- 
ously as  this  missionary  couple  ap- 
proached on  the  steamer.  In  spite  of 
the  war  the  work  in  the  Congo  goes  on 
in  all  of  the  stations  with  encourage- 
ment. 


Baptismal  Suits 

We   can   make  prompt  shipments. 
Order  Now.      Finest   quality  and  most 
atisfactory  in   every  way.     Order  by 
ize  of  boot. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  B.  40th  St.  Ckica**,  111. 


CHURCH  EfflEI 


SCHOOL 


Ask  for  Catalogue  aid  Special  Donation  Plan  No.  27 

(Established  1868) 
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The  Bet 

Graded  Lessons 

Afford  the  very  best  study  material  for  the  work  of  the  mod- 
ern Sunday  school.  Their  growing  popularity  is  notable. 
Some  of  our  leading  schools  have  used  them  for  years;  others 
are  coming  to  use  them  as  they  learn  of  their  merits.  Here  is 
what  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  church  say  of  this  unsur- 
passed body  of  literature: 

Rev.  G.  W.  Knepper,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.:  "We  sought  the 
BEST,  and  we  use  the  BETHANY  GRADED." 

Rev.  P.  L.  Schuler,  Cedar  Rapids,  la.:  "No  course  so  satis- 
factory for  Primaries  and  Juniors." 

Rev.  J.  J.  Tisdall,  Toledo,  O.:  "Especially  fine  for  Interme- 
diates." 

Rev.  I.  S.  Chenoweth,  Philadelphia:  "Superior  to  anything 
we  have  seen;  have  used  it  for  years." 

Rev.  E.  H.  Wray,  Steubenville,  O.:   "None  better." 

Rev.  L.  O.  Bricker,  Atlanta,  Ga. :  "Absolutely  satisfactory; 
a  triumph  of  religious  educational  enterprise." 

Rev.  Frank  Waller  Allen,  Springfield,  111.:  "Without  a 
peer." 

Rev.  Chas.  M.  Watson,  Norfolk,  Va. :  "The  best  published." 

Rev.  Edgar  D.  Jones,  Bloomington,  111.:  "Gives  entire  satis- 
faction." 

Rev.  Finis  Idleman,  New  York:  "Means  a  new  day  in  re- 
ligious education." 

Rev.  E.  B.  Shivery,  Paris,  Mo.:  "Produces  character  in  the 
Sunday-school." 

Rev.  H.  H.  Harmon,  Lincoln,  Neb.:  "Makes  the  teacher's 
work  a  real  joy." 

Rev.  Graham  Frank,  Liberty,  Mo.:  "School  is  delighted 
with  it." 

Rev.  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan,  Richmond,  Va.:  "Makes  teach- 
ing and  learning  easy." 

Rev.  L.  J.  Marshall,  Kansas  City,  Mo.:  "Thoroughly 
edited." 

Rev.  P.  J.  Rice,  El  Paso,  Texas:  "Nothing  that  compares 
with  it." 

Rev.  E.  M.  Waits,  Ft.  Worth,  Texas:    "The  best  published 

anywhere." 
Rev.  T.  E.  Winter,  Philadelphia:    "A  delight  to  all." 

AND  THERE  ARE  OTHERS.  YOUR  SCHOOL 
SHOULD  HAVE  THE  BETHANY.  SEND  FOR  RE- 
TURNABLE SAMPLES.    ADDRESS 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago 


"*-■ 


■ 


11 


j]MiU 


Vol.  XXXIV 


June  14,  1917 


Number  24 


The  Great 
Betrayal 


By  Arthur  Mee 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 


CHICAGO 


II* 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  June  14,  1917 


The  Bethany  System 

OF 

Sunday  School  Literature 

Some  Typical  Graded  Courses 

THE  BIBLE  AND  SOCIAL  LIVING.  Prepared  by  Harry  F.  Ward,  who  probably 
stands  first  in  the  list  of  social  service  authorities  within  the  church. 

THE  WORLD  A  FIELD  FOR  CHRISTIAN  SERVICE.  This  course  of  study  has  as 
its  purpose  to  train  youth  for  genuine  service  in  the  world  of  today.  Inspirational, 
educational,-  practical. 

CHRISTIAN  LIVING.  What  it  means  to  be  a  Christian;  problems  of  Christian  living; 
the  Christian  and  the  church ;  the  Word  of  God  in  life.  An  ideal  course  for  Inter- 
mediates. „„:.  ,i  .  i    \    ,    ' 

HISTORY  OF  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES.  Teaches  the  young  people  how  the 
church  started,  with  vivid  pictures  of  the  backgrounds  of  its  history. 

HISTORY  AND  LITERATURE  OF  THE  HEBREW  PEOPLE.  Before  the  life  of 
Christ  can  be  understood,  there  must  be  a  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  Hebrews. 
In  this  course  the  story  is  told  in  an  attractive  way,  but  thoroughly. 

Special  Courses 

For  Young  People  and  Adults 

THE  TRAINING  OF  CHURCH  MEMBERS.  A  manual  of  Christian  service  intended 
for  classes  of  new  converts,  adult  or  young  people's  Sunday  school  classes,  pastor's 
classes,  midweek  services,  etc.  This  little  book  has  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
the  church  life  of  the  Disciples.     Send  for  free  sample  copy. 

THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS.     By  Dr.  Loa  E.  Scott.     A  question  and  answer  review  of  the 
life  of  the  Master,  requiring  close  study  of   the    Scriptures   themselves.      Many   large 
classes  have  been  built  up  by  interest  in  this  course.     Send  50  cents  for  copy.     Sells 
at  40  cents  in  lots. 

MORAL  LEADERS  OF  ISRAEL.  By  Dr.  H.  L.  Willett.  An  ideal  course  for  adult 
classes  which  have  a  serious  desire  to  master  the  facts  of  Old  Testament  life.  Price 
per  copy,  $1.00. 

THE  GOSPEL  OF  THE  KINGDOM.  A  monthly  magazine  of  social  service  founded 
by  Dr.  Josiah  Strong.  Treats  present  day  problems  in  most  attractive  fashion.  A 
fine  course  for  men's  classes.  75  cents  single  subscription ;  50  cents  per  year  in  clubs, 
if  ordered  by  the  year.     Send  for  free  sample  copy. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  excellent  study  courses  afforded  by 
the  Bethany  Graded  System.  Send  for  returnable  samples  of  the 
Bethany  Graded  Lessons,  and  for  copies  of  any  of  the  special  courses 
which  interest  you. 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MUST  TAKE  ITSELF  SERIOUSLY  IN  THIS  CRIT- 
ICAL ERA  OF  OUR  COUNTRY'S  HISTORY.    RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IS  THE 
ONLY  "WAY  OUT."     YOU  ARE  CRIMINALLY  NEGLIGENT  IF  YOU  DO  NOT 
SEE  THAT  YOUR  SCHOOL  HAS  THE   VERY  BEST  EQUIPMENT  POSSIBLE 
FOR  ITS  IMPORTANT  WORK. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  40th  Street  CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS, 


700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


Disciples 

Publication 

Society 


The  Disciples  Publica- 
tion Society  is  an  or- 
ganization through 
which  churches  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ 
seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. •    •    * 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *     •     ♦ 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  tree  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embodv.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  derinitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

Dear  Friends: — I  believe  in  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  The  Christian  Century  end  wish  to  be  numbered  smesg 
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Wall  Charts 
For  Elementary  Grades 

In  Bible  Literature  no  more  im- 
portant compositions  have  been  written 
which  are  absolutely  necessary  to  be  in- 
grafted in  the  heart  than  the  follow- 
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mandments. The  Beatitudes.  The 
Books  of  the  Bible.    The  23d  Psalm. 

The  Eilers  editions  are  printed  on  the 
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tions sent  prepaid  on  receipt  of  price. 

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large  letters,  that  can  be  read  from  40 
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The  Ten  Commandments  and  Sum- 
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The  Books  of  the  Bible.  Size,  37x60. 
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torical Poetical  and  Prophetical  Books, 
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The  23rd  Psalm.  37x57  large,  black 
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ual Students 


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every  progressive  Sunday  School. 

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sold  separately.  Complete  set  mounted  on 
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THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  14,  1917 


■ 


v-  y  ■    ■      ,       s,  •  -  ^-,v"^-\- 


Administration  Building  of  Texas  Christ  jan  University,  Ft.  Worth 


PLANT  AND  OUTPUT  IN  EDUCATION 


In  colleges,  as  in  churches,  the  Disciples  of  Christ  have  been  passing  through  a  building  age,  and 
have  not  yet  reached  its  end.  But  we  have  come  to  the  time  when  the  immediate  and  imperative  neces- 
sity of  the  college  is  endowment  and  support  rather  than  buildings.  By  unanimous  agreement  the 
Men  and  Millions  Movement  not  only  granted  three-fifths  of  its  capital  fund  of  $6,300,000  to  education,  but 
directed  that,  with  one  or  two  minor  exceptions,  every  dollar  of  the  $3,625,000  so  appropriated  should  go 
into  perpetual  endowments. 

There  must  be  a  candle-stick  for  the  candle,  and  we  did  well  to  build  so  well.  The  physical  equip- 
ment and  location  of  a  school  are  more  than  a  shelter  from  unpleasant  weather;  they  are  a  tangible  ex- 
pression of  the  institution's  spirit,  an  anchorage  of  its  atmosphere,  a  measure  of  its  importance.  Bethany 
College  could  never  have  attained  and  held  its  distinction  without  its  superb  Gothic  buildings  and  its  glori- 
ous setting  to  equip  and  project  its  founder  and  teachers. 

Even  ordinary  business  sense  would  prompt  us  to  use  our  educational  plants  up  to  their  full 
capacity,  which,  on  the  whole,  is  twice  their  present  attendance.  But,  of  course,  the  main  urge  comes 
from  our  tragic  need  of  their  output.  Any  Sunday  of  the  year  every  pulpit  that  is  occupied  by  a  minister, 
competent  or  incompetent,  is  matched  by  another  that  is  vacant,  to  say  nothing  of  the  thousand  fields 
that  lack  both  church  and  minister.  Any  day  in  the  college  year  every  student  from  one  of  our  church 
homes  who  is  in  a  church  college  is  matched  by  two  in  state  institutions,  to  say  nothing  of  the  where- 
abouts and  fate  of  the  rest  of  the  200,000  that  ought   to  be  in  some  college. 

The  chief  business  of  this  generation  is  to  educate  the  next.  The  Men  and  Millions  Movement  is 
both  filling  the  colleges  with  students  and  providing  funds  to  double  their  teaching  staffs.  Its  success 
will  add  as  much  endowment  as  they  have  gathered  in  all  their  previous  history. 


MEN  AND  MILLIONS  MOVEMENT 


222  West  Fourth  St., 


Cincinnati,  Ohio 


The  Christian  Century 


CHABLKS  CLAYTON  MOBBISON,  EDITOR. 


EEB8BBT    L.    WILLETT,     OOHTHIBUTINO     EDITOE 


Volume  XXXIV 


JUNE  14.  1917 


Numb  r   24 


Marriage  and  Religion 


JESUS  ATTENDED  A  WEDDING  FEAST 

We  could  easily  believe  that  John  the  Baptist 
would  not  have  been  present  at  the  feast.  His  was 
a  more  austere  view  of  life.  Preaching  in  the  wilder- 
ness, where  men  must  seek  him  out  if  they  would  hear 
him,  he  lived  a  life  of  self-denial.  He  would  have  felt 
out  of  place  in  the  festivities  of  the  wedding  season. 

At  all  our  Christian  weddings,  we  are  reminded  of 
the  presence  of  Jesus  at  Cana  and  of  his  glad  partici- 
pation in  the  rites  there.  Would  he  be  at  home  at  our 
modern  weddings? 

We  once  witnessed  a  wedding  in  which  both  the 
contracting  parties  stood  tittering  through  the  service. 
None  of  their  friends  had  helped  them  to  approach  life's 
greatest  act  of  faith  with  a  serious-minded  joy.  Mirth 
had  buried  the  deeper  joys  of  the  soul. 

There  is  no  relation  that  runs  into  so  many  years 
as  the  relation  between  husband  and  wife.  Parent  and 
child  usually  live  under  the  same  roof  less  than  twenty 
years.  Husband  and  wife  are  often  under  the  same 
roof  for  fifty  years. 

•     * 

It  is  a  great  act  of  faith  for  two  people  to  say  to 
each  other,  "I  believe  in  you  so  much  that  I  would 
like  to  be  with  you  always."  The  greatest  compliment 
ever  paid  a  woman  is  a  proposal  of  marriage.  The 
greatest  compliment  ever  paid  a  man  is  the  acceptance 
of  such  a  proposal. 

Thus  the  entrance  into  the  married  state,  like  the 
entrance  into  the  church,  is  marked  by  an  act  of  faith. 
It  must  be  lived  through  in  this  same  faith.  When  faith 
has  left  the  hearts  of  those  who  have  founded  a  home, 
there  is  already  present  a  domestic  infidelity  which 
scarcely  needs  an  outward  act  to  complete  the  ruin. 

One  of  the  reasons  why  all  people  are  interested 
in  a  wedding  is  that  marriage  is  a  revealing  process. 
Our  young  people  cherish  their  ideals  of  life  in  a 
secretive  way.  Marriage  proclaims  to  the  world  just 
what  these  ideals  are.  The  young  man  chooses  the 
young  woman  who  most  nearly  approximates  the 
woman  of  his  dreams.  Some  brides  have  been  chosen 
for  beauty,  some  for  social  graces,  some  for  graces  of 
character.  In  the  choice  of  this  woman,  the  young  man 
shows  just  what  gifts  he  regards  as  most  fundamental 
and  satisfying. 

The  woman  who  marries  for  money  confesses  a 
spiritual  poverty  which  would  never  have  been  revealed 
by  any  other  process  so  clearly  as  in  her  wedding.  The 
strong  man  usually  finds  little  difficulty  in  finding  a 
mate,  which  fact  indicates  how  women  look  upon 
strength  as  a  part  of  the  make-up  of  the  ideal  man. 

Though  young  people  never  fully  realize  the  fact, 
marriage  is  truly  an  act  of  self-denial.  Two  people 
out  of  different  homes,  with  different  inherited  traits, 
and   with   somewhat   different  outlook  propose   to  be- 


come one.  Sometimes  the  pathetic  question  is.  Which 
one?  The  true  marriage  is  a  process  of  spiritual  growth 
in  which  the  spiritual  graces  of  both  man  and  v.  ifc 
are  combined  in  a  new  character  which  is  the  spirit 
of  the  new  home  and  eventually  the  spirit  of  each  of 
these  who  have  sought  union  with  one  another. 

Literary  men,  especially  novelists,  nave  spent  a 
whole  generation  of  futile  writing  in  order  to  convince 
us  that  marriage  is  a  business  that  concerns  no  one 
but  the  people  who  are  about  to  be  married.  The 
community,  and  the  young  people  themselves,  remain 
unconvinced.  The  community  cannot  remain  indiffer- 
ent to  the  most  fundamental  thing  of  the  community 
life.  What  shall  be  the  character  of  the  new  com- 
munity? The  kind  of  marriages  being  formed  now  are 
an  answer  to  that  question.  Nowhere  has  a  rank  and 
over-grown  individualism  done  more  harm  than  in  the 
consideration  of  marriage. 

It  is  in  the  sacrament  of  marriage  that  people 
should  come  at  last  into  the  fullness  of  religious  expe- 
rience. It  was  by  a  great  error  that  an  orientalism 
was  allowed  to  invade  the  medieval  church  and  to  de- 
clare that  a  nun  was  more  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God 
than  a  true  wife  or  that  a  monk  was  more  noble  than 
the  man  who  used  his  strength  to  defend  and  protect 
those  of  his  own  household.  Monasticism  has  been 
pursued  by  a  peculiar  nemesis.  The  very  carnality  it 
was  supposed  to  flee  from  came  to  exist  in  monasteries 
to  a  greater  degree  than  could  have  been  possible  in 


good  homes. 


•     • 


Marriage  prepares  for  the  deeper  religious  expe- 
riences not  only  by  its  initial  demands  for  faith  and 
idealism  and  unselfishness.  The  young  people  who 
form  a  new  home  and  look  into  the  face  of  their  first 
child  are  in  the  presence  of  one  of  the  greatest  miracles 
in  the  universe.  Their  child  seems  a  gift  of  God.  and 
in  giving  it  to  the  world  they  have  found  a  fellowship 
with  the  Divine  most  intimate  and  wonderful. 

H.  G.  Wells  says  that  the  sex  functions  are  all  to 
be  divorced  from  religion.  To  his  mind,  the  presence 
of  a  minister  at  a  wedding  is  a  pollution  and  a  sacrilege. 
This  is  to  confess  a  view  of  marriage  which  would  de- 
grade the  world. 

The  presence  of  Jesus  at  the  Cana  wedding  is  no 
incongruity.  He  who  loved  human  life  in  all  its  nor- 
mal aspects,  and  who  shared  the  deep  human  joys,  was 
quite  at  home  at  the  humble  marriage  feast. 

There  can  be  no  Christian  marriage  where  the  Christ 
of  our  faith  is  not  there  to  bless  and  sanctify  it.  It 
takes  His  ideals  to  sanctify  every  new  home  and  pre- 
pare each  new  heart  for  the  intimate  fellowship  of 
man  and  wife.  We  shall  have  happier  homes  when  we 
take  more  pains  to  secure  the  presence  of  Him  who 
alone  can  make  clear  the  nature  of  the  marriage  relation. 


EDITORIAL 


WHERE  ARE  THE  RELIGIOUS  "FANS?" 

WE  are  in  the  heat  of  another  base  ball  season. 
Every  day  thousands  of  citizens  grab  the  daily 
paper  and  turn  first  of  all  to  the  sporting  page. 
There  is  nothing  to  say  against  base  ball.  It  has  been 
conducted  on  as  high  a  plane  as  has  any  of  our  com- 
mercialized amusements.  Gambling  has  been  divorced 
from  the  game,  so  far  as  the  management  of  it  is  con- 
cerned. Man}-  prominent  ball  players  are  Christian  men 
of  principle. 

But  where  are  the  people  who  grow  enthusiastic 
over  religion  in  this  absorbing  way?  The  secular  news- 
paper editor  tells  us  that  when  the  church  develops 
thousands  of  religious  "fans,"  people  who  will  eagerly 
seek  the  page  of  religious  news,  he  will  put  as  much 
care  into  the  preparation  of  the  religious  page  as  he 
now  puts  into  the  sports,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  this  is  true. 

Do  we  not  find  here  one  of  the  elements  of  weak- 
ness in  much  of  our  modern  religion?  Early  Christians 
went  everywhere  preaching  the  word.  Early  Method- 
ism was  always  talking  about  its  faith.  Old-time 
Disciples  carried  their  new  testaments  around  with 
them  to  confute  the  unbelievers.  Christian  Scientists 
now  carry  this  same  enthusiasm  into  their  work.  The 
religion  of  today  has  gained  something  in  reasonable- 
ness and  in  ethical  grasp  of  the  world's  need.  What  we 
do  not  have  is  the  devotion  and  singleness  of  heart 
which  were  characteristic  of  the  conquering  religions 
of  the  past. 

To  what  is  this  lack  of  enthusiasm  due?  Is  it  the 
result  of  an  excessive  amount  of  analysis  and  scientific 
formulation?  Even  science  has  great  loyalties  and  tre- 
mendous enthusiasms.  Every  man  who  starts  to  the 
north  pole  shows  how  a  purely  scientific  quest  can 
command  the  greatest  of  sacrificial  efforts. 

Our  small  degree  of  enthusiasm  arises  from  a  lack 
of  faith.  We  must  find  new  convictions  in  religion  for 
which  we  would  gladly  die  if  necessary  to  advance  the 
cause. 

VACATION  BIBLE  SCHOOLS 

THE  vacation  Bible  school  movement,  which  originated 
in  Chicago,  is  spreading  into  various  sections  of  the 

country.  It  represents  an  extension  of  the  program 
of  religious  education.  No  one  would  now  pretend  that 
the  Sunday  school  is  adequate  for  its  task  and  new  agencies 
must  be  provided  to  supplement  it. 

The  vacation  Bible  school  movement  recognizes  some 
social  facts  of  profound  significance.  Twenty  million  chil- 
dren will  be  turned  out  of  the  public  schools  of  this  country 
soon,  and  in  the  cities  many  of  them  will  run  the  streets 
for  lack  of  someone  to  care  for  them,  the  parents  being 
employed.  These  children  fall  into  trouble.  This  consti- 
tutes the  problem  of  idle  children. 

At  the  same  time,  the  colleges  and  universities  turn 
out  about  the  same  time  400,000  young  people,  the  pick  of 
the  land ;  many  of  these  will  have  nothing  to  do  all  summer 
long;  they  need  to  catch  the  modern  philanthropic  spirit 
by  doing  something  for  somebody  else,  since  their  privileges 
are  so  exceptional. 

The  vacation  Bible  school  brings  these  two  classes 
together.  There  were  forty-one  such  schools  in  Chicago 
last  year  which  ran  for  six  weeks.     The  various  denomi- 


nations were  represented  and  most  of  the  racial  groups  of 
the  city. 

The  activities  of  the  school  are  fundamentally  religious 
and  include  Bible  stories  well  told,  but  a  considerable  part 
of  the  forenoon  is  spent  in  learning  useful  arts.  The  chil- 
dren are  taught  to  make  their  own  toys  and  there  are  some 
outdoor  activities.     There  is  no  afternoon  session. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  if  the  vacation  Bible  school 
movement  became  more  general  there  would  be  a  great 
decrease  in  juvenile  delinquency.  There  would  be  a  great 
increase  of  interest  in  religion  and  philanthropy,  both 
among  the  children  and  among  the  students  of  our  colleges. . 

CLOSER   CO-OPERATION   IN   MISSIONARY 

WORK 

THE  announcement  is  made  that  henceforth  the  For- 
eign Christian  Missionary  Society  and  the  Christian 
Woman's  Board  of  Missions  will  divide  the  work 
on  the  Congo.     The  latter  organization  will  immediately 
be  assigned  certain  stations  and  will  take  over  some  work- 
ers without  compensation  for  the  work  already  done. 

This  is  but  one  of  the  pleasing  evidences  of  the 
closer  fellowship  now  prevailing  between  our  missionary 
leaders.  The  old  days  of  rivalry  are  passing  and  it  is  being 
recognized  that  the  societies  will  be  able  to  do  their  best 
work  only  when  they  eliminate  all  waste  of  competition. 

This  kind  of  thing  has  had  to  come,  in  various  denomi- 
nations. One  denomination  had  three  agencies  doing  home 
missionary  work  with  consequent  overlapping.  These  were 
brought  under  one  controlling  head  and  the  work  was 
divided  in  a  way  to  make  the  denomination  a  leader  in 
effectiveness. 

A  recent  development  in  foreign  missions  is  local 
self-government  for  the  various  fields.  American  boards 
are  attempting  less  every  year  in  the  way  of  detailed 
instructions  to  workers.  It  is  this  process  of  local  self- 
government  which  makes  it  so  much  easier  for  the  two 
societies  of  our  brotherhood  doing  work  in  a  foreign  land 
to  co-operate.  Relieved  of  direction  except  in  a  few  fun- 
damentals, the  two  societies  can  easily  agree  on  a  common 
program. 

This  kind  of  amalgamation  is  needed  far  more  in  the 
home  field.  Two  national  societies,  various  state  societies 
and  local  agencies  are  engaged  in  the  work  of  home  mis- 
sions for  the  Disciples.  For  this  reason  it  is  difficult  to 
formulate  anything  like  a  unified  program  for  these  vari-* 
ous  agencies.  Experiments  with  an  unsuccessful  method 
may  thus  be  tried  more  than  once  by  various  societies  J 
with  a  consequent  waste  of  effort  and  money. 

The  keynote  of  the  age  is  organization  and  consoli- 
dation.    What  we  give  for  missionary  work  should  be  so  j 
used  as  to  bring  the  largest  results  in  the  field. 

ABUSING  COMPETITORS 

MODERN  business  has  developed  a  kind  of  wisdom  in 
human  relationship  that  is  not  well  understood  in 
the  circles  of  the  church.  One  of  the  command- 
ments for  the  business  man  is,  "Do  not  knock  your 
competitor."  It  is  impossible  now  to  get  a  man  rep- 
resenting a  big  firm  to  say  anything  against  the  com- 
petitor's goods.  He  feels  that  the  better  selling  psy- 
chology is  to  direct  the  customer's  attention  to  the 
merits  of  his  own  goods. 

We  have,  of  course,  moved  up  from  the  time  when 


June  14,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


village  preachers  used  to  spar  from  their  pulpits  and 
denounce  heresy  with  vigorous  condemnation.  Good 
manners  required  the  cessation  of  this  kind  of  prac- 
tice a  long  time  ago. 

It  is  not  yet  out  of  date,  however,  for  workers  of 
local  churches  to  misrepresent  each  other.  The  con- 
test to  secure  the  membership  of  some  new  arrival  in 
town  often  goes  to  ridiculous  lengths. 

The  denominational  shibboleth  is  still  sounded  out 
in  some  communities.  It  is  not  enough  to  set  forth 
the  virtues  of  a  denomination.  All  others  must  be 
shown  to  be  wrong. 

Eventually  we  could  hope  that  the  whole  concep- 
tion of  competition  might  pass  out  of  church  life.  When 
the  unity  of  the  church  has  fully  come,  this  will  be  so. 
We  will  then  think  of  ourselves  as  under  different  cap- 
tains, but  all  of  us  under  the  leadership  of  one  great 
general. 

Between  now  and  then,  the  constructive  statement 
of  our  religious  ideals  is  the  one  that  wins.  Abusing 
the  competitor  wins  sympathy  for  him. 

HONOR  TO  MARTIN  LUTHER 

IT  is  certain  that  the  life  of  Martin  Luther  will  re- 
ceived fresh  study  this  year,  for  on  October  31  will 

be  celebrated  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
nailing  of  the  ninety-five  theses  on  the  church  door  at 
Wittenberg.  The  Roman  Catholic  press  is  giving  con- 
siderable attention  to  unfavorable  interpretation  of 
Luther  and  the  Protestant  forces  are  preparing  to  make 
this  generation  much  more  familiar  with  the  life  of  the 
great  reformer. 

The  celebration  of  this  quadri-centennial  involves 
two  processes.  The  first  is  the  study  of  the  life  of 
Luther.  For  this  purpose  small  manuals  have  been 
prepared  to  be  sold  at  popular  prices  by  the  denomina- 
tional publishing  houses.  It  is  urged  that  these  manuals 
be  circulated  widely  among  the  rank  and  file. 

In  various  cities  of  the  country  local  committees 
are  organizing  for  a  proper  marking  of  the  great  day. 
Not  only  are  the  different  branches  of  Lutheranism 
drawing  together  for  the  purpose  of  the  celebration,  but 
the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ,  as  well, 
is  actively  promoting  the  celebration.  Rev.  W.  H. 
Roberts,  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  is  the  chairman  of  this  com- 
mittee. 

The  slogan  for  the  campaign  this  year  is,  "To  Cele- 
brate the  Reformation  of  the  Sixteenth  Century  and 
to  Hasten  the  Transformation  of  the  Twentieth  Cen- 
tury." 

OVERWORKED  WORDS 

PEOPLE  who  have  grown  weary  of  pulpit  ministra- 
tions  sometimes   complain  of  the  labor  put  upon 

certain  words  and  phrases  by  ministers.  A  new 
theory  in  the  field  of  learning  often  means  that  the 
phrase  which  describes  it  is  made  to  work  more  than 
union  hours. 

When  the  functional  hypothesis  first  originated, 
we  began  to  hear  of  things  that  "functioned  serviceably." 
As  the  hypothesis  has  come  to  be  more  of  a  common- 
place, these  weary  words  have  gone  to  well-earned 
repose. 

It  is  part  of  the  intellectual  pride  of  many  ministers 
that  they  have  reached  some  sort  of  intellectual  finality 


in  their  thinking.  Hence  one  very  often  hears  a  man 
say,  "In  the  last  analysis."  Of  course  a  man  would 
have  to  live  a  long  time  to  say  a  thing  like  that  truth- 
fully, but  the  daring  voyagers  on  the  theological  sea  are 
always  thinking  they  have  arrived  at  the  final  haven  of 
truth. 

Since  the  great  world  war  has  broken  out  we  are 
hearing  such  words  as  "liberty"  and  "humanity."  There 
is  usually  a  pretty  cool  assumption  that  the  speaker 
knows  just  where  these  valuable  qualities  are  now  to  be 
found.  We  hear  also  of  "militarism"  and  "autocracy" 
and  these  are  contrasted  unfavorably  with  democracy. 

We  shall  be  able  to  discover  the  preacher  who  has 
thought  farther  than  the  pages  of  his  favorite  magazine 
by  the  fact  that  he  discovers  new  ideas  and  new  ways  of 
phrasing  them.  The  fresh  and  interesting  expounder 
of  religious  truth  is  one  who  puts  no  unusual  burden  on 
words. 

SHALL  ILLINOIS  HAVE  THE  PRIZE  RING? 

AFTER  the  prize  fight  has  been  barred  out  of  nearly 
every  state  in  the  union,  it  is  astonishing  to  find 
a  great  and  cultured  state  like  Illinois  hear  with 
apathy  of  an  effort  in  the  state  legislature  to  legalize 
a  boxing  exhibition.  The  state  of  New  York  made  a 
little  experiment  with  what  seemed  to  be  an  innocent 
concession  to  the  amusement  interest  of  the  people,  but 
found  that  a  boxing  match  and  a  prize  fight  appealed 
alike  to  the  worst  elements  in  the  population. 

In  the  Illinois  legislature,  the  senate  has  advanced 
this  shameful  bill  to  a  third  reading.  It  begins  to  look 
like  it  might  pass  unless  there  is  showered  in  upon  the 
members  of  the  legislature  a  protest  so  firm  and  so  in- 
sistent that  there  shall  be  no  mistaking  the  will  of 
the  people. 

In  the  first  place,  the  people  of  Illinois  do  not  want 
the  state  to  become  the  dumping  ground  of  the  sport- 
ing interests  of  the  nation.  Once  these  boxing  matches 
are  legalized,  the  very  element  which  used  to  follow 
around  the  old-time  prize  fight  will  be  in  this  state,  dis- 
turbing public  order  and  debauching  public  morals. 
These  men  are  undesirable  citizens  and  Illinois  should 
not  seek  an  increase  in  this  kind  of  population. 

The  war  will  have  a  tendency  to  harden  and  brutal- 
ize. It  is  at  just  such  a  time  as  this  that  we  would  be 
glad  to  escape  the  demoralizing  influences  of  the  prize 
fight.  It  is  a  time  when  the  law-making  powers  of  the 
state  should  be  directed  toward  a  more  stringent  con- 
trol of  the  brutal  and  immoral  elements  of  the  popula- 
tion. 

This  is  no  new  proposal.  Last  year  a  determined 
effort  was  made  by  the  sporting  fraternity  to  get  just 
such  a  bill  as  this.  The  interests  that  are  pushing  the 
present  legislation  see  millions  in  it.  Last  year  it  was 
the  active  opposition  of  the  church  people  that  brought 
the  bill  to  defeat.  The  duty  this  year  is  very  plain. 
The  Christian  people  must  not  be  misunderstood 
through  silence. 

THE  MINISTER  WHO  IS  SURE 

A  PROMINENT  business  man  addressed  some 
preachers  the  other  day  and  told  these  men  of 
the  cloth  just  how  they  looked  to  him.  "I  tell 
a  new  salesman  that  he  has  to  'sell  himself  before  he 
can  sell  others.  The  trouble  with  a  lot  of  preachers 
I  know  is  that  they  are  trying  to  sell  religion  to  others, 


8 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  14,  1917 


but  they  have  never  sold  it  to  themselves."  He  showed 
how  the  exponent  of  a  business  idea  must  master  it  in 
every  detail  and  be  possessed  by  it. 

A  minister  may  be  very  orthodox  when  tested  out 
by  the  creeds,  and  yet  have  grave  doubts  about  the 
central  importance  of  religion.  He  may  be  able  to 
repeat  a  litany  and  yet  have  a  low  estimate  of  his  call- 
ing as  a  preacher  of  the  Word.  These  men  will  always 
lack  the  convincing  power  which  goes  with  the  mes- 
sage of  those  who  are  altogether  persuaded  that  the 
religion  they  preach  is  a  necessity  for  our  poor  strug- 
gling world. 

Savonarola  was  such  a  minister  of  the  Word.  It 
did  not  concern  him  at  all  whether  he  was  invited  to 
lecture  somewhere,  or  whether  he  was  to  be  given  some 
new  title  by  the  head  of  the  church  at  Rome.  He  was 
possessed  by  the  single  idea  of  purifying  the  church 
of  his  day  and  with  all  the  power  of  his  might  he  went 
to  this  task.  He  was  a  flaming  messenger  of  God's 
wrath  and  God's  holiness  for  a  rich  and  dissolute  people. 

Life  has  its  place  for  the  fine  balancing  of  opinions. 
That  place  is  the  university.    But  there  must  be  a  place 


where  the  ideas  developed  by  investigation  take  wings 
and  travel  out  into  the  world.  This  transmutation  must 
occur  in  the  souls  of  men  who  are  called  of  God  to  be 
apostles  of  the  truth. 

The  modern  movement  in  religion  has  tarried  too 
long  with  books  and  laboratory  processes.  It  is  high 
time  that  there  should  go  out  into  the  world  men  who 
shall  expound  the  big  vital  convictions  of  modern 
religion  to  a  world  which  is  altogether  ready  to  receive 
them. 


>'<^ 1 ' J^TJ 1 I tllMMIULMr Ill JIMIllillt LI1KLIL t IIItliMllllllllllJllllilllltllllI(fllJMMIIIllit)tl]M»l»lltll>lilltltll]tl»lllllllt1tlJ 


"Lord,  teach  thy  church  the  lesson, 
Still  in  her  darkest  hour 
I  Of  weakness  and  of  danger, 

I  To  trust  thy  hidden  power. 

Thy  grace  by  ways  mysterious 
The  wrath  of  man  can  bind, 
And  in  thy  boldest  foeman  i 

|  Thy  chosen  saint  can  find." 

rn  i .  i  i  j  m  1 1  n j  r  i  l  1 1 1 j  1 1  r nit m  1 1  1 1  l  :  h  1 1 '  1 1 1  ii  ^ :  1 1 1  e  i  [  i  m  j  h  1 1 1 1  m  t  1 1 1 1  l  i  r  u  m  r  i  i  1 1  l  i  <  i  •  ^  1 1 1  n  M 1 1  m  h  i  n  >  r  >  1 1  u  1 1  m  n  1 1 1  n  >  l )  I  ■  n  i  s  m  1 1 1 1  h  1 1  u  1 1 1 1 1 1  u  i  n  u  i  r  n  1 1 1 J  M I U  H 1 1 1 1  n  n  r 


I 


Why  I  Am  a  Disciple 


Tenth  Article — Minor  Reasons 


THE  PLACE  OF  BAPTISM* 

*~|""'HE  Disciples'  conception  of  the  place  of  baptism  in 

the  church  and  in  Christian  experience  is  one  with 

which  my  mind  is  thoroughly  congenial.    They  have 

usually  treated  the  subject  under  the  heading,  "The  Design 

of  Baptism."    I  cannot  use  exactly  that  phrasing,  but  their 

C essential  contention  that  baptism  is  functionally  related  to 
salvation  is,  as  I  see  it,  a  sound  and  wholesome  view.  In 
agreeing  with  them  I  find  myself  in  more  pronounced  dis- 
agreement with  the  way  the  Baptist  denomination  thinks 
of  baptism  than  with  the  conception  prevailing,  albeit 
vaguely,  among  the  pedo-baptist  denominations. 

On  the  meaning  of  the  word  "baptize"  in  its  Scripture 
usage  both  Baptists  and  Disciples  proceed  upon  the  same 
erroneous  assumption.  Both  assert  that  the  word  means 
"immerse."  As  I  have  already  said,  that,  to  me,  is  a 
linguistic  monstrosity,  which  must  be  removed  from  our 
thinking  before  we  can  renew  our  full  respect  for  the 
Scriptures.  Upon  both  Baptists  and  Disciples  devolves 
the  duty  of  adjusting  their  thought  to  the  correct  mean- 
ing of  the  word  as  denoting  initiation  or  induction  into 
the  fellowship  of  the  Christian  community,  that  is,  the 
church. 

But  to  the  Disciples  this  adjustment  will  be  consid- 
erably easier  than  to  the  Baptists.  In  their  fear  of  the 
doctrine  of  water  regeneration,  or  anything  approaching 
it,  the  Baptists  have,  it  seems  to  me,  played  fast  and  loose 
with  the  texts  of  Scripture  in  which  baptism  and  salva- 
tion are  joined  together.  When  our  Lord  says:  "He  that 
believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,"  and  when  Peter 
says :  "Repent  and  be  baptized,  every  one  of  you,  for 
the  remission  of  your  sins,"  and  when  Ananias  says  to 
Saul :  "Arise  and  be  baptized  and  wash  away  thy  sins," 
the  Disciple  mind  cannot  do  otherwise  than  infer  that 
haptism  has  something  to  do  with  salvation,  that  its  place 


*This  article  should  have  followed  the  article  on  "The  Prac- 
tice of  Baptism  by  Immersion,"  which  appeared  in  the  issue  of 
May  24. 


is  among  the  factors  that  condition  salvation.     And  my 

mind  is  such  that  I  cannot  do  otherwise  than  agree  with 

such  an  inference. 

*     *     * 

The  Baptist  mind,  however,  has  been  trained  in  a 
very  different  habit  toward  such  Scriptural  statements. 
What  that  habit  is,  is  indicated  in  a  paragraph  I  copied 
some  time  ago  from  a  leading  Baptist  newspaper.  The 
writer  says: 

"When  we  came  to  read  them  [such  passages  as  the  above] 
with  our  present  inquiry  clearly  defined,  we  found  that  these 
passages  on  their  face  only  seemed  to  make  baptism  a  condition 
of  salvation  or  remission  of  sin,  and  we  long  ago  learned  hozv 
to  rid  them  of  that  meaning  by  interpretation,  and  having  gotten 
rid  of  their  apparent  surface  teaching  of  the  essentiality  of 
baptism  to  salvation,  we  found  that  they  contained  no  teaching  as 
to  the  essentiality  of  baptism  to  anything." 

The  italics  are  mine.  This  frank  acknowledgment  of 
the  attitude  of  Baptists  toward  such  Scripture  texts  is 
refreshing,  especially  in  the  light  of  the  long  and  unamiable 
controversy  carried  on  between  them  and  the  Disciples  as 
to  the  place  of  baptism.  Of  course  the  trouble  with  the 
writer  of  the  above  paragraph  is  that  he  thinks  of  baptism 
as  immersion  in  water,  just  as  Disciples  have  historically 
done,  and  he  will  go  any  length  of  "interpretation"  to 
save  the  Scripture  from  the  repugnant  burden  of  teach- 
ing water  regeneration.  So  also  would  I,  if  I  believed 
that  the  thing  referred  to  as  baptism,  in  the  passages 
quoted,  was  the  physical  act  of  immersion.  And  if  I 
could  not  twist  the  passages  by  some  device  of  interpreta- 
tion so  as  to  eliminate  from  them  the  doctrine  of  water 
regeneration  I  would  simply  have  to  say  that  either  the 
writers  of  such  passages  were  mistaken  or  that  the  pas- 
sages themselves  were  spurious.  The  doctrine  that  im- 
mersion in  water  is  in  any  sense  a  vital  or  important 
factor  in  my  salvation  is  so  repugnant  to  me  that  I  would 
not  believe  it  even  if  I  found  it  taught  in  the  Bible,  and  I 
am  one  who  believes  in  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  as  I 
have  declared  myself  in  a  previous  article.     But  one  of 


June  14,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


'the  reasons  why  I  believe  in  the  Bible  is  because  it  does 
not  teach  any  such  doctrine  as  water  salvation! 

*     *     * 

The  one  frank  way  in  which  to  deal  with  such  texts 
as  we  are  discussing  is  to  face  them  unflinchingly  (as  I 
believe  the  Disciples  have  done  and  Baptists  have  not 
done),  and  to  re-examine  what  the  word  baptism  means 
in  the  whole  of  the  Scripture  (as  I  believe  the  Disciples 
are  beginning  to  do,  with  a  deep  disillusionment  as  to 
the  position  they  inherited  from  Alexander  Campbell). 
When  we  substitute  the  correct  meaning  of  "baptize"  for 
the  word  itself  in  all  such  passages,  the  doctrine  of  bap- 
tismal regeneration  loses  its  repugnance,  and  we  come  to 
^ee  that  baptism  as  a  factor  in  salvation  is  sanctionable 
Vnot  only  by  Scripture  texts  but  by  our  most  modern 
(social  ethics  and  psychology.  Baptism,  as  I  hold,  and  as 
I  believe  the  common  sense  of  Christendom  holds,  is  the 
act  of  being  inducted  into  the  church.  It  is  initiation  into 
the  body  of  Christ.  This  act  is  needed  in  order  to  com- 
plete the  conversion  experience  and  to  fully  save  the  peni- 
tent believer.  To  identify  this  social  act  with  the  physical 
sign  by  which  it  is  administered — whether  immersion  or 
sprinkling  or  (to  use  Dr.  Z.  T.  Sweeney's  illustration) 
rubbing  some  oil  behind  the  .  ear — is  simply  a  piece  of 
obtuse  intellection. 

Baptism  as  the  social  act  of  incorporating  the  con- 
vert into  the  church  of  Christ  really  effects  something. 
It  is  not  simply  the  "outward  sign  of  an  inward  grace" — it 
is  that,  but  it  is  more.  It  is  the  actual  transformation  of 
this  inward  grace  into  a  social  reality.  The  soul's  moral 
situation  is  really  changed  by  baptism.  The  believer  has 
become  an  actual  part  of  the  social  organism  of  believers, 
his  faith  has  been  published,  his  repentance  has  been 
clinched,  his  feelings  and  purposes  have  been  drawn  out 
of  his  subjective  experience  and  knitted  in  with  the  feel- 
ings and  purposes  of  others  who  are  of  like  mind  with 
himself  concerning  Jesus  Christ.  As  truly  as  faith  effects 
something  or  repentance  effects  something,  baptism  effects 
something.  It  is  a  positive  ethical  factor  in  salvation.  It 
is  not  a  ceremonial  fiction.  It  has  moral  potency  and  im- 
portance. It  saves  faith  and  repentance  from  sentimental- 
ism.  There  is  no  need  to  mumble  our  words  when  we 
read,  "Baptism  doth  also  now  save  us,"  for  baptism  be- 
longs where  Disciples  have  always  placed  it,  in  a  series 
with  faith  and  repentance  as  part  of  the  experience  of 
coming  to  God.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  it  is  a 
prerequisite  to  that  kind  of  salvation  which  Christianity 
seeks  to  give. 

All  of  the  considerations  which  make  for  the  necessity 
of  an  organized  church  in  the  social  order  make  obligatory 
upon  the  Christian-minded  individual  that  he  shall  identify 
himself  with  the  church — all  these  and  many  additional 
considerations  which  center  in  his  own  personal  need.  Not 
only  the  possibilities  of  personal  growth  in  the  Christian 
virtues  are  restricted  by  one's  refusal  to  ally  oneself  openly 
with  Christ's  people,  but  the  reality  of  the  remission  of 
past  sins  is  rendered  extremely  dubious  by  such  refusal. 
Those  who  have  made  shipwreck  of  their  Christian  pro- 
fession simply  because  they  failed  to  attach  themselves 
definitely  and  vitally  to  the  organic  life  of  Christ's  people 

are  a  great  multitude. 

*     *     * 

It  is  right  here  that  I  believe  the  traditional  evan- 
gelism of  the  Disciples  has  a  great  advantage  over  the 
evangelism  that  obtains  in  the  denominations  round  about 
us.  Modern  evangelism  preaches  faith  and  repentance 
but  is  afraid  of  baptism.    It  awakens  religious  aspirations 


but  fails  to  carry  these  impulses  into  social  objectivity. 
The   implications  of   its  gospel   are  that   salvation   is   an 
experience  between  the  soul  and  God,  and  as  a  result 
many  a  soul  imagines  it  is  saved  when  it  has  merely  ex- 
perienced a  shower  bath  of  its  own  emotions.     At  thii 
moment   many   renowned   evangelists  are  reporting  their 
meetings  as  resulting  in  three,  five  and  ten  thousand  con- 
versions, when  less  than  three,  five  and  ten  hundred — or 
even   so  many  scores — have  been   added   to  the  church. 
That   a   community   should   be   manipulated   into   a   high 
state  of  religious  feeling  and  the  church  of  Christ  there- 
after register  no  corresponding  increase   in   its   working 
force  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  an  unapostolic  procedure. 
There  is  need — profound  and  crying  need — of  an  evan- 
gelism which,  when  men  cry  out  to  know  what  to  do,  is 
not  afraid  to  proclaim  Peter's  pentecostal  words,  "Repent 
and  be  baptized     .     .     .     for  the  remission  of  your  sins." 
Now  the  reader  can  understand  why  I  find  the  char- 
acteristic teaching  of  the  Disciples  as  to  the  place  of  bap- 
tism congenial  to  my  own  way  of  thinking.    For  the  Disci- 
ples are  distinctive  among  the  Christian  communions  for 
the  development  of  an  evangelism  which  puts  baptism  in 
its  true  place  as  a  part  of  the  conversion  experience.    Un- 
like their  Christian  neighbors,  they  have  made  no  essen- 
tial distinction  between  becoming  a  Christian  and  uniting 
with  the  church  of  Christ.    With  them  the  "conditions  of 
pardon"  are  identical  with  the  conditions  of  membership 
in  the  church.     Baptism,  the  initiation  into  the  church,- 
is  the  last  "step"  in  the  process  by  which  forgiveness  is 
realized.    With  most  evangelical  bodies  the  soul  is  saved, 
pardoned,  before  baptism.    Being  baptized  and  joining  the 
church  are  further  acts,  standing,  so  to  speak,  by  them- 
selves.   The  main  emphasis  is  put  upon  faith  and  repent- 
ance,  upon   the   subjective   experiences ;   and   baptism,   if 
enjoined  at  all,  receives  attention  as  a  sort  of  after-thought. 

With  the  Disciples,  however,  baptism  is  no  after- 
thought, but  an  essential  factor  in  the  conversion  of  the 
soul.  As  a  consequence  in  the  Disciples'  traditional  evan- 
gelism there  is  no  disparity  between  the  number  of  reported 
conversions  and  the  number  of  new  church  members.  One 
hundred  or  one  thousand  conversions  means  one  hundred 
or  one  thousand  new  church  members.  It  will  be  noted 
that  I  say  the  Disciples'  "traditional"  evangelism.  I  am 
not  so  sure  about  our  present  day  evangelism.  There  has 
been  a  marked  tendency  among  us  Disciples  to  imitate  the 
evangelism  prevailing  in  other  religious  bodies,  and  our 
distinctive  message  at  this  point  has  been  given  up  by 
many  of  our  evangelists,  a  fact  which  I  think  is  regrettable. 

Before  closing  this  article  I  wish  to  say  a  word  about 
the  "Right  Hand  of  Fellowship,"  a  little  ceremony  of 
initiation  which  I  think  has  operated  to  bring  confusion 
into  our  minds  as  to  the  true  place  of  baptism.  This  cere- 
mony has  grown  to  have  almost  the  dignity  of  a  Scriptural 
ordinance  in  many  of  our  churches.  In  the  average  mind 
it  is  conceived  of  as  the  ceremony  of  receiving  a  candidate 
into  the  church.  In  this  it  usurps  the  place  of  baptism.  I 
believe  whatever  welcoming  words  need  to  be  spoken  may 
be  spoken  at  the  time  the  Confession  is  taken.  The  initiat- 
ing ceremony  is  the  baptismal  ceremony,  which,  when  it 
is  conceived  in  its  Scriptural  meaning,  leaves  no  room  for 
any  further  "reception."  I  would  therefore  restrict  the 
"Right  Hand  of  Fellowship"  to  those  who  come  with 
letters  from  other  churches  to  identify  themselves  with 
the  particular  local  church. 

Charles  Clayton  Morrison. 


The  Great  Betrayal 

By  Arthur  Mee 

The  following  article  is  taken  from  the  book,  "Failure  or  Victory,"  ivhich  is  the  sensation  of  England  to- 
day.  Several  hundred  thousand  have  been  circulated.  The  London  Spectator  is  circulating  it,  for  weeks  keep- 
ing an  exhortation  to  read  it  prominently  displayed  in  its  columns.  It  is  the  textbook  of  the  prohibition  move- 
ment in  England.  It  has  not  been,  and  cannot  be,  refuted.  It  is  based  on  the  proposition  that  England  may 
be  defeated  by  her  slavery  to  alcohol.  It  proves  that  enough  grain,  "war  food,"  has  been  destroyed — turned 
into  beer — to  have  nourished  all  the  armed  forces  of  the  empire  since  the  war  began;  that  the  tonnage  de- 
manded of  ships  and  trains  to  handle  the  foodstuffs  turned  into  poison  drinks  is  sixty  million  tons. 


THERE   does   not  beat   a  human  The    Prussians    were    pressing   on,  This  truth  it  was  that  clapped  likes 

heart    in    Britain   worthy   of   the  but  the   Great   British   power  moved  thunder  through  the  state — that  this 

freedom  it  enjoys,  that  does  not  slowly.     We  were  short  of  guns  and  nation,  mother  of  freedom  and  guard- 

tlirob  with  pain  at  the  thought  that  men,  and  we  were  short  from  a  cause  ian  of  the  liberties  of  the  human  race, 

perbaps  we  may  be  beaten.    In  all  the  that  was  easily  controllable.     It  was  was  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice ;  we 

range   of   human   thought,   in  all  the  not  that  our  ships  could  not  bring  in  were  looking  down  in  the  abyss,  and 

emotions  that  stir  the  life  of  man,  is  the  raw  materials  across  the  sea ;  it  we  were  fooling  with  drink, 

nothing  more  terrible  than  the  thought  was  not  that  the  gates  of  the  world 

that  perhaps,  by  some  unspeakable  ca-  were  closed  against  us ;  it  was  not  that  A  REC0RD  0F  cowardice 

lamity,  this  land  of  Drake  and  Nelson  the  war  conditions  made  it  difficult  for  Will  it  be  believed,  we  may  won-! 

may  suffer  defeat.  our  workshops  to  rise  to  the  glorious  der,  when  the  historian  comes  to  write 

the  true   power   of   a   nation  Part  tnat  *e** to  t^xem  m  saving  Europe ;  the  story  of  these  times,  that  in  the 

it  was  simply  that  an  enemy  within  spring  of  1915  the  destinies  of  Britain 

Tbe  power  of  a  nation  is  not  in  its  our  gates,  an  ancient  foe  of  ours,  had  were  in  the  hands  of  men  who  saw 

materials.    Behind  its  guns  and  shells,  its  brake  on  Britain  all  the  time.     It  these   things,    who   knew   them   well, 

behind  its  wealth  and  visible  powers,  was  nothing  new,  except  that  the  brake  who  were  warned — not  once  nor  twice, 

is  the  soul  of  the  people,  without  which  was  pressing  more  and  more  upon  our  but  many  times — that  our  armies  and 

all  is  in  vain.     And  the  soul  of  our  wheels ;  but  those  who  sleep  in  peace  fleets  were  in  peril  through  drink,  but 

people,  deeply  stirred  in  that  far-off  wake  up  in  war,  and  we  found  in  this  who  listened  to  the  warnings  and  did 

autumn  of  1914,  has  lost  touch  with  hour  of  our  trial  what  our  drink  trade  nothing. 

those  great  heigbts   it   reached   when  really  means.     We  found  that  while  Will  it  be  believed  that,  though  the 

the  prime  minister  led  us  to  believe  the  prohibition  workshops  of  America  king  himself  was  moved  to  shame  and 

that  no  sacrifice  was  too  great  with  poured  out  shells  and  guns  for  us  in  indignation  by  these  revelations,  though 

freedom  and  honor  at  stake.  quantities    never   known    before,    the  he  banished  alcohol  from  all  his  palaces, 

We  believed  it  then;  our  men  went  workshops  of  this  country,  with  an  though  the  minister  for  war  did  the 
out  believing  it ;  they  went  to  their  enervating  stream  of  alcohol  forever  same  in  the  interests  of  the  army, 
graves  believing  it.  But  it  is  not  true,  running  through  them,  were  doing  less  though  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer 
We  have  believed  we  could  pull  than  usual.  did  the  same  in  the  interests  of  our  na- 
through  without  it.  What  has  hap-  TvmsrnvFRY  tional  finance,  though  the  primate  led 
pened  is  that  the  government  of  this  ,,!  the  way  for  the  Church,  though  the 
country,  in  the  gravest  crisis  with  It  was  a  ghastly  discovery  for  those  government  of  Nova  Scotia  did  the 
which  we  were  ever  confronted,  de-  who  had  been  blind  so  long,  for  it  same  in  the  interests  of  the  empire, 
clared  to  our  people  that,  whatever  meant  that  this  great  trade,  existing  the  government  of  this  country  "took 
they  might  have  said  on  our  platforms,  on  the  social  pleasures  of  our  people,  little  notice,  and  the  House  of  Corn- 
whatever  glowing  phrases  they  sent  stood  in  our  path  as  we  set  out  to  fight  mons  mocked  at  it  and  laughed  it  all 
ringing  round  the  world  from  the  once  more  the  fight  that  Wellington  to  scorn?  We  may  predict  that  it  will 
Guildhall,  the  supreme  act  of  sacrifice  and  Nelson  fought.  It  meant  that  this  hardly  be  believed;  but  one  thing  is 
we  called  for  abroad  was  not  called  trade,  serving  no  other  purpose  in  the  certain — the  historian  will  see  in  that 
for  at  home.  It  is  pitifully  true,  and  world  than  to  gratify  acquired  appe-  the  explanation  of  that  public  indiffer- 
in  it  lies  the  secret  of  the  lengthening  tites,  had  become  an  open  menace  to  ence  which  for  two  years  now  has 
war.  us  all ;  it  meant  that  in  the  face  of  this  been  our  peril,  and  of  that  reluctance 
a  canker  in  Britain's  life  grave  crisis  that  involved  all  Europe  for  sacrifice  at  home  which  must  break 

there    arose    in    Britain    a    strangling  the  heart  of  those  abroad. 

The  war  goes  on,  and  will  go  on,  force  that  broke  our  ancient  power, 

because  we  have  not  paid  the  price  of  We    were    not    to    throw    our    whole  opportunity  lost 

victory.     We  are  shirkers  yet.  weight  in  the  scale,  but  such  a  weight  For  it  is  clear  as  the  noonday  sun, 

Let  us  use  plain  words.    There  is  a  as  we  had  left  when  a  private  trade  had  as  plain  as  the  destruction  of  Belgium, 

canker  in  the  life  of  Britain.     As  a  (\one  vvith  us.     The  Bill  of  Rights  is  what  happened  when  the  government 

strong  man  throws  off  poisons,  so  do  there  for  all  mankind  to  read,  and  it  of  this  country  refused  to  follow  the 

nations  in  their  strength ;  but  the  time  sayS  that  the  government  of  a  coun-  king  to  victory.     The  king  expected 

comes  when  poisons  have  their  way.  try  is  constituted  for  the  "protection,  the  prohibition  of  alcohol ;  Mr.  Lloyd 

And    so    the   time    came    to    Europe,  safety  and  happiness  of  the  people  and  George   meant   that   it   should   come ; 

Britain,  France  and  Russia,  when  the  not  for  the  profit  or  private  interests  Lord    Kitchener   had    already   antici- 

war  burst  suddenly  upon  Europe,  had  of  any  class  of  men."     That  would  pated  both,  and  the  fact  which  moved 

each  its  great  internal  problem  to  be  seem  an  adequate  indictment  of  a  pri-  them  all  was  the  peril  in  which  the 

solved.     Within   a   few   days   Russia  vate  trade  which  the  king  himself  de-  nation  stood  from  this  private  trade, 

made  her  choice.    Within  a  few  weeks  clares  to  have  imperiled  the  supplies  But    when,   after   all   that    had   been 

France    had    followed    her.      A    little  of  our  armies  and  our  fleet,  and  to  said,  the  government  went  to  drinking, 

longer  and  Britain,  too,  was  face  to  have  prolonged  the  war.     And  there  the  argument  in  the  nation  was  per- 

face  with  the  peril  her  allies  had  put  we    stood,    when    the    war    was    six  fectly  clear.     If  the  king  was  right, 

away  from  them.  months  old.  if  it  was  really  true  that  drink  had 


June  14,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


11 


kept  back  guns  and  shells  and  pro- 
longed the  war,  no  government  on  this 
earth  dare  have  let  that  thing  go  on. 
It  was  inconceivable  that  a  govern- 
ment could  so  betray  our  country  and 
our  allies  in  the  cause  of  human  free- 
dom ;  and  so  the  king  and  Lord  Kitch- 
ener and  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  their 
advisers  must  all  have  been  wrong. 

The  opportunity  was  thrown  away. 
The  House  of  Commons  kept  open  its 
bars  defiantly,  so  that  our  elected  rul- 
ers could   leave  the  council  chamber 


at  any  hour  they  pleased,  to  patronize, 
at  the  bars  of  parliament,  this  trade 
that  the  king  had  banished  from  his 
bouse. 

AT  THE   PARTING   OF   THE   WAYS 

Nearly  two  years  have  passed  since 
then,  and  how  does  it  stand  witb 
Britain?  We  stand  at  the  parting  of 
the  ways  once  more;  the  power  that 
guides  our  destinies  has  brought  us 
round  once  more  to  the  Gate  of  Op- 
portunity;   the    golden    moment    has 


come  back  again.  We  can  put  on  thf: 
whole  armor  of  Britain  ;  we  can  rise 
— not  in  courage,  but  in  willing! 
of  sacrifice — to  the  height  of  t! 
who  die  for  us.  We  can  quit  our- 
selves like  a  great  nation  and  be 
worthy  of  our  living  and  our  dead  ;  or 
we  can  go  on  drinking  and  hang  our 
heads  in  shame  as  we  walk  through 
France  and  Russia  in  the  years  to 
come. 

The  hour  is  striking,  and  the  na- 
tion waits. 


How  Whisky  Is  Defeating  the  Allies 

The  following  is  a  letter  from  Captain  Paul  Goforth,  of  the  Canadian  army  serving  in  Europe.  It  is 
evident  from  the  way  Captain  Goforth  introduces  his  letter  that  there  has  been  a  tendency  in  military  cir- 
cles abroad  to  regard  any  outcry  against  the  villainous  drink  and  vice  conditions  connected  with  the  camps 
and  the  trenches  there  as  subversive  of  military  discipline  and  in  the  nature  of  an  attack  upon  the  command- 
ing military  authorities.  Captain  Goforth  states  that  since  casualties  and  other  losses  caused  by  the  liquor 
traffic  are  not  published  as  such  in  the  official  lists  and  since  the  problem  is  becoming  more  pressing  and 
insistent  every  day,  some  means  must  be  found  to  make  the  people  acquainted  with  the  truth,  and  although, 
as  he  says,  "some  of  the  revelations  I  intend  to  make  may  be  regarded  as  breaches  of  military  discipline," 
he  thinks  "it  is  high  time  for  some  one  in  the  army  to  speak  out  plainly  to  the  people  at  home."  So  thor- 
oughly does  the  Captain  feel  the  evident  attempts  to  smother  the  facts  in  military  circles  that  he  adds:  "I 
am  speaking  not  as  an  officer  criticising  my  superiors  in  the  service,  but  as  a  citizen  of  Canada  and  a  Brit- 
ish subject,  protesting  against  the  continuance,  in  any  form,  of  an  unpatriotic  and  costly  traffic  which  ham- 
pers the  work  of  the  army  at  every  turn  and  which  has  ruined  and  is  ruining  thousands  of  our  best  officers, 
non-commissioned  officers  and  men."  Captain  Goforth 's  letter  is  largely  a  narration  of  things  observed  at 
first-hand  beginning  with  the  time  he  left  his  home  for  the  Canadian  mobilisation  camp.  Many  of  the  things 
mentioned  are  quotations  from  his  diary.  What  is  of  chief  interest  to  us  in  America  facing  the  mobilization 
of  three-quarters  of  a  million  of  our  young  men  and  their  ultimate  appearance  in  the  camps  and  trenches 
abroad,  are  his  revelations  of  conditions  in  England  and  France. 


ON  Salisbury  Plains,  the  prob- 
lem of  developing  discipline 
became  more  difficult  than 
ever,  by  the  introduction  of  the  wet 
canteen ;  for  the  liquor  traffic  was 
officially  recognized  as  a  good  thing 
and  many  a  Canadian  boy  was  led  to 
take  his  first  glass  of  beer.  That  was 
one  time  that  we  should  have  stood  on 
our  own  feet  and  been  true  to  Cana- 
dian sentiment  and  Canadian  ideals. 
The  wet  canteen  was  introduced  pri- 
marily "to  prevent  our  men  getting 
harder  liquor  elsewhere."  But  that 
excuse  is  a  mockery,  as  everyone 
knows  who  has  seen  the  underground 
railway  of  the  liquor  traffic  at  work. 

OFFICERS  BROKEN  THROUGH  DRINK. 

The  tolerance  of  the  liquor  traffic 
is  more  than  a  question  of  discipline. 
It  is  a  question  of  our  firmness  or 
feebleness  of  purpose  in  prosecuting 
this  war.  At  Tidworth  barracks, 
Capt.  and  another  of  our  offi- 
cers were  broken  through  drink.  The 
general  officer  commanding  having  no 
further  use  for  their  services  they 
were  "permitted  to  resign  their  com- 
missions in  the  Canadian  Expedition- 
ary Force."  Soon  after  our  arrival  at 
Shorncliffe  there  was  a  special  meet- 
ing of  the  officers'  mess  to  decide 
whether  we  would  go  on  with  a  wet 
mess  or  follow  the  example  of  Lord 


Kitchener  and  the  King.  Broad 
minded  arguments  of  "liberty"  and 
"moderation"  won  the  day.  Yet  with- 
in one  month  from  that  time  I  had 
the  unwelcome  task  of  prosecuting 
two  of  my  brother  officers  for  drunk- 
enness before  a  general  court  martial 
and  our  regimental  sergeant  major 
for  the  same  offense  before  a  district 
court  martial.  .  .  .  There  was  a 
man  who  knew  his  work  to  perfec- 
tion, who  had  served  in  the  South 
African  war  and  who  wore  on  his 
breast  the  ribbon  of  the  long  service 
and  good  conduct  medal,  and  yet  he 
was  broken  completely,  and  broken 
through  nothing  but  drink. 

THE  SAME   CONDITIONS   IN   FRANCE. 

At  the  same  Canadian  Base  Depot, 
Havre,  France,  where  I  spent  eight 
months,  the  problem  was  the  same. 
More  or  less  kindly  French  civilians 
could  not  be  kept  away  and  those  of 
our  men  who  wanted  more  than  they 
could  get  of  the  wet  canteen  had  no 
difficulty  in  securing  cheap  whisky, 
wine  and  brandy.  As  Adjutant  of  the 
depot  I  had  every  opportunity  for  ob- 
serving the  effect  of  liquor  on  the 
discipline  of  the  camp  and  the  general 
efficiency  of  officers,  non-commis- 
sioned officers  and  men.  Excluding 
simple  offenses  of  absence  without 
leave,  I  know  that  60  percent  of  the 


crime  sheets  brought  before  the  com- 
manding officer  were  charges  of 
drunkenness.  The  pity  and  shame  of 
it  all  is  that  a  man  loses  pay  for  his 
whole  term  and  his  wife  and  family 
have  to  suffer. 

The  prohibition  of  absinthe  in  France 
has  not  affected  the  sale  of  other 
liquors,  and  drunkenness  among  Brit- 
ish and  colonial  troops  at  Havre  Base 
has  greatly  increased  the  difficulties 
of  the  general  officer  commanding  the 
base.  An  order  was  issued  instructing 
officers  commanding  depots  to  appeal 
to  their  men  to  assist  the  French  civil 
authorities  by  helping  back  to  camp 
any  of  their  comrades  whom  they 
might  find  drunk  in  town  "and  thus 
uphold  the  honor  of  the  army." 

DRINK    AND   VICE    WORKING   TOGETHER. 

The  degrading  effect  of  liquor  on 
character  is  its  crowning  infamy.  The 
terrible  temptations  which  are  insep- 
arable from  the  abnormal  life  of  the 
soldier  are  but  dimly  understood  by 
those  who  have  had  a  comfortable 
home  and  in  the  hour  of  temptation 
even  the  strongest  man  needs  all  his 
faculties  braced  to  resist.  This  is 
where  the  liquor  traffic  does  its  mean- 
est work.  I  knew  a  brilliant  officer 
whose  life  was  full  of  promise  until 
some  friends  in  London  persuaded 
him  that  drink  was  a  necessary  social 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


June  14,  1917 


accomplishment.  Then,  while  he  was 
under  the  influence  of  drink,  lost 
women  completed  his  fall.     .     .     . 

Venereal  disease,  with  its  close  ally, 
the  liquor  traffic,  has  made  untold  rav- 
ages on  the  Canadian  Expeditionary 
Force.  The  subject  must  be  dragged 
out  into  the  open  before  the  people 
can  realize  the  criminal  waste  of  pub- 
lic money  and  the  gross  injustice  done 
to  every  honorable  man  overseas  and 
at  home.     .     .     . 


This  drain  on  our  resources  cannot 
be  longer  endured.  This  parasite  in- 
dustry must  be  dealt  with  firmly  and 
at  once.  There  is  a  remedy  for  the 
present  state  of  affairs  and  the  people 
once  they  arc  thoroughly  aroused  will 
find  that  remedy. 

Absolute  prohibition  for  ail  the  na- 
tions at  war  is  the  only  solution. 

Liquor  in  the  army  is  bound  up 
with  the  question  of  liquor  in  the  na- 


tion. We  cannot  give  up  one  and  keep 
the  other.  As  long  as  the  manufac- 
ture and  sale  of  liquor  as  a  beverage 
remains  unprohibited  in  Canada,  Great 
Britain  and  France,  so  long  zvill  our 
armies  be  hampered  in  their  struggle 
and  lives  that  are  priceless  to  some- 
one urill  be  sacrificed  in  vain.  As  in 
the  army  so  in  the  nation  all  attempts 
at  "control,"  short  of  total  prohibi- 
tion, are  exasperating,  failures. 


Present  Duty  of  American  Citizens 


By  E.  J.  Davis 

Supt.   Chicago   District  Anti-Saloon  League  of  Illinois 


IT  has  come  to  a  place  where  it  is 
no  longer  wild-eyed  prophesy  to 
say  that  the  English  nation  and  the 
liquor  traffic  cannot  both  survive.  The 
same  statement  may  be  safely  said  re- 
garding America. 

Conditions  at  the  front  in  France, 
according  to  great  weight  of  testi- 
mony, are  appalling.  America's  hands 
are  tied,  so  long  as  we  have  the  liquor 
traffic  sanctioned  in  any  large  way  in 
this  country.  It  must  be  destroyed 
here  before  we  can  protest  very  effect- 
ively at  conditions  in  Europe. 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  Ameri- 
can boys  will  soon  be  going  to  the 
front.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  three- 
fourths  of  those  who  will  return  will 
be  moral  wrecks  unless  conditions  are 
changed.  A  friend  of  mine  living  in 
Ohio  said  that  three  as  bright  and  as 
clean  young  men  as  there  were  in  his 
acquaintance  went  to  .the  Mexican 
front  and  came  back  utterly  worthless. 
The  liquor  traffic  is  the  great  canker 
not  alone  in  individual  homes  but  in 
the  government  and  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  in  the  church  itself. 

A   GREAT  CRISIS   FACED. 

Men  are  afraid  to  move  against  it. 
I  have  had  scores  of  church  men  tell 
me  personally  that  they  could  not 
afford  to  take  part  in  this  fight  for 
business  reasons.  If  this  is  not  break- 
ing the  first  commandment,  I  do  not 
know  how  to  label  it.  I  have  had 
preachers  tell  me  that  this  question 
ought  to  be  settled  as  an  economic 
question,  and  that  it  would  be  settled 
as  an  economic  question.  We  cannot 
afford  to  try  to  substitute  prayer  and 
missionary  activity  and  long  disquisi- 
tions on  immortality  and  the  spiritual 
life  for  plain  duty.  We  cannot  shove 
this  question  off  on  to  Women's  Clubs 
and  others  as  a  conservation  of  food 
stuffs.  The  Christian  church  of  Amer- 
ica is  face  to  face  with  a  great  crisis. 
It  and  it  alone  can  bring  about  the 
abolition  of  the  liquor  traffic.     If  it 


fails  in  this  crisis  God  pity  the  church 
and  America  and  the  race. 

Now  is  the  time  when  the  fathers 
and  mothers  of  America  should  raise 
such  a  hue  and  cry  about  the  liquor 
traffic  in  this  country  that  should 
cause  the  whole  world  to  take  notice, 
and  compel  action  by  the  government 
at  Washington.  They  should  do  this 
for  the  sufficient  reason  that  very  soon 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  American 
sons  will  be  plunging  into  the  war  in 
France.  The  condition  there,  accord- 
ing to  all  testimony,  is  awful  and  when 
we  use  the  word  awful  it  is  not  with 
respect  to  German  bullets  or  lyddite 
shells.  No  pure  man  fighting  for  a 
great  and  righteous  cause  need  fear 
bullets  and  we  believe  we  speak  true 
words  when  we  say  that  the  American 
fathers  and  mothers  are  willing  that 
their  sons  should  take  such  chances. 

How  can  we  demand  that  the  liquor 
traffic  be  stopped  in  England  or  France 
while  it  is  allowed  in  this  country? 
The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  set  our  own 
house  in  order.  Let  us  remember  that 
the  soldiers  who  go  to  France  will 
not  be  under  the  supreme  direction  of 
American  officers.  American  officers 
will  have  no  final  jurisdiction  there. 
They  will  have  no  authority  to  deter- 
mine what  shall  be  the  camp  environ- 
ment. The  only  way  conditions  can  be 
changed  is  for  the  English  and  French 
governments  to  be  brought  to  a  place 
by  public  sentiment  in  this  nation  that 
will  influence  them  to  make  the  neces- 
sary changes. 

SOME  ASTOUNDING  FIGURES. 

Secretary  of  Agriculture  Hon.  Da- 
vid F.  Houston,  testifying  before  the 
House  Agricultural  Committee  April 
23,  1917,  said: 

"Over  $101,100,000  worth  of  malt,  hops, 
rice,  corn,  glucose  and  other  materials 
are  used  in  making  fermented  liquor 
each  year  alone;  $44,064,000  worth  of 
malt,  wheat,  barley,  rye,  corn,  oats,  mill 
food,  molasses  and  other  materials  are 
used  in  making  whisky  each'  year.  The 
amount  of  food  products  used  in  mak- 
ing beer  and  whiskey  totals  $145,064,000." 


When  the  national  government  asks 
the  farmers  to  raise  more  food  stuff 
to  win  the  war,  it  is  the  patriotic  duty 
of  every  citizen  to  insist  that  this 
same  authority  stop  food  waste. 

Why  should  the  food  supply  for 
7,000,000  men  be  destroyed  to  make 
liquor  to  make  men  drunk? 

Why  waste  seven  billion  pounds  of 
food  stuff  when  at  war,  to  make  liquor 
that  will  reduce  the  efficiency  of  our 
army  and  also  destroy  the  ability  of 
labor  to  supply  food  and  munitions  to 
keep  the  army  in  the  field? 

Is  it  good  sense  to  underfeed  or 
starve  women  and  children  in  order 
that  brewers  and  distillers  may  have 
grain  to  make  poison? 

Can  a  nation  permanently  prosper 
by  using  food  which  sustains  life  to 
make  beer  and  whisky  which  destroys 
life? 

Increase  the  amount  of  short  term 
bond  rather  than  destroy  food  stuffs 
to  secure  additional  revenue  from  in- 
toxicating liquor. 

This  country,  less  dominated  by 
liquor  than  England,  is  in  a  strategic 
position  to  help  our  allies  by  leading 
the  way  in  this  reform  so  essential  to 
victory. 

THE    SITUATION    AT    WASHINGTON. 

War  prohibition  to  stop  the  use  of 
grain  for  making  either  beer  or 
whisky  during  the  war,  will  be  settled 
within  a  few  days  in  Congress. 

The  drys  urge  this  as  an  amend- 
ment to  the  Lever  Bill,  H.  R.  4630  in 
the  House  and  the  same  issue  will 
come  up  in  the  Senate.  To  win  there 
must  be  an  avalanche  of  telegrams 
and  letters  to  Senators  and  Congress- 
men from  the  states  urging  them  to 
vote  for  this  amendment  to  stop  the 
waste  of  grain  for  making  liquor  and 
play  no  favorites  between  beer  and 
whisky.  The  making  of  whisky  of 
course  should  be  prohibited  but  also 
the  making  of  beer.  Urge  also  that 
Congress  should  provide  for  this  pro- 
hibition direct  and  not  refer  to  any 
one  else  for  action. 


June  14,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


13 


Over  100,000,000  bushels  of  grain 
are  being  used  annually  to  make  beer 
and  whisky.  The  grain  supply  is 
short  and  grain  exportation  larger 
than  ever.  Mr.  Hoover,  the  food  dic- 
tator, says  the  allies  must  have  961,- 
000,000  bushels  of  grain  and  fodder 
supply  this  year,  and  our  country 
must  furnish  most  of  it.  We  cannot 
do  this  and  destroy  grains  in  the  mak- 
ing of  beer. 

You  can  get  many  people  to  send 


letters  and  telegrams  who  have  not 
been  enthusiastic  on  state  and  na- 
tional prohibition.  Have  a  large  num- 
ber of  letters  written  at  once,  also 
telegrams.  If  you  have  already  writ- 
ten or  wired  on  this  matter  do  so 
again  as  the  liquor  interests  are  flood- 
ing Congress  with  messages  daily. 
Have  at  least  one  telegram  signed  by 
five  or  more  people,  ready  to  send  on 
a  minute's  notice  when  the  press  indi- 
cates  the   day   of  the   vote.     In   the 


meantime  keep  the  mails  and  wires 
hot  on  the  above  program.  We  are 
in  the  last  trench  and  now  is  the  time 
to  strike! 


I  hold  the  deepest  self-surrender, 
the  noblest  sacrifice  to  God,  lies 
mainly  in  going  into  the  world,  not  in 
running  away  from  it.  It  is  there  that 
your  devotion  displays  itself  at  its 
highest  and  best. — George  Matheson. 


What  Churches  Have  to  Advertise 

By  Orvis  F.  Jordan 

An  Address  Delivered  Before  the  Annual  Convention  of  the  World's  Advertising 

Clubs,  Held  in  St.  Louis  Last  Week 


ADVERTISING  religion  has  the 
advantage  over  every  other  kind 
of  advertising  in  that  it  offers 
the  people  something  which  is  as  old 
as  the  race.  We  do  not  need  to  create 
a  new  need  or  to  stimulate  a  new  de- 
sire. There  is  no  instinctive  desire 
for  a  button  hook  or  a  safety  pin  and 
men  lived  a  long  time  without  a  cer- 
tain well-known  kind  of  soda  biscuit. 
With  religion  it  is  different.  Sabatier 
says  men  are  incurably  religious.  Be- 
fore him  was  Augustine,  who  declared 
our  souls  are  restless  until  they  rest 
in  God.  There  are  very  few  atheists 
in  the  world.  Even  the  man  who  calls 
himself  an  infidel  sets  up  the  hypothe- 
sis of  No-god  and  worships  him  day 
and  night. 

MEN    LOOKING    FOR    RELIGION 

The  problem  of  advertising  religion 
is  to  convince  the  public  that  the  re- 
ligion so  universally  desired  by  the 
human  heart  is  to  be  found  in  the 
church.  Men  have  been  looking  for 
religion  in  the  lodges  and  have  found 
some  there.  They  have  looked  for  it 
in  labor  unions  and  in  socialist 
brotherhoods.  In  the  uplift  societies 
are  found  deep  enthusiasms  that  have 
a  religious  quality.  The  church  has 
failed  to  convince  many  of  these  peo- 
ple that  the  home  of  religion  is  in  the 
church.  Advertising  is  to  be  directed 
toward  this  end,  to  win  people  to  the 
belief  that  the  church  is  the  most  re- 
ligious of  our  various  forms  of  hu- 
man associations. 

There  is  also  the  task  of  producing 
a  desire  for  some  of  the  products  of 
religion.  A  man  may  believe  in  God, 
but  not  find  joy  in  worship.  There 
are  others  who  believe  in  righteous- 
ness but  have  no  concern  about  hold- 
ing church  membership.  There  is  a 
lamentable  ignorance  in  many  quarters 
about  what  the  church  does  and  what 
it  wishes  to  do  when  it  secures  the 
support  of  the  entire  community.    We 


cannot  wait  for  the  whole  community 
to  come  into  our  churches  any  more 
than  the  department  store  can  wait 
for  people  to  hunt  up  the  bargains  on 
the  counters.  We  are  told  to  go  into 
the  highways  and  hedges.  In  modern 
terms,  this  means  to  advertise. 

ADVERTISING    THE    CHURCH    SERVICE 

The  first  thing  a  church  needs  to 
advertise  is  its  public  service  of  wor- 
ship. Here  is  the  place  to  lay  great 
emphasis,  for  unless  we  can  get  people 
to  assemble  themselves  together,  the 
great  ends  of  religion  can  never  be 
served.  Some  of  us  believe  there  can 
be  no  true  religion  of  one  soul  alone 
with  God.  It  takes  a  man  and  God 
and  our  brother  to  make  religion  pos- 
sible. 

Announcements  of  services  by  min- 
isters range  through  the  whole  gamut 
of  advertising  amateurishness.  One 
man  betrays  the  fact  that  he  is  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Dry-as-Dust  by  the  way  he 
tells  about  next  Sunday  morning's 
service.  Another  thinks  to  win  favor 
by  the  flippancy  and  irrelevancy  of  his 
announcement.  When  we  announce 
our  services,  we  must  never  forget 
that  the  people  seek  in  our  churches 
nothing  else  than  religion.  They  do 
not  want  the  hour  of  worship  given 
to  lectures,  concerts  or  anything  else 
than  worship.  Men  find  the  deep 
things  of  the  spirit  in  these  times  of 
communion. 

We  must  remember  that  not  all  pub- 
licity means  prestige.  Dr.  Cook  had 
all  kinds  of  free  publicity,  but  every 
column  of  it  made  his  future  the  more 
impossible.  Gallons  of  printer's  ink 
may  promote  a  patent  medicine,  but 
if  the  government  comes  along  and 
announces  that  it  is  only  cheap 
whiskey  and  dye  stuffs,  it  cannot  be 
sold  any  more.  The  same  thing  is 
true  of  a  church  service.  We  cannot 
successfully  advertise  a  minister  who 
has  not  thought  through  his  message 


and  then  lived  it  through.  Announce- 
ments of  special  music  that  is  very 
ordinary,  kick  back  worse  than  father's 
old  musket  used  to  do. 

Religion  has  to  be  reinterpreted  for 
every  age.  When  we  have  built  up  a 
service  that  fits  the  needs  of  the  peo- 
ple in  a  pre-eminent  way,  it  will  pay 
to  tell  the  community  about  it,  just  as 
it  has  paid  to  tell  them  about  some 
new  tooth  powder  or  some  new  face 
cream. 

In  religious  advertising,  as  in  every 
other  kind,  honesty  is  not  only  the  best 
policy;  it  is  the  only  policy.  Medi- 
ocrity and  inefficiency  may  well  cloak 
themselves  in  obscurity.  Merit  and 
service  may  dare  to  court  public  inter- 
est and  scrutiny. 

ADVERTISING  FOR  CHURCH   MEMBERS 

Churches  '  have  been  much  con- 
cerned about  winning  new  members. 
It  is  one  of  the  propositions  that  we 
have  to  "sell."  When  cities  are  small, 
it  is  still  easy  to  influence  a  whole 
community  with  a  popular  evangelist 
and  a  tent  meeting. 

What  the  churches  have  not  yet 
learned  to  do  in  any  adequate  way  is 
to  advertise  for  new  members.  Ad- 
vertising is  group  selling  and  evangel- 
ism is  group  conversion.  It  seems  a 
simple  deduction  that  advertising  may 
be  made  one  of  the  methods  of  a  new 
evangelism. 

Prospective  candidates  for  church 
membership  are  often  influenced  un- 
favorably by  hostile  opinion  in  the 
home,  the  neighborhood,  the  place  of 
work.  Community  hostility  must  be 
turned  into  friendliness  before  there 
can  be  any  successful  building  of 
church  membership.  England  made 
an  army  with  bill-posters  and  lantern 
slides.  The  church  of  Jesus  Christ 
may  have  to  recruit  itself  through 
well-directed  publicity  methods  that 
will  rebuke  the  "slackers"'  who  keep 
their  church  letters   in   their  trunks, 


.4 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  14,  1917 


and  will  arouse  the  courage  and 
loyalty  of  new  recruits  to  an  institu- 
tion which  through  the  ages  has  been 
the  pillar  of  civilization  and  true  cul- 
ture. 

Church  membership  can  be  adver- 
tised as  fraternity.  The  "home-like 
church"  is  a  slogan  from  one  coast  to 
the  other. 

A  PERTINENT  QUESTION 

It  is  fair  to  ask  the  people  of  any 
community  whether  they  want  their 
churches.  If  they  do  want  them,  how 
can  they  have  them  unless  people  join 
tham  and  take  up  the  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities that  alone  guarantee  the 
future  of  any  church?  "What  kind 
of  a  church  would  this  be,  if  every 
member  were  just  like  me?"  is  to  be 
superseded  by  a  bigger  slogan.  "What 
kind  of  a  town  would  this  be  if  every 
citizen  were  religious  just  like  me?" 

Many  false  notions  of  church  mem- 
bership are  to  be  exploded.  Church 
folks  do  not  pose  as  so  much  better 
than  other  folks.  We  only  hope  we 
are  a  little  better  through  our  superior 
opportunities.  The  church  is  no  aris- 
tocratic institution.  In  every  city 
thousands  of  working  people  serve  on 
official  boards  and  as  teachers  in  re- 
ligious schools.  The  church  is  no 
back  number.  The  roster  of  its 
auxiliary  societies  shows  a  constant 
adjustment  to  the  new  conditions  and 
new  needs.  Were  these  facts  com- 
monly known,  there  would  be  more 
general  appreciation  of  membership 
in  the  oldest  and  largest  human  organ- 
ization. 

ADVERTISING   RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION 

The  Sunday  school  is  the  most  uni- 
versally popular  religious  organization 
in  the  community.  Many  families 
that  never  go  to  church  feel  the  need 
of  bringing  up  their  children  under  the 
influence  of  this  school  religion. 

Do  we  not  have  a  great  appeal  when 
we  ask  for  appreciation  of  the  volun- 
teer service  of  a  great  army  of  Sunday 
School  teachers?  These  feel  the  call 
of  the  wild  in  the  early  spring-time, 
but  stay  by  their  task  of  educating  the 
young  in  the  fundamental  things  of 
life  and  of  religion. 

There  is  an  opportunity  today  for  a 
Sunday  School  to  be  unique.  We  are 
rapidly  reconstructing  our  methods  of 
religious  education.  When  our  school 
is  organized  and  graded  and  socialized 
we  are  justified  in  going  to  the  com- 
munity asking  support  for  a  Sunday 
school  that  is  "different." 

ADVERTISING  RELIGION  ITSELF 

The  man  who  has  sought  his  re- 
ligion elsewhere  than  the  church  needs 
to  be  told  what  religion  is  and  what 
kind  the  churches  cultivate.  Again 
we  need  to  remind  the  church  that  to 
advertise  successfully  there  must  be  on 


hand  superior  goods  and  a  fresh,  up- 
to-date  stock.  Our  grandfather's  re- 
ligion is  worthy  of  all  respect — for 
our  grandfather.  But  religion  is  a 
growing  thing  and  the  church  that 
dares  advertise  religion  today  must  be 
sure  of  its  goods. 

We  are  reminded  of  a  small  sect 
which  has  put  its  boiler  plate  in  the 
country  weeklies  all  over  the  country. 
The  results  have  been  small,  for  you 
cannot  advertise  diligently  enough  to 
sell  stale  soda  biscuits  against  a  com- 
peting cracker  that  is  fresh.  But  what 
would  such  enterprise  do  for  an  ade- 
quate statement  of  modern  religion? 

These  are  great  days  in  which  to 
"sell"  the  religious  proposition. 
Luxury-loving  America  has  about 
finished  her  joy-ride.  The  car  has 
broken  down  and  she  will  have  to 
walk  home  through  the  dark  and  the 
storm.  In  the  new  days  of  our  na- 
tional struggle  there  will  be  a  search 
for  the  deep  and  satisfying  things  of 
religion.  It  has  been  so  in  England 
and  Germany  and  France  and  Russia. 

l('iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiMiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiniiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiitiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitMiiiiiiiiitiiiiihitiiiiiiiiiiiini[i 

CREDO 

1  I  believe  \ 
1  That  there  are  greater  things  in  life       I 

1   Than  life  itself ;  \ 

|  /  believe  1 

|  In  climbing  upward  \ 
1    Even  when  the  spent  and  broken  thing  | 

I  /  call  my  body  I 

I  Cries ,  "Halt!"  | 

1  /  believe  \ 

1  To  the  last  breath  \ 

|  In  the  truths  1 
|  Which  God  permits  me  to  see. 

1  /  believe  \ 
1  In  fighting  for  them; 

|  In  drawing,  § 

|  //  need  be,  1 
1  Not  the  bloody  sword  of  man, 

1  Brutal  with  conquest  | 

|  And  drunk  with  power,  \ 
1  But  the  white  sword  of  God, 
1  Flaming  with  His  truth 

|  And  healing  while  it  slays.  \ 

1  /  believe  I 

1  In  my  country  and  her  destiny, 

1  In  the  great  dream  of  her  founders, 

l  In  her  place  among  the  nations,  | 

f  In  her  ideals;  | 

1  /  believe  1 

I   That  her  democracy  must  be  protected,  | 

1  Her  privileges  cherished, 

|  Her  freedom  defended.  | 

|  /  believe  % 

1  That,  humbly  before  the  Almighty, 

I  But  proudly  before  all  mankind, 

|  We  must  safeguard  her  standard, 

1  The  vision  of  her  Washington, 

1  The  martyrdom  of  her  Lincoln, 

|  With  the  patriotic  ardor 

|  Of  the  minute  men  I 

1  And  the  boys  in  blue  | 

|  Of  her  glorious  past.  § 

|  /  believe  \ 

i  In   loyalty   to  my  country, 

|  Utter,  irrevocable,  inviolate. 

|  Thou,  in  whose  sight  \ 

|  A  thousand  years  are  but  as  yesterday   § 

|  And  as  a  watch  in  the  night, 

1  Help  me 

1  In  my  frailty  I 

1  To  make  real  \ 

|  What  I  believe. 

— New  York   Times.      \ 

MiHinmmii iiiiiiniiiiirm iiimiimin Kim uiimtmiii r u tiitiiiiiiiiiiii" 


It  will  be  so  in  America.  Intelligent 
publicity  must  point  the  way  to  the 
constructive  religion  of  the  orthodox 
churches.  In  England,  where  church 
publicity  is  yet  in  its  infancy,  super- 
stition has  arisen  in  answer  to  the 
popular  demands  for  religion.  The 
printed  sermon,  the  display  ad  with 
its  terse  religious  sentences,  the  tract 
and  religious  letter  and  every  other 
device  must  be  used  just  now  as 
guides  to  the  religious  thinking  of 
the  people. 

GOODS  THAT  WILL  SELL 

Preachers  have  not  preached  much 
in  recent  years  about  the  future,  for 
there  has  not  been  much  market  for 
these  goods.  Gone  forever  is  the  old 
geography  of  kingdom-come  that 
served  our  fathers.  But  have  we  no 
word  for  weeping  fathers  and  mothers 
about  the  future  of  their  dear  boys  who 
fell  at  the  front?  Might  not  modern 
statements  about  the  faith  of  the 
church  concerning  the  future  life  be 
good  copy,  especially  if  these  could 
satisfy  both  our  heads  and  our  hearts? 

People  are  saying  today  that  we 
live  in  a  world  gone  crazy.  The  fear- 
ful things  that  civilized  men  have  done 
recently  have  filled  many  with  a  belief 
in  an  impersonal  world  order.  Proph- 
ets are  arising  to  lead  us  into  a  new 
faith  in  a  God  who  works  and  strug- 
gles with  us  to  create  the  better  order 
in  which  shall  dwell  peace  and 
brotherhood. 

The  people  who  need  most  the  sav- 
ing truths  of  modern  religion  have 
not  attended  church  for  twenty  years. 
They  do  not  know  the  enormous 
changes  that  have  come  in  religious 
emphasis.  Modern  publicity  methods 
may  whet  the  appetites  of  these  so 
they  shall  seek  to  eat  and  drink  in  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

I  think  I  can  summarize  about 
everything  I  am  contending  for  in  a 
few  sentences.  The  publicity  task  of 
the  church  is  to  advertise  our  big 
fundamentals.  A  department  store 
can  make  a  sale  on  pins  and  needles, 
but  the  wiser  store  sells  something 
that  costs  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  church  can  advertise  oper- 
atic music  and  sermon  antics,  but  it 
will  never  succeed  in  "selling"  religion 
in  a  big  way  until  it  dares  to  offer  for 
public  inspection  that  which  it  prizes 
most,  a  Living  Faith  in  a  Living  God. 


The  children  of  God,  if  they  rightly 
take  their  Father's  mind,  are  always 
disburdened  of  perplexing  carefulness, 
but  never  exempted  from  diligent 
watchfulness. — Archbishop  L eight on. 
*     * 

We  are  the  children  of  the  converts 
of  foreign  missionaries;  and  fairness 
means  that  I  must  do  to  others  as  men 
once  did  to  me. — Maltbie  D.  Babcock. 


n'liiMiMi:,:-;-!!.; ;:i:;::. i:  ::!:.':  I'i.-.i.i .,i ,:.! :-;:.i;iiiiiiii!iii!iiiii;iiii;iii:;i:iiii;i:iiii:ii:i Jii:inisiilNi:ii]KliJ!;iiJi!lii:iiii:iiiiiisiiii;iii!!Mi;iii:u!J nil ;:^ii.'ni:i^ i :i i !,: ,::: ,;<..! -: i:: '!;;!; ::i: ;  1:; .:: i::.::!,:!': : ;..:: .n: :;': ,-:: ':;;nnaaMaaHBHHHHHimHaaHiHHHBa 

The  Larger  Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


lni 


Norwegian  Lutherans 
to  Unite 

Three  thousand  Norwegian  Luther- 
ans from  various  parts  of  the  United 
States  have  gathered  in  St.  Paul  to 
consider  the  question  of  the  reunion 
of  their  denomination.  There  are 
three  branches  of  this  denomination 
in  America.  These  are  the  Norwe- 
gian Lutheran  synod,  the  United  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  church  and  the 
Hague  synod.  Together  they  have 
3,500  congregations,  The  division 
between  them  has  been  described  as 
a  difference  between  the  point  of  view 
of  "high  church"  and  "low  church" 
advocates.  As  the  matter  of  union 
has  been  pending  for  many  years,  and 
is  practically  agreed  on  in  advance,  it 
is  believed  that  the  three  divisions  in 
the  denomination  will  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  getting  together  in  this  con- 
ference. 

Color  Line 
in  Dallas 

When  the  northern  branch  of  Amer- 
ican Presbyterianism  was  in  session 
at  Dallas,  Texas,  recently  the  program 
committee  had  planned  to  have  a  din- 
ner celebrating  two  hundred  years  of 
history  of  the  organization  for  the 
aiding  of  aged  and  disabled  ministers. 
When  the  caterers  learned  that  col- 
ored ministers  were  to  be  present, 
they  refused  to  serve  these  men  in  the 
same  room  with  the  white  men.  Rather 
than  offend  either  the  black  men  of 
the  General  Assembly  or  the  people 
of  the  city  of  Dallas,  the  dinner  was 
called  off,  though  the  menus  had  been 
printed. 

Catholics  Oppose 
Christian  Science 

Christian  Science  has  successfully 
proselyted  from  most  of  the  large 
religious  bodies.  It  would  seem  that 
they  have  also  made  some  inroads 
on  the  Catholic  population  as  well. 
The  Paulist  Fathers  of  New  York 
are  publishing  a  book  by  Rev. 
George  M.  Searle,  of  their  fellow- 
ship. It  is  entitled  "The  Truth 
About  Christian  Science."  While 
the  book  is  designed  specially  for 
circulation  among  Catholics  the 
author  says  he  aims  to  treat  the 
matter  "from  a  view  common  to  all 
Christians  who  have  any  positive 
system  of  religion  as  a  revelation." 

Catholics  Lose 
Immigrants 

The  Roman  Catholic  church  ap- 
pears to  be  prospering  in  the  United 
States,  as  the  leaders  continually  re- 
port large  gains.    However,  when  the 


III 

immigration  statistics  are  analyzed, 
they  show  a  considerable  loss  for  this 
body.  In  the  period  between  1910 
and  1914,  just  preceding  the  war, 
there  were  1,800,000  Catholics  coming 
to  this  country  who  were  not  ac- 
counted for  in  the  statistics  of  growth 


of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  in 
America.  This  loss  is  noted  by  the 
bishops  and  is  deplored.  It  does  not 
represent  a  gain  to  protestantism  to 
any  considerable  extent,  but  for  this 
generation  represents  a  loss  to  relig- 
ion. 


Advertising  Men  on  Church  Publicity 


The  Associated  Advertising  Clubs 
of  the  World  held  their  fifteenth  an- 
nual convention  in  St.  Louis  the  first 
week  in  June.  For  the  second  year, 
there  was  a  departmental  conference 
running  through  three  days  to  con- 
sider the  subject  of  church  publicity. 
Dr.  Christian  F.  Reisner,  pastor  of 
Grace  M.  E.  church  of  New  York, 
was  the  chairman  of  the  conference 
and  was  re-elected  for  the  ensuing 
year. 

The  church  publicity  movement  has 
been  fostered  directly  by  the  adver- 
tising men,  and  the  advertising  clubs 
all  over  the  country  are  pledged  to  co- 
operate with  ministers  in  giving  the 
churches  adequate  publicity.  The 
generosity  of  these  business  men  has 
been  so  unprecedented  that  ministers 
have  not  always  taken  the  offers  of 
help  at  face  value,  some  seeing  in  this 
offer  a  proposition  on  the  part  of  the 
business  men  to  sell  something.  Now 
that  the  full  meaning  of  the  offers  of 
these  men  is  revealed  to  the  church, 
it  is  seen  that  a  great  business  organi- 
zation has  shown  a  most  commenda- 
ble and  unselfish  interest  in  the  prog- 
ress of  religious  work. 

The  religious  publicity  departmental 
has  employed  a  permanent  secretary 
in  the  person  of  Mr.  William  L.  Rob- 
erts, who  will  devote  all  his  time  to 
the  work  of  helping  the  churches.  He 
will  administer  a  budget  of  $15,000 
the  coming  year. 

One  of  the  big  stories  of  the  con- 
vention was  the  announcement  of  a 
plan  for  a  million  dollar  publicity 
campaign  on  the  mission  fields.  Rev. 
Geo.  M.  Fowles,  treasurer  of  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  set  forth 
the  plan.  It  will  be  inter-denomina- 
tional in  its  scope  and  will  cover  the 
great  oriental  mission  fields.  No  de- 
nominational promotion  will  be  in- 
cluded in  the  campaign,  but  it  will  be 
thoroughly  Christian  in  motive  and 
execution. 

The  Church  Publicity  departmental 
was  addressed  by  the  president  of  the 
convention  of  the  Associated  Adver- 
tising Clubs  of  the  World,  Herbert  S. 
Houston,  and  he  said:     "The  church 


has  the  best  goods  in  the  world  and 
ought  to  have  the  best  advertising. 
If  advertising  follows  the  models  of 
the  New  Testament,  it  will  be  simple 
and  strong,  but  it  will  also  pulsate 
with  life  and  not  be  bald,  cold  and 
stereotyped." 

One  of  the  live  wires  of  the  con- 
vention was  Rev.  J.  T.  B.  Smith,  the 
little  Englishman  who  has  promoted 
the  publicity  behind  the  campaign  for 
ten  million  of  dollars  for  pensions  for 
Methodist  missions.  He  showed  how 
he  always  succeeded  in  getting  pub- 
licity for  his  enterprise.  The  theory 
was  to  make  news  and  the  newspapers 
would  be  compelled  to  print  it. 

The  thing  that  marked  the  depart- 
mental was  the  warm  evangelistic 
spirit  of  the  group.  Church  publicity 
is  a  type  of  evangelism  in  which  men 
of  varying  conceptions  about  relig- 
ion may  join.  On  the  same  platform 
in  the  same  session  spoke  a  bright 
modern  Universalist  preacher  and  a 
man  of  the  pre-millenarian  way  of 
thinking  in  orthodoxy.  They  both 
spoke  with  fervor  about  reaching  the 
masses  with  the  new  avenues  of  ap- 
proach open  to  us  by  publicity 
methods. 

The  departmental  will  print  a 
monthly  bulletin  during  the  coming 
year  which  will  be  the  clearing  house 
of  the  publicity  ideas  of  the  men  who 
have  membership  in  the  departmental. 
This  bulletin  will  discuss  electric 
signs,  poster  ads.  newspaper  display 
ads  and  every  other  kind  of  method 
that  is  open  to  the  modern  minister. 

The  entire  session  of  the  advertis- 
ing convention  in  even,7  departmental 
was  full  of  religious  spirit.  The  motto 
of  the  whole  movement  is  "Truth" 
and  the  business  men  believe  heartily 
that  the  church  provides  the  only  so- 
cial situation  in  which  normal  busi- 
ness has  an  opportunity  to  expand 
and  come  into  its  fullest  service  to 
society.  This  religious  spirit  in  the 
advertising  convention  should  be  re- 
garded by  intelligent  observers  of  pub- 
lic events  as  one  of  the  most  signifi- 
cant developments  in  a  decade.  With 
the  support  of  the  business  men,  the 
church  should  come  into  new  power. 


Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllli 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll^ 


Shall  We  Furnish  the  Food 
for  English  Breweries? 

ENGLAND  urges  us  to  bend  every 
energy  to  feed  her  people  while 
she  tights  the  Prussian  menace. 
She  candidly  says  she  prefers  us  to 
mobilize  on  the  farms  to  mobilizing  in 
France  if  there  is  any  alternative  nec- 
essary.    The  Prussian  has  staked  all 

„  upon    starving 

England  with 
h  i  s  submarine 
and  England  to- 
day has  much 
less  on  hand  for 
the  coming 
year's  daily 
bread  than  has 
Germany.  Aus- 
tralia has  large 
stores  of  wheat, 
but  it  requires  a 
long  time  to  make  the  round  trip  from 
Britain  to  Australia  in  a  freighter,  and 
there  are  no  ships  to  spare  for  it.  Yet 
since  the  war  began,  England  liquor 
makers  have  actually  consumed  more 
food  than  has  the  English  army,  and 
in  the  face  of  this  appalling  fact,  the 
food  controller  only  dares  to  cut  the 
beer  production  to  40  per  cent  instead 
of  abolishing  it.  With  ships  short, 
the  "liquor  fleet"  is  said  by  a  promi- 
nent Englishman  to  be  equal  to  a  food- 
carrying  fleet  of  sixty  ships  of  5,000 
tons  each.  France  is  attempting  to 
confine  drinking  to  wines  and  non- 
food consuming  liquors,  Russia  is  dry 
and  America  is  on  the  high  road  to 
war  prohibition  of  all  distilled  liquors, 
and  with  excellent  chances  for  a  pro- 
hibition as  complete  as  Russia's.  Shall 
we  pay  a  high  price  for  bread  or  go 
with  short  rations  in  order  that  the 
English  brewery  may  make  food  ma- 
terial into  booze? 


At  the  present  writing  it  looks  in- 
evitable that  the  first  step  toward  war 
prohibition  will  be  taken  by  putting  a 
prohibitory  tax  on  grains  used  in 
whisky  distillation.  It  is  a  frank 
recognition  of  the  incompatibility  of 
taking  the  boys  out  of  school  to  grow 
food  and  then  allowing  the  distiller  to 
turn  it  into  poison.  In  prohibition  cam- 
paigns the  liquor  maker  tried  to 
frighten  the  farmer  with  lurid  figures 
regarding  the  millions  of  bushels  of 
grain  used  in  booze  manufacture;  he 
claimed  600,000,000  bushels  as  his 
purchase  and  bewailed  the  losses  of 
the  poor  farmer.  Now  he  pleads  for 
his  life  by  declaring  that  he  uses  less 


than  one-tenth  that  amount.  Prof. 
Irving  Fisher,  the  health  and  food 
economist,  says  he  uses  enough  to 
make  11,000,000  pound  loaves  of  bread 
every  day  and  declares  that  the  clos- 
ing of  all  breweries  and  distilleries 
would  save  food  values  enough  to  feed 
7,500,000  people.  And,  by  the  way, 
did  you  ever  look  over  a  list  of  the 
great  booze  makers'  names?  There  is 
something  suggestive  in  the  sound  of 
it  when  patriotic  Americans  with 
moral  and  economic  foresight  plead 
that  liquor  is  Germany's  most  formid- 
able ally  in  both  this  country  and 
England.  Here  are  a  few  of  them: 
Lemp,  Fleishman,  Anheuser-Busch, 
Schlitz,  Pabst,  und  so  veiter. 

*     *     * 

At  one  and  the  same  time  we  are 
registering  10,000,000  young  men  for 
conscripted  service  and  arranging  to 
expend  $10,000,000,000  on  war.  We 
are  urging  our  people  to  take  "Liberty 
Loans"  to  show  both  moral  and  mate- 
rial backing  for  the  great  task  before 
us  and  asking  the  last  man,  woman 
and  child  to  mobilize  their  resources, 
add  to  their  productivity,  save  every- 
thing possible,  forget  profits  for  the 
time  being  and  prepare  to  pay  high 
taxes  to  see  the  thing  through.  We 
are  putting  the  whole  war  on  the  high- 
est moral  plane,  forbidding  soldiers  to 
touch  liquor— making  every  camp  and 
even  every  uniform  dry — and  then 
shall  we  fail  to  use  either  the  moral 
courage  or  the  practical  sense  to  pro- 
hibit the  liquor  traffic  during  this  most 
exceptional  period?  Science  has 
proved  that  liquor  makes  a  poor 
soldier  and  we  accept  its  finding  for 
the  army  camp  and  naval  vessel ;  but 
it  has  just  as  thoroughly  proved  its 
economic  wastefulness  and  immoral 
influence  for  the  civilian.  The  Presi- 
dent says  we  are  not  conscripting  an 
army,  but  organizing  a  nation,  and 
therefore  the  draft  is  only  a  process  of 
selecting  those  who  can  be  best  spared 
from  the  productive  powers  of  the 
whole  people  to  go  to  the  front  while 
every  American  becomes  a  soldier  of 
duty  at  home. '  Is  it  consistent  then  to 
prohibit  liquor  for  all  fighting  men  and 
not  prohibit  it  for  the  civilian  soldier? 
Alcoholism  in  the  army  camp  is  as 
great  a  menace  as  enemy  bullets ; 
therefore  the  modern  scientific  captain 
wants  none  of  it.  Alcoholism  in  civil 
life  is  the  greatest  known,  therefore 
when  we  begin  to  organize  a  nation 
and  its  resources  for  a  great  moral 
undertaking  it  is  both  unscientific  and 
inconsistent  not  to  prohibit  the  liquor 
traffic  utterly. 


Culture  vs. 
Kultur^ 

The  hope  of  the  future  is  in  culture, 
which  Dr.  David  Starr  Jordan  *  says 
"is  a  product  of  friendly  relations"  and 
is  thus  "the  antithesis  of  militarism." 
Kultur  refers  to  that  special  Germanic 
idea  of  a  superior  national  efficiency 
and  learning  and  practical  type  of  so- 
cial organization  which  should  be  im- 
posed upon  the  world  because  it  is  su- 
perior ;  it  harks  of  the  past  and  all  an- 
cient theories  of  "favored  races," 
"God's  own,"  peoples  who  "rule  by 
destiny,"  etc.  The  historic  evolution 
of  nations  has  been  through  ever  en- 
larging national  groups  and  "survival" 
has  been  determined  by  the  superior 
ability  of  some  of  them  to  so  engage 
the  zeal  of  its  people  and  to  so  organize 
their  fighting  as  to  make  them  strong 
to  overcome  others.  In  other  words, 
the  sovereign  was  the  state  and  con- 
quered through  the  humble  acquies- 
cence of  his  subjects  in  his  plans  and 
campaigns ;  loyalty  to  the  state  became 
the  religion  of  the  people  and  the  su- 
preme act  of  sacrifice  and  service,  that 
of  dying  for  the  state  or  the  sovereign. 
This  is  the  state  religion  of  Prussian- 
ism  and  its  right  arm,  as  Dr.  Jordan 
puts  it,  was  in  privilege  and  its  left 
in  the  state  church.  It  was  as  true  of 
the  France  of  pre-revolution  times  and 
the  England  of  pre-Cromwellian  days 
as  of  the  Germany  of  today.  Democ- 
racy, the  sine  qua  non  of  true  culture 
in  that  it  tends  to  educate  and  elevate 
all  to  independence  and  initiative,  is 
purging  the  former  nations  of  their 
"Real-Politik,"  but  Germany  clings  to 
it  and  elevates  it  into  a  national  cult 
called  Kultur  and  makes  it  terrible 
with  all  the  enginery  that  science  and 
learning  and  religious  zeal  can  give  to 
it.  Havelock  Ellis  says  an  Englishman 
no  more  thinks  of  worshiping  the  state 
than  his  own  trousers ;  he  regards  both 
as  useful  and  clings  to  them  desperate- 
ly but  as  made  for  his  use  and  does 
"not  debase  himself  in  the  dust  before 
their  divine  superiority." 


*"War  and  the  Breed,"  by  David  Starr 
Jordan.  265  pages.  Beacon  Press. 
$1.35. 

*      *      * 

War  and  the 
Breed 

The  above  quotations  from  Dr.  Jor- 
dan's striking  little  book  are  by  the 
way.  The  real  thesis  of  the  volume  is 
that  war  destroys  all  that  natural  and 
artificial  selection  would  seek  to  build 
up  for  the  culture  of  the  race,  through 
heredity.  "War,  to  the  biologist,  seems 


June  14,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


17 


above  all  else,  stupid."  It  selects  the 
physically  stronger  for  destruction  and 
leaves  the  weaker  to  reproduce  their 
kind.  Even  granting  all  that  has  been 
claimed  for  it  as  a  cultivator  of  cour- 
age, initiative  and  the  virtues  of 
strength,  it  boots  little  to  cultivate 
them  when  the  man  who  is  thus  made 
strong  is  killed.  But  in  this  war  those 
qualities  that  were  cultivated  when 
combat  required  initiative  and  gave 
personal  encounter  are  at  low  par  be- 
cause it  is  a  war  of  chemicals  and  ma- 
chinery in  which  men  fight  unseen  and 
die  wholesale.  It  is  producing  an 
awful  toll,  not  only  of  dead  and  dis- 
abled of  wounds,  but  of  "traumatic 
neurosis"  or  nerve  shock,  which  is  li- 
able to  communicate  debility  to  prog- 
eny. To  this  is  added  an  even  more 
terrible  disability  in  venereal  disease. 
Dr.  Jordan  points  out  that  alcoholism 
and  syphilis  taint  the  germ  plasm 
through  which  heredity  is  communi- 
cated ;  he  notes  the  fact  that  both  have 
in  the  past  wrought  great  havoc  in 
armies.  Alcoholism  may  be  reduced 
in  this  war,  as  camp  disease  seems  to 
have  been,  but  a  Canadian  authority 
says  that  venereal  disease  has  put  more 
men  out  of  action  at  the  front  than 
have  German  bullets,  and  reports  from 
other  armies  bear  out  the  same  asser- 
tion in  their  own  cases.  Thus  the 
"Breed"  is  decimated  by  the  killing  of 
its  best,  together  with  the  deterioration 
through  war  life,  and  instead  of  con- 
tributing to  "selection"  and  race  better- 
ment contributes  to  the  "reversal  of 
selection"  and  leaves  the  race  stranded. 

The  Significance  of  Sociology  for 
Ethics,  by  Albion  W.  Small.  39 
pages.  University  of  Chicago 
Press. 

Practical  Sociology  in  the  Serv- 
ice of  Social  Ethics,  by  Chas. 
Richmond  Henderson,  25  pages. 
University  of  Chicago  Press. 

These  two  monographs  supplement 
one  another.  Professor  Small  argues 
that,  in  the  light  of  inductive  science, 
the  old  ethical  formularies,  cast  in  the 
moulds  of  the  absolute  and  deduced 
by  a  priori  method,  do  not  meet  the 
ethical  needs  of  modern  society. 
Ethics  must  be  recognized  as  a  social 
science  and  its  formularies  derived 
from  a  study  of  all  humanity  in  the 
light  of  the  social  process.  Professor 
Henderson  outlines  the  necessity  for 
a  social  science  to  make  the  findings 
of  pure  science  practicable  in  actual 
human  use.  Both  accept  the  Chicago 
school's  analysis  of  human  goods  as 
health,  wealth,  knowledge,  sociability, 
beauty  and  Tightness.  The  question 
of  what  is  the  right  thing  must  be 
decided  in  the  light  of  what  will  best 
promote    these    goods    for    all    men. 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu 


The  Sunday  School 


lllllilllllllllllllllTiilllllllXllilllililllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllil 


a 


Seeing  Jesus  Only" 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
By  E.  F.  DAUGHERTY 


THE  Incomparable  Life — the  Un- 
seen Presence — the  Consum- 
mated Purpose — these  are  the 
three  upstanding  presentations  of  the 
past  quarter's  study.  For  seven  weeks 
we  kept  company  with  the  heart  of 
Christ,  revealed  in  surprising  ways, 
in  those  early  lessons  on  his  redemp- 
tive relations  to  men.  Then,  with  an 
interjection  for  a  lesson  on  the  great 
temperance  advance  of  the  world's 
life,  a  lesson  (May  27)  on  the  Holy 
Spirit.  And  during  the  final  weeks, 
three  in  number  on  the  crowning  facts 
in  relation  to  God's  purpose  wherein 
Christ  could  say  "It  is  finished."  A 
really  coherent  and  illuminative  course 
of  study.  In  this  final  hour  of  the 
quarter  we  can,  like  another  com-  ■ 
pany,  "look  up  and  see  Jesus  only" — 
for  every  lesson  of  the  quarter, 
save  two,  "Jesus"  is  the  name  out- 
standing. 

*     *     * 

The  Incomparable  Life  was  not 
merely  a  restorer  of  sight  to  the 
blind,  but  also  an  illuminator  for  all 
men  on  how  best  to  live.  His  was  not 
merely  the  role  of  a  sympathizer  at 
the  tomb  of  a  friend ;  He  could  there 
as  well  prove  that  He  was  "the  resur- 
rection and  the  life."  His  was  not 
only  the  right  to  shepherd  His  "own" 
who  rejected  Him,  but  to  challenge  all 
subsequent  believers  with  the  thought 
that  "other  sheep  I  have  which  are 
not  of  this  fold."  His  it  was  to  enjoy 
the  hospitality  of  humble  homes — and 
therein  to  talk  of  the  "home  not  made 
with  hands."  His  it  was  to  be  "de- 
spised" by  the  exalted  of  His  day,  but 
to  enter  the  Holy  City,  its  potential 
King,  on  His  way  to  the  kingship  over 
men's  hearts  forever.  His  it  was, 
not  merely  to  approve  the  "Hosannas" 
in  His  name,  but  also  to  reveal  the 
aristocracy  of  service  in  a  menial 
courtesy.  And  finally,  in  the  portrayal 
of  His  incomparable  life,  it  was,  and 
is  His  to  be  the  source  of  humanity's 
abiding  satisfactions,  in  the  relation 
of  the  vine.  The  quarter  but  glimpsed 
His  many-sided  attitudes  of  helpful- 
ness to  human  need — and  because  no 
human  need  is  beyond  His  resource, 
He  has  incomparability  among  his- 
toric personalities. 

The  Unseen  Presence  we  have  come 


to  know  is  none  other  than  Christ 
Himself  in  another  form.  He  has  kept 
company  through  the  ages  with  all 
who  were  disposed  to  honor  His 
standards  and  push  on  His  work.  He 
keeps  company  with  all  such  today, 
amid  the  tasks  of  home,  the  dangers 
of  battlefields  or  the  perplexities  of 
mission  stations.  Though  gone  from 
earth  in  the  form  familiar  to  those 
who  knew  Him  in  the  flesh,  He  has 
returned  to  abide  "alway"  with  any 
and  all  who  are  akin  to  Him  in  spirit. 
He  is  the  Captain  of  the  Army  of  Our 
Salvation — and  as  well  of  those  whose 
search  and  passion  is  for  truth. 
"Moved  with  compassion,"  as  He  was 
in  the  days  of  His  ministry,  what 
must  be  the  condition  of  His  suffering 
heart  amid  the  follies  of  our  topsy- 
turvy world  of  today,  gone  mad  in 
the  rivalries  of  selfishness !  When 
men  and  nations  unstop  their  ears, 
they  will  be  able  to  hear,  over  war's 
futile  fields,  the  breath  of  His  wish 
for  the  nations — "Peace." 


A  Consummated  Purpose  is  spread 
on  record  in  the  betrayal,  crucifixion 
and  resurrection.  "From  the  founda- 
tions of  the  world"  the  Lamb  had 
been  slain  in  God's  illimitable  and 
irrevocable  purpose,  but  in  these  final 
trying  experiences  of  His  self-abnega- 
tion the  joy  of  His  heart  must  have 
triumphed  over  all  grief,  in  His  knowl- 
edge of  having  given  the  world  a  "full 
gospel."  Nothing  more  could  be  done 
of  God ;  all  that  remains  to  be  done, 
must  be  done  of  men  and  women  in 
the  grace  of  God — and  they  will  one 
day  make  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
the  kingdom  of  our  Lord. 


"A   thing   is   worth   about   what   it 
costs." — Agar. 


*Review  lesson  of  the  quarter,  for  June 
24.     Read  John  21:15-25. 


THE 

Standard  Birthday  Bank 

Attractive   and  Durable.     Made   of 

Glass   and   Aluminum.      All 

the  Money  In  Sight. 

The  top  and  bottom  plates  are 
made  of  highly  polished  aluminum. 
These  are  held  together  by  4  oxi- 
dized rods,  with  nickel-plated  balls. 
The  bank  is  opened  by  unscrewing 
one  of  the  bottom  balls  that  is 
marked  with  a  Cross. 

Price,  $1.25;  or  $1.40  postpaid 

DISCIPLES    PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

700  E.  40th  St.,   Chicago.   111. 


18 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


June  14,  1917 


Disciples  Table  Talk  I 

MiMiiitnniuiiiiiiiH 


Norwood,  Ohio,  Church 
Is  Evangelistic 

The  Cincinnati  Federation  of  Churches 
has  recently  collected  figures  from  the 
city's  churches  as  regards  number  of 
members  added  during  the  past  year. 
In  the  report  of  its  findings,  Norwood, 
Cincinnati,  church  stands  at  the  head  of 
the  list  of  churches  having  added  100 
or  more  new  members  during  the  year. 
This  aggressive  church  has  244  names 
on  its  list  of  new  accessions.  C.  R. 
Stauflfer  leads  this  congregation.  Cen- 
tral Christian,  W.  A.  Moore  pastor,  re- 
ports 100  new  members.  In  the  general 
report  of  evangelistic  results  by  denomi- 
nations, the  Disciples  stand  fifth,  with 
the  Methodists  leading,  and  followed  by 
the  Presbyterians,  German  Congrega- 
tions and  Baptists.  Nineteen  Disciple 
churches  added  952  new  members,  the 
present  membership  of  these  churches 
now    totaling    5,912. 

Progress  in  Detroit 
Churches 

C.  J.  Tannar  is  now  in  his  fifteenth 
year  at  Central  Church,  Detroit,  Mich., 
and  reports  the  best  record  made  this 
year  in  the  church's  history.  There  is 
now  a  resident  membership  at  Central 
of  about  650,  with  175  members  added 
during  the  past  year.  A  new  and  larger 
plant  is  all  that  is  needed  now,  he  re- 
ports. Boulevard  Church,  the  newest 
of  the  Detroit  churches,  and  ministered 
to  by  W.  G.  Loucks,  has  added  117  new 
members  in  the  little  more  than  a  year 
of  his  ministry,  and  now  has  a  resident 
membership  of  148,  with  a  Sunday  school 
of  175.  The  church  aim  for  foreign 
missions  June  3,  was  $100.  There  is  an 
organization  of  boys  at  Boulevard 
Church  called  "Comrades  of  Honor." 
The  Grand  River  Avenue  Church  is 
presided  over  by  the  man  who  organized 
it,  F.  P.  Arthur.  This  congregation  has 
a  fine  property  on  one  of  the  great  ar- 
teries of  the  city.  There  is  a  Sunday 
school  of  about  300.  Sixty-six  new 
members  are  reported  added  during  the 
year.  Lloyd  H.  Miller  has  been  with 
Woodward  Avenue  Church  a  year,  and 
the  congregation  there  is  now  planning 
a  new  organization  in  Windsor,  across 
the  river  from  Detroit.  With  a  mem- 
bership of  about  600,  a  new  auditorium 
to  cost  $100,000  is  now  being  talked. 
Mr.  Tannar  predicts  that  Woodward 
Avenue  will  some  day  be  our  greatest 
church  in  Detroit.  This  was  started  as 
a  mission  by  Central  twelve  years  ago. 

Closing  Exercises  of 
College  of  Missions 

The  closing  exercises  of  the  year  at 
College  of  Missions,  Indianapolis,  were 
held  on  June  1.  On  the  college  campus 
at  9  a.  m.  were  featured  a  series  of  mis- 
sionary tableaux  and  the  ivy  ceremony. 
The  graduating  exercises  were  held  at 
10.  A.  B.  Philputt  gave  the  invocation. 
Mrs.  Anna  R  Atwater  delivered  the  ad- 
dress on  behalf  of  the  Mission  Boards, 
F.  E.  Lumley  speaking  in  behalf  of  the 
churches.  Dr.  Harry  C.  Hurd,  regis- 
trar, gave  his  annual  report,  and  Presi- 
dent C.  T.  Paul  had  charge  of  the  pres- 
entation of  missionaries.  The  valedic- 
tory was  delivered  by  Y.  M.  Chen,  in- 
structor in  Chinese  in  the  college,  and 
Abe  E.  Cory  of  the  Men  and  Millions 
Movement  delivered  the  commencement 


address.  The  dedication  of  missiona- 
ries was  in  charge  of  Professor  McGav- 
ran  of  the  college.  He  was  assisted  by 
other  members  of  the  faculty  and  by 
local  pastors.  The  following  is  the  roll 
of  the  class  of  1917,  appointed  to  mis- 
sionary service  in  fields  indicated:  To 
India — Miss  Elma  Inex  Alexander,  B. 
A.;  Miss  Osee  May  Dill,  B.  A.,  M.  D. 
To  Mexico — Mr.  Edwin  Thomas  Cor- 
nelius, B.  A.,  M.  A.;  Mrs.  Alice  Clay 
Cornelius,  B.  A.;  Miss  Hallie  Lemon, 
B.  A.;  Miss  Jane  Abiah  Brewer,  B.  A. 
To  Argentina — Mr.  Robert  Bruce  Lem- 
mon,  B.  A.;  Mrs.  Mary  Lemmon,  B.  A. 
Missionaries  returning  to  their  fields: 
To  Mexico — Miss  Pearl  Gibbons,  Miss 
Mary  Irene  Orvis.  To  Argentina — Miss 
Zona  Smith,  B.  Ph.  To  Arabia — Mrs. 
May  D.  P.  Thomas. 

Eastern  School  of  Methods 
at  Auburn,  N.  Y. 

Since  the  closing  of  Keuka  College 
the  Bible  School  Department  of  the 
American  Society  has  been  seeking  a 
suitable  location  for  the  Eastern  School 
of  Methods.  Arrangements  have  now 
been  perfected  whereby  the  school  is 
to  be  held  in  connection  with  the  Sum- 
mer School  for  Christian  Workers  of 
Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  at  Au- 
burn, N.  Y.  There  will  thus  be  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  great  Biblical  institution, 
with  excellent  faculty  and  equipment. 
In  addition,  the  New  York  State  Sun- 
day School  Association  holds  its  sum- 
mer school  for  training  workers  in  con- 
nection with  the  Auburn  school,  and 
Ibis  will  mean  much  to  the  Disciples 
School  of  Methods.  The  first  year  Ver- 
non Stauffer  of  Hiram  represents  the 
Disciples  on  the  faculty,  his  subject  be- 
ing "The  Teaching  Values  of  the  Life 
of  Christ."  The  date  of  the  School  of 
Methods  will  be  July  30-August  11.  Ed- 
ear  W.  Allen,  pastor  at  Auburn,  would 
like  to  have  names  of  prospective  stu- 
dents. He  will  give  aid  in  any  way  pos- 
sible to  students. 


— Central  Church,  Flint,  Mich.,  minis- 
tered to  by  J.  O.  Crawford,  is  to  have  a 
new  building,  which  will  be  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  city.  The  building  will 
have  ample  arrangements  and  equip- 
ment for  taking  care  of  a  modern  Sun- 
day school  and  to  meet  the  social  needs 
of  the  community. 

— At  a  recent  service  at  the  Canton, 
Ohio,  church  over  a  hundred  volumes 
of  missionary  literature   were  purchased. 

— E.  V.  Home,  formerly  minister  at 
Glendora,  Mich.,  has  enlisted  for  mili- 
tary service. 

— G.  W.  Knepper,  who  recently  re- 
signed at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  will  enter 
upon  his  new  task  at  Central,  Spokane, 
next   month. 

— The  Texas  Christian  Missionary 
Convention  at  its  recent  meeting  in 
Austin  received  and  adopted  the  re- 
port of  the  Educational  Movement  Com- 
mittee of  twenty-five  and  discharged  the 
committee.  The  report  provided  for  a 
board  of  education,  consisting  of  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  the 
movement,  as  supplemented  by  a  rep- 
resentative from  each  of  the  two  junior 
colleges,  Midland  and  Carr-Burnette, 
which   board   was  appointed   as   follows: 


S.  J.  McFarland,  Dallas;  President  E. 
M.  Waits,  T.  C.  U.,  Fort  Worth;  Presi- 
dent F.  G.  Jones,  Midland  College,  Mid- 
land; Judge  W.  L.  Hay,  Sherman;  W.  P, 
Jennings,  McKinney;  John  G.  Slayter, 
Dan  D.  Rogers,  Dallas,  and  Van  Zandt 
Jarvas  and  L.  D.  Anderson,  Fort  Worth. 

— Harry  D.  Smith,  who  has  closed  his 
work  at  Central  Church,  Dallas,  Tex.,  is 
now  in  the  mountains  of  Arkansas, 
where  he  will  rest  and  do  some  writing 
during  the  summer  preparatory  to  tak- 
ing up  his  new  duties  as  professor  of 
practical  theology  at  Phillips  University, 
Enid,   Okla.,  on   September   1. 

— There  is  talk  of  discontinuing  the 
Texas  Lectureship.  A  session  has  been 
arranged  for  to  meet  at  Fort  Worth  in 
November. 

— Prof.  R.  E.  Hieronymus,  formerly 
of  Eureka  College,  will  give  three  ad- 
dresses at  Bethany  Assembly,  Ind.,  Aug. 
9-11,  his  general  theme  being  "Commu- 
nity Service  and  the  Enrichment  of  the 
Common  Life." 

— Noland  G.  Williams,  son  of  Editor 
W.  M.  Williams  of  the  Christian  Cou- 
rier, published  in  Dallas,  Tex.,  has  been 
invalided  from  the  navy  and  has  arrived 
in   Dallas. 

— Report  comes  of  the  marriage  this 
month  of  A.  L.  Clinkinbeard,  pastor  at 
North  Dallas,  Tex.,  to  Miss  Irene  East 
of   Paris,  Tex. 

— Dean  W.  B.  Parks,  for  more  than 
a  quarter  century  connected  with  Texas 
Christian  University,  Fort  Worth,  as 
instructor,  acting  president  and  dean,  has 
offered  his  resignation  to  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  institution. 

— A.  D.  Rogers  of  Denton,  Tex.,  has 
been  called  to  the  pastorate  at  Sweet- 
water. 

— Claude  L.  Jones,  who  has  led  in  the 
work  at  Shreveport,  has  been  granted 
a  year's  leave  of  absence  and  will  occupy 
the  new  position  of  Tithing  Secretary 
created  by  the  last  Texas  convention,  re- 
cently held  at  Dallas. 

— Miss  Gretchen  Garst  of  Akita,  Ja- 
pan, reports  six  baptisms  at  the  church 
there  during  one  month.  The  honor  pu- 
pil, with  two  others,  of  the  graduating 
class  of  the  Girls'  Normal  school,  was 
among   those   recently  baptized. 

— W.  D.  Ryan  of  Central  Church, 
Youngstown,  Ohio,  is  preaching  during 
June  a  series  of  Sunday  evening  ser- 
mons on  "Acid  Tests  of  Religion,"  with 
the  following  sermon  themes:  "The 
Test  of  Pleasure,"  "The  Test  of  Suc- 
cess," "The  Test  of  Trouble,"  and  "The 
Test  of  Sacrifice." 

— Frank  W.  Lynch,  minister  at  Sha- 
ron, Kan.,  delivered  an  address  on  "Loy- 
alty" on  registration  day  in  connection 
with  the  erection  of  a  municipal  flag 
pole  at  Wilmore,  Kan. 

— Ernest  H.  Reed  of  First  Church, 
Pontiac,  111.,  would  like  to  spend  a  part 
of  his  vacation  during  August  supplying 
a   pulpit. 

— Martin  T.  Pope  of  West  Plains,  Mo., 
was  chairman  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Convention  of  the  Eighth  District,  Mis- 
souri, which  was  held  at  West  Plains 
last  week.  W.  J.  Lhamon  of  Drury  Col- 
lege gave  an  address  on  one  evening,  his 
theme  being  "Thy  God,  Thy  Neighbor 
and  Thyself." 

— F.  G.  Tyrrell  and  First  Church, 
Pasadena,  Cal.,  are  making  what  is  called 
a  "June  drive"  in  the  church  and  com- 
munity   work   there.      Among   Mr.   Tyr- 


June  14,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


19 


rell's  sermon  subjects  during  the  cam- 
paign are  "Preparedness  for  Service," 
"Your  Life  and  Work,"  "Team  Work,'' 
"A  Sure  Way:  A  Safe  Guide." 

— Shirley  R.  Shaw,  pastor  at  Santa 
Barbara,  Cal.,  reports  a  growth  in  mem- 
bership there  within  the  past  ten  months 
of  over  60  per  cent.  By  a  recent  meet- 
ing held  by  R.  W.  Abberley  there  was 
an  increase  of  22  per  cent:  By  confes- 
sion of  faith,  20;  otherwise,  32.  Mr. 
Shaw  writes  most  appreciatively  of  the 
message  and  manner  of  Mr.  Abberley. 
"A  Christian  ministry  of  refinement  and 
results,"  he  calls  the  recent  season  of 
meetings. 

— The  church  at  Polo,  Mo.,  is  looking 
for  a  pastor,  half  time.  Claude  E.  Hunt- 
ington is  chairman  of  the  pastoral  com- 
mittee. G.  L.  Shively  will  dedicate  a 
new  $12,500  building  at  Polo,  July  15. 

— Chicago  Disciples  will  be  interested 
in  the  following  list  of  university 
preachers  at  the  University  of  Chicago 
for  the  next  few  weeks:  Dr.  Harry  Em- 
erson Fosdick  of  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  New  York,  June  24;  July  1, 
Professor  Arthur  S.  Hoyt  of  Auburn 
Theological  Seminary,  Auburn,  N.  Y.; 
July  8,  Professor  George  Burman  Fos- 
ter of  the  Department  of  Comparative 
Religion  at  the  University  of  Chicago; 
July  15,  Dean  Shailer  Mathews  of  the 
Divinity  School;  July  22,  Professor 
Theodore  Gerald  Soares,  head  of  the 
Department  of  Practical  Theology;  July 
29,  Rev.  John  A.  Rice,  D.  D.,  of  St. 
John's  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

— B.  H.  Cleaver  of  Canton,  111.,  writes 
that  J.  G.  Waggoner,  now  making  his 
home  in  Canton,  has  supplied  for  the 
Congregational  church  there  for  several 
months,  while  the  congregation  was 
seeking  a  new  leader.  A  pastor  has 
now  been  found  and  on  June  1  the 
church  gave  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waggoner  a 
"farewell  reception."  Many  fine  toasts 
of  honor  were  given,  reports  Mr. 
Cleaver,  and  an  elegant  gold  watch  was 
presented   to   Mr.   Waggoner. 

— There  have  been  thirty-eight  additions 
to  the  membership  at  North  Shore 
Church,  Chicago,  during  the  past  year. 
There  is  a  present  membership  of 
eighty-three.  This  church  has  an  or- 
ganization of  Boy  Scouts,  also  a  Men's 
club  organized  for  social  purposes.  D. 
Roy  Mathews,  pastor  at  North  Shore, 
is  doing  a  constructive  work  in  this 
important  field.  A  campaign  is  on  with 
the  aim  of  making  "every  member  a 
working   member." 


uriitunnu  A  Church  Home  for  You. 

NEW  YORK  Write  Drftois  Idleman, 
ilk ii   iuiiix  142  West  glat  gt   N  y| 


— Temperance  Day  at  Bethany  Assem- 
bly this  year  is  to  be  a  red-letter  day. 
Mrs.  Stella  Stimson,  President  State  Suf- 
frage League;  Mrs.  Culla  J.  Vanhingher, 
President  State  W.  C.  T.  U.;  Hon.  W.  E. 
Carpenter,  President  Independent  Dry 
Federation,  and  our  own  popular  Sec- 
retary of  the  American  Temperance 
Board,  L.  E.  Sellers,  will  speak. 

— Arthur  Stout,  minister  at  Bowling 
Green,  Mo.,  has  received  a  unanimous 
call  to  the  work  at  First  Church,  Nevada, 
Mo.  No  decision  has  yet  been  reached 
by  Mr.  Stout. 

— Magnolia  Avenue  Church,  Los  An- 
geles, under  the  leadership  of  its  pastor, 
J.  N.  Jessup,  is  giving  serious  study  to 
the  problem  of  church  publicity,  with 
the  object  of  making  Magnolia  Avenue 
a   household    word    throughout    the    sec- 


MR.  BRITLING  SPEAKS  AGAIN 

Mr.  H.  G.  Wells'  New  Book 

"God,  the  Invisible  King" 

Mr.  Wells,  the  author  of  Mr.  Britling,  says : 

"The  time  draws  near  when  mankind  will  awake  .  .  . 
and  then  there  will  be  no  nationality  in  all  the  world 
but  humanity,  and  no  king,  no  emperor,  nor  leader, 
but  the  one  God  of  mankind," 

AMERICA  IS  FIGHTING  FOR  THIS  GOD ! 

"God,  the  Invisible  King" 

"The  Religion  of  Mr.  Britling" 

Price,  $1.25 

—FOR  SALE  BY— 

Disciples  Publication  Society,  700  E.  40th  St. ,  Chicago 


tion  of  the  city  in  which  the  church  is 
located.  The  congregation  has  raised 
nearly  $300  for  advertising  purposes. 
An  attractive  circular,  containing  pic- 
tures of  the  church  and  pastor  and  a 
statement  of  the  church  program,  has 
already  been  published.  This  presents 
also  a  map  of  the  section  of  the  city 
ministered  to  by  the  church,  with  plain 
directions   for   finding  the   church   home. 

— Huell  E.  Warren  of  Moulton,  la., 
has  been  called  to  Gallatin,  Mo.,  and 
will  take  up  the  work  there  about  the 
middle   of  July. 

— C.  M.  Burkhart,  pastor  at  Spring- 
field, Ohio,  reports  an  offering  of  $190 
to  foreign  missions  on  Children's  day. 
A    class    of    young    ladies    had    pledged 


one-half  of  a  day's  income  to  this  offer- 
ing. This  organization  had  72  members 
present,  with  an  offering  of  over  $50. 
There  were  488  present  in  the  entire 
school. 

— B.  S.  Ferrall  of  Central  Church,  Buf- 
falo, N.  Y.,  writes  that  the  school  there 
made  an  offering  of  $509.44  on  Chil- 
dren's day.  There  have  been  17  mem- 
bers added  to  the  congregation  there 
during  the  past  five  weeks.  A  vacation 
Bible  school  is  being  arranged,  begin- 
ning July  2  and  closing  August  1. 

— Fred  Wolfe,  of  Arcadia.  Ind..  was 
ordained  to  the  ministry  on  Friday  even- 
ing, May  18,  at  a  public  service  of  the 
Arcadia  Church.  L.  C.  Howe  of  Nobles- 
ville,  A.  H.  Moore  of  Tipton  and  G.  I. 


They  Appreciate  "The  Century" 


"I  hold  The  Christian  Century  as  the 
most  spiritually  helpful  and  thought- 
provoking  paper  which  comes  to  my 
desk.  One  lives  in  God's  presence  and 
in  His  world  of  today  as  he  goes 
through  its  pages." — Walter  M.  White, 
Memphis,  Tenn. 

"I  enjoy  the  'Century'  thoroughly. 
Don't  agree  with  you  in  everything,  but 
relish  the  many  stimulating  articles  the 
paper  brings  to  me." — John  P.  Sala,  Buf- 
falo, N.  Y. 

"The  paper  is  growing  better  all  the 
time.  I  am  glad  to  see  so  few  adver- 
tisements and  so  much  good  readable 
matter." — A.  D.  Veatch,  Des  Moines,  la. 

"The  'Century'  brings  each  week  a 
spiritual  message  and  allows  us  to  see 
the  religious  world  at  large  in  a  good, 
though  brief,  manner.  Its  articles  pro- 
voke thought  and  have  a  forward  look. 
May  its  usefulness  increase." — O.  L. 
Hull,  New  York  City. 

"The  'Century'  has  the  most  hearten- 
ing note  of  them  all!  For  sheer  force 
of  Christian  interpretation  you  have  no 
competition  in  the  brotherhood." — F.  B. 
Thomas,   Evangelist,   Danville,   111. 

"The  'Century'  is  attractive  in  form,  is 
provocative  of  thought,  has  to  a  marked 
degree  that  fine  quality  of  readableness 
and  that  finer  quality  of  spirituality." — 
Roger  T.  Nooe,  Frankfort,  Ky. 


"The  'Century'  is  undoubtedly  a  very 
great  religious  paper,  clean,  wholesome, 
up-to-date,  stimulating  and  inspiring.  It 
stirs  the  very  best  within  its  readers." — 
Frank  L.  Jewett,  Austin,  Tex. 

"I  do  not  agree  with  all  you  say,  but  I 
can  imagine  no  greater  calamity  to  our 
brotherhood  than  to  have  you  cease  do- 
ing, stop  saying,  quit  writing.  Our 
brotherhood  has  moved  forward  fifty 
years  in  the  last  ten,  and  is  ready  for 
another  great  advance — and  the  'Cen- 
tury' will  be  a  mighty  factor  in  its  go- 
ing."— Nelson  H.  Trimble,  Columbia, 
Mo. 

"I  think  the  paper  is  excellent  in  man}- 
particulars." — Wallace  Tharp,  Pittsburgh, 
Pa. 

"When  it  comes  to  splendid  spirit,  in- 
spirational matter  and  frankness  of 
statement.  The  Christian  Century  cannot 
be  surpassed." — B.  H.  Linville,  St.  Louis, 
Mo. 

"It  is  a  pleasure  to  read  the  strong, 
vigorous  pages  of  the  'Century.'  Never 
enjoyed  it  more  than  now." — Geo.  W. 
Wise,  Salem,  Mo. 

"It  is  a  most  readable  and  stimulating 
religious  journal." — W.  B.  Clenimer. 
Rockford.  111. 

"I  greatly  enjoy  the  'Century'  of  late. 
It  is  a  good  paper." — Gerald  Culberson, 
Bedford,  Ind, 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


June  14,  1917 


Hoover  of  Indianapolis  officiated.  His 
ordination  was  recommended  by  the 
four  churches  which  he  had  previously 
served  in  the  ministry.  Mr.  Wolfe  is 
doing  a  fine  work  as  minister  of  the 
Arcadia  Church. 

— Second  Church,  Cedar  Rapids,  la., 
has  extended  a  call  to  C.  V.  Allison  to 
succeed  Perry  L.  Schuler  in  the  work 
there.  It  is  not  announced  whether  he 
has  accepted.  Mr.  Schuler  is  still  on 
the  field  and  reports  five  accessions  to 
the  membership  on  June  3,  with  four  at 
the  prayer  meeting  service  on  the  pre- 
vious Wednesday  evening. 

— R.  W.  Wallace  of  the  Lexington. 
Mo..  Church  is  preaching  a  series  of  ser- 
mons on  Sundaj'  mornings  on  the  fol- 
lowing themes:  "The  Duty  of  the  Hour, 
or  The  Country's  Call,"  "Why  Did  Not 
Christianity  Prevent  the  War?  Has 
Christianity  Failed?"  "How  Can  We 
Reconcile  the  War  With  the  Doctrine 
of  God's   Love  and   Power?" 

— Emory  Ross,  the  missionary  to 
Africa,  will  speak  at  Bethany  Assembly, 
August  3,  as  will  also  R.  A.  Doan  of 
the  Foreign  Society,  and  Mrs.  Stearns 
of  the  National  C.  W.  B.  M.  This  is 
C.  W.  B.  M.  day  at  the  Assembly,  and 
it  is  always  one  of  the  best  of  the  ses- 
sion. Mrs.  O.  H.  Griest,  Indiana's  wide- 
awake C.  W.  B.  M.  president,  will  be 
at  the  helm.  ^  *j 

— At  Cotner's  commencement  season 
last  week  C.  F.  Stevens  of  Beatrice, 
Neb.,  delivered  the  commencement  ad- 
dress. The  attendance  at  Cotner  this 
year  is  reported  twenty-two  above  that 
of  last  year. 


Illinois  News  Letter 

Our  people  were  not  as  well  repre- 
sented at  the  State  Sunday  School  Con- 
vention, May  22-24,  at  Kewanee,  as  the 
importance  of  our  work  in  Illinois  would 
warrant.  If  we  expect  to  do  a  real 
service  in  the  matter  of  religious  edu- 
cation we  must  attend  all  the  conven- 
tions, county  and  state. 

The  report  of  Secretary  Robert  M. 
Hopkins  records  that  211  Bible  Schools 
in  Illinois  have  contributed  to  American- 
Illinois  missions  during  the  year.  This 
makes  Illinois  third  in  the  number  of 
schools,  but  fifth  in  the  amount  con- 
tributed. 

S.  B.  Waggoner  of  Colorado  has  ac- 
cepted the  work  at  Ipava  and  will  begin 
the  first  Sunday  in  July. 

Miss  Cynthia  Pearl  Maus  has  been 
engaged  for  all  the  district  conventions 
in  Illinois  next  year.  Miss  Maus  is  one 
of  the  most  popular  convention  speakers 
who  visits  Illinois.  We  made  this  en- 
gagement in  advance  to  be  sure  to  get 
her. 

G.  D.  Hargis,  who  was  graduated 
from  Johnson  Bible  College  this  year, 
begins  work  at   Kenney  soon. 

The  State  Secretary  will  assist  in  the 
laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  new 
Church  at  Fisher,  June  14th.  The  con- 
gregation there  is  planning  for  a  $20,000 
building. 

The  churches  of  Cass  county  will  hold 
an  annual  meeting  in  Ashland  Tuesday, 
June  26th.  All  the  churches  in  Cass  and 
adjoining  counties  are  urged  to  have  rep- 
resentatives there. 

The  Board  of  Church  Extension  has 
loaned  Third  Church,  Bloomington  (col- 
ored)   seven    hundred   dollars. 

W.  T.  Walker  of  Washburn  is  doing 
real  missionary  work.  He  preaches  at 
Cazenovia    on    Sunday    afternoons    and 


Don't  Let  Your  School  Slump! 

Send  75c  for  100  assorted  "Attendance  Builder"  post  cards, 
and  try  them  on  your  class.  They  will  build  up  and  keep  up 
your  attendance. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

700  E.  40th  St.,  Chicago 


visits  Lacon,  where  we  have  a  few  Dis- 
ciples,  a  week  night  twice  every  month. 

Dr.  F.  D.  Pratz  of  Mowequa  writes 
that  a  movement  is  on  foot  there  for  the 
raising  of  a  debt  of  $1,500. 

An  outing  day  has  been  set  for  our 
churches  and  Bible  Schools  of  McLean 
County,  Thursday,  June  28th,  at  Miller 
Park  in  Bloomington.  Among  the  speak- 
ers for  this  occasion  are  H.  O.  Pritchard, 
R.  E.  Hieronymus  and  H.  H.  Peters. 
While  this  is  for  McLean  County,  folks 
from  other  counties  will  be  welcomed. 
A  baseball  game  is  to  be  played  between 
the  preachers  and  the  Sunday  School 
Superintendents. 

H.  H.  Peters,  State  Secretary. 


Union  Theological  College 

Among  the  numerous  institutions  of 
learning  that  celebrate  their  commence- 
ments at  this  time  none  is  more  sig- 
nificant than  that  of  the  Union  Theo- 
logical College,  which  held  its  first  com- 
mencement exercises  last  Friday  night 
in  Carpenter  Hall,  the  chapel  of  the  his- 
toric Chicago  Theological  Seminary.  It 
is  the  last  arrival  in  that  splendid  gal- 
axy of  religious  institutions  that  through 
the  years  have  sprung  up  in  the  Middle 
West,  but  it  is  by  no  means  the  least 
pertinent  to  the  growing  task  of  the 
church. 

Not  every  institution  of  learning,  and 
this  is  especially  true  of  a  theological 
seminary,  has  the  privilege  of  graduating 
a  class  at  the  termination  of  its  first 
year  of  work.  Union  Theological  Col- 
lege graduated  seven  men  this  year.  Be- 
sides Americans,  these  graduates  rep 
resented  three  nationalities.  Almost  all 
of  them  are  bi-lingual  and  able  to  min- 
ister to  the  people  both  in  American 
and  their  own  native  tongue.  It  is 
difficult  to  over-estimate  the  importance 
of  this  type  of  ministry  at  a  time  like 
this.  While  our  government  is  sending 
commissions  to  the  various  foreign  pow- 
ers, while  our  soldiers  will  soon  touch 
elbows  at  the  front  with  almost  all  the 
races  of  mankind  whose  hearts  have 
been  touched  by  that  magic  word  "de- 
mocracy," while  we  are  sending  our 
money  and  our  supplies  to  the  starving 
Belgians,  Serbians,  Poles  and  Armin- 
ians,  how  important  that  the  Church 
of  Christ  in  America  should  at  least 
keep  up  diplomatic  relations  with  the 
representatives  from  those  nations 
within  our  borders!  How  important 
that  the  Church  should  have  its  am- 
bassadors, for  instance,  among  the  Poles 
of  Chicago,  the  largest  Polish  city  in  the 
world,  not  excluding  Warsaw,  their  own 
capital.  How  important  for  the  future 
of  this  democracy  and  of  the  forces 
of  the  Kingdom  of  the  world  over  that 
such  representatives  be  maintained 
among  all  the  nationalities  whose  im- 
migrants are  crowding  to  our  shores 
at  the  rate  of  a  million  a  year  in  normal 
times!  For  we  must  assimilate  those 
neople  or  they  will  assimilate  us.  There 
is  no  wholesale  method  of  doing  that 
job.      Each    individual    immigrant    must 


literally  be  born  again,  to  achieve  the 
American  spirit  as  an  individual  task. 
Who  is  so  well  able  to  do  that  job  as 
the  church?  Who  is  under  greater  ob- 
ligation to  do  it?  The  Union  Theolog- 
ical College,  because  it  is  an  inter-racial 
institution  where  four  nationalities  are 
represented  on  the  faculty,  and  where 
each  ministerial  student  receives  train- 
ing both  in  his  own  tongue  and  in 
American  culture,  is  pre-eminently  fitted 
to  equip  men  of  this  type. 

But  the  Union  Theological  College 
is  not  only  an  international  and  inter- 
racial school,  it  is  also  an  interdenomi- 
national school.  Congregationalists, 
Baptists,  Disciples  and  Presbyterians  are 
represented  on  its  board  of  directors, 
on  the  faculty  or  the  student  body.  It 
was  projected  last  fall  by  the  Congre- 
gationalists in  the  buildings  of  their  his- 


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June  14,  1917  THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  21 


IS    THE    WORLD 
GROWING  BETTER 


or  more  materialistic?  A  study  of  actual 
events  leads  Professor  Shailer  Mathews  to  be- 
lieve that  history  does  show  spiritual  forces  at 
work  which  may  renew  our  threatened  ideal- 
ism and  our  confidence  in  the  might  of  right. 
He   sums   up   his   views   in   his  new   volume 

"THE  SPIRITUAL 

INTERPRETATION  OF 

HISTORY" 

Professor  Mathews  is  Dean  of  the  Divinity 
School  in  the  University  of  Chicago  and  is  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  writers  in  the  field  of  re- 
ligion today.  He  is  also  the  Editor  of  the 
Biblical   World. 

Every  minister  and  every  alert  churchman 
should  possess  this  book.  It  is  esssentially  a 
book   for  the   times. 

Price  of  the  Book,  $1.50 

iiiririiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiii 

FOR   SALE  BY 

DISCIPLES    PUBLICATION 

SOCIETY 

700  E.  40th  STREET,  ::        ::  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


22 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  14,  1917 


toric  Chicago  Theological  Seminary, 
which  last  year  moved  over  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  to  continue  its  work 
there  in  co-operation  with  the  cluster  of 
theological  seminaries  which  is  making 
that  place  the  greatest  religious  educa- 
tional center  on  this  continent.  Union 
Theological  College  approaches  the  mat- 
ter of  ministerial  training  from  the  vo- 
cational rather  than  the  academic  angle. 
Its  aims  are  to  fit  men  who  are  unable 
to  take  a  full  college  course  for  an 
effective  and  useful  ministry  in  a  four 
years'  course.  Its  entrance  requirement 
is  a  high  school  diploma  or  its  equiva- 
lent. Its  instruction  is  under  the  direc- 
tion of  such  men  as  Dr.  Shailer  Math- 
ews. Dr.  Herbert  L.  Willett,  Dr.  O.  S. 
Davis  and  Professor  Chas.  M.  Stuart, 
all  deans  of  great  theological  seminaries 
and  outstanding  figures  in  religious  edu- 
cation. H.  J.  Loken,  from  the  Disciples, 
is  on  its  faculty  and  also  represents 
the  institution  in  the  field.  Several  Dis- 
ciple students  have  already  signified 
their  intention  of  entering  its  courses 
next  fall. 

This  is  a  very  significant  movement 
in  religious  education  and  the  Disciples 
should,  of  all  people,  be  the  logical 
promoters  of  such  an  idea.  The  school 
is   not    confined   to    ministerial    training, 


but  is  splendidly  equipped  to  train  Bible 
school  workers,  choir  leaders,  social 
workers  and  other  lines  of  specialized 
religious  workers. 


Baptismal  Suits 

We   can    make   prompt  shipments. 
Order  Now.      Finest   quality  and  most 
atisfactory  In    every   way.      Order  by 
izt  of  boot. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  St.  Chicago,  111. 


"Under  Fire" 


As  it  is  the  first  fiery  rain  of  shot  and 
shell  which  tries  the  mettle  of  the  new 
soldier,  so  it  is  the  first  consciousness  of 
war  which  temporarily  weakens  the  heart 
of  the  citizenry  at  home.  That  the 
Christian  citizenship  of  the  United  States 
is  meeting  such  a  shock  just  now  and 
that  the  quake  of  it  is  running  through 
our  churches  is  evidenced  by  the  sharp 
decline  in  the  May  offering  Home  Mis- 
sionary receipts.  It  is  evident  that  many 
ministers  and  churches,  under  the  ex- 
citement of  the  times,  utterly  failed  to 
take  the  Home  Missionary  offering. 
Others,  under  patriotic  impulse,  diverted 
the  offering  to  meet  the  appeals  of  im- 
mediate military  necessity,  forgetting, 
temporarily,  those  "first  works"  of  the 
Kingdom  which  must  steadily  be  main- 
tained. The  receipts  from  the  churches 
fell  off  $2,355.96  from  those  of  May  of 
last  year. 

That  continuance  under  fire  for  a 
period  will,  if  we  be  good  soldiers,  cor- 
rect this  immediate  nervousness  and 
restore  a  saner  sense  of  duty  and  of 
poise,  is  indicated  by  the  experience 
of  our  brethren  and  our  churches  in 
Canada,  where,  for  nearly  three  years, 
they  have   weathered   the   raging  storm. 

At  the  Ontario  Convention,  recently 
held  in  St.  Thomas,  the  report  of  the 
Provincial  Treasurer,  Rev.  Mr.  Fleming, 
revealed  the  striking  fact  that  this  third 
year  of  the  great  war  had  proven  the 
best  year  financially  in  the  history  of  the 


Ontario  Co-operation.  The  missionary 
receipts  of  the  Provincial  Board  showed 
an  increase  of  $416.97  over  the  previous 
year.  The  work  had  prospered  and  the 
Board  was  enabled  to  increase  its  con- 
tributions to  the  American  Christian  Mis- 
sionary Society  and  to  the  Missions  in 
the  Western  Provinces. 

Such  a  record  ought  to  impart  con- 
fidence to  our  churches  in  the  States 
and  to  rebuke  our  timorous  selfishness. 
This  is  no  time  to  force  upon  our  heroic 
missions  the  necessity  for  retrenchment 
or  extinction.  Many  of  them  are  losing 
some  of  their  strongest  supporters. 
Mission  pastors  are  finding  it  almost 
impossible  to  subsist  upon  the  meager 
salaries,  made  possible  even  by  the  aid 
of  Home  Missionary  funds.  Trained 
young  men  from  our  colleges  are  daring 
to  enter  fields  like  Ogden  and  Pocatelo 
and  Watertown  and  Calgary  and  Win- 
nipeg and  Texico  and  Douglas  and  Pen- 
sacola,  in  response  to  the  call  we  have 
sounded.  To  fail  to  support  them  in 
their  heroic  undertaking  on  behalf  of 
the  church  would  be  as  serious  an  of- 
fence as  to  desert  the  patriotic  boys 
whom  we  are  sending  to  the  trenches 
in  Europe.  The  loss  in  receipts  must 
be  made  good  by  the  churches.  Busi- 
ness is  going  on  as  before.  Missions 
must  not  be  the  first  nor  the  only  in- 
terest to   suffer. 

This  is  every  minister's  obligation.  He 
stands  between  these  heroes  and  the 
local  church.  Churches  which  have  neg- 
lected the  offering  must  respond  now; 
others  must  make  special  gifts;  friends 
must  come  to  our  assistance.  We  must 
rally  to  the  counterattack  under  fire. 
Steady  the  line  and  sweep  forward! 

F.   W.   Burnham,   Secretary. 


TWO    GREAT    BIBLE    COURSES 

FOR  ADULT  AND  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  CLASSES 

Hundreds  of  teachers  of  adult  and  young  people's  classes  are  looking  for  the  right  course  of 
study.  Why  not  consider  one  of  the  splendid  courses  on  the  Bible  which  have  been  espe- 
cially prepared  for  class  study?  One  of  these  deals  in  Old  Testament  life,  the  other  with 
the  New  Testament. 

"The  Moral  Leaders  of  Israel" 

By  DR.  HERBERT  L.  WILLETT 

is  a  course  treating  in  a  most  attractive  way  the  mountain  peak  personalities  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Moses,  Samuel,  David,  Elijah,  Isaiah  and  the  other  great  spokesmen  for  God  are  here 
made  to  live  again  in  twentieth  century  life.  A  thoughtful  class  will  have  its  interest  renewed 
by  this  fine  course. 


<< 


The  Life  of  Jesus" 


By  DR.  LOA  E.  SCOTT 

is  a  question  and  answer  study  of  the  life  of  Jesus  and  is  especially  adapted  to  High  School 
and  adult  age.   Hundreds  of  classes  have  been  built  up  on  the  basis  of  this  attractive  course. 

DON'T  WASTE  THIS  SUMMER!     MAKE  IT  COUNT  FOR    GENUINE   STUDY!     Send    $1.00  for  a  copy  of 
Dr.  WUlett's  book,  50c  for  Dr.  Scott's,  or  $1.35  for  the  two.    Then  decide  which  you  will  choose  for  your  class. 

ADDRESS 

DISCIPLES    PUBLICATION    SOCIETY 


700  EAST  FORTIETH  STREET 


CHICAGO 


""MIIIIIIJJH 


June  14,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


Zj 


THE    DISCIPLES    HYMNAL    IS    THE    MOST    BEAUTIFUL    HYMNAL    EVER    PRODUCED    BY    THE    AMERICAN    CHURCH 

It  Sings  the  Message  You  Preach! 

C1  VERY  modern -minded  pastor  has  had  this  experience:  After 
*-**  preparing  a  sermon  on  some  great,  human,  social  problem  or 
duty,  he  has  searched  his  hymnal  through  to  find  a  hymn  that  would 
gather  up  and  express  in  song  the  theme  of  his  sermon.  And  he 
found  none  which  in  modern  terms  struck  the  social  note.  As  a 
result  he  felt,  after  his  sermon  was  preached,  that  half  its  power 
had  been  lost. 

One  of  the  unique  features — among  many  others  equally  distinctive — of  the  new  hymna 

HYMNS  OF  THE 
UNITED  CHURCH 

The  Disciples  Hymnal 

is  its  section  on  "The  Kingdom  of  God,"  with  sub-sections  entitled  "Social  Aspiration 
and  Progress,"  "Loyalty  and  Courage,"  "Human  Service  and  Brotherhood,"  "The 
Nation,"  "Peace  Among  the  Nations,"  etc.,  etc.  In  this  section  are  101  great  hymns 
which  sing  the  evangelical  social  gospel  which  the  modern  pulpit  preaches.  Many  of 
these  hymns  have  never  before  been  used  in  a  church  hymnal.  Here  are  some  of  the 
authors'  names : 


John  Addington  Symonds 
Emily  Greene  Balch 
John  G.  Whittier 
William  DeWitt  Hyde 
Charles  Kingsley 
Nolan  R.  Best 
Richard  Watson  Gilder 
Algernon  C.  Swinburne 
Felix  Adler 
Ebenezer  Elliott 
W.  Russell  Bowie 


Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson 
Gilbert  K.  Chesterton 
Washington  Gladden 
Frank  Mason  North 
Charles  Mackay 
John  Hay 

William  Pearson  Merrill 
Katherine  Lee  Bates 
Frederick  L.  Hosmer 
Rudyard  Kipling 
John  Haynes  Holmes 


Think  of  being  able  to  sing  the  social  gospel  as  well  as  to  preach  it !  The  social  gospel 
will  never  seem  to  your  people  to  be  a  truly  religious  gospel  until  they  learn  to  sing  it. 
The  Disciples  Hymnal  is  the  only  church  hymnal  in  which  the  social  note  of  today  s 
evangelical  preaching  finds  adequate  expression.  The  use  of  this  hymnal  will  thrill  and 
inspire  your  congregation  with  a  new  vision  and  purpose. 

Price  $1.15  in  cloth,  $1.40  in  half  leather 
Special  introductory  terms  to  churches.    Returnable  copy  sent  to  pastors  or  committees. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


700  E.  40th  Street 


Chicago,  Illinois 


HAVE    YOU  READ 

FAIRHOPE 

A    NEW    NOVEL 
BY  EDGAR  DEWITT  JONES 

uimiiimuiMHinmnminiiimiimMinuiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiimiiiimiiiimiiMiiiiimiiiimimMiiuiim^ 

Fairhope  folks  are  mighty  human,  but  you 
will  like  them  all  the  better  for  that. 

Major  Menifee  may  remind  you  of  Colonel 
Carter  of  Cartersville.  You  will  love  Jacob 
Boardman,  the  modern  Enoch.  And  even 
Giles  Shockley  will  riot  repel  you,  "Hound 
of  the  Lord"  though  he  was. 

Everyone  knows  that  the  old  style  of 
country  church  is  passing  forever.  But 
what  type  of  church  will  take  its  place? 
Read  the  chapter  entitled  "The  Old  Order 
Changeth"  and  meet  the  Reverend  Roger 
Edgecomb,  Prophet  of  the  new  order. 

Do  you  like  birds  and  stretches  of  meadows, 
glimpses  of  lordly  river,  and  the  glory  of 
high  hills?  Do  you  like  young  preachers  and 
old  time  country  folks,  their  humors,  their 
foibles  and  their  loyalties?  If  you  do,  then 
you  should  read 

"Fairhope,  the  Annals 
of  a  Country  Church" 

Price,  $1.25 

Order  NOW,  enclosing  remittance 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  Street,  Chicago,  111. 


■55 m 


j>*'-*>1       */&&>*i         %■&*>& 


Vol.  XXXIV 


June  21,  1917 


Number  25 


A  Non-sectarian 
Reason 

For  being  a  Disciple 
of  Christ 


By  Charles  Clayton  Morrison 


ffi a 


HAVE    YOU  READ 

FAIRHOPE 

A    NEW    NOVEL 
BY  EDGAR  DEWITT  JONES 

aniMnMloySlDye!^^ 

4IIHIUUIllllllltllMtlltlHIIIIIIIIIIIT tlUIIII IIIIIIIHIHIIIIIIINMIIIHIIMItllllllllllNMItlMlllJllllllllMMIMIIIllMinilllltlUltlllUII IIIIMIIIIII Ill  MIIII1IMU IHMIIIMII  IlirilllMII  IIINIII  t  in  Mil 

Fairhope  folks  are  mighty  human,  but  you 
will  like  them  all  the  better  for  that. 

Major  Menifee  may  remind  you  of  Colonel 
Carter  of  Cartersville.  You  will  love  Jacob 
Boardman,  the  modern  Enoch.  And  even 
Giles  Shockley  will  not  repel  you,  "Hound 
of  the  Lord"  though  he  was. 

Everyone  knows  that  the  old  style  of 
country  church  is  passing  forever.  But 
what  type  of  church  will  take  its  place? 
Read  the  chapter  entitled  "The  Old  Order 
Changeth"  and  meet  the  Reverend  Roger 
Edgecomb,  Prophet  of  the  new  order. 

Do  you  like  birds  and  stretches  of  meadows, 
glimpses  of  lordly  river,  and  the  glory  of 
high  hills?  Do  you  like  young  preachers  and 
old  time  country  folks,  their  humors,  their 
foibles  and  their  loyalties?  If  you  do,  then 
you  should  read 

"Fairhope,  the  Annals 
of  a  Country  Church" 

Price,  $1.25 

Order  NOW,   enclosing   remittance 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  Street,  Chicago,  111. 

m a 


June  21,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


Subscription  Frlce— Two  dollars  and 
a  half  a  year,  payable  strictly  In 
advance.  To  ministers,  two  dollars 
when  paid  In  advance.  Canadian 
subscriptions,  60  cents  additional  for 
postage.  Foreign,  |1.M additional. 
Discontinuances — In  order  that  sub- 
scribers may  not  bs  annoyed  by 
failure  to  receive  the  paper,  It  Is 
not  discontinued  at  expiration  of 
time  paid  In  advance  (unless  so 
ordered),  but  continued  pending  in- 
struction from  the  subscriber.  If 
discontinuance  is  desired,  prompt 
notice  should  be  sent  and  all  ar- 
rearages paid. 

Change  of  address — In  ordering 
change  of  address  give  the  old  as 
well  as  the  new. 


TM€ 


PUBLISHED    WEEKLY    BY    THE    DISCIPLES    OF    CHRIST 
IN    THE     INTEREST    OF    THE     KINGDOM     OF     GOD 


l.zpirution* — 'j  h>  date  on  the  wrap- 
per shows  the  month  and  year  to 
which  tubscrlptlon  is  paid.  List  Is 
revised  monthly.  Change  of  date 
on  wrapper  Is  a  receipt  for  remit- 
tance  on    subscription   account. 

Remittance* — Should  be  s»-nt  by 
draft  or  money  order,  payable  to 
The  Disciples  Publication  H',- 
If  Ifcal  check  Is  Wtmt,  sdd  ten 
cents  for  exchange  charged  us  by 
(,'hleaj?o    banks. 

Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter 
Feb.  28,  1902.  at  the  Postofnc*.  CI  1- 
cago,  Illinois,  under  Act  of  March 
3,    1879. 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS, 


700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO 


IticrinlPC  The   disciples   Publica- 

Ul&upiea  tion    Society    is   an  or- 

PllbliCatiOn      ganization     through 
Cnrfatir  which   churches   of  the 

aOCieiy  Disciples      of      Christ 

seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *     •     * 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *     •     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter^  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished b>  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples^  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


zs 


DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  700  EAST  40th  STREET,  CHICAGO. 

Dear  Friends: — I  believe  in  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  The  Christian  Century  and  wish  to  be  numbered  among 
those  who  are  supporting  your  work  in  a  substantial  way  by  their  gifts. 


Enclosed  please  find 
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Name... 
Address. 


THE  WAR  IS  ON 

When  England  entered  the  war  Lloyd  George  declared  that  its  greatest  enemy  was 
not  Germany,  but  BOOZE. 

In  self-defense  our  Churches  must  fight  the  traffic  now  as  never  before.  In  one  year 
we  waste  7,000,000,000  pounds  of  grain  in  the  manufacture  of  liquor.  This  would  feed  an 
army  of  7,000,000  men. 

It  is  unthinkable  that  our  Congress  will  allow  this  to  go   on. 
HELP  YOUR  BOARD— Now  is  the  nick  of  time. 

A  BIG  JULY  OFFERING  IS  NEEDED 

To  provide  anti-liquor  literature. 

To  publish  charts  and  banners. 

To  carry  on  the  general  agitation. 

To  pay  for  speakers,  halls,  and  expenses. 

10  cents  will  buy  100  leaflets. 

$10.00  will  pay  a  speaker's  expense  for  one  day 
and  several  speeches. 

$1,000.00  will  help  make  a  State  dry. 

$10,000  will  help  bring  Nationwide  PROHIBI- 
TION. 

PROHIBITION  AND  PATRIOTISM  are  insep- 
arable now.  Sunday,  Tuly  1,  is  the  date.  Make  it  a 
rare  day.     Songs,  Flags,  Flowers,  Addresses,  Offering. 

Crowd  your  Church  with  a  big  program,  and  help 


3£H 


JB 


Ad.pto]  from  MV"  Ddk  £«f« 

The  Traitor 


■Si 


this  great  cause. 

Send  all  offerings  to 


AMERICAN    TEMPERANCE    BOARD   OF  CHURCHES   OF    CHRIST 

L.  E.  Sellers,  National  Secretary 

821  Occidental  Building  .....  Indianapolis,  Indiana 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 

iiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiii 


June  21,  1917 


STUDENTS  OF  THE  INSULAR  UNIVERSITY  AND  OF  THE  ALBERT 
ALLEN  BIBLE  COLLEGE  IN  THE  DORMITORY  OF  THE  LATTER 


American  Christianity  in  the  Philippines 

From  1565,  when  the  Spaniards  took  possession  of  the  Islands,  until  1898,  when  they  came  under  the  Ameri- 
can Flag,  the  priests  and  friars  of  Rome  had  complete  sway.  As  a  result  three-fourths  of  the  people  were  nominally 
of  that  faith.  But,  just  as  in  Latin  America,  the  prevailing  religion  was  so  corrupted  with  paganism  that  many  of 
the    more    intelligent    people    were    in    open    rebellion    against  it. 

As  soon  as  the  Spanish  authority  was  withdrawn  the  reaction  set  in  which  has  run  the  membership  of  the 
"Independent  Filipino  Church,"  an  odd  combination  of  Unitarianism  and  Catholicism,  up  to  a  million  and  a  third.  At 
the  same  time  there  was  an  unparalleled  readiness  to  receive  American  Christianity.  This  has  grown  in  eagerness 
with  the  years,  as  the  fruits  of  it  have  become  manifest,  until  75,000  converts  have  been  enrolled. 

While  the  Filipinos  have  been  learning  the  quality  of  our  religion,  we  have  been  discovering  the  possibili- 
ties of  their  manhood.  We  have  found  that  the  Igorrote  village  of  the  St.  Louis  World's  Fair  represented  only  a 
small  fraction  of  the  8,000,000  population,  while  the  Filipino  Band  of  the  San  Francisco  Exposition  was  typical  of 
the  majority,  as  were  also  the  superb  exhibits  of  handiwork  in  the  Educational  Building.  But  even  the  head-hunters 
in    the   mountains   contiguous    to   our    Ilocano   missions   have  proved  wonderfully  hospitable  to  the  gospel. 

The  labors  of  our  seventeen  American  missionaries  are  multiplied  by  scores  of  Filipino  preachers  and  help- 
ers whom  they  have  trained.  As  the  native  ministry  is  further  increased  through  the  education  of  young  men  from 
the  seventy-nine  churches,  we  are  rapidly  getting  a  force  that  will  be  able  to  occupy  the  large  field  for  whose  evangeli- 
zation the  Disciples  are  responsible. 

The  realization  of  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement's  great  threefold  aim  will  save  the  lives  of  our  over- 
taxed leaders  in  the  Philippines,  save  the  souls  of  the  thousands  that  are  now  asking  for  the  light  and  save  to  the 
Christ  a  people,  that  in  time,  may  become  both  as  numerous  and  as  influential  as  the  Japanese.  Patriotism  and 
religion    combine    as    motives    in    our    efforts    and,    "A    twofold  cord  is  not  quickly  broken." 

MEN  AND  MILLIONS  MOVEMENT 


224  WEST  FOURTH  ST. 


Illlllllllllllil 


CINCINNATI,  OHIO 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 


The  Christian  Century 


CHABLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON,  EDITOR. 


HERBERT    I..    WHJ.ETT,     OOVTBXBUTXXTO     BDITOl 


Volume  XXXIV 


JUNE  21.  1917 


Number  25 


War  and  Prohibition 


THE  WAR  WILL  KILL  JOHN  BARLEYCORN. 

Unless  the  war  ends  soon  economic  considerations 
will  bring  an  end  to  the  liquor  traffic.  During  the 
Civil  war,  the  liquor  traffic  was  slated  for  annihilation. 
It  was  saved  by  the  death  of  Lincoln  and  by  the  skill- 
ful coup  of  furnishing  a  large  and  easily  collected  tax 
to  a  government  burdened  with  debt.  The  leaders  in 
this  war,  the  world  over,  have  come  to  realize  that 
such  a  policy  with  the  liquor  traffic  would  not  be  ade- 
quate to  the  situation. 

The  changes  which  have  already  come  in  Europe 
are  astonishing  when  one  reflects  how  little  the  various 
countries  there  were  prepared  for  prohibition.  While 
the  United  States  already  has  over  60  per  cent  of  its 
people  living  under  various  forms  of  prohibitory  laws, 
in  Europe  before  the  war  the  liquor  business  was  firmly 
entrenched  and  respectable,  and  in  many  countries  re- 
ligion had  cultivated  but  little  conscience  against  it. 
If  the  things  done  in  Europe  have  been  possible  with 
so  little  public  education,  America  is  certainly  prepared 
to  "go  the  limit." 

•    • 

In  Russia,  the  deadly  vodka  has  been  abolished. 
Light  wines  are  subject  to  local  regulation  and  many 
communities  are  bone  dry.  Dr.  Aubon  Karlgren  went 
from  Sweden  to  write  of  the  failure  of  prohibition  in 
Russia,  but  on  his  return  wrote  a  long  article  declaring 
that  the  new  law  in  Russia  was  a  great  success. 

In  Canada  prohibition  for  the  war-time  came  with- 
out any  pressure  from  the  food  situation.  The  morale 
of  the  army  and  the  welfare  of  the  recruits  led  a  wet 
government  to  change  front  and  vote  in  prohibition 
as  a  result  of  popular  demand. 

England  has  cut  down  her  consumption  of  beer 
from  36,000,000  barrels  before  the  war  to  10,000,000 
and  now  there  is  an  order  that  no  longer  shall  barley 
or  corn  suitable  for  human  food  be  used  in  brewing 
or  distilling  industries ;  this  will  produce  virtual  pro- 
hibition. 

Light  wines  are  still  permitted  in  France  and  Italy 
but  the  absinthe  weed  is  destroyed  in  France  wherever 
it  is  found.  Even  in  Germany  there  has  been  a  reduc- 
tion in  the  use  of  beer  and  before  the  war  the  Kaiser 
adopted  the  policy  of  discouraging  the  drinking  habits 
of  the  nation.  Years  ago  he  published  a  decree  author- 
izing the  use  of  water  in  drinking  the  health  of  the  em- 
peror and  he  declared  that  in  a  great  war  the  nation 
that  drank  the  least  beer  would  win. 

Many  leading  citizens  of  the  United  States  who 
have  never  been  known  as  prohibitionists  are  now  fav- 
oring war-time  prohibition.  Among  these  are  ex-Presi- 
dent Roosevelt,  Bishop  Lawrence  of  Massachusetts, 
Gen.  Nelson  Miles  and  Dr.  Haven  Emerson,  Commis- 
sioner of  Health  in  New  York  City. 


The  considerations  that  induce  great  leaders  like 
these  to  subscribe  to  the  creed  of  war-time  prohibition 
are  various  but  perhaps  three  leading  ones  might  be 
formulated. 

In  the  first  place,  the  food  supply  of  the  world  and 
of  the  United  States  must  be  conserved.  There  is  a 
world-wide  shortage  of  food  on  account  of  the  men 
withdrawn  from  production  and  because  of  the  de- 
struction by  war.  When  it  is  known,  therefore,  that  the 
United  States  is  wasting  in  the  production  of  alcoholic 
drinks  the  food  materials  that  would  be  sufficient  to 
feed  seven  million  men,  the  fact  is  sufficiently  striking. 
The  prohibition  of  the  manufacture  of  alcoholic  drinks 
would  more  than  feed  the  biggest  army  we  would  ever 
be  compelled  to  send  to  Europe  and  the  economic  sav- 
ing would  probably  meet  most  of  the  expense  of  war  so 
long  as  we  had  only  a  million  soldiers  engaged. 

The  morale  and  discipline  of  the  army  are  greatly 
affected  by  drink.  The  soldier  does  not  like  to  see 
himself  put  under  prohibition  while  the  civilian  for 
whom  he  fights  continues  to  indulge.  The  social  dis- 
eases contracted  by  soldiers  result  in  considerable  de- 
gree from  intoxication,  and  these  are  the  greatest  single 
threat  to  the  health  of  an  army.  The  younger  General 
Grant  states  that  fully  90  per  cent  of  the  court  martials 
result  from  intoxication. 

The  increase  in  industrial  efficiency  owing  to  a 
sober  working  class  would  be  very  great.  Early  in  the 
war,  England  lost  battles  because  drunken  munitions 
workers  had  failed  to  turn  out  the  amount  of  their 
product   which   was   needed. 

•     * 

The  objections  to  war-time  prohibition  are  easy  to 
meet.  The  nation  needs  every  brewery  and  distillery 
for  legitimate  industry.  With  comparatively  slight 
changes  every  one  of  these  plants  might  be  turned  into 
a  factory  for  producing  commercial  alcohol,  condensed 
milk,  war  chemicals  or  other  useful  products.  It  is  im- 
possible to  say  in  these  days  that  prohibition  would  be 
confiscation. 

Nor  can  one  speak  of  deluging  the  labor  market 
with  idle  men.  That  was  never  a  good  argument,  but 
it  is  absurd  now.  Great  factories  are  scouring  the 
country  for  help. 

As  we  have  noted,  the  Civil  war  set  back  prohibi- 
tion a  whole  generation.  Religious  people  who  look 
upon  this  question  as  having  moral  and  religious  im- 
plications should  realize  that  the  hour  of  destiny  has 
struck.  If  the  saloon  does  not  go  now.  the  reform  may 
have  to  wait  many  years.  It  is  a  time  when  every  voice 
should  be  raised  that  the  government  may  not  fail  to 
realize  that  it  is  now  backed  by  powerful  sentiment 
for  the  abolition  of  the  liquor  curse. 


EDITORIAL 


THE  CHURCH  A  SERVICE  CORPORATION 

AT  one  of  the  sessions  of  the  recent  convention  of 
advertising  men  in  St.  Lonis,  a  business  man 
speaking  on  the  problems  of  the  church  said : 
"What  does  the  church  sell?  It  is  evident  that  she  has 
no  tangible  commodity  to  dispose  of.  The  church  sells 
service  and  she  can  learn  some  things  from  the  big 
public  service  corporations." 

He  did  not  elaborate  on  this  suggestion  but  the 
minds  of  the  ministers  present  must  have  readily  sup- 
plied the  application.  The  public  service  corporation, 
like  the  church,  has  the  need  of  eliminating  competition. 
Three  telephone  systems  in  a  town  would  be  an  un- 
mitigated nuisance.  Where  there  are  two,  the  gov- 
ernment should  compel  them  to  establish  connection 
with  one  another.  Churches,  likewise,  are  not  good 
public  service  corporations  unless  in  the  spirit  of  unity 
they  connect  up  with   each  other's  activities. 

A  high  class  public  service  corporation  is  sensitive 
to  public  opinion.  Complaints  are  given  careful  atten- 
tion, and  if  these  complaints  reveal  a  weakness  in  the 
service,  changes  are  at  once  inaugurated.  Perhaps  it 
is  here  that  the  church  has  shown  herself  too  much 
aloof  from  everyday  life.  A  service  corporation  must 
not  only  look  good  to  the  board  of  directors,  but  must 
also  satisfy  the  public. 

At  the  electric  light  sockets  in  our  homes  is  a 
force  which  day  or  night  responds  to  the  press  of  the 
button.  Somewhere  at  the  central  station  men  must 
be  ever  vigilant  lest  for  a  moment  the  energy  of  the 
wires  be  allowed  to  die  down.  Compared  with  the 
rather  spasmodic  service  of  the  church,  this  analogy 
makes  us  humble. 

A  public  service  corporation  may  be  hated  or  re- 
spected. In  America  we  often  find  the  people  bitterly 
hostile  to  railroads  and  electric  light  companies.  This 
hostility  is  usually  due  to  a  belief  that  the  corporation 
seeks  its  own  good  and  is  not  primarily  interested  in 
the  welfare  of  the  public.  If  the  church  can  convince 
the  people  that  it  is  unselfish  and  seeks  only  the  good 
of  humanity,  it  may  find  the  disfavor  of  many  turning 
to  love  and  loyalty. 

REMEMBER  YOUR  SOLDIER  BOYS 

MOST  churches  now  have  boys  in  the  military 
service.  When  the  draft  is  complete,  every 
church  will  have  felt  the  meaning  of  war.  What 
about  your  boys  who  have  gone  out  to  defend  their 
country?  When  they  move  out  of  your  parish  physic- 
ally, when  you  no  longer  see  them  in  the  pew,  has  your 
responsibility  ended? 

Every  church  should  have  an  honor  roll  of  its  men 
in  the  service,  and  of  the  women  too.  The  church  cal- 
endar might  well  be  used  to  keep  these  names  before 
the  eyes  of  the  congregation.  The  army  and  navy  ad- 
dresses of  the  men  should  be  given  so  it  would  be  easy 
for  members  of  the  church  and  Sunday  school  to  send 
remembrances  to  the  absent  ones. 

We  should  not  forget  that  the  boys  in  the  service 
are  in  danger  of  other  things  besides  German  bullets. 
At  the  worst  only  one  in  ten  will  be  killed  by  a  bullet. 
More  than  that  may  come  back  worse  men  than  when 
they  went  away. 

The  spiritual  ministry  of  the  church  must  continue 
to  reach  these  men.     They  should  always  be  remem- 


bered in  the  morning  prayers  of  the  church.  They 
should  receive  letters  from  ministers  and  Sunday  school 
teachers  giving  friendly  counsel  and  urging  them  to 
continue  steadfastly  in  the  Christian  profession. 

There  is  no  influence  so  powerful  with  a  soldier 
as  the  voice  of  a  friend  from  home.  The  army  chaplain 
may  be  ever  so  efficient  and  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  "hut" 
ever  so  kindly  in  its  ministry,  but  the  chief  stay  of  the 
soldier  boy  is  the  memory  of  the  folks  at  home.  This 
influence  is  not  to  be  lost  through  ignorance  or  sloth  on 
the  part  of  Christian  workers. 

We  all  want  to  idealize  the  soldier.  The  man  who 
has  risked  so  much  for  his  nation  is  one  to  be  placed 
upon  a  pedestal.  But  if  the  soldier  is  to  return  home 
with  lowered  ideals,  and  with  a  life  permanently 
coarsened  by  his  experiences,  it  will  be  difficult  to  look 
on  him  as  a  hero.  The  keeping  of  the  souls  of  our 
soldier  boys  will  have  much  to  do  with  the  future  of 
religion  in  America.  If  these  men  come  back  earnest 
Christians,  the  boys  of  our  Sunday  schools  will  come 
to  the  gospel  teaching  with  new  zeal  and  interest. 

A  MESSAGE  OF  COMFORT  NEEDED 

THERE  was  recently  reprinted  in  The  Christian 
Century  an  article  which  originally  appeared  in  The 

British  Weekly.  The  article  considered  the  subject 
of  "reunion  in  eternity."  That  this  article  struck  home 
with  readers  of  the  English  publication  is  seen  in  the 
letters  that  have  been  coming  to  the  editor  of  that 
weekly  in  appreciation  of  the  recent  message. 

One  writer  states  that  it  is  his  belief  that  many 
people  in  England  have  become  lax  in  their  attendance 
at  church  simply  because  they  did  not  find  there  the 
message  their  hearts  needed.  Some  of  these  "back- 
sliders" were  quoted  as  saying  that  sermons  on  "The 
Building  of  the  Temple"  and  "The  Journeyings  of  the 
Children  of  Israel"  were  hardly  satisfying  to  souls  sorely 
distressed  by  the  ravages  of  war  and  death. 

"Who  is  at  fault?"  this  correspondent  asks.  Then 
he  answers  his  own  question  thus: 

"Now,  sir,  it  is  not  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  that  is  at 
fault.  If  there  is  blame  anywhere,  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
fault  lies  with  those  of  our  ministers  who  do  not  seem  to 
realize  what  the  hearts  of  the  multitude  are  yearning  for.  The 
people  today  are  crying  for  comfort — not  that  shadowy  and 
unreal  thing  which  the  pulpit  has  given  us  too  long,  but  a  true 
and  definite  message  of  hope  and  comfort  such  as  you  have 
given  to  your  readers  in  your  recent  article.  Wherever  that 
message  is  offered  in  these  dark  and  dreadful  days  the  thirsty 
souls  flock  to  drink  it  in." 

There  may  be  suggestion  here  for  ministers  of  this 
country,  who  are  now  preaching  every  Sunday  to  fath- 
ers and  mothers  to  whom  has  come  within  the  last  few 
weeks  such  mental  distress  as  has  never  before  burdened 
them,  with  the  going  out  from  home  of  their  sons  and 
daughters  into  the  uncertain  adventures  of  the  war  life. 

OUTDOOR  RELIGION 

WHEN  the  June  roses  are  in  bloom,  and  the  trees 
carry  that  tint  of  green  which  reveals  the  vigor 
of  life  in  the  spring-time,  we  all  respond  to  the 
allurements  of  nature.  The  morning  call  of  the  birds 
acts  as  a  reveille  to  call  us  forth  on  a  fishing  expedition 
or  to  induce  us  to  cultivate  health  in  a  long  morning 
walk. 

In  such  times  as  these  some  will  avow  a  preference 


June  21,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


for  worshiping  God  in  the  big  out-of-doors  instead  of 
in  the  church.  It  takes  the  church,  however,  with  its 
teachings,  to  reveal  the  beauties  of  the  wonderful  world 
outside. 

To  the  spiritually  minded  man,  science  is  the  hand- 
maid of  religion.  After  we  have  asked  the  questions 
that  may  be  answered  by  the  science  of  today,  we  are 
face  to  face  with  the  greater,  deeper  questions  that  are 
always  being  suggested  by  nature.  What  is  this  life 
which  brings  about  these  wonderful  transformations 
all  around  us?  Shall  we  believe  that  some  chance  com- 
bination of  force  and  material  produced  the  myriad 
forms  of  life?  Or  is  our  world  the  product  of  a  Master 
Mind? 

The  spirit  of  scientific  inquiry  has  led  us  to  feel 
a  sense  of  comradeship  with  nature  which  past  genera- 
tions did  not  possess.  All  life  is  related.  The  evolu- 
tionary forces  have  brought  forth  these  forms  from  other 
forms.  Life  has  a  great  common  origin.  And  because 
of  this  the  bird  is  no  stranger  to  us,  but  a  kinsman.  That 
is  the  reason  our  hearts  respond  to  his  song.  The 
squirrel  that  plays  hide  and  seek  with  us  is  much  like 
a  boy.  The  poet  hears  the  soul  of  a  tree  speak  to  his 
soul. 

The  materialist  looks  out  sadly  on  these  June  morn- 
ings to  reflect  that  one  day  the  death  of  the  solar  system 
will  bring  this  life  to  an  end.  The  religious  man  re- 
fuses to  believe  that  everything  will  be  lost  in  the  cata- 
clysm of  worlds.  The  forms  of  things  shall  pass  away, 
but  the  spiritual  values  shall  abide. 

THE  NEED  OF  EDUCATED  MEN 

MANY  of  the  university  halls  of  Europe  are  empty. 
At  Oxford  only  a  few  old  professors  and  some 
youths  who  were  not  able  to  pass  the  physical 
examinations  are  in  evidence.  The  war  has  continued 
for  nearly  three  years  and  by  another  year  it  can  be 
said  that  the  world  has  lost  a  whole  generation  of  edu- 
cated men.  The  men  who  should  have  taken  this  train- 
ing for  future  leadership  are  either  buried  in  France  or 
may  return  from  the  war  too  poor  to  go  on  with  their 
studies.  Dr.  James  E.  Clarke  says  of  this  situation : 
"Perhaps  the  greatest  mistake  made  by  some  of  the 
nations  across  the  sea  has  been  the  failure  to  make 
provision  for  replacing  the  trained  leaders  who  have 
gone  to  the  front,  many  never  to  return.  Large  num- 
bers of  teachers  and  undergraduates  are  in  the  trenches 
or  are  lying  buried  on  the  fields  of  battle.  Thoughtful 
men  are  asking,  'What  are  we  going  to  do  for  a  trained 
leadership  in  the  future?'  " 

It  is  significant  that  General  Leonard  Wood,  in  a 
letter  to  President  Hibben  of  Princeton  University, 
recently  advised  that  all  students  continue  their  work 
until  such  time  as  their  service  might  be  needed  by 
the  government,  and  similar  advice  has  been  given  by 
Adjutant  General  W.  T.  Johnson. 

There  are  in  the  country  350,000  students  in  high 
schools  or  in  more  advanced  schools.  This  is  but  a 
small  percentage  of  the  total  force  available  to  the 
country  and  it  is  believed  that  these  men  should  con- 
tinue their  work  and  make  ready  to  lead  in  the  recon- 
struction in  the  country  after  the  war,  unless  the  gov- 
ernment specifically  asks  for  their  services. 

When  the  war  is  over,  there  will  be  important 
changes  to  be  made  in  every  line  of  industry.  Profes- 
sional men  will  be  needed  more  than  ever.  Especially 
will  the  church  need  men  of  the  very  best  training  to 
cope  with  the  thought  problems  of  religion.  We  should 
not  close  our  colleges  and  universities. 


TRADING  IN  ORTHODOXY 

JOHN  WESLEY  reacted  against  the  doctrinal 
preaching  of  his  time.  rl  he  churches  were  ortho- 
dox and  cold  and  dead.  He  came  to  bring  them 
the  breath  of  new  life  and  interest.  He  states  that 
of  the  four  underlying  elements  of  his  preaching 
that  "orthodoxy,  or  right  opinions,  is  at  best  but  a  very 
slender  part  of  religion,  if  it  can  be  allowed  to  be  any 
part  of  it  at  all."  On  another  occasion  he  wrote  :  "I  am 
sick  of  opinions;  I  am  weary  to  bear  them;  my  soul 
loathes  this  frothy  food.  Give  me  solid,  substantial 
religion.  Give  me  an  humb1e,  gentle  lover  of  God  and 
Man.  Whosoever  thus  doeth  the  will  of  my  bather  in 
heaven,  the  same  is  brother  and  sister  and  mother." 

We  all  know,  of  course,  that  Wesley  was  no  lati- 
tudinarian.  So  far  as  he  held  religious  opinions,  they 
were  doubtless  in  accord  with  the  creed  of  the  Episco- 
pal church  of  which  he  was  a  member  until  his  death. 

Wesley  despised  the  sort  of  religious  profession 
which  made  its  opinions  do  duty  for  the  religious  life. 
It  is  said  that  in  Germany  the  theological  professors 
do  not  attend  church.  They  are  interested  in  religion 
in  an  intellectual  way,  but  being  a  theological  professor 
is  not  the  same  as  being  a  Christian.  There  is  no  lack 
of  those  today  who  shout  their  orthodoxy  loudly  but 
who  would  burn  their  enemies  at  the  stake.  For  these 
there  is  the  word  of  our  Lord,  "Why  call  ye  me,  Lord. 
Lord,  and  do  not  the  things  that  I  say?" 

There  was  a  meaner  thing  in  Wesley's  day — the 
profession  of  right  religious  opinion  for  worldly  ad- 
vantage. Then,  as  now,  there  were  many  positions 
open  only  to  men  who  were  famed  for  their  "sound- 
ness." This  condition  brought  forward  some  who 
traded  upon  their  orthodoxy  and  held  places  of  power 
through  subserviency.  By  all  means  let  us  have  right 
opinion,  but  there  are  better  things  to  covet.  The  soul 
of  religion  is  love. 

SINCE  "THE  REIGN  OF  LAW" 

IT  was  about  seventeen  ye?rs  ago  that  everyone  was 
discussing  a  new  novel  by  James  Lane  Allen,  "The 
Reign  of  Law."  The  title  indicated  the  predilection 
of  the  author.  He  was  a  convert  to  the  theory  of  evo- 
lution which  was  at  that  time  a  new  thing  to  some 
people,  especially  in  religious  circles,  and  was  causing 
no  end  of  discussion.  Disciples  were  especially  shocked 
by  the  appearance  of  a  story  in  which  the  novelist  set 
forth  with  some  overstatement  the  legalism  and  anti- 
scientific  bias  of  certain  professors  of  his  school,  which 
we  Disciples  knew  to  be  Transylvania  University. 

Some  kind  person  ought  to  send  James  Lane  Allen 
the  recent  recommendations  of  Transylvania  appearing 
from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  Ben  F.  Battenfield  in  the  Chris- 
tian Standard.  Mr.  Battenfield  can  convince  the  novel- 
ist that  some  things  have  happened  in  Lexington  since 
"The  Reign  of  Law"  was  written.  It  has  not  come 
out  at  all  like  the  story,  for  the  school  has  really  changed 
to  a  modern  basis,  if  one  may  read  between  the  lines 
of  Mr.  Battenfield's  story.  While  this  gentleman  has 
doubtless  given  Transylvania  credit  for  more  advanced 
positions  than  it  really  holds,  the  progress  is  there  and 
no  mistake. 

While  Transylvania  has  been  changing,  we  hope 
James  Lane  Allen  has  also  changed.  The  world  has 
moved  on  and  up  from  the  materialistic  naturalism 
which  he  exalted  in  his  book  of  nearly  twenty  years 
ago.  It  is  out  of  the  fashion  now  to  try  to  account  for 
our  universe  by  the  theory  of  a  fortuitous  concourse  of 


8 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  21,  1917 


atoms.  We  are  less  interested  in  getting  the  right 
classification  of  the  crayfish  and  have  gone  on  now  to 
the  study  of  the  human  soul. 

Gladstone  was  a  conservative  in  his  youth  but 
became  a  liberal  after  he  had  lived  awhile.  The  man 
who  observes,  and  who  has  years  enough,  is  sure  to 
see  the  evidence  of  progress  in  our  wonderful  world. 
Both  the  critic  and  the  criticised  of  twenty  years  ago 
are  now  behind  the  times  unless  they  have  grown  with 
these  years. 

THE  CURSE  OF  OPINIONISM 

THE  divided  state  of  Christendom  was  often  a  sub- 
ject   for    discussion    by    the    Campbells.      As    they 

looked  on  American  Christianity  and  saw  its  di- 
visions and  its  heart-burnings,  their  souls  were  deeply 
moved  to  discover  the  cause  and  the  cure  of  this  dis- 
order and  scandal.  The  formula  which  they  applied 
to  this  divided  religious  world  was  that  of  opinionism. 

They  insisted  that  people  were  not  divided  in  their 
faith,  but  found  the  basis  of  their  divisions  in  opinions. 
They  set  up  some  definite  test  of  faith  which  was  a 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Other  things  in  Christian  doc- 
trine were  in  the  field  of  opinion. 

It  was  not  the  idea  of  the  Campbells  that  we  should 
cease  to  have  opinions.  We  were  to  cease  to  make 
opinions  tests  of  fellowship.  Christian  union  was  to 
be  achieved,  not  by  the  poverty  of  thought,  but  by  the 
breadth  of  our  toleration. 


Modern  Disciples  in  some  instances  have  under- 
taken to  go  back  to  the  weak  and  beggarly  elements  of 
a  sectarian  position,  making  opinionism  a  test  of  fel- 
lowship. When  some  one  who  has  been  baptized  in 
the  new  testament  way  entertains  opinions  about  the 
practice  of  a  more  open  fellowship  with  those  baptized 
in  some  other  form,  it  is  urged  that  such  a  man  should 
not  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  movement.  This  would 
be  to  exalt  a  dogma  about  immersion  into  a  credal 
barrier  and   drag  the   Disciples  back  into  opinionism. 

The  significant  heresy  is  now  abroad  that  while  we 
may  well  be  satisfied  with  a  statement  of  loyal  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ  as  a  test  of  church  membership,  but 
for  the  public  teacher  we  need  more.  The  Presbyterians 
admit  people  to  their  churches  on  a  confession  of  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ.  They  ordain  ministers  on  a  satisfac- 
tory examination  in  the  Westminister  creed.  Some  of 
our  watch-dogs  of  orthodoxy  seek  zealously  for  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  Westminister  creed  which  we  may  agree 
to  apply  to  religious  teachers. 

The  old  proverb  warns,  "Eternal  vigilance  is  the 
price  of  liberty."  Disciple  liberty  must  be  guarded 
day  by  day. 

-1IIMUHIIMtl»lllltlll.ilUMMI)IUI4IIIIMllllllllllMniiniillMIIMMinUlJIIIUinUllllUMIHMlllinillHIMllUIHMIHUini4l1MtltllMlininilllM»l1IIULMLMMIUIICItll(l»linnilltntlHIMnU 

Faith  | 

KNOWING  that  God  is  and  reigns 
Over  all ;  that  He  sustains  | 

Our  small  lives — which  may  be  great, 
Lifted  to  His  high  estate. — Thomas  C.  Clark. 

aillHIHIHMIIIIimiimUlimMIIIHMIIIHIIIIIHimiUIIIMIIIllilMimilllUUIllMHU^ 


Why  I  Am  a  Disciple 

Eleventh  Article— The  Paramount  Reason 


A  NON-SECTARIAN  REASON 

I  COME  now  to  the  paramount  and  decisive  reason  for 
being  a  Disciple.  In  the  previous  articles  I  have  been 
setting  forth  points  of  agreement  between  myself  and 
the  Disciples — certain  features  in  their  mode  of  thinking 
and  practice  which  seem  to  me  to  be  admirable  and  which 
make  my  fellowship  with  them  particularly  congenial. 
Strictly  speaking,  I  should  not  have  called  those  points  of 
agreement  reasons  at  all,  for  they  are  not  decisive.  I  could 
find  an  equal  number  of  points  of  agreement  between  my- 
self and  certain  other  Christian  communions — the  Presby- 
terian, Congregationalist,  Episcopalian  and  perhaps  others. 
The  Disciples  do  not  exhaust  the  catalogue  of  ecclesiastical 
virtues.  If  I  were  to  stop  at  the  point  we  have  now  reached 
in  our  discussion  and  confess  that  I  am  unable  to  find  any 
other  reason  for  being  a  Disciple  beyond  the  nine  or  ten  I 
have  set  down,  I  should  have  to  admit,  practically,  that  it 
made  no  vital  difference  what  "church"  one  belonged  to. 
I  should  have  to  say  that  among  the  features  already  de- 
scribed there  was  not  one  that  was  decisively  vital,  or  that 
could  not  at  least  be  counterbalanced  by  an  equally  vital 
feature  possessed  by  some  other  Christian  communion.  To 
put  the  matter  in  the  concrete :  I  could  bring  forth  ten  rea- 
sons for  being  a  Presbyterian  which  would  be,  point  for 
point,  and  in  toto,  as  weighty  and  decisive  as  the  ten  rea- 
sons I  have  already  given  for  being  a  Disciple. 

My  purpose  in  saying  this  is  to  free  myself  and  my 
readers  from  the  provincialism  with  which  most  of  our 
discussions  of  the  question  as  to  one's  denominational 
preferences  are  burdened.  Standing  within  your  own  lit- 
tle sect  it  is  easy  to  catalogue  and  magnify  its  virtues  and 


difficult  to  see  the  virtues  in  other  sects.  I  frankly  confess 
that  I  have  definitely  abandoned  that  sectarian  and  pro- 
vincial point  of  view.  I  have  studied  the  various  com- 
munions of  our  Protestant  Christianity  with  sufficient  care 
and  sympathy  to  be  convinced  that  when  we  consider  their 
doctrinal  peculiarities  and  their  ecclesiastical  practices 
there  is  not  one  that  can  make  good  its  claim  to  be  superior 
to  all  the  rest.  What  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  said  of  indi- 
viduals applies  equally  to  our  Christian  communions: 

"There   is  so  much  of  bad  in  the  best  of  us, 
And  so  much  good  in  the  worst  of  us, 
That  it  ill  becomes  any  of  us 
To  say  much  about  the  rest  of  us." 

*      *      * 

For  example,  let  us  take  the  question  of  baptism  by 
immersion,  which  I  have  given  as  one  of  my  minor  reasons 
for  being  a  Disciple.  This,  of  course,  could  not  be  a  de- 
cisive reason  with  me  because  the  Baptists  also  practice 
immersion  and  were  practicing  it  long  before  the  Disciples' 
movement  originated.  The  point  about  immersion,  there- 
fore, would  seem  to  decide  one  to  be  a  Baptist  rather  than 
a  Disciple.  While  I  regard  the  practice  of  immersion  as- 
important,  I  do  not  hold  it  as  at  all  comparable  in  impor- 
tance to  certain  features  in  which  certain  other  com- 
munions seem  to  excel  us  Disciples.  Presbyterian  excel- 
lence in  Christian  missions  is  an  infinitely  greater  virtue 
than  the  practice  of  baptism  by  immersion.  The  service 
Congregationalism  is  rendering  the  world  through  its  edu- 
cational ideal  is  more  important  to  the  Kingdom  of  God 
than  legal  correctness  in  the  mode  of  baptism.  The  con- 
scious organic  interdependence  of  all  Presbyterian  churches 


June  21,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


with  one  another,  as  contrasted  with  the  selfish  and  costly 
independency  of  our  Disciples'  churches,  is  a  virtue  which, 
to  say  the  least,  is  as  important  as  any  point  of  technical 
regularity  in  the  practice  or  organization  of  the  local 
church.  The  strength  of  purpose  with  which  Episcopalian- 
ism  has  so  far  resisted  the  corrupting  influences  of  modern 
revivalism  discloses  to  me  a  quality  of  character  which  I 
hold  to  be  quite  as  important  as  any  of  the  minor  reasons  / 
which  I  have  set  down  for  being  a  Disciple. 

I  am  selecting  at  random  these  instances  for  compari- 
son. I  am  weary  and  impatient  of  denominational  dis- 
putations, and  I  believe  God  is  weary  of  them  and 
disappointed  that  his  church  keeps  them  going  so  long  and 
so  bitterly.  If  in  this  series  of  articles  I  have  been  inter- 
preted by  any  reader  as  confirming  him  in  the  bigoted 
notion  that  "we  Disciples  are  right  and  others  wrong,"  I 
wish  before  we  go  further  to  prick  and  dispel  such  a  mis- 
conception of  my  own  view.  I  believe  that  we  Disciples 
are  right,  but  not  in  any  sense  that  implies  that  others  are 
just  "wrong."  I  believe  that  we  Disciples  are  right  in 
respect  to  the  ten  considerations  which  I  have  up  to  this 
point  discussed,  and  with  respect  to  these  ten  particular 
considerations  I  believe  that  those  who  differ  from  us  are 
wrong.  But  I  do  not  hold  that  these  ten  considerations  in 
which  we  Disciples  are  right  exhaust  the  catalogue  of 
ecclesiastical  or  Christian  virtues.  On  the  contrary,  as  I 
have  just  indicated,  I  believe  I  could  find  ten  weaknesses 
in  our  Disciples'  church  life  for  which  I  could  find  ten 
corresponding  strong  points  among  our  Christian  neighbors 
of  the  various  denominations.  I  cannot  find  any  place  for 
denominational  self-righteousness  in  the  modern  church. 


*     * 


C 


Is  there  left,  then,  any  ground  on  which  to  base  a  really 
decisive  preference  for  the  Disciples?  I  think  there  is. 
And  it  is  a  ground  far  removed  from  denominational  dis- 
putes over  doctrines  and  polities  and  rituals.  Upon  that 
ground  I  take  my  stand.  If  I  am  mistaken  as  to  its  valid- 
ity I  am  mistaken  also  as  to  the  Disciples,  and  I  will  have 
to  confess  that  for  me  there  is  left  no  sufficiently  decisive 
reason  for  attaching  myself  to  them  in  preference  to  many 
other  Christian  communions  which  I  could  name.  Let  me 
state  the  ground  here  in  most  general  terms,  and  in  several 
articles  following  this  let  us  consider  it  in  its  concrete 
features  with  some  degree  of  thoroughness. 

/  am  a  Disciple,  first  and  last,  because  the  Discpies  de- 
sire and  have  undertaken  to  render  a  specific  service  to  the 
Christian  world,  a  service  which,  to  my  mind,  is  the  most 
important  the  Christian  ivorld  of  our  day  stands  in  need  of. 


Before  going  on  to  concrete  particulars  I  wish  the 
reader  to  consider  with  me  what  is  involved  in  this  general 
statement.  It  should  be  noted  at  the  outset  that  the  reason 
I  give  for  being  a  Disciple  is  a  practical,  not  a  doctrinal, 
reason.  I  conceive  it  in  terms  of  a  service  they  wish  to 
render  to  the  church  in  general.  This  removes  the  whole 
matter  from  the  realm  of  pharisaism  or  sectarian  bigotry. 
I  do  not  need  to  claim  for  the  Disciples  a  superiority  in 
Christian  virtues  or  in  Biblical  doctrines  or  in  churchly 
practice,  in  order  to  fortify  my  deliberate  preference  for 
their  fellowship  over  that  of  any  other  Christian  group. 
They  might  be  demonstrably  inferior  in  any  of  those  re- 
spects (though,  of  course,  I  do  not  make  any  such  admis- 
sion) and  still  justly  claim  my  loyalty.  If  the  Disciples' 
movement  bases  its  claim  to  the  loyalty  of  Christian  men, 
not  upon  the  superiority  of  its  doctrines  or  ordinances,  but 


on  service,  it  thereby  lifts  itself  above  the  field  of  denom- 
inational rivalry  and  frees  its  membership  from  the  odiottt 
position  in  which  pharisaical  claims  always  put  those  who 
make  them.     There  can  be  neither  sectarian  competition 

nor  pharisaism  in  service. 

But  mere  service  is  not  decisive.  I  cannot  fully  justify 
my  fellowship  with  the  Disciples  unless  I  feel  that  the 
specific  service  they  are  rendering  is  more  important  than 
the  service  being  rendered  by  any  other  Christian  group. 
So  I  say  that  I  regard  the  thing  the  Disciples  are  working 
at  as  the  most  important  task  now  before  the  Christian 
world.  When  I  say  this  I  am  laying  stress  on  the  word 
"now"  as  well  as  the  word  "important."  The  task  the  Dis- 
ciples are  working  at  is,  as  I  see  it,  a  timely  task ;  it  gets  its 
unique  importance  from  the  actual  conditions  in  the 
Christendom  of  our  day. 

And  when  I  say  that  the  Disciples  desire  to  render 
this  specific  service  and  have  undertaken  to  render  it,  I 
am  speaking  in  terms  of  their  minimum  right  to  command 
my  loyalty.  I  do  not  say  that,  in  order  to  command  my 
loyalty,  they  must  have  succeeded  in  performing  the  serv- 
ice which  they  have  set  themselves  to  render.  For  it  is 
conceivable  that  conditions  were  not  ripe  for  their  efforts : 
or  that  they  have  followed  unwise  leadership  which  has 
deflected  them  into  hopeless  by-paths.  It  is  even  conceiv- 
able that  certain  other  considerations  have  come  so  to  oc- 
cupy their  mind  that  their  desire  to  render  to  the  church 
the  specific  service  for  which  they  came  into  existence  has 
been  blurred  and  obscured  and  lies  now  dormant  in  their 
heart  and  in  their  tradition.  But  even  if  this  were  true  it 
might  still  follow  that  I  ought  to  give  their  movement  my 
loyalty,  in  the  faith  that  the  root  of  their  original  passion 
is  still  in  them  and  that  they  would  yet  break  the  crust 
that  has  been  formed  over  their  earlier  impulses  and  set  to 
work  afresh  at  the  great  task.  If  they  have  failed  to  make 
good  at  their  task  it  may  be  my  duty  as  one  sympathetic 
with  their  primary  vision  to  take  my  place  within  their 
ranks  and  use  all  my  efforts  to  reinterpret  to  them  their 
history  and  to  awaken  their  dormant  purpose  to  realize 
their  noble  though  forgotten  aim. 

I  hope  that  no  reader  wiH  misunderstand  me.  These 
last  words  are  hypothetical,  not  descriptive.  I  am  not 
intending  to  suggest  that  the  Disciples  have  failed  to  ren- 
der their  distinctive  service  to  the  church,  or  have  alto- 
gether forgotten  their  mission.  We  shall  have  occasion  in 
a  later  article  to  inquire  as  to  the  degree  of  their  success. 
I  only  wish  to  state  in  minimum  terms  the  elements  which 
the  Disciples  must  possess  in  order  to  awaken  in  my  heart 
a  decision  to  give  them  my  loyalty.  Whatever  degree  of 
success  they  may  have  achieved  does  but  add  that  much 
strength  to  the  appeal  they  make  for  my  allegiance. 


The  specific  service  which  the  Disciples  of  Christ  de- 
sire and  have  undertaken  to  render  the  church  is  a  service 
in  behalf  of  Christian  unity.  I  deem  the  problem  that 
inheres  in  the  denominationally  divided  church  the  most 
serious  and  urgent  problem  that  organized  Christianity  to- 
day confronts.  I  hold  that  a  united  church  is  essential  to 
the  doing  of  the  work  in  the  world  which  Christ  intended 
his  church  to  accomplish.  And  I  hold  that  the  Disciples  of 
Christ  have  it  in  their  power,  following  the  lead  of  their 
historical  ideals  and  principles,  to  make  the  most  signal 
contribution  toward  Christian  unity  of  any  single  force  in 
Christendom. 

That  is  why  I  am  a  Disciple. 

Charles  Clayton  Morrison. 


"Entering  Into  Fellowship  With 

Suffering" 

By  John  R.  Mott 


AT  the  end  of  this  awful  struggle 
will  come  the  opportunity  of 
all  the  ages  that  America  shall 
live,  for  exerting  world-wide  influence 
in  the  way  of  leading  in  great  con- 
structive and  reconstructive  tasks. 
Surely  the  church  is  summoned  to 
prepare  with  great  earnestness  and 
thoroughness. 

I  despair  of  our  taking  the  place  of 
leadership  in  the  works  of  reconstruc- 
tion unless  we  enter  into  fellowship 
with  the  sufferings  of  today.  That 
phrase,  "enter  in,"  means  something 
besides  being  passive.  It  certainly 
does  not  mean  what  a  woman  said  in 
my  hearing  today.  She  said :  "I  do 
not  allow  myself  to  read  these  horrors 
any  more  about  the  war.  I  cannot 
stand  it.  I  cut  those  things  out  of  my 
reading." 

I  said  to  myself :  "Imagine  Jesus 
Christ  saying  that !  Imagine  Jesus 
Christ  saying,  T  will  shut  my  eyes,  I 
will  shut  my  ears,  I  will  not  let  my 
heart  be  responsive  to  the  indescrib- 
able sufferings  of  my  people.' ' 

HOSPITAL  SCENES 

"Enter  into  fellowship."  I  saw 
these  sufferings,  I  think,  on  my  last 
journey,  as  I  have  never  seen  them 
before.  Did  I  say  "saw"?  I  see  them. 
It  was  just  a  little  over  two  weeks  ago 
that  I  was  awakened  out  of  a  sound 
sleep  one  night  as  subconsciousness 
brought  vividly  forward  the  impres- 
sions borne  in  upon  me  as  I  mingled 
with  those  suffering  peoples.  I  would 
remind  you  that  while  most  of  us  are 
in  great  comfort  and  quiet,  not  less 
than  five  millions  of  men  and  boys  lie 
stretched  on  beds  of  pain  in  the  mili- 
tary and  naval  hospitals  of  Europe. 

The  other  day  I  received  a  postcard 
from  Bohemia,  and  on  that  postcard  in 
miniature,  as  you  can  imagine,  I  saw 
the  representation  photographically  of 
352  hospital  wards,  one  story  high, 
each  having  in  it  fifty  beds ;  and 
around  the  edge  of  the  other  side  of 
the  postcard  my  friend  wrote  that  all 
of  those  beds  are  now  filled  with 
wounded  men ;  that  is,  over  fifteen 
thousand  wounded  men.  As  I  held 
that  card  before  me,  my  hand  trem- 
bled, and  I  said :  "That  probably  rep- 
resents the  greatest  concentration  of 
pulsating,  vibrating  human  pain  to  be 
found  anywhere  on  this  earth." 

CAR-LOADS   OF   HUMAN    SUFFERING 

Last  July — it  seems  as  though  it 
were  yesterday — I  was  in  Moscow,  the 
city  to  which  I  retire  whenever  I  can 


when  in  Europe.  There  I  found  in 
one  city  over  twelve  hundred  military 
hospitals,  all  filled  with  the  wounded, 
some  of  them  so  crowded  that  they 
had  taken  the  beds  out  in  the  court- 
yards and  back  yards.  I  went  out 
about  dusk  to  visit  a  great  receiving 
hospital  near  the  edge  of  the  city.  I 
do  not  wonder  that  they  placed  it 
there.  During  the  four  months  pre- 
ceding my  visit  they  had  received  in 
that  hospital  and  passed  out  from  it 
over  four  hundred  thousand  shattered 
Russian  bodies.  About  dusk  when  I 
was  there  I  saw  the  twenty-sixth  train 
that  had  come  in  that  day,  averaging, 
as  the  twenty-sixth  did,  twenty  cars 
each,  and  every  car  had  been  filled 
with  Russian  wounded. 

HORRORS    OF    MODERN    WARFARE 

If  you  had  stood  by  my  side  and 
seen  the  old  men  and  young  women 
and  little  children  trying  to  handle 
with  such  tenderness  these  maimed, 
shattered  bodies,  there  would  have 
been  borne  into  your  minds  a  new 
connotation  of  the  phrase,  "Enter  into 
fellowship  with  suffering." 

I  was  visiting  a  hospital  in  Ger- 
many one  day  and  I  said  to  the  Jewish 
surgeon  who  was  taking  me  about, 
"Will  you  kindly  explain  to  me  the 
effect  of  modern  instruments  of  de- 
struction?" He  hesitated.  "Yes, 
yes,"  he  said,  "if  you  wish,  I  will."  I 
did  not  realize  what  I  was  asking. 
Then  we  went  about  those  never-end- 
ing wards.  He  explained  the  effect 
of  shrapnel,  of  the  high-explosive 
shells,  of  the  three-corner  bayonet,  of 
the  sword-bayonet,  of  the  lance,  of 
concussion  from  shellfire.  He  showed 
me  the  victims  of  tetanus,  of  gas- 
gangrene  and  liquid  fire,  and  I  confess 
I  sank  by  his  feet. 

HEART-BREAKS   IN   THE   HOMES 

But  there  was  another  suffering.  A 
friend  over  there  told  me  of  an  officer 
who  had  cut  down,  with  his  sword, 
another  officer  of  the  enemy  side,  and 
while  the  so-called  officer  was  sinking 
in  his  life-blood,  he  gasped,  as  his  last 
words,  "What  will  my  wife  and  chil- 
dren do  now?"  My  friend  said  he 
had  visited  the  prison  where  this  offi- 
cer, who  was  captured,  is  now  impris- 
oned, and  the  keeper  said  the  only 
sentence  that  captured  officer  is  ever 
heard  to  say,  as  he  walks  up  and  down 
that  creaking  floor,  is :  "He  said, 
'What  will  my  wife  and  children  do 
now?'" 

There    was   another   pain   that   got 


into  my  consciousness  more  than 
this.  I  refer  to  that  dull  pain,  that 
unceasing  pain  ever  present  in  the 
consciousness,  and  therefore  leading 
to  considerable  manifestations  in  the 
sub-consciousness  of  mothers,  wives, 
sisters,  little  children. 

How  superficial  I  was  in  my  first 
journey  in  Europe  after  the  war  be- 
gan. I  came  to  see  on  this  last  jour- 
ney that  it  is  the  little  children  that 
suffer  most  because  they  cannot 
answer  questions.  I  see  that  mother 
right  now  on  the  front  porch  with  a 
little  cluster  of  children  around  her 
watching  for  a  father,  as  these  chil- 
dren are  doing,  to  come  through  that 
gate.  I  see  that  other  mother  with 
two  little  children  going  down  to  that 
village  post,  day  after  day,  for  a  letter 
that  will  not  arrive. 

AMERICA    MUST    ENTER    IN 

A  friend  of  mine  at  Berne,  Switzer- 
land, told  me  of  this  authentic  scene — 
and  we  can  well  believe  it.  You  cannot 
look  out  of  a  railroad  carriage  win- 
dow in  any  of  those  countries  now 
without  seeing  them.  Sometimes  I 
steeled  myself  not  to  look  out  of  the 
windows.  This  young  wife  came  down 
to  the  troop  train  to  say  good-bye  to 
her  husband.  She  kept  up  her  courage. 
She  tried  to  cheer  him,  as  I  have  seen 
them  so  many  times  do.  Then  that 
long  train  wound  its  way  slowly  out 
of  the  station,  and  she  fell  dead  on  the 
platform. 

Believe  me,  it  is  a  suffering  Europe, 
and  if  America  is  going  to  pay  the 
price  that  has  got  to  be  paid,  it  is  well 
that  we  realize  it  intimately  and  that 
we  enter  in,  not  be  passive;  that  we 
take  an  issue  and  identify  ourselves 
with  this  suffering. 

We  think  we  have  heard  something 
about  Serbia.  What  a  warm  place 
that  people  have  in  my  heart,  and  yet 
I  think  tonight  they  are  all  driven  out ! 
How  little  we  heard  of  Roumania, 
with  as  many  people  as  Belgium,  prac- 
tically all  driven  out !  We  have  heard 
something  about  Armenia,  with  one 
hundred  thousand  massacred  and  nine 
hundred  thousand  exiled,  a  fate  worse 
than  massacre.  We  have  heard  of 
fifty  thousand  young  women  that  had 
to  choose  between  slavery  and  shame 
on  the  one  hand,  or  apostasy  on  the 
other,  an  impossible  choice. 

POOR   POLAND 

We  have  heard  that  all  the  way 
from  the  Sea  of  Marmora  to  the  heart 
of  Prussia  there  is  indescribable  suf- 


June  21,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


11 


fering  and  shame.  How  little  we  have 
heard  about  Poland,  that  great  zone 
that  has  been  fought  over  three  times, 
and  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  fought  over 
a  fourth  and  possibly  a  fifth  time,  de- 
pending on  the  seriousness  of  Amer- 
ica and  depending  on  what  is  done  for 
Russia  in  these  coming  months. 

I  suppose  I  am  accurate  if  I  say 
there  are  very  few  children  under  six 
years  of  age  living  in  that  great 
region.  If  you  could  have  gone  with 
me  into  the  heart  of  Russia,  hundreds 
of  miles  from  this  zone  of  devasta- 
tion, into  those  concentration  camps, 
and  have  seen,  as  I  did,  the  fragments 
of  families,  the  tragedy  of  it  all  would 
have  been  borne  into  your  soul  and 
you  would  have  been  ready  to  enter 
in  and  stay  in. 

May  there  come  upon  the  ministry 
of  the  United  States  a  sense  of  mis- 
sion for  leading  the  people  in  the  fel- 
lowship that  suffers.  This  will  be  the 
most  terrible  year  the  world  has  ever 
known.  If  you  and  I  live  to  be  very 
old  people,  God  grant  that  we  will 
never  know  anything  like  this  is  going 
to  be. 

WAR   FIGURES 

Think  of  the  tens  of  millions  under 
arms- — did  I  say  tens  of  millions?  We 
could  go  through  those  nations  and 
before  we  had  finished  you  would 
agree  with  me  that  the  number  of  men 
and  boys  under  arms  today  is  not  less, 
but  rather  more  than   forty  millions. 


When  you  remember — and  1  am  pre 
pared  to  answer  questions  if  anyone 
doubts  that — that  in  no  previous  war 
have  more  than  two  million  men  been 
lined  up  against  each  other  in  actual 
warfare,  and  that  here  are  twenty 
times  that  number,  you  see  the  dimen- 
sions of  this  great  field  on  which  I 
now  rivet  your  gaze.  Who  are  these 
forty  millions  of  men?  They  are  the 
flower  of  the  manhood  and  boyhood 
of  the  strongest  nations  of  Europe  and 
Northern  Africa  and  Southern  Asia 
and  Australia  and  Canada,  and  now 
our  own  strain  will  be  blended. 

Back  of  these  unbroken  lines,  what 
prices  they  pay  to  keep  them  un- 
broken !  Back  of  these  lines  in  thou- 
sands of  reserve  camps,  so  many  of 
which  we  visited,  we  see  men  getting 
ready  for  their  first  battle  or  resting 
from  their  twentieth  or  thirtieth  strug- 
gle, and  way  back  in  the  city  parks 
and  peaceful  country  retreats  yet 
more  millions  are  being  trained  to  be 
passed  up  to  the  reserves,  then  into 
the  trenches  and  then  into  the  jaws  of 
death. 

HOMES  OF  HIGH  AND  LOW  STRICKEN 

You  and  I  are  never  to  live  to  see 
days  like  these.  In  Europe  I  was 
never  in  a  home  that  was  not  a  house 
of  tears.  I  am  speaking  carefully.  I 
spent  most  of  my  time  in  the  homes.  I 
did  not  visit  a  home  across  which 
death  had  not  cast  its  shadow  as  a  re- 
sult of  this  war  at  least  once,  some- 


time* many  times.  I  think  jn-.t  now  of 
one  home,  f  was  not  inside  the  door 
ten  minutes  before  the  host  sai' 
me:  "Twenty-six  members  of  my 
immediate  family  and  relatives  have 
already  been  wounded,  and  nine 
killed."  That  was  the  first  home  f 
ited  on  the  journey  in  Europe,  and 
the  last  home  I  visited  was  the  home 
of  that  splendid  Scotchman,  J^ord 
Balfour — not  the  great  lord  who  re- 
cently visited  us,  but  another  great 
Christian  like  him — who  had  found 
just  that  week  that  his  son  had  been 
killed  by  the  Germans  nine  weeks  be- 
fore. The  morning  I  was  having 
breakfast  with  him  he  received  a  let- 
ter of  condolence  from  Arthur  Bal- 
four, the  great  statesman.  He  started 
to  read  it  aloud  to  me  and  got  about 
half  way  through,  and  he  said,  "Finish 
it  for  me."  Thus  it  was,  going  from 
one  house  of  tears  to  another  house  of 
tears. 

I  see  those  unending  graves,  five 
millions  laid  away  in  them.  I  see 
those  peasant  women,  with  their  bas- 
kets filled  with  flowers,  strewing  them 
over  these  graves.  Then  I  think  of 
our  own  country.  Some  of  us  had 
prayed  and  hoped — I  suppose  all  of 
us  had  prayed — that  it  might  not  have 
to  come  this  way.  Wre  said,  "If  it  be 
Thy  will,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me." 
Yet  happily  our  generation  at  last  has 
been  able  to  say,  with  steady  hand, 
"Nevertheless,  not  my  will,  but  Thine 
be  done." 


Will  Alcohol  Win  the  War? 

By  Arthur  Mee 

//  England  loses  in  the  Great  War  it  will  not  be  a  victory  for  the  Kaiser,  but  for  a  deadlier  enemy, 
King  Alcohol.  The  following  article  is  another  chapter  from  the  book,  "Defeat  or  Victory,"  which  is  today 
creating  a  sensation  not  only  in  England,  but  also  in  other  English-speaking  countries.  America,  just  enter- 
ing the  Great  War,  zvould  do  well  to  profit  by  the  experiences  of  her  sister  nation  as  described  in  this  thrill- 
ing, but  somewhat  discouraging  narrative. 


WE  have  thrown  away  the  win- 
ning power  of  the  war.  Into 
that  ditch  where  our  great 
Allies  have  flung  their  powers  of 
weakness  we  have  flung  our  strength. 
In  a  ditch  in  France  lies  absinthe;  in 
a  ditch  in  Russia  lies  vodka ;  but  beer 
and  whisky  swagger  through  the 
streets  of  Britain,  and  in  the  ditch  we 
fling  the  power  of  victory. 

We  have  only  to  look,  on  the  one 
hand,  at  what  alcohol  has  done  for 
the  Allies,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  at 
what  Prohibition  has  done  for  them, 
to  realize  how  Prohibition,  for  which 
we  wait  and  wait  in  Britain,  has  held 
the  fort  for  liberty  while  we  make  up 
our  minds. 

WHAT  RUSSIA  HAS  DONE 

Consider,  first,  the  contribution  of 


Russia  to  the  cause  of  human  free- 
dom. By  one  bold  moral  stroke  she 
has  surprised  the  world.  She  has  had 
two  great  wars  in  the  lifetime  of  her 
little  children — one  with  drink  on  her 
back,  when  she  staggered  to  the  depths 
of  defeat,  and  one  with  drink  beneath 
her  feet,  when  she  rises  to  the  very 
pinnacle  of  pride. 

prohibition  Russia's  gift 

What  has  Russia  done?  She  has 
saved  Paris.  She  has  saved  her  own 
people  from  degeneration  and  decay; 
she  has  given  them  the  power  of  sav- 
ing much  more  in  a  week  without 
drink  than  they  saved  in  a  year  with 
drink.  She  has  saved  her  revenue 
from  a  foundation  of  sinking  sand  to 
set  it  on  a  rock. 

Such  unthinkable   power  has   Pro- 


hibition Russia,  such  things  has  Rus- 
sia done.  She  gave  to  the  Allies  the 
greatest  key  to  victory  that  she  could 
forge — Prohibition.  She  struck  down 
vodka  at  a  single  blow,  she  gave  her 
local  authorities  power  to  stop  the  sale 
of  every  form  of  alcohol,  and  she  is 
stronger  now  than  ever  before  because 
you  can  go  through  Russia  from  one 
end  to  another  and  see  not  a  drop  of 
alcohol. 

Such,  for  Russia,  is  the  difference 
between  controlling  alcohol  and  being 
controlled  by  it,  and  for  Europe  it  has 
meant  that  Germany  is  beaten,  for 
with  Russia  strong  Germany  has  not 
been  able  to  withdraw  her  troops  from 
the  East  and  win  her  way  to  Calais. 

But  it  is  not  in  Russia  alone  that  we 
have  seen  the  mighty  fruits  of  Prohi- 
bition in  the  war.    We  have  seen  it  in 


12 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  21,  1917 


France,  where  the  war  goes  on  un- 
ceasingly against  this  alcohol  that 
General  Joffre  has  called  "a  crime 
against  national  defense."  General 
Gallieni  fought  it  hard  in  Paris,  as 
Joffre  has  fought  it  everywhere.  The 
President  and  the  Premier  of  France 
are  its  sworn  enemies.  They  hate  this 
thing  that  lives  on  the  vices  of  their 
people  and  grows  rich  as  France 
grows  poor.  And  so  France  followed 
the  Tsar.  She  struck  down  absinthe, 
her  chief  foe :  she  stopped  the  sale  of 
spirits  to  soldiers  and  women  and 
young  people,  and  even  as  these  words 
are  written  she  takes  another  great 
step  forward  towards  total  Prohibi- 
tion, for  she  is  to  stop  the  sale  of 
spirits  everywhere.  It  will  be  worth 
more  than  a  new  army  to  France,  a 
great   French  statesman  has  said. 

FRANCE    WORKS    MIRACLES 

And  what  has  been  the  end  of  this 
resolve  of  France?  France,  too,  has 
surprised  the  world.  It  is  true  to  say 
that  each  of  the  three  great  Allies  has 
surprised  mankind,  but  it  is  true,  alas, 
to  say  that,  while  France  and  Russia 
have  surprised  us  in  their  strength,  it 
has  been  in  her  moral  weakness  that 
Britain  has  surprised  the  world. 
Never  will  history  forget  Verdun,  and 
that  spirit  of  a  new-born  France  that 
gathered  there  and  held  the  fort  when 
every  Frenchman  there  thought  it 
would  fall.  There  is  no  limit  to  the 
power  of  a  nation  that  throws  out  its 
vices. 

The  thrilling  declaration  of  M. 
Briand  against  alcohol  is  fresh  in  the 
mind  of  the  world,  and  on  the  walls  of 
every  postofhce  in  France  the  Govern- 
ment has  ordered  to  be  exhibited  an- 
other declaration,  signed  by  the  Pres- 
ident, calling  on  those  who  love 
France  to  honor  the  memory  of  their 
dead  by  fighting  alcohol.  It  is  a  great 
document,  which  one  touch  of  French 
courage  in  Downing  street  might 
translate,  word  for  word,  for  the  walls 
of  every  postoffice  in  this  country, 
too.  Here  is  part  of  this  declaration 
by  our  great  Ally,  the  conquerer  of 
Verdun : 

To    French   Women   and  to    Young 
Frenchmen 

Drink  is  as  much  your  enemy  as  Ger- 
many. 

Since  1870  it  has  cost  France  in  men 
and  money  much  more  than  the  present 
war. 

Drinkers  age  c^ickly.  They  lose  half 
their  normal  life,  and  fall  easy  victims 
to   many   infirmities  and  illnesses. 

The  seductive  drinks  of  your  parents 
reappear  in  their  offspring  as  great  her- 
editary evils.  France  owes  to  alcohol  a 
great  many  mad  men  and  women  and 
consumptives,  and  most  of  her  criminals. 

Drink  decreases  by  two-thirds  our 
national  production;  it  raises  the  cost 
of  living  and  increases  poverty. 

In  imitation  of  the  criminal  Kaiser, 
drink  decimates  and  ruins  France  to  the 
great  delight  of  Germany. 


Mothers,  young  men,  young  girls, 
wives!  Up  and  act  against  drink  in 
memory  of  those  who  have  gloriously 
died  or  suffered  wounds  for  the  Father- 
land! You  will  thus  accomplish  a  mis- 
sion as  great  as  that  of  our  heroic  sol- 
diers. „ 

PROHIBITION   WINS  FOR  ITALY 

Let  us  turn  to  Italy.  War  moves 
slowly  nowadays,  but  among  Alpine 
peaks  most  slowly  of  all.  Yet  it  is 
there  that  the  greatest  physical  feats 
of  the  war  have  been  accomplished — 
the  carrying  of  guns  up  to  these 
heights  in  face  of  enemy  fire,  the 
fortifying  of  these  mighty  peaks,  so 
high  that  men  shiver  and  freeze  by 
glaciers  in  whose  beds  their  comrades 
below  bathe  in  warm  waters.  Condi- 
tions of  war  indeed  are  these,  and 
what  is  it  that  helps  these  men  to  en- 
dure them?  It  is  Prohibition  once 
again — Prohibition  of  spirits  through- 
out the  Italian  army.  As  on  the  great 
Russian  frontiers,  as  in  Paris  and  at 
Verdun,  so  at  Gorizia  Prohibition 
brings  the  strength  that  wins. 

So  we  find  it  in  the  British  Empire, 
too ;  we  find  it  almost  everywhere 
save  in  our  Motherland.  It  was  Pro- 
hibition that  made  the  Anzacs  fit — ■ 
every  Anzac  comes  to  us  from  a  Pro- 
hibition camp.  It  was  Prohibition 
that  made  the  Canadians  fit.  From 
Prohibition  camps  in  Prohibition  ships 
they  came  to  us.  Partial  or  total 
Prohibition  of  some  kind  there  must 
be  against  this  foe  of  health  and 
strength.  Everywhere  but  in  Britain 
we  find  the  Allies  fighting  this  great 
foe,  and  here  we  fight  it  with  brave 
words  and  leave  it  free  for  its  foul 
deeds.  We  take  what  Prohibition 
sends  us ;  whether  Anzacs  from  New 
Zealand  or  shells  from  Canada  and 
the  United  States,  whether  powerful 
blows  for  liberty  in  the  East  or  soul- 
stirring  courage  at  the  gates  of  Ver- 
dun, we  take  it  and  thank  God  for  it 
- — and  we  go  on  drinking. 

VICTORY    NOT    IN   GUNS 

The  great  war  of  Europe  will  be 
slowly  lost  and  won.  The  great  con- 
centration of  material  powers  will 
wear  down  Germany  at  last ;  but  he 
has  little  vision  who  sees  the  power 
of  victory  in  guns  and  shells.  Victory 
lies  not  in  these  things ;  it  lies  in 
things  that  are  behind  them.  It  is 
the  moral  strength  of  the  Allies  that 
will  win.  It  gives  them  the  sympathy 
of  the  civilized  world ;  it  gives  them 
the  inexhaustible  man-power  of  Rus- 
sia. It  gives  them  the  dauntless  spirit 
of  Joan  of  Arc  in  France  again.  It 
gives  them  the  solid  phalanx  of  the 
British  peoples.  It  opens  up  to  them 
the  everlasting  resources  of  the  earth. 
It  is  because  the  Allies  stand  on  the 
rock  of  eternal  justice  that  they  have 
these  things. 

And  what  have  been  the  great  moral 


contributions  to  the  winning  power  of 
the  Allies?  In  all  our  allied  countries 
are  things  that  win  and  things  that 
lose,  and  we  owe  it  to  our  sense  of 
honor  to  put  down  among  us  the 
things  that  lose,  and  to  put  our  trust  in 
things  that  win.  We  owe  it  to  our- 
selves and  to  our  Allies  to  adopt  the 
plain  and  simple  policy  of  conscription 
of  all  the  elements  of  victory  and 
Prohibition  of  all  the  elements  of  de- 
feat. The  plain  truth  is  that  Britain 
has  not  yet,  after  thirty  months  of 
war,  put  away  from  her  those  forces 
in  her  midst  that  work  against  the 
Allies ;  not  for  one  hour  since  war  be- 
gan has  our  full  strength  been  thrown 
against  our  foes. 

ENGLAND   HOLDS   BACK  PRICE  OF 
VICTORY 

While  our  great  Allies  have  cast 
their  enemy  from  them,  have  gone 
into  this  arena  with  alcohol  beneath 
their  feet  or  in  their  grip,  we  move  on 
slowly  with  alcohol  on  our  backs.  But 
we  do  not  win  like  that. 

We  shall  win  the  war  when  we  pay 
the  price  of  victory.  We  shall  win 
when  we  who  stay  at  home  are  worthy 
of  the  trenches.  We  do  not  deserve  to 
win  till  then. 

Are  we  fit  for  the  solemn  powers 
that  lie  within  our  hands,  are  we 
worthy  of  the  dauntless  spirit  of  the 
British  army  and  the  British  fleet,  are 
we  honorable  men  and  an  honorable 
nation,  while  we  send  our  hospital 
ships  to  sea  and  allow  this  private 
trade  to  send  to  sea  the  stuff  that 
would  turn  our  guns  on  them?  We 
say  what  we  say  of  the  German  sub- 
marines that  sink  our  hospital  ships, 
but  what  shall  we  say  of  this  alcohol 
that  threatens  themj'  What  shall  we 
say  of  this  British  trade  whose  natural 
and  logical  end  is  to  fuddle  the  brains 
of  men  at  sea  and  double  the  perils  of 
the  submarine?  What  difference  is 
there  in  the  world  between  the  Prus- 
sian deviltry  that  sank  the  Lusitania 
and  the  drink  trade  deviltry  that 
would  sink  our  wounded  men?  The 
difference  is  that  we  execrate  and  seek 
to  exterminate  the  one,  while  we  tol- 
erate and  seek  to  palliate  the  other. 

GREAT  ENGLISHMEN   ON  DRINK 

And  the  work  of  this  trade  is  like 
that  everywhere.  The  truth  is  past 
believing  by  those  who  do  not  know 
through  long  experience.  We  talk  of 
the  horrors  of  slavery,  but  the  horrors 
of  drink  are  not  less,  and  they  are 
with  us  still.  It  is  Admiral  Jellicoe 
himself  who  has  told  us  that  drink 
muddles  the  aim  of  a  man  at  a  gun 
and  reduces  his  efficiency  by  about 
one-third.  It  is  Sir  Frederick  Treves 
who  watched  the  men  drop  out  on  the 
march  to  the  relief  of  Ladysmith,  and 
found  that  every  man  who  dropped 
out  was  a  drinker — so  that  drink  op- 


June  21,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


13 


posed  the  relief  of  Ladysmith  as  it 
opposed  the  relief  of  Belgium. 

ENGLAND   "GOES   ON   DRINKING" 

A  soldier-doctor  whose  name  will 
be  immortal,  Sir  Victor  Horsley,  went 
out  to  Mesopotamia  and  gave  his  life 
for  his  country.  He  found  a  shortage 
of  drinking  water,  but  there  were 
whisky  and  champagne  in  the  very 
few  transports  that  arrived ;  and  Sir 
Victor  Horsley  found  that  in  that  tor- 
rid climate  the  military  authorities, 
understanding  medicine  better  than 
he,  issued  rum  instead  of  food  and 
sterile  water,  with  the  result  that  they 
spread  cholera,  diarrhoea  and  dysen- 


tery. The  army,  we  must  gather  from 
this,  was  spreading  disease  and  weak- 
ness in  its  ranks.  "No  one  would 
suppose  that  a  military  medical  his- 
tory had  ever  been  written  or  pub- 
lished," Sir  Victor  Horsley  wrote  in 
one  of  his  very  last  letters,  and  he 
added  these  deliberate  words  which 
may  well  be  printed  now,  written  as 
they  were  by  the  greatest  surgeon  of 
the  human  brain  who  ever  lived  :  "Our 
gross  failures  and  stupidity  are,  in  my 
opinion,  due  to  alcohol  affecting  the 
intellectual  organs  and  clearness  of 
our  leaders.  Of  course,  they  do  not 
realize  that  alcohol  in  small  doses  acts 
as  a  brake  on  their  brains." 


There  are  wide  questions  opened 
up  by  such  facts  as  these  from  the 
fighting  fronts.  That  is  the  way  of 
drink.  Its  grip  is  everywhere.  In 
peace  it  clogs  the  wheels  of  progr* 
in  war  it  slows  down  victory.  A  lon^ 
time,  perhaps,  Germany  can  hold  out 
against  a  Britain  fighting  with  part  of 
her  strength. 

We  can  end  the  war  sooner  or  later ; 
we  can  throw  into  it  the  whole  of  our 
strength;  we  can  put  on  our  whole 
armor  against  the  destroyers  of  Bel- 
gium, the  assassins  of  Edith  Cavell 
and  the  masters  of  Ruhleben ;  or  we 
can  let  things  take  their  course,  and 
go  on  drinking. 


The  Obligation  to  Serve 

By  Woodrow  Wilson 

President  Wilson,  welcoming*  the  confederate  veterans  to  their  reunion  held  at  Washington,  D.  C,  re- 
cently, declared  the  country  was  beginning  to  see  why  the  nation  was  kept  united.  Men  of  the  United  States, 
he  said,  have  a  love  of  liberty  at  heart,  and  now  are  to  be  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  providence  for  the 
liberty  of  mankind.    The  following  is  a  portion  of  his  address: 


AS  I  came  along  the  streets  a  few 
minutes  ago  my  heart  was  full 
of  the  thought  that  this  is  reg- 
istration day.  Will  you  not  support 
me  in  the  feeling  that  there  is  some 
significance  in  this  coincidence,  that 
this  day,  when  I  came  to  welcome  you 
to  the  national  capital,  is  a  day  when 
men,  young  as  you  were  in  those  old 
days,  when  you  gathered  together  to 
fight,  are  now  registering  their  names 
as  evidence  of  this  great  idea,  that  in 
a  democracy  the  duty  to  serve  and  the 
privilege  to  serve  falls  upon  all  alike? 

SERVICE    DEEPEST    IN    NATURE 

There  is  something  fine,  my  fellow 
citizens,  in  the  spirit  of  the  volunteer, 
but  deeper  than  the  volunteer  spirit  is 
the  spirit  of  obligation.  There  is  not 
a  man  of  us  who  must  not  hold  him- 
self ready  to  be  summoned  to  the 
duty  of  supporting  the  great  govern- 
ment under  which  we  live.    No  really 


thoughtful  and  patriotic  man  is  jeal- 
ous of  that  obligation. 

No  man  who  really  understands  the 
privilege  and  the  dignity  of  being  an 
American  citizen  quarrels  for  a  mo- 
ment with  the  idea  that  the  congress 
of  the  United  States  has  the  right  to 
call  upon  whom  it  will  to  serve  the 
nation.  These  solemn  lines  of  young 
men  going  today  all  over  the  union  to 
the  places  of  registration,  ought  to  be 
a  signal  to  the  world  to  those  who 
dare  flout  the  dignity  and  honor  and 
rights  of  the  United  States,  that  all 
her  manhood  will  flock  to  that  stand- 
ard under  which  we  all  delight  to 
serve,  and  that  he  who  challenges  the 
rights  and  principles  of  the  United 
States,  challenges  the  united  strength 
and  devotion  of  a  nation. 

WAR,  THE  GREAT  CHASTENER 

There  are  not  many  things  that 
one  desires  about  war,  my  fellow  citi- 
zens, but  you  have  come  through  war, 


you  know  how  you  have  been  chast- 
ened by  it,  and  there  comes  a  time 
when  it  is  good  for  a  nation  to  know 
that  it  must  sacrifice  if  need  be  every- 
thing that  it  has  to  vindicate  the  prin- 
ciples which  it  professes. 

We  have  prospered  with  a  sort  of 
heedless  and  irresponsible  prosperity. 
Now  we  are  going  to  lay  all  our 
wealth,  if  necessary,  and  spend  all  of 
our  blood,  if  need  be,  to  show  that  we 
were  not  accumulating  the  wealth  self- 
ishly, but  were  accumulating  it  for  the 
service  of  mankind. 

Men  all  over  the  world  have  thought 
of  the  Unii.ed  States  as  a  trading  and 
money  getting  people,  whereas  we  who 
have  lived  at  home  know  the  ideals 
with  which  the  hearts  of  this  people 
have  thrilled ;  we  know  the  sober  con- 
victions which  have  lain  at  the  basis  of 
our  life  all  the  time  and  we  know  the 
power  and  devotion  which  can  be 
spent  in  heroism  for  the  service  of 
those  ideals  that  we  have  treasured. 


ftfllllllltt11MI1ltlMlllMtllfl)1lll1ll1IIIHiniUHf1l1lt1flMII1UllltlMliriltltlMMIII t  Hill  t  N1 II I MIIIMI II  tlllllir  lr Illl  II  t  IMIlrtl  tllllll  tlf  11)1  IITIUItintHHIHIIIIUIllllMliniMllllll  111  tltllrttllll  t  llllllMMIt 11)1  Ml  JIIII1  Ml  tltlllltUIIIII IMMMMM IMK  MIMMM MMMIMMMMIMMIMMMIMMIMIMMIMMMIMMMItniftMMMMMMMiriMlM  l» 


What  Is  America? 


AMERICA  is  not  the  name  of  so  much  territory.    It  is  a  living  spirit,  born  in  travail,  grown  in  the  rough 
school  of  bitter  experiences,  a  living  spirit  which  has  purpose  and  pride  and  conscience — knows  why  it 
wishes  to  live  and  to  what  end,  knows  hozv  it  comes  to  be  respected  of  the  zvorld,  and  hopes  to  retain 
that  respect  by  living  on  with  the  light  of  Lincoln's  love  of  man  as  its  old  and  new  testament. 

It  is  more  precious  that  this  America  should  live  than  that  we  Americans  should  live.  The  world  of 
Christ — a  neglected  but  not  a  rejected  Christ — has  come  again  face  to  face  zvith  the  world  of  Mahomet, 
ivho  willed  to  win  by  force. 

With  this  background  of  history  and  in  this  sense,  then,  we  tight  Germany.  .  .  .  We  fight  zvith  the  world 
for  an  honest  world,  in  which  nations  keep  their  zvord,  for  a  zvorld  in  which  nations  do  not  live  by  szvagger 
or  by  threat,  for  a  world  in  which  men  think  of  the  ways  in  which  they  can  conquer  the  common  cruelties 
of  nature  instead  of  inventing  more  horrible  cruelties  to  infiict  upon  the  spirit  and  body  of  man,  for  a  zvorld 
in  which  the  ambition  of  the  philosophy  of  a  few  shall  not  make  miserable  all  mankind  for  a  zvorld  in  which 
the  man  is  held  more  precious  than  the  machine,  the  system  or  the  state. 

'Jv. ,  u  .      '    |  From  an  address  by  Secretary  Lane  of  the  Interior  Department. 


Miiiiiiiiiiiiili><iiiiil>tiiiiiMiiiiniiillliiiitiiiiiimiiliitiiiiiiiiiiiilitiiiniiHilMtllliiilii>limiltllllilitill>liiMinnililiii mum iuiiHiMiirKiiiiuiuilliiliHiiniiiuiiiiutitill»HiniuiiiMuruiiiiiiHriiicnniiiniiiHiiiiMiiiiiiiiimuiiuiiniiiimuiiHmiaitimumimBUDimiiiiiiti«mmiil»ii 


I 


Save  Life  Through  the  Red  Cross 

By  Theodore  Roosevelt 

Xoto  tJiat  tlie  Liberty  Loan  is  fully  subscribed,  the  outstanding  opportunity  for  service  open  to  loyal 
Americans  is  that  of  membership  in  the  Red  Cross.  The  following  appeal  is  being  made  by  Mr.  Roosevelt 
before  numerous  audiences  throughout  the  country. 


WE  little  realize  what  is  before 
us.  Our  own  sons  and  broth- 
ers will  soon  be  going  into 
battle.  They  will  be  3,000  miles  from 
home,  in  a  land  already  wasted  by 
war,  a  land  threatened  by  famine,  a 
land  smitten  by  disease.  They  tell  us 
that  in  many  cases  today  the  wounds 
of  soldiers  in  France  must  be  tied  up 
with  newspapers  for  want  of  the  nec- 
essary surgical  bandages.  When  our 
own  men  are  wounded — as  they 
surely  will  be  in  great  numbers — are 
we  going  to  allow  them  to  suffer  yet 
more  because  we  fail  to  provide  those 
things  which  can  at  least  mitigate  dis- 
tress? Surely  not!  But  we  must  do 
it  in  advance.  If  we  wait  it  may  be 
too  late.     Do  it  now. 

RED   CROSS   AS   FOSTER  PARENT 

Our  Red  Cross  must  not  only  care 
for  the  shattered  bodies  of  our 
wounded  men ;  it  alone  can  become  a 
foster  parent  to  them  in  the  trying 
conditions  they  are  sure  to  face  when 
they  are  convalescent  from  wounds  or 
recovering  from  exhaustion.  We 
shall  soon  have  an  army  of  a  million 
soldiers.  When  they  go  to  France  they 
must  have  homes  in  which  to  rest  and 
to  be  cared  for  and  to  recover.  The 
generosity  of  our  whole  people  must 
make  it  possible  for  our  Red  Cross  to 
provide  for  them. 

In  no  previous  war  have  the  inno- 
cent noncombatants  had  to  bear  so  ter- 
rible a  share  of  its  physical  suffering. 
And  it  is  through  our  Red  Cross  that 


we  can  show  to  the  nations  of  the 
world  how  the  great  heart  of  the 
American  people  goes  out  to  them  in 

their  distress. 

FRANCE   NEEDS  U.  S.   SORELY 

France — proud,  brave,  bleeding 
from  ghastly  wounds,  needs  us  sorely. 
Tuberculosis  is  raging  throughout  the 
land.  Fifteen  hundred  of  her  towns 
and  villages  have  been  razed  to  the 
ground  by  the  calculated  barbarity  of 
the  invaders.  Millions  of  her  people 
are  homeless  and  starving,  bereft  even 
of  the  barest  covering  for  their  bodies, 
of  stoves,  of  utensils  with  which  to 
cook  or  eat,  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments, of  animals — indeed,  of  the 
simplest  elements  of  civilization.  And 
to  us  alone  can  these  people  come  for 
help ;  we  alone  have  the  abundance 
with  which  to  supply  their  direst 
needs. 

To  Russia,  too,  we  must  reach  out 
our  helping  hand.  We  little  know 
what  she  has  suffered  and  is  suffering. 
Russia,  long  obedient  to  autocracy,  has 
not  flinched  in  this  conflict.  Her  peo- 
ple have  had  to  struggle  not  only  to 
free  the  world  from  autocracy  but  to 
make  their  own  land  a  land  of  liberty. 
Russia  needs  all  we  can  do  to 
strengthen  her  courage  and  to  make 
her  feel  that  we  are  indeed  behind 
her. 

HOW   TO   AID   RUSSIA 

Our  armies  can  do  little  for  her. 
Our  Red   Cross  alone  can   take  into 


Russia  the  message  of  hope,  of  help, 
of  confidence  which  she  so  terribly 
needs.  The  message  must  be  prac- 
tical. It  must  carry  deeds  and  not 
merely  words  ;  and  it  should  be  carried 
at  once.  Probably  never  before  were 
so  many  people  in  distress  and  agony 
as  in  Russia  at  this  very  hour.  We 
can  take  no  more  vital  step  toward 
winning  this  war  than  to  put  renewed 
heart  and  strength  into  Russia. 


Infinite  Ruler  of  Creation,  whose 
spirit  dwells  in  every  world.  We  look 
not  to  the  solemn  heavens  for  Thee, 
though  Thou  art  there ;  we  search  not 
in  the  ocean  for  Thy  presence,  though 
it  murmurs  with  Thy  voice ;  we  wait 
not  for  the  wings  of  the  wind  to  bring 
Thee  nigh,  though  they  are  Thy  mes- 
sengers ;  for  Thou  art  in  our  hearts, 
O  God,  and  makest  Thy  abode  in  the 
deep  places  of  our  thought  and  love. 
O  God !  Thou  knowest  the  soul  with- 
in us,  that  it  is  not  built  up  as  an  im- 
mortal sanctuary  for  Thy  praise,  but 
is  a  wreck  of  broken  purposes  and 
fallen  aspirations  and  desecrated  af- 
fections. Fountain  of  purity  and 
peace,  shed  on  us  the  influence  of  a 
new  hope  and  holier  sympathy. — 
James  Martineau. 


"The  manifestations  of  life  are  wor- 
ship, work  and  giving." — Agar. 
*     * 

"God  made  us  channels,  not  depos- 
itories."— Agar. 


American  Destiny 


By  Richard  Hovey 


TO  what  new  fates,  my  country,  far 
And  unforeseen  of  foe  or  friend, 
Beneath  what  unexpected  star, 
Compelled  to  what  unchosen  end? 

Across  the  sea  that  knows  no  beach 
The  Admiral  of  Nations  guides 

Thy  blind,  obedient  keels  to  reach 
The  harbor  where  thy  future  rides! 

The  guns  that  spoke  at  Lexington 

Knew  not  that  God  was  planning  then 

The  trumpet  word  of  Jefferson 
To  bugle  forth  the  rights  of  men. 


To   them   that   wept   and   cursed    Bull   Run, 
What  was  it  but  despair  and  shame? 

Who  saw  behind  the  cloud  the  sun? 

Who  knew   that   God   was   in   the   flame? 

There  is  a  Hand  that  bends  our  deeds 
To  mightier  issues  than  we  planned, 

Each  son  that  triumphs,  each  that  bleeds, 
My  country,  serves  Its  dark  command. 

I  do  not  know  beneath  what  sky 
Nor  on  what  seas  shall  be  thy  fate; 

I  only  know  it  shall  be  high, 
I  only  know  it  shall  be  great. 


*These  lines  were  written  by  Mr.  Hovey  the  year  of  the  Spanish-American  War,  i8g8,  which  was  two  years  before  his  death.    They 

seem  appropriate  to  the  present  solemn  days  in  America. 


The  Christian  Doctrine  of  Property 


THE  Christian  doctrine  of  prop- 
erty is  this :  God  is  the  only  ab- 
solute   owner    and    we    are    his 
trustees. 

God,  society  and  the  individual  con- 
tribute to  the  wealth  of  man.  God 
contributes  all  the  original  material, 
all  the  laws  of  nature,  our  intelligence 
and  our  capacity.  It  is  God  that  gives 
men  power  to  get  wealth. 

Society  contributes  a  great  deal.  A 
man  on  a  desert  island,  where  there 
was  nobody  else,  would  starve  to 
death  even  if  he  had  a  million  dollars 
in  his  possession.  The  individual 
contributes  his  intelligence,  which  is 
God-given,  his  foresight,  and  his  en- 
ergy. Deduct  what  God  has  contrib- 
uted, and  then  what  society  has  con- 


By  J.  Campbell  White 

tributed,  and  the  balance  is  what  we 
ourselves  have  contributed. 

HOW    MUCH   IS  REALLY  OURS? 

It  has  been  found  that  the  average 
individual  contributes  only  about  five 
per  cent  of  his  own  wealth.  There- 
fore, God  and  society  have  a  large 
claim  upon  the  property  in  our  posses- 
sion. Why  does  God  ask  us  to  give 
at  all?  Why  does  he  not  supply  all 
our  needs  and  let  us  keep  all  we  can 
get?  It  would  be  easier  for  God  to 
upset  the  mountain  ranges,  and  ex- 
pose all  the  gold  and  silver,  than  to 
upset  some  of  us  and  get  us  to  giving. 
God  is  the  absolute  owner,  he  holds 
the  title  deeds  to  all  we  possess,  and 
we  are  simply  his  trustees  for  a  few 
years. 


God  puts  property  into  our  hands 
and  asks  us  to  use  it  until  He  comes. 

They  don't  make  shrouds  with 
pockets.  People  do  not  need  any 
pocketbooks  or  bank  accounts  in  the 
other  world.  They  use  gold  for  | 
ing  streets  there.  We  won't  need  it 
to  buy  things  with. 

GI\'ING    BACK   TO   GOD 

We  should  return  to  God  regularly, 
steadily,  always  a  proper  percentage 
of  all  he  gives  to  us. 

When  God's  principles  rule  our 
hearts  there  will  be  no  trouble  about 
giving.  You  can  give  without  loving, 
but  you  can't  love  without  giving.  It 
is  not  a  question  of  whether  we  have 
money  enough ;  it  is  a  question  of 
whether  we  have  love  enough. 


Compensations 


AND,  therefore,  as  we  say,  there 
is  always  something  to  be 
thankful  for.  If  one  thing 
visits  us  another  thing  is  kept  away. 
Or  if  there  is  impoverishment  in 
one  direction  there  is  enlargement 
in  another.  When  the  darkness  falls 
the  stars  come  out.  When  winter 
strips  the  trees  hidden  prospects 
are  disclosed.  When  we  are  sick 
shy  kindnesses  steal  out  of  their  se- 
clusion. We  never  knew  we  had  so 
many  friends  until  death  broke  our 
fellowships.  And  so  we  are  smitten 
on  one  side,  and  we  are  graciously 
liberated  on  another.  We  are  bound 
with  chains,  and  we  have  fellowship 
with  angels.  We  are  "cast  down, 
but  not  destroyed." 

"i   KEN   HIS   NAME" 

It  is  a  blind  girl  in  one  of  Ian 
Maclaren's  stories  who  is  speaking: 
"If  I  dinna'  see,  there's  naebody  in 
the  Glen  can  hear  like  me.  There's 
no  a  footstep  of  a  Drumtochty  man 
comes  to  the  door  but  I  ken  his 
name,  and  there's  no  voice  oot  on 


By  J.  H.  Jowett 


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"He  stayeth  His  rough  wind 
in  the  day  of  the  east  wind." 

—Isaiah  27:8 


'  i '  i   i » i  1 1  r  J  r  1 1  r  i :  1 1 1 1  ■  1 1 


IIIIIHIIIIIIHIIIIIIII1IHIIMIIII1I1IIIIJIIIIII1HIIIIIIIIMIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM1II 


the  road  that  I  canna  tell.  The  birds 
sing  sweeter  to  me  than  to  anybody 
else,  and  I  can  hear  them  cheeping 
in  the  bushes  before  they  go  to  sleep. 
And  the  flowers  smell  sweeter  to 
me — the  roses  and  the  carnations 
and  the  bonny  moss  rose.  Na,  na, 
ye're  no  to  think  that  I've  been  ill- 
treated  by  my  God,  for  if  He  didna' 
give  me  ae  thing,  He  gave  me  many 
things  instead." 

Such  is  the  confidence  we  may 
have  in  our  God.  He  leads  the  blind 
by  a  way  they  know  not.  When  they 
lose  their  eyes  other  discernments 
are  quickened,  and  they  have  the 
mystic  intimacy  of  an  unerring 
Guide  and  Friend.  Samuel  Ruther- 
ford used  to  say  that  when  he  found 
himself  in  the  cellars  of  affliction  he 
began  to  look  about  for  the  King's 
wine.     And   John    Bunyan   used   to 


look  for  the  lilies  of  peace  and  the 
Lord's  heartsease  in  the  Valley  of 
Humiliation.  And  out  of  the  eater 
comes  forth  meat ;  the  lion  which 
prowls  forth  to  slay  us  today  will 
provide  us  with  honey  tomorrow. 

FED   WITH    HIDDEN    MANNA 

What  gracious  compensation  the 
Lord  is  prepared  to  give  to  our  spirits 
in  our  day  of  desolation  and  dis- 
tress. He  feeds  us  with  hidden 
manna.  We  have  bread  to  eat  which 
the  world  knows  not  of.  We  grow 
even  while  we  are  in  straits.  "In  my 
distress  Thou  hast  enlarged  me." 
That  is  the  wonder  of  it,  that  when 
destruction  seemed  to  abound  the 
soul  had  a  mystic  nourishment 
which  established  it  in  a  more  robust 
and  vigorous  health.  Hagar  was  in 
the  wilderness,  but  the  Lord  opened 
a  fountain  of  water.  In  desert- 
places  angels  come  and  minister 
unto  us.  ''He  stayeth  His  rough 
wind  in  the  day  of  the  east  wind.'' 
He  giveth  songs  in  the  night. 


MIIIinttltlMIMtllllll^ TMIIIIIllllMIIIUnirilUtlMIMTIIUtlMlilllltl1IIIMIMMIII1Mtlll1Mil1HIIII1MIUIlltlillJttlltr#ll»linfttrntltllMMiniOILI1llll1MII1ltMMt<fMtllllIltlllllMU1IIM1l1Mn  tltiriMltmnillMllltllin niM1bnllltltllMUI1ltllllHI1l1UlM<Mllll1lllUTilll1l1IILIl1ltnMIITlUITIUntHniUIT(tUitllMIMt1TTlt11lll1ltti:in 


He  Giveth  Light 

WHEN  the  night  is  hopeless  quite, 
Close  thine  eyes — there  shall  be  light ; 
When  thou  knowest  not  how  to  go, 
Pause — and  pray — and  thou  shalt  know. 

— Thomas  C.  Clark. 


TiHiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiKiiiTiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiKiiiiiitiiiiiiiiniii mil  ii  f  1 1  ii  it  iiiiiiii  ii  1 11 1 1  ii  1 1 1  ii  in  ii  1 1 1 1 1  iiniiiii  i  niiiii  1 1  ii  1 1 1 1 1 111  nu  niii  1 1  ill  11111 1 1 11  ill  ti  ui  1111 1  mini  ii  ii  iiuii  ii  111  h  mi  i  ■■  ■  hi  iiKmiuinmiiiiuTuii  m  iiiiiiiiiiniiimiiiiuNiinaitniiittmnmnHuiHiiiiniaiinnianMMmii  niiniiiimnnMMiaa 


The  Larger  Christian  World 


A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE 


By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN 


Quakers  Plan  to 
Serve  Nation 

The  conscription  law  provides  ex- 
emption for  the  members  of  the 
Friends  church,  but  these  Christians 
are  planning  forms  of  service  which 
will  be  constructive  as  far  as  possible. 
They  have  formed  the  Friends'  Na- 
tional Service  Committee  to  enable 
those  who  are  unable  on  conscientious 
grounds  to  render  military  or  naval 
service  to  co-operate  with  the  govern- 
ment along  social  service  lines.  Many 
applications  for  membership  in 
Friends'  societies  have  been  received, 
but  these  were  not  acted  upon  until 
the  day  for  registration  had  passed. 

Congregationalists  Ordain 
Methodist  Preacher 

The  growth  of  the  sense  of  unity  is 
well  illustrated  by  a  recent  action  of  a 
Congregational  association.  The  Up- 
per Bay  Association  at  Crockett,  Cal., 
recently  ordained  a  man  for  the  min- 
istry and  then  demitted  him  to  the 
Methodists  so  he  could  go  away  to  be 
an  army  chaplain.  The  Methodists 
could  not  ordain  him  until  the  spring 
meeting.  By  this  fraternal  action  of 
the  Congregationalists  the  man  was 
able  to  get  into  the  service  of  his 
country  at  once. 

Congregationalists  Change 
Council  Date 

The  announcement  was  made  re- 
cently of  the  convening  of  the 
Congregational  National  Council  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  October  24,  but  on 
account  of  another  big  meeting  in  the 
city  at  that  date,  the  time  has  been 
changed  to  October  10.  The  Congre- 
gationalists are  well  advanced  in  their 
plans  for  the  celebration  of  the  ter- 
centenary of  the  landing  of  the  Pil- 
grims at  Plymouth  Rock. 

Knights  of  Columbus 
and  the  War 

The  Knights  of  Columbus  have  set 
apart  a  fund  of  a  million  dollars  to  be 
used  in  providing  social  facilities  for 
the  men  of  the  army.  It  is  said  they 
have  been  moved  to  this  by  the  splen- 
did work  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  The 
program  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus 
will  be  planned  for  the  Catholic 
soldiers  and  will  be  more  of  a  social 
than  a  religious  character. 

Boston  University 
Grows 

Boston  University  is  the  leading 
educational  institution  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church  in  the  east. 
Under    the    leadership    of    President 


Murlin  it  has  made  fine  growth  in 
recent  years.  There  were  3,400  stu- 
dents last  year,  and  in  six  years  there 
has  been  an  addition  of  $1,213,500  to 
the  equipment  and  endowment  of  the 
university.  President  Murlin  gave  the 
baccalaureate  address'  this  year  on 
the  theme,  "Kultur  or  Culture?" 

Discuss  Billion 
Dollar  Pension  Fund 

The  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church 
of  America  has  recently  been  in  ses- 
sion at  Asbury  Park,  N.  J.  They 
gave  special  attention  to  the  subject 
of  pensions  for  ministers.  Mr.  Monell 
Sayre,  formerly  chief  of  the  pension 
bureau  of  the  Carnegie  foundation, 
and  who  led  the  movement  resulting 
in  an  $8,500,000  pension  fund  for  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  ministers,  told 
of  a  plan  to  raise  a  billion  dollars  for 
a  general  pension  fund  that  would 
benefit  the  ministers  of  all  the  denom- 
inations. No  movement  in  American 
Christianity  has  ever  been  able  to  se- 
cure such  large  amounts  of  money  as 
has  this  movement  to  take  care  of  the 
aged  and  disabled  ministers. 

Bishop  Works  for 
the  Government 

Bishop  Theodore  Henderson  of  the 
Michigan  area  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  started  on  June  11  for  an 
auto  tour  to  last  through  the  summer 
in  which  it  is  his  plan  to  speak  three 
times  a  day  as  far  as  possible.  His 
message  will  be  "War  Bonds,"  "Food 
Conservation,"  and  "Loyalty  to  the 
Government."  He  will  visit  every 
county  and  throw  the  whole  weight  of 
his  influence  in  behalf  of  patriotic 
ends. 

Church  Gets  Loan 
of  Four  Millions 

A  church  debt  of  four  millions  of 
dollars  would  be  appalling  to  most 
churches,  but  it  does  not  worry  the 
Trinity  Protestant  Episcopal  church 
of  New  York.  They  recently  nego- 
tiated this  size  of  loan  in  order  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  improvements  on 
their  property.  They  have  enormous 
real  estate  holdings  in  the  city  which 
have  been  improved  according  to  the 
newer  social  vision  which  has  come  to 
that  church. 

Rev.  W.  T.  Manning 
Elected  Bishop 

Rev.  W.  T.  Manning,  priest  of  the 
Trinity  Protestant  Episcopal  church, 
of  New  York,  was  elected  bishop  of 
western  New  York  on  June  5.  It  is 
not  known  whether  he  will  accept.  In 
1907  he  was  elected  bishop  of  Harris- 


burg,  Pa.,  but  declined  the  election.  It 
is  said  that  his  salary  as  priest  of 
Trinity  church  is  several  times  what 
it  would  be  as  bishop.  Dr.  Manning 
has  been  allied  with  the  high  church 
forces  of  the  country  and  resigned 
from  the  Board  of  Missions  on  ac- 
count of  the  Panama  controversy. 
Yet  he  has  been  much  interested  in 
the  subject  of  Christian  union,  con- 
ceived from  the  standpoint  of  church- 
manship.  He  is  head  of  a  big  cor- 
poration but  has  shown  considerable 
interest  in  social  amelioration. 

Canadian  Presbyterians 
Grow 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Cana- 
dian Presbyterian  church  convened 
recently  in  Montreal  and  it  was  re- 
ported that  a  debt  on  their  missionary 
work  of  $150,000  had  been  wiped  out. 
The  membership  of  the  churches  has 
increased.  An  effort  was  made  to  re- 
consider the  motion  of  last  year  to 
unite  with  the  Methodists  and  Con- 
gregationalists, but  this  effort  failed. 
Already  the  union  is  being  consum- 
mated in  many  towns  and  it  seems 
impossible  to  prevent  its  consumma- 
tion. 

Chicago  Church 
Celebrates 

Seventy-five  years  is  not  so  much 
history  for  a  church,  but  in  Chicago 
that  takes  one  back  almost  to  the  be- 
ginnings. The  Second  Presbyterian 
church  of  this  city  recently  celebrated 
seventy-five  years  of  history.  Rev. 
Charles  F.  Wishart  is  pastor. 

Salvation  Army 
Assembles  Officers 

Over  nine  hundred  workers  of  the 
Salvation  Army  met  in  Philadelphia 
on  May  17.  Commander  Evangeline 
Booth  spoke  three  times  on  Sunday 
and  led  a  procession  through  the  busi- 
ness section  of  the  city.  A  commem- 
orative tablet  was  laid  at  the  place 
where  the  first  open  air  meeting  of  the 
Salvation  Army  was  held  in  the 
United  States. 

Defends  Billy 
Sunday 

"People  call  Billy  Sunday  a  grafter 
because  he  gets  good  pay  for  good 
work.  When  Bob  Ingersoll  lectured  on 
the  'Mistakes  of  Moses'  and  received 
a  thousand  dollars  a  night,  these  same 
persons  did  not  call  him  a  grafter. 
This  was  the  defense  of  the  famous 
evangelist  made  by  Mrs.  Daisy  Doug- 
lass Barr  in  a  tabernacle  meeting  in 
Chicago  recently. 


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1II0 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


inlllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 


Illlllllllllll 


■ 


What  Are  We  Fighting  For 

PRESIDENT  WILSON  has,  in 
his  note  to  Russia,  laid  down  the 
general  principles  on  which  peace 
must  be  negotiated.  He  states  that 
the  objects  of  the  war  have  been  very 
much  beclouded  of  late ;  a  reference, 
no  doubt,  to  certain  English  declara- 
tions   that    German    colonies    would 

never  be  re- 
turned,  that 
Germany  must 
b  e  completely 
conquered  and 
humiliated  an*d 
that  indemnities 
must  be  won,  in 
other  words, 
that  the  Allies 
will  turn  Prus- 
sian and  give 
Germany  her 
own  medicine.  The  English  govern- 
ment hastens  to  assure  Russia  that  it 
approves  America's  aims  as  her  own. 
These  days  of  English  victory  at  the 
front  give  the  English  "Prussians" 
courage  to  vaunt  their  imperial  and 
militaristic  ideas,  but  God  may  be 
thanked  that  England's  democracy  is 
in  power.  We,  too,  have  our  "Prus- 
sians" and  once  we  are  well  into  the 
war  their  voices  will  disturb  the  land ; 
and  if  victory  does  not  come  for  two 
or  three  years  the  democracy  of 
America  will  need  to  take  a'  care  for 
its  principles  in  the  final  settlement. 

^  ^  ^ 

No  Status  Quo  Ante: 
Mittel  Europa 

Germany  is  now  willing  to  sur- 
render all  her  war  aims  of  conquest 
and  huge  indemnities  and  return  to 
the  status  quo  ante.  The  President 
warns  her  that  it  was  in  the  status 
quo  ante  that  she  brewed  this  horrible 
devil's  pot  of  blood  and  rapine  and 
that  such  conditions  cannot  be  toler- 
ated again.  Germany  could  well  af- 
ford to  settle  on  such  terms.  The 
tides  have  turned  against  her  and  her 
own  plan  to  levy  the  cost  of  the  war 
on  conquered  France  and  Belgium 
would,  under  the  old  war  measures  of 
an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a 
tooth,  be  turned  back  upon  her  and 
the  cost  of  the  war  assessed  up  to  her 
burdened  peoples*  just  as  Bismarck 
made  France  pay  for  the  German  vic- 
tory of  the  seventies.  Upon  the 
theory  that  indemnities  would  be  lev- 
ied for  the  cost  of  the  war  and  France 
thus  put  out  of  all  competition  for  all 
time  to  come,  Germany  has  borrowed 
billions  and  is  today  borrowing  hun- 


dreds of  millions  to  pay  interest  upon 
these  billions.  If,  two  years  hence,  the 
victors  should  use  the  Prussian  method 
and  compel  Germany  to  pay  for  the 
war  she  has  made,  she  would  take  the 
humbled  place  in  civilization  into 
which  she  planned  to  thrust  France. 
The  cost  of  the  war  would  have  by 
that  time  been  greater  than  the  total  of 
German  national  wealth. 

But  even  more  than  in  this,  Germany 
could  well  wish  to  settle  on  such  terms 
and  simply  drop  arms,  for  she  would 
have  gained  a  real  victory  in  a  long 
step  toward  the  realization  of  Fred- 
erick Nauman's  dream  of  a  Mittel 
Europa — or  rather  an  old  Pan-Ger- 
man dream  that  Nauman  has  made  his 
gospel  and  expounded  with  genuine 
German  ability  and  persistence.  This 
craft  President  Wilson  warns  must  be 
undone  before  there  can  be  any  peace, 
for  until  it  is  undone  there  is  no  as- 
surance of  permanent  peace.  The 
complete  German  ascendancy  in  the 
military  organization  of  the  Central 
Powers  puts  Berlin  in  practical  con- 
trol of  the  territory  from  Hamburg 
to  the  Turkish  outposts  this  side  of 
Bagdad  and  a  return  to  the  status  quo 
ante  would  mean  a  perpetuation  of 
that  ascendency  in  the  affairs  of  Aus- 
tria, the  Balkans  and  Turkey  and  a 
return  to  the  old  Mittel  Europa  dream 
plus  a  complete  domination  by  the 
Hohenzollerns  of  all  that  lay  between 
Munich  and  Bagdad  before  the  war ; 
in  other  words,  Germany  defeated  on 
the  east  and  the  west  would  still  leave 
her  victorious  on  the  southeast  and 
with  her  "place  in  the  sun"  assured. 
Just  as  Bismarck  made  Prussia  domi- 
nant over  the  German  states,  so  would 
Wilhelm  make  Germany  dominant 
over  middle  Europe.  What  Bismarck 
wrought  out  through  Prussian  leader- 
ship of  the  German  states  in  a  foreign 
war,  Wilhelm  would  have  wrought 
out  through  German  leadership  in  the 
world  war.  The  consequence  would 
be  no  defeat  of  the  ultimate  German 
aim  but  only  another  half-century  of 
craft  in  diplomacy  and  of  military 
preparation  on  behalf  of  the  gospel  of 
Kultur.  The  President  declares  the 
"status  must  be  altered  in  such  fashion 
as  to  prevent  any  such  hideous  thing 
from  ever  happening  again." 


No  Indemnities  but  Reparation: 
No  Conquest  but  Free  Peoples 

The  Russian  democracy  has  de- 
clared against  indemnities  and  con- 
quest even  to  the  extent  of  forswear- 
ing the  demand  for  Constantinople. 
It   feels  such  a  declaration  necessary 


to   be   democratically   i  nt   and 

demands  that  its  Allies  declare  them- 
selves. Such  declarations  as  that  of 
Lord  Robert  Cecil  regarding  the  keep- 
ing of  German  colonies  was  more 
disastrous  to  the  cause  of  the  Allies 
than  any  victory  Germany  has  won 
over  the  Russian  armies;  it  belied  all 
the  fair  pretensions  of  the  Allies  here- 
tofore, and,  with  other  like  declara- 
tions from  less  responsible  Rriti-h 
publicists,  marked  the  horizon  of  the 
future  and  helped  demoralize  Allied 
harmony.  Secretary  Lansing's  note 
immediately  following  was  a  plain  dis- 
claimer on  our  part  of  any  such  aims 
or  any  sympathy  with  such  aims  and 
until  England  curbs  her  Prussians 
there  must  be  doubt  in  the  Allied 
camp  and  greater  fighting  determina- 
tion in  that  of  the  enemy.  It  is 
doubtful  as  to  whether  the  Allies  have 
dared  heretofore  to  attempt  to  get  to- 
gether on  a  statement  of  concrete 
terms  of  settlement.  They  will  never 
dare  to  attempt  it  until  the -historic 
desires  of  imperialism  and  conquest 
are  given  up  by  all  of  them.  Russia 
has  surrendered  the  last  vestige  of  her 
historic  imperialism  under  the  new 
democracy  and  is  ready  to  subscribe  to 
President  Wilson's  demand  for  no 
conquest  but  the  right  of  each  people 
to  be  ruled  on  the  historic  American 
"consent  of  the  governed"  principle. 
Russia  will  subscribe  to  a  free  Poland 
and  relinquish  her  historic  desire  for 
the  Bosphonis.  France  asks  only  for 
the  return  of  her  conquered  provinces 
on  the  theory  that  they  are  French  and 
desire  to  return.  Belgium  asks  only 
reparation  for  the  ruin  wrought 
within  her.  Italy  and  Roumania  pro- 
fess only  to  ask  for  the  return  of 
their  own  peoples  and  even  then  must 
come  to  accept  the  will  of  those  peo- 
ples in  the  matter.  Serbia  would  no 
doubt  welcome  peace  with  reparation 
and  neither  territory  nor  indemnity. 
Will  Britain  officially  declare  she  will 
not  demand  German  colonies?  She 
has  assured  Russia  that  she  stands  on 
President  Wilson's  historic  war  ad- 
dress but  Lord  Cecil  said  she  would 
keep  Germany's  colonies  for  "their 
own  good"  and  to  deliver  them  from 
misgovernment  —  the  same  reason 
German  disciples  of  Kultur  gave  for 
wishing  to  rule  the  rest  of  the  world. 


The  War  to  End  War: 
Peace  Without  Victory 

The  President  reasserts  our  own 
contention  and  that  of  all  the  Allies  in 
demanding  international  arrangements 
to   enforce    peace    and    make    such   a 


18 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  21,  1917 


wicked  world-wide  calamity  forever 
impossible  to  the  future.  He  says 
"the  free  peoples  of  the  world  must 
draw  together  in  some  common  cove- 
nant, some  genuine  and  practical  co- 
operation that  will  in  effect  combine 
their  forces  to  secure  peace  and  justice 
in  the  dealings  of  nations  with  one 
another.  The  brotherhood  of  man- 
kind must  no  longer  be  a  fair  but 
empty  phrase :  it  must  be  given  a 
structure  of  force  and  reality."  There 
is  no  evidence  that  the  President  has 
forsaken  his  old  "peace  without  vic- 
tory" ideas.  Victory  there  must  be 
but  not  the  crushing  victory  of  the 
military  tradition ;  it  must  be  the  vic- 
tory of  judicial  determination,  a  vic- 
tory by  negotiation  and  one  in  which 
the  German  people  shall  be  guaranteed 
the  same  inalienable  rights  to  live 
under  the  "consent  of  the  governed" 
principles  as  the  rest  of  the  world. 
By  "peace  without  victory"  is  not 
meant  a  German  made  peace ;  but 
neither  can  there  be  an  English  peace 
with  the  ancient  "fruits  of  victory" 
entailment  of  revenge,  secret  diplo- 
macy and  balance  of  power  arrange- 
ments. The  new  English  democracy 
must  declare  its  new  world  faith  as 
have  the  democracies  of  America  and 
Russia  and  surrender  its  imperial  am- 
bitions in  the  peace  conference.  Under 
the  stress  of  war  professions  West- 
minster has  at  last  been  compelled  to 
face  the  Irish  problem  frankly  and  it 
must  also  face  the  relation  of  imperial 
and  colonial  ambition  to  the  future 
peace  of  the  world  and  the  rights  of 
free  peoples  as  frankly.  The  manner 
in  which  events  have  put  the  final 
stroke  in  the  hands  of  America  gives 
the  American  democracy  opportunity 
to  demand  peace  upon  democratic  as 
over  against  imperialistic  grounds ;  the 
President  lays  down  the  fundamentals 
clearly ;  he  demands  that  peace  be 
made  for  the  future  of  peace  only  and 
without  consideration  of  unsettled  ac- 
counts from  the  past  or  imperial 
ambitions  for  the  future.  No  in- 
demnities but  reparation ;  no  conquest 
but  free  peoples ;  no  settlement  with- 
out organization  for  the  judicial  set- 
tlement of  international  disputes. 


i?i!:iii!iiii!:iii!iiiiiiiiii!iii!ii;ii!ii:iii!M 


ay  School 


Elbert  Hubbard  was  fond  of  il- 
lustrating the  value  of  co-operation 
among  business  men  with  a  story  of  a 
visit  he  once  paid  to  an  insane  hospital. 
In  the  vegetable  garden  he  found  an 
attendant  supervising  the  labor  of  a 
dozen  or  so  physically  powerful  lun- 
atics and  he  asked  the  attendant  if  he 
was  never  afraid  of  his  charges.  "Oh, 
yes,"  he  said,  "they  are  big  fellows. 
But  you  see  they  can't  hurt  me.  They 
can't  get  together — they're  crazy  !" 
*     *     * 

"Men's  horizontal  relations  will  not 
be  right  until  their  perpendicular  rela- 
tions are  right." — White. 


The  Call  to  Heroism  j 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
By  E.  F.  DAUGHERTY 


WHAT  a  fit  subject— so  near 
our  national  birthday  and  in 
the  midst  of  preparations  that 
look  to  the  arrest  and  throttlement  of 
autocracy's  arrogance  and  injustice  in 
the  world !  Back  there  in  the  days 
when  Isaiah  was  speaking  for  God 
"Uzziah  had  profaned  the  temple !" 
Right  here  in  these  days  the  temple  of 
human  liberty  has  been  profaned  by 
the  Kaiser,  and  prophecies  are  sound- 
ing that  his  doom  is  written. 

The  Emersonian  bit,  "God  said,  I 
am  tired  of  Kings,"  is  having  its  day 
of  emphasis  now.  The  weariness  they 
have  occasioned  God,  the  injustices 
they  have  flung  upon  the  people  sub- 
scribing to  the  fallacy  of  their  divine 
right  to  rule,  bid  fair  to  be  brought  to 
terminal  facilities  in  the  life  of  the 
world  during  the  present  generation. 

*     *     * 

How  suggestive  the  figures  in 
Isaiah's  vision !  The  "coal  of  fire"  as 
the  instrument  of  his  purification! 
What  fires  were  ever  as  intense  and 
as  wide-spread  as  the  fires  of  trial 
through  which  the  nations  of  earth  to- 
day are  passing  in  the  universal  con- 
flict? Great  souls  are  being  made  in 
these  testing,  trying,  sacrificial  times. 
The  next  generation  will  sing  their 
praises,  while  it  is  ours  to  chant 
requiems  for  the  myriads  who  are 
dying  that  the  prospect  of  a  better 
world  may  not  be  lost. 

"Whom  shall  I  send?" — the  inquiry 
of  God  then  and  now.  The  hosts  of 
democracy  on  this  side  the  water  felt 
initially  that  theirs  could  not  be  the 
quarrel  in  Europe ;  but  the  tide  of 
ruthlessness  swept  our  own  shores 
and  Columbia  could  not  keep  her  self- 
respect  and  refrain  from  striking  at 
the  fount  of  that  tide.  So  she  is  send- 
ing the  flower  of  her  champions — 
soldiers,  doctors,  nurses,  commission- 
ers— as  fit  representatives  of  the 
brotherhood  Prussianism  would  make 
impossible  in  the  world.  The  "Hes- 
sians" in  the  day  of  our  forefathers 
came  out  from  that  fount ;  its  sym- 
pathy with  the  ideals  of  democracy  is 
that  of  the  wolf  for  the  lamb. 
Wherefore,  as  distance  is  a  small  item, 
there  is  glory  in  America's  repayment 
of  the  debt  to  Lafayette,  and  there  is 

This  article  is  based  on  the  international 
uniform  lesson  for  July  1,  "Isaiah's  Call  to 
Heroic  Service."     Scripture,  Isa.  (>. 


fit  justice  in  the  spirit  with  which  it 
fastens  its  aim  on  the  land  whence 
came  the  Hessians.  The  registration 
blanks  of  June  5th  are  in  executive 
hands ;  it  was  encouraging  in  tabulat- 
ing them  to  find  so  often  in  answer  to! 
the  question,  "Do  you  claim  exemp- 
tion?" the  answer,  "No!"  This  one 
and  another  who  would  like  to  go — ] 
whom  we  would  like  to  see  go — may 
not,  in  expert  judgment,  be  wholly  fit; 
but  fitness  is  being  wrought  out  in  the 
training  camps  of  the  land,  and  Co- 
lumbia will  send  her  best  for  the  test 
where  world  dominion  and  civiliza- 
tion are  at  stake. 

*     *     * 

"Here  am  I,  send  ME" !  No  answer 
was  ever  more  inspirational  to  a  great 
challenge.  It's  the  recognition  of  per- 
sonal responsibility.  Let  every  soul  of 
today  have  it ;  let  every  life  stand  up 
to  the  "doing  of  its  bit"  for  the  good 
of  the  country,  and  whether  in  Red 
Cross  preparation,  food  mobilization, 
military  or  naval  training,  the  hosts 
of  freedom  will  have  an  efficiency  that 
will  discount  and  defeat  autocracy's 
boasted  superiority.  Let  every  soul 
of  the  church  ranks  have  it — and  the 
world  would  be  taken  for  Christ  in 
less  than  a  decade  after  the  blood  of 
the  war  has  been  stopped. 

Isaiah  was  no  slacker.  The  puny 
reasons  why  he  might  have  "claimed 
exemption"  were  all  but  spider-web 
before  the  call  of  necessity.  The 
slacker  needs  no  "hymn  of  hate"  to  be 
given  his  rightful  recognition ;  he  is  j 
beneath  contempt  in  a  land  of  the  free 
— and  no  more  than  a  dry  tare  in  the 
church  of  the  living  God.  He  will 
"get  his"  in  little  time,  for  so  the  ways 
of  destiny  are  built. 


Two  years  ago,  in  a  mountain  village 
in  the  island  of  Hainan,  China,  where  a 
missionary  visited,  there  was  not  a  Chris- 
tian; now  every  one  in  the  village  is  a 
believer. 


TWO    BOOKS 

By  Professor  W-  S.  Athearn 

Every  Pastor,  Superintendent  and 

Teacher  Should  Have 

The  Church  School.  $1.00  net. 
Organization  and  Adminis- 
tration of  the  Church  School. 

30c  net. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40 Ih  St.,  CHICAGO 


June  21,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CKNTIJNY 


19 


piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilliip 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


m 


John  H.  Wood  New  President 
of  Culver-Stockton  College 

George  H.  Campbell,  of  Hannibal, 
Mo.,  writes  that  the  presidency  of  Cul- 
ver-Stockton College,  Canton,  Mo.,  has 
been  tendered  John  H.  Wood  and  he 
has  accepted.  Mr.  Wood  is  a  graduate 
of  the  State  University.  He  was  for  a 
time  a  teacher  in  Christian  College,  Co- 
lumbia. For  thirteen  years  he  was  pas- 
tor of  the  Shelbina,  Mo.,  church.  He 
has  shown  himself  to  be  a  very  capable 
business  man,  having  been  for  two  or 
three  years  president  of  an  industrial 
association  of  Missouri,  displaying 
marked  leadership.  The  ministers  of 
Missouri  think  Mr.  Wood  is  just  the 
man  to  lead  this  promising  school  to 
victory,  reports  Mr.  Campbell.  Earle  M. 
Todd,  the  retiring  president,  has  done 
very  commendable  work  as  president. 
He  has  stood  for  the  highest  educational 
standards  and  has  given  to  all  connected 
with  the  college  a  larger  vision.  A 
meeting  of  the  friends  of  the  college 
was  held  after  one  of  the  sessions  of 
the  recent  state  convention.  Both  Mr. 
Todd  and  Mr.  Wood  spoke  at  this  meet- 
ing, Mr.  Todd  speaking  highly  of  his 
successor.  Several  spoke  commendingly 
of  Mr.  Todd's  work.  A  spirit  of  hope- 
fulness possesses  the  alumni,  according 
to  Mr.  Campbell. 

Missouri's  Next  Convention 
to  Go  to  St.  Joseph 

There  was  an  attendance  of  over  400 
registered  delegates  at  the  Missouri  State 
convention  this  year.  The  meeting  was 
held  at  First  church,  Mexico.  Next 
year's  session  is  to  be  held  at  St.  Joseph, 
where  a  new  $100,000  church  is  now  be- 
ing erected.  C.  M.  Chilton,  of  St.  Joseph, 
is  the  new  state  president,  to  succeed 
Graham  Frank,  who  is  to  go  to  Texas 
soon.  There  are  reported  a  total  of 
1,108  churches  in  Missouri,  the  member- 
ship being  148,000.  There  have  been 
14,351  additions  to  the  churches  during 
the  year  and  offerings  for  missions  and 
benevolences  totaled  $111,836.  R.  B. 
Briney  is  Missouri's  state  secretary  and 
gave  an  excellent  report  of  work  done 
this  year. 

Transylvania  Sends  Many 
Men  to  Colors 

Commencement  season  at  Transyl- 
vania University  this  year  was  more 
quiet  than  usual,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
many  of  the  men  of  the  school  have  en- 
listed for  the  army  and  navy  and  still  a 
larger  number  entered  the  officers'  train- 
ing camp.  At  the  commencement  exer- 
cises four  of  the  graduates  appeared  on 
the  platform  in  khaki  uniforms.  These 
were  men  who  for  several  weeks  had 
been  at  Fort  Benjamin  Harrison  in  the 
training  camp,  and  had  returned  to  re- 
ceive their  degrees.  President  R.  H. 
Crossfield  delivered  the  commencement 
address  this  year.  Dr.  Crossfield  reports 
an  increased  number  of  students  at  Tran- 
sylvania over  last  year  and  a  more  pros- 
perous  session   in   every   way. 

J.  C.  Archer  to  Serve  Soldiers 
in  Mesopotamia 

The  following  letter  from  J.  C.  Archer, 
of  the  Yale  School  of  Religion,  will  be 
of  great  interest  to  Disciples:  "The 
university  has  granted  me  leave   of  ab- 


1IIIIIII1U 


sence  for  the  year  191.7-18  to  respond 
to  the  call  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  to  work 
in  Mesopotamia  among  the  Indian  troops 
there  with  the  British  forces.  I  am  to 
sail  June  30  by  the  French  S.  S.  La 
Touraine  for  Bordeaux,  thence  to  Lon- 
don and  on,  as  soon  as  possible,  east- 
ward. I  expect  to  reach  Mesopotamia 
the  middle  of  August,  to  remain  there  a 
year,  and  return  to  my  duties  here  by 
October  1,  1918.  British  successes  may 
mean  large  returns  for  progress  and  de- 
velopment in  that  region.  Mesopotamia 
should  be  reclaimed  for  civilization,  and 
the  people  won  to  Christian  life  and 
thought.  It  may  be  a  way  to  the  Arabic 
constituency." 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  Church  Aids 
State  in  Enlisting  Soldiers 

A  pleasing  feature  of  these  war  times 
is  the  manner  in  which  the  churches  are 
coming  forward  to  the  aid  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  its  time  of  need.  Roger  T. 
Nooe  is  pastor  of  the  Frankfort,  Ky., 
church,  and  Mr.  Nooe  reports  28  men 
of  this  church  having  enlisted  for  mili- 
tary service.  Mr.  Nooe  recently  gave  an 
address  at  a  local  flag-raising,  also  pre- 
siding at  a  meeting  held  in  Frankfort  in 
behalf  of  Red  Cross  work,  at  which  meet- 
ing the  governor  of  the  state  was  a 
speaker.  Mr.  Nooe  has  received  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from   Governor  Stanley: 

"Rev.  Roger  T.  Nooe, 
"Frankfort,   Ky. 

"My  dear  Dr.  Nooe: 

"Your  kind  and  valued  favor  of  May 
11  to  hand,  assuring  me  of  your  will- 
ingness to  co-operate  in  every  possible 
way  in  the  present  crisis,  and  tendering 
your  church  annex  to  be  used  in  enroll- 
ing young  men  of  military  age  under  the 
Selective  Draft  Bill. 

"I  am  sure  that  I  voice  the  apprecia- 
tion of  the  people  of  the  commonwealth 
in  conveying  to  you  and  your  congrega- 
tion the  most  profound  appreciation  for 
the  valued  co-operation  of  yourself  and 
of  your  church   at  this  time. 

"A.  O.  Stanley." 

At  the  Commencement  Exercises 
of  Drake  University 

W.  A.  Shullenberger's  commencement 
address  at  Drake  last  week  had  as  its 
subject  "Soldiers  of  the  Common  Good." 
There  were  79  graduates  in  the  College 
of  Liberal  Arts  this  year;  4  in  the  Col- 
lege of  the  Bible;  24  in  the  College  of 
Law;  13  in  the  College  of  Education;  84 
in  the  Junior  College  of  Education,  and 
47  in  the  Institute  of  Fine  Arts.  This 
makes  a  grand  total  of  229  graduates  for 
the  year.  Alden  B.  Howland,  of  Des 
Moines,  received  the  prize  for  the  high- 
est scholastic  honors.  Agapito  Gaa,  a 
Filipino,  came  from  the  Philippines  four 
years  ago  to  be  educated  at  the  expense 
of  his  country,  and  this  year  received 
the  prize  at  Drake  for  the  best  written 
thesis.  He  graduated  from  the  Law  De- 
partment with  scholastic  honors.  Mr. 
Gaa  will  return  to  Manila  this  summer 
to  serve  his  country  in  the  department 
of  government.  Hill  M.  Bell  was  re- 
elected president  of  Drake  again  this 
year  for  a  period  of  five  years.  All  of- 
ficers of  the  board  were  re-elected,  in- 
cluding Theodore  P.  Shouts,  of  New 
York,  B.  F.  Prunty.  Geo.  A.  Jewett  and 
John  B.  Burton.  The  board  voted  to 
discontinue   military   training   in   the   au- 


tumn, the  national  government  having 
requested  thai   this  step  be  taken. 

Unique   Sunday   Evening   Services 
at   Central,   Des   Moines 

I  entral  church,  Des  Moines,  recently 
conducted  one  of  the  most  popular  scries 
of  Sunday  night  services  it  has  kiv 
in  years.  The  evenings,  four  in  nun 
were  shaped  for  young  people  in  particu- 
lar. W.  A.  Shullenberger,  the  pastor, 
used   as  sermon    subje<  "The   House 

of  Dreams,"  a  study  of  the  relation  of 
moving  pictures  and  the  "movie  thea- 
ter" to  the  ideals  of  young  people; 
"Wrecked  Foundations,"  an  inquiry  into 
the  causes  of  domestic  infelicity  and  di- 
vorce; "Harmful  Habits,"  and  "Do 
Young  People  Need  a  Religion?"  The 
scries  was  inspired  by  Jane  Addams' 
book,  "The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City 
Streets."  The  church  was  filled  to  its 
capacity  for  the  series. 

Texas  Christian  University 
Has  Record  Attendance 

President  E.  M.  Waits,  the  new  leader 
at  Texas  Christian  University,  Fort 
Worth,  Tex.,  reports  that  the  attendance 
at  the  school  this  year  has  been  6.37,  the 
highest  record  reached  in  the  history  of 
the  institution.  When  Texas  Christian 
University  came  to  Ft.  Worth,  six  years 
ago,  there  were  350  students  enrolled. 
Then  it  had  no  property,  having  lost  all, 
and  without  insurance,  by  a  destructive 
fire.  Today  it  has  property  valued  at 
$600,000.  This  year  there  were  67  grad- 
uates in  all  departments  of  the  institu- 
tion. The  war  has  brought  considerable 
demoralization  in  the  school,  but  Mr. 
Waits  feels  that  the  "bit"  which  the  uni- 
versity has  done  for  the  country  in  the 
sending  into  military  service  of  35  men 
is  not  to  be  begrudged  the  nation.  The 
medical  college  had  17  graduates  this 
year,  and  some  of  them  have  gone  into 
service.  Financially,  this  has  been  a 
record  year.  Not  only  has  the  current 
deficit  been  met,  but  the  bonded  indebt- 
edness of  the  school  has  been  cut  in  half. 
At  the  recent  state  convention  at  Aus- 
tin, an  educational  board  was  created  to 
have  charge  of  the  whole  work  of  Chris- 
tian education  in  the  state.  At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  board  S.  J.  McFarland 
was  elected  president  and  Clifton  S. 
Weaver,  general  secretary.  It  was 
planned  to  carry  forward  an  aggressive 
campaign  for  the  realization  of  an  ap- 
portionment of  $25,000  in  Texas  to  be 
disbursed  among  the  operating  schools 
on  the  same  basis  as  last  year.  Presi- 
dent F.  M.  Bralley.  of  the  College  of 
Industrial  Arts  at  Denton.  Tex.,  gave 
the  commencement  address  this  year.  H. 
R.  Ford,  of  Beaumont,  preaching  the 
baccalaureate  sermon.  A  most  success- 
ful summer  school  is  now  in  session.  Mr. 

Waits  reports. 

*     *    * 

— C.  M.  Chilton  has  served  First 
church,  St.  Joseph.  Mo.,  as  pastor  for 
twenty  years,  and  has  an  unusual  record 
of  achievement  for  this  period. 

— W.  H.  Book  has  been  called  for  a 
thirteenth  year  as  pastor  at  Tabernacle 
church.  Columbus.  Ind. 

— R.  T.  Xooe.  of  Frankfort.  Ky..  has 
been  presented  by  his  congregation  with 
a   five-passenger   Buick. 

— H.  E.  Stubbs  will  succeed  Frank  H. 
Lash  at  El  Reno,  Okla.  Mr.  Stubbs 
comes  from  the  Kingfisher,  Okla..  pas- 
torate. 

—The  Children's  Day  offering  at  Eu- 
clid Avenue.  Cleveland.  Ohio,  was  $1,450. 
There   was   a   Sunday   school  attendance 


20 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  21,  1917 


of  901  on  that  day.  The  Foreign  So- 
ciety reports  that  indications  are  that 
the  schools  are  going  to  surpass  all 
previous  records  this  year  in  offerings 
to  the  foreign  work.  Many  schools 
raised  their  apportionment  for  the  first 
time  this  year,  and  a  large  number 
greatly  exceeded  their  apportionments. 

— J.  W.  Burns  of  Ardmore,  Okla.,  has 
accepted  the  work  at  Muskogee. 

— E.  E.  Elliott,  of  Kansas  City,  had 
part  on  the  program  of  the  recent  adver- 
tising men's  convention  at  St.   Louis. 


tin  if  \ifin  u  ^  Church  Home  for  You. 

NtW  YUKK  Write  Dr-  Finis  Idleman, 
ii i.  vi   i  uiiix  U2  Wegt  glst  gt    N  y 


— C.  S.  Medbury,  of  Des  Moines,  is 
one  of  the  Winona  Assembly  speakers 
this    season. 

— Geo.  W.  Schroeder,  of  the  church  at 
Rudolph,  Ohio,  delivered  the  address  at 
a  community  flag  raising  at  Portage, 
Ohio,  on  June  10. 

—The  Children's  Day  offering  at  Cen- 
tral church  school,  Lebanon,  Tnd.,  this 
year,  was  $447.48,  this  being  an  increase 
of  about  $100  over  that  of  last  year. 

— The  death  is  reported  of  Mrs.  Leo- 
nora M.  Schnatterly,  wife  of  Dr.  L.  W 
Schnatterly,  Freeport,  Pa.  Mrs.  Schnat- 
terly was  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church  for  over  fifty  years. 

—Prof.  C.  H.  Hohgatt,  of  Chicago, 
will  be  at  Bethany  Assembly  this  year 
to  assist  in  the  music  and  teach  in  the 
Singers'  School,  as  will  also  Prof.  J.  E. 
Sturgis,  Mansfield,  Ohio,  who  will  direct 
the  chorus  and  orchestra.  Many  other 
singers  from  many  states  have  enrolled 
and  wdl  be  present.  The  date  for  the 
Singers'  School  is  August  7-17. 

— The  following  loans  were  granted  at 
the  June  meeting  of  the  Church  Exten- 
sion Board:  Medaryville,  Ind.,  $2,000; 
Blakesburg,  Iowa,  $1,500;  Tenaha,  Tex., 
$500;  Caldwell,  Ohio,  $3,000;  Dos  Palos, 
Cal.,  $400;  Deming,  N.  M.,  $3,000; 
Hooker,  Okla.,  $1,500;  Whiting,  Ind., 
$10,000.  During  the  month  of  May  the 
individual  receipts  were  $10,813.45,  a  gain 
of  $7,785.59  over  May,  1916.  The  church 
receipts  fell  off  $236.16,  compared  with 
May  one  year  ago.  This  leaves  a  total 
gam  for  May  of  $7,549.43.  Three  annui- 
ties were  received  during  May:  A  gift 
of  $10,000  from  a  good  friend  to  Church 
Extension;  two  other  gifts  of  $100  each 
were  received. 

—Guy  L.  Zerby,  of  St.  Joseph,  111.,  re- 
ports a  Children's  Day  offering  of  $50; 
also  four  additions  to  the  church  mem- 
bership recently. 

—Austin  Hunter,  of  Jackson  Boulevard 
church,  Chicago,  gave  a  leading  address 
at  flag  day  exercises  held  in  Garfield 
Park,  Chicago,  last  week.  His  subject 
was  "The  Flag  and  the  War." 

— E.  P.  Wise  writes  that  a  great  patri- 
otic service  was  held  at  his  church,  East 
Market  street,  Akron,  Ohio,  a  week  ago, 
and  a  feature  of  his  sermon  was  the 
reading  of  two  patriotic  poems  recently 
published  in  The  Christian  Century: 
"Awake,  America,"  and  "The  Dawn  of 
Liberty." 

, — Lloyd  I.  Ellis  has  just  completed 
his  Master's  work  in  Drake  and  has  ac- 
cepted the  pastorate  at  Corydon,   Iowa. 

— W.  A.  Lyle  has  resigned  from  the 
pastorate  at  Lone  Oak,  Tex.,  and  will 
re-enter  the  evangelistic  field  very  soon. 

— Claude  J.  Miller  reports  a  $100  offer- 
ing at  Windsor,  Colo.,  on  Children's  Day, 


with  ten  accessions  to  the  church;  of 
these,  seven  by  confession  of  faith.  This 
congregation  is  paying  almost  twice  as 
much  salary  as  a  year  ago,  and  the  offer- 
ing to  missions  this  year  trebles  that  of 
1916.  There  are  but  200  members  in  this 
congregation. 

— Randolph  Cook,  of  Albuquerque, 
N.  M.,  has  been  appointed  chaplain  of 
the  New  Mexico  National  Guard  and 
hopes  to  go  with  his  regiment  to  France. 
The  appointment  carries  with  it  the  rank 
of  First  Lieutenant  of  Infantry  and  a 
pleasing  salary.  Six  recent  additions  to 
the  Albuquerque  congregation  are  re- 
ported. 

— Byron  Hester,  of  the  Chickasha, 
Okla.,  work,  was  selected  master  of  cere- 
monies for  the  union  memorial  service 
held  June  10  at  Chickasha  under  the 
auspices  of  the  various  fraternal  orders 
of  the  city. 

— Among  the  latest  benefactions  re- 
ceived by  the  Ionia,  Mich.,  church  are 
a  motion  picture  outfit,  complete,  and 
new  memorial  windows;  one  of  the  lead- 
ing members  is  responsible  for  these 
gifts.  On  a  recent  Sunday  evening  meet- 
ing, writes  Pastor  Robt.  B.  Chapman, 
the  men  of  the  Berean  Brotherhood  of 
the  Sunday  school,  had  entire  charge  of 
the  service.  This  Sunday  school  contin- 
ues as  a  living  link  in  the  Foreign  So- 
ciety. 

— Paul  Yates  Willett,  youngest  son  of 
Dr.  H.  L.  Willett,  received  honorable 
mention  for  excellence  in  the  work  of 
the  Junior  -Colleges  at  the  University  of 
Chicago  this  year. 

— Galen  L.  Rose,  pastor  at  Chico,  Cal., 
preached  the  baccalaureate  sermon  be- 
fore the  high  school  at  that  place  on 
June  10.  His  theme  was  "The  Challenge 
of  Today." 


—Nathan  O.  Rogers,  A.  B.  Drake  Uni- 
versity, 1915,  received  his  Master  of  Arts 
degree  in  the  Divinity  School  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  this  year,  his  thesis 
being  "Dominant  Motives  of  the  Gospel 
Writers." 

—Paul  W.  Ward,  eldest  son  of  A.  L. 
Ward  of  Central  church,  Lebanon,  Ind., 
was  graduated  from  Union  Theological 
Seminary  this  spring.  He  received  his 
M.  A.  degree  from  Columbia  University 
last  year  and  will  return  this  autumn  to 
continue  work  on  his  Ph.  D. 

— Hon.  William  J.  Bryan  will  positively 
be  at  Bethany  Assembly,  August  9,  and 
speak  at  the  afternoon  session.  A  signed 
contract  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  pro- 
gram committee.  His  subject  will  be- 
"The    Conservation   of  Democracy." 

— H.  H.  Peters,  Illinois  State  Secre- 
tary, reports  that  he  assisted  at  the  cor- 
ner-stone laying  of  the  new  $20,000 
building  at  Fisher,  111.,  where  Andrew 
Scott  ministers.  The  church  will  be 
dedicated  early  in  the  autumn.  Fisher 
is  located  in  one  of  the  richest  portions 
of  the  state,  Mr.  Peters  reports,  and 
gives  Pastor  Scott  great  credit  for  mak- 
ing a  success  of  this  building  enterprise, 
speaking  of  him  as  an  expert  in  build- 
ing and  financial  lines.  Mr.  Scott  has 
performed  similar  services  for  the 
churches  at  Saginaw,  Mich.;  Pontiac, 
111.,    Second,   and    Hoopeston,   111. 

— Claude  E.  Hill,  pastor  of  First 
church,  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  preached 
the  baccalaureate  sermon  this  year  to; 
the  graduating  class  of  Livingston  Acad- 
emy, the  mountain  school  maintained  by 
the  Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Mis- 
sions. He  also  delivered  commence- 
ment addresses  for  the  Girls'  Prepara- 
tory School,  Chattanooga,  the  Salt 
Creek,  Tenn.,  High  School,  the  Dunlap, 


They  Appreciate  "The  Century" 


"We  take  three  religious  newspapers. 
The  Century  is  the  favorite  of  them  all 
in  our  household." — H.  C.  Ingram,  Supt. 
First  Church  School,  Oakland,  Cal. 

"Congratulations  on  The  Christian 
Century.  The  articles  are  illuminating 
and  edifying  to  a  high  degree.  The 
poems  printed  are  especially  pleasing. 
The  paper  should  be  read  in  every  home 
among  the  Disciples  of  Christ." — N.  M. 
Ragland,    Fayetteville,   Ark. 

"The  Century  is  a  splendid  paper  and 
exceedingly  useful." — F.  W.  Collins,  Ft. 
Morgan,  Colo. 

"Am  always  glad  to  renew  my  sub- 
scription to  The  Christian  Century.  The 
paper,  always  dealing  in  a  constructive 
way  with  the  vital  issues  of  our  times, 
has  come  to  be  indispensable.  I  never 
spend  an  hour  with  the  Century  that  I 
am  not  stimulated  and  inspired  to  do 
better  things." — C.  H.  Hood,  Coshocton, 
Ohio. 

"I  like  the  Century.  It  is  cheery, 
thought-provoking,  kindly,  helpful." — H. 
C.  Kendrick,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

"I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  I  appre- 
ciate and  enjoy  reading  the  Century.  All 
features  of  the  paper  are  excellent." — 
E.  B.  Lyman,  Oakland,  Cal. 

"We  certainly  need  the  influence  of  a 
broad,  yet  loyal,  Christian  paper  out  here. 
I  have  not  been  without  the  Century 
since  its  beginning." — S.  D.  Martin,  Port- 
land, Ore. 

"It    is    hardly    possible    to    praise    too 


highly  those  men  whose  unhesitating  de- 
votion to  the  truth  has  made  possible  the 
present  truly  great  Century.  Fortunate, 
indeed,  is  our  brotherhood  in  having  such 
men  and  such  a  journal  of  intelligent 
opinion." — Hugh  R.  Davidson,  White- 
hall, 111. 

"The  Century  is  much  needed  in  these 
western  states.  People  here  are  ready 
for  constructive  work  along  practical 
lines  of  Christian  union." — L.  A.  Crown, 
Genessee,   Ida. 

"Am  enjoying  the  paper  very  much. 
Sorry  I  didn't  know  of  it  before.  I  like 
its  fair-minded  attitude  toward  disputed 
questions." — Willard  W.  Jones,  Roches- 
ter, N.  Y. 

"You  are  giving  us  a  real  paper,  well 
worth  while." — John  P.  Givens,  Hoopes- 
ton, 111. 

"I  am  delighted  with  the  paper  and 
trust  it  may  reach  an  increasing  circle 
of  readers." — Floyd  I.  Ellis,  Des  Moines, 
Iowa. 

"The  Christian  Century  is  aiding  us  to 
utter  with  assurance  important  conclu- 
sions which  many  have  reached  in  their 
individual  thinking,  but  concerning  which, 
for  the  lack  of  worthy  and  warm  avowal 
by  others,  they  have  maintained  an  un- 
fortunate silence." — C.  A.  Lockhart,  Helena, 
Mont. 

"The  Century  is  a  paper  none  of  our 
preachers  can  do  without,  without  much 
loss  to  himself  and  to  the  people  to 
whom  he  ministers." — D.  H.  Shields,  Ko- 
komo,  Ind. 


June  21,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


21 


Tcnn.,  High  School,  and  preached  me- 
morial sermons  for  the  United  Com- 
mercial Travelers  and  the  Woodmen  of 
the  World. 

—Dr.  H.  L.  Willett  is  still  ill,  having 
been  confined  to  his  bed  for  most  of  the 
time  during  the  past  weeks.  He  spent 
a  few  days  in  a  sanitarium  and  may  re- 
turn there  for  further  treatment.  Dr. 
Willett  promises  another  installment  of 
his  most  helpful  series  of  Bible  studies 
for  next  issue  of  The  Christian  Cen- 
tury. 

— First  church,  Norfolk,  Va.,  has  a 
"Committee  of  Enlistment"  of  ten  mem- 
bers, each  of  whom  is  endeavoring  to 
enlist  as  many  members  of  the  congre- 
gation as  possible  for  definite  service  to 
the  nation  for  the  war  needs.  Pastor 
C.  M.  Watson  and  J.  G.  Holladay,  of 
the  church  school,  are  two  of  the  mem- 
bers. June  3d  was  observed  as  Enlist- 
ment Day  at  the  church. 

— W.  A.  Shullenberger,  of  Central 
church,  Des  Moines,  was  honored  this 
year  by  being  selected  to  deliver  the 
commencement  address  at  Drake  Uni- 
versity, of  which  he  is  an  alumnus. 
Theodore  Shonts  of  New  York,  presi- 
dent of  the  Drake  board  of  trustees,  who 
was  slated  earlier  in  the  season  as  com- 
mencement orator,  was  incapacitated  by 
serious  illness  and  Mr.  Shullenberger 
was  chosen  to  succeed  him. 


Illinois  News  Letter 

N.  O.  Rogers,  of  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago, who  is  completing  his  course,  could 
be  secured  by  one  of  our  Illinois 
churches. 

W.  W.  Vose  will  spend  the  next  three 
months  in  the  service  of  the  State  So- 
ciety, doing  special  work  among  our 
smaller   churches. 

Literberry,  a  strong  half-time  church 
near  Jacksonville,  is  without  a  preacher. 

H.  E.  Sala,  president  of  the  Illinois 
State  Convention,  is  appointing  two  spe- 
cial committees  to  report  at  the  con- 
vention, one  on  prohibition  and  one  on 
the  war.  These  reports  will  be  in  the 
form  of  memorials  rather  than  the  con- 
ventional resolutions. 

Roy  A.  Miller,  of  McLean,  writes  one 
of  the  most  enthusiastic  commendations 
of  the  work  of  James  Scofield  that  we 
have  yet  had.  Mr.  Scofield  is  growing 
in  power  in  his  line  of  work  and  he 
ought  to  be  kept  busy  every  week  of  the 
year  with  our  churches.  Write  him  at 
Peoria. 

There  are  two  lively  missions  in  Rock 
Island.  With  proper  management,  which 
the  brethren  in  Rock  Island  seem  capable 


THE  WAR 

O  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  Trarrylvania  and  the 
College  of  the  Bible  will  open  as  usual,  September  10. 

Standard  courses  leading  to  the  A.  B.,  B.  S.,  M.  A.,  P.  Th.  B.  and 
B.  D.  degrees.  Pre- vocational  courses  in  Law,  Medicine,  Engineer- 
ing, Teaching,  and  Business  Affairs.  Unusual  opportunities  for 
graduate  students  preparing  for  the  ministry  and  mission  field. 

Expenses  reasonable;  exceptional  opportunities  for  self-help;  gener- 
ous scholarships  available  for  students  preparing  for  public  Christian 
service.    Ask  for  application  blanks. 

More  than  100  churches  paying  good  salaries,  supplied  by  our  stu- 
dent preachers.  New  home  for  Women ;  large  residential  hall  for  men 

Write  to  The  President,  Lexington,  Ky. 


Greatest  Missionary  Year  in  History? 


The  gain  in  the  receipts  for  the  For- 
eign Society  during  the  months  of  May 
and  June  has  been  rapid  and  gratifying. 
There  were  three  stormy  Sundays  in 
March  and  the  outlook  then  seemed  cor- 
respondingly discouraging,  but  May  and 
June  have  far  more  than  made  up  for 
the  early  loss.  As  this  goes  to  press 
the  receipts  are  some  $40,000  ahead  of 
the  same  period  for  last  year.  The  larger 
part  of  this  gain  is  in  annuity  gifts  and 
other  specials,  but  still  the  regular  re- 
ceipts are  more  than  $10,000  ahead  of 
the  same  period  for  1916.  These  gains 
reveal  two  important  facts  in  connection 
with  our  foreign  missionary  work.  First, 
we  are  not  so  dependent  on  good  weather 
as  was  once  the  case,  in  receiving  our 
missionary  offerings.  A  stormy  March 
does  not  necessarily  mean  a  bankrupt 
missionary  treasury.  In  the  second  place, 
this  fine  gain  assures  us  that  the  war 
situation  has  not  demoralized  the  mis- 
sionary interest  of  the  churches.  The  re- 
ceipts from  the  churches  increased  en- 
couragingly during  May,  and  the  outlook 
for  Children's  Day,  so  far,  during  June, 
is  excellent. 

If  the  gains  keep  right  on  from  every 
source  during  the  last  three  months  of 
the  year,  we  will  have  by  far  the  great- 
est missionary  year  in  our  history.  What 
an  inspiration  this  would  be  to  the  mis- 


sionaries at  the  front  in  this  time  of 
world-suffering!  How  such  a  consum- 
mation would  hearten  the  churches  at 
home  to  redouble  their  efforts  for  the 
great  work!  And  why  should  not  such 
be  the  case?  The  war  is  on,  but  it  will 
be  temporary.  The  work  of  world-wide 
missions  is  to  be  pressed  until  the  world 
belongs  to  Christ.  In  this  time  of  suf- 
fering nations,  organized  Christianity 
must  press  every  advantage  and  claim, 
that  we  may  vindicate  the  supremacy  of 
spiritual  things  and  bring  the  church  of 
Christ  to  its  own.  To  allow  the  work 
of  God  to  diminish  when  the  world  is 
suffering  and  spending  of  itself  as  never 
before,  would  contradict  the  fundamentals 
of  Christian  teaching.  Now  as  never 
before  the  world  needs  God.  The  suffer- 
ing which  we  are  beginning  to  share 
should  only  make  us  feel  the  need  of 
real  sacrifice  for  Christ. 

We  believe  there  is  possibility  of  reach- 
ing the  financial  goal  for  the  year — $600,- 
000  for  the  Foreign  Society  by  Septenr 
ber  30.  Let  every  friend  of  the  work  put 
forth  unusual  effort  to  this  end.  Such 
a  victory  in  this  year  would  challenge 
our  whole  fellowship  to  greater  things 
and  enable  the  Foreign  Society  to  press 
forward  in  tne  open  and  needy  fields  as 
never  before.  S.  J.  Corey. 


of  exercising,  we  will  have  two  more 
good  churches  there  in  another  year. 

The  churches  at  Windsor  and  Neoga 
are  making  preparations  for  a  big  day 
July  8.  The  state  secretary  expects  to 
visit  both  churches  on  that  occasion. 

C.  W.  Marlow  has  had  an  unusually 
good  ministry  at  Olney,  but  in  a  round- 
about way  we  have  heard  that  Mr.  Mar- 


low  expects  to  close  his  work  there  this 
fall. 

Charles  W.  Ross,  of  West  Side  church. 
Springfield,  has  recently  closed  another 
meeting  with  home  forces,  resulting  in 
sixty-five  additions. 

The  State  Council  of  Defense  of  Illi- 
nois has  called  upon  the  state  secretary 
for   co-operation   in   making   the   Fourth 


tea 


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The  word  "rebuilt"  has  been  abused  and  misused  until  it  has  become  a  meaningless  trade  term 

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nickel  parts,  re-enamel  the  frame  and  replace  all  worn  parts  with  new  ones. 
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standard  carriages  taking  paper  10}^  inches  wide,  any  kind  of   keyboard,  any  kind  of  type, 
rubber  covers,  tabulators,  back  spacers,  two-color  ribbons,  complete  with  instruction  books 
and  cleaning  outfits,  and  are  guaranteed  for  three  years  the  same  as  new  ones,  and  to  have  not 
less  than  fifty  per  cent  of  new  parts. 
Send  any  amount  you  can  spare,  from  $5.00  up,  as  a  first  payment,  and  pay  the  balance 
$5.00  monthly.  5  per  cent  discount  for  all  cash.  Purchaser  must  pay  transportation.   If  $10.00 
or  more  is  sent  with  order,  we  will  include  FREE  a  very  fine  Metal  Case,  in  addition  to  the  rubber 
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THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


.  June  21,  1917 


of  July  a  great  day  among  the  churches 
this  year.  The  Council  suggests  that 
each  congregation  in  Illinois  have  a  pa- 
triotic celebration  in  their  church  on  the 
Fourth. 

H.  H.  Peters,  State  Secretary. 


Foreign  Mission  Notes 

Frank  Beard,  of  Luchowfu,  China, 
writes  that  they  have  just  dedicated  the 
new  West  Side  chapel  and  social  center 
in  Luchowfu.  This  has  been  constructed 
at  the  cost  of  $2,500.  The  chapel  seats 
three  hundred,  there  is  a  reading  room, 
social  rooms,  primary  school  and  a  pas- 
tor's home.  This  is  going  to  be  a  fine 
center  in  this  section  of  the  city  for 
real  evangelistic  and  educational  work. 
Our  work  has  grown  in  the  city  of  Lu- 
chowfu, until  it  has  taken  on  the 
aspects  of  Christian  work  in  one  of  our 
American  cities.  Eighty  members  of  the 
Luchowfu,  China,  Central  Church  sat 
down  together  for  their  Christmas  din- 
ner this  year.  The  church  has  a  fine 
membership  and  the  people  are  very  en- 
thusiastic. 

There  are  six  fine  students  in  our 
Japan  Mission,  who  are  all  ready  to  en- 
ter the  Bible  College  in  Tokyo,  but  are 
not  able  to  do  so  because  scholarships 
have  not  yet  been  provided.     The  For- 


CHURCH  Bij^lgsj!  SCHOOL 


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Order  Now.      Finest   quality  and  most 
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Aug.  10, 1910 


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Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  St.  Chicago,  111. 


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DISCIPLES    PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 
700  E.  40th  St.,  Chicago,  HI. 


eign  Society  is  not  able  to  add  this  to 
the  regular  budget  of  expenditures,  and 
these  young  men  will  be  denied  their 
privileges  in  preparing  for  the  ministry 
unless  special  support  can  be  provided. 
A  great  deal  of  enthusiasm  is  being 
aroused  all  over  the  Brotherhood  be- 
cause of  the  united  work  undertaken  by 
the  Foreign  Society  and  the  Christian 
Woman's  Board  of  Missions  in  the 
Congo.  It  is  the  plan  to  have  the  work 
entirely  united  in  that  field,  each  Society 


sharing  equally  the  support  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  the  Woman's  Board  grad- 
ually undertaking  their  share  of  the  rest 
of  the  expenses.  A  group  of  mission- 
aries designated  for  Liberia  by  the  C. 
W.  B.  M.  will  sail  for  the  Congo  early 
in  the  fall.  This  strengthening  of  the 
work  and  the  uniting  of  the  program  for 
Africa,  for  the  Disciples,  will  be  a  great 
encouragement  both  to  the  missionaries 
and  to  the  churches. 

S.  J.  Corey,  Sec. 


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|       The  Composition  of  Coca-Cola  | 

1      and  its  Relation  to  Tea  1 

S                              Prompted  by  the  desire  that  the  public  shall  S 

=                              be  thoroughly  informed  as  to  the  composi-  s 

tion  and  dietetic  character  of  Coca-Cola,  the  ■£ 

js                              Company  has  issued  a  booklet  giving  a  de-  s 

3                              tailed  analysis  of  its  recipe  which  is  as  follows :  § 

5                                Water,    sterilized  by  boiling   (carbonated);  s 

sugar,  granulated,  first  quality;  fruit  flavoring  5 

3                                 extracts  with  caramel;  acid  flavorings,  citric  3 

S                                 (lemon)  and  phosphoric;  essence  of  tea — the  r£ 

3                               refreshing  principle.  s 

^*  IMS 

3                             The  following  analysis,  by  the  late  Dr.  John  § 

W.  Mallet,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  and  £ 

E  for  nearly  forty  years  Professor  of  Chemistry 

in  the  University  of  Virginia,  shows  the  com-  3 
parative  stimulating  or  refreshing  strength  of 

E                             tea  and  Coca-Cola,  measured  in  terms  of  the  £ 

refreshing  principle:  3 

E                               Black  tea — 1  cupful 1.54  E 

=                                                     (hoi)                            (5  fl.  oz.)  £ 

Green  tea — 1  glassful 2.02  | 

(cold)                             (8  fl.  oz.  exclusive  of  ice)  S 

j                                Coca-Cola— 1  drink,  8  fl.  oz 1.21  § 

(fountain)                          (prepared  with  1  fl.  oz.  Syrup)  £5 

Coca-Cola— 1  drink,  8  fl.  oz 1.12  I 

{bottlers)                         (prepared  with  1  fl.  oz.  Syrup)  £5 

From  the  above  recipe  and  analysis,  which  are  S 

E                              confirmed  by  all  chemists  who  have  analyzed  j| 

these  beverages,  it  is  apparent  that  Coca-Cola  ~ 

E                              is  a  carbonated,  fruit-flavored  modification  of  B 

tea  of  a  little  more  than  one-half  its  stimulat-  ~ 

E                              ing  strength.  « 

MM  MM 

"*■  »M 

A  copy  of  the  booklet  referred  to  above  will  s 

E                              be  mailed  free  on  request,  and  The  Coca-Cola  §j 

Company    especially    invites    inquiry    from 

those  who  are  interested  in  pure   food  and  J 

E                             public    health    propaganda.      Address  E 

The  Coca-Cola  Co.,  Dept.  J.,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  U.  S.  A.  I 

HiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimimiiiH 


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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION   SOCIETY 

700  E.  40th  St.,  Chicago 


June  21,  1917  THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  23 


IS    THE    WORLD 
GROWING  BETTER 


or  more  materialistic?  A  study  of  actual 
events  leads  Professor  Shailer  Mathews  to  be- 
lieve that  history  does  show  spiritual  forces  at 
work  which  may  renew  our  threatened  ideal- 
ism and  our  confidence  in  the  might  of  right. 
He   sums   up   his   views   in    his  new   volume 


"THE  SPIRITUAL 

INTERPRETATION  OF 

HISTORY" 


Professor  Mathews  is  Dean  of  the  Divinity 
School  in  the  University  of  Chicago  and  is  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  writers  in  the  field  of  re- 
ligion today.  He  is  also  the  Editor  of  the 
Biblical   World. 

Every  minister  and  every  alert  churchman 
should  possess  this  book.  It  is  esssentially  a 
book   for   the   times. 

Price  of  the  Book,  $1.50 


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Afford  the  very  best  study  material  for  the  work  of  the  mod- 
ern Sunday  school.  Their  growing  popularity  is  notable. 
Some  of  our  leading  schools  have  used  them  for  years ;  others 
are  coming  to  use  them  as  they  learn  of  their  merits.  Here  is 
what  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  church  say  of  this  unsur- 
passed body  of  literature: 

Rev.  G.  W.  Knepper,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.:  "We  sought  the 
BEST,  and  we  use  the  BETHANY  GRADED." 

Rev.  P.  L.  Schuler,  Cedar  Rapids,  la. :  "No  course  so  satis- 
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Rev.  J.  J.  Tisdall,  Toledo,  O. :  "Especially  fine  for  Interme- 
diates." 

Rev.  I.  S.  Chenoweth,  Philadelphia:  "Superior  to  anything 
we  have  seen;  have  used  it  for  years." 

Rev.  E.  H.  Wray,  Steubenville,  O.:  "None  better." 

Rev.  L.  O.  Bricker,  Atlanta,  Ga.:  "Absolutely  satisfactory; 
a  triumph  of  religious  educational  enterprise." 

Rev.  Frank  Waller  Allen,  Springfield,  111.:  "Without  a 
peer." 

Rev.  Chas.  M.  Watson,  Norfolk,  Va.:  "The  best  published." 
Rev.  Edgar  D.  Jones,  Bloomington,  111.:  "Gives  entire  satis- 
faction." 

Rev.  Finis  Idleman,  New  York:  "Means  a  new  day  in  re- 
ligious education." 

Rev.  E.  B.  Shively,  Paris,  Mo.:  "Produces  character  in  the 
Sunday-school." 

Rev.  H.  H.  Harmon,  Lincoln,  Neb.:  "Makes  the  teacher's 
work  a  real  joy." 

Rev.  Graham  Frank,  Liberty,  Mo.:  "School  is  delighted 
with  it." 

Rev.  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan,  Richmond,  Va.:  "Makes  teach- 
ing and  learning  easy." 

Rev.  L.  J.  Marshall,  Kansas  City,  Mo.:  "Thoroughly 
edited." 

Rev.  P.  J.  Rice,  El  Paso,  Texas:  "Nothing  that  compares 
with  it." 

Rev.  E.  M.  Waits,  Ft.  Worth,  Texas:    "The  best  published 

anywhere." 
Rev.  T.  E.  Winter,  Philadelphia:    "A  delight  to  all." 

AND  THERE  ARE  OTHERS.  YOUR  SCHOOL 
SHOULD  HAVE  THE  BETHANY.  SEND  FOR  RE- 
TURNABLE SAMPLES.    ADDRESS 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago 


{ 


Vol.  XXXIV 


June  28,  1917 


Number  26 


Dr.  Jenkins  Sees 

German  Air  Raids 

In  England 


CHICAGO 


ills 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  28,  1917 


Great  Books 
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ON   RELIGION 

Psychology  of  Religion 
By  George  A.  Coe 

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Aspects  of  the  Infinite 

By  George  A.  Gordon 

$1.50  net 
Applied  Religion  for  Everyman 
By  Nolan  R.  Best 

$1.00  net 
The  Spiritual  Interpretation  of 
History 

By  Shailer  Mathews 

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The  Manhood  of  the  Master 
By  H.  E.  Fosdick 

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The  Bible  and  Modern  Life 
By  Clayton  S.  Cooper 

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The  Man  in  the  Street  and 
Religion 

By  Burris  A.  Jenkins 

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The  Wisdom  of  God's  Fools 
By  Edgar  D.  Jones 

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The  Social  Principles  of  Jesus 
By  Walter  Rauschenbusch 

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The  Syrian  Christ 

By  A.  M.  Rihbany 

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ON  THE  WAR 

What  the  War  is  Teaching 
By  Charles  E.  Jefferson 

$1.00  net 
The  Christian  Ethic  of  War 
By  Principal  P.  T.  Forsyth 

$2.00  net 
New  Wars  for  Old 

By  John  H.  Holmes 

$1.25 
The  Challenge  of  the  Future 
By  Roland  G.  Usher 

$1.75 
Preparedness:  The  American 
versus  the  Military  Program 
By  W.  I.  Hull 

$1.25  net 
History  of  the  Great  War.  Vol.  I 
By  A.  Conan  Doyle 

$2.00  net 
Poems  of  the  Great  War     ^ 

$1.50 
FICTION 
Mr.  Britling  Sees  It  Through 
By  H.  G.  Wells 

$1.60 
El  Supremo 

By  E.  L  White 

$1  90 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Life  of  Booker  T.  Washington 

By  E.  J.  Scott 

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A  Handy  Guide  for  Beggars 
By  Vachel  Lindsay 

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Fruit  Gathering 

By  Rabindranath  Tagore 

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Rhymes  of  a  Red  Cross  Man 
By  Robt.  W.  Service 

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For  Sale  by 

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The  Bethany 

Graded  Lessons 


Afford  the  very  best  study  material  for  the  work  of  the  mod- 
ern Sunday  school.  Their  growing  popularity  is  notable. 
Some  of  our  leading  schools  have  used  them  for  years ;  others 
are  coming  to  use  them  as  they  learn  of  their  merits.  Here  is 
what  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  church  say  of  this  unsur- 
passed body  of  literature: 

Rev.  G.  W.  Knepper,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.:  "We  sought  the 
BEST,  and  we  use  the  BETHANY  GRADED." 

Rev.  P.  L.  Schuler,  Cedar  Rapids,  la.:  "No  course  so  satis- 
factory for  Primaries  and  Juniors." 

Rev.  J.  J.  Tisdall,  Toledo,  O.:  "Especially  fine  for  Interme- 
diates." 

Rev.  I.  S.  Chenoweth,  Philadelphia:  "Superior  to  anything 
we  have  seen;  have  used  it  for  years." 

Rev.  E.  H.  Wray,  Steubenville,  O. :   "None  better." 

Rev.  L.  O.  Bricker,  Atlanta,  Ga. :  "Absolutely  satisfactory; 
a  triumph  of  religious  educational  enterprise." 

Rev.  Frank  Waller  Allen,  Springfield,  111.:     "Without  a 

peer." 

Rev.  Chas.  M.  Watson,  Norfolk,  Va.:  "The  best  published." 
Rev.  Edgar  D.  Jones,  Bloomington,  111.:  "Gives  entire  satis- 
faction." 

Rev.  Finis  Idleman,  New  York:  "Means  a  new  day  in  re- 
ligious education." 

Rev.  E.  B.  Shively,  Paris,  Mo.:  "Produces  character  in  the 
Sunday-school." 

Rev.  H.  H.  Harmon,  Lincoln,  Neb.:  "Makes  the  teacher's 
work  a  real  joy." 

Rev.  Graham  Frank,  Liberty,  Mo.:  "School  is  delighted 
with  it." 

Rev.  H.  D.  C.  Maclachlan,  Richmond,  Va.:  "Makes  teach- 
ing and  learning  easy." 

Rev.    L.    J.    Marshall,    Kansas    City,    Mo.:      "Thoroughly 

edited." 
Rev.  P.  J.  Rice,  El  Paso,  Texas:    "Nothing  that  compares 

with  it." 
Rev.  E.  M.  Waits,  Ft.  Worth,  Texas:    "The  best  published 

anywhere." 
Rev.  T.  E.  Winter,  Philadelphia:    "A  delight  to  all." 

AND  THERE  ARE  OTHERS.  YOUR  SCHOOL 
SHOULD  HAVE  THE  BETHANY.  SEND  FOR  RE- 
TURNABLE SAMPLES.    ADDRESS 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago 


June  28,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     C  E  N  T  U  R  Y 


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DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY,  PROPRIETORS, 


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Disciples 

Publication 

Society 


The  Disciples  Publica- 
tion Society  is  an  or- 
ganization through 
which  churches  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ 
seek  to  promote  un- 
denominational and  constructive 
Christianity. 

The  relationship  it  sustains  to  Dis- 
ciples organizations  is  intimate  and 
organic,  though  not  official.  The  So- 
ciety is  not  a  private  institution.  It 
has  no  capital  stock.  No  individuals 
profit  by  its  earnings. 

The  charter  under  which  the  So- 
ciety exists  determines  that  whatever 
profits  are  earned  shall  be  applied  to 
agencies  which  foster  the  cause  of 
religious  education,  although  it  is 
clearly  conceived  that  its  main  task 
is  not  to  make  profits  but  to  produce 
literature  for  building  up  character 
and  for  advancing  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. *     •     * 

The    Disciples    Publication    Society 


regards  itself  as  a  thoroughly  unde- 
nominational institution.  It  is  organ- 
ized and  constituted  by  individuals 
and  churches  who  interpret  the  Dis- 
ciples' religious  reformation  as  ideally 
an  unsectarian  and  unecclesiastical 
fraternity,  whose  common  tie  and 
original  impulse  are  fundamentally  the 
desire  to  practice  Christian  unity  with 
all  Christians. 

The  Society  therefore  claims  fel- 
lowship with  all  who  belong  to  the 
living  Church  of  Christ,  and  desires  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christian  people 
of  all  communions,  as  well  as  with  the 
congregations  of  Disciples,  and  to 
serve  all.  *     *     * 

The  Christian  Century  desires  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  be  the  worthy  or- 


gan of  the  Disciples'  movement.  It 
has  no  ambition  at  all  to  be  regarded 
as  an  organ  of  the  Disciples'  denom- 
ination. It  is  a  free  interpreter  of  the 
wider  fellowship  in  religious  faith  and 
service  which  it  believes  every  church 
of  Disciples  should  embody.  It 
strives  to  interpret  all  communions,  as 
well  as  the  Disciples,  in  such  terms 
and  with  such  sympathetic  insight  as 
may  reveal  to  all  their  essential  unity 
in  spite  of  denominational  isolation. 
The  Christian  Century,  though  pub- 
lished by  the  Disciples,  is  not  pub- 
lished for  the  Disciples  alone.  It  is 
published  for  the  Christian  world.  It 
desires  definitely  to  occupy  a  catholic 
point  of  view  and  it  seeks  readers  in 
all  communions. 


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"The  Training  of  Church  Members" 

By  ORVIS  F.  JORDAN  and  CHARLES  CLAYTON  MORRISON 

IS    THE    TEXT    BOOK 
YOU  ARE  LOOKING  FOR 

IF  you  have  a  Sunday-School  class  of  young  people  or  adults  whom  you  wish  to  inform 

concerning  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  own  movement. 
IF  you  are  desirous  of  making  your  mid-week  prayer  meetings  worth  while.     Don't  let 

your  prayer  meetings  languish.     Give  your  people  something  to  really  study.     Try  this 

helpful  little  book. 
IF  your  Christian  Endeavor  Society  needs  something  definite  to  work  at  this  year.     Why 

not  teach  these  impressionable  young  people  the  things  they  should  know  concerning 

the  church? 
IF  you  are  planning  to  organize  a  Pastor's  class  for  special  study. 
IF  you  are  organizing  a  teacher-training  class. 

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this  important  little  book? 
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fits  into  your  needs. 

Price,  15c  per  single  copy;  123^c  in  quantities 

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THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


June  28,  1917 


STUDENT   NURSES,    SENIOR   CLASS,   1917,   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH   HOSPITAL,   KANSAS    CITY,   MO. 

THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN  OF  TODAY 

This  is  literal  and  real  obedience  to  the  Savior's  "Go  and  do  thou  likewise."  It  is  even  an  improvement  upon 
the  parable,  as  it  ought  to  be  after  nineteen  centuries  of  Christian  progress.  It  multiplies  the  Good  Samaritan's 
deed  by  thousands,  brings  it  to  the  highest  efficiency  that  modern  science,  transfigured  by  Christian  compassion, 
can  achieve,  and  guarantees  its  perpetual  repetition. 

The  generosity  of  R.  A.  Long  in  giving  over  $150,000  that  a  third  of  the  institution's  service  might  forever  be 
free,  the  readiness  with  which  the  people  of  Kansas  City  and  of  Missouri  supplied  more  than  $200,000  for  the 
initial  investment  challenge  the  interest  of  the  entire  brotherhood. 

Eventually  $1,000,000  or  more  will  be  invested  in  this  institution  and  what  is  now  the  entire  plant  will  be 
the  Administration  Building.  The  cost  of  the  property  today  is  $300,000,  and  $150,000  is  held  as  perpetual  en- 
dowment. There  are  134  beds  in  the  hospital,  and  from  40  to  60  graduate  and  student  nurses  are  employed.  Every 
detail  in  construction,  equipment  and  operation,  conforms  to  the  highest  standards  of  the  day. 

Dr.  Jabez  Jackson,  earnest  in  his  church  and  eminent  in  his  profession,  is  Chief  Surgeon,  and  Dr.  Frank  D. 
Dickson,  a  distinguished  specialist,  is  in  charge  of  the  Orthopedic  Ward,  which  was  specially  equipped,  and  is 
being  maintained  by  a  Christian  of  another  Communion  in  Kansas. 

Three  needs  are  insistent:  First.  For  Christian  young  women  who  have  had  at  least  a  full  High  School 
course,  to  take  the  training  as  nurses,  for  which  the  hospital  offers  unusual  advantages.  Second.  For  $1,800  to 
$2,000  per  month  of  additional  income  to  meet  the  cost  of  operation.  Third.  For  additional  buildings  to  meet 
the  growing  demands. 

Contrasting  in  size  and  cost,  but  not  otherwise,  is  the  $20,000  Christian  Hospital  of  the  National  Benevolent 
Association  at  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  which  has  twenty  beds  and  renders  especially  important  service  among  the 
thousands  of  students  who  attend  Valparaiso  University. 

One  of  the  most  urgent  needs  of  the  National  Benevolent  Association  is  a  suitably  located  hospital  for  in- 
curables. The  success  of  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement  will  not  only  provide  this,  and  meet  other  of  the 
needs  mentioned  above,  but  will  open  the  way  for  the  establishment  of  additional  hospitals  at  strategic  points. 

Men  and  Millions  Movement 

222  W.  Fourth  Street  CINCINNATI,  OHIO 


The  Christian  Century 


CHARGES  W.AYTON  MORRISON,  EDITOB. 


BXEBEET     I..     WILLETT,     CONTEIBUTWO     EDITOft. 


Volume  XXXIV 


JUNE  28.  1917 


Numb' r  26 


Is  the  End  of  the  World  Near? 


THE  WAR  IS  PRODUCING  SOME  MORBID 
TYPES  OF  RELIGIOUS  INTEREST. 

There  is  no  question  that  the  world-war  has  quick- 
ened the  interest  of  people  in  the  problems  of  religion. 
Pastors  in  this  country  already  speak  of  larger  audi- 
ences and  of  many  new  converts  to  the  faith.  But  there 
is  manifested  also  a  new  interest  in  spiritualism,  sacra- 
mentalism  and  millenarianism.  It  is  a  time  when  the 
church  can  no  more  afford  to  ignore  abnormal  religious 
developments  than  it  could  afford  to  neglect  new  con- 
verts. 

Interest  in  the  question  of  the  end  of  the  world  is 
born  out  of  despair.  The  book  of  Daniel  was  the  first 
of  the  great  efforts  in  apocalyptic  writing,  and  it  set 
a  model  for  later  literature  of  this  kind.  It  found  a 
sympathetic  audience  among  the  persecuted  in  the 
times  of  the  Maccabees.  The  book  of  Revelation  cir- 
culated among  Christians  who  were  being  done  to  death 
by  hostile  emperors.  Its  veiled  denunciations  of  the 
"beast"  reveal  the  depth  of  abhorrence  for  the  govern- 
ment that  had  come  into  the  souls  of  the  Christians 
who  lived  in  daily  peril  of  the  lions  of  the  amphitheatre. 
These  Christians  found  no  strength  in  themselves  to 
combat  so  formidable  a  foe.  They  turned  to  God  and 
sought  refuge  in  the  belief  that  the  end  was  near. 

During  the  history  of  the  church,  every  period  of 
disturbance  and  danger  has  been  accompanied  by  a  re-1 
vival  of  the  belief  that  the  end  of  the  world  was  near. 
Tertullian  believed  it.  The  Crusaders  believed  it.  They 
were  all  mistaken.  During  the  past  century  the  Mil- 
lerites  put  on  their  robes  and  waited  for  the  Lord  on 
the  top  of  a  hill,  but  he  delayed  his  coming.  Pastor 
Russell  would  have  Jesus  manifest  himself  visibly  in 
1914,  but  he  did  not  appear. 

It  is  not  strange  that,  when  the  world  is  threatened 
with  the  peril  of  a  German  world  state  which  would 
crush  out  our  liberties,  some  should  seek  the  defeat  of 
the  Kaiser  in  the  manifestation  of  the  Parousia  or  in  the 
final  cataclysm  of  the  world. 

•     • 

Why  should  we  concern  ourselves  with  this  sort 
of  belief?  Is  it  not  to  be  numbered  among  the  inno- 
cent superstitions  which  may  be  tolerated?  The  diffi- 
culty is  that  millenarianism  is  the  counsel  of  despair, 
so  far  as  human  agencies  are  concerned.  It  folds  its 
hands  and  waits,  just  as  Paul  described  in  Second 
Thessalonians.  We  are  compelled  with  Paul  to  say  to 
these  pessimistic  Christians  that  he  that  will  not  work 
shall  not  eat.  Further,  we  must  assert  to  our  Christian 
pessimists  of  this  hour  that  the  kingdom  can  only  be 
ushered  in  completely  through  our  own  arduous  efforts. 
We  must  combat  a  false  doctrine  of  the  end  of  the  world 
for  the  sake  of  the  practical  interests  of  the  kingdom. 

What  can  we  say  to  the  millenarian  from  a  bibli- 
cal  standpoint?     Even  though  we  apply  a  literalistic 


treatment  to  biblical  utterances,  they  carry  no  support 
to  the  counsel  of  religious  despair.  Jesus  declared  that 
neither  he  nor  the  angels  knew  the  day  nor  the  houi, 
but  Pastor  Russell  and  many  others  were  less  modest 
in  fixing  a  date.  Jesus  declared  the  gospel  must  first 
be  preached  among  all  peoples.  Our  missionary  leaders 
tell  us  that  this  is  still  very  far  from  accomplishment. 
Furthermore,  the  day  was  to  come  as  a  thief  in  the 
night,  not  with  people  on  the  tops  of  hills  waiting  for 
it.  There  are  many  considerations  which  may  aid  a 
literalistic  mind  in  religion  to  escape  the  doctrine  of  an 
immediate  end  to  the  earth. 

Of  course,  we  know  our  earth  will  not  go  on  for- 
ever. It  may  grow  cold  like  the  moon  now  is  and  cease 
to  support  any  sort  of  life.  A  stray  comet  or  other 
heavenly  body  might  swerve  it  from  its  orbit  and  it 
would  be  absorbed  again  in  the  central  sun  of  our 
system.  There  are  other  possibilities.  The  certainty 
is  that  our  world  must  come  to  an  end,  along  with  the 
solar  system  of  which  it  is  a  part. 

But  suppose  it  should  happen  that  the  earth  should 
continue  to  exist  for  a  million  of  years?  In  that  case 
we  must  regard  ourselves  not  as  living  at  the  end  of 
human  history,  but  rather  near  its  beginning. 

If  we  are  at  the  beginning  of  civilization  instead 
of  at  the  end  of  it,  it  is  of  tremendous  importance  that 
every  ounce  of  our  energy  be  used  in  building  the  new- 
world  that  is  shortly  to  appear  upon  the  earth.  In  the 
making  of  the  new  world  in  the  here  and  now,  religion 
has  a  great  part  to  play. 

•     • 

We  may  leave  it  to  the  economists  to  decide  what 
sort  of  economic  order  we  shall  have.  There  are  deeper 
questions,  and  one  of  these  is  whether  we  shall  continue 
to  regard  economic  matters  as  being  of  greater  import- 
ance than  all  others. 

The  peace  of  the  world  waits  for  a  race  of  men  to 
be  reared  who  shall  no  longer  worry  and  struggle  over 
bread  and  butter  problems  like  crude  savages.  With 
any  kind  of  normal  living,  the  world  has  by  mechanical 
inventions  solved  the  food  and  clothing  question  for  all 
the  centuries  of  human  effort.  Before  the  war  began 
we  were  not  in  need  of  more  goods,  but  were  in  great 
need  of  spiritual  good.  It  is  religion  alone  which  will 
release  men  from  the  age-long  struggle  after  things, 
and  direct  their  attention  to  the  deeper  satisfactions 
of  the  inner  life. 

If  we  are  near  the  beginning  of  our  world,  instead 
of  near  the  end  of  it,  we  have  both  time  and  opportunity 
to  usher  in  Christ's  kingdom  of  social  righteousness. 

If  we  presume  that  the  world  is  now  near  its  end. 
we  must  say  that  to  date  God  has  been  defeated.  If 
we  believe  that  human  achievement  is  near  its  begin- 
ning, we  may  say  that  our  present  evils  are  but  the 
ugly  cocoon  from  which  a  worthy  and  true  life  shall 
surely  emerge. 


EDITORIAL 


WAR  ECONOMY  AND  GIVING 

THE  national  movement  for  war  economies  is  surely 
having  its  effect.     The  purveyors  of  certain  kinds 
of  luxuries  are  complaining  of  lack  of  business,  but 
in    the    long   run    the    country   will   be    much    stronger 
through  simpler  habits  of  living. 

It  will  be  unfortunate,  however,  if  the  great  middle 
class  of  the  country  count  their  giving  as  a  luxury 
which  may  be  cut  off  in  war-time.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
our  giving  is  never  to  be  measured  by  our  own  abund- 
ance, but  by  our  brother's  need.  This  war-time  will 
demand  many  kinds  of  sacrifice,  and  one  of  the  most 
necessary  forms  of  sacrifice  will  be  to  increase  the 
amount  of  our  giving  in  the  face  of  more  limited  re- 
s  urces. 

When  we  are  tempted  to  limit  our  giving,  we 
should  ask,  Is  there  less  or  more  suffering  in  the  world? 
Does  the  world,  with  its  losses  and  crosses,  need 
religion  more  or  less  than  it  did  before?  It  would  be 
wrong  for  us  to  leave  our  valiant  missionaries  beyond 
the  seas  without  support.  Our  home  churches  are 
needed  as  never  before,  and  have  served  as  a  strong 
right   hand  to  the  nation   in  this  time   of   its   distress. 

There  is  a  good  slogan  going  the  rounds  now, 
"Fight  or  give."  If  people  who  stay  at  home  do  not 
give  and  do  not  fight,  they  will  be  getting  off  too 
cheaply.  Such  a  person  is  a  "slacker"  in  a  double  sense 
and  lacking  in  the  true  human  feelings. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  our  giving  has  been  but  a  small 
percentage  of  our  total  income  in  America.  The  de- 
crease of  it  would  be  ruinous  to  religious  and  philan- 
thropic work,  but  would  not  be  an  item  of  sufficient  size 
to  help  the  general  national  situation,  even  if  we  re- 
garded money  not  given  as  saved  for  the  nation.  We 
can  greatly  increase  our  giving  and  still  not  weaken 
our  national  resources,  for  much  of  our  giving  unloads 
the  government  of  its  responsibilities  for  which  it  is 
not  now  organized  to  care. 

The  war  gives  us  an  opportunity  to  give  in  a  way 
that  we  will  feel.  It  is  only  giving  with  sacrifice  that 
brings  the  blessing  that  came  with  the  widow's  mite. 

WANTED:  RELIEF  FOR  THE  PEOPLE 

NOTHING  can  better  illustrate  the  reactionary 
thinking  of  our  legislators  than  the  fact  that  al- 
though they  were  willing  to  vote  in  universal 
military  service  with  alacrity,  they  deliberate  a  long 
time  over  the  problem  of  government  control  of  food 
and  fuel  supplies.  This  indicates  that  in  the  minds  of 
many  of  them  property  is  esteemed  more  sacred  than 
the  bodies  of  our  citizens. 

We  hear  the  rumblings  of  discontent  over  prices 
which  are  higher  in  New  York  and  Chicago  than  in 
London.  The  Federation  of  Labor  threatens  strikes 
unless  relief  is  given.  Meanwhile,  there  are  men  in  our 
great  cities  who  have  become  multi-millionaires  in  six 
months.  Not  since  the  days  of  the  civil  war  has  market 
manipulation  brought  such  a  harvest  to  the  speculator. 
The  question  of  method  is  not  one  that  a  religious 
leader  need  to  dogmatize  upon.  Whether  the  govern- 
ment should  compete  with  other  food  distributors,  as  it 
competes  with  express  companies,  or  whether  it  shall 
become  a  monopolist,  a^  it  does  in  the  post  office  busi- 
ness, are  matters  for  the  economists  to  settle. 


From  the  standpoint  of  those  interested  in  human 
life,  however,  it  cannot  be  said  too  insistently  that 
something  must  be  done  at  once.  Unless  relief  is  given 
for  the  summer  months,  the  death  toll  during  the  com- 
ing winter  in  the  cities,  from  insufficient  food  and  fuel, 
will  be  great. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  is  naturally 
timid  in  asking  ever  larger  powers  during  these  trying 
times  of  war.  He  has  not  betrayed  any  trust  imposed 
in  him,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  for  a  few  years  we 
should  not  give  him  larger  powers  than  has  ever  before 
been  conferred  upon  an  American  executive.  Only  thus 
can  iniquitous  profiteers  be  defeated  in  their  efforts  to 
grow  rich  out  of  the  sorrows  of  a  nation. 

THEY  WANT  A  CHURCHLESS  RELIGION 

WE  have  already  noted  in  these  columns  the  fact 
that  H.  G.  Wells  believes  in  a  religion  which 
is  to  have  no  organization.  The  smaller  fry 
among  literary  men  are  now  echoing  this  sentiment, 
which  is  restated  in  a  recent  article  on  religion  in  The 
New  Republic.  In  this  article  the  old-time  anti-clerical 
sentiment  is  dished  up  for  the  readers  of  that  excellent 
journal  twenty-five  years  after  it  has  become  out  of 
date  to  "talk  that  way." 

Any  modern  Christian  needs  to  read  but  a  few  lines 
of  such  an  article  before  realizing  that  the  writer  has 
not  attended  church  services  in  many  a  day  and  has  not 
met  a  university  trained  preacher  in  years.  Neither  the 
churches  nor  the  ministers  bear  any  resemblance  to  the 
second-hand  description  given  by  such  writers. 

The  notion  of  a  churchless  religion  which  is  just 
now  popular  among  hack  writers  is  utterly  absurd  in] 
the   light   of   the   modern   study  of   religion — of   which 
these  writers  are  utterly  ignorant,  of  course.     We  now' 
have  careful  and   scientific  research   in  the  history  of 
religion,  the  psychology  of  religion  and  its  sociological 
function.     We  have  made  accurate  studies  of  the  re 
ligions  of  the  world  and  compared  them.     If  there  is 
anything  that   stands  out   clearly  it   is  the   conception 
that  religion  is  no  individualistic  experience,  but  is,  on 
the  contrary,  a  great  social  phenomenon. 

Yet  we  have  writers  demanding  a  religion  of  in 
dividualism  to  live  in  the  midst  of  a  society  where  the 
social  conception  is  dominant.  In  an  age  when  even 
hardware  dealers  have  a  close  organization  and  a  jour- 
nal, our  writers  dream  of  a  churchless  religion  where  the 
friends  of  God  would  never  meet. 

It  is  a  day  when  we  need  a  fresh  study  of  the  place 
of  the  church  in  the  midst  of  human  society  and  a  new 
apologetic  for  the  church.  Not  in  many  centuries  have 
the  churches  been  so  useful  as  they  are  today.  They 
are  growing  the  country  over,  but  they  would  grow 
more  rapidly  if  the  principle  of  organization  in  religion 
were  better  understood  to  inhere  in  the  very  nature  of 
religion. 

"THE    OLD    ORDER   CHANGETH" 

IN  his  recent  story,  "Fairhope,"  Edgar  DeWitt  Jones 
has  given  us  one  of  the  most  human  documents  ever 
produced  within  the  Disciples  movement.  We  have 
had  doctrinal  works  a-plenty,  but  here  is  a  book  which 
shows  an  understanding  of  the  religious  life  of  our  peo-  j 
pie,  both  in  the  generation  that  is  passing  and  in  the 
new  one  in  which  we  are  now  living. 


June  28,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


One  might  read  the  early  chapters  of  the  book  and 
find  such  a  sympathetic  treatment  of  the  old  Disciple 
life  as  to  convince  one  that  the  author  still  lived  in  that 
period.  But  before  we  lay  down  the  book  we  become 
sure  that  the  man  who  wrote  it  has  grown  with  his 
people. 

The  chapter  entitled  "The  Old  Order  Changeth" 
is  especially  significant.  Fairhope,  the  wonderful  old 
country  church,  has  been  declining.  Its  older  people 
have  been  dying  off  and  its  young  people  are  no  longer 
interested.  The  old-time  enthusiasm  and  conviction 
are  gone.  The  new  minister  who  comes  is  trained  to 
deal  with  rural  life  problems. 

This  young  minister  declares  that  there  are  too 
many  churches.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  if  the 
churches  are  to  be  reduced  in  number,  Fairhope  church 
must  show  hospitality  to  others  than  the  immersionists 
When  a  fine  family,  the  Hanfords,  handed  the  minister 
their  letters,  the  minister  took  these  letters  to  his  board 
of  elders.  It  was  decided  to  accord  some  measure  of 
fellowship  to  the  new  family. 

The  minister  said:     "I  believe  we  ought  to  meet 
this  issue  frankly  and  decide  what  our  policy  should  be. 


After  some  reflection,  I  have  a  suggestion:  Supp<, 
state  to  the  congregation  just  what  Mr.  Hanford 
to  me  when  lie  handed  me  the  letter-.;  further,  that  1 
speak  our  hearty  appreciation  of  these  Christian  -.vork- 
ers  and  voice  the  belief  which  I  fervently  cherish  that  in 
circumstances  of  this  kind  it  becomes  us  to  practice  the 
unity  of  Christian  service  wherever  possible,  and  that 
out  of  such  practice  other  unifying  processes  may  right- 
fully be  expected  to  follow." 

The  book  is  so  tender  and  sympathetic  with  all  that 
has  been  good  in  Disciple  history  that  it  will  go  much 
farther  than  any  controversial  and  doctrinal  work 
lead  our  people  out  into  more  spiritual  attitudes.  It 
deserves  the  widest  sort  of  reading  among  our  people, 
both  for  the  charm  of  its  literary  quality  and  for  the 
sake  of  its  great  message  of  progress. 


J'liHiiiiiiiiHiiitimmiiHduiiiitmmiiuiiiuiiiiiiiiii 


niliiiii IIUUI n UUH iiiiuiniiHM 


I  have  been  driven  many  times  to  my  knees  by 
the  overwhelming  conviction  that  I  had  nowhere 
else  to  go.  My  own  wisdom  and  that  of  all  about 
me  seemed  insufficient   for  that  day.— Abraham 

Lincoln. 


iiiiiliililiiliiiiiiiiiiuiilliiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiniluiiiuiuiiiiiiui miiiimiuiititi 


mi  minim  ii. urn  in  iiiuiiiiti.KiMa.iuu.t.. 


Our  Bible  and  Other  Bibles 


By  Herbert  L.  Willett 


Final  Article  of  the   Series   on  the  Bible 
and   the   formula:      mus   »aun   ^aratnustra     imo   ^~.   _ 
phantom  of  meaning. 

Space  fails  to  permit  account  of  the  writings  of  Con- 
fucius, and  other  sages  of  China,  of  the  utterances  of 
Buddha,  and  the  Pitikas  which  are  the  embodiment  of  his 
messages,  or  of  several  other  venerable  collections  which 


These  are  examples  of  the  volumes  wmen  tor  various 
reasons  have  become  classic  and  venerable  among  the  chief 
religious  bodies  of  the  non-Christian  world.  Xo  one  of 
them  is  without  its  distinct  merits.  Each  gathers  to  itself 
traditions  of  great  souls  who  have  wrought  nobly  in  behalf 


in  one  race  or  another  have  taken  their  place  as  canonical      of  their  people.     In  all  of  them  can  be  discerned  some- 
and  inspired.  thing  of  the  breath  of  the  divine,  which  assures  us  that 

the  koran  God  has  never  left  himself  without  witness  among  anv 

But  the  most  impressive  example  of  an  authoritative,      people.     To  the  men  who  have  poured  their  hearts  into 

inspired  and  canonical  literature,  aside  from  the  Bible,  to      these  hymns  of  the  faith,  and  these  directions  for  the  holy 

life,  one  must  accord  honor  and  gratitude.     Yet  the  more 


be  found  in  the  world  today,  is  the  Koran,  the  scripture 
of  the  Mohammedan  world.  The  story  of  the  rise  of 
Islam  is  familiar  to  the  student  of  history.  Mohammed 
was  a  merchant  of  Mecca,  who  became  possessed  of  a 
passion  for  the  emancipation  of  the  Arab  race  from  the 
superstitions  of  the  idolatrous  past.  He  knew  something 
of  the  rather  low  type  of  Jewish  and  Christian  belief  and 
practice  about  him  in  the  Arabian  cities.  He  had  a  certain 
familiarity  with  the  Bible  from  these  sources.  As  the 
result  of  strife  with  his  own  clan,  growing  out  of  his 
claims  to  religious  inspiration  and  leadership,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  save  himself  by  flight  with  a  few  followers  from 
Mecca  to  Medina.  This  was  in  622  A.  D.,  the  year  which 
became  the  beginning  of  the  Mohammedan  era.  The 
career  of  conquest  upon  which  the  prophet  and  his  fol- 
lowers soon  entered  laid  the  entire  Levant  at  their  feet, 
and  even  threatened  Europe. 

In  the  course  of  his  life  as  prophet  and  defender  of 
the  faith  in  one  God,  Mohammed  wrote  a  considerable 
number  of  prayers,  directions  to  his  followers,  commenta- 

The  End 


they  are  studied,  and  the  more  their  writings  are  compared 
with  those  of  our  Bible,  the  more  are  we  impressed  with 
the  unique  character  of  the  Scriptures  which  have  issued 
from  the  hands  of  Hebrew  and  Christian  prophets,  and 
which  find  their  highest  levels  in  the  utterances  of  our 
Lord.  One  need  not  dispraise  the  other  holy  writings  to 
perceive  the  greatness  of  our  own.  In  fact,  the  more  at- 
tention is  given  to  the  world  literatures  of  religion,  the 
more  impressive  becomes  the  character  of  the  Bible.  They 
are  the  high  and  purposeful  aspirations  of  ethnic  teachers 
who  saw  the  truth  as  they  were  able  and  made  it  known  to 
their  people.  But  in  the  Bible  there  is  a  universal  note 
nowhere  else  discovered.  It  is  proving  itself  to  be  the 
message  of  God  to  the  race.  The  Christianity  of  which  it 
is  the  exponent  is  winning  its  way  in  the  very  lands  of  the 
non-Christian  world.  Their  bibles  are  for  particular  peo- 
ples and  limited  eras.  Our  Bible  is  for  every  age  and  all 
mankind. 


Owing  to  Dr.  Willett' s  recent  illness  and  the  unavoidable  delay  in  completing  his  series  of  articles,  it 
has  been  deemed  inadvisable  to  publish  the  book  "Our  Bible"  in  the  midst  of  the  summer.  The  publica- 
tion date  has,  therefore,  been  set  fonmrd  to  September,  1917.  The  Christian  Century  Press. 


8 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


June  28,  1917 


expression  in  hymns,  ritual  formula?,  priestly  instructions 
and  injunctions  to  the  faithful,  and  these  have  been 
gathered  into  an  increasing  collection  of  classic  writings. 
Most  of  the  ancient  beliefs  had  something  of  the  sort, 
though  in  certain  instances  the  sacred  literature  was  frag- 
mentary and  limited,  and  did  not  reach  the  status  of 
canonical  books. 

This  was  the  case  in  Egypt.  As  early  as  the  fifth  and 
sixth  dynasties,  two  and  a  half  millenniums  before  Christ, 
the  post-mortem  fortunes  of  the  pyramid-building  kings 
were  deemed  of  sufficient  importance  to  demand  the  cover- 
ing of  the  tomb  walls  and  galleries  with  hieroglyphic  texts 
which  include  the  ritual  for  burial,  specifications  for  the 
offerings  at  the  tomb,  magical  formulas,  ritual  of  worship, 
hymns,  fragments  of  myth,  and  prayers  for  the  welfare 
of  the  dead  monarch.  The  care  taken  to  provide  the  dead 
with  the  proper  credentials  for  their  safe  passage  through 
the  varied  experiences  of  the  under-world  led  to  the  com- 
pilation of  several  different  collections  of  magical  texts 
and  directions,  among  them  "The  Book  of  Him  Who  Is 
in  the  Under-World,"  the  "Book  of  Portals,"  and  most 
important  of  all,  the  so-called  "Book  of  the  Dead,"  which 
was  enlarged  from  time  to  time  until  it  required  a  papyrus 
roll  seventy  feet  in  length  for  its  transcription.  These  and 
other  writings  were  regarded  as  classic  and  essential  to 
the  welfare  of  the  soul  in  the  future  life,  but  were  never 
organized  into  a  canon  of  religious  instruction. 

The  Babylonians  had  a  large  body  of  priestly  writings, 
chiefly  employed  in  the  efforts  to  avert  evil  by  the  proper 
rules  of  magic  and  liturgical  directions  for  temple  usage. 
The  nearest  approach  which  they  made,  however,  to  re- 
ligious books  was  in  the  two  great  epics,  the  Cosmogonic 

pe^enfS^^PeauPMi%cSH^  m  £menc£  Tlie  ^i- 
crease  of  it  would  be  ruinous  to  religious  and  philan- 
thropic work,  but  would  not  be  an  item  of  sufficient  size 
to  help  the  general  national  situation,  even  if  we  re- 
garded money  not  given  as  saved  for  the  nation.  We 
can  greatly  increace  our  giving  and  still  not  weaken 
our  national  resources,  for  much  of  our  giving  unloads 
the  government  of  its  responsibilities  for  which  it  is 
not  now  organized  to  care. 

The  war  gives  us  an  opportunity  to  give  in  a  way 
that  we  will  feel.  It  is  only  giving  with  sacrifice  that 
brings  the  blessing  that  came  with  the  widow's  mite. 

WANTED:  RELIEF  FOR  THE  PEOPLE 

NOTHING  can  better  illustrate  the  reactionary 
thinking  of  our  legislators  than  the  fact  that  al- 
though they  were  willing  to  vote  in  universal 
military  service  with  alacrity,  they  deliberate  a  long 
time  over  the  problem  of  government  control  of  food 
and  fuel  supplies.  This  indicates  that  in  the  minds  of 
many  of  them  property  is  esteemed  more  sacred  than 
the  bodies  of  our  citizens. 

We  hear  the  rumblings  of  discontent  over  prices 
which  are  higher  in  New  York  and  Chicago  than  in 
London.  The  Federation  of  Labor  threatens  strikes 
unless  relief  is  given.  Meanwhile,  there  are  men  in  our 
great  cities  who  have  become  multi-millionaires  in  six 
months.  Not  since  the  days  of  the  civil  war  has  market 
manipulation  brought  such  a  harvest  to  the  speculator. 
The  question  of  method  is  not  one  that  a  religious 
leader  need  to  dogmatize  upon.  Whether  the  govern- 
ment should  compete  with  other  food  distributors,  as  it 
competes  with  express  companies,  or  whether  it  shall 
become  a  monopolist,  sft  it  does  in  the  post  office  busi- 
ness, are  matters  for  the  economists  to  settle. 


most  venerable  of  their  collections,  is  dated  by  scholars 
somewhere  between  2000  and  1500  B.  C.  It  consists  of 
some  1,030  hymns,  in  more  than  ten  thousand  verses,  and 
makes  a  book  equal  in  size  to  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  com- 
bined. Closely  associated  with  the  Rig-veda  in  the  venera- 
tion of  the  Hindu,  though  not  so  widely  employed,  are 
the  Sama-veda,  a  collection  of  sacred  chants  for  temple 
usage;  the  Yajur-veda,  a  book  of  ritual  for  sacrifices,  and 
the  Atharva-veda,  an  anthology  of  magical  formulae  for 
the  avoidance  of  evil.  The  word  Veda  means  knowledge, 
and  the  Vedas  have  been,  from  time  immemorial,  re- 
garded as  the  completely  inspired  literature  of  Hinduism. 

Intimately  related  to  the  Vedas  in  sanctity  are  the 
Upanishads,  a  body  of  writings  speculative  and  meta- 
physical in  character,  professing  to  be  based  upon  the  utter- 
ances of  the  Atharva-veda.  They  are  170  in  number,  and 
from  them,  offering  as  they  do  such  ample  opportunities 
for  mystical  and  philosophic  meditation,  the  long  line  of 
Indian  poets,  from  the  writer  of  the  Bhagavad  Gita  to 
Tagore  have  drawn  their  inspiration.  From  this  liter- 
ature were  selected  the  mantras,  or  sacred  texts  for  popular 
instruction,  and  upon  it  were  founded  the  sutras,  or  rules 
and  aphorisms  to  be  stored  in  the  minds  of  the  devout. 
In  the  fullest  sense  the  Vedas  and  the  Upanishads  are  be- 
lieved to  be  inspired.  The  Brahmins  have  ever  taught 
that  the  truths  uttered  in  these  holy  books  were  revealed 
to  ancient  Aryan  seers.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  un- 
derstood that  the  theories  of  inspiration  varied  almost  as 
much  among  the  Hindu  sages  as  among  the  Jews.  Some 
of  them  affirmed  that  the  Vedas  were  eternal,  and  consti- 
tuted the  unique  and  unapproachable  body  of  divine  words. 
Others  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  inspiration  never  reallv 
churches  nor  the  ministers  bear" any  resemblance  to  the 
second-hand  description  given  by  such  writers. 

The  notion  of  a  churchless  religion  which  is  just 
now  popular  among  hack  writers  is  utterly  absurd  in 
the  light  of  the  modern  study  of  religion — of  which 
these  writers  are  utterly  ignorant,  of  course.  We  now 
have  careful  and  scientific  research  in  the  history  of 
religion,  the  psychology  of  religion  and  its  sociological 
function.  We  have  made  accurate  studies  of  the  re- 
ligions of  the  world  and  compared  them.  If  there  is 
anything  that  stands  out  clearly  it  is  the  conception 
that  religion  is  no  individualistic  experience,  but  is,  on 
the  contrary,  a  great  social  phenomenon. 

Yet  we  have  writers  demanding  a  religion  of  in- 
dividualism to  live  in  the  midst  of  a  society  where  the 
social  conception  is  dominant.  In  an  age  when  even 
hardware  dealers  have  a  close  organization  and  a  jour- 
nal, our  writers  dream  of  a  churchless  religion  where  the 
friends  of  God  would  never  meet. 

It  is  a  day  when  we  need  a  fresh  study  of  the  place 
of  the  church  in  the  midst  of  human  society  and  a  new 
apologetic  for  the  church.  Not  in  many  centuries  have 
the  churches  been  so  useful  as  they  are  today.  They 
are  growing  the  country  over,  but  they  would  grow 
more  rapidly  if  the  principle  of  organization  in  religion 
were  better  understood  to  inhere  in  the  very  nature  of 
religion. 

"THE   OLD    ORDER   CHANGETH" 

IN  his  recent  story,  "Fairhope,"  Edgar  DeWitt  Jones 
has  given  us  one  of  the  most  human  documents  ever 
produced  within  the  Disciples  movement.  We  have 
had  doctrinal  works  a-plenty,  but  here  is  a  book  which 
shows  an  understanding  of  the  religious  life  of  our  peo- 
ple, both  in  the  generation  that  is  passing  and  in  the 
new  one  in  which  we  are  now  living. 


June  28,  1917                                    THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY  0 

phetic  reformers  of  Asia,  Zoroaster.  His  date  has  been  vari-  tions  upon  incidents  in  the  Hebrew  and  Christian  Scrip- 

ously  placed  from  1000  to  650  B.  C.     A  small  group  of  tures,  and  other  utterances,  which  were  gathered  into  a 

hymns  was  left  by  this  teacher  and  the  Gathas,  a  series  collection,  and   today  constitute  the  classic  literature  of 

of   metrical   texts,    which   probably   also   come    from   the  Islam.     They  are  in  the  form  of  suras,  or  chapters,  and 

founder  of  the  new  faith,  who  went  about  as  a  wanderer  collectively  are  called  the  Koran,  or  "The  Reading."    They 

and  reformer  among  his  people.     The  sacred  scriptures,  are  most  diffusive  and  various.     They  deal  with  all  man- 

which   were   gathered   about  these   fragments,  *and   were  ner  of  matters,  historical,  theological,  traditional,  legendary 

augmented  by  prophetic  utterances,  liturgy  and  ceremonial,  and  ritualistic.     They  are  all  at  the  level  of  one  mind,  and 

hymns,  cosmogony  and  tradition,  were  gradually  assem-  were  written  within  a  comparatively  brief  period.  Yet  they 

bled  in  a  collection  known  as  the  Avesta.     The  date  of  this  are  the  basis  for  all  the  theology,  etiiics,  jurisprudence  and 

body  of  writings  is  assumed  to  be  about  240  A.  D.     Ac-  ritual  of  Mohammedanism.     The  Koran  is  the  text-book 

cording  to  the  tradition  of  the  Parsees,  the  modern  rep-  in  every  Mohammedan  school.     It  is  believed  not  only  to 

resentatives  of  the  Zoroastrian  faith,  the  Avesta  formerly  be  inspired,  as  the  work  of  the  prophet's  hand  and  brain, 

contained  twenty-one  books.     Of  these  but  one  now  stir-  but  as  well  to  be  the  utterance  of  the  divine  wisdom,  of 

vives.     It  consists  of  five  parts  ;  a  liturgy,  the  rules  of  which  the  prophet  was  made  the  oracle  and  vehicle  to  earth. 

clean  and  unclean,  hymns  of  various  age  and  merit,  and  a  Perhaps  the  theory  of  verbal  and  plenary  inspiration  was 

collection  of  prayers  for  daily  use.     The  Gathas  are  the  never  carried  to  greater  lengths  than  in  the  Mohammedan 

nucleus  of  the  first  of  these  sections.     The  divine  origin,  view  of  the  Koran.     To  the  book  is  ascribed  every  pos- 

character  and  inspiration   of  Zoroaster  were   confidently  sible  perfection  of  form  and  spirit.     The  diligence  with 

affirmed  by  his  followers.     The  divine  nature  of  the  liter-  which  it  is  studied,  and  the  zeal  with  which  its  teachings 

ature  which  bears  his  name  is  not  questioned  by  the  faith-  are  propagated  are  among  the  most  astonishing  features 

ful.     Few  of  the  Parsees  are  able  to  read  the  classic  Zend  of   Islam.     Doubtless   the   glamor  of  the   prophet's   own 

language  in  which  the  Avesta  is  written.     But  they  repeat,  career  is  cast  over  it  in  the  thought  of  the  "true  believers," 

as  an  act  of  merit,  the  sacred  Gathas,  whose  meaning  they  as^  Mohammedans  like  to  call  themselves.     Nor  can  any 

do  not  know.     Most  of  the  essentials  of  that  religion  which  fair  estimate  of  the  invaluable  services  of  the  prophet  to 

proclaimed  Ahura  Mazda  as  the  ever-living  Lord  of  Light,  bis  people  fail  to  yield  a  high  meed  of  praise  to  the  entire 

and  which  was  professed  by  the  great  Cyrus  and  his  sue-  movement  for  the  reform  of  the  Arabs.     But  one  needs 

cessors,  have  passed  away.     The  creed  of  the  modern  Par-  this  background  of  romantic  achievement  to   relieve  the 

see  is  merely  a  recognition  of  the  obligation  to  cultivate  feeling  of  disillusionment  which  results  from  the  effort  to 

"good  thoughts,  good  words  and  good  deeds."     The  vener-  become  interested  in  the  arid  and  trivial  pages  which  make 

able  figure  of  the  reformer  himself  has  all  but  vanished,  up  no  small  part  of  the  Koran.     The  man  and  the  move- 

and   the   formula :   "Thus   saith   Zarathustra"   has   but   a  ment  remain  greater  than  the  literature  they  produced. 

phantom  of  meaning.  These  are  examples  of  the  volumes  which  for  various 

Space  fails  to  permit  account  of  the  writings  of  Con-  reasons  have  become  classic  and  venerable  among  the  chief 

fucius,  and  other  sages  of  China,   of  the  utterances  of  religious  bodies  of  the  non-Christian  world.     No  one  of 

Buddha,  and  the  Pitikas  which  are  the  embodiment  of  his  them  is  without  its  distinct  merits.    Each  gathers  to  itself 

messages,  or  of  several  other  venerable  collections  which  traditions  of  great  souls  who  have  wrought  nobly  in  behalf 

in  one  race  or  another  have  taken  their  place  as  canonical  of  their  people.     In  all  of  them  can  be  discerned  some- 

and  inspired.  thing  of  the  breath  of  the  divine,  which  assures  us  that 

the  koran  God  has  never  left  himself  without  witness  among  any 

But  the  most  impressive  example  of  an  authoritative,  people.     To  the  men  who  have  poured  their  hearts  into 

inspired  and  canonical  literature,  aside  from  the  Bible,  to  these  hymns  of  the  faith,  and  these  directions  for  the  holy 

be  found  in  the  world  today,  is  the  Koran,  the  scripture  life,  one  must  accord  honor  and  gratitude.     Yet  the  more 

of  the   Mohammedan   world.     The   story  of  the   rise  of  they  are  studied,  and  the  more  their  writings  are  compared 

Islam  is  familiar  to  the  student  of  history.     Mohammed  with  those  of  our  Bible,  the  more  are  we  impressed  with 

was  a  merchant  of  Mecca,  who  became  possessed  of  a  the  unique  character  of  the  Scriptures  which  have  issued 

passion  for  the  emancipation  of  the  Arab  race  from  the  from  the  hands  of  Hebrew  and  Christian  prophets,  and 

superstitions  of  the  idolatrous  past.     He  knew  something  which  find  their  highest  levels  in  the  utterances  of  our 

of  the  rather  low  type  of  Jewish  and  Christian  belief  and  Lord.     One  need  not  dispraise  the  other  holy  writings  to 

practice  about  him  in  the  Arabian  cities.     He  had  a  certain  perceive  the  greatness  of  our  own.     In  fact,  the  more  at- 

familiarity  with  the   Bible   from  these   sources.     As  the  tention  is  given  to  the  world  literatures  of  religion,  the 

result  of  strife  with  his  own  clan,  growing  out  of  his  more  impressive  becomes  the  character  of  the  Bible.     Thev 

claims  to  religious  inspiration  and  leadership,  he  was  com-  are  the  high  and  purp0seful  aspirations  of  ethnic  teachers 

pelled  to  save  himself  by  flight  with  a  few  followers  from  who  gaw  the  truth  as  they  were  able  and  made  h  known  to 

Mecca  to  Medina.     This  was  m  622  A.  D.,  the  year  which  ^          k      But  fa  the  BiMe  &ere  fa  a  universal  note 

became    the   beginning   of    the    Mohammedan    era.     The  nQwhere  ^  discovered      It  is           ■       itsdf  t0  be  the 

career  of  conquest  upon  which  the  prophet  and  his  fol-  .  ^    ,  .     .,                 T,      ~,    ■_!••*       r     u-  u  •*. 

.                        M^       ,  \  ..  Al          ,.      %...%_'£.  message  of  God  to  the  race,      ihe  Chnstiamtv  of  which  it 

lowers  soon  entered  laid  the  entire  Levant  at  their  feet,  ,     &              ,  .                                 .      .              ,      ,      ,  _. , 

and  even  threatened  Europe.  1S  the  exponent  is  winning  its  way  in  the  very  lands  of  the 

In  the  course  of  his  life  as  prophet  and  defender  of  n°n-Chnstian  ^orld.     Their  bibles  are  for  particular  peo- 

the  faith  in  one  God,  Mohammed  wrote  a  considerable  Ples  and  hmited  eras-     °ur  Blble  1S  tor  ever>'  aSe  and  a11 

number  of  prayers,  directions  to  his  followers,  commenta-  mankind. 

The  End 

Owing  to  Dr.  Willett's  recent  illness  and  the  unavoidable  delay  in  completing  his  series  of  articles,  it 
has  been  deemed  inadvisable  to  publish  the  book  "Our  Bible"  in  the  midst  of  the  summer.  The  publica- 
tion date  has,  therefore,  been  set  forward  to  September,  igiy.  The  Christian  Century  Press. 


The  Way  Out  for  England 

With  Some  Implied  Suggestions  for  the  United  States 

By  Arthur  Mee 

In  "Defeat  or  Victory?" 


there   is  one  thing  about  which 


there  is  general  agreement  and 
•*•  steadily  growing  conviction,  it  is 
this  drink  curse.  On  every  hand  it  is 
acknowledged  to  be  our  greatest 
enemy.  Quite  apart  from  the  appal- 
ling fact  that  for  years  it  has  fastened 
its  shackles  upon  our  national  life,  de- 
stroying the  bodies  and  souls  of  count- 
less men  and  women,  and  creating  un- 
told misery,  poverty  and  tragedy — 
which  in  our  easy  indifference  we  have 
come  to  accept  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  to  look  upon  without  a  shudder — 
it  is  now  being  brought  home  to  us  in 
convincing  fashion  that  ultimate  vic- 
tory in  the  war  and  the  firm  handling 
of  this  foe  in  our  midst  are  very  closely 
related. 

Nearly  two  years  ago  the  nation  was 
solemnly  warned  by  the  present  Prime 
Minister  that  of  all  the  enemies  ar- 
rayed against  us  in  the  tremendous 
struggle  of  these  days,  the  most  pow- 
erful and  threatening  is  drink.  At 
that  time  it  almost  seemed  as  though 
the  hour  of  deliverance  had  at  last 
come  and  that  Great  Britain  was  about 
to  assert  her  latent  moral  strength  and 
put  an  end  to  the  whole  evil  business. 
And  had  the  Government  then  but 
taken  the  straight  and  courageous 
course,  it  is  certain  that  its  action 
would  have  been  backed — whatever  it 
had  cost — by  all  that  part  of  the  nation 
which  really  counts.  But  it  failed. 
Once  again  the  brewer  and  distiller 
proclaimed  who  are  the  real  rulers  of 
our  land.  Their  defiant  challenge, 
like  the  crack  of  a  slave-driver's  whip, 
brought  both  political  parties  to  heel. 

"vested  interests" 

The  British  Parliament,  said  Mr. 
Lloyd  George,  quailed  before  an  en- 
raged crowd  of  Irish  distillers  and 
publicans.  Britain  might  be  worsted 
in  her  great  task  on  the  fields  of 
France  and  on  the  high  seas.  The 
bodies  and  souls  of  men,  women  and 
children  might  be  destroyed  at  home. 
Every  efficiency  might  be  impaired, 
and  every  evil  thing  that  flourishes  un- 
der the  shadow  of  the  public-house 
might  multiply.  But  what  of  that  in 
comparison  with  the  vested  interests 
of  this  trade? 

With  splendid  heroism,  which  it 
would  be  impertinence  to  praise,  our 
soldiers  have  fought  against  terrible 
odds.  Their  deeds  will  live  as  long 
as  the  Empire  lasts.  The  red  tinge  of 
their  sacrifice  will  sanctify  all  our  fu- 
ture liberties.  But  what  have  we  done 
for  them  in  guarding  their  homes  from 


the  invasion  of  the  destroyer?  What 
have  we  done  to  make  our  land  clean 
and  sober  and  in  some  degree  worthy 
of  their  blood?  We  have  tinkered 
away  at  boards  of  control  and  short- 
ened hours  for  drinking  facilities — 
trying  to  cure  a  cancer  with  court- 
plaster!  We  have  given  the  greatest 
of  our  enemies  a  new  lease  of  life  in 
our  midst.  We  have  flouted  the  first 
claim  of  that  righteousness  by  which 
alone  a  people  is  exalted. 

ALLIES    LACK    CONFIDENCE   IN   BRITAIN 

Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  if  our  allies 
express  some  lack  of  confidence  in  us? 
Russia  gave  us  a  magnificent  lead,  and 
France  has  followed  her;  while  our 
successive  governments,  despite  earn- 
est representation  from  those  who  are 
in  closest  touch  with  the  great  centers 
of  population  and  industry,  have  so 
far  been  content  to  let  things  go  as 
they  are,  and  Great  Britain  has  thus 
been  made  to  appear  as  though  she 
gloried  in  her  shame.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  the  whole  world 
looks  on  and  wonders.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  the  most  widely  read  organs 
of  the  press  in  Japan  are  publishing 
articles  on  the  decadence  of  Great 
Britain,  pointing  to  the  drink  evil  and 
our  unwillingness  or  powerlessness  to 
deal  with  it,  as  the  greatest  cause  of 
deterioration  of  our  peoples  and  the 
plainest  sign  of  our  effeteness.  Nor 
do  they  fail  to  draw  the  inevitable 
corollary  that  Japanese  interests  in  the 
future  will  be  best  served  by  seeking 
alliance  with  nations  more  like  herself 
in  moral  vigor. 

The  influential  native  press  of  China 
is  full  of  the  same  kind  of  thing,  con- 
trasting, as  it  has  a  perfect  right  to  do, 
the  Chinese  self-liberation  from  the 
thraldom  of  the  opium  curse  with  our 
feebleness  in  regard  to  alcohol.  This 
is  the  humiliating  position  we  have 
been  brought  to  under  the  rule  of  the 
trade,  with  its  sardonic  grin  at  every 
suggestion  of  a  freed  land,  and  its 
tight  grip  upon  the  chief  political  par- 
ties in  our  state,  secured  by  the  power 
of  blood-money.  Who  can  express 
the  shame  of  it,  that  Great  Britain, 
once  the  savior  of  weak  peoples, 
should  have  become  a  spectacle  for 
their  scorn? 

WHAT    PROHIBITION    WOULD    COST 

Of  course,  we  are  not  unmindful  of 
the  cost  prohibition  involves,  nor  do 
we  suggest  any  harsh  or  unjust  treat- 
ment of  those  involved  by  the  arbi- 


trary extinction  of  licenses  to  produce 
and  sell  the  stuff  without  regard  to 
the  claims  of  honesty.  But  we  do  say 
that  whatever  the  cost,  this  thing  has 
to  be  done,  and  that  we  must  summon 
every  moral  reserve  to  carry  through 
the  sacrifice.  An  initial  sum  of  £300,- 
000,000  has  been  named  as  the  mini- 
mum price  at  which  the  state  could 
secure  control  of  the  liquor  trade  as 
the  first  step  toward  bringing  it  to  an 
end. 

Well,  what  of  it?  At  most  it  is  only 
two  months'  cost  of  the  war ;  it  would 
be  recovered  many  times  over  in  the 
amount  saved  by  the  shortening  of  the 
struggle,  for  the  impetus  and  speed- 
ing-up which  would  follow  would  go  a 
long  way  toward  carrying  us  to  tri- 
umph. But  let  it  be  clearly  under- 
stood that  for  the  state  merely  to 
acquire  and  carry  on  this  business  is 
by  no  means  an  answer  to  the  demand 
of  the  hour.  It  may  be  a  means  to 
an  end,  but  it  is  not  in  itself  the  end. 
Drink  is  drink,  with  all  its  hellish 
brood  in  its  train,  whether  it  be  dis- 
pensed by  a  government  department 
or  by  private  enterprise.  It  cannot 
be  mended  by  a  mere  change  of  owner- 
ship. It  must  be  ended  at  the  will  of 
an  united  people. 

"loss  of  revenue" 

As  to  the  old  objection  regarding 
loss  of  revenue,  it  is  difficult  to  see  any 
cogency  in  its  appeal.  We  only  know 
that  at  present  we  are  literally  wasting 
the  vast  amount  which  goes  into  the 
hungry  maw  of  this  trade.  It  is  utterly 
unproductive,  except  in  a  vicious 
circle,  and  might  as  well  be  thrown 
into  the  sea — far  better,  indeed,  for 
then  the  moral  consequences  of  its 
conversion  into  drink  would  not  defile 
or  destroy  our  nation.  On  the  lowest 
ground  at  all,  it  is  not  sound  finance 
to  raise  revenue  at  such  unspeakable 
cost  of  human  life,  which  is  the  real 
capital  of  any  country.  Are  we  going 
to  let  the  old  sophistries  of  politicians 
about  revenue  stand  any  longer  in  the 
way  of  emancipation?  Are  we  going 
to  confess  ourselves  defeated  once 
again  ?  Or  are  we  going  to  rise  in  our 
strength  and  put  an  end  to  this  thing? 

Who,  indeed,  can  be  satisfied  at  the 
condition  of  degrading  bondage  in 
which  we  live?  Looked  at  from  any 
point  of  view,  social,  economic,  pro- 
ductive or  military — the  retention  of 
the  brewer  and  distiller  as  the  traitor- 
ous dictators  of  our  destinies  is  an 
appalling  piece  of  blindness.  When, 
as  we  have  seen  it,  political  control  is 


June  28,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


11 


divorced  from  moral  purpose,  and 
things  essential  are  sacrificed  to  things 
expedient,  Nemesis  must  sooner  or 
later  overtake  the  guilty.  Ultimately 
every  house  built  on  the  sand  is  tested 
by  the  flood  and  swept  away.  Were 
it  not  so,  it  would  be  hard  to  believe 
in  any  Divine  control  of  human  af- 
fairs. Are  we  content  to  believe  that 
Britain's  national  mission  is  at  an  end? 
The  only  alternative  is  that  she  should 
set  her  house  in  order  and  make  her- 
self morally  worthy  of  the  service  of 
the  God  of  nations. 

IS    ENGLAND    CHRISTIAN 

Above  and  beyond  all  other  con- 
siderations which  have  been  advanced 
against  alcohol  is  the  moral  one.  The 
present  time,  with  its  heavy  demands 
and  searching  anxieties,  has  robbed  us 
of  many  illusions.  It  has  torn  aside 
disguises  of  ordinary  day  from  men 
and  nations  alike,  and  has  brought  to 
light  naked  crudities  both  of  belief 
and  behavior.  We  have  always  prided 
ourselves  on  being  a  Christian  nation, 
but  we  have  been  revealed  as  being 
swayed  and  governed  by  motives  and 
inspirations  that  cannot  in  any  sense 
be  called  Christian.  We  all  recognize 
gratefully  how  goodly  is  our  heritage. 
In  our  national  life  there  is  much,  very 
much,  for  which  to  be  thankful  and 
proud.  Britain's  innate  love  of  jus- 
tice and  fair  play;  the  purity  of  our 
public  life ;  the  disinterestedness  of 
state  and  civic  administrations ;  the 
increasingly  humane  treatment  of  the 
poor,  the  imbecile  and  the  prisoner ; 
the  benefit  of  education  placed  within 
reach  of  all;  the  protection  of  the 
toiling  classes  against  the  rapacity  of 
those  who  would  exploit  them  for 
gain ;  the  application  of  scientific  law 
and  invention  to  the  well-being  of  the 
people ;  the  fidelity  to  pledged  word  in 
international  affairs — all  these  give  us 
cause  for  thanksgiving  and  pride. 

But  let  us  face  this  grave  question 
seriously.  Do  these  things  really  make 


a  nation  Christian?  Unconsciously  in- 
fluenced to  an  extent  by  something  of 
the  spirit  and  teaching  of  Christianity 
which  has  filtered  through  into  the  life 
and  thinking  of  a  great  mass  of  the 
people,  much  of  our  legislation  and 
several  of  our  war  institutions  un- 
doubtedly arc ;  but  does  this  mark  us 
out  as  a  Christian  nation  ?  Surely  a 
nation  which  is  at  heart  Christian  must 
give  infinitely  higher  moral  expres- 
sion to  its  life  than  any  of  these  things. 
The  war  has  brought  to  light  a  good 
deal  of  latent  Christian  sentiment  in 
the  nation.  Never  was  there  such  an 
exhibition  of  generosity,  self-sacrifice 
and  willingness  to  serve  as  now.  Never 
have  men  been  so  ready  to  sink  them- 
selves for  the  good  of  others.  Never 
has  Britain  been  so  near  to  the  King- 
dom of  God  as  now.  By  one  supreme 
act  of  courageous  sacrifice  she  may 
win  her  soul.  But  will  she  awaken 
to  know  the  day  of  her  visitation? 

THE    CHURCH    IN    GRAVE    CLOTHES 

It  is  more  than  doubtful  if  organ- 
ized religion  is  going  to  prove  her 
helper.  Whether  the  churches  can 
divest  themselves  of  bonds  and  grave- 
clothes,  and  in  new-found  freedom  lay 
hold  of  this  solemn  opportunity  of  di- 
recting the  national  sentiment  toward 
Christ's  rule,  and  of  leading  the  na- 
tional energy  to  His  obedience,  re- 
mains to  be  seen.  *  At  present  it  must 
be  confessed  the  signs  are  not  hopeful ; 
but  meanwhile  our  immediate  duty  is 
clear.  Each  one  must  translate  his 
faith  into  works.  In  the  discharge  of 
our  duty  as  citizens  and  soldiers  we 
must  seek  first  the  Kingdom  of  God 
and  His  righteousness.  We  must 
dedicate  our  own  energy  to  the  stupen- 
dous task  of  bringing  the  life  of  our 
nation  under  the  recreating  rule  of 
God.  In  view  of  the  present  situation 
it  is  clear  that  we  shall  fail  in  our  first 
responsibility  if  we  are  content  to  do 
anything  less  than  give  ourselves  heart 
and  soul  to  this  war  of  liberation. 


We  have  talked  long  about  the 
necessity  of  national  rejxntance  and 
amendment.  Surely  the  time  has 
come   for    resolute    persona]    action. 

Here  is  our  task  to  hand,  and  our  op- 
portunity of  following  the  lead  of  Him 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  use  a  whip  of 
small  cords  when  the  rights  of  God 
and  men  were  i.ivaded.  The  nation 
generally  has  refused  to  follow  the 
lead  of  the  King  in  banishing  drink. 
Will  that  true  Church  of  Christ,  which 
has  its  members  within  every  religious 
body,  and  outside  of  them  all,  refuse 
likewise  to  follow  Him?  Or,  fxaring 
"the  sword  bathed  with  Heaven,"  will 
it  unite  to  spend  its  very  strength  in 
this  battle  for  a  liberated  land  ? 

"PROFITARLE  INIQUITY  IN  THE  HEART*' 

Away  with  indifference  and  apathy! 
Away  with  political  and  ecclesiastical 
insincerities!  Away  with  the  idea  of 
an  apathetic  God,  acquiescent  in  a  na- 
tion losing  its  soul,  caring  only  to 
snatch  a  few  from  ultimate  disaster! 
Away  with  the  paralyzing  cant  of  an 
uplifted  voice  and  a  down-hanging 
arm  !  Away  with  the  worthless  prayer 
of  a  people  which  calls  on  Heaven  for 
victory  against  an  outer  foe  and  re- 
gards this  profitable  iniquity  in  its 
heart! 

There  is  no  question  as  to  what  the 
right  course  is.  Humiliating  though 
it  is  to  confess,  our  allies  have  shown 
us  the  way  and  our  colonies  have 
driven  home  the  lesson  of  their  exam- 
ple. Even  though  the  bugles  of  peace 
should  sound  tomorrow,  declaring  the 
horrors  of  bloodshed  at  an  end,  and 
every  objective  for  which  we  have 
drawn  the  sword  achieved,  Britain 
would  stand  before  God  and  the  world 
a  defeated  nation  if  this  evil  is  not 
trampled  under  foot.  Her  last  state 
would  be  worse  than  her  first.  The 
battle  is  joined.  The  issue  is  plain. 
Each  one  of  us  shares  the  responsibil- 
ity of  victory  or  defeat. 


President  Wilson  Appeals  to  the  Sunday   Schools 

The  Sunday-schools  should  be  in  very  truth  "cradles  of  patriotism,"  and  every  school  should  be  found 
loyal  at  a  time  like  this.  Each  should  "do  its  bit."  President  Wilson  believes  they  will.  Thousands  of 
Sunday  schools  will  celebrate  next  Sunday,  July  1,  as  Red  Cross  Day.  Others  will  observe  the  following 
Sunday.  See  that  your  school  does  not  prove  a  slacker.  Provide  proper  exercises  and  do  not  omit  the 
chief  feature,  a  generous  offering.  Funds  should  be  sent  to  the  American  Red  Cross,  Washington,  D.  C. 
The   President's  message   to   the   Sunday-schools    follows: 

To  the  Officers,  Teachers  and  Scholars  of  the  Sunday-Schools  of  the  United  States  of  America: 

The  present  insistent  call  of  our  beloved  country  must  be  heard  and  answered  by  every  citizen  of  the 
United  States  in  proportion  to  his  or  her  ability  to  maintain  the  national  power  and  honor.  Many  citizens 
zvill  render  their  aid  by  force  of  arms  on  the  battlefield,  while  others  will  make  the  ATation  strong  by  their 
patriotic  gifts  and  support  to  the  common  cause.  It  is,  therefore,  highly  fitting  that  the  Sunday-schools 
of  the  Nation  should  observe  a  special  patriotic  day  and  on  this-  occasion  should  make  a  special  contribu- 
tion to  the  American  Red  Cross  for  the  alleviation  of  the  suffering  entailed  by  the  prosecution  of  the  pres- 
ent war.  It  is  my  earnest  hope  that  your  generosity  may  be  unstinted  in  this,  the  hour  of  the  Nation's 
need,  and  that  this  special  day  may  mean  much  to  you  in  the  understanding  of  the  cause  for  which  our 
beloved  land  now  contends.  Woodrow  Y\  ilsox. 


"Dissolving  Doubts" 


THE  words  of  the  phrase,  "dis- 
solving doubts,''  were  used  by 
Horace  Bushnell.  I  wish  to  carry 
them  along.  For  me,  they  rightly 
fit  an  epitomized  expression  of  what 
should  be  done  with  doubt.  It  is  not 
so  much  a  menace  as  it  is  a  difficulty. 
Epictetus  said,  "Difficulties  are  to  be 
overcome."  So  it  is  with  doubts. 
When  the  difficulty  is  overcome,  cause 
won,  the  enterprise  accomplished, 
there  is  always  rejoicing.  In  no  less 
degree  is  this  a  truth  related  to  dis- 
solving doubts. 

Is  this  "An  Age  of  Doubt,"  as 
Henry  van  Dyke  and  others  would 
have  us  believe?  Some  will  answer 
yes,  others  no.  One  widening  circle 
will  affirm  and  another  deny.  Both 
are  right.  Your  answer  will  depend 
upon  what  circle  you  are  in,  whether 
a  circle  of  belief  or  doubt.  Now,  as 
ever  before,  we  are  not  to  judge  all 
people  from  the  few  we  happen  to 
know. 

CAUSES   OF   DOUBT 

Let  us  note  the  causes  of  doubt. 
The  first  to  be  mentioned  is  ill-health. 
Both  our  mentality  and  religion  are 
colored  by  the  condition  of  our  health. 
When  the  patient  becomes  doubtful 
as  to  the  outcome  of  his  case,  the 
physician  knows  well  that  his  recovery 
becomes  more  hopeless.  A  belief  in 
health,  and  health  itself,  are  great  dis- 
pellers  of  doubt. 

Bad  weather  produces  doubts.  Dark, 
damp,  stormy  days  affect  men's  lives 
accordingly.  So  much  is  the  condition 
of  weather  to  be  taken  into  consider- 
ation that  some  business  men  will  not 
barter  on  what  they  think  is  an  un- 
favorable day.  In  no  less  a  way  is 
this  observed  in  the  church.  Some 
one  has  said  that  nine-tenths  of  church 
people  are  fair-weather  Christians. 
Somehow,  when  the  day  of  bad 
weather  comes,  church  members  feel 
doubtful  as  to  the  spiritual  boon  to  be 
received  on  that  day.  Therefore, 
doubting  that  help  will  be  received 
and  that  they  have  need  of  the  same 
on  that  particular  ill-winded  day,  they 
conclude  to  act  according  to  doubt  and 
remain  at  home. 

Another  cause  for  doubt  is  bad  en- 
vironment. It  becomes  hard  for  one 
to  believe  certain  things,  however  good 
they  may  be,  if  his  training  has  been 
in  surroundings  which  would  foster  a 
wholly  different  belief.  We  are  hav- 
ing now  an  example  of  an  empire 
which  doubts  the  tenets  of  democracy 
which  are  held  by  the  majority  of  the 
people  of  the  world.  Training,  sys- 
tem and  environment  account  for  this 
distorted  view.  Where  the  liquor  in- 
terests prevail,  many  believe  that  there 


By  C.  M.  Smail 

never  will  be  prohibition  of  the  traffic. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  our  environment 
often  makes  us  doubt  the  things  that 
are  the  highest  and  best. 

THINGS  WE  SHOULD  DOUBT. 

What  should  be  doubted?  To  an- 
swer this  question  requires  careful 
reflection.  The  list  of  things  to  be 
doubted  would  be  too  long  to  name 
here.     I  will  mention  only  three. 

There  is  the  matter  of  slavery.  How 
many  believed  in  it  a  half  century  ago  ? 
But  few  people  believe  in  it  now.  We 
wish  that  there  might  not  be  any  one 
who  so  believed.  Now  we  think  it 
right  to  doubt  the  feasibility  of  slav- 
ery. The  people  should  not  be  half 
slave  and  half  free.  But  all  should 
be  free.  Through  the  years  of  teach- 
ing, war  and  example,  a  belief  in  the 
institution  of  slavery  has  been  dis- 
solved. 

The  thought  uppermost  in  the 
world's  mind  now  is  the  dissolving  of 
autocracy.  Recent  events  and  present 
movements  are  fast  dissolving  the  idea 
that  a  nation  should  be  governed  by 
autocrats.  It  is  the  hope  of  America 
and  her  allies  that  democracy  will  rise 
and  autocracy  fall.  Time  and  events 
have  proved  the  value  of  the  one  over 
that  of  the  other  as  the  safest  and 
best  means  for  the  government  of  the 
people.  Men  can  well  doubt  the  use- 
fulness of  a  form  of  government 
which  has  proved  itself  such  a  colossal 
oppressor.  It  pays  to  doubt  autocracy 
when  autocracy  does  not  pay. 

IN    THE   REALM    OF   THEOLOGY 

Some  theological  beliefs  are  to  be 
doubted.  Are  there  not  many  things 
once  believed  by  Augustine,  Luther, 
Calvin,  Edwards  and  Campbell  which 
are  not  to  be  believed  by  men  of  to- 
day? Our  thoughts  now  are  the  re- 
sult of  evolutionary  processes  of 
thinking — from  their  day  until  now. 
We  differ  from  Augustine  in  his  mis- 
translation of  Romans  5:12;  from 
Luther  in  his  position  on  the  Lord's 
Supper;  from  Calvin  in  holding  that 
no  one  in  whom  God  had  really  begun 
a  work  of  grace  could  fail  to  be  saved ; 
from  Edwards'  ingenious  theory  of 
original  sin ;  and  from  Campbell's  per- 
sonal theological  views  as  expressed 
in  the  "Christian  System."  More- 
over, we  are  thankful  for  the  elasticity 
of  the  Christian  movement  which  gives 
freedom  to  think  and  worship.  Though 
viewpoints  change,  purpose  holds,  and 
we  say  with  Tennyson: 

"Yet  I  doubt  not  through  the  ages  one 

increasing  purpose   runs, 
And   the   thoughts  of  men   are   widened 

with  the  process  of  the  suns." 


Many  of  the  theological  ideas  held 
tenaciously  in  days  gone  by  seem 
absurd  and  fallacious  to  us  now.  We 
even  go  so  far  as  to  repudiate  certain 
beliefs  once  held  firmly  by  ourselves. 
Nevertheless,  we  look  for  sure  ground 
and  find  that  which  compels  a  firm 
belief  and  discards  all  doubt. 

THINGS  NOT  TO  BE  DOUBTED 

What  are  some  of  the  things  not  to 
be  doubted?  I  will  mention  a  few. 
Never  doubt  a  discrimination  between 
right  and  wrong.  There  is  a  differ- 
ence and  it  is  not  to  be  distrusted.  You 
may  question  what  is  right  or  what  is 
wrong,  but  never  their  differentiation. 
Some  permit  themselves  to  get  into 
such  a  state  of  being  that  they  call  evil 
good.  God  forbid  this!  To  doubt 
that  there  is  a  difference  between  right 
and  wrong  is  to  concede  that  every- 
thing is  all  right  or  all  wrong,  which 
is  not  true  in  either  case.  The  fact 
that  there  is  a  difference  between  right 
and  wrong,  to  be  seen,  acted  upon  and 
profited  by,  is  one  of  the  real  things 
we  can  count  upon  for  advancement 
in  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

Another  verity  not  to  be  doubted  is 
experience.  It  is  a  costly  school,  but 
in  it  we  learn  well.  Who  would  doubt 
his  own  experience?  Paul  was  per- 
suaded thoroughly  by  experience  that 
there  was  nothing  which  could  separ- 
ate him  from  "the  love  of  Christ." 
Before  him  Job,  after  many  tests,  said, 
"I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth." 
In  my  relation  to  the  sick  and  dying, 
the  disconsolate  and  mourning,  the 
hungering  and  thirsting,  the  poor  and 
the  rich,  the  aimless  and  purposeful, 
the  pessimist  and  optimist,  the  sinner 
and  saint,  the  defeated  and  victorious, 
I  have  had  shown  to  me  unquestion- 
ably "The  Abundant  Life."  By  many 
proofs  I  see  life  and  its  way  more 
clearly.  What  comes  to  me  in  this 
way  as  an  established  belief  may  ap- 
peal to  you  as  mysticism,  but  it  is  for 
me,  nevertheless,  an  indisputable  fact. 

BELIEF    IN    CHRIST    NECESSARY 

Christ  is  not  to  be  doubted.  He 
was  expected.  He  came.  He  abides. 
He  is  consummate  ideal  and  standard 
of  manhood — Savior.  He  came  when 
the  world  needed  him  most.  From 
the  other  side  of  the  veil  which  separ- 
ates us  from  the  unseen,  he  came 
rending  it,  in  order  that  we  might  see 
and  know  the  Great  Spirit,  the  Father 
God.  As  age  succeeds  age,  more  and 
more  the  people  rise  and  call  him 
Blessed.  He  remains  the  one  unique 
Savior.  No  one  has  ever  been  able 
to  add  anything  to  or  take  anything 
from  his  character  which  would  im- 


June  28,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


13 


prove  it  in  the  least.  Nor  has  any  one 
ever  shed  a  light  greater  than  his 
spiritual  illumination.  Of  the  thou- 
sands of  thousands,  he  is  chicfest.  By 
him  we  are  saved.  "In  him  we  live 
and  move  and  have  our  being."  It 
can  not,  with  truth,  be  said  of  him : 

"Now  he  is  dead.     Far-off  he  lies 

In  the  lone  Syrian  town; 
And    on    His    grave    with    shining    eyes 

The  Syrian  stars  look  down." 

Christ  Lives.  Doubt  it  never.  You 
can  come  to  him  in  spirit  and  crown 
him  Lord  of  life ;  and  he  with  his  life 
can  virtually  live  in  your  life.  You 
may  doubt  what  some  have  said  about 
Christ — their  interpretation  of  him, 
but  never  doubt  him.  Alas !  for  any 
that  do.  The  vehicle  which  brings 
you  Christ  may  be  imperfect,  but 
Christ  himself  is  perfect. 

DOUBTING   GOD 

Some  hesitate  to  believe  in  God. 
To  doubt  him  means  to  attempt  to  cast 
him  aside  from  thought.  But  he  can 
not  be  obliterated  by  doubt.  It  has 
been  observed  that  the  one  who  doubts 
God,  after  awhile,  doubts  that  he 
doubts.  Therefore,  his  doubting  loses 
its  basis  for  thinking.  However,  he 
posits  something  that  represents  God 
in  order  to  think  on  any  problem  of 
life.  Many  in  their  thinking  lose  sight 
of  God. 

But  why  argue?  The  matter  of 
positive  belief  in  God  has  been  well 
stated :  "In  the  beginning  God  created 
the  heaven  and  the  earth."  Also,  "In 
the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the 


Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God."     The  following  lines  con 
vey  our  meaning: 

"There  is  no  unbelief; 
Whoever  plants  a  seed  beneath  the  sod 
And  waits  to  see  it  push  away  the  clod- 
He  trusts  in  God." 

All  constructive  thinking  and  work  de- 
pend upon  a  faith  in  God. 

How    did   Jesus   deal    with   doubt? 
Note  that  he  did  not  rebuke  John  the 
Baptist  for  his  doubt,  but  instead  gave 
him  the  information  which  dissolved 
it.     Then  the  illustration  of  Christ  and 
Peter  on  the  sea  is  relative  here.  Peter 
did  not  sink  so  long  as  he  kept  his 
faith  in  Christ.     "But  when  he  saw 
the  wind  he  was  afraid ;  and  beginning 
to   sink,  he   cried   out,   saying,   Lord, 
save   me."     The    raging   elements    of 
the  sky  and  the  deep  caused  him  to 
doubt.     However,  he  found  his  way 
back  to  faith  through  prayer.     Christ 
gave  him  a  helping  hand  and  said  to 
him,  "O  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore 
didst  thou  doubt?"  How  often  doubts 
that  we  have  had  toward  our  neigh- 
bors have  been  taken  away  by  their 
service  to  us !     Some  of  our  spiritual 
doubts  are  only  removed  by  the  strong 
helping  hand  of  the  Master. 

FREEING    THOMAS    FROM    DOUBT 

Another  example  of  Jesus'  dealing 
with  doubt  is  found  in  the  life  of 
Thomas.  The  disciple  had  been  told 
of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  but  he 
was  not  convinced  until  he  had  what 
was  to  him  a  more  positive  proof.  He 
said,  "Except  I  shall  see  in  his  hands 


the  print  of  the  nail-,,  and  put  my 
finger  into  the  print  of  the  nail,  and 
thrust  my  band  into  bis  side,  1  will 
not  believe."  Eight  days  after  this 
Jesus  made  himself  known  to  him, 
saying:  "Reach  hither  thy  finger  and 
behold  my  bands;  and  reach  hither 
thy  hand  and  thrust  it  into  my  <-JoV; ; 
and  be  not  faithless,  but  believing." 
This  brought  a  ready  belief,  a  great 
exclamation  of  conviction,  "My  Lord 
and  my  God."  Then  followed  the 
spiritually  discerned  and  reflected 
statement  of  Jesus  directed  through 
Thomas  to  every  doubter:  "Thomas, 
because  thou  Last  seen  me,  thou  I 
believed  ;  blessed  are  they  that  have 
not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed." 

The  best  way  to  dispel  the  darkness 
is  to  bring  in  the  light.  The  best  way 
to  remove  falsehood  is  to  replace  it 
with  the  truth.  And  the  best  way  to 
dissolve  a  doubt  is  to  establish  a  faith. 
If  any  are  in  doubt  about  the  church 
let  them  come  and  see  it.  If  any  are 
in  doubt  about  the  good,  let  them  try 
it.  If  any  are  in  doubt  about  a  saint, 
let  them  find  one.  If  you  are  in  doubt 
about  the  saving  power  of  Christ, 
learn  the  testimony  of  the  saved  and 
let  the  Christ  control  your  life.  Chris- 
tianity needs  only  to  be  tried  to  suc- 
ceed. Christ  is  our  spiritual  illumi- 
nator. 

"Clear  before  us,  through  the  darkness, 
Gleams  and  burns  the  guiding  light; 

Brother  clasps  the  hand  of  brother. 
Stepping  fearless  through  the  night." 

Borough  Park  Church, 

Brooklyn,  New  York. 


Dr.  Jenkins  Sees  German  Air  Raid 


Among  those  who  experienced  the  horrors  of  the  recent  German  air  raid  on  Folkestone,  Eng- 
land, in  which  many  persons  were  killed  and  injured,  was  Dr.  B arris  A.  Jenkins  of  Kansas  City,  Mo., 
zvho  recently  arrived  in  Europe  for  six  months'  service  under  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
In  a  statement  given  the  Associated  Press  Mr.  Jenkins  graphically  described  this  record-breaking 
attack  and  told  of  his  sensations  during  the  rain  of  destruction  from  the  sky.  The  following  is  Dr.  Jen- 
kins' description  of  the  raid: 


IT  was  our  first  time  under  fire  and 
it  reminded  me  of  a  Missouri 
cyclone.  The  only  drawback  to 
this  comparison  is  that  the  sun  was 
shining  in  a  clear  blue  sky  over  a 
placid  sea. 

SING  AS   HOUSES   CAVE  IN 

As  the  shells  were  crashing  around 
us  and  houses  were  caving  in,  before 
I  knew  it  I  was  humming  a  long  for- 
gotten tune,  doubtless  subconsciously 
associated  with  those  old  days.  Two 
other  men  in  our  party  independently 
testified  that  they  also  began  singing 
softly. 

Perhaps  this  tendency  to  sing  or 
whistle  is  a  manifestation  of  nerves, 
and  explains  why  troops  always  do  so 
when    we    see    them    embarking    for 


France ;  they  know  that  next  day  they 
will  be  in  the  trenches — maybe  over 
the  parapet.  At  all  events,  we  all  con- 
fessed to  nerves  and  fear. 

Most  people  took  to  the  cellars. 
Had  I  known  there  was  a  cellar  handy, 
or  that  it  is  considered  good  form 
in  the  circumstances,  I  should  have 
followed,  for  soon  I  found  myself 
alone  on  the  leas  overlooking  the  sea, 
where  I  had  gone  at  the  first  cry  of 
"Zepps !" 

WATCH   FOR  GERMAN   RAIDERS 

When  I  rushed  out  of  our  house  by 
the  seaside  I  found  crowds  gazing  up- 
ward in  the  direction  of  the  sun.  I 
could  see  nothing  for  the  glare ; 
neither,  apparently,  could  others. 

Suddenly    two    little    girls    cried: 


"There  they  are!"  Then  I  saw  them, 
two  airplanes,  not  Zeppelins,  emerging 
from  the  disk  of  the  sun  almost  over- 
head. Then  four  more,  or  five,  in  a 
line,  and  others  and  others,  all  like 
bright  silver  insects  hovering  against 
the  blue  of  the  sky.  The  heavens 
seemed  full  of  them.  There  were 
about  twenty  in  all  and  we  were 
charmed  with  the  beauty  of  the  sight. 
I  am  sure  few  of  us  thought  seriously 
of  danger. 

PEOPLE  UNAFRAID  OF  DANGER 

Then  the  air  was  split  by  the  whistle 
and  rush  of  the  first  bomb,  which 
sounded  like  the  shrill  siren  of  a  car. 
This  was  followed  at  once  by  a  de- 
tonation that  shook  the  earth.  I  heard 
nobody   shriek,    weep,   or   cry   aloud. 


14 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  28,  1917 


The  people  were  marvelously  con- 
trolled. 

I  glanced  in  the  direction  of  the 
shellburst,  a  hundred  yards  away,  and 
the  debris  was  still  going  up  like  a 
column  of  smoke.  Then  came  two 
more  strokes,  apparently  in  the  same 
spot.  Then  three  other  bombs  fell. 
I  afterward  found  the  missiles 
wrecked  the  O-Hotel  and  wounded 
our  motor  driver. 

Then  another  bomb  demolished  the 
manor  house  by  the  sea.  Two  others 
now  fell  in  the  water  behind  me,  and 
the  gravel  and  mud  and  water  spouted 
up  in  a  geyser  to  the  top  of  the  cliffs 
where  I  stood. 

UNKNOWN    NUMBER  OF   SHELLS 

Later  I  learned  that  one  of  these 
shots  tore  off  the  legs  of  a  little  boy 
playing  with  his  sister.  The  mother 
lay  in  a  faint  and  the  little  sister, 
driven  mad,  rushed  blindly  into  the 
water.  She  was  rescued  by  a  wounded 
soldier. 

Other  shots  fell,  but  I  could  count 
no  further.  They  came  thick  and 
fast,  like  crackling,  rolling  blasts  of 
our  western  lightning  and  thunder. 
Nobody  has  reported  the  number  of 
shells  so  far  as  I  know.  But  there 
were  200  or  more  casualties,  nearly  a 
hundred  of  them  fatalities. 

Anti-aircraft  shells  were  now  burst- 
ing on  the  fringes  of  the  air  fleet. 
Then  followed  in  the  distance  the  purr 
of  the  machine  guns,  and  we  knew 
that  our  own  planes  were  up  in  pur- 
suit. We  were  later  informed  that 
three  of  the  hostile  fleet  were  brought 
down  in  the  channel. 

CIVILIANS   TORN    TO   BITS 

When  I  reached  the  spot  where  the 
first  three  bombs  had  fallen,  glass 
covered  the  street  for  a  block.  In  the 
middle  of  the  macadam  road  was  a 
shell  hole  six  or  eight  feet  across  and 
three  deep.  Here  lay  two  men  in  uni- 
form who  looked  to  me  to  be  dead ; 


MinrrriirnriKiMMlMiiF) inih ti 


iimiMimmtimni 


!  "THE  ROAD  TO  FRANCE"     I 

|  Daniel   M.    Henderson    of   Baltimore  § 

1  li'as  awarded   the  prize   offered  by   the  I 

|  National  Arts  club  for  his  zvar  poem,  I 

|  which  is  entitled  "The  Road  to  France."  | 

|  The  poem  follozvs:                                        1 

I  Thank  God  our  liberating  lance 

1  Goes  flaming  on  the  way  to  France! 

|  To  France — the  trail  the  Gurkhas  found!  1 

|  To  France — old    England's    rallying  l 

1  ground!                                                   | 

1  To  France — the    path    the    Russians  1 

1  strode!                                                    § 

|  To  France — the  Ansae's  glory  road! 

|  To  France — where  our  Lost  Legion  ran  1 

1  To  fight  and  die  for  God  and  man! 

|  To  France — with  every  race  and   breed  l 

|  That  hates  Oppression's  brutal  creed!       | 

1  Ah,  France — how  could  our  hearts  for-  I 

\         get  _                                       | 

|  The  path  by  which  came  Lafayette?       \ 

|  How  could  the  haze  of  doubt  hang  low  \ 

1  Upon  the  road  of  Rochambeau? 

|  How  was  it  that  we  missed  the  way       1 

|  Brave  Joffre  leads  us  along  today?           | 

|  At  last,  thank  God!     At  last  we  see       1 

1  There  is  no  tribal  Liberty! 

\  No  beacon  lighting  just  our  shores!         \ 

|  No  freedom  guarding  but  our  doors!      I 

1  The  flame  she  kindled  for  our  sires 

|  Burns  now  in  Europe's  battle  fires! 

I  The  soul  that  led  our  fathers  west         1 

1  Turns    back    to    free    the    world's    op-  § 

1  pressed!                                                  | 

1  Allies,  you  have  not  called  in  vain! 

1  We  share  your  conflict  and  your  pain!  \ 

1  Old  Glory,  through  new  stains  and  rents  | 

|  Partakes  of  Freedom's  sacraments! 

|  Into  that  hell  his  will  creates                    | 

1  We  drive  the  foe;  his  lusts,  his  hates!  \ 

|  Last  come,  we  will  be  last  to  stay — 

|  Till  Right  has  had  her  crowning  day!    I 

1  Replenish,  comrades,  from  our  veins       I 

|  The  blood  the  sword  of  despot  drains   \ 

|  And  make  our  eager  sacrifice 

1  Part  of  the  freely  rendered  price 

1  You  pay  to  lift  humanity —                          | 

|  You  pay  to  make  our  brothers  free! 

|  See    with    what    proud    hearts   we    ad-  f 

1  vance —                                                       | 

I  To  France!                           I 


ii! I  I !  -  : 


MIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIilllllllHlliUIIIIIIIIIINII 


there  a  civilian,  white  haired,  who  I 
knew  had  been  killed.  Yonder  was 
a  little  girl,  half  her  face  gone ;  yonder 
a  young  woman,  both  feet  gone.  Our 
young  lieutenant,  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  man 
from  Canada,  our  host  for  those  days, 


himself  wearing  the  gold  stripe  on  his 
arm  which  betokens  a  wound,  and  no 
longer  fit  for  service  in  the  field,  was 
bending  over  the  wounded.  I  heard 
one  of  the  stricken  soldiers  moaning 
now:  "Mother,  O  mother!"  Yonder 
lay  two  little  babies,  already  covered 
with  sacking. 

HELP  FOR  THE  VICTIMS 

We  rushed  into  a  nearby  basement, 
where  they  said  there  was  a  wounded 
woman.  Her  hip  was  gashed.  A  Red 
Cross  nurse  appeared  from  nowhere. 

Now  they  were  carrying  an  old 
lady,  shaking  with  palsy,  from  a  shell 
of  a  house.  She  was  80  if  a  day. 
She  had  on  bonnet  and  gloves.  How 
she  managed  thus  to  array  herself  for 
departure  from  her  home,  or  to  live 
at  all  in  her  demolished  house,  is  be- 
yond me. 

All  this  is  what  I  myself  saw,  and 
one  pair  of  eyes  could  see  only  a  small 
corner  of  the  devastated  area.  Houses 
were  mere  walls.  All  the  interiors 
were  torn  out,  as  if  by  fire.  A  girls' 
school  nearby  was  a  wreck. 

GROUND  LITTERED  WITH  DEAD 

Down  the  slope  of  the  lower  and 
busier  section  of  the  town  a  narrow 
street,  crowded  with  afternoon  shop- 
pers, was  strewn  with  many  dead, 
mostly  girls  and  women.  The  old 
shoemaker  who  had  been  in  his  little 
shop,  was  never  found.  Legs  and 
arms  and  heads,  detached,  were  scat- 
tered about.  The  draper's  shop  was 
a  mass  of  brick  and  stone  and  every 
girl  in  it  was  dead. 

The  remarkable  thing  was  that  I 
heard  no  shrieking  and  saw  no  weep- 
ing nor  wringing  of  hands.  All  faces 
were  white;  teeth  were  clenched,  lips 
compressed.  Women  clutched  at  their 
garments  or  spasmodically  smote  their 
breasts.  But  not  a  moan  nor  a  loud 
word  escaped  any  lip  within  my  hear- 
ing. The  English  are  a  marvelous 
people. 


America  Resurgent 

By  Wendell  Phillips  Stafford 


SHE  is  risen  from  the  dead! 
Loose  the  tongue  and  lift  the  head ; 
Let  the  sons  of  light  rejoice, 
She  has  heard  the  challenge  clear; 
She  has  answered,  "I  am  here"; 
She  has  made  the  stainless  choice. 


Hail  her !    She  is  ours  again — 
Hope  and  heart  of  harassed  men 

And  the  tyrants'  doom  and  terror. 
Send  abroad  the  old  alarms ; 
Call  to  arms,  to  arms,  to  arms, 

Hands  of  doubt  and  feet  of  error ! 


Bound  with  iron  and  with  gold — 
But  her  limbs  they  could  not  hold 

When  the  word  of  words  was  spoken; 
Freedom  calls — 
The  prison  walls 

Tumble,  and  the  bolts  are  broken! 


Cheer  her!    She  is  free  at  last, 
With  her  back  upon  the  past, 

With  her  feet  upon  the  bars, 
Hosts  of  freedom  sorely  prest, 
Lo,  a  light  is  in  the  west 

And  a  helmet  full  of  stars ! 


M.i.iLi...  i.:i  1 1,, !.::  i.. .i ,,  i  i  i . ; ! ;  i :  i  < , ,  i ;  i : ,  i ;  i : ,  m  : :i..u  .i.i.i  ;i !  .ii  .i  ,i:  i!;hr  M  n.  n  M  :i,  i.  :i;i:  nj  iij  i.ii  mi.i  i,, ,  .h :;  ,i:  ,1:11  .u Lii.iiiKu i:i: '!:: ;.:<!.!  ih.-:!,.,!:^!;,:;!!.:.!:  .i!  .i:,.n.:i:  .HijfMuoaeasi^nBiBaaMBBnHBaBi^BB^i^B^i^iiMBH 

The  Larger  Christian  World    j 

A  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERDENOMINATIONAL  ACQUAINTANCE  By  OKVIS  F.  JORDAN 


German  Missions 
Reported  Active 

An  exchange  states  that  the  work 
of  German  missions  in  China  has 
shown   remarkable   vitality   in   spite 

of  the  war.  Up 
to  the  time  of 
the  breaking 
off  of  political 
relations,  the 
work  had  gone 
on  h  i  n  d  e  red 
only  by  the  in- 
t  e  r  r  uption  of 
communication 
with  the  home 
base.  Immedi- 
ately before  the 
war  150  men 
0.  F.Jordan  and    seventy 

single  women  were  at  work,  and  the 
Chinese  Christians  in  connection 
with  the  German  mission  numbered 
23,000.  The  large  German  missions 
in  the  Dutch  East  Indies  have  not 
been  disturbed  in  any  large  way.  A 
Christian  community  of  170,000  has 
been  gathered,  mostly  on  the  island 
of  Sumatra. 

Decorate  Graves  of 
Methodist  Ministers 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
is  coming  into  a  custom  of  observ- 
ing a  memorial  Sunday  in  which 
the  graves  of  Methodist  ministers 
are  decorated.  In  Chicago  fourteen 
ministers  were  selected  to  act  as  di- 
rectors in  decorating  the  graves  of 
deceased  ministers  and  the  deceased 
wives  of  ministers  of  the  Methodist 
Church  in  the  various  Chicago 
cemeteries.  At  Rosehill,  President 
Thomas  F.  Holgate  of  Northwest- 
ern University,  presided.  Dr.  T.  P. 
Frost  of  First  Church,  Evanston, 
delivered  the  address.  President  C. 
M.  Stuart  of  Garrett  Biblical  In- 
stitute offered  prayer,  and  the  Rev. 
J.  Hastie  Odgers  delivered  the  bene- 
diction. The  Rev.  O.  F.  Mattison 
was  in  charge  of  the  services. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Jowett 
Modifies  Plans 

Dr.  J.  H.  Jowett  will  not  leave 
New  York  quite  as  soon  as  he  had 
planned,  since  this  country  has  en- 
tered the  war.  He  has  written  the 
Westminster  church  of  London  that 
he  ought  to  tarry  a  little  longer  here 
to  meet  certain  war  problems.  He 
said  to  them:  "America  is  just  en- 
tering the  war,  and  her  sons  are 
enlisting  in  active  service,  and 
many  of  them  have  already  gone 
from  my  congregation.    I  am  sure  it 


would  not  be  right  at  such  a  mo- 
ment to  plunge  this  great  church 
into  the  confusion  of  a  vacant  pas- 
torate, and  I  felt  it  imperative  to  lis- 
ten to  the  urgent  request  of  the  peo- 
ple that  I  should  remain  their  min- 
ister during  the  opening  months  of 
the  war,  and  thereby  give  them 
time  to  appoint  a  successor.  This 
nation,  and  my  own  nation  are  now 
comrades  in  a  common  struggle,  and 
I  know  that  the  church  at  West- 
minster will  be  sufficiently  magnani- 
mous to  approve  any  course  which 
may  help,  even  in  a  small  degree,  to 
deepen  the  friendship  and  good-will 
of  the  two  peoples,  and  to  lead  them 
into  more  vital  cooperation  and 
communion." 

Want  Federation 
Instead  of  Union 

The  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  meeting  recently 
in  Dallas,  Texas,  sent  a  telegram 
asking  union  with  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  the  U.  S.  (Southern).  The 
Southern  body  replied :  "While  this 
Assembly  does  not  regard  organic 
union  as  practicable  at  this  time, 
yet  it  hereby  appoints  the  commit- 
tee of  conference  on  union  asked  by 
the  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  recommends  to  the 
proposed  conference  the  considera- 
tion of  the  federation  of  all  the 
Presbyterian  churches  of  our  coun- 
try upon  some  practical  and  effect- 
ive basis." 

Federal  Council  Gets  Action  for 
Protection  of  Soldiers 

The  moral  environment  of  the 
training  camps  will  be  protected 
most  carefully,  announces  the  Fed- 
eral Council  of  Churches,  which  has 
received  communication  from  the 
war  department.  It  is  made  illegal 
to  sell  or  give  away  liquor  to  men 
in  uniforms,  and  the  military  au- 
thority can  go  any  distance  from 
camp  to  abate  the  evil  of  bad  women 
hanging  around  the  camps.  The 
attitude  of  the  government  has  been 
decisive  and  most  commendable. 

Great  Scotch  Scholar 
Is  Dead 

Dr.  James  Denney,  known  in  this 
country  for  his  theological  writing, 
especially  the  book  "The  Death  of 
Christ,"  is  reported  to  have  passed 
away.  He  was  on  the  faculty  of  the 
United  Free  Church  theological 
school  in  Glasgow.    He  was  writing 


■I I 


strenuously  during  the  war  to  in- 
duce Great  Britain  to  go  forward  to 
prohibition.  J 1 1  — ,  scholarly  activi- 
ties have  commanded  respect  upon 
two  continents. 

Southern  Presbyterians 
Stay  in  Council 

The  relationship  of  the  southern 

Presbyterians  to  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America  has  long  been  a  problemat- 
ical one.  Certain  explanations  by 
the  Federal  Council  induced  the 
Presbyterians  to  continue  in  fell 
ship  with  the  organization,  but  they 
voted  that  no  action  of  the  Council 
should  be  binding  on  the  Presby- 
terian church  in  the  United  States 
unless  specifically  ratified  by  the 
General  Assembly. 

Theological  Professor 
a  Spy 

The  war  has  furnished  few  greater 
sensations  of  a  personal  sort  than 
the  discovery  that  a  professor  of 
Union  Theological  Seminary  was  a 
spy  in  the  pay  of  the  German  gov- 
ernment. Dr.  Thomas  Hall,  who. 
curiously  enough,  held  the  chair  of 
Christian  Ethics,  has  been  engaged 
in  plots  against  munition  works  in 
this  country.  He  has  been  dismissed 
from  his  professorship  and  has  gone 
to  Germany.  Dr.  Hall  has  been 
decorated  by  Emperor  William,  and 
although  of  British  ancestry,  he  has 
always  been  strongly  pro-German. 

Churches  Help 
Enlisted  Men 

The  war  program  of  the  churches 
is  receiving  careful  consideration  by 
American  ministers.  The  First 
Presbyterian  church  of  Crawford, 
N.  J.,  has  organized  a  war  commit- 
tee of  twelve  to  send  messages  of 
cheer  to  those  absent  in  military 
service.  A  letter  or  package  is  sent 
each  month  to  each  absent  soldier 
or  sailor,  each  member  of  the  com- 
mittee having  charge  of  the  work 
one  month  at  a  time.  The  First 
Presbyterian  church  of  Evanston. 
111.,  is  near  Ft.  Sheridan  training 
camp  for  officers,  and  the  leaders 
there  invite  these  men  to  Sunday 
dinner  after  church  is  out  each  Sun- 
day morning.  In  addition,  the 
church  prepares  a  monthly  news  let- 
ter, which  is  sent  to  the  sixty  men 
enlisted  from  the  parish  of  this 
church.  This  letter  has  summaries 
of  sermons,  and  church  news  of  a 
sort  calculated  to  keep  alive  the  in- 
terest of  the  men. 


:  IllllllllillllllllllllllllllllUlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllli 


Social  Interpretations 


By  ALVA  W.  TAYLOR 


A.  W.  Taylor 


W 


Russian   Democracy   and 
Ally  Imperialism 

SHALL  we  fight  with  Russian 
democracy  or  Ally  imperial- 
ism? The  President's  note  to 
Russia  made  it  clear  in  general 
terms  that  we  are  in  the  war  to  end 
war.  and  he  has  reiterated  that  we 

c  o  n  tribute 
every  dollar 
and  man  as  a 
willing  sacri- 
fice to  world 
democracy  and 
the  war  against 
war.  But  he 
did  not  so  un- 
equivocally as- 
sure the  Rus- 
sian democracy 
that  we  would 
accept  their  pro- 
gram of  no  im- 
perial division  of  spoils ;  in  other 
words,  he  did  not  come  "down  to  brass 
tacks"  and  talk  in  concrete  issues 
beyond  reminding  them  that  Ger- 
many's dream  of  a  middle  European 
empire  must  be  shattered.  Why  not 
go  on  and  also  assure  them  we  are 
with  them  in  their  demands  that  no 
imperial  ambitions  are  to  be  battled 
for  by  our  armies  on  either  the  bat- 
tle front  or  in  the  furroughs  at 
home?  They  have  sealed  their 
democratic  faith  and  program  by  a 
renunciation  of  any  claim  on  the 
Dardanelles  as  a  part  of  the  war  pro- 
gram. Is  France  willing  to  seal  hers 
with  a  declaration  that  Alsace- 
Loraine  will  be  allowed  to  deter- 
mine by  a  plebiscite  what  govern- 
ment they  want — French,  German 
or  independent?  Will  Italy  do  the 
same  for  the  Trentino?  Will  Eng- 
land forswear  demands  for  German 
colonies  and  leave  their  status  to  an 
arbitrator  in  the  peace  conference? 
The  American  democracy  has  for- 
sworn any  claims  to  reparation  and 
declares  its  willingness  to  sacrifice 
both  blood  and  treasure  to  insure 
the  future  of  democracy  in  the 
world ;  but  imperialism  and  democ- 
racy cannot  sleep  in  the  same  bed 
or  work  peaceably  together  in  the 
future  world.  If  democracy  is  to 
win  an  undivided  victory  in  this 
war  it  must  win  against  imperial 
ambitions  in  the  Allied  camp  as  well 
as  overthrow  them  in  the  camp  of 
autocracy.  The  Russian  revolution 
is  quite  as  significant  for  democracy 
as  the  contemplated  victory  over 
Germany  will  ever  be,  and  it  may 
be  a  God-send  to  the  Allied  cause 
through  purging  it  of  all  ambitions 


for  conquest,  trade  monopoly  and 
dictated  terms  of  peace.  Our  posi- 
tion seems  clear;  we  are  with  Rus- 
sian democracy  on  the  final  issue, 
and  we  are  not  with  English  or 
Italian  imperialism. 

*     *     * 

The  Three  Great 
Republics 

The  United  States,  Russia  and 
China  are  the  three  great  future 
world  republics.  Their  population 
totals  more  than  one-third  of  the 
human  race  and  their  territory  cov- 
ers one-third  of  the  land  area  of  the 
earth.  Russia  and  China  are  new- 
comers and  need  the  practical  aid 
of  the  mother  republic  of  them  all. 
Sympathy  may  be  consoling,  but 
until  we  carry  it  over  into  practical 
statecraft  it  may  not  effect  a  great 
deal.  In  both  countries  there  are 
fundamental  conditions  that  give 
promise  for  the  successful  evolution 
of  permanent  republican  govern- 
ments. The  Russian  revolution  was 
not  the  work  of  a  political  group, 
but  an  upheaval  of  forces  so  ma- 
tured, universal  and  powerful  that 
not  even  a  great  war  could  delay  it ; 
the  war  furnished  it  instead  with  the 
critical  conditions  that  made  the  up- 
heaval possible.  In  China  the  first 
ebb-tide  of  reaction  has  been  weath- 
ered; another  seems  to  be  on,  but  it 
is  safe  to  say  it  is  less  astute  and 
will  be  shorter  lived ;  it  is  the  work, 
it  seems,  of  professional  military 
leaders  who  naturally  prefer  mon- 
archy. The  menace  of  Russia 
is  the  German  autocracy,  and 
the  real  menace  of  China  is  the 
Japanese  autocracy.  The  new- 
found freedom  of  public  opinion  in 
Russia  has  not  had  time  to  correlate 
itself  into  definite  institutions  of 
social  control.  German  diplomacy 
is  playing  a  long  chance  with  it  by 
inaction  on  the  eastern  front.  It 
hopes  to  encourage  the  idealistic 
and  radical  elements  into  a  peace 
propaganda  while  it  deals  with  the 
rest  of  the  Allies,  feeling  sure  of 
autocratic  power  when  it  deals  with 
Russia's  new  and  formative  democ- 
racy in  times  of  peace.  Japan  is  no 
doubt  pursuing  her  day  of  oppor- 
tunity as  skilfully  as  she  can  and 
weaving  her  web  of  priority  about 
China  as  rapidly  as  diplomacy  feels 
it  dare  while  England  and  America 
are  occupied  elsewhere.  Japan  does 
not  seem  to  encourage  monarchy 
especially  in  China,  because,  per- 
haps, she  prefers  military  weakness 
rather  than  an  autocratic  govern- 
ment that  could  become  of  military 


strength.  She  can  pursue  her  trade 
and  "sphere  of  influence"  designs 
on  China  better  if  China  is  kept  at 
cross-purposes  with  herself.  Here 
is  where  American  practical  aid  is 
needed  through  definite  affirmations 
of  the  "open-door"  policy  in  China 
with  concrete  declarations  regarding 
the.  right  of  the  Chinese  democracy 
to  work  out  its  own  civilization,  just 
as  we  have  done  in  the  case  of 
Mexico,  and  the  clear  declaration  to 
Russia  that  her  program  of  "no 
conquest  and  no  indemnities"  is  also 
our  program.  We  can  easily  make 
distinction  between  reparation  for 
damages  done  in  occupied  territory 
and  indemnities  upon  conquered 
governments,  and  we  can  hold  to 
our  distinction  between  the  rights 
of  peoples  to  choose  their  own  gov- 
ernment and  their  forcible  detach- 
ment   from    the    conquered    by    the 

conqueror. 

*     *    * 

Where  Does  "Consent  of  the 
Governed"  Begin? 

Where  do  we  begin  to  apply  our 
principle  of  "government  by  the 
consent  of  the  governed"?  Ireland 
is  furnishing  an  interesting  labora- 
tory experiment  in  the  matter.  If 
Ireland  should  be  free,  what  about 
Ulster  in  Ireland — she  desires  to  be 
free  to  remain  under  Westminster's 
government,  and  refuses  to  even 
consider  one  at  Dublin.  Shall  Ire- 
land then  be  divided?  If  so,  then 
what  about  every  other  small 
county  in  the  realm?  Shall  Alsace- 
Loraine  be  permitted  to  decide  its 
own  future  government?  One  side 
of  it  is  German  and  one  French  in 
population.  Shall  Bohemia  become 
an  independent  nation?  If  so,  then 
what  about  each  of  the  other  nu- 
merous small  nationalities  in  the 
Austrian  federation?  Does  the  re- 
cent history  of  the  Balkan  nation- 
alities argue  that  such  independence 
augurs  well  for  the  future  of  peace, 
or  is  the  bloody  story  of  the  Balkans 
for  the  past  two  decades  due  to 
failure  to  fully  recognize  the  prin- 
ciple of  nationality?  If  Poland  and 
Finland  are  to  be  independent,  why 
not  Ireland  and  Bohemia  and  Lithu- 
ania and  the  Ukranians  and  the 
Ruthenians  and  the  Armenians  and 
the  Syrians  and  all  the  rest?  And 
why  did  we  not  let  the  Southern 
states  depart  in  peace,  as  Horace 
Greeley  wished  us  to  do?  Evidently 
there  is  a  line  of  demarcation  some- 
where. It  is  a  problem  in  practical 
politics  and  there  are  considerations 
of  broader  unities  demanding  recog- 
nition.   Is  not  here  another  problem 


June  28,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CENTURY 


17 


for  democracy  to  settle?  The  Aus- 
trian hegemony  should  give  way  to 
a  real  confederation  with  democratic 
government  like  unto  the  Swiss 
confederation.  Ireland  should  have 
a  state  legislature,  and  so  should 
Ulster,  but  both  keep  unity  with  the 
United  Kingdom.  Alsace-Loraine 
should  be  divided  between  France 
and  Germany  according  to  the  vote 
of  provincial  majorities.  Each  of 
the  conquered  nationalities  under 
Austrian,  Balkan  and  Russian  rule 
should  decide  by  plebiscite  where 
they  wish  to  lodge  their  future  in 
these  larger  national  confederations, 
but  every  one  permitted  a  free,  self- 
governing  state  legislature.  Here 
again  imperial  government  should 
give  way  to  democracy  and  a  feder- 
ation of  free  states  under  a  larger 
representative  government.  Then 
geographical,  trade,  linguistic,  tra- 
ditional and  racial  homogeneities 
would  manifest  themselves  with 
freedom  and  some  sort  of  a  natural 
political  law  have  a  chance  to  re- 
place government  of  small  nation- 
alities by  force. 

*    *    * 

Irish  Confusion 
Worse  Confounded 

Is  Lloyd-George's  plan  of  calling 
a  national  Irish  council  the  policy  of 
desperation  or  is  it  to  be  the  way 
out?  The  writer  once  asked  an 
Irish  policeman  if  the  band  of  itin- 
erant minstrels  on  the  streets  of  a 
North  Ireland  city  was  native.  He 
replied  with  Irish  sarcasm  that  it 
was  not,  for  no  several  Irishmen 
could  ever  agree  together  long 
enough  to  attain  a  musical  har- 
mony. What  can  be  expected  in  an 
Irish  national  council  made  up  of 
Presbyterians  and  Catholics — Ul- 
stermen  and  Nationalists — of  Sinn 
Feiners  and  the  followers  of  John 
Redmond?  As  a  recompense  for 
hasty  military  temper  the  civil  gov- 
ernment of  England  has  freed  the 
Sinn  Fein  rebels ;  and  straightway 
the  radicals  among  them  start  a 
Dublin  riot.  Ulster  protests  that 
"Home  rule  means  Rome  rule,"  and 
demands  that  Irish  rule  shall  be 
English  rule.  England  offers  Ire- 
land local  government  and  majority 
Ireland  refuses  it  unless  minority 
Ulster  is  forced  to  accept  it.  Ulster 
wants  English  government  by  com- 
pulsion ;  the  Nationalists  want 
Irish  homogeneity  by  compulsion ; 
the  Sinn  Feiners  want  complete  in- 
dependence or  nothing.  It  all  illus- 
trates how  difficult  a  problem  be- 
comes when  concrete  action  must  be 
taken  in  regard  to  ideal  things  in 
statescraft.  Lloyd-George's  plan 
was  refused,  so  he  has,  perhaps,  with 
some  irony,  asked  Irishmen  to  make 
their  own  plan.  In  the  end  he  will 
have  to  approximate  justice  with  an 
enforced  plan. 


I!l!l!lllllillli!lll!!l!l!illl!llll!lllllllll!!lli:illl!lll!l!linillllllll 


The  Sunday  School 


« 


llllll! 


Illllllllllllllllllll 


J 


Infidelity's  Regretful  Harvest 

The  Lesson  in  Today's  Life* 
By  E.  F.  DAUGHERTY 


i  i 


F 


AITHLESS"  is  the  word 
given  Ahaz.  Disgrace,  dis- 
honor, disillusionment  and 
demolition  for  his  sacred  trusts,  came 
ultimately.  He  was  but  one  in  the 
sickly  list  which  history  affords, 
prompting  the  thought  of  God  in 
Emersonian  phrase,  "I  am  tired  of 
kings."  God,  regnant,  reigning  and 
slowly  rising  to  place  in  humanity's 
consciousness,  is  bringing  humanity  to 
that  state  of  mind  wherein  humanity 
will  say,  "We  are  tired  of  kings."  The 
"tiredness"  of  Deity  and  humanity 
with  kings  rests  wholly  on  their  faith- 
lessness, incompetence  and  selfishness. 
The  faithful  king,  and  competent  and 
unselfish,  has  always  found  honor  and 
veneration  amid  the  people  whose  des- 
tinies he  guided,  but  woe  to  that  one 
who  puts  himself,  rather  than  his 
people,  first. 

The  law  of  the  harvest,  in  its  spirit- 
ual aspect,  is  here  exemplified.  The 
sowing  of  Ahaz  might  have  been  other 
than  what  it  was ;  the  soil,  the  seed, 
the  conditions  were  all  at  hand  wherein 
he  might  have  sown  unto  "the  spirit" ; 
but  the  choice  he  made  was  unto  "the 
flesh"  and  corruption  could  not  be 
avoided.  A  better  world  could  not  be 
builded  than  our  own,  wherein  this 
law  is  at  the  heart  of  things ;  it  chal- 
lenges the  wisdom  and  tests  the  free- 
dom of  every  generation  of  men. 


"Idolatry" — that  was  his  undoing. 
He  fancied  it  offered  him  personal 
preferments  and  satisfactions  which 
the  paths  of  fidelity  to  the  true  God 
did  not  hold.  He  lived  for  the  hour, 
and  lacked  foresight  to  see  what  the 
decades  would  bring;  they  brought  op- 
pression from  the  very  standards  and 
personalities  from  whose  hands  he 
had  expected  benefits.  The  licentious 
excesses  which  he  approved  and  sup- 
ported weakened  the  morale  of  his 
people  and  made  them  ready  victims 
of  contingent  marauders. 

The  "false  gods"  of  present  day 
life,  like  those  of  ancient  days,  enerv- 
ate and  incapacitate  the  hosts  who 
promote  their  sacrifices.  The  modern 
Moloch  is  the  booze  business  ;  its  high 
priests,  and  kingly  manipulators,  like 
other    Ahazes,    offer    up    their    own 


children  in  its  delusive  effervescences. 
Like  Tilgath-pileser,  who  "distre- 
him,  but  strengthened  him  not,"  King 
Alcohol  is  indicted  by  the  modern  pub- 
lic conscience  as  a  waster,  and  the 
public  recoil  from  alliance  with  him 
must  rise  and  still  rise,  until  all  minds 
appreciate  the  relation  between  in- 
ternal revenue  and  moral  deteriora- 
tion. We  cannot  as  a  nation  long  con- 
tinue internal  physical  improvements 
at  the  expense  of  flabby  morals. 


Luxury,  ease,  pampering,  are  idols 
we  have  nationally  been  holding  as 
were  held  the  "Baalim"  of  the  day  of 
Ahaz.  In  all  avenues,  high  places  and 
low,  our  people  have  been  courting 
them.  Now,  thank  God,  they  are  be- 
ing forsaken  for  the  centers  of  un- 
selfish devotion  to  imperishable  ideals  ; 
the  incense  of  loyalty  to  the  original 
national  God  of  righteousness,  in 
thoughts  of  liberty,  democracy  and 
justice,  is  rising  from  our  altars  of 
patriotism  and  the  idolatrous  selfish- 
ness of  America  is  being  broken  to 
pieces  by  the  waves  of  altruism  which 
bear  our  treasures  of  life  and  wealth 
to  the  European  fields  of  test  and 
strife  ;  it  is  a  national  bath  of  blood 
and  tears  which  we  face,  but  it  will 
cleanse  the  nation,  bless  the  world. 

The  false  gods  of  militarism  are 
claiming  their  sacrificial  hordes  amid 
the  nations :  necessity  has  pushed  us 
into  their  ritual  because  their  madness 
endangered  our  national  ideals — the 
hopes  of  humanity:  the  "faithless- 
ness" of  the  kings  abroad  has  com- 
pelled the  "faithfulness"  of  the  free 
peoples  of  earth  to  inalienable  rights. 
Thev  cannot  be  defeated. 


TWO    BOOKS 

By  Professor  W-  S.  Athearn 

Every  Pastor,  Superintendent  and 

Teacher  Should  Have 

The  Church  School.  $1 .00  net. 
Organization  and  Adminis- 
tration of  the  Church  School. 

30c  net. 

Disciples   Publication   Society 

700  E.40lh  St.,  CHICAGO 


*This  article  is  based  on  the  Interna- 
tional Uniform  Sunday  school  lesson  for 
July     8,     "Ahaz,     the     Faithless     King." 
Scripture,  2   Chron.  28. 


CHURCH  lilJ^Rj  SCHOOL 


A:k  for  Catalogue  aid  Special  Donation  Plan  No.  27 

(Established  1S5S) 
THE  C  S.  BELL  CO.,  HILLSBORO,  OHIO 


18 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  28,  1917 


Disciples  Table  Talk 


gun 


Austin  Hunter  Celebrates 
Anniversary 

On  last  Sunday,  Austin  Hunter,  pas- 
tor at  Jackson  Boulevard  church,  Chicago, 
celebrated  the  twenty-hfth  anniver- 
sary of  his  entrance  into  the  minis- 
try. He  preached  from  the  same  text 
which  he  used  as  the  basis  of  his  first 
sermon.  His  morning  sermon  treated 
the  theme.  '"The  Triple  View  of  Life," 
and  the  evening  address.  "Life,  Work 
and  Character." 

Drake  Men  for  Officers' 
Training  Camp 

While  not  as  many  Drake  men  were 
able  to  get  into  the  officers'  training 
camp  at  Fort  Snelling  as  wished  to  go, 
five  alumni,  four  students  and  three  for- 
mer students  have  been  named  for 
places.  It  is  probable  that  other  alumni 
and  former  students  are  in  training 
camps,  but  from  points  distant  from 
Iowa.  A  large  number  of  Drake  men 
made  application  for  the  service  and 
more  than  seventy-five  students  took  the 
preliminary  examination  and  passed,  but 
were  not  in  the  list  selected. 

Linly  Gordon,  Former  Disciple 
Minister,  Works  for  Peace 

A  campaign  to  enlist  church  people 
and  religious  organizations  under  the 
banner  of  the  People's  Council  of  Amer- 
ica has  been  begun  under  the  active  di- 
rection of  Linly  Gordon,  formerly  a  Dis- 
ciple pastor  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  later 
pastor  of  one  of  our  churches  in  Sidney, 
Australia.  Beginning  in  Louisville  and 
in  Lexington,  Ky.,  where  he  lived  for 
four  years  as  a  student  in  the  university, 
Mr.  Gordon  will  extend  his  work 
throughout  the  South.  He  is  commis- 
sioned to  establish  local  people's  coun- 
cils, which  will  be  affiliated  with  the 
national  body.  The  purpose  of  the 
movement  is  to  bring  about  "an  early 
and  permanent  peace,"  to  further  the 
cause  of  democracy  and  to  assist  in 
maintaining  labor  standards  during  the 
war.  "The  great  international  problems 
will  be  worked  out  in  America,  the  great 
polyglot  nation,"  said  Mr.  Gordon,  in 
speaking  of  his  mission.  "This  is  the 
land  of  international  ideals.  Through 
our  blood  and  our  citizenship  we  are  in 
touch  with  and  in  sympathy  with  all  the 
world.  The  church  membership  must 
have  its  part  in  the  great  work  that  is 
before  this  nation — the  work  that  is  ex- 
emplified in  a  striking  way  by  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  People's  Council.  More- 
over, the  church  must  stand,  as  does  the 
council,  for  better  labor  conditions.  It 
must  bend  all  its  energies  to  save  what 
labor  through  all  the  long  years  has 
gained.  It  is  important  that  the 
churches,  through  their  membership, 
join  hands  with  labor  and  other  forward- 
looking  forces  represented  in  the  Peo- 
ple's Council  to  work  out  the  destiny  of 
the  American  people  and  of  the  world." 
Mr.  Gordon  comes  of  a  family  of  La- 
borites  in  Australia  and  was  prominent 
in  the  referendum  campaign  by  which 
conscription  was  rejected  in  that  coun- 
try. The  plan  of  the  People's  Council 
grew  out  of  the  First  American  Confer- 
ence for  Democracy  and  Terms  of  Peace 
held  in  New  York,  May  30  and  31.  The 
conference  selected  an  organizing  com- 
mittee, which  was  instructed  "to  organ- 


ize a  permanent  delegated  People's 
Council  from  all  sympathetic  groups,  to 
give  immediate  and  permanent  effect  to 
the  resolutions  of  the  First  American 
Conference  for  Democracy  and  Terms 
of  Peace."  When  the  plans  for  the 
council  were  launched  at  the  Madison 
Square  Garden  mass  meeting,  over  15,000 
people   cheered. 

O.  F.  Jordan  Completes  Ten- 
Year  Service  in  Chicago 

On  June  24  O.  F.  Jordan  celebrated 
the  completion  of  ten  years  of  work 
with  the  Evanston  church,  Chicago. 
Four-fifths  of  the  present  membership 
of  the  church  have  joined  during  this 
pastorate.  The  congregation  has  se- 
cured a  new  location  in  one  of  the  choice 
residential  parts  of  the  city  and  has 
erected  the  parish  house  in  which  wor- 
ship is  now  conducted.  Mr.  Jordan  is 
just  now  chairman  of  a  commission  of 
the  Church  Federation  of  Chicago  to 
prepare  a  complete  new  program  of  ac- 
tivities. He  is  also  chairman  of  a  new 
committee  of  the  Chicago  Christian 
Missionary  Society  to  furnish  a  detailed 
program  for  the  immediate  enlargement 
and  expansion  of  the  city  mission  work. 
Among  the  Disciples,  he  serves  in  the 
national  work  on  the  Social  Service  Com- 
mission, as  representative  of  the  Dis- 
ciples to  the  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  and  as 
a  member  of  the  Commission  on  Minis- 
terial Pensions.  The  past  two  years  have 
been  most  fruitful  in  the  way  of  increase 
of  membership  and  prestige  for  the 
Evanston   church. 

Late  reports  bring  the  news  that  Mr. 
Jordan's  congregation  presented  him  on 
last  Sunday  morning  with  ten  five-dol- 
lar gold  pieces — one  for  each  year  of 
his    service    with    them. 

Patriotism  in  Los 
Angeles  Church 

J.  N.  Jessup,  pastor  at  Magnolia  Ave- 
nue, Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  has  sent  out  a 
letter  to  members  and  friends  of  the 
church,  with  an  urgent  appeal  for  at- 
tendance upon  services  during  this  sum- 
mer in  view  of  the  fateful  times.  Every 
minister  in  the  brotherhood  should  take 
such  a  step.  It  is  being  said  in  many 
quarters  that  the  churches  cannot  be 
of  much  service  at  this  critical  time. 
Mr.  Jessup.  and  hundreds  of  others  of 
our  ministers  are  proving  that  they  can. 
Thirteen  young  men  have  gone  to  the 
colors  from  Magnolia  Avenue  Church. 

Prof.  A.  R.  Brown  of  Austin, 
Chicago,  Church  Missing 

Dr.  Percy  R.  Prentis  of  the  Austin, 
Chicago,  Church  reports  that  Professor 
A.  R.  Brown,  a  member  in  good  stand- 
ing of  the  Austin  church  and  a  principal 
of  the  Austin  Business  College,  is  still 
missing,  having  suddenly  disappeared  on 
June  9.  It  is  feared  that  he  has  met 
either  with  foul  play  or  has  become 
mentally  deranged.  Professor  Brown  is 
a  native  of  England,  and  resided  in 
Canada  for  a  number  of  years. 

Death  of 

Lee  E.  Hedrick 

Lee  E.  Hedrick,  a  native  of  Illinois, 
a  lifelong  Disciple,  an  alumnus  of  Eu- 
reka  College,   and   for   eighteen   years   a 


resident  of  Chicago  and  a  teacher  in 
the  Chicago  Business  College,  during 
which  time  he  and  the  members  of  his 
family  were  devoted  members  of  the 
Englewood  congregation,  died  suddenly 
at  his  home  in  San  Francisco,  where 
for  the  past  six  years  he  has  resided, 
and  where  at  the  time  of  his  death  on 
June  16th  he  was  manager  of  the  busi- 
ness Practice  Department  of  Heald's 
Business  College.  T.  A.  Boyer,  pastor 
at  Richmond,  Cal.,  writes  that  Mr.  Hed- 
rick was  apparently  in  robust  health  up 
to  within  a  few  days — almost  hours — of 
his  departure.  He  and  his  wife  at- 
tended the  dedicatory  services  of  the 
new  church  in  Richmond  a  week  ago 
Sunday,  where,  with  H.  O.  Breeden  and 
Mr.  Boyer,  both  old-time  friends,  he 
was  very  happy.  Returning  to  his  col- 
lege work  across  the  bay,  he  was 
stricken  toward  the  last  of  the  week 
with  a  sudden  weakness  of  the  heart, 
from  which  he  never  rallied.  His  funeral 
services,  conducted  by  Mr.  Boyer,  were 
largelv  attended  by  the  members  of  the 
San  Francisco  congregations,  his  fel- 
low teachers  and  hundreds  of  students 
from  Heald's  College.  He  is  survived 
by  his  wife,  who  was  Miss  Orpha  Mc- 
Corkle  of  Eureka,  111.,  three  sons  and  a 
daughter. 

— Miss  Ruth  Beatrice  Bloom,  daughter 
of  Charles  H.  Bloom,  Disciple  pastor  at 
Beaver,  Pa.,  and  Thomas  H.  Howes  were 
married  at  the  bride's  home  in  Beaver, 
on  June  19.  Miss  Ruth  and  her  husband 
are  both  graduates  of  Bethany. 

— A  new  Disciple  church  for  Chicago 
has  been  organized  in  Marquette  Manor. 
The  new  enterprise  will  be  supported 
principally  by  members  of  the  Engle- 
wood church.  The  organization  was 
completed  on  Tuesday  of  this  week,  at 
a  meeting  of  several  ministers. 

— The  death  is  reported  of  Mrs.  R.  W. 
Lilley,  wife  of  the  minister  at  Kirks- 
ville,  Mo,  For  several  years  before  go- 
ing to  Kirksville  they  served  the  church 
at  Keokuk,  la.  Mrs.  Lilley  was  a  na- 
tive of  Craig  county,  Va.  She  gradu- 
ated from  Milligan  College  with  the 
class  of  '93.  John  P.  Givens  of  Hoopes- 
ton,  111.,  a  long  time  friend  of  the  de- 
ceased, writes  in  high  praise  of  her  char- 
acter and  devotion  to  the  cause  which 
she  served.  The  Christian  Century 
joins  with  the  many  friends  of  Mr.  Lil- 
ley in  offering  the  condolences  of  the 
common   Christian   faith. 

— Frank  H.  Lash,  now  serving  as  act- 
ing chaplain  of  the  United  States  Navy, 
writes  from  Norfolk,  Va.,  that  there 
were  65  additions  to  the  congregation  at 
El  Reno,  Okla.,  during  the  last  three 
weeks  of  his  ministry  there.  Twenty- 
seven  persons  came  forward  on  the  last 
Sunday  morning  of  his  service.  The 
church  at  El  Reno  has  called  H.  E. 
Stubbs,  of  Kingfisher,  Okla.,  and  he  en- 
ters upon  his  work  at  once.  Mr.  Lash 
writes  that  he  is  a  fine  and  capable  young 
man  and  will  do  a  great  service  for  the 
church.  Mr.  Lash  is  now  stationed  tem- 
porarily on  the  United  States  Steamship 
Richmond,  awaiting  assignment  to  duty. 

— The  Germantown,  Ky.,  church, 
Hugh  S.  Calkins,  pastor,  becomes  a  liv- 
ing link  in  the  Foreign  Society  at  the 
close  of  a  fruitful  evangelistic  campaign 
led  by  Traverce  Harrison,  of  Bellefon- 
taine,  Ohio. 

— Howard  E.  Jensen,  who  has  com- 
pleted his  study  in  the  Divinity  school 
of  the  University  of  Chicago,  will  leave 
for  Kansas  on  July  2,  preaching  for 
former     congregations     at     Potter     and 


June  .28,  1917 


THE    CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


\'J 


Round  Prairie  en  route.  He  will  camp 
on  the  Neosho  with  E.  A.  P.lackman, 
pastor  at  Chanute,  during  August,  and 
will  hold  a  meeting  at  Chanute  during 
September.  Mr.  Jensen  closed  his  work 
as  pastor  at  Wanatah,  111.,  on  June  17. 
There  were  four  accessions  to  the  mem- 
bership at  the  concluding  service. 

— R.  H.  Newton,  who  leads  the  church 
at  Atlanta,  111.,  writes  that  twelve  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation  there  have  vol- 
unteered for  service  in  the  national 
army.  The  church  has  presented  the 
men  with  pocket  testaments,  in  each  of 
which  the  pastor  wrote  a  personal  let- 
ter. Three  additions  to  the  congrega- 
tion are  reported  for  recent  services. 

— W.  E.  Carroll,  of  the  Shelbyville, 
Ind.,  church,  is  spending  the  summer  at 
the   University  of  Chicago. 

_ — W.  B.  Bodenhafer,  well  known  Dis- 
ciple leader  of  Lawrence,  Kan.,  visited 
friends  in  Chicago  between  trains  last 
week.  Mr.  Bodenhafer  will  offer  courses 
in  sociology  in  the  summer  school  of 
the   University  of   Kansas. 

— The  chairman  of  the  church  board 
at  Chickasha,  Okla.,  reports  that  Byron 
Hester  has  served  this  church  as  pastor 
for  only  eight  months  of  his  first  year, 
but  that  he  has  shown  such  efficiency  in 
his  work  that  he  has  been  extended  a 
call  for  a  second  year,  with  a  20  per  cent 
increase  in  his  salary,  to  take  effect  im- 
mediately. Under  Mr.  Hester's  leader- 
ship there  have  been  larger  audiences 
and  a  greater  interest  and  the  church  is 
earning  a  sure  prestige  throughout  the 
community.  There  were  two  confes- 
sions on  the  morning  of  June  18,  and 
three  baptisms  were  reported  for  last 
Sunday  evening. 

— J.  E.  Gorsuch,  for  some  time  min- 
ister at  St.  Petersburg,  Fla.,  has  entered 
the  evangelistic  field.  Three  persons 
were  baptized  by  Mr.  Gorsuch  during  his 
last  week  of  service.  W.  A.  Harp  has 
been  called  to  this  field  and  has  already 
begun  his  work. 

— The  annual  commencement  exercises 
of  the  Training  School  for  Nurses,  of 
St.  Louis,  were  held  at  First  church  in 
that  city,  on  the  evening  of  June  12. 
The  Training  School  is  promoted  by  the 
management  of  the  Christian  Hospital. 
An  interesting  program  was  given,  in- 
cluding an  address  by  the  new  Fourth 
church  pastor,  H.  L.  Baker. 

— About  ten  years  ago  a  few  families 
of  Urbana-Champaign,  111.,  organized  a 
Sunday  school  in  the  east  part  of  Ur- 
bana,  about  a  mile  from  the  great  Uni- 
versity Place  church  of  Champaign.  In 
this  section,  with  a  population  of  3,000, 
there  was  but  one  church,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal.  The  new  Disciples  organ- 
ization was  given  the  name  of  "The 
Webber  Street  Church  of  Christ."  There 
is  now  a  congregation  there  of  165,  with 
a  Sunday  school  of  about  200.  On  Sun- 
day, June  17,  H.  H.  Peters,  the  state 
secretary,  led  in  the  dedication  of  a  fine 
new  house  of  worship  for  "Webber 
Street,"  building  and  lot  having  cost 
$12,000.  Although  it  was  necessary  to 
raise  only  about  $3,500,  a  total  in  cash 
and  pledges  of  $4,600  was  reported  at 
the  close  of  dedication  day.  There  were 
twelve  additions  to  the  congregation 
during  the  day  and  Guy  L.  Zerby  of 
St.  Joseph,  111.,  was  engaged  to  conduct 
a  two  weeks'  meeting. 

— Julius  Caesar  Nayphe,  a  native  of 
Athens,  and  one  of  the  really  great 
Chautauqua  speakers  of  the  land,  will 
give  an  interpretation  of  the  23d  Psalm 
to  the  ministers  at  Bethany  Assembly 
on    August   16.      He   will   appear   in   the 


THE  WAR 

O  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  Tra:,:.ylvania  and   the 
College  of  the  Bible  v/il!  open  aa  usual,  September  10. 

Standard  course*  [eadia    to  the  A.  I:.   !;.  S.,  M.  A.,  P.  Th.  B 

B.  D.  degrei        Pre-vocattonal  '.our.'::  in  L 

ing,   Tea<  hing,   and    Business   Affair  .      L'i 

graduate  student:;  preparing  f'-r  the  mini  try  and  missis: 

Expenses  reasonable;  exceptional  opportunities  for  setf-heto;  gener- 
ous scholarships  available  for  student  i  preparing  for  pub:  ian 

service.    Ask  for  application  blank  ,. 

More  than  100  churches  paying  good  salaries,  supplied  -  ,tu- 

dent  preachers.  New  home  for  Women;  !  lential  hall  for  men. 

Write  to  The  President,  Lexington,  Ky. 


costume  of  the  oriental  shepherd.  Min- 
isters especially  should  hear  this  ad- 
dress, which  has  been  given  in  nearly 
all  the  religious  assemblies  of  the  land 
and  in  hundreds  of  chautauquas. 

, — G.  I.  Hoover,  Indiana  evangelist,  as- 
sisted R.  B.  Givens  and  the  Vermilion, 
Ind.,  church  in  a  series  of  meetings  re- 
cently closed.  Ten  were  added  by  bap- 
tism and  four  otherwise. 


NEWYORK 


A  Church  Home  for  You. 
Write  Dr.  Finis  Idleman, 
142  West  81st  St,  N.  Y. 


HIRAM    COLLEGE    NOTES 

Hiram  College's  annual  commence- 
ment exercises  were  held  on  June  'J  to 
12,  inclusive,  opening  on  Saturday  night 
with  commencement  programs  by  the 
four  literary  societies. 

In  the  afternoon  of  a  recent  Sunday 
the  following  young  men  were  ordained 
to  the  Christian  ministry:  H.  C.  Wil- 
son, who  goes  as  the  missionary  of  the 
American  Christian  Missionary  Society 
to  Pocatello.  Idaho:  P.  P.  Denune,  who 
has  accepted  a  call  to  the  church  at 
North    Bristol,    Ohio;    \V.    B.    Mathews, 


—J.  M.  Philputt,  of  Charlottesville,  Va., 
has  gone  to  his  summer  home  at  Pema- 
quid  Point,  Me. 

— I.  J.  Cahill,  Ohio's  state  secretary, 
reports  the  successful  dedication  of  the 
new  building  of  the  Cambridge,  Ohio, 
congregation,  which  numbers  but  150 
members,  on  June  10.  S.  H.  Bartlett  is 
pastor  in  this  field. 

— "Kanjunda"  is  the  title  of  the 
pageant  that  will  be  given  at  Bethany 
Assembly,  August  15,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Miss  Lucy  King  DeMoss  of  the 
Foreign  Society.  It  will  be  given  in 
costume  and  many  young  people  will  be 
employed  in  its  production.  It  will  be 
fascinating,  educational  and  inspirational 
and  one  of  the  splendid  features  of  this 
year's  unusually  strong  program. 

— Roy  B.  Hyten  has  moved  from 
Goldfield  to  North  English,  Iowa.  This 
change  takes  him  back  near  his  boyhood 
home  and  also  makes  him  the  pastor  of 
one  of  the  long  established  churches  of 
the  state. 


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THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  28,  1917 


who  has  entered  upon  his  duties  as  min- 
ister to  the  Squirrel  Hill  church  of  Pitts- 
burgh, Pa.;  R.  J.  Downs,  who  continues 
at  Solon,  Ohio,  at  the  urgent  request  of 
the  entire  community,  which  he  has 
served  most  acceptably  during  the  past 
five  years  as  a  student  preacher;  R.  G. 
Hagstrom,  who  will  take  charge  of  a 
social  settlement  work  in  Youngstown, 
Ohio,  after  a  year's  study  at  Chicago; 
J.  K.  O'Xeall,  engaged  at  the  present 
time  in  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work.  The  sermon 
of  the  hour  was  delivered  by  the  Dean 
of  Men.  Vernon  Stauffer.  In  the  ordi- 
nation service  proper,  which  was  in 
charge  of  President  Bates,  the  following 
brethren  assisted:  John  E.  Pounds,  of 
the  Hiram  church ;  C.  L.  McPherson, 
of  Keuka  Park,  N.  Y. ;  Dr.  Osgood,  of 
China,  and  the  elders  of  the  church. 

The  baccalaureate  sermon  was  deliv- 
ered by  President  Miner  Lee  Bates  in 
the  Hiram  church,  on  the  morning  of 
Tune  10.  The  message  was  on  "The  Rul- 
ing Spirit,"  contrast  being  made  be- 
tween the  spirit  of  Germany,  so  fittingly 
expressed  in  that  nation's  motto, 
"Deutchland  uber  alles,"  and  the  spirit 
of  Christianity,  which  is  service  for  all. 

The  anniversary  of  the  Christian  as- 
sociations was  held  Sunday  night,  the 
address  of  the  evening  being  delivered 
by  Miss  Bertha  Clawson  of  Tokio, 
Japan. 

Monday  afternoon  the  class  day  ex- 
ercises were  held,  one  of  the  chief  fea- 
tures of  which  was  the  presentation  of 
the  class  memorial — a  75-foot  flagpole, 
erected  in  the  center  of  the  campus  in 
front  of  the  main  building.  That  even- 
ing the  Hiram  Musical  Art  Society  pre- 
sented Sullivan's  opera,  "The  Sorcerer." 

Dr.  Hugh  Black,  of  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  New  York  City,  gave  the  ad- 
dress at  the  commencement  exercises  on 
Tuesday  morning  to  a  most  appreciative 
audience  which  crowded  the  hall.  Dr. 
Black  suffered  injury  in  an  auto  accident 
just  before  reaching  Hiram. 

The  literary  societies  presented  the 
play,  "The  'Passing  of  the  Third  Floor 
Back,"  on  the  evening  of  commence- 
ment day. 

Of  the  46  graduates,  21  enter  the 
teaching  profession,  14  the  ministry  and 
other  forms  of  Christian  service. 

G.  S.  Bennett. 


iiiiiiii 


■■■ill 


Our  Readers'  Opinions 


BIG  GAINS  FOR  FOREIGN 
MISSIONS 

The  gains  in  the  receipts  of  the  For- 
eign Society  to  June  1  amounted  to  $41,- 
132.  For  the  first  nineteen  days  of  June 
there  has  been  a  gain  of  $10,140,  or  a 
total  gain  for  the  missionary  year  up  to 
June  20  of  $51,272. 

If  we  will  all  redouble  our  diligence 
and  press  forward  with  oneness  of  pur- 
pose, it  will  not  be  a  difficult  task  to 
reach  the  $000,000  mark,  as  was  planned 
in  the  beginning  of  the  missionary  year. 

Send  church  offerings  and  Sunday 
school  offerings  to  the  undersigned  and 
the  proper  receipt  will  be  promptly  re- 
turned. 

F.  M.  Rains,  Secretary. 


Baptismal  Suits 

We   can    make   prompt  shipments. 
Order  Now.      Finest   quality  and  most 
atisfactory   in    every   way.      Order   by 
ize  of  boot. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  St.  Chicago,  111. 


WHO  IS  TO  BLAME? 

Editor  The  Christian  Century: 

For  some  time  I  have  been  under  the 
burden  of  a  decreasing  interest  in  church 
attendance.  I  have  been  in  this  town 
now  just  six  years,  and  have  enjoyed 
what  might  be  called  a  prosperous  sea- 
son in  church  life.  The  missionary 
record  has  been  commended  by  the  state 
officials  as  one  of  the  best  in  the  state. 
The  Sunday  school  attendance  has  been 
good  and  the  church  attendance,  if  not 
always  the  best,  not  discouraging.  But 
just  now  there  is  a  decided  decrease  in 
all  the  services,  except  the  morning 
preaching  service,  which  has  been  helped 
by  a  continuous  service.  This  condi- 
tion is  common  to  all  the  churches  in 
the  town  so  that  it  cannot  be  charged 
to  any  particular  cause  in  our  own 
church. 

This  matter  has  been  weighing  on  my 
heart  rather  heavily  of  late,  and  when  I 
read  recently  an  editorial  on  the  sub- 
ject: "What  is  the  Matter  with  the 
Churches?"  you  can  imagine  that  it  was 
with  some  hope  of  a  remedy  that  I 
turned  to  read  the  same.  Though  dis- 
appointed in  that,  I  did  get  some  con- 
solation in  the  fact  that  others  are  hav- 
ing the  same  experience.  I  have  no 
criticism  of  the  editorial,  but  I  have  the 
feeling  that  we  are  too  inclined  to  lay 
the  blame  for  such  conditions  on  the 
churches,  rather  than  on  the  people. 
Now,  I  am  not  one  to  think  that  there 
is  nothing  wrong  with  the  churches; 
that  they  are  guiltless.  I  am  conscious 
of  their  deficiencies  and  the  great  need, 
if  not  re-construction,  of  re-adaptation 
to  present  conditions.  More  effective  co- 
operation is  needed  and  less  overlapping. 
Here  I  am  going  to  suggest  that  you 
write,  when  you  can,  a  series  of  articles 
or  editorials  on  "The  Church  of  the 
Future."  I  spend  a  good  deal  of  time 
with  the  superintendent  of  our  county 
schools,  and  in  conversation  recently  he 
suggested  that  I  preach  a  sermon  on  the 
new  adaptation  of  the  church  and  go 
everywhere  and  preach  it,  as  one  of  the 
great  needs  of  the  time.  May  I  suggest 
such  a  program  for  you  in  your  edi- 
torials? 

But  does  the  whole  trouble  rest  with 
the  church?  Are  not  the  people  also  to 
blame?  It  is  a  matter  of  common  testi- 
mony that  the  churches  of  our  town 
never  were  better  equipped  to  serve  the 
people.  Though  not  all  radically  pro- 
gressive, they  are  all  modern  and  pro- 
gressive in  spirit,  yet  there  is  now  a 
smaller  attendance  than  for  a  long  time. 
We  cannot  charge  the  trouble  to  auto- 
mobiles, as  others  seem  to  do,  for  the 
automobile  class  are  regular  in  their  at- 
tendance and  can  be  relied  upon  at  any 
time.  With  us  it  is  the  laboring  class, 
the  wage  earners. 

Now  it  is  easy,  as  usual,  to  lay  the 
blame  on  the  churches,  but  my  opinion 
is  that  it  rests  with  the  people.  Is  it  the 
fault  of  the  library  that  people  read  only 
light  fiction?  Is  it  the  fault  of  Shakes- 
peare that  his  plays  are  not  read?  The 
people  follow  the  light  and  frivolous  and 
give  no  earnest  heed  to  the  real  or 
deeper  things  of  life. 

This  condition  is  not  hopeless  here; 
we  will  master  it  after  a  while  and  enjoy 
even  better  times  than  we  have,  but  at 
present  it  is  not  encouraging,  to  say  the 
least.     I  am  working  out  a  program  for 


IIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIItlllllllllMIIIIIIIIUP 


the  church  that  I  feel  will  succeed. 
This  is  why  I  have  written  this  long 
letter:  First,  to  suggest  a  series  of  ar- 
ticles on  the  "Church  of  the  Future"; 
second,  to  express  the  feeling  that  to 
constantly  ask  the  question,  "What  is 
the  Matter  with  the  Churches?"  as  if 
they  were  altogether  to  blame,  has  a 
psychological  effect  in  creating  the 
opinion  that  they  are  wrong  and  thus 
excuse  the  people  or  justify  them  in 
their  minds,  when  the  great  need  is  to 
impress  the  people  with  their  wrongs 
and  lack  of  interest  and  awaken  their 
consciences. 

*      *     * 

DR.  TYLER  WRITES  OF  LINCOLN 

Editor  The  Christian  Century: 

I  have  had  my  attention  called  to  an 
article  in  your  issue  of  Feb.  8,  1917,  en- 
titled, "The  Religion  of  Lincoln."  Mr. 
Lincoln's  father  and  mother,  familiarly 
known  as  "Uncle  Tommie"  and  "Aunt 
Nancy,"  were  members  of  the  Christian 
church.  Their  last  years  were  spent  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Charleston,  111. 
Dennis  Hanks,  who  is  reported  to  have 
taught  Mr.  Lincoln  to  read,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  this  church  and  regular  in  his 
attendance  when  I  was  pastor  in  1864- 
69.  This  was  my  first  pastorate  extend- 
ing over  a,  period  of  five  years. 

B.  B.  Tyler. 
Denver,  Colo. 


The  American  Bible  Society  is  having 
large  sales  of  the  Scriptures  in  Mexico, 
in  spite  of  the  political  unrest  and  eco- 
nomic exhaustion  of  the  country. 


W/»  Rpad   and  clip  for  you  daily  everything 
I%CaU  printec|  m  the  current  country 
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ject of  particular  interest  to  you. 

NourenanAre  contain  many  items  daily 

newspapers  wnicn  wou]d  ■mioTm  you 

exclusively  of  where  you  can  secure  new  busi- 
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For  YOU     Send  Stamp  for  Booklet 

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Patentrd 
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700  E.  40th  St.  Chicago,  III. 


June  28,  1917 


THE     CHRISTIAN     C  E  N  T  UKY 


21 


Bishop  Bashford  recently  declared  that 
in  the  eleven  years  of  his  stay  in  China 
he  had  never  given  an  invitation  to  come 
to  Christ  that  the  invitation  had  not 
met  with  definite  response. 

Tin  Peerless  Series  of  SundaY  School  Maps 


•  Hap*  on 


ttMl  Foldlnft  Stand  Tor  only  UtMk.  '( 

■ -Q      ■   '   o 


The  special  feature  of  this  excellent  set 
i  of  maps,  are,  their  clearness.  The  names  « 
of  places  in  large  print,  feint  mountains, 
various  styles  of  lettering  so  as  to  be  pleasing 
to  the  eye  and  the  tone  of  the  colors,  which 
are  both  attraactive  and  harmonious. 
From  the  latest  explorations  and  discoveries 

This  grand  set  of  six  Maps  consists  of 
the  following: 

New  Testament  Palestine  —  Old  Test- 
ament Palestine  —  Roman  Empire 
showing  Pauls  Travels  —  Bible  Lands 
of  the  Old  Testament  —  The  Exodus, 
Egypt  to  Canaan  —  Ancient  Jerusalem. 

Printed  on  linen  finish  cloth  in  6  colors 
size  19x27.  Mounted  on  folding  steel 
stand,  can  be  raised,  lowered  or  turned  in 
any  direction  on  the  revolving  frame  so  the 
largest  classes  can  see  them,  being  on  a 
line  with  the  faces  of  Scholars  when  seated. 
Making  them  the  most  practical  Helps  in 
Student  and  Class  Work.  When  not  in 
use  can  be  easily  folded  up  Price  $3.50 
net  and  for  30c  extra  will  be  sent  prepaid 
to  any  Express  office.  Single  maps  of  the 
above  sent  prepaid  on  receipt  of  60  cents. 

Similar  to  abov  on  a  larger  Scale  are 
5  Enters  Sunday  School  Maps  on  a  very  strong 
Revolving  Adjustable  Steel  Stand  about 
6H  feet  high,  30x48  to  36x57  on  linen 
finished  loth.  These  Five  thoroughly  up 
to  date  Maps  'Jonsist  of  the  following. 

New  TestamentPalestine, — Old  Testament 
Palestine,— -Roman  empire  arid  Bible  Lands, 
showing  Pauls  Travels  by  Colored  lines. — 
Lands  of  the  Old  Testament,  from  the 
Great  Sea,  to  the  Persian  Gulf — The 
Exodus,  Egypt,  showing  by  Colored  lines 
the  wanderings  of  the  Isreaiites.  Price  of 
any  single  Maps  $1.00 

On  account  of  its  portability,  this  Stand 
and  Maps  are  the  most  helpful  aids  In 
teaching  Bible  History.  To  avoid  errors 
In  ordering,  specify  Eilers  Maps  on  Revolving 
Steel  Stand  Price  $6.5Q  will  be  sent 
prepaid  to  anv  Express  office  for  60  cents 
additional. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 
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MR.  BRITL1NG  SPEAKS  AGAIN 

Mr.  H.  G.  Wells'  New  Book 

"God,  the  Invisible  King" 

Mr.  Wells,  the  author  of  Mr.  Britling   says: 

"The  time  draws  near  when  mankind  will  awake  .  .  . 
and  then  there  will  be  no  nationality  in  all  the  world 
but  humanity,  and  no  king,  no  emperor,  nor  leader, 
but  the  one  God  of  mankind." 

AMERICA  IS  FIGHTING  FOR  THIS  GOD ! 

"God,  the  Invisible  King" 

"The  Religion  of  Mr.  Britling" 

Price,  $1.25 

—FOR  SALE  BY— 

Disciples  Publication  Society,  700  E.  40th  St.,  Chicago 


The  school  directors  of  Jefferson 
township,  Fayette  county,  Pa.,  have  voted 
to  provide  one-half  the  cost  of  a  phono- 
graph for  each  school  in  the  township, 
the  patrons  to  contribute  the  remainder. 

About  90,000  is  the  present  population 
of  the  Fiji  Islands.  Of  these  over  83,000 
are  reported  to  be  believers.  Their  mis- 
sionary contributions  for  the  past  year 
amounted  to  $53,000. 

At  Colorado  Springs  Captain  Charles 
A.   Gordon,  aged  ninety-four  years,  was 

American    Series    of    Five 
Maps 

These  are  lithographed  in  four  colors  on 
muslin  o£  superior  quality,  and  measure  36x58 
Inches.  Large  lettering  of  names  of  places  is  a 
special  feature  of  all  these  maps.  Each  map 
has  distinctive  features,  but  all  have  large  type, 
clear  and  bold  outlines. 

The  maps  are  as  follows: 
Map  of  Palestine— Illustrating    the   Old    Test- 
ament and  the  Land  as  Divided  among  the 
twelve  tribes. 
Map    of    Palestine— Illustrating  the   New  Test- 
ament. &  . 
Map    of    the    Roman  Empire— Illustrating  the 

Journeys  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 
Map  of  Assyria  and  the  Adjacent  Lands— Illust- 
rating the  Captivities  of  the  Jews. 
Map  of  Egypt  and  the  Sinai  Peninsula— Illustrat- 
ing the  Journeyings  of  the  Israelites. 
Any  of  the  above  maps  sold  singly  and  un- 
mounted at  1.00  each,  postpaid. 

These  maps  are  also  furnished  in  a  set  of  5 
that  are  mounted  on  one  specially  constructed 
wooden  roller,  which  is  arranged  to  rest  securely 
on  the  top  of  the  upright  bar  of  the  stand.  The 
stand  is  collapsible  and  is  made  of  steel,  finished 
In  black  Japan. 

Entire  Outfit,  $6 .50  Net. 
By  Express  or  Freight  at  Purchaser  s  Exneose. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 
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married  to  his  fifth  wife  some  days  ago. 
His  first  marriage  occurred  at  London  on 
the  day  Queen  Victoria  was  crowned. 

Things  are  certainly  moving  in  India. 
Twenty-five  years  ago  a  missionary  was 
stoned  for  innocently  taking  a  low  caste 
Christian  through  a  Brahmin  street.  Re- 
cently he  sat  down  to  a  banquet  with 
college  students,  including  three  divi- 
sions of  Brahmins. 


Acme  S.  S.  Register  Board 


IlEGISTER 

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OTENDfflJ£f?A- 
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Recruiting   for   Christ— John   Timothy  Stone.     Hand-to-HancL  Methods 

with  Men.     $1.00  net. 
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The  Soul- Winning  Church — Len  G.  Broughton.     50c  net. 
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Thirty-One  Revival  Sermons — Banks.     $1.00  net. 
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Revival  Sermons — Chapman.     $1.00. 

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day, Collection  a  Year  Ago  Today. 
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22 


THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


June  28,  1917 


The  Life  of  Jesus 

By  Dr.  LOA  E.  SCOTT 

A  fine  course  for  summer  study.  Send 
for  a  copy  and  consider  it  for  your  class. 
There  are  several  reasons  for  the  popu- 
larity of  this  course:  (1)  It  is  a  treatment 
of  the  ever-popular  subject  of  study,  the 
life  of  the  Master;  (2)  It  is  a  question  and 
answer  study;  (3)  It  requires  constant 
use  of  the  Bible  itself. 

Many  classes  have  been  transformed 
into  real  study-classes  by  the  use  of  this 
book.     Why  not  try  it  in  your  class? 

Price  per  copy,  50  cents ;  in  lots  of  10  or 
more,  40  cents  each. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

700  East  40th  Street,  Chicago,  111. 


Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage 

By  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON 

What  are  the  Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage? 
They  are  little  narrative  discourses  in  the  first 
person  by  a  genial  philosopher  who  talks  most 
interestingly  of  all  sorts  of  things.  But  they  are 
all  related  to  life.  Whether  the  writer  picks  up 
his  story  on  a  trolley  car  or  in  his  garden  or 
out  of  the  visit  of  a  crank  or  book  agent,  he 
always  says  something  that  relates  to  some 
practical  experience.  You  will  agree  to  that, 
if  you  are  reading  the  Parables  as  published 
in  The  Christian  Century. 

Some  readers  say  the  Parables  are  the  best 
bits  of  humor  now  appearing  in  any  magazine  in 
America.  They  poke  fun  at  all  sorts  of  follies 
and  foibles,  but  they  have  a  strong  element  of 
good  sense,  and  their  laugh  is  always  on  the 
right  side.  They  have  been  copied  into  many 
papers ;  have  served  as  themes  for  sermons  and 
addresses;  have  pointed  many  morals  and 
adorned  many  tales. 

The  Parables  of  Safed  the  Sage  is  a  handsome 

volume  of  nearly  200  pages,  and  the  Parables 

are    printed    in   large,   clear  type   on   excellent 

paper.    More  than  fifty  parables  are  included. 

Price  per  copy,  $1.25 

Order  today. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

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A  Great  Book  for  the  New  Day 

In  this  day  of  tremendous  issues  in  national  and  international  life,  of  the 
remaking  of  the  entire  civilized  world,  there  is  need  for  a  reconsideration 
of  the  great  messages  of  the  prophets  of  Israel,  those  spokesmen  of  God  to 
nations  and  men.  Dr.  Willett  makes  these  wise  seers  live  and  speak 
anew  for  the  modern  world  in  his 

"Moral  Leaders  of  Israel" 

miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

Here  are  some  of  the  qualities  of  Dr.  Willett's  book  as  seen  by  well-known  publications: 
"Ripe  scholarship",  "Popular  interpretation"  {The  Advance,  Chicago).  "Comprehen- 
sive", "Popular"  {The  Continent,  Chicago).  "Vital","  Lucid"  {Christian  Endeavor  World, 
Boston).  "Definite"  {Christian  Work,  New  York).  "Brilliant",  "Clear  and  sane",  "Win- 
some and  sincere"  {Heidelberg  Teacher,  Philadelphia).  "Vivid",  "Simple  and  clear", 
{The  Living  Church,  Milwaukee) .     "Clear  and  interesting"  {Christian  Advocate). 

The  book  is  in  two  volumes.         Volume  I  is  out  at  $1.00,  postpaid.  Order  your  copy  today. 

DISCIPLES  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


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CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


June  28,  1917  THE     CHRISTIAN     CENTURY 


23 


The  Bethany  System 

OF 

Sunday  School  Literature 

Some  Typical  Graded  Courses 

^uif^T^V^iH^  °f  SOcial  Service  arePared   hY   Harry    F.    Ward,    who   probably 
THE  BIBLE  AND  SOCIAL  LIVING.     Puthorities  within  the  church. 

THE  WORLD  A  FIELD  FOR  CHRISTIAN  SERVICE.     This  course  of  study  has  as 
its  purpose  to  train  youth  for  genuine  service  in   the  world  of  today.     Inspirational 
educational,  practical. 

CHRISTIAN  LIVING.  What  it  means  to  be  a  Christian;  problems  of  Christian  living; 
the  Christian  and  the  church;  the  Word  of  God  in  life.  An  ideal  course  for  Inter- 
mediates. 

HISTORY  OF  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES.  Teaches  the  young  people  how  the 
church  started,  with  vivid  pictures  of  the  backgrounds  of  its  history. 

HISTORY  AND  LITERATURE  OF  THE  HEBREW  PEOPLE.  Before  the  life  of 
Christ  can  be  understood,  there  must  be  a  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  Hebrews. 
In  this  course  the  story  is  told  in  an  attractive  way,  but  thoroughly. 

Special  Courses 

For  Young  People  and  Adults 

THE  TRAINING  OF  CHURCH  MEMBERS.  A  manual  of  Christian  service  intended 
for  classes  of  new  converts,  adult  or  young  people's  Sunday  school  classes,  pastor's 
classes,  midweek  services,  etc.  This  little  book  has  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
the  church  life  of  the  Disciples.     Send  for  free  sample  copy. 

THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS.     By  Dr.  Loa  E.  Scott.     A  question  and  answer  review  of  the 
life  of  the  Master,  requiring  close  study  of   the   Scriptures   themselves.      Many   large 
classes  have  been  built  up  by  interest  in  this  course.     Send  50  cents  for  copy.     Sells 
at  40  cents  in  lots. 

MORAL  LEADERS  OF  ISRAEL.  By  Dr.  H.  L.  Willett.  An  ideal  course  for  adult 
classes  which  have  a  serious  desire  to  master  the  facts  of  Old  Testament  life.  Price 
per  copy,  $1.00. 

THE  GOSPEL  OF  THE  KINGDOM.  A  monthly  magazine  of  social  service  founded 
by  Dr.  Josiah  Strong.  Treats  present  day  problems  in  most  attractive  fashion.  A 
fine  course  for  men's  classes.  75  cents  single  subscription  ;  50  cents  per  year  in  clubs, 
if  ordered  by  the  year.     Send  for  free  sample  copy. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  excellent  study  courses  afforded  by 
the  Bethany  Graded  System.  Send  for  returnable  samples  of  the 
Bethany  Graded  Lessons,  and  for  copies  of  any  of  the  special  courses 
which  interest  you. 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MUST  TAKE  ITSELF  SERIOUSLY  IN  THIS  CRIT- 
ICAL ERA  OF  OUR  COUNTRY'S  HISTORY.  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IS  THE 
ONLY  "WAY  OUT."'  YOU  ARE  CRIMINALLY  NEGLIGENT  IF  YOU  DO  NOT 
SEE  THAT  YOUR  SCHOOL  HAS  THE  VERY  BEST  EQUIPMENT  POSSIBLE 
FOR  ITS  IMPORTANT  WORK. 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  East  40th  Street  CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


Emm— mii^mimm  ■  —— mm  ■■■■■«■■  n  iii ii i—  MiMiMniiii hi i^ii niMimnnMiiiiiBiiinnniTTm— iTm         !     ~— "—-"—— ~T^^ 


HAVE    YOU  READ 

FAIRHOPE 

A    NEW    NOVEL 
BY  EDGAR  DEWITT  JONES 

mniniraunnminninhinuiuiiiitmiuii^ 

Fairhope  folks  are  mighty  human,  but  you 
will  like  them  all  the  better  for  that. 

Major  Menifee  may  remind  you  of  Colonel 
Carter  of  Cartersville.  You  will  love  Jacob 
Boardman,  the  modern  Enoch.  And  even 
Giles  Shockley  will  not  repel  you,  "Hound 
of  the  Lord"  though  he  was. 

Everyone  knows  that  the  old  style  of 
country  church  is  passing  forever.  But 
what  type  of  church  will  take  its  place? 
Read  the  chapter  entitled  "The  Old  Order 
Changeth"  and  meet  the  Reverend  Roger 
Edgecomb,  Prophet  of  the  new  order. 

Do  you  like  birds  and  stretches  of  meadows, 
glimpses  of  lordly  river,  and  the  glory  of 
high  hills?  Do  you  like  young  preachers  and 
old  time  country  folks,  their  humors,  their 
foibles  and  their  loyalties?  If  you  do,  then 
you  should  read 

"Fairhope,  the  Annals 
of  a  Country  Church" 

Price,  $1.25 

Order   NOW,   enclosing  remittance 

Disciples  Publication  Society 

700  E.  40th  Street,  Chicago,  111. 

bE a